Mood:  down

Interesting project. Twenty four hour theater. Actors, writers and directors get together Friday night at 8pm to discuss procedures, themes, etc. Subject matter drawn from a hat, directors and actors adjourn to drinking and bitch about writers and scripts.....writers adjourn to bitch about actors and directors and write a script, due at 8am.

Saturday morning at 7am (!) Breakfast. I (a director in this little project) didn't attend. No self respecting theater person WOULD unless they'd been up all night. At 8 am scripts were matched with directors and actors were matched with parts. I'd say 95% of the participating actors in this project were among the top 10-15% of the field in Columbus community theater. Several have done substantial equity work. So there's no “speak carriers” in the bunch. And I got two of the best. I mean no disrespect to the three other fine actors in my cast but let me just say that getting to spend 4 hours or so developing characters and blocking a script with Joyce Leahy and Jane Mowder was well worth getting up early on a cold freezing rainy January Ohio morning. We spent about 2 hours reading the script, making some changes (with the author's approval) and discussing all those “theatrical” things like character development and motivation. This is WAY out of my realm. In a “normal” main stage production I rely on my actors to do their own homework and then fir the pieces together. I deal a LOT more in pictures, rhythm, pace and tempo. What a dream it was doing the nuts and bolts work with Jane and Joyce. The effort, skill and attention to detail they brought to this little 15 minute piece was phenominal, and I KNEW the work being done in the other rooms by the other cast was equally impressive.

4:00: Tech/run. Spike the sets, run light cues and run the show. I wasn't happy. We didn't have the set pieces we thought we'd have, I spiked two pieces “wrong” and the run of the show seemed clunky. Timing issues...blocking “changes”....just enough to weaken it a little. I made notes to “adjust” the spikes when I got the chance, and to address the other issues with the actors involved individually. At this stage I don't like making anybody “look bad” in front of the others. Plus I got to see the other three shows. Being VERY familiar with the playwrights I was used to their bag of tricks and saw them on display. IMHO we might have had the weakest script. Perhaps it was just the nature of the project....the 12 hour immersion and line by line sped up analysis that's done, but I just wasn't happy.

8:00 Curtain. We went up first. The changed spiked were an improvement. A couple set pieces had arrived and been added. Nice. The “acting” issues of the dry run had been fixed. My cast did exactly what we had agreed they should do. Did we reach the audience. I don't think so. The three other pices were a little more entertaining, a little more “gotcha.” A second act was added: the producer doing a staged reading of a script written by his grad school professor about the pains of being an Indians fan. Well presented and entertaining. Act III was a combination of four stories by these same playwrights, all set in the same restaurant and going on at once. Nice story ideas, well acted, but it made for a VERY late evening after a VERY long day.

I left the theater about 11:15 and didn't go to the party. I'm one of the Grand Old Men of the group so “the kids” won't really miss me. They say you're only as good as your next show. Hope my next show comes soon because this wasn't my best work. In this community if the masses get a sniff that you might be loosing your game it is VERY hard to turn that around. Actors won't audition for you....tech people have “conflicts” when you call on them. Your product suffers from the self fulfilling prophecy and in a few years you're a reminiscence at the party – “Remember old what's his name? I worked with him when he was GOOD.”

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0404163/

A pleasant surprise ......GREAT cast used pretty well, especially Kelsey Grammer.  I'm seeing Nick Cannon pop up in a lot of places but I'm still not convinced.  And of course we ALL love to hate Tim Roth (I may never get over Rob Roy, but maybe "Lie to Me" will do it.)

This is one of those "unrelated stories that all come together" movies.  Not much of a happy ending.  Several twists.  Gritty.  NOT a date flick.  Not up-lifting.  Recommended.

didn't change much after the bowls. 

#1.  Florida.  I had them in the top 3 most of the year and ahead of Alabama  ALL year.

