From: owner-aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com (aml-list-digest) To: aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com Subject: aml-list-digest V2 #225 Reply-To: aml-list Sender: owner-aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com Errors-To: owner-aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com Precedence: bulk aml-list-digest Tuesday, November 25 2003 Volume 02 : Number 225 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 19 Nov 2003 15:21:07 +0000 From: "Andrew Hall" Subject: [AML] GUNN, "Smart Single Guys" (BYU Newsnet) Theater Viewpoint: Single student shenanigans have ups and downs in 'Smart Single Guys' By Elizabeth Bennett NewsNet Senior Reporter 18 Nov 2003 "Smart Single Guys" manages an interesting equilibrium: for every cliched and useless scene in the show, there is a scene that is interesting and even hilarious. The award-winning script focuses on misadventures (or, more accurately, lack of adventures) in the dating lives of several single BYU guys. They all seem to have girl trouble - one boy only goes on blind dates, one boy can't get up the courage to ask out the girl of his dreams, one boy is dating a girl he doesn't really like, one boy ... well, you get the idea. They live together, argue together, steal each other's food, give misguided girl advice, and generally act as BYU male students act - except all these shenanigans are complimented by song, dance and even film. "Smart Single Guys" has a lot going for it. Playwright Tony Gunn, while a little uneven, has a fresh take on the BYU dating scene. Guys will recognize themselves and girls will recognize their friends. Of course, as the show demonstrates, you don't always want to spend an evening watching your guy friends sit around because, let's face it, they're boring. The show carries a lot of dead weight around and the first act alone is at least ten minutes too long. It lacks focus and the kind of precise writing that marks good theater. On the plus side, the cast is wonderful. The boys are so natural it's easy to suspect that they're playing themselves. Hilary Akin has a hilarious turn as Lily, the telemarketer, Michael Padekin and Forrest Foster stand out as Drew and Kelly, respectively. The real scene- stealer, however, is Jed Hirschel Wells, whose jaunt as the sarcastic, deadpan Beck is both hilarious and endearing. The trio Robot Ghost is a great complement to the script. It highlights everything that is good, as well as providing quality entertainment before and after the show. In the end, "Smart Single Guys" is similar to "Monty Python and the Holy Grail." Wade through all the slow parts, and there are some real gems that stick with you. 'Smart Single Guys' rings true with single students By Sunny Layne NewsNet Staff Writer - 18 Nov 2003 The cast of 'Smart Single Guys' do what single guys do best: sit around and talk about the opposite sex.At the ripe old age of 25, BYU senior Tony Gunn has directed seven professional plays and written numerous theatrical scripts. "He is one of those guys that gets it done," said BYU senior Jed Wells. "He is the motor." His comedy, "Smart Single Guys," debuted November 5 and has sold out every performance since. The play has proven so successful, that BYU's Theatre Department added one whole week to the show's run. The last performance is now Dec. 6. "It is really gratifying and flattering," Gunn said. "I felt a really positive crowd reaction during the performances. We have a great cast and director, and this obviously is a good reflection on them, as well as the writing." Box Office employees said adding a week of shows is rare. "It doesn't happen very often," said HFAC Box Office supervisor Chrissie Sant. "It takes a show that will sell out frequently in order to provide more performances to the public." Regarding finances, Gunn said BYU pays student playwrights just as if they were proven professionals. "The plays are the playwrights' property," Gunn said. "If BYU produces them, they have to negotiate finances with the student." Gunn said the standard payment is $50 to $60 per performance. Although Gunn receives pay for the performances, he makes no money on the show's merchandise, like "Smart Single Guys" T-shirts. "It's kind of funny," he said. "I have to buy my own shirt." The journey toward "Smart Single Guys'" production began over five years ago when Gunn and his friends began staging their personal work as Provo High students. "We were in a drama class together and we started doing pre-shows and skits," said Provo High alum and close friend Wells. "The skits were so popular that after our missions, we thought, 'Wouldn't it be fun if we performed the sketches again and people actually came to watch?'" Gunn and his friends sharpened their performance and scrounged for places to perform. The overwhelming positive response on opening night left the young returned missionaries pleasantly surprised. "The show was such a success, we performed it several times," Wells said. The comedy acts yielded sizable crowds, even when lack of availability forced the friends to perform at unconventional locations, such as an elementary school auditorium. The show's popularity spurred Gunn and his friends to create their own comedy troupe - the Provost Humor Company, where Gunn acted as producing director. When Gunn's BYU advanced playwriting class required him to write his own show, he decided to base it on his tried-and-true comedy material. "Smart Single Guys" was selected from 10 other student plays in the advanced play writing class to be produced as part of the BYU official season. BYU chooses one student play to produce formally each year. "When the department decided to do Tony's play, I leapt at the chance to direct it," said "Smart Single Guys" director Eric Samuelsen. "Tony has a very observant comic eye and spots the quirks and foibles we have." "Smart Single Guys" focuses on the flops and singular successes in the dating lives of three young men. "I chose to write 'Smart Single Guys' for my playwriting class because in the back of my mind I thought a play based on these skits would go over really well in the BYU season," Gunn said. "Tony has a lot invested in this," Wells said. "To take something we did as sketches in high school and then make it into a legitimate stage production is not easy." Despite the pressures of debuting a new show, Gunn's peers were confident his material could take the heat. "'Smart Single Guys' is