The Dirt continues to pile up.

TimBehrens — Wed, 31 Oct 2018 15:49:02 +0000

OK, so I’m a couple of months late with the progress report. It’s all right, though, because we are really close to finishing up. We’ve rescheduled our performance dates to start in February. (See below)
One reason for the delay in this project: To make something accessible to the musicians, we needed to create a score for the music, but we also needed them to see and react to the words in one-man script that Pat wrote.
So we came up with a new name: “SCORPT,” which combines the score and the script. It’s an actual “book” that sits on the music stands and contains not only the notes each instrument plays, but the salient lines from the script that I speak, AND, since the musicians move around to different positions during the show, instructions (blocking) for their movement, and finally, since they also speak on occasion, the words they must utter. YIKES.
However, Olivia has been up to the job and the SCORPT is nearly complete. We are interviewing musicians as you read this, so if you know of any, let us know!
Here are the instruments we need:
1. Honkytonk/Stride Piano; Piano often carries bassline in lieu of string bass.
2. Bass Trombone (score includes arrangements, as well as sections where chords are provided as in fakebooks and trombone is invited to act as bass)
3. Trumpet (includes written parts and opportunities for improvisation; familiarity with New Orleans style is preferred)
4. Viola (mostly melodic lines but some sections call for rhythmic chord comping a la Appalachian fiddle style); Doubling on Musical Saw preferred (mostly effect)
5. Banjo (mostly chords/rhythm with some arranged melodies and opportunities for improvisation); Doubling on Harmonica preferred
6. Percussion including timpani, snare, high hat, crash, and more! Foley effects include: chainsaw, loon and bear, to name a few.
Show Dates so far:
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Rehearsals: mostly in late January and early February
Shows
Preview Performance – Friday, February 15, 2019, 7:30PM
Spokane Community College at the Lair Auditorium

Grand Opening Weekend
Friday, February 22, 7:30PM AND Sunday, February 24, 3:00PM
Sandpoint, Idaho, the Panida Theater

Spokane, March 1, details TBA

Other performances to follow if the show is a hit!
_____________________________________

Also, I just wanted to share my relief. Olivia has REDUCED the time she spends talking to me in Capitals. But then again, she as reduced the time she spends talking to me at all, so maybe it’s not so good.
One of the inspirations for our work is Spike Jones: go to YouTube and check this out, or any one of his zany compositions: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2TOF4LPeGI

My Favorite Toy Was Dirt: An American Story in Concert.

TimBehrens — Sat, 28 Jul 2018 05:06:03 +0000

For the next few months, this blog will report on the progress, problems and prospects of the new Musical McManus Comedy, “My Favorite Toy Was Dirt: An American Story in Concert.”
We will also keep fans up to date on our new Facebook Page, “My Favorite Toy Was Dirt.”
Yes, you, dear reader, will have a bird’s eye view of either:
a) A great new and successful enterprise, that will make audiences roar with almost unstoppable laughter, or, possibly
b) One of the biggest misadventures in the annals of musical and comedic creation.
I can remember how it all began. Pat was my advisor at Eastern…the University, not the hospital or the corrections center….although they all have a lot in common. I had enrolled in to get an MFA in creative writing. Pat was a professor there at the time, and he mentored me, much like Rancid did to him, although Rancid was a lot less cruel.
After two years of hard work, Pat took me aside just before I got my degree, put his hand on my shoulders, and looked me in the eyes with what I misinterpreted as incredible sensitivity. “Tim, after reading your stuff for two years, I think you better stick to acting.”
“And now, since you will be getting a graduate degree in English, which practically guarantees you will be unemployed, I should probably write something for you to perform right away.”
Scarcely five years later, Pat said he wanted to do a theatre piece. I asked him what kind. He described a “comical musical” with singers and dancing girls, lots of dancing girls, glitzy scenery, a cast of 35 and some dancing girls. Then he showed me the budget for this extravaganza, and that’s when I knew we had a one-man show.
But now, thanks to some wonderfully generous Kickstarter contributors and thanks to the Spokane Arts Commission, we have a small nest egg that should get us started. Olivia Brownlee (at oliviabrownlee.com) is the composer and she will be creating original music for this show (and conducting the first few performances) that will be a testament to Pat’s humor, imagination and his ability to make people laugh so hard that when I perform, the laughter hurts my ears.
So, let’s get into the nitty gritty. How to describe the piece? Think Mark Twain meets Spike Jones. Or Frank Zappa confronts the Marx Brothers. Or Peter and the Wolf on steroids where nobody dies in the end, not even the wolf.
It is scored for 7 Musicians Versus 1 indentured Actor. The musicians actively perform in the piece, interjecting, interrupting, and contributing to the hilarity and mayhem on stage.
Olivia and I have known each other for years, but this is the first time I have had the opportunity to work closely with her and I have to say, I’m a bit terrified. She brings a baton to our meetings, and often when I am talking, she sharpens the baton with bits of sandpaper she pulls out of her pocket. Why would a conductor need a sharp baton?
She also gently reminds me that the McManus performances I have done are of one-man shows where I have had complete control and didn’t have to work with others. She states, quite simply, “THAT WILL NOT BE THE CASE HERE.” She often talks in capitals to me. I have not yet found a response to capitals, but silence is working right now.
Which is what I’ll be until the next round…..which we’ll publish in mid-August.

Tim Behrens presents... » New

The Dirt continues to pile up.

My Favorite Toy Was Dirt: An American Story in Concert.