"You'll have to bring your own holster," says 2016 Gridiron Show producer and University of Arkansas professor Katherine Shurlds as she dangles a plastic pistol in front of a performer at the beginning of a recent rehearsal.
Other props include a wild, choppy, orange wig (guess who that will help portray?) and a 6-foot-tall plush moose, with which a performer practices dancing. Several company members pull duck calls out of their pockets and participate in dueling quacks.
FAQ
What — The Gridiron Show
When — September 30 and October 1, 7:30 pm
Where — Arkansas Public Theatre, 116 S. 2nd St., Rogers
Cost — $25
Welcome to the wild and woolly world of The Gridiron Show, Northwest Arkansas' annual media sketch show that lampoons topical local and national news stories. Written and performed by some of the area's finest journalists, this year's show, titled "Make America Grate Again," is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Sept. 30 and Oct. 1 at the Arkansas Public Theatre in Rogers.
The Gridiron Show is co-produced by the Northwest Arkansas Society of Professional Journalists and the Fayetteville branch of the American Association of University Women. Proceeds from the show will help fund the Single Parent Scholarship Fund, the AAUW scholarship at the University of Arkansas, the AAUW Educational Foundation and Legal Advocacy Fund and the Arkansas Public Theatre Building Fund.
No subject is safe from the irreverent Gridiron writers. Local news topics will include the medical marijuana initiatives on the ballot, Benton County Sheriff Kelly Craddock, new UA chancellor Joseph E. Steinmetz and Fayetteville Councilman John La Tour.
There were plenty of topics from which to choose nationally, says the Gridiron Show's stage director (and writer and performer) and Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Editor Rusty Turner,.
"It's a target-rich environment. You have the two most unpopular presidential candidates in history running against each other, so there are many opportunities to make fun of that."
Shurlds says that the opportunities were so great, in fact, that one certain person almost dominated the show.
"I don't ever remember restructuring the show as much as we have this year," she says. "It was too much Donald Trump. It was too easy to go there. [Northwest Arkansas Food Bank CEO] Kent Eikenberry, who is going to be our emcee, came to hear an early read-through. He was just kind of sitting there, and we asked, 'So, what did you think?' He said, 'You know, the reason I come to The Gridiron is to hear local stuff. This seems to be all about Trump!'"
The satirical script is written by a team of 10, says Turner, and it is very much a collaborative effort.
"We do a lot of re-writing, and you kind of have to leave your ego at the door," says Turner. "The goal is to be funny. We don't recognize writers individually, in part for self-defense and in part because it's a group effort. There are probably two jokes that survived from the original read-through. We just always want to make it funnier."
The script, which contains more than 20 skits and songs, is performed by 29 local journalists and journalism students, who will play more than 100 different parts over the course of the evening.
"The majority of our cast aren't stage people," says Shurlds. "They're not actors, they're not used to being on stage."
Their participation, nonetheless, requires them to be the proverbial triple-threat performers, since they will not only act but also sing and dance. Music plays a lively part in the show, including a special rendition of Hank Williams Jr.'s "Family Tradition" sung by the Bushes -- George Herbert Walker, George W. and Jeb -- in the first act. The musical director for the show is local musician Emily Kaitz.
Turner says it's the thrill of performance that brings the journalist-performers back -- many of whom, like Shurlds, have only missed one or two performances in the Northwest Arkansas Gridiron's 26-year history.
"I don't know how many people we've talked into doing this over the years," he says. "At first, they always say, 'Oh, I can't do it, I can't be on the stage, I can't sing, I can't dance, I can't act, I don't want to do that, I'm too embarrassed.' But you get them on stage, and they hear that applause and that laughter one time, and that's it -- they're hooked."
NAN What's Up on 09/23/2016