Marc Gunn - Celtic American Music, Celtic Podcaster, and Cat Lover

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MARC GUNN

Marc Gunn is an Irish and Scottish folk singer with a strange affinity for Celtic ballads, drinking songs and cats, and he is the lead singer for the Brobdingnagian Bards.

Saturday, September 16, 2006

Ballroom Dancing in Austin

After ten years away from ballroom dancing, I finally headed down to check out the Austin Ballroom Dancers weekly social. Man! I miss ballroom dancing. Ten years.

After casually checking the website, I assumed it was at the same location as it was ten years ago, at the corner of Lamar and 29th. I was wrong. Drove back home and found they'd moved to the Austin Recreation Center. I tossed it around and decided, "what the heck!" I drove to the new location with just an hour left.

The turnout was usually small. But the location is Much bigger than it used to be. Ah! How I miss dancing! There was only one person there from my days as a dancer. So I caught up on news about folks and then stumbled horribly through some dances. I am so out of practice. I was dreadful. I need to start taking classes again, methinks. Kinda wonder if I should start from Square One too.

Anyway, it was a blast. And I hope to return to many more ballroom dance socials in the future... especially once I start practicing again.

posted by Marc Gunn @ Saturday, September 16, 2006 0 comments links to this post

 

Eugene O'Neill's "A Moon for the Misbegotten"

Last night, I went to see Eugene O'Neill's classic play A Moon for the Misbegotten. I've never really read or seen anything by Eugene O'Neill. So I didn't know what to expect. I did know that it was presented by the Renaissance Austin Theatre and sponsored by the Celtic Cultural Center.

Last night's performance was also sponsored by the Austin Celtic Association who brought out a dramaturg from St. Edward's University to talk about Eugene O'Neill and explain what had happened in O'Neill's life to influence this play. That was an amazing introduction to O'Neill. It was invaluable to understanding what O'Neill was dealing with, lots of guilt from a highly dysfunctional family. It was fascinating.

While it was fascinating, it was not necessary, for this brilliant play. Eugene O'Neill definitely had a talent for writing about the human condition, and for portraying his own personal war with God. The text started off slow, but by Act 2, I was mesmerized. Overall, the actors did a fine job dutifully playing their roles and catapulting the audience onto the emotional rollercoaster that makes this such a great piece. I commend them. This is no easy work!

While overall, it was enjoyable. I had a few gripes that had me concerned. The first actor who came on the stage aside from Josie Hogan, played by Lorella Loftus, was Steven Laing, who played Mike Hogan. Stiff as a board. That's how I'd describe him. Fortunately, it was a short role. The actor was gone in five minutes, only to return a little later for another stiff role as T. Stedman Harder, a little bit more appropriate, but bad acting overall.

Mike D'Arcy as Phil Hogan did a little better. I saw good potential in his acting had he had better direction. He too needed to loosen up. By the end of the first act, as the audience started laughing at the comedic aspects of the play, he and Loftus, both loosened up and fell better into their roles. I would like to have seen him be more natural on stage too. I enjoyed the comedic interaction between Loftus and D'Arcy. But it lost a little due to the stiffness, especially in the actors' arms.

Charles P. Stites as the haunted Jim Tyrone, Jr. had a slow start, but really clicked in to his role. By the third act, Loftus and Stites carried the show. Yes, it was the third act that ultimately made the show for me. The chemistry between the two actors on stage was brilliant! It was the first time I got truly lost in the play and tears began trickling from my eye. There was a strong connection between these two characters that deepened as the scene played through all the emotional ups and downs of their relationship.

In that scene, we find Josie Hogan scheming revenge on her fractured lover, Jim Tyrone, Jr., only to find out that he was as faithful and in love with her as ever. We learn the dark secret that haunted and kept him drunk and led him to whoring in a powerful drunken revelation of not just his character, but of humankind, trying to escape its own past.

