2011 Updates!
Laura and I are actually starting to settle into our new place. We’re no longer buried in boxes, and we’re expecting our long-ago ordered gift from the family to finally arrive today - a portable dishwasher! This means I may have more time to blog in the future.
I had readings of two of my scripts in Minneapolis a few weeks ago. Script #1 was a first read of the first draft of the play I wrote during last November’s National Playwriting month. The reading was put together by my friend Zach and he had some amazing talent gathered, so it got a good read - sounded much better than I expected, which is awesome. The script may have potential.
Script #2 was The Friar & The Nurse, which is near and dear to me. I wrote it with my first grant, it launched Laura’s and my theatre company in Charlotte, and Laura and I did three productions of it, the last one being the New York Fringe Festival back in 2005. I’ve been anxious to get it to new actors so I can see what someone else will do with it. My friend Edwin has it up for the Minnesota Fringe and will perform it with his associate Jean if they make the fringe lottery. They did a beautiful first reading of the script, so I’m not anticipating as many rewrites as I thought.
I’ve also been inspired to try to put together a staged reading of my play Ice Maidens this year in Minneapolis, though I’m not sure how I’m going to make that happen. I’m a member of the Playwright’s center, but even for members, their space and actor fee is pretty expensive. Though if I can get the script in front of some producers, it might be worth it. Stay tuned.
I’m doing more writing for videos at the theatre this year. In addition to writing the play trailers and context (educational) videos for each production, I’m in charge of creating and helping conceptualize the video blog entries for the theatre’s blog. It’s a lot of fun, as I haven’t been vlogging myself lately since our camera’s dying a slow, horrible death. (vlogging now requires new batteries for every ten-minute session and duct tape)
I’ve been working on replacing waiting tables with more freelance writing - it’s more money for the time, more flexible schedule-wise, and doesn’t leave me smelling like french fries. I’ve started investigating the writing market in Minneapolis (mainly for corporate events) and I’ve already made some good contacts. Hey if you have any leads, give me a shout.
I’ve gotten bonkers into Dr Who these days, thanks to the New Year’s weekend marathon on BBC America and my sweet, stylin’ DVR, which I can’t believe I’ve been living without. I’ve also been able to grab a few good movies off of IFC like Apocalypto, Layer Cake and The Aviator (which I haven’t watched yet). If only my cable service carried Univision so I could watch Sabato Gigante, my life would be complete.
My acting jobs this year are going to be pretty sweet. I’ll play the lead in our first show Ibsen’s “An Enemy of the People,” then Orin the Dentist (and all his little friends) in Little Shop of Horrors. I love that show - I’ve played Mushnik twice. I’ll end the year playing the shop-owner-whose-name-escapes-me in “Parfumerie,” the precursor to “Shop Around the Corner” and “You’ve Got Mail.” I’ll also be doing sound designs of all those shows, as well as “Sylvia’ and “To Kill a Mockingbird.”
I’ve been managing to run at the fitness center about three times a week, usually about three miles, but it’s going to take a while until I get back down to last summer’s weight. I got a few soft tissue injuries last September that kept me from running, then my rehearsal schedule got heavy, followed by the holidays, during which I ate everything, with a side of all of it. I’ve stabilized my weight at about ten pounds above last summer’s low, and I’m hoping to get back down there and then some (so 20 lbs?) by the time we open Little Shop in June. I don’t see Orin as a pudge.
As for now, Laura and I are enjoying some vacation time at home before the Ibsen Madness begins. We were originally going to skate down to Florida and check out Harry Potter World, but we decided to funnel that money and time into getting our new place cozy and hip. Today we put up some more curtains, the aforementioned dishwasher will arrive this afternoon, and later there will be astonishing food cooked by Laura and a movie of some kind. Kicking around a cozy house with a gorgeous woman (along with a zen dog and two festive cats) is a pretty damn fine vacation if you ask me.
That’s my life, and it’s a good one.
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