Tuesday Samurai - Cutting Edge?

Hey there, it's me, Ryan Grimes, your friendly Tuesday Samurai. I've been working with Urban Samurai Productions since 2006 and became Managing Director in 2008, while we were working on our Fringe Festival hit, Musical the Musical. What do I do for the company? Well, many things, but mostly I try to keep the other Samurai (and that rogue Ninja, Marcia) in line.

So, I'm here to declare officially that Bright Ideas opens in 52 days. Period.

Now that I've laid the proverbial smack down on the little stuff, let's talk about the big stuff. Urban Samurai Productions' mission is "to produce and premiere cutting edge theater and provide a voice to new and upcoming theater artists in the Twin Cities." So, what does that mean, exactly?

Well, there's a few ways to go about that. The definition of "cutting edge" is "a sharp effect or quality." For my fellow Urban Samurai and me, "our sword is the stage." How's that for a sharp effect? But, enough semantics. We focus on new and rarely produced works because we want to present our audiences with stories with which they're likely unfamiliar through perspectives they may not have seen - or may even make them a little uncomfortable.

Take a look at the movie listings at your local cineplex for this weekend. How many of those movies can you predict exactly what will happen? How many of those movies' previews have already given most of the story away? I'm not a psychologist or sociologist, so I can't tell you what exactly it means, but one thing's for sure - people don't want to be surprised anymore. Or maybe that's just what the studio executives think of us. Me? I like surprise. I don't want to figure out the end of a movie 20 minutes in. I don't want to play a game like "Avatar is really just Dances with Wolves meets Fern Gully." I want to be surprised by what I see, and live theater is the best way to attain that goal.

In May, we'll be presenting Bright Ideas. When I read the description, I expected it to be a standard comedic take on two parents trying to get their child into the best preschool. Boy, was I ever wrong. I don't want to give it away - I want you to be surprised, after all - but this isn't traditional comedy. And if you think you know how this one ends, I won't blame you, because I thought so, too. But I'd guess you'll be as surprised as I was.

Then, of course, there's A Few Good Men, which we'll produce this fall. "But, Ryan, how can that show be cutting edge?" Well, let me tell you. We're not putting the famed film on stage. Yes, someone will say, "You can't handle the truth." But that's not the only great line in Aaron Sorkin's brilliant script. He presents a topic that is as poignant as ever, and I can't wait for our audiences to experience that "sharp effect".

And for you actors out there, check out our audition posting for A Few Good Men that we just posted on Minnesota Playlist this afternoon. There are a lot of great roles, and we'd love to see you there! (I'll refrain from stating that we need "a few good men" even though, well, we do...crap, I just did it, didn't I?)

I tend to be long-winded, so I'll take my hands off the keyboard for a week. See you next Tuesday!

Ryan Grimes
Managing Director
Urban Samurai Productions