Monthly Archives: November 2012

Fleeting: Smoking Kids

Normally I am pretty open minded when it comes to habits… particularly of the smoking variety. I am personally a non-smoker and will forever be a non-smoker. However, I do know quite a few people that do smoke and I just leave them be… they know me well enough to know that if they smoke they should at minimum pop a mint or a piece of gum if they want to talk to me again… I’m just that sensitive to cigarette smoking.

But enough about me… via my Facebook feed earlier this week a friend of mine shared the following video (that I managed to hunt down via YouTube) and I have to say… this is probably by far the best anti-smoking video I have seen in a very long time:

Continue reading →

Review: Live Arena Tour’s Jesus Christ Superstar

This cannot be considered a true review because I haven’t seen the production in its entirety, however… what I have seen (which is more than plenty) is enough for me to warrant putting my thoughts down on a post and continue on my merry way.

I’ll be brutally honest… first… if I were to do the last year all over again, I would participate in this show once and that is it. Once is more than I am able to stomach and there has to be a damn good reason as to why I would want to participate in the production a second time and in all honesty it wasn’t worthwhile. So by extension I have been adverse to actually since any kind of production of JCS on stage… unless it is for a damn good reason.

Well is Melanie Chisholm and Tim Minchin good enough reasons? After the following live performance with Mel C as Mary, Tim Minchin as Judas, and Ben Forster as Jesus… For me hell yeah!

Continue reading →

Endeavors: NaNoWriMo Weeks 2 and 3

Ok… so it would appear that it takes me another two weeks before I found a block of time to sit down and just write again.

So for a quick update of Week 3 (since I did squat in Week 2):
Day 15: edited the first ten-minute scripted. Deleted a character and streamlined the script more before sending out to a few friends.

Day 18: edited the first ten-minute again after talking to friends and going back to old comments. Also worked on other ten-minute scripts. Reprinted script that I didn’t have access to originally.

Day 19: I wrapped up all the scenes that were missing in the accidental deletion bring the overall word count to 5,019 (words written / added: 326).

Day 21: Expanding the Sixth Scene in the series of vignettes as well as re-worked a few of the earlier scenes so that the Narrator wouldn’t be talking so much or rather narrating the piece too much by himself. Also added an afterword kind of describing the purpose of the work and the inspiration. Word count: 6,010 (words written / added: 991).

Conclusion: So I did manage to get some decent work in, I am impressed with myself. It only took a week of doing squat before I was able to get back into the groove of writing.

However, there is no way I will be able to hit the 50,000 word goal that is typically set by NaNoWriMo unless by some miracle I pull off an all day marathon writing session… and who knows if that would happen.

What I will say is that for the series of vignettes, now that one scene is completed I am back to going back to the research material to plan out what I would like to do next. So it might be a day or two until I actually get anymore writing done, unless something presents itself.

Ah well… one can hope I suppose.

As for another other posts? I am not exactly dry on the posting front I have just been focused on getting some legitimate writing done this month since that was the commitment I made. Eventually I’ll start posting again… but until then I will work on the writing projects and maybe if things work out I’ll post a few tidbits, but somehow I am doubt that I would even do that.

UPDATE: NaNoWriMo Day 21

Leave a reply

Wow, this was a rather strong writing day. Didn’t expect that. I kind of just sat down, reworked a few scenes, redistributed a bunch of lines and expanded on Scene Six. Now I am done with Scene Six and am looking into my research to see what I have to do next…

Total Word Count: 6,010

Yup, that is a pretty decent jump.

Granted I have been doing a little bit of editing other stuff… so really is this any surprise? I also added an Afterword to the script to gives additional information about inspiration and how the idea came about… which added to the over all word count.

When looking at the “research” for the series of vignettes… I ended up breaking down approximately how many other scenes I most likely have and I counted at minimum around eight and at most? Ha I don’t want to think about that yet… yeeeeaaaah I am not even halfway done. Go figure.

