Feels Like Far

2009-11-20T21:39:00.005-06:00

2008-12-25T08:26:00.000-06:00

the end

2008-12-23T20:38:00.003-06:00

last show went great. beautiful old theatre in jacksonville. it's been fun. thanks.

one more once

2008-12-22T14:49:00.003-06:00

on the top floor of the airport clarion - fancy schmancy. leave in an hour for the final performance. wonder what comes next... don't know... good, bad, it'll be interesting.

so this is Christmas...

*

strange photos

2008-12-21T20:48:00.004-06:00

isn't this interesting... the theatre we were at today uses big screen digital monitors. there is one off stage and one of the girls shot these pics from the monitor screen.

dressing room

2008-12-21T20:19:00.004-06:00

here is a video of my dressing room today... a bit fancier than last years...

deja melbourne

2008-12-21T20:11:00.003-06:00

show was great today. this is a beautiful theatre, and good audience.
staying in the fancy hilton hotel.

the show has gone very well this year. i am very pleased. i stayed healthy, without any throat or vocal chord trouble.

tomorrow is the last show - in jacksonville...

an interesting mixture of happy and sad.

hot time

2008-12-20T20:48:00.003-06:00

i was hot tonight... literally and figuratively. the show was great... and i haven't sweated that much in all the other shows put together. one of the best shows we've done. the audience was great.

five of us walked a couple of miles into town this morning to visit the manatee information/research center and hopefully to see some manatees. it was interesting, but the manatees were somewhere else. oh well. anytime in florida you get to see cool seabirds and fish and lizards - i like that. i walked around town a bit. there was an arts and crafts fair. it had a little art and a little craft and alot of other crap that doesn't qualify as either. then walked back to the hotel, then walked the other way a bit and went swimming with some of the gang. ohboy.

that's a sculpture of a manatee painting a picture... really.

get to sleep in. tomorrow we go to another venue that we did last year - in melbourne, fl. we will be at the same hotel, that big hilton. it is only a bit over an hour away.

2 more shows.

*

florida, finally

2008-12-19T19:48:00.002-06:00

made it through the last long bus ride. off tonight - show tomorrow night. this is a pic of my hotel i took from the fishing dock on the water. i love being by the water... makes me feel good.

three more shows.

keep it interesting...

2008-12-18T23:13:00.004-06:00

well that was strange. went to the venue, sort of a community center with a small simple stage in it, ate a quick dinner, did microphone check, and spent an hour talking about changes, and running some of them, and finally had to stop to let the people in. didn't have the three main big set units. had our small backdrop, and used most of the furniture and props that we carry in and out. backstage was tiny and packed with stuff. just had to do it as if we always did it that way. there were a few mishaps and confusions, but i thought it was a pretty good show, considering... and the audience really enjoyed it - that's the important thing.

there was a curtain track thing across the middle of the stage - we had to work around it - some of us, including me, have to stand on big crates during the show and we had to be careful not to smash our heads.

oh, and then there were the seven-swans-a-swimming on top of the curtain track... (see pics)...
our crew chief convinced them to let us take down the swans for the show...
thank goodness.

have to ride all the way to the middle of the florida atlantic coast tomorrow - about 11 - 12 hours. but don't do the show until saturday night, so we get a day on the beach...

mississippi delta

2008-12-17T22:49:00.002-06:00

the show was great tonight. good audience. gotta get up early and ride to gulf shores, alabama. something weird about tomorrows theatre - we can't use the big main set pieces, so we will go early and rehearse a bunch of new stuff. don't know the details - will let you know tomorrow...

nashville cat...

2008-12-16T18:39:00.004-06:00

*

howdy y'all........i am in nashville for the night. over 8 hours on the bus today. 5 hours tomorrow.

i'll be doing a show in mississippi tomorrow night...
where will you be...?

yes, virginia...

