Stupid Face

Life is hard, but when you wake up to find your entire world has changed without consulting you, Life turns into a real bitch. This is the story of one woman's quest to laugh in the stupid face of adversity.


Video from the July 21st Fringe-for-All:

The cast

Courtney Roche
Role: Courtney Roche
This is Courtney's Minnesota Fringe Debut! Other theater credits include "A Christmas Carol" at the Guthrie, "Forty-five Minutes from Broadway" and "Sherlock's Last Case" on the Minnesota Centennial Showboat and "A Lie of the Mind," "The Two Gentlemen of Verona," "Electra," "The Learned Ladies," and "When I Was a Ghost" as part of her training at the University of Minnesota/Guthrie Theater BFA Actor Training Program. She has won both local and International playwrighting awards and loves British television, marshmallows, and talking about herself in the third person. If you're dying to contact her, send an electronic mail (it's what all the cool kids are doing these days) to getcourtney @ gmail.com.

Showtimes

Sat., Aug. 2 @ 10:00 p.m.
Sun., Aug. 3 @ 5:30 p.m.
Wed., Aug. 6 @ 5:30 p.m.
Thu., Aug. 7 @ 7:00 p.m.
Sun., Aug. 10 @ 7:00 p.m.

Show details

Venue: U of M Rarig Center Xperimental

Duration: 60 minutes

For ages 13+

Created by Courtney Roche

Genres: Solo, Comedy, Drama

Warnings: Adult language

Overall rating

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User reviews

I Normally Avoid Solo Shows
by Timothy Meyer Follow this reviewer
Rating 4 kitties
However, with a performer of Roche's caliber, my mind was gladly changed. An excellent show, an engaging story, a wonderful actress (with great taste in music). Well-worth my time.

My last show
by Joel Zummak Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
Along with "in rehearsal", this is enough to make you want to do your own solo show.

Excellent
by Kara Garbe Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
Excellent show - I enjoyed Courtney's honesty in telling her story and making the audience laugh through it all.

Great Job!
by Karen Biedermann Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
This was such a fantastic show! I absolutely loved her outlook on the whole situation and how she put the show together. Very well done!

full of charm
by Greg Hammond Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
This show is great. Well written abd with a stellar performance form Roche. She has so much charm I really felt the entire audience being drrawn in. Totally worth seeing!

One of the best out there
by Raka Mitra Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
I have rarely had a fringe show move me to both tears and laughter. Stupid face is a must see.

People are Talking About This One
by Liz Floyd Follow this reviewer
Rating 4 kitties
I know that I have been. It's really well done. If you go you will learn something, remember it and find yourself talking about it over and over again. I had not totally realized that I had been doing that until after going to the Liberarion Rage and reading his reccommendation in the program. He essentially writes that he has not seen the show but highly reccomends it since everyone "won't shut the fuck up about" it.

Great shot at the story
by Kim Lee Follow this reviewer
Rating 3 kitties
I applaud this young actor for sticking her neck out. Or face, really. It's not an easy thing to pull off, and probably more she has to process, and I look forward to seeing this ARTIST evolve. Keep it up Courthey Roche!

Remarkable
by Rebekah Tempest Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
This show was recommended to me by a teenager who said "if you see one play, see this". Everything about the show was great: fluid, well-written, nice segues, funny, mature. I look forward to more performances/scripts from this young actor/writer.

Well-told, but...
by phillip low Follow this reviewer
Rating 3 kitties
...there really doesn't seem to be all that much to it -- she's not able to take her stories and really put them at the service of any significant insight. She's clearly talented, and she seems to have stories to tell -- but she wasn't able to draw them together into anything really meaningful to me, this time. Full review available at the Twin Cities Daily Planet.

Fun and entertaining
by Justin Alexander Follow this reviewer
Rating 3 kitties
Courtney's story is told with compassion and wit and honesty. You will be entertained throughout and your compassion will be touched.

I Laughed Several...
by Ben Thietje Follow this reviewer
Rating 3 kitties
times.

See it.
by John Grant Chapman Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
Courtney Roche's Stupid Face is a perfectly pitched performance, exhibiting her sure comic sense and beautiful vulnerability. She tells a unique story with all the panache of a young Gilda Radner. See Stupid Face.

My Favorite
by Ian Holcomb Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
It is rare that a performer is able to mix heartbreaking honesty and laugh out loud comedy with such charm, grace and mastery. Courtney Roche proves that art can be personal and still accessible to everyone in the audience. Stupid Face is by far the best thing I've seen in the festival this year.

Both Sides Now
by Reid Gagle Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
This was a really excellent show by a new young performer with a lot to say. I don't give away 5 kitty ratings easily, but if you like personal monologues, this show is not to be missed.

Brilliant Stupid Face
by Mathilde Mouw Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
I laughed and I cried through this one. Courtney Roche tells her story with a comedic finesse that brings the story to life. There is something for everyone in this piece -- comedy, tragedy, embarrassment, love, growth and music. I highly recommend this show.

Amazing. Absolutely amazing
by Christian Carter Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
This show was brilliant, it was awe inspiring, it was breathtaking, it was amazing. I saw six shows today, all of them hotly anticipated, and this show blew them all out of the water. Courtney has you hanging on her every word, she brings a great presence to an amazing space. This is the show I will be recommending to as many people as possible.

Pleasantly surprised
by Bill Stiteler Follow this reviewer
Rating 4 kitties
If the thought of a one-woman confessional makes you (like me) want to run screaming into the night, then pause, and consider Stupid Face, presented with great wit and simple humanity. This is not a show I would thought I would have enjoyed, yet her ability as as storyteller really struck me, while cutting through the great potential for "poor me" schmaltz. Good stuff.

Highlight of the Fringe
by Sid Solomon Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
A touching, personal, and hysterically funny show! Ms. Roche had the opening night audience on the edge of their seats and eating out of her hand from the onset.

This show may well be the highlight of the Fringe, and word of mouth will be spreading fast.

GO. SEE. THIS. SHOW.

Fabulous!
by Sophia Naylor Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
I absolutely loved this show. Courtney Roche's monologue was riveting, and I went from laughing to almost bursting into tears multiple times. She was hilarious! Courtney Roche was also a skilled storyteller and her monologue was clear yet poignant. Basically: go see this show.

Self-Indulgent
by Erica Mauter Follow this reviewer
Rating 3 kitties
I wanted to like this one, but I just couldn't get there. I suppose I would expect a selfish reaction from a teenager to such a life event, but with no context as to how everyone else dealt with it and only her story of "I was bitter, then self-conscious, then I got over it" with a too-pat "here's the moral of the story" bit about change and shit happening in life at the end to go by.... meh. Don't bother.

Well-Done
by Ben San Del Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
Great show. Courtney should seriously consider trying stand-up comedy, if she hasn't already. She'd be wonderful.

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