A play on words dies because of its language

Columbia College Chicago has a rich and deep history in respecting all walks of life: all races, genders, creed, and colors of people. It has no problem with any student as long as they come to school to learn and work.
The theater Department is like a mini version of the school in the regards that it is blessed with just as a divers make up of students. What Columbia does right with such a divers talent pool is make sure that the theater season is well suited across the board and reflective of all its students. The shows might not make a statement together but you are able to see a wider variety of students in a single semester than you might be able to during the whole Broadway season.
Each year Columbia is the proud sponsor of the Ted Ward young black playwright competition that the winner is then produced is the spring semester.
A great illustration of ethnic variety was found in a poor winner this year: Ten Square. It was a shame watching these actors try to give it their all on such a pile of racial badgering. Granted the show was picked before we had renewed spirit in our country, but it still doesn’t justify why Columbia would pick such a show to begin with. This is one of those times when “WHY” was not asked. It divides more than it brings people together.
A new social contract has been negotiated in America. The reparations movement has led to separate and unequal city-states across the country. The city-state of 
South Chicago, ten square miles of real estate, is inhabited by two million 'citizens' and is protected by a wall which is patrolled by Motherland Security and buffered by a one hundred yard kill zone. "It's not a history I created, it's out of textbooks. Cuba, Indians being forced onto reservations, the splitting of Germany, it's all there," Shepsu Aakhu. Andrea J. Dymond
 and her “young” team tries really hard to give us the black experience but proves hate runs both ways.
The script was a sign of bad things to come and the characters were stereotypical and forgettable. I felt uncomfortable sitting as a white student in the audience getting told that it was me who pushed the racial inequalities to the point of no return and I should turn around bend over and take it for the next two hours. The stage didn’t even present us with an interesting picture. The only saving grace of the show was actor Jarren Marell and his part as the Sandman. The sand man is based loosely around the idea of Zen garden keepers, however this character is a black elderly Japanese man living in Chicago and is constantly called a lazy ass black motherfucker. This was the type of show that left me with a bad taste in my mouth. I could have skipped it and been more cultured for it.

How to repurpose and brand for the 21 century

Certain spaces are made for certain jobs. Columbia College has never had the opportunity to make a space of their own. They have slowly taken over the south loop and now have quiet a few building that have been repurposed by their clever branding.
What is most interesting to me is how the students follow the branding of the school. You would think that if you met a student from Columbia that they would say “Hi my name is and I am from Columbia College. I am part of the blank department.” That is not the case at Columbia. While doing this review, it has come to my attention that most students associate themselves with their department before the school. Is this what we want? This school has become so large it would be hard for one person to understand the pulse of the whole college. Is this the type of associating that the “branding” has encouraged? I would not be able to give you as accurate a review if I tried the college at large. In turn, I am a prime example of the ethnocentricities that run deep in each department, theater not being with held.
To really get a feel for what the Columbia Theater Department really is about you don’t even have to go into any of their three spaces at 72 E 11th street. The place that is the most representative of the Columbia branding style ends and the Theater departments stamp begins is three floors up from any theater. I went up stairs and it was not quiet by any means. From the second the elevator doors opened to reveal the Columbia fire red on the walls and carpet I knew I was not in the mellow confines of a general education building. This floor was special (and smelly thanks to the combat classes). As I walked around as I had done thousands on times before I really became aware of the madness that excites my every day life. I saw two girls practicing a dance with top hats and canes, from what looks like Chicago. Down the hall there was a girl dressed in her sleep wear, still, even though it was the late afternoon, all sweaty reading a play by Shakespeare aloud. In 20 steps you can see 500 years of theater.
What I like most about The Third Floor is that it is ground zero, central command if you will. On one floor you are able to find a job, see your friends, see people who are not so much your friends, gossip, see most of faculty if you sit there long enough, hear the melodic tunes of a sonnet and a piece by Gershwin alike. If you are not use to the pandemonium, at first it can be very jarring but you quickly join in or leave. This is the kitchen of Columbia’s theater…to hot? Get out.

