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After the success of last year’s “Sin Show” — the #1 top-selling show in the 2009 Capital Fringe Festival — SpeakeasyDC is back with another sure-fire hit. Come on down to this storytelling game show. Be part of contestants row and win prizes for guessing the correct ending in  Cliffhangers, choosing sides in Catapult, finding the lie in Cover Up and more. In signature SpeakeasyDC style, all stories are true, gripping, and hilarious. Hear stories about spelling bees, murder, family secrets, bad roommates, and stolen cats. John Kevin Boggs stars as our host, Rob Parker and B. Stanely (ED of DC Arts Center) will play the role of our  beloved. announcer, Todd Toddy. Directed by Amy Saidman (who directed such Fringe hits as “The Sin Show” and “Revenge of the Cat-Headed Baby”, and performed in “Chocolate Jesus”.  Showcase Showdown chosen as one of the Washington Post’s best picks of the Fringe Fest. Read review in Washington City Paper.

Only four shows:
Friday, July 9
Saturday, July 10
Thursday,  July 15
Friday, July 16

All shows start at 8pm, doors open at 7:30p at the US Navy Memorial – 701 Pennsylvania Ave. Next to Archives/Navy Memorial Green/Yellow line. Tickets go on sale on June 21. $15 at capfringe.org. Last year we sold out fast, so get your tickets early. More info at speakeasydc.org.

Click here for Social Media/Press Release with video, photos, and info

STARRING:

B. Stanley considers himself the man to fill the gap when necessary. He has been the director  of and acted with the experimental group, Theatre Du Jour since 1982. He directs the works of  several performance poets including Quique Aviles and Silvana Straw, acts in other’s performances when he can and is also currently the Director of the DC Arts Center in Adams Morgan.

Bomani Darel Armah is a poet, songwriter, producer, performer and educator. Born in Washington D.C. and raised in the metropolitan area, Bomani uses his life experiences, mixed with his musical and poetic skills, to paint lyrical pictures of life as he sees it and the future as he envisions it. He was an English major with a concentration in poetry at the University of Maryland College Park and as a self-taught musician and producer is quickly making a name for himself in the national music scene. As he so aptly puts it “I’m not a rapper, I’m a poet with a hip-hop style”.

Christylez Bacon (pronounced: chris-styles) is a GRAMMY Nominated Progressive Hip-Hop artist and multi-instrumentalist from Southeast, Washington, DC. As a performer, Christylez multi-tasks between various instruments such as the West African djembe drum, acoustic guitar, and the human beat-box (oral percussion), all while continuing the oral tradition of storytelling through his lyrics.

Regie Cabico won the Nuyorican Poets Cafe Grand Slam and is a 3-time National Poetry Slam Finalist. He has appeared on two seasons of HBO’s Def Poetry Jam and his work appears in over 30 anthologies. BUST magazine name him in the 100 Men We Love. The Kenyon Review most recently named Cabico the “Lady Gaga of poetry”.

After working collaboratively as a writer, teacher, & improviser, Stephanie Garibaldi’s thrilled to be back in the game, unleashing her cutthroat competitive spirit at last on unsuspecting DC opponents. Whatever you do, do NOT challenge her to ping-pong, sudoku, or Name That Tune–she will school you as only SpeakeasyDC’s Educational Director can.

Cindy Kane is a writer and aspiring housewife who blogs at Bad Mommy Moments. She once had big dreams of standing next to Bob Barker and reminding the audience to control the pet population. But thanks to a $1 bidder from New Jersey, she never made it past Contestants’ Row.

Mike Kane is a marginally successful television writer and failed blogger.  His favorite games include “Plnko,” “Switcheroo,” and “$uper $aver.”  His actual retail price: $3.15, and all of this can be yours if… the Price is Right.

Christopher Love used to feign illness in elementary school so that he could stay home to watch The Price is Right.  He now performs in front of a captive audience of elementary school students every day as their math teacher.  Within the last year, he has been on a date with a former contestant who later became legal counsel for TPIR.

Sheldon Scott broke down walls when he became one of “Barker’s Beauties”!   At 5′10, 165lbs, he became one of the first “full-size” daytime TV game show models!  After unsavory pictures of Scott turned up on the internet, he was forced into retirement and moved to Washington DC where he started a PAC for retired Daytime TV and Hand & Foot models!  He is currently general manager of one of DC’s best restaurants — Marvin Bistro & Bar.  Featured artist on CapFringe site.