2008-12-15T18:27:00.002-06:00

well, okay... it was only TEN hours on the bus...

we are in lexington, va. morning bus leaves at 7:00 for nashville - another stop-over on our way to mississippi.

a week from now i will be starting our final show. we have 5 shows left.

*

road trip

2008-12-14T19:13:00.003-06:00

i'm in connecticut. did a show this afternoon. next show is wednesday night in mississippi. bad news is we have two days of long bus rides to get there. gotta be on the bus by 6:30 am for a ride that will be around 11 hours +... yuck.

good stuff

2008-12-12T21:11:00.003-06:00

wow - we were in "that" theatre tonight. beautiful big place with a big audience. we met in the hotel lobby at 5:15 and walked over to the theatre. it was snowing. have two shows tomorrow in new jersey.

nice room

2008-12-12T15:39:00.002-06:00

my hotel room in a cool old downtown hotel - 8th floor.

well, okay...

2008-12-12T15:23:00.008-06:00

snowy scenes on the road to pennsylvania

my hotel on the right - i'm on the 8th floor. the building next door is the theatre.

the view out my hotel window.

2008-12-11T21:57:00.000-06:00

rainy days

2008-12-11T21:33:00.003-06:00

the show was great tonight - good audience. rode there on the bus, about 20 minutes, to sugarloaf, past all the cool shops and galleries i hoped to get to visit while i was here, because i assumed we would stay in sugarloaf... but, no.
raining most of our stay here, and raining still, now. may get bad overnight.
travel back to pennsylvania tomorrow.

this is a pic of the microphone belt thing i wear in the show. everyone else has one mic - i have two. each has a power pack transmitter thing that go in this harness belt. i wear the belt mid-torso (back) under my costumes and the wires run up my back, behind my head and get taped in place on my neck.

stuckinoldgoshenagain...

2008-12-09T15:57:00.003-06:00

here i am in goshen, new york. here for a show in sugarloaf, ny. the show is thursday, so i have some time off here. was hoping to be in sugarloaf with interesting places to visit... but no. on the highway, next to some car dealers. although there is a pizza hut nearby. and a few other things.

new jersey beach hotel

2008-12-08T21:56:00.002-06:00

beachfreeze

2008-12-08T15:03:00.003-06:00

at the hotel in new jersey - show is at 7:30. we are on the beach, but it is very cold out there...

keepin' on

2008-12-07T21:09:00.003-06:00

sorry i got behind this weekend. busybusy... friday night we were in uniontown, pa. and had to be on the bus at 5:00 am to ride 7 hours to red bank, nj. where we had two shows yesterday. red bank was our first repeat venue from last year. they love us in red bank. beautiful old theatre - rather tight backstage, but the shows were great. i was wore out last night after those two shows. we walked out of the theatre after the second show and it was snowing... beautiful. went from the fake snow onstage to the real thing outside. cool. lots more snow this year than last. today we came to scranton, pa. for a matinee, and tomorrow we go back to new jersey.

i am doing well. tired. bus rides suck. cold and bumpy. life's hard.

feliz navidad.

*

the old college try

2008-12-04T21:37:00.003-06:00

hey - we are in blacksburg, virginia, at virginia tech university. the show went really well. the show is very good this year - you should see it...

going to pennsylvania tomorrow.

excitingforamoment...

2008-12-03T21:26:00.002-06:00

well, tonight's show went really well...

except for the smoke alarms going off about 30 minutes into the show.

they are supposed to turn them off while we are there.

just shows to go you...

you never know.

heehee

day-off

2008-12-02T17:43:00.003-06:00

gonna be hard to beat this hotel. it's really nice and comfortable. it's a 'hampton inn' - i have two queen beds, a big desk, microwave, fridge, big tv, strong internet... good stuff.
walked downtown today. it was quite a ways - maybe two miles. not a bad walk, but was very cold, and was lightly snowing all day.
went to some antique stores, an art gallery, a goodwill store, had pizza for lunch. found some good antique bargains - had to leave them there... too bad.
the old downtown area has a bunch of life size dickens character figures placed up and down the street. they have other christmas events with the same theme - like us coming to perform "christmas carol".

here's a picture of the courthouse with some figurines and a picture from my fourth floor hotel window.

stop bus

2008-12-01T21:18:00.001-06:00

spent almost 12 hours on the bus today...ugggh. i'm in a nice hotel in cambridge, ohio - off until wednesday.

tour pics

2008-12-01T21:15:00.000-06:00

snow in wisconsin

2008-12-01T20:55:00.004-06:00

this is a quick video outside the theatre in wisconsin last night after the show.

snowshow

2008-11-30T22:28:00.002-06:00

just finished the second show of the day and the fifth in 48 hours. i am tired, but better than i feared - voice is still intact. don't have another show until wednesday night in ohio. will spend all day tomorrow on the bus. may have trouble because it started snowing when we went to the theatre at 5:00, and is still going strong. roads may be bad.

2008-11-30T09:56:00.000-06:00

sheboygan

2008-11-29T23:00:00.003-06:00

did two shows today in a beautiful theatre. lady told me i made her cry... that's a good thing - have two tomorrow in wisconsin. things are going well for me - feeling good.

first morning bus ride

2008-11-29T22:38:00.005-06:00

here is the first morning - getting settled on the bus.

grand opening

2008-11-28T23:46:00.003-06:00

tonight was opening night in galesburg, il. it was a great show. gotta get up early. have two shows tomorrow in michigan and two on sunday in wisconsin. galesburg is the birthplace of a favorite poet of mine - carl sandburg.

thanks...

2008-11-27T21:14:00.002-06:00

had dinner at the radisson hotel restaurant down the street. ohboy. spent the rest of the day resting and packing up. bus leaves at 5:30 am.

thanks for following along.

showtime

2008-11-26T22:52:00.002-06:00

this was our last day of rehearsal. we did a final dress-rehearsal this afternoon, had an hour break, and did a "preview" show for a small audience tonight. both went very well. it's a very good show. i am glad to be done with rehearsals - ready to get on the road. i feel pretty good - just tired.

2008-11-26T00:00:00.001-06:00

welllllllll... did a run through this afternoon and fixed some problems - went well.
did a full dress rehearsal tonight - went well... mostly. first serious reminder of how tough this show is - and it's much more active than last year... wore me out. gotta get up and do it again tomorrow - the last day of rehearsal - better get it right... eek.

longhardtech

2008-11-24T22:59:00.003-06:00

first day at the "preview" site. worked through the show, doing all the scene changes until they worked okay. finished at 9:30 - just got through the show once. tomorrow will be harder.

otd

2008-11-23T12:58:00.002-06:00

this is a short clip from rehearsal... just goofing around, i held the camera while they did the scene around me...

brrrrrrrr

2008-11-22T10:42:00.001-06:00

moving

2008-11-21T19:08:00.004-06:00

this is a view of the cityscape on our way home to the hotel
justin the driver

the back of my head, riding in the van... shot by little olivia

we are done with rehearsals at the warehouse. i have two days off, because they couldn't get in the preview venue till monday. the show is going very well. we haven't worked with most of the props or any of the sets or costumes, so next week will be hectic moving our work at the warehouse to the stage.

moving along

2008-11-18T22:54:00.003-06:00

nothing particular to report... working hard.
to the point now where we mostly "run-through" the show, stopping only to fix problems. i am "off-book", which means i know my lines... didn't have to ask for a line today. that's good. the show is good. different from last year. would be interesting to see if someone who saw it last year thinks it is different. words and songs are the same, but most of the blocking is different.

it was 17 degrees here last night...

saturday

2008-11-15T22:46:00.003-06:00

this is me sitting next to noah (boy scrooge) during a break, with justin (fred) looking on.

