AMA: Ask Me Anything!

shando · Post by **shando** » October 3rd, 2012, 3:50 pm

Marc Majcher wrote: In college, I became a fan of the Jim Rose Circus Sideshow, and I decided that it would be a really good idea to learn how to do some of the less disgusting stuff, for fun. I taught myself to eat and manipulate fire, pound a nail into my face, chew up razor blades (not swallow them, of course), escape from straight jackets, endure an unnecessary amount of pain, eat light bulbs, and so on. (I also used to juggle and do some magic and stuff, and got okay with bullwhip tricks before I lost interest...)

I never got to the "hang kitchen appliances from my dick piercings and drink the contents of my pumped stomach" stage, but it was still pretty fun. Pretty much all self-taught; there's not really too much of a "trick" to most of it, other than the willingness to potentially hurt yourself for the entertainment of others. (I spent a long subway ride back from Brooklyn early one morning with my hand cooling off in a pint of Ben & Jerry's, after getting drunk and playing with fire the wrong way...)

There was never a "omigod I'm stopping this" moment, it just kind of petered out over the years after I'd moved to San Francisco, and all of my friends had seen all of my tricks. I'm not sure that my teeth are 100% up to it these days, but I could be talked into showing off again one of these days, I'm sure. It's been a decade or so since I've had a nail in my face, so I'm probably a little rusty, so don't expect any miracles.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVmq9dq6Nsg[/youtube]

ChadW · Post by **ChadW** » October 3rd, 2012, 7:15 pm

Holy spinning pie pan, Mia, I didn't know you'd won a nationals game on a Callahan! Phenomenal.

So, my turn.

Justin D. wrote: Hey, Chad, how's the weather up there? Okay, sorry. Real question: you seem like a really calm guy, but when is the last time you got really pissed off? Why? What did you do?

The weather up here is high-minded and punny.

First off, as preface, I'm tickled (and perhaps pleased) to be considered calm; it's where I prefer to be. I am at heart rather live-and-let-live, but I can be hot-headed verbally and can fire up all the way fast when something crosses my boundaries. It tends to run its course quickly, though (especially once I'm out of the context), so I'm practiced at waiting it out before I act rashly. Unfortunately, this enforced patience tends to freeze out choices made by happy inspiration (rather than angered inspiration) as well, which is something I've had to fight with improv.

The last time I was peeved is thus usually close at hand*, but I think you're looking more for the last time that was strong and immediate enough to act on. I will respond very quickly with anger and violence if I'm struck, but I'm careful to give verbal warning quickly when hit. Most everyone has heeded this, though usually with some amount of offense that I would dare misinterpret their obviously playful attack. I'm nervous about doing hardcore Johnstone-style mask work because it could drop the block I have between anger and action. Certain forms of interpersonal selfishness/rudeness/cruelty will trip me fast enough that I'll act on it without thought, so here's the best example I can think of.

I remember talking idly to a fellow student after a class one day, waiting my turn to ask the prof a question. My interlocutor was one of those that never truly listened to anyone else, but that didn't stop me from trying to get through. This probably put me in a somewhat frustrated/angry place to start with. When the prof finished with the other student, I turned to him and started asking my question. Interlocutor student at this point CONTINUED TALKING OVER ME, trying to convince me of his point or something, utterly ignoring that I'd turned to the prof and started asking my question. I turned back to him and cussed him out in the Angry Voice that comes out when I'm riled (ask some time if you'd like to hear)-- telling him that I was trying to have a conversation with another person, and could he shut the fuck up for long enough for me to do that, etc. He, at this point, managed to stop talking, though with a smirk on his face that inspired a deeper and lasting hatred since he was enjoying the discomfort he caused me. The prof seemed a bit shocked at this, but I turned back to him and calmly re-asked my question.

* My boss is rather infuriating, for instance, but he's actually pretty similar to me in this way. We'll end up arguing vehemently about some niggling point of detail and then be joking again within ten minutes. I don't particularly enjoy the habit, but there it is.

jesspasc · Post by **jesspasc** » October 4th, 2012, 12:23 pm

Justin, you obviously love improv and Austin. What brought you here originally and would you ever move anywhere else?

Also, Marc--I would love to see any of your aforementioned skills but I would probably cover my face the whole time and squeal in discomfort and concern.

Justin D. · Post by **Justin D.** » October 4th, 2012, 5:01 pm

jesspasc wrote:Justin, you obviously love improv and Austin. What brought you here originally and would you ever move anywhere else?

A storm, both literally and figuratively brought me to Austin. In 2005, I was a middle school English teacher in Gulfport, Mississippi. Then, Hurricane Katrina hit. The school I taught at shut down for five weeks for repairs. At that point, it kicked in that this was my chance to leave Mississippi. I'd never felt happy there, but I had lived there for 29 years of my life. It was time to get the fuck out. During those five weeks, I interviewed for jobs in Atlanta and different cities in California. I didn't take any of those jobs and went back to teaching when the school opened back up, but the thought of moving kept kicking around in my brain. Then, in January 2006, I had another life-altering event happen, which ended up causing a couple more. I was fired by my school. When boiled down, the reason came out to me being a good teacher but not a great employee, which meant I hated what I thought of as pointless meetings and paperwork. I totally own up to that too and have since changed, mostly. (The super bizarre thing is that they let me go in the middle of a school day instead of at least waiting until the end of the day.) After some serious soul searching, I made the heart-crushing choice to break up with my girlfriend, who I had been with for over nine years. She was away getting her MBA, and I honestly thought she deserved someone better than I was able to be at the time. I had absolutely nothing left keeping me in Mississippi then, so I started looking for somewhere else to live again. That's when I remembered that my new ex-girlfriend had always talked about moving to Austin and what a cool city it is. After checking out the place online, I decided to move here. It honestly wasn't a ploy to win her back. I collected my teacher retirement money that I'd garnered, found someone on Craigslist who needed a roommate (which is an assortment of other stories about the roommates Drunk Chef and Stinky Non-lesbian) on January 26, and pulled into Austin on February 1 having not been to Texas before. I was here for about six months before I got back together with that girlfriend (Kristina), and we lived together until last year when we parted ways.