a swash buckling event at the College

The Pirates of Penzance or the Slave of Duty is ironic because all of Gilbert and Sullivan’s works are about duty, so the duty thing just comes with the territory. The show was made as just that: a colorful comedic operetta. This year it took the place of the classic musical for the Columbia College’s main stage season. It is rare to see this classic done by college students with such grace and understanding. It takes a certain talent pool to achieve the level, which was presented by this young group of actors.
Frederic is a reluctant pirate and Mabel is the daughter of a Major General.
A Pirate King, a hard-of-hearing nurse, a flock of beauties, a soft-hearted band of pirates, cowardly cops and the pinnacle of the Victorian Age conspire to tear them apart and bring them together in this comic operetta.
The musical is always the highlight of any theater company’s season, and Pirate’s is a great example. Director Stephaine Shaw took the presentational acting style of the Victorian era to a whole new extreme. ‘Flat’ face forward acting is almost on the edge of spoofing the classic operetta. The show itself looked like a large under taking, that was met head on. Clearly, more money than is usual was given to the show even in this time of budget cuts.
Color was the name of the game for this show, however it looked as if each of the designer and the director picked a different color. Set designer Bill Anderson stuck with the idea of flat presentation by adding three flat picture frame of varying sizes to break up the space and add a painterly picturesque quality to the show. Mr. Anderson stuck with a brown gold theme with splashes of blues. Lighting Jess Harpenau can be considered the colored glue that bound this production together, trying as hard as possible to tie in all the color of the other designer and make it her own by using almost the full rainbow. Faulty design Frances Maggio tackled the Major General and his band of daughters all in kaki. Just kaki; all nine girls all in kaki. To counter act the bland, young student designer Mel Berner costumed the Pirates in all rich color filled jewel tones. The show itself was a delight to watch and could have had a longer run than it did.
This is Shaw’s third year directing the musical main stage, therefore she must be doing something worth seeing or they would not ask this artist in residence back. She and what looks like a very tight knit cast and production team took this classic added the modern twists and flares and hit it out of the park. It’s a shame if you missed this show that played at the Getz stage of Columbia College this spring.

