Actor's Log

Surprise! jaw's edge of a dangerous game, thanks for the picture-window title.

2009-12-12T01:40:00.006-05:00

[These dates are from 2008 - sorry for the negligence!]
1 October: Auditioned for Cardinal Stage Company's Treasure Island & Santaland Diaries, which was mostly prepared readings from sides. They seemed to like my outlook on Snowball, and walked me through some imaginiative work on one of the two Jim Hawkins' sides. I guess they're going much older for the pirates, etc.
2 October: Auditioned for FTP Pictures' For Travis Preston, a short 'dramedy'. Cold read for a lead (Cory) and one other mystery role.
Then ushered and watched Pasquerila East Music Company's Edges, a song-cycle lightly-reminiscent of JRB.
4 October: Filmed a couple scenes (9b, 11) of TOW with fellow cast Adam Newell, Christopher Hunt and Michelle Shea Walker - I found out about 9b upon arrival; it was written the previous night. Brilliantly-sunny, apropros for the scene despite the actual temperature. A nice lunch afterwards.
5 October: Readthrough of Out the Window [later retitled Through the Window], and then they took some photos for use within the film.
7 October: Audition for an untitled feature, including cold reads both from the script (the lead, Tad) and a side from Jaws, reinterpreted per a different character description.
10 October: Filmed half of Window. Did I mention I'm starring with a SAG actress (on student hiatus), Lucy Lavely?
11 October: A meeting/readthrough for Prologue [for an ND Advanced Film Production class], then they had me record two takes of the v.o. which runs throughout the film.
That night, watched The Express again, with Kyle, Beka and Marcus. Marcus apparently missed the whole point of our going, at one point, excited and/or incredulous "What? Daniel's in this movie?!", before they all saw my moment of Hollywood fame. Kyle wondered how anyone could miss me 'mugging' up there . . .
14 October: Busy day. First, started filming a then-untitled b/w 'noir' [later: Thanks, I Owe You One] ; then, finished up on Window. Then a meeting about a stage production of The Passion of St. Marcellus for the feast day, and finally another about Prologue, checking out possible costumes and discussing scheduling and several alternate endings.
15-16 October: More filming, eventaully finished Thanks.
16 October: Watched Ironman with Jon, Justin, Dan and Kyle (I think).
20, 25, 27-29 October: Rehearsals for Marcellus, myself in the title role.
24 October: Another v.o. session for Prologue.
30 October: Two performance of Marcellus, one for a school and the public one - part of the anti-war events that day sponsored by The Center for Peace & Nonviolence of St. Joseph County.
Also filmed a scene (2) for Prologue, involving some interesting camera movement and as many extras (mostly other students from the class) as could be wrangled.

informal, heavy puppet express fu

2008-11-05T00:57:00.006-05:00

8 September: After the previous late night filming, made my way (via Dayton and visiting my brother and his family) down to Charlotte for the Southeastern Theatre Conference (SETC) fall professional auditions. As usual, the space is quite dry, so that coupled with being in the first group of the morning may have kept my audition from excelling. Still felt pretty good.
I had several callbacks. Jefferson Performing Arts Society asked for my headshot/resume. Then I had another with The National Theatre for Children, whom I have seen before at an UPTA and another time as well (maybe two UPTAs?). Pat remembered me right off and I jumped into some cold reads and a bit of improv. We interview a bit after that, and turns out we had added some more people in common acquaintance. Next was an informal callback with Harold Clurman Laboratory Theatre Company (new professional wing of Stella Adler Studio of Acting). They hadn't cemented their season yet, so just expressed interest in my talent as they could gauge from one short monologue! Johnny had worked with Bridgework a while ago, so we talked about that some, and he also encouraged me to look into their Studio also and forward along any questions.

9 September: On the way home (again with a rest in Dayton), stopped in Indianapolis for a reading of TOW with a portion of the cast/crew. Some heavy hitters among them, at least for Indiana.

