Tuesdays in June at the Gorilla Tango Theatre, we're taking over the stage for (what we're assuming) is the world's first attempt to adapt a website to the stage. Whether you go there looking for a job, a couch, a girlfriend, an apartment, a release, a missed connection or a casual encounter, Craigslist has become a cultural institution that connects millions of people every day in the most indirect ways.
I, Shawn Bowers, and my partner, Megan Green, have both built lives off of Craigslist. We both found employment from CL posts. We both found apartments through the real estate listings. I've dated a number of girls and made many good friends who started off as nothing more than words on a screen. The more we considered the impact that the website has actually had on us, the more we were inspired to try and find a way to convey our experience to an audience through an interactive, experimental piece that is driven by found objects, found text and, surprisingly, found emotions.
CRAIGSHOW blends monologues, movements pieces, audience interaction, sketch comedy and maybe a bit of gospel mime into a tangled theatrical web. Our set and props are comprised solely of objects we found on the 'List. Most of our dialogue comes from the words of real posts, from real users. This is a production written by thousands and funneled through the two of us. It should be interesting.
In the months that we've been working on this, we've come across a bounty of material, only a small amount we're actually going to be able to use in the show. That's why I'm creating this blog, as a means of sharing with you some of the more entertaining, emotional or downright bizarre posts we've culled from Craigslist in the last few months. Each day, I'll post at least one real post for your viewing pleasure...some of which you may wind up seeing theatricalized in June. That's the thing about Craigslist...posts are only kept up for about seven days and then they're gone. We just want to do our part in helping to preserve a small percentage of the gold that gets washed away so quickly.
To get the promotional part out of the way, CRAIGSHOW is happening at 8 pm on June 2, 9, 16 and 23rd at the Gorilla Tango Theatre. Tickets are only $10 and can already be purchased online at www.gorillatango.com. If the show is a hit, there's a chance we could extend our run...so tell your friends, dammit!
We'll see you later today for your first taste of the neverending story that is Craigslist.
