The Rake: Just Passing Through

11 Things I Wish I Didn't Know about Petey P. Cup

Brandi Brown — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 14:02:19 -0500

In an attempt to one-up United Health for most ridiculous Minnesota-based health insurance company, HealthPartners (relatively) recently announced its new Mascot, Petey P. Cup. He's a giant urine specimen container with arms, legs, feelings, and no shame. Since then I've learned quite a bit about Petey P. Cup and his sidekick Pokey the Syringe. Here are eleven things I've learned about HealthPartners' new campaign.

12 Things about the Mighty Ducks Movies that Bothered Me

Brandi Brown — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 13:03:00 -0500

The Mighty Ducks trilogy is easily the best movie franchise ever to come out of Minnesota (as far as I know). Still, I take issue with a few things in the movies. Specifically, twelve things.

Hi There.

Brandi Brown — Fri, 30 May 2008 13:25:00 -0500

Hi! I'm Brandi.

I've been invited to guest post on The Rake for the next two weeks. Unlike the previous Just Passing Through bloggers, my posts will not have a specific theme. The only thing I can guarantee is that I will find some way to link whatever I'm talking about to the Twin Cities. I really like lists, so I'm sure a good number of my posts will be in list form.

Mr. Smith Goes to Kenwood

Glen Ross — Tue, 27 May 2008 20:45:07 -0500

Dane Smith is back, and he's back with the panache that only serious money can sustain. Is this a good thing? As per Rupert Murdoch's Pravda West, you decide!

John McCain Nude - 64 Results

Glen Ross — Thu, 15 May 2008 02:26:07 -0500

It was on the far right, literally. A tiny block of space someone had purchased to help The Rake live another day. Pay up, and you can paste your sign/add your link/sing your song on my web page/television/telephone/window/door/floor/car/bus/butt/etc...

In the ultimate capitalist pervasion of everyday life, this heat-seeking piranha of an ad jumped at me, propelled by the finely tuned instincts of specialized software, somewhere in cyberspace, sensing Barack Obama's name on the page and inferring from it the presence of intellectual prey.

Obamania

Glen Ross — Sun, 11 May 2008 23:46:01 -0500

^{photo from Pander Watch}

(read aloud)

Obama!

Obama, mama!

Obama mama, blackjack!

Obama mama blackjack, jackpot! Smoke a lot?

Brain rot?

Minnesota

pep rally, rock show! Let's go! Cash flow!

Are we here? Do we know? Where to go? Say so!

Minnesota slam dunk. In the trunk. No junk.

Put it in the mix, punk!

Hoosier daddy

Pigs on the Wing

Glen Ross — Wed, 07 May 2008 01:06:01 -0500

In the wake of the Great War there was Dick Tuck, and Dick Tuck begat Donald Segretti, and Donald Segretti begat Karl Rove. Karl Rove's further begetting remains undisclosed.

Travels with Mel

Hector E. Ramos-Ramos — Mon, 05 May 2008 11:16:35 -0500

Now that I have been in Scotland for a bit I have begun to notice the great shadow the infamous creator of Braveheart still casts over this hilly northern country. If you venture into any bargain store in Edinburgh or Glasgow you will find many bric-a-bracs aimed at spend-happy tourists. These items range from the relatively funny "kilt beach towel" to the aggravating "William Wallace doll." Now, there's nothing

The Young Ones

Hector E. Ramos-Ramos — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 21:06:11 -0500

It is commonly accepted that the population of Europe would be declining in a pretty startling way if not for constant immigration. Unlike Americans, the people of Western Europe are simply not having very many children. Who can blame them? These are heady days for the European economy and I assume the citizens who work hard to make their nations prosper would like to benefit from their labors without having to think of the next generation.

Dialogue

Alan Berks — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 20:03:37 -0500

No pictures from the rehearsal yesterday. We forgot. Too many other things came up. Hopefully, we'll get them tonight, and I'll post them tomorrow -- which will be my last post and where I'll make a final pitch for you to pick up that phone and make a reservation.

Everywhere Signs Fall

Alan Berks — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 13:13:54 -0500

^{photos by Rose Johnson}

Finally, for my last blog post here at The Rake, we have rehearsal photos. Above: Paul Cram and Tracey Maloney. See more below.

Everywhere Signs Fall — "The most exciting play you'll see all year!" I actually do believe this to be true, but I'm willing to put it out there for debate. Come see the show. Tell me I'm wrong.

The Play That Won't Go Away

Alan Berks — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 15:01:53 -0500

This play, Everywhere Signs Fall, has been around my life in some form or another longer than any other play I've written. When I was 24 and still more of a person who said he was a writer than a person who wrote, I remember sitting at a bar somewhere with my girlfriend-at-the-time and the friendly bartender who knew us well enough to keep us in free liquor all night long. I said I wanted to write a memory play. I wish I could remember why, particularly, at that moment I wanted to write a memory play.

Things are Looking Up

Alan Berks — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 18:15:15 -0500

I've got to remember to bring a camera to rehearsal so I can post some pictures on this blog. Right now, imagine a photograph that is so cool it makes you want to see Everywhere Signs Fall at Gremlin Theatre. I don't care what you picture as long as you trust your imagination and call 651-228-7008 for reservations.

