Keeping the Blog Alive

Okay, so our readership and writership on this blog are about nil. Are we deterred?

No.

Because I'm here to post about some theatre stuff. Dig?

Actually, I'm mostly interested in posting some news: I've been cast in the first show of Performance Network's 2010-2011 season, Sonia Flew. This will be my first sustained professional acting gig, and I'm psyched. The show will start at PNT in September, and move to the Jewish Ensemble Theatre in December, so it'll be a big part of my life for about five months.

The Sonia Flew rehearsal schedule has also prompted me to request that we move the Slant of Light reading of Thorstein the Staff-Struck, and Stacy graciously agreed. Sometime, though! It will happen! (Thanks, Stacy!) Stay tuned!

Last thought, for now: Earlier today, I was telling both A.C.T and Kim Carney that I haven't been writing enough recently. This is the truth, and I will work on it. No matter how many corporate newsletters I write, it's just never the same as working on a script.

Fools

Reactionaries:
Since we're all in different places doing different things, our combined photographical efforts could make for a rockin' album attached to this blog. If you want, send me photos of your recent exploits, and I'll make it happen.

I've added a Links section. If there are any more I ought to include, or any you object to, let me know.

Reactionaries and Readers:
Ann Arbor's yearly FestiFools was a lot of fun, though the streets were nearly packed solid. It's the day when downtown gets taken over by twelve-foot puppets on parade.

Last year, Nate Beckman was coming through town on FestiFools Sunday. We met at PNT and walked to Main Street to get some coffee, only to be confronted by all manner of weirdness. (Welcome to Ann Arbor, Nate.) The rain kept some of the crowds away, and also gave things a slightly melancholy atmosphere. The combined effect was more surreal than comic (or Foolish), as if all the cars had suddenly been replaced by giant puppets.

By contrast, yesterday was sunny and bright, and I've never seen downtown that mobbed before. I'll post some pictures soon.

Reactionary Meter.

Okay, it's time. We must either give this blog a new name or move forward as Reactionary Meter.

The name comes from an in-joke dating back to Mod 57, as one of the potential bands that I could start with Gabe Valdez and Colin Duncan. (It was the British metal group, obviously. The gypsy-folk one was Czech Your Pockets.) For some reason, as I was casting about for an interesting, nonsensical, and only vaguely meaningful title for this blog, my brain decided to recycle the joke, and here we are.

So, have at it: Convince me that a better title for this blog exists. (And also tell me what it is, smart-aleck).

On business, sickness, and mountainous.

Less than a week old, and already JP and Stacy have jumped in to help make this blog become...something. Okay, no need to rush to definitions just yet. I like the idea that we can mix practical/theoretical discussions with memories and day-to-day life blogging. In the world of theatre, it all seems to mash together for me, anyhow.

I'd like to mention that it's really good to be busy again, with a full day at PNT and then three hours of rehearsal for Barefoot in the Park before heading home through the fallin' Michigan snow.

Funny coda to something I mentioned in the post about my apprenticeship. Last night I got sick with something that felt just about exactly like whatever took me outta commission for two days last year, except it only cost me some hours and part of a night's sleep this time. It sucked, but it sucked for a lot less time than it did before. I'm beginning to think that it's actually the result of some weird allergy, but I can't prove anything yet.

Irony of the day: Patrons having difficulty making it to the first preview of K2...because of snow.

This may serve a purpose.

This blog begins with the end of another blog.

Well, that's not true. This blog begins with my removal from another blog. About six weeks ago, I found I was no longer among the authors of Performance Network Theatre's official blog, which I started during my apprenticeship. The fact that this took place after I'd already finished my apprenticeship, and thus, had no real reason to post there, doesn't quite lessen the sting.

The joke's on them, though. I can still log in as "staff."

However, I've chosen a (supposedly) more productive course: starting a new theatre blog, not (currently) tied to any group in particular. I'm not sure what direction it's going to go in, or ultimately, what it's for, except that I think something Interesting might happen if I invite a few of my theatre-life friends to post here. More than one of my intended co-authors are actively involved with starting new theatres, and there are lots of challenges facing the theatre community that we can explore, or at least, complain about. Maybe they'll keep me honest, maybe we'll inspire each other, and maybe we'll come up with something worthwhile. They had better not try to kick me off this one, or it will be War.

So, a bit about me. I'm a playwright and an actor, currently living in Southeast Michigan and wondering if I might not benefit from a change of scenery. I spend a fair amount of time being confused about what to do next, in between spans where suddenly, wham, it all makes sense, I'm right where I should be. Guess which phase I'm in at the moment.

I've got a lot of projects going, some of which have been "in progress" for quite a while, and I'm sure this will be true of everyone who contributes here. I hereby humbly request all collaborators (and readers) to use labels identifying projects, shows, groups, and theatres to help keep things manageable.