TFP Previews Longmont Potion Castle and XX Chromosome Project

Thanks to the Times Free Press for this profile of two of our weekend events. Follow this link, or read below.

 Documentary, play & prank call coming to Barking Legs Theater

June 25th, 2019

The person in the photo hides his real identity and goes by the name Longmont Potion Castle. He's only been seen in public with his face obscured or wearing sunglasses. Although he is a musician, he is best known for his prank phone calls. He is the subject of the documentary that will be screened at Barking Legs Theater on Friday, June 28.

Longmont Potion Castle has been confounding people — including the likes of Eddie Money, Sidney Poitier, Kiefer Sutherland and Alex Trebek — for more than 30 years. He is the only person who has elevated the prank phone call into an art form and was featured at the Museum of Modern Art. Rolling Stone magazine dubbed him "America's Underground Prank-Call King."

The new documentary about him, "Where in the Hell is the Lavender House? The Story of Longmont Potion Castle," will be screened at Barking Legs Theater, 1307 Dodds Ave., on Friday, June 28, at 8 p.m. The screening is presented by Shaking Ray Levi Society, CoPAC and Secret Weave.And before the night's over, Castle will call in to answer questions from the Barking Legs audience and perform prank phone calls.

This documentary is several movies in one, delving into the mysterious, anonymous legend and also documenting the struggle of rookie filmmakers to tackle a shadowy, unconventional subject.

His provocative, and sometimes infuriating, improvised phone conversations lean toward surrealism and Dadaism, with absurd scenarios involving zebras, weight-lifting binges, peacock meat or truckloads of peat moss. Sometimes manipulating his voice and adding disorienting sound effects, Castle's calls transcend mere comedy and enter the realm of the truly bizarre and unfamiliar.Tickets are $13 in advance, $15 at the door. Get them online at www.brownpapertickets.com/event/4250114. Two nights later on Sunday, June 30, Sherna (pronounced Sher-nay) Ann Phillips presents "The XX Chromosome Genome Project" in Barking Legs at 6 p.m.Phillips wrote "The XX Chromosome Genome Project" (aka "Double X" for short), which is a multicultural play featuring choreography and poetry that celebrates the diversity of seven women.Its premise: 99.9% of our genetic structure is the same. The rest is just flavor. Inspired by Ntozake Shange's choreopoem "for colored girls who have considered suicide when the rainbow is enuf," where women are identified by the colors they adorn, "Double X" characters are identified by their "flavor."The cast includes Amy Aguilar as Caramel, Marita McKee as Chocolate, Thelma R. Mitchell as Cinnamon, Rajani Nair as Ginger, Si Chen as Lemon, Julianne Norkus as Vanilla and LaRyssa Herrington as White Chocolate.Tickets are $20 at the door.For more information about either performance: https://barkinglegs.org.