Available light [theatre]

Because Tomorrow is still the question.

Good news in the form of a couple of year-end lists.

In the Columbus Dispatch (and on his blog) Michael Grossberg named then after water one of his ten favorite shows of the year. We're in good company on a list that includes the SITI Company and Cirque du Soleil.

Meanwhile, over in Columbus Alive land, Jay Weitz recognized Tomorrow is the Question as the Best New Work of the year.

Congrats also to AVLT associate Eleni Papaleonardos, who was recognized in the Alive for her stunning performance in Mary Stuart, which Mr. Grossberg also named one of his favorite shows of the year.

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Please, just click the picture to help. It costs nothing and takes about 5 seconds.

Send this everywhere.

Thanks so much to everyone who attended Tomorrow is the Question over the past two weekends. You were some great audiences and we all really had a good time.

Make sure you keep checking back for more treats from the show, videos, photos, and more.

And to those who asked (and those who didn't) whether this show will return, the answer is a resounding YES.

Lastly, here's the script, in a downloadable PDF file. Please don't do anything with it that we wouldn't want you to. Please give credit where credit is due.

Download the script here.

Our first review is from Uweekly. Read it here. Here are a couple of tasty quotations:

his piece packs more information into it than several Nightly News Broadcasts put together

Rivaling the best Saturday Night Live political sketches, these actors took their characters to the extreme

This is a play for politcos, not theater fans.

Slaybaugh is obviously a thoughtful and impassioned political thinker.

These photos and more from Kimberly Rottmayer.

See it bigger.

We are thrilled to announce that we will be joined by 4 of our favorite Columbus bands for two evenings at the theatre. All you need is one ticket for a full evening of entertainment.

First, on Saturday, March 31, Eric Metronome will kick the evening off at 7pm, followed by our show, followed by Time + Temperature.

Second weekend, Friday, April 6, the evening begins with Spanish Prisoners at 7pm, followed by us, followed by Queen Mae & the Bells.

So, show up early and stay late. And get your tickets now. We have great online deals, but they will come to and end soon.

If you're planning to see Tomorrow is the Question, there's an easy way you can help us.

Please purchase your tickets for the show in advance, online. You can do so at our online ticket window.

To give you a little incentive, right now, our online tickets are almost 50% less than tickets will cost on the day of the show.

And, if you're socially inclined, you can get an incredible deal on a block of 5 tickets. But, you'll need to click the link to get more info.

You may have noticed a distinctive style creeping into some off the artwork around this place. What you're seeing (on the poster for Tomorrow is the Question, and in the TV image) is the work of Banksy. Banksy is a Graffitti artist based in the UK. Apparently, no one knows who he is. He's perpetrated some of the best anti-authoritarian art of our generation.

Yes, his work is very controversial, but at the heart of it lies an important message about peace, freedom, and justice. His work has a lot of heart, and that's what I respect about him.

For more information, you can visit his website or check out his fantastic book, Wall and Piece.

Available light is pleased to announce that our next original show will reach the stage in Columbus, Ohio at the end of March.

Tomorrow is the Question is a play about DEMOCRATS. It's about POLITICS - what works, what doesn't and why it's up to US to fix it.

The show will be directed by Matt Slaybaugh. The cast features Michelle Schroeder, Acacia Duncan, Ian Short, Eleni Papaleonardos, Nick Lingnofski, and Jennifer Spillane. Sound by Dave Wallingford.

We've been working on the script for more than a year and we go into rehearsal in a matter of days. Watch this space for ticket information, rehearsal journals and more as we bring this bold new work to life.

We're holding auditions, yes we are.
We're casting for two shows (then | after | water and Tomorrow is the Question) that we'll be doing in the next 6 months. We're also trying to figure out who else is acting in Columbus right now. So, if you want to be seen and you're interested in working with us in the future, make it to one of these dates.

Friday 12/8 6-7:30pm
Saturday 12/9 11am-1:30pm
Sunday 12/10 6-7:30pm

You can call (614-975-3764) or email to set up a time, or just show-up and sign-up for a slot.

