Other than the usual, "Hey, The Copperhead is back on stage tonight...three weeks left, NOW WITH THURSDAYS!!"
So, Yeah, otherwise...It's Thursday.
One thing I can write about. I am not a huge Kiss fan, I'm just not. I have respect for the band, even if most of their innovations and ground-breaking was in the realm of promotion and showmanship, rather than, y'know, actual music. That, however, is still demanding of respect, because they really did, in a lot of ways show everyone how to do it. If they end up in the Hall of Fame, I'm good, because it is a legacy and a part of the tapestry of Rock.
But I was never a huge fan of the music.
On a lark, I downloaded Alive II. I don't know, I thought I ought to own some Kiss, and the first two Alive albums are legendary. Most of it is, y'know, Kiss. Catchy, decently played hard rock with a sexual subtext to everything. However, when "God of Thunder" started, I was kinda blown away by the riff. It's pretty awesome hard rock.
And with that...a moment of zen.
Showing posts with label The Copperhead. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Copperhead. Show all posts
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Monday, April 25, 2011
The Road To Hell....
I *intended* to work on music yesterday. We didn't have a show, because of Easter, and I was going to hold up in my studio, try to work some stuff out.
Feeling very stagnant, musically, lately. I've been lazy, and not working when I had the chance. (been watching a lot of TV, though) I have been picking up the guitar, riffing a bit, unplugged, and I have some decent ideas. I just need to MAKE myself get up from in front of the damn TV, and go work on 'em.
Now, in all fairness to myself, it's not just the couch potato issue. I've also been trying to spend a LOT more time exercising between now and the Leapfest show I'm doing. I'm gonna have to be in various stages of undress during that, and playing a character who is fit, so I do feel some pressure to slim down. So, yeah...a lot more time on the bike in the evenings, these days.
(Of course, I also just stuffed a bag of jelly beans down my throat over lunch....*sigh* I REALLY love jelly beans.)
It's funny how life becomes these jigsaw puzzles of time. Little bits and pieces that take up such-and-such amount of time, and need to fit together with the other pieces that also take up such-and-such amount of time. I feel, sometimes, like my whole life is about working out a schedule.
Yeah, yeah...It starts to annoy me. When you're young, you think you'll fight tooth and nail to no be beholden to some idiot clock or schedule, and then, slowly, unrelentingly, you give up to it, little by little. Now, that sounds much more horrifying than it actually is, but I think it is true. Maybe there is a way to live without getting more and more regimented as you go along. Frankly, I think, as I've gotten older, regimentation has made me better at the things I want to do. More focus made me a better actor, a better guitarist. To deny that, is just cutting yourself (or, myself, I guess) off from a tool that is proving useful.
We had seventy-two folks on the books for The Copperhead this past Saturday, no clue how many were actually in the house. In any case, it was the largest audience so far. I hope that's a sign of good things to come. Some good people came out to see me, too. Sean H., Jeremy and Erica H., thanks, guys!
I am becoming aware of the impending close of the show. Three weekends left, and then...that's it. I try not to think about it too much, because there are many people in this cast who've become faces I really look forward to seeing. Knowing that I won't so often just sorta hangs out there.
That is the life, however, and we all know it. It is sad that the truly special ones can't hang out just a bit longer.
Feeling very stagnant, musically, lately. I've been lazy, and not working when I had the chance. (been watching a lot of TV, though) I have been picking up the guitar, riffing a bit, unplugged, and I have some decent ideas. I just need to MAKE myself get up from in front of the damn TV, and go work on 'em.
(Of course, I also just stuffed a bag of jelly beans down my throat over lunch....*sigh* I REALLY love jelly beans.)
It's funny how life becomes these jigsaw puzzles of time. Little bits and pieces that take up such-and-such amount of time, and need to fit together with the other pieces that also take up such-and-such amount of time. I feel, sometimes, like my whole life is about working out a schedule.
Yeah, yeah...It starts to annoy me. When you're young, you think you'll fight tooth and nail to no be beholden to some idiot clock or schedule, and then, slowly, unrelentingly, you give up to it, little by little. Now, that sounds much more horrifying than it actually is, but I think it is true. Maybe there is a way to live without getting more and more regimented as you go along. Frankly, I think, as I've gotten older, regimentation has made me better at the things I want to do. More focus made me a better actor, a better guitarist. To deny that, is just cutting yourself (or, myself, I guess) off from a tool that is proving useful.
I am becoming aware of the impending close of the show. Three weekends left, and then...that's it. I try not to think about it too much, because there are many people in this cast who've become faces I really look forward to seeing. Knowing that I won't so often just sorta hangs out there.
That is the life, however, and we all know it. It is sad that the truly special ones can't hang out just a bit longer.
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Tooting My Own Horn
I know this is a broken record, but I am insanely proud of this show, and this cast. Even if no one else liked this show, it would be one of the best experiences of my career, so far. The fact that the critical responses have been far more positive than negative is simply the icing on the cake. At this point, I believe all of the reviews we expected to get have come in, so I feel safe posting a "review round-up."
Chicago Tribune – Three Stars
“The play has an enormous cast by modern standards, and Scambiatterra has filled it with actors who can handle the straight drama while finessing the funnier moments… Milt is the anchor throughout it all, and in the hands of actor Mark Pracht, he is a tall, strapping, stubborn American individualist who commands your attention with his measured words.”
- Nina Metz
Stead Style Chicago – Highly Recommended
“Making it all immediate and engrossing is Director Kathy Scambiattera, a wonderworker who brings out the best in the best...In a role first created by a young Lionel Barrymore, Mark Pracht plays the conflicted Milt with absolute authenticity, with solid support from a terrific 15-member cast.”
-Lawrence Bommer
The Chicago Reader – Recommended
“…capable actors invest unstintingly. It works. Confrontations between Shanks and his wife are searing, a proper young couple's first kiss is notably hot, and Mark Pracht's climactic monologue as Shanks is spellbinding.”
-Dan Weissmann
Chicago Critic – Highly Recommended
“Mark Pracht’s excellent performance as the low-key Milt Shanks leads a terrific ensemble in a rarely produced classic American drama. The Copperhead does justice to the American Experience through a well structured play.”
-Tom Williams
Chicago Theater Blog – Three Stars
“Scambiatterra elicits great performances from her strappy cast. Pracht does a fine job with the austere Shanks, remaining strong and level, while still revealing glimpses of vulnerability – we know he is still a human being in a crazy situation.”
- Barry Eitel
Windy City Times
“…when the moment of our hero's redemption finally looms, the tension in the room is palpable.”
-Mary Shen Barnidge
Centerstage Chicago – Recommended, A “Must See” Show
“This is a play with some great performances as well as production values, and its dialogue, though written nearly a hundred years ago, is fresh, affecting and funny.”
-Rory Leahy
The Copperhead is a show you shouldn't miss. It's a tale well told by a talented cast and production team, and, frankly I'd tell you to see it even if I wasn't in it.
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
My Guitar Just Keeps LOOKING at Me
Hello my dear and faithful readers. Sorry about a missing Monday post, I'll try to make up for it.
Tuesday has been quite hellish, so far. First there was a whole issue with the CTA that ended up putting me something like an hour and a half late for work. Not to mention, standing, waiting for various buses, in a pouring rain. I swear to God, if I get sick before we swing back into The Copperhead for the weekend...
Speaking of which, we got our first really awful review today, which didn't help my mood when I finally got to work, sopping wet. You can't expect everyone to love everything you do. I LOVE this show, I love this cast, many people have embraced it, and the other reviews we've gotten, as well as our Jeff Recommendation, support that. So, y'know, blow off.
ANYWAY....
I NEED to get back to work on recording and writing. I try to pick up the Les Paul every day, and mess around with some riffs I've got going, but I've been unable to find a lot of time to really get down to business. Plus, I've sorta come to a point where I have to start finishing stuff. When I have managed to work on music, I've been spending more time transcribing than anything else, and that's really not all that much fun. It has to be done, for certain, because I'm not going to get into another Where Have All the Heroes Gone situation, where I can barely remember how to play any of the songs. (If at all.)
The guitar just STARES at me. Really! It's true! She sits over there, on her stand, constantly judging me. "Why aren't we making music? You've got some decent riffs in your head." Of course, there's quite a few non-decent ones, too.
Work must progress. It's an imperative.
