OCT-DEC, 2003 JAN-MAR, 2004 APR-JUNE, 2004 JULY-SEP, 2004 OCT-DEC, 2004 JAN-MAR, 2005 APR-JUNE, 2005 JULY-SEP, 2005 OCT-DEC, 2005 JAN-MAR, 2006 APR-JUNE, 2006 JULY-SEP, 2006 OCT-DEC, 2006 JAN-MAR, 2007 APR-JUNE, 2007 JULY-SEP, 2007 OCT-DEC, 2007 JAN-MAR, 2008 APR-JUNE, 2008 JULY-SEP, 2008

H o w e v e r . . . . .

That John Crowne monologue did punk me out. I went up about halfway through and had to end the program there. Interesting is that another class member went up on one monologue, too. We discussed how you do not telegraph the situation to your audience. The difference between professionals and amateurs is not that the pro's never go up on their line, but that they NEVER let the audience know when they do. At least I did not telegraph the problem. I stayed in character and tried to work myself out of the corner -- but after about three attempts I ended the program with some ad-lib (I don't even remember what I said) that resembled a conclusion, said "Thank you," and sat down.

Scott asked me if I lost some of the monologue, because he was somewhat familiar with it and knew something was missing. "Yeah," I said, "I went up big time." Scott looked at my classmate who had previously done the same and asked if that person could tell, and that person could not. So that, at least, is good.

But.....still.....DAMN IT!

I had a great monologue and had worked up a great performance of it but tripped myself up.

Earlier we did cold reads, short monologues from Alice in Wonderland. I was not fabulous there, either. I need work on stretching to the outer tensions of bold choices as well as that ever-constant need to sharpen focus. We performed via lottery and I was numero uno. I did the Mad Hatter first and gave a much more subdued -- or, perhaps "timid" is the word -- performance than I had planned. The character voice didn't quite get to the tenor and eccentricity I had practiced in the ten minutes we had to prep. I also did the Countess, and I was a bit better there. Scott commented that he did not hear a drastic difference in the voices, save that I did lend an authentic femininity to the Countess' voice. I also, since I had the sides in my hand, did not move about as much as I could have, hardly at all, in fact. I was concerned about not loosing my place. Well, the lameness of the Mad Hatter had a lot to do with the fact that I was first. That is the reason, just not an acceptable excuse.

On another subject, I'm going to continue to tweak my résumé, based on the healthy portion of résumés Scott brought in from his files as a director. I saw a lot of really great examples that are far more interesting to look at than mine -- even after the changes I have recently made. Now, these examples are not the sort where the design of the document interferes with the substance; the substance is, after all, the point. I do think I can come up with a design that is more than simply utilitarian, to which I believe what I have now essentially is consigned.

AUDITIONS ALL OVER THE PLACE: So Monday through Wednesday of this week was all about auditions. First, the audition class Monday then Tuesday and Wednesday was about actual auditions.

• CATCH 22 -- Ended up auditioning both Tuesday and Wednesday for the Heller play for Springfield StageWorks. Director Larry Coressel tacked on a third night because he still needs to fill in some roles. Actually, he's added next Monday and Tuesday (April 7 & 8) as well.

  The casting is not done, clearly, but I got word that I am cast as Maj. Major and Col. Cathcart, the two roles I had originally gone after. I'd come to see that there are other roles that I'd be just as happy to have stepped into, especially the chaplain and the psychiatrist. Larry did say I'll probably be cast in at least one more role. I would guess it's something smaller than either of the other two I have mentioned. First off, there were other actors there who would easily fill those roles with great performances.

• TWO AUDITIONS AT ROOF-GOENNER -- Checked my email late Tuesday night and found I'd had a message and sides for a TV spot audition through my agent. Took off a little early from work on Wednesday to memorize the lines. When I got to the agency, they had another audition for me, too -- a commercial spot (the first one was a political action spot).

  So, Wednesday I auditioned for three things. Makes me feel probably a bit more important than I really am (okay! a LOT more). Hey, "seize the moments, man," sometimes it is okay to buy your own bullshit, even if only for a second or two.

  The Cub's food commercial shoots Monday in Cleveland, and I don't want to trust my car for that drive -- so let us hope I have to be rent a car. I'd go up Sunday, too, and get me a cheap motel room. Hey: tax deductions! *(see next entry). Though, since it's after 6:00 pm on Friday, and the other one shoots on Monday, too, I am guessing I am not booked for either.

MORE PRETENSE: It seems clear that in 2008 I will make enough money from acting that I will need to claim it on my taxes. Now, I have no illusions of making any real money -- though I won't stand in the way of that -- but I know it will be enough to have be dealt with. And there will be at least one 1099, so I might as well start ferreting out those deductions since I will be on the radar, even if only a grain-sized blip.

So I've been doing a little research on what I can claim and it is amazing to me the things that can be legally justified as a write-off for an actor. First of all, mileage driven to auditions, rehearsals, performances are all deductible, even if the production is not paid. Non-paid acting gigs are still considered professional activities because they are keeping the skills sharp. Not including, volunteer mileage, which I can claim, every time I drive anywhere for anything related to The Dayton Theatre Guild, as a board member and volunteer, I have already logged more the 1300 miles since Jan 1. And I did not count any driving related to Park Your Car, where I was producer.

Plus I can justify deducting tickets to theatrical plays (as research -- performance audits); I just bought several packets of index cards which I specifically use to memorize lines and -- for the dramatic improv work for the law school -- character and case facts. Hair cuts and clothing can even be justified, though I haven't put either on the expenses spreadsheet yet.

I have close to $300 in expenses, which, right now, outdoes my '08 income, but I have a few checks still heading my way and a few paying gigs coming up. And, as I write this, the slim possibility of a job next week (off one of the auditions I did at the agency on Wednesday); though as the day moves on without word, it becomes a slimmer possibility, yet. But I am sure I'll have to claim at least a grand this year.

Next year: seven, maybe eight figures!

AND THE "FILM MAKER" HAS HIS NEW TOYS: My Final Draft "Scriptwriter's Suite" arrived Wednesday and I have installed both Final Draft and Final Draft AV. I was able to import the Word doc version of the screenplay for the 40 minute movie into a Final Draft document. A few elements were converted incorrectly, so I've had to go through and change them to the correct elements, and I am not quite done yet. That is still much less of a hassle than re-keying the whole thing, or cutting and pasting the elements from one software to the other.

I've had little chance to sit down with the new software, but, as I've intimated recently, I plan to have good reason to embark soon. Though I barely drove it, I also poked around the template for American stageplay formating. I have some aspirations toward that, too. The AV software I bought more because it seems like a good idea. That software keeps you in proper format for commercials, industrial videos, documentaries, stuff like that. I did open it and look around a little, but I will get much more use out of the Final Draft main software, with screenplays, teleplays (one hour dramas and sitcoms), stageplays, and the like.

There's a boatload of templates specific to script formats for particular productions, too, including CSI (all three branches of the franchise), Bones, X Files, The West Wing, Sex and the City, That 70's Show, My Name Is Earl, Mad TV, Monk, Cold Case, all the Law and Order programs, to name about a quarter of what's included.

The practical purpose of including TV shows that are no longer in production is not immediately evident to me. I suppose it might be because of new screenwriters submitting sample scripts to a TV producer in hopes of being brought onto the writing staff. It is true that If you send a cold submission of a teleplay to the producers of a show, you cannot send them one that is actually for their show. I would say for something like CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (the original one) you might want to avoid either of the other two CSI shows, as well as Cold Case or any other TV shows associated with Jerry Bruckheimer that are still in production. I think the reason is that the producers don't want to deal with the hassle of someone accusing them of stealing a script. On the other hand, the "writer" could simply accuse them of stealing the idea and transposing it to a script for the show. And it would seem to me that if I write a sample script for Law and Order: CI and submit it to the producers of the original CSI, it would be smarter to tailor the precise formating as the CSI formating, not the Law and Order: CI formatting.

To be honest, I have yet to look at the show-specific templates to see what the unique qualities are. Frankly, though I have no great aversion to it, becoming a TV writer is not a target of mine, at least not a position as a staff writer.

