Here is a scene from the last production I was in, Hamlet, which closed a week ago.
I play Laertes, the son of Polonius, and brother to Ophelia. To set it up a little, I come back to avenge my father's murder by Hamlet. Claudius, The king and Hamlet's uncle, convinces me to kill Hamlet in a fencing duel set up by him, using a sword that is both sharp and poisoned. This is the final scene in the play.
Keep in mind that this is a filmed version of a staged play, so it's nowhere near motion picture quality. Theater is best experienced live. There is always a visceral part of the experience lost when capturing it on video. Maybe it's just I can barely stand watching myself. I look so damn awkward, and nothing like how I feel when performing it.
I will be taking an acting hiatus for a while while I concentrate on some lighting design and directing projects that are coming up. I'm designing lights for a modern dance group next week, then the same group is flying me to Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico the second week in December to design lights for the show they're performing down there. I'm really looking forward to it. I could use a change in climate.
After that I'll be directing a night of short one act plays by Christopher Durang. That opens in February. Immediately following that I am directing a production of The Importance of Being Earnest which opens in April. I should have a fun time with that, it's such a witty play.
If human activity accounts for the biggest negative impact on the environment, and one is interested in reversing our environmental impact, then it seems most logical thing to do is to stop reproducing.
Halloween was a damp blast. If I was a kid I would have been too bummed by the huge downpour right at twilight, luckily being an adult most of my activities were sheltered. I got to see "The King of Country Western Troubadours" at The Grey Eagle. Unknown Hinson is incredible live, a really accomplished guitar player. He did two Hendrix (Manic Depression & Voodoo Child) covers that sounded as good as Hendrix himself. He's also a very unusual looking guy and talks just like his character on the Squidbillies. If you ever get a chance I recommend you try to catch one of his shows.
Lots of great costumes as well. I think most people in Asheville bring their A-game when it comes to making Halloween costumes. Unfortunately I have no pictures, but highlights include the spiky Betelgeuse, Flo the Progressive ad woman, Marie Antoinette (complete with model ship hat), Thing 1 and Thing 2, Count von Count, and geriatric husband and trophy wife among many other random creepy and funny costumes. I enjoy costumes where at least a bit of thought went into making it. I think many adults are more into Halloween than their kids are. When I was young I used to think that Halloween was over when you became an adult, but now I think in some ways it's more fun. I just hope I never become one of those people who are too lethargic to dress up in some way, even a wig and some face paint can do wonders for your inner kid on Halloween.
Lots of great costumes as well. I think most people in Asheville bring their A-game when it comes to making Halloween costumes. Unfortunately I have no pictures, but highlights include the spiky Betelgeuse, Flo the Progressive ad woman, Marie Antoinette (complete with model ship hat), Thing 1 and Thing 2, Count von Count, and geriatric husband and trophy wife among many other random creepy and funny costumes. I enjoy costumes where at least a bit of thought went into making it. I think many adults are more into Halloween than their kids are. When I was young I used to think that Halloween was over when you became an adult, but now I think in some ways it's more fun. I just hope I never become one of those people who are too lethargic to dress up in some way, even a wig and some face paint can do wonders for your inner kid on Halloween.
I have foreseen how humans will become extinct. It's not from a mutant virus, or a wayward meteor, or thermonuclear annihilation. No, I think that sometime in the future the human race will become allergic to everything it eats, and thus starve to death. The rate of food allergies seems to be rising at an alarming rate! Twenty years ago who ever heard of an allergy to gluten or lactose, and today it seems almost everyone is allergic to something. I have heard people in the coffee shop say they were allergic to coffee. Allergies today are so bad that they actually have to put warnings on labels of food. I saw a carton of soy milk that said: Warning this product contains soy . I feel sorry for all those people who lives might have been saved if only their they were warned that their jar of peanuts contained peanuts.
So it's abnormally cold here. The higher mountains had around 1-2" of snow last night. Down in Asheville we didn't see anything, but it was bitterly cold. It caught many people off guard. I have a few friends who were camping out at the LEAF music festival this weekend. I wouldn't have wanted to be in their shoes, or sandals I should say. The hipsters downtown were donning parkas. Somehow I blinked and missed fall.
Pandora seems to think everything sounds similar to either Modest Mouse, The Shins, or Iron and Wine. I guess I shouldn't bother with any other channels.
Pandora seems to think everything sounds similar to either Modest Mouse, The Shins, or Iron and Wine. I guess I shouldn't bother with any other channels.
The creek is risin'. It's been raining here for over a week. It feels like 39 days. I'm starting to consider building a big boat.
