A Junk Opera, Murals, Skateboards, and Ghosts…What’s Going On Here..?!!

Hey, gang-

Nicki and I are doing some maintenance and redesign of the MSCA site, so things will be looking different here. Be sure to share your art/member news and links for future posts.


“What the hell are you doing..?!!”

Here’s what’s been going on and/or coming up in the MSCA…

Shockheaded Peter A Junk Opera

MSCA member Andrew Chandler emcees the play “Shockheaded Peter A Junk Opera” at TheaterworksCLICK HERE to learn more.

October 29 – November 14, 2021
Shockheaded Peter

Fridays & Saturdays at 8:00, Sundays at 2:00
ADDED DATES: Thursday Nov. 4 at 7:30, Friday Nov. 5 MIDNIGHT SHOW, 12:00 am
​Please note: Sunday Oct. 31 is sold out.

Created for the stage by Julian Crouch and Phelim McDermott. Original music and lyrics by The Tiger Lillies. Originally conceived and produced by Michael Morris for Cultural Industry, London
Directed by James Kevin Cochran
Musical Director Eileen Kuo

SHOCKHEADED PETER is a musical adaptation of the Der Struwwelpeter by Heinrich Hoffman, an 1845 German children’s book of short stories and poems about the disastrous consequences of misbehavior. SHOCKHEADED PETER features a sinister but incompetent master of ceremonies who leads the audience through the tale of a childless couple that has their fondest wish granted in the most delightfully dreadful way imaginable, accompanied by songs, puppetry, and vignettes in which the hilariously horrible fates that befall naughty children everywhere are brought to darkly comedic life.

Cast:
Emcee . . . . . Andrew Chandler
Lead Singer . . . . . Ryan Scott
Ensemble . . . . . Mersadies Burch, Patricia Carreras, Julia Hinson, Franklin Koch, Marianne Orendorff, Amy Rush, Ashley Trevathan, Johnathan Underwood, Jen Wood-Bowien

 

MAW Productions Murals

MSCA member Martheus Wade has been featured in an article about the mural featuring many characters from the MAW Productions Universe!


The mural was painted by the Jetta team- Martheus (top/L) & Janet Wade(bottom/L), Anakin Wade(sitting/C), Damarco Randle(top/R), and Kevin Williams(bottom/R).


CLICK HERE to read it on BLAC®, which is the premier lifestyle magazine for African Americans in and around Memphis.


Recently as part of #paintmemphis 2021, Martheus, Janet Wade, Anakin, Damarco, and Kevin were painting murals again downtown!


The Jetta mural took 17 hours over 3 days to complete.


If you’re in the Memphis area, head down to 660 BB King Blvd (on the Georgia Street side) for that mural and many more- including an awesome Avatar: The Last Airbender one by Damarco Ranldle– which took 40 hours of work!


Do you own a business or know someone who needs branding help..? Don’t forget to check out www.MAWProductionsLLC.com who can take care of all those needs as well.

 

Hernando Skates!


On Saturday, October 16th, Nicki and I went to check out the Hernando Skate Park 6th Anniversary event at Pidgeon Park in Hernando, MS.


The skatepark is just around the corner from us and Nicki had a new mirror-less digital camera she wanted to play with.


There was a great “Hernando Skates” turnout- lots of spectators, many bands performed, and several skaters of all skill levels took to the concrete.


There was even a landshark in the bowl..!


There was some serious defying of gravity going on…


…well, sometimes gravity can be a harsh mistress..!


Trust me, I was reminded the first time I tried going in!


You can read more about that time when Kevin Thorn, Greg Cravens, Mike Womack, their kids and I checked out the skatepark on my Have Geek travel blog.

 

MGB at Malco Olive Branch!


“Who y’all gonna call?”


