The Los Angeles Times    Review

Inside the millennial mind at Rogue Machine
By MARGARET GRAY
NOVEMBER 10, 2014
If you weren’t already worried about the future, “Uploaded,” L.R. Gordon’s new play
premiering at Rogue Machine, will give you specific reasons to fear the rise of the
millennial generation.
The dark comedy, part of Rogue Machine’s late-night Off the Clock Series (which produces the
work of promising playwrights on shoestring budgets, on the sets of concurrent shows), depicts
today’s thirtysomethings floundering in a mental stew of narcissism, idealism and misinformation.
Unemployed, 32-year-old Daniel (Jeff Lorch) is in a bind: His father, who has been paying his rent,
is cutting him off. But as Daniel complains to Sam (Eric Odom), his drug dealer, an ordinary job
holds no interest for him. He wants to get famous, fast.
On the power of Sam’s new pharmaceutical cocktail, “the screwdriver” (half cocaine, half adderall),
Daniel has an epiphany. He’ll become a prophet, founding a new religion based on a universal trait:
DNA.
Sam tolerantly, if skeptically, helps Daniel hash out the details of this cynical scheme. Assuming
their conversation is empty rhetoric, Sam is surprised to find himself accompanying his manic
client to the desert, where Daniel begins preaching the half-baked cosmology he calls “Uploading.”
To Sam’s further shock, Daniel quickly reels in a gorgeous convert, dim, scantily clad Anikka
(Suzanne Quast), who offers to bear his child. Jealousy inspires Sam to shake off his passivity and
intervene, with comically disastrous results.
Gordon’s skewering of these three earnest, dopey Gen Y-ers is sharp and often quite witty. (One of
Anikka’s several businesses is making “kombucha cozies for orthodox Jewish women.”) They’re so
satirically drawn that it’s impossible to believe in them (or maybe I just didn’t want to), but
somehow they’re still entertaining; and the far-fetched story has a bold, absurdist flair.
Mark L. Taylor directs the appealing performers with vivid, occasionally over-the-top energy.
“Uploaded.” Rogue Machine in Theatre/Theater, 5041 Pico Blvd., Los Angeles. 10 p.m. Fridays
and Saturdays. Ends Nov. 22. (855) 585-5185 or roguemachinetheatre.com/wordpress/showinfo/
uploaded/. Running time: 1 hour, 15 minutes.

That Awesome Theatre Blog!

Interview with Playwright L.R. Gordon

As an “Off The Clock” entertainment option, Uploaded by L.R. Gordon connects audiences to Rogue Machine’s edgy “not for primetime” new work. But, after a blazing start, this hit show has now moved into the “prime time” slot.

The writer is a fairly new voice on the LA playwriting scene, with past works that include Birds Do It, Sixty Minutes From LA, and I See (recently produced as a short film). However, if this production is any indication of the playwright’s staying power, there’s no doubt you’ll be seeing something new popping up again soon in LA.

Uploaded takes a tongue in cheek look at today’s late 20/30 something generation, who haven’t quite found their calling.

“In eighty, sometimes humorous, minutes three entitled millennials compare different faiths, assorted drugs and various avenues to making a quick buck. It’s a play that comments on just about every organized religion on the planet and yet it’s not about religion at all. It’s just all American greed, with some lust on the side, that’s driving this mischievous ride, says director Mark L. Taylor.

L.R. Gordon shares some thoughts about how this all came about.

Patrick: Are you being purposely stealthy by only using your initials, or may I call you by your first name?

L.R.: One of the best aspects of being a writer is getting to have a pen name. I know it’s contrarian in this age of social/media google-mania, but I like the idea of focusing on the writing itself. Do you think they call A.R. Gurney A. R.? I kinda like L.R.

Patrick: “Uploaded” is a fun and quirky play. Yet, it seems to have something important to say about fanaticism. Is that what you set out to write about?

L.R.: I wanted to write about guys in their early thirties in Los Angeles. The problem with season-less L.A. is that you don’t notice the years passing. Before you know it, your twenties are gone – endless summer – but you’re still getting older. I wanted to put this guy’s back to the wall and see what happened. In my twisted mind, as Daniel says, he goes “balls out.” He’s going to go from being nothing to king of the mountain in 24 hours. The crazy thing is that it works – using a super-sized ego, help from pharmaceuticals and an ability to spin gold out of total bullshit. If it’s about fanaticism at all, it’s the fanaticism of the American Dream which has morphed into “I can be anything I want to be, I just have to will it so.” Hyper-individualism is the religion of the day.

Patrick: Can you talk a little about your process with writing?

L.R.: I’m not sure why, but people keep asking me how long it took me to write this. I never know how to answer that. Basically I think about an idea for a long, long time when I’m not actually writing, when I’m hiking or whatever, and then I write it pretty fast. The most important thing that I do is give myself a deadline because I have no discipline. For “Uploaded,” I told myself it had to be finished by December 31st (last year) and it was. Basically, I use any excuse for not sitting down at the computer to write. Any stupid errand, chore, to avoid the blinking curser will do.

Patrick: How did you find a director for your project, or did he find you?

