So, Geoff and I met the Harvard Sailing Team comedy troupe in the lobby of WCIV-TV waiting for our television debut and they were good sports, letting us interview and film them. We did our bit, they came on after (thank goodness: No one likes to follow professionals.)

On Wednesday, when I’m debating what to go see, I finally decide I should catch their show at the American Theater, part of Piccolo Fringe. As I’m circling around trying to find a parking spot (ignoring my own advice to take a bike) I see Adam Lustick, Sara Taylor and Billy Scafuri walking down the street.

I offer them a ride in my messy car (I really should listen to my mother) and I park illegally to drop them off. I find a good spot, hit the door and then cool my heels waiting to make sure there is enough room in the theater for a non-paying, press-pass-carrying SpoJo to go in. I get the word I’m good, I buy some refreshment and queue up to get in. I meet some very nice people from Pennsylvania and we all stand in the warm hallway waiting for “technical difficulties” to be solved so we can be seated. At last, we get the OK, we file in, take our seats and wait for the magic. (Turns out there was a glitch in turning on the sound board…)

I’ll confess that I wasn’t blown away by the bit the team did on Lowcountry Live. I think they were having us on, because it wasn’t the least bit indicative of their show. It fits in nicely as part of the whole. And the whole rocks. Completely. I laughed so hard I had tears in my eyes. I think I almost fell out of my chair once.

They are smart and physical, lampooning modern culture with an underlying edge that bites. I can’t even begin to tell you how funny the skit involving three modern girls and an old-fashioned phone is (It’s not a phone; you can’t text on it.) Or they way they skewer ice-skating competitions. Or a pizza commercial director. Disney isn’t even safe.

I always look for the star, and the truth is there really isn’t a weak link. They sing and dance and use music in a way that’s slick without being processed. They’re billed as “Clean-Cut” and, true, there is nothing sexual or profane, but don’t be misled, the humor is definitely not childish.

Don’t miss them. They are here through Saturday.

PURE Theatre: Episode 1 from Dan Conover on Vimeo.

I met the founders of PURE Theatre about four years ago through a newspaper assignment and I’ve been an admirer of their work ever since. They’ve got four plays in this year’s Piccolo Festival (Eurydice, Vaud Rats, The Tragedian, and Cloud Tectonics), and that’s a lot for any small company, but there’s one thing that makes that number even more remarkable: PURE Theatre no longer has a theater.

I bumped into Rodney Lee Rogers outside the Gaillard a week ago and asked him how they were handling the logistics of running a homeless theater company with a busy schedule… on top of running an enormous family (Rogers is married to PURE co-founder Sharon Graci, and they have two young children in addition to her three teenagers from a previous marriage). One thing led to another, and on Tuesday I showed up on James Island a little after 8:30 to begin following Rodney and Sharon through their day.

It’s a glimpse of what it means to make demanding professional theater work in a small market, but it’s also a fairly funny glimpse at a talented family that’s adapted to an unusual life on the run.

The Piccolo Spoleto Spolight Concert Series is my favorite Spoleto event. Over the years, I have throughly enjoyed the brilliant music and performers, and if time and schedule permitted, I would attend each concert.

This year’s series of concerts have moved from its primary location at the City Gallery to the New Tabernacle Fourth Baptist Church on Elizabeth Street. While the City Gallery provided a beautiful backdrop to the concerts, it was was too small. The church –featured in the photo on the right– is a larger, more comfortable and just as stunning.

The music fest program, titled Seasons by violinist Lee-Chin Chow, cellist Natalia Khoma, and pianist Volodymyr Vynnytsky, featured works from Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Astor Piazzolla, and finished up with one by Vynnystsky.

All the music was beautifully played, and the acoustics of the church made a difference, I especially liked the work by Piazzolla,Verano Porteno. It was in parts dark and moving, yet moving. Lost Tango by Vynnysky was great. His emotion and energy on the piano is fun to watch.

There’s no chance of you getting up and leaving before 40 minutes of one of our podcasts - we’re keeping them nice and snappy this year and not longer than 10 minutes!

The same cannot be said for the P&C’s official Spoleto reviewer Tim Page, who left ‘Monkey’ last night after 40 minutes despite its “many excellences” … Harriet’s in the studio trying to explain why.

I also catch up with the manager of Pure Theatre R.W. ‘Smiddy’ Smith, to talk about the Piccolo shows that they’re running this year.

Hear today’s podcast direct by following this link, or why not subscribe permanently here throughout the duration of the festival and get it fed to your MP3 player automatically. There’s also our guide to podcasting here.

One more Spoku (Spoleto haiku), this one from Ted Soderlund of Pitt Street,
Charleston:

Earth Sea Sky he rules
one more thing the monkey wants
Immortality

Ok, I confess that I should have had this video report up online yesterday, but I was busy being pre-occupied being on TV myself instead.

Such bad timing/co-ordination then led to Dan to write a post about The Devil and Deep Blue Sea, followed immediately by a video post by me, about, er .. oh .. The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea.

Yup … I was out partying on Monday night, which meant that with a martini in one hand, and my video camera in the other I went-a-mingling after the penultimate show to see if I could work out why on earth it involved gingerbread men …