NO SECOND ACTS Interview: James Comtois (“Moving Forward,” Bill B)

My one-act play provides a definitive American experience by reminding you why sometimes, it doesn't pay to show up to the polls early.

I am proud to be an American because none of yer goddamned business, that's why. Now get the hell offa my lawn. FREEDOM!

For me the defining moment in American history is this upcoming Democracy festival. No, wait. That's not history. That's the future. I keep getting those mixed up.

True or False: Theater will save America. That's insane. False. I always thought that theatre is to America as what Woodrow Wilson was to Henry Cabot Lodge. Are they laughing?  Did it get a laugh?  I can't hear the Internet from here. I heard that historic US political rivalry jokes play like gangbusters here.

The Next Steps for DEMOCRACY

American Democracy has been called a “great experiment,” and the Democracy project at The Brick was created with that idea in mind. This means that, as with all experiments, the conclusion was not foretold – it was a leap into the unknown that has, in the end, landed us in an unexpected but promising place.

We’re very excited about the applications we’ve received, and, based on the number of shows that registered, it will be possible for us to accommodate all of them without asking the public to vote for which ones we feature. As such, we’re canceling the scheduled Primary Election event on Tuesday, April 3, at which time we will announce the General Election Candidates (i.e., shows) en masse and share the campaign videos that they created for your entertainment.

After this, the rest of Democracy will proceed as planned. In June, the shows will go on to compete for the title of President of The Brick. There will be much grandstanding and high drama and cunning oratory on display – both in and out of the plays. We’re sure that democracy will be even more fun in the theater than it is on the news shows and in the voting booths that clutter up this great nation of ours, from sea to shining sea. We hope you’ll join us.

[Insert name of deity or higher power] Bless America,

The Brick

DEMOCRACY FAQs

The Brick recently simplified the process and extended the deadline to apply for its upcoming DEMOCRACY performance festival in June. In order to prevent confusion, we’ve put together this FAQ in three categories: GENERAL, FOR CANDIDATES (aka ARTISTS) and for VOTERS (aka AUDIENCES). If you have any more questions, write democracy@bricktheater.com.

GENERAL

Q: So seriously – the shows in this year’s summer festival are going to be decided by popular vote?
A: Yes. For the most part.

Q: What does that mean?
A: The 12 shows that receive the most votes will each be guaranteed a slot of four performances during June.

Q: And what about the shows that don’t get voted in?
A: Well, they’ll have to take their lumps – the people have spoken. Look at it this way: It’s no more arbitrary than a more traditional taste-based artistic curation process.

Q: So no exceptions?
A: Well, The Brick is a powerful lobby – it might be able to pull some strings in order to feature a small number of additional worthy shows.

Q: Isn’t that corrupt?
A: Did the Supreme Court basically elect George W. Bush president – despite losing the popular vote – by making a politically-motivated end run around the Constitution?

Q: Just because corruption exists doesn’t mean it’s an excuse for other people to be corrupt.
A: No, but a massive history-changing judicial decision isn’t equivalent to the programming decisions of a 50-seat theater space in Brooklyn.

Q: If you’re willing to be critical of the U.S. government, don’t you think you should hold yourself to a higher standard of responsibility?
A: We’ll try to remember that the next time we deposit a $500,000 grant check from the NEA. (Or from anyone, for that matter.) Until then, we’re comfortable bending our own rules for the greater good.

FOR CANDIDATES (aka ARTISTS)

Q: So me and/or my company wants to “run for office” on behalf of our show. All we need to do is fill in a registration form and create a short video “campaign ad?”
A: That’s right.

Q: When you first announced this project, you included a form to collect 50 signatures and a live “candidate debate” was scheduled. What happened?
A: Well, the people spoke. We received feedback that the original system was too complicated, so we streamlined it.

Q: Uh, thanks. I guess. So the form is pretty self-explanatory, but what about this video: What should be in it?
A: It’s an opportunity to sell your show to the public. So it can be anything that would be acceptable to post on YouTube (i.e., no full-frontal). You can earnestly explain your show, you can directly beg for votes, you can run a smear campaign against the other shows, you can indict Broadway for war crimes – it’s up to you. Just make it short, and make it appealing.