L.R.: Mark L. Taylor is a fantastic director. “Uploaded” was submitted to Rogue Machine and Jen Pollono, director of the Off-the-Clock series, organized a reading and they decided to do it. John Flynn (Artistic Director) called me and said they had a director for it, so I just lucked out. Mark and I work really well together. But truly, I think Mark works well with everyone. Besides being a great director, he’s a great human being whose favorite word is “collaboration.” And we all know that theater is a collaborative art.  As he kept saying, “a good idea is a good idea, no matter where it comes from.”

Patrick: To what extent were you involved in the casting process, and do you think that the playwright should have veto power over that decision?

L.R.: I was there for the casting process and, yes, the writer should have veto power BUT, as every director knows, it’s the most critical moment in the production. Best to hash it out between the artistic director, the director and the writer, which is what we did.   We absolutely hit the motherlode with our three actors, Jeff Lorch, Erik Odom and Suzanne Quast.

Patrick: How did you get involved with Rogue Machine?

L.R.: I was a member of the Writers Group at Pacific Resident Theatre for many years. Fortunately, the theater community is close. Anne Bronston, a member of Rogue, who had seen another play of mine, “Birds Do It,” was willing to read it and to pass it along.

Patrick: What are you working on next…and beyond?

L.R.: I have a screenplay version of “Uploaded” I’m working on, a web series I’m developing (who isn’t?) and another play. For some reason, the casts in my plays keep getting smaller. “Birds Do It” had eight and Uploaded” is a three-hander. The new play is a two-hander. We’ll see what I come up with while hiking up the Los Leones trail.   — Thank you, Patrick!

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The Los Angeles Post  Review

“Uploaded” Reviewed by Rose Desena

Sometimes we find ourselves in the oddest places, doing the damnedest things…

Daniel (Jeff lorch) is doing nothing with his life, aside from living off daddy and searching for something better. His buddy Sam (Eric Odom) has built a nice little business as the local drug pusher, and he has a creative knack for mixing drug cocktails. After arriving at Daniel’s place and witnessing his friend’s reaction to the newly delivered news that his meal ticket is about to expire, Sam tries to cheer him up with a mercy snort. Before you know it, the concoction sets both of them off on a new quest, finding their “religion.” It is a wild and entertaining ride for audiences who can’t help but submit to following the foibles of these charismatic characters, substantiating the depth of commitment from these skilled actors.

As the drug-induced episode continues, the two mismatched souls on the edge experience some startling revelations and decide to hone their skills in the nuances of Entrepreneurship. Now this wouldn’t be half as much fun if it didn’t have a women’s touch, so L.R. Gordon (playwright) adds Anikka (Suzanne Quast) to the mix. A pretty little thing born with a star over her head and a wealthy pop that indulges her in every silly short-lived whim. Yes, they are a special threesome! However, nothing in the world of theater is that simple, and this well-written script is much deeper than it appears. The title “Uploaded” is a metaphor, used throughout the play as a concept that wouldn’t make any sense to those of us who are normal, but Gordon uses the word more as a point to prove “absurdity.” It works.

This 75-minute production is full of HIGH energy as these two men spar back and forth with quick and snappy dialog, interrupted at times by banter from the sexy Anikka. Jeff Lorch had me thoroughly convinced that he was smashed out of his mind. As a matter of fact, he was so real I was beginning to feel like I was the one wasted. Suzanne Quast is pleasingly annoying as her character should be. I was so tempted to jump on the stage and yell, sister get real.

Nicely directed by Mark L. Taylor, the cast moves assuredly around a stage set that they have inherited from the currently running world premiere of “Nice Things by Vince Melocchi (running at 8pm Fri & Sat, 3pm on Sun). An excellent job by all makes this a reliable show to add to your list of theatre to see in Los Angeles.

Uploaded is part of the Off-The–Clock series from our friends at the Rouge Machine. Jennifer Pollono, a dedicated Rouge Machine member, is the producer of this fun series, designed to allow new writers a chance to show their work. Pollono does a good job of finding compelling and interesting scripts. “Uploaded” is very much in keeping with the Rogue Machine style. The show runs at 10 pm on Friday, and Saturday nights so you can catch it after dinner, or if you are like the guys in the play, you could stop by before you go clubbing.

Hollywood Revealed
“Uploaded” Is the New Religion at The
Rogue Machine Theatre

Review by Peter Foldy
Can a slacker, a young drug dealer and a free thinking hippie girl find happiness by starting a
new religion in the middle of the desert? That’s the question L.R. Gordon’s new play
attempts to answer at the Rogue Machine Theatre’s Off-The-Clock World Premier
presentation, “UPLOADED.”

When his dad finally cuts him off financially, Daniel (Jeff Lorch) a 30 something layabout,
goes on an angry, cocaine fueled, kinetic rant about the world and everyone in it. As Daniel’s
friend and local drug dealer, Sam (Erik Odom) continues to help him get him wasted on a new concoction Sam calls “the screwdriver” (half cocaine, half adderall), Daniel has an epiphany. He suddenly comes to the realization that what he really needs to do is become a prophet. To start a new religion. And why not? In this world
of instant fame, (no talent or experience required), Daniel is a worthy candidate. At least in his mind.

