HELLO HUMAN FEMALE is gay friendly and vice versa...

From Gay List Daily
Dallas 01.19.2010

Hello Muddah, Hello Human Female
Jeremy Whiteker wears his falsies well

There’s nothing quite like an elaborate Broadway production with exotic costumes, intricate sets and a live orchestra.

Yet sometimes, a memorable theatre experience can be found at a hidden venue with modest costumes, a mostly naked set and a CD player on stage providing the soundtrack and necessary effects.

It’s what many affectionately call “fringe.” We like to think of it as “theatre in the raw.”

And there’s nothing more raw than Audacity Theatre Lab’s production of Hello Human Female at Teatro Dallas, one of the tiniest venues you’re likely to ever visit in Dallas.

The story follows an evil scientist (Jeremy Whiteker) looking for love on the Internet. When a 37-year-old virgin (Arianna Movassagh) shows up from his ad, she falls for his Igor-like assistant, Blork (Jeff Swearingen) instead. But it’s not until she takes him home to meet dear-old Ma (Whiteker) that the stage comes alive with an uproarious creative spark.

Whiteker in a wig and velour track suit is comedy gold. He’s a man channeling Barbra Streisand channeling Mike Myer’s Linda Richman with a dash of uptight televangelist Jan Crouch thrown in for good measure. We’d be happy to come back next year for a one-“woman” show, Hello Human Shemale, starring Whiteker. We’re thinking roller-skating musical, and possibly puppets and monkeys.

Movassagh has long been one of our favorite actresses and her wide-eyed blank slate of an expression is the perfect foil to Whiteker’s zesty, over-the-top creation. She can garner laughs with simply a stare.

As for Blork, we think we have a crush on him, too. As portrayed by Swearingen, we sense a sultry hotness beneath that hunched back. But we’re kinky that way.
The play itself is consistently funny, but this is one you go to see simply to feel connected to the actors’ energy in a way that’s completely impossible in an overly produced show on a giant stage. Here, you’re close enough to smell Mother’s White Diamonds.

And that’s just the way we like it.

Human Nurture
Audacity Theatre Lab offers another sip of Matt Lyle's comedy that features his most endearing character yet. Who doesn't heart Blork?
By Perry Stewart - TheatreJones.com
Published Sunday, January 17, 2010
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If the frantic and fickle world of pop culture would somehow evolve correctly, the romantic duo of Hello Human Female would be elevated to icon status and Blorkspeak would become the New Slang.

Audacity Theatre Lab premiered Matt Lyle's witty outrage of a comedy 11 months ago. Now the Dallas troupe is staging a slightly altered version that Lyle calls "The Remount." On the snug stage of Teatro Dallas, Blork and Tamela, the oddest couple in the solar system, launch anew their quest for love, compassion and pronouns. 

Tamela, 37, is a virgin who has "never even been kissed by a boy." As naive as she is desperate, Tamela responds to an online dating service pitch and is mismatched with Dr. Gorn, a B-movie-style mad scientist who hopes to inseminate Tamela with various strains of devil seed as part of his plan for world domination. 

But, wait: In lurches Blork, the lab assistant whom the good doctor has stitched together with parts from more than 30 human bodies. It's love at first leer, and Tamela takes Blork home to meet Mother. 

Director Brad McEntire's cast is uniformly excellent. Playwright Lyle has invested Tamela with a series of ridiculous quirks that become thoroughly endearing when brought to life by Arianna Movassagh. Her dollplay/foreplay is a charming example. Jeff Swearingen is nothing short of amazing as he stumbles through Blork's journey of self-discovery. This has to be one of the most actor-punishing roles in local theater history. 

Jeremy Whiteker excels as Dr. Gorn and Tamela's mother, with the Greater Tuna-esque latter character delivering bravo-worthy hilarity. Tyson Rinehart, one of two new cast members, appears as a homeless former astronaut and a dotty grandfather who mistakes Blork for a canine. That leads to a delightful parody of those rescue scenes from the Lassie TV series. ("Is Timmy in trouble? Take me to him.") 

