Co-artistic directors Allison Goldberg and Jen Jamula created Lively Productions last summer to investigate how “new technologies could inspire face-to-face interaction and rejuvenate live theater,” according to their press kit. They’re doing something right, because Blogologues is incredibly spirited; whether it’s Jen channeling a woman terrified of Steven Spielberg‘s alien movies, or taking on the roles of psychiatrists lecturing parents on scarring kids’ Halloween costumes, the pieces break the fourth wall to the audience without being obnoxious.

The performance I got to see last Monday was Rocktober Blogologues: It’s Freaking Fall! The five-actor ensemble worked tirelessly to bring to life countless blog posts, from confessionals to crafting tips to interviews. I appreciated their loose definition of fall; though there was Halloween content aplenty, there were also odes to apple picking and a fun segment called #TrickorTweet, where they read off what could have been 140-character messages or jokes, and you had to decide which was which.

To say that an actor embodies the words on a page isn’t news; it’s theater. But when you consider that the words are a blog post — a rambling rant or an image-heavy column — it takes on a more impressive quality. Having not read most of these posts in their original form and knowing little about the bloggers who wrote them, I can’t say if the Lively crew’s interpretations entirely matched up to the writers. But they pull such vibrant costumes and unique affectations that their characters are just as valid as the original posters.

For instance, I never would have imagined that you could perform a Regretsy post about people wearing terrifying knit body stockings. But the “knit fetish gear” fashion show that closed out the show hit just the right notes of irreverent and fascinating.

One of the show’s strongest suits is that you don’t have to be an expert in blogging to follow along. All you have to be aware of is the general culture of blogs; if anything, even this seasoned blogger learned about quite a few new sites. The content ranges from lifestyle and advice columns to snarky lists to pop culture-centered sites. When Samuel Gaines came out onstage wearing a Snuggie and pantyhose over his face, we immediately knew he was Harry Potter villain Lord Voldemort—which made it even more of a treat when he opened his mouth and had the hissing voice down.

There are one or two monologues that might make you wonder if the bloggers knew they’re being featured; the pieces don’t read less as self-mocking and more as poking fun on unsuspecting targets. But Jen and Allison assure me that they’ve gotten permission from all of the blogs, so if there are any missteps it’s a matter of the post’s tone, not the actors’ performances.

Rocktober is over, and not just because today is November 1; each month has only two performances. November’s theme hasn’t yet been announced, but you won’t want to miss the show on November 28th at UNDER St. Marks (94 Saint Marks Pl). Tickets are on sale now—$15 gets you admission and a beer. Blogologues runs through January 2012.

Photos: Julienne Jones

Related posts:

• Ashton Kutcher Calls Out The Blogosphere For Speculating On His Marriage To Demi Moore
• Teen Mom Amber Portwood’s Brother Has a Blog!
• Spoiler Alert: Blogger Reality Steve Identifies The Final Four on ‘The Bachelorette’
• Video: The ‘People of Walmart’ Blog Gets A Song
• Snap This: Donald Trump Prints Out Blog Post, Writes on It, Mails it Back to Vanity Fair Writer

Post from: Crushable

The poem was signed “Vinny…on behalf of my orange friends.”

Related posts:

• Crushable Quotable: Vinny From ‘Jersey Shore’ Is A Thespian
• Is Jersey Shore’s Vinny The Most Fake Character On TV?
• ‘Jersey Shore’ Guidocabulary: Stop Being a Whiskey Dick and Maybe Apologize
• ‘Jersey Shore’ Guidocabulary: Crossing the Line of Intention

Post from: Crushable

Post from: Crushable

That’s where Google comes in. I remember the first time I Googled “Nicole Ritchie” before posting an item, only to realize that her name had no “t” in it. Or the first time I settled a debate about “ironical” being a word. There’s nothing quite as satisfying as when you Google a word that you’re unsure about (does hoity-toity have a hyphen?) and find a list of results, instead of that annoying “Showing results for ____,” meaning that you got it wrong.

