My new play

We just previewed a new play last night by the same playwright who wrote THE STRANGERER. It's called SPIRITS TO ENFORCE and it features 12 superheroes telemarketing from their submarine headquarters to raise money for a production of The Tempest by Shakespeare.

It is wild, fun, funny and poetic. And the preview went really well.

I'm offering a special deal to Clutchfans for tonight and tomorrow night only:

Buy one, get one free. Considering our tickets are only $15 (CHEAP!), this is a hell of a bargain for a wild night of theatre.

To claim the tickets at the special rate, just show up at the door before show-time and say the code word, which is JAZZ SUCKS.

For info on the play, visit www.catastrophictheatre.com. For tickets for another night, visit that site or call the box office at 713-880-5216.

Hope to see you there.

 

He's name-checked in it, actually.

The names of the heroes are...

Spoiler

The Silhouette, The Bad Map, Fragrance Fellow, The Pleaser, Memory Lass, The Page, Emory Lawson, The Ocean, The Untangler, The Intoxicator, The Tune and The Snow Heavy Branch.

 

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ent/arts/theater/6162126.html

Spirits dares to be inventive
By EVERETT EVANS Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle
Dec. 12, 2008, 6:17PM


With most theaters trending to the safe and cozy for the holiday season, leave it to Jason Nodler and his intrepid colleagues at Catastrophic Theatre to serve something bold and crazy — and, in its unique way, absolutely in-spired.

Spirits to Enforce is the second half of Castastrophic’s two-show series introducing Houston audiences to Chicago playwright Mickle Maher, one of the most original voices in American theater today. (Maher will attend Saturday’s performance and participate in a discussion after the show.)

For anyone who saw Catastrophic’s knockout production of his The Strangerer, that’s probably recommendation enough to see this one.
With The Strangerer, Maher set himself the challenge of a play confined to the set of the Bush-Gore debate, achieving wildly unpredictable results by introducing unexpected elements.

With Spirits, he has confined the action to a phone bank: 12 telemarketers making fundraising calls behind a long table. Yet as he skillfully unfolds his ingenious fable, layer by layer, amid snatches of overlapping, sometimes simultaneous calls, he turns this seemingly limited situation into a heroic adventure and a completely original take on the time-honored "putting on a show" theme.

We’re on a rusting submarine off the coast of Fathom Town. The 12 callers are trying to raise money for a production of Shakespeare’s The Tempest being produced by the Fathom Town Enforcers, the town’s superheroes, whose latest triumph was defeating the now-jailed archvillain Dr. Cannibal.

Unable to raise a cent, the callers are forced to reveal that they, themselves, are, in fact, the 12 superheroes, though making the calls in their civilian guises. Maher further invents an actual connection between these figures and the events of The Tempest, centuries earlier, as well as a glitch in the time-space continuum that has jumbled their past/present/future.

Spirits is so inventive, so packed with fresh writing and unlikely yet apt juxta-positions, that even if it’s not wholly successful, it is consistently fascinating.

As usual, Maher is getting at a lot of things at once. Among them: a reflection on actors and their roles, a musing on the mysteries of time and a heartfelt homage to The Tempest.

The title, of course, comes from Prospero’s final speech: "Now I want spirits to enforce, art to enchant. ..."

With its tricky rhythms, periodic outbursts and silences, Spirits plays like a piece of chamber music. As director, Nodler has conducted expertly, with a feeling for the reality of its fantasy.

Spirits makes an ideal ensemble showcase for the Catastrophic company. It’s a triumph of deftly calibrated team playing by Wayne Barnhill (as The Untangler), Noel Bowers (Fragrance Fellow), Tamarie Cooper (The Ocean), John Deloach (The Tune), Mikelle Johnson (The Intoxicator), Karina Montana Bowers (The Silhouette), Cathy Power (The Bad Map), Charlesanne Rabensburg (Memory Lass), Mike Switzer (The Snow-Heavy Branch), Kyle Sturdivant (The Pleaser), Tek Wilson (The Page) and Walt Zipprian (Ariel).

Their superhero identities indicate the coolness of Spirits.

If anyone in this team effort is placed in a leadership role, it’s Zipprian’s Ariel, and he commands his material with manic elegance.

But all are fine, emerging as distinct individuals in each brief solo passage. When all are pitching simultaneously, the level of energy and commitment is awesome.