10-11 September: A few final rehearsals of Complete Works - a lot of improvements had continued in my absence.

12-14, 16, 18-21 September: Run of The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) to mostly enthusiastic crowds. Due to my duties (calls, running a few props, puppeting the Ghost), I couldn't see most of the show, but every night I could watch the Romeo & Juliet and Hamlet-interactive scenes, which were the highlights for me anyway, so that worked out well.

17 September: Got a chance to catch a sneak peek of The Express in Chicago, although they overbooked and I, even leaving right after work, was not near enough to the front of the line. I ended up explaining that I had traveled to be there, had worked on the film and would really appreciate getting in, and a few of the nice ladies from Davis Entertainment found a way to make it happen. They got me into an alternate screening with the Boys & Girls Clubs, which was an experience in itself. Dennis Quaid (flight-delayed) finally came in and gave a stump before they rolled.
The film was better than I had expected; the editing, which was not exactly to my general tastes, worked well for this story, although it did make it difficult to look for myself in the background. Finally saw myself near the climax of the film, laughed out loud at the characterization I had effected in that few seconds (and probably a bit from anticipated surprise as well).

27 September: Saw Kung Fu Panda with Kyle at the dollar theatre. Funnier than I had expected from the previews, which I think were misleading; still sachirine and a falsely-deep 'philosophical' bent.

ghost-private technician

2008-10-20T03:09:00.004-04:00

Ongoing: More rehearsals for The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged), solidifying my involvement as Assistant Director, Stage Manager and Puppeteer (for the Ghost of Hamlet's Father).

27 August: Auditioned for The Swan Repertory Theatre Company's Private Lives. I got to the Equity office early and it was not busy, so I got to do my monologue and then had time to look over an Elyot scene (with Sibyl), and they had time to ask several question about my experience at Cincinnati Shakespeare as well as the locations of Riverside Theatre, The Old Creamery Theatre Company and Southeast Missouri State.

6 September: Filmed my scene (11) in Quantum Leap: A Leap to Di for, with a role as an IT Technician. The real focus of this scene was the impressive set, which had to be completed before filming began. This allowed for some downtime with the always-enjoyable cast and crew. We did a group photo that night as well.

close complete, leap pineapple, ribald fortune

2008-08-24T23:34:00.005-04:00

10-11 August: Final performance of A Midsummer Night's Dream. Felt good, even as it was bittersweet, to see one of the new actors mouthing lines in the audience, to meet another replacer for one brief night before we left the house, to ride over with a new intern getting started on this show, at this theatre and on her path.
We then struck Barefoot in the Park. Odd closure to dismantle a set never-used, to stow our own equipment for additional performances.
I like a lot of the traditions this theatre has, too, for opening, closings and so on.

14, 18-22 August: Over a brew at the local pub, discussed some problems (health and otherwise) the Civic Theatre's production of The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) has been having, and agreed to join, for an indeterminate period, the ongoing rehearsals. So I have been holding book, taking stage managery-type notes and offering assistant directory-type suggestions and commentary. They have discussed the possibility of me serving as stage crew as well, although I have some conflicts during tech week (and have been auditioning for additional possible conflicts).

15 August: Traveled along with a friend for his scene (6) in Quantum Leap: A Leap to Di for and ended up helping out as a cord wrangler and general p.a. Great energy among the cast and crew!

16 August: Watched Pineapple Express with Kyle. Not knowing much of what to expect from the film, I was reassured by Kyle's assertion that he doesn't really see bad movies (although we had previously watched Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skulls). Turned out to be hilarious, unobtrusively-formulaic and slightly subversive, although having a few tone wrinkles. Some good performances by some actors I don't know or hadn't thought about much.

20 August: Auditioned for Lookingglass Theatre's 2008-2009 Season, which includes The Brothers Karamazov (an adaptation of one of my favorite books), Our Town and Arabian Nights. The producing artistic director then asked me some questions and had me redo my monologue, bearing more presently in mind the line that encapsulated my objective. Nice to be able to receive some feedback and take direction at an audition!