Would I ever move anywhere else? Right now, I say absolutely not. Within a matter of weeks, I felt completely at home in Austin, as if it was the place I was meant to be. Still do. I'm regularly trying to get friends of mine who live in Jackson, MS to move here.

jesspasc wrote:Also, Marc--I would love to see any of your aforementioned skills but I would probably cover my face the whole time and squeal in discomfort and concern.

I've already told him that should at least be a Free Fringe show.

Chuy! · Post by **Chuy!** » October 4th, 2012, 6:13 pm

Jessie... I gotta ask. Please don't hate me or be offended. Are you related to early 80's TV star Joyce DeWitt??? You are a dead ringer for her!

Rev. Jordan T. Maxwell · October 5th, 2012, 9:53 am

Chuy! wrote:Jessie... I gotta ask. Please don't hate me or be offended. Are you related to early 80's TV star Joyce DeWitt??? You are a dead ringer for her!

(note to self: Jessie, Kayla and Jason Finkelman in improvised Three's Company format. Asaf and Jessica as the Ropers. Brett as Larry.

)

shando · Post by **shando** » October 5th, 2012, 11:48 am

Chuy! wrote:Jessie... I gotta ask. Please don't hate me or be offended. Are you related to early 80's TV star Joyce DeWitt??? You are a dead ringer for her!

True, but I've always thought more of a Tina Fey thing with Jessie.

JasonF · Post by **JasonF** » October 5th, 2012, 5:29 pm

Hahaha. Good casting, Jordan. In.

Justin D. · Post by **Justin D.** » October 5th, 2012, 9:24 pm

Rev. Jordan T. Maxwell wrote:
Chuy! wrote:Jessie... I gotta ask. Please don't hate me or be offended. Are you related to early 80's TV star Joyce DeWitt??? You are a dead ringer for her!
(note to self: Jessie, Kayla and Jason Finkelman in improvised Three's Company format. Asaf and Jessica as the Ropers. Brett as Larry. )

Not that I'm complaining, but I'm actually surprised I wasn't cast in the Jack Tripper role because I've had multiple people tell me I look like John Ritter. Maybe it's harder to see with the beard.

Oh, and I totally see Katie Thornton as Krissy.

jesspasc · Post by **jesspasc** » October 6th, 2012, 1:29 am

Nope! No relation!

A-ha! Easy question

jesspasc · Post by **jesspasc** » October 6th, 2012, 1:31 am

shando wrote:
Chuy! wrote:Jessie... I gotta ask. Please don't hate me or be offended. Are you related to early 80's TV star Joyce DeWitt??? You are a dead ringer for her!
True, but I've always thought more of a Tina Fey thing with Jessie.

Weird! I've never gotten Tina Fey. A (younger) Liza Minelli and Anne Hathaway, yes, but no Tina. I'm actually much more flattered by that comparison than either of the former

Mike · Post by **Mike** » October 6th, 2012, 1:54 am

CHUY! - You seem to write and direct a lot of local shows. Is there one that really stands out as your "Best" work so far, or do you think all of your work is equally great?

Part 2: What's one idea/play/show you would bring to life if you had unlimited resources?

Chuy! · Post by **Chuy!** » October 6th, 2012, 2:48 am

Mike wrote:CHUY! - You seem to write and direct a lot of local shows. Is there one that really stands out as your "Best" work so far, or do you think all of your work is equally great?

Part 2: What's one idea/play/show you would bring to life if you had unlimited resources?

To clarify, I don't write anything... I am not a writer... I AM a director... One of my favorite parts of being a director is taking someone's words and interpreting them for the stage. I love finding something that I love in a script and helping to influence a piece of work into a piece of art.

Part 1: My best directed work is probably the last play I directed, "Cura". It was a drama with no hints of comedy. I get pidgeon-holed as a comedic director quite a bit... I really would rather direct drama and perform comedy.

Part 2: This is my biggest weakness as a director. I don't actively seek out plays or projects to direct. It's not that I'm lazy, I've just never found THAT script or idea that speaks to me and only me. I want to entertain people who come see my shows... If I fail at that, I suck. So far, so good, I hope.

(That being said, I would love to do a production of the play called, "The Diviners")

Rev. Jordan T. Maxwell · October 8th, 2012, 11:19 am

Justin D. wrote:
Rev. Jordan T. Maxwell wrote:
Chuy! wrote:Jessie... I gotta ask. Please don't hate me or be offended. Are you related to early 80's TV star Joyce DeWitt??? You are a dead ringer for her!
(note to self: Jessie, Kayla and Jason Finkelman in improvised Three's Company format. Asaf and Jessica as the Ropers. Brett as Larry. )
Not that I'm complaining, but I'm actually surprised I wasn't cast in the Jack Tripper role because I've had multiple people tell me I look like John Ritter. Maybe it's harder to see with the beard.

sigh...fine, when we do improvised Eight Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter, we'll call you in. satisfied?

Rev. Jordan T. Maxwell · October 8th, 2012, 12:19 pm

Mike, we've talked about your experiences in the military here and there, but how did you first get involved in that field?