---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Sat, 4 Dec 1999 12:28:45 -0600 (CST)
From: Adam
To: Carolyn
Subject: in case you start to wonder...
Remember that thing before Thanksgiving where there was a mock
fight at No Shame? Well, that apparently was an unfortunate
coincidence of timing with something that Dan's been planning
for some time. Last night they set it up such that Chris Stangl
called Dan out of the audience (in the wake of his skit a few
weeks ago where he ripped Dan apart re: his Lobster Play and
its inadequacies) and proceeded to abuse him in fairly standard
volunteer-from-the-audience ways, while interjecting seriously
biting stuff that was directly pertinent to Dan, culminating
with "okay, sure, sometimes my writing may have these faults
as well, but at least I never fucked Mandi Lee." Dan was clearly
tolerating all this after a point, but after that he started
talking to Chris quietly (presumably saying something about how
he wasn't going to put up with this much longer), they discuss
things in whispers for a few seconds, Dan is fed up and probably
isn't going to cooperate any longer, Chris exits stage right.
With the knife that had been used as a prop. And with Dan's
wallet, which he'd borrowed during the skit. Dan calls after
him for his wallet, follows him into the hall, they proceed to
yell at each other a lot--but not loudly enough or close enough
that you're convinced it's intended for the audience. Finally
Chris Okiishi calls "order" from the booth. Kyle responds
"well, Dan's next. I guess we should wait." Nervous laughter
from audience. Shouting escalates, Dan starts yelling FUCK!
and we get the impression he may be injured. The door opens
and Dan speaks, but we can't see him because of the curtain.
He says "Could someone get Chris?" Chris Okiishi responds
"Chris Stangl?" Dan yells something about Okiishi and the
doors slams shut. He's clearly in distress. Chris Okiishi
runs down and out the door, and then opens it again to ask
someone to bring him his bookbag from the booth. James Erwin
runs and grabs it, takes it out, we hear him yell something
like "Good lord!" He runs back in and yells for everyone to
leave/go home/get outta here.
A few people were in on this, but most people weren't.
Someone on their way out said "Maybe someone should call
the police?" "We're working on it" comes the response.
In other words, it went over pretty darn well. It was well
within the plausible in terms of how well it was done.
So yeah, that's the scoop. It's hard for people to come out
and spoil the ambiguity of it all, so I imagine the forums
will be sorta quiet this week..
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: 12/11/99 12:35:08 PM Pacific Standard Time
From: Adam
To: Jeff
> Was Chris/Dan's piece really a single piece. Or was
> it two separate works of performance art.?
Chris wrote his very own piece with its very own
never-to-be-performed ending. It is my understanding that
Chris even prepared props for the part of the script that was
sacrificed to Dan's redirection, even though Chris' piece was
almost certainly composed after Dan's plans had been laid out.
That's some serious dedication.
Library]
