Higher Power Production Blog

Higher Power: Vlog #5

Leapfrog!

A Chris Littler Production.

Next on the List...

Thanks to everyone who came out to see the shows in Kansas City. We were overwhelmed with the crowds every night and the amount of support and interest in the play, and we'd love to hear what you thought about it.

But even though we're done with Kansas City, we're far from done with Higher Power. In fact, we're leaving tomorrow morning for Minneapolis, Minnesota, and the Minnesota Fringe Festival, where we've been pushing ourselves as hard as possible to get audiences out (any help and suggestions are appreciated).

One of the biggest pieces of recognition we've gotten so far comes from Philip Low, one of the Fringe Festival Bloggers, who in his top ten shows of Fringe post listed us as his #3 choice. For an out of town group, that's pretty great, and we look forward to living up to his choice.

Thanks for Coming...

Thanks, everyone who came last night, and I hope that everyone can make it to the shows in the next couple of weeks.

The Kansas City shows are going great. If you happened to make it out to a KC show, be sure to visit http://fringe.kcstage.com, where they are offering a chance to review the shows at the Fringe.

we're on the radio!

as heard on KCUR, kansas city's NPR affiliate... (there's an mp3 link. click it. about halfway through.)

oh, and something happens today but i can't remember what.

three down.

thanks to chris kidder.

in other pr news, kansas citians can tune in to KKFI 90.1 FM at 6 pm on monday to hear sam on the radio talking about the show. there should also be a segment featuring the whole higher power crew airing on 89.3 FM at various times this week.

less than a week left. get psyched.

Peter Gabriel is a God

It's been a long time since we posted words on this little blogger. And to think, there are five aspiring writers working on this production (though after 'Higher Power' I feel myself moving towards a lucrative career in finance).

I first must express my disappointment in our director Chris Plante. Not for any reasons involving the current show, but for complete disregard of my wishes. I could have sworn that I asked to post the video entitled 'Episode II: Larke's Murder', but this request was not received. Littler and I have found a neat way of passing the time in Lee's Summit by creating these Vlogs and it is the only thing (besides 'Higher Power' of course) that keeps us entertained.

Now, on to more important business.

I would like to congratulate Chris Plante on putting up with the nonsense and disorder that I most definitely cause.

* * *

Sam, the wonderful writer of 'Higher Power', found the team an open mic night to perform at where we could showcase the songs that Littler has been writing for the play. I saw this as an opportunity to boost my ego and get a few cheap laughs so I agreed to recite a poem.

Things began roughly around 20:00 at Crave. Littler was one of the first performers and I would be so daring as to say that he was... Fabulous. Really, I mean it. His 'sardonic humor' (his words) struck a chord with the crowd and really promoted the play we all gave up our summer jobs for or perhaps he was simply amusing himself -- truthfully, I have it all on tape so you can watch it and be the judge. People laughed, Larke cried, it was a jolly old time.

My hope was to follow Littler with some stellar renditions of Silverstein, Seuss, and Byron. But I lost 'Where the Sidewalk Ends', thought Seuss was too trite, and, well, fuck Byron. It was Ginsberg that won out in the end. I read a tragically awful version of 'Hum Bom' that has found its way onto my camera (though I promise no internet footage will leak).

* * *

I am forgetting the purpose of my post. I feel as though people may see this show as a bit of a 'goof off'. Most of our blog updates, save for those written by The Writer, are full of nonsense and humor (I say humor with a cringe). It was my intention to display a glimpse at what we do when we are not letting loose. 'Episode II: Larke's Murder' was a piece I had been working on for some time. It grew from a deep seeded belief that [Work + Camera + Soda (Pop) ] x Heart = Internet Viral Video = $$$$.

While Littler and I toiled away both on set and in front of these laptops I could sense a strain in our relationship. Nothing that would break us apart, but a chasm that was growing wider every second. I couldn't let that continue, we needed to be reminded of what we had gone through.

'Episode II' is something that I think we can both cherish. It sums up the experience we are having in so many ways (especially the final gut wrenching scene before the credits when Littler expresses his deepest desires through song in front of a KC liquor store -- poetry).

Those moments, when everything seems to be working. The tides are changing, things are looking up. Where do they come from?

I am getting away from the point.

'Solsbury Hill' is probably the most manipulative song you could ever put over an image.

* * *

It wasn't until after I completed 'Episode II' that I realized the magnitude of the work. In the end I hope it finds a special place on the internet and can help put large quantities of Moolah in our pockets.

Now, I would be a terrible aspiring artist if I did not credit my mentors and influences. So, enjoy this classic banger from '03:

Higher Power: Vlog #4.5

Episode #2: Larke's murder.

Higher Power: Vlog #4

Overclocking Kansas City.

Rehearsal Photos

Pictures from a recent basement rehearsal.

two down.

thanks, matthew!

ten days until we go up in kc. zow.

Higher Power: Vlog #3

A special music edition.

one blogger down, seven to go.

thanks to kate hoff for the fringe-blogs mention. my ridiculous mission of making sure everyone in minneapolis knows about our show continues.

Two Weeks' Notice

There are two weeks until the show premieres in KC. Less, now.

The idea for Higher Power started germinating around this time last year, thanks to a young barfly with a limp and a general feeling of Midwestern listlessness. From there, it's gone through countless revisions, countless new ideas, and has gone into the hands of many of my favorite people in the world, including the four who are currently turning the script into a real live show.

As you can tell from the vlogs, it's a pretty insanely fun process. It's a huge rush to see these three incredibly talented actors really inhabiting the characters I created, and to see what Chris can do to turn my mostly static script into a kinetic and thrilling show.

Higher Power is an intense show, and there's no way around it. A lot of awful things happen and a lot of brutal things are said. But nothing could prepare me for what this show is becoming. The show is sexy, the show is violent, the show is gutwrenching. In Chris's staging, the show is a living, breathing thing that doesn't hold back from being as real as it needs to be.

One of the best things about it is that no matter where you see it, you're going to get the same level of experience. The spaces that we are performing in are vastly different - from one of the best theatres in Kansas City, to a much-loved cabaret theatre in a bowing alley in Minneapolis, to a tiny off-off Broadway theatre in New York - but the way the show looks won't change much. It's clever direction, taking Brechtian elements and realistic blocking to bring the setting to life in each theatre.

I'm proud of this show, and I look forward to seeing it come together forward.

What I ask of you if you're reading this is that you help us out. We need all the support we can get - we're playing a huge house in Kansas City, we're playing six shows in New York, and we're playing in Minneapolis, where we know next to no one. So please - tell everyone you know about the show. Talk about it on your blogs, bring friends to come see it, tell those cousins in Minneapolis to come check it out. They won't be disappointed.

Thanks for reading. More cool stuff is coming on the blog very soon, and you can look forward to hearing more about the show and our performances as we move towards the big show.

Thanks,
Sam

Higher Power: Vlog #2

A special video from Littler and Colin.

Guest Starring: Kara Donaldson.

Pictures from the day our boys (and girl) became men (and a woman)

Here's a large set of photos. Hope you enjoy as much as we did.

Higher Power: Vlog #1

As the cast comes to Kansas City yelling, vulgarity, and James Van Der Beek impersonations ensue.

Not safe for work: