Ministry of Cultural Warfare : Archives : Industrials

About the show

"Industrials" is a multimedia hyper-kitsch blowout that tears apart such classic americana agitprop as "Duck and Cover" and "Going Steady?" and, using 100% of the original text, reconstitutes them with the wicked political iconoclasm and viciously funny satire that the Ministry of Cultural Warfare is famous (albeit moderately) for.

Still from Habit Patterns "Habit Patterns" was made in 1954 by Knickerbocker Productions. It is the story of Barbara, a high-school student who would have the perfect life... if only she was more organized. Tormented by the narrator, her neighbor Miss Perfect Helen and popularity queen Ann Tolliver's ruthless reign of tidiness, Barbara spends a lot of time crying and fussing with her "messy hair, spotted sweater and hair in a tizzy."

Still from Habit Patterns "Going Steady?" by Coronet Instructional Films is the 1951 masterpiece of Jeff and Marie, two kids who are trying to decide if going steady is right for them. Featuring horrible acting and absolutely no resolution (we never find out what Jeff and Marie do), MoCW has switched genders on poor Marie, now making her Murray.

Still from Habit Patterns Centron Productions and the year 1958 give us "The Snob." Watch as Sarah Innman—who apparently hasn't had a real friend since elementary school—explores the entire range of human emotions, from anger to hurt, from dispair to indifference. Her neighbor, Ron, isn't much better—and for some reason (at least in the original film) he has a Southern accent, but no one else does.

Still from Habit Patterns Rrrowr! "The Bright Young Newcomer" is a cat-fight suprême from 1958! Calvin Productions gives us the story of Joan and Betty—and Mr. Barnes, their manager—as things spiral out-of-control in office-politics entropy. Joan and Betty both turn into Lady Macbeth when things go haywire with the in-warranty report files.

Still from Habit Patterns "There was a turtle by the name of Bert. And Bert the turtle was very alert. When danger threatened him, he never got hurt. He knew just what to do!" The classic (and famous) 1951 U.S. Federal Civil Defense Administration "Duck and Cover" song taught schoolkids in the 1950s to hide under their desks when an atom bomb was dropped. We've paired with 1951's U.S. Office of Civil Defense film "Survival Under Atomic Attack" for a pièce-de-résistance song-and-dance-and-puppet routine you won't soon regret—or forget!

Performed as part of the 2003 Minnesota Fringe Festival at Intermedia Arts, Minneapolis.

Reviews and press

You won't find a more inventive, forward-thinking and deeply funny show at the Fringe Festival. "Industrials" springboards from clips of 1950s educational films and advertisements to spin slightly twisted, layered and exaggerated vignettes, largely touching on teen angst and sexuality, with the coup de grâce a bedtime story with sock puppets about nuclear fallout.

The performances are priceless. Everyone in this bright, talented ensemble knows when to push and when to pull, juggling subtlety with brazenness to turn even the most pedestrian moment into big laughs. It's well-written, strongly conceived and perfectly executed—a can't miss.

—Matt Peiken, St. Paul Pioneer Press, August 2, 2005

Cast and crew

Brett Baldwin
Props and set construction

Lara Brown
Costumes

Kasi Engler
Barabara, Jeff's Mom, Nancy Yeager, Office Worker

Matthew Foster
Writer, director, producer, video editor and design

Mike Hallenbeck
Sound design

Darla Haney
Choreography

Leigha Horton
Producer, Helen, Murray's Mom, Girl, Joan Thomnas, Narrator

Matthew Kessen
Writer, stage manager

Reid Knuttila
Girl #3, Murray (formerly Marie), Ron, Narrator

Sara Mielke
Cosutmes

Michael David Postle
Girl #2, Bill Tyler, Delivery Guy

Jennifer Strick
Girl #1, Jeff's Dad, Sarah Innman, Office Worker

Nathan Surprenant
Set design, Narrator, Jeff, Sarah's Dad, G. Bennett Barnes

Aimee Trumbore
Ann Tolliver, Diane, Ron's Mom, Betty McCormack