Tuesday has been quite hellish, so far. First there was a whole issue with the CTA that ended up putting me something like an hour and a half late for work. Not to mention, standing, waiting for various buses, in a pouring rain. I swear to God, if I get sick before we swing back into The Copperhead for the weekend...
Speaking of which, we got our first really awful review today, which didn't help my mood when I finally got to work, sopping wet. You can't expect everyone to love everything you do. I LOVE this show, I love this cast, many people have embraced it, and the other reviews we've gotten, as well as our Jeff Recommendation, support that. So, y'know, blow off.
ANYWAY....
The guitar just STARES at me. Really! It's true! She sits over there, on her stand, constantly judging me. "Why aren't we making music? You've got some decent riffs in your head." Of course, there's quite a few non-decent ones, too.
Work must progress. It's an imperative.
Friday, April 15, 2011
The Random Friday Rundown
The work week is wrapping up, and another weekend of The Copperhead is before me. I'll make another appeal to those in Chicago to make an effort to see it. The critical response (so far) has been very positive. We've also been Jeff recommended, which is always a nice thing.
Been listening to the new Foo Fighters release, Wasting Light. Good stuff, generally. I mean, I don't think it's anywhere near as good as There is Nothing Left to Lose, which is my personal favorite of their catalog, but it's a very solid rock album. I think tracks 1-7 of There is Nothing Left to Lose might be the best sustained run of album tracks in the last 20 years, so it's a mountain almost impossible to climb (with me).
Still, there's a lot of people out there who will disagree on that score. Wasting Light is certainly less aggressively "poppy" than TINLTL, the songs aren't so much constructed around hooks. Plenty of people will immediately take that as meaning it's a better record. I don't, but then I don't really "get" Radiohead, either.
Which will, undoubtedly, make me Satan in a lot of folks eyes.
I do find Wasting Light very, very listenable, more so that Colour & The Shape or, especially, Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace. Albums that are good, solid records, but don't leap up and say "listen to me!" when I'm thumbing through the Zune.
I'm also amused with the whole story behind the album, recording on analog equipment in Dave Grohl's garage. It's a cool story, but I'm a little tired of that being held up as a reason why the album is good. Yes, analog produces a slightly warmer sound (audiophiles are grabbing knives right now due to my use of "slightly"), but that doesn't mean a damn thing.
A great album is a great album. Doesn't matter if it's recorded on reel-to-reel or Pro Tools, because you can get great sounding albums in either case. The songwriting and the performance is what makes a great record. Production just illuminates the material you have. Yes, yes, poor production can kill an awesome set of tunes, but a track list full of turds is still going to be a track list full of turds. A shit song with terrific production is just a shit song that sounds great.
Speaking of which...
Now that my show is open, I need to get my ass in gear on the new CD. I've got good, solid takes on 3 tracks, and one (the millstone around my neck known as "Zep") that needs to be torn down and built back up. I know there's something really good in there, I just need to find it.
Outside of that, I've been working on tracks, and transcribing them. I found a great piece of freeware that allows me to do tablature on the computer. (Yeah, I don't read music...Shame on me) It's pretty damn slick, and it lets me put together readable tabs (and real notation) for my guitar and basslines. Which is really useful since I'm still fully intending to bring in an outside bassist, and while I don't expect him to hew exactly to what I have, it'll give him an idea to work from.
I am sad I've been unable to play, really, for weeks. I do pick up the unplugged Les Paul and work out riffs all the time. I've also got pages and pages of lyric ideas in my notebook. The material is building, and I'm still hopeful to have it finished and "released" by my birthday in August.
Also got the Blu-Rays of season 4 of Mad Men....So awesome. That show just kicks my ass.
Still, there's a lot of people out there who will disagree on that score. Wasting Light is certainly less aggressively "poppy" than TINLTL, the songs aren't so much constructed around hooks. Plenty of people will immediately take that as meaning it's a better record. I don't, but then I don't really "get" Radiohead, either.
Which will, undoubtedly, make me Satan in a lot of folks eyes.
I do find Wasting Light very, very listenable, more so that Colour & The Shape or, especially, Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace. Albums that are good, solid records, but don't leap up and say "listen to me!" when I'm thumbing through the Zune.
I'm also amused with the whole story behind the album, recording on analog equipment in Dave Grohl's garage. It's a cool story, but I'm a little tired of that being held up as a reason why the album is good. Yes, analog produces a slightly warmer sound (audiophiles are grabbing knives right now due to my use of "slightly"), but that doesn't mean a damn thing.
A great album is a great album. Doesn't matter if it's recorded on reel-to-reel or Pro Tools, because you can get great sounding albums in either case. The songwriting and the performance is what makes a great record. Production just illuminates the material you have. Yes, yes, poor production can kill an awesome set of tunes, but a track list full of turds is still going to be a track list full of turds. A shit song with terrific production is just a shit song that sounds great.
Speaking of which...
Now that my show is open, I need to get my ass in gear on the new CD. I've got good, solid takes on 3 tracks, and one (the millstone around my neck known as "Zep") that needs to be torn down and built back up. I know there's something really good in there, I just need to find it.
Outside of that, I've been working on tracks, and transcribing them. I found a great piece of freeware that allows me to do tablature on the computer. (Yeah, I don't read music...Shame on me) It's pretty damn slick, and it lets me put together readable tabs (and real notation) for my guitar and basslines. Which is really useful since I'm still fully intending to bring in an outside bassist, and while I don't expect him to hew exactly to what I have, it'll give him an idea to work from.
I am sad I've been unable to play, really, for weeks. I do pick up the unplugged Les Paul and work out riffs all the time. I've also got pages and pages of lyric ideas in my notebook. The material is building, and I'm still hopeful to have it finished and "released" by my birthday in August.
Also got the Blu-Rays of season 4 of Mad Men....So awesome. That show just kicks my ass.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Stuck In My Head 4.12.2011
One last show related "Stuck In My Head" before opening.
This one's a good one, pretty much on the nose.
Long Walk Home
By Bruce Springsteen
It's gonna be a long walk home
This one's a good one, pretty much on the nose.
Long Walk Home
By Bruce Springsteen
Last night I stood at your doorstep
Trying to figure out what went wrong
You just slipped somethin' into my palm
Then you were gone
I could smell the same deep green of summer
Above me the same night sky was glowin'
In the distance I could see the town where I was born
It's gonna be a long walk home
Hey pretty Darling, don't wait up for me
Gonna be a long walk home
A long walk home
In town I passed Sal's grocery
The barbershop on South Street
I looked into their faces
They were all rank strangers to me
The veterans' hall high up on the hill
Stood silent and alone
The diner was shuttered and boarded
With a sign that just said "gone"
It's gonna be a long walk home
Hey pretty Darling, don't wait up for me
Gonna be a long walk home
Hey pretty Darling, don't wait up for me
Gonna be a long walk home
It's gonna be a long walk home
Here everybody has a neighbor
Everybody has a friend
Everybody has a reason to begin again
My father said "Son, we're lucky in this town
It's a beautiful place to be born
It just wraps its arms around you
Nobody crowds you, nobody goes it alone.
That you know flag flying over the courthouse
Means certain things are set in stone
Who we are, what we'll do and what we won't."
Its gonna be a long walk home
Hey pretty Darling, don't wait up for me
Gonna be a long walk home
Hey pretty Darling, don't wait up for me
Gonna be a long walk home
It's gonna be a long walk home
Its gonna be a long walk home
Hey pretty Darling, don't wait up for me
Gonna be a long walk home
Hey pretty Darling, don't wait up for me
Gonna be a long walk home
It's gonna be a long walk home
Monday, April 11, 2011
Stuck In My Head 4.11.2011
Not quite up to a full post, yet, this week.
The first 3 previews of The Copperhead went pretty damn well, from where I was sitting. Thanks to those folks that came out to see it, I am truly, truly thankful for your support. Tomorrow will bring our official opening night, and hopefully reviews will follow soon after.
I feel engaged and energized, creatively, and today's stuck in my head reflects that.
Mission
By Rush - Lyrics by Neil Peart
Hold your fire,
Keep it burning bright
Hold the flame 'til the dream ignites
A spirit with a vision is a dream
With a mission
I hear their passionate music
Read the words that touch my heart
I gaze at their feverish pictures
The secrets that set them apart
When I feel the powerful visions
Their fire has made alive
I wish I had that instinct
I wish I had that drive
Spirits fly on dangerous missions
Imaginations on fire
Focused high on soaring ambitions
Consumed in a single desire
In the grip of a nameless possession
A slave to the drive of obsession
A spirit with a vision is a dream
With a mission.
