I am feeling considerably better today, although I would not refer to myself as "healthy". Still, I am functioning as well without drugs today as I was with them yesterday. Nyquil is unspeakably nasty, but terribly effective in shutting me down so hard that my body can go into hard core repair mode.
The show opened last night, and it had remarkably few glitches in it! Two slightly-off light cues. A couple of flubbed lines, nicely covered. The laughter was subdued, but present, which is appropriate for the piece. It's ostensibly a thriller, but we found a good amount of humor in it. Still, it's complex enough that I could almost hear the audience leaning forward, paying attention to each detail as it was revealed. I'm pleased with it, and look forward to the comparative ease of the next three shows.
I'll actually get to watch the first two pieces tonight, which will be nice, although I'll never see the one that immediately precedes us. That's a shame, but what I get for taking on the role of the butler.
Three more days of Vial, and then it's done. On Tuesday we begin rehearsals for "Nothing in the Dark" and three more weeks of discovery.
Friday, March 02, 2007
Thursday, March 01, 2007
opening
I'm at home again, still sick as a dog. I was going to try and do help desk this morning, but the first person I talked to on the phone said that I sounded absolutely horrible.
Dress last night was really our tech, so tonight should be interesting. The general rule is "bad dress, good opening" and last night was the worst Dress I've had in some time. I could hear the light designer cursing in the booth at various points. I felt the same way, believe me.
Still, I think we worked out all the confusions.
Mayu picked me up after watching Hedda Gabler, and made sure I got some Nyquil before taking me home. As a result, I slept beautifully last night. Best sleep I've had all week. I still woke up sounding like Gollum, but phlegm is phlegm. I'm about to go shower, snort some heart-racing, nasal passage clearing medication and head to the theatre. I need to get a bottle of gin, empty it into a thermous and fill it full of water. One of the actors took the prop bottle, after I had told him to only pantomime pouring from it, and poured real rum into everyone's glasses last night. This wouldn't have been that big an issue, except that someone gets a drink in the face at one point and they got a FULL glass of rum all over themselves. Fortunately there is no smoking on stage in this show.
Theatre, gotta love it.
Dress last night was really our tech, so tonight should be interesting. The general rule is "bad dress, good opening" and last night was the worst Dress I've had in some time. I could hear the light designer cursing in the booth at various points. I felt the same way, believe me.
Still, I think we worked out all the confusions.
Mayu picked me up after watching Hedda Gabler, and made sure I got some Nyquil before taking me home. As a result, I slept beautifully last night. Best sleep I've had all week. I still woke up sounding like Gollum, but phlegm is phlegm. I'm about to go shower, snort some heart-racing, nasal passage clearing medication and head to the theatre. I need to get a bottle of gin, empty it into a thermous and fill it full of water. One of the actors took the prop bottle, after I had told him to only pantomime pouring from it, and poured real rum into everyone's glasses last night. This wouldn't have been that big an issue, except that someone gets a drink in the face at one point and they got a FULL glass of rum all over themselves. Fortunately there is no smoking on stage in this show.
Theatre, gotta love it.
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Sick and Dress
I was sooo pleased that I'd gotten past the current cold season without illness. So much for that. I tried going into work today, and it was a big mistake. I got through my first help desk shift, but then had to come home. I was light headed, headachey, and barely able to function.
Tonight should be fun.
I'll be hopped up on Afrin, getting through dress rehearsal. We're the last ones up, and tech was kind of a challenge last night. Our poor light designer was stressed to a tragic level and it made things a bit tense. I had written out all the cues, which she had originally understood, but then missed a crucial detail on the script and that kind of threw everything into confusion. It only takes one thing, folks. Still, in the end we got it all taken care of and tonight should go smoothly... I hope.
My goal is to be out of there by 10:30, get a ride home with Mayuko, who is seeing Hedda Gabler without me *sniffle*, and actually get a full night's sleep. I afrin'ed myself last night so I could breathe, but between the heart racing of the afrin and the mild fever I was dealing with, it took me forever to sleep. I'd like to make it back into the office tomorrow, but I had a few of the staff comment on how awful I looked, so I may at least take tomorrow off and do Help Desk from home again. I think that if i can take naps throughout the day, and keep all the windows shut (blessed dark), I'll be able to get through this week.
Tonight should be fun.
I'll be hopped up on Afrin, getting through dress rehearsal. We're the last ones up, and tech was kind of a challenge last night. Our poor light designer was stressed to a tragic level and it made things a bit tense. I had written out all the cues, which she had originally understood, but then missed a crucial detail on the script and that kind of threw everything into confusion. It only takes one thing, folks. Still, in the end we got it all taken care of and tonight should go smoothly... I hope.
My goal is to be out of there by 10:30, get a ride home with Mayuko, who is seeing Hedda Gabler without me *sniffle*, and actually get a full night's sleep. I afrin'ed myself last night so I could breathe, but between the heart racing of the afrin and the mild fever I was dealing with, it took me forever to sleep. I'd like to make it back into the office tomorrow, but I had a few of the staff comment on how awful I looked, so I may at least take tomorrow off and do Help Desk from home again. I think that if i can take naps throughout the day, and keep all the windows shut (blessed dark), I'll be able to get through this week.
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Monday, February 26, 2007
Advancements
I just spoke with a "fiddle player" who is happy to provide the live music I've needed for "Nothing in the Dark". I'm terribly pleased, as he's worked with other theatre companies, so even though I'm going into this fairly blind, I believe that we can put something appropriate together. We go into rehearsals a week from tomorrow, so I'm not in a position to pick and choose. This is the benefit, as well as the frustration of directing for tiny, no budget shows. On the down side, if I could pay a musician, I'd have had someone long before now. But since I'm not, and since it's only three performances in a 45 seat house, I can take the risk without it costing me several thousand dollars. If this works out well, I'm sure there will be more collaborations down the line as well.
RadioStar has launched a blog, allowing the performers to reflect on the improv and podcasting process. It's available at the new RadioStar Network web site. It's not technically "live" yet (the site, not the blog) as the only content we currently have is the improv stream and now the blog. But we should have the first of our staged reading up shortly, and hopefully we can get the first interview up there shortly afterwards.
Vial opens on Thursday. Come check it out if you can, it's looking like a great show.
RadioStar has launched a blog, allowing the performers to reflect on the improv and podcasting process. It's available at the new RadioStar Network web site. It's not technically "live" yet (the site, not the blog) as the only content we currently have is the improv stream and now the blog. But we should have the first of our staged reading up shortly, and hopefully we can get the first interview up there shortly afterwards.
Vial opens on Thursday. Come check it out if you can, it's looking like a great show.
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Random notes
A neat trick was pointed out to me from T.M. Camp about Firefox. If you use Firefox (and if you don't... why not?) type "wiki" and then a search term in your address bar, then hit return. Firefox will bring up the closest relevant wikipedia entry. Very, very cool.
The second Submergency video is up on YouTube. Check it out!
Adrienne Miller and Tom Neely have had their second child! Congratulations guys!
there's an insightful analysis of our failure in Iraq and suggested directions at the Washington Post that is worth checking out. Thanks to Jon Brooks for that.
Matthew Rossi is an actor I met at the 2005 Fringe Festival in San Francisco, and he's got a sad and fascinating tale of innocence lost and warnings about trust and identity that is worth a read.
The second Submergency video is up on YouTube. Check it out!
Adrienne Miller and Tom Neely have had their second child! Congratulations guys!
there's an insightful analysis of our failure in Iraq and suggested directions at the Washington Post that is worth checking out. Thanks to Jon Brooks for that.
Matthew Rossi is an actor I met at the 2005 Fringe Festival in San Francisco, and he's got a sad and fascinating tale of innocence lost and warnings about trust and identity that is worth a read.
stage and film
Last night we moved rehearsal from the Off Market Theatre back to my apartment. I had rented out the space in advance, and we were short an actor anyway, so I decided it would be a good opportunity to work some of the key 2 and 3 person moments. We got a LOT of stuff cleaned up and polished, which will really allow us to leap forward tonight and tomorrow as we shape the rest of the play around these pivotal points.
As a director, I don't know that I'm the most brilliant visual artist in the world. Perhaps that's partly because I'm so used to working on a shoestring budget. I'm not accustomed to making visual extravaganzas ("Pinch" being the obvious exception). I do have a good sense of how to put a scene together though. I actually surprise myself, watching the actors and suddenly seeing how to communicate what is going on to the audience clearly, and being able to explain exactly why an actor should angle themselves in this way, or what they need to convey emotionally to the audience, or why some choices obscure the intent and some clarify them. After decades of acting, directing, and observing, I've built a very clear vocabulary of movement and performance in my mind and I'm having a great deal of fun bringing all of that to this process.
Vial will be a nifty bit of theatre.
I'm starting to get nervous about my lack of musician for "Nothing in the Dark" however. We've still got time, but I am getting edgy. I found a bed headboard with a "free" sign on it in my apartment building lobby and quickly grabbed it for the show, but soon realized that it was entirely too wide for my needs and had to return it where I found it. As low budget as "Vial" is, "Nothing in the Dark" is even more extreme. The stage is literally the size of my living room, and I need to have three actors and a "bed" in that space. I'm sharing the space with another "Twilight Zone" episode that night, so whatever set I have needs to be able to go up and come down within moments. Interesting challenges. For now though, most of my attention is on "Vial", and I hope that my musician presents him or herself soon.
On totally unrelated notes, I caught "Pan's Labrynth" with Mayu on Monday and was both compelled and repulsed by it. It's a fantastically done film, but one that I found deeply and profoundly disturbing. It's strange to have such a high quality film be one that I can't recommend universally, but this is a "Fantasy" film that children should not be taken to. I couldn't bear to watch some parts of it, because there are certain images I just don't want in my head ... and they had nothing to do with fauns, fairies, or inhuman monsters. As scary as these images are in the film, they are nothing to the human monster that dominates the narrative.
One thing that movie did, aside from give me the screaming meemies, was take my mind off the abomination that the Ghost Rider film has turned out to be. This is a character that I have a lot of emotional investment in, and from the second I heard that Nick Cage was cast as Johnny Blaze I began to worry. Then I heard that there were two scripts being considered. One of them was a dark, gritty horror script and the other was a "superhero" script. They went with the latter and I worried a bit more. Then the trailer came out, and I thought that some of the visuals looked great, but everything else about the film took me from worry to a sense of forboding doom. Well, now it's out. The reviews are in, and it's craptastically bad. Bad script, bad acting, unfinished special effects, and all the sensibilities of a bad video game.
Everything thinks "I could have done it better", but the truth is... most of us could have done it better. I wanted a film with a young Johnny Blaze. I wanted to see him obsess over his black magic books, obvilivious that he was toying with the real deal. I want to see his anguish over the impending loss of the man who is like a father to him. I want to see his girlfriend save his ass at the last minute. But most of all, I want to see him turn into a demon from hell... and to struggle with his own desires for vengeance. I want to see Johnny Blaze let the Ghost Rider exact the vengeance that Johnny's own anger and frustration and pain demand... and then see what happens when the demon goes too far. A film where the "hero" who is no hero without a human conscience goes out of control and then see how Johnny confronts his own heart, and desperately tries to regain the control he has sacrificed.
That would have been an amazing movie. But instead we get Nick Cage, the plastic Eva Mendez (who didn't even look like she could act in the trailer... which is always a bad sign), and some bullshit about water, air, and earth monsters and a protaganist who is about as conflicted as a man choosing paper versus plastic. I would have preferred that the film had died in pre-production, or gone straight to video because now it will be 20 years before anyone even considers trying to make a good Ghost Rider movie... at best.
As a director, I don't know that I'm the most brilliant visual artist in the world. Perhaps that's partly because I'm so used to working on a shoestring budget. I'm not accustomed to making visual extravaganzas ("Pinch" being the obvious exception). I do have a good sense of how to put a scene together though. I actually surprise myself, watching the actors and suddenly seeing how to communicate what is going on to the audience clearly, and being able to explain exactly why an actor should angle themselves in this way, or what they need to convey emotionally to the audience, or why some choices obscure the intent and some clarify them. After decades of acting, directing, and observing, I've built a very clear vocabulary of movement and performance in my mind and I'm having a great deal of fun bringing all of that to this process.
Vial will be a nifty bit of theatre.
I'm starting to get nervous about my lack of musician for "Nothing in the Dark" however. We've still got time, but I am getting edgy. I found a bed headboard with a "free" sign on it in my apartment building lobby and quickly grabbed it for the show, but soon realized that it was entirely too wide for my needs and had to return it where I found it. As low budget as "Vial" is, "Nothing in the Dark" is even more extreme. The stage is literally the size of my living room, and I need to have three actors and a "bed" in that space. I'm sharing the space with another "Twilight Zone" episode that night, so whatever set I have needs to be able to go up and come down within moments. Interesting challenges. For now though, most of my attention is on "Vial", and I hope that my musician presents him or herself soon.
On totally unrelated notes, I caught "Pan's Labrynth" with Mayu on Monday and was both compelled and repulsed by it. It's a fantastically done film, but one that I found deeply and profoundly disturbing. It's strange to have such a high quality film be one that I can't recommend universally, but this is a "Fantasy" film that children should not be taken to. I couldn't bear to watch some parts of it, because there are certain images I just don't want in my head ... and they had nothing to do with fauns, fairies, or inhuman monsters. As scary as these images are in the film, they are nothing to the human monster that dominates the narrative.
One thing that movie did, aside from give me the screaming meemies, was take my mind off the abomination that the Ghost Rider film has turned out to be. This is a character that I have a lot of emotional investment in, and from the second I heard that Nick Cage was cast as Johnny Blaze I began to worry. Then I heard that there were two scripts being considered. One of them was a dark, gritty horror script and the other was a "superhero" script. They went with the latter and I worried a bit more. Then the trailer came out, and I thought that some of the visuals looked great, but everything else about the film took me from worry to a sense of forboding doom. Well, now it's out. The reviews are in, and it's craptastically bad. Bad script, bad acting, unfinished special effects, and all the sensibilities of a bad video game.
Everything thinks "I could have done it better", but the truth is... most of us could have done it better. I wanted a film with a young Johnny Blaze. I wanted to see him obsess over his black magic books, obvilivious that he was toying with the real deal. I want to see his anguish over the impending loss of the man who is like a father to him. I want to see his girlfriend save his ass at the last minute. But most of all, I want to see him turn into a demon from hell... and to struggle with his own desires for vengeance. I want to see Johnny Blaze let the Ghost Rider exact the vengeance that Johnny's own anger and frustration and pain demand... and then see what happens when the demon goes too far. A film where the "hero" who is no hero without a human conscience goes out of control and then see how Johnny confronts his own heart, and desperately tries to regain the control he has sacrificed.
That would have been an amazing movie. But instead we get Nick Cage, the plastic Eva Mendez (who didn't even look like she could act in the trailer... which is always a bad sign), and some bullshit about water, air, and earth monsters and a protaganist who is about as conflicted as a man choosing paper versus plastic. I would have preferred that the film had died in pre-production, or gone straight to video because now it will be 20 years before anyone even considers trying to make a good Ghost Rider movie... at best.
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
ass kicking
The last 24 hours have pretty firmly kicked my ass, but it's going to get better from this point forward, I think.
The first of the Submergency videos has been posted on YouTube. We'll be posting the entire show in chunks over the next few months. Some of these are fantastically funny, and others are just cute, but I'm pleased with the general quality of all of them and am looking forward to further improving the video quality for future shows.
Vial had its first rehearsal last night, and it went ... ok. We were missing an actor and another was an hour late, and two others were about a half hour late. Not an auspicious beginning, to say the very least. On the plus side, everyone had given good consideration to their characters, histories, secrets and relationships and people were largely off book for the read through. We only have two weeks, so I needed people as ready as possible for this start. With one of our actors gone for a third of the rehearsals, keeping things tight and working on the characters (instead of just learning the lines) is crucial.
I'm a bit freaked about still needing set pieces, but Mayu has already promised to help me get some stuff on Saturday. I just need to breathe. People will show up on time. We'll have time to do this script justice, and we'll get through it.
really, we will.
The first of the Submergency videos has been posted on YouTube. We'll be posting the entire show in chunks over the next few months. Some of these are fantastically funny, and others are just cute, but I'm pleased with the general quality of all of them and am looking forward to further improving the video quality for future shows.
Vial had its first rehearsal last night, and it went ... ok. We were missing an actor and another was an hour late, and two others were about a half hour late. Not an auspicious beginning, to say the very least. On the plus side, everyone had given good consideration to their characters, histories, secrets and relationships and people were largely off book for the read through. We only have two weeks, so I needed people as ready as possible for this start. With one of our actors gone for a third of the rehearsals, keeping things tight and working on the characters (instead of just learning the lines) is crucial.
I'm a bit freaked about still needing set pieces, but Mayu has already promised to help me get some stuff on Saturday. I just need to breathe. People will show up on time. We'll have time to do this script justice, and we'll get through it.
really, we will.
Monday, February 12, 2007
On the edge of the rehearsal abyss.
A couple of links first off.
Kim Richards made me aware of this speech by Ross Anderson, Mayor of Salt Lake City, which I thought was worthy of note.
One of our employees here sent me a link to this case of early tech support that is probably one of the best takes on the HelpDesk experience I've ever seen.
Another good RadioStar recording session last night. We were able to record several short plays by local writer/performer Deborah Wade, and we should be able to begin podcasting them shortly.
