Brain dumping

So here’s one of those “odd thoughts” I’ve had recently:

Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out was the first rhythm game.

Hear me out…rhythm games are the new big thing with the guitar heroes and the rock bands and the like.  You play them by seeing some kind of impulse on the screen, then pushing a button or hitting a drum or some other Pavlovian response to that stimulus.  There the players simulate playing a musical instrument that the screen is showing you how to play (although it’s about as far from that as my next subject is from actual boxing).

Yet back in the late eighties, we were already doing that.  Whether it was to dodge Piston Honda’s punches (after seeing the stimulus of his eyebrows twitching) or hitting Blad Bull during his Bull Charge (if I remember right, it’s a stomach punch after his third hop towards you), it’s pretty much the same thing.  You watch for the tell-tale sign of a punch that was different for each boxer (like a shaking head or even a flashing jewel), dodging that punch and then delivering a counter attack.  It’s almost like Guitar Hero, yet they don’t tell you exactly what key you need to push when the different colors come up, you have to figure it out on your own.

In it’s own way, Punch-Out was SUPERIOR in that respect as it never told you exactly what you needed to do, but once you were a good player, you knew exactly when to punch King Hippo in the navel, or to smack that laugh off of Soda Popinski.

Well, now that I’ve earned my geek-cred, I’ll let you all ponder that moment.  Don’t ask my why this is on a Shakespeare-themed blog…I refer you to my previous posts about particle physics and time travel.

-Adam

New Website

Thanks to everyone who helped with the new website. It just went live, so if you’re around www.themadmechanicals.com and you happen to see a problem, let us know!

-Adam

You know what I heard?

A radioactive spider once bit Shakespeare…and the spider got amazing bardic powers!

End of VARF Season for us

We had a fantastic four week run at the Virginia Renaissance Faire! It was great to reunite with friends from the area and make new friends this year. We really enjoyed seeing people return from previous years and for multiple weekends. This run saw not only the return of many fan favorite shows, but revamps on a few shows and the debut of “Much Ado About Something”…also known as “Much Ado About Sumpun Sumpun”. Ummm…yeah…I think that’s how one would spell that…I’ve never tried to do that before…But then again, that’s what improv is all about We tried out some new improv pieces during our Variety Hour and had a blast with them. We have a pokers in the fire at the moment, so keep your eyes out on our website and on Facebook for updates!

~Andi

The Pirates!

Another weekend closes at the Virginia Renaissance Festival.

This week we were overrrun with pirates, which was alright since we brought out the Shakespeare play with the pirates in it.  Oh?  You didn’t know?  Hamlet is chock full of pirates!  Well…the first draft was, anyway.  Seems Willey edited most of them out and now it’s just a small little mention somewhere in the back there.

We had another great time all weekend, although I think I was beginning to come down with something Sunday morning.   Luckily the laughter in all our crowds kept me going…and we even found some time to do Popcorn theatre!

We’ve only got one week left at Varf, so if you’re planning on seeing us, you best make it this weekend.  And what better weekend to go: it’s Celtic weekend!

So come see us do the Scottish play, a play about England beating up on France (which was a veiled commentary on England and Ireland’s relations in 1599….no really….we actually read this stuff), and maybe even some cross dressing just for old time sake.

Oh what fools these Mechanicals be…

A backstage pass!

Hello all!  (Especially the Facebook people for whom this is the third time they’re reading this)

As we hit the middle of a new year, we Mad Mechanicals have decided to update our website from drab to fab, and we would like to hear what YOU, our fans have to say about it.  Here is the link to the new sooper sekret website:

http://www.themadmechanicals.com/sekretindex.htm

Go ahead and check it out!

If you’d like, let us know what you think about it.  If there’s something better in this version than the last, let us know.  If you liked the older setup better, let us know.  If there’s something you’d like to add to the site, let us know.  If there’s a picture or a quote you’d like to contribute to the site, let us know.

Basically we’d like to hear from YOU what YOU think about it all.  The site will be secret for only about two more weeks before the switch, so let us know of anything you might want to change and you may see your idea on the new Mechanicals page.

As always, we thank you for your help in this and all endeavors that we’ve reached out to our fans.  Without you, we’d just be five people with funny clothes talking about a hundred years dead playwright…which we are.

Thanks again!

-Adam

Military Weekend at VARF

Two weeks down and two to go… We had FANTASTIC weather this past weekend and the masses were out to enjoy it!  We realized at the end of the day Sunday that we had gone non-stop both days, because there were so many people to play with.  This weekend we performed Much Ado About Something, Macbeth, and Henry V.  Much Ado was in it’s second week of production, and went much better this week.  I changed the Robin Snacks this week, in hopes that I could get the whole thing in my mouth this time.  All those years I was told I have a big mouth seem to have been wrong…I need smaller cookies!  I’m still trying to figure out how guys with mustaches eat and don’t eat their mustache…   Macbeth has seen some revisions this year, most notabely, BaaBaaLouie speaks!  Yes, they trusted me with lines   Not just lines, but bad puns   Henry V has seen some stage time and went swimmingly, well not literally, no one drowns in that one…just lots of stabbing.  The show line up for this coming weekend is still to be determined, but if you have the opportunity, come visit us at the Virginia Renaissance Faire!  Not only will you get to see us, but – Mars Mandrake, Eksentric, Tribe Janisimmi, Son of Strumm, Sashenka, and many, many, many other fantastic performers whom I wish I had more time to watch myself!

 

~Andi

Opening Weekend at Virginia Renaissance Faire

So, I’m beginning to think this is the year of rain. Saturday threatened rain, but then shaped up to be a beautiful day. Sunday, on the other hand was wet. It didn’t rain all day, but just enough to make the ground wet, which was a lot of fun with “Shilling for Shakespeare”. We debuted “Much Ado About Something” this weekend, and though it didn’t go perfectly, the audience seemed to love it As it was Romance weekend, we also performed Romeo and Juliet (”Because when you think love and romance, you think double suicide”) and Pyramus and Thisbee. We spent the rest of our day playing with visitors as they wandered the grounds and catching up friends whom we haven’t seen since VARF last year, which was the best part for me! Tavern Sing was, as always, a blast. I love just getting together with everyone, singing a few really fun songs and seeing a few good comedy bits I had so much fun, I think I’ll do it again this coming weekend. It’s Military History weekend, so if you’re an active, reserve, or retired military person you can get in for free with an ID as a thank you for your service. If you track me down, I’ll give you a big hug!

Spoutwood Faerie Festival and VARF

Adam pretty well summed up the Spoutwood Faerie Festival experience, but I wanted to throw in my two pence. First off, he very kindly omitted water in the tent problem number one. This problem was caused by some one who looks a lot like Robin Starveling placing a water jug in the tent at a downward angle, thus causing a slow leak from said water jug. All I can say is thank goodness for the air matress that separated us from the water and for the camp towel that removed the water before we packed up the tent. The entire weekend was a blast, as always. I have been going to this festival for over a decade, and it is one of my favorite places! It was a reunion weekend for me as well, as many people I have met through my years of attending and working at faires and festivals where there too. Our shows went great and everyone seemed to have a fantastic time with us, not despite of, but with the mud

Our next appearance will be at the Virginia Renaissance Faire. I am very excited to be coming back to this wonderful faire. This is a great Renaissance faire with a fantastic cast and a lot of really interesting vendors. I highly recommend making the pilgrimage and checking it out! I can’t wait to get there!

~Andi

A muddy hello

That was a lot of rain.

For those who didn’t make it, the Spoutwood May Day Faerie Festival was a bloody hoot!  The rain didn’t dampen our spirits (pardon the pun) and we had a great time vamping for upcoming acts, or doing our own version of a Midsummer’s Day Dream.

Those that came Saturday would have delighted at the new version of that show….although it was only new because I lost my prop 5 seconds before I needed to use it.  God bless five people with improv training!

Sunday’s show was great as well, although we all saw our insurance rates rise and we slipped and slid all over the muddy hill.  Luckily everyone survived, and had smiles on thier faces to boot!

We loved seeing old friends there, from fans to fellow performers like the amazing Trinket and the hilarious Letstrythis the dragon.  It was Music, Mechanicals and Mud all weekend, and we wouldn’t have had it any other way.

Well, I personally could have done without the water coming through the tent floor, but maybe I’m just picky.

Now to pack up our things and head on down to the Virginia Renaissance festival in two weeks.  Phew….what wacky lives we lead.

Adam