“....the opportunity
to fuck up and
to go off on tangents will still exist from the first show to the
last show. And that’s what’s exciting about it – it’s already a
finished product. It’s an unfinished
finished
product.”
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Spice of
Life
by Erin Anderson
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It’s barely after 11:00 on Saturday
night. I’ve just listened to Emily Carter read a chapter from her
critically acclaimed novel, watched a psychic read palms, gotten a lesson
in dramaturgy, witnessed a gratuitous death scene, enjoyed a performance
by a local band, and participated in a game show. Oh, and I almost peed my
pants laughing. And I didn’t move an inch for the entire hour and 20
minutes. No, I wasn’t flipping channels—I was out on the town, crammed
into the cozy Bryant Lake Bowl Theater with 90-odd people, enjoying the
comic exploits and fast-paced entertainment of the Twin Cities’ brand new,
one and only variety show. Co-founders and co-hosts Colleen Kruse and
David Wesley call it “21”—an underground variety show for the 21st
century. And by “underground” they mean hip. Fresh. Edgy. Not the usual
fare. It’s what might happen if Saturday Night Live got funny
again,
added guests of local significance, and let the audience
participate.
Captive audience
For
Colleen and David, as well as the entire cast of 21, the audience is an
important focal point for the show. Colleen tells me this particular
evening’s audience was a performer’s dream. “I like it when people shout
things out; when they feel free enough to do that,” she says. “They do the
same in comedy standup, which is my performing heritage…but it’s not
usually in a helpful way. Here, it’s fun.”
Colleen,
of course, is no stranger to the stage and to comedy performance. A Twin
Cities comedian who has performed locally and nationally for the last ten
years, she has lent her talent to National Public Radio, co-starred in an
hour-long Comedy Central special, appeared on MTV, and written a short
film (Screwdrivers). In addition, she was named Twin Cities’ Best Comedian
by City Pages in 1999 and was voted Favorite Comedian in a Minnesota
Women’s Press readers’ poll.
If Colleen brings
instant recognizability and effervescent stage presence to the 21 table,
her co-pilot adds smooth, slightly disinterested straight-man comedy
appeal. A technology-savvy webmaster as well as a veteran
musician/recording artist and producer, David is the founder of
sursumcorda.com, the first entirely web-based art website. The site
features live audio and video webcasts, as well as information on artists
from virtually every available medium. It also brought David and Colleen
together for the first time. “We actually met on one of the [radio]
shows,” says David. The rest was eventually up to
Colleen.
“Bryant Lake Bowl had asked me if I wanted
to do a show,” she explains. “I wanted to do it with a co-host, and I
talked to Dave, who would be the guy you would immediately want to do
something with. He had a vision, I had a vision, and it just worked out
perfectly.”
Dynamic duo
Together, the pair have
an easy chemistry that sets the tone for the entire evening. They’re like
Fred & Ginger; Ricky & Lucy, Bert & Ernie…okay, maybe not. But
they’re just as lovable. According to writer and cast member Joe Barry,
“Audiences seem to really like Colleen and Dave. It makes such an enormous
difference, because you get a head start to do all the stuff you want to
do when you don’t have to win the crowd over. Because audiences can get
turned off. They’ll stop responding. And I’ve seen it happen to good
shows.”
Luckily, 21 stands out—even among quality
shows—for a few important reasons. David claims every show—whether it’s
the first or the third of the run—keeps the cast on its toes. Having
previously attended an hour-long rehearsal for the show I just saw, I can
attest to the risk factor inherent in the show’s construction. There’s a
necessary loose organization to the format that gives it cohesiveness and
fluidity without impeding creative improvisation. Even though I was able
to anticipate many of the jokes I had learned at the rehearsal, the path
to the punchlines often twisted and turned, leaving wide open spaces for
spontaneity. “It’s always a surprise to see how it comes together,” David
says. “It’s great.”
“We do have an outline,” Colleen
acknowledges, “and we have to be willing to go with it, because you don’t
know if you’re going to lose the thread and maybe have to pick it up
somewhere again down the line. You might want to go off on an interesting
tangent, and you don’t want to put yourself into too much of a box.”
Fortunately, 21’s performers trust each other’s instincts, and are adept
at playing several angles to their characters and situations, taking into
consideration the mood of the audience, the personality of the guests,
and, of course, the call of the muse.
And now for
something
completely different…
Perhaps the most intriguing
ingenuity of the show is the willingness of its players to be self-aware;
even self-deprecating. It makes the audience feel they’re being let in on
a big secret, and breathes life into the show. Part of the secrecy
involves the mysterious 21 Corporation, which supposedly runs the entire
operation by sending corporate trainers and dramaturgs to help the cast
with their skills.
