Haven't written in a while. Truth be told, I have nothing to report. With The Crucible finished and now that I've recovered I basically have to work my ass off through May to both refill my empty bank accounts and pay off all the favors I owe. Also, from May to July I have four weddings to attend, three of which are very close/family and two of which involve travel/hotel. I'm about to pull my hair out trying to figure it all out.
To make matters even more fun, June is basically tied up. Throughout the month I will be in a movie called Very Small Rooms, a UConn based film. I'm very excited about working on this film and I have a lot of confidence in the director and her team. And there's some money involved, which is really nice. It also means that between shooting, work, and my Best Friend Mike's wedding I will have maybe five days off, in which I will attempt to work.
The Boston International Film Festival has announced their schedule. This is the group I did the film December 31st with. The day they're showing it, I'm at Mike's wedding. So much for schmoozing with the bigwigs. Of course, I haven't seen any of it yet, and I really wouldn't want to roll in there without seeing something first. What if I suck?
Threads just had a screening this week. Of course, I had to work. It's not a final print, though.
The great thing about my work is that a lot of days (as in, not nights) I have off so my landlord/neighbor/friend-who's-ALSO-getting-married have rediscovered our love of tennis.
I guess that's it.
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
Crucible: Done
This could be long.
Normally I don't tell too many folks about this blog. The fewer people, the more I can write without limits. This is my little place where I can vent frustrations. But more often than not I find myself erasing a lot of my vents, for all kinds of reasons. I'd read them back to myself and think, "woah, kid. Take it easy." Sometimes I'm too self-absorbed. (HA! An actor calling himself self-absorbed. Welcome to redundancy, people.) Sometimes I fly off the handle. Sometimes I just don't want to be so damn negative, so I pull a lot of it down. The few things that stay are usually well reasoned and really reflect my frustrations. When they're directed at someone I know, and if that person happens to be you, please only take extremely small offense. I've probably said it to you before I put it here. Most likely if you keep reading you'll see me write something really nice about you, too. I try to appease the karma.
Current readers, help me out. Am I a prick?
On to the The Crucible...
The first weekend was, honestly, a slight downer. Performances were good. Great, actually. But I never got the idea that our audiences were pulled in by it. The comments that my friends made were sort of positive but never really hit praise. That's fine, I prefer honesty above all else. But I couldn't shake the feeling that we missed it somehow. Maybe we made each little piece so shiny the whole didn't hang together. (Does that even make sense?) Thursday morning's show did nothing to help. Sitting at the front of the house was about sixty 11-13 year olds. I can only imagine what I would have been like having been forced to sit in a chair for an hour and a half at a time to watch subject material that they probably couldn't have cared less about. They got pretty shifty, and there were plenty of conversations I could listen to from the stage. It was a pretty good rehearsal at least.
So we come in Friday night and I don't know if everybody felt it but I definitely sensed as a group we were looking to find that something. That something turned out to be our last three audiences.
They were incredible. I've found that doing a comedy is easy to gauge an audience. If they're laughing, you got em. Drama, though, is way harder to gauge. You have very little cues to tell you if your audience is getting it. Not this weekend. You could hear the tension, the reactions to the absurdity of it all. Those are the moments you keep.
As Hale, I share the final moments of the play on stage with Elizabeth. Those moments are heavy, HEAVY, HEAVY. Sometimes I felt myself manufacturing emotion to get there. (The school show, definitely.) Last weekend, thanks audience, didn't need to do a thing. Also, a huge thanks to Nick, the fella who played John Proctor. Moments I never had to make happen usually centered on him. He played Proctor with such awe-inspiring talent I was honored to have shared the stage with him. With all of them. Anyway, normally, his last moments on stage are for the audience, and for his wife. Last performance, he looked at me for a very small time.
He might as well have kicked me in the chest. Not a whisker of acting there. In my head, "Ah crap, that sonofabee got me. I'm gonna cry like a baby." Crying, open weeping, might or might not have actually happened. And that moment wouldn't leave. I go down to the green room post curtain call and I'm just standing there when Tess, our Mary Warren, comes and gives me this big hug because she watched it from the wings for the first time. I think, "Damn, again."
Awesome cast party. This is a show where with such a big cast (22) usually there's someone in it that you don't click with. Not here. Both on and off stage everyone got along with each other fantastically. Even putting up with me. This experience has been truly, overwhelmingly positive and none of my complaints or qualms are gonna stick with me as long as the gratitude I have towards these people.
Normally I don't tell too many folks about this blog. The fewer people, the more I can write without limits. This is my little place where I can vent frustrations. But more often than not I find myself erasing a lot of my vents, for all kinds of reasons. I'd read them back to myself and think, "woah, kid. Take it easy." Sometimes I'm too self-absorbed. (HA! An actor calling himself self-absorbed. Welcome to redundancy, people.) Sometimes I fly off the handle. Sometimes I just don't want to be so damn negative, so I pull a lot of it down. The few things that stay are usually well reasoned and really reflect my frustrations. When they're directed at someone I know, and if that person happens to be you, please only take extremely small offense. I've probably said it to you before I put it here. Most likely if you keep reading you'll see me write something really nice about you, too. I try to appease the karma.
Current readers, help me out. Am I a prick?
On to the The Crucible...
