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

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

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! 

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

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