I am producing a show called Drunken F**ker. Am I crazy?

When I sent out the press release for Drunken F**ker, I got an email back from the guy who writes theatre reviews for the Oregonian.  He said "So you don't really want mainstream coverage for this show, huh?"

It honestly hadn't occurred to me that I would run into this problem. 

But ya know, I should have.  When I first saw the title in the Calgary Fringe Festival program, I totally thought "SKIP."  You have to understand, there are HUNDREDS of shows going on at fringe festivals.  You really do have to be selective, and yeah, you do end up judging a fair amount of books by the cover.

When I saw the title of Sean's show, I thought "Rant about alcohol.  Probably hits bottom, finds AA and lived to write a one-man show about it. NEXT!"  But as it happened, Sean's show was scheduled one night right after ours, in the same venue.  We were there already, and it seemed rude to leave (especially since he'd just seen our show).  So I went.

What I remember most clearly is sitting absolutely still for the entire show.  I was transfixed.

Immediately I felt like I was in the hands of an excellent story teller.  Sean is really likable, and that comes across immediately.  He is at home on stage.

The show opens with these stories of drinking through high school- and they are hilarious and evocative - and make you wish you'd been there. 

As the cracks start to appear, you think. Jeez, just slow it down a little and you'll be fine.  Because honestly, you don't want him to give up drinking.  The stories are too good.

The cracks get wider, and the stories get more and more harrowing.  You want to cover your eyes, your ears - you want them not to be true - but you know they are true.  This isn't fiction.  This is someone cracking themselves open and showing you the dark and ugly shadow in his soul.

And it is that willingness to share the very bottom, to unmask the brutal, mean, selfish person that he was, that makes Sean's transformation from a drunken fucker to a person you'd want to spend time with so effective. 

I wished I could tour this show to highschools.  I wish I  could share it with every woman who's ever been fucked over by a man with an alcohol problem, a kid who's dad hits him when he's drunk.   This show gave me a shot of faith for every person out there with what seems like incurable addiction.  If Sean can turn it around, from the depths he found himself, then it is not foolish to hope

This is the kind of theatre I want to see, and the kind of theatre I want to produce.  I left Drunken F**ker feeling like something inside me had shifted- like my heart had been opened.

And that's why I am producing a show that the Oregonian won't list in the theatre section.  

Fuck it.  Throw caution to the winds and hope the show finds the audience that needs a shot of hope.

FRIDAY Nov.27th
SATURDAY Nov. 28th
THURSDAY Dec. 3rd (pay what you can)
FRIDAY Dec. 4th
SATURDAY Dec. 5th

Theatre!Theatre! 3430 SE Belmont.  All shows start at 8pm

TICKETS? 

www.dancenakedproductions.com