The first weekend was, honestly, a slight downer. Performances were good. Great, actually. But I never got the idea that our audiences were pulled in by it. The comments that my friends made were sort of positive but never really hit praise. That's fine, I prefer honesty above all else. But I couldn't shake the feeling that we missed it somehow. Maybe we made each little piece so shiny the whole didn't hang together. (Does that even make sense?) Thursday morning's show did nothing to help. Sitting at the front of the house was about sixty 11-13 year olds. I can only imagine what I would have been like having been forced to sit in a chair for an hour and a half at a time to watch subject material that they probably couldn't have cared less about. They got pretty shifty, and there were plenty of conversations I could listen to from the stage. It was a pretty good rehearsal at least.
So we come in Friday night and I don't know if everybody felt it but I definitely sensed as a group we were looking to find that something. That something turned out to be our last three audiences.
They were incredible. I've found that doing a comedy is easy to gauge an audience. If they're laughing, you got em. Drama, though, is way harder to gauge. You have very little cues to tell you if your audience is getting it. Not this weekend. You could hear the tension, the reactions to the absurdity of it all. Those are the moments you keep.
As Hale, I share the final moments of the play on stage with Elizabeth. Those moments are heavy, HEAVY, HEAVY. Sometimes I felt myself manufacturing emotion to get there. (The school show, definitely.) Last weekend, thanks audience, didn't need to do a thing. Also, a huge thanks to Nick, the fella who played John Proctor. Moments I never had to make happen usually centered on him. He played Proctor with such awe-inspiring talent I was honored to have shared the stage with him. With all of them. Anyway, normally, his last moments on stage are for the audience, and for his wife. Last performance, he looked at me for a very small time.
He might as well have kicked me in the chest. Not a whisker of acting there. In my head, "Ah crap, that sonofabee got me. I'm gonna cry like a baby." Crying, open weeping, might or might not have actually happened. And that moment wouldn't leave. I go down to the green room post curtain call and I'm just standing there when Tess, our Mary Warren, comes and gives me this big hug because she watched it from the wings for the first time. I think, "Damn, again."
Awesome cast party. This is a show where with such a big cast (22) usually there's someone in it that you don't click with. Not here. Both on and off stage everyone got along with each other fantastically. Even putting up with me. This experience has been truly, overwhelmingly positive and none of my complaints or qualms are gonna stick with me as long as the gratitude I have towards these people.
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Morning comes hard
We're performing The Crucible for a couple of schools tomorrow. At 9:15 am. Call time? 7:45. That isn't even right. Then on with the rest of the run.
We were received well, at least as well as a show like this can be. Family and friends told me, "great performance, too bad we hate The Crucible." Sigh. I guess you can't blame them for that one. It starts off down and takes you on a three hour trip farther downward. There's no light moments. The very few brief ones you can find are instantly crushed by the next line. I guess it's a love it or hate it thing.
One thing I've always hated are matinees. Hate hate hate them. The one saving grace to them is all the senior folks who come out to them. They're always a treat.
The performances themselves were great. Lots of tasty moments on and off stage. Great things I'll remember for years.
I don't want to get up in the morning.
We were received well, at least as well as a show like this can be. Family and friends told me, "great performance, too bad we hate The Crucible." Sigh. I guess you can't blame them for that one. It starts off down and takes you on a three hour trip farther downward. There's no light moments. The very few brief ones you can find are instantly crushed by the next line. I guess it's a love it or hate it thing.
One thing I've always hated are matinees. Hate hate hate them. The one saving grace to them is all the senior folks who come out to them. They're always a treat.
The performances themselves were great. Lots of tasty moments on and off stage. Great things I'll remember for years.
I don't want to get up in the morning.
Saturday, April 21, 2007
Opening Night
The thrill of opening night. If you haven't done it, you wouldn't know. If you have, I don't need to describe it to you. I always try to steal a second on stage before the house opens, just a second of quiet.
Last night was exactly the performance I was hoping for. Everybody ramped it up a notch. The audience was smallish, but we were received more than extremely well. I couldn't be happier. At that last moment before the lights die, I knew without a doubt that I am glad, truly, deeply glad, to have been a part of this show.
Now let's hope I don't screw the pooch in the next week and a half.
Last night was exactly the performance I was hoping for. Everybody ramped it up a notch. The audience was smallish, but we were received more than extremely well. I couldn't be happier. At that last moment before the lights die, I knew without a doubt that I am glad, truly, deeply glad, to have been a part of this show.
Now let's hope I don't screw the pooch in the next week and a half.
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Friday, March 23, 2007
Chunks
(I have no idea how, but my format goes all screwy when I post pics. Sorry for the mess.)
B and I bullsh^tting betwixt scenes.
I was compelled to read through a bunch of my blog last week. I must apologize to you all. I had no idea there were so many spelling/grammatical errors. I'm something of a tyrant about that. Mostly it's because I type and hit publish as fast as I can when I write entries, fire-and-forget. If I read too much I'll have to edit. If I have to edit, fuggedaboutit, I'll hate it, delete, and then you'll never know what's going on in the life of krt, will you?
So today I went through the whole thing with a big red (metaphorical) pencil and fixed it. I'm sure if you've read it already there is no need to check back. I did this because I have a lot of time on my hands.
I have a lot of time on my hands because I got the dreaded nasty stomach virus. I won't go into all the gory details, but it's been a pretty nasty three days laid out on the couch or bed. Not. A. Good. Time.
