Hey hey, The Escapists! They might be coming to your town!
Hey hey, The Escapists! They might be coming to your town!
This was my first trip up to Eastport (or anywhere north of Bangor, really) and I and all the Escapists were very pleasantly surprised at the welcome we received. We were totally blown away by the near constant enthusiasm and the go-for-broke attitude everyone displayed both during the workshop and during the show.
Ariel sang the blues, that saucy manx:
And R.J. wailed about the rough life of a vegetarian:
We also got some video of the show, which may be available soon...!
Great news: the Escapists will be heading down to the Capitol Fringe Festival in Washington D.C. from July 23 - 30th! We'll be performing our favorite improvs and sketches along side comedians, artists and performers of all stripes! Quoth R.J.: "YEEEHAW!"
The Escapists are heading, north... north... all the way north to Eastport! We'll performing a show at The Eastport Arts Center, 36 Washington Avenue, on Saturday, March 18th at 7:00 pm. Tickets are $10. We are also offering a special comedy & improv workshop earlier that afternoon, 2:00 – 5:00 pm. Those who participate in the workshop will have a chance to use their skills in the evening performance! The cost of the workshop is $20 and includes admission to the performance. Please note that there is a limited availability for the workshop. For reservations call Brian Giles (207) 454-8939.
Great news! Those hard rockers Smoke Machine will be returning for our show on 2/27 (click on the shows link for more info)! If you can't wait till then you can catch some of the members of Smoke Machine playing at as MUROTU. Despite it's name it's nor a metal band but rather a modern jazz whose repertoire includes music by Kelly Muse, Brad Mehldau, The Flaming Lips and Radiohead.
Friday February 17th 9pm "Rich Tozier's Friday Night Jazz" Please tune into your local Maine Public Radio station or the internet at MPBN.net. This program will also be available indemand shortly after our broadcast.
Our own shelia Jackson will be performing in:
Vulvapalooza!
(the preshow to the Vagina Monologues)
Thursday, Feb.9, 8:30-9:30
Doors at 7pm
USM, Portland Campus
Cover $5 Suggested donation.
It's all to benefit SARS (not the disease, it's Sexual Assault Response
Services)
A fan lives the dream, standing on stage with the Escapists!
Quoth R.J.:
We should also give a big thank you to J.R. of Geno’s, who was gracious enough to let us get his stage all sopping wet (our last improv game involved sticking our heads in a bucket of water).
In other news, we have submitted applications to several fringe festivals. (What, you don't know what a fringe festival is?! Go here to find out.) We're keeping our fingers crossed for the well-regarded festivals in Toronto and Montreal, as well as a brand spanking new festival in Washington D.C. We should know more soon. We'll keep you updated on the results!
Also: The Escapists will be participating in the Neighborhood Snow Sculpture Festival on February 5th! We'll be creating snow sculpture madness right where congress intersects with the Eastern Prom. Feel free to drop by anytime after 10 am!
Behold the Escapists with their fellow improv gods, Brad Sherwood and Colin Mochrie!
R.J. has this to say:
Wow, a lot to catch up on here…
Waaay back in October we got to see a couple of great comedians, Colin Mochrie and Brad Sherwood. They performed some truly kick ass games including one that involved walking barefoot across a stage full of mousetraps. By the end of the show we were as giddy as a whole load of Japanese School girls following their favorite pop band. We were lucky enough to meet them after the show and we even got them to sign the mousetraps we had swiped off the stage.
Next, we should say a big thank you to the wonderful musicians of Smoke Machine. Their arena-anthems totally rocked Geno's, and their blues riff was so fierce that it caused Brian to swoon as he was improvising a song with it. (Really...Brian, totally sober, just keeled over. I thought he was just "in the moment.") Anyway, it was a great way to start off our monthly series of shows at Geno's. We are very grateful to the staff of Geno's for taking a chance on us and can't wait to come back next month.
But the musicians of Smoke Machine have an entirely different side to them! As "The Brandon Turner Trio" they are amazingly talented jazz musicians. You can see this for yourself on the evening of Saturday the 26th. Just head down to Slainte (pronounced Slan-cha, don't know you know) at 24 Preble Street, across from the public market (it's where Meritage used to be).
