Half Mask Commedy

Mar 2, ’13 5:13 PM

A few weeks ago we performed a few public shows in half-masks. We had a photographer come, Stefano Borghi, and I just got the photos back. I’m happy to finally have something to share of the wild work I’ve been doing here the past months.

These first to are of me and my friend Anja Završnik in a piece we made called The Box or Identity Card. Rosie was expecting a nice vacation was stopped at the border by a very eager border agent. On the border the consequences are steep and decisions are made in an instant.

The night was full of tragic and funny short plays. A stolen crown, a dead cat, a deranged pizza man. This last photo is of the second piece I made with Cynthia Kneen, The High Wire. The mask work is over now and I’m on a two week vacation, when we all get back together we’ll jump into some of my favorite work from the first year, red nose clown. In the meantime, rest, relaxation, and anticipation!

Comments (3)

Far From The Tree

Aug 1, ’11 1:11 PM

I wasn’t able to see it when it was performed a few weeks ago, but Retta sent me a video of her Puppet Lab performance at St. Ann’s Warehouse in New York. Check it out in the video below.

Retta says of the Puppet Lab workshops, “It was incredible to spend nine months working on the development of an idea, with no pressure and all sorts of feedback and encouragement and amazing mentors.”

Previously she’s studied with Dan Hurlin, one of the artists who sat on the excellent panel I saw last January where he warned against people building puppets and “wiggling them around.”

When I mentioned that to Retta she said, “That’s funny. The other puppet builders we talk to all say “everyone does it their own way—just build a mock up and start playing, learn what it can do, and then adjust it.”

Comments (1)

Chicago or Bust!

Mar 1, ’11 11:11 AM

I’m setting out on a new adventure very soon.

I’ll head east to the second/windy city to audition for a summer actor training program offered by the Steppenwolf Theatre Company.

Chicago, my fatherland

My dad left Chicago the year he turned eighteen. He and his two friends—his best friend Pete and their high school English teacher, Brother Noonan—struck out from the south side of Chicago on a mission. Making church-basement theater along the way, they would travel to Carroll College, a small Catholic school here in Helena. I’m sure glad they did.

When I was just a wee lad our family traveled back Chicago every summer. We only stopped when my sister and I got so annoying that my parents could no longer stand the 24 hours of road time. But, in just a few days I’ll pack into my little red car and head down that long stretch of road again to that great American city.

I’m looking forward to catching up with a few friends, my God-parents, and of course the Chicago Casey’s. I’d like to explore the city and scout out neighborhoods, theaters, apartments, and jobs that seem right . I’m not sure what I’ll find but a recent theater review I read called Chicago “a place of risk, rebuilding and reinvention. A town devoted to change.”

That sounds good to me.

Comments (7)

Savannah Disputation

Nov 5, ’10 2:07 PM

While I’ve been gone my Dad directed the Helena Theater Co.’s fall show at the Myrna Loy. It’s the story of two Catholic sisters and a door knocking “Catholic Missionary.” As in, she’s out to convert Catholics.

I’m pretty bummed I am going to miss it. It’s a very funny script that pokes some fair fun at both sides, Evangelical and Catholic, and as my dad was quoted in the IR:

“I think the audience will see pieces of themselves and characters they know,” Casey added. “People should come to this play if they want to see a thoughtful comedy. It’s funny. It’s bawdy. It’s well drawn.”

When: 7:30 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays, Nov. 4-6 and Nov. 11-13
Where: Myrna Loy Center
Cost: $16
Contact: 443-0287 or myrnaloycenter.com