Here's some stills from December 31st. That's the one where I met my friend B.
Here we are 'brute-forcing' our way through a scene.
B and I bullsh^tting betwixt scenes.
Cast and director of December 31st.
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
My first extra experience
...is blessedly over. I don't know how so many folks put up with so much crap for so long for so little money. Boggles the mind, I tell you.
(Some of you who read this do quite a bit of extra work, I know. Is this similar to your first experiences?)
Of course, I can't tell you what it was for. Suffice to say, it won't be seen in this country. I 'auditioned' for a spot several weeks ago. I didn't hear anything from the casting office, so I figured I wouldn't keep those days blocked off anymore. I got the call Friday that I was 'hand selected' for the shoot Monday night. Balls. This means a huge schedule workaround, favors called in, long work hours, and headaches.
I'm told what wardrobe to bring. Of course, I own none of this stuff, so I have to go shopping. Honestly, if people didn't buy me clothes to wear I'd be the lamest dresser around. I have no concept of clothes other than comfort and covering the naughty bits when littl'uns are around. So I shop.
I'm at work yesterday when I get the call saying that I need more stuff. Great. Oh, that was four hours before I was supposed to be there. Luckily, a friend nearby had some stuff I could use, and I'm off.
Now I'm pretty much expecting that 'hand selected' means 'in the pile' and I wasn't disappointed. There were at least 200 people there. Probably more. Wardrobe checked my other outfit and decided it was 'too wintery.' At least, I thought, the stuff I bought will go to good use.
No one told me it was an outside shoot.
Thank the stars my friend loaned me the 'too wintery' stuff cause when the cameras weren't rolling, it was on. One quick setup right after I arrive then back to holding.
Holding I must talk about. As an extra newbie, I spoke very little, taking it all in. There seemed to be a lot of friends from other shoots there. I didn't know it was a hobby for some folks. Everyone had their 'in' to Hollywood or Broadway, and were just waiting for it to come through. And, I love this part, there seemed to be a loudmouth meatball for every 30 people. I sat for two hours pretending to read a book, listening to this one cat. He was without doubt the most full of sh$t person I have ever heard in my life, and I've heard a lot of bullsh%tters in my day. This guy started off a group conversation, then latched on to anything that was said and was a complete expert on it. In quick retrospect, he pontificated about 300, the original Spartans (He was completely wrong, I know because I've read more about them than just the Wikipedia entry.), Japan's Bushido code (again, horribly wrong), how to make it as an extra, the disadvantages of volunteering, his great success as a standup, how much you should be paid, called out another comic and berated him for not performing in front of us all (not that he did any of his own material) and civil service/emergency services (once again, completely wrong). I wished someone was watching me. I could not read my book because every time his mouth opened, the dumbest thing came out of it, even dumber than the last thing. I was either wide eyed or shaking my head.
But here's what gets me most. The reason he was able to do this for several hours was because...i still can't believe it myself...people were listening to him. REALLY. Like, he held court for two hours and people sat there in thrall as if they came to the Greek forum to listen to Plato or some sh^t. Boggles. The. Mind.
Finally we're called to set. Outside. Basically cheering at a car. For four hours. In the cold. After two hours they started to say we could go back to holding to warm up, but realized a bunch of people were ready to give up on the money and leave, so they decided against it. This was a non union shoot. OUR craft service was a cooler full of water and some assorted chips. THEIR craft service was, well, craft service. Three and a half hours in most of the crew takes a break and gets coffee and tea and pleasurably sips at it right in front of us. Bastards. Those four hours I had to stand in a group of meatballs who felt that apparently the dumbest thing to say was the perfect thing to shout. Sigh.
We finished around 1:30 am. I get lost in Boston, get pulled over because apparently being lost looks like you're drunk. Sweet talk not one but two state troopers out of a ticket and head home. Thank god for rumble strips. Bed: 4am.
I'm not so sure if I like extra work. I'm not so sure I like this casting office, especially after finding out that the money we're actually getting is less than half the money announced at the audition.
Hmmm...union?
(Some of you who read this do quite a bit of extra work, I know. Is this similar to your first experiences?)
Of course, I can't tell you what it was for. Suffice to say, it won't be seen in this country. I 'auditioned' for a spot several weeks ago. I didn't hear anything from the casting office, so I figured I wouldn't keep those days blocked off anymore. I got the call Friday that I was 'hand selected' for the shoot Monday night. Balls. This means a huge schedule workaround, favors called in, long work hours, and headaches.
I'm told what wardrobe to bring. Of course, I own none of this stuff, so I have to go shopping. Honestly, if people didn't buy me clothes to wear I'd be the lamest dresser around. I have no concept of clothes other than comfort and covering the naughty bits when littl'uns are around. So I shop.
I'm at work yesterday when I get the call saying that I need more stuff. Great. Oh, that was four hours before I was supposed to be there. Luckily, a friend nearby had some stuff I could use, and I'm off.
Now I'm pretty much expecting that 'hand selected' means 'in the pile' and I wasn't disappointed. There were at least 200 people there. Probably more. Wardrobe checked my other outfit and decided it was 'too wintery.' At least, I thought, the stuff I bought will go to good use.
No one told me it was an outside shoot.
Thank the stars my friend loaned me the 'too wintery' stuff cause when the cameras weren't rolling, it was on. One quick setup right after I arrive then back to holding.