Creating Change? Why Now? A Review in 3000 Words Exactly

When a theater company begins to think about an upcoming season the question must be asked “ Why now?” for each show that is considered is an important reflection. Why is this show important or compelling enough to do? Why does this theater company feel that now is the right time to do this group of shows in this order? At Columbia College Chicago that question is raised every year by long time chair head, teacher, director, and artistic director of the Theater Department, Sheldon Patinkin, with the help of a panel of faculty. The department prides itself in being run as a professional theater that also provides a rigorous learning environment for actors, directors, playwrights, designers, and stage technicians alike. Patinkin’s main way of achieving the hands on and theatrical education is by having students study in the classroom, and in the workshops and main stages of the Department. As many Chicago theater viewers know, this is Mr. Patinkin’s last year at the helm of what by many estimates, is the largest academic theatre program in the world, with over 800 students and 50 faculty members, including full-time, adjunct, and artists-in-residence.
To really get a feel for what the Columbia Theater Department really is about you don’t even have to go into any of their three spaces at 72 E 11th street. The place that is the most representative of the Columbia branding style ends and the Theater departments stamp begins is three floors up from any theater. I went up stairs and it was not quiet by any means. From the second the elevator doors opened to reveal the Columbia fire red on the walls and carpet I knew I was not in the mellow confines of a general education building. This floor was special (and smelly thanks to the combat classes). As I walked around as I had done thousands on times before I really became aware of the madness that excites my every day life. I saw two girls practicing a dance with top hats and canes, from what looks like Chicago. Down the hall there was a girl dressed in her sleep wear, still, even though it was the late afternoon, all sweaty reading a play by Shakespeare aloud. In 20 steps you can see 500 years of theater.
What I like most about The Third Floor is that it is ground zero, central command if you will. On one floor you are able to find a job, see your friends, see people who are not so much your friends, gossip, see most of faculty if you sit there long enough, hear the melodic tunes of a sonnet and a piece by Gershwin alike. If you are not use to the pandemonium, at first it can be very jarring but you quickly join in or leave. This is the kitchen of Columbia’s theater…to hot? Get out.
What is most interesting to me is how the students follow the branding of the school. You would think that if you met a student from Columbia that they would say “Hi my name is and I am from Columbia College. I am part of the blank department.” That is not the case at Columbia. While doing this review, it has come to my attention that most students associate themselves with their department before the school. Is this what we want? This school has become so large it would be hard for one person to understand the pulse of the whole college. Is this the type of associating that the “branding” has encouraged? I would not be able to give you as accurate a review if I tried the college at large. In turn, I am a prime example of the ethnocentricities that run deep in each department, theater not being with held.
The theater season has become so large in late that even on the first week back from school there was already shows going up. Production coordinator Jason Epperson said that “this semester was a record break seam busting semester, having no less than 3 main stage productions, 24 student directing projects, 2 faculty productions, 3 different showcases for our seniors and a sprinkling of some other crap that nobody knows about yet and we have ourselves a very full semester even before we start to think about classes. Oh and Manifest.”
The first production of the semester invited you to a wedding. A garden wedding, especially the garden of a Savannah mansion, sounds like a great place to start the rest of your life together, Yes? No. Not when famous playwright Beth Henley has penned the wedding guests. Many of Henley’s most famous works are known for putting a silly spin on the Old South's “oh how I suffered” sensibilities, the likelihood of that wedding having no problems, is impossible. She knew that and titled it The Impossible Marriage. After reading the program I knew right away that Henley picked the names of the bride-to-be and her sister and mother that are clearly prudent of a warm lazy Southern day and metaphor: Floral Kingsley(Lucy Hancock) is the “circus tent” with life inside sister of the bride. The mother is Kandall (as in maintaining the candle of Southern decorum) Kingsley (Laura Korn). And Pandora Kingsley is the younger sister whose impossibly unsuitable marriage plans set off an array of revelations and complications. I’m sure I don’t need to get into what the symbolism is behind Pandora.
How the play ended was not consistently surprising, nor convincing or much deeper than the fake painted stream that ran through the set in the Theater departments basement space. However, the family worked well together on stage. They engender enough laughter and warmth to make their oddball characters thoroughly likeable and to make people glad they came to this wedding.
To round out the cast of oddball Southern charmers, there were a few men with enough quirks to match the women:
Henley channeled Chekhov’s style of wit in the play's father and son characters: the dirty middle aged groom to be, Edvard Lunt (Jack Winslow), and his emotional mess of an oldest of eight sons, Sidney (Andrew Nowvack). This son, whom his father fails to recognize, has arrived at the prenuptials to deliver a letter from his mother declaring that she will kill herself if the wedding takes place. Edvard was more than a little upset by the troubled news, but more by its miserable penmanship than its contents.
All these characters talked in languages that sounds more like they are reading from different books than speaking to one another, a fact that was underscored by their tendency to talk facing the audience more than each other, thanks to director Ceile O’Reilly. Some of this talk bordered on the artificial and the face-front delivery didn’t help to establish a strong sense of real engagement between audience and actors.
It's impossible to call this show the best thing Columbia has put produced, but it's possible that it's one of the more enjoyable shows in a while. I went for the laughs and stayed for the fun.
No sooner did that marriage end than another show began that also touched on love and the hopes of finding love in The Pirates of Penzance or the Slave of Duty (which is funny because all of Gilbert and Sullivan’s work is about duty).
Frederic is a reluctant pirate and Mabel is the daughter of a Major General.
A Pirate King, a hard-of-hearing nurse, a flock of beauties, a soft-hearted band of pirates, cowardly cops and the pinnacle of the Victorian Age conspire to tear them apart and bring them together in this comic operetta.
The musical is always the highlight of any theater company’s season, and Pirate’s is a great example. Director Stephaine Shaw took the presentational acting style of the Victorian era to a whole new extreme. ‘Flat’ face forward acting is almost on the edge of spoofing the classic operetta. The show itself looked like a large under taking, that was met head on. Clearly, more money than is usual was given to the show even in this time of budget cuts.
Color was the name of the game for this show, however it looked as if each of the designer and the director picked a different color. Set designer Bill Anderson stuck with the idea of flat presentation by adding three flat picture frame of varying sizes to break up the space and add a painterly picturesque quality to the show. Mr. Anderson stuck with a brown gold theme with splashes of bules. Lighting Jess Harpenau can be considered the colored glue that bound this production together, trying as hard as possible to tie in all the color of the other designer and make it her own by using almost the full rainbow. Faulty design Frances Maggio tackled the Major General and his band of daughters all in kaki. Just kaki; all Nine girls all in kaki. To counter act the bland, young student designer Mel Berner costumed the Pirates in all rich color filled jewel tones. The show itself was a delight to watch and could have had a longer run than it did.
What Columbia does right with such a divers talent pool is make sure that the season is well suited across the board. The shows might not make a statement together but you are able to see a wider variety of students in a single semester than you might be able to during the whole Broadway season.
A great illustration of ethnic variety was found in a poor show: Ten Square. It was a shame watching these actors try to give it their all on such a pile of racial badgering. Granted the show was picked before we had renewed spirit in our country, but it still doesn’t justify why Columbia would pick such a show to begin with. This is one of those times when “WHY” was not asked.
A new social contract has been negotiated in America. The reparations movement has led to separate and unequal city-states across the country. The city-state of 
South Chicago, ten square miles of real estate, is inhabited by two million 'citizens' and is protected by a wall which is patrolled by Motherland Security and buffered by a one hundred yard kill zone. "It's not a history I created, it's out of textbooks. Cuba, Indians being forced onto reservations, the splitting of Germany, it's all there," Shepsu Aakhu. Andrea J. Dymond
 and her “young” team tries really hard to give us the black experience but proves hate runs both ways.
The script was a sign of bad things to come and the characters were stereotypical and forgettable. I felt uncomfortable sitting as a white student in the audience getting told that it was me who pushed the racial inequalities to the point of no return and I should turn around bend over and take it for the next two hours. The stage didn’t even present us with an interesting picture. The only saving grace of the show was actor Jarren Marell and his part as the Sandman. The sand man is based loosely around the idea of Zen garden keepers, however this character is a black elderly Japanese man living in Chicago and is constantly called a lazy ass black motherfucker. This was the type of show that left me with a bad taste in my mouth. I could have skipped it and been more cultured for it.
A fad Columbia prides itself in is the amount of staff and faculty that are working designers, actors, and directors in the city. It gives the students the extra understanding about how the real theater scene works and makes it just a smidgen easier to get on track with. There are so many theaters in Chicago that house faculty and alum alike. A fantastic instance of Columbia at its best in the “Real World” is at Profiles Theater on the north side. Profiles Theatre continued its crazy 20th Anniversary Season with the U.S. Premiere of the acclaimed new dark comedy The Wonderful World Of Dissocia by Anthony Neilson, directed by Profiles Associate Artistic Director, Darrell W. Cox.
