First things first: having no electricity, to put it gently, sucks. But I won't complain too loudly. Our house was without power for only two days, and considering as of this post that 100,000 are still in the dark, I consider myself lucky. Also, I had a week off of school, which I spent hanging out with family, so I was glad for the mini-break.
The press release for the Honest Abe Festival actually came out a few weeks ago; I posted links for it at both my personal and Jackpot Tiger site. But in case you missed it, click here.
I've been going to, on average, about one play rehearsal a week. I have to say, I'm very excited about the actors' work, Juergen's direction, and the set and lighting design. (Here would be a good time to give the actors a well-deserved shout-out: Matt Orme, Dale Strange, Ted Lesley, and Mike Burmester.) Actually, I'm impressed with the overall quality of the writing, directing, and acting of all of the plays in the Festival. Counting down to Thursday, February 5 -- the Festival's opening night -- and Saturday, February 7 -- my 35th birthday!
Yesterday, John Foster from the Oldham Era came to interview myself and Juergen, as well as take photographs. The article should run in this Wednesday's paper (February 4). Find a copy in Oldham County anywhere newspapers are sold.
At this point, I'll probably not post until after opening night, but let's hope for broken legs and no more ice storms.
Sunday, February 01, 2009
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Podcasting Article in The Courier-Journal
My students work hard. And it's great when they get a chance to shine.
Sara Cunningham from The Courier-Journal came out a few weeks ago to interview myself and my students about a podcasting site we incorporate into the classroom. In short, they record literature circle discussions, and as a culminating project, write, record and edit a "book commercial." It's like a "movie trailer" for the book.
Read the article for more information and a link to the podcasting site:
http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20090121/ZONE09/901210362/-1/ZONE09
In play news, I've been to a few rehearsals, and I'm excited to see Juergen's ideas in action, as well as the actors bringing it to life. (As I told them last night, my favorite parts are the looks, reactions, and acting business they do between and around the lines -- after all, my words are just a scaffold!) We're hoping for some publicity opportunities, but I'll announce and/or link them here if and when they become definite.
Until then, the countdown continues to opening night February 5 . . .
Sara Cunningham from The Courier-Journal came out a few weeks ago to interview myself and my students about a podcasting site we incorporate into the classroom. In short, they record literature circle discussions, and as a culminating project, write, record and edit a "book commercial." It's like a "movie trailer" for the book.
Read the article for more information and a link to the podcasting site:
http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20090121/ZONE09/901210362/-1/ZONE09
In play news, I've been to a few rehearsals, and I'm excited to see Juergen's ideas in action, as well as the actors bringing it to life. (As I told them last night, my favorite parts are the looks, reactions, and acting business they do between and around the lines -- after all, my words are just a scaffold!) We're hoping for some publicity opportunities, but I'll announce and/or link them here if and when they become definite.
Until then, the countdown continues to opening night February 5 . . .
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Holiday Greetings, and a Abe Poster present
Happy holidays! Some amazing things have happened since my last blog posting. We've had an election, and a new President is on his way. Halloween has rushed by, along with Thanksgiving, and Christmas is just a few days away. School has kept me busy and happy.
Here's some pictures of Ayla:
Ayla wanted to be a black cat for Halloween. You can just make out the tail going down the stump. Thanks again to Michelle for taking pictures at our Halloween party (and thanks to Aunt Sue for the stump!).
And here's a few Christmas pictures, also thanks to Michelle (it was hard to narrow down to two to post, but here goes. Oh, and BTW, the backgrounds are courtesy of Michelle's newest stomping grounds, Fusion Photography in Middletown):
Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww.
In Honest Abe Festival, there is a new poster, reflecting a change in playwrights (John C. Finnegan is now in our fourth slot).
I went to a production meeting last week. Turns out Juergen is directing my play (very flattering and tres cool), and rehearsals will begin in January.
I'll try to post at least one more time before the Festival kicks off, especially if I know about any publicity appearances from Juergen or the crew.
