So we just got back from the big matinee show and we learned that we, once again, have 50 hours with nothing to do. Tomorrow's matinee has been cancelled and so has Friday's matinee. So our next show isn't until Friday evening. Let the "doing nothing" commence!
Also, I learned today that SP isn't planning on going home this weekend. Whoops! Glad I asked. Not only have I made plans, but I have also got some auditions this Sunday back in the city. So it looks like I'm going the Amtrak way. Not ideal, but definitely less money than renting a car (and paying for gas as I go...and looking for parking in Chicago...and tolls...etc, etc, etc...). I'll have to look into the schedules and whatnot this afternoon (I have plenty of time, after all). Just one more thing to pile on.
As for the show...which is what this blog is about, not my travel arrangements for various weekends...it's starting to get rather mush-mouthed by a lot of people. Concentration is at an all-time low, it seems, and that gets wildly frustrating to be on stage with. We're picking up the pace of it, for the most part, but it could still be a LOT faster. At this point, though, everyone seems to be happy with what we're putting out there for people to see and so there isn't any more work being done. That always drives me a little crazy. As performers, we can never stop giving 100% to each performance. Sure, I joke a lot about giving less than my all (usually depending on the low attendence for a given show) but I would never sleepwalk through a show. It just doesn't seem like the right thing to do.
I dunno. I woke up in kind of a pissy mood today and I'm trying not to let it effect my thoughts on the show but it's tough. I mean...how are we not selling this show well? Is marketing this thing REALLY that hard to do? I'm freakin' stuck here so why can't I just do the show? How aren't more school groups coming to this thing? It's the end of the school year...drama classes HAVE to be looking for something to waste time on. Enter "Don't Dress For Dinner"! It seems almost like a no-brainer.
Ah, well...what the hell do I know?
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Parenthetically speaking (of course)
Saturday matinee: We managed to, as a group, keep some of that speed in the lines that we discovered helps the reactions of the audience for this show. And it helped. I got some great reactions and even got the back of the house on my side at one point (not sure how I did that, though). The back of the house generally seems to dig on me. Maybe I'm a fan of the folks who either see the show but aren't there for the buffet beforehand or they sneak in. Either way, I'm the favorite of the cheapskates. I'll take it.
Saturday evening: Well, after the show actually began, I had to give up hope that we would be able to cancel it. Hello, Captain Obvious! My body reacted by allowing me to develop some heat exhaustion halfway through Act I. I was getting a little woozy and suddenly I got MAJOR stomach cramps...a classic sign. I finished the act but not before essentially ending it doubled over and using whatever was around (the bar, the couch, JF) to help get myself as upright as possible. At intermission I went outside into the 70+ degree weather to cool off (!!!) and managed to finish the show with little issue.
So I've now stepped up my request to keep the air conditioning on during shows. It took me a few weeks to get the ceiling fans going (because at least that'll circulate the air) so I hope it doesn't take me as long to get the A/C on. We're all just crazy hot up there. The lights are within touching distance (for me, anyway), the wool jacket I wear through the better portion of the show, the fact that I'm all tense and jittery and running around almost all of Act I...they all just lead to an unexceptable situation for a "professional" theater.
Anyway...the van was gassed up and ready to go so after the show SP and I jumped inside and hit the road. Three hours later (just past midnight Central Time) he was dropping me off at home.
Sunday: Did some much-needed laundry and got a much-needed haircut (in the hopes that less hair will be cooler for the show). Then the party at the Duncks' place, which was great. I won't go too much into it (the less said the better, methinks) but I had a great time. Saw a bunch of good friends and a few new ones.
Monday: My day of recovery. Tried to clean a bit and pack up for the trip back to the BC. A nice day to kind of try to recharge the proverbial battery. Took a walk, took a nap...I'm a party animal, I tells ya! Then Monday night SP and I took the long quiet ride back to the Delta House.
This afternoon we have the usual Tuesday matinee pick-up performance which is never our best effort of the week. Turkeyville should really charge a little less for the Tuesday matinee. Especially with this show. It's never a good one. But I plan on taking the things I learned from last week (primarily the "speed it all up" aspect of the show) and putting them back into use. We'll see how it goes.
Saturday evening: Well, after the show actually began, I had to give up hope that we would be able to cancel it. Hello, Captain Obvious! My body reacted by allowing me to develop some heat exhaustion halfway through Act I. I was getting a little woozy and suddenly I got MAJOR stomach cramps...a classic sign. I finished the act but not before essentially ending it doubled over and using whatever was around (the bar, the couch, JF) to help get myself as upright as possible. At intermission I went outside into the 70+ degree weather to cool off (!!!) and managed to finish the show with little issue.
So I've now stepped up my request to keep the air conditioning on during shows. It took me a few weeks to get the ceiling fans going (because at least that'll circulate the air) so I hope it doesn't take me as long to get the A/C on. We're all just crazy hot up there. The lights are within touching distance (for me, anyway), the wool jacket I wear through the better portion of the show, the fact that I'm all tense and jittery and running around almost all of Act I...they all just lead to an unexceptable situation for a "professional" theater.
Anyway...the van was gassed up and ready to go so after the show SP and I jumped inside and hit the road. Three hours later (just past midnight Central Time) he was dropping me off at home.
Sunday: Did some much-needed laundry and got a much-needed haircut (in the hopes that less hair will be cooler for the show). Then the party at the Duncks' place, which was great. I won't go too much into it (the less said the better, methinks) but I had a great time. Saw a bunch of good friends and a few new ones.
Monday: My day of recovery. Tried to clean a bit and pack up for the trip back to the BC. A nice day to kind of try to recharge the proverbial battery. Took a walk, took a nap...I'm a party animal, I tells ya! Then Monday night SP and I took the long quiet ride back to the Delta House.
This afternoon we have the usual Tuesday matinee pick-up performance which is never our best effort of the week. Turkeyville should really charge a little less for the Tuesday matinee. Especially with this show. It's never a good one. But I plan on taking the things I learned from last week (primarily the "speed it all up" aspect of the show) and putting them back into use. We'll see how it goes.
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Worst. Audience. Ever.
So I actually wanted to post last night but was waaaaaaay too depressed to even bother.
After two days (50 fun-filled hours!) with nothing much to do we finally got to go back to the turkeys last night and perform. All-in-all, I was excited to get back to it. I'm not really wired for a whole lot of down time and I'm the type of person who gets a whole lot more done and is a lot more productive when I'm busy. When there's down time...I'm a slug.
Aaaaanyway...we had the worst audience so far last night. They hardly ever laughed, they weren't responsive in any way at all, they just acted as if they hated it. About half-way through the first act, I decided that I couldn't deal with it any more. So I started just plowing through the script. The timing was getting all thrown off because of the lack of laughs and it was distracting us up there on stage which, I was thinking, translated to the house. A couple of the other actors got the hint and joined me in the rain pace. SP got it. So did JF. The others...not so much.