So what else do I have in the queue should I be so lucky as to finish writing the vignettes? Well there is the first ten-minute play formally named “Cycles”, I also have another ten-minute that is going to undergo heavy revisions if not a full out rewrite called “Moments”. Another script that needs to go through heavy revisions is based off of Ray Bradbury’s “The Rocket Man”.

Then of course there is the full show that I have to streamline called “Arrangements”… if I do this right I would be able to whittle the character list from ten to six and possibly even five… but I am unsure if I could even do that! Ugh.

Of course I have all these prose projects that have been on back burner… in the end I am just glad to have gotten started on anything at all… hopefully this motivation lasts into the next month or so. We’ll see.

UPDATE: NaNoWriMo Day 19

1 Reply

So I finally got around to completing a couple more scenes from the series of vignettes stage play that I have been working on being my word total up to 5,019-ish… Well more or less. I am sure I am off by a few words give or take.

From here on out the series will be new material compiled from previous stories… And as thus a kind of “starting from fresh” kind of mentality. Not a bad thing mind you but it may or may not make plowing along easier.

But really…
Continue reading →

Recipe: Cracker Jack Breaded Chicken w/ Orange Sauce

Don’t ask me why Cracker Jack (as in the caramel popcorn) because that was the challenge issued to me and for someone that likes challenges… why not? So I had the darnedest time trying to figure out what would work and a shot out of the blue I thought “breaded chicken”! So the simplest would be to ground the Cracker Jack into a powder for the breading. Not bad… but now what? Well for the adhesive I had a basic idea what I wanted… but to get a basic idea of portions I had to look up the interwebs… and the following is what I found.

So what did I end up using? Well…
– Jolly Time: Thai Peanut and Popcorn Crusted Chicken
– Tasty Trials: Peanut and Crack Jack Crusted Chicken with Spicy Peanut Dipping Sauce
– No Recipes Blog: Orange Chicken

How did I marry the above three recipes together?
Continue reading →

UPDATE: NaNoWriMo Days 18 and 19

Leave a reply

So during a rehearsal line read through over the weekend I went through a couple of ten minute plays of mine and reworked and continued to edit them. I have completed the editing process for one and once I have implemented the changes will go through it again one more time before sending it off to a couple of close friends for their opinions on the changes.

As for the other? Well it needs work. I like the concept and the idea and the whys, but since a lot of the dialogue is based off of conversations I had many moons ago what works in real life doesn’t necessarily work on stage. So I have two choices I could rework from the script what I want or I could scrap the whole thing and just start from scratch. Now that I have a better idea of what I want to do and how to shape it, the latter might be more to my liking, who knows.

What is on the agenda? Other than the above I still have the series of vignettes to continue working on. I am tempted to just go back and start formatting the sucker for my sanity and so others could start reading (or I could start editing) but I don’t know if that would help or hinder the process… Meh, does it really matter? I am getting stuff done… that’s all that counts. 😉

Overall I have gotten… or have been getting a lot more done editing-wise than I had initially anticipated, and it is a good feeling. Moreso now that I have a couple half an hour or so just sitting down and focusing on editing during rehearsals. Multi-tasking is a beautiful thing.

Recipe: Spinach-Artichoke Alfredo Pasta Sauce on Four Cheese Ravioli

Yes, this is a little heavy on the dairy (ok a LOT heavy on the dairy), but considering I was just working with what I had in my stores could you blame me?

Anyway I notice a friend of mine online posting a picture where she and her boyfriend had used the recipe and that was what my attention to the point that I wanted to make it myself (considering I had four cheese ravioli that was sitting in my freezer in forever!). So once the recipe was scanned an emailed it still took me a full month until I was able to find the time and the courage to whip up the recipe myself based on what I had on hand and come up with something that was closer… if not exact.

So below is the original ingredient list and directions as sent to me:


As always beyond the break I will explain how I have changed and adapted it and how it came out… unfortunately I do not have pictures at this time so care with me.
Continue reading →

UPDATE NaNoWriMo Days 4 and 15

Leave a reply

Yup, you read that right… I didn’t do any writing between days 4 and 15… and it is rather depressing, but what can one do?

