Back from vacation

I had a pseudo-six-day vacation this past week.
It was chopped up into different sections.

The first was an excursion to the 2010 DCI finals in Indianapolis. I've got a lot of thoughts about this activity and the finals in particular. It's been a bit crazy to organize all my thoughts. So I may have multiple posts. I HAVE been writing them.

To whet your appetite:

Sleigh Bells - not even a guilty pleasure

I claim to be a young man who has eclectic tastes. I enjoy highbrow, but there's the occasional lowbrow indulgence that can't be surpassed (sigh...I have been known to catch an episode of Jersey Shore here and there).

Okay, now everyone will close this window and never read this blog again. I get it.

When it comes to music, I can't get enough of Fleet Foxes, Mumford and Sons, Gershwin, "Claire de Lune" by Debussy, Shostakovich Symphonies, Atmosphere, Guster, MGMT.

Now I've got another band that completely obliterates my listening tastes into another level of eclecticism:

Sleigh Bells.

There's a kind of cheer/sing/speak throughline in the album--hence the cheerleaders on the cover.

I'd never thought in a million years I would dig this sound.

It's noise--noise-rock. When you get a chance, you have to listen to this as loud as possible. I can work out to this music, I can drive my car to this music, I can write to this music. I got ready for Picasso at the Lapin Agile with this music. It's so fresh, chaotic, and unlike anything I'd ever heard before. It defies convention and I can't get it out of my head.

I know I'm about three months past the hype. But the Observer in London just reviewed it (just released across the sea). So I thought I'd join in the fun/insanity.


From the Pitchfork review:

There's spirit to this music, and the sonic assault is celebratory, asking only that you come along with it and join in. All of which, for me, anyway, makes the hype melt away. And if it's true that records this intense and exhilarating don't always sustain themselves over the long haul, that's not a worry either. The visceral thrill of Treats may not last forever, but neither does life; right now, this feels like living it.

And then there's Paste Magazine:

Treats, the debut effort from noise-rock newcomers Sleigh Bells, is the logical conclusion of the loudness war; it manages to challenge basic assumptions of how music can (and should) sound. You either buy the Brookyln duo’s central conceit or you don’t: bombastic synth-rock for bombast’s sake, with mixing cranked so high your speakers sound like they’re about to combust. It’s a preposterous juxtposition—Alexis Krauss’ way-past-sweet vocals as the sugary glaze on Derek Miller’s gritty and serrated riffing and beats—until the soaring power chords of opener and single “Tell ‘Em” kick off the album with a thunderclap, and you barrel through a 32-minute sonic rollercoaster that’s totally, gloriously, devoid of subtlety and restraint.

This could be a fleeting experiment in musical tastes, but I don't care. It doesn't concern me that I may absolutely hate this noise a year from now (heck, even a month from now). There's something vital in the sound that has grabbed me by the collar and shakes me up.

I just wanted to share. Listen at your own risk.

Maybe give it a couple chances; I sampled on MySpace and just couldn't figure it out. I didn't understand the hype. Then I heard it blasting at Urban Outfitters a couple weeks later and recognized it instantly. That's when I knew there was something in the works. Now I have the album.

The present/ and future of Actor Called Tim

I've been messing around with the new blogger template/design thing. It seems every day I have a new layout/design. Now, I'm vying for something simpler. Only a couple fonts, not too many colors, etc.

I'm happier with this so far.

My thoughts about this blog have been pretty conflicted. I've been reading a lot of other ones lately. Most of them are larger, theatre or cultural blogs that aren't so personal. I'm getting a bit tired of actor's blogs to be honest. The ones I enjoy the most are people I know, or people that I've established some kind of relationship with (whether it's online or not). Actor's blogs about the highs and lows of auditioning in New York and LA are completely boring to me. I don't care. I'm all for documenting and logging progress and observations. I think that's vital, personal work, but it's definitely not engaging reading.

A year ago, I set this up to have a better focus toward my acting in the real world. It's been a way for friends and family to keep posted on what I've been up to. The work has been steady, it's been the case since May 2009--all at the same company. I also have future plans that aren't quite ready to be public knowledge.

In any case, I'm not a struggling actor at the moment. I'm supremely grateful for this.

My interest in reading and communicating (online) about theatre lie with new trends in how artists market their work. I want to know what's happening across the nation in regional theatre. That's what is most exciting to me. Yes, it's dying, but so is poetry, literature, and everything else in this world.

No, scratch that, all these forms are changing and evolving. I'm not willing to say that it's dying.

At the moment, I don't want to dive in quite yet and have my own official actor website. Blogger can be manipulated to have such a thing, but I'm not quite ready to jump into that. I don't quite have that need. Perhaps this is misguided, perhaps not.

Grad school prep is looming.

I'm hoping to find a funny contemporary monologue that pairs well with serious verse (Shakespeare). I'm not going for kitsch and quirk. I'd like something that has heart. Think Jimmy Curry in the Rainmaker. He's a bit of a dope, but he's earnest and committed. If anyone has ideas of plays I should look into, I'm all ears. The buck doesn't stop with two monologues. I've got some others in my back pocket that can serve me well. But I'm vying for a fresh start.

