• For everyone out there with a dream project, let me tell you a success story of how you can do make it a reality. In 2014, mother/daughter team Catherine LaMoreaux and Anna Paone had a vision for a multicultural theater company. Rather than sitting on it forever, they began finding locations, funding and began producing shows regularly. The secret? A true can-do attitude and building a community to rally around shows that you put on. Now that you know the blueprint, here’s a snapshot of how things are going seven years into this once experimental theater company that’s now become a well-oiled machine.
This weekend, I attended back-to-back outdoor performances of the equal parts sentimental and lighthearted Dragonfly production of “Having Our Say,” a play based on an oral history of two 100-year-old Black Delany sisters who lived together all their lives. The show was a true two-hander starring Mimi B. Francis and Dianna Fuller as Sadie and Bessie Delany. There was no one else on stage for nearly two hours. That ain’t easy. Better yet, the two are not related but play 100-year-old siblings so convincingly interrupting each other, speaking in unison and exuding such good-natured chemistry that it would be easy to confuse them for real-life family members. While the “Having Our Say” script has moments of levity (there’s a particularly memorable Dan Quayle punchline), the play also highlights the struggles of growing up Black in early 20th-century America. The performers bring a righteous fury to their roles telling stories of nearly being lynched, being questioned about land ownership, and a biased college grading system. By the time it’s over, you’ll be so glad these two had their say. Thanks to them, you’ll have laughed and learned.
“Having Our Say” is a mature step in the right direction for Dragonfly and goes to show that if you treat your dream project, whatever it may be, with the care and respect it deserves, you can produce something truly special that gets better and more satisfying as it gets older.
• On a smaller scale, I caught some very funny short-form content this week. Here are some quickies that deserve your attention:
- Every time I jump on TikTok, the first video I see is one of Art Cai’s, and every time, the algorithm is scarily accurate in predicting what I like. This IS the content I’m looking for and they make it so I don’t even have to search for it. You can’t go wrong with Art’s atmospheric Bezos in space parody, hysterical hypothetical “What would you do if you were on ‘Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee,” nihilistic take on flying coach and a bunch of others that all serve as ads for what kind of clever content you can generate by simply using a green screen well. Simple premises, great execution, totally worth a follow if you’re looking for something new to rise to the top of your algo.
- No pair of brothers are producing better sketches than Noah and Ahri Findling these days. Most interestingly, since the brothers are on opposite coasts, they don’t produce them together but do share a sensibility. This week, each put out a well-defined concept- Noah’s “friend who can’t small talk” and Ahri’s “when my 5’2” wife needs something off the top shelf”- and took each idea in unexpected and exciting directions. Both felt relatable in completely different ways. Noah goes dark (I lost it when he asks with a straight face, “How you feeling about your career?”) and Ahri goes triumphant swaggering over a small feat. Both are fantastic and completely worthy of a quick click.
• Finally, I’m sad to report that a friendly comic I met in Portland named Jake Hueni passed away last week. We crossed paths when I stopped by an open mic that Jake hosted at an arcade-like bar on vacation in July 2019. Most open mic hosts are indifferent and show little interest in eager comics they’ve never met before. That wasn’t the case with Jake. We chatted beforehand for probably just five minutes but in that short span, he made me feel like I wasn’t a visitor but a friend. I’m sad that this was the only interaction we ever had and wish there were more. You are missed, Jake.
If you’d like to donate to Jake’s GoFundMe to cover his family’s medical bills, you can at this link.
