THEATRE // PREVUE
THEATRE // PREVUE
Meat Puppet inspired by controversial reality television
Rainer Hersch tackles the question of artistic greatness with Mozart
On-screen schadenfreude
Amadeus, Amadeus
Fawnda Mithrush // fawnda@vueweekly.com
T
o know where playwright Leif OlesonCormack found his inspiration for the upcoming Shadow/Northern Light presentation of Meat Puppet, one need look no further than NBC's controversial To Catch a Predator series. For those still hiding under rocks in order to avoid anything resembling reality television (or sensationalized telejournalism), NBC's series featured reporter Chris Hansen working with civilian watchdog groups and police to bait and catch pedophiles—and subsequently arresting these "predators" on television. The series gained notoriety after one investigation turned sour and Louis Conradt, who happened to be a prominent Texas District Attorney, shot himself after the show's SWAT team entered his home and exposed his pedophiliac tendencies. Oleson-Cormack describes his play as an examination of the "icky" things done by all parties involved in a very similar investigation—everyone except the alleged pedophile. In Meat Puppet, Chuck Dalmer (John Hudson) is an ambitious journalist trying to raise the stakes on his popular exposé series, Red Letter. When a highprofile celebrity crosses the show's radar, Dalmer pushes to air the arrest live as a ratings grab. "To Catch a Predator was a show that really troubled me because most people, or a lot of people at least, watch it for laughs. It's so creepy. It's basically a huge tragedy: in three seconds, a man's life is destroyed by his own acts. And the way they handle it is very comical, and I don't know how something that horrible could be funny," Oleson-Cormack says. Part of his intention in writing the play, which started out as his MFA Playwriting thesis at the University of Calgary
Caught on camera in Meat Puppet // Ian Jackson, Epic
two years ago, was to explore the idea of the audience becoming distant to the point where they're able to find real human tragedy funny—not unlike the way one becomes entranced by horrific trainwrecks or disturbing viral videos. "It becomes such that we see everything through a screen," he says. This theme, contemporary as it is, holds particularly strong for young Clay (Cody Ray), the investigating police officer's teenage son. Incidentally, while Marcia (Sharla Matkin) struggles to keep her son off YouTube, the Red Letter team holes up in her home, which is just across the street from their celebrity target.
"Clay, he's from that generation where watching the most disgusting things online is a sort of rite of passage, like "Two Girls One Cup." Yeah, I've sat through that. Yeah, I saw a man fucked to death by a horse. I don't know why people are attracted to that sort of thing, and I'm guilty of it too, but I wanted to explore that." Before you wonder: yes, Meat Puppet is a comedy. Oleson-Cormack points out that there's irony in the laughs brought about by these instances of tragedy and humiliation, and perhaps a prompting for some audience self-evaluation. "The fact that To Catch a Predator deals with pedophiles gives us the excuse to laugh, because we're all above it. There is this superiority in the audience that allows us to watch that show and laugh as if they're not human," he explains, nodding to Jerry Springer and Judge Judy as further examples of that superiority complex. "It's comforting, and that's kind of what's troubling. Seeing someone's life being so horrible—really, am I in that kind of state where I need to just look at trash to feel better about myself?" Last time we checked, Two Girls One Cup had over 10 million views, and millions more in recoiling audience reactions caught on tape. Seems like taking pleasure in others, uh, misfortune is a staggering phenomenon at best. V Until Sun, Feb 6 (7:30 pm) Meat Puppet Directed by Trevor Schmidt Written by Leif Oleson-Cormack Starring April Banigan, John Hudson, Sharla Matkin, Cody Ray Varscona Theatre, (10329 - 83 Ave), $10 – $26
18 // ARTS
VUEWEEKLY // JAN 20 – JAN 26, 2011
Piano Man, he takes a stand Mel Priestley // mel@vueweekly.com
T
here is little question that Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is one of music's great artists—yet there was a period of time after his death, and even during his life, when he and his work were all but unknown. This issue of artistic greatness, and specifically what qualifies an artist as great, comprises the heart of Mozart: Ze Komplete Hystery, a one-man show written and performed by British musician and comedian Rainer Hersch. "When you think of all the great artists, most of them are recognized after their death—which is not much use to them, frankly," Hersch states. "People also need your support now; you should be looking around now for things that are artistically of value, which provide something, rather than being told about it 200 years later." Hersch wrote the initial version of Mozart several years ago and first performed it at the 2006 Edinburgh Fringe Festival. However, the current production, staged by Edmonton's Fringe Theatre Adventures, differs considerably from its first run. "This is sort of a new incarnation of it," Hersch explains. "But the bones of it are the same." Along with changing the format from a multi-character show to a one-man act, Hersch also took considerable liberties with his presentation of historical facts. "I enjoyed doing it in 2006 ... but I realized that it was too factual. Too honest. Too historically accurate." Hersch explains. He needed to include an element of fantasy in order to successfully
use humour as a vehicle for issues that would otherwise be quite sobering. "Mozart's got a few messages, I think," Hersch states, "but they sneak in there unannounced." In addition to the aforementioned issue of artistic greatness, Hersch also notes that his play is about child prodigies. "Mozart was a classic child genius." Hersch says. "There are plenty of people like that who suffer for being a child genius." Yet child prodigies and artistic greatness notwithstanding, Hersch emphasizes that the show is ultimately a comedy. "It's just a funny show with jokes in it that everyone will get," he explains. "You don't have to know anything about Mozart to get this show." As both a veteran stand-up comedian and a classically-trained pianist, Hersch has sought to unite his two passions and create a musical stand-up routine. He agrees that this pairing is rather unusual. "I sort of wandered into it," he admits. "For years I didn't think it was possible to bring the two together." This production of Mozart will mark Hersch's return to Edmonton; he has previously visited the city several times while touring other shows on the Fringe circuit. "I'm looking forward to experiencing Edmonton in real time," Hersch states. "This is going to be really great to come back—and, strangely, out of the Fringe. And in –25 weather!" V Thu, Jan 20 – Sun, Jan 30 (8 pm) MOZART: ZE KOMPLETE HYSTERY Written & Performed by Rainer Hersch TransAlta Arts Barns, Westbury Theatre, (10330 - 84 Ave), $19 – $23