I suppose the inclusion of the scripts for dead shows is to give examples of how the big-time boys and girls do it.

OCT-DEC, 2003 JAN-MAR, 2004 APR-JUNE, 2004 JULY-SEP, 2004 OCT-DEC, 2004 JAN-MAR, 2005 APR-JUNE, 2005 JULY-SEP, 2005 OCT-DEC, 2005 JAN-MAR, 2006 APR-JUNE, 2006 JULY-SEP, 2006 OCT-DEC, 2006 JAN-MAR, 2007 APR-JUNE, 2007 JULY-SEP, 2007 OCT-DEC, 2007 JAN-MAR, 2008 APR-JUNE, 2008 JULY-SEP, 2008

Problem is, my agency is in an open office area with space close by that is leased by other business. There are no walls nor even partitions separating anyone from anyone else. So, as I sat in front of a PC to record the web movie there was a certain level of office chatter going on around me. It was not an audition scenario I have ever imagined.

You wanna talk about a situation challenging me to work on that "focus" problem of mine. And I did get a little distracted. There were a few takes and I finally just took my script and propped it up as a prompter and if I was ever getting too much conversation in my ear, I glanced to see where I was at. I also repositioned the web cam from on top of the computer screen housing to in front of it, on top of a small plastic file organizer that put the lens at eye level rather than looking down on me. That was probably the director in me -- looking for a better framing of the action.

I have to think it was a bit of an odd screentest to watch, having these voices engaged in an unrelated conversation in the background.

But I have heard of other odd auditions. A fellow tells a story of auditioning in the pool house adjacent to the home of the producer of a touring theatre company. The impresario swam laps while the auditioning actors faced the wall and sang a cappella as loud as they could. The producer was judging each auditioners ability to overcome the reverb in the pool area, both in terms of conveying clear notes as well as clearly enunciating the words over the echo. So there was a method to his madness, but still, it had to have been a weird experience.

My web cam screentest was about expedience. The auditors needed the video clip ASAP, so waiting for the physical transport of the video tape was not practical. But emailing a movie file would get the screentests to them on time. Still, it was off the expected path.

As a side note, I have a new audition coming up for the Ohio Travel and Tourism Bureau, Thursday.

U.D. LAW DRAMATIC IMPROV GIGS: Tonight and next Tuesday I am reprising a role that I did last Nov/Dec for a law class, the role of a psychiatrist who has a sort of custody dispute, over his son, with his wife. I am revisiting the notes and facts from last time.

This Saturday I'm reprising another role as a witness in a mock trial, a wrongful death civil suit.

MISCELLANY

OCT-DEC, 2003 JAN-MAR, 2004 APR-JUNE, 2004 JULY-SEP, 2004 OCT-DEC, 2004 JAN-MAR, 2005 APR-JUNE, 2005 JULY-SEP, 2005 OCT-DEC, 2005 JAN-MAR, 2006 APR-JUNE, 2006 JULY-SEP, 2006 OCT-DEC, 2006 JAN-MAR, 2007 APR-JUNE, 2007 JULY-SEP, 2007 OCT-DEC, 2007 JAN-MAR, 2008 APR-JUNE, 2008 JULY-SEP, 2008

Essentially, I'm looking for a second producer and also a co-producer, (both who live in or close to the greater Dayton, Ohio area). The page has much detail: www.theWriteGallery.com/call_producers.html.

It also has an email address to contact me about the project: tp_dv_movs@earthlink.net.

Let's see what happens.

CATCH 22: Director Larry Coressel held additional auditions this past Monday through Wednesday in search of the lead role of Yossarian as well as to bring on a couple more men to fill out the multi-casting. I have not heard yet if the whole show is cast, but I have been assigned two more roles.

I am Maj. Major, Col. Cathcart, Cpl. Whitcomb and an M.P. I don't think I have any lines as the M.P., only because the M.P. who does the talking ends up in a conversation with Maj. Major, and I don't think we are going that abstract with the multi-casting.

Rehearsals should start this coming week and I anticipate the read though to be this Monday.

YESTERDAY'S AUDITION FOR THE OHIO TOURISM AND TRAVEL BUREAU: Went well -- and quick. Two short lines. According to the storyboards, if I were to be cast I would be on set with Chrissie Hynde, one time front Woman for The Pretenders, but, more importantly a friend Of Paul McCartney's. Now that would be a very cool thing to meet a bone fide rock-n-roll heavy-weight.

TOMORROW'S U.D. LAW DRAMATIC IMPROV: The mock trial session is tomorrow morning. I have to really prep tonight. Fortunately, as I have said, this is a reprisal from a year ago, so mostly what I am doing is refreshing my memory.

OCT-DEC, 2003 JAN-MAR, 2004 APR-JUNE, 2004 JULY-SEP, 2004 OCT-DEC, 2004 JAN-MAR, 2005 APR-JUNE, 2005 JULY-SEP, 2005 OCT-DEC, 2005 JAN-MAR, 2006 APR-JUNE, 2006 JULY-SEP, 2006 OCT-DEC, 2006 JAN-MAR, 2007 APR-JUNE, 2007 JULY-SEP, 2007 OCT-DEC, 2007 JAN-MAR, 2008 APR-JUNE, 2008 JULY-SEP, 2008

And I still cannot tell you how I get there on the occasions that I do, as an actor. My "method" is sometimes a "mystery" to me.

Now, I prep myself for the counceling sessions next Tuesday with the law students who interviewed my psychiatrist charecter last Tuesday. Easy prep though. The notes I was given is a half letter-sized page long and is mostly instructions about attitude.

CATCH 22: The show is now completely cast and we have two table reads, tomorrow then on Tuesday. Here is the list straight from Director Larry Coressel's email:

Yossarian -- Aidan Horstman

Major Major / Col. Cathcart / Corp. Whitcomb / M.P. -- K.L.Storer

Luciana / Nurse Duckett / Patient's Mother / Daneeka's Mother-in-Law -- Mollie Dixon

Nately's Whore / Nately's Mother / Mrs. Daneeka / Old Woman / 2nd Doctor -- Janelle Chamness

Clevinger / Nately's Father / Capt. Black / 1st Investigating Officer / C.I.D. Man -- Bengt Gregory-Brown

Chaplain / Patient / Psychiatrist / Nately / Snowden -- Ryan Hester

Doc Daneeka / Lt. Col. Korn / Old Man -- Ron Weber

Texan / Sgt. Towser / M.P. -- Wayne Justice

Milo / 1st Doctor / Patient's Father / Aarfy -- Brenton Boitse

Wintergreen / McWatt / Patient's Brother / 2nd Investigating Officer -- Josh Katawick

For the three roles I have who do speak, I have gone through the script and highlighted each with his own color: Maj. Major got yellow, Col. Cathcart got orange, Cpl. Whitcomb got green. Need to get the lines on tape now. Yep, it's time to memorize some lines again.

I am looking forward to doing these three (four) characters, too. What I mean to say is, I look forward to playing four different characters on stage in the same show. The big challenge is Maj. Major and Col. Cathcart, only because they are in many ways much alike. Both represent the insanity of military protocol and chain of command -- though I know that's actually an over-simplification as well as that I have many more revelations about them to come. But, it is essentially not a false statement and they do need to be dramatically distinguishable for me and for the audience. So, I have got to make each as distinctive as I can. Then I have to throw in a completely different characterization of Whitcomb. Great opportunity to attack that exercise of making bold choices that I wrote of in terms of the audition class last month. Playing multiple roles is a new thing for me. Of course I did so as John Heminge and Lord Burleigh for The Beard of Avon, but Burleigh was a so distinct from Heminge -- and also not as substantial to the script -- that it was not all that difficult. If I get my ducks in a row and start working on this all, oh, like, say, perhaps today, I should be up to the challenge.

The different colors for each character's lines is meant to help remind me they are different people who are to be played differently. I think it will indeed help, especially at first. When I was in 'Art', my castmate Dennis Latimer (Yvan), gave this wonderfully funny monologue where Yvan imitates his mother and his fiancé as he recounts the story of a feud leading up to his wedding. For the sections where Yvan quotes the women, Dennis assigned each woman her own color, both different from the highlighting for Yvan. That served Dennis well, so I am assuming it will serve me well, too.