Mayu and I were able to catch Eleanor Reinholdt and Candice Milan in "Come back to the five and dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean" at the California Conservatory Theatre this weekend. Eleanor and Candice were some of the standouts of the cast, and the show as a whole was fairly good. Definitely worth your time if you're in the area, and they have one weekend left.
Rehearsals start tomorrow for "Vial", and I'm still in need of some chairs. I have two weeks, so it isn't dire yet, but it would be nice to not have to worry about it. I'm still trying to nail down a musician for "Nothing in the Dark" as well. Feel free to refer people to me!
I got confirmation that we do NOT have the rights for the hoped for July show at the Exit, but I'm not too discouraged as that may open up time and energy and resources to convert "Pinch" into a short film. I've been getting a ton of ideas of how to film it, and floating it by people seems to be getting a positive reaction. Granted, I've also had people express a desire to shake me and yell "slow down! For god's sake, just slow down!'.
I'm not sure what they mean by that, though.
Kim Richards made me aware of this speech by Ross Anderson, Mayor of Salt Lake City, which I thought was worthy of note.
One of our employees here sent me a link to this case of early tech support that is probably one of the best takes on the HelpDesk experience I've ever seen.
Another good RadioStar recording session last night. We were able to record several short plays by local writer/performer Deborah Wade, and we should be able to begin podcasting them shortly.
Mayu and I were able to catch Eleanor Reinholdt and Candice Milan in "Come back to the five and dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean" at the California Conservatory Theatre this weekend. Eleanor and Candice were some of the standouts of the cast, and the show as a whole was fairly good. Definitely worth your time if you're in the area, and they have one weekend left.
Rehearsals start tomorrow for "Vial", and I'm still in need of some chairs. I have two weeks, so it isn't dire yet, but it would be nice to not have to worry about it. I'm still trying to nail down a musician for "Nothing in the Dark" as well. Feel free to refer people to me!
I got confirmation that we do NOT have the rights for the hoped for July show at the Exit, but I'm not too discouraged as that may open up time and energy and resources to convert "Pinch" into a short film. I've been getting a ton of ideas of how to film it, and floating it by people seems to be getting a positive reaction. Granted, I've also had people express a desire to shake me and yell "slow down! For god's sake, just slow down!'.
I'm not sure what they mean by that, though.
Thursday, February 08, 2007
bleh
Well, last night was kind of a wash. I got the current RadioStar show up in the afternoon, but I had hoped to get a jump start on next week's show and get some writing done. I just couldn't pull it together, though. I played with Second Life a bit, creating an account and avatar. I wanted to see what this thing was like and if it was worth creating a space there that could be a virtual RadioStar Listening Room. After an hour and a half of tooling around and only seeing three other users outside the welcome kiosk, I'm not sure it would be worth the time or effort. I'll play around a little more and see if I can find if ANYWHERE is better populated, but I'm not terribly hopeful right now.
I went to my last tango class for the next several weeks, but didn't do much dancing. In an odd turn of events, there were 9 men and only 7 women, so I opted out of most of the practice time since I don't actually pay for lessons. (I've done web work for the instructors for over 7 years, most of it unpaid, so I get free lessons). It was a bit frustrating, especially as I had to walk home in the rain afterwards.
I got home and finished dorking around on Second Life for a bit, and generally completely failed to get any writing or significant editing done. Everything I tried to work on turned to dust and I found myself drifting off energetically. I hate nights like this, when I just can't focus to save my life and there are too many bright and sparkley things around to distract me.
I went to my last tango class for the next several weeks, but didn't do much dancing. In an odd turn of events, there were 9 men and only 7 women, so I opted out of most of the practice time since I don't actually pay for lessons. (I've done web work for the instructors for over 7 years, most of it unpaid, so I get free lessons). It was a bit frustrating, especially as I had to walk home in the rain afterwards.
I got home and finished dorking around on Second Life for a bit, and generally completely failed to get any writing or significant editing done. Everything I tried to work on turned to dust and I found myself drifting off energetically. I hate nights like this, when I just can't focus to save my life and there are too many bright and sparkley things around to distract me.
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
Stuff and Nonsense
Not a lot new on the personal front. I'm a week out from beginning rehearsals for "Vial", with a full cast and most of the tech stuff all lined up. Angela, Mayuko and I went and saw Kodo Taiko at U.C. Berkeley on Saturday, which was awesome and reminded me that I really need to keep abreast of what is going on at Berkeley. Much thanks to Eric Katz for sacrificing his ticket so that Mayu could attend. Also, Jeffrey Bihr has fired up Suzuki classes again, which I drug Mayu (willingly) to. I'm thrilled to be resuming this work, even if it is on Sunday mornings.
A few random thoughts on the news:
A man wanted internationally for bombings, espionage, attempted murder, and hijacking was elected to Iraq's parliament fourteen months ago. We just realized it. I wonder if his career of violent opposition to Kuwait and America was part of his election campaign process. If not, obviously his opponents didn't do their job in exposing his past very well. What ever happened to modeling their election process on ours?
The big news today is about the astronaut who went all Jerry Springer on a perceived romantic rival. It's about time that the sciences began to compete with professional sports in the area of scandal and lame ass behavior. I'm just glad that astronauts have to go through all that psychological testing before they get sent into space so that they don't go bug fuck crazy up there . ... wait a minute....
Tony Blair accused Iran of "a strategy to create maximum trouble" in the Middle East. Interesting comments from the largest supporter of America's violent invasion of an Arabic nation. Seriously, what grounds do America or England have in claiming that Middle East nations are trying to create maximum trouble in the Middle East while we're invading, stationing military bases in foreign lands (whether they want us there or not), detaining foreign citizens in countries that don't belong to us, and generally poking the hornet's nest with a big stick while chuckling imbecilely? What amazes me even more is that this kind of comment after one of Iran's diplomats was kidnapped by what appear to be US backed Iraqi special forces. Is Blair suggesting that Iran kidnapped it's own people in an attempt to justify a war with the U.S.?
I have to wonder, in the case of the friendly fire incident, where American pilots opened file on a British convoy, if Iraqi families whose families are killed "accidentally" get the same rights of inquest as British families. Or are the Iraqi people not our allies? This is not to say that it's not horrible that we killed our own allies, because it is. But I suspect that we kill a lot of people who are not trying to kill us and I'm asking more and more what makes "news" newsworthy, and why this death is more sensitive than the deaths of the people that we are supposedly there to protect.
and now, an atrocious picture of a young Neil Gaiman. I hope I never get so famous that people take pleasure in pointing out how bad my hair used to be
.Finally, it looks like you'll be able to download movies and television to your car in the next few years. I remember as a kid, we had a van for trips that had a little television in the back. The reception was absolutely terrible, but we watched it. It had shag carpeting, and two fancy seats with cup holders, a little kitchen sink and a fridge. The back seats folded down into a bed. Ahhh, the 70's.
A few random thoughts on the news:
A man wanted internationally for bombings, espionage, attempted murder, and hijacking was elected to Iraq's parliament fourteen months ago. We just realized it. I wonder if his career of violent opposition to Kuwait and America was part of his election campaign process. If not, obviously his opponents didn't do their job in exposing his past very well. What ever happened to modeling their election process on ours?
The big news today is about the astronaut who went all Jerry Springer on a perceived romantic rival. It's about time that the sciences began to compete with professional sports in the area of scandal and lame ass behavior. I'm just glad that astronauts have to go through all that psychological testing before they get sent into space so that they don't go bug fuck crazy up there . ... wait a minute....
Tony Blair accused Iran of "a strategy to create maximum trouble" in the Middle East. Interesting comments from the largest supporter of America's violent invasion of an Arabic nation. Seriously, what grounds do America or England have in claiming that Middle East nations are trying to create maximum trouble in the Middle East while we're invading, stationing military bases in foreign lands (whether they want us there or not), detaining foreign citizens in countries that don't belong to us, and generally poking the hornet's nest with a big stick while chuckling imbecilely? What amazes me even more is that this kind of comment after one of Iran's diplomats was kidnapped by what appear to be US backed Iraqi special forces. Is Blair suggesting that Iran kidnapped it's own people in an attempt to justify a war with the U.S.?
I have to wonder, in the case of the friendly fire incident, where American pilots opened file on a British convoy, if Iraqi families whose families are killed "accidentally" get the same rights of inquest as British families. Or are the Iraqi people not our allies? This is not to say that it's not horrible that we killed our own allies, because it is. But I suspect that we kill a lot of people who are not trying to kill us and I'm asking more and more what makes "news" newsworthy, and why this death is more sensitive than the deaths of the people that we are supposedly there to protect.
and now, an atrocious picture of a young Neil Gaiman. I hope I never get so famous that people take pleasure in pointing out how bad my hair used to be
.Finally, it looks like you'll be able to download movies and television to your car in the next few years. I remember as a kid, we had a van for trips that had a little television in the back. The reception was absolutely terrible, but we watched it. It had shag carpeting, and two fancy seats with cup holders, a little kitchen sink and a fridge. The back seats folded down into a bed. Ahhh, the 70's.
Thursday, February 01, 2007
something random
Don't mind this. It's for a practical joke that Neil Gaiman is playing on Penn Teller.
New Year Dawning
I meant to write earlier, but Blogger was down. So it's not my fault.
A few quick updates on things:
"Vial" for the Bay Area One Acts is two weeks out from rehearsals. I've met with the set, light, and sound designers and things are looking good. I was short an actor for a while, but I think I've got the role recast finally. This one aspect of the production has generated the most stress for me, as I had several actors who would have worked well in the role and would have loved to do it, but were already cast elsewhere. This is the problem with these tiny unpaid festivals. Since you can't pay the actors (casts for 10 distinct one-acts, plus directors, playwrights, crew, etc. etc. etc. would cause the budget to skyrocket, and the venue is expensive enough as it is), it's not unexpected to lose high quality people to paying gigs. Unfortunate, but understandable. Still, we've got a great cast and I think it's going to be a really good piece.
"Nothing in the Dark" is cast, and I'm waiting for confirmation on my violinist. There's not a whole lot I can do about this late March show just yet, so I'm just trying not to fret about the music side of things.
RadioStar continues to go well. We had over 600 downloads of shows last month, and I'm hoping that our audience will just keep growing. Our most popular show has had over 150 downloads since it was first created (we have over 55 shows online now), so I don't know that our actual audience is more than 200 people or so. If you listen to us, please feel free to leave a review on iTunes, or send us an email.
The first meeting of the League of Professional Small Theatre Companies was last night, and while it's way too early to make any predictions as to it's effectiveness, the potential there is impressive. I set up a discussion board for us to use, so hopefully the hundreds of small theatre professionals in the area will be able to more effectively share resources and solutions.
I edited the first of the Submergency videos last night as well. Once I have a few more of them done I'll start posting them online. At this point I think I'll post them on the CCP server as a podcast for iTunes and also on YouTube. That will be 15 videos when all is said and done, and by that point we'll hopefully have another show lined up, so it might behoove us to make Submergency a semi-regular video podcast.
I've started seeing someone, which is a big change over the last two years. I'm taking things week by week, but it's very nice and I'm certainly feeling grounded. She lives in Sacramento, which is actually working out well. She's out here most weekends anyway, so my guilt at the dating commute isn't as great as it might be, and since she's heavily interested in the arts we've got lots to keep ourselves occupied (like that's ever been a problem for me).
Speaking of keeping occupied, I've been taking tango lessons from Gigi and Warren Jensen again and greatly enjoying it, and will begin taking Suzuki acting lessons from Jeffrey Bihr again starting this Sunday. Tango is going by the sideboard for a month or two while I'm in rehearsal for "Vial" and "Nothing in the Dark", but the Suzuki class is on Sunday mornings so it doesn't conflict with anything other than my laziness. A class I will not be taking, but that is of interest, is Paul Jenning's Shakespeare classes. Paul is gearing up to teach Elizabethan theatre technique and is looking for students. If you're interested in this, let me know and I'll forward your information to Paul.
Other good, if somewhat surprising news, is that novelist, playwright, and scholar Mandy Keifetz got married a couple of weeks ago! After a brief and whirlwind romance, Mandy got married while on a visit here in San Francisco. She's staying in New York but will be out here frequently until her new hubby can complete his own move out to the Big Apple. Cheers Keif!
On the dark side, my Aunt has been fighting a mystery infection that is so bad that she's been put into a controlled coma. She's been under for a few weeks now, and they still can't seem to find where the infection is concentrated. It's extremely scary, but every time I talk to my mom there has been no news. It all happened so fast, and now weeks of nothing. No change, no progress, no new information. It's a strange kind of limbo. And stuff like this goes beyond the inevitabilities of old age. It's something darker and stranger and unpredictable and all I know to do is to hope for recovery.
I want to end on something a bit more hopeful, so I'll mention that I've made bit more progress on the novel. Chapter six is finished and I have the outline for what I think will happen in chapter seven all worked out. With everything else going on, though, I'm not sure when I'll be able to announce the next chapter's completion.
A few quick updates on things:
"Vial" for the Bay Area One Acts is two weeks out from rehearsals. I've met with the set, light, and sound designers and things are looking good. I was short an actor for a while, but I think I've got the role recast finally. This one aspect of the production has generated the most stress for me, as I had several actors who would have worked well in the role and would have loved to do it, but were already cast elsewhere. This is the problem with these tiny unpaid festivals. Since you can't pay the actors (casts for 10 distinct one-acts, plus directors, playwrights, crew, etc. etc. etc. would cause the budget to skyrocket, and the venue is expensive enough as it is), it's not unexpected to lose high quality people to paying gigs. Unfortunate, but understandable. Still, we've got a great cast and I think it's going to be a really good piece.
"Nothing in the Dark" is cast, and I'm waiting for confirmation on my violinist. There's not a whole lot I can do about this late March show just yet, so I'm just trying not to fret about the music side of things.
RadioStar continues to go well. We had over 600 downloads of shows last month, and I'm hoping that our audience will just keep growing. Our most popular show has had over 150 downloads since it was first created (we have over 55 shows online now), so I don't know that our actual audience is more than 200 people or so. If you listen to us, please feel free to leave a review on iTunes, or send us an email.
The first meeting of the League of Professional Small Theatre Companies was last night, and while it's way too early to make any predictions as to it's effectiveness, the potential there is impressive. I set up a discussion board for us to use, so hopefully the hundreds of small theatre professionals in the area will be able to more effectively share resources and solutions.
I edited the first of the Submergency videos last night as well. Once I have a few more of them done I'll start posting them online. At this point I think I'll post them on the CCP server as a podcast for iTunes and also on YouTube. That will be 15 videos when all is said and done, and by that point we'll hopefully have another show lined up, so it might behoove us to make Submergency a semi-regular video podcast.
I've started seeing someone, which is a big change over the last two years. I'm taking things week by week, but it's very nice and I'm certainly feeling grounded. She lives in Sacramento, which is actually working out well. She's out here most weekends anyway, so my guilt at the dating commute isn't as great as it might be, and since she's heavily interested in the arts we've got lots to keep ourselves occupied (like that's ever been a problem for me).
Speaking of keeping occupied, I've been taking tango lessons from Gigi and Warren Jensen again and greatly enjoying it, and will begin taking Suzuki acting lessons from Jeffrey Bihr again starting this Sunday. Tango is going by the sideboard for a month or two while I'm in rehearsal for "Vial" and "Nothing in the Dark", but the Suzuki class is on Sunday mornings so it doesn't conflict with anything other than my laziness. A class I will not be taking, but that is of interest, is Paul Jenning's Shakespeare classes. Paul is gearing up to teach Elizabethan theatre technique and is looking for students. If you're interested in this, let me know and I'll forward your information to Paul.
Other good, if somewhat surprising news, is that novelist, playwright, and scholar Mandy Keifetz got married a couple of weeks ago! After a brief and whirlwind romance, Mandy got married while on a visit here in San Francisco. She's staying in New York but will be out here frequently until her new hubby can complete his own move out to the Big Apple. Cheers Keif!
On the dark side, my Aunt has been fighting a mystery infection that is so bad that she's been put into a controlled coma. She's been under for a few weeks now, and they still can't seem to find where the infection is concentrated. It's extremely scary, but every time I talk to my mom there has been no news. It all happened so fast, and now weeks of nothing. No change, no progress, no new information. It's a strange kind of limbo. And stuff like this goes beyond the inevitabilities of old age. It's something darker and stranger and unpredictable and all I know to do is to hope for recovery.
I want to end on something a bit more hopeful, so I'll mention that I've made bit more progress on the novel. Chapter six is finished and I have the outline for what I think will happen in chapter seven all worked out. With everything else going on, though, I'm not sure when I'll be able to announce the next chapter's completion.
New Year Dawning
I meant to write earlier, but Blogger was down. So it's not my fault.
A few quick updates on things:
"Vial" for the Bay Area One Acts is two weeks out from rehearsals. I've met with the set, light, and sound designers and things are looking good. I was short an actor for a while, but I think I've got the role recast finally. This one aspect of the production has generated the most stress for me, as I had several actors who would have worked well in the role and would have loved to do it, but were already cast elsewhere. This is the problem with these tiny unpaid festivals. Since you can't pay the actors (casts for 10 distinct one-acts, plus directors, playwrights, crew, etc. etc. etc. would cause the budget to skyrocket, and the venue is expensive enough as it is), it's not unexpected to lose high quality people to paying gigs. Unfortunate, but understandable. Still, we've got a great cast and I think it's going to be a really good piece.