Here's some pictures of Ayla:
Ayla wanted to be a black cat for Halloween. You can just make out the tail going down the stump. Thanks again to Michelle for taking pictures at our Halloween party (and thanks to Aunt Sue for the stump!).
And here's a few Christmas pictures, also thanks to Michelle (it was hard to narrow down to two to post, but here goes. Oh, and BTW, the backgrounds are courtesy of Michelle's newest stomping grounds, Fusion Photography in Middletown):
Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww.
In Honest Abe Festival, there is a new poster, reflecting a change in playwrights (John C. Finnegan is now in our fourth slot).
I went to a production meeting last week. Turns out Juergen is directing my play (very flattering and tres cool), and rehearsals will begin in January.
I'll try to post at least one more time before the Festival kicks off, especially if I know about any publicity appearances from Juergen or the crew.
Monday, October 06, 2008
Little Black Dress Rehearsal Party
So I went down to see the new Bunbury Theatre for the first time since they moved into the historic Henry Clay Building. The place is impressive, to say the least. Go to the building's website and see some fantastic pictures.
And if you have $285,000 to drop, you can even live there. Take a virtual tour for free. Just yell when you get back.
Did you enjoy that? Good. Moving on . . .
One of the sponsors of the evening was Little Black Dress wine, appropriately enough. Had a taste-test of their Merlot. Also had a Finlandia grapefruit cocktail drink (another sponsor), which was pretty smooth (I like a good vodka on the rare occasions I drink, but not much of a grapefruit enthusiast, so this is high praise). Munched on some great hoers d' oeuvres; I'd give a shout out to the caterer, but not sure who it was. Should also mention Gilda's Club, yet another sponsor of the event, who had a worthy cause (creating a space for those enduring with cancer to enjoy themselves); their Louisville chapter is celebrating their first year anniversary.
Unfortunately, all this was done without April; Ayla had a photo appointment with Michelle at her new studio space (Moto Photo, across from the Summit). But I enjoyed checking out Juergen's new digs, even if it was solo.
Speaking of Juergen, we did meet and talke for a few minutes. He didn't recognize me without the hair (I was 21 last time we were face to face; ah, youth). Apparently, all but one of the actors of Poisonings are casted. With three months to go before rehearsals, no worries, mate.
The evening concluded with a snippet from their opening show, Beau Jest. We went upstairs to the new theater, and it is a fantastic performance space. It sits 149 in padded stadium chairs in a slight curve around a curtainless stage area. Beautiful. As for the play itself, it looks like it might be a hoot. Frankly, I'm really looking forward to the Albee show at the end of the season, Seascape. (Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? is easily one of the top 5 plays of the 20th century, and a helluva Nichols movie to boot.) Any play where lizards come out of an ocean and start talking -- well, that's hook enough for me.
One of the things I picked up was a flyer that gives an overview of Bunbury's season. Here's a copy:
A closeup of the Honest Abe portion of the flyer is on my personal and Jackpot Tiger websites.
As the holiday season hits (which means AYLA PICTURES!) and possible publicity opportunities ahead, I'll post more soon.
And if you have $285,000 to drop, you can even live there. Take a virtual tour for free. Just yell when you get back.
Did you enjoy that? Good. Moving on . . .
One of the sponsors of the evening was Little Black Dress wine, appropriately enough. Had a taste-test of their Merlot. Also had a Finlandia grapefruit cocktail drink (another sponsor), which was pretty smooth (I like a good vodka on the rare occasions I drink, but not much of a grapefruit enthusiast, so this is high praise). Munched on some great hoers d' oeuvres; I'd give a shout out to the caterer, but not sure who it was. Should also mention Gilda's Club, yet another sponsor of the event, who had a worthy cause (creating a space for those enduring with cancer to enjoy themselves); their Louisville chapter is celebrating their first year anniversary.
