My Verona 2006 Season
THE
The 2006 Season for my theater and film production company, My Verona
Productions (www.myveronaproductions.com) , is set. Here's what we're
doing:

*
``Spank! One Night. One Monkey.''  is an R-rated comedy in the vein of
Triumph the Insult Comic Dog from Conan O'Brien's show. It's presented by
Dave and Darren from the 97 Rock morning show. It'll feature the famous
sock monkey puppet doing a blue stand-up routine and then taking
questions from the audience. The show is at 10 p.m. April 28 at Comedy
Sportz Theater, 1818 3rd Ave., Rock Island. Admission is free.

* The world indie theater premiere of the Broadway hit
``The Pillowman,''
by Oscar and Tony Award-winning writer Martin McDonagh, will be
presented May 26-June 3. Yup, we're actually only the sixth theater in the
world to do this show. It started in London in 2004, went to Broadway in
2005, then just got licensed for outside theaters a couple months ago. It
went to New Jersey, Houston and Seattle and then it's coming to Rock
Island before going to Chicago's Steppenwolf Theater in July and Los
Angeles and Philly after that. Needless to say, we are totally stoked about
getting this show so early. The script is brilliant. It's Tarantino crossed with
Stephen King with George Orwell thrown in for good measure. Set in a
totalitarian state, a series of child murders spurs authorities to arrest and
detain a horror writer, Katurian, whose works parallel the gruesome details
of the murders. But did Katurian do it? That's the big question. I'll be
directing and producing this show and we've got a terrific, very talented
cast lined up -- Adam Michael Lewis, Chris Browne, Tristan Layne Tapscott,
Justin Marxen and Carrie Clark. Shows are at 9:30 p.m. Fridays and
Saturdays at Comedy Sportz, 1818 3rd Ave., Rock Island. Tickets are $12.

*
``Blue City: A Night Of David Mamet'' is next up. We're producing the
show Aug. 11-12. It's an evening of short works by the legendary David
Mamet, performed by CJ Langdon and Tristan Layne Tapscott. Showtimes
are 9:30 p.m. Fri-Sat at Comedy Sportz. Tickets are $12.

* The Non-Conformist's Double-Bill: Eric Bogosian's
``Sex, Drugs Rock N
Roll''
and Bill Hicks' ``It's Just A Ride'' will roll Sept. 22-30. Adam Michael
Lewis and Jay Conner will rock the stage with the edgy works of two of the
greatest comic writers of the last two decades. Showtimes are 9:30 p.m.
Fri-Sat at Comedy Sportz. Tickets are $12.

* And then for something completely different... My Verona and Ballet
Quad-Cities presents the second annual
Ballet Rocks Oct. 7-15.
Combining classical dance choreographed to modern rock, alternative and
pop music provided by area bands, Ballet Rocks features the music of the
mighty Metrolites -- whose track ``Man From Metro (a.k.a. the theme from
`Dingo Boogaloo' can be heard here on our homepage. The shows will be
performed at the Capitol Theater, Davenport. Times and ticket prices are
t.b.a.

            * The year closes with our annual holiday show, David Sedaris'
             
``SantaLand Diaries,'' performed by Adam Michael Lewis, Nov.
             16-27. The show is a hilarious story about an aspiring soap opera
             star forced to take a job as an elf at Macy's over the holiday
season
             to make ends meet. If you've never read Sedaris' short stories,
you're
             missing out. Shows are 9:30 p.m. Fri-Sat and 7 p.m. Sunday at
             Comedy Sportz. Tickets are $12.

Contact phone number for tickets and more info is (309) 786-7733, ext. 2.

If any of you are going to be in the Quad-Cities during those times, please
stop by and check out the shows.

