Simon Ambrose Discusses Graveyards vs. Mars

This week I had the pleasure of talking to Simon Ambrose.  Intense.  Forceful.  Unique.  Not just words, but an apt description of someone who is bound to become a theatre great.  His most recent work, Monkey Spanking Time won several national awards.  His newest work, Graveyards vs. Mars, opens in two weeks at the Manka Bros. Drama Garage - THE place for experimental theatre.  Mr. Ambrose talked to me for over two hours, but was in such a state of creativity that only portions of the interview were intelligible.  And here they are.  Let's go... BEHIND THE PROSCENIUM.

Kyrle Lendhoffer:  Simon, it's good to see you.

Simon Ambrose: (giggling)  I see you, too!

KL:  Yes, you do.  Congratulations on Monkey Spanking Time.  An amazing show, yet very controversial.

SA:  Yeah...

KL:  It must have taken a lot of courage to write an entire show about the pleasures and variations of masturbating.  Why masturbating?

SA:  (giggling) Whack!

KL:  Whack?  What do you mean by "whack"?

SA:  Dude, I love it.

KL:  What do you love? 

SA:  To whack.

KL:  Oh, my. I see.

Simon giggled for a minute or so.  When he calmed down, the interview proceeded.

KL:  So tell me about Graveyards vs. Mars.  What is it about?

SA:  Dude, Earth is invaded by Mars.  And the Martians enslave us Earthlings.  And they're tall and green!

KL:  The Martians?

SA:  Huh?

KL:  The Martians. They're tall and green?

SA:  Oh, the Martians...

KL:  Are tall and green...

SA:  Totally!

KL:  And?

SA:  Huh?

KL:  And then what?

SA:  Oh yeah... Then the earth people wrack their brains for a way to get rid of the Martians.  Dude, nothing works.  Then this guy figures out that bringing back the dead in the form of brain eating zombies would be cool.

KL:  Really?

SA:  Huh?

KL:  So that's what the Graveyard part of the title refers to?

SA:  Yeah.  Graveyards vs. Mars.  How cool is that?

KL:  Cool, indeed.

SA:  Yeah...

KL:  The brain eating zombies... How do they know to only eat the brains of the Martians?

SA:  Dude! They don't! It gets totally intense!

KL:  Well, we wouldn't want to give away any more of the plot.  Let's talk about your process.  How did you come up with such an original and fascinating idea?

SA:  I worked on it a lot around 4:20 in the afternoon.

KL:  Intriguing.  So this time has some significance to you...

SA:  Well, yeah. 4:20.  Time to enter an altered state.  You know?

KL:  I love that movie.

SA:  Huh?

KL:  Altered States with William Hurt.  Powerful actor.  So, you mean you were getting in touch with your primal side?

SA:  Sure, that's it.

A giggling fit started here that lasted several minutes.  I have been told that many theatrical genius' get ideas while in a giggling fit.  I cannot image what was going through Simon's mind.

KL: Are you all right?

SA:  Whoo! Yeah... What were we talking about?

KL:  Altered States.

Simon had another giggling fit that lasted for approximately two minutes. I was overwhelmed to be in his presence.

KL:  Tell me what you're thinking about right now.

SA:  Dude, I could go for a cheeseburger.

KL:  A cheeseburger?

SA:  Right on! Feed the head - feed the face!

Such gems would continue to drip from the mouth of Simon Ambrose.  He was in such a creative frenzy that he laughed non-stop until we got him to White Castle where he ate several cheeseburgers.  "Fuel for the muse" I like to call it.  And what a muse does Ambrose have.  Graveyards vs. Mars opens very soon at the Manka Bros. Drama Garage.  Be there and sense the greatness.  I know I will.

Kyrle Lendhoffer has been writing "Behind the Proscenium" for Broadway Manka for over 20 years.  In that time he has had the pleasure (and burden) of interviewing some of the most powerful visionaries of modern theater. He studied Theatrical Criticism at Cal-State Northridge and Astro-physics at MIT.