today went very well. finished blocking act two - the last scene and the "finale"... ran through lots of stuff today... tiresome, but glad it's going well.
updated the schedule on my website - nothing special, just specifics - not doing any of the "maybe" shows and lost one that was on there.

day off tomorrow... ohboy.

workworkwork

2008-11-14T17:56:00.002-06:00

hey - busy day. most of act two is blocked. we ran through it alot. i think it is going well. the new director is changing almost everything from last year. that's a good thing. it's going to be a good show. i am sorry about the lack of pictures. the two people who took most of the pictures last year are not here this year.

act 1...

2008-11-12T20:04:00.002-06:00

what a day... finished blocking act one - marley's ghost and ghost of christmas past - then had lunch hour - then worked another scene a while - then ran through act one without stopping. we will do the same with act two in the next two days. my body and voice are worn out.

*

my turn

2008-11-11T22:23:00.003-06:00

started blocking the show - went real well. the new director is doing things quite differently from last year - i'm happy to be busy... and will be very busy from now on because i am in every scene except one.
weather was cold and rainy and snowy all day - might snow overnight. it's cold out there.

short rehearsal video

2008-11-10T21:40:00.003-06:00

this is a video bit of rehearsing the "tavern" number...

monday

2008-11-10T21:24:00.006-06:00

this is an area where we can sit while others are rehearsing. we have couches and chairs, a refrigerator, microwave, coffee maker...
beyond is the rehearsal area and alot of the stored show stuff.

a rehearsal of one of the song/dance numbers.

had a costume fitting this morning - yes, i will wear all the same costumes as last year... need some new long johns - i wore them out crawling around the floors. sang all the songs in the show today in their correct order, then danced all the dance numbers.

chipping away

2008-11-09T00:31:00.003-06:00

we have sung all the songs and danced all the dances. we haven't blocked the scenes yet - haven't done any "spoken" scenes yet. worked the last two of my songs today and they worked on dances. nobody is taking pictures of anything yet. my camera is having trouble with the basement lighting - not getting good results, but will keep trying. i have tomorrow off - will relax and work on lines. monday we will sing through all the songs and review the dances, and tuesday we start blocking the show.

songanddance

2008-11-07T23:05:00.001-06:00

finally did some real work today. sang most of my songs (do the rest tomorrow), and blocked the fezziwig dance, which i have a bit in. cold cold here - snowed off and on all day. tonight it is drizzling rain. supposed to be highs of 30 for a few days.

it's beginning to look alot like...

2008-11-07T09:12:00.004-06:00

this is what i woke up to this morning... you can click them to get bigger pics and see the little white fluffy details. life in the big (northern) city.

there is no news from yesterday because i didn't go in. they let me off after i spent the first day mostly watching. there are some song or dance numbers that i don't participate in, but am on stage for. they can rehearse those without me, and there is a "prologue" in the show that i am not in. we don't start with "marley was as dead as a door-nail". they have been working on that scene. once we start my scenes, it will be the other way around, 'cause once i get on stage, i pretty much stay there.

day 1

2008-11-05T23:38:00.002-06:00

first rehearsal went well. sang songs then did dance numbers. I wasn't actually in most of the day's stuff, but have to stay for the ride back to hotel. rehearsing in the same building as last year, in a huge room in the basement of a warehouse.

hotel is good. continental breakfast had waffles, cheerios, donuts... all high on my list... and there was some stuff that's good for you too.

room has a refrigerator in it, and i asked for a microwave and they brought me one - very good news. walked to a shopping center (2 miles) before rehearsal for groceries, so i'm doing good.

minneapolis

2008-11-05T08:18:00.002-06:00

i'm already behind on blogging... i was so tired last night. flights went well. the first plane was tiny, itty-bitty, it was small. i don't go in till this afternoon. gonna go see the continental breakfast.
more tonight...

jets

2008-11-03T22:11:00.004-06:00

time for my second year as scrooge in the tour of "christmas carol".

it is monday night. i get up early and go to the airport. first flight to denver, then to minneapolis. i will be there around 4 pm. rehearsals start wednesday afternoon. tour opens on the 28th in illinois. there is a schedule and some cool pics of some of the venues we will be playing on my website.

some of my friends from here are talking about coming to see the show in mississippi in december. that would be great... nice to have people in the audience... but geez, what a long drive.

see you tomorrow at the hotel...

