Working for the Weekend...

Hey, look...ANOTHER busy weekend.

I'll be at Stage Left all day tomorrow. We have a work call preparing for our move out of our current space at the end of the summer, then I'll be doing my staged reading for Leapfest.

You only have two more chances to catch this reading of The Meaning of Lunch, this Saturday (June 26th) at 7:30 PM, or this coming Wednesday (June 30th), also at 7:30 PM. I'm really proud of this one, it's a great script, and the more reactions and responses we can pass on to playwright Dan Aibel, the better. So, if you're free, please make an effort to see us.

Some folks over at New Millennium Theatre Company also contacted me about a private reading of some new scripts they have. I'll be doing that on Sunday afternoon. Hopefully, I can keep Sunday night free to go to a movie, or work on some music, or maybe just relax.

Or watch this;



My Blu-Ray just came today. I am ready to crack this thing open. Of course, by now, anybody who reads this blog ought to be aware of my deep, almost psychotic love of Bruce Springsteen. I'm excited to give this a whirl, as I've never seen, or even seen footage of, Bruce work a massive outdoor crowd like this. There's the Super Bowl, of course, but I don't think that counts.

I have the Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage Blu-Ray coming next week, and these are, really, my last two splurges before I head to San Diego for Comic-Con. I have to admit, London Calling has the "newness" factor, since I haven't seen any of it, but I'm probably just a bit more stoked to see the Rush documentary again. It was just so fun to watch and interesting.

Track 5 is in progress, tentatively titled "We've Got Forever For This To Be Over." I stole that title from a comment Josh Homme made during the Them Crooked Vultures show. I had the drum tracks down, as well as the bass and two guitar tracks, but I just didn't like the way the two guitar tracks were mixing. Plus, the track was clocking in under three minutes. I was aiming for a shorter track, so it seemed ok, but in the end I thought I would try to figure out a bridge that would work.

I re-sequenced the drum track, and laid down a slop guitar track on the new version. Now I just need to find the time to flesh it all out. I've got a really good idea how the bassline will go, then I can delete the slop guitar track, and start building back up.

I re-listened to the first four tracks the other day, and I gotta say, I'm really pretty happy with how these instrumental tracks sound. It's almost a shame to lay my crappy-ass voice over them. I find myself wondering if I could find somebody to really sing, and help work out the melody lines and lyrics.

Although, that's not new, is it? I whine about finding collaborators every, single time I talk about the music projects, don't I?

I hesitate to even invoke the name, but the tracks feel much more toward a Led Zeppelin feel than anything I've done before. I've found the groove a lot more here, I think, and not been so trapped by the drums. It's definately more of a hard rock/classic rock feel, and I think I've found some good riffs to play around with.

I have a couple of leftover, totally finished tracks that might end up going on this disk (which would bring me up to 7, the goal, as usual, being 12), but they're awfully raw. One, in particular, is just me and an acoustic, and it's very angry and raw. I listen to it, and feel like it might be one of the best things I've ever done, but I'm also kind of afraid of it. It doesn't really sound good. I recorded it live, so they're no "fixing" anything.

I don't know why that frightens me, but it does.

I need to get more sleep

I'm trying not to zone out completely today.

Had final dress for The Meaning of Lunch last night, and it went pretty darn well, I think. Found some new stuff, nice moments. It's a reading, which is kind of a double-edged sword. It takes a lot of pressure off when you have the script in hand, but it also limits you. You're not just juggling the props and the blocking and the emotions, but also this damn script, as well.

Still, yeah, I was pretty happy. Found some new moments of assertiveness, which is great, as the character is, generally, kind of weak.

But, yeah, ended up being a late night.

Usually I'm so happy to be in a city with a real public transportation system. Oh, I can hear you Chicagoites bitching about the CTA already. I getcha, I getcha, but let me say this; you have no worldly idea about how good we have it here. I lived in Omaha, I know from bad public transportation. (Or at least limited...)

That said, when you're leaving the theatre at 11:30 on a weeknight, and you know you have a 10-15 minute wait for the train, followed by a 15-20 minute train ride, there's a part of you that thinks, "I wish I had my car." It's just a weakness of spirit, and I know it. Would I get home any faster with a car? Likely not.