At intermission I said what I had decided...that we could make it through the second act in 15 minutes if we tried hard enough and I'll be damned if we didn't come pretty close. We shaved all kinds of time off the act AND actually got some laughs. And everyone ended up playing along as best as they could!! If nothing else, it showed me that you can't allow the show to get caught in a groove you think works because it's that much harder to switch it up if it needs to go in a different direction. Also...it told me (and, hopefully, the rest of the cast) that when we go for broke in terms of pace on this thing...it's a funny show. If we pause and take it slow in the hopes that the audience will follow along, we lose them. They want to have to try to catch up if for no other reason than it's that much more of a pay-off when they find that they are ahead of the action on stage (JF going to get the much-talked-about coat to go home towards the end of the show).
So we have to plow through this thing. We found a decent rhythm for a while there but last night the awful audience paired with the awful performance proved that we needed to mix it up a bit. Because when we get compacent, we get REALLY lazy. Last night proved that.
After the show last night was my group's turn at the "beggars line" outside the theater and we were all so worried walking out there that there was a lynching party or something waiting for us. Villagers with torches and pitchforks, perhaps. But no. We were greeted with big smiles and nothing but compliments (except the guy who said that I was good and should play Frankenstein someday...argh!) much to our collective surprise. I even made sure I was standing kind of in line but also kind of behind the other two...in case we needed to run they could act as "acceptable losses". But it wasn't needed. They loved it.
Just goes to show how much we know. At least we were smart enough to, eventually, pick things up and maybe pull out a victory by a slim margin.
Now...today. Ugh. Today we have two scheduled shows. Then SP and I are high-tailing it back to Chicago for the holiday weekend. Problem is, according to all indications we have less than a dozen people reserved for tonight's show. If we were to cancel that show (because I estimate the break-even point to be about 25...I'm told Turkeyville considers it to be 20 people) then SP and I could leave the BC by about 4:30PM and be in Chicago by 7PM. Let me say that again...on the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend, I could be in my apartment before dark! I could potentially go see a show tonight if the timing works out! I could go hang out with friends and still get a decent night's sleep before the Duncks' all-day party tomorrow! How awesome would that be!?!?
So SP and I (and every other actor in this thing) are praying to whatever god we want to that the plug is pulled on this show sometime this afternoon while we stumble across the boards in the matinee. Please...if you end up reading this on Saturday afternoon...keep your fingers crossed for us. I need that extra night in the city. God, I need it so badly...
I hope y'all have a great Memorial Day weekend and get the much-needed chance to relax a little bit. I'll post when I'm able.
After two days (50 fun-filled hours!) with nothing much to do we finally got to go back to the turkeys last night and perform. All-in-all, I was excited to get back to it. I'm not really wired for a whole lot of down time and I'm the type of person who gets a whole lot more done and is a lot more productive when I'm busy. When there's down time...I'm a slug.
Aaaaanyway...we had the worst audience so far last night. They hardly ever laughed, they weren't responsive in any way at all, they just acted as if they hated it. About half-way through the first act, I decided that I couldn't deal with it any more. So I started just plowing through the script. The timing was getting all thrown off because of the lack of laughs and it was distracting us up there on stage which, I was thinking, translated to the house. A couple of the other actors got the hint and joined me in the rain pace. SP got it. So did JF. The others...not so much.
At intermission I said what I had decided...that we could make it through the second act in 15 minutes if we tried hard enough and I'll be damned if we didn't come pretty close. We shaved all kinds of time off the act AND actually got some laughs. And everyone ended up playing along as best as they could!! If nothing else, it showed me that you can't allow the show to get caught in a groove you think works because it's that much harder to switch it up if it needs to go in a different direction. Also...it told me (and, hopefully, the rest of the cast) that when we go for broke in terms of pace on this thing...it's a funny show. If we pause and take it slow in the hopes that the audience will follow along, we lose them. They want to have to try to catch up if for no other reason than it's that much more of a pay-off when they find that they are ahead of the action on stage (JF going to get the much-talked-about coat to go home towards the end of the show).
So we have to plow through this thing. We found a decent rhythm for a while there but last night the awful audience paired with the awful performance proved that we needed to mix it up a bit. Because when we get compacent, we get REALLY lazy. Last night proved that.
After the show last night was my group's turn at the "beggars line" outside the theater and we were all so worried walking out there that there was a lynching party or something waiting for us. Villagers with torches and pitchforks, perhaps. But no. We were greeted with big smiles and nothing but compliments (except the guy who said that I was good and should play Frankenstein someday...argh!) much to our collective surprise. I even made sure I was standing kind of in line but also kind of behind the other two...in case we needed to run they could act as "acceptable losses". But it wasn't needed. They loved it.
Just goes to show how much we know. At least we were smart enough to, eventually, pick things up and maybe pull out a victory by a slim margin.
Now...today. Ugh. Today we have two scheduled shows. Then SP and I are high-tailing it back to Chicago for the holiday weekend. Problem is, according to all indications we have less than a dozen people reserved for tonight's show. If we were to cancel that show (because I estimate the break-even point to be about 25...I'm told Turkeyville considers it to be 20 people) then SP and I could leave the BC by about 4:30PM and be in Chicago by 7PM. Let me say that again...on the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend, I could be in my apartment before dark! I could potentially go see a show tonight if the timing works out! I could go hang out with friends and still get a decent night's sleep before the Duncks' all-day party tomorrow! How awesome would that be!?!?
So SP and I (and every other actor in this thing) are praying to whatever god we want to that the plug is pulled on this show sometime this afternoon while we stumble across the boards in the matinee. Please...if you end up reading this on Saturday afternoon...keep your fingers crossed for us. I need that extra night in the city. God, I need it so badly...
I hope y'all have a great Memorial Day weekend and get the much-needed chance to relax a little bit. I'll post when I'm able.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
I coulda been a Casual Male...
So for the past several days I've seen this television commercial for a men's clothing store called Casual Male XL. It's your pretty usual, run-of-the-mill kind of advertisement but the only difference here is that I went and auditioned for that commercial. Yup. About two months ago (just before I came out here to lovely Battle Creek) I went into my agent's office and gave a reading for the main guy in the commercial. And I think I did pretty well. But I never heard back so I sort of forgot about it. Now, however, the ad is on TV and I'm seeing something I've auditioned for actually on the air.
Luckily for me (in a weird sort of sense) the guy who got the commercial is much bigger than I am. I fit the mold for the clothing store in terms of height and, truth be told, weight (I'm a big dude)...but I'm just not big enough for the ad. Cool! It's the sort of professional rejection I guess I'll take.
Then the other day I saw another ad for the same store with New England Patriots lineman Matt Light in the role as the "big and tall guy". WHAT?!?! I lost a part to a professional athlete? That ain't so cool. Like Matt Light and his three Super Bowl rings needs to get a tiny big and tall man's store commercial. Maybe I should go out for Patriots mini-camps and see how I do.
Not sure how I feel about it all. It's just that it's sort of a first for me, seeing a commercial I thought I might have actually had locked up.
Damn.
In show-related news, our show this afternoon was cancelled due to (I can only guess) lack of interest. Likewise tomorrow's matinee. So that gave me, between the end of yesterday's matinee and tomorrow night's evening performance, about 50 hours with absolutely nothing to do. It's pretty painful, to tell you the truth. I'm trying to keep myself productive and busy (I'm still looking for auditions and classes and the like) but I'm also doing a LOT of slacking off. Sitting around, watching television, going to see the latest Indiana Jones movie, looking on Facebook for whoever's name I happen to remember. That sort of thing.
