Deconstructing Cellar Dwellers

"Hello, is Mr. Iris there?" I asked the receptionist at Simcorps, a mortgage company based in Aliquippa, PA.
"Hold one minute sir," She replied.
"Hello, this is Donnie Iris."
"Hey, Donnie, it's Mike Rubino from the Cellar Dwellers."
"Hey, buddy, how are you doing?!" he exclaimed.

I was putting in the call, the same call I had made last year about a week earlier than this. I wasn't just calling to show off the fact that I personally know one of the biggest names in Pittsburgh, and one of the loudest rockers in Pittsburgh. Nor was I doing it to show off the fact that he's actually a fan of the Dwellers. No, I was doing it to see if we could use his voice as the Voice of God in our upcoming show: Deconstructing Santa.

A year ago, four of the Cellar Dwellers (Joe, Ben, James and myself) got together and sought out to write a massive, original, two-hour sketch show that would sort of keep the group from falling apart over the Christmas stretch. Little did we know that we would be doing much more than that. We would be creating one of the most financially successful shows the group had ever done, as well as give people an entirely new opinion on the comedy troupe. The show was an amazing hit, even though we only planned two performances. We tried all sorts of new ideas in our comedy show, like transitional music between every skit, a completely interlocked plot, and a local celebrity to play God.

Well, a year has passed since that fateful weekend in December and much to the chagrin of other Dwellers, the four of us (still very sentimental about the whole experience) are doing the show again. I started to get the hint that we should do the thing again when folks started asking us if we were. And then I found out that a group of kids who had seen it last year were still quoting it to this day! We all knew that this was something that could turn into a nice tradition. And so a few weeks ago we unearthed the scripts, began editing a bit, and are now well on our way to putting this show back together.

And so I'm posting this on my blog as merely a recommendation for your holiday season. Seeing a two hour sketch show, one that is already a proven success, would certainly be worth your drive to Beaver County. The Dwellers are putting on two performances of Deconstructing Santa, and I have to say that your best bet would be to reserve a hotel between the two shows, and then go to both. You won't regret it!

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 17th at CCBC (Community College of Beaver County)
Allied Health Auditorium, Center Twp. PA 8:00PM $5.00

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 18th at GENEVA COLLEGE
Bagpiper Theater, Beaver Falls PA 8:00PM $5.00

Directions to these locations are on our website. But of course if you are really coming, let me know and I can guide you there personally.

I know, I'll give you some time to think about it, and post on it again later next week. But for now, mark it on your calendar and check back here later.

Posted by MikeRubino at December 7, 2004 1:08 PM