citizen, knight, families

22 July: Forgot to note, John, Sam and I watched Starship Troopers. Interesting film, not really 'good' in the terms I generally use for films, but raised some good questions and had fun with itself. It was, I think - I could be wrong here - almost exactly what it intended to be, which can be difficult to attain.

26 July: Went to see The Dark Knight with John, Audrey and Liz. Wow! Rare to see a film with this combination of writing and acting talent, and that delivers on that potential. Also some good effects. The sound mix was a little off - it didn't help that we were in the back row (crowded theatre!) - so some dialogue was overpowered by the score, which was distracting. But, as the film will likely bear rewatching to appreciate nuances, this distraction should not be a major disappointment. I looked for but did not catch my friend Scott Ganyo in his background role. (Scott played the dark knight opposite my boy wonder in Star Trek Versus Batman.)

27 July: A return to outside performances with A Midsummer Night's Dream, to one of our biggest audiences, which was also vocally appreciative of some unique moments. They seemed to enjoy some purely textual points that we hadn't noticed much response to previously. There were also a fair amount of all ages, including a family that had attempted, as part of a birthday celebration, attending an earlier, rained-out performance. Great energy, even minus our tour manager.

Dime-folio library, Batman!

22 July: Read 10 Cent Night by Marisa Wegrzyn in anticipation of an audition for Chicago Dramatists. Funny, dark script; especially liked Roby's-handcuffed-to-the-chair scene.
Auditioned for First Folio Shakespeare Festival; they asked when I did Riverside, chuckled at the Big Love monologue and liked my socks.

23 July: Performed A Midsummer Night's Dream indoors, on a library stage. Different, much easier, but a small space so unique challenges.

24: July: Watched Batman: Gotham Knight. Not exactly my style, but that and conversations with various people this week have me really excited for The Dark Knight, whenever I get around to seeing that.

Bare, sweating the window of lokeli.

July 18: Watched Barefoot in the Park's opening night. I really enjoyed this, much funnier than reading the play was. Justin -- who has preceded me at several theatres along my career, as well as sharing a few other tangentials -- was brilliant, great to see him shine on stage as opposed to just around the house. Sherman was also convincing and amusing - the whole cast, actually, did well.

July 19: After our longest hiatus in the schedule, we had a satisfying return to performing A Midssummer Night's Dream. Although, it was hot! Great audience, lumpy uneven ground as our stage, only the slightest hitches in our delivery. I'm really happy with this cast.

July 20: Watched Act Two of Dr. Horrible's Sing-along Blog - not quite as funny as the first installment. And I didn't realize that these were only free for a limited window, so I missed Act Three.

July 21: Finished reading The Overwhelming by J. T. Rogers, in anticipation/as part of decision to audition for the role of Geoffrey in a production of it at Next Theatre in Evanston. Powerful, tangled, but in some ways simple and direct.

Three Amigos

16 July: Watched Three Amigos with Liz and Tadzio. Those three actors are funnier every time.

Horribly funny!

Dr. Horrible's Sing-along Blog. Ha!

Blood, Veggies and Friends in Tennessee

13 July: Watched There Will Be Blood with Aunt Winnie & Uncle Rick. Grasped several subtleties not appreciated on the first viewing.

14 July: Visited Emily Brown (on her birthday) at Dollywood and saw her dance and puppet in two Veggie Tales Live shows: Rack, Shack and Benny and Lyle the Kindly Viking. Sort of funny, not a lot of substance. Also saw a loosely-plotted musical revue, Dreamland Drive-in - sung well, danced passably, acted . . . lightly.
Various shared acquaintances with some of her castmates: Creamery castmates of mine = college friends of theirs.