L.A. TIMES - Feature Article

Fools don't fear to tread on bad screenplays
Troupe cobbles together worst scenes in an evening of humor where English might not even be the native tongue.

REST assured, says "Magnum Opus" director Joe Jordan, "no puppy dogs were hurt in the making of this show."

Like everything in "Magnum Opus," that's meant to be taken literally.

"Opus" began as part of the Sacred Fools Theater Company's "Serial Killers" -- a long-running late-night show where serialized short plays competed with each other for audience favor and the right to return the next week for another installment. "Opus" presented itself as a mock "Masterpiece Theater" -- complete with theater-snob host Thurston Eberhard Hillsboro-Smythe (portrayed by actor Brandon Clark) -- and featured scrupulously faithful renditions of terribly written (hello, slush pile) screenplays, including live "dissolves," real-time montages and a handful of canine peepers (as in, "gives puppy dog eyes").

Something about the sincerely performed drivel struck a chord and "Opus" became "Serial Killers' " most popular act, racking up an unprecedented 36 episodes before finally succumbing to audiences' fickle tastes.

But now "Opus" is back, if only for a weekend. The special engagement centers on two works -- the romantic "comedy" with dead people, "Starcrossed Love," and "Alison's Decision," which the Fools will only describe as "Sex and the City" plus weirdness.

"The comedy comes from taking these works and putting them in a theatrical context, out of translating them from screenplay to stage," Jordan says. "And that some of this stuff is so terrible, it's hilarious to hear it spoken out loud." Should one wonder how all this sounds to the authors of these works themselves, one will just have to continue wondering. "We're taking the tack that we're adapting it for the stage," Jordan explains. "It's not a strict interpretation. We haven't been in contact with the writers."

"I'm not sure they live in this country. Or speak English," Clark deadpans.

Although this lack of facility with the mother tongue can boost the humor (not even spelling errors have been corrected; "We just go with whatever the word turns into," Jordan says), people shouldn't look at "Magnum Opus" as a mere trifle, say the Fools.

"If it were just a joke, the audience would get over it," Clark says. "It's theater of the absurd, and it takes highly skilled actors. We're performing it as if it's Chekhov. The language of the production that Jordan has created is so specific and concise, it's almost a new style of acting. It could be taught, though I'm not sure who'd want to learn it."

There's also been the occasion when the Fools have forged a connection with these characters, momentarily elevating their stories.

"There's a show in there among all the silliness," Jordan says, before clarifying: "But it's mostly silliness."

-- Mindy Farabee
(c) 2007, L.A. Times
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ACCESSIBLY LIVE OFF-LINE

Just like in "Magnum Opus" itself, the following review is presented word for word, unedited... we didn't change a thing.

The Sacred Fools Theatre in Hollywood presents for your Friday after-hours pleasure, MAGNUM OPUS THEATER, a stage presentation of some of the worst screenplays ever written as written, word-for-word, note-for-note!

Hosted by that master of the written syllable, Thurston Eberhard Hilsboro-Smthe--but call him "Thirsty" for short! Donning a cherry red smoking jacket while holding a cigarette holder in one hand and a martini glass in the other, Thirsty, in his best (worse?) Allistar Cooke imitation, sits in an awful looking chair once owned by somebody's Aunt Muriel, and narrates the details of a screenplay that was submitted to a literary agent but for some reason or another, was ejected by both the big and not so big moving picture companies! The lucky screenplay selected for this series is untitled Abi's Choice, a luring tale of a young thirtysomething writer living in "NYC" who must deal with three suitors for love and marriage--and one of 'em in a woman!! It's all about sex, and the city--minus the cute shoes and yummy looking handbags!

OK, the plot is rather tame and boring, but this is not the reason why this screenplay is bad--it's how it was written, complete with plot holes as big as potholes, typos throughout, and even spelling errors! Some of them you can hear, and others you can guess at! Vanessa Perkins, co-producer of MOT, conceived this idea of using a genuine screenplay that was intended to be serious but never got around to be that way, previously submitted to an agent! (The agency and the original screenwriter are not mentioned by name, and they should be thankful!) What one has is a rip-roarin' funny show with a sterling cast, consisting of (listed in alphabetical order), Jamie Andrews, Franci Montgomery, Eric C. Johnson, Supatra Hanna, Michael Lanahan, Troy Vincent. Jamie L. Robledo, Stacey Jackson as the "Magnum Opus Players" with Brandon Clark as "Thirsty", all doing their thing under the direction of Joe Jordan.

Sometimes it pays off to go dumpster diving, otherwise this screenplay would have gotten away! Thank goodness for the Secret Fools Theater, now everyone who wrote that screenplay now sitting in a desk drawer or under the bed can heave a sigh of relief! After watching this show, one can say, "Hey! I can write something better than that!", and for once, that line would really mean something 'cuz they don't get better (worse?) than this! Enjoy!

-- Mindy Farabee
(c) 2007, L.A. Times
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