This is compounded with the 5:30 AM wake up (or at least the ATTEMPTED 5:30 wake up) to work out. I'm trying to stay really focused on getting my workouts done, because I've seen some (limited) results. My renewed focus on core work has helped. I can feel the muscles, anyway, through the bag of fat still hanging over them.

These days I'm lifting Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Just limited work, dumbells and lots of reps, then using the exercise bike every morning. I do an hour on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and a half hour on M-W-F. I also try to do 20 minutes at night, three days a week. So, generally about four and a half hours on the bike every week. Top that off with a series of core/ab things I do every weekday.

This with trying to be much more on top of what I eat, and when. That said, I am a HORRIBLE late-night eater. when I get home from a rehearsal or a show, I just want to eat something. Need to get better about that.

It's not like I'm overweight. Well, according to the charts, I probably am, but I'm pretty fit. I don't care to be "ripped," and I'm big enough. I just want a flat stomach, not a 6-pack, or anything, just flat. The fact is, I'll be 40 in a little over a year, and odds are, if I don't get it now, I never will.

A moment...

Last night, in rehearsal for The Meaning of Lunch, I had one of those "moments" that happen in theatre every so often.

I was off-stage, and watching Sandy Elias and Melissa DiLeonardo work a scene. I was having such a good time watching them work, and admiring the way they were playing off each other. It's always hard to picture how a show is going to go over when you're rehearsing. Shows that I've enjoyed every moment of during rehearsals have fallen flat as a pancake once the audience stepped into the room.

But, sometimes...You just see things working, right in front of you, and you feel blessed to be in such company. Sandy, Melissa and Gabe Estrada are in this show with me, and each and every one of them have great moments. That's a testament to their talent, of course, but it's also about the whole thing coming together in the right way.

It all starts with Dan Aibel's script, of course. It's no exaggeration to say that I have loved this play from the moment I started reading it. I got so excited when I finished, I had to blog about it. Yeah, sure, it's a style that is exactly in line with my sensibilities, and I'm sure lots of other people would be less than enthralled with it. Doesn't matter. I, frankly, don't care what anyone else thinks. I loved it from day one.

Mr. Aibel has the great gift of being able to say something with his play, without SAYING SOMETHING. The Meaning of Lunch is about people, their lives, and those lives happen to shed light on a larger social issue. His work displays something that I very strongly believe, that audiences don't care about issues, they care about people. They don't care about intellectual ideas, they care about emotions. You can comment on issues and ideas, but you MUST do it in an entertaining, emotionally honest way.

Dan (who I don't get to meet until next Monday - hope it's not presumptuous to go to "first name basis") writes dialogue that I find endlessly entertaining. Witty, fast paced, inventive, and not easy. Such a joy to perform.

Mix that with our directing team, Jason Fleece (also a Stage Left Ensemble Member) directing and Lorenzo Blackett assisting. Jason has really approached Dan's script with exactly the right intent from day one, and Lorenzo has ably supported that vision. From the first reading, I was really happy with how Jason saw this script and these characters, because there were a number of voices that saw it as a much darker and seedy story. Jason's clear sense of the play, and ability to make that vision clear to everyone, has made bringing Dan's script to life a really fun task.

It's funny. I loved this play so much, and I think I'm being truthful when I say I believe that my overwhelmingly positive reaction to it was what brought it to the attention of our Artistic Director, Vance Smith, and the rest of the Ensemble. I just thought it was a great play, but I also didn't really see myself acting in it. Sure, I kinda envisioned myself while reading, but every actor does that.

Todd, the role I'm playing, is not exactly the kind of part you'd immediately think of a six-foot-three, 200-mumble-pound actor for. Yet, as we play with the script, I realize, over and over, how much I identify with him. There are many things about Todd, his social skills, his relationship with his father, that might be said about me as well. I'm very thankful that Jason asked me to do it.

Really, I'm just thankful for the whole process, and that moment last night just crystallized it all for me.

Honestly, the only thing I can really wish for is that we were doing a full production, rather than just a reading. Hopefully, we'll get to that, sooner, rather than later. Not to turn this into naked promotion, but please come see us.

Putting that one to bed.

