It's not your mother's Shel Silverstein
Eau Claire theater group to stage collection of mature sketches by American poet
Nick Hogan
Issue date: 3/18/10 Section: Currents
Where the sidewalk ends, it gets a little risqué.
An assortment of the lesser-known works of Shel Silverstein will be performed by the BareBones Ensemble Theatre at 7 p.m. March 18-20 at the Grand Little Theatre, 105 W. Grand Ave.
Known for his more popular children's poetry and literature, like "The Giving Tree" and "Where the Sidewalk Ends," Shel Silverstein also wrote adult poetry and plays. "An Adult Evening of Shel Silverstein" will feature 10 short plays by Silverstein, with local musicians Matt Florence and Bill Hamilton performing live in between each of the scenes. Each scene will showcase quirky interactions between different types of people in normal settings, said Cassie Serig, one of the members of the group.
"It will explore a lot of topics and themes, but all will have his signature style," said Ben Richgruber, one of the founding members of BareBones.
However, this is not a traditional community theater performance.
"The costumes and content will be quirky and at times a little risqué," Serig said.
Take for example "Buy One, Get One Free," which is one of the 10 scenes to be performed. The description on the back of the playbook reads, "Merrilee and Sherilee are offering the deal of the century. 'Buy one, get one free,' the hookers sing to a tempted Lee. It's a golden opportunity. And it all rhymes." The show is recommended for mature audiences only.
Unique to this show is that audience members get to see all 12 actors in the troupe rather than just those performing. The actors not on stage and not performing will be in the audience creating their own characters, Serig said.
"We hope to break down the wall between actors and audiences," Serig said, "Not so much making the audience into actors but integrating actors into the audience." The Grand Little Theater will become a circus tent of sorts, Serig said, showing that the actors are normal people too.
The group performing the piece, the BareBones Ensemble Theatre, is an independent acting troupe based in Eau Claire.
An assortment of the lesser-known works of Shel Silverstein will be performed by the BareBones Ensemble Theatre at 7 p.m. March 18-20 at the Grand Little Theatre, 105 W. Grand Ave.
Known for his more popular children's poetry and literature, like "The Giving Tree" and "Where the Sidewalk Ends," Shel Silverstein also wrote adult poetry and plays. "An Adult Evening of Shel Silverstein" will feature 10 short plays by Silverstein, with local musicians Matt Florence and Bill Hamilton performing live in between each of the scenes. Each scene will showcase quirky interactions between different types of people in normal settings, said Cassie Serig, one of the members of the group.
"It will explore a lot of topics and themes, but all will have his signature style," said Ben Richgruber, one of the founding members of BareBones.
However, this is not a traditional community theater performance.
"The costumes and content will be quirky and at times a little risqué," Serig said.
Take for example "Buy One, Get One Free," which is one of the 10 scenes to be performed. The description on the back of the playbook reads, "Merrilee and Sherilee are offering the deal of the century. 'Buy one, get one free,' the hookers sing to a tempted Lee. It's a golden opportunity. And it all rhymes." The show is recommended for mature audiences only.
Unique to this show is that audience members get to see all 12 actors in the troupe rather than just those performing. The actors not on stage and not performing will be in the audience creating their own characters, Serig said.
"We hope to break down the wall between actors and audiences," Serig said, "Not so much making the audience into actors but integrating actors into the audience." The Grand Little Theater will become a circus tent of sorts, Serig said, showing that the actors are normal people too.
The group performing the piece, the BareBones Ensemble Theatre, is an independent acting troupe based in Eau Claire.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Derek
posted 3/18/10 @ 9:36 AM CST
The show starts at 8pm each night.
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