BRANDOHEAD closed at Theatre of NOTE on May 27, 2006. Check out Theatre of NOTE's current and upcoming productions at http://www.myspace.com/theatreofnote
"I changed your name while you were sleeping, an angel beneath the maws of a manatee just like in Dostoevsky, the greatest playwright of our age, only no one knew it, Dostoevsky included, so the bastard just up & dies while trying to see the world upside down no wait that was Bruegel."
"The elder?"
"I have no idea, sweetheart, get me a grape Fanta, could you?"
'Truth is always stranger than fiction and memory is worse than both combined.' This quote is found inside the theater program sums up the experience from watching Free Fanjul and Brandohead. It’s an experiment on what happens when the surreal crashes into its pesky nemesis called reality. What you believe was normal is truly not and what you believed was odd is perfectly fine. This double bill surely will have people scratching their heads, laugh nervously and question repeatedly what the hell did they just witness.The cast of Brandohead needs something stronger than green tea to snap them out of their fog. Bucky and Tiana (played hysterically by Terry Tocantins and Michelle Hilyard) are struggling actors trying to catch the elusive break that will lead them into stardom. They share a ratty one-bedroom apartment and indulge in philosophical talks that only make sense to them. Frustrated with their current broke and no job in sight situation, Bucky retreats to the bathroom to clear his mind and rub himself into erotic satisfaction. During one of his wanking sessions, an enormous head smashes through the wall and it looks like the godfather himself, and the original father of Superman, actor Marlon Brando. The acting god offers the lanky and clueless Bucky advice on life and acting. While dispensing his pearls of wisdom, the eight feet tall demi-god eats all the food in the place.Tiana is very nonchalant about having a third roommate. She’s more concerned about nabbing a low level acting part from a smarmy agent who can’t keep details straight.Brandohead is a real mind trip. It’s one of the things that you need to see a couple times to fully understand what’s going on. Unlike Free Fanjul which is easily clear, Brandohead will take some time to warm up but its quirkiness is definitely worth it." Socal.com
"The epically opaque "Brandohead" is one for the surrealist books...merging scabrous absurdity, Mayan myth, industry satire and a giant cranium of the ultimate Method actor.." Los Angeles Times
"Ionesco absurdity in which a giant Marlon Brando head (voiced by Phillip C. Curry) bursts into the bathroom of two hapless actors (Terry Tocantins and Michelle Hilyard) ... Director Dara Weinberg makes sense with talented performers. . . ." - LA Weekly
Bucky and Tiana, two struggling actors in a surrealistic world, have lost Maya. In their bathroom they've found a rather large head, eight feet tall by eight feet wide that bears a striking resemblance to an American acting god. Be careful what you worship.
Director Dara Weinberg comments: Chris Danowski's modern myth is about the gods we make out of actors - and the actors we make out of gods.
Chris Danowski (Playwright, Brandohead): The artistic director, co-conspirator, founder of Theater In My Basement, Mr. Danowski has written over 63 plays, and has had productions of his work in Phoenix, New York City, Seattle, Minneapolis, Portland, Merida, and Dublin.
The cast:
Millie Chow
Phillip C. Curry
Michelle Hilyard
Christopher Neiman
Gabby Sanalitro
Terry Tocantins.
I am Brandohead. A one-act play by Chris Danowski.
I am running at Theatre of NOTE in Hollywood California on a double bill called Idle Worship with another one-act, FREE FANJUL by Dennis Miles.
Produced for Theatre of NOTE by Alex Brown & Lake Sharp
Set Design by Erin Brewster
Lighting Design by Dan Jenkins
Puppet Design by Evan Bartoletti
Costume Design by Lisa LeFevre
Makeup Design by Ann Closs-Farley
Sound Designers: Andy Mitton, Cricket S. Meyers
Stage managers: Ron Morehouse, Bree Todish
Opening April 21, 2006 and running through May 27, Thurs-Sat @ 8PM.
Theatre of NOTE 1517 Cahuenga Boulevard Hollywood CA 90029
To reserve: 323.856.8611
Theatre of NOTE is a nonprofit, democratic company dedicated to exploring the theatrical event through original and innovative works. We serve an adventurous community seeking alternative live performance. Founded in 1981 by University of California, Irvine graduates Kevin Carr, Kitty Felde, and Melanie MacQueen, NOTE is guided by a five-person Artistic and Management Board elected from within the membership. We premiere an average of four mainstage productions a year, by writers such as W. H. Auden and Bertolt Brecht, Sheila Callaghan, Christopher Kelley, Tony Kushner, Jennifer Maisel, Leon Martell, Murray Mednick, Dennis Miles, John O'Keefe, Erik Patterson, and Jacqueline Wright. NOTE also upholds a tradition of acclaimed late-night shows, first launched in 1988, in addition to the now-annual, notorious, celebrity-crowd art magnet, the Hollywood Performance Marathon. We have earned consistent commendation from the Los Angeles press and national acclaim from such publications as American Theatre. In all, NOTE has accumulated almost 100 honors and nominations, including awards from the L.A. Weekly, Backstage West, L.A. Stage Alliance (Ovations), and PEN International. Thanks to 25 years of advancing theatre in Los Angeles, NOTE has received generous government and corporate support, including grants from the California Arts Council, the Cultural Affairs Department of Los Angeles, the Flintridge Foundation, the Libby Holman Foundation, the Los Angeles County Arts Commission, Robinson's/May, Sedgwick James Inc., the Audrey Skirball-Kenis Foundation, Verizon, Time Warner, and we are under review by the NEA this year.
Best of Los Angeles, 2005 The L.A. Weekly:"A viewer will appreciate not only what is on the stage at Theatre of NOTE, but also what is absent elsewhere in Los Angeles: tough, cruelly funny stories that confront sexual experience with an honesty that might be called full-frontal."
Parking Info: Arclight Cinemas (enter on Ivar, just south of Sunset).$3.00 will get you 24 hours of parking, just bring your ticket to the NOTE box office and we will validate.WARNING: Both BRANDOHEAD & FREE FANJUL contain nudity and/or strong sexual situations. Not for children!
