FASTER, DEAR BROTHER, I'M DYING!
(A Civil War Comedy) "A delightful exercise in deadpan absurdity...worthy of Mark Twain and other tall-tale tellers"
- Lawrence Bommer, Chicago Theater Blog
- Bob Bullen, Chicago Theater Addict
Chicago, IL - Joe Anderson and Demian Krentz, a comedic duo of
award-winning filmmakers, have announced the world premiere of their
new original play,
Shoot Faster, Dear
Brother, I'm Dying! (A Civil War Comedy), at the Apollo Theater Studio this July.
Full of comedy, tragedy and everything in between, Shoot
Faster, Dear Brother, I'm Dying!
takes
a hilarious look at the lives of two brothers at the end of the
American Civil War, as told through the letters they wrote one another.
As Chauncy Binjimmons ends his service for the Confederacy and heads
west, his
brother
Adam navigates the pressures of family life at their childhood home in
Virginia. But who are these brothers? It is in the letters, the
glorious letters, that the true excitement is found. For it is in these
letters that a small boy grows up to lead a savage nation. It is in
these letters that the mysterious comings and goings of Adam and
Chauncy's father are finally exposed. And it is in these letters where
the brothers' raucous adventures, sleazy love affairs, and nearly
accidental triumph over the Wild West are revealed!
Shoot Faster... was initially born out of an email exchange between comedians Joe Anderson and Demian Krentz, who quickly
recognized the potential for their Civil War era letters to be dramatized.
"It started with a weird email from Demian," explained Anderson. "Out
of the blue I got an email talking about how 'The congregation prays
for your safe return.' and 'Write with news about the war.' So I just
decided to write back, following his lead stylistically, and this
correspondence continued for about six months. Finally after receiving
a particularly funny letter from Demian, I called him, somewhat
panicked and asked, 'Have you been saving your emails?! I think we
might have a show here...or a book...or both!' He had been thinking the
same thing and fortunately saved all of his emails as well."
Over the next decade, between projects, Anderson and Krentz continually
returned to the letters, fine-tuning the story and characters. Finally,
the two believed their unique conversation was ready to be brought to
life.
"We were pretty sure it was really funny," Krentz recalled, "but we
weren't positive. There's not exactly a lot of Civil War comedies to
compare it to. So, we scheduled a one-night preview performance at a
theater in Grand Rapids, Michigan and the response to the play was
overwhelming. Joe and I went backstage at intermission and just looked
at each other and started smiling and laughing. It was a wonderful
relief to know our comedic senses had been tingling for a reason."
A friend of Krentz' got the script to Amanda Blake Davis, a Jeff
Award-winning actress and accomplished writer and director in Chicago.
Davis read the play, loved it and told Demian that if he ever wanted to
stage it in Chicago, she'd like to direct.
just how thrilling the art of reading letters could be...and then I read
Shoot Faster, Dear
Brother, I'm Dying!" joked Davis. "In all seriousness,
when Demian sent me the script, I instantly fell in love. I really
responded to how simple the concept was, yet how layered and funny the
script was. It's always an honor to be a part of a project that is so
inspired."
Now the Apollo Theater Studio is the lucky recipient of this
historically inaccurate play's world premiere, in which mustaches,
hand-written letters, and old-timeyness abound. Chicago theatergoers
who have long clamored for an epistolary comedy about the Civil War,
featuring a live fiddle player and photos of old things will finally be
able to check that item off of their collective bucket lists.
Reflecting on the play's creative journey, Anderson mused, "That
first email, word for word, with the exception of perhaps a phrase here
or there, is the first scene in the play."
Shoot Faster, Dear
Brother, I'm Dying! (A Civil War Comedy)
Written and performed by Joe Anderson and Demian
Krentz. Also starring Mary McClenahan Fielding, and with musical
accompaniment by Mike Casey. Directed by Amanda Blake Davis.
Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays @ 8pm through July 31, 2010.
The Apollo Theater Studio, 2540 N Lincoln Ave (2 blocks north of Fullerton), Chicago, IL 60614.
Tickets are $15 for adults and $11 for students & seniors, and are available at
773.935.6100 or
.
For more information, visit
ShootFaster.com.
About Joe Anderson and Demian Krentz
Joe Anderson and Demian Krentz have been performing comedy
professionally for nearly twenty years each. In 2001, the duo won Best
Feature Film at the East Lansing Film Festival for their comedy,
Living with the Fosters. The Lansing State Journal called the film, "Dangerously subtle. Wonderfully funny."
Joe Anderson (Chauncy Binjimmons),
a veteran of the Second City comedy theatre, resides in Grand Rapids,
Michigan. He performed at the Second City Detroit as a Mainstage
understudy and member of their touring company. For the past five
years he has performed at hundreds of colleges and clubs as the
co-headlining comedian on the We Can Make You Laugh Comedy Tour.
Recently you may have heard him as the new voice of Big Boy in a
national campaign for Big Boy Restaurants. Terry Lawson of The Detroit Free Press
declared, "After a few minutes you're chuckling, then laughing out
loud, then just admiring the consistency and cleverness of Joe
Anderson's comic sensibility."
Demian Krentz (Adam Binjimmons) is
an accomplished comic actor, writer, and improviser with over 15 years
of professional entertainment experience. He is also a classically
trained actor who graduated with a degree in Theater Performance from
Western Michigan University's highly-regarded dramatic studies program.
Recently, he starred in the award-winning film Gospel According to Roy,
which has screened at over 15 film festivals around the world. Nina Metz of
Newcity has
said, "Demian Krentz stands out as the kind of performer who is fully
engaged with the idea of acting--portraying an actual human being--and
he's all the funnier for it."
Mary McClenahan Fielding (Miss Chapman), with an ancestral
connection to the Civil War (her great, great grandfather was a Union
Army cavalry soldier) is delighted to be a part of
Shoot Faster...
Her recent work includes performing with Urban Theatre Company and a
leading role in the Discovery Channel's "Escaped" series. She voiced
three characters for the comedic web animated series
Human Resources, portraying a doting wife, a rebellious teen
daughter, and a feisty senior citizen. And her one-woman show,
performed for small groups around the Chicago area, has been included
in the publication Best of the Best IV and Best of the Best V for
outstanding performance. She holds BA and MS degrees in communications
from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and she studied
acting with the late Ted Liss and at Acting Studio Chicago.
Amanda Blake Davis
(Director)
Amanda
Blake Davis is a veteran of The Second City e.t.c. stage, where she
wrote and performed in five original revues, including
Disposable Nation, Campaign Supernova and Studs Terkel's Not Working,
for which she received a Jeff Award for Best Actress in a Revue. Prior
to that, she performed with The Second City Las Vegas and The Second
City National Touring Company.
About the Apollo Theater Studio
The Apollo Theater boasts an intimate second stage located at the
basement level of the building. Aptly named The Apollo Theater Studio,
the 50-seat space can offer black box intimacy while providing the
Apollo's professional, full-service, theater support in one of
Chicago's most popular neighborhoods. For more, visit
ApolloChicago.com.
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