Our Visiting Professors this week are Andy Bayiates and Genevra Gallo-Bayiates. It’s our first time with two Visiting Professors and both are equally accomplished. That raises a question of who gets top billing in the posts, videos, and titles. It’s a big question, isn’t it? We decided to start alphabetically and switch off for every other release. And by we, I mean me, Alan. Since I’m the one writing the posts and making the thumbnails I get the say.

Just don’t tell Bob.

Our Visiting Professors this week are the real deal. Both are acclaimed playwrights and alumni performers with Chicago’s Neo-Futurists. Both had a momentary lapse of judgement and agreed to be on our show, and both really deserve to be featured in their own right. Seriously. They have very impressive bios.

Andy is a playwright and brand journalist who lives in the Chicago area. He’s the creator and co-writer of 45 Plays for 45 Presidents and 45 Plays for America’s First Ladies, which is currently running online at The Neo-Futurists and was recently named by Jesse Greene as the “Critic’s Choice” in the New York Times. He’s recently written two plays with Merrimack Rep in Massachusetts: Lost Laughs: The Slapstick Tragedy of Fatty Arbuckle with co-writer Aaron Muñoz, and the Coronavirus-delayed play, The Lowell Offering which he co-wrote with his wife, Genevra Gallo-Bayiates. 

Genevra is a social media marketing writer and playwright. She’s a co-writer on the aforementioned 45 Plays for 45 Presidents, 45 Plays for America’s First Ladies, along with The Lowell Offering; and has been published by Haymarket Press, Commonplace Books, Playscripts, and Hope & Nonthings.

See?

This is a special episode for our Headmaster. Bob grew up with Andy in a Massachusetts suburb. It was their summer movies with their friend Mike after Bob moved to Maine that made him pursue a career as a playwright. This is a homecoming, of sorts, for him.

The funny thing is that Bob is a playwright and Andy also became a playwright. My guess is that either there must have been something in the water of that Massachusetts suburb or art forms in clusters.

This week we have a ton of fun with our Visiting Professors. We find out what a Sardoodledom is, have a comedy quiz about the U.S. Presidents. Tomorrow we talk in-depth with Genevra and Andy about their work, process, adjustments in writing and producing during the pandemic and about their critically acclaimed new show, 45 Plays for America’s First Ladies, written with Chloe Johnston, Sharon Greene, and Bilal Dardai. Wednesday we hear a STEAM review of an element and see if a faculty member is lying about a national television appearance. Thursday we hear pitches about new locations for the NBA bubble and flail trying to uncover the Mask Charade. Friday we learn a new use for bananas and finish the week with fan-favorite Technically Correct. 

We start it all off today. Remember today? This is a post about today’s installment. We start it all off today with U.S. Presidents. We even find a way to keep it seasonally relevant. How? Well, as we approach Halloween everyone is talking about Blood Sparklets and how giving affectionate hugs are NOT CREEPY! How did we get there with U.S. Presidents? Find out in part one of Balderdash Academy with Andy Bayiates and Genevra Gallo-Bayiates.

Show Links

45 Plays for America’s First Ladies by Chloe Johnston, Sharon Greene, Genevra Gallo-­Bayiates, Bilal Dardai, & Andy Bayiates. A biographical, meta-theatrical, genre-bending ride through race, gender, and everything else your history teacher never taught you about the founding of America.
Catch their recorded show: Oct 13th – Nov 2nd.
Tickets are only $15 and the show is appropriate for high school-aged kids and up.

Washy Ad Jeffy?