Meet the Eccentric Characters of ‘Letters To Santa…On The Rocks’

Meet the Eccentric Characters of ‘Letters To Santa…On The Rocks’

One Woman.  10 Characters.  Teetering on the edge. Written by Brenda Lucy and Janelle Ranek – Directed by Nancy Michael – Performed by Janelle Ranek For over two decades, I have been performing, “Letters To Santa” in many iterations at the Bryant Lake Bowl! Every year features letters from a delightfully bizarre cast of characters—and as any regular attendee can tell you, these aren’t your run-of-the-mill, “I want a pony” letters. Oh no. These folks have requests (and issues) that’ll…

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Behind the Scene’s – Creating “Letters to Santa”

Behind the Scene’s – Creating “Letters to Santa”

One of the things that I love best about the theatre is the element of magic.  Every person involved in any aspect of a performance understands the amount of stress and the levels of minuscule adjustments that go into creating a show.  When the audience comes and settles in ready to be entertained, that is what they expect, an evening of absolute magic.   They don’t care about every ounce of work put in to make that happen, nor should…

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MY EYE! MY EYE!

MY EYE! MY EYE!

So this was something new. This morning while getting ready to leave the house I was brushing my teeth, there was a slight mishap nearly making me late for work.  I brush my teeth more than the average person as I have a phobia of having nasty breath.  I also drink a shit ton of coffee and if you’ve ever been next to someone who doesn’t really take care of their face; or maybe bushes their teeth just once in…

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RUDOLPH THE RED NOSE REINDEER  –  An in depth analysis and what I have learned from this classic tale.   

RUDOLPH THE RED NOSE REINDEER  –  An in depth analysis and what I have learned from this classic tale.   

One of my absolute favorite Christmas shows on television is Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer. The animation, the characters, the songs….well sometimes the songs.  But it is an absolute nostalgic treat for me.  I like to watch it when it comes on ‘real’ TV, live, rather than trying to stream it. When we were kids, my parents limited the amount of TV we would watch, but when a Christmas Special was on, all bets were off!  We watched, even if…

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It’s Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas!

It’s Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas!

Brenda and I LOVE decorating for the holidays.  Mostly we love lights.  We put lights everywhere in the house and then hook them up to a remote so we can point and, “Pew..pew..pew…”  Lights on!  We also have, yes, A CLAPPER!  And, damn it, this thing is the best!  We put it in the bedroom.  We are just like the super old woman with a crabby face in the commercial clapping her bedside lamp off.  Except, we’re not super old…

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OPENING NIGHT

OPENING NIGHT

What an opening night it was!! “Letters to Santa…UNMASKED”  opened on Saturday December 3rd and was a smashing success!  What an amazing crowd!  I gotta tell you, Brenda and I write this stuff and it’s funny to us.  That’s our criteria, if it makes us laugh, we figure it will make others laugh too.  We hope it does, sometimes we have a very twisted view of the world! So, therein lies the risky tightrope walking act of both writing and…

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We’re baaack! An all NEW show at The Bryant Lake Bowl!

We’re baaack! An all NEW show at The Bryant Lake Bowl!

Go to https://www.bryantlakebowl.com/theater/letters-to-santaunmasked Tickets on sale now!! December 3, 10, 17,18,19, 23 All shows at 7:00 I have to tell you, this year’s show is turning out to be really solid. Many favorite characters are returning with ALL NEW stories. I mean, just like real people, they have different experiences in life and want different things…especially from Santa Claus! Stay tuned for more behind the scenes fun character shenanigans and more!!

Vacation Shenanigans

Vacation Shenanigans

Every year Brenda and I rent a cabin on a small private lake near the little town of Isle, MN.  It’s a damn good thing it’s private, as we tend to partake in many shenanigans.  If we were surrounded by neighbors, we more than likely would-be A:  ridiculed, B:  possibly reported to the authorities for some reason or C:  asked if people could join in (which is out of the question). This has been going on for Eight years now. …

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WHY CAN’T WE RAISE CHICKENS?

WHY CAN’T WE RAISE CHICKENS?

You know, secretly I’ve had a romantic notion that it would be awesome to be a farmer.  I would get to work outside all the time, I certainly don’t mind getting up super early.  I LOVE animals, and more often than not, I already dress like a farmer.  (I have an abundance of flannel shirts) I don’t wear cowboy hats as much as I would like to, it seems pretentious.  But if I were a farmer, then it would basically…

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UN-QUARANTINE DIARIES We’re Free!!

UN-QUARANTINE DIARIES We’re Free!!

So that’s it, 10 days are complete.  I really do not have any symptoms, I’m feeling very good, what with that biking to nowhere, binge watching, blogging and bad dog training.  Thankfully Brenda is still negative. It seems quite strange to venture out into the world again.  I am much more cognizant of the settings I put myself in and the people I am around.  I also want to stress the importance of being aware of yourself, your body.  If…

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