AREN'T YOU SCOTT GRAY?: That is the title of the audio play recently written and directed by David Sherman, and in which he cast me and many other local actors, including Mark Diffenderfer who plays the title role. I got my copy of the CD yesterday and it is a very entertaining little drama. David did it as part of his curriculum for the Wright State University Motion Picture Production Program. Like I said a few weeks back, the point is, I believe, to force the film makers to focus on how sound helps tell the story. And indeed there is much well-placed and interesting sound in the production. David certainly tells his story well both with dialogue and SFX. And it is an interesting story, too. And I sound just Wonderful, Darling !

SELF PROMOTION: Scott Stoney talked, during the audition class, about how actors should sent out postcards, with their pictures on it, promoting whatever production they are up in next. It should be sent to all the theatre companies and auditors they have interest in working with. It let's these people know that the actor is getting cast -- is working (regardless of whether or not that work has a paycheck attached). This is food for thought and I believe I am going to consider it. I have the technical know-how to create the postcards, so, hell, why not?

A MISCELLANEOUS NOTE: I managed to drop off two copies of the DVD for The Chorus for Candice at the Guild yesterday. Since Lisa Sadai is in rehearsals for Boston Marriage there, I dropped off hers and her son Ben's copies. Now a total of four people connected with the movie finally have their copies.

OCT-DEC, 2003 JAN-MAR, 2004 APR-JUNE, 2004 JULY-SEP, 2004 OCT-DEC, 2004 JAN-MAR, 2005 APR-JUNE, 2005 JULY-SEP, 2005 OCT-DEC, 2005 JAN-MAR, 2006 APR-JUNE, 2006 JULY-SEP, 2006 OCT-DEC, 2006 JAN-MAR, 2007 APR-JUNE, 2007 JULY-SEP, 2007 OCT-DEC, 2007 JAN-MAR, 2008 APR-JUNE, 2008 JULY-SEP, 2008

I played a little with the voices of my three main characters. I started out Monday by using essentially the same voice affectation for Maj. Major that I had in the audition, an up-in-the-back-of-the-throat voice in the realm of Sorrell Booke (Boss Hogg on The Dukes of Hazard and Gen. Barker on M*A*S*H). But the voice evolved a little, and by Maj. Major's last appearance at the table last night he had a bit of the quality of Don Adams (aka: Maxwell Smart: secret agent). I had noticed it as I was doing the reading; it was not a deliberate shift but it works for me. Larry Coressel, our director, noted this same thing, after the rehearsal, and agreed that it works.

Cathcart started out as loud, bombastic and pompous. He has stayed right there, which is where he needs to be. Cpl. Whitcomb, needs to be drastically distinct from Maj. Major, especially because he usually appears either just before or just after Maj. Major. Larry had me slow him down and last night, at first read, what I was doing was not really working for me. It was a whiney sort of nasal bit that just didn't cut it. So, right after his first appearance was over, I noted that I had quite a lot of pages before I was on as anyone. I went out into the hall and worked on a better voice. What came out is a southern droller, maybe West Virginian. And his tonal quality and placement, his accent and his drawn-out speech work well for the text he speaks.

The M.P. -- which has changed from 2nd M.P. to 1st M.P. -- has three lines in Act II and I have not got him down yet. I'm not really not worried about. I'll keep fiddling with him during rehearsals and memorization drills and he will come.

Along with all their lines having their own color of highlighting, I have decided I am going to memorize each character's lines while using their voices. I will not necessarily concern myself with the emotional deliveries, but I do want to physically effect each character's voice as I say the lines -- so I will sound like Maj. Major memorizing lines when I memorize his, etc, etc. The idea here is that it will aid me in keeping each characterization and the associated voice strong to each. I am hoping this will keep me in practice so I can keep them all straight in my mind and ultimately embed each with their words.

U.D. LAW DRAMATIC IMPROV GIG YESTERDAY: Not much to tell. It went okay.

MORE DORK STUFF FROM A LATE-YEAR FRESHMAN -- OR, AT BEST, MID-YEAR SOPHOMORE ACTOR
OR -- I'll be moving to Belaire any day now.

As is my tradition, in order to jock-block myself from actually looking as if I might even remotely be one of the cool kids, here's another "first" actor's paycheck for me. This, my first official paycheck for a job through my talent agency. Not too bad for about three hours work. Of course, a Tom Hanks or a George Clooney would make roughly $125 thousand for the same period, but just wait until I am picked up by William Morris. That Lamborghini is just a few months away!

There was, by-the-way, no FICA withheld, no fed, state or local taxes withheld, no medicaid, no nothing. It's a check from an agent to an independent contractor. Just like the checks from the University of Dayton. That would be why I kept my receipt for the packet of highlighters I just bought, and recorded the puchased items, their purpose ("script memorization tool"), and the expenditure ($2.44). It would be why I have recorded, up to and including yesterday, 1602.5 miles already logged on my car for acting related travel. It's also why I have opened up a second savings account with my bank and am depositing 30% of all my earnings when there is no withholdings taken. I'll also deposit into this account some small portion from smaller checks with less percentage of withholdings taken out, to make up the difference toward 30% of the gross. I am going to have my deductions, and, as well, will have this money put back, in case I still owe despite the deductions. And I am guessing I could very well owe. But, with the money set aside, I should have created my own little "tax return." I just have to keep my hands out of the cookie jar during the year. The other good thing is that I will be the one earning the interest on that money all year. And the new account is a personal capital money management account; the interest will be higher than a regular savings account.

OCT-DEC, 2003 JAN-MAR, 2004 APR-JUNE, 2004 JULY-SEP, 2004 OCT-DEC, 2004 JAN-MAR, 2005 APR-JUNE, 2005 JULY-SEP, 2005 OCT-DEC, 2005 JAN-MAR, 2006 APR-JUNE, 2006 JULY-SEP, 2006 OCT-DEC, 2006 JAN-MAR, 2007 APR-JUNE, 2007 JULY-SEP, 2007 OCT-DEC, 2007 JAN-MAR, 2008 APR-JUNE, 2008 JULY-SEP, 2008

OCT-DEC, 2003 JAN-MAR, 2004 APR-JUNE, 2004 JULY-SEP, 2004 OCT-DEC, 2004 JAN-MAR, 2005 APR-JUNE, 2005 JULY-SEP, 2005 OCT-DEC, 2005 JAN-MAR, 2006 APR-JUNE, 2006 JULY-SEP, 2006 OCT-DEC, 2006 JAN-MAR, 2007 APR-JUNE, 2007 JULY-SEP, 2007 OCT-DEC, 2007 JAN-MAR, 2008 APR-JUNE, 2008 JULY-SEP, 2008

It may be too soon to say this, but I believe I am at least 80% up on Maj. Major in terms of characterization. This is mostly because he is such a "character" character. Though I don't want to play any of these men strictly two-dimensional. I guess that's what I work on from this point: as odd as their motivations may be, rather than "telling the joke" of their lines, I climb into a sincerity of their motives, so that they don't have a clue they are odd, they're just trying to achieve what they are trying to achieve.

This is similar to the character of Lance last summer in Gary Flaxman's Playing God for FutureFest 2007, which, I might interject, was directed by Saul Caplan, who happens to be the director of our current production at the Guild -- *see below... and below. But, back on track, Lance pretty much is a stereotype of a Brooklyn mook, and I could not ignore that, but I had to try to make him the actual Brooklyn guy the stereotype is based on. Here, with Catch 22 I have to embrace the weirdness of Maj. Major and Col. Cathcart. Cpl. Whitcomb is a little less of a weird guy though he certainly is quirky to some extent in his own right. The M.P. -- well he is, just in terms of his utility to the story, an absolute stereotype, so he really doesn't enter much into this discussion. It's Major and Cathcart who need my great attention, to play up their oddities but not let them be merely cartoon characters.

And Maj. Major, especially, has some very real moments in this play that need to be worked toward.

Ya know? I sometimes read what I write here and think to myself how pretentious I can be.