Holding I must talk about. As an extra newbie, I spoke very little, taking it all in. There seemed to be a lot of friends from other shoots there. I didn't know it was a hobby for some folks. Everyone had their 'in' to Hollywood or Broadway, and were just waiting for it to come through. And, I love this part, there seemed to be a loudmouth meatball for every 30 people. I sat for two hours pretending to read a book, listening to this one cat. He was without doubt the most full of sh$t person I have ever heard in my life, and I've heard a lot of bullsh%tters in my day. This guy started off a group conversation, then latched on to anything that was said and was a complete expert on it. In quick retrospect, he pontificated about 300, the original Spartans (He was completely wrong, I know because I've read more about them than just the Wikipedia entry.), Japan's Bushido code (again, horribly wrong), how to make it as an extra, the disadvantages of volunteering, his great success as a standup, how much you should be paid, called out another comic and berated him for not performing in front of us all (not that he did any of his own material) and civil service/emergency services (once again, completely wrong). I wished someone was watching me. I could not read my book because every time his mouth opened, the dumbest thing came out of it, even dumber than the last thing. I was either wide eyed or shaking my head.
But here's what gets me most. The reason he was able to do this for several hours was because...i still can't believe it myself...people were listening to him. REALLY. Like, he held court for two hours and people sat there in thrall as if they came to the Greek forum to listen to Plato or some sh^t. Boggles. The. Mind.
Finally we're called to set. Outside. Basically cheering at a car. For four hours. In the cold. After two hours they started to say we could go back to holding to warm up, but realized a bunch of people were ready to give up on the money and leave, so they decided against it. This was a non union shoot. OUR craft service was a cooler full of water and some assorted chips. THEIR craft service was, well, craft service. Three and a half hours in most of the crew takes a break and gets coffee and tea and pleasurably sips at it right in front of us. Bastards. Those four hours I had to stand in a group of meatballs who felt that apparently the dumbest thing to say was the perfect thing to shout. Sigh.
We finished around 1:30 am. I get lost in Boston, get pulled over because apparently being lost looks like you're drunk. Sweet talk not one but two state troopers out of a ticket and head home. Thank god for rumble strips. Bed: 4am.
I'm not so sure if I like extra work. I'm not so sure I like this casting office, especially after finding out that the money we're actually getting is less than half the money announced at the audition.
Hmmm...union?
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Sunday, March 11, 2007
There's always one...
Isn't it awesome when you wake up early, ready for the day ahead? You know, early enough to get a bunch of stuff done. Have an extra cup of coffee. Don't pay attention to that little worry that you've forgotten something important. The clock says you're just fine. Isn't it awesome when the realization that it's SPRING F&#%ING AHEAD time kind of sinks over you like someone cracked an egg on your head? Yeah, today, I was that guy.
I saw 300 yesterday. I've been waiting for this to come out since I heard about it way back in October. Not only is it one of the most ultimate-badass stories of all time, Zack Snyder directed it. I'm growing to love his work.
I'm excited to say this flick absolutely gave me everything I wanted. Great drama, awesome action. (I was not there for the oiled-mostly-naked dudes thing.) Oscar-worthy? No. This is a highly stylized movie. Nothing is left for granted. Almost every shot is some kind of effect shot. I know some people think it's overkill, but I for one loved it. It was a great action movie sandwich that I greedily ate every bite of.
Can't wait for Hot Fuzz.
The Crucible still proves to be great fun. Just so everyone knows, I am having immense fun and I'm being fulfilled in my 'serious' drama quota. I just crack funny all the time at rehearsal cause, um, that's what I do. Funny stuff appears in front of me all the time. I just seem to be the only one who notices.
Case in point. There's a line in the show that goes something like, "she screamed a scream that a bull would weep to hear." (Now, so you know, there is absolutely NO way for you to get the full impact of my interpretation without me standing in front of you to give you the sound effets.) The second time I heard it I had to bend down and put my hands on my knees to get my breath back. That's how hard I was laughing. Seriously. When put upon for an explanation I had to describe what I just saw in the theater of the mind. Picture an attractive young girl standing in the middle of a cow pasture. (This is the actual girl in our show, so you can't REALLY picture her until I post something up here.) Honking. That's the only word I can use to describe the sound that comes to my mind. Off in the corner of the pasture are two giant bulls, horns, nose rings and all, crying quietly. One bull wipes a tear out of the corner of his eye saying, "oh man, that takes me back." For some reason during rehearsals this kind of thing springs to my mind EVERY THREE SECONDS.
Mind you, these are all blocking rehearsals. I hate them. They're necessary, but so is proctology and I don't know anyone who's marked on their calendar "proctology appointment" and put a smiley face next to it. So to ease the pain, I am the laughing gas.
I'd also like to say that this is a phenomenally well cast show. It's never easy to cast well in community theater. Lately it seems even harder around here. This show, everyone is doing super well in their roles. Originally I was mildly disappointed not to get the lead, but the more I watch the cast the more I realize I am exactly where I need to be, and maybe I was just caught up in the "gotta get the lead" race. Which is stupid.
Oh yeah, you can find information about our performances here. So if you're in the neighborhood of Western Massachusetts in April, come see a great show.
Almost finished reading Contact. I loved the movie, but man, did they get it wrong. I watched it recently to make sure and yeah, they got it wrong.