Of all the shows in Chicago this spring, the production of Anthony Neilson’s “The Wonderful World of Dissocia” at Profiles Theatre probably was the most outrageous. It also can lay claim to the title of having the most Columbia College Chicago students or Alumni working on it that is not a Columbia College Chicago production.
People really had to refrain from bolting from the theater at intermission, no matter how tempted they might have been to escape the chaos, high-pitched noise and shrill burlesque of the first act of The Wonderful World of Dissocia. For in the quietly breathtaking second act of Scottish playwright Anthony Neilson's drama, they find a profoundly moving look at what it means to be a young woman in the throes of clinical depression. People realized what the playwright had done perfectly echo the raging mood swings of the manic-depressive mind.
The Wonderful World of Dissocia was a colorful and exciting off-kilter trip that followed Lisa Jones in search of one lost hour that has tipped the balance of her life. The inhabitants of the wonderful world she finds herself in - Dissocia - are a curious blend of the funny, the friendly and the brutal. This is a hugely original play, both magical and moving, that confirmed Anthony Neilson as one of the major voices in contemporary British theatre.
We first meet Lisa (Somer Benson in a performance of overpoweringly honesty), she seems to be something of a modern-day Alice . Talking to Dr. Victor Hesse (one of many characters Bob Pries plays), a distinctly quirky Swiss repairman who shows up at her doorway, she begins to sense that she somehow lost an hour of time during a flight, and this has had a distressing effect on her life. And he suggests that Lisa can reclaim that hour by setting out on what becomes an increasingly insane journey into a bizarre underworld.
As the play goes on we see the clock of Lisa's mind seems to get wound more tightly and irregularly, she encounters a pair of passive-aggressive Tweedledum and Tweedledee characters (Eric Burgher, Columbia faculty and grad and Joe Jahraus), a sadistic Goat (Pries), a masochistic "stand-in" (the spot on Jessie Fisher), an abused jackal-like creature (Jeremy Lee Cudd Columbia grad as well), a nutcase Oathtaker (Barb Stasiw, who also is ideal as a nurse), and a sexy waitress-dominatrix (the very watchable Sarah Loveland), who serves up hot dogs bearing decidedly phallic implications.
The whimsy escalates to raunchy horror, and goes beyond tolerable to a screechy, mind-numbing, circus like cacophony. And then the first act is over. When the lights come up on the second act the stage is empty except for a hospital bed. Lisa, who clearly has crashed, lies in a drugged sleep, with nurses regularly making sure she swallows her pillows and remains subdued.
Benson's evocation of Lisa's resignation, slow rebellion and aching sadness -- all exacerbated by the selfish (or self-preserving) actions of her sister and boyfriend (expertly played by Fisher and Cudd) -- is extraordinary as Neilson's play takes on an almost Beckettlike otherworldliness.
“The Wonderful World Of Dissocia is one of the most unique, unorthodox and surprising pieces of theatre I have ever read,” says Profiles Associate Artistic Director and Director of this emotional rollercoaster Darrell W. Cox. “I have long been an admirer of Anthony Neilson's work--a fearless Scotsman, who was at the forefront of the revolutionary British in-yer-face theatre movement in the early '90's. With 'Dissocia', one of his most recent plays, Mr. Neilson is no longer content with expanding the boundaries of experiential theatre. This new work now brings a blast of fresh, emotionally truthful and physically alive theatre to the stage that is truly remarkable. We [at Profiles] are honored to be introducing this play to American audiences and promise an experience that will be unlike anything in our twenty year history at Profiles.”
Boldly directed by Darrell W. Cox (with an ingenious set by Thad Hallstein, inventive costumes by Ricky Lurie and colorful lights by Jess Harpenau(an all Columbia Design team)), this is one of the largest, most elaborate productions in Profile's history. And if you stick around you will not be disappointed.
To look back on a full semester and try to gage a school’s successes and failures is a monumental undertaking. To even do wrap one department in a nice little review with a bow on top is almost just as impossible as the first task. There is no set standard by which one can measure theater.
Lucy Lippard says “ to affect perception itself, we need to apply ideas as well as forms to the ways in which people see and act within and on their surroundings. All art is a framing device for visual and or social experience. Theater has to say something.” Is the Department doing that? The theater that Columbia produces each year not only needs to push the boundaries of the art form but must stay with in the confines of the educational branding stigma. In a school that says it prides it self on the diversities of its students it has a funny way of showing it. Create Change with in reason should really be the slogan.
I think the theater department in this time of great transition needs to decide if they are going to be based in theory or hands on practicality. Upcoming chair head John Green has already hinted at his perspective on the issue. For his part, Green, a Beckett aficionado, readily quotes the master as he faces his new challenges. “Ever tried. Ever failed. Never mind. Try again. Fail again. Fail better. We’re all just trying to fail better.” He pauses, and then quietly chuckles. “College administrators don’t like to hear about that, though.”