BOSTON MARRIAGE AT THE DAYTON THEATRE GUILD: I don't sit in the audience until next Friday. I have been at the theatre both Friday and yesterday as house manager (and will be there again today), but as is my practice I have tried to attend as little as possible to the stagework. I have been aware of some fine work, however, from all three ladies, all of whom I already find to be very talented actors. The audiences have been enjoying it.

THE GUILD 2008/09 SEASON: The season is now officially released by the board, via a flyer insert in the playbill for Boston Marriage, so I can list the season here without feeling like a mole.

the 2008/09 theme:

THE CO$T OF LIVING

1. OUTWARD BOUND   by Sutton Vane
   Sep 26-Oct 12, 2008

   A true Guild classic, Outward Bound presents a varied group of travelers who have boarded a cruise ship for a destination none of them can seem to recall. It was the first play produced by the new Guild after its reorganization and resurrection in 1945 -- with the performances at the Dayton Art Institute. Today, this play is still a spellbounding work of humor and pathos that examines the price people will pay, often unwillingly, for the lives they have lived.

2. THE COVER OF  LIFE   by R.T. Robinson
   November 21-Dec 7, 2008

   Three young women have married three brothers just before the brothers have gone off to war in 1943, and the women have moved in with their mother-in-law. Their tale has all the heartwarming elements of a good home-front story so Life Magazine sends a reporter to do a cover story. Relationships are revealed as riddled with potential conflict as this evolves into a deeply affecting story about the struggle for, and the price of, self worth.

3. CATFISH MOON   by Larry Sartin
   Jan 9-25, 2009

   A hilarious look at fishing, beer and the meaning of life, particularly as they pertain to aging, friendship and the struggle between men and women, or more precisely, the struggles between men over women. In the end, it is a story about friendship.

4. THE PARIS LETTER   by Jon Robin Baitz
   Feb 27-Mar 15, 2009

   Sex.... Power.... Money. A Wall Street powerhouse finds his personal and professional life threatened by the unraveling secrets of his past. A tragic game of financial and moral betrayal is played out over four decades and between two friends at the cost of family, friendship, love and marriage.

5. THE CA$HIER   by Glen Merzer
   Apr 17-May 3, 2009

   What happens when an aspiring artist takes a summer job with the IRS and finds himself awash in the land of regulation without reason and reasons without explanations? Once inside this faceless bastion of bureaucracy he finds himself caught up in the daily and very unique lives of his fellow workers with a very unexpected result in this warm and humorous play.

6. FUDDY MEERS   by David Lindsay-Abaire
   June 5-21, 2009

   Claire has a rare form of amnesia that erases her memory whenever she falls asleep. With the help of her husband and a little scrapbook, she rebuilds her life each day. But today is not her usual stroll down amnesia lane. Get ready for a wild, careening adventure with Claire and the most outrageously dark yet funny characters to visit the Guild stage in many a year.

• ADD-ON(S) -- there will undoubtedly be an add-on show, or two, during the season, at Christmas time, etc. Titles, as-of-yet, are undetermined.

OCT-DEC, 2003 JAN-MAR, 2004 APR-JUNE, 2004 JULY-SEP, 2004 OCT-DEC, 2004 JAN-MAR, 2005 APR-JUNE, 2005 JULY-SEP, 2005 OCT-DEC, 2005 JAN-MAR, 2006 APR-JUNE, 2006 JULY-SEP, 2006 OCT-DEC, 2006 JAN-MAR, 2007 APR-JUNE, 2007 JULY-SEP, 2007 OCT-DEC, 2007 JAN-MAR, 2008 APR-JUNE, 2008 JULY-SEP, 2008

Doing a little bit of tweaking on the voices for my characters. For one thing, at the behest of Director Larry Coressel, I am slowing Cathcart's speech down. Larry wants to draw a wider distinction between Cathcart and Maj. Major.

FILM MAKER GUY: I will be getting together soon with a potential director of photography (DP) for the upcoming movie projects. I've also been in touch with a potential production assistant (PA). No other developments to report.

UPDATES ON MOVIES I AM IN: Actually, it's "non-updates." There is no recent news on any of Nona, Ghostbusters: Spook University, or Still Me. The first two have, I believe, been caught in SPFX post. Beth McElhenny has actually expanded the script and shot more footage for Still Me, and it is in some stage of editing.

OCT-DEC, 2003 JAN-MAR, 2004 APR-JUNE, 2004 JULY-SEP, 2004 OCT-DEC, 2004 JAN-MAR, 2005 APR-JUNE, 2005 JULY-SEP, 2005 OCT-DEC, 2005 JAN-MAR, 2006 APR-JUNE, 2006 JULY-SEP, 2006 OCT-DEC, 2006 JAN-MAR, 2007 APR-JUNE, 2007 JULY-SEP, 2007 OCT-DEC, 2007 JAN-MAR, 2008 APR-JUNE, 2008 JULY-SEP, 2008

No significant developments concerning Maj. Major, Col. Cathcart or Cpl. Whitcomb. But, as I said last night when I'd finished the Whitcomb scene in Act I, I can't wait to get the book out of my hand so I can play with the characters' movements more. Whitcomb is going to especially fun in terms of gestures and movement.

Tonight we get into Act II.

UPCOMING MOVIE PROJECTS: I am looking into the idea of whether or not I should create an LLC (Limited Liability Company) for the productions. I actually have the creation of a production company on my agenda anyway. So, I have contacted a lawyer I know and will make an appointment soon to determine if an LLC is wise, though, at this juncture, my layman knowledge suggests no reasons why it would not be wise -- but I'll let the woman with the law degree give me her input. As I said in my email to her, "I see these forthcoming projects as a reason to jump in and get the company started."

And Saturday, I have brunch with the man I hope is my DP for both movies. I will bring him a copy of the screenplay for project two, as well as my ideas about project one. I ought to have at least a sketchy treatment for the first, but I don't. And I've no time between now and then to write one up, so, I guess it will be a verbal treatment.

GOOD CLIPS FOR BOSTON MARRIAGE: Our current Guild production got two very favorable reviews this week. I will drop in some nice quotes from both in an entry in the next day or two.

OCT-DEC, 2003 JAN-MAR, 2004 APR-JUNE, 2004 JULY-SEP, 2004 OCT-DEC, 2004 JAN-MAR, 2005 APR-JUNE, 2005 JULY-SEP, 2005 OCT-DEC, 2005 JAN-MAR, 2006 APR-JUNE, 2006 JULY-SEP, 2006 OCT-DEC, 2006 JAN-MAR, 2007 APR-JUNE, 2007 JULY-SEP, 2007 OCT-DEC, 2007 JAN-MAR, 2008 APR-JUNE, 2008 JULY-SEP, 2008

UPCOMING MOVIE PROJECTS: Had brunch with the man who is essentially on board as my DP. I now need to fit in writing that treatment for the first project that I didn't have time to write up before the meeting.

Still also need to get with the lawyer about the LLC. I left a message on her para-legal assistant's voice mail Friday afternoon and that has not been responded to yet. But I am sure I will meet with the lawyer this coming week.

A PROBABLY BIASED RESPONSE TO BOSTON MARRIAGE AT THE GUILD: As I told the director, Saul Caplan, earlier today, I was not at all surprised, based on the cast, that I found the performance I sat in last night exceptional. All three ladies impress me as top notch actors and they each measured up. I, of course have seen much more of Lisa Sadia's and Elena Monigold's fine work on stage, but I have seen Sarah in a few auditions and saw clearly from those that she got skill. And, well, to gush, the ensemble was -- as some in the theatre are want to say -- Just Fabulous.

As for those reviews I mentioned earlier, Terry Morris (Dayton Daily News) declares that "[a]lmost deliciously, the truth [of the women's desires and motives] comes out." He calls Saul's direction "effectively subtle" and says it "allows [David] Mamet's words to lead, rather than telegraphing developments or overreacting to them."

Meanwhile, Russell Florence Jr. (Dayton City Paper) writes that Lisa and Elena both "skillfully handle Mamet's snappy dialogue" and that Sarah "humorously complements the chatty action." Of Saul's direction he says it was done with "sophisticated delicacy."