I saw 300 yesterday. I've been waiting for this to come out since I heard about it way back in October. Not only is it one of the most ultimate-badass stories of all time, Zack Snyder directed it. I'm growing to love his work.
I'm excited to say this flick absolutely gave me everything I wanted. Great drama, awesome action. (I was not there for the oiled-mostly-naked dudes thing.) Oscar-worthy? No. This is a highly stylized movie. Nothing is left for granted. Almost every shot is some kind of effect shot. I know some people think it's overkill, but I for one loved it. It was a great action movie sandwich that I greedily ate every bite of.
Can't wait for Hot Fuzz.
The Crucible still proves to be great fun. Just so everyone knows, I am having immense fun and I'm being fulfilled in my 'serious' drama quota. I just crack funny all the time at rehearsal cause, um, that's what I do. Funny stuff appears in front of me all the time. I just seem to be the only one who notices.
Case in point. There's a line in the show that goes something like, "she screamed a scream that a bull would weep to hear." (Now, so you know, there is absolutely NO way for you to get the full impact of my interpretation without me standing in front of you to give you the sound effets.) The second time I heard it I had to bend down and put my hands on my knees to get my breath back. That's how hard I was laughing. Seriously. When put upon for an explanation I had to describe what I just saw in the theater of the mind. Picture an attractive young girl standing in the middle of a cow pasture. (This is the actual girl in our show, so you can't REALLY picture her until I post something up here.) Honking. That's the only word I can use to describe the sound that comes to my mind. Off in the corner of the pasture are two giant bulls, horns, nose rings and all, crying quietly. One bull wipes a tear out of the corner of his eye saying, "oh man, that takes me back." For some reason during rehearsals this kind of thing springs to my mind EVERY THREE SECONDS.
Mind you, these are all blocking rehearsals. I hate them. They're necessary, but so is proctology and I don't know anyone who's marked on their calendar "proctology appointment" and put a smiley face next to it. So to ease the pain, I am the laughing gas.
I'd also like to say that this is a phenomenally well cast show. It's never easy to cast well in community theater. Lately it seems even harder around here. This show, everyone is doing super well in their roles. Originally I was mildly disappointed not to get the lead, but the more I watch the cast the more I realize I am exactly where I need to be, and maybe I was just caught up in the "gotta get the lead" race. Which is stupid.
Oh yeah, you can find information about our performances here. So if you're in the neighborhood of Western Massachusetts in April, come see a great show.
Almost finished reading Contact. I loved the movie, but man, did they get it wrong. I watched it recently to make sure and yeah, they got it wrong.
Wednesday, March 07, 2007
Random randomness
I have to remind myself to update this thing more often. It's kind of hypocritical of me to go bullshit over someone else leaving their blog neglected when I can't be bothered to update my own.
So, for the both of you who are reading...
I recently updated my recording hardware. I got this. It's a smaller hardware version of the stuff I used to use, but insanely more robust software. ProTools. Pretty much the standard for computer based music production. (Please, no flame wars, everybody has their own opinion.) The learning curve this time around has been incredible. So much stuff.
So, yeah, I'm kind of a musician. Not like professional or anything. Haven't been in a band in years, but I love writing my own stuff and don't really care if no one ever hears it. So I'm willing to fork over a ton of cash for all these expensive toys.
Of course, I should also be working on more of the seven other projects I have going on.
The Crucible is going well. Fairly soon the off book stuff will start to come around. Mostly I'm still trying to turn it into a one-man comedy show. Many thanks to the extraordinary patience of the cast and director for not killing me. Sometimes the shit that bubbles up to the surface I just can't keep in. (In my mind, apparently, witch hunts are hilarious.)
I was tapped to run a camera for a training video for some corporate thing. I learned several things:
A) running a live camera is BORING. I'd much rather shoot a narrative.
B) corporate America pays a lot of money to send people to seminars so they can learn the obvious.
C) beer is so much better after spending a day shooting boring talkin-bout-nuthin all day long.
Overheard in a bar last night, "Dear broccoli, why do you look like a cartoon fart?" I totally heard that. I wanted to check and see if I was mistaken, maybe I just heard it wrong. I was getting out of my seat to inquire about the accuracy of my hearing when I realized I didn't WANT to know if I heard it wrong. And really, what kind of an explanation can you get that justifies a statement like that? No, I thought, better leave it alone. I'd rather sit here and contemplate, muse, and wonder about broccoli lookin like...well, you know, than hear that it was something innocuous.
Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny. Hm. I liked the HBO special better. But the extras are totally worth the price.
So, for the both of you who are reading...
I recently updated my recording hardware. I got this. It's a smaller hardware version of the stuff I used to use, but insanely more robust software. ProTools. Pretty much the standard for computer based music production. (Please, no flame wars, everybody has their own opinion.) The learning curve this time around has been incredible. So much stuff.
So, yeah, I'm kind of a musician. Not like professional or anything. Haven't been in a band in years, but I love writing my own stuff and don't really care if no one ever hears it. So I'm willing to fork over a ton of cash for all these expensive toys.
Of course, I should also be working on more of the seven other projects I have going on.
The Crucible is going well. Fairly soon the off book stuff will start to come around. Mostly I'm still trying to turn it into a one-man comedy show. Many thanks to the extraordinary patience of the cast and director for not killing me. Sometimes the shit that bubbles up to the surface I just can't keep in. (In my mind, apparently, witch hunts are hilarious.)
