Mission Mission

Old Murder House is the team that brought the world “Aliens on Ice,” footage of which took the internet by storm back when it premiered:

So, their take on Jurassic Park will likely be epic. Plus, a tipster tells us, “while there is no bar at Children’s Fairyland wink wink backpacks will not be searched.” RSVP and invite your friends!

Advance tickets are available here.

Did you know that stand-up comedy, as we know it, started in San Francisco? It’s true! According to Joe Rogan on Episode 161 of the WTF podcast, anyway. He credits it to when Mark Twain first started giving hilarious speeches filled with wit and biting social commentary around town. Without Mark Twain, no Gallagher. Think about that.

Anyways, the other day I passed by Mission comedian Chris Garcia in the street, jumped in front of him, and blurted out, “CHRIS GARCIA!”. After this, I had no follow up other than a crazy wild-eyed stare. He looked at me a bit terrified. I followed up with, “Umm, yeah, sorry. I’m Vic from Mission Mission.”  He was like, “Oh hey! You should come to the Business this week. It’s our 2-year birthday.”

The Business is a weekly comedy showcase at the Dark Room featuring Chris, Sean Keane, Alex Koll, and Bucky Sinister. They also feature out-of-town comedians passing through.Why not take part in the rich history of San Francisco comedy and check them out tonight? The show starts at 8pm. Here is the event page.

Also, Chris Garcia (as Dr. 4:20) wishes you a happy day:

It’s tonight at Kitsch Gallery. Read all about it:

Once there was a time when people knew the difference between sacrifice and compromise. Which is to say, they knew the difference between a walrus and a robot. Which is to say, they knew the difference between a hole in the ice… and the ice itself. They knew each of the 18 hand movements prescribed by Time Motion Study, and they knew how to use them in a way that was restful. This play is a television mini-series about that remarkable period of time.

As always, The Missoula Oblongata is asking the big questions here: Can inefficiency be cured? If a robot is smarmy, is it only a reflection of your own smarminess? What exactly does it take to get oneself on a postage stamp?

This April, The Missoula Oblongata will be touring their new play, The Daughter of the Father of Time Motion Study around the country. It’s the company’s sixth touring production–this one half the size of their usual main-stage fare, but with all of the moving parts, twisty dialog, and duct-taped together lighting that the company has become known for. And all of it is created, performed, and operated from the stage (that is, a 6′ x 6′ x ’6 box) by the three full-time members of the company: Madeline ffitch, Sarah Lowry, and Donna Sellinger.

RSVP and invite your friends here.

If there’s one thing we can all agree on, it’s that Clueless is the movie of our generation. And now some nice folks want to bring it to the stage. They’re calling their performance “AS IF! Like, a performance, DUH!” and they need some help with funding. Our buddy Lux tells us more:

It’s being put together by Mission locals and performed at a warehouse  at 17th and Capp. This project is going to rule!! The show begins in early April, and there is going to be and opening party Sat. March 12th with rad bands like Boys IV Men at Project One Gallery.

See the AS IF! Kickstarter page for complete details, a rad promotional video and more.

The Bay Citizen has a little feature up right now about a play called Clybourne Park, about some insensitive white people (pictured) moving into a black neighborhood and being pumped about “its potential.” They sent us a memo because “the play is about gentrification, which of course is an issue y’all are dealing with in the Mission.” Whoa! That’s true!

Read on to watch some clips of the play and its actors discussing their roles.

Want some theater with your beer and salty snacks for a change? Chelsea G. has a deal for you:

I work at Z Space, over at Project Artaud at Florida and Mariposa. We’ve got a play running right now, The Companion Piece, that’s getting rave reviews and want to invite more of our Mission neighbors to it. We were wondering if you might be able to share this discount? For just $10 locals can get a ticket, a beer and a popcorn to any of the four remaining performances if they enter the code “neighbor” when ordering tickets here.

Thanks, Chelsea!

My pal Katie Cruz is directing a one woman show written and performed by Veronica Mannion called Booze, Boys and Brownies: A Musical Journey. She plays 13 characters!

Showing December 3rd, 4th, 9th, 10th & 11th at 8pm at the Exit Theatre. Tickets are $12 at the door and $9 online. (cheap!)

Check out the teaser and have a connection.

Fellow theatre enthusiast Katie Cruz and I recently attended a press showing of Intersection for the Arts and Campo Santo‘s newest play, Habibi, running now through November 7th. Both of us are big theatre people (you can tell by the way I spell “theatre”!) and would love to encourage more people our age (70 and under) to actually go see live performances. In the Bay Area we have all kinds of great companies and houses, including Intersection, ACT, Shotgun Players, Berkeley Rep, etc.

To begin reviewing plays, Katie and I had to come up with our rating system. First we came up with a lot of funny jokes that weren’t actually that funny and not very useful, then we came up with a system (shown below) that rates plays on a five part scale.

Hopefully that’s helpful. Anyway, on to our reviews:

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Mission Loc@l reminds us not to miss “Los Monólogos de la Vagina” on Nov. 20 at Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts.

Remember, it’s pronounced: “Va-HEE-na”.

Opening tonight, Waiting for Godot plays a two week run at our wacky arts space The Secret Alley. The Off Center and Collective Theater Productions produce this latest interpretation of the ahead-of-its-time Beckett classic by director Wolfgang Wachalovsky. Come see it for laughs, arguments, confusion and more.

The show is Thursday, Friday and Saturday of this weekend and next, all shows at 8pm. Tickets are available at Brown Paper Tickets. The Secret Alley is at 180 Capp St. near 17th.

Sweet!