#2.  USC.  Had them in the top 2 all season.  Biggest loser of the BCS procedure, but if Pete "Lewis" Carrol could get his team to focus for a whole season these things wouldn't happen.

#3.  Oklahoma.  Dallas is NOT a neutral field when playing Texas.

#4.  Texas.  I blame the 2 DB's who tried to keep TT inbounds after time had already espired.  Bonehead play.  Push him out of bounds, stay undefeated, quit whining.  BTW, they won the way they lost .....closing second TD resulting from a blown tackle.

#5.  Penn State.  I rate thier schedule difficulty the same as Utah.  So why isn't undefeated Utah here?  PSU's top was tougher but the bottom was weaker.  The AVG is about the same.  Look at it this way: think of Utah as playing #10, #20, and #50-60......while PSU plays #2, #8, #100, and #50-58.  The avg would be about the same, but that would explain the 2 losses a little better.

OSU is my #9.....Utah is #10 at best.  But bless 'em for beating the SEC in the Sugar Bowl.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0465234/

I enjoyed the first one but the second...derivitive.  Not sure what I expected.  Perhaps more history and less ancient decaying puzzles.  Perhaps I was just startled by the "seperated at birth" thoughts of Helen "The Queen" Mirren and Audra "Mrs. Roper" Lindley.  Guess it's fine for a dead afternoon but  can't recommend it.
 

 I just love the Headline:

Smoking Rooms Eliminated Following Erection

1. What was the last thing you laughed at? Would you say you have a great sense of humor? What sorts of things make you laugh in general? Would you say people “get” your humor?

2. How many pieces of jewelery are you wearing at this very moment? Do you wear jewelry every day, or only on special occasions? What is your favorite piece of jewelery? Tell us the story behind one piece of your jewelery.

One.  My wedding ring.  No.  Wait.  Make that two.  I have a black enamel "club" in my left ear.  Left is right but right is wrong.  The wedding ring only comes off on stage if my character is single.  The ear stud is "optional."  Was hoping for a new one for Christmans, but alas.  The story behind it.....was cast as El Gallo a few year ago.  Director wanted me to wear a "pirate" style loop earring. Rather than use a clip on and worry about it coming out during a performance I got my ear pierced.  At the ripe old age of 45.  And i've kept SOMETHING in there most of the time since.  Call it my nod to "decadence."

3. If you could offer one piece of etiquette advice that everyone should follow when dining out, what would it be?

Be nice to the wait staff.  You can tell a LOT about a person by how they treat service people.

4. What are the first three things a guest would notice when they walked through your front door?

The big honkin' Christmas tree that won't come dowe for another 2 weeks.   The eclectic art/decor.   The Senegal Parrot occupying the dinning room.

agreed to meet a friend at a little club here in the C-bus tonight.  It's changed hands 3-4 times over the last dozen years and I've visited each incarnation.  All have been OK - not spectacular, not bad.  Got there early.  The new one is bad.  Why?  Several reasons.

1.  In the 2 hours I was there I recognized exactly ONE song that was played - the Electric Slide!  I need to LEARN  the E - Slide.  I can do the Little Black Book, The Hully Gully and Amos Moses.  Learned 'em all in the 70's and can doe 'em in my sleep.  One more can't hurt.  Need to add it if only to dance along with the Washington Sentinals.

 2.  Two big TV screens.  I'm talking 6 footers.  Blank.  On a night with a handful of college bb games, a few NBA games, at least one NHL game and an AFC wild card game.  I asked the b-tender (a cute flirty zaftig blonde, one of the GOOD things) to put the game on.  Can't.  When the DJ plays a song with a video they put THAT on the screen.  Lousy.

3.  About 10:30 in walks the guest of the night.  a 5'6" black dude wearing white pants, a white mohair (long!) jacket and white leather "mandels."  It's January.  In OHIO.  It' 25 degrees.  This is SO wrong.

Place was only half full when  I left at midnight.  On a saturday.  Didn't look like it was gonna take off any time soon.  But I wish them well.