Los Angeles-based guest artist Amy Seeley is coming to California State University, Stanislaus at the end of the month. At 8 p.m. on both Thursday October 25th and Friday October 26th she will be performing her one-woman show, Amy Seeley and the Moline Madman, on the Mainstage.
The critically-acclaimed show is about Seeley’s father—a drag racer nicknamed the “Moline Madman”—and what it was like for her growing up as his daughter in a small-town in Illinois.
“[He] was a one-of-a-kind character,” said Seeley.
Amy Seeley and the Moline Madman premiered in June of 1998 at the Factory Theater in Chicago and ran for about 6-8 months. Seeley is a co-founder of the Factory Theater, which celebrated its 20th anniversary this month.
In his 1998 review of Seeley’s show for the Chicago Reader, Justin Hayford praises her candor and conversational disposition. “You might think you were sitting around in her living room … It’s an evening so honest you might wish you’d brought something to hide behind.”
Seeley’s show has somewhat morphed from its original shape, and her performance of it can take on a slightly different mold through audience energy and enthusiasm.
“There have been times where I’ve added something, or made a new discovery,” said Seeley. “Some stuff I’ve kept and some stuff I let go. The show is slimmed down a bit since its first premier.”
Seeley is working on a book version of the show, which would allow her to compile a more comprehensive look at her father.
“There [are] many more stories, many more details about him that would work better in a different medium. There wouldn’t be time to do it in a stage show,” said Seeley.
In addition to her stage career and her co-founding of the Factory Theater, Seeley has been teaching improvisation and comedy writing since 1996. The About section of her website says that her former students “have gone on to write and/or perform for the Academy Awards, CSI: New York, HBO’s Funny Or Die, NBC’s Outsourced, [and] Saturday Night Live.”
Seeley has also dabbled in voice acting, appearing in a double feature of the popular anime Neon Genesis: Evangelion.
“It was a blast,” said Seeley regarding her experience in voice acting, “I was treated like a rock star. It was really, really fun.”
You can purchase tickets for Amy Seeley and the Moline Madman as well as other CSU, Stanislaus shows, at the box office in the Theatre building, or online at csustan.edu/SOA/theatretickets.html. You can find more information about Amy Seeley herself at amycomedy.com.