Kevin Holden’s dramatic lighting underscores the play’s changing moods and realities, helping vary its stage pictures.

I took it as a favorable omen that there were rare (for Houston) snow flurries as I arrived at Barnevelder for Wednesday’s preview performance: a Catastrophic Theatre Christmas miracle!

Fans of adventurous theater likely will agree there’s one on stage, too. If you see one show this month that has absolutely nothing to do with the holidays, it should be Spirits to Enforce.

SPIRITS TO ENFORCE

When: 8 p.m. tonight, 8 p.m. Wednesday- Dec. 20
Where: Catastrophic Theatre at Barnevelder Movement/Arts Complex, 2201 Preston
Tickets: $15; 713-880-5216

 

http://www.artshouston.com/blog/?p=789

Spirits to Enforce
by Mickle Maher
The Catastrophic Theatre
Barnevelder Movement Arts Complex
December 11, 2008

Review by Nancy Wozny

It’s the last supper over there at The Catastrophic Theatre’s production of Mickle Maher’s Spirits to Enforce, except instead of 12 apostles, we get 12 superheroes, kind of nutty ones at that. There’s even a Jesus lookalike at the center, Walt Zipprian as Ariel, orchestrating the action. Here’s the scenario: superheros are holed up in a submarine where they are conducting a telethon to raise money to put on a production of Shakespeare’s The Tempest. Times are tough for this pack of thespian crusaders. All are fearless defenders of the island of Fathom Town, a place they keep safe and tidy with their oddball traits. The Intoxicator gets the bad guys buzzed, Memory Lass remembers the future, and The Pleaser, well you can figure that out. Then there’s Snow Heavy Branch guy who can’t stop talking about a gondola. Of course, there’s an evil doer (gotta have one), Dr. Cannibal (as in Caliban), who has his own sordid history with The Tempest. Turns out they all do, as the gang discovers they are all remnant spirits of Prospero’s Isle. Snippets of their literary legacies come through in their various phone conversations. They also find that fundraising and putting on a show may be a way harder job than fighting evil. Bard wonks should pay close attention to choice Tempest-isms cleverly tucked into phone chats.

But if you spend too much time connecting the plot dots, you might miss the lush language. Maher’s work feels more like a symphony than a play. It’s a joyride for choral music lovers, and it’s best to just strap yourself in tight and enjoy the prose-bending trip. Maher enlists all kinds of musical structures. Your ear can get lost in the syncopated rhythms, and let it, because that’s where the juice is. They talk all at once, in sequence, in canon, and in a few marvelous moments, to each other. It’s a delicious cacophony for the ears. For most of the play the actors are glued to the phone looking head on at the audience. At one particularly dramatic crescendo, Zipprian stands up to deliver a satisfying Leonardo da Vinci iconic stage picture.

Maher’s work defies conventions. The set, designed Kevin Holden, is one long desk smack parallel to the audience. We only see the actors from the waist up, outside of an occasional trip to the water cooler, in the dark no less, and in Zipprian’s big Jesus moments. Once or twice an actor stands up and gets off the phone; it’s phenomenally exciting. There’s no blocking to speak of, as most of the play takes place in a narrow rectangle. With so much to listen to why mess it up with action. It’s a tight container, hey, like an orchestra.

The cast —all superb—each bring their own distinct variety of mania to their bizarre characters. The play makes for one snazzy showcase for the current talent trust at Catastrophic. Memory Lass (Charlesanne Rabensburg) projects wacky tenderness with The Tune (John Deloach). The flamed-haired Tamarie Cooper is over the top as The Ocean (that’s a good superhero fit for her). Kyle Sturdivant delivers an endearing performance as The Pleaser, while Mikelle Johnson pushes kooky to new heights as The Intoxicator. Zipprian’s Ariel anchors the show, especially when he hands out lollipops during break time.

Catastrophic Theatre’s artistic director Jason Nodler directs close to the center, keeping true to Maher’s idiosyncratic ways. Bless this stalwart troupe for bringing Maher’s breathtakingly original voice to Houston. “Spirits to Enforce” is a quote from the epilogue of The Tempest. The very next line, “art to enchant.” aptly describes this show.

The Catastrophic Theatre presents Mickle Maher’s Spirits To Enforce through December 20th at Barnevelder, 2201 Preston. Call 713-880-5216 or visit www.catastrophictheatre.com