you'll laugh & you'll wince. everyone has a dark side. what's yours? order tickets from The Alchemist Theatre here.



Wednesday, March 27, 2013

"Well-paced", well-crafted" & well-executed". HASHTAG MAYHEM!


When was the last time you read "mayhem" described in that manner? ;)

The review is out for HASHTAG MAYHEM! - 6 short, dark plays by Jeffrey James Ircink. Well? Get your tickets NOW before they're scooped up. 2 more weekends - March 28-30 & April 4-6. Ticket information at the bottom of review or go to this link.

And if you haven't seen our Indiegogo fundraising campaign, take a gander here. 12 more days before it ends and we could sure use the extra funds to off-set production costs.

Read review here. Everyone has a dark side. What's yours? (thanks, Russ Bickerstaff!)

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

HASHTAG MAYHEM! Specialties!



Joanna Kerner (aka Rocket Paloma) lends her unique musical stylings as she helps us to segue from play to play.


Katleyn Berens graces the stage as "Ring Girl". Come see the show to get the full effect. (Pictured with photographer Zachary Seib)

All photography 2013 © Zachary Seib Photography


Monday, March 25, 2013

Stills from HASHTAG MAYHEM! - 6 short, dark plays by Jeffrey James Ircink.


(Left to right) Mack Heath (LAIRD) and Matt Roth (BILLY) in BILLY BALFOOR WANTS AN APOLOGY.



(Left to right) Bryan Damske and Jeffrey James Ircink in CHOKING THE CHOAD IN BEL AIR.



(Left to right) Kathy Landry (KAYLEY KAVANAGH), Thom Cauley (CONOR KAVANAGH), Matt Roth (DONAL MEEHAN) and Greg Ryan (SEAN KAVANAGH) in CONOR FRANCIS COMES HOME TO BALLYCULLEN.


Greg Ryan (MAN) and Brooke Maroldi (WOMAN) in PASS THE SALT, PLEASE.


Zoe Schwartz (AMY) and Kyle Gallagher-Schmidt (JEFF) in TWISTED NICE MIRAGE. 




Mike Loranger (THE BUM) & Randall T. Anderson (THE MAN) in JESUS PUSHED A GROCERY CART.


All photography 2013 © Zachary Seib Photography

Sunday, March 24, 2013

Patron review of HASHTAG MAYHEM!



(An unsolicited review – really – from a friend of mine. I mean, a critic’s a critic, right?)
 
I enjoyed it more than I expected.

Nice staging for “Pass the Salt, Please”.  Greg and Brooke did an excellent job!! Brooke's facials are fabulous.

 Jesus Pushed a Grocery Cart”.  Mike and Randall have settled into a great rhythm with their staging and dialogue. Randall is spot on.

 “Choking the Choad in Bel Air”.  Interesting and entertaining. Bryan's placement was great and added to the overall feel of the piece. It took my breath away to see it performed and one of the bravest things I've seen onstage.

 “Conor Francis Comes Home to Ballycullen”.  Well-cast and a nice rhythm to the piece. It had it all – humor, emotion, anger and violence all wrapped up in a nice Irish stew. The actors succeeded in painting the picture of what that moment must be like – from all sides.

 Twisted Nice Mirage”.  Kyle had a challenging task and he delivered a stellar performance. The chemistry between he and Zoe was obvious and they both performed as if seasoned beyond their years. Zoe is a natural onstage and I thought she was well cast as 'Amy'. Staging of the play was spot on. Great writing! Great direction!

“Billy Balfoor Wants An Apology”.   Matt attacked his character head-on, doing a  phenomenal job portraying a ‘grown-up' Billy – initially with the devil-may-care, tough exterior and then transitioning to a vulnerable young man who just wants what he believes he deserves. Mack's 'Laird' was surprisingly likable. The intensity to which Mack gave his performance won me over and won my respect. Both actors did right by the script.

 
Nice. Thanks, patron!

Tom Foolery backstage @ HASHTAG MAYHEM!

And Mike Foolery, Kyle Foolery, Brooke Foolery, Mack Foolery, Bryan Foolery, Katelyn Foolery & Jeff Foolery.

