The True Mark Of a Man

Today on Five By Five Hundred, I've written a bit of a response to this asshole who asserts his Christian superiority by calling my girlfriend a whore. Also I felt totally creepy writing this but that's okay.

"The First-And-A-Half Baseman" on Five By FIve Hundred

Now Or Later at the Huntington

Here's my first video featurette on the Huntington's upcoming American premiere of Now Or Later, an edgy political thriller by Christopher Shinn that's set on election night, in which some inappropriate Facebook party photos of the soon-to-be-President's son get leaked to the public. The show runs October 12 - November 10 at the South End / Calderwood Pavilion at the BCA, and features my good friend Grant MacDermott as John, Jr. Here's Artistic Director Peter DuBois discussing the play. (More to come, obvi) [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUKuJiwdiS8&w=480&h=270]

An America / Universe / 12 Colonies / Other Fictional World That We Can Believe In

Judging by Facebook feed, we are now officially in the throes of Election Season. Which is kind of like mating season for most animals, but with more blood, and more assholes. And so to lighten to the mood (read: FURTHER contribute to the orgy of political posts that are currently consuming all of your various news outlets and social feeds), I've compiled a list for Tor Dot Com of my preferred third party options in the 2012 Presidential Election. This whole two-party system is whack, anyway; when do I get to vote for the Jedi Council?

"Ten Great Alternative (Fictional) Political Leaders" on Tor Dot Com

BONUS: This is the single greatest speech ever written in cinematic history. Oh man. [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l31UUl5SyXk]

50 Shades of (sexy) Pirates

Happy International Talk-Like-A-Pirate Day! Woohoo! I mean, uhh, aaaargh argh argh argh me booty n' ye swab wit' me gob in the gonk. I don't know. But I do know that in honor of International Talk-Like-A-Pirate Day, I've written an article for Quirk Books on my Top 10 Fictional Pirates of all time. I also know that EL James, author of the bestselling and highly controversial 50 Shades book series, retweeted my article. So if her follow up novel is a Momerotica Pirate epic -- well, now you know who to blame.

"AARGH (Our) Top 10 Favorite Pirates" at Quirk Books

Nonlinear Romance

Today over at Five By Five Hundred, I've included a brief excerpt from a short story & play I'm working on about love and time travel, and an endlessly cyclical relationship where both parties start at different times. (and then of course as I type that I think "ah shit, now everyone's gonna think I'm ripping off of River Song and The Doctor, or I'm trying to re-write The Time Traveler's Wife. Oh well). There  might be more from the story next week; or, I might do something entirely different. Who knows! (answer: you do, if you're a time traveler)

"When We First Met (excerpt)" at FiveByFiveHundred.com

Another Good People Video

...this one focusing on the themes of class struggle in America as it pertains to the play. Enjoy! [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kjN4VqNf5TI&w=480&h=270]

Rock N Roll High School

My newest article for Quirk Books is now live, a breakdown of fictional schools to both increase and decrease the impact of your own September woes. Did I mention that it starts with an epigraph from the greatest television show of all time (also known as The Adventures of Pete & Pete)? 'Cause it does. Now enough dilly-dallying. Go check it out!

"The Best & Worst Fictional Schools Of All Time" at Quirk Books

Oh, Boston, What A Character

Here's another video I made for the Huntington's upcoming production of Good People by David Lindsay-Abaire (previews start this Friday!). [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2X_Yk1t_Q7Q]Following its successful premiere on Broadway last year, Good People is one of the most produced plays in the country in the coming theatrical season -- but we're the only theatre producing this Boston-centric play in the city of Boston itself. I spoke with the director (an Acton native) and members of the cast (one of whom is from Southie, another from Watertown) about the pressures and rewards of doing this popular new play in the city in which its based.  The general consensus seems to be that the city of Boston is in fact the central character of the play, a little bit of universal anthropomorphizing that I can totally get behind (and also feels very noir to me, considering the role that LA plays in the work of Raymond Chandler, hrmmmm....)

(Also, the playwright himself gave his public approval of the piece on twitter. And he's got a Pulitzer. Eat that, Alyssa Milano!)

"It's never as bad as it seems. You're much stronger than you think you are."

Three years ago, I lost my oldest friend to suicide. It's something I still live with every day, even if he doesn't. I just wanted to take a moment In recognition of World Suicide Prevention Week to share an important truth spoken by one of our greatest heroes, to remind us all of the truth in the face of overwhelming emotional adversity:

Never forget that.

