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Find Humor in Despair Through Sideshow Theatre's 'Stupid F---ing Bird'

By Mina Bloom | July 8, 2015 5:45am
 (from l.) Matt Fletcher, Katy Carolina, Nina O'Keefe, Nate Whelden, Cody Proctor, Stacy Stoltz and Norm Woodel make up the ensemble of the comedic play,
(from l.) Matt Fletcher, Katy Carolina, Nina O'Keefe, Nate Whelden, Cody Proctor, Stacy Stoltz and Norm Woodel make up the ensemble of the comedic play, "Stupid F---ing Bird," which is getting a second run in July.
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BUENA PARK — After a successful run last year, Sideshow Theatre's production "Stupid F---ing Bird" is back this month featuring its original cast.

An updated adaptation of Anton Chekhov's "The Seagull," the remount is running July 25 - Aug. 30 at the Zacek McVay Theater at Victory Gardens Theater, 2433 N. Lincoln Ave. 

Billed as "Anton F---ing Chekhov versus the modern world," the play — written by Aaron Posner — follows the lives of seven Russian characters on the grounds of a country estate, who "mope and love and hate and make a lot of bird-based metaphors," according to a news release. When the show debuted last year, it received rave reviews.

Those who saw it the first time around have reasons to check it out again, according to Nina O'Keefe, an actress who plays a character with the same first name. The actors are a year older and drawing influence from new things going on in their lives, she said.

"You don't want to do the same thing you did before. You want to have the same objective but you want to still come from a truthful place. A whole year has gone by, life has changed so much. It's about finding that same energy and still connecting with the now," said O'Keefe, who has lived in Buena Park for close to four years.

Plus, the show will be held on the main stage, which is bigger than the upstairs space where it was held last year. And they're changing some of the songs, she said.

The heart of the story remains, though. 

"The story is about loving people, people who love you and people who don't love you back. And how to navigate your life when things aren't going the way you imagined. It's something that anyone can [relate to]," O'Keefe said.

But, as you might expect from its edgy title, the show is largely comical. 

O'Keefe said it teaches viewers to "find the humors in things that are incredibly tragic."

Tickets can be bought online on Sideshow's website.

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