It's not very fun. So there's nothing much to report from the BC. Just that I actually can't wait until tomorrow night's show. I know, I know. I'm as surprised as anyone that I just typed that out.
I must be exhausted...
Luckily for me (in a weird sort of sense) the guy who got the commercial is much bigger than I am. I fit the mold for the clothing store in terms of height and, truth be told, weight (I'm a big dude)...but I'm just not big enough for the ad. Cool! It's the sort of professional rejection I guess I'll take.
Then the other day I saw another ad for the same store with New England Patriots lineman Matt Light in the role as the "big and tall guy". WHAT?!?! I lost a part to a professional athlete? That ain't so cool. Like Matt Light and his three Super Bowl rings needs to get a tiny big and tall man's store commercial. Maybe I should go out for Patriots mini-camps and see how I do.
Not sure how I feel about it all. It's just that it's sort of a first for me, seeing a commercial I thought I might have actually had locked up.
Damn.
In show-related news, our show this afternoon was cancelled due to (I can only guess) lack of interest. Likewise tomorrow's matinee. So that gave me, between the end of yesterday's matinee and tomorrow night's evening performance, about 50 hours with absolutely nothing to do. It's pretty painful, to tell you the truth. I'm trying to keep myself productive and busy (I'm still looking for auditions and classes and the like) but I'm also doing a LOT of slacking off. Sitting around, watching television, going to see the latest Indiana Jones movie, looking on Facebook for whoever's name I happen to remember. That sort of thing.
It's not very fun. So there's nothing much to report from the BC. Just that I actually can't wait until tomorrow night's show. I know, I know. I'm as surprised as anyone that I just typed that out.
I must be exhausted...
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
More validation, perhaps.
To add onto Sunday evening's rant about validation...
An e-mail over the weekend from an old friend of mine...we'll call him "Fat Sammy"...reminded me of this other sort of phenomenom I've been experiencing lately. It's the congratulations I've been getting for "sticking with this acting thing" and really making a go of it all. I guess (and I think the numbers mostly support my assumptions) that as people get older, they tend to leave the general rigors of this "job" behind in favor of something a little more stable and less poverty-ensuring. So as I stare 37 square in the face, I'm seeing fewer guys my age at auditions than I did when I would go audition at age 27. Or 30. Or 33.
But it's the congratulations of people I respect who, for one reason or another, have decided to give up acting or whatever their artistic endeavor once was that means a lot. It also makes me wonder why I'm still rambling about this...
So the plan is to stick with this crazy business, I guess. At this rate, by the time I'm 84 I'll be getting all the work I can stand as one of a dozen active octogenerians still in Chicago's off-Loop theater scene.
Sweet!
An e-mail over the weekend from an old friend of mine...we'll call him "Fat Sammy"...reminded me of this other sort of phenomenom I've been experiencing lately. It's the congratulations I've been getting for "sticking with this acting thing" and really making a go of it all. I guess (and I think the numbers mostly support my assumptions) that as people get older, they tend to leave the general rigors of this "job" behind in favor of something a little more stable and less poverty-ensuring. So as I stare 37 square in the face, I'm seeing fewer guys my age at auditions than I did when I would go audition at age 27. Or 30. Or 33.
But it's the congratulations of people I respect who, for one reason or another, have decided to give up acting or whatever their artistic endeavor once was that means a lot. It also makes me wonder why I'm still rambling about this...
So the plan is to stick with this crazy business, I guess. At this rate, by the time I'm 84 I'll be getting all the work I can stand as one of a dozen active octogenerians still in Chicago's off-Loop theater scene.
Sweet!
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Validation
So SP and I drove into Chicago late last night and we're both frantically trying to get everything done that we want to accomplish. It's a busy couple of days. I have a lot of basic housekeeping to do...this trip is not very social, unfortunately. I saw a couple of friends this afternoon in a production of "MacBeth" that was really quite good with some VERY interesting choices made (in a good way!). Congrats to all of them.
Last night I dropped my stuff up in the apartment when we got in and ran up to Champions to see a couple of actor friends. A good couple of guys and it's always a lot of fun hanging out with 'em. Last night we had, however, the most serious discussion I think the three of us had ever had together. My one friend...we'll call him "The Devil"...was in a production last year that got great reviews all around. He, especially, was singled out quite a bit as the male lead and given lots of kudos from various sources. Well, the Jeff Award (the Chicago theatrical community's attempt at self-congratulations...the second city's Tony Awards, I guess) nominations came out a few weeks ago and the production he was in was nominated for all kinds of different categories. I guess most aspects of the production garnered inclusion in the love except he was not given a nod for Lead Actor.
He told us, in his slightly drunken state, that he was rather upset about the "snub" (my word, not his). But didn't exactly understand WHY he cared so much. He doesn't do this, he says, for recognition but just for the pure love of doing it. But when he sees those around him getting praise and yet he's left out, it upsets him. So it got us talking about validation for what we do.
WARNING: No huge revelations here. So don't expect any.
I tried to be a good friend and told him that, although it sucks, there are always good people who get lost in the shuffle somehow and he shouldn't take it personally or question whether or not he's decent at what he does (I happen to think he's extraordinarily talented) and that this kind of error in judgement happens with every award, especially something as hard-to-judge as acting. For every Judi Dench win as Best Supporting Actress, there's a Marisa Tomei win as Best Supporting Actress. Or a Kim Basinger. Or Mira Sorvino. If I really thought about it, I'm sure the list would go on and on.
Same with the Jeffs. For every "Millie H-S", there's a "Liz F" (names withheld mostly because I don't want to hear from Liz when she googles herself and finds her name here). There's no accounting for the tastes of the voting group. Besides, for all we know, "The Devil" might have been the 6th best Non-Equity Lead Actor in the city this past year and just didn't make the final cut of 5 nominees. And that ain't too bad. He should maybe look at it that way.
Though I would probably focus on the negative, too.
But the question remains...why DO I do this? I know I love it. I've always found the process of auditions/casting/rehearsals/tech/production/strike/aftermath a fascinating one. But, if I'm going to be honest, there is definitely a good-sized part of me that likes to get the attention that naturally seems to go with it. I know I've said in this space that I hate the "thanks for coming" line at the exit after each show, but there is part of me that rather enjoys having people come up to me and tell me how great they thought I was. I like it. I admit it. My good friends...the people whose opinions I respect when it comes to acting...I want to give me real and honest critique as opposed to the generic "it was great" sort of review. And when those people tell me that I did well, I'm ecstatic! But if I'm never going to see an audience member again, I'll take a compliment every time. It makes me feel good.