Q: How should I get you the video?
A: You should send the raw video file to democracy@bricktheater.com via YouSendIt or a similar service, at the same time you send your registration form. We’ll process it and upload it to our YouTube page, so the public will see all of the videos together.

Q: What if I can’t make a video?
A: If neither you nor any of your friends have a smartphone or a Flipcam or whatever the kids are using these days, you can come to The Brick on the evening of Wednesday, March 14, and The Brick will help you. Write to democracy@bricktheater.com to make an appointment.

Q: When do I need to get all of this done by?
A: By 11:59pm on Friday, March 30. The “primary election” will be held one week later, on Tuesday, April 3 – plenty of time for you to get out the vote among your friends and family on behalf of your show.

Q: And what do I get if I’m “voted in” to the festival?
A: You will get no fewer than four performances of your show, a tech rehearsal, 50% of all the show’s box office proceeds, free publicity/press representation and a chance to run against the other shows for the office of President of The Brick.

Q: So what does it mean to run for President of The Brick?
A: All of the shows in the festival will be competing for this title throughout the month of June, culminating in a vote at the beginning of July in which the show with the most votes will be declared the victor. The run of your show and the publicity surrounding it will be your “campaign,” and you can use every trick in the book (dirty or otherwise) to get out the vote on behalf of your show – attack videos, stumping outside of the theater between shows, campaign buttons – whatever crazy stuff you can think of.

Q: What are the perks of being President of The Brick?
A: The President of The Brick is sworn in for a two-week term of office during the month of January 2013, coinciding with the inauguration of the winner of this year’s U.S. presidential election. The President will have full jurisdiction over The Brick’s programming for that period, to mount whatever show or shows the producing company wishes (within the reasonable strictures of The Brick’s by-laws).

Q: Okay, that’s pretty cool. I have a Wagnerian multimedia reimagining of the iconic first season of Clarissa Explains It All that I’ve always wanted to put up.
A: Sounds great.

Q: So how exactly does the voting work? Both to get into the festival and to be elected president?
A: Let’s open a new section for that.

FOR VOTERS (aka AUDIENCES)

Q: I’m interested in voting in the “primary election” to decide what shows get selected for the Democracy festival in June. How can I do that?
A: Visit bricktheater.com on Tuesday, April 3 and click on the link to the voting site. (You can also get there by following us on Facebook or Twitter.) Polls will be open from 7am to 8pm. You’ll be asked to vote for one show that you’d like to see in the festival – choose wisely.

Q: How can I be sure that the voting will be fair?
A: We’ll be using surveymonkey.com as our voting software – it records whenever a particular IP address has voted, and prevents it from being used to vote a second time.

Q: But what if I have two computers in my home? Does that mean I can vote twice?
A: Shush.

Q: Um… okay. And what about the voting for President of The Brick in June? Will that be online too?
A: No. Primary voting calls out all the yahoos and weirdos (no offense), so it makes sense to do it online. For the far more important and respectable presidential election, we need the most solid, committed stock of voter available. For that reason, voting will be held live at The Brick itself, all day on Sunday, July 1.

Q: So I need to show up in person on that day if I want to cast my ballot?
A: Yes. And to show you how seriously we’re taking this civic duty, the ballot box will be onstage.

Q: So everyone can watch me vote? That’s awful.
A: There will be a privacy curtain.

Q: That still feels creepy.
A: That’s your opinion.

Q: Okay, Democracy is weird.
A: Do you mean in terms of the actual U.S. government, or The Brick’s project that we’re discussing?

Q: Well, I dunno. Both, I guess.
A: Well, that’s satire for you.

Q: That’s what you’re calling it? Satire?
A: Maybe.

Q: Well, I at least hope it’s entertaining.
A: Oh, don’t worry – so do we.

Introducing The Brick's Next Summer Festival...