Investigating Accidents On Stage

Alan Berks — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 23:57:59 -0500

Everywhere Signs Fallis about a brother and sister who travel around the country investigatingaccidents. They interview and record people who have experienced accidents thathave changed them somehow, then they pack up and head to the next town. Whenthe play begins, we see Juliet and Jeremy interviewing a down-on-his-luckbartender in a hot, seedy motel room in the Phoenix, Arizona in the middle ofthe summer. It’s hot. It’s very hot. And something isn’t exactly right. . .

Minnesota v. Chicago Actors

Alan Berks — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 12:47:06 -0500

I’m from Chicago. Chicagoans are different than Minnesotans. Everyone is different than Minnesotans. OK, everyone is different than everyone, but I live in Minnesota now, so Minnesota is what I think about.

First Day of Rehearsal Jitters

Alan Berks — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 13:52:47 -0500

Rehearsals for my play at Gremlin Theatre begin this evening. For a playwright, rehearsals are the beginning of a particular kind of hell. For an actor, rehearsals are sometimes the best experience of the play. Anything is possible in a rehearsal room. You don’t know the character yet.

SXSW — Wrapping It Up

Jerry Steller — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 20:08:33 -0500

Sunday was all about getting home. It's always bittersweet leaving Austin. It really is such a unique and interesting town. So as we drive away from the skyline and part of me fantasizes about sleeping in my own bed, another part of me can't help but look back an extra time and take it all in.

Here, I present my overall musings about the trip:

SXSW Day Five

Jerry Steller — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 08:17:32 -0500

We got a bit of a later start than we have earlier this week, but that always tends to happen here by Saturday. Besides, Hellboy was on TV — haha. We picked our friends up and headed to I-Hop for some breakfast. That's a tradition as well down here for us. Usually it's a late night visit, but this was when we could go and we were all in the mood for it. We did not leave disappointed.

SXSW Day Four

Jerry Steller — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 03:51:23 -0500

We had to reluctantly set an alarm this morning since there was some 'real' work to be done before we headed downtown. After getting some emails sent off, we piled into the rental car, picked up our pals, and made our way to the BMI Breakfast on the lawn of the Four Seasons Hotel. Last year we got there late and all the food was gone. We knew that was unacceptable this year, and surprisingly, we planned ahead well enough to get there five minutes before the food was served. It's always a nice spread, and

SXSW Day Three

Jerry Steller — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 14:30:21 -0500

Another day to punish our feet has begun, and we all still seem relatively fresh and eager to get out there and see some great music. Our day started off at Filter's Showdown at Cedar Street, where we knew we could get free BBQ. I'm vegetarian, so for me that meant a plate of cole slaw and potato salad. The cookies were delicious though.

SXSW Day Two

Jerry Steller — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 14:27:36 -0500

We had probably our most enjoyable and most productive Wednesday at SXSW this year. After getting up far earlier than we all wanted, thanks to a very noisy air conditioner and beds too small to fit four rather large/tall guys, we pulled ourselves together and headed downtown to aquire wristbands. SXSW gives you quite a few hoops to jump through to save money, and one of them is finding people who spent gobs of money on badges as they are allowed to let one person buy a cheaper, but lower priority wristband off of their badge.

First Night of SXSW

Jerry Steller — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 23:44:35 -0500

I've been asked to document my time down in Austin, TX, for SXSW. Who am I and why should you care, you ask? Well, I run a company in Minneapolis called Vitriol Promotion. We help bands promote their music to radio stations and press outlets across North America. Some of our clients include Muse, Daft Punk, Hot Chip, Dressy Bessy, The Chemical Brothers, and Badly Drawn Boy. Local clients include Kid Dakota, Romantica, Tapes 'N Tapes and The Owls.

Letters from Eurydice VII

Steve Hendrickson — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 18:13:51 -0500

Eurydice closes tonight, so this will be my final entry as a guest blogger for The Rake. Thanks to them for inviting me to do this, and thanks to all of you who took the time to read of these adventures.

Scot-Free

Hector E. Ramos-Ramos — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 10:39:34 -0600

NORTH, SOUTH, DOWN & OUT

Hello everyone, I know it has been a while since my last post, but I have been busy accruing material for this one by traveling around this fair island. This blog-entry will concentrate on my recent travels outside Edinburgh. First to the capital of the UK and home to those English leeches: the monarchs of Britain; and secondly to Scotland's biggest and most unsettling city, Glasgow.

CHAPTER 1: GETTING TO LONDON

Letters from Eurydice VI

Steve Hendrickson — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 01:56:31 -0600

We're into our final two weeks of performances, so rather than give an account of each, I'll offer thumbnail impressions of some of our performances to date:

Letters From Eurydice V

Steve Hendrickson — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 22:49:00 -0600

Another op'nin, another play

In Shakopee or at Dor'thy Day

But usually it's the VOA...

Of Pubs and Parliament

Hector E. Ramos-Ramos — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 20:42:21 -0600

Hello, my name is Hector E. Ramos-Ramos, and I intend here to share with you my observations, opinions, and concerns while I am abroad (primarily in Scotland), courtesy of the study abroad program at St. Paul's own Macalester College.

Letters from Eurydice III

Steve Hendrickson — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 10:30:41 -0600

First dress rehearsal:

Letters From Eurydice IV

Steve Hendrickson — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 17:04:16 -0600

The differences between the first dress and second dress are three:

Letters from Eurydice II

Steve Hendrickson — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 12:14:39 -0600

So, Eurydice in a nutshell. Many of you will be familiar with the Greek myth Orpheus and Eurydice. A Cliff Notes synopsis: