It's the week of the show! - Free outdoor Shakespeare in DC!

Hi Everyone!

It's the week of the show!!  The Fat and Greasy Citizens Brigade will be back to bring free outdoor theatre to the city for its second year, opening this Thursday!

Our production will be William Shakespeare’s “Much Ado About Nothing,” with performances running for two weekends on June 19, 20, 21, 26, 27, and 28, 2014.  Performances will be held nightly at 8 p.m. at Grace Episcopal Church in Georgetown (1041 Wisconsin Ave, NW).  Audience members will be able to lay out blankets, pack a picnic and enjoy a free performance out under the stars.  In case of inclement weather the show will be performed indoors.  Doors will open at 7:00 PM for picnicking and relaxing pre-performance.  Some concessions will be available for sale on site.  For additional information please visit our website: www.fgcitizens.org.

So come out and see our show!!! Throw down a blanket, pack a picnic and a bottle of wine and enjoy some free outdoor Shakespeare this June!
Thank you!!

The Fat and Greasy Citizens Brigade presents "Much Ado About Nothing!" - Free Outdoor DC Theatre

Hi Everyone!

I know it's been awhile, but I wanted to write because I am really excited to announce that after a fantastic first year, the Fat and Greasy Citizens Brigade will be back to bring free outdoor theatre to the city for its second year. 

This summer we will be mounting our production of William Shakespeare’s “Much Ado About Nothing,” with performances running for two weekends on June 19, 20, 21, 26, 27, and 28, 2014.  Performances will be held nightly at 8 p.m. at Grace Episcopal Church in Georgetown (1041 Wisconsin Ave, NW).  Audience members will be able to lay out blankets, pack a picnic and enjoy a free performance out under the stars.  In case of inclement weather the show will be performed indoors.  Doors will open at 7:00 PM for picnicking and relaxing pre-performance.  Some concessions will be available for sale on site.  For additional information please visit our website: www.fgcitizens.org.

The Fat and Greasy Citizens Brigade has become the resident theater company of the Grace Episcopal Church in Georgetown. The company's mission is to provide accessible theater to all, and we do so by providing free outdoor productions of the works of William Shakespeare each summer. DC has so many great free outdoor summer activities like Screen on the Green and Jazz in the Sculpture Garden; we are bringing free outdoor theatre to the city.

We already have a fantastic cast and crew working on the production, but we are still raising funds for the project.  So if you are able to donate, please visit our GoFundMe page!

The cast, crew and myself would really appreciate any help that you could give!  By supporting the Fat and Greasy Citizens Brigade you can be a part of bringing free, outdoor, live theatre to DC!

But above all, come out and see our show!!! Throw down a blanket, pack a picnic and a bottle of wine and enjoy some free outdoor Shakespeare this June!
Thank you!!

The Fat and Greasy Citizens Brigade, A New Washington, DC Based Theatre Company!

Hi Everyone!

I'm posting today because I've recently co-founded a brand new theatre company here in Washington, DC called The Fat and Greasy Citizens Brigade!  Our company will be bringing free outdoor summer theatre, featuring the works of William Shakespeare to the city.  To begin, we will be mounting a production of "As You Like It" this August 14th-18th. Who wouldn't love to come out, throw down a blanket, pack a picnic and enjoy a performance out under the stars?

We already have a fantastic cast and crew ready to get working on the production, but in order for the show and our company to be a success, we do need some support.

In order to get this company off the ground we've launched a Kickstarter to help provide funding for our venue, a set, lights, sound, costumes, props, marketing, etc....

So if you are able, please take a moment and and visit our Kickstarter page: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1356825814/the-fat-and-greasy-citizens-brigade 

If you are able to donate, we cast and crew would really appreciate any help that you could give!  By supporting the Fat and Greasy Citizens Brigade you can be a part of bringing free, outdoor, live theatre to DC!

Thank you!!

Frager's

Last night one of my favorite Capitol Hill spots suffered from a devastating fire.  Frager's Hardware was the mom and pop hardware store that everyone on the Hill went to.  It was, in my humble opinion, the type of store everyone should experience at some point in their life, and it was heartbreaking to hear that the 4 alarm fire left the building completely destroyed.  Thank goodness no one was hurt.

In my town growing up in CT we had a local hardware store where we went.  It was only in my teenage years that the Home Depots and Lowes seemed to come in and fill the area's need for hammers, paint and garden tools.  Growing up we had those little stores where you'd go for one specialty item.  There were no Targets or Walmarts anywhere near us until I was on my way to college.  When my sister revealed to a friend of hers in college we didn't have a Walmart or the like, they legitimately asked her where we got all of our stuff. We got it from places like Fragers.  People knew who you were when you walked in the door, and personal attention was a priority. 

