Amazing run of sold-out shows? CHECK!

The Cast of Kidnapped By Craigslist

"The time has come my kiddies. That's enough for one day. Now tell me, how do you feel? A little more relaxed? A little more subdued? Prettier? Thinner? Stronger?" -The Barker

Kidnapped By Craigslist ended its month-long run at The PIT in New York City on Saturday, May 30. And what a wonderful run it was!

Thank you so much to everyone who came out to see the show, and everyone who participated in the "See Your Craigslist Encounter Come to Life" Contest. 

I would also like to say a special thank you to the company of Kidnapped By Craigslist: Director Kimmy Gatewood, Stage Manager/Technician Michelle "Frankie" Thomas, and the truly talented and creative cast: Ryan Andes, Lee Eddy, Michelle O'Connor and Dax Valdes. It has been an honor to produce and be in this production, and all of you contributed so much of yourselves to make this show a huge success! THANK YOU!

Nitra Gutierrez (the co-writer and creator of the show) and I will begin working on a touring company of Kidnapped By Craigslist very soon. Check back for updates about where and when the show will be going next! 

In the meantime, check out all our great photos, videos, reviews and press from this production (and all productions) at www.kidnappedbycraigslist.com

A closing-weekend update from cast member Ryan Andes

The idea came to me during the week we opened.  

We were in the throes of tech, still working out transitions, beginnings, endings, character choices, beats, moments, pace; the show was morphing into, well, a really real show.  That last week was pretty intense for us all. There were moments of absolute exhilaration, others of abject terror, others that were downright weird.  Together, we seven carried each other through the hills and valleys of that final week, much the way warriors do through an epic battle.  And in so doing, formed a kinship, a brotherhood, a bond that is forged only in the fires of creative passion and hardship.  We had become a family, nestled against the bosom of our mother, Craigslist.  

I realized that week that what we had was something really special, worthy of commemoration.  Thus, I decided to use what skill I had to craft with my bare hands a series of mementoes for my brethren, gifts that could stand the test of time and carry on the spirit of our creation.  In the same tradition of warriors past, I created a crest that honored our source of inspiration -CraigsList, or CL- and decided to carve it out of leather, and fashion it in a way that could be worn on the wrist.  I toiled in my apartment, measuring and cutting, slicing and riveting, forming a series of six CL cuffs that were distinct to each member of our ensemble.  

Dax - The boisterous and articulate dancer.  And the only other male.  His needed to be rough, yet refined.  Not too flashy, masculine, yet elegant and stylish.  I decided on a black base, rust-brown lettering, and bronze rivets.  Shazaam.  

Katie - Vibrant and austere, the writer, creator and actor.  I wanted hers to have some flash and pizazz, and represented her Texan charm.  Also, she works at the PIT.  Hence, I went with a black base, beautiful bright red lettering, and nickel rivets, to add some authority.

Lee - The nuanced character actor.  Lee was tough.  I wanted hers to have edginess and style, but not be too simple.  It needed grit.  I found this awesome buffalo textured brown as a base and went with blue lettering, then threw in some nickel rivets to tone it down while simultaneously spicing things up.  

Michelle O - The classical musician and teacher. Our beautiful Barker.  Classy, elegant, and refined.  She sings a song about her butthole.  A gorgeous smooth brown leather base and blue letters were exactly the right tone.  Oh, and nickel rivets, cause classy ladies love nickels.  

Michelle "Frankie" T - The well-toned and business-like stage manager.  Total badass, no one messes with Frankie.  Hers needed some salt n peppa.  I had this sweet snakeskin brown that I knew she could easily pull off, threw that down on a black base, and gave it a little extra bling with some bronze rivets.  Fierce.  

Kimmy - The amazing director and Princess of Snacks herself.  Couldn't screw around with this one.  This one had to be bangin.  It didn't take long for me to pin down a freakin awesome fuchsia that would look so sweet framed on a fab flower textured base tied down with rivets of nickel.  This one was so on point.   

Opening night came finally after our grueling week of work.  It seemed surreal. I called the six to me, and with blessings gave each one their respective CL cuff.  Kimmy's matched her outfit.  Kimmy told Lee to wear hers.  For the show.  Which she did and has done for every show.  The others donned their cuffs, each one realizing that another link in our bond had just been strengthened, for we rocked the crap out of the show that night and every night since. 

Thus, the Craigslist cuffs were born, and the show itself became known as a legend of its time.  

-Ryan Andes, Ensemble Member

An update from cast member Dax Valdes

Wow. So here we are, more than halfway through our run of KBC!

This has been a whirlwind experience this time through. I did the workshop three years ago, and now I'm back onstage for this run. It's been really great, although I believe I'm the only member of the team who doesn't have improv experience. That was slightly terrifying, because I had it in my head that I would need to be catching up with that skill set. 

At first, I wasn't sure I wanted to do the run because I've been on the other side of the table, doing a lot of choreographing as of late. I thought about it and couldn't pass up the chance to re-visit something I had worked on and to see how it evolved. Plus, I had been wanting to get back onstage for a bit. 

That said, saying "yes, and..." was a lot easier this round. I remember seeing the original run, and remembering, "Oh, yeah! I said that," and "Damn, I wish I was doing this!" 