"Nothing in the Dark" is cast, and I'm waiting for confirmation on my violinist. There's not a whole lot I can do about this late March show just yet, so I'm just trying not to fret about the music side of things.
RadioStar continues to go well. We had over 600 downloads of shows last month, and I'm hoping that our audience will just keep growing. Our most popular show has had over 150 downloads since it was first created (we have over 55 shows online now), so I don't know that our actual audience is more than 200 people or so. If you listen to us, please feel free to leave a review on iTunes, or send us an email.
The first meeting of the League of Professional Small Theatre Companies was last night, and while it's way too early to make any predictions as to it's effectiveness, the potential there is impressive. I set up a discussion board for us to use, so hopefully the hundreds of small theatre professionals in the area will be able to more effectively share resources and solutions.
I edited the first of the Submergency videos last night as well. Once I have a few more of them done I'll start posting them online. At this point I think I'll post them on the CCP server as a podcast for iTunes and also on YouTube. That will be 15 videos when all is said and done, and by that point we'll hopefully have another show lined up, so it might behoove us to make Submergency a semi-regular video podcast.
I've started seeing someone, which is a big change over the last two years. I'm taking things week by week, but it's very nice and I'm certainly feeling grounded. She lives in Sacramento, which is actually working out well. She's out here most weekends anyway, so my guilt at the dating commute isn't as great as it might be, and since she's heavily interested in the arts we've got lots to keep ourselves occupied (like that's ever been a problem for me).
Speaking of keeping occupied, I've been taking tango lessons from Gigi and Warren Jensen again and greatly enjoying it, and will begin taking Suzuki acting lessons from Jeffrey Bihr again starting this Sunday. Tango is going by the sideboard for a month or two while I'm in rehearsal for "Vial" and "Nothing in the Dark", but the Suzuki class is on Sunday mornings so it doesn't conflict with anything other than my laziness. A class I will not be taking, but that is of interest, is Paul Jenning's Shakespeare classes. Paul is gearing up to teach Elizabethan theatre technique and is looking for students. If you're interested in this, let me know and I'll forward your information to Paul.
Other good, if somewhat surprising news, is that novelist, playwright, and scholar Mandy Keifetz got married a couple of weeks ago! After a brief and whirlwind romance, Mandy got married while on a visit here in San Francisco. She's staying in New York but will be out here frequently until her new hubby can complete his own move out to the Big Apple. Cheers Keif!
On the dark side, my Aunt has been fighting a mystery infection that is so bad that she's been put into a controlled coma. She's been under for a few weeks now, and they still can't seem to find where the infection is concentrated. It's extremely scary, but every time I talk to my mom there has been no news. It all happened so fast, and now weeks of nothing. No change, no progress, no new information. It's a strange kind of limbo. And stuff like this goes beyond the inevitabilities of old age. It's something darker and stranger and unpredictable and all I know to do is to hope for recovery.
I want to end on something a bit more hopeful, so I'll mention that I've made bit more progress on the novel. Chapter six is finished and I have the outline for what I think will happen in chapter seven all worked out. With everything else going on, though, I'm not sure when I'll be able to announce the next chapter's completion.
A few quick updates on things:
"Vial" for the Bay Area One Acts is two weeks out from rehearsals. I've met with the set, light, and sound designers and things are looking good. I was short an actor for a while, but I think I've got the role recast finally. This one aspect of the production has generated the most stress for me, as I had several actors who would have worked well in the role and would have loved to do it, but were already cast elsewhere. This is the problem with these tiny unpaid festivals. Since you can't pay the actors (casts for 10 distinct one-acts, plus directors, playwrights, crew, etc. etc. etc. would cause the budget to skyrocket, and the venue is expensive enough as it is), it's not unexpected to lose high quality people to paying gigs. Unfortunate, but understandable. Still, we've got a great cast and I think it's going to be a really good piece.
"Nothing in the Dark" is cast, and I'm waiting for confirmation on my violinist. There's not a whole lot I can do about this late March show just yet, so I'm just trying not to fret about the music side of things.
RadioStar continues to go well. We had over 600 downloads of shows last month, and I'm hoping that our audience will just keep growing. Our most popular show has had over 150 downloads since it was first created (we have over 55 shows online now), so I don't know that our actual audience is more than 200 people or so. If you listen to us, please feel free to leave a review on iTunes, or send us an email.
The first meeting of the League of Professional Small Theatre Companies was last night, and while it's way too early to make any predictions as to it's effectiveness, the potential there is impressive. I set up a discussion board for us to use, so hopefully the hundreds of small theatre professionals in the area will be able to more effectively share resources and solutions.
I edited the first of the Submergency videos last night as well. Once I have a few more of them done I'll start posting them online. At this point I think I'll post them on the CCP server as a podcast for iTunes and also on YouTube. That will be 15 videos when all is said and done, and by that point we'll hopefully have another show lined up, so it might behoove us to make Submergency a semi-regular video podcast.
I've started seeing someone, which is a big change over the last two years. I'm taking things week by week, but it's very nice and I'm certainly feeling grounded. She lives in Sacramento, which is actually working out well. She's out here most weekends anyway, so my guilt at the dating commute isn't as great as it might be, and since she's heavily interested in the arts we've got lots to keep ourselves occupied (like that's ever been a problem for me).
Speaking of keeping occupied, I've been taking tango lessons from Gigi and Warren Jensen again and greatly enjoying it, and will begin taking Suzuki acting lessons from Jeffrey Bihr again starting this Sunday. Tango is going by the sideboard for a month or two while I'm in rehearsal for "Vial" and "Nothing in the Dark", but the Suzuki class is on Sunday mornings so it doesn't conflict with anything other than my laziness. A class I will not be taking, but that is of interest, is Paul Jenning's Shakespeare classes. Paul is gearing up to teach Elizabethan theatre technique and is looking for students. If you're interested in this, let me know and I'll forward your information to Paul.
Other good, if somewhat surprising news, is that novelist, playwright, and scholar Mandy Keifetz got married a couple of weeks ago! After a brief and whirlwind romance, Mandy got married while on a visit here in San Francisco. She's staying in New York but will be out here frequently until her new hubby can complete his own move out to the Big Apple. Cheers Keif!
On the dark side, my Aunt has been fighting a mystery infection that is so bad that she's been put into a controlled coma. She's been under for a few weeks now, and they still can't seem to find where the infection is concentrated. It's extremely scary, but every time I talk to my mom there has been no news. It all happened so fast, and now weeks of nothing. No change, no progress, no new information. It's a strange kind of limbo. And stuff like this goes beyond the inevitabilities of old age. It's something darker and stranger and unpredictable and all I know to do is to hope for recovery.
I want to end on something a bit more hopeful, so I'll mention that I've made bit more progress on the novel. Chapter six is finished and I have the outline for what I think will happen in chapter seven all worked out. With everything else going on, though, I'm not sure when I'll be able to announce the next chapter's completion.
Thursday, January 04, 2007
News, and not news
A few announcements!
First off, I've been doing some end of year tallies, and I was startled to find that RadioStar Improv had over 4,500 shows downloaded in 2006. Go team!
I'd also like to give congratulations to Tom Neely and Adrienne Miller on the birth of their son William Miller Neely! I especially offer my congratulations to Adrienne for passing something that weighs 9 lbs and 14 oz through her tender bits.
In unrelated, but interesting news, I came across this article by Sarah Weaton about the big controversy about Keith Ellison being sworn with a copy of the Koran.
"Mr. Ellison is not swearing in on the Koran. And no incoming members of Congress swear in on the Bible. Everyone is sworn in together during a private ceremony without any religious text. It'’s only during a ceremonial photo-op that a book may be brought out."
full article here
We've also got two Buddhists being sworn in it seems, and no one is raising a fuss about them. Of course, they're using Bibles for their photo ops in order to maintain tradition. And yet, no one seems to mind that the use of a Bible in swearing in ceremonies is not actually any indication of reverence and respect for the Bible per se, but rather a desire to maintain traditions of the popular culture. I.e., it's not remotely an act of faith.
So, what's the big deal? Well, there really isn't one, except for the one that the pundits, the press, and the radicals want to make. Ultimately all that is at stake here is maintaining the fiction that America is an Evangelical Christian nation, and doing one's best to plug one's ears to the reality of the separation of Church and State.
What amuses me most of all, though is that Mr. Ellis claims that he isn't a symbol, but has chosen to use the english language copy of the Koran that belonged to the Diest founding father, Thomas Jefferson. Right. No conscious symbolism there. No politicing to make a statement in that choice.
This is why, by and large, I avoid the newspapers.
First off, I've been doing some end of year tallies, and I was startled to find that RadioStar Improv had over 4,500 shows downloaded in 2006. Go team!
I'd also like to give congratulations to Tom Neely and Adrienne Miller on the birth of their son William Miller Neely! I especially offer my congratulations to Adrienne for passing something that weighs 9 lbs and 14 oz through her tender bits.
In unrelated, but interesting news, I came across this article by Sarah Weaton about the big controversy about Keith Ellison being sworn with a copy of the Koran.
"Mr. Ellison is not swearing in on the Koran. And no incoming members of Congress swear in on the Bible. Everyone is sworn in together during a private ceremony without any religious text. It'’s only during a ceremonial photo-op that a book may be brought out."
full article here
We've also got two Buddhists being sworn in it seems, and no one is raising a fuss about them. Of course, they're using Bibles for their photo ops in order to maintain tradition. And yet, no one seems to mind that the use of a Bible in swearing in ceremonies is not actually any indication of reverence and respect for the Bible per se, but rather a desire to maintain traditions of the popular culture. I.e., it's not remotely an act of faith.
So, what's the big deal? Well, there really isn't one, except for the one that the pundits, the press, and the radicals want to make. Ultimately all that is at stake here is maintaining the fiction that America is an Evangelical Christian nation, and doing one's best to plug one's ears to the reality of the separation of Church and State.
What amuses me most of all, though is that Mr. Ellis claims that he isn't a symbol, but has chosen to use the english language copy of the Koran that belonged to the Diest founding father, Thomas Jefferson. Right. No conscious symbolism there. No politicing to make a statement in that choice.
This is why, by and large, I avoid the newspapers.
Saturday, December 30, 2006
End of year
I'm about to jump in the shower before spending a day with Mayuko, cruising museums, getting the last of my items for the apartment from Ikea, and seeing Mindy Lym's show tonight.
Mayuko and I met on Ryze years ago and have had an on again, off again email correspondance. She came to the closing of Submergency two weeks ago and we've been spending a lot of time together since then. It's always a treat when people re-emerge from the shadows, and this is no exception!
I've continued being a complete homebody over the last week, enjoying this rare opportunity to nest. I'll be out all day today, and tomorrow night is New Year's, and 2007 promises to be a crazy year indeed. I'm happy to announce that Bryce Byerley will be appearing in my Twilight Zone adaptation in late March. I'm still in negotiations for the other two roles. I'm also going to be looking for a violinist to compose a score for the 20 minute piece and play it live. So if that's you, drop me a line, ok?
RadioStar is expanding. Starting in January, we'll be recording original one-acts by local playwrights as a second podcast stream. Beginning in February, there will be RadioStar: Improv and RadioStar: Off the Page. This means some capital outlay as we're getting a new mixer and some more microphones, but we're all very excited about the possibilities of this.
Cassandra's Call itself is going to be making some big changes in 2007. The big goal over the next several months will be to restructure CCP into a non-profit. I've actually got volunteers to help me in this endeavor and I'm very excited about expanding the CCP family into something coherent as well as prolific.
At this point, we've got the two podcast streams, the Bay Area One Acts, the Twilight Zone festival, the as yet unnamed festival that I'm co-producing with Chris Hayes and that will feature the remount of Vagina Dentata, and hopefully something for the SF Fringe Festival in September.
I sat down to write a rough draft of the Fringe Show, but it became clear around page 9 that I was just writing Vagina Dentata again. I started out wanting to tell a story about love and dating in an era of disillusionment and bitterness (i.e. someone's 30's) and ended up with Kelli from "411", Clara from "Vagina Dentata" and Tammy from the unfinished play "Wings to Fly" in a bar together being witty, raunchy and clever... just like the many sequences in Dentata. I'll put it aside and let that idea simmer for a bit. Instead, I may take a short story idea I've had about a news reporter, homelessness, fungus and alien abduction that I've had tossing in my head for the last couple of years and turn it into a one-act. With both Monday and Tuesday off work, I should be able to whip out an outline and figure out what it would take to mount it. I'm thinking of doing mask work, which is always delightful but super-expensive.
A larger priority, however, will be getting the video from the last Submergency show into the computer and edited so we can start posting it on YouTube.
And speaking of online video, I'd like to end this little update with something I saw posted over on Bex Schwartz' blog.
It's tasteless, but that's ok because it was made 10 years ago. In memory of Gerald Ford
Mayuko and I met on Ryze years ago and have had an on again, off again email correspondance. She came to the closing of Submergency two weeks ago and we've been spending a lot of time together since then. It's always a treat when people re-emerge from the shadows, and this is no exception!
I've continued being a complete homebody over the last week, enjoying this rare opportunity to nest. I'll be out all day today, and tomorrow night is New Year's, and 2007 promises to be a crazy year indeed. I'm happy to announce that Bryce Byerley will be appearing in my Twilight Zone adaptation in late March. I'm still in negotiations for the other two roles. I'm also going to be looking for a violinist to compose a score for the 20 minute piece and play it live. So if that's you, drop me a line, ok?
RadioStar is expanding. Starting in January, we'll be recording original one-acts by local playwrights as a second podcast stream. Beginning in February, there will be RadioStar: Improv and RadioStar: Off the Page. This means some capital outlay as we're getting a new mixer and some more microphones, but we're all very excited about the possibilities of this.
Cassandra's Call itself is going to be making some big changes in 2007. The big goal over the next several months will be to restructure CCP into a non-profit. I've actually got volunteers to help me in this endeavor and I'm very excited about expanding the CCP family into something coherent as well as prolific.
At this point, we've got the two podcast streams, the Bay Area One Acts, the Twilight Zone festival, the as yet unnamed festival that I'm co-producing with Chris Hayes and that will feature the remount of Vagina Dentata, and hopefully something for the SF Fringe Festival in September.
I sat down to write a rough draft of the Fringe Show, but it became clear around page 9 that I was just writing Vagina Dentata again. I started out wanting to tell a story about love and dating in an era of disillusionment and bitterness (i.e. someone's 30's) and ended up with Kelli from "411", Clara from "Vagina Dentata" and Tammy from the unfinished play "Wings to Fly" in a bar together being witty, raunchy and clever... just like the many sequences in Dentata. I'll put it aside and let that idea simmer for a bit. Instead, I may take a short story idea I've had about a news reporter, homelessness, fungus and alien abduction that I've had tossing in my head for the last couple of years and turn it into a one-act. With both Monday and Tuesday off work, I should be able to whip out an outline and figure out what it would take to mount it. I'm thinking of doing mask work, which is always delightful but super-expensive.
A larger priority, however, will be getting the video from the last Submergency show into the computer and edited so we can start posting it on YouTube.
And speaking of online video, I'd like to end this little update with something I saw posted over on Bex Schwartz' blog.
It's tasteless, but that's ok because it was made 10 years ago. In memory of Gerald Ford
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
Putting out the search
It's been an interesting mix of busy and slacking off this December.
Submergency had a great closing, which was remarkable since we actually caught it on videotape. Over the next few weeks I'll be editing together excerpts and putting them on YouTube. Stay tuned!
I just finished casting Vial, which I will be directing for the Bay Area One Act Festival. I needed to use actors who had made the audition process for the whole festival, but my choice for one role had to bow out. As sorry as I am to lose that person, I'm thrilled to have Stefanie Goldstien ("Vagina Dentata", "Get it? Got it. Good!") on board.
I found the Twilight Zone episode I'll be adapting for the TW Festival a few short weeks after the BOAs. Well, I say I'll be doing this one, but it will depend on finding an actor to play Wanda. I want to do "Nothing in the Dark", which was an episode from 1961 with Robert Redford that explored our fear of death. It'll work perfectly on the Darkroom stage. Finding a sharp, 65+ actor to play the lead role will be the challenge. I know some people, but they're equity, which could make things messy. Still, time for next steps.
RadioStar is going well, and we've got some big plans for 2007 that I can't really go into right now. I will say that RadioStar has the potential to become a network of shows.
This actually gets to something I want to put out into the universe. If you're interested in becoming part of Cassandra's Call Productions, let me know. With our great variety of offerings, all manner of skills are needed. Video editing, sound editing, lights, costuming, set design, set construction, box office, equipment operators, camera people, actors, directors, foley designers, musicians, INVESTORS, grant writers, accounts people, PR people, event coordinators, legal experts, etc, etc, etc. I need to begin to turn the company into a legitimate non-profit and I'm so busy on the creative side of things that there's no way I can handle all the business side of things. So, if you're interested in helping in any capacity... let me know.
Submergency had a great closing, which was remarkable since we actually caught it on videotape. Over the next few weeks I'll be editing together excerpts and putting them on YouTube. Stay tuned!
I just finished casting Vial, which I will be directing for the Bay Area One Act Festival. I needed to use actors who had made the audition process for the whole festival, but my choice for one role had to bow out. As sorry as I am to lose that person, I'm thrilled to have Stefanie Goldstien ("Vagina Dentata", "Get it? Got it. Good!") on board.
