The Banza

The Banza is a horror/comedy musical I wrote over the course of my freshman year of college, in collaboration with my friend Kion Heidari and my cousin Zane Alexander. I wanted to capture an authentic reflection of my freshman year living in a communal dormitory, but while my personal experience was highly positive, I wanted to tell a story about the absolute worst case scenario. I decided to write the show in the horror genre, inspired by a class I took my first semester about horror movies, to create a unique theater experience for my audience. I started working on the play in September 2016, and it made its debut at the San Diego International Fringe Festival in June 2017, my third time producing a full production in the Festival. It won Outstand Opera/Musical and Outstanding Direction at the Festival.

The Banza tells the story of rival roommates Ben and Hammy and their fall semester at Antioch college. When they learn from their dorky RA that a mysterious monster [the Banza] haunts the building, they struggle to face their inner demons while ever in fear of being the next victim of the real demon prowling the halls. Throw in Ben's rival from high school (turned Hammy's one night stand), a goofy cruise ship singer, and the vengeful ghost of Rod Serling for good measure, and it's a tossup to who will make it out alive.

Why a Musical? 

The first draft of The Banza was a play with no music, but it was lacking an energy that I felt would engage an audience with the story. The story was centered on emotional transactions between roommates Ben and Hammy, and I began to toy with making it a musical to provide song opportunities for Ben and Hammy to voice how they felt at pivotal moments. I began talking with my cousin Zane and my friend Kion (both of whom are ridiculously talented songwriters/composers) and asked them if they would be interested in collaborating on writing a musical together. They were onboard immediately. The workflow for The Banza was a little untraditional. I divided Zane and Kion's job down the middle, sending them both half the songs from the show, and they wrote the music independently from each other. Ultimately it worked out, but from the beginning we knew that we were working in an unfamiliar territory. Choosing to make The Banza a musical challenged us all as artists in our own ways, shaping me into a better collaborator and leaving me with a better understanding of how music affects tone and story. 

Advertising the Show

The San Diego Fringe Festival is very competitive from an marketing/advertising perspective. As producer, I decided to advertise The Banza as heavily as possible to generate audience interest and boost ticket sales, but have fun with it at the same time. Around the time The Banza started rehearsal, I got a desktop entry-level 3D printer, and so I began modeling little trinkets themed after the show to pass out at Fringe. Every show has posters and postcards, but we were the only show with custom dog-tags our audience members could wear around their necks. I also created some video content to distribute digitally. As we were a musical I wanted to feature the original music we were working on in our promotional material, since I knew that would be a major sell for the show. The other promotional video was themed after a prospective college video, because The Banza is set on a real college campus (Antioch College, chosen because Rod Serling went there). Click through the gallery below to learn more about the advertising material I made and distributed.

Building a Banza

The Sketch

Any good monster story has to have a good monster, and The Banza is no exception. The end of the show called for a real in-the-flesh monster, but I evicted the one under my bed a few years ago, so it looked like I'd just have to build one of my own. In between rehearsal and other producer duties, I was hard at work fabricating an intimidating monster mask. Though I have lots of experience making puppets, the Banza was different because I wanted it to look more grounded in reality than the traditional puppet (think creature more than puppet). Also, for story reasons, it had to look like a scary evolution of Groot from Guardians of the Galaxy. 

The Sculpt

I made the Banza head out of 1 inch soft foam, the kind you might find lining a couch or chair cushion. I came up with a rather simple template and glued it all together. After transferring my sketch to the foam, I began to carve the face using scissors and an electric turkey carving knife.

The Painting/Dressing

Next, it was time to paint the mask and add fur, teeth, and other ornamentation to it. Fun fact: foam absorbs paint like a frickin' sponge, so be sure to apply a copious amount. My favorite part of the final mask was the drooly mouth, a gross detail that helped sell the realism of the creature. The drool is made of hot glue generously applied to the teeth and lips. I also added little tufts of fur everywhere to help add variety to the texture of the face. And in the top corner of the head is a little twig with leaves growing out of it, an homage to Groot. 

Additionally, the eyes wound up being these ghastly hollow sockets, giving the mask this dead-eyed stare that was really uncanny. In the show, the Banza appeared in pitch darkness, only illuminated by a dim flashlight, giving the audience only a glimpse of these hours of craftsmanship. However, what the audience did see was scary enough, and often I'd hear gasps or yells from the crowd when the Banza finally made its appearance.

Because of the low lighting conditions of the show, I unfortunately do not have a picture of the Banza onstage. However, I do have a couple pictures of San Diego International Fringe Festival director Kevin Patterson wearing the mask, which might be even scarier. 

In these pictures you can see a little better how the color and texture helped with the final character, creating a snarling and jagged beast worth fearing.

The Banza at Fringe

The Banza at Fringe was a success! Audiences thoroughly enjoyed the show, critics left us positive press, and at the end of the Festival we were awarded Outstanding Opera/Musical and Outstanding Direction (a double win is incredibly rare at the San Diego International Fringe Festival, and we were selected best musical out of 14 operas/musicals).

Ultimately, The Banza marked my transition from a high school artist creating shows in the Fringe Festival to an adult artist creating shows in the Fringe Festival. I gathered a group of talented friends and we created something we were all incredibly proud of that was well received by its own merits (instead of being good "for a high schooler"), inspiring me to continue to experiment and push myself as a writer and producer even further.

CREATIVE TEAM:

• Producer/Book + Lyrics: Jacob Surovsky
• Music/Guitarist: Zane Alexander
• Music: Kion Heidari
• Director: Jason Maddy
• Stage Manager: Maya Abed
• Assistant Stage Manager: Rachel Lasker
• Piano: Ian Ross

Press

San Diego Union Tribune: 4 Early Picks [REVIEW] 

Pat Launer, Final Notes from the Fringe [REVIEW]

KPBS: 2017 Fringe Awards Ceremony