Comedy troupe is in it for the yucks
(reprinted from the Tucson Citizen, September, 2004)
"It seems like we're popular with people who've seen us. Now we want to be popular with people who haven't seen us," said Steve Barancik, a founder of Monolog Cabin, the city's newest and funniest comedy performance group for adults.
Not that Monolog Cabin specializes in material of a salacious nature. Just the opposite, really. The challenge of divorce and the secrets of domestic infighting are more typical of the stuff Monolog Cabin's members squeeze for laughs. Actually, the more times you've been married, had your ego snuffed out like a cigarette butt at a smokers' convention, lived with regret and still believed in hope - the more you'll love Monolog Cabin.
The group has performed three times at Hotel Congress and every appearance has seen the place packed beyond capacity. As Barancik says, the people who see them really love them. The Hotel Congress loves Monolog Cabin so much, the group is booked for shows the next four Saturdays at 7 p.m.
Note: get there early if you want a good seat. Tip: claim a chair and order a drink, get into the proper frame of mind for a wild ride through truth and cynicism.
"We want to be a full-time performing group, building our audience and our e-mail list," Barancik said. "People tell us Monolog Cabin seems like something from a bigger city."
Developing new material could be the albatross that sandbags success for this group of friends. At least, they started out as friends. They have maintained a remarkably high level of quality, particularly for such a new act. Not even Bloodhut Productions found such immediate audience acceptance.
"We maintain the quality by rejecting most of the stuff we receive," Barancik said. "We believe in the collaborative process, too."
All that soul-searching and collaborating can consume a lot of time. In the past six months, members of Monolog Cabin have developed only enough material for two shows. But they have performed each show twice, with no lagging of audience enthusiasm.
Now there is a third show about to debut, as well as a fourth show with a slightly different format - taking the theme "White Trash Poetry Night." These poetic pieces are only a couple of minutes long. As compared to the usual monologues of 10 minutes or more.
But first, catch up to these ambitious entertainers Saturday when they repeat their April performance. The format is for six (sometimes eight) writers to read (while adding a few theatrical qualities) something they have written about some event in their lives.
Though
it seems less spontaneous than stand-up comedy, the result is far more
reflective and, consequently, far more satisfying. Unlike the narrow view of
life you find at comedy clubs, Monolog Cabin uses laughs to open up lots of
life's darker corners.
"I feel superlucky that I found these guys," former Los Angeles stand-up comedian Sara Regezi said. After working as a comic in both San Francisco and L.A., she tried Tucson. That was six weeks ago.
"I just answered the famous ad that's been running in the Tucson Weekly," Regezi said, without explaining what has made the Monolog Cabin ad so famous.
Now she is in the group, working on her own monologue about having a career as a temporary office worker. That's after earning a degree in classical archeology.
Sept. 11 and again Sept. 18, Monolog Cabin (with Regezi making her debut) will present its all-new show. The much-anticipated White Trash Poetry Night is Sept. 25, with Barancik promising some genuine poets - such as William Pitt Root and Pam Uschuk - will join the less literary participants.