I was tapped to run a camera for a training video for some corporate thing. I learned several things:
A) running a live camera is BORING. I'd much rather shoot a narrative.
B) corporate America pays a lot of money to send people to seminars so they can learn the obvious.
C) beer is so much better after spending a day shooting boring talkin-bout-nuthin all day long.
Overheard in a bar last night, "Dear broccoli, why do you look like a cartoon fart?" I totally heard that. I wanted to check and see if I was mistaken, maybe I just heard it wrong. I was getting out of my seat to inquire about the accuracy of my hearing when I realized I didn't WANT to know if I heard it wrong. And really, what kind of an explanation can you get that justifies a statement like that? No, I thought, better leave it alone. I'd rather sit here and contemplate, muse, and wonder about broccoli lookin like...well, you know, than hear that it was something innocuous.
Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny. Hm. I liked the HBO special better. But the extras are totally worth the price.
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Sorry it's been so long
It's taken a while for anything of real interest to happen. I don't want to post just for the sake of posting, but I was given a verbal beating by a reader for not updating frequently enough. Hopefully this will assuage the thirsty readers.
The Crucible has been going well. By going well I mean we've finally completed basic blocking. When I think about blocking a show I wonder if I might have more fun sticking a pencil in my eye whilst pondering the latest fashions in eye-patches than have to block another damn show. I know it must be done, like the dentist, but I dread both equally. My survival technique has been to turn The Crucible into a one man comedy show.
Oh yes, it can be done. Much to the consternation of some castmates, but sorry, I can't even think about character and acting when we have to stop every line. Just give me the basic movements and let's get on with it, dig?
I've noticed a change in my style a bit. Assuming that a) I actually had a style before and b)there is evidence of a style now. A couple months ago I read How to Stop Acting by Michael Shurtleff. I took a lot of it to heart. I also take every acting method I learn about with a grain of salt. It seems like each one I learn about ends up at some point telling you that The Process is more important than The Product. I'm really not into zealotry of just about any kind, so when I read that it doesn't matter if the audience doesn't get it as long as it's true I go a little fuzzy. But I take something from each book I read. This one helped me free myself up from too much thinking, which is a habit I have. I read this book right before I really got busy with doing film, and it really helped me to be in the moment when we were shooting, especially when it was hectic. It seems that it's influenced my stage acting as well. Where I usually was rehearsing for the perfect delivery each time, now I'm goin with what my gut's telling me, reacting not to what my brain tells me is my character's arc, just doing it and letting the audience piece it together. It's wonderfully freeing.
Sorry about the rant. If it even made sense.
Got cast in another movie. This one's UConn based and I'm pretty psyched for it, but the shoot is a couple months off. This is another audition I totally nailed when I was so sick with the flu I could barely stand. I'm sensing a pattern. I also got a call from someone I've never heard of who was given my number to see if I could fill a last minute role. Unfortunately I was unavailable for it, but hey, it proves the point, be nice to everybody, cause you never know when it'll pay off. Feed your karma.
The Crucible has been going well. By going well I mean we've finally completed basic blocking. When I think about blocking a show I wonder if I might have more fun sticking a pencil in my eye whilst pondering the latest fashions in eye-patches than have to block another damn show. I know it must be done, like the dentist, but I dread both equally. My survival technique has been to turn The Crucible into a one man comedy show.
Oh yes, it can be done. Much to the consternation of some castmates, but sorry, I can't even think about character and acting when we have to stop every line. Just give me the basic movements and let's get on with it, dig?
I've noticed a change in my style a bit. Assuming that a) I actually had a style before and b)there is evidence of a style now. A couple months ago I read How to Stop Acting by Michael Shurtleff. I took a lot of it to heart. I also take every acting method I learn about with a grain of salt. It seems like each one I learn about ends up at some point telling you that The Process is more important than The Product. I'm really not into zealotry of just about any kind, so when I read that it doesn't matter if the audience doesn't get it as long as it's true I go a little fuzzy. But I take something from each book I read. This one helped me free myself up from too much thinking, which is a habit I have. I read this book right before I really got busy with doing film, and it really helped me to be in the moment when we were shooting, especially when it was hectic. It seems that it's influenced my stage acting as well. Where I usually was rehearsing for the perfect delivery each time, now I'm goin with what my gut's telling me, reacting not to what my brain tells me is my character's arc, just doing it and letting the audience piece it together. It's wonderfully freeing.
Sorry about the rant. If it even made sense.
Got cast in another movie. This one's UConn based and I'm pretty psyched for it, but the shoot is a couple months off. This is another audition I totally nailed when I was so sick with the flu I could barely stand. I'm sensing a pattern. I also got a call from someone I've never heard of who was given my number to see if I could fill a last minute role. Unfortunately I was unavailable for it, but hey, it proves the point, be nice to everybody, cause you never know when it'll pay off. Feed your karma.
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
A pin in my balloon
I didn't get cast in a film I was looking forward to. Sounded neat, had a ton of potential. I got the audition through people I'd worked with before. The audition went well, at least I thought it did, and it sounded as if I had the part by the time I walked out the door.
Got the email yesterday. Thanks for coming, but sorry.
