“We needed to throw a monkey into the wrench.” -Todd Blakesley
CINCINNATI, Ohio — Summer fringe festivals have had to make a tough choice this year: shut down or go online. San Diego’s shut down, but in Rejkyavik, Iceland, the shows went online. And San Diego’s Todd Blakesley, a writer, actor, clown and raconteur was not only in the festival, he was the face of it in their promotions.
CRAPSHOOT! Or Why Al Voted For Trump, a love story normally has a lot of actor/audience interaction. Director/ Producer Rhianna Basore shot the video version entirely in a utility closet with a mop and a cleaning brush for his backdrop. For a comedic actor accustomed to the feedback of a live audience, it’s a real leap of faith to trust that your jokes will land.
Todd Blakesley’s protagonist, Al Stone, works for Solomon’s Fortune Cookie Company. After many cycles of not voting, in 2016 he finally cast a ballot in order to “shake things up.” Now he has nothing against Mexicans or Muslims per se; he just doesn’t want them to steal our jobs or destroy our way of life. And he has a pretty kooky idea for how we can build the wall and get Mexico to pay for it.
Al gets sent to Anger Management, loses his job, takes up clowning and actually gets to meet his hero in the Oval Office. Todd walks us through the story playing a cavalcade of characters, each with their own funny voice and mannerisms. It’s pretty campy, kind of corny and just a hoot. I like that Al is not overtly racist or a “bad guy.” He’s actually a likable, relatable nebbish who’s just poorly informed enough to think that a career huckster with multiple business failures and a well-documented history of fraud is actually capable of running the nation.
For some clever socio-political satire, you can watch Todd Blakesley’s CRAPSHOOT! by visiting this website.
And that’s Show-Biz!
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Eric George Tauber, a San Diego based freelance writer, is visiting family in Cincinnati preparatory to moving back to Ohio. He may be contacted via eric.tauber@sdjewishworld.com
I enjoyed CRAPSHOOT!, too. Your review is spot-on: fair, accurate, and enjoyable. I hope everyone will watch it online.