Mike Daisey, who The New York Times hails as an "absolutely hilarious ... comic philosopher," will be bringing his dazzling monologue about studying abroad to Hanover. Expect a raucously good time about the ups and downs and ins and outs of studying abroad, complete with the "adult language and themes" of which the Hopkins Center so carefully warns.
"The Ugly American" features Daisey sitting at a desk and sipping from a pint glass as he recounts his misadventures while studying theater in London. It was just over a decade ago that Daisey, a 19-year-old "micro-Ivy Leaguer" far from his backwoods Maine upbringing, set off across the pond. Expecting a traditional course of theatrical study, he instead found himself in a postmodern, neo-feminist ensemble performing idiosyncratic shows in an abandoned church. A confusing whirlwind of class, sex and violence ensued, giving Daisey an education that reached far beyond the stages of London. From serving tea to Tom Stoppard to driving drunk with his girlfriend's pimp, Daisey recounts his exploits while simultaneously recreating the experience of gaining a [poignant] new perspective concerning artifice, class, gender and power.
As director of "The Ugly American," Jean-Michele Gregory is Daisey's collaborator and co-conspirator. The pair, who live together in Brooklyn, New York, have worked together on all of Daisey's nine critically acclaimed monologues, including his most recent confection, "TRUTH {the heart is a million little pieces above all things}," a take on James Frey's fictionalized memoir.
When he is not performing his monologues, Daisey teaches storytelling workshops and performance seminars in college classrooms and corporate enclaves. He is also currently a commentator for National Public Radio's "Day To Day" and a contributor to The New York Times Magazine, WIRED, Slate and Salon. Daisey published his first book, "21 Dog Years: Doing Time @ Amazon.com," with the Free Press and is currently working on a collection of essays titled "Happiness is Overrated."
The self-proclaimed "actor, author, commentator, playwright and general layabout," will be bringing his enlightening and riotously amusing monologue to Dartmouth on Wednesday, October 18. The performances will be at 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. at the Warner Bentley Theater. At a mere $5 for students, it would be a shame to miss the man who The New York Times calls "one of the finest solo performers of his generation." Who knows? It might even be more fun than your Barcelona LSA.
