by Kirby Lindsay Laney, posted 10 November 2016
On November 18th, a one-night-only gala will bring more colorful, outlandish characters to West of Lenin. Episode III of the Panel Jumper Live cabaret gathers together performers, musicians, artists, filmmakers and a historian to the black box theater to celebrate, and educate, on the cultural significance and lore of the comic book art form.
According to its co-producers, the Panel Jumper cabaret “celebrates nerd-dom.” As Cole Hornaday, explained, “The live show is a celebration!” Ben Laurance further elaborated, “You don’t need to be a nerd to enjoy it.”
In fact, the two men founded The Panel Jumper web series for everyone – the geeks and those who love them – to better understand and appreciate comic books. “We want to elevate the discussion,” Laurance explained, “They’re not just for kids. Comic books are nested deeply in our culture.”
The Panel Jumper web series, and its companion, ‘The Perfect Bound Podcast’, educate and enlighten on the history and lore of comic books. On November 18th, Laurance and Hornaday take a night-off to simply enjoy the themes and art inspired by this undervalued medium.
A Reason To Party
Taking a web series and a podcast and transforming them into a cabaret takes a real leap of the imagination and, according to Hornaday and Laurance, it also requires A.J. Epstein, El Presidente of West of Lenin.
“I’ve known A.J. for 17 years,” Laurance said, “he approached Cole about the cabaret.” Laurance and Hornaday met through theater, and they knew Epstein through his lighting design work there too. According to them, Epstein suggested putting the popular web series in front of a live audience. “It would not be without A.J.,” Hornaday said, of Panel Jumper Live.
Attendees can expect to be dazzled by a great assortment of acts and entertainments. Composer-pianist Michael Owcharuk will provide new music, along with satirical song stylings from Ray Misra and something very new, and likely twisted, from comedian (and toy collector) Allison Lizotte. Scotto Moore has written a new short play, to be directed by Jaime Roberts, and Miss Daisy O’Day will perform a nerd-tastic burlesque. The Panel Jumper will screen a new short film that peeps into the shells of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, along with recording a special, live ‘Perfect Bound Podcast’ with guest Stefano Gaudiano, inker of Image/Skybound’s comic book ‘The Walking Dead’, Marvel’s ‘Daredevil’ and Marvel’s ‘Amazing Spider-Man’.
Yet, with Episode III of Panel Jumper Live, the producers will be giving a little less than the first two cabarets had to offer – based on the lesson ‘you can have too much of a good thing.’ “We’re learning as we go,” Hornaday acknowledged, pointing to himself more than Laurance. “Ben has background in SketchFest,” Hornaday explained. He’s tried to defer to Laurance’s advice, but when hearing ideas for acts, and artists, “I’ve said yes too frequently.”
For this cabaret he’s scheduled nearly a dozen acts, less than before. At $10 a ticket, it’s still an amazing get for a full-two-hour show, honoring a medium both ideal for and unfamiliar with expressing itself through live variety theater.
“It’s a theatrical event,” Hornaday explained, as performers created based on the themes “of comics and nerdiness, and sequential storytelling.” Attendees unfamiliar with The Panel Jumper web series might find those documentaries a letdown after experiencing the excitement of the live cabaret, “but the appeal of the web series is that it honors comic books as cultural; they are as legitimate an art form as theater, literature, visual art…”
The Reason To Party
The Panel Jumper docu-series celebrates an art form as uniquely American as Jazz. “They are all our own,” Hornaday observed about comic books. Panel Jumper’s “a documentary about the history of comic books,” he explained, “a look at them through the cultural lens.” Yet, The Panel Jumper isn’t dry or scholarly. “We do vignettes to tell the story,” Hornaday said. Laurence elaborated, “We make the show accessible to comic book geeks, and accessible to the non-readers.”
Having worked together in theater, Laurance approached Hornaday about doing a documentary. He wanted to further his skills as a filmmaker and editor, and he took as his inspiration the ‘Good Eats’ television series, which made cooking relatable to anyone. He welcomed the challenge, with Hornaday’s writing skills, of making comic books more approachable. Two and a half years ago Laurance and Hornaday launched The Panel Jumper, enlisting dramaturg help, and locations, from Comics Dungeon manager Chris Casos.
The Panel Jumper, and the ‘Perfect Bound Podcast’, do include entertainment elements as well, mostly with random sketches that illustrate the scholarly content. “I’m frequently asking people who don’t read comic books for feedback,” Hornaday explained, “I don’t want to get too inside baseball.” Laurance agreed. “I don’t want to go too deep into the weeds,” he said.
“It’s a history lesson,” Laurance explained, but the wrap-around sketches – like ‘Manager Mike’ Gilson being throttled by muck men – entertain and enrich the content. This isn’t intended for only hard-core comic book geeks, but also for satisfying the curiosity of anyone interested in the sordid history behind ‘Howard The Duck’, the enduring appeal of muck men, or how the character ‘Fu Manchu’ came to exist in the Marvel universe.
The Party Is On
Whether hard-core, or simply in need of a great party (for $10,) consider attending this celebration of the magic of sequential storytelling. For only one-night West of Lenin will roar with laughter and mirth, and you need to be there.
Purchase tickets to The Panel Jumper Live through the West of Lenin website, or Brown Paper Tickets. Also find tickets, and lots more information on The Panel Jumper, through the web series website, and the Facebook page.
Come help celebrate nerd-dom at the Center of the Universe on November 18th!
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©2016 Kirby Laney. This column is protected by intellectual property laws, including U.S. copyright laws. Reproduction, adaptation or distribution without permission is prohibited.