Dear Friends of the Pub Quiz,
Saturday night Kate and I got to see a one-man show by our favorite B Street Theatre actor, Dave Pierini. I have seen many one-person shows over the years, including by Sir Ian McKellen long before he was Gandalf or Magneto, and by Bella Merlin, the supremely talented acting professor who now teaches at UC Riverside. Taking on this challenge requires an incredible amount of chutzpa, endurance, willpower, and oratory prowess, something McKellen and Merlin have in spades.
Dave Pierini, by contrast, is the master of the dramatic reaction, the engaging conversation, and that on-stage dance of interaction and engagement. In every role, he convinces the playgoer that he is that character in that situation, reacting to others’ odd or unexpected phrases or actions in ways that keep audiences laughing. As we drove to Sacramento, we wondered how he would do all that with no other actors to respond to.
Dave was already engaging with the audiences when we walked into the crowded theatre, giving out pieces of paper with numbers and lines to select playgoers. The title of the play, Every Brilliant Thing, refers to a long list started by the main character, a list of everything that makes life worth living. The numbers and phrases turned out to be lines spoken by the playgoers. “Remember to project,” we were told. Some people got a single phrase, such as “ice cream,” while I was handed a compound-complex sentence about the comfort that comes from the realization that we cannot change even unpleasant situations (Dave knows me, and thought I could handle the long line). Kate’s well-projected line, which Dave said he picked specially for her, referred to one of her favorite activities: skinny dipping.
Dave Pierini’s performance in a play about emotional trauma, the maturing process, and jazz featured humor, patience, and improvisational brilliance. Dave provided us an acting class, as well lessons about life, love, and perseverance. He also made us laugh, over and over. The audience was deeply touched by Every Brilliant Thing, and I remain grateful that we have such cultural heroes in our midst, courtesy of the B Street Theatre in Sacramento
The last performance in this run took place yesterday. I should ask the B Street Theatre to move our subscription to earlier in the season so I can tell all of you about future shows. We have many theatres to choose from – and the Davis Shakespeare Ensemble offers Romeo and Juliet soon. When it comes to Sacramento offerings, I encourage you to look for Dave Pierini – actor, director, and playwright – in another B Street Theatre production sometime soon.
Tonight’s Pub Quiz will feature questions on television shows, automobiles, the importance of time, Memphis, prime ministers, urban adventures, the loyal opposition, mouths, El Salvador, heroes after who schools are named, regional Tony awards, Angie to her friends, entertainers, used books, repeated ordinal numbers, feeling wonderful, Darwin’s haunts, the new #1, the big IFF, billions and billions, unreal definitions of reality, a start at democracy, famous bugs, fish people, the lachrymose I, expected intrusions, 38 seasons, The Emmys, Julia Roberts, the state of being lissome, The Beatles, Oscar-winners from Massachusetts, cane sleeves, ongoing feuds, not Nancy, American wars, and Shakespeare.
The UC Davis students are back. Have you noticed? Wear your helmets!
See you tonight.
Your Quizmaster
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Here are three questions from last week’s quiz:
- Mottos and Slogans. What website has used the slogan “Buy it, sell it, love it”?
- Internet Culture. I found out yesterday that Qantas has imposed a ban on Galaxy Note 7 smartphones, which have a propensity to spontaneously catch fire. Name the manufacturer.
- Four for Four. Which of the following jazz musicians, if any, are known primarily for their work with the saxophone? John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker.
P.S. As you may know, I’m working on a Pub Quiz book. If the paperback is 220 pages, with over 1,000 questions, should it sell for $15 or $20?