Lazy Mortal Performance Fart

- Paul Joiner  

The first weekend was harder than I'd hoped. It was not nearly as bad as I feared. It is a rare thing for me to be happy with a show while it's running. We're all a little older and more experienced; but then so are my joints.

Ow.

The second weekend was harder with two shows on a single evening. It was more rewarding with the higher volume of laughter. There were more folks at Deville and Ruta Maya was packed to the rafters for all the bands with whom we shared their generous stage. Those people laughed at jokes I thought no one would ever get. I love this town.

There was a time I did five shows a day plus street improvisation at the Texas Renaissance Festival. Those shows were only a half hour and I was a little younger and stronger. Or perhaps my memories of those days are clouded by single malt and time. But even then the high energy fart jokes wore me out.

The performing troupe is called Les Immortels. That was the next step in the line of one-upsmanship that is the history of Aaron's commedia troupes. We began as I Arroganti which is not-Italian for the arrogant guys. We got the idea from the historical troupe I Gelosi. What's better than being jealous? Arrogance, of course; arrogance and fart jokes.

When Aaron founded the Austin Commedia Society we decided the next step was I Megalomani. Again, not-Italian to honor our awareness that we are so very not traditional. The rest of us in the troupe thought megalomania nicely described Aaron.

Today we have reached the pinnacle of hubris. The name is also in French to add to the number of languages we simultaneously misuse. Using French also means that Adam (our Pulcinella) doesn't have to try and say Gl'Immortali.

Have I mentioned that I'm having fun with this? Mind you, working with these people doesn't help my own ego problems. They make me feel simultaneously inadequate and lucky to be alive. Gian worked us hard to make us funny. I feel like I'm running just to keep up with the rest of the troupe. But I need the cardio.
The thought of getting to play with them makes me get out of bed when I'd rather sleep just a few more days. To put it in my usual vernacular, these guys rock like God's balls.
Risate a tutti.

Home from Rehearsal

- Paul Joiner  

Late Sunday evening we're home from an exhausting but productive rehearsal. Three sessions in and we've improved through the whole scenario. We've roughed out the choreography of the final fight scene. We've made the funny.

There's no more vicious and exacting beast than comedy. We ride her as she bucks and throws us, biting and kicking the whole time. Sometimes it's hard to tell whether it's the comedy or us that's doing the biting and kicking.

The ideas run like fire in the California hills. Each spark triggers another and another until it all devolves to ashes and giggling. I had no idea how much I missed it.