Six plays inspired by works from the Museum of Bad Art

Commedia Beauregard has teamed up with the Museum of Bad Art to take six works of art from their permanent collection and translate them into short plays.   Fulfilling the mission of Commedia Beauregard to translate not only from language to language, but from one art form to another, the six playwrights each write a 15-minute play that tells the story of, or behind, one of the paintings from the MOBA collection.  Six local directors then take those plays and bring them to the Bryant-Lake Bowl Cabaret Theatre stage on four consecutive Sundays!

Listen to the Public Radio story that prompted this project: 
 

The Museum Of Bad Art (MOBA) is a community-based, private institution dedicated to the collection, preservation, exhibition and celebration of bad art in all its forms and in all its glory.

MOBA was founded in the fall of 1993 and presented its first show in March 1994. The response was overwhelming. Since then, MOBA's collection and ambitions have grown exponentially.

Audience Survey Results Tallied

Well, the numbers are in.  And the results have been counted.  And, unlike other votes in Minnesota, there's no reason for a recount.  The winners in eachh category were pretty clear.  During performances of "Master Works: The MOBA Plays", members of the audience were encouraged to answer three questions about the pieces of theatre and the pieces of art upon which they were based.  Translating from one artform to another can be tricky business, so we relied on audience feedback to let us know just how we did.  (You can click on the little chart at the left to see a larger version of the overall results).

The Winners: 

• Which play is your favorite:  Two Left Feet by Matthew A. Everett, directed by Laura Leffler-McCabe.  The painting which inspired this work was My Left Foot.
• Which painting most deserves to be in the Museum of Bad Art:  Bone-Juggling Dog in Hula Skirt painted by Mari Newmann.  The play based on this work was Off Leash by Lisa Day, directed by Natalie Novacek
• Which play best captured the spirit of its painting:  Gina's Demons by Nick Ryan, directed by Leah Adcock-Starr.  The painting which inspired this work was Gina's Demons.

 

MOBA Plays featured in RiffTrax Blog

The early 2009 production, "Master Works: The MOBA Plays", has been featured in the RiffTrax blog.  RiffTrax is the answer to the question, "What are the guys from Mysery Science Theatre 3000 (MST3K) doing these days?"  Bill Corbett, who wrote for the show and voiced the puppet smart-aleck, Crow, wrote one of the plays in Commedia Beauregard's production.  Corbett's play is entitled "The Disturbing Chair".
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Winner of Sample Night Live Tickets Declared

Congratulations, Jimmy LeDuc!  You're the winner of two season passes to Sample Night Live.  Jimmy won these tickets because he filled out out audience survey during "Master Works: The MOBA Plays."  His entry was drawn randomly from all entries.  Enjoy Sample Night Live, Jimmy!