Doing the movement for this piece was basically expanding on what was already created, and tweaking it to fit our needs. The one moment where I had resisted not saying yes, before I even tried it, was the Transgendered and Disowned posting. I hadn't envisioned it as movement, but Kimmy said it would be a different moment altogether, and the first time I did it, everyone was pretty quiet. Then I saw Kimmy's face, and I knew it would work. So far, it's pretty quiet when that section comes up, but the second night we performed, there were a few giggles and laughs, but I think that comes from a place of being uncomfortable and not knowing what to do with it - which is perfectly alright. I look forward to that part, cause it's kinda like holding your breath through a tunnel and then when the exhale comes, you thought it would never get there.

It's been an awesome ride, thus far.

See you at the carnival!

-Dax Valdes, Ensemble Member

An update from cast member Lee Eddy

Look.

I'm very method. *

I can't help it. It's my art. It's my craft. It's the way I was raised to do theater. Some actors don't do this sort of method. They just memorize their lines, put on the costume and just get on stage and hope it all works out. 

Me. I go all out. **

I know the sign, the nickname, the number of time s/he urinates in a day, food allergies, dreams and fears, embarrassing stories from middle school, awful secrets hidden deep within, soul animal, which parent loved him/her more.... and then some.

So, if I'm given a character with the name "Pot Head Lady"-- I'm going to go there. First, I gotta figure out why is this character called "Pot Head Lady."  Is it an ethnic name? AH- no, it says here in the dialogue that she wears a pot on her head. Well, damn. Looks like I need to get a pot for my head.

The producer is gracious enough to bring some props for us to rehearse with for our first rehearsal. The pot she brings is nice. Big. Heavy. Large. In fact, it's so large the majority of my time on stage as Pot Head Lady is spent pushing the large pot off the bridge of my nose or trying to delicately balance it on the small skull ridge I was blessed with on the top of my head. This will not do! This large pot is distracting from the essence of the character! I can't let a large pot upstage this human being I am creating in front of an audience's eye. This will not do.

That's why last weekend you could find me in the cooking ware aisle of my local Gem Store.

I wanted to find a pot that spoke to me and would make Pot Head Lady come to life. I wanted to find a pot that was dented or had denting capability. I wanted to find a pot that wasn't too heavy, but not so light that it wouldn't be able to deflect beams from outer space. I also only had $5 on me. So there was that.

As I had all of these goals in my pot searching, I had to try on each pot. I tried on colanders. I tried on glass pots. I tried on heavy-duty pots. Then I saw it... a shiny, already dented, 3.5 quart Aluminum pot for  $3.99. As I was reaching for it, I was stopped by a lady I'd recognized as an employee of the Gem Store. Well, stopped isn't the right word. Rather, she'd just entered the very aisle I was in and suddenly I felt like maybe I could get in trouble, so I froze. After all, these were wares she was going to sell, preferably hair and scalp free. 

I didn't know what to do. I didn't want to get busted by the Gem Store employee lady, but I also didn't want to lose the opportunity of buying this perfect, already-dented, very cheap pot that would be perfect for Pot Head Lady. So I looked at cheese graters for a bit.

When I reached the register, I handed the pot to the clerk. She took it and then said something to me in Spanish. I handed her my $5, now sweaty from being crumpled up in my hand.  She waved it away and said something to me again in Spanish. I just sort of shook my head in an effort to show that I didn't understand what she was telling me. She then pointed to the dent in the pot, and said something that was the equivalent of "DEEEEEEENT."  I nodded and said it was perfect. She shrugged, took my sweaty $5 and then gave me a receipt. 

When I exited the store, I dove into the plastic bag that housed my newly-purchased pot. Being out of the store, I did not feel the same scrutiny and immediately tried it on.

It. Fit. Perfectly.

The already-made dent insured its snugness. 

Pot Head Lady had been found.

*not true

**also not true

-Lee Eddy, Ensemble Member

Feature Article and "Voice Choice" in The Village Voice!

Kidnapped By Craigslist just received this lovely feature in The Village Voice, and they named us a "Voice Choice". Thanks VV!

Check it out!

http://www.villagevoice.com/2009-05-13/voice-choices/roommate-wanted

Time Out NY "Critic's Pick"!

TimeOut NY has this to say about Kidnapped By Craigslist:

"The return of this revue is selling out, likely because the performances - comedians act out various bizarre Craigslist posts - are so strong"

"What could be more relevant than this revue"

An Opening Night note from Director Kimmy Gatewood

Big Big Man. Teeny Tiny Maracas

The cast working on "The Funhouse"

Michelle has the most beautiful voice, and the most foul song

Our Stage Manager Michelle "Frankie" Thomas. She's the quiet bird in the corner.

Hey everybody.  I'm Kimmy, the Director of Kidnapped by Craigslist.  I'm so happy that I had the opportunity to direct the show again.  It's so rare that a director gets the opportunity to come back to a show and fix or add anything that they wished they had the time to do last time.  

This time around, I wanted to embrace the carnivalesque theme more fully.  Each 'tent' has a distinct mood and look - and the actors movements and music reflect that.  I also wanted  master the story of this piece.  Because this show is a docu-play, it doesn't follow a typical story structure plot, however, it does paint a picture of society and how this particular forum, Craigslist, has allowed them to express themselves in funny, tragic, and heartbreaking ways. 

 These posts are well written, witty, and incredibly honest.  I hope you walk away from the show looking at your neighbors, friend, lovers, and co-workers differently. Katie has put together a dynamic script and a dynamo cast.  

Speaking of the little buggers.  Here are some pics I took during rehearsals with my crappy phone camera.  Looking forward to seeing you at the show!

-Kimmy Gatewood, Director