Greatest Time Signature EVER!

My newest piece is now live  on Five By Five Hundred, a playful little poem about my favorite musical time signature. All you math and music nerds out there should have some fun seeking out all the little patterns that are hidden in this one, just like a good song...

"I Wish I Lived In 5/4 Time" at FiveByFiveHundred.com

Also also...

....we just bought a condo. So, uh, so that's pretty cool. And keeping us pretty busy. But it's awesome! So goodbye, Westerly Street Brewing Company, and hello...uh, I guess I'll have to figure out a neat little name for this place once we finish decorating and unpacking everything....speaking of, I should probably get back to doing that....

Thommy on the MBTA

The first show in our upcoming season at the Huntington is the Broadway hit Good People by South Boston native David Lindsay-Abaire. The show tells the story of a struggling middle-aged single mom in Southie who loses her job and looks up an old flame (who got out of the Southie projects and is now a doctor living in Chestnut Hill) to help her out. It's a powerful, Boston-centric play that focuses on class issues in America in ways that are remarkably relevant to the country right now, and that frankly, aren't actually addressed that much in American theatre. But enough of that. Here's a little teaser trailer I put together for the show, chronicling the physical journey from South Boston (Corner of F and Tudor, to be precise) to Chestnut Hill on the MBTA, mimicking Margie Walsh's own journey in the second act of the play. Hear you me: it was a long ride.

(also, don't ever call me Thommy)

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oh03l2Ds2jU&w=480&h=270]

Good People plays September 14 - October 14 at the Avenue of the Arts / BU Theatre. AND, if you're under 35 (which I suspect most of you reading my website are...) tickets are only $25, and we've got a sweet party coming up on September 14, where your ticket also includes a live band and  free drinks after the show.

Five By Five Hundred: Back In Action

After a brief summer hiatus for some professional and mental recuperation, Five By Five Hundred is now officially back in action! For those of you who somehow managed to find your way here and yet still have no idea what I'm talking about, Five By Five Hundred is a website started by back in April of 2009 by me and my good friend Brian McGackin (of Broetry fame), inspired by an idea from the Internet Jesus Warren Ellis. The website originally featured 5 writers, each of whom composed poetry/prose/whatever consisting of no more than 500 words on his/her assigned day of the week (hence, 5 writers x 5 days a week x 500 words = 5x500 = totally bad pun on Faith Lehane's catchphrase). The website has gone through a number of writers, with Brian and I remaining consistent since the beginning, and has now expanded to include new posts on Saturdays and Sundays as well (which, with 7 writers, technically screws up the whole 5x500 pattern thingie, but oh well). Anyway, now that you're all caught up, you can go check out my latest post over there, an oldie but a goodie titled Dad's Diaries (and you can listen to it here, too!)

"Dad's Diaries" at FiveByFiveHundred.com

Good People Design Presentation

Over at the Huntington, we're gearing up for the start of our 2012-2013 Season, and the first show in the lineup is David Lindsay-Abaire's Broadway hit Good People, which tells the story of a single mom struggling to get by in South Boston who looks an old flame now living in Chestnut Hill. Here's a little video I put together of the design presentation at the first rehearsal, featuring director Kate Whoriskey and scenic designer Alexander Dodge. They've got a pretty exciting approach to bringing the streets of Southie to the stage (plus, Alexander's set models are meticulously detailed at such a small scale). Check it out: [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=videoseries?list=UUHKZbbNa2IRgasTR7D92ApA&hl=en_US]

Good People plays September 14 - October 14, 2012 at the Huntington's Avenue of the Arts / BU Theatre.

True Believers Closing and More Reviews

Before I run away to Florida and sleep for 2 weeks straight because I need it, here's a final roundup of more reviews for the world premiere of True Believers:

"Dunn's script is smart and sharply written. He creates memorable and believable characters set in this world who many of us can either relate to, or just be familiar with.  The comedic moments are great and chock full of fantastic one liners. He also is able to create strong and powerful dramatic moments that help balance the comedy.  It doesn't become a parody, but a snap shot of what this world could very well be like. What else can be said about this show except only more praise?"  - MuffinEatsDragon.com

"I was impressed with this show for many reasons, but the foremost was the interesting, thoughtful story that they told extremely well. The second is that it spoke authentically to the nerd fringe community. I know, ‘nerd culture’ is the hip thing right now with comic book movies dominating the box office, but I agree with the sentiment that this newfound cash cow does not represent the community in a real way. Though it does help to normalizesome nerd culture. True Believers by Thom Dunn feels like a play that intimately knows what conventions are like. Their lights are clever, their sound is full of hilarious nerdy references, the script is clever, the characters are interesting, and the actors are brilliant. I could not recommend this show more."  - My Entertainment World

And to top it off, we were the Pick Of The Week in RadioBoston! All in all, I'd say that's not so bad for a nerdy little play about a comic book convention.

