Theatre is what happens when you are busy making other plans....

Ha ha ha. Hoo hah! Ha ha ha ha ha! HAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

That's Life, laughing at us. Life just read my last post and keeled over laughing so hard it split a gut. You see, we made plans. Big ones. Provocative ones. A production of Mike Daisey's THE AGONY AND ECSTASY OF STEVE JOBS in May. Cool, huh? 

But then, Mike Daisey imploded. Crashed and burned publicly. Spectacularly. You can read about it here: 

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/19/theater/defending-this-american-life-and-its-mike-daisey-retraction.html?_r=1&ref=theate

It's a sad story, really. And it meant cancelling the show we were so excited about doing. 

But we'll have the last laugh, Life. Cause we have an ace in the hole and her name is Staci Swedeen. She has her own one-woman show. And she didn't have to go to China or make up stories in order to write it. All she had to do was stand in her driveway and let a rabid raccoon gnaw on her ankle a little. Okay, a lot. But in her funny, breathtaking, heartbreaking play - she dances with raccoons, balletic policemen, doctors, her husband, and Death.

Oh, and me. I'm in there too. This show is every bit as good as Daisey's and I can personally vouch for it's veracity. 

So why didn't we schedule it in the first place? Good question. We planned on doing it, but I suppose we didn't want Staci to have to act as producer and writer and performer all at once. But Life thinks it will be funny to make her work her ass off. With my help, we'll wipe that smirk off of Life's face and set audiences laughing instead. And crying. Because it's that kind of story.

Please don't miss this! You can buy tickets on our website: flyinganviltheatre.com on the 2012 Schedule page. 

And here are some critical raves, if you like that sort of thing, which we do!

"A woman is attacked by a rabid raccoon in her driveway.  Bad for her, good for us, for in a theatre piece worthy of Woody Allen and Stephen King, playwright Staci Swedeen proves that, in the right hands, personal catastrophe can lead to uproarious comedy, spiritual transformation and triumph. You'll be moved by her dark, hilarious and heartbreaking journey -- and you'll never look at a sweet, furry raccoon the same way again!"

 

"Staci Swedeen, in her incandescent one-woman show, “Pardon Me for Living,” establishes a perfect May day made for sitting in a perfect chair on an appealing patch of lawn in front of her home in Sleepy Hollow, New York."Then all hell breaks loose:  insane shopping lust at “Beyond Bed and Bath” is but a precursor to a harrowing encounter with a rabid raccoon; flashes into quantum timeless-spacelessness informed by a little girl walking a top-of-the-wall tightrope; husband, neighbors, balletic policemen, EMS and Death crowding the stage with this astonishing, versatile solo performer.  All of these players, with the radiant Ms. Swedeen at the center, catch the viewer up in real events surpassing surrealism. You must see this compelling, hilarious, deeply moving performance, written and performed by Staci Swedeen.  And fasten your seatbelts."