Last week I was able to see Stones In His Pocket at the Warehouse Theatre (note: see disclosure below) which provided a totally different experience than what I had seen in the two previous drama’s (The Elephant Man and Metamorphosis).

Instead of seeing it on opening night (or the day after) to an audience of academics, business “folk” and retirees, most of the viewers were either parents or children which made for some interesting moments every time one of the actors loudly dropped the F-bomb (which frequently occurred throughout the drama).

Aside from the shell shocked faces of parents (not to mention the roaring laughter from the kids), the drama only consisted of two actors portraying multiple characters throughout the story, which took place on Ireland.

The two main characters of Stones In His Pocket are extra’s, and the drama follows the glories (or rather the lack thereof) of being an extra in a movie where everyone treated them like filth.

I’m not going to reveal why they titled the play “Stones In His Pocket” (as you only find out during the last 10 minutes), but overall the acting was phenomenal, especially when the male actors had to take on the role of female characters (which made all the kids in the audience laugh hysterically).

While I did enjoy the content of the story, I did not enjoy watching the actors switch roles “on the spot” as it made it slightly confusing as to which character they were portraying–especially during the parts when they were at the bar or on the set (as they had to play multiple parts, sometimes up to 5 or 6 different characters in under five minutes).

With the exception of multi-acting dilemma, the story was inspiring and should be seen by anyone desiring to enter the life of the silver screen.

Disclosure: The Warehouse Theatre provided me with seasonal tickets in exchange for reviewing their drama’s online. For those interested you can purchase season tickets here.

PS: Heh! I found this video (by Warehouse Theatre) to be hilarious! Although I wonder if that was juice he was drinking?

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Yesterday I saw The Elephant Man for the first time at The Warehouse Theatre (note: see disclosure at the bottom) which is based on the semi-tragic life of Joseph Merrick (who is incorrectly called John Merrick thanks in part to his doctor). Joseph (who is frequently called John or “Johnny” throughout the play) suffered from Proteus syndrome and Neurofibromatosis which caused massive deformities on the right side of his body.

Unlike the Metamorphosis skit (which I enjoyed mostly for its humor and technical achievements), The Elephant Man is an emotional drama which strums your heart strings like a guitar as you watch Merrick endure injustice and ridicule throughout the earlier years of his life, then later on experience fame and respect from the British élite during the latter years of his life.

What set The Warehouse Theatre’s portrayal of Merrick from the movie (which I think a few of my friends have seen) was that they did not use any special makeup or prosthetics to portray Merrick which made it harder to view the character as a freak of nature (even though images of him were displayed on a large screen).

Ironically the lack of prosthetics and makeup did help “humanize” Merrick, which helps you see him as he truly is: an intelligent being who was not only curious about the world around him but also a deep thinker (I dare say philosopher as well).

The acting and scenes were top of the class (as expected), although the scene depicting Merrick’s death (or rather before it) was…weird (as those two giggly girls ruined the moment in my honest opinion).

Overall this was another excellent skit by The Warehouse Theatre, although hopefully next time they will allow us to take pictures and short videos (say 15-30 seconds) during the drama (as it’s hard to describe a two hour drama with nothing but text).

Disclosure: The Warehouse Theatre provided free seasonal tickets in exchange to hear my views about the skit (the good, bad and awesome). Aside from that the opinions expressed here are my own, and in my honest opinion The Elephant Man is worth seeing in person.

Image Credit: British Medical Journal

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Last Saturday I was able to view a drama called Metamorphoses at The Warehouse Theatre (note: see disclosure below).

Metamorphoses is basically a retelling of ancient Greek myths (which include tales about Apollo, Aphrodite, Midas, etc.) with one unique distinction: there is a mini “pool” in the middle of the stage!

I was surprised by how well the cast incorporated the pool within their scripts as not all the tales involved rivers, oceans and (of course) pools of affluent kings.

I don’t want to give away how the cast spun the stories (as it’s better to see it in person), but here is a mini synopsis of what I loved (as well as disliked) about Metamorphoses.