 
 Kyle & Katelyn

 
 Brooke & Mack

 
 Jeff, Katelyn & Bryan

 
 Jeff & Mack

 
 Bryan & Jeff

 
Jeff, Katelyn & Mack
 
 
Bryan & Mike

Friday, March 15, 2013

Patrons! The Arts! HASHTAG MAYHEM!




Michelangelo


Leonardo Da Vinci


The guy with the chopped off ear.


We're not asking you to "give". We're asking you to "live"...through the arts!
 
Perhaps you know someone who is not a "creative person" - or whose creative abilities do not lie in theater. Here's an opportuntity for them - or for you - to align yourself with a creative endeavor. Artists need patrons. It's always been that way. Michelangelo. Da Vinci. Van Gogh. You get the picture. Click here and find out how you can support local theater through our Indiegogo crowdsourcing campaign. Every contribution matters. Every contribution counts.

And don't worry. We're not asking for an arm or a leg. Or an ear.

- Jeffrey James Ircink
Producer/writer/director/actor for HASHTAG MAYHEM! 

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Want your name in our program?


FYI! Tomorrow morning at 7:30 am (3/14) is the deadline for our HASHTAG MAYHEM! play programs. IF you want to contribute $25 + AND get your name IN the program, you have to do it by then. Simply click here.

HOLD ON...the fundraising campaign runs thru April 7 & you can STILL contribute - I'll simply "thank" BACKERS in my curtain speech who missed the program deadline.

EVERYONE HAS A DARK SIDE. WHAT'S YOURS?

Meet the cast(s) of HASHTAG MAYHEM!

 
 Mack Heath as "Laird" in BILLY BALFOOR WANTS AN APOLOGY

 
Zoe Schwartz as "Amy" in TWISTED NICE MIRAGE

 
 Greg Ryan as "Sean Kavanagh" in CONOR FRANCIS COMES HOME TO BALLYCULLEN and "Man" in PASS THE SALT, PLEASE
 
 
Brooke Maroldi as "Woman" in PASS THE SALT, PLEASE

 
Kathy Landry as "Kayley Kavanagh" in CONOR FRANCIS COMES HOME TO BALLYCULLEN

 
 Thom Cauley as "Conor Kavanagh" in CONOR FRANCIS COMES HOME TO BALLYCULLEN
 
 
Randall T. Anderson as "The Man" in JESUS PUSHED A GROCERY CART

 
Matthew Roth as "Billy" in BILLY BALFOOR WANTS AN APOLOGY and "Donal Meehan" in CONOR FRANCIS COMES HOME TO BALLYCULLEN

 
Jeffrey James Ircink as "Jeff" in CHOKING THE CHOAD IN BEL AIR

 
 Kyle Gallagher-Schmitz as"Jeff" in TWISTED NICE MIRAGE
 
 
Bryan Damske as "Bryan" in CHOKING THE CHOAD IN BEL AIR
 
 
Mike Loranger as "The Bum" in JESUS PUSHED A GROCERY CART

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Producer notes for HASHTAG MAYHEM!

 
People always ask me, “where do you get your play ideas – because that’s some messed up shit”. It’s my contention that everyone has a dark side. It’s human nature. Good. Evil. On one end of the spectrum you’ve got Grammy who yells, “Dammit”, when she loses at sheepshead and at the other end you have a man in prison for murder. And everything in the middle. Fortunately, most of us keep our “dark” sides in check. Some do not. The characters in each of these plays are in the midst of a “dark” moment and they’re trying to work through it.
Dark”, “mayhem”, “sordid” – whatever you want to call it, it’s probably best that you’re just an observer this evening.

Singer/musician Tom Waits quipped, “All the good in the world you can put in a thimble”. Perhaps. Even Walt Whitman, whose poetry typically took an optimistic view of life, commented in “Crossing Brooklyn Ferry” that, “It is not you alone who know what it is to be evil; I am he who knew what it was to be evil…”. But I see a silver lining in the six plays that make up HASHTAG MAYHEM!, and it’s this – if you don’t know the “dark”, how can you see the “light”?

Just watch your back…

– Jeffrey James Ircink

The directors of HASHTAG MAYHEM!