I found the Twilight Zone episode I'll be adapting for the TW Festival a few short weeks after the BOAs. Well, I say I'll be doing this one, but it will depend on finding an actor to play Wanda. I want to do "Nothing in the Dark", which was an episode from 1961 with Robert Redford that explored our fear of death. It'll work perfectly on the Darkroom stage. Finding a sharp, 65+ actor to play the lead role will be the challenge. I know some people, but they're equity, which could make things messy. Still, time for next steps.
RadioStar is going well, and we've got some big plans for 2007 that I can't really go into right now. I will say that RadioStar has the potential to become a network of shows.
This actually gets to something I want to put out into the universe. If you're interested in becoming part of Cassandra's Call Productions, let me know. With our great variety of offerings, all manner of skills are needed. Video editing, sound editing, lights, costuming, set design, set construction, box office, equipment operators, camera people, actors, directors, foley designers, musicians, INVESTORS, grant writers, accounts people, PR people, event coordinators, legal experts, etc, etc, etc. I need to begin to turn the company into a legitimate non-profit and I'm so busy on the creative side of things that there's no way I can handle all the business side of things. So, if you're interested in helping in any capacity... let me know.
Thursday, December 07, 2006
Whee, Wii
Damn Zack Stern. It has been a few weeks since we had a game night. Everyone's been busy, and between Dave and Kate Austin-Groen's new baby, Submergency and all the other madness, Game Night was the first to go. So a few of us gathered at Zack's tonight to play with his Wii (because that joke never gets old). I've certainly been aware of the device and heard good things about it. Graphics aren't "next gen, but it's a lot of fun, but really more for gatherings than solo play" seem to be the concensus.
Well, I'm friggin hooked on the thing now. I love the idea that playing a video game can actually get your heart rate up, and boxing against Dave certainly did that. I got my ass handed to me, but it definitely wasn't a sedentary experience. The accursed thing isn't even that expensive by console standards. My one concern was the infrared transmitter, due to the way I'm set up with my LCD projector. Zack informed me that putting some candles in front of my screen surface will work as well.
I love the fact that I can make a super groovy new high tech gadget work with candlelight.
So, guess what I'll be getting myself for Christmas?
-------
On the way home, I was sitting on BART, working on the novel. I finally began to figure out what this chapter was about and all the twists and turns these characters make. I'm working with the Queen of Thune and the head of her espionage team, so nobody can afford to make dumb choices. The question is simply how many lies and deceptions get piled up on one another before truth is achieved. But that's neither here nor there. As I'm writing, the woman next to me interrupts me to point out that when I type, my right pinkey sticks out and that could cause me ergonomic trouble over time. I had, of course, never noticed that before. Now I'm paranoid about it. I can barely type now without it feeling weird and stress inducing. I was fine, before and now I'm freaked. The even stranger this is that she's an actor. We did readings together for the Actors Reading Writers event a few months ago in Berkeley and she's working with the SF Playhouse on their current show.
I've been meaning to catch the show, and now I really want to (she's quite good)... but I don't know what I'm going to do about this damn pinky.
Well, I'm friggin hooked on the thing now. I love the idea that playing a video game can actually get your heart rate up, and boxing against Dave certainly did that. I got my ass handed to me, but it definitely wasn't a sedentary experience. The accursed thing isn't even that expensive by console standards. My one concern was the infrared transmitter, due to the way I'm set up with my LCD projector. Zack informed me that putting some candles in front of my screen surface will work as well.
I love the fact that I can make a super groovy new high tech gadget work with candlelight.
So, guess what I'll be getting myself for Christmas?
-------
On the way home, I was sitting on BART, working on the novel. I finally began to figure out what this chapter was about and all the twists and turns these characters make. I'm working with the Queen of Thune and the head of her espionage team, so nobody can afford to make dumb choices. The question is simply how many lies and deceptions get piled up on one another before truth is achieved. But that's neither here nor there. As I'm writing, the woman next to me interrupts me to point out that when I type, my right pinkey sticks out and that could cause me ergonomic trouble over time. I had, of course, never noticed that before. Now I'm paranoid about it. I can barely type now without it feeling weird and stress inducing. I was fine, before and now I'm freaked. The even stranger this is that she's an actor. We did readings together for the Actors Reading Writers event a few months ago in Berkeley and she's working with the SF Playhouse on their current show.
I've been meaning to catch the show, and now I really want to (she's quite good)... but I don't know what I'm going to do about this damn pinky.
Wednesday, December 06, 2006
Entering December
first off, some updates:
New York was great. Many thanks and kudos to Megan Kilian, Mandy Kiefetz, Renee Racan, and Neil and Lex Howard for their couches, company, and general grooviness. If you're in NYC, I highly recommend Evil Dead: the Musical, Avenue Q, and Putnam County Spelling Bee. Avoid the Producers. Just rent the original movie and consider yourself $70 richer and better off.
I am madly in love with my new apartment and am finally no longer sleeping on the couch. Thanks to Joseph Maurer I was able to get mattress and bookshelves from IKEA and transport a glass bar table and some lumber from the CCP rehearsal room. The murphy bed in the apartment offered absolutely no back support and my first time attempting to sleep in it resulted in constant sleep interruption and back pain. By cannibalizing some of the Manumission set, I was able to give the mattress the firmness it needed and now I'm in heaven. I'm not sure what the neighbors made of me operating a circular saw in my living room, though.
I had a bit of a health scare, but all ended up ok in the end, although I now have another kidney stone to add to my collection. I keep them in a little plastic coffin, because I'm just weird that way.
I didn't get the multimedia producer job at WestEd, but I'm still doing some of that kind of work since there's more work than can be done by one person. I'm also being pulled off of Help Desk and placed into a more full time training position. This is almost as good as the job I was angling for as it will allow me to explore multiple avenues of training, including flash presentations, videos, and live trainings.
Submergency is having its challenges due to trying to compete with holiday parties and some PR missteps. In short, people who see the show are having a great time. Sadly, very few people are seeing it. We had to cancel a show last week since we only had to very nervous people in the audience. I went with Kalina Wilson to a comedy show once and we were the only people in the audience and it is debatable who had a worse time of it, us or the comedians. We set them free, and I hope that we don't have a repeat of that situation this weekend.
I spent most of last weekend in auditions. No, I wasn't going to auditions, I was holding them. I'm directing "Vial", a new play by Nicholas Turner for the Bay Area One Act Festival. As I write this, I'm on my way back from the callbacks. It's a curious process, since there are ten directors angling for actors from the same auditions. It isn't as simple as just picking the people best suited for the roles (as if that's ever simple). I need to select first, second, and third choices and then await the decision of the Festival directors, who take all the directors' and actors' listed preferences and then assign final casting. It's not an ideal process, but given the structure of the event, it's the best way to go about an awkward situation. On the plus side, I've seen many actors I wouldn't normally have known to call in for auditions and I'll be adding their headshots and resumes to my stack for future reference.
I also just agreed to direct for the Darkroom Theatre's Twilight Zone festival, which will take place mere weeks after the BOA's. I just got recruited this weekend, so I only have a vague idea of which episode I'll adapt for the stage. Netflix, here I come.
Radiostar continues to go well, with downloads steadily increasing. I'm particularly pleased with this week's episode, which was one of our first "La Rondes" and one of our first recording sessions with Julie Kurtz and Jennifer Jajeh.
In what amounts to my free time, I've re-taken up Argentine Tango lessons with Warren and Gigi Jensen over at the Lake Merritt Dance Studio. Remington Stone has been joining me, and Suraya Keating will be coming too which makes it all extra fun. I haven't danced tango for a good five years, so it's interesting getting my skills back up to speed.
Other than that, not much is going on.
New York was great. Many thanks and kudos to Megan Kilian, Mandy Kiefetz, Renee Racan, and Neil and Lex Howard for their couches, company, and general grooviness. If you're in NYC, I highly recommend Evil Dead: the Musical, Avenue Q, and Putnam County Spelling Bee. Avoid the Producers. Just rent the original movie and consider yourself $70 richer and better off.
I am madly in love with my new apartment and am finally no longer sleeping on the couch. Thanks to Joseph Maurer I was able to get mattress and bookshelves from IKEA and transport a glass bar table and some lumber from the CCP rehearsal room. The murphy bed in the apartment offered absolutely no back support and my first time attempting to sleep in it resulted in constant sleep interruption and back pain. By cannibalizing some of the Manumission set, I was able to give the mattress the firmness it needed and now I'm in heaven. I'm not sure what the neighbors made of me operating a circular saw in my living room, though.
I had a bit of a health scare, but all ended up ok in the end, although I now have another kidney stone to add to my collection. I keep them in a little plastic coffin, because I'm just weird that way.
I didn't get the multimedia producer job at WestEd, but I'm still doing some of that kind of work since there's more work than can be done by one person. I'm also being pulled off of Help Desk and placed into a more full time training position. This is almost as good as the job I was angling for as it will allow me to explore multiple avenues of training, including flash presentations, videos, and live trainings.
Submergency is having its challenges due to trying to compete with holiday parties and some PR missteps. In short, people who see the show are having a great time. Sadly, very few people are seeing it. We had to cancel a show last week since we only had to very nervous people in the audience. I went with Kalina Wilson to a comedy show once and we were the only people in the audience and it is debatable who had a worse time of it, us or the comedians. We set them free, and I hope that we don't have a repeat of that situation this weekend.
I spent most of last weekend in auditions. No, I wasn't going to auditions, I was holding them. I'm directing "Vial", a new play by Nicholas Turner for the Bay Area One Act Festival. As I write this, I'm on my way back from the callbacks. It's a curious process, since there are ten directors angling for actors from the same auditions. It isn't as simple as just picking the people best suited for the roles (as if that's ever simple). I need to select first, second, and third choices and then await the decision of the Festival directors, who take all the directors' and actors' listed preferences and then assign final casting. It's not an ideal process, but given the structure of the event, it's the best way to go about an awkward situation. On the plus side, I've seen many actors I wouldn't normally have known to call in for auditions and I'll be adding their headshots and resumes to my stack for future reference.
I also just agreed to direct for the Darkroom Theatre's Twilight Zone festival, which will take place mere weeks after the BOA's. I just got recruited this weekend, so I only have a vague idea of which episode I'll adapt for the stage. Netflix, here I come.
Radiostar continues to go well, with downloads steadily increasing. I'm particularly pleased with this week's episode, which was one of our first "La Rondes" and one of our first recording sessions with Julie Kurtz and Jennifer Jajeh.
In what amounts to my free time, I've re-taken up Argentine Tango lessons with Warren and Gigi Jensen over at the Lake Merritt Dance Studio. Remington Stone has been joining me, and Suraya Keating will be coming too which makes it all extra fun. I haven't danced tango for a good five years, so it's interesting getting my skills back up to speed.
Other than that, not much is going on.
Sunday, November 05, 2006
new york
It's been quite a while, but a lot has been going on. I've moved into my new apartment, which I have fallen completely in love with, although I'm not yet completely moved out of my old place. I'm still trying to get rid of some old furniture and that's weighing on me as I'd hate to just take it to the dumps as it's really quite good furniture... I just can't store it anywhere until I find a buyer.
I'm in New York right now, currently crashing at Megan Kilian's apartment in the Lower East Side. Tomorrow I stay with an online friend who I've never met face to face, and then it's Renee Racan's and then Neil Howard's place. It's a whirlwind visit, but I'm having a blast.
Submergency is coming along, with the postcards arriving just before I left, and rehearsals starting shortly after I return from my trip. Radiostar continues its evolution, although I missed doing our update this last Wednesday due to the move and work being unusually jam packed. I have no DSL at home yet, and have barely had time to think while in the office, so no update. I should have my DSL by the time I return, though, so it shouldn't happen again.
Speaking of the office, I had my interview for the multimedia producer position this last week, so we'll see what happens. I may hear something as early as this week, so everyone keep your fingers crossed.
as for now, I just saw a sparsely attended comedy show in the lower east side and am a bit buzzed from the two drink minimum. so, I'm signing off and will talk to you all soon.
I'm in New York right now, currently crashing at Megan Kilian's apartment in the Lower East Side. Tomorrow I stay with an online friend who I've never met face to face, and then it's Renee Racan's and then Neil Howard's place. It's a whirlwind visit, but I'm having a blast.
Submergency is coming along, with the postcards arriving just before I left, and rehearsals starting shortly after I return from my trip. Radiostar continues its evolution, although I missed doing our update this last Wednesday due to the move and work being unusually jam packed. I have no DSL at home yet, and have barely had time to think while in the office, so no update. I should have my DSL by the time I return, though, so it shouldn't happen again.
Speaking of the office, I had my interview for the multimedia producer position this last week, so we'll see what happens. I may hear something as early as this week, so everyone keep your fingers crossed.
as for now, I just saw a sparsely attended comedy show in the lower east side and am a bit buzzed from the two drink minimum. so, I'm signing off and will talk to you all soon.
Sunday, October 08, 2006
edges
It's a blur, really. I've made several major decisions lately, some of which will definitely impact my life, and some of which may not.
I've decided to move. I will stay in the area, but I want a slightly smaller space, with hardwood floors, and no roommate. I've had someone living with me for a year now, and I'm both ready to discard the financial crutch and emotionally not willing to share space with someone I'm not in love with anymore. Having a roommate was supposed to be a temporary thing, to alleviate the financial disaster that was Manumission, but it's gone on rather long, and I've never been overly excited about the architecture of where I live anyway. I love the neighborhood though, and have already found a lovely Victorian that I applied for today. If I get it, I would move on the 1st, which is rather early for my roommates convenience, and even a month earlier than is ideal for me, but I like the apartment enough to work with it.
So that's a change that will impact me, but the specifics are unclear. It could be this place, or someplace else. It could be in three weeks, or in three months. I'm not in a rush, so I'll just keep looking until the right place becomes available to me. It's always good to make change when you want to, and not when circumstances force it upon you.
I'm also applying for a lateral move at my job. There's a position that is being created for a Multimedia Producer, and the skills list matches me like an elegantly tailored suit. I would consider myself a shoe-in, but I don't know that WestEd wants to lose my in my current capacity. Still, the thought of putting away the "help desk" forever has revealed to me that I truly am ready for a change vocationally. Another organization has been making noises to me for some time, although the chance to have an actual lunch has evaded us. I was not ready to leave when the offer was first proposed (unformed and vague as it was at the time), but if I don't get this position, I am more prepared to listen now.
Again, a change that may or may not come, but I stand in readiness and (this being the surprising part) eagerness.
In preparation for the potential apartment move, I have begun to sell and discard the things in my life that I don't feel like moving. The old computer went today, and I put up ads for my old dining room table and chairs, which I have had since I first moved to Chicago (but rarely use). My friends, when they eat over, are as happy to eat at the coffee table as the dining room one, and it mostly gets used as a mail depository. I will mostly likely rid myself of the overlarge king size bed and dresser unit that my brother gave me years ago. It dwarfs any room you put it in, and is much more than I need, even on those (all too rare) occasions that I have someone to share it with.
Trim it down, trim it down. I want to arrive in my new location (with my new job??) with just the essentials. I am getting rid of my television as well, replacing it with an LCD projector, which will turn a wall into wherever I love into an enormous screen. I will get a double bed, and a small dresser (most of my clothes hang in the closet anyway) and all will be new, or at least newly refurbished.
It's an exciting concept. The next show is in pre-production, and my personal life is ripe with opportunity. I am going to New York for a week in November, and will be directing a one-act for the Bay Area One Acts Festival in February. Both of these will allow my company to keep a decent profile without taxing my pocketbook. This gives me time to gather myself properly for ... whatever is next.
I am standing on the edge of a number of tomorrows, shedding some skins worn too long, waiting to see what comes next.
I've decided to move. I will stay in the area, but I want a slightly smaller space, with hardwood floors, and no roommate. I've had someone living with me for a year now, and I'm both ready to discard the financial crutch and emotionally not willing to share space with someone I'm not in love with anymore. Having a roommate was supposed to be a temporary thing, to alleviate the financial disaster that was Manumission, but it's gone on rather long, and I've never been overly excited about the architecture of where I live anyway. I love the neighborhood though, and have already found a lovely Victorian that I applied for today. If I get it, I would move on the 1st, which is rather early for my roommates convenience, and even a month earlier than is ideal for me, but I like the apartment enough to work with it.
So that's a change that will impact me, but the specifics are unclear. It could be this place, or someplace else. It could be in three weeks, or in three months. I'm not in a rush, so I'll just keep looking until the right place becomes available to me. It's always good to make change when you want to, and not when circumstances force it upon you.
I'm also applying for a lateral move at my job. There's a position that is being created for a Multimedia Producer, and the skills list matches me like an elegantly tailored suit. I would consider myself a shoe-in, but I don't know that WestEd wants to lose my in my current capacity. Still, the thought of putting away the "help desk" forever has revealed to me that I truly am ready for a change vocationally. Another organization has been making noises to me for some time, although the chance to have an actual lunch has evaded us. I was not ready to leave when the offer was first proposed (unformed and vague as it was at the time), but if I don't get this position, I am more prepared to listen now.
Again, a change that may or may not come, but I stand in readiness and (this being the surprising part) eagerness.
In preparation for the potential apartment move, I have begun to sell and discard the things in my life that I don't feel like moving. The old computer went today, and I put up ads for my old dining room table and chairs, which I have had since I first moved to Chicago (but rarely use). My friends, when they eat over, are as happy to eat at the coffee table as the dining room one, and it mostly gets used as a mail depository. I will mostly likely rid myself of the overlarge king size bed and dresser unit that my brother gave me years ago. It dwarfs any room you put it in, and is much more than I need, even on those (all too rare) occasions that I have someone to share it with.