In other news: Also an extremely belated happy birthday to our “comedy Buddha” Shelia Jackson. Both of these two are rather self effacing so I'll just say that the Escapists would not be the Escapists without her dedication, talent and courage.
R.J. reports on two more upcoming gigs:
November 21st, 8:00 PM at Geno's. The first of our monthly gigs at Geno’s! We’ll be performing there, the third Monday of every month. We’ll be performing with a very special guest, the band Smoke Machine. Yes, they have a smoke machine, and with good reason; they are accomplished jazz and classical musicians who cover everyone from Queen to Whitesnake. Expect plenty of gusto and no irony! ($5.00 cover)
December 19th 8:00 PM at Geno’s. The holiday hijinks continue with our second monthly gig at Geno's! 625 Congress Street, $5.00 cover.
R.J. has this update from the Munjfest:
Wow, munjfest was quite a blast! We were lucky enough to even perform during a spot of sunny weather. First off, Shelia Jackson hosted the dog show…admittedly I’m a sucker for that sort of thing but there really were some adorable dogs there. Despite Shelia’s blatant attempt to bribe the judges, her dog Jack only came in second place for “best trick." What was the trick?
Shelia: Jack sit!
(Jack doesn’t move)
Shelia: See, he doesn’t do anything he doesn’t want
to
do!
Then the Escapists took the stage. Just as we were introducing ourselves a surprise guest interrupted us… Gov. Baldacci! Apparently he was doing a press conference right down the hill and wanted to let the audience know about it. (Hmmm… what sort of press conference do you hold on a Sunday afternoon? Someone please email us if you know what it was about.)
So then the Escapists not only had to follow a dog show but an appearance by the Governor of our state… that wasn’t intimidating at all! Fortunately the audience was with us. The kids in the audience were especially fantastic.
R.J.: O.K. now can someone suggest an … (kids in the audience aren’t waiting, they are already raising their hands)… an emotion for us to act out?
Kid: Stupid!
R.J.: Um, that’s good but not really an emotion…
any
other suggestions…
Another Kid: Underwear!
Yet Another Kid: Confused!
R.J.: O.K.! Let’s go with confused!
We are really grateful to the organizers of Munjfest for letting us participate.
Munjfest. A great festival. Still kinda weirded out by the name...
Many thanks to all the nice people who came down to 10 Mayo Street to see Accelerate! A fine time was had by all, and we were able to donate some money to the Red Cross in this time of flood & crisis down south. We hope to see you next time...
The Orcacle speaks!!!
Lots to report in the land of The Escapists...first of all, the first week of performances for Accelerate went very well at 10 Mayo Street. Among the members of the sold-out crowd at the Friday show was Megan Grumbling of the Portland Phoenix, whose kind and generous review can be read in the paper's September 2-8 issue. We hope to see even bigger crowds in Week Two...
Secondly, The Escapists (minus, alas, Miss Sheila Jackson) were featured on WMPG community radio in the wee morning hours of August 31st, trading quips with DJ Doody Queen and valiantly trying to be funny before dawn. Many thanks to the Doody Queen for spreading the Escapist gospel over the airwaves!
Thirdly, there are future gigs to announce:
September 15th: Participating Americo Cabaret at Geno’s 9 pm. $5 Cover.
December 5th: Escapists Holiday Extravaganza! Benefit for the St. Lawrence. At the St. Lawrence at 8 P.M. Tickets $12 or phone 775-1248.
The Escapists Present...Accelerate!
In Accelerate the audience will help the Escapists create a unique performance by selecting from a myriad of sketches and improv games. As the Escapists have more sketches & games than can possibly be performed in one evening, each performance will be different. It’s sort of like getting to assemble a puzzle while you simultaneously create the pieces! This mix of sketch comedy and improv will be performed Thursdays and Fridays August 25th and 26th and September 1st and 2nd at 8:00 pm at 10 Mayo Street (the A Company of Girls space). Tickets are $5 and are available at the door one hour before the show. No reservations are necessary. Be advised the show contains mature language and themes. A portion of the proceeds will go to benefit A Company of Girls. For more information click here or call (207) 615-4021.