Dissocia:A Columbia show outside of Columbia

Profiles Theatre continues its crazy 20th Anniversary Season with the U.S. Premiere of the acclaimed new dark comedy The Wonderful World Of Dissocia by Anthony Neilson, directed by Profiles Associate Artistic Director, Darrell W. Cox. The production opened on March 26 and runs through May 10, 2009, at Profiles Theatre, 4147 N. Broadway.
Of all the shows in Chicago this week, the production of Anthony Neilson’s “The Wonderful World of Dissocia” at Profiles Theatre probably is the most outrageous. It also can claim the title of having the most Columbia College Chicago students or Alumni working on it that is not a Columbia College Chicago production. Refrain from bolting from the theater at intermission, no matter how tempted you might be to escape the chaos, high-pitched noise and shrill burlesque of the first act of "The Wonderful World of Dissocia." For in the quietly breathtaking second act of Scottish playwright Anthony Neilson's drama, you will find a profoundly moving look at what it means to be a young woman in the throes of clinical depression. And you will realize that what the writer has done here is to perfectly echo the raging mood swings of the manic-depressive mind.
The Wonderful World of Dissocia is a colorful and exciting off-kilter trip that follows Lisa Jones in search of one lost hour that has tipped the balance of her life. The inhabitants of the wonderful world she finds herself in - Dissocia - are a curious blend of the funny, the friendly and the brutal. This is a hugely original play, both magical and moving, that confirmed Anthony Neilson as one of the major voices in contemporary British theatre.
When we first meet Lisa (Somer Benson in a performance of overwhelming honesty), she seems to be something of a latter-day Alice in Wonderland. From talking to Dr. Victor Hesse (one of several skillful turns by Bob Pries), a distinctly quirky Swiss watch repairman who shows up at her doorway, she begins to sense that she somehow lost an hour of time during a flight, and this has had a distressing effect on her life. And he suggests that Lisa can reclaim that hour by setting out on what becomes an increasingly insane journey into a bizarre underworld.
As the play goes on we see the clock of Lisa's mind seems to get wound more tightly and irregularly, she encounters a pair of passive-aggressive Tweedledum and Tweedledee characters (Eric Burgher, Columbia faculty and grad and Joe Jahraus), a sadistic Goat (Pries), a masochistic "stand-in" (the zany Jessie Fisher), an abused jackal-like creature (Jeremy Lee Cudd Columbia grad as well), a nutcase Oathtaker (Barb Stasiw, who also is ideal as a nurse), and a sexy waitress-dominatrix (the very watchable Sarah Loveland), who serves up hot dogs bearing decidedly phallic implications.
The whimsy escalates to raunchy horror, and goes beyond tolerable to a screechy, mind-numbing, circuslike cacophony. And then the first act is over. When the lights come up on the second act the stage is empty except for a hospital bed. Lisa, who clearly has crashed, lies in a drugged sleep, with nurses regularly making sure she swallows her pillows and remains subdued.
Benson's evocation of Lisa's resignation, slow rebellion and aching sadness -- all exacerbated by the selfish (or self-preserving) actions of her sister and boyfriend (expertly played by Fisher and Cudd) -- is extraordinary as Neilson's play takes on an almost Beckettlike otherworldliness.
“The Wonderful World Of Dissocia is one of the most unique, unorthodox and surprising pieces of theatre I have ever read,” says Profiles Associate Artistic Director and Director of this emotional rollercoaster Darrell W. Cox. “I have long been an admirer of Anthony Neilson's work--a fearless Scotsman, who was at the forefront of the revolutionary British in-yer-face theatre movement in the early '90's. With 'Dissocia', one of his most recent plays, Mr. Neilson is no longer content with expanding the boundaries of experiential theatre. This new work now brings a blast of fresh, emotionally truthful and physically alive theatre to the stage that is truly remarkable. We [at Profiles] are honored to be introducing this play to American audiences and promise an experience that will be unlike anything in our twenty year history at Profiles.”
Boldly directed by Darrell W. Cox (with an ingenious set by Thad Hallstein, inventive costumes by Ricky Lurie and colorful lights by Jess Harpenau(an all Columbia Design team)), this is one of the largest, most elaborate productions in Profile's history. And if you stick around you will not be disappointed.
The Wonderful World Of Dissocia received its lauded World Premiere at the Edinburgh International Festival and went on to win every major category at the Critics’ Awards for Theatre in Scotland including Best New Play and Best Production. Mr. Neilson’s award-winning play subsequently played to sold-out houses and wowed audiences and critics alike at the National Theatre of Scotland and at the Royal Court in London.
This is the fourth production of Profiles Theatre’s 20th Anniversary Season following their acclaimed productions of GREAT FALLS by Lee Blessing, THE THUGS by Adam Bock and MEN OF TORTUGA by Jason Wells. The final production of the season will be the World premiere of GRACELAND by Ellen Fairey.