In recent history, the integrity of our election process, the functionality of the U.S. government and the basis of the American Dream have been frequently questioned. Can the Supreme Court elect The President? Can the Executive Branch commence a war without Congressional approval? Can the Congress filibuster Federal agencies out of existence? If corporations are people and money is speech, is power for sale and can my Super PAC buy it? Can my bank foreclose on it and bet on its future? Can the 1% loan it to the 99% at 100% interest?

The elite protects power the way The Brick chooses artists: selfishly and privately, with the outward illusion of fairness and the inside politics of appeasement.

But not any more.

This year, The Brick will return the country to its foundational roots with a social experiment entirely free from oppression, cronyism, and the influence of money.

We, the producers, of The Brick Theater, Inc.,

present

A summer theater election of the people, by the people, for the people.

Vote early and often.

_______________________________________________________

HOW IT WORKS

In an election year, it is important for all U.S. citizens to do their patriotic duty. For that reason, The Brick is extending its annual Summer Theme Festival Series with DEMOCRACY, an experiment in civic curation that asks audiences to vote for the shows that will participate in our traditional June festival. From there, they will compete with each other during a runoff election cycle in June to determine who will win the title of President of The Brick.

Interested candidates must fill out a Campaign Registration Form at bricktheater.com in order to be eligible for the Primary Election, which will be held on Tuesday, March 20. Candidates are also required to create a campaign ad (to be hosted on The Brick's YouTube page) and send a representative to The Brick for a live Primary Debate on Sunday, March 18, where they will be allowed to plead their case before the public. Primary voting will take place online and be open to everyone on the Internet. The 12 shows with the most votes will be invited to take part in the General Election in June, where they will compete with each other to be elected President of The Brick, for a term beginning in January 2013.

Over the course of June, the candidates involved in the General Election will each have no fewer than four Public Appearances (i.e., performances) at which to bring their case directly to the voters, along with multiple other events and online campaigns that leverage social media, endorsements from prominent political and artistic figures, etc. The General Election cycle will conclude on Sunday, July 1, with live voting that will take place exclusively in-person at The Brick, at the end of which the winner will be announced prior to a gala celebration.

While the open election process forbids us from declining candidates based on race, creed, sexual orientation, subject matter, etc., we do encourage candidates whose Public Appearances will be most concerned with the themes of Democracy - its history, its process, our great country's past, present and future, and all related subject matter and ideas pertaining to the word itself and the concept of popular government.

Interested candidates must provide the following materials to democracy@bricktheater.com by Friday, March 16:

• A Campaign Registration Form filled out to the satisfaction of the Brick Election Committee
• A Campaign Ad of no less than 30 seconds and no more than one minute in length, which will be housed at The Brick's YouTube page
• A scanned and emailed Campaign Petition of no fewer than 50 signatures to ensure the popular support of the Candidate
• Confirmation that a representative of the Candidate will be appearing at the Primary Debate on Sunday, March 18 (remote appearances via Skype will be acceptable for out-of-town Candidates)

For more information, visit bricktheater.com or write to democracy@bricktheater.com.

We appreciate your eagerness to submit to the Democratic Process that has made this Country so Great.*

__________________________________________________________

* Paid for by Citizens Win of The Brick Theater, Inc. www.citizenswin.com Not authorized by The Brick Theater, Inc. or The Brick Theater, Inc.'s committee. Citizens Win of The Brick Theater, Inc. will only be possible with contributions and involvement with citizens who believe The Brick Theater, Inc. and its ideas and solutions make sense for the country. We need patriots to participate in these efforts to propel The Brick Theater, Inc. to the future where it can effectively contrast our vision for America with that of the developing theater world. We hope you will join us at this important and crucial time in our history by making a gift and by being involved. Citizens Win of The Brick Theater, Inc. is an independent expenditure-only committee. Citizens Win of The Brick Theater, Inc. may accept unlimited contributions from individuals and corporations.

Aaron Baker

Aaron Baker was our Clint Eastwood. He rode into town one day from out of nowhere and with his signature cocked-double-eyebrow expression, said nothing.