Colleen leans in to talk about
Big Brother: “They hired us to do this show,” she whispers. “They’ve done
the developing, and we’re the underground upstarts that dick with the
system and their notions of how a variety show should be and how and
interview should be and what kind of music is put forth. It gives us
something to rebel against. We don’t want to rebel against the audience;
we want to entertain the audience.” What they don’t want to tell you is
whether or not the corporation is real. What’s apparent, however, is that
the deus ex machina scheme adds a unique dimension to the performance that
allows for even more creative departures from standard stage
entertainment.
Colleen leans back in her chair and
smiles. “It really is something different every time,” she says.
The price of spontaneity, of course, is the element
of danger, and this is the factor that excites the cast of 21 maybe more
than anything else.
“The show is in its element
when it has glitches and flub-ups,” says Colleen. “It’s fully realized.
The machine will get a little tighter, but the format’s the same…the
opportunity to fuck up and to go off on tangents will still exist from the
first show to the last show. And that’s what’s exciting about it—it’s
already a finished product. It’s an unfinished finished product.”
“If it’s too polished, it’s not as fun,” David
agrees.
“It’d be like planning sex,” Colleen
finishes.
No business like show business
21 has
the unique advantage of being the only variety show in the area. And with
a balanced diet of music, spoken word, and mystery guests from the
community, it boasts a hefty triple threat.
“[The
show’s only] an hour and 20 minutes,” says Colleen. “But you get a
band…you get comedy…you get everything. I would have never seen Emily
[Carter] otherwise…I might have read her book, but I don’t go to poetry
readings or anything like that. I have kids, you know! It’s hard to
economize on my entertainment dollar. And the show moves
fast.”
21 sets a quick pace of
interview-music-sketch-repeat until the last few minutes of the
performance, at which point the audience participation portion of the show
commences. Writer/actor Mike Suade schmoozes his way into the audience’s
hearts with Vegas lounge singer antics and dark
glasses.
“I just want to thank the 21 Corporation
for giving me the opportunity to make one of my dreams come true. I’ll be
hosting the game show…” he announces.
Offstage, Mike
explains some of the logic behind including this segment of the show. “It
lets the audience off,” he says. “It’s like, ‘Go play; you’re free
now.’”
“And then they get a prize,” Colleen points
out. “It’s always exciting to get a prize.”
“A
fabulous prize. That’s where it’s at, man,” Mike
agrees.
Today, the Twin Cities…tomorrow, the
world.
21 isn’t just about capitalizing on a deficit of
comparable local entertainment. What’s happened so far is only the
beginning. For its initial runs, the show has operated on a monthly
rotation, with guests and “episodes” running for a couple of weeks
consecutively. But plans for expansion and relocation are currently in the
works. After March, the show will move from the Bryant Lake Bowl Theater
to its permanent home. The Sursumcorda store, cyber coffee lounge,
restaurant, bar, gallery, and performance space will open in Minneapolis
at 319 N. 1st Ave. on April 2, 2001. Once the migration is complete, the
rules will change a bit. Starting April 21, the show will be brand new
each week, with different guests, music and sketches. Live webcasts will
ultimately be streamed, with an eventual “best of” collection available
for sale. The possibilities, it seems, are pretty much endless. Oddly
enough, that’s what worries some of the cast.
“I get
nervous about the fact that the show has so much potential,” Joe admits.
“I’ve done other shows where I knew there would be a beginning, a middle
and an end. Those are easy in the sense that you see closure…This is a lot
different, so I worry more about it…in a good way.
“I keep being just really amazed by the rapport that we have with these
audiences,” he continues, “and I’m wondering where these people are coming
from. I’ve done other shows with casts of 12 people, and they didn’t get
audiences this large or this strong. I’m just stunned by the shit we get
away with.”
Whether the audience appreciation has
more to do with a hunger for this brand of comedy or 21’s stellar group
dynamic, it’s not hard to imagine that this show will be around for a very
long time. Variety is, after all, the spice of life. That’s pretty
powerful stuff.
Joe agrees. “I’m convinced that this
is going to turn into world domination,” he says. “I think you have to
have that as a goal.”
Catch 21, live at the Bryant Lake Bowl
Theater, Saturday, Feb. 17th and March 10th and 17th 9:30 p.m. Tickets are
$10. Call to make reservations, and get there early! Seating is very
limited. 612-825-8949. Check out the website at
www.sursumcorda.com/21 |