At the end of most shows of "Don't Dress For Dinner", as we individually bow (which is a practice not really embraced by the Chicago community...we almost always do ensemble bows) there is a real and noticeable spike in applause when I step up. For a while I was even getting a "woo", which is becoming a running joke between myself and HM. Last night, I got several "hooray"s when I took my bow. I don't say this because I'm trying to brag (although, if I'm still being honest, maybe I'm bragging a little), I'm just saying it because it's the truth and as embarrassed as I am to admit this...I LOVE IT! I love thinking that some people...even just one or two at a time...consider me to be the best part of the show. And think so strongly about that opinion that they feel the need to vocalize it as I step down to bow. That's awesome! And as much as I play it off to the rest of the cast, inside I'm beaming with pride. Call me egotistical if you want, but it's a great feeling...even if it only really lasts a few minutes.
Not sure yet how Battle Creek success can be translated to Chicago success. That may take me a while to figure out. But I'm willing to take baby steps for now. And I'm willing to take the positive reinforcement where I can get it at this point. This "business" is so geared towards knocking you down repeatedly that I have to learn to take the rare boost up wherever and whenever I can find it.
So...I guess, after this over-caffeinated rambling stream of consciousness kind of discussion with myself, the kind of validation that I look for and really desire right now is just the kind of immediate validation that one gets from an appreciative audience digging on what you've done for the previous two hours or so. I don't expect being singled out in a positive review. Or even being one of the few bright spots in a bad review (which has never happened to me). I've been happy seemingly flying under the radar for years, being neither good enough or bad enough to warrant specific inclusion in a printed review. Maybe that is why I love the Tucker Guarantee where I'll go out and have a few drinks with whoever comes to see whatever show I'm in. And I love when a theater urges its patrons to go to a certain bar after the show, knowing full well the actors will go there as well and be open and responsive to whatever praise (or beverage) the audience wants to heap upon us.
For now, I don't expect or look for awards. Or even nominations. Or the singling out of the job I've done in a positive review. I just like the vocal reactions from a house when I do something on stage (laughs are addictive, I tell ya). I like the instant gratification of the audience's response. And knowing in my heart that I've done a good job and feeling positive about the choices I've made...both within the confines of the show and on a grander sort of scale.
I may feel differently, however, if "The Time Of Your Life" collects nominations for every category except the one I would most likely be eligible for. Then I'll join "The Devil" at Champions and complain about how I get no validation for what I do.
Funny how quickly my mood and opinion can change on some topics...
Last night I dropped my stuff up in the apartment when we got in and ran up to Champions to see a couple of actor friends. A good couple of guys and it's always a lot of fun hanging out with 'em. Last night we had, however, the most serious discussion I think the three of us had ever had together. My one friend...we'll call him "The Devil"...was in a production last year that got great reviews all around. He, especially, was singled out quite a bit as the male lead and given lots of kudos from various sources. Well, the Jeff Award (the Chicago theatrical community's attempt at self-congratulations...the second city's Tony Awards, I guess) nominations came out a few weeks ago and the production he was in was nominated for all kinds of different categories. I guess most aspects of the production garnered inclusion in the love except he was not given a nod for Lead Actor.
He told us, in his slightly drunken state, that he was rather upset about the "snub" (my word, not his). But didn't exactly understand WHY he cared so much. He doesn't do this, he says, for recognition but just for the pure love of doing it. But when he sees those around him getting praise and yet he's left out, it upsets him. So it got us talking about validation for what we do.
WARNING: No huge revelations here. So don't expect any.
I tried to be a good friend and told him that, although it sucks, there are always good people who get lost in the shuffle somehow and he shouldn't take it personally or question whether or not he's decent at what he does (I happen to think he's extraordinarily talented) and that this kind of error in judgement happens with every award, especially something as hard-to-judge as acting. For every Judi Dench win as Best Supporting Actress, there's a Marisa Tomei win as Best Supporting Actress. Or a Kim Basinger. Or Mira Sorvino. If I really thought about it, I'm sure the list would go on and on.
Same with the Jeffs. For every "Millie H-S", there's a "Liz F" (names withheld mostly because I don't want to hear from Liz when she googles herself and finds her name here). There's no accounting for the tastes of the voting group. Besides, for all we know, "The Devil" might have been the 6th best Non-Equity Lead Actor in the city this past year and just didn't make the final cut of 5 nominees. And that ain't too bad. He should maybe look at it that way.
Though I would probably focus on the negative, too.
But the question remains...why DO I do this? I know I love it. I've always found the process of auditions/casting/rehearsals/tech/production/strike/aftermath a fascinating one. But, if I'm going to be honest, there is definitely a good-sized part of me that likes to get the attention that naturally seems to go with it. I know I've said in this space that I hate the "thanks for coming" line at the exit after each show, but there is part of me that rather enjoys having people come up to me and tell me how great they thought I was. I like it. I admit it. My good friends...the people whose opinions I respect when it comes to acting...I want to give me real and honest critique as opposed to the generic "it was great" sort of review. And when those people tell me that I did well, I'm ecstatic! But if I'm never going to see an audience member again, I'll take a compliment every time. It makes me feel good.
At the end of most shows of "Don't Dress For Dinner", as we individually bow (which is a practice not really embraced by the Chicago community...we almost always do ensemble bows) there is a real and noticeable spike in applause when I step up. For a while I was even getting a "woo", which is becoming a running joke between myself and HM. Last night, I got several "hooray"s when I took my bow. I don't say this because I'm trying to brag (although, if I'm still being honest, maybe I'm bragging a little), I'm just saying it because it's the truth and as embarrassed as I am to admit this...I LOVE IT! I love thinking that some people...even just one or two at a time...consider me to be the best part of the show. And think so strongly about that opinion that they feel the need to vocalize it as I step down to bow. That's awesome! And as much as I play it off to the rest of the cast, inside I'm beaming with pride. Call me egotistical if you want, but it's a great feeling...even if it only really lasts a few minutes.
Not sure yet how Battle Creek success can be translated to Chicago success. That may take me a while to figure out. But I'm willing to take baby steps for now. And I'm willing to take the positive reinforcement where I can get it at this point. This "business" is so geared towards knocking you down repeatedly that I have to learn to take the rare boost up wherever and whenever I can find it.
So...I guess, after this over-caffeinated rambling stream of consciousness kind of discussion with myself, the kind of validation that I look for and really desire right now is just the kind of immediate validation that one gets from an appreciative audience digging on what you've done for the previous two hours or so. I don't expect being singled out in a positive review. Or even being one of the few bright spots in a bad review (which has never happened to me). I've been happy seemingly flying under the radar for years, being neither good enough or bad enough to warrant specific inclusion in a printed review. Maybe that is why I love the Tucker Guarantee where I'll go out and have a few drinks with whoever comes to see whatever show I'm in. And I love when a theater urges its patrons to go to a certain bar after the show, knowing full well the actors will go there as well and be open and responsive to whatever praise (or beverage) the audience wants to heap upon us.
For now, I don't expect or look for awards. Or even nominations. Or the singling out of the job I've done in a positive review. I just like the vocal reactions from a house when I do something on stage (laughs are addictive, I tell ya). I like the instant gratification of the audience's response. And knowing in my heart that I've done a good job and feeling positive about the choices I've made...both within the confines of the show and on a grander sort of scale.
I may feel differently, however, if "The Time Of Your Life" collects nominations for every category except the one I would most likely be eligible for. Then I'll join "The Devil" at Champions and complain about how I get no validation for what I do.
Funny how quickly my mood and opinion can change on some topics...
Friday, May 16, 2008
Thursday, May 15, 2008
The Battle Creek Enquirer seems to love us. Go figure...
So the review finally came out. Um...I have no idea what to say. It's pretty complimentary, all told, and the headline itself is probably enough to sell a lot of tickets. To be honest, I just don't get it. I suppose that what I've said all along is mostly true...that no matter what I think, the old folks seem to love it and that's enough.
A lot was made in the dressing room about SP and I being called "professional" but I think that has more to do with the fact that we're from Chicago (the big city!) and not that we're soooooo much better than everyone else. But whatever. Read it yourself and see what YOU think.
http://www.battlecreekenquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080515/ENTERTAINMENT01/805150313/-1/buildasx
It's a rare double-post day on Two Months Removed. Maybe that means I'll take tomorrow off.
Eh...probably not.
A lot was made in the dressing room about SP and I being called "professional" but I think that has more to do with the fact that we're from Chicago (the big city!) and not that we're soooooo much better than everyone else. But whatever. Read it yourself and see what YOU think.
http://www.battlecreekenquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080515/ENTERTAINMENT01/805150313/-1/buildasx
It's a rare double-post day on Two Months Removed. Maybe that means I'll take tomorrow off.
Eh...probably not.
Just a whole lotta nuthin'
So last night I got a call from my agent. She's really cool and really sweet and pretty funny but she's calling me all the time these days. That's great news, though, isn't it? Not really. Not when I'm only available to audition on Mondays and all these auditions are happening on OTHER days of the week. (---sigh---) So I get to call back and say once again that I can't make the audition but thanks for calling and thinking of me and blah blah blah...
It just sucks. I know what I'm gonna have to do when I finally get back to town is send ole Jess and her crew over there a bunch of baked goods or something with a note announcing that I'm back in town and ready to kick some ass so send me out!!! This business is all about shelling out money in order to (ideally and hopefully) make a little money. Headshots, postage, eating out a lot because you're never home, audition clothes, stupid things like sending cookies to an agent...it's all stuff that adds up. And most of the shows I do pay me somewhere between nothing and $30...total. Pathetic.
And exhausting.
So for the past two weeks or so whenever I come downstairs in the morning and walk into the TV room to drop my laptop and get some water and stuff, SP is sitting in his chair (we seem to have our "regular" places) and watching "The View". So for the first few days...aw, who am I kidding, EVERY day...I tease him a little bit about it. But it's kept going. And going. And going. Every morning. At first he was "defending" himself by saying that the really attractive redhead from "Desperate Housewives" was on or some such thing which wasn't bad for a day or two but...honestly...how can you still find anything attractive after looking at Whoopi Goldberg for two weeks straight?
Needless to say, I'm now taking every opportunity that I can to give him a jab about watching "The View". Because, let's admit it...he very much deserves my playful ridicule.
So Big Chim Chim says I should go into the strange ante-room place on the second floor that I am convinced holds many woodland creatures because they could be up there plotting an overthrow of the Delta House. SP and I ended up never going up there the other night. But BCC may be right. So I'm thinking that after SP and I do the big show, go do some much-needed laundry, then head down to the nearby bar and grill for dinner (just to get out of this cursed house for a few hours), maybe I'll get him to go up there with me and check out the mysterious room. I'll be sure to let y'all know how that ends up going...
It just sucks. I know what I'm gonna have to do when I finally get back to town is send ole Jess and her crew over there a bunch of baked goods or something with a note announcing that I'm back in town and ready to kick some ass so send me out!!! This business is all about shelling out money in order to (ideally and hopefully) make a little money. Headshots, postage, eating out a lot because you're never home, audition clothes, stupid things like sending cookies to an agent...it's all stuff that adds up. And most of the shows I do pay me somewhere between nothing and $30...total. Pathetic.
And exhausting.
So for the past two weeks or so whenever I come downstairs in the morning and walk into the TV room to drop my laptop and get some water and stuff, SP is sitting in his chair (we seem to have our "regular" places) and watching "The View". So for the first few days...aw, who am I kidding, EVERY day...I tease him a little bit about it. But it's kept going. And going. And going. Every morning. At first he was "defending" himself by saying that the really attractive redhead from "Desperate Housewives" was on or some such thing which wasn't bad for a day or two but...honestly...how can you still find anything attractive after looking at Whoopi Goldberg for two weeks straight?
Needless to say, I'm now taking every opportunity that I can to give him a jab about watching "The View". Because, let's admit it...he very much deserves my playful ridicule.
So Big Chim Chim says I should go into the strange ante-room place on the second floor that I am convinced holds many woodland creatures because they could be up there plotting an overthrow of the Delta House. SP and I ended up never going up there the other night. But BCC may be right. So I'm thinking that after SP and I do the big show, go do some much-needed laundry, then head down to the nearby bar and grill for dinner (just to get out of this cursed house for a few hours), maybe I'll get him to go up there with me and check out the mysterious room. I'll be sure to let y'all know how that ends up going...
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
What a drag it is getting old...
So SP and I just went out to renew our beer stash for tonight's Tigers/Royals game and...well...because we don't have much else to do. So we pile into the van (newly fitted with fresh spark plugs yesterday) and drive the mile or so down the road to the local Marathon gas station where we get all the essentials like beer, Pop-Tarts, and chips and salsa. As we pull in, SP notices that regular gas is listed at $3.99 a gallon. This morning, he says, it was $3.86. 13 cents in less than a day?!?! This country is going to hell.
Not to sound like a grandfather, but I remember in high school being able to fill my little car up with a $10 bill. Now, that amount of gas in a tank might get you a couple of miles. It's crazy. I know this blog isn't about gas prices and how the higher they go the higher everything else in the world goes, but it just struck me as astounding. Besides...if it's $4.00 a gallon in friggin' Battle Creek, Michigan, what does it cost in Chicago? Once again, I'm so glad that I don't own a car any longer. But being in that situation for almost a decade now (good Lord, has it really been that long since I owned a car?!?!) makes me WAY out of touch regarding gas prices. Today's realization about gas prices, admittedly, sort of caught me off-guard.
Just so you know...I have had half an eye on these prices for a few weeks now, lest anyone think that I'm just crazily out of touch with the goings-on of the world. I just haven't said much about it to anyone. Still...WOW!
On the way to the van tonight, SP and I noticed a raccoon climbing into this weird ante-room/enclosed deck-type room at the back of the Delta House. Take a look at this picture...
...at the right of the picture is an enclosed stairway going up to the second floor. That little room is a total mystery to us. I believe that there is access to it from the back two bedrooms up on that floor but I'm not positive. The bedroom on the corner closest to us in this picture is the bedroom belonging to the guy in the last cast (and who keeps his room here full-time from what I can gather, for some reason) who we previously called "Scott". You may remember that this was the guy who woke in the middle of the night to find a baby opossum (what is it with that wacky "o" at the front of the word?) in his room that he had to chase out.
Anyway, I'm convinced that that tiny ante-room/enclosed deck-type room is just totally infested with various woodland creatures. The enclosed stairway that you see in the above picture is walled off at the top of the stairs so who knows when the last time a human was up there. I expect going in there would be a bad idea.