And both men praised Carol Finley's wardrobe design, too.

As another aside -- even further afield -- see below at its promo for the cast of The Guild's next production, Amy's View.

AND THEN, THERE'S THE GENERAL AUDITION: Monday The Human Race Theatre Company starts making appointments for the general auditions for the 2008/09 season. Last year I goofed and made my appointment late and cut into the afternoon of the tech Sunday rehearsal for American Buffalo. As fate will decree, the generals are the same weekend as the tech Sunday for Catch 22. This time I want to get my call into HRTC early so I can get a Saturday afternoon audition. I need it to be in the afternoon because I also have a Dayton Theatre Guild board meeting that morning and I want time to warm-up, rehearse and prep myself for the audition before I get there.

I just bought three of the plays from the season -- the three that seem a fit for me; though I will admit one is a pipe-dream in terms of my chances to be cast. But, last year Marsha Hanna asked me if there were any plays I was specifically interested in and I could not give her an answer. This year I will be able to. I am, however, still in flux about what my monologues will be.

OCT-DEC, 2003 JAN-MAR, 2004 APR-JUNE, 2004 JULY-SEP, 2004 OCT-DEC, 2004 JAN-MAR, 2005 APR-JUNE, 2005 JULY-SEP, 2005 OCT-DEC, 2005 JAN-MAR, 2006 APR-JUNE, 2006 JULY-SEP, 2006 OCT-DEC, 2006 JAN-MAR, 2007 APR-JUNE, 2007 JULY-SEP, 2007 OCT-DEC, 2007 JAN-MAR, 2008 APR-JUNE, 2008 JULY-SEP, 2008

The final count is 241 cards (241 dialogue tags). That's technically divided between four characters, but in practical terms it's 238 divided between Maj. Major, Col. Cathcart and Cpl./Sgt. Whitcomb, a mean average of 79 for each, though I think Cathcart actually has more, followed by Maj. Major. And I truly don't know what the hell difference any of this makes, save for the fact that I got a lot of sentences to brand on the hide of my brain.

I have set aside next Friday evening and all day Saturday for the intensive drilling. I even scheduled this on my iCal which makes it as reflective of the truth as a colored pie-chart on the front page of USA Today, especially since I also imported it to my cell phone calendar and my Thunderbird-Lightning calendar at work.

So now I must!

Think I'll try to gradually get the lines recorded on audio, too, during the course of the week. Plus, I will be working with the flash cards whenever possible this week.

ANOTHER "I STAND CORRECTED" MOMENT: I had been saying that Boston Marriage was the only David Mamet show I was aware of that had neither any men on stage nor any use of the F word.

Well, there are no men.

APPOINT THIS: Two important appointments have just been set

• I am meeting with that lawyer this week to look at setting up the LLC. Because, you know, since the economy is going in the toilet, what better time for a guy with no liquid and no capital to incorporate himself?
• Made my appointment for the general auditions for the 2008/09 season of the Human Race Theatre Company at 9:30 on the dot this morning. So, I am in at the exact preferred time I wanted on Saturday afternoon, May 17. Now all I got to do is settle on my monologues.

OCT-DEC, 2003 JAN-MAR, 2004 APR-JUNE, 2004 JULY-SEP, 2004 OCT-DEC, 2004 JAN-MAR, 2005 APR-JUNE, 2005 JULY-SEP, 2005 OCT-DEC, 2005 JAN-MAR, 2006 APR-JUNE, 2006 JULY-SEP, 2006 OCT-DEC, 2006 JAN-MAR, 2007 APR-JUNE, 2007 JULY-SEP, 2007 OCT-DEC, 2007 JAN-MAR, 2008 APR-JUNE, 2008 JULY-SEP, 2008

THAT LLC THING: The lawyer I went to see has advised me to develop a more solid idea of just exactly what I want any LLC or other corporation to do for me before she and I pursue any filings. The main concern is that after it's all set up I come to see that I really wanted the corporation to serve me in a different manner.

She advised me to get with another local actor who has something set up as an umbrella for various artistic ventures. The irony is that the self-same actor emailed me a few weeks back about comparing notes on my planned movie project and his upcoming movie project. I just hadn't got back with him yet. So, now I am motivated to make the call I already was going to make. Actually, I emailed him last night about us getting together.

Additionally, she has suggested I talk with another local person who will have some deep insights into how to get a bigger movie project off the ground. And it is someone who should be relatively accessible to me.

OH LET THE WALLS BEGIN TO SHAKE -- NEW WORK ON MY NOVEL. . . . . ALMOST: The on-line posting of the early section of my novel manuscript, Starting for the Sun, has been updated. I have removed the Prologue. I've been on the verge of this for at least a year. I'd come to believe the prologue is now, due to a rewrite of the novel, superfluous and that the novel starts out better without it. I have still also kept an epigraph from chapter one, as well. I may end up putting one there, if I can make it short and snappy. But, to be honest I think the novel starts out well as it does right now:

"It wasn't good, what L.D.'s dad said to his mom."           Click on the icon:

OCT-DEC, 2003 JAN-MAR, 2004 APR-JUNE, 2004 JULY-SEP, 2004 OCT-DEC, 2004 JAN-MAR, 2005 APR-JUNE, 2005 JULY-SEP, 2005 OCT-DEC, 2005 JAN-MAR, 2006 APR-JUNE, 2006 JULY-SEP, 2006 OCT-DEC, 2006 JAN-MAR, 2007 APR-JUNE, 2007 JULY-SEP, 2007 OCT-DEC, 2007 JAN-MAR, 2008 APR-JUNE, 2008 JULY-SEP, 2008

All RIGHT! All RIGHT ! I often slack off, altogether, unless I am auditioning, in rehearsal or in production. And, that is a bad habit, or rather lack of good habit: not making vocal warm-ups routine.

Tonight and tomorrow will be dedicated to line drills and voice work. I am off to begin this just shortly after this blog entry is posted, as a matter of fact.

M O V I E,   L L C,   WHATEVER: May be getting together to consult with the aformentioned actor who has a corporation set up similar to what I am considering. Tentativley should meet with him in about a week.

Still need to write-up that treatment for the first project, too.

R_1_N_G_0: I will take a bit of a break tomorrow morning. An old friend of Paul McCartney and Harry Nilsson will be performing in concert in July at The Fraze Pavilion in Kettering, Ohio (Kettering also the home town of Nancy Cartwright -- Bart Simpson). The tickets go on sale tomorrow morning. I and some friends would like to see this fellow -- the husband of Barbara Bach, this ex-band member of Rory Storm and the Hurricanes, the one time narrator of Thomas The Tank Engine & Friends, this Merlin the Magician, this Beatle, this Ringo Starr.

Another item not really at all related to my "Artful Things," but, hey, he was a Beatle!

OCT-DEC, 2003 JAN-MAR, 2004 APR-JUNE, 2004 JULY-SEP, 2004 OCT-DEC, 2004 JAN-MAR, 2005 APR-JUNE, 2005 JULY-SEP, 2005 OCT-DEC, 2005 JAN-MAR, 2006 APR-JUNE, 2006 JULY-SEP, 2006 OCT-DEC, 2006 JAN-MAR, 2007 APR-JUNE, 2007 JULY-SEP, 2007 OCT-DEC, 2007 JAN-MAR, 2008 APR-JUNE, 2008 JULY-SEP, 2008

OCT-DEC, 2003 JAN-MAR, 2004 APR-JUNE, 2004 JULY-SEP, 2004 OCT-DEC, 2004 JAN-MAR, 2005 APR-JUNE, 2005 JULY-SEP, 2005 OCT-DEC, 2005 JAN-MAR, 2006 APR-JUNE, 2006 JULY-SEP, 2006 OCT-DEC, 2006 JAN-MAR, 2007 APR-JUNE, 2007 JULY-SEP, 2007 OCT-DEC, 2007 JAN-MAR, 2008 APR-JUNE, 2008 JULY-SEP, 2008

I am not perfect on the 60% by any stretch of the imagination, but it's all committed to memory reasonably well. The Off Book deadline is a week from today and I anticipate I will be in decent shape.

