Pat Tuesday: "Get ready for your upcoming trip"
Time for a guessing game! Ready to win?
Hi! How’s it going?
As you know from these emails, I’m building an original play from the ground up that’s going up this October—but I haven’t told you too much about the play, have I? Well let’s get into it, then. Specifically, how I built the script and where it came from.
BIG BEAR is a play about a group of friends who have been close since college, cleaning up an AirBnB on the last day of a group trip as facades break down, long-held secrets are revealed, and 10 years of tension are unleashed. I wrote this based on a series of group trips I took in my late 20s that every millennial has experienced: a house rental that is shittier than advertised, a less-than-ideal sleeping condition (especially for the usually-single me, who pays the same rate as everyone else to sleep on a lumpy couch), an ironclad itinerary that causes anxiety if it is ignored, etc. Essentially, because we were all poor, we’d pool a bunch of money to simulate living in a real house—and before we realized hotels are better, this was our best option, especially because of all the bonding. But close proximity not only leads to bonding—it leads to a mix of living styles that causes tension, and frequently, confrontation. Here’s me on one of those trips—driving the boat.
So the idea for this play was to lock 9 people in a house and see what happens—but where do I possibly start? I knew I wanted to fill the show with types of people we all feel like we know—and specifically, types of people I knew would drive each other crazy. Therefore, I first and foremost built a character web. Take a look:
THE ACTUAL “BIG BEAR” CHARACTER WEB
I know it looks wild, and if you read all of it you deserve a medal, but I basically broke down how everyone thinks (or doesn’t think) of everyone else in the house. Secrets that I might or might not have used, qualities that might come into play. And at the core, I wrote what they think of themselves, in relation to their lives and the friend group. Overall, because this was a relationship play, I needed to know all of these people, wind them up, and set them loose in a house (with some chores as noted at the bottom, because the house is a mess, and shit needs to get done).
So now you know the nine bombshells: Allie, Greg, Mykel, Lou, Helene, Michaela, Annabelle, Stu and Deena. Any guesses who’s playing them? Any dream casting? The hints are they’re people you love and they’re people I love. Feel free to consult the character web and try to figure out who it might be—send me a guess and I’ll tell you if you’re right! Let the speculation begin!
PAT’S PROJECTS - things I’ve done recently
The Good Life on Audible - I was super lucky to work on this audio sitcom as both a punch-up writer and an actual voice (listen for me as, amongst other characters, “Emperor Chugs”). Feat. Jennifer Garner, Jillian Bell, Bobby Moynihan, Colton Dunn, plus Ty Burrell as the narrator!
Artists on Artists: The Look Summer Vacation Special - our recurring “The View” parody is back. I love playing Deena Marie Long Silver, she’s an homage to some of my favorite Texas ladies from my childhood (and also a roast of Paula Deen).
Havin’ A Day with Mackenzie Barmen - I drove one of my favorite internet people, Mackenzie, to get one of my favorite burritos in LA!
PAT’S PICK - something I’m loving this week
The Tooth & Claw Podcast - this is a podcast where three guys (and animal experts) talk about animal attacks, and I’m obsessed. I specifically linked an episode about a fire ant attack (or life-saving assist? no spoilers) that I can’t stop thinking about.
Talk soon! Love you!
Patrick