I watch their images flicker
Bringing light to a lifeless screen
I walk through their beautiful buildings
And I wish I had their dreams
But dreams don't need to have motion
To keep their spark alive
Obsession has to have action
Pride turns on the drive
It's cold comfort
To the ones without it
To know how they struggled
How they suffered about it
If their lives were exotic and strange
They would likely have gladly exchanged them
For something a little more plain
Maybe something a little more sane
We each pay a fabulous price
For our visions of paradise
But a spirit with a vision is a dream
With a mission.
The first 3 previews of The Copperhead went pretty damn well, from where I was sitting. Thanks to those folks that came out to see it, I am truly, truly thankful for your support. Tomorrow will bring our official opening night, and hopefully reviews will follow soon after.
I feel engaged and energized, creatively, and today's stuck in my head reflects that.
Mission
By Rush - Lyrics by Neil Peart
Keep it burning bright
Hold the flame 'til the dream ignites
A spirit with a vision is a dream
With a mission
I hear their passionate music
Read the words that touch my heart
I gaze at their feverish pictures
The secrets that set them apart
When I feel the powerful visions
Their fire has made alive
I wish I had that instinct
I wish I had that drive
Spirits fly on dangerous missions
Imaginations on fire
Focused high on soaring ambitions
Consumed in a single desire
In the grip of a nameless possession
A slave to the drive of obsession
A spirit with a vision is a dream
With a mission.
I watch their images flicker
Bringing light to a lifeless screen
I walk through their beautiful buildings
And I wish I had their dreams
But dreams don't need to have motion
To keep their spark alive
Obsession has to have action
Pride turns on the drive
It's cold comfort
To the ones without it
To know how they struggled
How they suffered about it
If their lives were exotic and strange
They would likely have gladly exchanged them
For something a little more plain
Maybe something a little more sane
We each pay a fabulous price
For our visions of paradise
But a spirit with a vision is a dream
With a mission.
Friday, April 8, 2011
Where the Work Pays Off
We'll have an audience for The Copperhead tonight.
It's kinda funny, I don't think I've been this excited to open a show in a long while. I'm dying to see how people react to it. I think it's an interesting choice to kick off City Lit's Civil War Project, and I really don't know how people will react to it.
...And I don't care.
I know I bring up One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest a lot, probably too much, but it was a really profound experience for me. There were moments I had on stage with that show that still come back to me, vividly. I knew, early on, it was going to be a quality experience.
From the first read The Copperhead gave me a very similar feeling. Playing McMurphy and playing Milt Shanks are very different experiences, but the fulfillment I get, as an actor, is in the same realm. They both represent something iconic and American, to me. Both men asked me to believe and act on a confidence I would certainly not feel, in the situations they were in, places that I would be too afraid to go in "real life." That is a tremendous gift, and terrifying all at the same time.
I hope everyone sees this play, I hope the entire city comes out, but, even if no one does, I'll be content to walk this stage, and live this life in front of an empty theatre. I've always said I did this work for myself, and that the audience was a secondary consideration, for me. (As much as they can be...I'm not that big an egomaniac.) Sometimes you need a show, and an experience, like this to really put that into focus, and coming right now, at this point in my life, it is very, very welcome.
Of course, no show, no production is mounted alone, and the team assembled for this show was fantastic on every level. I cannot thank any of you enough for the joy, the confidence, and the camaraderie. I hope I have added to a rewarding experience of your own.
Our Cast:
Gannon Reedy, Judith Hoppe, Kate Tummelson, Thad Anzur, Susie Griffith, Grace Melon, Jon Stutzman, Kevin Gladish, Robert Dean, Miguel Cohen and Ed Krystosek.
Our Crew:
Set- Aaron Menninga, Lights - Jess Harpenau, Costume - Ricky Lurie, Props - Matthew Cummings, and Make Up - Jeffrey Lyle Segal
Our Fearless Leadership:
Director - Kathy Scambiatterra, Asst. Director - Peter Connors, and Stage Manager - Jordan Fleming
And the Fine Folks at City Lit:
Terry McCabe, Brian Pastor, Shawna Tucker and Katy Nielsen
If it isn't clear enough, I really want you to come see this show.
...And I don't care.
I know I bring up One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest a lot, probably too much, but it was a really profound experience for me. There were moments I had on stage with that show that still come back to me, vividly. I knew, early on, it was going to be a quality experience.
From the first read The Copperhead gave me a very similar feeling. Playing McMurphy and playing Milt Shanks are very different experiences, but the fulfillment I get, as an actor, is in the same realm. They both represent something iconic and American, to me. Both men asked me to believe and act on a confidence I would certainly not feel, in the situations they were in, places that I would be too afraid to go in "real life." That is a tremendous gift, and terrifying all at the same time.
I hope everyone sees this play, I hope the entire city comes out, but, even if no one does, I'll be content to walk this stage, and live this life in front of an empty theatre. I've always said I did this work for myself, and that the audience was a secondary consideration, for me. (As much as they can be...I'm not that big an egomaniac.) Sometimes you need a show, and an experience, like this to really put that into focus, and coming right now, at this point in my life, it is very, very welcome.
Of course, no show, no production is mounted alone, and the team assembled for this show was fantastic on every level. I cannot thank any of you enough for the joy, the confidence, and the camaraderie. I hope I have added to a rewarding experience of your own.
Our Cast:
Gannon Reedy, Judith Hoppe, Kate Tummelson, Thad Anzur, Susie Griffith, Grace Melon, Jon Stutzman, Kevin Gladish, Robert Dean, Miguel Cohen and Ed Krystosek.
Our Crew:
Set- Aaron Menninga, Lights - Jess Harpenau, Costume - Ricky Lurie, Props - Matthew Cummings, and Make Up - Jeffrey Lyle Segal
Our Fearless Leadership:
Director - Kathy Scambiatterra, Asst. Director - Peter Connors, and Stage Manager - Jordan Fleming
And the Fine Folks at City Lit:
Terry McCabe, Brian Pastor, Shawna Tucker and Katy Nielsen
If it isn't clear enough, I really want you to come see this show.
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
New Comic Day 4.6.2011
Look, I'm just gonna call off the review blog until after The Copperhead (less than a week from Opening Night!) is open. I mean, I just picked up my books for the last 2 weeks on Monday, haven't even cracked 'em, and now I'll have three more.
I WILL get back to it, have no fear, but I need to take that off the plate until the rest of my life slows down a bit. Hey, trust me, this isn't the only part of my life in a bit of a holding pattern. I keep trying to give myself times to work on music, and it just....slides by.
Previews this weekend, opening next Tuesday, and maybe back to a bit of normal.
Brightest Day #23 $2.99
Written by GEOFF JOHNS and PETER J. TOMASI
Art by IVAN REIS, PAT GLEASON, ARDIAN SYAF,
SCOTT CLARK and JOE PRADO
Cover by GARY FRANK
1:10 Variant Covers by IVAN REIS
It's the beginning of the end as we head toward the epic conclusion to BRIGHTEST DAY! The mystery of the heroes' return and the secrets of the white forest are revealed! Plus, Captain Boomerang draws closer to completing his mission! And at last, it's Firestorm vs. Deadman!
I'm gonna tell you what, the spoiler I read today for this series/event just pissed me off. It was the (supposed) identity of the White Lantern/guardian of Earth, and it was an established DC character, yes, but also one who hadn't, even tangentially, been related to this series, or Blackest Night, or really anything in the DCU for YEARS.
It's utterly annoying. It's been a year of following this set group of characters, and here we are with 4 issues (including this one) to go, and not only do I have absolutely ZERO sense of what the hell the point of this story was, but we're going to pull a rabbit out of the hat and drop in a new character too wrap the story up with.
Y'know what that says to me? that this "event" could've been 4 issues long.
Brightest Day = Epic Fail, DC. EPIC.
Jonah Hex #66 $2.99
Written by JUSTIN GRAY & JIMMY PALMIOTTI
Art and cover by FIONA STAPLES
The people of Casket Canyon seemed so excited to have Jonah Hex for dinner. That's because he doesn't suspect that he's supposed to be the main course! With a horrific snowstorm brewing outside and hungry cannibals at the door, Jonah Hex finds himself with one foot in the grave and the other on the dining-room table. And if the cannibals don't kill him, the cold will! Featuring the work of up and coming artist Fiona Staples (NORTH 40)!