That said...SP and I are toying with the idea of seeing just what's up there. Boredom breeds bad decisions, I suppose.
We didn't have much of an audience for this afternoon's show, which ended up being a fairly good thing. It was more of a pick-up rehearsal than anything. Clearly, some folks hadn't bothered to look at the script over the weekend and it really showed. REALLY showed! But, at least we're getting better at making this thing an "under two hour" affair, which it really needs to be. Sometimes towards the end of the show I can feel the energy of the audience just expire and at that point we just need to blow through it and tie up all the loose ends and let them get out of there. It's a long and confusing show and when the attention span of the house runs out, we gotta figure out a way to cut and run.
We, as a cast, haven't found a way of really noticing when the audience has run out of energy. And that's so important. The last thing we want to do is drag out the last dozen or so pages and have people leaving on a sour note, like it just went on way too long. But people don't seem to be really in tune with what's going on around them while they are on stage and that's a huge problem. This afternoon I actually watched SH during the big group scene towards the end when she is one of three people in charge of leading the scene (I am not so I can afford to pause and look around and take note of things while reacting to what's going on) and it was pretty funny. When she wasn't saying a line, she would just shut down. Her expression would become blank (a really flattering look for anyone but especially her) and she would only "perk up" when it was her turn to speak. Now THAT'S professionalism!!
It's all just an entertaining experience for me. So entertaining that, right this minute, I wish I was at home in Chicago. (---sigh---)
Not to sound like a grandfather, but I remember in high school being able to fill my little car up with a $10 bill. Now, that amount of gas in a tank might get you a couple of miles. It's crazy. I know this blog isn't about gas prices and how the higher they go the higher everything else in the world goes, but it just struck me as astounding. Besides...if it's $4.00 a gallon in friggin' Battle Creek, Michigan, what does it cost in Chicago? Once again, I'm so glad that I don't own a car any longer. But being in that situation for almost a decade now (good Lord, has it really been that long since I owned a car?!?!) makes me WAY out of touch regarding gas prices. Today's realization about gas prices, admittedly, sort of caught me off-guard.
Just so you know...I have had half an eye on these prices for a few weeks now, lest anyone think that I'm just crazily out of touch with the goings-on of the world. I just haven't said much about it to anyone. Still...WOW!
On the way to the van tonight, SP and I noticed a raccoon climbing into this weird ante-room/enclosed deck-type room at the back of the Delta House. Take a look at this picture...
...at the right of the picture is an enclosed stairway going up to the second floor. That little room is a total mystery to us. I believe that there is access to it from the back two bedrooms up on that floor but I'm not positive. The bedroom on the corner closest to us in this picture is the bedroom belonging to the guy in the last cast (and who keeps his room here full-time from what I can gather, for some reason) who we previously called "Scott". You may remember that this was the guy who woke in the middle of the night to find a baby opossum (what is it with that wacky "o" at the front of the word?) in his room that he had to chase out.Anyway, I'm convinced that that tiny ante-room/enclosed deck-type room is just totally infested with various woodland creatures. The enclosed stairway that you see in the above picture is walled off at the top of the stairs so who knows when the last time a human was up there. I expect going in there would be a bad idea.
That said...SP and I are toying with the idea of seeing just what's up there. Boredom breeds bad decisions, I suppose.
We didn't have much of an audience for this afternoon's show, which ended up being a fairly good thing. It was more of a pick-up rehearsal than anything. Clearly, some folks hadn't bothered to look at the script over the weekend and it really showed. REALLY showed! But, at least we're getting better at making this thing an "under two hour" affair, which it really needs to be. Sometimes towards the end of the show I can feel the energy of the audience just expire and at that point we just need to blow through it and tie up all the loose ends and let them get out of there. It's a long and confusing show and when the attention span of the house runs out, we gotta figure out a way to cut and run.
We, as a cast, haven't found a way of really noticing when the audience has run out of energy. And that's so important. The last thing we want to do is drag out the last dozen or so pages and have people leaving on a sour note, like it just went on way too long. But people don't seem to be really in tune with what's going on around them while they are on stage and that's a huge problem. This afternoon I actually watched SH during the big group scene towards the end when she is one of three people in charge of leading the scene (I am not so I can afford to pause and look around and take note of things while reacting to what's going on) and it was pretty funny. When she wasn't saying a line, she would just shut down. Her expression would become blank (a really flattering look for anyone but especially her) and she would only "perk up" when it was her turn to speak. Now THAT'S professionalism!!
It's all just an entertaining experience for me. So entertaining that, right this minute, I wish I was at home in Chicago. (---sigh---)
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Mutha's Day in the BC
So it's Sunday. And SP has opted not to go home this weekend so that means that I, also, have opted not to go home this weekend.
So it's Sunday afternoon and we're watching "Raiders of the Lost Ark" (edited for television) and diving into some beer and snack food and listening to the rain come down outside. I guess it's pretty rainy back home, too, but at least I'd be in my own bed and hanging with friends and seeing people I really want to see. No offense to SP...but I see him every day. It's a good thing we get along so well because this living arrangement could have ended up being disasterous otherwise.
The show has, in my mind, officially plateau-ed (if that's even a word). It's probably just not going to get any better. SH is all over the place, line-wise. Most two-person scenes are chances for me to relax a little bit and get a nice rest. (The group scenes are more manic and, therefore, tiring.) But the scenes I have with SH are nothing but tense. I never know if she's going to remember what's going on or the order of things or if she'll run awkwardly into a wall (which she has done a few times this past week) or what. It's all very distracting.
But otherwise, it's a fun time...doing the show. The people are nice and we all pretty much get along. Sometimes, I actually wish I had less stage time so that I could hang out more with them. But I guess trading stage time for time to sit around backstage is kind of silly. So let's forget I ever said anything like that.
We had photo call on Tuesday after the show so let's see if I can put some Tucker-centric pictures up here...
Me...caught in a compromising position. Last night we had to do this pose (and all the other bawdy things we do in this show) in front of two kids who had to be maybe 10 years old. Most of the cast was worried about doing and saying some of these things in front of them but I wasn't worried. At least I don't have to explain things or answer their questions afterward!!
Me...doing my best "Kilroy was here" acting.
So it's Sunday afternoon and we're watching "Raiders of the Lost Ark" (edited for television) and diving into some beer and snack food and listening to the rain come down outside. I guess it's pretty rainy back home, too, but at least I'd be in my own bed and hanging with friends and seeing people I really want to see. No offense to SP...but I see him every day. It's a good thing we get along so well because this living arrangement could have ended up being disasterous otherwise.
The show has, in my mind, officially plateau-ed (if that's even a word). It's probably just not going to get any better. SH is all over the place, line-wise. Most two-person scenes are chances for me to relax a little bit and get a nice rest. (The group scenes are more manic and, therefore, tiring.) But the scenes I have with SH are nothing but tense. I never know if she's going to remember what's going on or the order of things or if she'll run awkwardly into a wall (which she has done a few times this past week) or what. It's all very distracting.
