Notes from Forum Theatre

With all the goings-on at the theatre involving Marat/Sade, we’d be remiss not to mention our other Fringe show, [eureka] which was written and is performed by our very own Patrick Bussink. The show just opened and has 4 more performances, so get with the program and be sure to check it out! I thought I’d conduct a little interview with Patrick and give you all the inside look at him and his show. First, the official [eureka] blurb:

Albert is so gosh-darned pent-up he can’t even talk about it. Lucky for us, he CAN launch himself into hilarious feats of physical and existential absurdity. A hilariously poignant cartoon of a play about one man’s bumbling search for peace of mind, performed in the clowning style of Buster Keaton and Rowan Atkinson.

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Michael: Hi Patrick. Why don’t you tell us a little bit about yourself and your relationship with Forum?
Patrick: Hello, Michael. I’m an actor, so I’d love to talk about myself for a minute, thanks for asking. Ok, let’s see…I’m from Annapolis, MD, where there’s lots and lots of boats and instead of summer camp I played on the shore of the relatively clear waters of the Chesapeake Bay. I started acting when I was 12 and up through High School, back when auditions were “try outs” and rehearsals were “play practice”. I did more shows during undergrad at Towson University and then toured with the National Players, performing the classics while sampling the fine fare at Waffle Houses across the country. On and off since 2000, I’ve been acting and writing in DC, mixed in with a dash of traveling whenever I can. Ok, I think that’s more than a little bit about myself.

I joined on as a company member with Forum in the Spring of 2007 and in addition to acting (The Last Days of Judas Iscariot, The Memorandum, Rough for Theatre II), I co-curate our OpenForum post discussion series with the lovely Hannah Hessel and I help out the just as lovely Fiona Blackshaw with marketing. I don’t wanna give you a big head or anything, Michael, but Forum’s a really great family to be a part of , so thanks for not kicking me out yet…Dad—can I call you Dad?

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M: No. That’s creepy. Move over another 2 feet, please. Thank you. Ok: Paddy, you are quite possibly known by more nicknames than anyone I know. What are a few of them you know of?
P: It’s totally bizarre—I just got a new nickname not long ago, actually, so I’ll start with that one: Chewy. And no, it’s nothing to do with Star Wars. I was at a wedding in Puerto Rico a few weeks back with a bunch of ladies from my office (yeah, that’s how I roll) and after being the designated salsa dancer for a few rounds, one of them said “We’re gonna wear you out, Patrick!” and I said “No kidding, I feel like the only chew toy at a dog park.” So there you have it: Chewy. I have no doubt they’ll call me that for the rest of my life.

Other nicknames include, but are not limited to: Tricky, Trick, Trickster, Tricksink, Patruccio, Pot-reek, Paddy-Paddy-Foo-Foo, Foo Dog, Foo, Foo Manchu, Spidey and…Pat, but only my family calls me that, so don’t even try it.

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M: Got it, Pat. So, you are doing a show in this year’s Fringe Festival called [eureka], that you wrote and are performing in—-describe your show in 10 words:

P: One man’s messy, neurotic and absurdly funny search for peas.

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M: Is use of a contraction cheating? Oh well. [eureka] is running in rep with Marat/Sade—do the shows have anything in common with one another? How do you feel about performing on a stage that is meant to represent a mental institution?

P: Actually one of the initial springboards for the show was for it to be a companion piece to Marat/Sade and though it still is, it’s in a much less overt way than I’d first envisioned. I originally had all these great ideas about revolution and insanity (”autistic kid leads revolt!”), but as the drafts went on the connections between the two became more subtle. I’ll say this much: Albert definitely ain’t right in the head—he’d easily fit in with the wacky characters of Charenton—you could even say he lives life in his own self-imposed kind of cell; he’s what you might call a just-barely-functional-nutcase. So all things considered, it’s pretty darn perfect that his apartment sits inside a looney bin.

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