Oh, man...Look at that cover! That's fantastic.
Look, after thinking about Brightest Day, all I can think/say when Jonah Hex comes to mind is:
AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH.....
Ultimate Comics Captain America #4 (of 4) $3.99
Writer: Jason Aaron
Penciller: Ron Garney
It’s super-soldier versus super-soldier as Cap and Nuke throw down. With Captain America being pushed to his limits, there’s no telling which soldier will come out standing. Superstar dream team of Jason Aaron and Ron Garney tell an explosive tale you won’t be able to put down!
This series has really worked for me, but I have to admit, my enjoyment is based, in large part, on an expectation that Ultimate Cap's run-in with Nuke might re-direct him more toward the Steve Rogers of the mainstream Marvel Universe. I have to admit, I have grown weary of the "assholeification" of the Ultimate Marvel characters, and only Ultimate Spider-Man seems immune.
We'll see how Aaron wraps it up, the story could go either way for me, I think. Right at the end.
I WILL get back to it, have no fear, but I need to take that off the plate until the rest of my life slows down a bit. Hey, trust me, this isn't the only part of my life in a bit of a holding pattern. I keep trying to give myself times to work on music, and it just....slides by.
Previews this weekend, opening next Tuesday, and maybe back to a bit of normal.
Brightest Day #23 $2.99
Art by IVAN REIS, PAT GLEASON, ARDIAN SYAF,
SCOTT CLARK and JOE PRADO
Cover by GARY FRANK
1:10 Variant Covers by IVAN REIS
It's the beginning of the end as we head toward the epic conclusion to BRIGHTEST DAY! The mystery of the heroes' return and the secrets of the white forest are revealed! Plus, Captain Boomerang draws closer to completing his mission! And at last, it's Firestorm vs. Deadman!
I'm gonna tell you what, the spoiler I read today for this series/event just pissed me off. It was the (supposed) identity of the White Lantern/guardian of Earth, and it was an established DC character, yes, but also one who hadn't, even tangentially, been related to this series, or Blackest Night, or really anything in the DCU for YEARS.
It's utterly annoying. It's been a year of following this set group of characters, and here we are with 4 issues (including this one) to go, and not only do I have absolutely ZERO sense of what the hell the point of this story was, but we're going to pull a rabbit out of the hat and drop in a new character too wrap the story up with.
Y'know what that says to me? that this "event" could've been 4 issues long.
Brightest Day = Epic Fail, DC. EPIC.
Jonah Hex #66 $2.99
Art and cover by FIONA STAPLES
The people of Casket Canyon seemed so excited to have Jonah Hex for dinner. That's because he doesn't suspect that he's supposed to be the main course! With a horrific snowstorm brewing outside and hungry cannibals at the door, Jonah Hex finds himself with one foot in the grave and the other on the dining-room table. And if the cannibals don't kill him, the cold will! Featuring the work of up and coming artist Fiona Staples (NORTH 40)!
Oh, man...Look at that cover! That's fantastic.
Look, after thinking about Brightest Day, all I can think/say when Jonah Hex comes to mind is:
AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH.....
Ultimate Comics Captain America #4 (of 4) $3.99
Penciller: Ron Garney
It’s super-soldier versus super-soldier as Cap and Nuke throw down. With Captain America being pushed to his limits, there’s no telling which soldier will come out standing. Superstar dream team of Jason Aaron and Ron Garney tell an explosive tale you won’t be able to put down!
This series has really worked for me, but I have to admit, my enjoyment is based, in large part, on an expectation that Ultimate Cap's run-in with Nuke might re-direct him more toward the Steve Rogers of the mainstream Marvel Universe. I have to admit, I have grown weary of the "assholeification" of the Ultimate Marvel characters, and only Ultimate Spider-Man seems immune.
We'll see how Aaron wraps it up, the story could go either way for me, I think. Right at the end.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Well, That Was a Soul-Crusher
Bad rehearsal last night. Bad. We got through it, which was a good thing, but a lot of stuff just fell apart for me.
I was caught in my own head. It's that simple.
I was off-center from the start of the night. The CTA Red Line just...stopped on me, and I had to jump off and grab a bus, which wasn't a centering experience, at all.
But, that's an excuse, ain't it?
What's become kind of unsettling and odd for me is the parts of the show that are becoming more difficult for me. The first half of the show features far fewer immediate obstacles for me to wrestle with, but I'm finding myself lost for more often. The second half, where I have a number of difficult problems to negotiate, both as an actor and character, I'm feeling pretty solidly along for the ride.
Perhaps it's just an issue of where I expect to have to really work, and where I expect things to be easier. I mean, the whole damn show is difficult, that's why I wanted to do it, but you do give yourself the scenes and sections where you can relax a bit. Where you can let the script do the work.
That's, most likely, my problem. Hell, "most likely" doesn't really even apply. It is my problem.
In all ways it's my problem. It's my problem to solve. Ain't nobody else gonna do it.
If I'm honest, I'm also letting the world outside of rehearsal weigh on me. Emotional baggage that, I have to admit, I'm fairly resentful about having to deal with right now. I mean, all actors are emotionally fragile creatures, we wear our hearts on our sleeves, it's part of the job. You learn to deal with it as best you can, or as worst you can, in some cases. We're only human. Yet, I can't help but have a, "now? You want to do this NOW!?!" response, sometimes.
It's not a good time for me. Seriously.
But we soldier on, right? We fight 'til we can't fight no more. We steel ourselves and put on the bravest face we can muster, and proceed to beat our heads viciously against the wall of indifference.
That's the job, in a nutshell.
I was off-center from the start of the night. The CTA Red Line just...stopped on me, and I had to jump off and grab a bus, which wasn't a centering experience, at all.
But, that's an excuse, ain't it?
What's become kind of unsettling and odd for me is the parts of the show that are becoming more difficult for me. The first half of the show features far fewer immediate obstacles for me to wrestle with, but I'm finding myself lost for more often. The second half, where I have a number of difficult problems to negotiate, both as an actor and character, I'm feeling pretty solidly along for the ride.
Perhaps it's just an issue of where I expect to have to really work, and where I expect things to be easier. I mean, the whole damn show is difficult, that's why I wanted to do it, but you do give yourself the scenes and sections where you can relax a bit. Where you can let the script do the work.
That's, most likely, my problem. Hell, "most likely" doesn't really even apply. It is my problem.
In all ways it's my problem. It's my problem to solve. Ain't nobody else gonna do it.
It's not a good time for me. Seriously.
But we soldier on, right? We fight 'til we can't fight no more. We steel ourselves and put on the bravest face we can muster, and proceed to beat our heads viciously against the wall of indifference.
That's the job, in a nutshell.
Friday, March 25, 2011
The Inevitable Stumble
I've been feeling REALLY strong about The Copperhead. I've felt good about the script, the character, and my performance since day one. It's the kind of role that I just sorta felt I understood from the first reading. Yes, the script was written in 1918, and it's definitely a product of it's time, but I understood Milt Shanks. From the first reading I felt for him, and admired him as he tried to bridge the gap between duty and family.
Having such a solid team in place only strengthened my confidence. This is a really, really top-flight cast, and I feel very lucky to be among them. Blessed, really. Kathy Scambiatterra has proven to be an insightful and sensitive director, as her reputation would suggest, and Peter Connors has offered equally incisive thoughts, as her assistant. As usual, a great group of people around you just amps up that confidence level, which was pretty high to begin with.
Which is not to say the show is easy, or doesn't scare the crap out of me. It calls for a pretty profound and extensive physical transformation in the second half, and that calls for me to rely on a lot of factors that, simply, I haven't been able to see, or work with, yet. It's a leap of faith, really. I throw myself into what I can do to march toward that goal, and hope that I'll see a helping hand coming toward me.
(Mysterious? Hey, I don't want to give away all the good stuff...)
I can't think of any role or production that has felt this rewarding, and this terrifying, since One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Anyone who knows me knows in what high regard I hold that team, that production, and my own efforts within it. I've longed for that kind of full, immersive experience, again.
So, of course, the acting Gods noticed I was feeling pretty confident, and decided to give me a little comeuppance.
I should've known it was coming, I really should've.