Existing on the Hill for the last 93 years, Frager's has become a DC institution.  While I didn't grow up on the Hill, going to a place like Frager's now as an adult, somehow made living on the Hill feel that much more like I was at home.  They've helped me get replacement parts to fix my own toilet and their staff has walked around with me on several occasions as I was trying to come up with creative ways to build a variety of different props (from fishing poles to old fashioned microphones) for the theater company I work with.

Thank goodness the owners announced today that they plan on rebuilding.  There have also been a variety of fundraisers set up to assist the owners and staff while they rebuild.

So if you are able, please lend a helping hand to help out Frager's; they've certainly lent one to me in my times of need.

An Invocation for Beginnings

New beginnings. Sometimes exciting. Sometimes scary as all hell.

For those who actually follow these posts you've probably read about one of my personal favorites Ze Frank here and here. I've been anxiously awaiting the start of his new show, and to my delight things have gotten underway.  Below is the first episode in what I hope will be many, and in my opinion it's a brilliant start.

To those of you who are starting new jobs, going back to school, beginning new relationships, ending old relationships and choosing to move on alone, having kids, meeting new people, writing your first book, writing your second book, giving painting a shot, auditioning for a play, choosing to spend the rest of your life with someone else, going to see a movie in the theater by yourself for the first time... to those of you who are starting something new, "This is an invocation for anyone who hasn't begun, who's stuck in a terrible place between zero and one..."



Perhaps this particularly strikes me as I'm personally on the verge of new beginnings.  One of the things I think is so great about what Ze Frank does is his ability to make his followers feel connected and somehow remember that they are part of a larger community.  We remember that we're all in it together; whatever the task might be at hand.  New beginnings can hard; that first step is a doozy.  Knowing that we're all in it together makes it just a little bit easier.

So thanks Ze, I'm looking forward to what's coming too.  Let's start this shit up.

Clues to a Great Story

Today I saw a pretty incredible video of a talk given by Andrew Stanton posted by TED.  Andrew Stanton is a film director, screenwriter and producer based at Pixar Animation Studios and Sony Pictures Animation.  He's worked on Finding Nemo, Wall-E, and a variety of other well known Pixar films.  In his speech, he talks about the various elements that each play a key role in good storytelling.

I, like most people, love a good story.  Whether its told through a movie, a TV show, a play, or a book it doesn't really get much better the hearing a really great one. I'm also personally interested in the structure and construction of a story. Through my writing and my work in theater I, along with others, strive to tell a story in a compelling or affecting way.  Many of my favorite stories have interesting or unusual structures.  Frankenstein, Arcadia, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Lost.  Part of what I love about them are those structures, but it is not only that.  They are the stories that make you care.  You care about the characters; about what happens in the end.  There are a lot of things that go into telling a good story, and it's not an exact science. 

In Andrew Stanton's words, "We all love stories. We're born for them.  Stories affirm who we are.  We all want affirmations that our lives have meaning, and nothing does a greater affirmation than when we connect through stories. It can cross the barriers of time; past, present, and future; and allow us to experience the similarities between ourselves and through others, real and imagined "

So take a look below at his speech, where he explores why to him storytelling is important, in his experience what goes into telling a good one and just what it is about good storytelling that we love so much.

Beware the slick, dandified cake eater

It has come to my notice that in the early 1920s a club specifically for women was formed in Washington DC.  What sort of club you ask would be appropriate for the era referred to as the "Roaring 20s"?  Why the Anti-Flirt Club of course.
 

Formed in the early 1920s by Ms. Alice Reighly, it was "composed of women and girls who have been embarrassed by men in automobiles and on street corners."  They launched the first "Anti-Flirt" week, which began on March 4, 1923. The club had a series of rules, the were:

1. Don't flirt; those who flirt in haste oft repent in leisure.
2. Don't accept rides from flirting motorists—they don't invite you in to save you a walk.
3. Don't use your eyes for ogling—they were made for worthier purposes.
4. Don't go out with men you don't know—they may be married, and you may be in for a hair pulling match
5. Don't wink—a flutter of one eye may cause a tear in the other.
6. Don't smile at flirtatious strangers—save them for people you know.
7. Don't annex all the men you can get—by flirting with many, you may lose out on the one.
8. Don't fall for the slick, dandified cake eater—the unpolished gold of a real man is worth more than the gloss of a lounge lizard.
   
9. Don't let elderly men with an eye to a flirtation pat you on the shoulder and take a fatherly interest in you. Those are usually the kind who want to forget they are fathers.
10. Don't ignore the man you are sure of while you flirt with another. When you return to the first one you may find him gone.

While the whole list seems rather ridiculous, I have to say my favorite has to be number 8.   Ah, the use of language during the 20s! Gotta love it!

So not to worry ladies, dating in DC has apparently always been quite the "harrowing" experience.  Keep your eyes averted from any passing motorists, dandified cake eaters or lounge lizards and you should be just fine.