Let Me Tell You Something

Let Me Tell You Something is a storytelling series curated by actor/artists Eliza Bent (sister of Melissa Bent, co-owner of gallery Rivington Arms) and Greg Portz. In it, Bent and Portz portray shut-ins Twitch and Shimmy Fairbanks. Guest storytellers are invited to weave their yarns throughout the event with intermittent questions and comments from Twitch and Shimmy. The stories that are told are true-to-life. The characters Twitch and Shimmy are, however, fictional. Beginnings Bent and Portz met each other in March 2006 in a class taught by Charlie Todd (founder of Improv Everywhere) at the Upright Citizens Brigade. http://www.ucbtheatre.com/ny/. Let Me Tell You Something is their first official collaboration to be brought to public. Challenges Kevin Allison (artistic director of the People's Improv Theater and former actor on MTV's The State) canceled their show citing i-calendar difficulties. These problems forced him to cancel several other shows as well. Despite this, Let Me Tell You Something remained listed in various New York publications such as Time Out New York. Link Fans of the program were dismayed and voiced their concern. Nevertheless, a large turnout ensued at subsequent events. One such instance, which took place in a private home in the Lower East Side, drew police officials who claimed the performers were violating noise pollution laws. Present Bent and Portz are currently working on a commission for Rúsínan í pylsuendanum, a small, avant-garde theatre troupe in Iceland. Their current version of Let Me Tell You Something features work by storytellers Elizabeth Stevenson, Vicky Kuperman and Randy Gener. Influences Bent and Portz cite the following artist as influential to their creative development: Mike Daisey, Ruth Draper, Bill Cosby, Lily Tomlin, Sarah Jones, Spaulding Gray, Whoopie Goldberg, Mike Mahoney, Jerry Seinfeld Richard Jones, Alexis Taylor, Chakakhan and Steven Paeso Del. Popular quotes *"Let me tell you something..!"- Twitch and Shimmy Fairbanks *"She's dead to us."- Twitch and Shimmy on the topic of their ex-friend Nelly *"We don't get out much."-- Twitch Fairbanks *"I wouldn't do that!"-- Shimmy Fairbanks *"Hold 'em tight"-- Shimmy Fairbanks *"Kippy's taking care of business."--Twitch and Shimmy Fairbanks

 

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