Nobody knew who he was. Tall, stocky, bald, chain smoker. Looking like he was ready to deliver a message from your bookie. Then, mysteriously, and again almost without a word, he volunteered to help you strike your set, build your complicated website, edit your feature film, perform the supporting part in your play, copyedit your promotional literature, buy a seat to every show you ever perform, orchestrate your multi-platform interactive cell phone environmental theater experience from a remote location, and cook you a gourmet dinner.

When he did speak, it was short and to the point. A few syllables in that trademarked smoky, understated, throaty bass voice of his. It was so spare you often worried you weren’t getting the whole picture. Why doesn’t he say anything? Is he angry? Depressed? Lulling me into a false sense of security until he has the opportunity to kill me? He can’t truly be the open-hearted artist trapped inside the exterior of a fierce gun-for-hire, traveling from town to town, dispensing gratuitous kindness wherever he roamed that he appeared to be, can he?

He could. And much more. He was an illustrator. And a musician. And a graphic designer. And a software engineer. And a grammar Nazi. And a television producer. And a writer. And a filmmaker. And a clown. And an actor. And a director. And a photographer. And a fanatic. And a nerd. And a fiancé. And a friend.

He was a jack of all trades and master of all.

He was a master ninja of life.

He was the man with no name.

To many among us, he was known simply as Walkup, Walkup.

Brick staff members will recognize that nom de plume from the theater’s ticketing system, which requires a first and last name to enter a sale into the computer. If a theatergoer refuses, or if the box office staffer forgets, the system records Walkup, Walkup as the patron’s name. Aaron was always Walkup Walkup. He absolutely insisted. Everyone knew his name. And everyone knew when he was in attendance. But no one could prove it.

Well Aaron, my friend? I have bad news for you. I can prove it. Today a packed house of your friends and loved ones bears irrefutable witness that you were here. Today, this jury of your peers will take in a wealth of video, still photography and testimonial evidence that will go to prove, beyond all reasonable doubt, that Aaron Baker was here. Future accountants and Ticketing Managers of The Brick will pour over the hundreds of performances we host for years to come and from years past and see listed on the presale register of nearly every show, that eternal smoking gun: Walkup, Walkup. You were here, Aaron Baker. And you will always be here. Ninja, cowboy, spaceman, chupacabra, brick. Ride on, Aaron. Ride on.

PRETTY LITTLE DEAD THING

One of the first productions I did at The Brick, back in 2004, was a performance of The Pragmatists, an obscure early play by the equally obscure 20th-century Polish playwright Stanislaw Ignacy Witkiewicz, aka Witkacy. A theorist in addition to a creator, his concept of Pure Form posited a method of creating theatrical art using formal elements (color, sound, movement, etc.) as the primary structures of the play and then letting the narrative fall into place where it will, as nearly an afterthought. A catchphrase he used to encapsulate this theory was "Unity in Plurality."

My company, Piper McKenzie, has gone on to do many productions at The Brick, and my producing-and-marriage partner Hope Cartelli and I have both ended up becoming associate directors of the space. I would say that the phrase Unity in Plurality has been a kind of unspoken motto throughout all of this - both within our individual works and over the course of our (ahem) oeuvre as a whole. However, little that we've done has embodied the idea quite so fully as the project that we're premiering at The Brick this weekend: Piper McKenzie's Dainty Cadaver.

The idea behind the Dainty Cadaver is that of an exquisite corpse: one writer writes a scene; a second writer reads it and writes her own; a third reads the second scene - but not the first - and writes his own - and so on. It's a game we've attempted before, and it played a small role in The Brick's prehistory (see this origin story), but this time we're trying it on a much bigger scale: 18 writers creating three plays, which have been staged by three directors over the course of three nights, featuring more than two dozen performers.

