“Audiences can expect an experience that is bloody, bold, sexy and startling. As funny as it is chilling, a wonderfully mad mix of light and dark... ”
commedia dell’arte with a loosely scripted version of The Taming of the Shrew in the outdoor amphitheater on the campus of Santa Monica High School. We had trampolines, lots of physical comedy and one song played on acoustic guitar from Grease, “You’re The One That I Want,” that Lucentio sang to Bianca. The cast was made up of people I worked with from different disciplines. A
couple of people from my improv sketch comedy troupe, a couple people I met doing waiver theater [non-equity production], a couple of clowns from the Ringling Brothers Clown College, a musician from my garage band at the time and a few Shakespearean actors from my time at the Grove Shakespeare Festival in Garden Grove. Everyone was learning from everyone else, exploring different disciplines and
becoming a five-tool player—acting, singing, dancing, improvising and clown- ing. The Troubies were born... breech.
CAN YOU HEAR THE FUN, FERNANDO?
by tim parks If you stop and think about it, the Swedish group ABBA had all of the mak-
ings of a Greek tragedy. Comprised of members Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Anni-Frid Lyngstad, the group ruled the record charts dur- ing the ’70s and early ’80s, selling 380 million albums worldwide. Lives became intertwined when Fältskog and Ulvaeus married, as was the case with Lyngstad and Andersson, ending with their own tragic “Waterloo” as both couples divorced, followed by the band ultimately calling it quits in 1982. It seems only fitting that The Troubadour Theater Company (AKA The Troubies),
the comedy troupe known for presenting classic tales spun on their heads, such as Fleetwood MacBeth and A Midsummer Saturday Night’s Fever Dream, will be taking on their latest twisted tale, Abbamemnon, set to the music of ABBA. The play is based on the ancient Greek tale Agamemnon and focuses on the son [the play’s namesake] of King Atreus and Queen Aerope and their involvement during the Trojan War. The show features all the hallmarks of The Troubies; comedy, music and acrobatics—oh my!
THE RAGE MONTHLY SPOKE WITH DIRECTOR MATT WALKER, WHO ALSO PLAYS THE MAIN CHARACTER, ABOUT THE TROUPE’S UPCOMING SHOW:
How did the Troubies form? They formed in 1995 when my high school drama director wanted to do a Civic Light Opera production in Santa Monica during the summer. We performed a
66 RAGE monthly | JULY 2014
What aspect of ABBA’s music lends itself to Greek tragedy? ABBA has such a diverse catalog of music. A lot of their work has great depth
and emotion, not just the pop stuff that we are used to from songs like “Dancing Queen.” In doing my research for the script I noticed that on one album they have a song called “Cassandra.” I thought, “what a coincidence,” there’s a character in Agamemnon named Cassandra. Well, it turns out the ABBA song “Cassandra” is about the ancient character Cas-
sandra from the play Agamemnon. Cue goose bumps. They wrote a song about a prophetess that no one would believe, which is Cassandra’s plight in the Agamem- non story. Needless to say, we didn’t have to alter the lyrics too much.
And tell us about your character. My character is Agamemnon the King. He did some awful things for the sake of
his army and during the war against Troy. He’s a hero with a flaw. The story is really about Queen Clytemnestra, who waited at home for ten years for her husband to come back. What she does when he comes back? You’ll have to buy a ticket to see.
What can audiences expect from the show? Audiences can expect to learn about a story that they may not have otherwise
had access to, unless they studied Greek tragedies in school. Even if they’re famil- iar with the Agamemnon story, they won’t be after they see our version of it! Audi- ences can expect an experience that is bloody, bold, sexy and startling. As funny as it is chilling, a wonderfully mad mix of light and dark—and there’s a trampoline.
Abbamemnon takes place at La Mirada Theatre For The Performing Arts, 14900 La Mirada Boulevard in La Mirada, from Friday, August 1 through Sunday, August 3. For tickets and more information call 562.944.9801 or go to
lamiradatheatre.com.
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