Annie part 2

We ran the show today, with music and set changes.  As expected it ran a little rough.  First run-throughs are like that most of the time.  It will help when everyone is there.  I have been in shows before where we didn't have the entire cast together at the same time until dress rehearsal week.  Nerve wracking, to say the least.  I hope this isn't one of those shows.  It is time for us all to knuckle down and be "present" in many ways.

[BTW- You may have noticed that I have deleted the post with the cast list for "Annie".  I did this today.  The cast has changed, and it's not really necessary to be posted here, so...gone.]

Annie part 1

The next show at Palestine Community Theater will be "Annie, the musical".  It seems to be coming together just fine.  It was my intention to lay off from this show.  Then I said I would pull curtain.  Then I agreed to a small part.  Thankfully the part has remained small.  Everyone seems to be working really hard and practicing what they need to practice.  Showtime in a month or so.  It's actually kinda nice to be involved in the periphery of a show without needing to be in the thick of it.  I can be a minor character and rope puller without having to make any decisions for anyone else.  I show up, do my part, go home.  I can do this and still get some rest over the summer.

I think the set design is really good.  It's functional, easy to change, and versatile.  It doesn't draw too much attention to itself, allowing the actors and music to become the focus.  Good job!  This will be one to watch.

Leggo my Ego!

I have a what is commonly called a "Big Ego".  I have to admit that.  "Hello my name is John, and I have a swelled head ego."  It's true.  Everyone can see it.  Can't deny it.  Done.

On the other hand, I have never stormed out of a show, nor caused others to storm out of a show because I didn't get the part I wanted, even when "I am CLEARLY the best choice for the role.  That director has his/her head up their butt.  It's unfair.  It's all because..." pick you own next line.  Casting (and acting in general) isn't always fair.  Great actors sometimes get overlooked for roles.  Rotten actors sometimes get roles.  Sometimes the right actor gets just the right role at the right time, then breaks their leg.  We all think we know best.  Lots of actors and their buddies get together after auditions and predict the cast (and then choose their perfect cast) afterwards over coffee, sodas, or adult beverages.  It's a time honored tradition.

The problem arises when we, as actors forget that the director IS IN CHARGE.  We forget that they must choose not only on acting ability, but who looks good together, blends voices well together, looks the right age or archetype.  Sometimes it's about non-acting issues.  Sometimes, yeah, it's because the actor knows a guy that knows a guy that knows the director.  It happens.  It's real.  It's part of the gig.

Sometimes we choose to step aside if we aren't offered a role that is worth the commitment in time and energy.  Okay, but remember-

Acting is rejection.  That's a quote from someone...I wonder who I heard it from.  Hmm.  But it's true.  If you are going to be an actor, you will experience rejection.  It is how you handle that rejection that partly defines you as a performer.  You have some choices:

1. Take it like a pro and accept either what was given or gracefully move on if nothing was offered.
2. Take it like a pro and walk away from an offered role you don't feel right for, again, gracefully.
3. Take it on the chin and let it knock you out, depressing you for days, and making you doubt performing at all.
4. Take it like a child and yell and scream and throw a fit for all the world to see so that everybody feels your pain with you.
5. Involve your friends in #4.
6. Make accusations of favoritism, casting couch, bribery, or other skulduggery based on no more evidence than your bruised ego.
7. Do like several now ex-actors have done in the past and try to sabotage the show somehow, through negative publicity or comments, or actual physical sabotage.
8. Physical harm to casting directors or directors or the guy that got the part.

Which of these choices are yours?  How do you wish to be remembered the next time auditions come around?  What price reputation?  How fragile your ego?

Ghosts, the Musical is a Hit

I have seen "Ghosts" twice now.  It lost nothing in the repetition!  This is an amazing show for the whole family.  It is a perfect fit for the Texas Theatre in Palestine, Texas, USA.  It is the story of an old and decrepit theater that was inherited by a young woman who cannot pay the back taxes, let alone refurbish to old palace of the stage.  When a greedy developer plans to snatch it up for the taxes, tear it down, and build a mini-mall on the site, drastic measures are required.

Enter the ghosts of a hundred years of theater magic.  They've come back to save the theater.  The resulting performances with style, close harmony, and wonderful dancing will enthrall you.  Only one more weekend to see it; April 5, 6 (7:30), and 7th (2:00) 2013.  Saturday's performance will have a reception beforehand welcoming the show's author to the performance.

I'm...re..viewing...the situation...

I'm rethinking the film contest idea.  With 48 Hour Film Project an annual event in Dallas, Houston, Austin, and possibly San Antonio, I'm not sure another similar, but less prestigious affair would be well attended.  Maybe it will.  Maybe it will attract those novice filmmakers who want to get their feet wet without the pressure of the Big Time of Little Films.  Just thinking on the keyboard.

Summer Solstice Film Festival

Had an idea.  (Always a dangerous thing.)  I was thinking about starting up a summer solstice film festival competition.  It would be the kind where the film-makers get the topic on Thursday night with the finished video due to the jury on Saturday morning.  The top ten jury selected films are then viewed in the theater on the big screen.  The audience then votes for the final winner.  None of that is very original.

The screenings would be at the "Historic Texas Theatre" in Palestine, Texas- one of the old movie palaces from the 30's that's been 90% restored.  It would be on the weekend nearest the summer solstice each year. The films, like every other festival, would be seen on the festival website for one year. But part of the prize would need to be a viewing beyond that.  Maybe get Time Warner Cable to play the top 3 across their networks.  Maybe something else.  The contest would need to be sponsored, of course, and physical prizes would need to exist.  I have some ideas on that, too.

Could even try to get local hotels to give a half-price discount to the film teams.  There should also be a real party afterward with a "select" crowd.   Lots of things to consider.  Think I should go ahead and get the website address just in case.

Halo? Statue? Yeah, dat's me.

Oscar time is here.  A celebration of movies by the people who make them.  It's a night of self-congratulation turned into a money making franchise monster.  Originally, is was a banquet for the show people.  Snippets might appear in a newsreel, but that was about it.

Don't get me wrong...I love the Oscars.  I'm a SAG member and root for my picks.  I (sometimes) even like the spectacle that follows along with it.  Billy Crystal was my favorite host, but his humor is a little tired now. The problem I have now is how the winners are selected.  You could give the greatest performance in the history of cinema and not even get nominated.  Or you might lose because it was a comedy-farce without the gravitas that Oscar loves.  You could be a great director who brought a difficult story winningly to the screen, yet not get nominated while your film and its actors are (aka: the movies that direct themselves).

No.  The public shouldn't get a vote.  They already voted with their $$$.  But I do think the entire membership should vote, and vote for anyone they want.  The ones with the most votes win.  Cue closing credits.