Here's a message from one of the Escapists:
Hello Everyone,
Let me first make an introduction, my name is Brian Giles and I am a
local comedian. I ride my bike to work everyday, I once officiated a
real life gay marriage and have attended several big protests and some
small ones too. Those are my credentials for being a member of the
revolution.
Lately I have been thinking about all of you and thinking that quite
often in the world of politics and trying to change the world we don't
take enough time to laugh. Whenever a rally is held it is with somber
voices and faces, I am offering this opportunity to come and laugh and
enjoy the revolution even if just for a night. After all Lao Tzu said
"The Tao that is laughed at is the true Tao." On August 3rd at Acoustic
Coffee I am hosting a night of stand-up comedy entitled "The Renegades
Of Comedy" with a few comics that I consider revolutionary and some of
our friends. Maybe this will be a good way to kick of August before
Mars crashes right the hell into us.
Peace,
The Reverend Brian Giles
The Escapists were lucky enough to be joined by our fellow cohorts Peter Brown, Jessica Porter and Rob Levin for pratice on July 17th. There were so may people that the Escapist Clubhouse couldn't hold everyone and we had to spill out into the back yard... actually it might have been the neighbors' back yard. Anyway we felt blessed to be around so much sillyness and hope to be able to do it again very soon!
Rob, Ariel, Peter, Jessica, Brian, Chris & Shelia.
Here's a show that will feature Ariel the Escapist...
The Stage at Spring Point
presents Moliere's The Miser
Outdoors at Spring Point
(SMCC Campus, South Portland)
Wed - Sun, July 13th - July 30th, 7:30 pm
July 13th and 14th: Preview Nights
July 15th: Gala Opening
Limited seating only -- Free to the public
Tickets available at the door beginning at 6 pm
Welcome to the Classics
pre-performance program presented by YAI students
Wed, July 20th - Sat, July 23rd; 6:45 pm
For weather cancellations,
call 207-828-0128
Seating is on a "first come, first serve" basis, so
come early.
Visit the show info section of our site
for more information as well as directions to Spring
Point and SMCC.
On July 21st The Escapists will be participating in the Americo Cabaret. The cabaret will feature actors, musicians and all sorts of creative types giving, in the words of the creators, “A Totally Biased and Slanted Look at the World We Live in Today." July 21st 9 to 10:30 p.m. Thursday at Geno's 625 Congress St. (the remarkably refurbished building that was the Skinny). There's a $3 cover charge.
On Tuesday July 26th The Escapists will unleash a no-holds barred all out improv blitzkrieg all across Portland. Where will we strike? What chaos will we unleash? No one knows! However we can reveal that we will be winding up at Post office park/ Tommy’s park (between Exchange and Market streets, next to Natasha’s) at roughly 7:30 pm. In the event that the park is overtaken by proselytizing preachers or aggressive hackysack players we use Monument Square as a backup. In either case we will provide the good citizens of Portland with a half hour's worth of improv guaranteed to brighten their day. Be sure to be there to catch guerilla theater at its best!
And … it’s dynamic, it’s audience-interactive, and it’s as yet untitled! Yes… it’s our new full-length show! It will be performed on Thursdays and Fridays Aug 25th & 25th and Sep 1st & 2nd 8pm at 10 Mayo Street (the Company of Girls space off of Cumberland). Tickets will be $5.00, available at the door one hour before showtime. No reservations needed. We will have more details for you as we get closer to the show!
Here is an update from Brian Giles:
My comedy connection showcase spots are as follows...7/31, and 8/16. I will be performing in Lewiston at Confetti's on Friday July 8th. I will be performing in Old Orchard Beach for a show called Adult Camp on July 16th. As always I can be seen every single Wednesday from here till eternity at Acoustic Coffee. You should also know that I my commercial (see entry for 3/9) is nationally airing now. A few of my friends saw it in New Orleans on the late night white trash stations. Awesome!
The Escapists dare you to take a look into… The Future!
The Escapists present “The Oracle." This a chance for you, yes you, to ask questions of a mighty, all-seeing oracle. Ask any question you like -- The Oracle can see into the future, uncover secrets of the past and look into the very depths of the soul. It also has three heads and goes “whooo…” in a spooky voice. We’re talking really spooky. You can see The Oracle on Sunday July the 3rd at 10 a.m. at Tommy’s Park (in between Exchange and Market streets, next to Natasha’s).
A very happy birthday to our Very Own Brian Giles. We don't want to even think about where we'd be without his 10,000-watt energy, his fearless charge where angels fear to tread, his ability to see the bizarre and goofy in the most mundane situations, and his innate spirituality that has made him the Reverend. Happy birthday big guy!
- A big thank you to the Walsh brothers for allowing us to make the trek down to Boston and join in the insanity that is The Great and Secret Comedy Show!
Jenn McLeod and Brian Giles will be heading back down to Boston with Portland Stage Company favorite Mark Honan to perform Adam Szymkowicz's High Noon for the Boston 10 Minune Theater Marathon. Not quite an Escapists project but pretty darn close. Below are some pics from the rehearsal.
- We discovered this cool website for a group called Improv Everywhere. We've been become really inspired by these guys... we'd probably slavishly imitate them if they weren’t so darn original. We are therefore planning to erupt our own moment’s delightful chaos in Portland this summer... stay tuned for more details!
Well, Keep Moving turned out to be a rousing success -- the final show was especially well-attended by whooping fans -- and The Escapists are very grateful to all those who came out to see them. First Mayo Street, then -- the WORLD!!!!!!
Alert!!
Theater scribe Megan Grumbling has reviewed Keep
Moving in this week's issue of the Portland Phoenix,
and boy does she like The Escapists, whom she calls "an exceptionally
smart, energetic, and well-appointed young gang of comics." Looks like
all that shameless begging for attention has finally paid off. To see
the review, click here.
R.J. McComish has this update:
"The past few days have been a crazybusyfun whirlwind as we get Keep Moving together... putting up flyers, wig-fittings, tracking down that Grand Master Flash CD to set the perfect mood for one of our sketches. And in the midst of all this, Ariel Francoeur's birthday is April 4th! I remember when I first asked Ariel to join the Escapists troupe, I expected her to give a polite “no thanks” seeing as how she was either directing or acting in a seeminglyly endless series of plays by Shakespeare, Albee, Sophocles, etc. Thank god she said yes. She has been both a wonderful teacher, schooling us in articulation and projection as well as an eager student who’s learned so much about the inspired silliness of improv. Sniff... O.K. enough of the schmaltzy stuff... we gotta get back to work!"
Escapists bigshot-director-dude R.J. McComish will be directing this little upcoming show:
The Portland Stage Company Affiliate Artists present a special Longfellow's Shorts event:
GOTHIC! a evening of chills and
horrors
featuring M.T. Anderson's "Watch and Wake"
from the anthology Gothic!
edited by Deborah Noyes
Post show discussion with M.T. Anderson & Deborah Noyes
Monday, April 11
7:00 PM
Portland Stage Company
Suggested Donation: $5
The Escapists are headed to Beantown! (Does anyone say beantown any more, or is it just gauche?) The Walsh Brothers have graciously invited us to appear with them down at the ImprovBoston Theater, 1253 Cambridge St.Inman Square, Cambridge. The tentative date for the show is Thursday May 12th at 10 pm.
Best birthday wishes to our own Chris Fitze, who turns 29 this Saturday the 26th! We proudly salute our comrade who has taught us so much about improv, made us fearless with comedy and was so dedicated to our "Proud Mary" sketch that he shaved his goatee to match Ike Turner! Whoo hoo!!!!
Wow... we are still coming off the high from the March Madness Comedy show. After working on our sketches for so long in solitude, it was such a relief to do them in front of a live audience who found them, you know, funny. So, a huge thanks to everyone who came out to the show! We also owe a huge debt to the show's host and comedic diva Christine O'Leary. She helped to settle our nerves and got the crowd in an excellent mood!
Well our own Brian Giles is in a commercial for a pseudo-pharmaceutical cream designed for men to, uh, pleasure themselves. ‘Cause that will help get the ladies, don’t you know. Somehow. We wish we could say it's one of our sketches; alas it's all too real. You can take a look at it here. Brian is the one with the big arrow pointing to his forehead, making the universal sign for "Loser!"