Meta-Awesome

The cast of Metamorphoses were nothing short of phenomenal, as they not only executed their lines perfectly but were also able to appropriately project their character’s emotions upon their faces (which in my honest opinion separates the good actors from the great).

I also liked how the whole cast could easily switch between roles (i.e. transitioning from a supporting character in one story to a main one in the next).

Also having the actors disappear within the pool (or make a surprising entrance from the water) was really cool, especially during the stormy sea episode with Poseidon (which you’ll have to see in person to understand how great it was).

The only disadvantage of the Metamorphoses crew using water was the fact that they had to constantly dry off the sides (so the actors wouldn’t slip), but they humorously were able to incorporate side characters which prevented the drama from being interrupted.

Meta-Bad?

Most of the stuff I didn’t like about attending is trivial (yet understandable), but for a geek like me it was a bit of a let down.

We were not allowed to take videos or photos of the drama (so alas no instagraming it), and out cell phones had to be off during the Greek drama (which meant no tweeting or Google plusing by the minute updates about what was happening).

The only part of the drama that I disliked with a passion was the Father-daughter story, although that had more to do with the content of the story itself and not the acting (which was flawless throughout the event).

Meta-Hilarious

While some of the stories were sad, a few were hilarious (especially the Apollo drama which is traditionally a sad story but Metamorphoses had you cracking up laughing when Apollo made his debut).

Intermission was also hilarious (stay and watch it, as you won’t be disappointed) and the random Pandora transition scene was awesome too!

And I can not fail to mention the drunk guy in the beginning, although I’ll refrain from telling more lest I spoil the surprise.

Is it worth it?

Even if you are not a fan of live skits and dramas, you’ll probably enjoy Metamorphoses due to the pool in the center of the stage (which last I recall has an under water tunnel), and how the actors incorporate it within each story (especially Apollo’s which as you can tell was my favorite performance).

Just avoid the “hungry lady” as she was creepy and freaky! (words to the wise: don’t tick her off)

Disclosure: The Warehouse Theatre provided me season tickets without cost in order to review this drama, as well as upcoming performances.

–Posted from my iPhone

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It looks like I’ll be able to feed off of Fringe in the future, as Fox has green lighted the show for 22 episodes next season!

With the exception of sports, Fringe is the only show that I watch on TV nowadays, especially with the networks over saturating the airwaves with dancing/singing/musical/reality shows (who emphasize eyeballs over original stories or drama).

The ending of this weeks episode was surprising, although honestly I’m getting annoyed about Fringe teasing us about the Watchers (come on Fringe! You’ve put us all in suspense for over 20 episodes!).

Hopefully the writers/producers/directors will provide more insight about the other universe (especially Fauxlivia and Walternate), as I’m getting a little board with Walter, Olivia, Peter and the pet cow.

Okay I think the cow is funny, but how do you keep a cow locked up there all day? And who takes care of the little cow paddies it makes 3 times a day?

Image Credit: Fox

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I am in shock how the show V (which was dying in the ratings department) ended.

I decided to watch the last episode desiring to see how the whole thing would play out.

While the show featured more of the sentient crocodiles breeding with humans scenario (which I hate about the show) it did throw in some awesome surprises.

Most of the characters that I didn’t like (exiled queen Diana, the naive FBI child, the black V who started the whole “breed with humans” thing) ended up with quick exits while everyone else was blissed (think mind control) by the V halfling child.

Unfortunately the show ended with the aliens winning which means humanity is destined to become food (if not devoted slaves) for their new green overlords.

While the show could always come back on air, it’s best to leave the ending as it is.

Why? Because sentient crocodiles and humans just don’t mix!

Note: To my friends and family who loved the show, yes it was a great story but now that it’s off the air, perhaps you’ll begin to appreciate Fringe!
–Posted from my iPhone

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What can be better than a bunch of guys (and some girls) swinging swords at each other without a care in the world?

Okay, a lot of things can be better than that. But it looks as if Hulu.com has added all six seasons of Highlander!

Here is the first episode below (note: for those of you outside the US, you can use Open Hulu to view these shows).

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