so funny," said assistant stage manager Emily Combe. "They work- shopped the show last year, and I thought, 'This is the funniest play!' When I saw it was on for this season, I started to tell everyone, 'You have to come see it.'" Although Gunn does not direct the show, he was present at several rehearsals. "[It was] unique to have the writer at rehearsals," said cast member Bryson Hilton. "We did some script changes on the spot. It was nice to get his original viewpoint and work with him. He's very easy-going." Gunn said he plans on pursuing directing as his main focus, with playwriting on the side. When asked if he has considered turning "Smart Single Guys" into a film, Gunn said although it is a possibility, he has not spent a lot of time thinking about it. "I mostly wrote for a BYU audience," he said. "Beyond this, it's up in the air. I may possibly take it to grad schools or larger scales - just a few tweaks and it would probably be suitable for a general audience. There is potential for a screenplay, but it would be hard to get the same skit and feel." Theatergoers can purchase tickets for "Smart Single Guys" at the Harris Fine Arts Center Box Office or by calling the Box Office at 378-4322. Regular seats are $12 and students with ID's are $9. "Smart Single Guys" is playing in the Margetts Theater through December 6. It will be closed Thanksgiving week. Tickets are $12, $9 with student ID and can be purchased by calling 422-7664. Copyright, BYU NewsNet _________________________________________________________________ - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 19 Nov 2003 18:24:50 -0800 (PST) From: "R.W. Rasband" Subject: [AML] Deseret News: "South Park" Mormons Wednesday, November 19, 2003 Today on TV South Park (8 p.m., Comedy Central): This episode of the rude, crude, animated series wasn't available for preview, but the cable channel describes it like this: "A Mormon kid moves to South Park and Stan has to kick his (butt). . . . When Stan and his dad meet their new Mormon neighbors, they become fascinated with how genuinely nice they are. While the other boys mock Stan relentlessly for wimping out, the rest of the town starts to believe that Mormons may not be so bad after all." C 2003 Deseret News Publishing Company ===== R.W. Rasband Heber City, UT rrasband@yahoo.com - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 19 Nov 2003 09:29:34 EST From: JanaRiess@aol.com Subject: [AML] Mormon speech patterns In a message dated 11/17/03 4:12:18 PM,=20 owner-aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com writes: > There are specifically Mormon speech patterns? What are they? > > ~Jamie Laulusa > This is Utah, not just Mormon, but how about: "I fill of the Spirit"? Fillings, nothing more than fillings . . . . Jana Riess - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 19 Nov 2003 09:07:35 -0700 From: Marny Parkin Subject: Re: [AML] My Web Page I have a web page, but it has nothing about me on it. It is a bibliography of speculative fiction written by and about Mormons (novels, short stories, poetry, and nonfiction). If anyone knows of something I've missed, please let me know! Marny Parking www.MormonSF.org - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 18 Nov 2003 21:56:13 -0700 From: "Annette Lyon" Subject: Re: [AML] Women in LDS Film, Not Pretty Enough: Part Three >>(Like how I tried to delicately >>side-step the age issue?!) I'd do a love scene with her no problem. > >I have. Neener, neener, neener. And Tayva Patch has pulled my hair. Granted, it was a wig when she was the Baker's Wife and I was Rapunzel, but still. It's my meager claim to fame. :) Annette Lyon - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 19 Nov 2003 10:24:37 +0000 From: "Elizabeth Petty Bentley" Subject: Re: [AML] Options for our conferences Super idea. I'd buy the tapes/CDs/videos in a heartbeat. Beth Bentley >From: Melissa Proffitt >Reply-To: aml-list@lists.xmission.com >To: aml-list@lists.xmission.com >Subject: [AML] Options for our conferences >Date: Mon, 17 Nov 2003 12:51:47 -0700 > >I think we had a very good turnout for our writers conference, and we're >anticipating another good meeting in a few months with our Annual >Meeting. > >However, we know there are many AML-list subscribers who live too far >away to attend our functions. We would like to know if any of you would >be interested, in the future, in purchasing some kind of recording of >the conferences--either cassette, CD, or DVD. > >Right now this is just a very nebulous idea, so don't dive for your >checkbooks yet. But if you're interested, please let us know what would >be most useful. Writers conference or Annual Meeting (or both)? >Highlights or every session? Which media format is best? > >Thanks, >Melissa Proffitt > > >-- >AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature > _________________________________________________________________ Share holiday photos without swamping your Inbox. Get MSN Extra Storage now! http://join.msn.com/?PAGE=3Dfeatures/es - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 18 Nov 2003 20:18:54 -0700 From: Barbara Hume Subject: RE: [AML] Review: Pride and Prejudice, a Latter-day Comedy >they very much enjoyed Darcy running handcuffed down the road... H'mmmm. Maybe I'll see it after all. barbara hume - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 20 Nov 2003 16:00:12 -0700 From: Jared Walters Subject: Re: [AML] Mormon speech patterns I took a Semantics class years ago where my professor actually had a=20 special lecture on Mormon grammar and their speech habits. One typical=20 characteristic is the need for Mormons to balance their nouns out and=20 verbs out with dual witnesses. An example is during prayers, to pray=20 for "no harm and danger", "love and charity" "He is kind AND generous" It can never be just one adjective for the average Mormon. On Wednesday, November 19, 2003, at 07:29 AM, JanaRiess@aol.com wrote: > In a message dated 11/17/03 4:12:18 PM,=3D20 > owner-aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com writes: > >> There are specifically Mormon speech patterns? What are they? >> >> ~Jamie Laulusa >> > > This is Utah, not just Mormon, but how about: > > "I fill of the Spirit"? > > Fillings, nothing more than fillings . . . . > Jana Riess > > > > > -- > AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature > > - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ End of aml-list-digest V2 #225 ******************************