Novel Eye

Benedict Cumberbatch as the Creature, Jonny Lee Miller as Frankenstein Alas, they put him in a loin cloth--probably to not have to rate it R over here. But the bum was still awesome and yes, I thought how uncomfortable those boys must be during--like puppetry of the penis. The play (IMHO): BC/Creature--11 (BC was perhaps a tad too funny--I'm dying now to see the reversal) JLM /Victor--10 (a little too one-note, but I think that was a fault of the script.) Karl Johnson/De Lacey--9 Rest of cast--5 (except the maid--she was cool) Text--8 Set--besides the big musical numbers ( Steampunk Starlight Express and Brigadoon, the Zombie Version)--9 (the floor in particular was perfect) Music/sound (in our version)--too loud and inappropriate in some scenes Lighting--intriguing, prob. 8. I liked the use of lightbulbs --the subtle suggestion of industry and electricity--and there were enough of them to be very, very good. Some bursting flares that were a little odd. Reminded me of a recent p...

Neil Gaiman mentioned that Teller (as in Penn and ...) was working on a Grand Guignol version of the Scottish Play and I was (of course) intrigued. TURNS OUT that Teller (Amherst--class of '69) is premiering it at Amherst (my Alma Mater) this spring. Oh, squeee ... I wonder if Neil will attend. EDIT: Bother! It already premiered and ended (and it was at the Folger Shakespeare Library (which Amherst owns)--not actually at Amherst). They really should have checked their publication dates before announcing it like that.

Well, it's taken me years, but I finally did it. I finally made a voice-over demo! And like almost everything, it did not warrent the worry I put into it. I have been virtually promised work for a year by one production company if I only had a tape to show around. The work I've done already THIS YEAR for said company nearly paid for it. And yet, I hesitated because I wanted it to be "perfect," whatever that might mean. Perfect script which showed off every aspect of my voice, all kind of accents, etc. In the end, it is a straightforward commercial tape with a little narration and a single "character" voice. No accents, no cartoons. The only odd thing is the inclusion of a poem at the end because I have already been hired to read poems, so it seemed a strange necessity--a bit of originality and differentiation. Plus it's at the end, where most prospective employers won't even hear it. It will remain linked at the side. If/when I do a webpage--which se...

While I was in KC my Mom and I went to see Doubt at the KC Rep. She was offered free tickets. All we had to do was sit through a small presentation. It was like going for a time-share. We were there to hear about the rest of the season and hopefully buy season tickets. Has anyone else heard of this? This new tactic by theaters to get ahold of a captive audience?

I went to see a play this afternoon written by an alum of my college, and I went with an alum of my college, not to have a sort of school spirit thing. I didn't know it was by an alum until last week and I really wasn't interested in going until my friend and I were making plans for the weekend. The playwright and I were actually there at the same time--he was a few years ahead of me. I didn't recognize his name but I recognized him when I saw him. His name is John Cariani and his "day" job is playing Beck, the forensics technician on Law and Order. I kept seeing him in L&O and thinking I knew him, but couldn't think why. God forgive me, I really wanted to not like his play. I wanted it to be pretentious and overblown the way many student plays were when I was at college even though that was nearly 15 years ago. I have nothing against him personally, I just was too human and bitter. Almost, Maine is a sweet and tender set of 9 short plays set in northern ...