Should be a fun season -- we're all looking forward to it!  
Question or comment about a show?
Want to suggest a show for us to do?
Just click below and send us an
e-mail...
myveronaproductions@yahoo.com
Hey, who wouldn't want Chickenzilla
on a t-shirt? Or a picture of a Teddy
Bear in leather getting kinky with a
pervy vampire? Get these brilliant
items and more at the My Verona
shop at Cafe Press...
www.myveronaproductions.com
www.circa21.com
www.blueboxlimited.com
ORDER NOW!
Sean Leary's blog
Tristan Layne Tapscott's blog
http://myveronablog.blogspot.com


L I N K S
CONTACT US
MY VERONA SWAG
PAST SHOWS AND
THE HISTORY OF MY VERONA...
My Verona Productions was founded by
Sean Leary and Tristan Tapscott in
January 2004 to produce Sean Leary's
multimedia play, ``YOUR FAVORITE
BAND''  (YFB).

                              Sean selected the
                               name My Verona
                           based on the
                                    Knack song, ``My
                               Sharona'' and the
                       setting of several
                               Shakespearean plays,
Verona. The reason for the mix was
because ``YFB'' blended the worlds of
music and theater and he wanted a
name that brought that same idea
across.

``YOUR FAVORITE BAND,'' written by
Sean, produced by Sean and Tristan
and directed by Melissa Coulter,
debuted in August 2004 and starred
Rick Davis and Jamie Em Johnson in
the lead roles. The show combined live
action elements with filmed scenes
(done by award-winning filmmakers
Bluebox Limited).
It was a huge critical and commercial
smash. After two weekends of sold-out
performances, it was extended for a third
weekend that was likewise successful.

Although ``YFB'' was meant to be a
one-off project, Sean and Tristan
enjoyed the producing experience so
much they decided to continue on with
My Verona.

In 2005, My Verona unleashed SIX
shows, all of them area debuts.

      
              June saw the
                       critically-acclaimed drama
                    ``CLOSER,'' written by
                       Patrick Marber and directed
by Lora Adams.

July brought the world premiere
of the multimedia sketch comedy
``DINGO BOOGALOO 2: TACO'S
REVENGE,'' written, directed
and produced by  Sean and Tristan,
with film bits by Bluebox Limited.

Oscar-nominated author Kenneth
Lonergan provided the August show
                       for My Verona, the
                       coming-of-age drama
                       ``THIS IS OUR YOUTH,''
                       directed by Tristan and
                          featuring a national
cast.


My Verona returned to the world of
multimedia sketch comedy
with its next show, September
2005's' ``DINGO BOOGALOO 2.5:
THE BRIDE OF CHICKENZILLA,''  
written, directed and produced
by Sean.

Next was BALLET ROCKS with Ballet
Quad-Cities in October. It merged
classical dance choreography with the
music of local rock bands, Einstein's
Sister and The Metrolites, and was
produced by Sean with Ballet
Quad-Cities.

Ending the year on a holiday note, My
Verona capped 2005 with the local debut
of David Sedaris'
                              ``SANTALAND
                                       DIARIES,''
                                       starring the
                                       brilliant Adam
                                      Lewis and
                               directed by the
                                       legendary Michael
                               Oberfield.


The positive momentum continued in
early 2006. The comedy ``Spank! One
Night, One Monkey,''
       was a standing-room
-only  sell-out.
The comedy, co-produced
and performed by Dave
and Darren from the
97 Rock morning show,
starred the unruly monkey
puppet in a vaudeville-style night of blue
jokes, filling the venue with laughter.

The next My Verona show went in an
entirely different direction. The thriller
``THE PILLOWMAN,'' by Martin
McDonagh was a critical and
commercial smash. Produced and
directed by Sean Leary, the show starred
Adam Lewis, Tom Walljasper, Tristan
Tapscott and Chris Browne. My Verona
was only the SIXTH theater group in the
world to present ``THE PILLOWMAN,''
following groups in London, New York,
New Jersey, Houston and Seattle.

As for the rest of the story, that
remains unwritten...