Vampire Lesbians of Sodom / Sleeping Beauty or Coma
PS Unlimited Productions, Monterey, CA
Directed & Produced by Patrick Spike
"To produce these scripts effectively, a director must approach the project with breakneck savagery... Producer/director Patrick Spike understands his material and drives his actors through their paces at a furious clip ... actions flash by so quickly, that even the most outrageous hamminess becomes just another element in a hilarious pastiche.... you will come away with stomach muscles sore from laughter. And that's definitely worth something." - Chuck Thurman, Weekly
"The PS Unlimited productions, staged by Patrick Spike, are high-energy, no holds-barred efforts... you're likely to enjoy Spike's breakneck pacing, and seven exuberant performers portraying a couple dozen characters."
- Steve Hauk, Monterey Herald
"Give director Patrick Spike a script and he does more than breathe life into it. He sucks you in. In his production of the Charles Busch script Vampire Lesbians of Sodom, Spike has his audience well... bitten."
- Terry Flores
"Ok, so they aren't the height of intellectual stimulants; the production values are the tops! Stepping into the lobby the mood is set... It's fun before it even begins. Much credit goes to Patrick Spike, who has asked for such exaggerated and enjoyable performances from his actors. ... I'd be charmed if PS Unlimited productions show became the 'in' place to go at midnight on Saturdays during its run."
- Denise Clifford, Entertainment and Dining Review
On Producing and Directing Vampire Lesbians of Sodom with Sleeping Beauty or Coma
After seeing these 2 short plays by Charles Busch together while in NY in 1988, I fell in love their their over-the-top, campy, manic, high-energy style. I knew I may never get a theatre company to produce them so I could direct them. So while living in Monterey CA, an opportunity presented itself for me to rent a small theatre with the right intimate and cramped feel that the show would work in. I produced the show with a group of wild, fun and talented actors, and lucked into a few amazing crew members, some of whom had never even worked in theatre, but managed to be the perfect fit for this wild ride. We produced the show for a 6 week run. It was amazing. We developed a devoted following of local adults, young adults, and military guys (believe it or not), some of whom would come repeatedly and even started heckling the cast during the show... all in fun.
We had to close the show due to another production scheduled in the space. But we already knew we wanted to mount it again. I booked the theatre for a slot after the already booked production and mounted a production of AS IS in the theatre, during which we recast a couple of roles for Vampire... and re-rehearsed with some new bits, a new dance number to close the show and more.
We re-opened the show after the 2 interim productions and ended up running another amazing 13 weeks, or some such nonsense. It was crazy. In the extended run we performed only on friday and saturday nights, with an 8pm and a midnight show on saturdays. We all felt like we'd devoted a year to this production, but we all had and incredible time.
I'm very proud of the fact that the production was always in the black, and that everyone involved was paid on a percentage of the proceeds. In fact our group was earning more than a friends production of Beyond Therapy that he'd mounted in San Francisco at the same time.
"The PS Unlimited productions, staged by Patrick Spike, are high-energy, no holds-barred efforts... you're likely to enjoy Spike's breakneck pacing, and seven exuberant performers portraying a couple dozen characters."
- Steve Hauk, Monterey Herald
"Give director Patrick Spike a script and he does more than breathe life into it. He sucks you in. In his production of the Charles Busch script Vampire Lesbians of Sodom, Spike has his audience well... bitten."
- Terry Flores
"Ok, so they aren't the height of intellectual stimulants; the production values are the tops! Stepping into the lobby the mood is set... It's fun before it even begins. Much credit goes to Patrick Spike, who has asked for such exaggerated and enjoyable performances from his actors. ... I'd be charmed if PS Unlimited productions show became the 'in' place to go at midnight on Saturdays during its run."
- Denise Clifford, Entertainment and Dining Review
On Producing and Directing Vampire Lesbians of Sodom with Sleeping Beauty or Coma
After seeing these 2 short plays by Charles Busch together while in NY in 1988, I fell in love their their over-the-top, campy, manic, high-energy style. I knew I may never get a theatre company to produce them so I could direct them. So while living in Monterey CA, an opportunity presented itself for me to rent a small theatre with the right intimate and cramped feel that the show would work in. I produced the show with a group of wild, fun and talented actors, and lucked into a few amazing crew members, some of whom had never even worked in theatre, but managed to be the perfect fit for this wild ride. We produced the show for a 6 week run. It was amazing. We developed a devoted following of local adults, young adults, and military guys (believe it or not), some of whom would come repeatedly and even started heckling the cast during the show... all in fun.
We had to close the show due to another production scheduled in the space. But we already knew we wanted to mount it again. I booked the theatre for a slot after the already booked production and mounted a production of AS IS in the theatre, during which we recast a couple of roles for Vampire... and re-rehearsed with some new bits, a new dance number to close the show and more.
We re-opened the show after the 2 interim productions and ended up running another amazing 13 weeks, or some such nonsense. It was crazy. In the extended run we performed only on friday and saturday nights, with an 8pm and a midnight show on saturdays. We all felt like we'd devoted a year to this production, but we all had and incredible time.
I'm very proud of the fact that the production was always in the black, and that everyone involved was paid on a percentage of the proceeds. In fact our group was earning more than a friends production of Beyond Therapy that he'd mounted in San Francisco at the same time.
