Marc Beaudin

Burn This

Posted on November 22, 2012 by marcbeaudin

Burn This by Lanford Wilson
Something Blue Theatre Co., 2004
Directed by Deena Nicol, designed by Marc Beaudin

For this design, I used as much as the natural space (an unfinished warehouse) as possible, adding walls, furniture and a window (in the freight elevator) to create an urban loft apartment. The painting above the bar was created for the show by Samantha Whetstone.

Click Photo for Gallery

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Review of Mike Palecek’s Johnny Moon

Posted on November 12, 2011 by marcbeaudin

Mixing absurdist flights of fancy with poignant memories of a time that was never as innocent as we pretend, Mike Palecek has crafted a free-wheeling novel of the adventures of Johnny Moon, a young Catholic boy who strives to live up to the idealistic credo of his hero President John F. Kennedy: “A strong boy makes a strong man makes a strong nation.” A chubby, pants-wetting target for bullies and strict authority figures, Johnny chants this mantra while walking to school to lose weight, struggling to complete a push-up or stoically coping with everything from icy puddles to attacking S.W.A.T. teams.

When his hero is suddenly gone, Johnny finds himself the unlikely leader of a league of truth-seekers made up of classmates, nuns (who just might really be space aliens), and the coach and janitor (who just might believe that the school boiler is a time-travel machine – and they just might be right). Through darkly hilarious twists and turns, intriguing mysteries and downright oddball WTFs, Palecek leads us into the JFK conspiracy, anti-communist paranoia, and the myriad eccentricities of Church and State. And, as in all of the writings of this Dali-Vonnegut-Chomsky conglomeration of a novelist/activist, the path by which he leads us is unlike anything we could imagine.

But beyond the surrealistic wildness that always marks a Palecek romp, what’s truly best in this novel is its profound empathy. We fall for Johnny Moon because we are Johnny Moon. Palecek remembers details of our childhood that we’ve long forgotten, and when we see (and feel, taste and smell) these minutiae of adolescence being lived by Johnny Moon we wonder how he was able to get into our heads and hearts unnoticed. In this most-enjoyable of his novels to date, Palecek shows himself to be a skilled cartographer of our collective dreams, fears and memories.

And if you don’t remember what you were doing when you heard Kennedy was shot, don’t worry; read this book, and you’ll always remember exactly what Johnny Moon was doing.

~by Marc Beaudin

Notes from Forest House, SLC

Posted on March 28, 2010 by marcbeaudin

A fantastic reading at Ken Sanders Rare Books down in Salt Lake. A delicious audience ranging from stoic cowboys to pierced ruffians, from desert rats to yoga-heads. “This Poem” seemed to be the crowd favorite with many asking if it was published anywhere. … I can’t imagine a typical poetry journal ever wanting it, and am not sure if I would include it in a book; however, it definitely will be on the CD I’m hoping to record soon.

After the gig, back to Ken’s fantastic Forest House, a magical ship rising above the ocean of steel, brick and glass of SLC, riding the crest of the Wasatch Fault. Delightful violations of Morman Law in cold brown bottles. Tripping over stacks of great books and an endless feast of artwork on every wall.

In the morning, with strong coffee and a wide-eyed window. Watching clouds peeling away from the mountain slopes like burnt skin. leaving scars of luxury homes and radio towers. A brooding darkness pouring in from over the lake, swallowing the buildings of downtown one by one. A goshawk takes refuge in the backyard, silencing all other birds.