Pull My Daisy

This weekend Tip My Cup Productions put on a 24 hour theater festival under the moniker of The First Annual Tip My Cup Quickie. What typically happens at these things is a collective of playwrights are given some specifics based on a predetermined theme and sent to their respective corners to come up with an erudite script within a few frenzied hours. This they pass off to their assembled squad of actors who sleeplessly rehearse during the morning and afternoon, and, with any luck, have the thing polished and perfected in time to perform it during the evening in front of a paying audience armed with fruit in varying stages of decay.

Playwright kamikaze Sean Michael Welch decided to get involved in the project for reasons known only to himself. He was given the topic of a Craigslist Missed Connection with the heading "I accidentally spilled my grandmother's ashes on you." He was also given two able-bodied actors to work with. However, finding comedy often works best in threes, he somewhat foolhardily wound up, once the script was completed, making a call to the actors to inform them, "I'm going to have to come in for rehearsal with you. I've written myself into the script."

The festival was held in an upstairs backroom at a yupperific gay bar in the West Village. There was a two-drink minimum which was rather, er, enthusiastically enforced. The audience seemed already well-lubricated before the show began and there was nary an empty stool in the house.

Count on alcohol to make things funnier, but these were pretty funny to begin with. The plays all went over well, and laughter and applause mostly drowned out the electronic hoedown music issuing up the stairs. There were four pieces in total at the session I attended - the other three concerned a haunted toaster, a turtle enthusiast with a darker side, and two glamorstruck roommates with a bit too much interest invested in the life of Angelina Jolie.

Sean's contribution, entitled A Very Bad Play, has been posted on his website for the enjoyment of all. Feel free.