In any case, I hope to do more sharing, more commenting, and more writing on this. It won't necessarily be just about acting and theatre. In fact, I've got some ideas swirling about graphic novels. I just read Summer Blonde by Adrian Tomine. It's my first foray into this genre, and it's striking.

For those of you who've stuck around, thanks. I hope you find it all more interesting. Not much may be happening in the tiny town where I'm living, but once you leap into the super connected world wide web, there's a lot going on, and I'm eager to take a more active role in all that.

Two Gentlemen of Verona

PREVIOUS TIES WITH THIS PLAY

I haven’t read this or seen a production of it. I did have production photos and elements of the Guthrie’s version in my head whilst reading this. But I’m not sure how that colors my reading any more or any less. I knew there was a dog in the show, and it would be really fun to see a dog that just kind of sits on stage with Lance.

All in all, this is a pretty fresh read of the play.



REACTIONS

I’m not quite sure what to write here. I don’t think it’s going to be any fun to summarize these plays. (Especially the more complicated ones).

You’ve got your basics for a Shakespearean comedy in this one: mistaken identity, young lovers, some clowns (inherent in many, if not all Shakespeare, no matter the genre), two weddings (well, they’re bound to happen in the end). Sorry to spoil it for you.




THE ENDING

It’s nearly impossible to believe all the forgiveness and pardons going off like fireworks.

You’ve got this guy (Proteus) who’s head over heels with this girl (Julia). Then he goes on some forced, educational travel and becomes even more head over heels with his best friend’s (Valentine) girl (Sylvia). At the end, Proteus is prepared to “love [Sylvia] ‘gainst the nature of love: force ye.” Then, the stage direction indicates “assailing her.”

Valentine forgives him.

I mean, I guess it's win-win for everyone, but at what cost?


MONOLOGUES

Yeah, there are a couple Proteus possibilities. I’m not convinced they’re the optimal choices. There's not much to offer in terms of talking TO someone. I better mark them just in case.

Ultimately, this is a silly, silly play with some inconsistencies (are we in Mantua, Verona, or Milan?).

The scene with the Duke and the rope was fun.




READING CONCLUSIONS

I’m not sure that stretching my reading of this play over the course of the week is the best practice. It’s kind of hard to retain all the scenes. And this is a simpler play of Shakespeare’s. I may have to be more diligent in arranging longer reading periods through this.

Shakespeare in a Year has begun!

It's not really a whole year, but I do have some buffer.
I've committed to reading all the plays of Shakespeare (all the works??) in a year.
Each Sunday, I'll start with a new play.

This week is Two Gentlemen of Verona.

No, this isn't the most difficult challenge in the universe, but it's enough of one. And I'm reading plenty of other things too.

I'll keep you posted.

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In other news, I woke up in a terrible mood. And I missed a box office shift. I feel awful about it. I wasn't quite in the mood to do a matinee of Picasso, but for some reason, my warmup and everything brightened the day. Thank goodness for theatre.

What I've Been Up To...

Hey.

I’m still here, I promise.

In the past two months (‘cuz that’s how long I’ve been “away”), I closed John Gabriel Borkman and have just moved to playing Schmendiman in Picasso at the Lapin Agile—a small, but mighty role if I do say so myself.


SUMMER

The summer has been nice. I’ve been biking quite a bit more lately. But a few days ago, both my tires have popped—nay, burst. I think I filled them with too much air. So I’ll have to get that fixed. I’ve been itching to go on another longer ride.

NOTE: “Longer” to me means more than twenty miles.


SEEN ANY GOOD MOVIES LATELY?

Yes, I have!

Toy Story 3 was brilliant, affecting, and delightful.

Inception was awesome. I’m on the hype bandwagon. There are some naysayers out there on the web. I have to agree that there’s some serious lack of character development BUT this is a smart movie. And with a summer blockbuster like this, you have to pick and choose which battles you want to fight. Chris Nolan has deftly managed another excellent, smart, action film. I want to see it again.

Mad Men starts up again on AMC this summer. I’ve only seen the first season. I like it, but it’s a different show. It moves slowly and the characters are so sleazy and seedy, but you can’t not watch them. I found the second season for $20 at Best Buy the other day, so I indulged. I’ll probably start up with the first season again so that my housemates can catch up.

READING

I’ve started about four different books for reading; it’s been a bit challenging to commit to any one at the moment. I’ve got stacks and stacks on my nightstand and it’s just been no good.

One is The Book Thief, which is all the rage in Young Adult Fiction land. It takes place during World War II and is narrated by Death. I’m about 1/3 in and it’s a little slow for my likes. I’m committed to finishing it though, but I’m waning interest.

The Magicians by Lev Grossman is REALLY intriguing to me. It’s marketed as a darker, mature, hip Harry Potter for adults. I’ve just started reading it, but I’m enjoying.


The Girl on the Fridge is a collection of short stories by Etgar Keret, an Israeli author who writes in this surreal/magical realism form that I can’t get enough of. Salman Rushdie has given his stamp of approval. It’s got a similar vibe to Aimee Bender and John Jodzio. The stories are extremely short and bizarre.


