Culture Surfing - Mike Katinsky

Co-founder of Sensurround Stagings, Mike Katinsky has worked with many Atlanta theaters as a director, producer and playwright, and currently directs The History of Rock ’n’ Roll at Dad’s Garage Theatre. With the exception of a recent 18-month sojourn in Prague, Mike has lived in Atlanta for more than 30 years, and is catching up on all the pop culture he missed while abroad.

Venture Brothers, Season 2: “With apologies to the many talented Atlanta folks who work on ‘Squidbillies,’ ‘Frisky Dingo’ and others, this homage/hatchet job to Johnny Quest and the Hardy Boys is by far the smartest, funniest and covertly sickest program on Adult Swim. ‘IGNORE ME!!!’ I also have been catching up on ‘Entourage’ on DVD since I don’t have HBO.”

Nintendo Wii: “Thanks to the Wii boxing, my best friend and Sensurround co-founder Aileen Loy and I finally got to have the knock-down, drag-out, full-on fight that’s been seven years in the making. For the record, I won, but mainly because she dropped the controls and just started punching me directly.”

The Lives of Others: “I’ve seen others since, but this film really sticks with me, especially after having just lived in a former Soviet Bloc country. It’s a really great story with a character who you can see evolving scene by scene. Plus it has the best ending line I’ve heard in years.”

Bingo at the Knights of Columbus on Buford Highway: “I’ve been going with friends for a few years. A chance to win $1,100 bucks, the cheapest drinks in town and an evening spent secure in the knowledge that you can take anyone in the joint should things turn ugly, although some of those blue-hairs get MEAN!”

All Day Permanent Red and War Music by Christopher Logue: Frank Miller wishes he could write like this. A poet, Logue has spent years rewriting Homer’s Iliad and it freakin’ rocks. It’s visceral and immediate and never before in my life have I been reading a book and found myself shouting ‘Hell yeah. Get him!’”

Metamorphoses and BRAWL!: “I actually hate going to the theater because so much of what I see doesn’t need to be on a stage. It could be done better as a book or film. There’s two shows coming up that could never be described that way and have to be seen to be believed — the remount of Metamorphoses at Georgia Shakespeare Festival and the return of BRAWL!, the improv wrestling show at Dad’s Garage. Neither experience could be replicated anywhere else, so get off your couch and check them out.”