Full time dreamer. Part time superhero. Pro-Mohawk. Jessica Solomon is reclaiming the power of the Booty one performance at a time with The Saartjie Project crew (Google them!). She’s super excited and nostalgic about “The Price is Right” because it was the only TV show she watched with her Granny…until they discovered Jerry Springer. Featured artist on the CapFringe site.

A night of true tales told live

• Doors open at 6:30pm

• Show starts at 8pm

• Must be 21 and must have ID.

• 2009 8th St, NW,Washington, DC, 20009 near corner of U Street

• $10 cover at door – cash-only

• $10 cash-only additional for all-you -can-eat buffet provided by Nellie’s Sports Bar. This month: Taco bar (meat and veggie)

• Full bar – credit or cash

• Street parking or paid lot next door $10 or take Green or Yellow line to U St/Cardozo and exit on 10th Street side. Walk two blocks east (away from African American Civil War Memorial. Turn left at 8th St. (you’ll see bright yellow  Tropicana Restaurant. ) Town is less than a half a block on the right.

• There is an ATM on the premises.

To sign up for open mic

Fill out  the online form in advance using the drop-down box to indicate the night you want to perform. You will have seven minutes to tell your story. We are strict about this, so don’t go over or you will be cut off. Also, you must tell a true story (again, it’s not a stage for stand-up, poetry, readings, fiction, or folktales) and you must incorporate the theme. You will be contacted 3-4 weeks before the specified show to arrange a  free (and mandatory) coaching session with our Education Director, Stephanie Garibaldi.  She can be reached at stephanie@garibaldi.com if you have any questions (Please do not use this address to sign up. This is only for questions.)

Thanks to Alexander Morozov for photographing our shows and Jessica Piscitelli of Capture Video for capturing it on video.

Tentative line-up (alphabetical order)

Our host: Stephanie Garibaldi, Jeffrey Brady, Geraldine Buckley, Julie Kraut, Nevin Martell, Nick Newlin, Jason Pittman, Kenny Reff, Matt Sherman, Karen St.Germain , Kerala Taylor

Read original

Dear Fringegoer:

What’s the next item up for bid? Narrative.

So you’re headed to Showcase Showdown, SpeakeasyDC’s storytelling/The Price Is Right mashup?  Awesome; you’re gonna have a good time.

And you say you’re an extroverted sort, and so will be putting your name in the running to be called down as a contestant, and possibly earn the chance to win glamorous prizes? Glad to hear it!  Knock yourself out. Mazel tov.

Little advice?

The mechanics of Showcase Showdown are straight-up TPIR: Once your name is called, you’ll take a seat in Contestants’ Row (read: three downstage chairs) and bid for a chance to play a game.  But you won’t be bidding on a lounge suite, a canister vacuum, or a 18-inch television encased in a faux-walnut console the size of the Altar of Baal. Instead, you’ll be listening to a SpeakeasyDC storyteller, who’ll stop midway through and ask you to guess a number relevant to the story he or she is telling. You’ll bid (guess), the story will continue and the number in question will be revealed — and the contestant who came closest to the actual number without going over will win.

Basic, right? A process most of us soaked up via pop-culture-osmosis over years of ditching school to laze on the couch snarfing Pop-Tarts, right?

If we are to judge by the performances of Showcase Showdown contestants to date: Wrong.

Lookit:  There’s a simple science to bidding on The Price is Right. Pencil-necked academics have published papers on it.  Game-theory geeks have filled message boards with bid-bloviatin’.

But you don’t need to worry your pretty little head with any of that.  We’re gonna break it down for you.

Keep this mnemonic in mind:  ABC3.  Always. Be. Contestant #3.

You want to be sitting in the chair farthest downstage, because (unlike TPIR, which rotates the order of bidding), the Speakeasy DC folk always start with the contestant in the chair farthest upstage.  This will provide you with the singular advantage of knowing your competitors’ bids, which allows you to exploit a quirk of the rules to best effect.

Remember: The idea is to come closest without going over.  You don’t get extra points for guessing on the nose.

Okay, let’s role-play:

It’s last Friday night.  You’re a beardy guy who’s made his way into Contestants’ Row.  The first contestant was asked the number of times the storyteller … did something (no spoilers here).  The true number could be just about anything, really – 1 to 100 or more, it’s anyone’s guess.

Contestant #1 guesses “3.”

Contestant #2, for reasons of her own, guesses “5.”

Now it’s your turn, Beardy McGurk. Here are your options.

