Q: Why the name “Colder by the Lake”?
A: The weather forecast in Duluth, at least during the warmer half of the year, is “colder by the lake.” Lake Superior, the largest (by area) of fresh water on Earth, moderates temperatures near its shores. Since Duluth is built on a hillside, the weather near the lake may be up to 20 degrees different than away from the lake at any given time. Since we appropriated the weather forecast to use as our name, local TV weather people have curiously changed the phrase to “cooler near the lake.”
Q. Does Colder have a theater? Where are you located?
A. Colder by the Lake is a hermit crab(s). We choose different venues according to the needs of our productions. You can always contact us, or write to us at …sorry, just kidding. We are homeless and you cannot send us snail mail. We also don’t have a phone. Fax? Are you serious? Try Facebooking us, that’ll do the trick.
Q. Can I bring my kids to your shows?
A. Colder by the Lake’s productions are almost always appropriate for all ages. Audience members as young as 2 and 3 years old have enjoyed our recent productions. Even fetuses chuckle.
Q. I missed your last show. Do you have a “videotape” of it?
A. No.
Q. I’m from the Twin Cities. Will I “get” your jokes?
A. For maximum enjoyment, we recommend that you move to Duluth.
Q. Is Renegade the same as Colder by the Lake?
A. No.
Q. Are you sure?
A. Yes. Renegade and Colder are two completely separate organizations, and have been since 1991. However, many people in the Duluth-Superior theatre community have done fine work with both companies.
Q. Where does Rubber Chicken Theatre fit into the picture?
A. Yes.
Q. Was Les Uncomfortables a parody of Les Miserables?
A. No indeed. A lot of people make that mistake. It was about life of Daniel Greysolon Sieur duLhut, a real person. Les Mis was about something else. The only thing we lifted from Les Mis was the title.
Q. Can I make a charitable contribution to Colder by the Lake?
A. Absolutely! Colder is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization registered with the state of Minnesota. Your contribution may be tax-deductible.
Q. But don’t you guys get all the money you need from government grants?
A. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. No.
Q. My workplace/club/organization is having an event, and we thought you could do some kind of a “skit” for us.
A. No.
Q. Why don’t you do more shows?
A. We like quality better than we like quantity. Colder chooses projects carefully. Many of our shows are complex, requiring the creation of original scripts and multi-level collaborations. For example, our comic opera Les Uncomfortables took over 3 years to create. That, and we all work day jobs.
Q. How do you come up with all that funny stuff?
A. Yes.
Q. Why did Howard Bell move to LaCrosse, WI?
A. Being in Colder by the Lake requires an ethnic, difficult to pronounce last name, such as Podeszwa, Bacigalupo, Ofsthun, or Sramek. We asked Howard nicely to change his name to Beljanofsczixowitz, but he flatly refused.
Q. Who was the best Duluth mayor, in terms of comedy?
A. Hands down: John Fedo.
Q. What do you have planned for the future?
A. Yes.
COLDER BY THE LAKE COMEDY THEATRE 