The directors more than have their work cut out for them trying to reign this raging river of constantly shifting narrative into a single stream - creating Unity in Plurality, natch - but what I've seen from rehearsals (full disclosure: I have a cameo in Team B's piece so I've been following that process pretty closely) has made me even more excited about what I've seen than I was reading the plays on paper - and I was VERY excited about that. Watching these awesome writers - some of whom are familiar faces to Brick audience, others of whom are relatively new - figure out how to use their own voice and abilities while building upon each other's work has been really exciting, and I'm fascinated to see what audiences think about this grand experiment. Will these plays be believable as sustained narratives, or will they be totally balls-out chunks of random weirdness? Or somewhere in between?

In the meantime, the writers have all been participating in a series of Mad-Libs-style blog interview profiles doodads on PMcK's blog The Piperline. They'll give you an glimpse into the personalities that have led these individuals into the bastard art of playwriting - as opposed to something respectable, like locksmithery or being a soldier of fortune - as well as a hint of what kind of mayhem to expect on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Check it out!

• Johnna Adams
• Danny Bowes
  
• James Comtois
  
• John DeVore
• Cara Francis
  
• Matt Freeman
• Justin Maxwell
• August Schulenburg
  
• Crystal Skillman
• Alexis Sottile
  
• Art Wallace

And there are clearly more to come over the next few days! Also, Aaron Riccio wrote about the piece today, using it as an opportunity to use the phrase "the esteemed and always-up-for-an-experiment Brick Theater," which is certainly a nice thing. Buy your tickets for all three today! Unity in Plurality! WOOOOOO!!!

THE BRICK PRESENTS ITS 2011 SEASON

In 2010, Time Out New York celebrated The Brick as Essential New York! "For the nerds, outcasts and mad experimenters of theater. That includes both creators and spectators." From January to July of 2011, The Brick is making good on this claim by presenting a series of productions and festivals that display the range and boldness of its many artists - whether they be returning favorites or brand new faces!

PIPER McKENZIE'S DAINTY CADAVER will run January 28-30. This show is an Exquisite Corpse-style playmaking project in which multiple playwrights collaborate on a single work without knowing what the hell the others are doing. Each writer reads the previous scene, writes a new scene, and passes it on to the next writer - who doesn't see any of what came earlier. Beautiful madness ensues.

For its inaugural edition, Piper McKenzie will present one-night-only performances of three new plays written in this unique collaborative style, with results ranging from inspired chaos to eerie synchronicity - all tied together by the unique voices of 18 hot playwrights, including:

Johnna Adams (The Angel Eaters Trilogy), Eric Bland (Emancipatory Politics: A Romantic Tragedy), Danny Bowes (Q&A), Maggie Cino (Ascending Bodily), James Comtois (The Little One), John DeVore (Tupperware Orgy), Cara Francis (The Soup Show), Matt Freeman (Brandywine Distillery Fire), Justin Maxwell (Your Lithopedion), Jeff Lewonczyk (Theater of the Arcade), Rich Lovejoy (A Brief History of Murder), Qui Nguyen (Alice in Slasherland), Carolyn Raship (Antarctica), Mac Rogers (Viral), August Schulenburg (The Lesser Seductions of History), Crystal Skillman (The Vigil or the Guided Cradle), Alexis Sottile (Small Dinner) and Art Wallace (The Plowman's Lunch)

Find out more at http://www.pipermckenzie.com/daintycadaver

The Machine presents THE SISTER February 16-26. Some are allowed names. Some, only roles. In Colleen's family, she is The Sister. The role of The Sister is clear: Take abuse. Work the machine. And if you're really bad? You might have to wear the dog collar.

The Sister marks the first collaboration between emerging playwright Eric John Meyer (Not Winehouse) The Truck Project's 2010 Artist in Transit) and director Jess Chayes of The Assembly (Horse Trade Resident Theater Company 2009-2010; Clementine and the Cyber Ducks, The Ontological-Hysteric Theater). Find out more about them at their websites: www.ericjohnmeyer.com, www.jesschayes.com

THE IRANIAN THEATER FESTIVAL will be presented March 3-26. Iran stands at the crossroad of some of the oldest civilizations in history. As heir to Persian, Assyrian, Sumetic, Arab and other cultures, Iranian theater and performance from ancient times through today has been a vibrant hybrid. Yet Iranian theater is underrepresented on American stages.

