A new play by Steven-Elliot Altman explores the world of nerds, and their revenge on their
tormentors.
By Melonie Magruder / Special to The Malibu Times
For those who have long harbored revenge fantasies against the high school bully whose karma is probably still itching for a little adjustment, “Massively Horrific Long Island Geeks With Tremendous Ego-Problems” will provide succor for the soul.
It’s the title of the new play by Steven-Elliot Altman, which will be premiere in Malibu this month.
Altman has long tweaked the Generation X zeitgeist in novels with titles like “Zen in the Art of Slaying Vampires,” and with short stories, graphic novels and video games. Altman admits he was a “geek” in school, but it led him to being an astute observer-a key element in producing good writing.
“I knew the actual title of every “Star Trek” episode, collected comic books and played Dungeons and Dragons,” Altman said. “To my shame, I distanced myself from my other geek friends, to place myself in a better light.”
Altman said the bully character in his play is an amalgam of many personal tormentors and that, as he grew up, he experienced great satisfaction whenever he heard that one of them ended up in jail.
“There’s some invisible pendulum of justice out there somewhere in the universe,” he said.
Shoshana Kuttner, an actress/director from New York who launched the Young Actors Project in Malibu with the help of reality TV guru Mark Burnett in 2006, is the director and executive producer of “Long Island Geeks.”
“I knew of Steven’s amazing success with his novels and screenplays,” Kuttner said. “But, when I read this play, I knew I had to do it. It was the funniest thing I’d read in a long time.”
Altman credits Kuttner with talent in bringing humor to the situations the play presents, rather than having the actors just toss off Altman’s funny jokes.
“We barely got through the first reading, we were laughing so hard,” Kuttner said. “This is a very character-driven piece that ultimately is about shared friendship, even amongst nerds, or maybe especially because of their nerdiness. All of my actors have solid backgrounds in improvisation and we’ve been able to mine every possible comic moment.”
Kuttner credits her cast of actors-professionals from stage, television and film-with embracing their inner “geek-dom” enthusiastically.
“Listen, the geeks of the world are the Bill Gates of the world,” Kuttner said. “And the geekier you are, the more committed you are to letting your inner geek blossom.”
Actor Happy Mahaney, originally from Virginia, studied at the famed Second City Conservatory, which also produced comedy improv wunderkinds like Bill Murray, Mike Myers and Tina Fey. He showed up in Los Angeles in 2003 and keeps himself “honest” by doing regular gigs at the Improv Comedy Club in Hollywood. He said he believes that nerds are simply “misunderstood egos” and that he gets to play the “coolest” nerd in the group.
“I’m sort of the Don Johnson of nerds in this piece,” Mahaney said. “If any nerd would get the ladies, I’d be him.
“The funniest thing about this show is the absurdity of everything,” he explained. “It’s not a farce, because the situations are believable and the emotions are some we’ve all experienced. But there’s an over-the-top quality that heightens the stakes, especially while incorporating different genres into the show, like horror films. Shoshana has been very good about finding hysterical little moments and making them bigger.”
Kuttner said she is enjoying her detour into nerdhood as a way to deal with sobering times.
“Hey, everyone needs a laugh at this point.”
“Massively Horrific Long-Island Geeks With Tremendous Ego-Problems” performs Fridays through Sundays, beginning Nov. 7-23 at the Malibu Stage Company Theatre. Tickets and information can be obtained by calling 310.582.9103.