I ran into Peter on the street as we walked to the theatre, and he asked how I felt about things. This is always a difficult question for me, to begin with, because I can't think of a single performance, rehearsal or audition I've ever been 100% happy with. It just doesn't happen with me, but, of course, I certainly don't want to give anyone the impression I'm unhappy. With myself? Sure. The production? Rarely.
What followed was one of those rehearsals the just stabs you in the heart. Nothing was working for me, we ran the aforementioned second half twice, and each time, I felt Milt, and the show just spin away from me. I was either too sappy, or just robotically trying to get through the damn thing as fast as I could. The climax of the show, I've got a LOT of talking to do, and my subtext slowly turned into, "YOU IDIOT, WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING!?!?!!?"
Ahhh, rehearsal.
Now, I have no doubt that this is a minor speed-bump, and I'll get my shit together in the next couple of weeks before we have an actual audience. This is just the moment that comes during every, single process, when you have to doubt yourself, and push through. It's the gut check moment. It's disheartening, as always, but I've been here too many damn times to get that wrapped up in it.
Previews for The Copperhead start April 8th. It's gonna be a good one.
Which is not to say the show is easy, or doesn't scare the crap out of me. It calls for a pretty profound and extensive physical transformation in the second half, and that calls for me to rely on a lot of factors that, simply, I haven't been able to see, or work with, yet. It's a leap of faith, really. I throw myself into what I can do to march toward that goal, and hope that I'll see a helping hand coming toward me.
(Mysterious? Hey, I don't want to give away all the good stuff...)
I can't think of any role or production that has felt this rewarding, and this terrifying, since One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Anyone who knows me knows in what high regard I hold that team, that production, and my own efforts within it. I've longed for that kind of full, immersive experience, again.
So, of course, the acting Gods noticed I was feeling pretty confident, and decided to give me a little comeuppance.
I should've known it was coming, I really should've.
I ran into Peter on the street as we walked to the theatre, and he asked how I felt about things. This is always a difficult question for me, to begin with, because I can't think of a single performance, rehearsal or audition I've ever been 100% happy with. It just doesn't happen with me, but, of course, I certainly don't want to give anyone the impression I'm unhappy. With myself? Sure. The production? Rarely.
Although, there have been times...
...But that's a whole 'nother story
What followed was one of those rehearsals the just stabs you in the heart. Nothing was working for me, we ran the aforementioned second half twice, and each time, I felt Milt, and the show just spin away from me. I was either too sappy, or just robotically trying to get through the damn thing as fast as I could. The climax of the show, I've got a LOT of talking to do, and my subtext slowly turned into, "YOU IDIOT, WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING!?!?!!?"
Ahhh, rehearsal.
Now, I have no doubt that this is a minor speed-bump, and I'll get my shit together in the next couple of weeks before we have an actual audience. This is just the moment that comes during every, single process, when you have to doubt yourself, and push through. It's the gut check moment. It's disheartening, as always, but I've been here too many damn times to get that wrapped up in it.
Previews for The Copperhead start April 8th. It's gonna be a good one.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
The Weary Kind
I am tired.
The rehearsal schedule for The Copperhead has been rather intense. Long nights, 7-11 PM, and long days on the weekend. Plus, I'm trying (and doing pretty well) to keep up with my workout routine. Still, that means with travel time, I'm dealing with days that run from about 5:30 AM to 11:30 (or later) PM.
Makes me tired.
I mean, it's a good tired. I'm working, I'm focused, and I'm moving forward. That said, there are days when I feel really, really drug out.
Days like today.
I'm looking forward to the evening, and rehearsal, with a mixture of excitement and dread. Dread only because, man, doing this role kicks my ass. Excitement because, man, doing this role kicks my ass. On a pure technical level, it's huge. Four acts, large monologues to end the show, aging form 36 to 76, it's a lot to do.
We haven't run the whole show, yet. I'm sorta chomping at the bit to get there. Just to know. To know how far it's gonna run me down. I'm also dying to have our make-up team come in, and see what 76-year-old Milt Shanks is gonna look like.
I do think I've gotten myself off book...
**KNOCKING ON WOOD TO SAVE MY LIFE**
It's not perfect, but it's in good enough shape I think I can go without my script. I already did for Act 2 on Monday. Can't stop working on it, of course, but I made it. Tonight's our scheduled off book day, and I've gone through the play a couple of times a day for the last two. I think we're in good shape.
I did want to work on some music last night. I have been away from it for a while now. Just too busy, and my weekends are just...gone. Between rehearsal, laundry, groceries, etc...GONE. I try to pick up the Les Paul every day and do a few runs and licks, but I want to start moving forward on the CD again.
Makes me tired.
I mean, it's a good tired. I'm working, I'm focused, and I'm moving forward. That said, there are days when I feel really, really drug out.
Days like today.
I'm looking forward to the evening, and rehearsal, with a mixture of excitement and dread. Dread only because, man, doing this role kicks my ass. Excitement because, man, doing this role kicks my ass. On a pure technical level, it's huge. Four acts, large monologues to end the show, aging form 36 to 76, it's a lot to do.
We haven't run the whole show, yet. I'm sorta chomping at the bit to get there. Just to know. To know how far it's gonna run me down. I'm also dying to have our make-up team come in, and see what 76-year-old Milt Shanks is gonna look like.
I do think I've gotten myself off book...
**KNOCKING ON WOOD TO SAVE MY LIFE**
It's not perfect, but it's in good enough shape I think I can go without my script. I already did for Act 2 on Monday. Can't stop working on it, of course, but I made it. Tonight's our scheduled off book day, and I've gone through the play a couple of times a day for the last two. I think we're in good shape.
I did want to work on some music last night. I have been away from it for a while now. Just too busy, and my weekends are just...gone. Between rehearsal, laundry, groceries, etc...GONE. I try to pick up the Les Paul every day and do a few runs and licks, but I want to start moving forward on the CD again.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
It's Tuesday...
...Still stressed.
So.
Many.
Words.
Good God, Milt, didn't anyone tell you brevity is the soul of wit?
On the positive side, I don't have to actually work the last act, off book, until Saturday.
Working, working....just keep working....
I have to keep telling myself that, in a few days, when this period of, "oh my God I have to get this done!!!!" is behind me, I'll feel a ton better. Not only because it's done, but because working scenes without that damn book in your hand is soooo much easier.
Night off, tonight. I fully intend to work on the lines for a little while, but I am not going to drain myself on it. I also want to work on some recording. Put down some temp bass lines. Also, to do my cardio time. I've been doing well since the new year. I tend to avoid scales, but I jumped on this morning, and I'm down about 7 pounds.
Also set up a couple of Stage Left-related meetings today. We'll see how that pans out.
The Amsterdam hotel is now booked. The flights are booked. The London hotel booked. Just need to set up the train tickets from Amsterdam to London, and we are golden. Starting to nose around other shows to see, and I'm really, really partial to War Horse.
Of course, Rush is also playing the O2 Arena the night we arrive in London, but Cbyrd would never go for that. I think it's sold out, anyway...
Many.
Words.
Good God, Milt, didn't anyone tell you brevity is the soul of wit?
On the positive side, I don't have to actually work the last act, off book, until Saturday.
Working, working....just keep working....
I have to keep telling myself that, in a few days, when this period of, "oh my God I have to get this done!!!!" is behind me, I'll feel a ton better. Not only because it's done, but because working scenes without that damn book in your hand is soooo much easier.
Night off, tonight. I fully intend to work on the lines for a little while, but I am not going to drain myself on it. I also want to work on some recording. Put down some temp bass lines. Also, to do my cardio time. I've been doing well since the new year. I tend to avoid scales, but I jumped on this morning, and I'm down about 7 pounds.
Also set up a couple of Stage Left-related meetings today. We'll see how that pans out.
Of course, Rush is also playing the O2 Arena the night we arrive in London, but Cbyrd would never go for that. I think it's sold out, anyway...
Monday, March 14, 2011
Freaking Out Monday
I have ALMOST got myself completely off book for The Copperhead.
Which is good, because our off book deadline is Thursday. Of course, what I'm NOT off book for is the hardest section. The last act. Act four.
The monologue act, as I call it.
I hate monologues. I love dialogue. I love working a scene and looking into the eyes of another actor, playing together, finding emotional ebbs and flows, and creating a history and relationship out of thin air. That teamwork, the camaraderie, the synergy that can erupt into being, is intoxicating. Dialog is fun.
