PRESS

Feb 18-23rd, 2009. Russ Bickerstaff writes two blogposts about BERZERK!!!

Feb 17th, 2009. Damien Jaques mentions the existance of BERZERK!!!

Dec 30th, 2008. Paint the Town reviewed on the road.

July 22nd, 2008. Jaymee Sherman reviews Systems for Vital Source.

July 17th, 2008. Burt Wardall reviews Paint the Town for Vital Source.

July 15th, 2008. Russ Bickerstaff reviews Paint the Town for The Shepherd.

July 4th, 2008. Russ Bickerstaff blogs about Systems.

July 5th, 2008. Russ Bickerstaff interviews Rex Winsome.

July, 2008. Artsy Schmartzy previews Paint the Town.

June, 2008. Russ Bickerstaff previews Paint the Town.

June 18th, 2008. Artsy Schmartzy starts a debate!

May 20th, 2008. Unofficial PIAD 3 Review.

May 14th, 2008. Russ Bickerstaff reviews Play in a Day 3.

April 25, 2008. Russ Bickerstaff reviews Cracks in the Floor and 31.

April 24, 2008. MKE Magazine asks us to pitch our show.

April 16, 2008. Russ Bickertaff previews Cracks in the Floor and 31.

April 15, 2008. Russ Bickertaff interviews Wes Tank for Cracks in the Floor.

March 28, 2008. Bus Rickertaff runs into us, on the bus no less!

March, 2008. Jonathan West adapts Berzerk!!! script into short film.

March 27, 2008. Jonathan West interviews us for his Big Mouth Artsy Schmartsy Podcast.

March 2008. Russ Bickerstaff pre-views Ides of March Dance off on his blog.

March 2008. Rex Winsome quoted on Artsy Schmartzy

Jan 29 2008. Artsy Schmartzy muses about 8 1/2 x 11.

Jan 2008. Russ Bickerstaff discusses 8 1/2 x 11, on his Shepherd Express blog.

Jan 2008. Vital Source Online publishes this review of Berzerk!!!

Jan 10 2008. The Onion AV Club recommends Berzerk!!!

Jan 2008. Artsy Schmartzy participates in Berzerk!!!

Jan 10 2008. Russ Bickerstaff previews Berzerk!!! in the Shepherd Express.

Dec 13 2007. Russ Bickerstaff mentions Insurgent as a solution to stagnant local theatre.

Dec 6 2007. Russ Bickerstaff writes for 8 1/2 x 11.

Oct 18, 2007. MKE Magazine includes us in their cover article on Milwaukee Arts Collectives.

Oct, 2007. Artsy Schmartzy upstages us.

Sept 22nd, 2007. Rex Winsome rants against Shakespeare on the nightly news.

Aug 8, 2007. Artzy Schmartzy meets Lucky and Pozzo.

July 22, 2007. Vital Source Online reviews Play in a Day.

July 5, 2007. The Shepherd Express publishes a review of Made in the Mouth.

July 2007. Shepherd Express previews Made in the Mouth.

June 2007. MKE previews Made in the Mouth.

January 2007. Vital Source Online reviews Golden Apollo.

December, 2006. Vital Source Online reviews Gorilla Theatre: Berzerk.

October 14, 2006. Someone talks about Lucky and Pozzo in their blog.

September 23, 2006. VLAD!! Watch the slideshow, he's there!

August 24, 2006. Jonathan West (Bialystock and Bloom) tells MKE magazine that we want to take over the world.

June, 2006. OnMilwaukee says you should know us.

May 18, 2006. Mke Magazine publishes a profile of Ben and Tracy, regarding our efforts with INSURGENT THEATRE.

May 11, 2006. The Shepherd Express publishes a review of The Plight of the Ruling Class.

May 1, 2006. Vital Source Online publishes a review of The Plight of the Ruling Class.

April 27, 2006. The Shepherd Express publishes a preview of The Plight of the Ruling Class.

July 25, 2005. OnMilwaukee.com publishes an article about The Astor Theatre that includes an interview about None of These is Nothing.

January 2005. Riverwest Currents publishes a preview of Bring the War Home.

January 2005. The Shepherd Express publishes an interview about Bring the War Home.

January 19, 2005. OnMilwaukee.com publishes a piece on Bring the War Home.

September 1 2003. The Vital Source publishes a review of ReVerb.

May 14th, Russ Bickerstaff blogged about Systems.

Trying to Explain Next Weekend While Things Explode

It was thee evening of July 3rd and there we were in the most remarkably upscale fireworks gathering I’d ever been a part of. The condo overlooked the lake. Everyone there was wearing tuxedos and evening gowns. Everyone was drinking expensive wine out of martini glasses. There were cigarettes on holders. Even the mosquitoes were wearing bowties and offering refreshments. The delicate chatter of a cocktail party atmosphere was only occasionally broken by the occasional boom of fireworks in the distance. (I’m exaggerating only in the way things were . . . not the way they felt.)

And there I was talking to a guy from Chicago about the Milwaukee theatre scene. I’d mentioned that there really IS a lot going on in local theatre. Next week alone there are five shows opening in the greater Milwaukee area. He seemed suitably impressed by this. My wife told him that one of the shows in question was mine. In the strange atmosphere of distant fireworks and polite mosquitoes, I felt the need to clarify—one of the five shows opening next week is a set of three short pieces that are about a half hour long each. I wrote one of them. John Manno wrote another. Peter Woods wrote the title piece: Systems. The gentleman from Chicago asked me what the play was about. I fidgeted about, glancing over at a mosquito that could only shrug back casually. This is precisely why I don’t bring up the show in casual conversation: It’s difficult to define exactly what the show is about in a way that people can readily identify with. I take a sip and say:

“the whole show is about the fourth wall.”

“oh.”

“but not in the way you might think. It’s experimental, but n a way that’s really accessible.”

“so what’s it about?”

“Well, mine is about a pair of people trying to do a job. I’ve been told that Manno’s piece is about a group of characters who decide to put on a play. Woods’ piece is called Systems and it features a dialogue between two talented actresses (Tracy Doyle and Cynthia Kmak) about . . . uhh . . . being onstage, in a way. There’s more to it than that, though.”

“oh”

It should be an interesting evening. Not being as in on the other two shows, I can’t speak for them, but mine stars actor/Alchemist Theatre co-founder Kirk Thomsen and Peter Kuyk-White. Never met Kuyk-White, but evidently he’s the drummer for local band The Good Luck Joes and recently graduated with a degree in philosophy from the College of Wooster. (If I'm reading the website correctly, he wrote an independant study paper there entitled: Examining the Mythology of Rock Music: Sincerity, Authenticity, and the Nature of Musical Content) Please Wait Ten Minutes is being directed by a Chicago-based gentleman by the name of Jeff Grygny. A Ph.D. in humanities Grygny has taught at Columbia University. A number of years ago he directed an audience-intensive show in Chicago called The Edwardian Mysteries. My piece Please Wait Ten Minutes is distinctly different, but has some of the same spirit that animated Mysteries.