Thursday, July 31, 2014

Spotlight On...Lauren Van Kurin

Name: Lauren Van Kurin

Hometown: Yorba Linda, CA

Education: Indiana University graduate

Favorite Credits: The Second City, Comedy Central Stage

Why theater?: There is nothing better than performing in front of a live audience. It's the best kind of high. It's addictive and you want more!

Tell us about King of Kong: A Musical Parody?: King of Kong is a documentary that follows 2 men on their quest for the Donkey Kong arcade game high score. It's a classic tale of good vs evil.

What inspired you to create King of Kong: A Musical Parody?:
Amber approached me with the idea of writing a musical based off of the documentary "King of Kong". I loved that documentary and we wrote the show, originally intended as a large cast of 6 men, 2 women. We decided to make it a 2 woman show and play all the parts ourselves, once we realized we were writing this hilarious, awesome show for men and just giving it away. We would be going against what we believe as strong comedic women if we didn't write the roles for ourselves. That and we're selfish! Thanks to the suggestion of our talented director Brendan Hunt (Absolutely Filthy) we entered it in a late night competition called Serial Killers at Sacred Fools Theater. 5 shows enter, 3 shows move on to the next week. After 3 weeks we were out of show, so we wrote 2 new songs and 8 more minutes of material every week for months as the rest of the competition continued and ended up with over 2 hours of material and winning the whole thing!

What kind of theater speaks to you? What or who inspires you as an artist?: I love The Second City, they inspired me to get into improvisational comedy. I also love a good Musical and drama. I have to see a show everytime I'm in NYC.

If you could work with anyone you’ve yet to work with, who would it be?: Carol Burnett

What show have you recommended to your friends?: At Fringe, Absolutely Filthy also at our venue #17 Players Theater

Who would play you in a movie about yourself and what would it be called?: It would be called "Loud and Not Boring" and Jim Carrey would play me.

What’s your biggest guilty pleasure?:
Diet Coke

What’s the most played song on your iTunes?: "Chandelier" by Sia

If you weren’t working in theater, you would be _____?: A professional Softball player- wait that's not a thing?

What’s up next?: Unpacking. Finishing a new stage show and screenplay.

For more on King of Kong, visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8Cf5UQSe2E