LEGAL INCORPORATION: Have an appointment with the actor who has incorporated himself to talk with him next Sunday afternoon. After that I hope to have a better understanding about what might work best for me, LLC, other Inc. or no legal entity at all.

OTHER MOVIE PROJECT CONSIDERATIONS: And I still need to fit in the writing of a treatment for the first movie project of two I have planned. Plus there is another fast and easy project (on going project) that can be thrown together rather quickly. And I may contact a few people that can work well with this one and see if we can get something going. The DP fellow is on board with this third idea, already.

OCT-DEC, 2003 JAN-MAR, 2004 APR-JUNE, 2004 JULY-SEP, 2004 OCT-DEC, 2004 JAN-MAR, 2005 APR-JUNE, 2005 JULY-SEP, 2005 OCT-DEC, 2005 JAN-MAR, 2006 APR-JUNE, 2006 JULY-SEP, 2006 OCT-DEC, 2006 JAN-MAR, 2007 APR-JUNE, 2007 JULY-SEP, 2007 OCT-DEC, 2007 JAN-MAR, 2008 APR-JUNE, 2008 JULY-SEP, 2008

Yay! Maybe. This new trailer reveals a few CGI special effects, but I don't know that there is a final cut. I emailed the director, Mike Sopronyi, but he has not yet got back with me. I know there are a few places where the SPFX is supposed to be elaborate. There's a scene with a very large gathering of ghosts, for instance. Those scenes may not have their SPFX, yet.

But at least we see real progress. Now if I could just find out what's going on with the Stephen King Dollar Baby movie, Nona.

CATCH 22: We ran Act I twice last night. I didn't actually try it "off book," but I only looked at the pages when necessary, and it was often not at all necessary.

Tonight we finish blocking Act II (scene 7) and then run Act II. I will be reading from the pages quite a bit more, tonight, totally so in the second part of the act.

OCT-DEC, 2003 JAN-MAR, 2004 APR-JUNE, 2004 JULY-SEP, 2004 OCT-DEC, 2004 JAN-MAR, 2005 APR-JUNE, 2005 JULY-SEP, 2005 OCT-DEC, 2005 JAN-MAR, 2006 APR-JUNE, 2006 JULY-SEP, 2006 OCT-DEC, 2006 JAN-MAR, 2007 APR-JUNE, 2007 JULY-SEP, 2007 OCT-DEC, 2007 JAN-MAR, 2008 APR-JUNE, 2008 JULY-SEP, 2008

Last night was a longer rehearsal. We ran the whole show up to what was not yet blocked, then those of us in that end section stayed and Larry finished off the show's blocking. Must admit I was a little less on top of the lines from Act I and the portion of II I have worked on than I was the night before, but I'm not yet 100% off-book on that material anyway.

The character work is coming along. I have some distinct mannerisms for each of the four men that I am happy with. Not to suggest I am done playing and honing, but I do like the directions I have taken each.

Maj. Major moves just a few degrees short of spastic or jerky. I suppose "expressively animated" might be a good description for his body movement as well as his facial expressions. His voice is still based on a weird marriage of Sorrell Booke and Don Adams.

Col. Cathcart is rigid but with a bigger-than-life energy. He keeps his head held high and his hands often clasped behind him (well, they will be once I get the book out of my hand). I had originally used the crinkled face, the turned up mouth, for Major, but I have transfered that facial trait to Cathcart. The voice has evolved into a cliché of George C. Scott's gravelly barks as Gen. Patton. This works well though because Cathcart is a cliché and the least three-dimensional character I play in the show. Even the M.P., who is only on for forty-five seconds, is a fuller human being than Cathcart.

Cpl./Sgt. Whitcomb is also expressively animated but is so with a chip on his shoulders. His gestures are all sharp movements, each seeping with accusation and bitter paranoia. He points his fingers a lot. The voice is still the snarky southerner I came up with during the read through.

The M.P. Is still the least defined for me in terms of both voice and movement. I think I will work on him some tonight.

I have not bothered with back-story for any of the characters here. My instincts say that such isn't necessary for this. In a satire like this show, all these characters are to me a blatant function of story telling in a more straight-forward manner than in a regular drama or even most comedies. Certainly all characters in all plays (movie, books, operas) are vehicles for the story, but here I feel no need to have great senses of the being of the characters. More so I feel a need to understand their part in the narrative. If I were to back story it'd be probably Maj. Major and Whitcomb. Maj. Major is deceptively shallow throughout most of the play only to betray himself as not quite so, in the end. He ultimately is one of the real 3-D characters in this play, along with, I think, Yossarian and the Chaplain. Oh, well, yes, and Snowden, who just by virtue of his main purpose must be 3-D. And Whitcomb needs to be fully dimensional or he is not as effective as the gnat buzzing around the chaplain that he is to be.

No rehearsal tonight because quite a few of the youngins in the cast are performing in their last high school concert for the year. So it's an extra space for others of us to get some line work in.

Theoretically ALL of the cast members will, for the very first time, be at rehearsal tomorrow night. I hope so. We are two weeks away from Opening Night.

MORE ON "COMING SOON! -- GHOSTBUSTERS: SPOOK UNIVERSITY  ": The movie's director, Mike Sopronyi, responded to my inquiry about what "soon" means. It does not mean soon as in a few weeks or even a few months. He got a graphics program that enabled him to add the visual effects of the lasers, the smoke and the ectoplasm, but he still needs more powerful software and real CGI guys to create the ghosts, and especially that one large gathering I wrote of before. He told me he may be enlisting help from "out of state." He's referring to the "geographic" state. . . I think.

OCT-DEC, 2003 JAN-MAR, 2004 APR-JUNE, 2004 JULY-SEP, 2004 OCT-DEC, 2004 JAN-MAR, 2005 APR-JUNE, 2005 JULY-SEP, 2005 OCT-DEC, 2005 JAN-MAR, 2006 APR-JUNE, 2006 JULY-SEP, 2006 OCT-DEC, 2006 JAN-MAR, 2007 APR-JUNE, 2007 JULY-SEP, 2007 OCT-DEC, 2007 JAN-MAR, 2008 APR-JUNE, 2008 JULY-SEP, 2008

Won't it be nice if we actually have a full cast at tonight's rehearsal?

As for my off-book status, since tonight we do Act I off book, I suppose I am in pretty good shape, especially with the first act. But I do have the whole show in my head now -- er, uh, well, I mean, I have all MY lines in my head, though sans perfect recall. I am getting back to the gym now as much as I can, and I plan to be in there between the end of the paycheck job and rehearsal tonight, with my flash cards for Act I in hand.

Dropped by the area Halloween and novelty store, Foy's, in Fairborn, on Saturday to scope out some of the hats I might want. I have a forest camouflage cap that I am using for Cpl./Sgt. Whitcomb, along with a military camouflage shirt. I still need headwear for Maj. Major, Cathcart and the M.P. I was really hoping I'd find M.P. helmets at Foy's, but, no such luck as far as the stereotypical white M.P.'s helmet goes. I also need the fake nose and glasses for Maj. Major, and I actually forgot to look for those.

I have this thought about the fake nose and glasses and Maj. Major. He wants to avoid everyone and everything in that war zone as his first scene with his aid Sgt. Towser shows:

MAJ. MAJOR: Sergeant Towser, from now on I don't want anyone to come into my office to see me while I'm here. Is that clear?

SGT. TOWSER: What shall I say to the people who come to see you...?

MAJOR: Tell them I'm in and ask them to wait.

TOWSER: Yes, sir. For how long?

MAJOR: Until I've left.

TOWSER: How will you be able to leave, sir, when someone is waiting outside to see you?

MAJOR: Through the window. From now I'll be coming and going through the window. I don't want to see anyone, and I don't want anyone to see me. Is that clear?