First, I was just amazed to hear one way or the other. Very rarely have I gotten any kind of word from the director/production crew if I don't get cast. At least I know now, and don't have to wonder if my schedule is going to be juggled again. (This reminds me of something I need to write later. Don't let me forget, blog.)
Seems like lately I've had some fairy-tale casting. I haven't been turned down for much, if anything, in the last three months. I really thought I had this one in the bag. It's a nice attitude check. I certainly don't take it personally, and I'm not upset at all. (Mildly relieved I don't have to "make that weekend work.")
I have been lazy to the extreme. By lazy I mean I only spend two hours a day learning Dreamweaver, one hour on Final Cut, and two hours trying to get my home studio working again. (Curse Aardvark Audio for going bankrupt!) I really should be cranking out some product, REALLY need to be writing again.
Really need to kick myself in the ass.
It's way too cold for self-ass kicking though. Definitely weather for watching ALL of The Sopranos.
Got the email yesterday. Thanks for coming, but sorry.
First, I was just amazed to hear one way or the other. Very rarely have I gotten any kind of word from the director/production crew if I don't get cast. At least I know now, and don't have to wonder if my schedule is going to be juggled again. (This reminds me of something I need to write later. Don't let me forget, blog.)
Seems like lately I've had some fairy-tale casting. I haven't been turned down for much, if anything, in the last three months. I really thought I had this one in the bag. It's a nice attitude check. I certainly don't take it personally, and I'm not upset at all. (Mildly relieved I don't have to "make that weekend work.")
I have been lazy to the extreme. By lazy I mean I only spend two hours a day learning Dreamweaver, one hour on Final Cut, and two hours trying to get my home studio working again. (Curse Aardvark Audio for going bankrupt!) I really should be cranking out some product, REALLY need to be writing again.
Really need to kick myself in the ass.
It's way too cold for self-ass kicking though. Definitely weather for watching ALL of The Sopranos.
Saturday, January 27, 2007
Super cool days like this make me smile
It actually started yesterday when I got to hang out with my two sisters and my nephew, who is currently approaching the ripe age of two. The sister that owns (?) him lives in L.A. so I don't get to see them very often. The last time I saw the little man he was still a non-walking, mostly drooling baby. Now he has legs that run and run and run. I didn't expect him to do anything other than run away from the scary man who hadn't shaved in five days, but he got right down to the business of counting for me. He can recognize his name when written down, knows the alphabet, and can recognize the planets. It's amazingly hilarious (and somewhat humbling) to hear him say Jupiter, "Dert-der-der." (He knows them, but that mouth coordination could use some work.) I'm pretty sure at that age I was realizing that my fingers could fit in my nose, and wasn't that an awesome discovery?
Today I put two more gigs of RAM in my desktop. I haven't even loaded the games that bog this beast down and I'm still excited.
Had to shoot pickups for Threads today. Made it to the Emerson studio and there were two of my favorite crew people there, Lucinda and Adam, and Adam's got his computer tuned in to this very blog. (I forget that people I know actually read it. Come to think of it, I never realize people read it as I write this. Uh...hi folks!) We hung out for a little while as everybody else filtered in. Great to see everybody again. They recharge my batteries. Make me realize how much fun/angst/love/pain/laughter/frustration/creation this whole thing is.
Adam, who's cutting the movie, said quite a few nice things about the job I did in the film. (Thanks Adam!) I got to see some of the original footage. I can honestly say I freaked myself out. There are some pretty heavy scenes in this flick. I put a lot into them. A LOT. It's nice, albeit mildly frightening, to see that what I was going for actually happened.
The day went pretty quickly, everything was fairly simple and laid out well. Ah, the magic of film. Some closeups for a bedroom scene were accomplished with a wooden box, a sheet, a pillow, and some black cloth draped over some chairs. I didn't even need to take my pants off. (...that sounds so wrong) A few other quick shots and we were chillin'. Left with more notices of auditions and, hopefully, offers of parts. As I walked back through the Common to get to my car I couldn't get the smile off my face.
Finished up by meeting a friend at the movies to see Smokin' Aces, which was surprisingly good, despite the drubbing the critics gave it. Sure, it's not The Godfather, but it was escapist fun done well.
Now if only I didn't have to go to work tomorrow...
Today I put two more gigs of RAM in my desktop. I haven't even loaded the games that bog this beast down and I'm still excited.
Had to shoot pickups for Threads today. Made it to the Emerson studio and there were two of my favorite crew people there, Lucinda and Adam, and Adam's got his computer tuned in to this very blog. (I forget that people I know actually read it. Come to think of it, I never realize people read it as I write this. Uh...hi folks!) We hung out for a little while as everybody else filtered in. Great to see everybody again. They recharge my batteries. Make me realize how much fun/angst/love/pain/laughter/frustration/creation this whole thing is.
Adam, who's cutting the movie, said quite a few nice things about the job I did in the film. (Thanks Adam!) I got to see some of the original footage. I can honestly say I freaked myself out. There are some pretty heavy scenes in this flick. I put a lot into them. A LOT. It's nice, albeit mildly frightening, to see that what I was going for actually happened.
The day went pretty quickly, everything was fairly simple and laid out well. Ah, the magic of film. Some closeups for a bedroom scene were accomplished with a wooden box, a sheet, a pillow, and some black cloth draped over some chairs. I didn't even need to take my pants off. (...that sounds so wrong) A few other quick shots and we were chillin'. Left with more notices of auditions and, hopefully, offers of parts. As I walked back through the Common to get to my car I couldn't get the smile off my face.