So why am I updating? Because I have managed to go through and reproduce three of the five scenes that I lost in the deletion of one script… so that word count is up to around 5,000… but not only that I started expanding and adding in pieces here and there to fill out the scenes already written.

Needless to say I am a bit excited because the next two scenes aren’t not aspects just thrown together, but rather actual events with lots of information that could stand alone. Once I have these last two scenes rewritten I would be golden and after that it is all new material… in the matter of speaking.

Take that a step further and I spent some time earlier today editing the first ten-minute play I ever wrote. I purposely placed the piece on back burner because I wanted a fair amount of time to pass before looking at it again and most likely heavily editing it. Which is what ended up happening.

I deleted a character… rearranged a few lines… changed the mentality of one of the characters so there is more of a punch / conflict and I am happy with what I have.

With some time over the weekend… in between everything else going on, mayhaps I will find time for additional writing?

Review: Lobster Man at the Samuel French OOB Short Play Festival

Many many moons ago a friend of mine kept me abreast on his ten-minute play that he was working on. Over the years his ten-minute play was featured in some incarnation or another in a small handful of cities throughout the continental United States. A couple of these productions were originally posted on his YouTube Channel but have since been set to private or disappeared entirely.

In any case here is the first trailer of the ten-minute (now one-act) play of Lobster Man:

Now why a trailer? Because the playwright’s piece of Lobster Man was one of the Top 40 in the Samuel French Off Off Broadway Short Play Festival. But what is this Festival about?

The Samuel French Off Off Broadway Short Play Festival started in 1975 and is Manhattan’s oldest, continuous short play festival. […] The Festival has given emerging playwrights the opportunity to have their work produced. […]

The Festival has served as a doorway to future success for many aspiring playwrights, and has helped launched the work of notables as Theresa Rebeck, Shirley Lauro, Sheila Callaghan, Bekah Brunstetter, Steve Yockey, Saviana Stanescu, and David Johnston. In many cases, Festival participation has sparked agent contracts for Festival finalists and all of the final forty plays selected to be perform in New York are guaranteed to be seen by an Artistic Director of a major theater, a professional playwright, and a theatrical agent. Many past Festival playwrights have gone on to win major Playwriting awards and honors, as well as to have major theatrical productions of their works staged.

I was already impressed with Lobster Man in the first conception… and now with this most recent incarnation, Jonathan Cook just seems to be getting better and better as playwright in the years that I have known him.
Continue reading →

Review: Sister Act the Musical – Chicago Tour Stop

Last night a friend of mine and I went to see the first performance of the Chicago Stop of Sister Act the Musical… and honestly it was loads of fun to watch.

My friend mentioned that he thought the musical was “fun” and “cute” which is probably the best words to describe the show. It was entertaining, but there were a few gaffes along the way… but that was more on the technical end of the spectrum. So meh.

In any case… the cast recording I have at home is actually the West End Cast, so there was a song or two that I expected to hear that I didn’t… and the replacement songs wasn’t bad, but for some reason I simply wasn’t as thrilled. Guess my heart is just not American enough 😉

ANYWAY.

For anyone not really familiar with the original movie that the musical was based off of starring Whoopi Goldberg:

A lot of the primary characters (ok many of them) are included in the musical, however don’t expect to hear any of songs made popular via the movie to be in the musical. Instead the score as composed by Alan Menken and lyrics by Glenn Slater and with a book written by Cherie Steinkellner and Bill Steinkellner (and with additional book material by Douglas Carter Beane) brings a fresh take of the music with catchy tunes and moving pieces.
Continue reading →

Endeavor: One Woman “Show”

Earlier this year I was helping a friend out in her desire to put together a “one woman show” full of songs that would help describe particular events or people that had a significant impact in her life. Over time we came up with a title (thanks to another friend) for her “one woman show” and she is currently planning things out bit by bit over time.

Which got me into thinking. I am not a vocalist like she is, my strength is via writing, comedy, skits… But my saving grace (I feel) has always been my writing.