Timmy, meanwhile, is played with shrill conviction by Becca Shivers, who reappears later as the Yakbeesapien, a sexually supercharged creation by Dr. Gorn. 

Johnny Sequenzia composed music for the earlier production, and this time he joins the cast as the narrator. 

McEntire's "dungeonesque" (Tamela's word) set is as spare as his direction is lively. Costume design (by Joyous Israel Keller) is full of whimsy. In particular: Movassagh's jumper and accessories, and Shivers' Yakbeesapien look. 

The most apparent updating in this remount is a Sarah Palin reference. Even she couldn't shoot down the lovable creations in Lyle's comedy.

Blork: The Interview

Read the article and see the original post on TheatreJones.com

CHOP to World Premiere

I will finally be performing my one-man show CHOP. CHOP began as an exploration of one character's thread from a play I wrote in Grad School called SEVEN PIECES OF THE TANGRAM (made up of 7 direct-address monologues that intertwined around one another culminating in a shared event). It was my Thesis play and did not turn out very good. Anyway, in Hong Kong in 2007, I took one character and spun that tale out into a one-man show. It eventually turned into CHOP. It will now world premiere at the Water Tower Theatre's 2009 Out of the Loop Fringe Festival.

Figured I oughta start getting the word out.

CHOP concerns a man devoid of ambition, with a profound sense of isolation from the busy, happy, productive people around him. Through a chance encounter with a mysterious tattooed woman he is introduced to what may be his true calling - a subculture of unique fetishists who enjoy getting their limbs lopped off. As the guy willing to wield the axe and make the chops, he may finally develop a sense of belonging.

Directed by Mr. Andy Merkel. Written and performed by yours truly for Audacity Theatre Lab.
Playing at the Stone Cottage at Water Tower Theatre, 15650 Addison Road, Addison, TX 75001, 972-450-6232

March 4th at 7:30 PM, 7th at 5 PM, 11th at 7:30 PM & 13th at 5 PM. For tickets click here.

~ Brad

HELLO HUMAN FEMALE returns!

Audacity Theatre Lab is proud to present the return of playwright Matt Lyle's twisted and heart-warming tale of misfits in love. Back by popular demand!
 
An online dating service connects Tamela, a guileless 37 year-old virgin looking for love, with Dr. Gorn, an evil scientist with ambitions of world domination. Things don't go according to Dr. Gorn's dastardly plan when Tamela falls instantly in love with his henchman, Blork, a simple, misshapen, noodle-armed creation. When Tamela takes Blork home to Mother, Blork is quickly sent away on what ultimately becomes a journey of self-discovery. The play follows Blork on his trek, with Tamela hot on his trail as they come across a cavalcade of eccentric individuals. HELLO HUMAN FEMALE is an odd and whimsical tale with the message that being full of love, kindness and understanding can make up for pretty much all of our apparent shortcomings.

Returning for the remount are four of the original cast memebers: Arianna Movassagh as Tamela, Jeff Swearingen as Blork, Jeremy Whiteker as Dr. Gorn and Mother, Becca Shivers as Timmy and Mandy. They will be joined by Audacity regular Tyson Rinehart as Homeless Harry and Gramps.  
Matt Lyle offers a new updated script and Brad McEntire returns to the director's helm.

Playing at the Teatro Dallas Space, 1331 Record Crossing Road, Dallas TX 75235. January 13-23, 2010.

HELLO HUMAN FEMALE makes Top 10

The Dallas Voice recently announced the Top 10 Productions of 2009 in the DFW area. Audacity's HELLO HUMAN FEMALE made the list! In celebration, we are bringing it back. That's right, back by popular demand, Matt Lyle's delightfully skewered tale of misfit love.

Check out the ATL website. Click here.