23 August: Auditioned for The Sapphire Theatre Company's Lysistrata, the premier production of a new theatre in Indianapolis. This involved, in addition to the monologue, telling a joke. So, of course, I told my favorite, the stupid pirate joke. It was also fun to hear some of the other auditionees jokes, a wide range of joke-style among only a few samples - and all bearing in mind, at least somewhat, the tone/subject matter/concept/bent of the play. I was only able to read an old, somewhat stilted (but in other places quite amusing) translation (Jack Lindsay) of this work by Aristophanes, while the production in question is from an adaptation by the theatre's founders.
I ran into some cohorts there, Nikki (a lead in A Leap to Di for) as well as Lynne (director of all four Bridgework shows), Matt and Emma (her husband and precocious daughter), and then had an amusing lunch with that last three.
Then auditioned for Tow (Grillbust Productions), a murder-mystery feature. This one was a cold read, with which I didn't think I did anything too spectacular, but the auditors appeared to be appreciative. Not sure I'd really like to play the character for which I read, but I will be considered for other roles based on the read.

A Midsummer Night's Dream!

2008-08-10T02:18:00.002-04:00

9 August: Penultimate performance of A Midsummer Night's Dream. We are so good! Despite the fact that we haven't needed it for some time, I am going to miss even running-lines-in-the-car-on-the-way-to-the-show with this cast.

dead vs. iguana

2008-08-08T21:36:00.004-04:00

24 July: Forgot to mention, watched Shaun of the Dead with John, Liz and Sam. We were thinking about that previously but had decided on Starship Troopers first since most of had seen Shaun and not Troopers. Enjoyable, more so then the first time I saw it, I think because I was more removed from/less invested in the story, and this made the jokes funnier.

4 August: Watched the second season of Red Vs. Blue: The Blood Gulch Chronicles. I don't think I had watched this in order, as when I first got into RvB they were not all as easily found. The O'Malley plotline makes a lot more sense now. Looking forward to what happens next.

6 August: Read Trust Amanda by Don Yost, one of several Bridgework scripts I picked up while helping clean and organize when they closed. I liked this one better then several of the ones with which we toured.

quick gulch blog dream-sequence

2008-08-04T03:58:00.003-04:00

28 July: Auditioned, prepared reads both, for The Overwhelming (Next Theatre Company) and 10 Cent Night (Chicago Dramatists), both new plays. The first was with another actor, the second alone, but each without any direction - one take. Quick!

30 July: Watched a bunch of youtube with Dave Rader, including Season 1 of Red vs. Blue: The Blood Gulch Chronicles. Still funny.

2 August: Watched Act Three Dr. Horrible's Sing-along Blog, thanks to a tip from Aiea Sauer that these were still available online. Quite a different feel from the other Acts, enjoyable but distinct. I still like the first part, specifically the laundromat song, the best.

3 August: Performed our antepenultimate A Midsummer Night's Dream. First time we've had our standard mics in a while (after not having electricity, using the library's, not needing them (or perhaps there was some problem with the board temporarily)). The crowd energy was a little muted, but it proved to be another solid show.

4 August: Watched Before the Devil Knows You're Dead with John. Superb acting! Unrelenting film that took me to unexpected places; interesting out-of-sequence story (with a few moments repeated in different context) that provided some interesting discoveries and also a few unneeded confusions.

citizen, knight, families

2008-07-28T03:07:00.006-04:00

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!

2008-07-25T16:21:00.005-04:00

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.

2008-07-21T04:13:00.005-04:00

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

2008-07-17T11:35:00.002-04:00

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

Horribly funny!

2008-07-15T18:52:00.001-04:00

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

Blood, Veggies and Friends in Tennessee

2008-07-15T17:30:00.006-04:00

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.