Trim it down, trim it down. I want to arrive in my new location (with my new job??) with just the essentials. I am getting rid of my television as well, replacing it with an LCD projector, which will turn a wall into wherever I love into an enormous screen. I will get a double bed, and a small dresser (most of my clothes hang in the closet anyway) and all will be new, or at least newly refurbished.
It's an exciting concept. The next show is in pre-production, and my personal life is ripe with opportunity. I am going to New York for a week in November, and will be directing a one-act for the Bay Area One Acts Festival in February. Both of these will allow my company to keep a decent profile without taxing my pocketbook. This gives me time to gather myself properly for ... whatever is next.
I am standing on the edge of a number of tomorrows, shedding some skins worn too long, waiting to see what comes next.
Sunday, September 24, 2006
Defending space
It's been a week since the end of the Fringe Festival. My Mom has moved back to Idaho, I completely failed to meet up with my online buddy Nina during her visit up here, we secured at least one musician to work on RadioStar episodes, dates for the return of Vagina Dentata have been re-established again, there was a Guy's night, I saw Cassidy and Chris H. in a show, hung with Rachel Efron, had a blind date and had a spontaneous brunch with Eden, Angela, Tristan, Oliver, and Joseph. I also backed out of a show that I had agreed to do.
I had been approached to audition for a local company that I have no real history with, and the role was a small one. I figured that it'd be good to work with them, and the role was so small that I forsaw about three to four rehearsals and the run throughs as the totality of the schedule. What I got was well over half my month consumed by the project. I just couldn't do it. I had a fight for flight reaction so strong that I could think of little else for 24 hours. I'd never backed out of a project after being cast, though... although I was no stranger to the experience from the other side of the table.
I needed to protect my time though, and my sanity. I have been more and more aware over the last few weeks of all the wonderful people in my life that I spend too little time with. I don't want to back away at all from my projects, but I want balance and the scales have been dangerously tipped for most of this year.
This doesn't necessarily mean that I'll be any less busy for the next few months. There's a project on the horizon that will be fun, but will also require minimal work to prepare (and it won't be all me). With bringing musicians on board, we need to get several shows prepped in advance so that the musicians can score them and that means a bit of a crunch now. But Chris DeJong and Brian Shirmer are coming aboard to edit shows as well, so it shouldn't be long before we have a good month's worth of shows ready for music and we can focus more on promoting the podcast rather than crunching away on editing them.
The novel still languishes, but I am hoping that once the episodes are caught up, I can spend time polishing up scripts and working on the book. I don't mind being busy, as long as I can move things around as needed and see loved ones when I want to (and when they are available). That's the positive aspect of editing and writing instead of rehearsing and performing... I'm more in control of the when and where of the process.
Which is why I'm sitting in my favorite pub, eating a good meal, using their wireless, chatting with friends on IM and getting ready to go to RadioStar.
Hope you all are having as good a Sunday!
I had been approached to audition for a local company that I have no real history with, and the role was a small one. I figured that it'd be good to work with them, and the role was so small that I forsaw about three to four rehearsals and the run throughs as the totality of the schedule. What I got was well over half my month consumed by the project. I just couldn't do it. I had a fight for flight reaction so strong that I could think of little else for 24 hours. I'd never backed out of a project after being cast, though... although I was no stranger to the experience from the other side of the table.
I needed to protect my time though, and my sanity. I have been more and more aware over the last few weeks of all the wonderful people in my life that I spend too little time with. I don't want to back away at all from my projects, but I want balance and the scales have been dangerously tipped for most of this year.
This doesn't necessarily mean that I'll be any less busy for the next few months. There's a project on the horizon that will be fun, but will also require minimal work to prepare (and it won't be all me). With bringing musicians on board, we need to get several shows prepped in advance so that the musicians can score them and that means a bit of a crunch now. But Chris DeJong and Brian Shirmer are coming aboard to edit shows as well, so it shouldn't be long before we have a good month's worth of shows ready for music and we can focus more on promoting the podcast rather than crunching away on editing them.
The novel still languishes, but I am hoping that once the episodes are caught up, I can spend time polishing up scripts and working on the book. I don't mind being busy, as long as I can move things around as needed and see loved ones when I want to (and when they are available). That's the positive aspect of editing and writing instead of rehearsing and performing... I'm more in control of the when and where of the process.
Which is why I'm sitting in my favorite pub, eating a good meal, using their wireless, chatting with friends on IM and getting ready to go to RadioStar.
Hope you all are having as good a Sunday!
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
considering rewrites
I’ve never had much fear about putting my stuff before the public. I’ve met a lot of people who write, but are quite adamant about not showing it to anyone. That’s always baffled me. Art, to me, seems a thing that is to be shared. It’s part of its very nature. I only really understood it in the sense that one’s art is so close to who they are as a person that they feared it being judged. As the art is judged, so is the person. Now, in truth, most of the people doing the judging aren’t thinking in those terms. But as an artist, it feels like someone looking into your soul and, possibly, giving it an “eh”, or even worse, unleashing their disdain upon it.
Still, I never really had that fear of judgment. Again and again, I’ve just put my stuff in front of audiences and seen what response I got. Of course, when people have issues with it, and you’re right in front of them, they tend to be rather polite and they think through their critiques before unleashing them. If they don’t like certain things, or have opinions that are less than flattering, they couch their thoughts in a way that invites dialogue and discussion.
So, the anonymous reviews on the Fringe website have been a bit of a stunner to me. I was afraid of getting blasted by the papers, and indeed the Guardian and the Weekly may still prove unkind. But the Chronicle was honest, but supportive in a way I was pretty happy with. The reviewer felt the script needed some work, but generally enjoyed the show and seemed to get what I was doing. But some of the reviews I’ve gotten from audience members, either completely anonymous or leaving only a rather generic first name, have been… well, wrathful. Absolute and utter hate and anger towards the show.
I’ve always been fine with people having issues with my stories, and I knew that I was taking some big risks with this particular piece. Hell, I wrote it with the express intent of taking chances. But I wasn’t expecting people to hate it so much.
What seems to be the point of contention, though, is that I refuse to define the “it” that “Get it?” is about. That was rather the point of the piece: the indefinable thing that we’re all striving for, but that is always eluding us. Happiness, faith, hope, joy, contentment, serenity, peace… no matter what you try to define it as, once you start looking at your definition it seems lacking. And yet, we’re all trying to fill that void, that emptiness, with something. Very few of us, if any of us, are able to articulate what exactly it is that drives our actions. It is this inability articulate, this enigmatic aspect to “what are we striving for anyway?” that the piece is about… and that seems to be the big complaint.
From a writer’s standpoint, my failure seems to have been to think that the audience would “get” that. I don’t like to come right out and say the point of a story, because I feel like it should be imparted inference and allusion whenever possible. I don’t like being hit over the head with “the moral of the story”. My third act of “411” almost had the same problem as “Get it?”, but various readers told me outright that I needed to be clearer so that the audience could follow along. I didn’t get that kind of feedback from anyone on this piece until we were in the rehearsal process, and that was from some of my actors who were having difficulty making specific internal choices. I wasn’t in a place where I could hear it, because it would have meant re-writing the piece.
People who have talked to me face to face about the script seem to think that it just needs another draft. Reducing characters perhaps, and clarifying what is going on a bit. I get feedback about the number of characters being overwhelming, as the audience is having a hard enough time sorting it all out, when someone totally new comes on stage. It’s hard though, to think of cutting any of these characters out. Doing so would mean a complete rewrite. But perhaps that would indeed be in order.
From an author’s standpoint, it creates very hard choices. Who would go? Stim and Franco? My comic relief? My Rosencrantz and Guildenstern? Hamburg, my distraught perfectionist seeker? Without him, there is no journey. If Stim and Franco make the journey, then what does that do to the play? Take out Jasmine, Bosko and Gino, and there is no journey to take. Take out Felix and Kippi, and there is no reason for the journey in the first place.
The answer, if there is one, may lay not in reducing but expanding. Take this half hour piece that moves like a freight train through the existential dilemma, and give the relationships more time to develop. Slow the pace down, and lay more clues for the audience. Above all, define the indefinable just enough so that there is a hook for the mind to hang on.
People liked “Got it” and seem to like the beginning of “Good!” although they seem split on the last half of it. It may just be that “Got it.” Is its own piece. It is laden with references to “Get it”, but that could be remedied. Simply writing a series of comedy sketches with these characters and placing “Got it.” In the midst of those would allow it to thrive in more fertile soil.
“Good!” may transform into one of those sketches. It may even split into two different bits.
In this way, I could keep what I love about all the pieces, without sacrificing anything but their initial unity. I might even be able to pare “Got it” and “good” into a smaller cast and make the show something that could travel to other festivals. (which, with an 8 person cast, the current show could never do.)
This will be a good project for me to tackle, before diving back into the novel and the rewrites on "Vagina Dentata". I’m still sorry that those two people hated the show as much as they did, but they have helped move me to something that has more potential. And after all, my own characters argue that “politeness is pointless.”
Still, I never really had that fear of judgment. Again and again, I’ve just put my stuff in front of audiences and seen what response I got. Of course, when people have issues with it, and you’re right in front of them, they tend to be rather polite and they think through their critiques before unleashing them. If they don’t like certain things, or have opinions that are less than flattering, they couch their thoughts in a way that invites dialogue and discussion.
So, the anonymous reviews on the Fringe website have been a bit of a stunner to me. I was afraid of getting blasted by the papers, and indeed the Guardian and the Weekly may still prove unkind. But the Chronicle was honest, but supportive in a way I was pretty happy with. The reviewer felt the script needed some work, but generally enjoyed the show and seemed to get what I was doing. But some of the reviews I’ve gotten from audience members, either completely anonymous or leaving only a rather generic first name, have been… well, wrathful. Absolute and utter hate and anger towards the show.
I’ve always been fine with people having issues with my stories, and I knew that I was taking some big risks with this particular piece. Hell, I wrote it with the express intent of taking chances. But I wasn’t expecting people to hate it so much.
What seems to be the point of contention, though, is that I refuse to define the “it” that “Get it?” is about. That was rather the point of the piece: the indefinable thing that we’re all striving for, but that is always eluding us. Happiness, faith, hope, joy, contentment, serenity, peace… no matter what you try to define it as, once you start looking at your definition it seems lacking. And yet, we’re all trying to fill that void, that emptiness, with something. Very few of us, if any of us, are able to articulate what exactly it is that drives our actions. It is this inability articulate, this enigmatic aspect to “what are we striving for anyway?” that the piece is about… and that seems to be the big complaint.
From a writer’s standpoint, my failure seems to have been to think that the audience would “get” that. I don’t like to come right out and say the point of a story, because I feel like it should be imparted inference and allusion whenever possible. I don’t like being hit over the head with “the moral of the story”. My third act of “411” almost had the same problem as “Get it?”, but various readers told me outright that I needed to be clearer so that the audience could follow along. I didn’t get that kind of feedback from anyone on this piece until we were in the rehearsal process, and that was from some of my actors who were having difficulty making specific internal choices. I wasn’t in a place where I could hear it, because it would have meant re-writing the piece.
People who have talked to me face to face about the script seem to think that it just needs another draft. Reducing characters perhaps, and clarifying what is going on a bit. I get feedback about the number of characters being overwhelming, as the audience is having a hard enough time sorting it all out, when someone totally new comes on stage. It’s hard though, to think of cutting any of these characters out. Doing so would mean a complete rewrite. But perhaps that would indeed be in order.
From an author’s standpoint, it creates very hard choices. Who would go? Stim and Franco? My comic relief? My Rosencrantz and Guildenstern? Hamburg, my distraught perfectionist seeker? Without him, there is no journey. If Stim and Franco make the journey, then what does that do to the play? Take out Jasmine, Bosko and Gino, and there is no journey to take. Take out Felix and Kippi, and there is no reason for the journey in the first place.
The answer, if there is one, may lay not in reducing but expanding. Take this half hour piece that moves like a freight train through the existential dilemma, and give the relationships more time to develop. Slow the pace down, and lay more clues for the audience. Above all, define the indefinable just enough so that there is a hook for the mind to hang on.
People liked “Got it” and seem to like the beginning of “Good!” although they seem split on the last half of it. It may just be that “Got it.” Is its own piece. It is laden with references to “Get it”, but that could be remedied. Simply writing a series of comedy sketches with these characters and placing “Got it.” In the midst of those would allow it to thrive in more fertile soil.
“Good!” may transform into one of those sketches. It may even split into two different bits.
In this way, I could keep what I love about all the pieces, without sacrificing anything but their initial unity. I might even be able to pare “Got it” and “good” into a smaller cast and make the show something that could travel to other festivals. (which, with an 8 person cast, the current show could never do.)
This will be a good project for me to tackle, before diving back into the novel and the rewrites on "Vagina Dentata". I’m still sorry that those two people hated the show as much as they did, but they have helped move me to something that has more potential. And after all, my own characters argue that “politeness is pointless.”
Sunday, September 10, 2006
First reviews
Tonight is our second night, and reviews are starting to come in. the Chronicle seems to have largely liked it, although the review feels that (like most Fringe shows) it's under-developed. I've only gotten one audience review from someone who absolutely hated the piece. I've had a lot of verbal compliments, and people who quite liked the show and enjoyed the mental stimulant of unresolved identification... but I don't want to dismiss the critiques at all. Indeed, some of the actors had the same conerns that my unknown angry audience member did. I don't think I'd change it, as the entire point was to literalize an existential and spiritual issue.
All creative endeavors are open to varying responses, and it's good not to let responses on either end of the taste spectrum get to you. New works are even more prone to this. After all, I had never heard the play read aloud before last month. Minor tweaks and changes have taken place, but even then, by that point, I was not prepared to make any major changes to the script.
When we bring back Vagina Dentata, it will incorporate several things I learned doing it before a live audience, and things are cut and things are changed. It's still 95% the same play, but better. "Get it? Got it. Good!" was even more of an experiment, so it's fitting that it's getting even more of a varied reaction. I'll re-examine it, to be sure. But I don't know that it will ever be the kind of theatre that is for "everyone".
All creative endeavors are open to varying responses, and it's good not to let responses on either end of the taste spectrum get to you. New works are even more prone to this. After all, I had never heard the play read aloud before last month. Minor tweaks and changes have taken place, but even then, by that point, I was not prepared to make any major changes to the script.
When we bring back Vagina Dentata, it will incorporate several things I learned doing it before a live audience, and things are cut and things are changed. It's still 95% the same play, but better. "Get it? Got it. Good!" was even more of an experiment, so it's fitting that it's getting even more of a varied reaction. I'll re-examine it, to be sure. But I don't know that it will ever be the kind of theatre that is for "everyone".
Friday, September 08, 2006
opened
We opened the show last night. Thanks to everyone who came out for opening. I know that Jennifer Jajeh, Suraya Keating, Christopher DeJong, Ann Spayer, Diana Brown, Stacy Marshall, Claudia Weeks, Eleanor Reinholdt, Brian Schirmer, Tom Kelly and Rob Avila where out there. Your support is greatly, greatly appreciated.
It was our first time on the actual stage, working with lights, and we were doing it in front of a very respectably sized opening night fringe audience. That's a terrifying thing. Our light operator had never seen the show before. We had never run the show with her to be sure that she'd be able to make the cues in time (she did!). I added a sound cue that afternoon, and I had assigned myself a voice over role, so in addition to calling the show, watching it like a nervous father, and running a couple of sound cues... I was performing as well.
Now, I don't get nervous before shows... at least not much. But as we approached my "appearance" I found that my hands were shaking. I am fairly certain that I rushed my lines a bit, although the bit still worked. It was almost like stage fright, which is an affliction I've been spared up until now.
Afterwards, I was amped for about 45 minutes before my heart finally slowed down and the "runner's high" faded.
We have three shows left, but now we all know that we can do it... and that the show works.
Hopefully my hands won't be shaking on Sunday night.
It was our first time on the actual stage, working with lights, and we were doing it in front of a very respectably sized opening night fringe audience. That's a terrifying thing. Our light operator had never seen the show before. We had never run the show with her to be sure that she'd be able to make the cues in time (she did!). I added a sound cue that afternoon, and I had assigned myself a voice over role, so in addition to calling the show, watching it like a nervous father, and running a couple of sound cues... I was performing as well.
Now, I don't get nervous before shows... at least not much. But as we approached my "appearance" I found that my hands were shaking. I am fairly certain that I rushed my lines a bit, although the bit still worked. It was almost like stage fright, which is an affliction I've been spared up until now.
Afterwards, I was amped for about 45 minutes before my heart finally slowed down and the "runner's high" faded.
We have three shows left, but now we all know that we can do it... and that the show works.
Hopefully my hands won't be shaking on Sunday night.
Monday, September 04, 2006
Time Warp
I’ve been going through my photo library lately. I got a free Flickr account, and have been going through my iPhoto, naming images, fixing erroneous dates, and uploading particular favorites.
I’ve been focusing largely on pictures taken from the 2004 Europe vacation, when I spent a month in the U.K. and France with Oliver, Elyse, Angela, Alexis, and Elizabeth. I took a lot of pictures, and Angela took enough, that I look like a slacker in comparison. She’s an excellent photographer, and has a camera that suits her skills. (I went out and bought a new camera after that trip, amazed at how we could take shots of the exact same thing, but hers look brighter and sharper by a very noticeable degree.
And so, my mind has been very much with these five people as I look at pictures and pick particular ones to share with the wider world.