*

hair today.......

2008-10-27T15:59:00.004-05:00

had a nice beard going...
just shaved off the parts that don't look like you-know-who...
let my face start getting used to it -
feels weird.

details...

2008-10-22T22:07:00.002-05:00

news finally coming in...

flight out on nov. 4th with a stop in denver...
have a different hotel this year - best western kelly inn, plymouth
uhhhhhhhhhh...what else do you wanna know...?
got a group email that had some new names on it - could be actors or techies... that'll be interesting.

2008-10-09T23:54:00.005-05:00

2008-09-11T23:17:00.011-05:00

***

packin' up...

2008-08-03T21:01:00.002-05:00

well, that's that.

i am through. the show was great. the truck is just about loaded. the rest will wait for morning. i am going to take my time driving home.

this morning i saw a rehearsal of 'all shook up', the next show. it was great.

those fireflies are out there tonight...
and so is that sliver of a moon.
nice.

counting down

2008-07-27T11:28:00.002-05:00

hey,

i have one week left. may not be much to post till then, so forgive me if i don't...
'gypsy' is a great show - good crowds.

i got the call today...

2008-07-25T00:13:00.002-05:00

.
opening night went great - always have a party afterwards... yes, i went to a party...
2nd night, thursday, went well also...
don't have to rehearse during the day now... oh boy.

found out today that 'troupe america' wants me to come back and play scrooge in "a christmas carol" again this year. very good news. that will start the first of november.

.

lookin' out my backdoor...

2008-07-23T18:21:00.005-05:00

.
press play....

.

blowing smoke

2008-07-23T11:05:00.004-05:00

'cigar'

hey - left the theatre at 11:59 pm last night... show went well. it's a very busy, complicated show. i think if you could see what the last two days (and two weeks) were like, you would be amazed at what we go through to make it all look smooth and easy to the audience. today we do a 'preview', which means a dress rehearsal with an invited audience, and tonight is opening night.
.
.

snore

2008-07-22T00:33:00.002-05:00

12:30...a.m....just got home. started a run-through at 7:30...didn't get through. (they have to let us go at midnight). will finish that tomorrow then do another run - then another run after dinner. gonna eat a snack and hit the sack...

yawn

.
.

you'll be swell

2008-07-20T23:41:00.002-05:00

that's all for 'west side story'. the last show went great. now we will do two days of tech/dress rehearsals and open 'gypsy' on wednesday. two weeks from now, i will be finished and packing for home.

one more time

2008-07-19T23:41:00.003-05:00

.
.
we have one more performance of 'west side story' tomorrow afternoon. we did two shows today and a 'gypsy' rehearsal this morning. i have a few pics set up for you to see:

**west side story pics**
.
.
.

friday full moon

2008-07-19T00:07:00.003-05:00

had our first serious run-through of 'gypsy' today. went through as fast as possible - had to slow down to work scene changes - and we did it in 2 hours and 15 minutes. pretty good.
'west side story' is very good. 3 more performances. some of these kids are very impressive - we'll see them on broadway someday.

photo call

2008-07-18T00:04:00.003-05:00

show's going well. tonight was the best so far, i think. after the performance, we had a picture call. a guy comes and shoots some of the scenes and some of us sat out there taking some also. they only shot one of my scenes - too bad. i got this one shot that a friend took with my camera. maybe i can get some better ones from others. i will post the ones i took as soon as i can. 'gypsy' rehearsals going fine. everybody is very good in it. busy getting it ready for the next week.

abstract threats

2008-07-16T00:04:00.005-05:00

*
*
Crimson flames tied through my ears
Rollin' high and mighty traps
Pounced with fire on flaming roads
Using ideas as my maps
"We'll meet on edges, soon," said I
Proud 'neath heated brow.
Ah, but I was so much older then,
I'm younger than that now.