A block of fun and music.

“All comedians want to be musicians, and all musicians think that they are funny.” - Dave Chappelle
Unfortunately for most comedians they don’t have the list of talented musician friends that Dave Chappelle seems to be able to bring together, making a vanity project such as Dave Chappelle’s Block Party completely unrealistic. Luckily, for fans of Mr. Chappelle’s narrow brand of comedy and fans of the hip-hop music world, Dave does have the right friends and all the right ambitions essential to bring some of the finest musical talents of that genre together on the big screen.
After signing a $60 million contract with Comedy Central, Dave Chappelle walked off the set supposedly over “creative differences”, and disappeared into the wild thin air of “Africa” at the height of his fame. Since his show was the number 1 series at the Network at the time that he left, it stands to reason that his legions of fans must be starving for more of his outrageous, color-conscious skits.
However, anyone who is looking for Dave’s trademark brand of humor is likely to be a bit disappointed by Dave Chappelle‘s Block Party, for this filmed concert’s strength lies in it’s stimulated musical performances by a host of hip-hop artists who are my personal cup of tea but are very good at what they do.
In the fall of 2004, Dave Chappelle set out to throw his own version of a “once-in-a-lifetime” block party for 5,000 of his leading fans. He spent days, as he showed us in the film, combing the streets of Southwestern Ohio, passing out golden tickets much like a black Willy Wonka on speed, that would send hundreds across the country to Brooklyn, New York for what would become a epic show. Once there these lucky few would hold witness to an overwhelming marathon, with performances by Kanye West, Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Common, Dead Prez, Erykah Badu, Jill Scott, and the Roots. They would also be treated to the musical reunion of Wyclef Jean, Pras and Lauren Hill - formally known as the Fugees. With a spectacular concert and a little bit of sketch comedy to fill in the gaps, Chappelle and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind director Michel Gondry set a path to make Block Party a moment in musical and comedy history that will not soon be forgotten to those who enjoy that type of music, again not my type but I was very open to experience what they had to offer.
The artist like Chappelle are not at all shy about sharing their sharp-edged political perspective on what at that time was the start of the second half of the Bush years. The artist messages ranged from “F*ck the police!” to “I’m up for shooting some crackers at City Hall,” to lyrics which suggested assassinating the President on Saturday and burying him on Sunday. Sporting t-shirts (Che Guevara) and buttons (Black Panthers) advancing evenly progressive causes, some spoke earnestly during interludes about their heartfelt concerns for the planet.