Monologues are anything but. At least for me. I mean, sure, there's been a few times when I felt really comfortable performing one. Dashiell Hamlet comes to mind, but that's an example where the style of the piece, the whole nature of it, makes it fun.
And makes it concise.
I am really not fond of most monologues, the waxing poetic for page after page. The kind of recursive writing that is almost demanded by it. Think about it, most monologues you see tend to work as follows:
Establish idea. Chew over idea. Chew over idea. Chew over idea. Chew over idea. Chew over idea. Self-reflective character-building comment. Establish new idea. Chew over idea. Chew over idea. Chew over idea. Refer in offhanded way to character on stage with you. Establish new idea...
Rinse. Repeat.
There's a part of me, in every case, and this may be because I tend to play, well...less than talkative characters, that maybe we could just make the point an move on.
But that's all bullshit. Really, when you get right down to it, there's two reasons I don't like monologues. One's just practical, and the other's a bit more...psychological.
1- They're hard.
Seriously, memorizing a damn monologue is the hardest thing for me. It makes me crazy, and it's the places where I slide the furthest into paraphrasing. I just hate not having anything to hang on to, or anyone to play off of. It freaks me out.
2- I hate being the center of attention.
Yeah, believe it or not.
I hate that I know everyone's looking right at me. I hate that I'm, for that few minutes, anyway, driving the play all by myself. It's where I have my greatest lack of confidence, and feel of inadequacy. So, of course, with The Copperhead, the climax is, for the most part, all me, all the time!
AAAAAGGGGHHHH!!!!!!
I may start drinking, seriously, again.
Which is good, because our off book deadline is Thursday. Of course, what I'm NOT off book for is the hardest section. The last act. Act four.
The monologue act, as I call it.
Monologues are anything but. At least for me. I mean, sure, there's been a few times when I felt really comfortable performing one. Dashiell Hamlet comes to mind, but that's an example where the style of the piece, the whole nature of it, makes it fun.
And makes it concise.
I am really not fond of most monologues, the waxing poetic for page after page. The kind of recursive writing that is almost demanded by it. Think about it, most monologues you see tend to work as follows:
Establish idea. Chew over idea. Chew over idea. Chew over idea. Chew over idea. Chew over idea. Self-reflective character-building comment. Establish new idea. Chew over idea. Chew over idea. Chew over idea. Refer in offhanded way to character on stage with you. Establish new idea...
Rinse. Repeat.
There's a part of me, in every case, and this may be because I tend to play, well...less than talkative characters, that maybe we could just make the point an move on.
But that's all bullshit. Really, when you get right down to it, there's two reasons I don't like monologues. One's just practical, and the other's a bit more...psychological.
1- They're hard.
Seriously, memorizing a damn monologue is the hardest thing for me. It makes me crazy, and it's the places where I slide the furthest into paraphrasing. I just hate not having anything to hang on to, or anyone to play off of. It freaks me out.
2- I hate being the center of attention.
Yeah, believe it or not.
I hate that I know everyone's looking right at me. I hate that I'm, for that few minutes, anyway, driving the play all by myself. It's where I have my greatest lack of confidence, and feel of inadequacy. So, of course, with The Copperhead, the climax is, for the most part, all me, all the time!
AAAAAGGGGHHHH!!!!!!
I may start drinking, seriously, again.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Ducks in a Row
it's really funny to me, after a year, plus, where I felt like I was in a pretty huge dry spell, I suddenly find myself with a calendar that's getting increasingly full. Between now and September, it's one thing after another. All good things, thank God, I feel blessed to have them all coming up.
The Copperhead will run right up to the Leapfest new play reading series for Stage Left, If anyone asks me to do their reading. Not a sure thing, that's for certain.
In the middle of all that, Cbyrd and I are off to Amsterdam and London for a week.
...And seeing David Tennant and Catherine Tate in Much Ado About Nothing at the Wyndham Theatre while we're there. Really excited that we confirmed tickets today.
yes...quite excited.
I saw Billie Piper in 2007, a show called Treats, and now I'll see the Doctor himself, as well as companion #3 (and, frankly, the one he had the most personal chemistry with). It's really nice because Tennant and Tate as Benedick and Beatrice seems right on the mark.
We've had such lovely luck with shows in London. In 2007, we saw the aforementioned Treats, as well as Equus with Daniel Radcliffe and the amazing Richard Griffiths, The Glass Menagerie with Jessica Lange, and The 39 Steps, which I'm very thankful I got to see the original production of, as I've heard the touring productions weren't that great.
That first trip was amazing, theatre-wise. I've rarely seen that many good shows in such a short space of time. Knew nothing about Treats, and now it's one of my favorite shows I've ever seen, on a pure script level (I'd still love to do it). That particular production of Menagerie just upended a ton of pre-conceived notions I had about the show. Equus was a beautiful, haunting production, Radcliffe did justice to his role, and Griffiths just floored me.
In 2009, we returned for a much shorter stay, splitting our time with Paris (much like this year with Amsterdam), but we still managed to see Waiting For Godot with Ian McKellan and Patrick Stewart, which I can honestly say was the fist time I've ever really enjoyed watching that show. Oh, I admired it as a work, but it was never fun to watch before that night.
We also saw Spring Awakening. Of which the only thing I can say is..I am too old for that show, and CByrd and I are not musical people. Hindsight being 20/20, we should've seen War Horse. When we were there I'd never heard of it, and now, after the fact, I hear all these amazing things.
I've been trolling the listings for other shows to see while we're there. So far, nothing's struck me. I'll keep you posted.
So, anyway...back to the US, and into production on The Double with Babes With Blades. That'll carry me into the Fall, and I'm already feeling a camaraderie with the team (everyone that I know in it) already. It's a really fun little play, and I think we're gonna have a great time.
Add in trying to find the time to finish up the music projects, writing, yadda, yadda, yadda...Not to mention focusing on the here and now, rather than trying to think 10 steps ahead.
I think it's gonna be a good year.
The Copperhead will run right up to the Leapfest new play reading series for Stage Left, If anyone asks me to do their reading. Not a sure thing, that's for certain.
In the middle of all that, Cbyrd and I are off to Amsterdam and London for a week.
yes...quite excited.
I saw Billie Piper in 2007, a show called Treats, and now I'll see the Doctor himself, as well as companion #3 (and, frankly, the one he had the most personal chemistry with). It's really nice because Tennant and Tate as Benedick and Beatrice seems right on the mark.
We've had such lovely luck with shows in London. In 2007, we saw the aforementioned Treats, as well as Equus with Daniel Radcliffe and the amazing Richard Griffiths, The Glass Menagerie with Jessica Lange, and The 39 Steps, which I'm very thankful I got to see the original production of, as I've heard the touring productions weren't that great.
That first trip was amazing, theatre-wise. I've rarely seen that many good shows in such a short space of time. Knew nothing about Treats, and now it's one of my favorite shows I've ever seen, on a pure script level (I'd still love to do it). That particular production of Menagerie just upended a ton of pre-conceived notions I had about the show. Equus was a beautiful, haunting production, Radcliffe did justice to his role, and Griffiths just floored me.
In 2009, we returned for a much shorter stay, splitting our time with Paris (much like this year with Amsterdam), but we still managed to see Waiting For Godot with Ian McKellan and Patrick Stewart, which I can honestly say was the fist time I've ever really enjoyed watching that show. Oh, I admired it as a work, but it was never fun to watch before that night.
We also saw Spring Awakening. Of which the only thing I can say is..I am too old for that show, and CByrd and I are not musical people. Hindsight being 20/20, we should've seen War Horse. When we were there I'd never heard of it, and now, after the fact, I hear all these amazing things.
I've been trolling the listings for other shows to see while we're there. So far, nothing's struck me. I'll keep you posted.
So, anyway...back to the US, and into production on The Double with Babes With Blades. That'll carry me into the Fall, and I'm already feeling a camaraderie with the team (everyone that I know in it) already. It's a really fun little play, and I think we're gonna have a great time.
Add in trying to find the time to finish up the music projects, writing, yadda, yadda, yadda...Not to mention focusing on the here and now, rather than trying to think 10 steps ahead.
I think it's gonna be a good year.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
The Copperhead Script Work
I'm not a huge fan of table work. I understand the value of it, and that it's nice to get the entire company around a table and just talk through scenes. It gets people on the same page, and creates a unified "baseline" of understanding to begin from. I certainly think it's useful.