But otherwise, it's a fun time...doing the show. The people are nice and we all pretty much get along. Sometimes, I actually wish I had less stage time so that I could hang out more with them. But I guess trading stage time for time to sit around backstage is kind of silly. So let's forget I ever said anything like that.
We had photo call on Tuesday after the show so let's see if I can put some Tucker-centric pictures up here...
Me...caught in a compromising position. Last night we had to do this pose (and all the other bawdy things we do in this show) in front of two kids who had to be maybe 10 years old. Most of the cast was worried about doing and saying some of these things in front of them but I wasn't worried. At least I don't have to explain things or answer their questions afterward!! 
Me...caught in a somewhat compromising position. It's pretty much all I do in this show, I'm beginning to think.
Me...doin' the tango. We open the second act with this little number.
Me...doing my best "Kilroy was here" acting.
Me...all lovey-dovey and stuff.
Me...in a pose on the phone that never happens in the show. I don't know why the director wanted us all to do this pose but we did it anyway. Arguing would have made the whole photo call go slower.
Me...in a fight for life. And...um...control of the phone. The phone that never hangs up (it's broken). It's fun working with broken props.
Me...getting "proposed" to. This moment never gets the laughs we thought it would when we were rehearsing it. I still think it's funny, though.
So there you have it. Pictures of me! Lucky you!!
OK...the big face-melting scene in "Raiders" is about to happen. And I need a fresh beer. So I'd better go. Enjoy Mother's Day out there...wherever you are.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Episode 22: Wherein I am compared favorably to Orson Welles. Laughter ensues.
So there really hasn't been much going on in the life of the One Who Tucks lately. Doin' shows and trying not to get myself into too much trouble. That last part is easy so I'm sort of thinking of trying instead to actively search for trouble now. It might enhance my time here if I'm dodging speeding tractors and cow-tipping...or something.
Anyway, I'm not sure if I've mentioned it or not yet but after each show three of us in the cast have to tear-ass around to the back of house and say "thanks for coming" and stuff to the people as they wander out. It's something that, quite frankly, I hate doing. We had to do the same kind of thing down at Theater Memphis when I was doing shows there and it always struck me as the theatrical equivalent of panhandling. We've just performed for these people and no sooner have we bowed and left the stage than we're at the door on their way out and, seemingly, asking for even more validation of the jobs we've just done. Even I, the most insecure of the insecure out there roaming the streets, am not THAT needy. I hate feeling like I'm begging for compliments.
But it's part of the job, I guess, so I have to do it. So I paste on my best fake smile and shake all the hands of the old folks who just spent the last two hours coughing into their palms and try not to sound like a broken record that says only "thanks for comin', thanks for comin', thanks for comin'...". Every now and then, somebody comes through with something funny, though and it makes that days "line up" worth my time. Yesterday I was lined up and this one guy came through and was very nice and had a lot of good things to say. He said he loved my facial expressions and wasn't sure how I did some of them (I'm...um...not sure what the heck he was talking about) and then said he loved my voice and that I reminded him of a young Orson Welles. Which made me laugh but was very nice of him to say. I always thought I more closely resembled the Ernest and Julio Gallo-era Welles but who am I to argue with the random dude? I thought it was funny, though.
To piggyback on that thought, I do seem to be losing weight. Maybe it's the general lack of food (though I am eating pretty regularly) or the fact that I manage, through the course of a show, to sweat out 20 pounds (estimated). Maybe it's the clean air and livin' in God's Country. Who knows. But everything, with the exception of my costume of course, is hanging way bigger on me these days. Maybe it's best not to over-think it too much. But the change is, at least to me, pretty obvious.
But also, my skin is terrible out here. I am blaming the water, which is kinda gross. It's got that awful sour egg smell like the place my father lived for a while up near Syracuse when I was in high school. And after bathing in that awful water for more than a month now, I think my body is revolting against it and giving me a little kind of rash or something. Luckily, it seems to only be on my face so everyone can (potentially) see it. It's very light, to be honest, but I am aware of it so it's making me self-conscious. Anyway...
I guess that's about it for now. Thanks should go out to Debbie, who helped me realize that although I may have woodland critters roaming the house sometimes, at least the Delta House doesn't have bats. So thanks to her.
I'll be back a bit later.
Anyway, I'm not sure if I've mentioned it or not yet but after each show three of us in the cast have to tear-ass around to the back of house and say "thanks for coming" and stuff to the people as they wander out. It's something that, quite frankly, I hate doing. We had to do the same kind of thing down at Theater Memphis when I was doing shows there and it always struck me as the theatrical equivalent of panhandling. We've just performed for these people and no sooner have we bowed and left the stage than we're at the door on their way out and, seemingly, asking for even more validation of the jobs we've just done. Even I, the most insecure of the insecure out there roaming the streets, am not THAT needy. I hate feeling like I'm begging for compliments.
But it's part of the job, I guess, so I have to do it. So I paste on my best fake smile and shake all the hands of the old folks who just spent the last two hours coughing into their palms and try not to sound like a broken record that says only "thanks for comin', thanks for comin', thanks for comin'...". Every now and then, somebody comes through with something funny, though and it makes that days "line up" worth my time. Yesterday I was lined up and this one guy came through and was very nice and had a lot of good things to say. He said he loved my facial expressions and wasn't sure how I did some of them (I'm...um...not sure what the heck he was talking about) and then said he loved my voice and that I reminded him of a young Orson Welles. Which made me laugh but was very nice of him to say. I always thought I more closely resembled the Ernest and Julio Gallo-era Welles but who am I to argue with the random dude? I thought it was funny, though.
To piggyback on that thought, I do seem to be losing weight. Maybe it's the general lack of food (though I am eating pretty regularly) or the fact that I manage, through the course of a show, to sweat out 20 pounds (estimated). Maybe it's the clean air and livin' in God's Country. Who knows. But everything, with the exception of my costume of course, is hanging way bigger on me these days. Maybe it's best not to over-think it too much. But the change is, at least to me, pretty obvious.
But also, my skin is terrible out here. I am blaming the water, which is kinda gross. It's got that awful sour egg smell like the place my father lived for a while up near Syracuse when I was in high school. And after bathing in that awful water for more than a month now, I think my body is revolting against it and giving me a little kind of rash or something. Luckily, it seems to only be on my face so everyone can (potentially) see it. It's very light, to be honest, but I am aware of it so it's making me self-conscious. Anyway...
I guess that's about it for now. Thanks should go out to Debbie, who helped me realize that although I may have woodland critters roaming the house sometimes, at least the Delta House doesn't have bats. So thanks to her.
I'll be back a bit later.
Friday, May 2, 2008
Facebook creeps me out...excites me.
So I am interrupting my usual half-hearted, boring post for the day in order to say that over the past few days I've tried to find the most random Facebook friend that I can. It started with finding a long-lost ex-girlfriend and then looking for high school friends. After finding a few (and my brother, which was a surprise) and thinking I had found the most random Facebook friend yet (she played my girlfriend in a show my senior year in high school), suddenly this morning I get a message from a girl who was a year ahead of me in high school and her best friend in on my friends list. Random, yes. But I couldn't remember why this mutual friend was on my list. Anyway, so the girl from high school and I get to talking and it turns out we were in "Guys & Dolls" together my sophomore year and she ended up going to college with two of my very best friends here in Chicago from my first few years here. Thus making her my most random Facebook friend!