If you are a fan of hip-hop music, there is nothing bad about this film. The music is electrifying, and seeing such talent all pulled together on one stage brings a moment of doubt, followed by many moments of musical bliss. Cut in between the shots of Dave Chappelle roaming the streets seeking zealously egar fans of the hip-hop style is the amazing concert, which begins with an electrifying performance from Kanye West, flanked by the infinitely talented John Legend. Then after performances from Mos Def, Common and Talib Kweli, the women of Chappelle’s Block Party take over and steal the entire show. Soulful and sexy, Erykah Badu and Jill Scott slow things down and heat things up with a few ballads.
This all precedes, of course, the moment of true genius on the part of Chappelle and whomever else helped him plan this event; the moment when Lauren Hill, Wyclef and Pras take the stage as the Fugees for the first time in over 7 years. Personally as a fan of the Fugees from the time I discovered The Score, I was amazed to see them all on stage together again. It solidified the musical experience for me, not only as a fan of the Fugees, but as a fan of hip-hop.
But lest we forget that these wonderful musical performances are all wedged in between the street-wise comedy bits of Dave Chappelle, which can at times be a little hokey. To me however, Dave’s jokes were very crude. Here’s a couple to give you a good idea what to expect. “Your mother has three ti*ties, one for milk, one for water, the other one’s out of order.” Or, “How many white folks does it take to screw in a lightbulb? None, because they’ll get a n*gger to do it for ‘em.” And then there was one about the “industrious prostitute who had another vagina surgically implanted on her hip so she could make some money on the side?” Fortunately, the other performers easily overshadow Dave’s dumb antics. In some ways the film begins to appear more like a narcissistic project for Chappelle than a musical out pouring. If it wasn’t for his obvious love of the music and his commitment to bringing his fans along for the ride as far spread as Ohio, the message of this film would have been lost in a twister of self-centered promotions by its leading man. Chappelle’s bits are funny to a point, but the real appeal of this documentary film is the musical showcase that he assembles.
To me, Dave’s jokes were very crude. Here’s a couple to give you a good idea what to expect. “Your mother has three ti*ties, one for milk, one for water, the other one’s out of order.” Or, “How many white folks does it take to screw in a lightbulb? None, because they’ll get a n*gger to do it for ‘em.” And then there was one about the “industrious prostitute who had another vagina surgically implanted on her hip so she could make some money on the side?” Fortunately, the other performers easily overshadow Dave’s dumb antics.
In the end, this film appeals to a fairly limited audience, that dose not include me. You really have to either be a big fan of Dave Chappelle, a fan of hip-hop, or a fan of both in order to even be interested in the first place. The sad part for those of you who do not fit into the above categories (much like myself) is that we are missing out on a wonderfully crafted musical show. Chappelle’s Block Party is entertaining and above all original enough to rent but I would not buy it to own.

Take it to the next level of life.

Nike football UK division can help you take it to the next level with their new full high energy ad blitz. “Take it to the next level” puts you in the head of a football player living life in the game. Going from the rookie of spring training to the all star MVP plays of the European season in under 2 ½ minutes is how Nike helps you make the change from an everyday person to well as they put it best before “being all that you can be. This fast paced life is not my cup of Gatorade but I’m sure for you sports fans out there you will love a glass or two.

The best part of the ad is that yes we know it is Nike and the Nike brand is used a lot but it is used in a way that most people will understand but not get bogged down by the fact.

This is not only an Ad for Nike products: it’s an ad for a better way of life, with help from Nike of course. Nike’s shoes can help you perform better. Their shirts and shorts are made so you will wick your sweat away, and of course perform better. Oh yes and if by chance you can use a Nike football, you too can take it to the next level and make it to the top.

This ad is geared more to the sports fan of the male gender but there the idea of Nike and the next level is universal for male and female all stars in all of us. Who doesn’t want to win? I feel like a winner just watching the Ad. So if you need to take it to the next level let Nike Football take you there with their wide range of products.