I don’t dwell much on the past, but I marveled that it had been two years since the trip. Two years, in which so much had happened. And yet, we had done so little as a group in those two years. Each of us has been following our passions and checking in with each other when possible, but infrequently enough that each gathering feels like an “event” unto itself.
I went to go and see one of the RadioStar guest artists, Julie Kurtz, in “Comedy of Errors” in San Leandro on Saturday. After the show, I was approached by another member of the audience. “I think we did a show together”, she said. She didn’t initially look familiar, but then she mentioned the name of the Neil Simon show that marked my return to theatre when I came back to California. “Leslie?” I replied. I hadn’t seen her in a good six or seven years, and to say that it blew my mind would be an understatement. We talked for a bit, and I gave her a card for the upcoming show. It felt like nothing so much as a brush with my past.
Afterwards, Julie and I got a drink and some food and got into a lengthy conversation about life, art, and faith issues. Julie is a Christian, which is a lonely thing to be in the San Francsico theatre scene. I was amazed at my own mind as I pulled thoughts and observations and historical details from my mind that had no relevance to my ongoing existence, and surely bored her castmates terribly. It many ways, it felt like I was tapping into an old version of myself, something that had been largely overwritten, but still remained under the existing code.
The conversation was engaging enough that I completely missed getting to Berkeley to catch a ride with Suraya to watch her production of “Comedy of Errors”, which I will now watch on Friday. I felt terrible about it, but before Julie and her “Antipholus” were able to drag me off to watch “Merchant of Venice”, I got a phone call from Alexis, who was in the area and interested in some time together.
So a mistake on my part allowed me to spend time with someone I see entirely too infrequently. We walked the lake and talked while I noticed, and not for the first time, the inexpressible beauty of this place I live in. We walked among the feral cats and the wild geese that live around the lake. The water reflected the moon, and the strings of lights that rim the shore year-round. I don’t walk the lake enough, I thought. We so often go elsewhere, and forget to look at the beauty right in our own backyards.
I got a call from Eric Rath as well, letting me know that Angela was in the hospital. He was very good to let me know immediately that she was fine, but was wondering if I wanted to go and visit her the next day. I most definitely did, so we arranged to meet up the next morning. The time came, and Eric wasn’t ready to go, so I took my houseguest out to brunch. Since my cell phone had the ringer off, I managed to miss his return call at noon, and we didn’t actually leave until well after 2:30 to head out to Concord to see her.
Now, I generally only go to the East Bay to see Angela, and it’s always a somewhat odd experience for me. I lived in Pleasant Hill from the age of five to nineteen, and going back there always feels like playing in my childhood sandbox. Part of me has always had a discomfort around the idea of coming across someone who knew and remembered me from my highly religious period. I consider myself quite the heretic now a days, and while I no longer follow the tenets of Evangelical Christianity, I have no real desire to enter into confrontation with people who I have loved who would be deeply saddened and disappointed by my current direction in life.
But here I came with Eric, into the suburban womb that I had once dwelt so comfortably in. Angela was staying in the Concord campus of John Muir Hospital, and I didn’t put two and two together until we pulled into the parking lot. The last time I had been here, was when my Dad had suffered one of the most significant heart attacks before the one that took his life. A wash of emotion hit me, and I felt a bit shaken as we pulled in and walked up to the hospital. The waiting room seemed populated with the shades of my mother and brother, waiting nervously for news of my father’s surgery. We walked quickly through them, however, and headed up to Angela’s room.
As we visited Angela, I thought of Alexis, and all of our shared time together, and how odd it was that Jesus would have admonished us to visit the sick, as if it where a thing that needed urging. To be with those we love in times of adversity seems like something that needs not be encouraged, although I suppose the truly saintly are those who would make it their practice to visit those who lack a supportive community.
But what truly blew my mind was our exit from the hospital. As we emerged from the elevators and turned towards the exit, I saw a face I have not seen for a good fifteen years. As I turned the corner, across the waiting area, and the reception area, in almost silhouette was one of my dear high school friends… and I could not remember her last name. Even from that considerable distance, I recognized her face immediately. “God, is that Kris?” I thought. As we prepared to pass each other, I called out her name and she looked at me, blinking once or twice before the voice and face registered. “Dan?”
The last place you want to run into an old friend is in the lobby of a hospital. On a beach in Fiji, perhaps, or the party of a friend who you never knew was mutual… but in a hospital waiting room? She was there for her own crisis, and we passed a few surprised pleasantries before Eric and I exited and she and her fiancée entered.
Still, as I got in the car and Eric took us back to Oakland, I found myself drowning in memories. Two years ago with Angela and Alexis, dear friends undergoing very different trials, but who I had been allowed to spend time with. Five years ago, with my father’s surgery. Seven years ago with Leslie, who was present at the beginnings of my own artistic rebirth. And finally fifteen years ago, with someone who embodied my entire high school experience.
Eric dropped me off and I got on BART. It was time for RadioStar’s recording session. The present demanded my attention.
I’ve been focusing largely on pictures taken from the 2004 Europe vacation, when I spent a month in the U.K. and France with Oliver, Elyse, Angela, Alexis, and Elizabeth. I took a lot of pictures, and Angela took enough, that I look like a slacker in comparison. She’s an excellent photographer, and has a camera that suits her skills. (I went out and bought a new camera after that trip, amazed at how we could take shots of the exact same thing, but hers look brighter and sharper by a very noticeable degree.
And so, my mind has been very much with these five people as I look at pictures and pick particular ones to share with the wider world.
I don’t dwell much on the past, but I marveled that it had been two years since the trip. Two years, in which so much had happened. And yet, we had done so little as a group in those two years. Each of us has been following our passions and checking in with each other when possible, but infrequently enough that each gathering feels like an “event” unto itself.
I went to go and see one of the RadioStar guest artists, Julie Kurtz, in “Comedy of Errors” in San Leandro on Saturday. After the show, I was approached by another member of the audience. “I think we did a show together”, she said. She didn’t initially look familiar, but then she mentioned the name of the Neil Simon show that marked my return to theatre when I came back to California. “Leslie?” I replied. I hadn’t seen her in a good six or seven years, and to say that it blew my mind would be an understatement. We talked for a bit, and I gave her a card for the upcoming show. It felt like nothing so much as a brush with my past.
Afterwards, Julie and I got a drink and some food and got into a lengthy conversation about life, art, and faith issues. Julie is a Christian, which is a lonely thing to be in the San Francsico theatre scene. I was amazed at my own mind as I pulled thoughts and observations and historical details from my mind that had no relevance to my ongoing existence, and surely bored her castmates terribly. It many ways, it felt like I was tapping into an old version of myself, something that had been largely overwritten, but still remained under the existing code.
The conversation was engaging enough that I completely missed getting to Berkeley to catch a ride with Suraya to watch her production of “Comedy of Errors”, which I will now watch on Friday. I felt terrible about it, but before Julie and her “Antipholus” were able to drag me off to watch “Merchant of Venice”, I got a phone call from Alexis, who was in the area and interested in some time together.
So a mistake on my part allowed me to spend time with someone I see entirely too infrequently. We walked the lake and talked while I noticed, and not for the first time, the inexpressible beauty of this place I live in. We walked among the feral cats and the wild geese that live around the lake. The water reflected the moon, and the strings of lights that rim the shore year-round. I don’t walk the lake enough, I thought. We so often go elsewhere, and forget to look at the beauty right in our own backyards.
I got a call from Eric Rath as well, letting me know that Angela was in the hospital. He was very good to let me know immediately that she was fine, but was wondering if I wanted to go and visit her the next day. I most definitely did, so we arranged to meet up the next morning. The time came, and Eric wasn’t ready to go, so I took my houseguest out to brunch. Since my cell phone had the ringer off, I managed to miss his return call at noon, and we didn’t actually leave until well after 2:30 to head out to Concord to see her.
Now, I generally only go to the East Bay to see Angela, and it’s always a somewhat odd experience for me. I lived in Pleasant Hill from the age of five to nineteen, and going back there always feels like playing in my childhood sandbox. Part of me has always had a discomfort around the idea of coming across someone who knew and remembered me from my highly religious period. I consider myself quite the heretic now a days, and while I no longer follow the tenets of Evangelical Christianity, I have no real desire to enter into confrontation with people who I have loved who would be deeply saddened and disappointed by my current direction in life.
But here I came with Eric, into the suburban womb that I had once dwelt so comfortably in. Angela was staying in the Concord campus of John Muir Hospital, and I didn’t put two and two together until we pulled into the parking lot. The last time I had been here, was when my Dad had suffered one of the most significant heart attacks before the one that took his life. A wash of emotion hit me, and I felt a bit shaken as we pulled in and walked up to the hospital. The waiting room seemed populated with the shades of my mother and brother, waiting nervously for news of my father’s surgery. We walked quickly through them, however, and headed up to Angela’s room.
As we visited Angela, I thought of Alexis, and all of our shared time together, and how odd it was that Jesus would have admonished us to visit the sick, as if it where a thing that needed urging. To be with those we love in times of adversity seems like something that needs not be encouraged, although I suppose the truly saintly are those who would make it their practice to visit those who lack a supportive community.
But what truly blew my mind was our exit from the hospital. As we emerged from the elevators and turned towards the exit, I saw a face I have not seen for a good fifteen years. As I turned the corner, across the waiting area, and the reception area, in almost silhouette was one of my dear high school friends… and I could not remember her last name. Even from that considerable distance, I recognized her face immediately. “God, is that Kris?” I thought. As we prepared to pass each other, I called out her name and she looked at me, blinking once or twice before the voice and face registered. “Dan?”
The last place you want to run into an old friend is in the lobby of a hospital. On a beach in Fiji, perhaps, or the party of a friend who you never knew was mutual… but in a hospital waiting room? She was there for her own crisis, and we passed a few surprised pleasantries before Eric and I exited and she and her fiancée entered.
Still, as I got in the car and Eric took us back to Oakland, I found myself drowning in memories. Two years ago with Angela and Alexis, dear friends undergoing very different trials, but who I had been allowed to spend time with. Five years ago, with my father’s surgery. Seven years ago with Leslie, who was present at the beginnings of my own artistic rebirth. And finally fifteen years ago, with someone who embodied my entire high school experience.
Eric dropped me off and I got on BART. It was time for RadioStar’s recording session. The present demanded my attention.
Friday, September 01, 2006
time off?
I've been luxuriating in the idea that after September 15th, closing night for "Get it? Got it. Good!", I have nothing other than RadioStar Improv scheduled. Ah, months of comparative relaxation. Everyone just laughs at me and says "that's not going to last."
I know it won't, but at least for a bit I won't be running around, right?
I got an email today asking if I wanted to audition for a show at the end of the month. Performances are in November.
Of course, I agreed. It's a cast I'd like to work with, so if the script is any good.. why not? It isn't like I *really* thought I'd have six months off.
I know it won't, but at least for a bit I won't be running around, right?
I got an email today asking if I wanted to audition for a show at the end of the month. Performances are in November.
Of course, I agreed. It's a cast I'd like to work with, so if the script is any good.. why not? It isn't like I *really* thought I'd have six months off.
Thursday, August 31, 2006
Carmageddon
The astute Jon Brooks made me aware of this article about someone who went nuts and went on a driving rampage, running people down on the road.
As I read the account of the rampage, I couldn't help but be amazed that this actually hadn't happened before. Cars as weapons of mass destruction... it's hardly a new concept. Movies have used the concept to grisly effect in things like Deathrace 3000 and Highlander. Video games have explored it with Carmageddon. But this is the first time that I've heard of it actually happening. It underscores that the only thing that really allows us the illusion of safety and security is the thin veneer of social agreements that we make. We give people driver's licenses as long as they prove that they know the rules and are physically able to handle the vehicle. There's no testing for mental stability, nothing to help gauge if someone is actually fit to be operating a lethal missile in public areas.
Most of society exists on the principle that people will follow the rules. We assume that people are stable, and responsible, despite massive evidence to the contrary.
Now granted, how could we measure one's capacity for responsibility in a way that would be equitable? And by and large, haven't we found that people *do* follow the rules enough for things to function? I don't want totalitarianism, but I do want to look at the things that we take for granted in our society. Why do we have so few true restrictions on auto use, when the death toll from auto accidents/drunk driving/bum fuck crazy assholes is so much higher than thing else? Motor Vehicle Accidents are the leading cause of death in the U.S. We're in more danger from our own cars than from terrorists, but adding restrictions and regulations on airline travel at every opportunity.
And yet we're in love with our cars. They are weapons, they destroy the environment, they're massively expensive and for many people largely unnecessary. Why do we use them then? Status and convenience are the big factors. Public transportation is considered economically and socially "low". It takes longer, and public transit often is unavailable when you really want it. Service is reduced on weekends. MUNI in particular is terribly unreliable. It feels more expensive, because you pay as you go.
But how could we change this? There's got to be a way that doesn't involve whole sale environmental and economic collapse. Trains, buses, car shares, shuttles, bicycles... so many options, if we just take them.
Could I be finding a cause? Maybe. It's early to tell, but this is the first thing I've been evangelical about since I left the church a decade ago.
As I read the account of the rampage, I couldn't help but be amazed that this actually hadn't happened before. Cars as weapons of mass destruction... it's hardly a new concept. Movies have used the concept to grisly effect in things like Deathrace 3000 and Highlander. Video games have explored it with Carmageddon. But this is the first time that I've heard of it actually happening. It underscores that the only thing that really allows us the illusion of safety and security is the thin veneer of social agreements that we make. We give people driver's licenses as long as they prove that they know the rules and are physically able to handle the vehicle. There's no testing for mental stability, nothing to help gauge if someone is actually fit to be operating a lethal missile in public areas.
Most of society exists on the principle that people will follow the rules. We assume that people are stable, and responsible, despite massive evidence to the contrary.
Now granted, how could we measure one's capacity for responsibility in a way that would be equitable? And by and large, haven't we found that people *do* follow the rules enough for things to function? I don't want totalitarianism, but I do want to look at the things that we take for granted in our society. Why do we have so few true restrictions on auto use, when the death toll from auto accidents/drunk driving/bum fuck crazy assholes is so much higher than thing else? Motor Vehicle Accidents are the leading cause of death in the U.S. We're in more danger from our own cars than from terrorists, but adding restrictions and regulations on airline travel at every opportunity.
And yet we're in love with our cars. They are weapons, they destroy the environment, they're massively expensive and for many people largely unnecessary. Why do we use them then? Status and convenience are the big factors. Public transportation is considered economically and socially "low". It takes longer, and public transit often is unavailable when you really want it. Service is reduced on weekends. MUNI in particular is terribly unreliable. It feels more expensive, because you pay as you go.
But how could we change this? There's got to be a way that doesn't involve whole sale environmental and economic collapse. Trains, buses, car shares, shuttles, bicycles... so many options, if we just take them.
Could I be finding a cause? Maybe. It's early to tell, but this is the first thing I've been evangelical about since I left the church a decade ago.
one week out
every show is different. This one has had it's share of challenges, to be sure. It's a good show, but it's been a challenging one. It's the shortest rehearsal process I've worked through, and although only a 45 minute play, it's one of the more difficult scripts I've written. That means that we've only had half the time to do as much comprehension and character work that we would need normally. Combine that with scheduling conflicts and last minute emergencies, and it's been a stressful ride.
Life at WestEd has been crazy as well, which makes for a very exhausted Dan at the end of the day. Weekdays and nights have been grueling, when it comes down to it, although the weekends have been utter delight.
I went out with Eden Tosh to see "Debbie Does Dallas: the Musical" last Friday, and ran into a new friend from Consumating.com on the way. This was only odd because I had invited this friend to join us, and she hadn't responded, but ended up being at the same restaurant we wandered into, totally by accident. There's that small world thing again. The show it self was ribald and absolutely hilarious. Mindy Lym had told me it was hysterical, and her assessment wasn't off by a jot.
The next day I took a train to Santa Cruz, which had numerous delays which resulted in my little 2 hour jaunt turning into a 4 hour one. Sofia Ahmad is peforming the Shakespeare Festival down there, and it was a good excuse to visit Santa Cruz and see a dear friend. Sadly, because of the delays, we didn't get much time before King Lear to chat. She picked me up and we went right to the festival grounds where I was forced to make do with the insanely overpriced salads that they had on sale there.
$13 for a caeser salad with a few strips of cold chicken. Airports dont charge that much (I think).
Lear was a solid and enjoyable production, but nothing that blew me away. The evening show, "As You Like It" was more than I could have dreamed, however. Absolutely brilliant in every capacity, it was a joy from start to finish. Making it even better, John Atwood was there, with his posse, and I got treated to a picnic dinner and some wonderful wine to go with the show. Better and better, it was. I even got a ride back to Oakland in the wee hours of the morning, saving me the potential hassle of Amtrak. (I wish I hadn't bought those tickets in advance, though.)
I was going to go to John Filgas' memorial show on Sunday but completely failed due to calendar confusion. I was convinced that it was at 7pm, and checked my email to confirm the address around 5:40, and learned that it had started at 5:30. By the time I got there, it would have been over. I do feel pretty horrible about that, but John was very much in my heart and my thoughts all that day.
As for this week, it's been work, work, work and rehearse, rehearse, rehearse. We open in a week, and I think that it'll be a big hit. But for now, it's work all week, and then see shows and friends all weekend.
There are worse lives.
Life at WestEd has been crazy as well, which makes for a very exhausted Dan at the end of the day. Weekdays and nights have been grueling, when it comes down to it, although the weekends have been utter delight.