Saturday, November 20, 2021 AT 12 PM – 2 PM
Malco Olive Branch, 6430 Goodman Rd, Olive Branch, MS 38654


The Memphis Ghostbusters will be in person at the Malco Cinema Grill in Olive Branch, MS to celebrate the release of the new Ghostbusters: Afterlife movie.


The local Memphis Ghostbusters franchise (founded by Kevin Williams and myself/Lin), will be in uniform to meet and do photo-ops with fellow ghostheads.


We’ll be set up outside the entrance to the theater, unless the weather is bad and then we’ll be inside the lobby.


We will be masked and socially distancing per Malco rules and guidelines.

 

2022 MSCA Art Show Scheduled

We have a chance to be part of an art show at Germantown Community Theater in January 2022, to coincide with the play The Complete History of America (abridged) (synopsis is below). We need MSCA members to commit to 12 medium to large size pieces which will work in their space and history of America theme, so if we have 6 – 8 artists commit we can fill it.

We’re allowed to sell the pieces keeping 60% and the theater gets 40%.

Who’s in?? Please let Kevin know VERY soon, and the art will be due by our first in-person meeting the first Tuesday in January 2022. You can email Kev at midsouthcartoonists (at) gmail (dot) com.

The Complete History Of America (abridged)
With a ten year run in the West End at the Criterion Theatre, The Complete History of America (abridged) ought to be funny. And informative. And it’s both. In the short space of ninety minutes, Adam Long, Reed Martin and Austin Tichenor take us through 600 years of History, from Washington to Watergate, from the Bering Straits to Baghdad, from New World to New World Order – The Complete History of America (abridged) is a breakneck rollercoaster ride through the glorious quagmire that is American history. 
Tackling such controversial questions as: Who really discovered America? Why did Abe Lincoln free the slaves? How many Democrats does it take to screw in a light bulb? – absolutely nothing is sacred in the authors’ unique satirical exploration of America’s past.

“History has never been this much fun. Or as delightfully mutilated.” Montreal Gazette
“This History of America should be a required course.” – Boston Herald

Germantown Community Theatre is a non‐profit 501(c)(3) organization set in an intimate 98‐seat theatre located at 3037 Forest Hill‐Irene RdGCT provides both theatrical entertainment and educational opportunities for Midsouth families in an environment that nurtures creative expression and artistic growth. Our mission is to entertain, educate, engage, and enrich the community through theatrical programming.

Tickets may be purchased online (click here) or through the box office (901-453-7447). Box office hours are Tuesday through Friday 10:00am–3:00pm. During show days, the box office is open one hour before showtime. GCT accepts all major credit cards including Visa, Mastercard, Discover and American Express. 


This art show will be a great way for us to start celebrating the MSCA’s 35th anniversary year!

We’ll be discussing it and other plans for 2022 during our next monthly Zoom meeting call on Tuesday, November 2nd starting at 7pm. You can email Kev at midsouthcartoonists (at) gmail (dot) com for the link to join in on the comics conversation.

 


Hope you all have a Happy Halloween!

Lin

Back To Virtual Until 2022

Hey, gang-

I have a quick few bits of MSCA news for you. First up is some meeting updates from our Prez Kevin L. Williams

Hi, all-

With the latest details on Covid-19/Delta Variant from the Shelby County Health Department, I am going to cancel further in-person gatherings until January 2022. We will still gather digitally (via Z00m).

I look forward to seeing you all in a week at the zoom meeting!!  Have a great week, keep well, and keep safe

Sling that ink!
Push those pencils!
Craft those words!
Doodle those digitals!

Your Prez,
Kev

For the link to join in on the Zoom meeting or to join our mailing list contact Kevin at midsouthcartoonists (at) gmail (dot) com.

Hopefully if all goes well between now and the end of the year we will be back in person in the big room at Garibaldi’s Pizza near the U of M on the first Tuesday of January, 2022.

Here is some MSCA member news…

Member Jim Palmer let us know that he’s acting in “The Secret Garden” starting this month at Theatre Memphis. We all know it’s no secret that Jim and his wife JoLynn are terrific thespians!