Sun, Stand Thou Still wrapped up on Saturday night. I think I can safely say that the final weekend was my strongest of the run. Which, is good on some levels, in that, as usual, all of my friends that came did so at the last possible moment, so at least they saw me at my best.

It really amuses me how the final weekend of a run always, and I mean ALWAYS, becomes a mad dash for everyone who's "meant" to come to the show, actually makes it. I always get the calls and e-mails...Can I get comps? Do you need reservations?

Now, why was it the strongest of the run? Pretty simply, I finally relaxed. This show was a tough one for me. Just because it demanded a lot, and I had to figure out how to deliver and connect the emotional dots. I can't say I always did it successfully, and, frankly, this show has become the champion "screw-up" show for me. I've never had as many brain-farts and general "off the rails" moments as I had during this run. It took me all four weeks to take what we had rehearsed and really make it my own.

Which, frankly, doesn't speak well for me.

Maybe I'm too hard on myself, but I really do feel like I could've done better. Of course, I ALWAYS feel like I could do better. God help me when I finish a show and think, "well, I was just perfect, there."

Long story short, Ka-Tet is a good group of people and, I'm happy to have worked with them and director David Fehr. Hopefully, there will be a second time.

Had an audition on Saturday for Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, reading for Brick. Long story short, schedules made the entire thing a waste of time. I'm not the kind of person who can drop out of something just because I think there's a "better deal" being offered.

It does kind of kill me, however.

I don't know how many times I heard in undergrad, "oh, you are such a Tennessee Williams actor, you look like a Williams character, you're gonna end up doing tons of Williams plays." Which was great with me, along with Mamet and Miller, Williams is one of the playwrights I really FEEL. I don't know if that makes any sense, but I can hear the rhythms which I read the plays. I can hear the dialogue in my head.

...And, of course, I've never, not once, played a Williams character.

(Well, aside from running on and off as Stanley Kowalski in Woody Allen's God: A Play.)

Anyway, this is the second time in as many years that I've had a chance at a favorite Williams' show, and had it go south. (Last year was Stanley in A Streetcar Named Desire, which, honestly, hurt even more.)

Frankly, audition opportunities recently have been S-L-I-M. I went through 3 weeks of notices today, and found only one that I'd be interested in. Unfortunately, it's a show I've already agreed to do. So, that's a no-lose situation, but I'd still like to find something for October-November, since I'm not doing the Fall show for Stage Left, Kingsville. I'm hoping (fingers crossed) that I'll be doing the Stage Left Spring Show...

Speaking of which, Stage Left (as you may have guessed, since I'm talking about it) has officially announced their 2010-2011 season. Go, check it out, and, if you're in Chicago, Leapfest is right around the corner. Come see me in The Meaning of Lunch by Dan Aibel, as well as all the great workshop shows.

Back to the Grindstone

I am so glad Monday is a holiday. Not only that, but in a rare moment of grace, I don't have any rehearsals or performances that day. So, not only am I off work, but I'm off everything.

My fervent hope is that I'll actually be able to pick up my guitar and finish the track that's been on the 8-track recorder for weeks now. Honestly, since before Sun, Stand Thou Still opened. I've wanted to work on it, but setting everything up, getting the chord progression back in my head, working over it until I figure out what to play, not to mention play it fluidly, just takes more time than I've had available.

That's frustrating.

Rehearsals for The Meaning of Lunch, however, have been a dream.

I love this script very, very much. I have since the very first time I read it. It's exactly the kind of play I, personally, feel Stage Left should always be looking for. It's got a larger issue to deal with, but playwright Dan Aibel is gifted enough to allow it to be subtext. It's not a story about THE END OF AN ERA OF AMERICAN BUSINESS, it's a story about a family, a father and son. Like I've said in previous blogs, I, very strongly, feel that sort of this is what engages an audience. We can talk about "art" and "ideas," but the thing that makes a story powerful, what gives it meaning, is how we FEEL about it. The best way to do that, in my opinion, will always be to show the audience an honest, simple reflection of people they can relate to.

Our Director, Jason Fleece, and cast, Sandy Elias, Melissa DiLeonardo, and Gabe Estrada, have brought all kinds of great energy to the project. Lorenzo Blackett's been supporting Jason, too. It's just a really fun environment.