I went out with Eden Tosh to see "Debbie Does Dallas: the Musical" last Friday, and ran into a new friend from Consumating.com on the way. This was only odd because I had invited this friend to join us, and she hadn't responded, but ended up being at the same restaurant we wandered into, totally by accident. There's that small world thing again. The show it self was ribald and absolutely hilarious. Mindy Lym had told me it was hysterical, and her assessment wasn't off by a jot.
The next day I took a train to Santa Cruz, which had numerous delays which resulted in my little 2 hour jaunt turning into a 4 hour one. Sofia Ahmad is peforming the Shakespeare Festival down there, and it was a good excuse to visit Santa Cruz and see a dear friend. Sadly, because of the delays, we didn't get much time before King Lear to chat. She picked me up and we went right to the festival grounds where I was forced to make do with the insanely overpriced salads that they had on sale there.
$13 for a caeser salad with a few strips of cold chicken. Airports dont charge that much (I think).
Lear was a solid and enjoyable production, but nothing that blew me away. The evening show, "As You Like It" was more than I could have dreamed, however. Absolutely brilliant in every capacity, it was a joy from start to finish. Making it even better, John Atwood was there, with his posse, and I got treated to a picnic dinner and some wonderful wine to go with the show. Better and better, it was. I even got a ride back to Oakland in the wee hours of the morning, saving me the potential hassle of Amtrak. (I wish I hadn't bought those tickets in advance, though.)
I was going to go to John Filgas' memorial show on Sunday but completely failed due to calendar confusion. I was convinced that it was at 7pm, and checked my email to confirm the address around 5:40, and learned that it had started at 5:30. By the time I got there, it would have been over. I do feel pretty horrible about that, but John was very much in my heart and my thoughts all that day.
As for this week, it's been work, work, work and rehearse, rehearse, rehearse. We open in a week, and I think that it'll be a big hit. But for now, it's work all week, and then see shows and friends all weekend.
There are worse lives.
Friday, August 25, 2006
Preaching to the choir
I was particularly intrigued by this story about an art show in Iran.
The whole article is worth a read for what it says about art as political reaction, but what really interests me is how this gallery showing is getting international press, while being virtually ignored by the people who actually could be going to see it.
"'Look, these cartoons are the reflections of U.S. and Israelis'’ deeds, but wouldn'’t it have been better if they were put on display in the U.S. or even in Israel?' said Ali Eezadi, 70, a retired industrial engineer who visited the gallery Thursday afternoon."
To me, this is the constant struggle for the political artist: how to craft your statement in a way that is truly subversive. Creating art that advocates a particular political statement, and then placing it someplace where only people who already agree with your statement will see it, defeats the purpose. On the flip side, placing such art someplace where people don't agree with its statement will probably result in people either ignoring it as well. After all, if someone put on a play about how great white supremacy was, and staged it in the Mission District of San Francisco, I don't think it'd get a huge audience. Protesters, maybe, but not audience. People would react to the news that it existed, but not actually approach the art in a way that would allow for an actual dialogue.
As artists, how can we create art that allows all parties to come to the table and actually think about ideas in a new way, without increasing polarization... or just being irrelevant?
The whole article is worth a read for what it says about art as political reaction, but what really interests me is how this gallery showing is getting international press, while being virtually ignored by the people who actually could be going to see it.
"'Look, these cartoons are the reflections of U.S. and Israelis'’ deeds, but wouldn'’t it have been better if they were put on display in the U.S. or even in Israel?' said Ali Eezadi, 70, a retired industrial engineer who visited the gallery Thursday afternoon."
To me, this is the constant struggle for the political artist: how to craft your statement in a way that is truly subversive. Creating art that advocates a particular political statement, and then placing it someplace where only people who already agree with your statement will see it, defeats the purpose. On the flip side, placing such art someplace where people don't agree with its statement will probably result in people either ignoring it as well. After all, if someone put on a play about how great white supremacy was, and staged it in the Mission District of San Francisco, I don't think it'd get a huge audience. Protesters, maybe, but not audience. People would react to the news that it existed, but not actually approach the art in a way that would allow for an actual dialogue.
As artists, how can we create art that allows all parties to come to the table and actually think about ideas in a new way, without increasing polarization... or just being irrelevant?
Thursday, August 24, 2006
clean
Tonight was a rare night off, made even rarer by how I chose to spend it. I was in dire need to do my laundry, lest I be forced to walk about neither socks, nor underwear. Since my roommate was on the DSL, I decided to spend the evening off the computer entirely. I dusted. I vacuumed. I cleaned and cleaned and then cleaned some more. I still need to tackle mopping the kitchen and bathroom floors, but otherwise, the apartment is cleaner and more orderly than it's been in far too long a time. It smells nice, like lemon pledge, and everything is in its place.
Something about a clean house puts my soul at ease. It makes me happy to be here.
Of course, I'll be spending very little time here for the next few weeks. Between rehearsals, going to Santa Cruz for the weekend, and various other activities, I'll only come home to sleep. Still, for tonight, this place is perfect.
Cleaning is like writing for me. It's terribly hard to start, but once I get going, there is little more satisfying.
Something about a clean house puts my soul at ease. It makes me happy to be here.
Of course, I'll be spending very little time here for the next few weeks. Between rehearsals, going to Santa Cruz for the weekend, and various other activities, I'll only come home to sleep. Still, for tonight, this place is perfect.
Cleaning is like writing for me. It's terribly hard to start, but once I get going, there is little more satisfying.
Friday, August 18, 2006
rapid progress
The first week of rehearsal is done, and already this is looking like we've got a winner on our hands. I couldn't be happier with my cast. They're sharp, funny, and talented as hell.
We worked "Got it", and Sam Shaw and Paul Jennings are proving to be a fantastic comic team. We found a lot of bits together that turn a funny scene into a hilarious one. It only gets better from here.
I was pretty nervous about blocking the oral sex scene (no, not between Sam and Paul). I had a couple of actors express interest in the script, but who didn't feel comfortable with that particular part (which is pretty crucial), so my paranoia was pretty high as it was. There's something distinctly awkward about telling people, "ok, now put your head between her legs. Um... how far up are you comfortable with?" Again, though, the actors put each other at ease and everything looks good at this stage.
We still have ten rehearsals to go before our Fringe opening, which isn't much since we haven't even touched Catz' monologue or the last half of "Good", but people are already mostly off book, and once we start doing run throughs we should be able to run it twice a night.
If you're in the area, I highly encourage you to come on opening night. I expect a lot of buzz for this show, and it may be hard to get into later shows.
We worked "Got it", and Sam Shaw and Paul Jennings are proving to be a fantastic comic team. We found a lot of bits together that turn a funny scene into a hilarious one. It only gets better from here.
I was pretty nervous about blocking the oral sex scene (no, not between Sam and Paul). I had a couple of actors express interest in the script, but who didn't feel comfortable with that particular part (which is pretty crucial), so my paranoia was pretty high as it was. There's something distinctly awkward about telling people, "ok, now put your head between her legs. Um... how far up are you comfortable with?" Again, though, the actors put each other at ease and everything looks good at this stage.
We still have ten rehearsals to go before our Fringe opening, which isn't much since we haven't even touched Catz' monologue or the last half of "Good", but people are already mostly off book, and once we start doing run throughs we should be able to run it twice a night.
If you're in the area, I highly encourage you to come on opening night. I expect a lot of buzz for this show, and it may be hard to get into later shows.
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
Frustration
On the plus side, rehearsals are underway, and the poster design is completed, and all the paperwork is on its way (two weeks late) to the Actor's Equity office. All we have to do now is actually rehearse and perform the play. Yay!
On the minus side, my Mom's decision to return to Idaho has set of a family firestorm. Things that probably should have been said at a reasonable volume years ago are now coming out in shouts and recriminations and I'm sitting on the sidelines trying to keep from getting pulled into the flames. I don't want to air family laundry here, but I will make a few statements about my own personal philosophy of life.
People make their own decisions, and they are responsible for them. People make mistakes, and circumstances change over time so that a decision that might have seemed necessary years ago is now no longer useful or beneficial. People ultimately live their lives for themselves... it is their life after all. They may choose to martyr themselves because of what other people want, and they may choose not to.
I don't agree with all the choices that anyone may make. I don't even agree with all the choices that I make. But fighting battles that were ended years ago does no one anyone good.
and speaking out of bitterness is a reproductive process: it begets more of the same.
Take control of your life, and let other people take control of theirs.
On the minus side, my Mom's decision to return to Idaho has set of a family firestorm. Things that probably should have been said at a reasonable volume years ago are now coming out in shouts and recriminations and I'm sitting on the sidelines trying to keep from getting pulled into the flames. I don't want to air family laundry here, but I will make a few statements about my own personal philosophy of life.
People make their own decisions, and they are responsible for them. People make mistakes, and circumstances change over time so that a decision that might have seemed necessary years ago is now no longer useful or beneficial. People ultimately live their lives for themselves... it is their life after all. They may choose to martyr themselves because of what other people want, and they may choose not to.
I don't agree with all the choices that anyone may make. I don't even agree with all the choices that I make. But fighting battles that were ended years ago does no one anyone good.
and speaking out of bitterness is a reproductive process: it begets more of the same.
Take control of your life, and let other people take control of theirs.
Sunday, August 13, 2006
Supporting the Troops
A year ago, I performed with the Legal Briefs at the Coast Guard Training Center in Petaluma. Tonight, we went back.
I agreed to the show months ago, and all was well and good. It was a fun show last year, and I'm all for fun shows. But today, I was in a cranky mood about it. I was missing Nick and Leslie's baby shower, Elizabeth Creely's MFA completion festivities and Robin Plotchok's housewarming. Lots of excellent people who I wasn't going to be able to celebrate with, because I had to meet super early and go to Petaluma.
I was able to swing by and visit Allistair Larson who I hadn't seen since he made his emergence from Michelle's naughty bits. He's changed quite a bit from the old days when he looked like a squid. But not even his happy burbles could improve my attitude about taking a very long drive to go and be funny.
Still, Diana and Stacy picked me up and off we went.
Now, the Legal Briefs haven't done a show together for months. I think it's actually been six months, and I haven't seen Christina Marie since then, let alone done a show with her. It's been pretty much the same with Barry and Howard, too. We got up there, and began to reassemble the lineup for the show... which we had largely forgotten over the last year or so. Things were a bit different with the show, too. Last year, they fed the Coasties, but not this time. Last year, no one knew who we were or what we did. This year they do, and they had a picture of us from last year's show on flyers and had double the reservations. So we needed to have a longer show, and the pressure was on.
The show took off like a rocket and only faltered once. We tried to keep it clean, but the Coasties were there to have a good time and steered us rapidly into innuendo territory and beyond. The laughs were big and frequent, and by the end, all my doubts and annoyances had melted into nothingness.
One man had been a student last year and is now stationed two hours south in Alameda, and he drove up to see our show. Another couple thanked us, because with all the stress they're under right now they desperately needed to let off some steam and laugh. Another asked if we toured the country with our show. Several others made a point of shaking our hands, getting our autographs, and thanking us for coming out and providing them with such a great night.
We all left with a glow, and didn't even mind the two hour drive back home.
I agreed to the show months ago, and all was well and good. It was a fun show last year, and I'm all for fun shows. But today, I was in a cranky mood about it. I was missing Nick and Leslie's baby shower, Elizabeth Creely's MFA completion festivities and Robin Plotchok's housewarming. Lots of excellent people who I wasn't going to be able to celebrate with, because I had to meet super early and go to Petaluma.
I was able to swing by and visit Allistair Larson who I hadn't seen since he made his emergence from Michelle's naughty bits. He's changed quite a bit from the old days when he looked like a squid. But not even his happy burbles could improve my attitude about taking a very long drive to go and be funny.
Still, Diana and Stacy picked me up and off we went.
Now, the Legal Briefs haven't done a show together for months. I think it's actually been six months, and I haven't seen Christina Marie since then, let alone done a show with her. It's been pretty much the same with Barry and Howard, too. We got up there, and began to reassemble the lineup for the show... which we had largely forgotten over the last year or so. Things were a bit different with the show, too. Last year, they fed the Coasties, but not this time. Last year, no one knew who we were or what we did. This year they do, and they had a picture of us from last year's show on flyers and had double the reservations. So we needed to have a longer show, and the pressure was on.
The show took off like a rocket and only faltered once. We tried to keep it clean, but the Coasties were there to have a good time and steered us rapidly into innuendo territory and beyond. The laughs were big and frequent, and by the end, all my doubts and annoyances had melted into nothingness.
One man had been a student last year and is now stationed two hours south in Alameda, and he drove up to see our show. Another couple thanked us, because with all the stress they're under right now they desperately needed to let off some steam and laugh. Another asked if we toured the country with our show. Several others made a point of shaking our hands, getting our autographs, and thanking us for coming out and providing them with such a great night.
We all left with a glow, and didn't even mind the two hour drive back home.
Wednesday, August 09, 2006
Getting Ahead
I don't really prowl online for fun things to watch, but fortunately I have you to do that for me. Old college chum T.M. Camp made me aware of this and it pretty much made my morning. I love anything complicated completed successfully in one take! Good tune, too.
I tackled next week's RadioStar episode last night. I'm trying to get a few weeks shows done in advance, and was able to get about half of next week's piece done. Choosing shows to air is always interesting, as we currently have over 20 shows in storage waiting for review. I pretty much listen to them until one catches my interest. Sometimes it's because it's funny, sometimes because it's just compelling. The show that went up today isn't really funny at all, but surprisingly complex thematically for an improv show. I'm pretty pleased with it. Next week's show is another one that is more wry than laugh out loud funny, but it takes some interesting twists and is a neat character study and exploration of media and assumptions and family.
We're really trying to do something more interesting than yuk yuk comedy on the show. We want to explore what it means to do improv on the radio, and to do theatre first, with comedy a distant second. In other words, we're more about the story than the laugh every 20 seconds.
Tonight is the preview for the SF Fringe Festival. I need to whip up some flyers today. I don't even have postcards yet, because we haven't had our first rehearsal, and won't until Monday. It's a short piece (about 45 minutes... I think), so we're only doing three weeks of rehearsal. Some shows have been doing Fringe tours, so they've had their show together for months. I suppose that's part of the difference between being a local company and an out of town fringe specialist. So, cheap flyers it is for tonight. Things kick into high gear next week.
I tackled next week's RadioStar episode last night. I'm trying to get a few weeks shows done in advance, and was able to get about half of next week's piece done. Choosing shows to air is always interesting, as we currently have over 20 shows in storage waiting for review. I pretty much listen to them until one catches my interest. Sometimes it's because it's funny, sometimes because it's just compelling. The show that went up today isn't really funny at all, but surprisingly complex thematically for an improv show. I'm pretty pleased with it. Next week's show is another one that is more wry than laugh out loud funny, but it takes some interesting twists and is a neat character study and exploration of media and assumptions and family.
We're really trying to do something more interesting than yuk yuk comedy on the show. We want to explore what it means to do improv on the radio, and to do theatre first, with comedy a distant second. In other words, we're more about the story than the laugh every 20 seconds.
Tonight is the preview for the SF Fringe Festival. I need to whip up some flyers today. I don't even have postcards yet, because we haven't had our first rehearsal, and won't until Monday. It's a short piece (about 45 minutes... I think), so we're only doing three weeks of rehearsal. Some shows have been doing Fringe tours, so they've had their show together for months. I suppose that's part of the difference between being a local company and an out of town fringe specialist. So, cheap flyers it is for tonight. Things kick into high gear next week.
Monday, August 07, 2006
Remembering John
John Filgas died last night.
I can't say that John and I were extremely close, but I did count him as a friend and as a collaborator. John was not only deeply committed to improv and theatre, but was also one of the most resilient, kind, and helpful people I've ever met. He was always there to help, doing box office or helping with concessions or anything else that he could do. He performed with Pharmarsupial once, and was a frequent artist at the SFIC Monday Night Jams back when I was on the board there.
I could talk about his long struggles with health, never complaining, and always looking for the joy in his situation.
But I think I want to remember one particular event. The Darkroom Theatre was just discovering the market for stage productions of classic geek movies. He was cast as Prince Humperdink in The Princess Bride and got to strut as swarthy, delicious evil before enthusiastic houses to great reviews. He had been off stage for a while due to health reasons, and watching him during that period was like watching a man reborn to the delight of life. John was a man who loved his art, deeply.
I'm going to miss you, John.
I wish I had spent more time with you, and not been quite so caught up in my little whirlwind.
We'll catch each other next time around.
I can't say that John and I were extremely close, but I did count him as a friend and as a collaborator. John was not only deeply committed to improv and theatre, but was also one of the most resilient, kind, and helpful people I've ever met. He was always there to help, doing box office or helping with concessions or anything else that he could do. He performed with Pharmarsupial once, and was a frequent artist at the SFIC Monday Night Jams back when I was on the board there.
I could talk about his long struggles with health, never complaining, and always looking for the joy in his situation.
But I think I want to remember one particular event. The Darkroom Theatre was just discovering the market for stage productions of classic geek movies. He was cast as Prince Humperdink in The Princess Bride and got to strut as swarthy, delicious evil before enthusiastic houses to great reviews. He had been off stage for a while due to health reasons, and watching him during that period was like watching a man reborn to the delight of life. John was a man who loved his art, deeply.
I'm going to miss you, John.
I wish I had spent more time with you, and not been quite so caught up in my little whirlwind.