Jim says, “I play the “crusty ol’ gardener” BEN WEATHERSTAFF, (a nice, but small role).  Of course, ALL this could change due to Covid, but, for now, this is the plan.”

The Secret Garden                

Next Stage

Based on the novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett

Adapted and Directed by Jason Spitzer

Touching and Sentimental. Foul-tempered, young Mary Lennox is an orphan sent from India to live in her distant family’s gloomy mansion on the desolate English moor. Once there, she discovers a sickly cousin who has never seen the light of day, a magical boy who can talk to the animals, a mysterious uncle haunted by the memory of his dead wife, and a long forgotten, secret garden hidden behind a locked door. This new adaptation of a timeless classic will open the door to the innermost places of your heart.

THE SECRET GARDEN is scheduled to open Fri. September 24 at THEATRE MEMPHIS, & continue Sept. 25, 26, 29, 30, Oct. 1,2,3,6,7,8,9,&10.  All evening performances will now begin at 7:30pm & Sunday afternoon shows at 2:00pm.

For information contact Box-office at 901•682•8323 or email theatrememphis.org .

The MSCA would like to welcome cartoonist Tim Jones to our group!

Tim is a self-syndicated comic strip artist from Rhode Island where he lives with his wife and two daughters. Cartooning for over 20 years, he created his comic strip, Sour Grapes, in 2013, which is currently published in multiple newspapers throughout Rhode Island, Southern Massachusetts, California and Texas. Tim is a member of ARIA (Association of Rhode Island Authors) and a member of The National Cartoonists Society.

You can read his comic at sourgrapescomic.com and follow him on Facebook and Twitter.

I (Lin) got laid off this summer from my printing day job. Since most of what we printed was event and school related orders, COVID had caused printing orders to slow to a trickle. I was able to pick up a part time job working at Area 51 Ice Cream a couple weeks ago. The new/larger location is still on Commerce Street in Hernando, MS. It’s within walking distance of our house, so I don’t have to risk my life driving on I-55 and 240 every day- well, unless they need me to fill in any at their Crosstown Concourse location! I’m also working on some new tee designs for them and will post those later.

Nicki and I have known the Cubbage family who run A51 for years now. We stopped in for Nicki’s birthday right after they opened and have been frequent customers ever since. Oh, I’m not the only “Lin” at the shop- their alien mascot shares my name. The ice cream is scratch made in-house and several of the flavors feature produce grown locally. Great seasonal flavors, shakes, drinks, and baked goods are available. Check out their Facebook page for their daily menus, or stop by and sample some.

I recently dropped off my latest sketchcover to The Cellar out in Bartlett. It’s a “Suicide Squad” Polka-Dot Man comic with a wraparound hand-drawn cover. Done in pencil, Copic markers, black Pigma Micron pens, white Gelly Roll pen, and white Prismacolor pencil.

Lonnie Easterling’s two sketchcovers (top left and center) and my three- Polka-Dot Man, Dr. Who, and The Riddler are for sale at the shop.

I also still have several of my sketchcards that are available for sale- both official artist returns from companies like Topps, Crytozoic, and RRParks Cards and personal sketch cards drawn on my own custom blanks. The profits from those sales help fund my comics and art supplies habits..! I recently did sketchcards for an Ultraman card set, and am finishing up a Zorro set this week.

Be sure to check out the MSCA Zine The Good, The Bad, And The Sketchy at The Cellar- issues 1-6 are available for sale.

Don’t forget to snag you some free MSCA, Drawing Funny Podcast, and Memphis Ghostbusters swag while you’re there. It’s near the front door. Lots of stickers and buttons to choose from.

The Cellar: Tabletop Games & Comics

2737 Bartlett Blvd

Bartlett, TN 38134

(901) 382-8623

ComicCellarOnline.com

Hope you all are having a Happy 901 Day!

Lin