But why does the search engine succeed in catching our spelling mistakes when regular spell check doesn’t? Because of its “context-sensitive” algorithm, meaning that if you put a whole sentence in there, but you write it “Put a whole sentence in they’re,” Google will analyze the use of the word in the phrase and suggest that maybe you’re using the wrong version of the word.

So yes, I for one welcome my Google overlords, especially if they can help me figure out those basic spelling and grammatical errors that should have been fixed ages ago. Who needs years of learning the English language when you can just Google?

Post from: Crushable

Post from: Crushable

While we appreciate any good stunt that involves a year-long commitment to one fashion theme – like UniformProject.com – the message behind Sheena‘s mission was that people own too many damn clothes. I Quit Pants has a website that includes a shopping list of what she wants to buy (or have bought for her by a kind sponsorship deal, *hint HINT*). Oh also, it has an 8 minute YouTube video in case you wanted to hear the explanation in the form of 10 years of community theater lessons.

In case you couldn’t sit through all of that, here are the choice quotes:
• “I can hear the feminists right now, driving to my house to burn me at the stake.”
• “People think wearing skirts and dresses is like anti-feminist or something?”
• “I’ve heard the argument that women fought so I could have the right to wear pants. That’s just silly. They fought so we could vote, and you don’t see 100 percent of women going out and voting in every election they possibly can.”
•”Saying wearing pants makes us equal to man is to like, devalue what it means to be a woman.”
• “I don’t hate pants. I’m not a pants-hater.”
• “Basically, if I just had a faux-denim skirt, a khaki skirt, and a black skirt, I could accomplish the same things as jeans…but people would take me more seriously.”
We cannot wait to see what other wonderful, forward-thinking tidbits mj will bring to us in the upcoming months. Good luck, girl!

Post from: Crushable

Lola tells us a lot in her inauguration to the blogopshere!

Likes/Dislikes:

• Lola is turning 14 in October, which is a big deal because she finally gets to dye her hair.
• Favorite color: black. Least favorite color: brown.
• Reasoning behind least favorite color choice: “it resembles the color of something QUITE gross.”
• “Music wise My Chemical Romance is THE BEST BAND EVER for realzzzz. They are so awesome it hurts. If you don’t know who they are just… go away OR download their songs.”

On Her Personal Style:

• Lola is “totally obsessivo about 80’s shorts… You know the kind that makes your butt look kinda big, with a grunge-looking shirt tucked in.”
• Lola is “in love with brogues or as some people call them ‘oxford shoes.’”
• Lola is “on like a search right now” for “a good sandal.”
• Wants to know what you think about rompers: “Is that like a hit or miss, ‘cause I’m not sure. If you comment, be sure to tell me what you think.”

On The Clothing Line, Material Girl:

• “It’s like 80’s themed, which pretty much rocks, so yeah.”
• “Material Girl is coming out soon… HOLLA HOLLA! Ok and this is pretty awesome I will send a FREE t-shirt  to the first person who can  tell me in which big store the opening of Material Girl is….how cool rigghhhhhht???Annnnnnd I am 4 realz excited for the opening which I will give you the exact dates for in my next blog entry, so stay tuned for more.”

On Gladiator Sandals:

• “OK but no joke gladiator sandals are OUT. They came out in summer 2008 and I was like, ok those are really cute. Then 2009 comes around and people are still wearing them so I’m like, ok whatever it’s just a phase. BUT NOOOOO. Because good old 2010 is now coming along and people are STILL wearing them, and then I was just like OK NO! It’s been three years people COME ON!!!!!!!!! I’m just like what????”

So, yeah. Let’s hope she updates this as frequently as possible. *Going to throw away our gladiator sandals now.*

[via The Awl]

Post from: Crushable

Apparently Jessica and Cash are big Michael Phelps supporters and cheered for him the entire 400m relay final. On the race Jessica said: “The mens 400M relay was insane. We were down by almost a half body length going into the final turn and then next thing you knew it was closer, closer, closer until we touched the wall first! Cash and I went crazy.”

I don’t know what it is but this year the Olympics just don’t appeal to me. Maybe it is the odd hours or what not but I cannot seem to catch any action… Do you watch the Olympics?

Post from: Crushable