For years I have been writing a collection of poems that I have posted on FictionPress.com with more poems that I simply haven’t posted in storage. I also have a long slew of “moments” that I have written as a reflection of what I was reading or writing or feeling at any particular moment in time. Sifting through everything they all seem to revolve alone the men that have come and go in my life for one reason or another.

All with different voices, and for different reasons.

So when I joined another friend to watch an Open Mic / Book Reading session at the local book store run by a mutual acquaintance something occurred to me that didn’t happen before.
Continue reading →

Review: Oak Lawn Park District Theatre’s La Cage Aux Folles

Show: LA CAGE AUX FOLLES
Music and Lyrics: Jerry Herman
Book: Harvey Fierstein 		Location: Oak Park District Theatre
Director: Josie Nirchi
Music Director: Marty Hesse

Over the weekend I went to see a friend of mine in La Cage Aux Folles as put on by the Oak Lawn Park District. As is always the case there is some good, some bad, and some ugly aspects in community theatre… and since I am the blunt type… well I’ll work with what I can.

In fact… there is one weekend left for this rarely done production and in all honesty there is one aspect of the production that is more than worth the price of admission: Brad Kisner as Albin/Zaza.

The show – to me – seems to revolve around the character of Albin/Zaza and his relationship between his partner Georges and “son” Jean-Michel. Which would make sense that whomever is lucky (or unlucky) enough to capture this part would have been more than just “damn good” to make the production worthwhile and Brad Kisner does in spades.

Not only was he believable as Albin/Zaza but he seemed to just breath the character within every moment. Seriously if Brad were to do a “one man show” being that Albin/Zaza character I would be more than happy to pay the price of admission ($21) to see it.

However the chemistry between Brad and Paul Nirchi (who plays Albin’s partner Georges) seemed off at times. Once in a while I simply didn’t believe the chemistry between the pair, but then again I felt that Brad brought out the best of Paul (much like how Albin brings out the best of Georges) so it seemed like art imitating life.

Paul, I felt, did a good job as Georges, but unlike Brad (where I believed everything coming out of him) I felt that Paul did not reach that level of “believe-ability” if that make sense.

The final third of this familial trifecta is Georges biological son: Jean-Michel as portrayed by Graig Mason, he had the right kind of energy and enthusiasm for a young man in this mid-twenties and his chemistry with both parental figures (Albin and Georges) was realistic and palpable.

Take that a step further and Graig’s interaction with his love interest: Anne as portrayed by Jenn Rooney was extremely fun and realistic to watch. Made for a nice counterpoint to that of Georges/Albin.
Continue reading →

Reflection: Shirley Lauro’s A Piece of My Heart

In late September, the production of Shirley Lauro’s A Piece of My Heart wrapped at Hale Park nearby Summit, IL. The production that I was a part of, that was so incredibly emotionally and mentally draining for me (but was ultimately worthwhile) had its last show with an avenue opening for a reprise / revival to occur sometime down the road.

However, very early on in the rehearsal process I originally wanted to read the book “A Piece of My Heart: The Stories of Twenty-Six American Women Who Served in Vietnam” Put together by Keith Walker. In the end I decided not to due to the possibility of having twenty-six different voices in my head versus just one voice that is a conglomeration of a few of the stories. Granted there are pros and cons in reading the original stories… But in the end I was glad I made that decision of not reading any of the original stories prior to the run of the production.

However, now that the run is over, I was tempted to go and read the book that inspired the play:
Continue reading →

Endeavors: NaNoWriMo Week 1 Update

So… I finally decided to follow through with NaNoWriMo and chose to work on a script that not only has been on back burner but I made the mistake of deleting the original composition last month. Looking at the original hard copy, I had a lot of revisions regardless… so I felt this was a good project to work on first and see how far I could take it.

Most of the research and breaking down of the scenes were done months (if not years) ago, and now is just the matter of putting thought to paper… and already I was beginning to see changes on screen and improvements that I could add into the piece… which I did as I typed.

What is it exactly that I am working on? Can’t say… or rather, won’t say… considering that I still have to finish it. Granted I may actually make mention of it on my writing blog: Beyond the Abyss, but I won’t inundate you with details here.

So how did I do from day to day?

Continue reading →