Author Archives: Rob MacD

We did it!  We opened another season of Sketch22, complete with all-new material.  Two shows into the run, and I’m pretty pumped about the show.
Thursday’s premiere performance was very well attended by many super-friends, super-family, and super-fans of Sketch.  Not sure of an exact number, but I’d guess about 110 people?  It was a very supportive, friendly audience.  The kind of familiar audience that applauds our efforts even when the lights come down to begin the show.  Lots of big laughs, lots of big love from the audience all night long ensured that our very first public performance of the new show was totally positive and wonderful.
That first show was pretty darn smooth, especially compared to the dress rehearsal the night before.  A couple of the sketches were a bit raw, and our nerves sometimes got in our way, but overall, I’d have to call our opening show a resounding success.  I’m always suspicious of standing ovations, but appreciated the one we got opening night.
Friday night, we were all concerned about the Second Show Letdown.  It seems for every production, the second show is usually a less than remarkable show.  That’s because the cast and crew, after a relatively successful opening night, now know the show “works” and it’s natural to relax a bit.  Energy can drag a bit and the show can be a bit lazy.  Plus, our second night crowd was (expectedly) smaller than first night, coming in at about 60 people perhaps?  A different energy from this crowd, too.  Not nearly as familiar to us as the opening night crowd, and we had the feeling we’d really have to earn any laughs we got on this night.  We started the show pretty strong, and the audience was with us.  The latter half of the first act started to dip a bit, energy-wise, but the second act seemed pretty strong. 
Friday night had lots of huge laughs, lots of “oh my god, I can’t believe what I’m seeing/hearing” laughter, plus a couple of sketches that bewildered a bit more than brought out laughter.

I think my favourite sketch to perform is going to be Tammies Come Home, which features Dennis Trainor and me playing “Tammies” coming home after a night on the town. Whether for good or bad, it was the sketch we had rehearsed the least, because of many reasons.  So, really, opening night was the first time we performed it with any sort of conviction.  It was also the first time we were able to perform it using a prop which is integral to how the sketch ends, and as such, caused a bit of “in the moment” improvising from us as we learned how to deal with this prop.  The result was pretty fun.

Anyway, hearing lots of great things about the show from people who’ve seen it. Haven’t heard any criticisms from people, but there are undoubtedly lots of those out there too.  Like previous seasons, I think we have a number of sketches that will be both loved and hated by people in the audience.  And, like last year, we have enough variety in sketches that everyone who comes will have a number of sketches that they’ll really enjoy.

Apparently on Friday night we had an elderly couple walk out on the show.  Whether they left because of content and had had enough, or because they just had to leave, I don’t know.  But, with their exit, I guess Sketch22 Season 4 became official.

Wonder what next week will bring?

For the past 9 months or so, I’ve had a widget on my iGoogle homepage that counts down the days until Season 4 of Sketch22 begins.

Today, it reads:  0 Days until Sketch22 Season 4

Last night we had an okay dress and tech rehearsal.  What kept it from being better than just okay is that we had to wait quite some time before we began, due to mechanical difficulties beyond our control regarding our ability to play video easily.  We tried to rectify the issue, but ultimately couldn’t and then we were left to improvise a less than ideal way to run the show anyway.

The run-through had the usual little hiccups that we’re pretty confident will be cleared up for tonight’s premiere performance.  But it was valuable, because it was really the first time we ran the show completely without stopping, and as such, was the first time we got a sense of how the show works.  I’m happy to report that I think the show is going to be great.  Lots of big laughs, lots of strangeness, lots of entertainment.

Like every show past, I can’t wait for people to see what we’ve come up with.  Only a few hours left now.

Butterflies!

Our new show opens Thursday.  That’s tomorrow, for those not keeping track.
Tickets are $20, show starts at 8pm at The Guild in Charlottetown.  Come out tomorrow and be on hand for the World Premiere of a bunch of new sketches, new characters and new laughs.  Be among the first to see the new show!

If you can’t make it Thursday, well, there’s also Friday night’s show.  And if you can’t make it this week, well, there are 9 more weeks to catch it.

Okay, probably not.  But the Young At Heart Choir do a kickass version of The Ramones’ I Wanna Be Sedated:
http://www.youtube.com/v/McCpBsH9cOQ

I was being interviewed last week about my theatrical career on PEI, and one of the questions was about my goals for the future.  I think I kind of stumbled through some sort of “I’m lazy” answer about how I don’t really set goals for myself, because then you actually have to strive to achieve them.  I couldn’t really think of anything interesting to say except for that and some vague notion that maybe someday I’d perform a one-man show featuring some of the characters and songs I’ve created over the years.  Even as I was saying that, though, and again as I type this, I found/find that notion to be awfully yawn-inducing.

What I should have said though, was that I had always joked that someday when I’m an older gentleman, I’d “retire” into the role of Matthew in Anne Of Green Gables and live out my golden years in Avonlea.  Of course, I don’t really plan to do that (I’d be more Cecil the Farmer material perhaps), but today I was thinking about the concept when it struck me:

For many actors on PEI, getting a role in the Confederation Centre’s Anne of Green Gables would be the “real world” equivalent of “gettin’ a government job”.  Pay is pretty good (I imagine), it’s seasonal (don’t think you can qualify for EI after, though??), and (again, I imagine) once you get into the routine of the job, there wouldn’t really be a lot of reward to performing it.
Plus, once you land the gig and perform it at least at a satisfactory level, it’s potentially yours for as long as the government in power (the artistic director) stays in power.  After they get ousted, you hope you make it past the inevitable  new-government cuts and subsequent patronage appointments.

It’s only 3 hours until the beginning of the final episode of The Sopranos.  4 hours until no more new scenes will be ever seen.  Such mixed emotions.  I’ll not try and guess what will happen, other than to say I bet I’ll get teary eyed when I hear “Woke up this morning, Got yourself a gun…”

Wish us all luck!