''Something Theater'' is an American

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

show created by

Bobby Ciraldo Bobby Ciraldo (born 12 October 1974 in Skokie, Illinois, Skokie, Illinois) is a filmmaker and web-based artist whose works include ''Hamlet A.D.D.'', ''William Shatner's Gonzo Ballet'',David Robbins, and

Andrew Swant Andrew Swant (born 1976 in Madison, Wisconsin) is an American filmmaker best known for ''William Shatner's Gonzo Ballet'', ''The Jeffrey Dahmer Files'', and '' What What in the Butt''. In 2012, Swant co-wrote and starred in ''The Jeffrey Dahmer ...

. The half-hour program has aired in Southeastern

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

The CW The CW Network, LLC (commonly referred to as The CW or simply CW) is an American commercial broadcast television network which is controlled by Nexstar Media Group through a 75% ownership interest. The network's name is derived from the firs ...

affiliate

WVTV WVTV (channels 18 and 24) is a television station in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, affiliated with The CW and owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group. The station's studios are located on Calumet Road in the Park Place office park near the I-41 ...

since February 2009. It is

broadcast Broadcasting is the data distribution, distribution of sound, audio audiovisual content to dispersed audiences via a electronic medium (communication), mass communications medium, typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum (radio waves), ...

from

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

on a bi-monthly basis, usually on a Friday night. Episodes of ''Something Theater'' typically have nothing to do with one another, so viewers never know what to expect. Each episode is usually split into short

comedic Comedy is a genre of dramatic works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. Origins Comedy originated in ancient Gr ...

segments that feature

animation Animation is a filmmaking technique whereby still images are manipulated to create moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Animati ...

music videos A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

viral videos Viral videos are videos that become popular through a viral process of Internet sharing, primarily through video sharing websites such as YouTube as well as social media and email.Lu Jiang, Yajie Miao, Yi Yang, ZhenZhong Lan, Alexander Hauptma ...

short films A short film is a film with a low running time. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of not more than 40 minutes including all credits". Other film o ...

, or

experimental films Experimental film or avant-garde cinema is a mode of filmmaking that does not apply standard cinematic conventions, instead adopting Non-narrative film, non-narrative forms or alternatives to traditional narratives or methods of working. Many e ...

. In December 2009 an episode aired which featured outtakes from the 2014 feature film ''

Hamlet A.D.D. ''Hamlet A.D.D.'' is a 2014 American independent film and web series directed by Bobby Ciraldo and Andrew Swant and produced by Special Entertainment. It re-imagines William Shakespeare's ''Hamlet'' as a bizarre and comical tour through the ag ...

''. In May 2010 David Robbins produced an episode entitled "The County Line" which was later shown at The Suburban gallery, curated by

Michelle Grabner Michelle Grabner (born 1962 in Oshkosh, Wisconsin) is an artist, curator, and critic based in Wisconsin. She is the Crown Family Professor of Art at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago where she has taught since 1996. She has curated sever ...

, and at the ''No Soul For Sale'' art fair at the

Tate Modern Tate Modern is an art gallery in London, housing the United Kingdom's national collection of international Modern art, modern and contemporary art (created from or after 1900). It forms part of the Tate group together with Tate Britain, Tate Live ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. In July 2010 ''Something Theater'' aired an episode that featured a 30-minute version of ''Gas 'N Fuel'', a short film made by the creators of the

Found Footage Festival The Found Footage Festival is an American film festival and live comedy event featuring unusual and humorous found footage (pseudo-documentary), found footage clips and films. History Founded in 2004, the Festival originated in Wisconsin and Min ...

. A 15-minute version of the film had previously screened at the

South by Southwest South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began in 1987 and has conti ...

Film Festival and 12 other film festivals. In September 2010 an episode of ''Something Theater'' screened at the

Oriental Landmark Theatre Oriental Theatre is a theater in Milwaukee, Wisconsin operated by Milwaukee Film. The theater was built and opened in 1927 as a movie palace with East Indian decor. It is said to be the only movie palace to incorporate East Indian artwork. Desig ...

as part of the Milwaukee Film Festival. In July 2011 an episode entitled "The Title is a Drawing" aired which was made by

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

–based artist/filmmaker

Marc Horowitz Marc Horowitz (born July 19, 1976, Columbus, Ohio) is an American artist who works in a large variety of media including painting, drawing, sculpture, photography, performance and video. Biography Marc Horowitz is a Los Angeles-based artist wor ...

Steven Hyden Steven Hyden (born September 7, 1977) is an American music critic, author, and podcast host. He is the author of the books ''Your Favorite Band Is Killing Me'' (2016, on rivalries in pop music history), ''Twilight of the Gods'' (2018, on the his ...

of ''

The Onion ''The Onion'' is an American digital media company and newspaper organization that publishes satirical articles on international, national, and local news. The company is currently based in Chicago, but originated as a weekly print publication ...

'' and ''

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was created in ...

'' called the series, "All weird, all the time." Mary Louise Schumacher of the ''

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel The ''Milwaukee Journal Sentinel'' is a daily morning broadsheet printed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where it is the primary newspaper and also the largest newspaper in the state of Wisconsin, where it is widely read. It was purchased by the G ...

'' said, "This is not art for artists. Swant, Ciraldo and Robbins obviously love TV themselves and are earnestly trying to create something for a mainstream audience. This is far more rare than you might expect. In fact, I don’t know of any contemporary artists who are trying to make TV shows."Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/entertainment/79086877.html?sort=last+to+first

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 1688605, Something Theater
Newspaper review of ''Something Theater''

Article about ''Something Theater''
in

Mass media in Milwaukee