Wyoming News
December 10, 2014
"This play is dangerously funny and irreverent. It is just so wrong in so many ways," said director Jason Pasqua.
This is the fourth time that Pasqua has staged "Reindeer Monologues" at LCCC, the last coming two years ago. Written by Jeff Goode, the show is a series of monologues that showcase the personalities and perspectives of Santa's reindeer. It is a dark comedy full of adult themes, starting with a scandal at the North Pool when one reindeer accuses Santa of sexual harassment. The "deer" take turns talking about the experiences with Santa, their opinions on whether he did it - all while drinking and generally saying some pretty off-color but hilarious things.
"I love Christmas, personally, but I think it's OK to have a little bit of naughty fun with it too," Pasqua said.
Pasqua said he likes to do this production with students because it gives them a chance to build a very important skill: control of a room.
"Since it is a series of 7- to 8-minute monologues, the actors really have to showcase their ability to maintain and control the focus of the audience by themselves," he said.
The monologues were copyrighted in 1994, making them a sort of period piece now to Pasqua. He said that the birth of the 24-hour news cycle and a fascination with pop culture figures gave way to some interesting relationships with the media and its subjects in that time period.
"I realized that a lot of that stuff plays out here as well. Celebrity culture was just becoming a thing, and you can see the work touching on that," he said.
Pasqua stressed that the show is for mature audiences only and that there is no way a child should be brought to it. He said it was a far better chance for adults to unwind a bit during the holiday season.
"Normally, I am all for bringing kids to the theater, especially from a young age, but this is just not the show for that by any stretch," he said. "With that though, we are really excited to do it again."