Unfortunately, all this was done without April; Ayla had a photo appointment with Michelle at her new studio space (Moto Photo, across from the Summit). But I enjoyed checking out Juergen's new digs, even if it was solo.
Speaking of Juergen, we did meet and talke for a few minutes. He didn't recognize me without the hair (I was 21 last time we were face to face; ah, youth). Apparently, all but one of the actors of Poisonings are casted. With three months to go before rehearsals, no worries, mate.
The evening concluded with a snippet from their opening show, Beau Jest. We went upstairs to the new theater, and it is a fantastic performance space. It sits 149 in padded stadium chairs in a slight curve around a curtainless stage area. Beautiful. As for the play itself, it looks like it might be a hoot. Frankly, I'm really looking forward to the Albee show at the end of the season, Seascape. (Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? is easily one of the top 5 plays of the 20th century, and a helluva Nichols movie to boot.) Any play where lizards come out of an ocean and start talking -- well, that's hook enough for me.
One of the things I picked up was a flyer that gives an overview of Bunbury's season. Here's a copy:
A closeup of the Honest Abe portion of the flyer is on my personal and Jackpot Tiger websites.
As the holiday season hits (which means AYLA PICTURES!) and possible publicity opportunities ahead, I'll post more soon.
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Living in the 1800's, and a Black Dress
When you look outside and there's not a drop of rain --heck, it's even sunny -- you don't worry about a power outage, much less a chance of storm damage. Yeah, the wind was shaking the trees, but I swear I've seen worse.
Imagine my surprise when we lost our power. For five days.
Yep, from Sunday the 13th to Friday the 19th of September, we took a trip back in time. Back when you went to bed early cuz Mother Nature didn't allow you to stay up late watching HBO, or checking on the newest TV and movie news at Dark Horizon. School was also shut down, which meant I did have a chance (during the daylight hours!) to catch up on all of my grading.
Of course, many people were far worse off. When I finally went back to school last Monday, there were still some people without power, which boggles my mind. And all of us are more lucky than many people in the South. Seeing the news report about Galveston, Texas getting hit by Hurricane Ike was particularly distressing, since April and I enjoyed such a fantastic honeymoon there back in 2003. I hope the people of Galveston, and all those affected by the storms, get all right in the end.
Moving on from such heavy news to something a bit lighter. Bunbury Theatre is having a special "Little Black Dress Rehearsal" party to kick off their 2008-2009 season on Wednesday, October 1. I'm going and excited about it -- I haven't been face to face with Juergen since 1995, and I hope to meet some of the artists involved with "Poisonings."
As always, call Bunbury at 585-5306 for more information on the party and their upcoming season.
Imagine my surprise when we lost our power. For five days.
Yep, from Sunday the 13th to Friday the 19th of September, we took a trip back in time. Back when you went to bed early cuz Mother Nature didn't allow you to stay up late watching HBO, or checking on the newest TV and movie news at Dark Horizon. School was also shut down, which meant I did have a chance (during the daylight hours!) to catch up on all of my grading.
Of course, many people were far worse off. When I finally went back to school last Monday, there were still some people without power, which boggles my mind. And all of us are more lucky than many people in the South. Seeing the news report about Galveston, Texas getting hit by Hurricane Ike was particularly distressing, since April and I enjoyed such a fantastic honeymoon there back in 2003. I hope the people of Galveston, and all those affected by the storms, get all right in the end.
Moving on from such heavy news to something a bit lighter. Bunbury Theatre is having a special "Little Black Dress Rehearsal" party to kick off their 2008-2009 season on Wednesday, October 1. I'm going and excited about it -- I haven't been face to face with Juergen since 1995, and I hope to meet some of the artists involved with "Poisonings."
As always, call Bunbury at 585-5306 for more information on the party and their upcoming season.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Lincoln Play Festival Announcement!
Okay, now that I've been informed that actors auditioned for roles in my play this week, I am finally confident enough to officially announce about my newest one-act.
