‘The Cripple of Inishmaan’
ECLIPSE THEATRE COMPANY, 670 LAKEVIEW PLAZA BLVD., SUITE F, WORTHINGTON
614-881-0382, eclipsetheatrecompany.org
The comic drama revolves around a young man hoping to change his life when he hears that a Hollywood director is coming to Ireland to make a movie.
7:30 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays through March 26
$18 Fridays through Sundays; “pay what you can” on Thursdays with nonperishable food donations for the Worthington Food Bank
They’ve gone without for almost five years. They’re more than ready to satisfy their desire.
So the folks at MadLab Theatre are staging their first sketch-comedy show in a half-decade with “Sketchy Sex.”
The 80-minute production, suggested for mature audiences because of profanity, continues through March 25 at MadLab’s Downtown space.
“We wanted a subject that many would find funny, which is hard because everyone has a different sense of humor. We chose sex because there are so many directions you can take,” said Laura Spires, who co-directed with Jim Azelvandre.
“We go from the absurd to the farcical, gender politics, romantic comedy and break-ups, from the start of relationships to their end,” Spires said.
Troupe members began meeting in January to brainstorm ideas for sketches and videos.
“We wanted to see how we could collaborate as an ensemble to create something brand new ... centered around sex and all the funny stuff of relationships and dating,” said Spires, also a writer and actor in the show.
Also on the 13-member writing team: Lance Atkinson, Amanda Bauer, Colleen Dunne, Becky Horseman, Kyle Jepson, Shana Kramer, Anna Leeper, Cat McAlpine, Greg McGill, Brendan Michna, Andy Woodmansee and Stephen Woosley.
“It was almost like an improv challenge,” Bauer said.
“We started by randomly picking subjects and sexual situations, props and locations from slips we put in the hat.”
Drawing on her own experiences, Spires wrote “Was That a Date?”
“It’s about the frustrating and confusing parts of dating,” she said, “when you don’t know what the other person is feeling.”
Another sketch focuses on sex education as a teacher brings an abstinence expert into the class to answer questions.
“His answers are either inaccurate or he doesn’t really answer the questions because he doesn’t want to talk about sex,” said Spires, the sketch co-writer with Dunne, Leeper and McAlpine.
“The sketch is absurd and silly but rooted in the real experiences many of us had as students in middle school and high school.”
Shane Stefanchik, who appears in sketch comedy roles with It’s All Been Done Players, is making his MadLab acting debut in “Sketchy Sex.”
“I’ve always been a big fan of sketch comedy,” said Stefanchik, 29.
“I like that it’s not a large time investment. ... Viewers can get the sense of the sketch, get a couple of laughs and move on.”
Stefanchik appears in “Bon Appetit,” about a couple with a baby at an outdoor restaurant.
“She’s getting ready to breast-feed, but passers-by keep making comments to her about how inappropriate it is. My character reacts to them and gets angry,” he said.
“It’s a quick piece about what is acceptable social behavior today.”
“Nine Months,” a sketch co-written by Bauer, explores an absurdist premise: A woman who had a one-night stand nine months ago with a man tries to convince him that they got her couch pregnant.
“The woman clearly believes the couch had a baby — a love seat in her house that looks like the couch,” Bauer said.
Of the roughly 20 ideas generated by the writing ensemble, 16 became first drafts and a dozen were promising enough for further development, Bauer said.
The final evening lineup: 12 sketches, plus five short videos satirizing TV commercials for Viagra and other date-conscious products.
“Not everything has to be the same level of funny or absurd,” Bauer said, “but you want all the sketches to be different — and consistently good.”