The Brick proposes to expand the boundaries of this cultural moment, and collaborate with Iranian theater artists in the U.S. and abroad, by hosting and producing The Iranian Theater Festival.

The festival will include new works, in Farsi and English, from legendary Iranian exile and Helman-Hammet Grant Award-winner Assurbanipal Babilla, a celebration of Reza Abdoh, Two Stories That End in Suicide by Piehole (inspired by Sadegh Hedayet's The Blind Owl), A preview excerpt from Brendan Regimbal & Samara Naeymi's Aviary, Leila Ghaznavi's Silken Veils, newly-commissioned contemporary works from Iranian-based playwrights and participants of the Fadjr International Theatre Festival and a special celebration of the traditional Iranian New Year's holiday, Nowruz. Visit www.bricktheater.com/iraniantheaterfestival for more.

The Mad Ones present NEW UNTITLED PREMIERE March 31-April 16. The Mad Ones, winners of 3 New York Innovative Theater Awards (including Outstanding Production of a Play) for Samuel & Alasdair: A Personal History of the Robot War, return to the Brick this April with their sophomore effort. Shrouded in mystery, the Mad Ones are busy in their laboratory cooking up another vibrantly detailed retro construction with live music. As Time Out New York says, "rest assured, you are safe in the hands of some confident new theatrical talents."

THE LITTLE CHAOS will run April 21-30. "When I was twelve, I smashed a vase over my father's head and killed him. At sixteen, I was the leader of a gang. One day we killed a guy who was sitting on a bench with a girl. We pissed down on him from a hill. He came up and gave us a dressing down. So we went for him, and he just keeled over. You know, with brass knuckles. And then he was dead. Just kicked the bucket."

A trio of outsiders that refuses to join a syndicate gets involved in a series of murders -- at first out of a need for protection; then to cover its tracks and finally for money.

Based on Rainer Werner Fassbinder's 1969 film Love is Colder than Death, Chaos is the story of "poor souls who didn't know what to do with themselves, who were simply set down, as they are, and who weren't given a chance" (as Fassbinder himself put it.) Inspired by spaghetti westerns and Hollywood gangster films (in the vein of Raoul Wash), the show depicts a Munich of chain-smokers, fat prostitutes and troubled youths. Directed by Stiven Luka

Depth Charge presents THE ABORTION PLAY May 12-21.
A fable celebrating bourgeois individualism, nihilism, and equality in which Hour Heroine narrowly avoids disaster and fulfills her social destiny as a petite-bourgeois thanks to the greatest weapon in the long struggle for a free and equal world: abortion.

From the creators of Butterfly, Butterfly, Kill Kill Kill! comes the newest work of Depth Charge.

THE BRICK'S ANNUAL SUMMER THEME FESTIVAL will take place June 2 - 25, 2011. This year's theme is THE COMIC BOOK THEATER FESTIVAL. The influence of comics on our culture continues to grow. From the pop fantasias of Hollywood blockbusters to the rawness and refinement of intimate memoirs - and everything in between - it's impossible to deny the wide appeal of comics' words and images. The theater, of course, is no less immune to its spell. Next summer, The Brick will invite one of history's newest art forms to meet one of its oldest - and, through collaborations between visual and dramatic artists, the form and content of comics will collide with the content and form of theater to create strange new hybrids across both mediums.

Visit www.bricktheater.com/comics for more. Applications now online!

GAME PLAY 2011: A Celebration of Video Game Performance Art will be presented July 7-31.

Now in its 3rd year, the video game performance festival continues in what Seth Schiesel of The New York Times called "the most ambitious effort I know of to fuse the techniques and live presentation of theater with the themes, structures and technology of interactive electronic entertainment." See the mediums of stage and game collide in the most unexpected and surprising ways. Applications now online!

All shows will take place at The Brick (575 Metropolitan Avenue between Union and Lorimer, Brooklyn). Tickets may be purchased online at www.bricktheater.com or by calling 212-352-3101.