Ariel has this to say about her (extremely) upcoming show:
"AIRE Theatre presents...
The Colleen Bawn
(starring Ariel as the Colleen Bawn)
A staged reading of an Irish melodrama
Where: Maine Irish Heritage Center, State Street
When: St. Patty's Day, Thursday March 17 @ 7:30
Sunday, March 20 @ 3:00
How much: Suggested donation of $10 (remember suggested)
For more info: 799-5327"
Brian Giles has this message for y'all:
"Hello Y'all,
Ok it is that time again...I have entered myself in that comedy slugfest, Portland's Funniest Professional at the Comedy Connection. I have entered myself three times thus far and always made it to the final round but I have never won. I need your support desperately, I need a crowd of people so big the laughter will blow my face off. I want to win this time.
So if you are not doing anything Thursday night (St. Patrick's Day) come on down to the Comedy Connection and have a few laughs, hopefully while I am on stage, and support your pitiful loser of a friend. For reservations please call (207) 774-5554. Showtime is at 8:30. Price of admission is $6. Also be listening to the Bone @ 4PM on Friday as I will be on the air.
Peace out,
The Reverend La Petite Choupique"
Brian Giles is on the Bone! Yes the Radio station The Bone (106.7 FM and 104.7 FM) isn’t just for AC/DC anymore! Host Mark Turcotte will interview Brian on Friday March 18th at 4:00 p.m. This is your chance to get the inside scoop on life as an Escapist and perhaps get a chance to score some free tickets to our upcoming show in April!
Are you too tired to read to your kids at bedtime? Shelia Jackson has the solution… bedtime stories on tape! With titles like "Dead Kitty, Blind Dog" we are confidant she’ll have the little tikes asleep in no time! You'll have two chances to hear Shelia perform these charming stories on Wednesday 2/2. She will be performing at acoustic coffee www.acousticcoffee.net with Brian Giles at 7:00 and at the comedy connection www.mainecomedy.com at 8:30 p.m.
Click on the link on your left to see photos from our latest show. In other news our own Brian Giles will be performing again at the Comedy Connection Thursday the 23rd. For reservations call 207-774-5554.
A huge thank you to everyone who helped make our Jan 16th show such a triumphant return! Also, a huge bouquet of hugs and kisses to those who attended our earlier performances at Acoustic Coffee and USM; you helped develop a tiny zygote of an idea into full-blown lunacy. Of course a deep debt of gratitude to our hosts Casco Bay Books. (Click on the links to find out about other events at these venues.) For those of you who missed the event, we will be posting photographs soon!
Keep your calendars marked for Friday April 8th and 15th – these are the tentative dates for the Escapists' next show. We’ll be pulling out all the stops with this baby! We’re talking fire-eaters, dancing seals...the whole works!
Finally, our own Ariel Franccoeur is stepping behind the scenes to direct University of Southern Maine’s mainstage production of Lysistrata. The show begins on Friday, Feb 11th. Call (207) 780-5151 for all the juicy details!
*If you sign up to receive Escapists updates 1) We will not sell your name to some slimy spammer 2) You will be the coolest kid on your block by getting all the inside dope on the Escapists!
1.6.2005
Bleak winter weather got you down? The Escapists are here to help!
The Escapists are a group that has pledged to uncover the quirky and bizarre in even the most mundane circumstances. But what happens when they go undercover in the den of depravity that is…Wal Mart? Are their sketches, improv and comedy enough to battle the forces of corporate monoculture?
Find out in Return of the Escapists!, Sunday the 16th at 6:30 & 7:30 at Casco Bay Books, 151 Middle Street, Portland (right above Bull Moose and Videoport).
Shows are about thirty minutes long; there is no charge, but seating is limited, so get there early! And grab your favored hot beverage at the coffee bar!
We’ve got new members on board including Brian Giles -- back doing comedy after a sojourn in the wilds of Louisiana -- and Ariel Francoeur, AKA "ingenue with a whip." And of course we also have musician/actor/improver extraordinaire Chris Fitze and Sheila Jackson (winner of the Portland’s Funniest Professional contest, don’t you know)!
Hope you can join us! Look forward to seeing you!