The Yes Men {and I} fix the world.

This evening, I chose to see the movie "The Yes Men Fix the World" with Bre at the Music BoxTheatre. I had no idea that a mere 2 hours later, I would end up in a fat suit protesting Chase Bank with graffiti and police overlooking.

This independent theatres lasted 80 years - phew. The movie was great - very funny, very real, depressing and encouraging in the same moment. I'd define the yes men as an international group of professional rabblerousers that impersonate irresponsible greedy corporations to expose the corporate lack of respect for human, animal, or the Earth's life. After the show, Yes Men prankster Mike Bonnano took a short Q and A, and then the real fun started. He asked for two volunteers, and of course, my hand shot up. He told us that Chase Bank is the last bank to still fund coal mining mountaintop removal and there just so happened to be a Chase across the street....and he just so happened to have 10 bags of coal for "sidewalk art" and two "Survivaball" costumes...hehehe.
I hopped in the suit, paraded across to Chase bank and a friendly mob and I started doodling mountains on the walls and sidewalk of the bank, while I danced around in my Survivaball. I was interviewed on camera (still in the suit) and questioned by chicago police too (a twofer). I love activism.
By the way, Baby Wants Candy was amazing again (as always).

500 Clown

I saw 500 Clown Frankenstein tonight with Shannon and Brad and Amy and Jet and fellow humans. Free steins and dogs before the show - ohhhh yeah. And then our small crowd was seated in a small room with a small cast. And it was intimate, and personal, and It was so SO so REAL. For those of you who don't know, 5o0 Clown is Chicago's best nonprofit Clowning theatre and school. 2 clowns, 1 clownette, presented an interpretation of a doomed play of Shelley's Frankenstein complete with vain actors, mutinies, temper tantrums, and breaking the 4th wall (screwing with audience) that made the clowning so real. Real physical risks, real conflict, they put the slap in slapstick. One unscripted event was when Frankenstein stood on a table, electrocuted the monster by holding the dangling lightbulbs, fell off the table, in the process bumping the bulbs hard enough to collide with the spinning fan, which catapulted the lights around a beam (they didn't break on Jet's head, thank God). Totally spontaneous, totally dangerous, totally my heart's delight!
In other news, I'm enjoying my classes at Second City. They're all pretty interesting. Oh shit(-ake mushrooms), my COA winter class registration opens at midnight. Gotta run!