MONKEYS WITH A TYPEWRITER THEATER COMPANY CONTINUES WITH ITS “ACTORS PLAYING THEMSELVES” SERIES
by Mark Rivard
They say art is meant to imitate life. But local theater company, Monkeys With A Typewriter, is taking that concept to new heights.
Last Fall, they produced a play called: “Something About An Inlet” – a light comedy by Alex Monk. The play starred three actors who were playing characters participating in a night of drunken debauchery. The thing that made the play so fascinating to watch was that they were playing characters that were loosely based on themselves. You were observing three real people act out a night in their lives to an audience.
Sitting in that audience was Kevin Doak. Something of a Renaissance Man: he acts, writes, directs and does improv and stand-up. He is also one of the founding members of the Monkeys With A Typewriter theater company. As he enjoyed the play, he was inspired by what he was watching.
“The premise of having actors playing themselves immediately intrigued me.” Kevin admits as he recalls the performance, “As I was enjoying the play, something amazing happened in my mind. I immediately started formulating my own version of the concept. It was like the idea just jumped upon me and took root in my skull!”
Shortly thereafter, he sat down and composed a script called: “Moriarty’s Friends”. A play that runs along similar lines to “Something About An Inlet” but has its own unique approach.
“I didn’t want to just completely copy the concept.” Doak explains, “It would be silly to do that. The audience has already seen that done. Why would they come back and watch it again?! I had to do something that still adheres to the basic idea but goes in a different direction.”
In this instance, Kevin will be the only actor who is playing himself at all times. Two other performers will be playing the various people Kevin has known throughout the years that have influenced him in some way. The characters the two other actors are portraying are all real people. Essentially, Kevin Doak will be telling his life story to the audience.
“I’ve taken some liberalities, of course.” Kevin elaborates, “For both reasons of narrative structure and legal protection! But a good percentage of what you’ll be seeing is completely real. These things really did happen to me.”
Such a notion leads one to believe that this might be a pretty serious story. But it’s actually the exact opposite.
“Some pretty funny stuff has happened in my life.” Doak tells us. “I wanted to capitalise on that rather than get all broody and self-contemplative!”
The play is, for the most part, a comedy. Through the guise of a fictitious therapy session, Kevin re-counts to his counsellor all the different off-the-wall friends that have played a role in the forming of his personality. There is, perhaps, one or two slightly serious flashback sequences where we watch our protagonist reach serious turning points in his life. Otherwise, it’s a series of outlandish misadventures that taught him some very curious life lessons.
It’s also a surprisingly honest script. There are times in the play where we’re not entirely sure if we actually like Kevin.
“I didn’t want this to just be some vanity piece.” Kevin assures us, “I wanted to show myself clearly to my audience. Warts and all!”
You can come see Kevin Doak and his Hilarious Warts at the Walkerville Artist Co-Op on Saturday, March 30th, April 6th and 13th. Tickets are $15 adult or $10 student/senior.
