Responder: Nannette Deasy, Founder and Artistic Director of IRTE, original concept and cast member (Andie the Android), Wow Wee! Adventures of a Little Girl Killbot Christmas Special!
Name of Company: IRTE (Improvisational Repertory Theatre Ensemble)
Name of Show: Wow Wee! Adventures of a Little Girl Killbot Christmas Special!
“I grew up watching and loving 80s sitcoms. I thought it would be fun to use the Small Wonder concept, throw in some Terminator, Frankenstein, even bits of Thornton Wilder’s ‘Skin of Our Teeth’ and round it out with some ‘Christmas cheer.'”
- Why should people see your show?
People should come see our show because it is funny! It mixes 80s nostalgia with sci-fi horror, comedy improv and live music. They also get to control a lot of the action, as they decide who the protagonist is (or as Andie the Android would lisp “That’s a big-girl word for main character”), what he or she wants for Christmas and the commercials throughout. It’s fun, but also a little dangerous feeling, as nothing is set in stone and the outcome changes every night.
- What about festivals intrigues you? And why the Atlanta Fringe?
We love performing at festivals, as it gives us an opportunity to meet like-minded artists and introduce our work to new communities. The anything-goes atmosphere of a fringe festival is especially invigorating. Because we are all working on a micro-budget, the shows have to be that much more imaginative without the constraints or expectations of more commercial productions. We’ve heard awesome things about Atlanta Fringe – plus I’ve always wanted to visit (I hear the food is amazing!)
- What inspired you to create this?
I grew up watching and loving 80s sitcoms. I remember one show “Small Wonder” about a family whose Dad invents a little girl robot that they raise as their own daughter. (What little girl wouldn’t love watching that!) The show was kind of awful, and I knew it, but I did watch every episode as a kid. I also, of course, loved and still love horror and sci-fi. I thought it would be fun to use the Small Wonder concept, throw in some Terminator, Frankenstein, even bits of Thornton Wilder’s “Skin of Our Teeth” and round it out with some “Christmas cheer.”
[Ed. note for our younger Fringe pals: Small Wonder was absolutely a real show in the 80’s and it was weird as hell and it remains weird as hell, and you don’t need to have watched it to find this show funny but it sure does help!]
- Life has been weird the last few years, to say the least. How has the “real world” affected the art you’re creating?
Well, this show does deal with the “end of the world” so… Aside from all the silly, goofy, fun, Wow Wee! does address issues of culpability and responsibility to the Earth and our fellow man. The Truman family (esp. dear old Dad, Dr. Larry Truman) is partly (a lot) responsible for the downfall of mankind, but whether they own up to it and make life better is up for debate night to night. (It’s improv, so anything can change.)
- What have you learned from working on your show so far?
If you ask the audience a question, at least one person will want to be heard. Plus, a retainer makes an excellent costume accessory.
- There’s a mysterious stranger in the back row of your show, wearing a big ol’ N95 mask and a baseball cap and there’s something weirdly familiar about them, and then they come up afterwards to tell you they loved your show. In your WILDEST DREAMS, who is this mysterious stranger? (Bonus points if your mysterious stranger is an Atlanta celeb.)
Michael Stipe!!!!
- Fringes are the place to really push the boundaries so we gotta ask: are you inviting your family to this show are “Hey, maybe sit this one out you guys…”
My family would definitely come to this show – but I don’t have kids. Wow Wee! is not for young children. Definitely PG-13 or 15. Plus it’s improv – so there may be adult content (usually from the audience). Oh, there’s also implied violence and gunshots.
- Will your show change the world?
Well, it will change your night, and isn’t that enough?
- Zoom meetings: dress up head to toe or Donald Duck it?
Focus on the cat. Just put your pets on camera. That’s what I’m here for.
- We’re making an excellent Fringey Feelings playlist. Describe your show in two or three songs we can add to keep the jams flowing.
It’s the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)
[Ed. note: HELL YEAH, two Stipes one interview!]
Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots
Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer
Sounds amazing, right? Click here to learn more and get your tickets to this show today.
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