Auditions will be held at the King Ave. United Methodist Church - 299 King Ave., on the 3rd floor.

Bring 2 contrasting monologues. In case anyone shows up without monologues, cold readings will be provided. BUT, we do prefer to see something you've worked on.

For more information:
614-975-3764
slay@avltheatre.info
avltheatre.com

Keith Olbermann addresses the Military Commissions Act in a special commentary.

If you don't wanna watch a video, you can go here to read the full text.

AKA Kenneth Blackwell's a F-in A-Hole

This is a track that Matt and Dave recorded earlier in the summer.
Please download it and distribute it freely.
Play it loud and often.

Music video coming soon.

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From the PA-07 race.
Read more on daily Kos.

Watch this, John Kerry!

Wow. I like it so much, I'm gonna watch it again.

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Our country is being tested as never before. And it?s going to take the skill, the talent, and the will of all of the American people to get this right.

As I travel the country people always ask me: Governor, what don?t you like about the President? And I?ve got to say, it?s not something he?s done. It?s something he hasn?t done. He has never really asked Americans to step up?for any shared sacrifice?to actually be part of the solution.

After 9/11, I ? and you ? and all Americans would have done anything to stand up for our country. But the President never asked.

After our troops were in harms way in Iraq, I think I ? and you ? and all Americans would have been ready to take a new approach to energy that makes us less dependent on the Persian Gulf. But the President never asked.

After Katrina, all of us wanted to do something, anything, to make sure that no Americans have to die in the streets because government can?t deliver basic services or maintain a 21st century infrastructure. But the President never asked.

Instead, we got the politics of division. Of Red and Blue America. Of leadership that stokes the fires of the past while failing to put forward a vision of the future.

The American people were willing to step up?and they still are. They?re ready to answer that call. They understand that we are living at a time of transformative change?.of harrowing threats and historic opportunity.

It's time for a different kind of politics, a different kind of policy, a different kind of leadership in this country.

But it?s not going to be easy. We?re not going to get it done by simply having Congress pass a law. It?s time to see a little farther down the road. Because it?s not an American birthright that we?re going to continue living in the most successful and prosperous country in the world.

. . .

It is time to issue that call to bring Americans together?to build a new American leadership in the world? and to bring that boundless sense of innovation and opportunity to all Americans.

Let?s get to work. Thank you all very much.

Read more here.

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"After ten years of Republican rule America has empty pockets, empty gas tanks, and broken promises.

They ignore the Constitution, toss aside the Geneva Convention, out an undercover agent, look over your shoulder at the library, tap the phones in your home, pick your pocket at the pump, and keep sending special interests on tax holidays paid for by the American people.

Then, they go out for lunch to plot what they'll do to us in the afternoon!...

They are not above our laws; they just ignore them, undermine them, have special interests re-write them, or simply attack anyone trying to defend them.

I can't let my country down; I can't let my constituents down; and I can't let the Constitution down."
- Rep. Jim McDermott

Read more on DailyKos dot com.

"We meet at a time where we find ourselves at a crossroads in American history. It's a time where you can go into any town hall or veterans' hall or coffee shop or street corner and you'll hear people express the same anxiety about the future. You'll hear them convey the same uncertainty about the direction that we're headed as a country. Whether it's the war or Katrina or health care or outsourcing, you'll hear people say that, now, surely we've come to a moment where things have to change. And there are Americans who still believe in an America where anything's possible; they're just not sure that their leaders still do. They still believe in dreaming big dreams but they suspect maybe that their leaders have forgotten how."
- Barack Obama

"Politics is a non-rational business for most Americans - it's about fears, hopes, aspirations."
- Unknown guy on C-Span last night.

"All these years of success and failure, trial and error, have made me conclude that if we really want to build a modern movement, then progressives of all stripes and flavors, and from all regions of the country, must learnt to work together, to tolerate and respect our differences, to debate but not to fight, to understand that we are all playing different positions on the same team."
- Jerome Armstrong + Markos Moulitsas Z佖iga from Crashing the Gate.

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