Six Degrees of Seperation is for amateurs!! Give me two degrees...three tops...and I can find ANYONE! I'm starting to believe that maybe I am, in fact, the center of the universe. And I want to find more people!
Anyway...this afternoon's matinee has been cancelled so we've only got the one show tonight. This is now the longer bit of down time we've had here with the exception of our two days off from shows on Sundays and Mondays. SP and I celebrated that down time last night with grocery shopping and drinks. Many drinks. Too many drinks for poor ole SP, who passed out in one of the recliners as I watched "Frazier" reruns and chatted with my most-recent Facebook friend, my brother. But he did hit that "fuzzy yet stumbly" long enough to show me this student movie he was in a few years ago. And he was incredibly good. I was, honestly, blown away. And it made me want those two student films that I did last year even more. So I'm upping the pressure on these folks to get me copies of these things. I think they might be good but it would be interesting to see how they ended up.
This morning and early afternoon I'm spending some time looking for auditions back in the city and elsewhere. I hope to mail off a bunch of headshots and resumes before the show tonight. So the business of the job continues. I'm starting to get a bit worried that I don't have anything to do once I get back to Chicago. Daddy needs to work. So I'll be doing that once I publish this post. Fun fun fun!
Anyway...there ya go...some Friday morning ramblings.
Six Degrees of Seperation is for amateurs!! Give me two degrees...three tops...and I can find ANYONE! I'm starting to believe that maybe I am, in fact, the center of the universe. And I want to find more people!
Anyway...this afternoon's matinee has been cancelled so we've only got the one show tonight. This is now the longer bit of down time we've had here with the exception of our two days off from shows on Sundays and Mondays. SP and I celebrated that down time last night with grocery shopping and drinks. Many drinks. Too many drinks for poor ole SP, who passed out in one of the recliners as I watched "Frazier" reruns and chatted with my most-recent Facebook friend, my brother. But he did hit that "fuzzy yet stumbly" long enough to show me this student movie he was in a few years ago. And he was incredibly good. I was, honestly, blown away. And it made me want those two student films that I did last year even more. So I'm upping the pressure on these folks to get me copies of these things. I think they might be good but it would be interesting to see how they ended up.
This morning and early afternoon I'm spending some time looking for auditions back in the city and elsewhere. I hope to mail off a bunch of headshots and resumes before the show tonight. So the business of the job continues. I'm starting to get a bit worried that I don't have anything to do once I get back to Chicago. Daddy needs to work. So I'll be doing that once I publish this post. Fun fun fun!
Anyway...there ya go...some Friday morning ramblings.
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Who you talkin' to?!?!
Accomplished today (since the last post): Well, not much. Just some shows, really. My life in Michigan will get infinitely more boring now. Hoo-friggin'-ray!
So here it is...Thursday morning already. And here it is...May! Wow. April went pretty quickly, huh?
Well, the show is still struggling a little bit. There are long stretches where we're clicking and moving along quite nicely, but then we're always brought back down to Earth by just a half-page or so that's tricky and everything slows down and all I'm looking at on stage are either confused faces or people who are pretty much helpless to do anything about the carnage. Those parts suck. A lot. But when we're coasting along and getting laughs, it's a lot of fun out there. And that feels good.
I seem to be doing pretty well with the audiences. On Tuesday, the house was fantastic. Just laughed at everything and it was such a good way to get the week started up again after a couple of days off. Towards the end of the show, I'm left to try and wrap things up and I launch into a long, confusing, seemingly made-up story trying to explain everything that's gone on and just as I was ready to launch into that monologue, one little old woman in the very front row (which is about 5 feet away from where I'm sitting at that point) turned to another little old woman sitting next to her and said "he's very good". It threw me off for a second.
I think a little of why I was thrown off was hearing that somebody thought I was good. A little more was because it was odd that I could actually hear it. And then half-way through the monologue I got even more thrown off because I was embarrassed for myself that I actually thought the old woman was talking about me. I had just assumed that. And that is kinda lame of me. There are two other guys in the show. And one of those guys is right there on stage with me at the time this old woman said that. Why did I just assume she was talking to me? So I got sorta down on myself for that. That wasn't right of me to think that.
Anyway...Tuesday's audience was packed. And yesterday's house was packed even more so. Today? Ah, who knows. We do know that Friday's matinee is already cancelled due to lack of interest...er...attendence. So we seem to be running sort of hot and cold with this show. Whatever. I get paid the same whether there's an audience or not. (Cold-hearted actor that I am.)
An unfinished topic: Yes, after many questions, I realized that I never really ended the saga of SP's van getting fixed. So the story ended last Saturday when he got the part fixed and it's been running fairly well ever since. Hope that sewed up any lingering questions about that.
I guess that's about it from here. Today I go grocery shopping and maybe try to find a place to print off some resumes to send around. Hey...I gotta find some work. In June, I'm back to being unemployed.
(---deep dramatic sigh---)
So here it is...Thursday morning already. And here it is...May! Wow. April went pretty quickly, huh?
Well, the show is still struggling a little bit. There are long stretches where we're clicking and moving along quite nicely, but then we're always brought back down to Earth by just a half-page or so that's tricky and everything slows down and all I'm looking at on stage are either confused faces or people who are pretty much helpless to do anything about the carnage. Those parts suck. A lot. But when we're coasting along and getting laughs, it's a lot of fun out there. And that feels good.
I seem to be doing pretty well with the audiences. On Tuesday, the house was fantastic. Just laughed at everything and it was such a good way to get the week started up again after a couple of days off. Towards the end of the show, I'm left to try and wrap things up and I launch into a long, confusing, seemingly made-up story trying to explain everything that's gone on and just as I was ready to launch into that monologue, one little old woman in the very front row (which is about 5 feet away from where I'm sitting at that point) turned to another little old woman sitting next to her and said "he's very good". It threw me off for a second.
I think a little of why I was thrown off was hearing that somebody thought I was good. A little more was because it was odd that I could actually hear it. And then half-way through the monologue I got even more thrown off because I was embarrassed for myself that I actually thought the old woman was talking about me. I had just assumed that. And that is kinda lame of me. There are two other guys in the show. And one of those guys is right there on stage with me at the time this old woman said that. Why did I just assume she was talking to me? So I got sorta down on myself for that. That wasn't right of me to think that.
Anyway...Tuesday's audience was packed. And yesterday's house was packed even more so. Today? Ah, who knows. We do know that Friday's matinee is already cancelled due to lack of interest...er...attendence. So we seem to be running sort of hot and cold with this show. Whatever. I get paid the same whether there's an audience or not. (Cold-hearted actor that I am.)
An unfinished topic: Yes, after many questions, I realized that I never really ended the saga of SP's van getting fixed. So the story ended last Saturday when he got the part fixed and it's been running fairly well ever since. Hope that sewed up any lingering questions about that.
I guess that's about it from here. Today I go grocery shopping and maybe try to find a place to print off some resumes to send around. Hey...I gotta find some work. In June, I'm back to being unemployed.
(---deep dramatic sigh---)
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