Maj. Major has the motif of the fake nose and glasses that he wears whenever he's not in his office. I have a set of spectacles that I picked up for the role of Dr. Mayberry in I Never sang for My Father. I had brought them in to a rehearsal of this show, along with the black frames I just used for Dick Jensen in The Best Man, for Ryan Hester to look at as possible props for the psychiatrist. He went with the black frames so I decided I'd use the specs for Maj. Major. I had actually forgotten about the fake glasses and nose when I made the decision. But when I remembered, it hit me: it would be funny if Major wore those little spectacles under the fake nose and glasses. What a great, sneaky little metaphor for how he's actually not crazy, that under the fake glasses and nose of the man trying to be invisible in the madness, he's actually just a college professor trying to do his duty but with as big a distaste for it all as Yossarian has. That he, like Yossarian, sees the picture clearly. But maybe I am thinking too much. Still, it touches upon perhaps the core theme of Catch 22:

The sane are those whose mental and emotional states and whose behaviors are affected by war. The ones who maintain a stable composure in a war zone are the crazy ones.

What Maj. Major is doing is trying to check-out of the insanity of what's going on around him. But he is a patriot, and even believes in the cause. As he says toward the end of the play, "I'm a college professor whose trying to serve his country." When Yossarian later asks him how he can work for the military men he has to work for, he says, "I try not to think of them. I try to only think of my country." Yet he is the only voice in the establishment -- the officers up the chain of command -- who expresses a desire to not be killed, who discusses how it's normal to be afraid to die, who alludes to death as more than a simple fact of war.

His crazy behavior is his sanity in flight from the surrounding insanity. I even have a great chance to have him react to the absurdities when engaged in a conversation with two C.I.D. men. My Maj. Major rolls his eyes and shows exasperation with these idiots.

ME AND MY MOVIES: I went yesterday to visit with that actor who is too becoming a film maker as I hope to. This the man I was referred to by the lawyer to discuss to some extent how he uses his class S corporation as an umbrella for his creative arts ventures.

We won't discuss the fact that he lives about an hour from me, but since I got lost, and actually in his neck of the woods, the trip down was almost two hours! You'd better believe I recorded all the mileage.

I got a bit of a better idea of what I might do as far as the incorporation idea, but I clearly still have some homework to do. I must say that all in all, the LLC still looks like the best bet, if I indeed do go with a corporate entity model.

Of other importance about the visit, he showed me a small interior stage he has set up along with an exterior of the same structure out in the woods on his property, these for a screenplay of his he'll start to shoot this summer. He also has a Macpro, FinalCut Studio 2, and an upper mid-range Cannon HD DV camera.

We compared notes to some extent about our forthcoming movie projects and he has offered to let me shoot some of this immediate movie project of mine at his place, as well as the use of his cadillac editing suite. That proposition has a lot of merit and I am leaning terribly heavily toward taking him up on the offer. The merit is that, by nature of the whole first movie project, it is very easy to shoot one, or a few segments, and have cohesive résumé demos to rally support for the rest of the project. If I can get a small sample produced, it may help me pick up all sorts of support to finish the project, like production people, actors, money.

At the moment I have two production people who want to be involved. The DP and a young man who will be in the Wright State Motion Pictures Program next year. I am going to get with them both sometime soon about doing a pilot project.

Also want to report on the overwhelming success posting a call for producers on Craig's List, on my MySpace page, and at this domain has been. So far, I have had one person contact me: the young man mentioned above. I probably shot myself in the foot by being so vague about the projects as well as by being so up front about the producers (me included) most probably not making any money. Well, anyone looking to make a ton of money on an indy movie project in Ohio is maybe not a good fit for an indy movie project in Ohio. Don't get me wrong, I would not be opposed to reaping a good income off such a movie -- but even I am not so green at all this I would be crushed when I don't.

OCT-DEC, 2003 JAN-MAR, 2004 APR-JUNE, 2004 JULY-SEP, 2004 OCT-DEC, 2004 JAN-MAR, 2005 APR-JUNE, 2005 JULY-SEP, 2005 OCT-DEC, 2005 JAN-MAR, 2006 APR-JUNE, 2006 JULY-SEP, 2006 OCT-DEC, 2006 JAN-MAR, 2007 APR-JUNE, 2007 JULY-SEP, 2007 OCT-DEC, 2007 JAN-MAR, 2008 APR-JUNE, 2008 JULY-SEP, 2008

Some of us have played with props a bit during this week, too. More so last night. Monday we should have them all in our hands.

GENERAL AUDITION FOR 08/09 FOR HRTC: Yeah, let's put to bed the idea that I will get a callback for this season. As big as my ego can be, even I recognize when I have shot myself in the foot. And I did so with a dead aim. I had a meltdown and reacted not at all as a pro would. Oh, the auditors, Marsha Hanna and Kevin Moore were gracious and kind to me but I am highly skeptical of my odds of receiving a card that says they will call me back for anything this season at the Human Race Theatre Company.

It was the first of my two monologues that puked all over me. I settled on a piece by a character named Fred in the one-act play Riverside Drive by Woody Allen. I note that I have this habit of choosing audition pieces that are perhaps a little challenging. That "The Great Constable Explains the Folly of Virtue to His Son, His Prisoner," from The Ambitious Statesman by John Crowne monologue is a bit challenging and as we remember, it tripped me up during the audition class with Scott Stoney back in March. A couple years back I used the song "Piddle, Twiddle and Resolve" from Sherman Edwards' 1776, and the syncopated nature of the composition makes that a bad choice to expect most pianists to sight read well. In terms of the latter, I have realized I should choose something perhaps in 4-4 with a straightforward arrangement. For the former, monologues with more challenging words/language, I think I need to keep honing my skills and I need to be sure I have given myself the time I need to have them down cold, solid, absolutely soldered into my memory cells.

The Fred monologue, in this case, had some elements that can get tricky. And they tricked me up. I came across the text this last Wednesday as I was browsing some material I had gathered to find my second monologue. I knew it was a good choice the moment I saw it. But I really didn't start working on it until Friday afternoon. I had that one plus Herb telling Libby why he left her mother, from Neil Simon's I Ought to Be in Pictures -- Fran Pesch had us read that for the auditions last fall, and I recognized it then as a good audition piece. I halfway knew the Simon piece already, so Friday was more about the Allen piece.

Thursday night, after Catch 22 rehearsals, I sat down with pen and index cards and got both monologues spread out over a series flash cards. Friday afternoon I had the occasion to be off work with pay. I headed for Glen Helen then John Bryan State Park with cards in hand to drill the monologues, and as I said, mostly the Woody Allen one. I also spent time this afternoon, before my appointment, rehearsing them.

So I walked in to Kevin and Marsha and things went well enough to begin. We had a little friendly chitchat. Marsha asked how The Best Man did. It was pleasant and I did not feel intimidated or overwhelmed.

"Well, today I have brought you two characters from two brilliant American comedic writers, but one will be from a more poignant moment in the play rather than a comic moment," I said. "First I'm giving you a character named Fred from Woody Allen's one-act play, Riverside Drive, then I'll give you Herb talking to his daughter Libby in I Ought to Be in Picture, of course, by Simon."

Then I began Fred, but not long into it I struggled for a key word, and shortly after that I went up so goddamned big. As I said, both auditors were understanding and encouraged me to take a deep breath and start over. I still lost it and was not able to ad lib or otherwise cover myself. I admit, a big voice in my head was screaming, "Pack it in Pal! Just tell them you'll see them next year!" I considered it for a split second then rallied myself. They were still kind about it and asked if I wanted five minutes to re-group. I took it. I left to gather myself, but still had a hard time getting the monologue back. Then I thought, Screw it boy! Go back in there, take your time and do the damned monologue! You know it so do it!

I went back in, still apprehensive about whether I would recover that first monologue, but did recover it and I gave them Fred, then Herb, but Herb was easier. The consolation for me is that I have at least auditioned for Marsha three previous times with no problems like this. Yet still, that it might seem risky to them to put an actor on their professional stage who lets the pressure of the audition take him down like that, doesn't strike me as unlikely. My gut says it's not unlikely and I have no argument that it should be otherwise.

Of course, as I write this I'm still stinging from the smack I gave myself upside the self esteem and I am in major self-disappointment mode. On the drive home I felt like it's a joke that I have ever auditioned for them, that it's delusional of me. That's fleeting. Already some common sense and a dose of regenerating megalomania is altering my low opinion of myself. But I am still pissed at myself for tainting my audition.