SHAKESPEARE IN A YEAR

I found out that a friend is committed to reading all of the plays of Shakespeare in a year. This has been something I’ve been wanting to do, but had little gumption to follow through. I mentioned this idea to a couple housemates and fellow actors and they seem on board. It’s like a workout plan—it’s a bit easier to do when you’ve got a small support group.

No, we’re not going to read them aloud together.

There is a Facebook group and website devoted to it: www.shakespeareinayear.com, but we’re going rogue and doing our own thing. I’ve developed a rough list to read them in. We’ve got a week to read each play. I mean, this isn’t a ridiculously daunting challenge, and I have to imagine that they get easier over time.

The other benefits include a lot of great monologue research—especially with the more obscure ones (not that it’s supremely difficult to find the monologues, but still, you know what I mean). I’ve probably read or seen a version of the “TOP TWELVE” (an arbitrary title) go-tos for Shakespeare plays, but there are a couple dozen more that need some attention.

I’ll be tracking progress and thoughts in this blog. It needs revival (and you can only write so much about performing Schmendiman over time).

GRAD SCHOOL PREP

It’s about time for serious, serious diving into grad school prep. I made a meager attempt last year—one that I don’t regret by any means. But it’s time to start going over programs, websites, and a set of monologues.

I’ve got some informal meetings I’d like to have with some theatre colleagues, friends, strangers in mind. I also have intentions to make a couple site visits to schools that have lingered on my list for quite some time.

Someone told me to just skip U/RTAs all together—especially if I have a strong idea of which schools are going to work. I’m not convinced that’s the best advice. There could be value in casting a wide net.

In any case, there are a couple trips in order, so I’ll have to be strategic and sensible about which ones to visit and how much money I can spend for these trips. I think I’ll definitely want to see any productions a school may be producing (which makes late fall/early winter an ideal time, and that’s perfect for me because I’m not in any shows after the end of September).

As I write this, it’s become increasingly apparent that I have to make a bit of a “marketing plan or calendar” for this preparation. This could take a lot of work, but it will also eliminate a lot of slip-shod and haphazard work down the road.
Just thinking about all this is energizing and exciting.

How’s THAT for an update?

June is Bustin' Out All Over

Hello good and faithful readers. It’s been a while.

When I set this blog up, I had lofty intentions of writing extended essays about theatre and art, both as an actor and general lover of live performance. This may still happen. I’m not quite sure. Perhaps that can be a nice summer project.

I recently dawned on me that I’ve been in rehearsal since January on some kind of production. The rehearsals are done. I’ve opened three shows this year. One has closed, one is about to close, and one just opened.

Anyway, I’ve opened Picasso at the Lapin Agile. We’ve had a number of performances. Had a sold-out show on Saturday night.

Here’s the thing about Schmendiman: it’s only three minutes. This is one of the most challenging roles I’ve ever played.

Prepping for Schmendiman in Picasso at the Lapin Agile.

BIT PARTS

I’m reminded of seeing Macbeth at the Guthrie. The Porter came on stage well into the action and blew me away. It was a hilarious and stunning performance. And that was all. Lady Macduff also had a strong performance. She made sure that her presence on that stage was fully vibrant and present. I’m always drawn to those performances.

I’m grateful and watch in awe of those actors who make the most of what they have.

I’ve never, ever believed Schmendiman to be a throw-away role. I approach this character with a lot of severity. It’s just so random and bizarre. Most audiences don’t know to expect him. There are times when I see audiences poking their heads at their programs. It catches them off guard. Steve Martin tiptoes right ahead of the audience and then likes to make an occasional mad dash. That’s part of comedy—it’s a play on patterns and the disruption of patterns.

In any case, there’s this part of me that’s continually torn between just how extreme this role is. I’ve been pushing and forcing, wasting a lot of energy. I’m still not quite sure what is necessary to find the proper groove for this. There have been a couple performances where it just felt good. Every thing felt right. My next challenge is to figure out how ride the wave with ease and finesse.

ROTATING REP

For the next two weeks, I will be performing in repertory. I’ve got the Schmendiman a couple nights during the week, and then that alternates with playing Erhart in the Borkman production. These two shows couldn’t be farther apart in scope and style.

This is sort of the prime of artistic responsibilities this year. I really enjoyed playing the two roles last week. It stretched different muscles. After June 11, I’ll just be doing Schmendiman until September. I think with this bit part, it can be easy to over-think this. But I don’t want to write this off for a second. It’s all I have for the rest of the year.

It’s strange. I knew this year would be a bit unbalanced. The first half would have a lot of responsibility and juggling. The second half would be pretty tame. I’m entering a transition period.

Perhaps I’ll delve into this a bit deeper later on.

I’d also like to write a bit about attending the legendary Mumford and Sons concert last week. It was phenomenal, perhaps even transcendent. I’d like to write about other theatre I’ve attended that has had a profound effect on me. There’s a lot of ideas, but they aren’t much use if they just stay that way.