Let me see if I can crank out a real update instead of some random cryptic message that it seems I've been fond of the last few entries.
This week there has been a slight lull in my usually hectic daily proceedings. This short reprise has allowed me to catch up on important tasks like bathing, and eating, even though I still haven't managed to get by the grocery store.
Search for Signs of Intelligent life in the Universe (man that's a mouthful) opened last weekend. Which meant the prior week consisted of waking, working at the coffee shop, working at the theater, possibly eating, and then going to bed way too late in order to get up so early to do it all again. In addition to being the stage manager for this production, which is a handful by itself, I also had to design the lights, which of course I had no extra time for. I think they turned out adequate though. There were some ideas I had to compromise because I ether didn't have the time or equipment to do. Art is hard. The show itself has bee pretty well received so far. All three nights have been packed, of course the theater only holds 45 people, and the audiences have been very responsive.
In addition to all that stuff, last week I also had auditions for The Tempest, which I'm directing this summer. Yesterday I finally got around to picking a cast and calling them, a week and a half after auditions. Turnout was pretty good for a summer Shakespeare production. I believe I have a pretty capable cast, although I had trouble finding the right person for Miranda. A couple of people were too old, others were too young and some read better for other parts than they did for Miranda. It was a tough decision. It's also tough when you can't find parts for your friends you've worked with numerous times. Decisions.
Palm Sunday I did a dramatic reading of the Passion according to Mark. I read Jesus which I'm sure is intimidating even for people who go to church regularly, let alone people like myself who the closest thing to a religious experience I've had in years is drinking a whole bottle of "The Blood of Christ" the night before. Needless to say I was certain I'd fall dead from a massive aneurysm during the middle of the reading, but I didn't. I'm still alive, at least I think I am, so I guess I didn't do that bad. It was a Episcopalian church though, so maybe I had a little leeway. Perhaps a blind eye was turned. It was an experience tough, especially when the whole congregation yelled, "kill him!" and "crucify him!" (They were prompted to) There is nothing like death threats in church.
Earlier tonight I got to see David Sedaris, one of my favorite authors, perform at the Civic Center. He began by reading an excerpt from his upcoming book of animal stories. He read a story of a crow and a lamb that was hysterical, and a bit twisted in the end. Then he read two pieces he wrote for the New Yorker. One was about this one particularly memorable babysitter he had when growing up in Raleigh, the other was about going to the doctors in Paris, and mistakenly sitting in the waiting room in his underwear. Both were side splitting. He finished by reading excerpts from his journals and answering questions from the audience. It was an entertaining show.
Well that's enough for now. I was planning on talking about how I'm on this 80's pop music jag, and how it's some of the best pop music ever, don't you think, but I'll save that for a later entry.
"Don't you forget about me"
This week there has been a slight lull in my usually hectic daily proceedings. This short reprise has allowed me to catch up on important tasks like bathing, and eating, even though I still haven't managed to get by the grocery store.
Search for Signs of Intelligent life in the Universe (man that's a mouthful) opened last weekend. Which meant the prior week consisted of waking, working at the coffee shop, working at the theater, possibly eating, and then going to bed way too late in order to get up so early to do it all again. In addition to being the stage manager for this production, which is a handful by itself, I also had to design the lights, which of course I had no extra time for. I think they turned out adequate though. There were some ideas I had to compromise because I ether didn't have the time or equipment to do. Art is hard. The show itself has bee pretty well received so far. All three nights have been packed, of course the theater only holds 45 people, and the audiences have been very responsive.
In addition to all that stuff, last week I also had auditions for The Tempest, which I'm directing this summer. Yesterday I finally got around to picking a cast and calling them, a week and a half after auditions. Turnout was pretty good for a summer Shakespeare production. I believe I have a pretty capable cast, although I had trouble finding the right person for Miranda. A couple of people were too old, others were too young and some read better for other parts than they did for Miranda. It was a tough decision. It's also tough when you can't find parts for your friends you've worked with numerous times. Decisions.
Palm Sunday I did a dramatic reading of the Passion according to Mark. I read Jesus which I'm sure is intimidating even for people who go to church regularly, let alone people like myself who the closest thing to a religious experience I've had in years is drinking a whole bottle of "The Blood of Christ" the night before. Needless to say I was certain I'd fall dead from a massive aneurysm during the middle of the reading, but I didn't. I'm still alive, at least I think I am, so I guess I didn't do that bad. It was a Episcopalian church though, so maybe I had a little leeway. Perhaps a blind eye was turned. It was an experience tough, especially when the whole congregation yelled, "kill him!" and "crucify him!" (They were prompted to) There is nothing like death threats in church.
Earlier tonight I got to see David Sedaris, one of my favorite authors, perform at the Civic Center. He began by reading an excerpt from his upcoming book of animal stories. He read a story of a crow and a lamb that was hysterical, and a bit twisted in the end. Then he read two pieces he wrote for the New Yorker. One was about this one particularly memorable babysitter he had when growing up in Raleigh, the other was about going to the doctors in Paris, and mistakenly sitting in the waiting room in his underwear. Both were side splitting. He finished by reading excerpts from his journals and answering questions from the audience. It was an entertaining show.
Well that's enough for now. I was planning on talking about how I'm on this 80's pop music jag, and how it's some of the best pop music ever, don't you think, but I'll save that for a later entry.
"Don't you forget about me"