Last Night of Pre-Fringe Appetizers!!

(crossposted from Questionable Company Theatre)

Tonight marks the triumphant conclusion of Pre-Fringe Appetizers: Two Courses of Comedy. So if you haven't yet tasted the endanger-licous-ness that is Panda Sandwich and the forbidden fruit that is WTF in the Garden of Eden, you should get your little behind down to Bedlam Theatre tonight and catch our very last Bedlam Performance.

We're also bringing back our fabulous "Bring Two - Get in Free!" deal we ran last year for Orange. If you think you can get 2 or more people to come see the show with you, email ben.egerman AT gmail dot com saying so, and we'll have a comp ticket waiting for you at the door!

This is a mega-sweet show full of mega-sweet people and we'd love to share our awesome with you. And for our closing show, I am offering free hugs to anyone who asks me. So come on down to Bedlam tonight at 7:30 for some laughs, some beer, and a hug from the Teagle-maister herself.

Photo Shoot!!

(cross posted from Questionable Company Theatre)

Panda Sandwich

Photos from our shoot with photographer Serge Vaynshenk last week. Upon reviewing the pictures, apparently the theme was violence and homo-eroticism. What themes do you find? Leave a comment!

You can also see it in a sweet slideshow!

WE OPEN IN A WEEK!!! AAAAAH!!!! AAAAAAAH!!!

Come see us July 22-25th at Bedlam Theatre in Minneapolis!

Come With Me...

A musical interlude from Ben Egerman and John McConville, two members of Panda Sandwich Sketch Comedy, a group which also includes this pretty lady and other talented folks.

We're nine days from showtime (eeek!) and we'd love to see you there. We're the first half of a double-header that includes "WTF in the Garden of Eden" a short play by Adam Sharp and Bethany Simmons of "10.10 Post 9-11" fame. We run Wednesday July 22-25th at Bedlam Theatre on the West Bank in Minneapolis. The link above is also how you reserve tickets! Hooray!

You can even be Panda Sandwich's Facebook Fan because we're like that.

If you can't make it to the show, you can still support our efforts by donating to our cause. For any donation $25 and over, we will honor their generosity with a celebratory song or poem on the subject matter of their choosing. Shoot us an email at pandabox DOT info AT gmail DOT com. These sweet celebratory masterpieces will be posted on our blog, and probably cross-posted over here because I'm sneaky like that.

So enjoy our song, more content to come, and see our show in nine days (eek!)

What Kind of Sandwich IS a Panda Sandwich?

Apparently, an ice cream sandwich, as evidenced by our logo. Maybe I just wanted ice cream. Maybe I'm not too good at rendering lettuce in Illustrator. Maybe it doesn't matter, because you're going to come see this show.

You see, Questionable Company Theatre along with Box Wine Theatre Company (of last Fringe's 10.10 Post 9-11, are presenting a double header of entertainment we call Pre-Fringe Appetizers: Two Courses of Comedy over at the incomparable Bedlam Theatre on the West Bank. The first act will be sketch comedy from the aforementioned PANDA SANDWICH! a new sketch comedy group full of love, carnies, and musical interludes. And by love, I mean unicorns as thinly veiled metaphors.

After enjoying some of Bedlam's potables at the interval, Box Wine Theatre whips out "WTF in the Garden of Eden" a short play by Adam Sharp and Bethany Simmons, which features Russell O'Connell, previous featured on this blog brandishing nunchucks and middle-school dancing to "Take My Breath Away".

So mark your calendars - July 22-25th, show at 7:30, doors at 7. Ginormous after party following opening night with live music, a dj, improv, stand up, spoken word, and other awesome things.

Do you like awesome? Come to the show.

Wonder Woman and a Man in a Thong

Back when I was better about keeping this blog, I kept a careful eye on the little site tracker at the bottom and noticed that a large number of people came across a particular post of mine because they searched for the title. They were probably very disappointed. (go ahead, click it. you know you want to...)


Anyway, this post title will likely generate traffic from similarly disappointed folk, but there's nothing I like better than disappointing people searching for distasteful things on the internet (ha!)


I just closed out a show last week with Bedlam Theatre's Ten Minute Community Play Festival and I was super proud of my hard working cast. I directed "My Name is Art" by Peter Snoad (blurb from a previous show of his here, a romp through a modern art museum that goes awry when Art himself shows up asking for donations.

Costuming for the show included embroidering Michaelangelo's David onto the front of a man-thong.

