White Noise and All Choked Up

by Mike Kolloen and Mic Weinblatt, respectively

Minnesota Fringe Festival
Minneapolis Community College – Whitney Mainstage
August 3 – 12, 2001

All Choked Up is a brief farce which begins with a man sobbing over a coffin. Is he bereaved? Why, no! He’s a hit man and the man he was hired to hit died of natural causes, thus doing away with the need for a hit and whacking our hero’s fee (got that?). Can he settle the score? How will his mob Ma react when she discovers her son lost out? Will the undertaker get the two of them out before the memorial service? They’ve got 10 minutes to get it all sorted out.

The main feature, White Noise, is a potent criticism of the media’s casual portrayal of violence. After settling back and chuckling at All Choked Up, you find yourself taking a second look at what you just laughed at. White Noise centers on a boy left with the family TV as surrogate babysitter. The action begins when the boy shoots his father’s gun and kills his brother, thinking it’s just fun and games. With snapshots, sound bytes and a succession of characters, Theatre Pro Rata poses the question: can a boy raised on TV split reality and fantasy? Parents conceive children – they don’t conceive killers.

The Cast

All Choked Up:

Andrea Guilford
Mic Weinblatt
Joseph Papke

White Noise:

Joe Spielman
Rachel Evenson
Joseph Papke

The Crew

Director – Carin Bratlie