Ouija Board Seance Transcripts
![]() written and performed by Jeffrey Stanley directed by Daniel Student Philly Fringe Philadelphia, PA September, 2011 "[This show is among] the most striking and provocative. You might be shocked by what you see, but we promise you won�t be sorry. Stanley courageously bares his soul, divulging family secrets, haunting dreams, interpretations of Nietzsche and his ideas of human happiness. Get your tickets as soon as possible; only 16 are sold per show in order to involve and affect every member of the audience." - Ellie Levitt, The Daily Pennsylvanian, 'Top 5 Must Sees at Live Arts & Philly Fringe' "One of the most
exciting aspects of the Fringe Festival is
when it draws audiences to places they�ve
never been before and might never have a
chance to go again, whether it�s a room in
an unknown mansion or in the depths of a possibly
haunted grotto. After the
demise of a close relative who drank himself
to death, Jeffrey Stanley became obsessed
with communicating with the dead through
Ouija boards. Beautiful Zion: A Book
of the Dead is
a �real dark comedy� about the years he
spent trying to talk to the other side. But
how could all that eeriness (and humor) be
conveyed in a traditional theater space? So
the New York expat looked for a stage
appropriate for the macabre elements of his
decidedly funny show. He found the Blue
Grotto. It�s decked out in thousands of
blue lights on light fixtures by artist
Randy Dalton. Stanley equates it to a mad
scientist�s laboratory. �It�s visually
stunning, it�s creepy as hell, it�s in
the cellar of an old building and it might
be haunted,� Stanley said.
- Molly Eichel, Philadelphia
Daily News
"It's a one-man show, but
award-winning playwright Jeffrey
Stanley isn't the only one in it. At
least, he hopes not. The supporting
cast is made up of ghosts � if
they're willing to make an appearance.
Years in the making, the new play
includes elements of an earlier work
Stanley performed in New York under
the curation of Andy Warhol pal Neke
Carson. The play is 'about
communication between family members
while they're alive and maybe even
after they're dead,' Stanley says.
Expect humor, but also 'a lot of
death, a lot of suffering, a lot of
human misery.'"
- Matt Cantor, Philadelphia City Paper |
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FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE - August, 2011 Philadelphia, PA � Shiva3 is proud to announce the world premiere of acclaimed New York playwright and NYU faculty Jeffrey Stanley's autobiographical, darkly comic monologue BEAUTIFUL ZION: A BOOK OF THE DEAD at the 2011 Philly Fringe Festival. The 70-minute show will be performed in the Blue Grotto, artist-in-residence Randy Dalton's blue-illuminated wonderland in the dark, dank, mysterious cellar of the CEC on 35th and Lancaster, at 8pm on Wed 9/7/11, Thurs 9/8/11, Fri 9/9/11, Sat 9/10/11, Wed 9/14/11, Thur 9/15/11, Fri 9/16/11 and Sat 9/17/11, for a total of 8 performances. This diabolical, supernatural, comical, theatrical event explores family secrets, homemade ouija boards, inept dream interpretation, Nietzsche, and death by acute alcoholism: all the things that make life worth living. Featuring live ouija action from audience volunteers, the show has multiple endings depending on which ghosts appear. |
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The monologue
will also be staged in an unusual location. "The Fringe is all about
pushing boundaries and performing works in
nontraditional spaces," explained Stanley, "so
rather than do the show in a place you'd expect,
like upstairs in the Meeting House Theatre at the
CEC, I'm doing it inside Randy Dalton's moody,
meditative Blue Grotto installation in the cellar,
made up of thousands of blue lights, many of them
in antique fixtures, giving the place an almost
Victorian feel. The seating area is intentionally limited but comfortable, so only 16 tickets will be sold per show. "That's okay," said Stanley. "With such a small audience I'm clearly not doing this for the money. I'm doing it to make cool art in a cool space. It's an intimate, creepy, magical story so an intimate, creepy, magical space seems appropriate. I also love that the CEC is a former Quaker meeting house and school dating back to 1837," he said. "I had looked high and low across Philly for a performance space that fit the bill of being old, of being intimate, of feeling spiritual in some sense, and of being potentially haunted. Other contenders had included the Edgar Allan Poe House basement, the Mutter Museum and Laurel Hill Cemetery. When I remembered my visits to the Blue Grotto during an early visit to Philadelphia two years ago it was, no pun intended, like a light bulb going off. Make that a zillion blue light bulbs." Stanley was thrilled that Daniel Student, artistic director of Philly's historic Plays & Players Theatre and the driving force behind the popular Superheroes Who Are Super reading series, accepted his offer to helm this new work. "I've been gradually resettling in Philly from Manhattan since 2009," Stanley said, "and doing a lot of lurking in the city's theatre scene. When you're in a city that likes the idea of putting cheese on steak, and of rioting and flipping over cars when their team wins, you have to be careful how you proceed. The last thing you want to do is offend someone. I became aware of Dan's work by sneaking into the many shows he's directed, and by stalking him at Quig's Pub. You can smoke there and the drinks are cheap, so naturally actors and directors flock to it." Stanley added, "Dan's a visual, imaginative, brave, quick-witted director. He's the perfect match for BEAUTIFUL ZION: A BOOK OF THE DEAD." |
"I myself am not
a believer in spirits," director Dan Student about his
involvement with this unique show, "but now I want
to be. When I read Jeff's play I knew I was in for a
journey into a strange and exciting world. He
bares his soul in a way that is at once deeply
personal to him and universal to us all. It's a
perfect blend of snarky comedy, touching melodrama,
and a chance for the audience to interact in
wonderful and magical ways."
Freemasonry Fridays � for both Friday shows,
the first three ticket holders to discretely wear
their Masonic rings or other authentic Masonic logo
jewelry and show it to Jeffrey Stanley in secret
before the show will secretly be given a $10.00
Starbucks gift certificate. Don't try to pull a fast
one�Stanley knows his Masonic jewelry.
Paranormal Psaturdays (so much for
alliteration on this one) - for both Saturday
shows, the first three ticket holders to show Jeff a
convincing photograph or smartphone video clip of
authentic-looking paranormal activity in their homes
will be given a $10.00 Starbucks gift certificate.
What:
BEAUTIFUL ZION: A BOOK OF THE DEAD in the
2011 Philly Fringe When: Wed 9/7, Thurs 9/8, Fri 9/9, Sat 9/10, Wed 9/14, Thur 9/15, Fri 9/16 and Sat 9/17, at 8pm sharp. Seating Where: SEE MAP. The Community Education Center (CEC) on 35th and Lancaster in the Blue Grotto in the cellar. By subway take the blue Market-Frankford line to 34th, walk up the hill on 34th to Lancaster, turn left and walk one block. The CEC is a large brick building on your left. PARKING is also available in the CEC's rear parking lot at 3590 Warren Street (on 34th Street turn onto Filbert Street and merge onto Warren; map to parking lot here). Tickets: $20, purchased only in advance through the Fringe Festival website, http://www.livearts-fringe.org. No tickets will be sold in person at the door. |
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