But it's not fun. Not that everything has to be fun, per se, but I have a pretty strong history of making most of my leaps of understanding once I'm on my feet and looking into the eyes of the other characters. I have a hard time feeling "in the moment" when I'm sitting at a table looking at a script, even if everyone at the table is trying to feed off each other.
Me? I just sit there wanting to get up.
Of course, I'm talking about The Copperhead, which started rehearsals on this past Sunday with the first read-thru, and continued last night with table work. I felt a little antsy last night. It's pretty much entirely my fault. I've been sitting on this script for a long while, and making an effort to get off book before we even started makes sitting around a table reading feel like being in a cage.
(I'm also well aware that getting off book before we started, well, not everyone thinks that's smart. What can I say? I was anxious and I had time on my hands. It's been a pretty long dry spell.)
It's one of the reasons that staged readings aren't really my forte. The script starts to feel like a ball and chain. Not the words, but the actual book, physically. I also have an over-fixation on getting the lines exactly if I have the script in hand. I begin to think more about what I'm saying, instead of just playing. Makes me a little stiff.
That's intensified when you start to realize there's a lot of really great people in the room with you. Kathy Scambiatterra has put together a pretty sharp group. Couple of people I know, and a whole lot I don't. Lots of veterans of The Artistic Home, and, as always, it's gonna be fun to see a new dynamic play out.
Let's just hope I don't screw up. LOL!
 |
| Illustrative only - I know none of these people |
Me? I just sit there wanting to get up.
Of course, I'm talking about The Copperhead, which started rehearsals on this past Sunday with the first read-thru, and continued last night with table work. I felt a little antsy last night. It's pretty much entirely my fault. I've been sitting on this script for a long while, and making an effort to get off book before we even started makes sitting around a table reading feel like being in a cage.
(I'm also well aware that getting off book before we started, well, not everyone thinks that's smart. What can I say? I was anxious and I had time on my hands. It's been a pretty long dry spell.)
It's one of the reasons that staged readings aren't really my forte. The script starts to feel like a ball and chain. Not the words, but the actual book, physically. I also have an over-fixation on getting the lines exactly if I have the script in hand. I begin to think more about what I'm saying, instead of just playing. Makes me a little stiff.
That's intensified when you start to realize there's a lot of really great people in the room with you. Kathy Scambiatterra has put together a pretty sharp group. Couple of people I know, and a whole lot I don't. Lots of veterans of The Artistic Home, and, as always, it's gonna be fun to see a new dynamic play out.
Let's just hope I don't screw up. LOL!
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Striving to "Get Ahead"
So, I am now confirmed to start rehearsals for my next show, The Copperhead at City Lit, with first read-thru on Sunday night.
Yeah, I'm missing the Oscar party Cbyrd and I throw every year, which sucks (especially since it's been made clear I'm still on clean-up detail), but, y'know, I am so ready to get back to work. There's been a lot of down time in the last year, or so, and it makes me crazy. Yeah, yeah, I have lots of other projects, music, writing, watching Blu-Rays...but there's something about the scheduling, the structure of rehearsal that makes me happy. I know where I have to be , and when. There's not nebulous "I'll try to make that" deadline, as with my music projects.
THIS is where I have to be, and THIS is what we're working on. It allows you to focus our energies on that element for that time. I like that, there's a comfort in it.
Anyway, it's been about four months since I was cast. First thing I did was snag a copy if the script off the internet (public domain - I don't dig theft) and make a rehearsal script. I wanted to start right then, honestly, and I knew the time between the casting and the production would be long. At a certain point I figured I'd try to get an early start on going over the script, considering character stuff, and learning lines.
Oh, I had this great plan, I was going to learn two pages a day over lunch, and then review everything each day, until we started. That would've put me in a position to have my entire part memorized at first read-thru.
In recent years, due to a couple of fairly embarrassing onstage moments, I've become kinda paranoid about memorization. It's something that I took for granted for many years. Hell, in undergrad, I never worked at memorizing anything. I just learned it from repetition in rehearsals. Of course, that probably says more about the size of the roles I was assigned to in college, more than anything else.
After undergrad I had a moment of realization. I was in a production, years ago, of Picasso at the Lapin Agile in Omaha, and the director pulled me aside. She told me I was mouthing everyone's lines in between my own.
Well, I was mortified.
That event led me to the tactic that I've used in memorization ever sense. I never learn anyone's lines but my own. There usually comes a point in every process where someone asks what such-and-such an actor says to me, and I'm clueless. It also makes me pretty useless when someone goes up on stage.
That said, what it did for me, and why I still adhere to it as a process, in the main, is it made me listen, really listen, for the first time. I found myself not listening for a cue line, but actually having a conversation, and using the cues that the other actors were giving me to trigger my memorized responses. I feel like making this my path really helped me push forward with my craft.
Which isn't to say there's no downside. Highly repetitive dialogue can trip me up. If I'm on stage with an actor who isn't playing with me, not trying to work together, I can get screwed up. Usually, during the rehearsal process, I can identify those moments, and plan triggers, or just memorize those moments my rote. It's another reason I just adore repetition in rehearsal. work it, work it, work it, until the mechanics are synced, then you can play. Man, when you have a scene partner you really connect with, anything can happen, and you'll just cruise. Love those experiences.
Anyway, so my plan was to get ahead before we ever really started.
"Best laid plans," as they say. I fell off my schedule pretty quick. I mean, I am pretty solid on act one, but after that my mind started to wander. Until this week, actually. Once again, I think knowing when we're going to start just made it "real" again, and kicked me in the ass a bit. It's that "schedule" thing again. Now I know I need to start really working at it, instead of being this thing that "would be nice to get ahead on." That's always a motivator for me, so I am starting to feel forward momentum again. I suspect I'll have a pretty good grasp on everything in the first two acts by the time we get on our feet with it.
I am excited by this show, it's gonna provide me with a character that proceeds from a mindset that I feel a real kinship with, and he goes through a lot of changes, physically. Add to that a cast that has a couple of people I've worked with before and a whole bunch of new faces, as well as a new director for me.
Most of all, it's nice to get back to work.
Yeah, I'm missing the Oscar party Cbyrd and I throw every year, which sucks (especially since it's been made clear I'm still on clean-up detail), but, y'know, I am so ready to get back to work. There's been a lot of down time in the last year, or so, and it makes me crazy. Yeah, yeah, I have lots of other projects, music, writing, watching Blu-Rays...but there's something about the scheduling, the structure of rehearsal that makes me happy. I know where I have to be , and when. There's not nebulous "I'll try to make that" deadline, as with my music projects.
THIS is where I have to be, and THIS is what we're working on. It allows you to focus our energies on that element for that time. I like that, there's a comfort in it.
Anyway, it's been about four months since I was cast. First thing I did was snag a copy if the script off the internet (public domain - I don't dig theft) and make a rehearsal script. I wanted to start right then, honestly, and I knew the time between the casting and the production would be long. At a certain point I figured I'd try to get an early start on going over the script, considering character stuff, and learning lines.
In recent years, due to a couple of fairly embarrassing onstage moments, I've become kinda paranoid about memorization. It's something that I took for granted for many years. Hell, in undergrad, I never worked at memorizing anything. I just learned it from repetition in rehearsals. Of course, that probably says more about the size of the roles I was assigned to in college, more than anything else.
After undergrad I had a moment of realization. I was in a production, years ago, of Picasso at the Lapin Agile in Omaha, and the director pulled me aside. She told me I was mouthing everyone's lines in between my own.
Well, I was mortified.
That event led me to the tactic that I've used in memorization ever sense. I never learn anyone's lines but my own. There usually comes a point in every process where someone asks what such-and-such an actor says to me, and I'm clueless. It also makes me pretty useless when someone goes up on stage.
That said, what it did for me, and why I still adhere to it as a process, in the main, is it made me listen, really listen, for the first time. I found myself not listening for a cue line, but actually having a conversation, and using the cues that the other actors were giving me to trigger my memorized responses. I feel like making this my path really helped me push forward with my craft.
Anyway, so my plan was to get ahead before we ever really started.
"Best laid plans," as they say. I fell off my schedule pretty quick. I mean, I am pretty solid on act one, but after that my mind started to wander. Until this week, actually. Once again, I think knowing when we're going to start just made it "real" again, and kicked me in the ass a bit. It's that "schedule" thing again. Now I know I need to start really working at it, instead of being this thing that "would be nice to get ahead on." That's always a motivator for me, so I am starting to feel forward momentum again. I suspect I'll have a pretty good grasp on everything in the first two acts by the time we get on our feet with it.