For reasons unknown, Sam initially plays along as Daniel fleshes out the kinks of this new
religion that he is now calling “Uploading.” Basing his “brilliant” idea on something we all
have, DNA, Daniel convinces Sam to accompany him to the desert where Daniel can begin
preaching his genius.

At a sleazy Grand Canyon motel a couple of days later Sam is surprised when Daniel returns
with his first believer, a beautiful young woman, Anikka (Suzanne Quast). Tattooed and open
minded, she tells the lads that her wealthy father loves to invest in schemes and just might be
willing to finance a new one.

This is music to Daniel’s ears. He and Anikka quickly become lovers and get right to work on making a baby together. But that doesn’t keep Anikka from also flirting with Sam, letting him catch a glimpse of
her naked. Before long, Sam wants what Daniel is getting. To do that he has to prove to Anikka that he can make a
commitment–that he is willing to go alongThis impromptu love triangle ultimately leads to a violent finale, one that may inadvertently see Daniel’s “Uploading” concept take a small step forward.

Actor, Jeff Lorch brings his Daniel close to the top, if not quite over it as the the new prophet
in training. Eric Odom is initially monotone and merely reactive as Sam, his purpose and
intention not quite clear, but it is ultimately Sam’s character that has the biggest arc in the
play, and by the end of this twisted story, Odom ably steps it up a notch from his earlier
scenes.

It is Suzanne Quast as Anikka, however, who manages to ground the show and raise the stakes in “Uploaded.” She is theprize worth fighting for. Sexy, comfortableand always in control, Quast is the center-piece of the production.

Clocking in at 75 minutes, “Uploaded” moves at a clip with Mark L. Taylor’s fast
paced direction.

Performed on the set of a different play that runs at the Rogue Machine, the creatives makes
good use of what is available–but it is also the imaginative image slide projections designed
by Nick Santiago, as well Stephen “DJ Baba Earl” Nichols excellent sound design that further
help to set the appropriate mood.

This high energy, satirical glimpse into Generation Y’s narcissistic pursuit of easy-come fame
is a compelling piece of theater. “Uploaded” is well worth the price of admission.
“Uploaded” plays at the Rogue Machine Theatre, 5041 Pico Blvd., Los Angeles.
10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. Ends Nov. 22.
Reservations: (855) 585-5185 or roguemachinetheatre.com/wordpress/show-info/uploaded/.

STAGE RAW Review of "Uploaded"

Reviewed by Steven Mikulan
Rogue Machine Theatre
Through Dec. 6
It can’t be much fun having a big ego while living in a small apartment. Just ask Daniel (Jeff Lorch), a
seething 32-year-old Los Angeles millennial of uncertain talents and no visible means of support, now
that his father has cut him off.
Daniel desperately wants to make his mark and first million. But how? Enter Sam (Erik Odom), a
drug-dealing friend who drops by and, hoping to cheer Daniel up, offers him a couple of rails of
cocaine and Adderall. A blinding self-revelation instantly seizes Daniel, as he now understands what
great thinkers from Karl Marx to Tears for Fears have known: Everybody wants to rule the world.
As Daniel catapults around his apartment jabbering a mile a minute, an idea takes shape in his
drug-blasted brain: He can make “a shit ton of money” by starting his own religion -- specifically one
that borrows heavily from Mormonism and Scientology. The novel belief system Daniel invents on the
fly will be based on sequencing a worshipper’s DNA code and “uploading” it to a higher power. Now
all Daniel needs are followers.
This is the launch point for playwright L.R. Gordon’s 75-minute one-act, a wryly observed field
autopsy of American gullibility. Daniel persuades Sam (who has to be the world’s most patient and
generous drug dealer) to accompany him on a desert pilgrimage to the Grand Canyon – because, you
know, that’s the kind of place prophets go. There, things seem to fall into place for the would-be DNA
messiah, as Daniel sweet-talks a beautiful young heiress named Annika (Suzanne Quast) into
marrying him. Not only is Annika seduced by Daniel’s vision of uploading his future flock’s genomes,
but so, too is her tycoon father – who, she says, is very interested in Daniel’s plans.
While the play often seems like an extended comedy sketch that dwells too much on Daniel’s
outlandish recriminations and epiphanies, it shows potential as a longer, more fully realized satire.
Gordon certainly gets easy laughs poking fun at Daniel’s airheaded lover, a former Aimee who
changed her name to Annika to suit her more exotic self-image, and who has her old Girl Scout troop
number tattooed on her arm. Yet beneath the ripples of such surface humor lie deeper pools of
understanding about the balm and damage religion applies and inflicts, and of the reflexive
self-entitlement that animates so many people. Nothing speaks of Daniel’s delusionary thinking more
vividly than when he orders Sam to stop taking notes when, in fact, Sam hasn’t begun writing –
whereupon Daniel tears up the first sheet of Sam’s blank pages. This bare-bones production, tightly
directed by Mark L. Taylor, races along thanks to Lorch’s performance, a human cannonball whose
explosive character scars everyone he touches.

Uploaded http://stageraw.com/2014/11/06/uploaded/