Juergen Tossmann of Bunbury Theatre was kind enough to ask me, along with two other local playwrights (Nancy Gall-Clayton and Dirk Griffin), to contribute new works for an upcoming play festival. (Juergen himself has written a fourth play.) I enthusiastically said yes. After all, Juergen produced my first play at Bunbury as part of their tenth anniversary festival way back in 1995, at my wee age of 21. The festival's theme is pretty clever: not only is it celebrating Bunbury's 23rd anniversary (has it really been 13 years since last time??), but it's a tribute for the 200th birthday of Abraham Lincoln. So, all the plays deal in some way with ol' Abe, and are roughly 23 minutes long.
I don't want to say too much about my play Occasional Poisonings from the Kitchen, except to mention it involves both Mr. Lincoln and the second president to be assassinated, James Garfield . . .
. . . so you'll have to attend the festival to find out the rest.
I'm incredibly excited to be part of the festival, and can't thank Mr. Tossmann enough for giving me another opportunity to have a play staged at Bunbury.
Juergen Tossmann of Bunbury Theatre was kind enough to ask me, along with two other local playwrights (Nancy Gall-Clayton and Dirk Griffin), to contribute new works for an upcoming play festival. (Juergen himself has written a fourth play.) I enthusiastically said yes. After all, Juergen produced my first play at Bunbury as part of their tenth anniversary festival way back in 1995, at my wee age of 21. The festival's theme is pretty clever: not only is it celebrating Bunbury's 23rd anniversary (has it really been 13 years since last time??), but it's a tribute for the 200th birthday of Abraham Lincoln. So, all the plays deal in some way with ol' Abe, and are roughly 23 minutes long.
I don't want to say too much about my play Occasional Poisonings from the Kitchen, except to mention it involves both Mr. Lincoln and the second president to be assassinated, James Garfield . . .
. . . so you'll have to attend the festival to find out the rest.
The Honest Abe 23-Minute Play Festival
February 5-8, 11-15, and 18-22, 2009
Call 585-5306 for ticket information
I'm incredibly excited to be part of the festival, and can't thank Mr. Tossmann enough for giving me another opportunity to have a play staged at Bunbury.
Quick Reviews: TDK and DMB
Finally saw The Dark Knight at the end of July. It's hard to add anything new to say to all the critics, but in short, I loved it. Ledger is guaranteed an Oscar nod, if not a win, for his incredible performance. However, this may be the first "superhero" movie that has a chance to get nominations across the board, especially for Nolan as director. It's that good.
On August 1, April and I finally saw Slugger Field for the first time when we went to see the Dave Matthews Band, with Willie Nelson (!) opening. The first and only time I've seen either one was, coincidentally, at the same venue -- Live Aid, Cardinal Stadium, 1995. Nelson, as always, is a pleasure to see and hear -- a man who loves music and still has the same genuine, emotive voice all these years later. We missed the first few minutes of his set, but got there in time to hear all the classics. (Tell me, how can "Always On My Mind" not be in your top 10 greatest love songs ever?)
Now, DMB and I have an interesting relationship. When I heard "What Would You Say?" in 1994, grunge was midway through its heydey and I had only graduated a few years prior. I thought it was an okay song, and appreciated their musicianship and the catchy hooks of their subsequent singles, but at the time I never really got why people were such ecstatic fans. I certainly never picked up any of their CDs at the time.
But -- not long after "WWYS," actually -- I met and began dating April. And April has always been a HUGE fan of DMB. So after repeated spins in the player, my appreciation grew into a genuine respect, then a warm fondness.
As I said, I went and saw DMB in 1995, but that was enough for me. While April saw them a few times over the years I was quite content to stay at home while she went with a friend. (Quick shout-out to Doug, photographer of Lollygagged and Flannel Flogged.) But by the time DMB announced their Slugger Field concert, I really was interested in going.