Talk about high art...

Below is the Cast looking adorable. These guys are great. This is the least obscene picture I took of the actor playing Art, and everyone who saw Set B (particularly from downstage left during the infamous scissor kick) really should have taken him out to a nice dinner first.


And now for Wonder Woman:

Uploading these pictures prompted me to empty my camera and I found this awesome knitting project I had almost forgotten about. Inspired by an impromptu dorky bonding session while assistant directing "Planting Shelly Anne" with the Workhaus Collective I knit the director a little Wonder Woman as a token of appreciation and it's gotta be the coolest thing I've ever made. I based it off of the Rock Star Dolls in the Stitch and Bitch Nation book with lots of titchy little changes as I went along. I've devoted an entire Picasa web album to the project, so you know I'm serious.

Knit Wonder Woman!

Who wants a Panda Sandwich?

As chances of getting off the Fringe Festival waitlist grew slimmer and slimmer, Rachel and Ben began to forge their own path, in conjunction with their compatriots Adam and Bethany from Box Wine Theater.
Together, Questionable Company and Box Wine will present a double-header extravaganza at Bedlam just before Fringe featuring “WTF in the Garden of Eden” and the inaugural performance of a new sketch comedy group (created by the stalwart Ben and Rachel) Panda Sandwich!

Want in?

We want you, too!

Come audition for us! Details about the group follow. Email pandabox.info AT gmail.com to sign up!

Audition Dates/Times:

Monday, May 25th: 7:00-8:30 p.m. and 8:30-10:00 p.m. time slots.
Tuesday, May 26th: 7:00-8:30 p.m. time slot.
* Please plan on being at auditions for the full hour-and-a-half.

Callbacks:
Tuesday, May 26th: 8:30-10:00 p.m.

Audition Location:
Bedlam Theatre
1501 S. 6th St.
on the West Bank, Minneapolis

Audition Requirements:
-To schedule an audition please email pandabox.info@gmail.com with your name and preferred time slot.
-Please bring a resume and headshot if you have them.
-Feel free to bring in a scene or monologue that exhibits what you do best (2 mins max).
-Panda Sandwich: Be ready to think and write on your feet.
-Box Wine Theatre: There will also be readings from the script.

PANDA SANDWICH – THICK AND JUICY COMEDY
The Panda Sandwich Manifesto:
Panda Sandwich is a new sketch comedy group devoted to creating well-written, well-structured comedy with a group of awesome people. We’re looking for willing collaborators and good listeners who aren’t afraid to try new ideas and explore our collective ridiculousity.
-We believe that sketches are better when group-written.
-We like work that is witty and clever without being egotistical or self-important.
-We believe that a sketch is more than just a good idea, it needs to go somewhere.
-We love comedy that is loud, crass, dirty, vulgar, and ridiculous, but not just for the sake of being loud, crass, dirty, vulgar, and/or ridiculous. No shock without substance.
-We like comedy that is well-structured and surprising. Surprise us. Or else.
-And above all, comedy should be fun to make and fun to watch.
Panda Sandwich: Put us in your mouth.

BOX WINE THEATRE – WTF IN THE GARDEN OF EDEN
Box Wine Theatre is looking for 3 men and 1 woman for the satirical comedy WTF in the Garden of Eden, the Genesis they didn’t teach you in Sunday school. It’s the story of mild-mannered Adam in his journey to find the perfect companion, whether that be a girl, boy or other, and yearning to find out just WTF is wrong with the world. It’s a play for your inner blasphemer.
WTF in the Garden of Eden is also on the waiting list for the Minnesota Fringe Festival and need actors who could be available the run of the Fringe, July 30th through August 9th.
Cast of Characters:
Adam – Male: 20’s-30’s.
God – Male: Any age.
Lilith/Serpant/Archeoptrix/Cain: Female: 20’s-30’s.
Steve/Eve – Male: 20’s-30’s.
Box Wine Theatre: We’re cheap and we get the job done.

To schedule an audition please email pandabox.info@gmail.com with your name and preferred time slot. And if you can’t make it but still wish to audition please contact us and we’ll see if we can work something out.

Look, Ma! I'm a Real Comic!

Here's my set for the Women Stand Up! Comedy Cabaret at the Bryant Lake Bowl a few weeks back. Much thanks and love to everyone who could make it out there. For those of you bummed out that you missed it or are dying to relive the experience, check out the sweet video.

Hooray!

And yes, in the freeze frame I am being a velociraptor.