1. Guess “1.” A time-tested strategy, to be employed if and only if you believe your fellow contestants have all overbid.  As a gambit, it is simple, elegant, and not a little bit snooty; it says “Oh, DO let’s allow cooler heads to prevail, hmm?”  It’s effective, having sent many a corpulent Keokuk realtor into the waiting arms of Bob/Drew. In this particular case, however, the odds are against it being the smart move; ideally, you want to see a little more daylight between “0″ and the lowest bid before busting out the ol’ 1er.

2. Guess “6.” You know who wins in life?  Who wins elections, money, narrative-based-game shows?  I’ll tell you: The bold, that’s who. Granted, this is an aggressive tactic. Which is to say: Yes, it’s a dick move. You’d be claiming for yourself all rational and imaginary numbers above 5, essentially shutting out contestant #2 — and she looks like a nice person.  But you know what, Grizzly Addams?  There’s Fringe glory at stake here.  Fringe glory, and an Econo-size bottle of Palmolive.  Which, we shouldn’t really have to point out, SOFTENS HANDS WHILE YOU DO THE DISHES.  So risk the approbation of the crowd, and nut up already.

There’s … another option, of course. It’s the one chosen by that beardy guy last Friday night.  Call it the Path of What The Fuck Are You Doing, I Mean Are You Kidding Here, With This?  Because that’s what the ardent TPIR-watcher two rows in front of me exclaimed, when she witnessed it.

3. Guess “4.” Yep, no kidding: 4. The one number that occupies the tiny patch of real estate on the number line between his fellow contestant’s guesses. I mean: Come on.

Do we even need to tell you he didn’t win?  We don’t, right?

Here endeth the lesson.  But if you glean only one bit of wisdom from this experience, let it be this:

Don’t bid like Beardy Guy.

It was clear that the sizable and chatty crowd in the Burke Theatre was ready to have a blast.  The Fringe goers who were looking for a subdued evening of theatre had gone other places.  This was going to silly fun.  And Speakeasy DC did not disappoint with The Showcase Showdown.

The folks from Speakeasy, DC’s life storytelling company, are putting on a show that’s a bit different for them (from what I can tell).  The company that brought us Fringe classics The Sin Show (‘09) and Chocolate Jesus (‘08) are back, and this time they’ve turned their storytelling prowess into a game show, with real audience participation. They’ve spoofed the heck out of “The Price is Right” and put all sorts of games in between their stories.

For those of you who don’t know Speakeasy, they train people in the art of storytelling and do regular shows where people get up and tell true stories on a particular theme (for NPR listeners, it’s a lot like The Moth.)  We saw Chocolate Jesus two years ago and really enjoyed it.  This new production takes all the fun of their regular shows and spruces it up with little variations on TPIR pricing games like “cliff hangers” for the audience to enjoy in between acts.

As always, the Speakeasy crew spins some wonderful yarns. 
Cindy and Mike Kane are particularly enjoyable as they tell the tale of an affair and a cat, and Christopher Love had the audience riveted with his story of a roommate from hell.  John Kevin Boggs is fantastic as the host Rob Parker.  His hokey cheese is just what any TPIR spoof needs.  And B. Stanley is spot on as the announcer.

I don’t know that this is a company that needs gimmicks to make their formula work, but I don’t think the sparkly sequences and audience participation hurt at all.  The stories may not have been as deep as those in some of their other shows, but they were fun, and fringe-y, and that’s what matters.

See original review

We’ve chided the SpeakeasyDC folks in this space before – gently, and never less-than-admiringly – about their ringer status.  For years now, they’ve been the trust-fund babies of Fringe, what with their built-in local fanbase, deep(ish) pockets, their mutant ability to sell out shows without working up a sweat and, yes, their reviews, which dependably land on the Fringe-Metacritic scale somewhere between “fawning” and “fellating.”

They’ve got laurels, is my point, and the impulse to rest on them must have been powerful strong. After all, the Speakeasy formula would seem to encourage repetition; certainly last year’s Sin Show – seven storytellers taking on the Seven Deadlies – wasn’t appreciably different than their previous Fringe outings, or indeed their weekly shows, unless “a bit longer” counts as different.

There’s also the fact that the stories these performers tell have been workshopped to hell — painstakingly shaped, honed, crafted for maximum effect.  Which, if you think about it, is about un-Fringey as it gets.