Our dramaturg professor explained that during the last few years when Eugene O'Neill was still able to write (he suffered from something like Parkinson's), he spent weeks crying as he wrote about his brother who was similarly wracked with guilt. Stites did a wonderful job fighting that internal demon trying to decide whether to tell the woman he loved. Loftus, in turn, responded appropriately to each of his revelations. Propelled by Josie Hogan's own demons, she ultimately gives way to love and compassion. There was noticeably more depth in Josie's relationship with her lover, where each nuance and subtelty was fully played out, than in Josie's relationship with her father, which seemed more shallow.

Yes, Act 3 sold me on this show. The final act was done well. I was worried when D'Arcy came back on stage, but it was short and necessary to unveil the end of a beautiful storyline. Overall, well done!

The only other complaint I had was the music. One of the quotes in the program from Eugene O'Neill [and one of the reasons it was produced by one of our local Celtic organizations] said, "One thing that explains more than anything else about me is the fact that I'm Irish. And, strangely enough, it is something that all the writers who have attempted to explain me and my work have overlooked."

That's a fascinating quote. Consequently, the play tried to incorporate music with very poor results. Anyone who listens to my Irish & Celtic Music Podcast knows I LOVE The Tea Merchants. But the first few tunes were loud and overpowering and they didn't fit the mood of this play. The Irish guitar pieces at the end by Jeff Moore were a bit more appropriate, but still seemed a bit too refined for the content of the drama.

What struck me almost immediately about this quote as I watched the play was that the play is based in the early 20th century in Connecticut. I realized that Eugene O'Neill was an Irish American but that the music was all contemporary Celtic music. In a time when Irish American music was mostly the balladry of "When Irish Eyes Are Smiling", one would expect more Irish parlor music than the rockin' reels of the 21st century.

Happily, I was easily able to look past my criticisms and focus on the magic that Lorella Loftus and Charles P. Stites brought to the stage with this production of Eugene O'Neill's play. And I must say that I find myself inspired to find more plays by O'Neill. Eugene O'Neill was referred to as the American Shakespeare and I now see that's well-spoken. My commendations to the Renaissance Austin Theatre for bringing a fine production to the stage.

posted by Marc Gunn @ Saturday, September 16, 2006 0 comments links to this post

 
Wednesday, September 13, 2006

Brobdingnagian Bards Schedule for Fall 2006

Home, sweet, home!

I just got back to casa mia. My kitties haven't destroyed the house. They're quite as sweet as ever. And just in time for their upcoming birthdays.

So a couple months ago, I was lamenting the lack of Fall gigs. And as usual, I blink, and our Fall is well-filled up. Some are known others, not so much. So I thought I'd share some of these upcoming gigs.

Starts this Sunday at Things Celtic here in Austin with Six Months Until St. Patrick's Day celebration and the debut of the Men in Kilts calendar. The following weekend, we drive to Dallas for FenCon.

I thought I had something on October 1st so was blowing off the idea of doing anything substantial. But seems that's not gonna happen. So instead, I think I'm gonna head for at least one day to Texas Ren Fest and get some promos for my Renaissance Festival Podcast. And of course, hang out with folks that I haven't seen in too long.

On October 6th in Austin we return to Elysium for another night of bardic GOTHIC fun. Not sure yet who else is playing with us there though.

The following weekend, a new faire is opening in Hillsboro, South of Dallas called MiddleFaire. We were booked for that show. Then the following weekend, we go all the way to Dallas for a performance at the Tipperary Inn. It's been six years since we played there. But thanks to numerous requests by Nagians, they asked us to come down for the show. Can't wait!

The last weekend of October, Andrew's supposed to call Texas Renaissance Festival to see about booking us for that weekend. It's not confirmed yet, but I'm hopeful, he'll find out for sure this week.

Then November kicks in and we head to Louisiana. We're booked for the first three weekends of the Louisiana Renaissance Festival. And that's about it for the next couple months.

Course, meantime, I'm gonna get with Andrew about finishing the Holy Grail of Irish Drinking Songs and maybe get a little further with the next couple albums. All in all, there's a LOT to do.

Meantime, I'm happy to have little Tiziano licking my arm and Torre begging to sit my lap. Yay for home!

posted by Marc Gunn @ Wednesday, September 13, 2006 0 comments links to this post

 

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