We'll catch each other next time around.
Tolerance Levels
I feel like I'm winding down when I should be winding up. That may just be the effects of a Monday morning, grey and soft, beckoning me back to bed.
I had to go to Sacramento for my day job, which necessitated getting up at what is, for me, an obscene hour in order to make a 6:25am train. It was for the best, I suppose, as if I was still driving it would have taken me just as long to get to the office (2 hours) but I would have felt that I could dawdle more at home before leaving. Trains do tend to make one punctual. I did try to sleep on the train ride out, to limited success. At least on planes they give you pillows. I would have loved a pillow, or a seat that reclined. But beggars cannot be choosers, no matter how much we want to be.
As it was, I was able to fix lots of annoying problems they were having in Sacramento before heading back. One of my goals is to get a few weeks ahead on RadioStar shows so that I can start passing off foley work to a gentleman named Taj Moore. This is a first step towards the general goal of distributing editing duties on RadioStar to a larger team of people so that I can give other projects their due. I haven't touched the novel in months now, and I fear that entropy will devour it completely. I was able to use the time on the return train trip to tackle this week's show, which felt damn good.
This week's RadioStar is much more drama than comedy. I like to mix them up, so that we have at least three funny shows between the dramatic ones. This is based on my own suspicion that people want comedy more than they want drama in their podcasts. I have no reason for believing this outside of my own observation of human consumer patterns. Maybe someday, when people start actually posting to the Cassandra's Call Discussion Board, I'll have a better metric for this sort of thing. We're all pleased with this show, though. It has a thematic consistency and dramatic completeness to it that our shows can waver from.
That night I was looking forward to going to Rykarda Parasol's CD release party in the Mission, and did actually attempt to do so. I was so exhausted however, that I had to leave after purchasing my CD, before Rykarda took the stage. I found myself nodding off to the excellent opening band, which is just disrespectful. I fell asleep on BART, waking up in Lafayette and having to jump off the train and catch a return one in order to get back to Oakland.
I caught a colleagues show on Friday night, which was more of a final rehearsal than an opening, although I was very pleased with my friend's contribution to what was a rather mixed bag of one-acts.
Of more interest was getting brunch with Suraya on Saturday. She returned a few days earlier from a trip to Israel. She went intending to do some spiritual work, and to ground herself, and ended up in a war zone. In some ways, it reminded me of our first brunch together after our separation, when she had narrowly survived a horrific car crash the day before. She's had a few near death-experiences lately: car crash, almost drowning on a white water rafting trip, and being bombed. It's a strange thing, to hear about these things after the fact, when the danger is done and all I can do is be amazed with her that she's escaped all these things without a scratch.
That night brought another game night with the guys, and then I went to a club gathering that was organized by a new acquaintance on Consumating. It was a much larger gathering than I expected in a club that I didn't even know existed. Sadly, it wasn't really my "thing" and I left in time for the last BART train. More and more I'm finding out new things about myself, things that I've known but am growing more aware that they are things that aren't going to change. For example: Burning Man. I went for two years and found it to be a very good experience... if not always pleasant. But I've never really been able to buy into the Burning Man aesthetic or lifestyle. I appreciate it, and I encourage it for folks who find it liberating, but I don't find that it resonates with me personally. Perhaps I'll explore my theory on this in a later post, as this one's getting long enough as it is.
As it was, it was good that I got a good night's sleep, as I had a production meeting for a short film I'll be shooting in two weeks. It was mostly a costume check, and a chance to do a quick run through so that the director/writer/lead wouldn't have to explain things too much on the day of the shoot. The AP has got things on a very tight schedule and the last thing we need are actor issues the day of filming. I wasn't sure that the meeting was necessary until a ten minute conversation took place when an actor couldn't understand why he needed to stand up from his desk and walk over to where everyone else was talking.
Let me say right now, that while this kind of thing is often made fun of, it is not behavior that 99% of actors I have worked with ever engage in. It's actually so rare, that when it does happen, I rather goggle at it. When a director says, "Move from point A to point B", it's our job to create for ourselves a reason to do so that makes sense with our understanding of the character and the scene so that it looks natural. It is not our job to say "I don't think my character would stand". Now, if the character does something that seems violently out of its nature (I don't think the gentle old grandmother would throttle that baby), then yes, there's a good chance for some dialogue over a point in the script that needs work. But this "what's my motivation" stuff is a joke both inside and outside the acting world. It's a degree of hand-holding that wastes everyone's time and immediately flags the person as someone that I wouldn't hire on one of my own projects.
Harsh? Perhaps. But I'm growing more and more used to working with very talented people who aren't divas or drama queens, know their shit, and consistently push projects forward instead of holding them up.
Case in point, RadioStar. We had a phenomenal recording session on Sunday, having just welcomed Janna Sobel on as a permanent member. We recorded three shows: a satire, a drama, and a warped fairy tale. Everyone was engaged, clear, attentive, and brilliant. My standards rise with each show that I do, whether it be a film, a podcast, or a play.
This is a good thing, although it does make me a little less tolerant at times.
I had to go to Sacramento for my day job, which necessitated getting up at what is, for me, an obscene hour in order to make a 6:25am train. It was for the best, I suppose, as if I was still driving it would have taken me just as long to get to the office (2 hours) but I would have felt that I could dawdle more at home before leaving. Trains do tend to make one punctual. I did try to sleep on the train ride out, to limited success. At least on planes they give you pillows. I would have loved a pillow, or a seat that reclined. But beggars cannot be choosers, no matter how much we want to be.
As it was, I was able to fix lots of annoying problems they were having in Sacramento before heading back. One of my goals is to get a few weeks ahead on RadioStar shows so that I can start passing off foley work to a gentleman named Taj Moore. This is a first step towards the general goal of distributing editing duties on RadioStar to a larger team of people so that I can give other projects their due. I haven't touched the novel in months now, and I fear that entropy will devour it completely. I was able to use the time on the return train trip to tackle this week's show, which felt damn good.
This week's RadioStar is much more drama than comedy. I like to mix them up, so that we have at least three funny shows between the dramatic ones. This is based on my own suspicion that people want comedy more than they want drama in their podcasts. I have no reason for believing this outside of my own observation of human consumer patterns. Maybe someday, when people start actually posting to the Cassandra's Call Discussion Board, I'll have a better metric for this sort of thing. We're all pleased with this show, though. It has a thematic consistency and dramatic completeness to it that our shows can waver from.
That night I was looking forward to going to Rykarda Parasol's CD release party in the Mission, and did actually attempt to do so. I was so exhausted however, that I had to leave after purchasing my CD, before Rykarda took the stage. I found myself nodding off to the excellent opening band, which is just disrespectful. I fell asleep on BART, waking up in Lafayette and having to jump off the train and catch a return one in order to get back to Oakland.
I caught a colleagues show on Friday night, which was more of a final rehearsal than an opening, although I was very pleased with my friend's contribution to what was a rather mixed bag of one-acts.
Of more interest was getting brunch with Suraya on Saturday. She returned a few days earlier from a trip to Israel. She went intending to do some spiritual work, and to ground herself, and ended up in a war zone. In some ways, it reminded me of our first brunch together after our separation, when she had narrowly survived a horrific car crash the day before. She's had a few near death-experiences lately: car crash, almost drowning on a white water rafting trip, and being bombed. It's a strange thing, to hear about these things after the fact, when the danger is done and all I can do is be amazed with her that she's escaped all these things without a scratch.
That night brought another game night with the guys, and then I went to a club gathering that was organized by a new acquaintance on Consumating. It was a much larger gathering than I expected in a club that I didn't even know existed. Sadly, it wasn't really my "thing" and I left in time for the last BART train. More and more I'm finding out new things about myself, things that I've known but am growing more aware that they are things that aren't going to change. For example: Burning Man. I went for two years and found it to be a very good experience... if not always pleasant. But I've never really been able to buy into the Burning Man aesthetic or lifestyle. I appreciate it, and I encourage it for folks who find it liberating, but I don't find that it resonates with me personally. Perhaps I'll explore my theory on this in a later post, as this one's getting long enough as it is.
As it was, it was good that I got a good night's sleep, as I had a production meeting for a short film I'll be shooting in two weeks. It was mostly a costume check, and a chance to do a quick run through so that the director/writer/lead wouldn't have to explain things too much on the day of the shoot. The AP has got things on a very tight schedule and the last thing we need are actor issues the day of filming. I wasn't sure that the meeting was necessary until a ten minute conversation took place when an actor couldn't understand why he needed to stand up from his desk and walk over to where everyone else was talking.
Let me say right now, that while this kind of thing is often made fun of, it is not behavior that 99% of actors I have worked with ever engage in. It's actually so rare, that when it does happen, I rather goggle at it. When a director says, "Move from point A to point B", it's our job to create for ourselves a reason to do so that makes sense with our understanding of the character and the scene so that it looks natural. It is not our job to say "I don't think my character would stand". Now, if the character does something that seems violently out of its nature (I don't think the gentle old grandmother would throttle that baby), then yes, there's a good chance for some dialogue over a point in the script that needs work. But this "what's my motivation" stuff is a joke both inside and outside the acting world. It's a degree of hand-holding that wastes everyone's time and immediately flags the person as someone that I wouldn't hire on one of my own projects.
Harsh? Perhaps. But I'm growing more and more used to working with very talented people who aren't divas or drama queens, know their shit, and consistently push projects forward instead of holding them up.
Case in point, RadioStar. We had a phenomenal recording session on Sunday, having just welcomed Janna Sobel on as a permanent member. We recorded three shows: a satire, a drama, and a warped fairy tale. Everyone was engaged, clear, attentive, and brilliant. My standards rise with each show that I do, whether it be a film, a podcast, or a play.
This is a good thing, although it does make me a little less tolerant at times.
Tuesday, August 01, 2006
Dutch songbird
I haven't really seen my friend Djoke for a very, very long time. I'm talking at least six months to a year. She came and saw Vagina Dentata, but I didn't know about it until I got the email a few days later. She was performing tonight, however, for the first time. She's joined an acapella group and this evening was their debut. They only sang three songs, but it was delightful to see her up there, having such a wonderful time.
I didn't know who else would be there, if anyone, as it was such a short set. I was so happy to find Oliver and Remington and Chimene there, as well as Robin, who performed in 411 and was also (in a bizarre twist of fate) Djoke's roommate at the time. (I didn't cast the show, and had no idea of the connection until everyone was in rehearsal).
It takes such courage to get in front of a group of people and sing. I may seem like I take it for granted, since I get on stage all the time, but I know that for many people it's the most frightening thing in the world. I may have been a bit harsh in my assessment of some of the other acts that went up, but any concerns I may have had about certain people's preparation or ability were not unmitigated by my respect for the cajones/ovaries required to get up there in the first place.
I think that the more one invests in a field, the more difficult it is to focus on the heart, courage, and love that leads people to take those first tremulous steps into what can be a very frightening place. For me, if I see someone get in front of a microphone without a sense of the tune, a voice that quavers with fright, clutching the music sheets in front of them... I wonder why they thought they were ready to perform in front of an audience. I respect the courage, but as an artist myself I begin to move into a critical mode. I think of the necessity to respect the audience by preparing, and being more than ready to tackle the task at hand.
And yet, I was attending an event that was clearly geared towards supporting people who are taking those first steps. It's hard to switch gears sometimes. I paid to enter, and some of my group were chastised for talking among themselves during someone's song... when professional singers have to deal with much more loud and boisterous behavior during their sets. Are the performers here for the benefit of the audience, or is the audience there for the benefit of the performers? This is an essential question for amateur performance.
For me, the performer is first and foremost there for the audience. Some of the audience is there for the benefit of the performer, because they love him or her. But as a performer, I would hate to think that the only reason people were present is to support. I hope that they are also there to enjoy, and that they do so. To perform is to bring a gift to your audience. You give them song, or laughter, or thought, or something.
Djoke brought us song, and joy. She always brings the joy, and the song was a bonus. But the evening at large clearly raised some vital issues about art, and performance, and how I view my own avocation.
Food for thought, to say the very least.
I didn't know who else would be there, if anyone, as it was such a short set. I was so happy to find Oliver and Remington and Chimene there, as well as Robin, who performed in 411 and was also (in a bizarre twist of fate) Djoke's roommate at the time. (I didn't cast the show, and had no idea of the connection until everyone was in rehearsal).
It takes such courage to get in front of a group of people and sing. I may seem like I take it for granted, since I get on stage all the time, but I know that for many people it's the most frightening thing in the world. I may have been a bit harsh in my assessment of some of the other acts that went up, but any concerns I may have had about certain people's preparation or ability were not unmitigated by my respect for the cajones/ovaries required to get up there in the first place.
I think that the more one invests in a field, the more difficult it is to focus on the heart, courage, and love that leads people to take those first tremulous steps into what can be a very frightening place. For me, if I see someone get in front of a microphone without a sense of the tune, a voice that quavers with fright, clutching the music sheets in front of them... I wonder why they thought they were ready to perform in front of an audience. I respect the courage, but as an artist myself I begin to move into a critical mode. I think of the necessity to respect the audience by preparing, and being more than ready to tackle the task at hand.
And yet, I was attending an event that was clearly geared towards supporting people who are taking those first steps. It's hard to switch gears sometimes. I paid to enter, and some of my group were chastised for talking among themselves during someone's song... when professional singers have to deal with much more loud and boisterous behavior during their sets. Are the performers here for the benefit of the audience, or is the audience there for the benefit of the performers? This is an essential question for amateur performance.
For me, the performer is first and foremost there for the audience. Some of the audience is there for the benefit of the performer, because they love him or her. But as a performer, I would hate to think that the only reason people were present is to support. I hope that they are also there to enjoy, and that they do so. To perform is to bring a gift to your audience. You give them song, or laughter, or thought, or something.
Djoke brought us song, and joy. She always brings the joy, and the song was a bonus. But the evening at large clearly raised some vital issues about art, and performance, and how I view my own avocation.
Food for thought, to say the very least.
Prom, and turning corners
The show is cast, and I'm very happy about the actors I've got. It's going to be a fantastic show, and I'm itching to get into rehearsals. I'm not so future focused, however, that I haven't been able to savor this period between projects. Saturday in particular was a day of extreme pleasures and embracing new and old friends.
Trish Tillman had a "birthday season" party at the SF Croquet Society out in the Sunset District, which is a thing that only Trish would have thought of. People came dressed nattily and had the rules of tournament croquet ("This is not lawn croquet!") explained. The day was foggy, but warm and comfortable and everyone dined on fresh fruit, bread and cheese, and pottered around being awfully civilized.
That night, however, was a flip to the other side. I've been hanging out at Consumating.com lately, and they were having a Prom at G3, a club on the corner of Geary and 3rd Ave. I was supposed to go with my friend Linda, but that didn't work out. I walked in alone, having chatted with a half dozen or so people, but no close connections at all. Normally, this kind of situation is one of those that looks great on paper but ultimately feels alienating and strange. This was aggressively not the case. Drinks were had, dancing all night, kisses from several, plans for future meet ups, after parties until 4am, wicked behavior, and over a hundred people spending the next couple of days online going "what the hell was that? more! more!"
For me, it was a turning point in my moving from "fuck it, I'm single" to "all right, let's start enjoying that I'm single". A large part of the last year and a half has been me avoiding heartbreak, accepting heartbreak, and being generally guarded. The crushes I've had have been with the unattainable, due to geographic or relational unavailability. I had a date with someone for lunch on Sunday, and am seeing someone else on Wednesday. I met up with some people last night, including a woman I met at the party who I am interested in as well.
I'm not hiding anymore. It's more a change of attitude than anything else. I'm at the top of my game right now, in pretty much every part of my life. Literature would dictate that something quite terrible happen for having the audacity to express that... but it's the truth. Life is good, and I feel like it's just getting better.
This has been the anti-emo broadcast station. Don't harsh my happy.
Trish Tillman had a "birthday season" party at the SF Croquet Society out in the Sunset District, which is a thing that only Trish would have thought of. People came dressed nattily and had the rules of tournament croquet ("This is not lawn croquet!") explained. The day was foggy, but warm and comfortable and everyone dined on fresh fruit, bread and cheese, and pottered around being awfully civilized.
That night, however, was a flip to the other side. I've been hanging out at Consumating.com lately, and they were having a Prom at G3, a club on the corner of Geary and 3rd Ave. I was supposed to go with my friend Linda, but that didn't work out. I walked in alone, having chatted with a half dozen or so people, but no close connections at all. Normally, this kind of situation is one of those that looks great on paper but ultimately feels alienating and strange. This was aggressively not the case. Drinks were had, dancing all night, kisses from several, plans for future meet ups, after parties until 4am, wicked behavior, and over a hundred people spending the next couple of days online going "what the hell was that? more! more!"
For me, it was a turning point in my moving from "fuck it, I'm single" to "all right, let's start enjoying that I'm single". A large part of the last year and a half has been me avoiding heartbreak, accepting heartbreak, and being generally guarded. The crushes I've had have been with the unattainable, due to geographic or relational unavailability. I had a date with someone for lunch on Sunday, and am seeing someone else on Wednesday. I met up with some people last night, including a woman I met at the party who I am interested in as well.
I'm not hiding anymore. It's more a change of attitude than anything else. I'm at the top of my game right now, in pretty much every part of my life. Literature would dictate that something quite terrible happen for having the audacity to express that... but it's the truth. Life is good, and I feel like it's just getting better.
This has been the anti-emo broadcast station. Don't harsh my happy.
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