Thank God I did. It was an amazing show, not least because Tim Reynolds sat in on lead guitar (Dave's solo albums Live at Luther College and Live at Radio City are favorites of mine cuz of Tim). Blistering playing by all, energetic band chemistry that you could feel in every note. I was disappointed only that they didn't play "Bartender," "When the World Ends," "Don't Drink the Water," or "Crash." On the other hand, they played fantastic covers of "Burning Down the House" and "Sledgehammer," Willie jammed with the band on "Gravedigger," and the concert was nearly three hours long, so it's hard to complain.
I left converted to the religion of DMB. It just took me 14 years. Oh, and BTW: get better soon, LeRoi.
The set list from the night, courtesy of the band's road crew website:
One Sweet World *
Seek Up *
Everyday *
Grey Street *
Gravedigger *+
Eh Hee *
Corn Bread *
Burning Down The House *
Sleep To Dream Her *
Two Step *
Out Of My Hands ~
#41 *
You Might Die Trying *
Sledgehammer *
Dancing Nancies *
Anyone Seen The Bridge *
Too Much Intro *
Ants Marching *
Encore:
Pantala Naga Pampa *
Rapunzel *
Stay (Wasting Time) *
Show Notes:
* with Jeff Coffin
+ with Willie Nelson
~ No Horns, Dave on piano
On August 1, April and I finally saw Slugger Field for the first time when we went to see the Dave Matthews Band, with Willie Nelson (!) opening. The first and only time I've seen either one was, coincidentally, at the same venue -- Live Aid, Cardinal Stadium, 1995. Nelson, as always, is a pleasure to see and hear -- a man who loves music and still has the same genuine, emotive voice all these years later. We missed the first few minutes of his set, but got there in time to hear all the classics. (Tell me, how can "Always On My Mind" not be in your top 10 greatest love songs ever?)
Now, DMB and I have an interesting relationship. When I heard "What Would You Say?" in 1994, grunge was midway through its heydey and I had only graduated a few years prior. I thought it was an okay song, and appreciated their musicianship and the catchy hooks of their subsequent singles, but at the time I never really got why people were such ecstatic fans. I certainly never picked up any of their CDs at the time.
But -- not long after "WWYS," actually -- I met and began dating April. And April has always been a HUGE fan of DMB. So after repeated spins in the player, my appreciation grew into a genuine respect, then a warm fondness.
As I said, I went and saw DMB in 1995, but that was enough for me. While April saw them a few times over the years I was quite content to stay at home while she went with a friend. (Quick shout-out to Doug, photographer of Lollygagged and Flannel Flogged.) But by the time DMB announced their Slugger Field concert, I really was interested in going.
Thank God I did. It was an amazing show, not least because Tim Reynolds sat in on lead guitar (Dave's solo albums Live at Luther College and Live at Radio City are favorites of mine cuz of Tim). Blistering playing by all, energetic band chemistry that you could feel in every note. I was disappointed only that they didn't play "Bartender," "When the World Ends," "Don't Drink the Water," or "Crash." On the other hand, they played fantastic covers of "Burning Down the House" and "Sledgehammer," Willie jammed with the band on "Gravedigger," and the concert was nearly three hours long, so it's hard to complain.
I left converted to the religion of DMB. It just took me 14 years. Oh, and BTW: get better soon, LeRoi.
The set list from the night, courtesy of the band's road crew website:
One Sweet World *
Seek Up *
Everyday *
Grey Street *
Gravedigger *+
Eh Hee *
Corn Bread *
Burning Down The House *
Sleep To Dream Her *
Two Step *
Out Of My Hands ~
#41 *
You Might Die Trying *
Sledgehammer *
Dancing Nancies *
Anyone Seen The Bridge *
Too Much Intro *
Ants Marching *
Encore:
Pantala Naga Pampa *
Rapunzel *
Stay (Wasting Time) *
Show Notes:
* with Jeff Coffin
+ with Willie Nelson
~ No Horns, Dave on piano
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