You Are Not Dead: A Guide to Modern Living is becoming a play!
In 2008 Daniel Reetz and I released this music, image and text collaboration online for free. It filtered through Vancouver peripheries into the imagination of Danielle Marleau of Black Pants and is being adapted as a stage production for premiere mid-May in Vancouver (final dates and venue to be confirmed).
The ingenious premise turns my satirical self help guide into a live-action seminar run by representatives from the Canadian Chapter of the Fakeproject Corporation of America, with Dan’s images incorporated into a devious and dysfunctional PowerPoint. The project also has on board brilliant actor Ryan Beil. This guy is amazing—the Corporation couldn’t be more pleased with its international representation.
With the help of Danielle and a dramaturg, I’ve toiled to retool the guide into a script to the best of my so-not-a-playwright abilities, updating the content to reflect the Canadian condition and sensibilities, to the best of my three-year observations (what, youall thought I was there for library school?). The guide was originally penned in 2005—suffice it to say, post–second-term election Bush Administration America required a much different tone than 2010 Olympic comedown high Vancouver. But so much of it still strikes raw and true, five years later and in a different though certainly not dissimilar culture.
This has been in the works for nearly a year. There have been hints here and there in various ethertubes but no official announcement due to the uncertainty whether wow, is this really happening?
Yes. Yes, it is. And you can help. Black Pants is raising money to mount the show, with fundraisers held in Vancouver (check out a nice write-up about the project and a benefit event in the Granville Secret City blog). You can give via PayPal directly to Black Pants. Every bit helps and is much appreciated! (Clicking donate below will send you to Black Pants; click their donate button to get to PayPal!)
Donations are investments.
Labors of love are the hardest to birth.
And thanks. Updates on this project will be posted as they happen!
UPDATE: Unfortunately Ryan Beil will not be a representative after all. Now on board are Adam Bergquist and Jessica Harvey, and they are *muah!* fantastic.
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