Finished up by meeting a friend at the movies to see Smokin' Aces, which was surprisingly good, despite the drubbing the critics gave it. Sure, it's not The Godfather, but it was escapist fun done well.
Now if only I didn't have to go to work tomorrow...
Thursday, January 25, 2007
Two super cool web things...
..I've found recently.
Flight of the Conchords. You can see their performances here. I recommend you start with "Jenny." A friend of mine sat me down to watch it because it reminded her of My Best Friend Mike and my penchant for sitting on my porch and making up songs as we go along. (Incidentally, his one known talent is the ability to insert the word "Motherfucker" into any song. Yeah, sure, anybody can but not like this dude.) I was howling. HOWLING.
I also realize that everyone in the world might already know about these guys and I'm just the last to get on the train.
The other thing is What is Joppa? There's a great article on them here. I love the homegrown attitude they have. I love that it works. I love that people are starting to watch them. There's a debate a friend and I have about the increasing affordability of making movies/recording music. He argues that it will ultimately dilute the talent pool, making it harder for dedicated and talented artists to stand out. I argue that if anything it will make the dedicated and talented stand out more. The recent glut of badly made online movies and lo-no budget films illustrates the juxtaposition quite clearly. Well thought out entertainment like Joppa, in contrast, allows you to appreciate well done projects even more.
Oh yeah, I saw The Hitcher remake. Surprisingly, it wasn't all that bad. It just wasn't all that good. In fact, it's basically the same movie as the original, with a couple playing C. Thomas Howell's part. Basically it's all bones and no meat. It has pretty much the exact structure of the original, without any of the tension, or any real sense of empathy for the hitcher. And I'd love to have been on set to see the dynamics, because I've never seen two people playing a romantic couple look less interested in each other.
Top Chef is making me ill. Did anyone else hear that Marcel was attacked by a crazed fan?
24 rocks.
Flight of the Conchords. You can see their performances here. I recommend you start with "Jenny." A friend of mine sat me down to watch it because it reminded her of My Best Friend Mike and my penchant for sitting on my porch and making up songs as we go along. (Incidentally, his one known talent is the ability to insert the word "Motherfucker" into any song. Yeah, sure, anybody can but not like this dude.) I was howling. HOWLING.
I also realize that everyone in the world might already know about these guys and I'm just the last to get on the train.
The other thing is What is Joppa? There's a great article on them here. I love the homegrown attitude they have. I love that it works. I love that people are starting to watch them. There's a debate a friend and I have about the increasing affordability of making movies/recording music. He argues that it will ultimately dilute the talent pool, making it harder for dedicated and talented artists to stand out. I argue that if anything it will make the dedicated and talented stand out more. The recent glut of badly made online movies and lo-no budget films illustrates the juxtaposition quite clearly. Well thought out entertainment like Joppa, in contrast, allows you to appreciate well done projects even more.
Oh yeah, I saw The Hitcher remake. Surprisingly, it wasn't all that bad. It just wasn't all that good. In fact, it's basically the same movie as the original, with a couple playing C. Thomas Howell's part. Basically it's all bones and no meat. It has pretty much the exact structure of the original, without any of the tension, or any real sense of empathy for the hitcher. And I'd love to have been on set to see the dynamics, because I've never seen two people playing a romantic couple look less interested in each other.
Top Chef is making me ill. Did anyone else hear that Marcel was attacked by a crazed fan?
24 rocks.
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Sore!
Ow.
First day snowboarding yesterday. Gotta make use of this stupid pass, now that we finally have some snow. I didn't get a chance to go last year at all, so I was pretty nervous yesterday. Fortunately I made it through the day all limbs intact. So much fun. Today will be an inside day, however. Having not used those muscles in some time, everything hurts.
Went from there to the first read-through of The Crucible. Methinks we have a very fine cast, indeed. I look forward to seeing what we can accomplish together. I have to find a new voice for Hale, though. What keeps coming out of me naturally is way too low for my throat. Reverend Hale as portrayed by Clint Eastwood. Interesting maybe, but no thanks.
Working with several filmmaker friends has got me started in the research/learning game. Time I'm not spending at either of my jobs or acting is now being spent on learning:
a) Final Cut
b) Dreamweaver
c) studying for an A+ cert
Because I have too much time on my hands.
(cue Dennis DeYoung)
First day snowboarding yesterday. Gotta make use of this stupid pass, now that we finally have some snow. I didn't get a chance to go last year at all, so I was pretty nervous yesterday. Fortunately I made it through the day all limbs intact. So much fun. Today will be an inside day, however. Having not used those muscles in some time, everything hurts.
Went from there to the first read-through of The Crucible. Methinks we have a very fine cast, indeed. I look forward to seeing what we can accomplish together. I have to find a new voice for Hale, though. What keeps coming out of me naturally is way too low for my throat. Reverend Hale as portrayed by Clint Eastwood. Interesting maybe, but no thanks.
Working with several filmmaker friends has got me started in the research/learning game. Time I'm not spending at either of my jobs or acting is now being spent on learning:
a) Final Cut
b) Dreamweaver
c) studying for an A+ cert
Because I have too much time on my hands.
(cue Dennis DeYoung)
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