Fringe 2004 - Top 10 - 10,000 Comic Books
 
If You Held A Gun To My Head (9 of 10)
...or If I Could Only See Ten Fringe Shows...
...what would they be, and why?

10,000 Comic Books
Tim Uren
Brave New Workshop Theatre

Comic book characters brought Tim Uren and I together in the first place, and now they bring us together again.

I have to admit, my younger brother is the comic book afficianado in the family. Though I certainly appreciate all that well-defined musculature in the line drawings, I somehow managed to resist the compulsive urge to submit to the universal pull of Marvel and DC and their ilk.

Two notable exceptions - Spiderman (that theme song, that outfit, that body, *and* he seemed more consumed by angst than the rest of the superhero gang - in 3 words, my ideal boyfriend - and this was I don't want to tell you how many decades before Tobey Maguire, grrr - actually, probably before he was born, ew, moving on...)

Notable exception 2 - The Flaming Carrot, who I was introduced to via two geurilla theatre productions at the Yale Cabaret during my grad school stage management days - a 3-D staging of a comic book so delightfully obtuse and goofy, I took it to heart. I even still have a ratty 10th Anniversary Flaming Carrot T-shirt. My personal favorite - The Dead Dog Jumped Up and Flew Around the Room ("Dead dogs don't die!" "UT!") The second Yalie actor who donned the carrot head, cape and scuba fins, Sean Haberle, was the last in a long line of fellow Yalies - most of them straight, naturally (where are all the gay men in theatre?) - who I nursed a secret (probably not so secret - certainly not now that I've just published it on the internet) crush on.

The 2000 Fringe saw a peculiar adaptation and even more peculiar staging of the Superman legend called, "Will The Real Superman Please Stand Up?" Superman was a bit conflicted, killing Lex Luthor (John Townsend - "A Theatre Critic Killed At Every Performance!" our publicity should have read) in a fit of homoerotic pique, and then carrying on simultaneous (rather abusive) affairs with both Lois Lane and Jimmy Olson. As a favor to my friend the playwright (since I'd done several staged readings of the play during its development), I was cajoled into auditioning and thus was cast as the world's oldest Jimmy Olson. The experience only escalated my respect for actors because acting, it takes over your life, and in a completely different way from writing. It's exhausting. I don't know how they do it, but my hat is permanently off to each and every one of the hardworking actors that cross my path. And hey, I got to kiss a cute guy who wore blue and red tights all summer. I'm not complaining. Tim Uren was Daily Planet editor Perry White.

Fringe 2003, I ran across Tim again as the MC of Look Ma, No Pants.

And now, a show of his own, which it was a delight to chat with him electronically about. Some words from Tim (to be read with tongue firmly in cheek...)

"The show features me and my collection, 35 boxes of about 300 comic books each. It's a little bit about comic book history-- the creators, the stories, the retail industry, and the culture of fans. And it's a little bit about me and my history as a would-be collector, a would-be artist, and a would-be superhero. Plus, every audience member gets to take a free comic book with them when they leave! Or, more to the point, every audience member MUST take a free comic book with them when they leave!

I aspire to be the Johnny Appleseed of comic book collections.

The show began as a response to two conundrums. First, I wanted to create a highly indulgent theater piece that I could produce without the annoying reins of other people's opinions and to then selfishly keep all the profits generated by it. Second, "what am I going to do with all these freakin' comic books?"

From that came two ideas, 10000 Comic Books, for the Fringe Festival, and 300 Comic Books, for Improv a Go-Go. 300 Comic Books is a solo improvisation project. I bring a box of (roughly) 300 comic books on stage, have an audience member select one at random, and then perform a twenty minute set of long-form improvisation based on the comic book they
selected."

My latent comic book gene has been awakened.

Hello again, old friends Spidey and Flaming Carrot.

My brother will be so jealous.

On this day in Fringe history, "People who scheduled this also scheduled" not surprisingly: Look Ma No Pants: The Last One, Improv A Go-Go: Deathmatch, Punk Rock Awesome, In Defense of Sin (My Friends' Best Stories), and Jack & Ben's Tenth Annual Bar Crawl and Moveable Feast. Click on a link in the list and read about why I recommend them all heartily.

For a look a the rest of my evolving New Top Ten (If You Held A Gun To My Head and I could only see ten fringe shows, what would they be and why), click below:

Death Penalty Puppetry
The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind
Metamorphoses
Philosophy: The Music of Ben Folds
The Judas Cradle
On The Beaded Fringe 2: Traveling In Hip Circles
Knock!
Improv A Go-Go: Deathmatch

Plus, 3 Sure Things (shows from artists on my top ten last year that are back again this year)

Plants and Animals
In Defense of Sin (My Friends' Best Stories)
Whoppers, from Kevin Kling

(For more of my writing - plays, past blog entries and more - visit www.matthewaeverett.com)