6 short, dark plays by Milwaukee playwright Jeffrey James Ircink. March 21-23, 28-30 & April 4-6 @ 8pm at The Alchemist Theatre in Bay View, Wisconsin. Brought to you by Babbling Bohemian Productions and The Horny Goat Hideaway in Milwaukee.
 
Tickets at the door OR online here. Indiegogo fundraising campaign here. "Hell Broke Luce" by Tom Waits here.
 
Everyone has a dark side. What's yours?
 
 
 Bo Johnson / TWISTED NICE MIRAGE

 
Gretchen Mahkorn / BILLY BALFOOR WANTS AN APOLOGY

 
 Jason Waszak / CONOR FRANCIS COMES HOME TO BALLYCULLEN
 
 Mary K. Ryan / JESUS PUSHED A GROCERY CART

 
Jeffrey James Ircink / PASS THE SALT, PLEASE & CHOKING THE CHOAD IN BEL AIR

‎6 of 6. CHOKING THE CHOAD IN BEL AIR.

 
A dissertation on seven years spent on an estate in Bel Air, CA with "the bitch".

Saturday, March 9, 2013

‎5 of 6. PASS THE SALT, PLEASE.

What would happen if the dinner conversation between a middle-aged married couple resembled the script pages of a scene in an adult film? As a man and woman catch up on the day’s events, their banter morphs from “ho-hum” to “whoop-eee!” – without missing a “bite”.

Friday, March 8, 2013

#meme.


HASHTAG MAYHEM! - 6 short, dark plays by Milwaukee playwright Jeffrey James Ircink, runs March 21-23, 28-30, April 4-6 @ The Alchemist Theatre in Bay View, Wisconsin.

Support us TWO ways: 1) by getting your tickets here, AND/OR by contributing to our Indiegogo fundraising campaign here - where you will find details on the production.

Everyone has a dark side. What's yours?

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Peckinpah, Mamet & whiskey & leather? Oh my!

Excerpts from Russ Bickerstaff's Curtains, The Shepherd Express, February 13, 2013.

I don't ever specifically recall seeing any of Ircink's stuff before. For reasons I probably don't understand, the style reminds me of Sam Peckinpah, David Mamet, whiskey and well-worn leather.

The 6 short, dark plays that he's written will open Marc 21.

This is actually a huge relief for me personally. I was beginning to get concerned. Being a theatre critic, you kind of take what's give to you as the calender unfolds for a given year. I was worried that the only thing opening weekend after my birthday next month was going to be a tribute to Tony Bennett at Sunset Playhouse or the solitude of a nice, long bus ride out to Elm Grove, but I was really hoping something a bit more appealing to me as winter turned into spring this year.

Thankfully, Jeff Ircink is there to inadvertently help me out here....Looks like a really fun combo of shorts. Really looking forward to this one...".

Anytime someone remotely compares a writer to Sam Peckinpah, David Mamet, whiskey & leather, it's a compliment.

Monday, March 4, 2013

SWAG Artist of the Month!

 

The Southeastern Wisconsin Arts Guild (SWAG) named me Artist of the Month for March. I am honored. I am touched. As a an artist, it's satisfying to know I've created some things others find relevance in. I would be lost without it (the art, that is).

I'd be additionally honored if you would please donate to our Indiegogo fundraising campaign for the HASHTAG MAYHEM! production by clicking this link - if you haven't already done so. $5, $10, $20 - whatever you can offer. Your support in backing this performance would be a tremendous help to us and would mean a great deal to everyone associated with the production. Also, come see the show! Tickets for HASHTAG MAYHEM! - 6 short, dark plays by Jeffrey James Ircink (me) may be purchased here. You see, this way, you won't get turned away when we sell out. And we will.

Everyone has a dark side. What's yours? (Come see the show and I'll tell you mine.)

4 of 6. BILLY BALFOOR WANTS AN APOLOGY.


Laird Clazerbak - for the benefit of all mankind - tried to take down Billy Balfoor, the most evilest boy on the planet. Fifteen years later, Billy tracks down Laird, kidnaps and holds him bound and gagged in an abandoned warehouse. Why? Revenge - but all Billy really wants is an apology.

Who's gonna bend first?