I am excited by this show, it's gonna provide me with a character that proceeds from a mindset that I feel a real kinship with, and he goes through a lot of changes, physically. Add to that a cast that has a couple of people I've worked with before and a whole bunch of new faces, as well as a new director for me.
Most of all, it's nice to get back to work.
Friday, November 19, 2010
The End of The Week
So, here we sit. The week is....ALMOST....over, and all sorts of things have been going on.
Mainly, I've been reading plays. It's selection season for Stage Left's Leapfest festival of new plays. In the last few weeks I've read about...I think it was about twenty-four plays. Some I loathed, some I enjoyed, some I wanted to set fire to, but one...one was very, very powerful, to me. I was floored reading it, and I dearly hope it's going to be in the festival.
Of course, that's not a foregone conclusion, there's another round of selection to pound through. Things can swing in any number of directions, and I'm pretty aware of the fact that my tastes aren't necessarily the same as the rest of the ensemble. Nice thing is, since I made myself read so many in the early stages, I have very, very few I will have to read going forward.
There's something to this overachiever stuff.
No, I'm not going to discuss anything in detail. The selection isn't made, and, until that happens, mum's the word.
Of course, I'm beginning to wonder if I'm going to be able to work on Leapfest. It's scheduled for June of 2011, the dates are set, but not public, not final. Still, I know I'm booked until May 15th (more on that in a minute), and CByrd and I have tentatively set a vacation trip for May 20th to May 29th. It'll be overseas, but the exact destination and itinerary are still up in the proverbial air.
Still, Rush is playing at the O2 arena in London on May 25th. Definitely a thing to make you go...hmmmmm.
More time to work on music, right?
Speaking of which....
I'm playing an acoustic gig for the first time in a long, long....well, forever. I'll be doing a half hour, or so, at a low-key Stage Left fundraiser at our office on December 4th. Again, excited but a little freaked. It's been a LONG time since I played in front of anybody, and a long time since I played most of the acoustic-based tunes on my first CD.
So, I'm re-learning my own songs. LOL. I suppose that's probably not as unheard of as it would seem. I mean, do you think Keith Richards knows how to play every obscure track on the flip side of Out of Our Heads the second it's brought up?
...Yeah. You're right. He probably does.
Well, it's not like what I was writing at that time was incredibly hard, anyway. It's funny, going back and revisiting these songs is making me very aware of who far I've come with the guitar. It had been so long since I'd REALLY played when I started working on that first disk. Now I feel pretty comfortable moving around the neck. I still can't do everything I'd LIKE to do, but I can come up with some interesting riffs, I think, anyway.
One other thing that's become very apparent to me since I started going over these songs again is how long it's been since I've played acoustic. It hit me the other day, when my fingers started hurting, that it's been about 9 months since I picked up my acoustic guitar. It may seem strange that there's a difference, but acoustic strings are heavier, and the tension is higher. Harder to push down, and they cut into the fingertips a bit more.
So, I'm playing a lot just to re-build my calluses on the fingertips. So silly, really. I should be putting in time on both the acoustic and electric. It's just that the stuff I've been working on lately is so very much in an electric, hard rock vein. I've thought about putting acoustic sections into a few tracks, and this experience is plainly showing me that I shouldn't neglect that part of the deal.
As for the recording/demos I'm working on, things are proceeding fairly well. I've gone completely off the rails since I found out about this gig, but I have a track on the recorder that I think will be quite good. I really ought to take some time tomorrow to finish the music, and have that off the plate to fully work on my setlist. I do think that these recordings will, ultimately, be demos. I expect I'll be getting a new recorder sometime in December (12 months same-as-cash = time for a bigger purchase), or else just going whole hog into pro-tools. It's a big decision, but I do think there's systems out there that will give me more flexibility, and better sound. Certainly a jump to pro-tools would.
Another bridge to cross when I get there.
Mainly, I've been reading plays. It's selection season for Stage Left's Leapfest festival of new plays. In the last few weeks I've read about...I think it was about twenty-four plays. Some I loathed, some I enjoyed, some I wanted to set fire to, but one...one was very, very powerful, to me. I was floored reading it, and I dearly hope it's going to be in the festival.
Of course, that's not a foregone conclusion, there's another round of selection to pound through. Things can swing in any number of directions, and I'm pretty aware of the fact that my tastes aren't necessarily the same as the rest of the ensemble. Nice thing is, since I made myself read so many in the early stages, I have very, very few I will have to read going forward.
No, I'm not going to discuss anything in detail. The selection isn't made, and, until that happens, mum's the word.
Of course, I'm beginning to wonder if I'm going to be able to work on Leapfest. It's scheduled for June of 2011, the dates are set, but not public, not final. Still, I know I'm booked until May 15th (more on that in a minute), and CByrd and I have tentatively set a vacation trip for May 20th to May 29th. It'll be overseas, but the exact destination and itinerary are still up in the proverbial air.
Still, Rush is playing at the O2 arena in London on May 25th. Definitely a thing to make you go...hmmmmm.
Gratuitous Rush Picture - I'll get 20-30 more hits for this, no joke
So, that MIGHT prove a problem for scheduling.
Ah, well...a bridge to cross when we get there, right?
So, as to my booking. I'll be playing the role of Milt Shanks in The Copperhead by Augustus E. Thomas, with City Lit Theatre this spring, under the direction of Kathy Scambiatterra. I'm pretty excited, and more than a little scared. Perhaps there's some sort of magic in whining on a blog, because this role is very much along the lines of what I was wishing for. Milt's a farmer, so yeah..."big guy," but there's also a whole load of things going on under the surface, and a great deal of physical change I'll have to go through as the show progresses. Here's City Lit's description;
A lost gem from the early days of American realism, and it kicks off City Lit's five-year commemoration of the Civil War during its sesquicentennial years 2011-2015. In the spring of each of those years, we will produce a show dealing with some aspect of the war: its issues, personalities and legacy. Thomas' play follows an Illinois man from the early days of the war through the turn of the 20th century, as he carries the weight of his town's disapproval for his Southern sympathies.So, there you go, and I can't wait to start. Of course, that's not until the end of February. I have a tentative plan to try to get off book either before we start or very, very shortly after. I found a full copy of the play on line, and printed it out, so I have the script (unless there are cuts and changes...oy!). I do wish we were starting sooner, I'm itching to have something to do.
More time to work on music, right?
Speaking of which....
I'm playing an acoustic gig for the first time in a long, long....well, forever. I'll be doing a half hour, or so, at a low-key Stage Left fundraiser at our office on December 4th. Again, excited but a little freaked. It's been a LONG time since I played in front of anybody, and a long time since I played most of the acoustic-based tunes on my first CD.
So, I'm re-learning my own songs. LOL. I suppose that's probably not as unheard of as it would seem. I mean, do you think Keith Richards knows how to play every obscure track on the flip side of Out of Our Heads the second it's brought up?
...Yeah. You're right. He probably does.
One other thing that's become very apparent to me since I started going over these songs again is how long it's been since I've played acoustic. It hit me the other day, when my fingers started hurting, that it's been about 9 months since I picked up my acoustic guitar. It may seem strange that there's a difference, but acoustic strings are heavier, and the tension is higher. Harder to push down, and they cut into the fingertips a bit more.
So, I'm playing a lot just to re-build my calluses on the fingertips. So silly, really. I should be putting in time on both the acoustic and electric. It's just that the stuff I've been working on lately is so very much in an electric, hard rock vein. I've thought about putting acoustic sections into a few tracks, and this experience is plainly showing me that I shouldn't neglect that part of the deal.
As for the recording/demos I'm working on, things are proceeding fairly well. I've gone completely off the rails since I found out about this gig, but I have a track on the recorder that I think will be quite good. I really ought to take some time tomorrow to finish the music, and have that off the plate to fully work on my setlist. I do think that these recordings will, ultimately, be demos. I expect I'll be getting a new recorder sometime in December (12 months same-as-cash = time for a bigger purchase), or else just going whole hog into pro-tools. It's a big decision, but I do think there's systems out there that will give me more flexibility, and better sound. Certainly a jump to pro-tools would.
Another bridge to cross when I get there.
Thursday, November 11, 2010
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