Sun, Stand Thou Still also returns to the stage tonight. I'm hoping some more of you will be coming out to see us. Playwright Steven Gridley will be on hand for the May 29th show, for a discussion. I get to be way over the top! I mean, come on, don't you want to see that? Long story short, the show's a good time, and very different from a lot of what I normally do.

My post-Leapfest projects are already lining up, as well. A writing/directing gig for Strangeloop Theatre's Loopshop festival that's very low time-commitment, wise, but also wearing on me. The script is one of my old Brown Couch Theatre Company (yup, the site is till there) ten-minute play festival scripts, called Protected. I'm excited to do it, very much so, but Director-Mark is seriously giving Playwright-Mark the evil eye about the stuff I have to find for this script.

I also have my August-September pretty much set, now. I feel like it's a little early to start talking about that show yet.

Mix in a trip to see the family in July, as well as the ever-present SDCC trip. Add a heaping helping of Stage Left Spring 2011 show auditions (which I'm REALLY excited about) sometime in July. Mix until my head spins.

I enjoy being busy, I can't deny it, but sometimes I do feel the "overbooked" thought rattling around in my head. There are definitely nights I'd rather just go home and collapse in front of the TV more than anything else.

So, come on Monday!

Tech week begins....

So, here we are with tech week, which, for the uninitiated out there, is when we move rehearsals into the actual theatre space where we'll be performing, and start putting all of the technical elements in place. These are traditionally long, somewhat tedious nights. Lots and lots of sitting around. Lots and lots of trial and error.

Very little sleep. The schedule for the next three nights is 6:00 to midnight. Then up as early as possible, so I can get to work early, thus facilitating my ability to leave work early to make it to rehearsal.

Hi-diddley-dee, as that damn puppet said.

Usually this is fine, I soldier on, and that's, that. I'll be pretty groggy by Thursday, which is our preview, and, God willing, our first guinea pigs...err, audience. My problem at the moment, however, is this...

I already feel like I need to crash.

This is not good. Yet, nobody has the time or energy to listen to me bitch, so...

Saturday night was our first read-thru and table work for the show I'm doing for Stage Left's Leapfest. I'm working on The Meaning of Lunch by Dan Aibel, with fellow Stage Left Ensemble member Jason Fleece directing. Reading through the script with the cast was great fun. I've loved this play since I first read it, months and months ago. It's so great to hear the dialogue out loud, and see the life coming to it.

I think we're gonna have a couple of really solid shows here.

Another Week Down.

One less week until SDCC...

It's kinda pathetic how much I'm fixated on this trip. I mean, I have a LOT to do between now and then. Two shows, plus rehearsals, load-ins and strikes, two concerts I'm pretty (actually completely) revved up about, and a trip to see my family for the first time in years. There's a lot going on in the next few months, not even to mention the general work routine.

Right now, as far as Sun, Stand Thou Still, I'm in the "learn your damn lines" phase. I mean, I really haven't even started blocking rehearsals yet (that would be Sunday), but I feel the specter of tech week (starting May 10th). It's stalking me, and I mean to have it before it has me.

I also sat in on casting for the show I'm doing for Stage Left's Leapfest this week, so I have that bearing down on me, too. I'm doing one of the two major roles in The Meaning of Lunch, which is a script I was a big supporter of during the selection process. It's great fun, but also very quick, clipped, Mamet-like dialogue (Gee, why would I like that?). We'll also open the festival 12 days after Sun, Stand Thou Still closes. Both perform at the current Stage Left space, as well.

I was really happy to get to read The Meaning of Lunch selections with the actors up for the role of my father. I just love the play, and all of the guys made it fun to read. It's just so snappy. When you do one of these festival gigs, sometimes it feels like the fun gets sucked out of what you're doing. Not enough time for proper attacks on the material, but just reading a few pages got me all kinds of fired up. I can't imagine not having fun with this.

It's a quick turnaround between these two shows, quicker than I've done in a while. I know it'll all work out, as we say in the thea-tar, "it always does." However, I have these two scripts to become intimately familiar with quickly.

That said...I am walking over lunch today. I've spent too much time cooped up in this office going over my script this week. I need fresh air.