Gorilla!

My Metal Crypt interview (which I previously referred to as Metal Krypt for some bizarre reason, probably stupidity) was a lot of fun. And it had sound effects.

Last night I saw the The Oak Tree at the Gorilla Theatre. The Oak Tree is a two-actor play, but the twist is that one of the roles is played by a different actor every performance, and the actor doesn't know anything about the show. So basically it goes like this:

ACTOR #1: Lo, this oak tree I see before me doth resemble Fate.

ACTOR #2: [calling offstage] Line!

STAGEHAND [whispering]: "And Fate doth resemble an oak tree."

ACTOR #2: And Fate doth resemble an oak tree.

ACTOR #1: But doth Fate resemble the branch, or the trunk?

ACTOR #2: Ummmm...[calling offstage] Line!

STAGEHAND: Dammit! "It doth resemble the trunk, mostly."

ACTOR #2: It doth resemble the trunk, mostly.

No, actually the play uses a few different methods, from the rehearsed actor (Steve Mountain, who was very, very good) coming right out and telling the other actor "Say ________," to handing the guest actor script excerpts, to feeding the guest actor lines through a wireless earpiece. It's a very interesting experience. I do have to admit to a personal bias against the whole "What is reality...and what is fantasy?" brand of storytelling, and much of the play is about blurring the levels of reality, but it's done extremely well and there's a lot of fascinating stuff in the show.

It runs through September 21st at the Gorilla Theatre in Tampa. http://www.gorillatheatre.com/