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Empty Space Becomes Remote Controlled!
Topics: the empty space, Bakotopia, Bakersfield, theater, Super Villians, February, 2010, Citizen Journalism
Posted by tgrJams Mon Feb 1, 2010 12:30:25 PST
Viewed 223 times
0 responses 1 comment Location: 706 Oak Street, Bakersfield, CA 93304

Super Villain: The Limited Edition at The Empty Space!
Catch this rare show this weekend: Feb 5-6!



By Thomas G. Robinson, Bakotopia.com Contributor
 
The cold metal walls are lit with precision, inviting the evil villainous trio back to The Empty Space, where they will make good (or bad) use of their secret lair. The Remote, Teri the Tarot Card Terrorist and Professor Gimp have returned to plan death and destruction in the name of super villainy. But wait! Look, up in the sky… Is it a bird, a plane? Is it Superman? No… it’s Excelsior and his trusty partner, Sidekick, arriving just in time to save the day!


 
So goes Super Villain, the original hit comedy, written by local playwright James Kopp. This very popular show is returning to The Empty Space for a special one weekend performance on Friday and Saturday, February 5th and 6th at 8:00 PM. Produced last year for its debut performance, Super Villain is the semi-autobiographical story of James Kopp’s very strange life, in comic book format!
 


Last March, the show ran for two weeks and played to packed houses at The Empty Space Theatre. Veteran actors and newcomers to the stage (comic book loving friends of Kopp) played the roles of the heroes, regular citizens and criminals. The end result was nothing short of amazing! Crowds came back again and again!


 
At this year’s Empty Space Awards, Kopp was awarded eight “Empties” for Super Villain. Even more amazing, all of the original actors of the show are returning to portray their roles this weekend, a feat not normal for any local production of community theatre!



When asked why he decided to bring back the show, Kopp said, “I heard that lots of people didn’t get to see it and I wanted to give them a chance. That’s the sad thing about theatre; you can’t just pop the show in like a DVD to see it again. The fact that the original cast is back makes it ideal.”

Kopp said that it’s very rare that all the actors come back and that in over 15 years of doing theatre, he’s never worked with a cast that gets along so well. “Everyone’s busy with their lives and real jobs,” he said, “but they all came back to make it work!”



Adds Guinevere Park-Hall Dethlefson, who plays Terri the Tarot Card Terrorist, “Working on a dark comedy is one of my favorite genres of theatre.  In life I try to find the good and humorous in the most horrible situations.  Getting to do the same on stage seems very natural to me.”

“I enjoyed working with an old friend.  James' play is very personal to him and very accessible to everyone else,  so it’s the best of both worlds.”



She said she knew half the cast from high school and the others from The Empty Space. “Working with the cast is the best thing about the show.  We can all riff on things together and have a blast creating a comic book world come to life.  I love making things up and this is the best of creating something new (again!).”



Although this is a limited two night run at the Empty Space, Kopp plans on producing it in Chicago where he’s received a lot of support from their local theatre community.


"Convinced yet?"

The show stars James Kopp as The Remote, Guinevere Park-Hall Dethlefson as Terri the Tarot Card Terrorist, Bryan Maddern as Excelsior, Jenny Maddern as Kim, Rod Lester as Professor Gimp and Matthew Christensen as Sidekick. The show also stars Michael Solko, Dallas Austin, Thor Reese and Thomas G. Robinson in supporting roles.

The Empty Space Theatre production of Super Villain: The Limited Edition will open Friday, February 5th and close Saturday, February 6th with both shows starting at 8:00 PM. 

The Empty Space is located at 706 Oak Street (behind Pizzaville).  Call 327.PLAY for reservations or more information.

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Comment From: matt

Thanks for posting Thomas! Keep on bringin us the goods! This will be in my new Bako newsletter and weekend e-blast tomorrow!