Lesser Seductions of History, and More Seductive Roller Derby...

All in all, a good weekend.

Friday night began with Flux Ensemble's performance of "The Lesser Seductions of History" written by Gus Schulenberg. Since I'm talking fighting and violence, I'll keep it brief. The show was well written, well directed and excellently performed. There were maybe 1 and a half moments of violence, all of which was so stylized (and it worked) as to make them essentially physically non-violent. So, that's that. Nothing to report.

It was a great show, full of great performers and design, but it was one of those shows I inevitably come away from going... "meh." This is likely due to the disparity in personal philosphies I have with Cap'n Schulenberg - I'm not saying he's wrong, just that I disagree with the guy about a few of his ideas regarding the forces of history and personal involvement. Especially during the 1960's.

So, if you missed the show, you definitely missed out. I'm not trashing the work at all, since it's way better to have seen a great show I just don't agree with, than a bad one I do agree with. Good theater all around, and a well deserved congratulations to Flux.

Now, Saturday night was more chaos as the Lady-type and I strolled over to see the Manhattan Mayhem try for the local title against the Bronx Gridlock.

It was, for casual fans of Manhattan, a heartbreaker. Bronx won the day, though not for lack of Manhattan's efforts. It was a close one, with the Mayhem actually doubled over the Gridlock at the half way point. Unfortunately, Bronx seemed to have some new tricks tucked away in their tights when they came back in, and despite the best efforts of Em Dash, Fisti Cuffs, Surley Temple and crew, they couldn't maintain the lead against the fierce blocks of Ginger Snap, Brigitte Barhot, Luna Impact and guest skater OMG WTF (normally of Brooklyn I believe - who by the way, took an insane hit into the bleachers - then got up and skated some more. What a woman.)

Now, if you were there, you'll note that I've omitted mentioning a particular player - Polly Gone. This is because any mention of Polly Gone must rightfully be phrased like this:

POLLY GONE!

And yea verily though I love my woman, bow to no man (and serve the Queens of Pain) - I think Polly stole a little piece of my heart, and rolled right over it. She was a fighter all the way to the end. MVP indeed.

I would love to see what happens if someone gave these ladies paintball guns and an open field. If they can shoot like they skate, they'd dominate the sport in short order. Hell, I'd even watch them remount a production of that Lloyd Weber atrocity known as Starlight Express.

Sunday was a day to relax and do a little research on the upcoming Brooklyn Fight Fest... a festival of stage combat works. More on this later, since I'm shopping for a company to sign on with and further develop my choreography skills.