Regardless of whether this is as bad an event as I have assessed it, it is a criminal act if I don't walk away with lessons learned. The number-one lesson is that I do not abandon the more challenging monologues, they are just far too interesting. They do me no good if I don't deliver them well, however. It's imperative that I allow myself the time to absorb them into the fiber of my being, that I have them memorized to the point that I can almost say them backward with little thought. I did not make the time earlier that would have been to my advantage. I was preoccupied with the line drills for Catch 22. That was not a bad preoccupation, of course, but I would have been able to fit sixty seconds of outside monologue in without hurting my work on the play.

Another lesson: Relax kid, don't freak out. I got distressed and that only exacerbated things. Lastly, sometimes you're going to mess up and there's nothing to do but assess what happened, note what you can do differently next time, and move on.

AN EGO BOOSTER RATHER THAN WHACKER: At the end of the week I was offered what was described as a major role in a short-subject movie by a student film maker; this based on him knowing my work. I had to turn it down because of schedule conflicts, but it was nice to be considered.

OCT-DEC, 2003 JAN-MAR, 2004 APR-JUNE, 2004 JULY-SEP, 2004 OCT-DEC, 2004 JAN-MAR, 2005 APR-JUNE, 2005 JULY-SEP, 2005 OCT-DEC, 2005 JAN-MAR, 2006 APR-JUNE, 2006 JULY-SEP, 2006 OCT-DEC, 2006 JAN-MAR, 2007 APR-JUNE, 2007 JULY-SEP, 2007 OCT-DEC, 2007 JAN-MAR, 2008 APR-JUNE, 2008 JULY-SEP, 2008

OCT-DEC, 2003 JAN-MAR, 2004 APR-JUNE, 2004 JULY-SEP, 2004 OCT-DEC, 2004 JAN-MAR, 2005 APR-JUNE, 2005 JULY-SEP, 2005 OCT-DEC, 2005 JAN-MAR, 2006 APR-JUNE, 2006 JULY-SEP, 2006 OCT-DEC, 2006 JAN-MAR, 2007 APR-JUNE, 2007 JULY-SEP, 2007 OCT-DEC, 2007 JAN-MAR, 2008 APR-JUNE, 2008 JULY-SEP, 2008

My little flubs were things like getting stuck on a word, or, in one case, delivering the wrong line.

WOUNDED PRIDE BE DAMNED: Despite the blow to my ego and pride that impacted me on Saturday, things gots ta be done.

• I am soldiering on with Catch 22, of course.
• Putting some things into works for the first movie project. I think we are going to try to put together a demo DVD with just a few segments, all which will, of course, be fair game for the finished, full movie.
• As well, I may be moving on another DV movie project that can be fit in whenever and whereever. This one is an idea I have had for a while: guided and not-so-much guided improv work on camera. One production point I've really wanted is a two-camera shots, so that there will be two shots of the same magic improv moment. Well, the DP I have connected with, whose name, by-the-way, is Fred Boomer, has two medium range pro DV cameras -- I must admit, I have forgotten what models they are. Right now I am reaching out to a few people who may have an interest in a project like this.
• Also, you can bet your ass that although I am still mad at, and disappointed with, myself for my rank-amateur meltdown on Saturday, I will be back in front of the HRTC auditor or auditors in May 2009, armed with the school lesson from this year.

UPDATE ON THE SHORT-SUBJECT MOVIE STILL ME: Got an email yesterday from director/screenwriter Beth McElhenny saying that the movie is "99% ready to roll out to the film festivals THIS WEEK!" There will be a premiere party, probably in June or July. I suspect it will be in California though. But, regardless, there should be a DVD of the final cut coming my way at that time. There are also some stills from the movie, but at the moment I can't share them, at Beth's behest, because "they are NOT color corrected."

Still Me will be submitted to quite a few film festivals. Don't know which ones yet.

OCT-DEC, 2003 JAN-MAR, 2004 APR-JUNE, 2004 JULY-SEP, 2004 OCT-DEC, 2004 JAN-MAR, 2005 APR-JUNE, 2005 JULY-SEP, 2005 OCT-DEC, 2005 JAN-MAR, 2006 APR-JUNE, 2006 JULY-SEP, 2006 OCT-DEC, 2006 JAN-MAR, 2007 APR-JUNE, 2007 JULY-SEP, 2007 OCT-DEC, 2007 JAN-MAR, 2008 APR-JUNE, 2008 JULY-SEP, 2008

I was completely convinced that I had eliminated myself from any considerations for this upcoming HRTC season. That being proof once again that I am, indeed, my own worst enemy and one of my own harshest critics (though that second point doesn't bother me if it spurs me toward improved skill): I got home from Catch 22 rehearsals last night to find an email from the HRTC company manager, Tara Lail, which says that I am called back for Frederick Knott's mystery/thriller Wait Until Dark.

So you see: what do I know?

The callback is for June 21 -- next month. Not sure why it is so early; the show doesn't go into rehearsal until eleven months from now. Perhaps there is a planned series of audition callbacks to hone down from a large pool, The cool thing -- and a bit intimidating of a thing, I must admit -- is that Wait Until Dark goes up on The Victoria Theatre stage (1100 seats in the audience).

This is the play the 1967 movie, starring Audrey Hepburn, Alan Arkin, Richard Crenna and Efrem Zimbalist Jr. is based on. I vaguely remember seeing it on TV -- I think that was back when I was still smoking (and not all my "cigarettes" were pre-rolled and with filters or sales tax attached). I have not the foggiest idea which role I am even being considered for. I have borrowed my library's copy of the play, but won't be able to read it for a few days. There is another theatrical project demanding my immediate attentions. I have no illusions that I am targeted for a bigger role, but I certainly would not fight that concept were it to become apparent.

CATCH 22: Last night we actually had the entire cast there -- for the second to last dress rehearsal. This was a good rehearsal for me. There were some flubs, but few and quite minor. It was perhaps a notch below what I would be satisfied with were it a performance in front of an audience, but I am still reasonably happy with my work and believe I am ready for tomorrow's Opening Night.

OCT-DEC, 2003 JAN-MAR, 2004 APR-JUNE, 2004 JULY-SEP, 2004 OCT-DEC, 2004 JAN-MAR, 2005 APR-JUNE, 2005 JULY-SEP, 2005 OCT-DEC, 2005 JAN-MAR, 2006 APR-JUNE, 2006 JULY-SEP, 2006 OCT-DEC, 2006 JAN-MAR, 2007 APR-JUNE, 2007 JULY-SEP, 2007 OCT-DEC, 2007 JAN-MAR, 2008 APR-JUNE, 2008 JULY-SEP, 2008

Presents... StageWorks American Classics Series CATCH 22 by Joseph Heller directed by Larry Coressel

AND MORE ON CATCH 22: Final Dress last night was "not absolutely terrible" rather than being "fantastic," which in Theatre Lore & Superstition is good.

There were a few problems that had not come up before. For myself I blew a line in Act II I have never blown before. I also had a cue given to me incorrectly. It needs to be a question; my scene mate made it a statement. I had to think fast of a way to make my answer make sense. I did figure it out. I said, "We were wondering..." then I posed a slightly re-worded version of the question I was supposed to have been asked and was then able to answer it and move on with my lines. This response last night was a bit delayed -- now that I know how to handle it, if he gives the wrong cue again I will jump on it with this solution.

Took a half day off today -- part in the morning, part in the afternoon. Just to give myself good breathing space before the show, and to sleep in a bit this morning.

OCT-DEC, 2003 JAN-MAR, 2004 APR-JUNE, 2004 JULY-SEP, 2004 OCT-DEC, 2004 JAN-MAR, 2005 APR-JUNE, 2005 JULY-SEP, 2005 OCT-DEC, 2005 JAN-MAR, 2006 APR-JUNE, 2006 JULY-SEP, 2006 OCT-DEC, 2006 JAN-MAR, 2007 APR-JUNE, 2007 JULY-SEP, 2007 OCT-DEC, 2007 JAN-MAR, 2008 APR-JUNE, 2008 JULY-SEP, 2008