And that’s probably why this year’s outing, with its slap-dash gameshow bells and whistles (the bells, at least, are quite literal) feels so heartening.  The storytelling’s just as strong: Witness Sheldon Scott’s portrait of himself as a young overachiever, which he stuffs with rich language that should sound written, but never does; or Jessica Solomon’s note-perfect, finely detailed evocation of 1992. It’s also just as varied: Solomon seems to be just discovering the beats and laugh lines of her story, while the wounded, faux-exasperated tone Mike Kane employs to relate a tale of cat-napping seems more calibrated – but just as funny.

But the low-rent, low-fi, low-brow Price is Right gimcrackery in which they’ve couched the stories?  The contestants from the audience? The golden-throated announcer (B. Stanley, who’s more Gary Owens than Johnny Olson/Rod Roddy, really)?  The glamorous prizes (read: Shake n’ Bake)? The  louche host (John Kevin Boggs, who bats a perfectly respectable .500, in quip-per-laugh ratio)?  The interstitial vintage commercials (seriously, that Old Spice spot is just disquieting)?

It’s all filled with awkward pauses, blown cues, strained laughter, panicky performers, and flop sweat.  It’s cheesy and exciting and kind of awkward, and watching it you can’t miss the fact that these people have stepped outside their comfort zone, that they don’t know quite what’s going to happen, and that wherever the evening ends up, you and they are gonna discover it together.

SpeakeasyDC: Welcome to Fringe.

See it if: Your favorite pricing game is Cliffhanger.

Skip it if: Your favorite pricing game is that shitty golf one.

Read original post

Fringe Festival: What we’ll be seeing
by Stephanie Merry
July 6, 2010

Speakeasy DC needs no help with publicity given that its Fringe shows routinely sell out. Yet, because last year’s “The Sin Show” was my favorite performance of the festival, I must give credit where it’s due. This year’s entry adds a dose of spectator participation, including the chance for audience members to decide whether the story they just heard is true or false.

See full article

Speakeasy DC needs no help with publicity given that its Fringe shows routinely sell out. Yet, because last year’s “The Sin Show” was my favorite performance of the festival, I must give credit where it’s due. This year’s entry adds a dose of spectator participation, including the chance for audience members to decide whether the story they just heard is true or false.

See full article

From MidCity DC

SpeakeasyDC Comes on Down to “The Showcase Showdown”

Local storytelling collective SpeakeasyDC has never been    af raid    to    take    on    some sensitive topics — the first genera- tion immigrant experience, the pit- falls of coming out, and one’s deep- est personal fears among them. But after staging a tribute to human fail- ings at their worst with the top-sell- ing “Sin Show” at last year’s Capital Fringe Festival, the Speakeasy crew has decided to bring a little levity back to the Fringe Fest stage and they’ve settled on an unlikely piece of inspiration — “The Price is Right.” Get ready to enter “The Showcase Showdown” — Speakeasy’s story- skewed adaptation of the games made famous by Bob Barker and thousands of play-at-home house- wives nationwide. “Last year was fun and funny, but it was heavy…This is like a palate cleanser, not for the audience, but for our own process – something light, playful and game-y,” said Speakeasy Director Amy Saidman. “’The Price is Right’ just sort of emerged as a great way to get to that.”

Taking a cue from their source material, Saidman and her eight- strong cast — featuring of a mix of Speakeasy regulars, workshop grad- uates and newcomers — are making audience participation the center- piece of their full-length production. Speakeasy’s raconteurs will host eight games during the 90-minute production, including four drawing that’ll be drawing on the infamous “Contestants’ Row.”
Instead of playing for cash, how- ever, the volunteers selected will be scoring points for guessing the true story in “Flip Flop” and the real end- ing in “Plenko” to name but two of Speakeasy’s “Price is Right” reinven- tions. In all, it’s a package that Said- man says “plays with the tone and kitsch” of America’s longest running game show — even if that all-ex- penses-paid Hawaiian vacation will have to wait.

“The Showcase Showdown” hits the stage at the US Navy Memorial for just four shows at 8 p.m. on July 9, 10, 15 and 16. Tickets are $15. For information, visit SpeakeasyDC online or the Capital Fringe Festival homepage at www.capfringe.org. 701 Pennsylvania Ave. NW • www.speakeasydc.com

See original article, then click “Hit the City”

Monday / October 18, 2010
Haunted: Stories of ghosts, regrets, and things from the past that won’t stay in the past

Monday / November 15, 2010
War Stories: Stories of skirmishes, battles, victories, and defeats

Monday / February 07, 2011
Gimme Shelter: Stories about finding, creating, and losing a home

Monday / April 25, 2011
Culture Shock: Stories about confronting the new, strange and often scary