Now without any further ado, I'm going to retreat and recuperate for a few years. You'll hear from me eventually...

First review of True Believers is a rave!

From EdgeBoston:

Heroes and villains clash in Thom Dunn’s True Believers; it’s not the fate of the cosmos that hangs in the balance, but rather the personal worlds of everyone involved. This salute to comic-con is fraught with sharp writing and impeccable performances. Comic books are wildly colorful exaggerations of life, a form of contemporary myth, and Dunn understands this. Dunn’s energetic script takes on the general form of a farce, albeit one in which aimless young men dress in crude cardboard approximations of cyborg armor. The play’s particulars may be specific to a certain social subset, but its themes and motivations are universal. The characterizations are well wrought and the jokes are smart, sometimes downright wicked sharp.

Yeah, alright, I'll take that! You can read the full review online as well. We have just 5 more performances this week (Wed - Sat) before the show closes, so make sure you catch it will you can!

True Believers Production Photos

Here's a little peek at True Believers, for those of still waiting / unable to see it (or for those of you who want to relive the experience). All photos by Paul Cantillon / LIDEC Photo.[slideshow]

True Believers Updates, Part I

Okay. Breathe. We just made it through opening weekend of True Believers, which saw mostly packed houses and very responsive audiences (and only a few technical malfunctions that hopefully no one noticed but me). All in all, I'd say it's going well so far! We'll just have to wait and see what the critics have to say about it. In the meantime, here's a little interview I did with Jacqui Bryant, a local Boston entertainment blogger, about the show. Full disclosure: I thought she was writing an article, not posting the full interview transcription, so some of my answers, uh, well, they go on for quite a while (I wanted to give her a lot of information to pull from!)

We also got a nice shout out in the print & online version of DigBoston / The Weekly Dig:

Now, you might assume this unconventionally comedic play (penned by local playwright and Emerson College alum Thom Dunn, go Lions etc.) chronicling the interactions between conventional comic convention-types—aspiring artists, single-minded fanboys, haute couturecosplayers and so on—would be a tad nerdy. You would be right. Some World’s Greatest Detective stuff, that is. But just how nerdy are we talking? Try “Cyborg Head of Stan Lee” nerdy. Yes, that’s a kind of nerdy. The “most” kind.

Ha. Thanks, guys (I think...)

Opus Affair, a social group for young professional interested and involved in the arts in around the Boston area, also highlighted the show in their "On the Town" weekly roundup, praising it with favorable comparisons to both Closer and Magic Mike (both of which I assume were intended as compliments though I'm not entirely sure...)

Anyway, stay tuned, True Believers, for more updates, including production photos and...The Cyborg Head of Stan Lee!

Meanwhile, at my day job...

So when I'm not in rehearsals for / plowing through re-writes on TRUE BELIEVERS, I still, of course, have my day job to deal with (which has been incredibly supportive and helpful through this entire process, so hooray for gainful employment!). While our 30th anniversary season at the Huntington is now over (and what a successful season it was!), we're now busy gearing up for the fall and the start of our next season, which means lots of work (because it always does) but less immediate hard deadlines (which I guess is now...for now, until it's not). ANYWAY, here's a video I made of our Artistic Director, Peter DuBois, discussing the first show in our 2012-2013 Season, David Lindsay-Abaire's recent Broadway hit GOOD PEOPLE (conveniently set in good ol' South Boston). Check it out:

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odPjupNifbM]

Top 5 Reasons Why THE AVENGERS Movie Totally Sucked And Also Was Stupid, Part II

After recovering from his earlier coughing fit, "rogue video blogger" Billy Horowitz continues with his Top 5 Reasons Why THE AVENGERS Movie Totally Sucked And Also Was Stupid. Tickets for the world premiere of TRUE BELIEVERS are going fast, with only 50 seats in the theatre, so make sure to get yours ahead of time while you still can! [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtR7kMEf5q4]