Half-wracked prejudice leaped forth
"Rip down all hate," I screamed
Lies that life is black and white
Spoke from my skull. I dreamed
Romantic facts of musketeers
Foundationed deep, somehow.
Ah, but I was so much older then,
I'm younger than that now.

Girls' faces formed the forward path
From phony jealousy
To memorizing politics
Of ancient history
Flung down by corpse evangelists
Unthought of, though, somehow.
Ah, but I was so much older then,
I'm younger than that now.

A self-ordained professor's tongue
Too serious to fool
Spouted out that liberty
Is just equality in school
"Equality," I spoke the word
As if a wedding vow.
Ah, but I was so much older then,
I'm younger than that now.

In a soldier's stance, I aimed my hand
At the mongrel dogs who teach
Fearing not that I'd become my enemy
In the instant that I preach
My pathway led by confusion boats
Mutiny from stern to bow.
Ah, but I was so much older then,
I'm younger than that now.

Yes, my guard stood hard when abstract threats
Too noble to neglect
Deceived me into thinking
I had something to protect
Good and bad, I define these terms
Quite clear, no doubt, somehow.
Ah, but I was so much older then,
I'm younger than that now.
*
*
**listen to the song**
*
*

badblogger

2008-07-15T23:57:00.002-05:00

hey - i know i am a crappy blogger...i actually consider that a compliment in a way... but not for the few of you wanting me to say something. the show is going well. there is a photo call after thursday's performance. i hope to have photos to show. rehearsals for "gypsy" are going fine.

busy

2008-07-11T16:14:00.003-05:00

hey-lo

sorry to not keep up...
i am in a gypsy rehearsal till 6:00, then go do west side story tonight. west side story is going very well. opening night was great. it is a very good show.

this is my makeup table spot with my special makeup kit box...

another opening...

2008-07-10T00:06:00.004-05:00

hey

i am writing this from the dressing room...during the show...opening night. There is a wi-fi connection here, but my poor old computer won't connect to it. i will post this later tonight. there is always a party after openings, at a bar called o'malleys (...where we'll plan our escape...) i will go to that for a bit. today's "preview" show went very well. everybody likes the show.

tomorrow we start rehearsals for "gypsy", so i will rehearse that during the day and do "west side story" at night and twice a day on wednesday and saturday.

tech-days

2008-07-07T15:57:00.002-05:00

*
*
hey

they changed the sets and stuff overnight and we start tech rehearsals today. i went down at 3:00 and ten minutes later they let me go because they are working the dance numbers. i go back at 7:00 pm for first tech run through. i will be there all day tomorrow, probably till midnight. now that i will be at the theatre, i will try to get some pics to post.

i cut off my ponytail today. might keep my goatee, but can't have long hair.

shows...and shows...

2008-07-04T22:46:00.002-05:00

hello,
we did a run-through today so the designers/techies could see where we are. it went well.
tonight i walked over to the 4th of july carnival they have set up near here and wandered around the park, watching the fireflies blink at each other, until the fireworks display started around 9:40. good fireworks - some of them were amazing - haven't done that in a long time.
but if you missed the golden-red-slightest-sliver-of-a-moon resting just above the horizon through all of that...then you missed the best show of the day.

oooooh
aaaaah

happenings

2008-07-01T20:27:00.006-05:00

rehearsal in dance studio

hey there,
had a costume fitting today - just a suit...
then had a quick rehearsal of my last scene, near the end of act 2, then we all got together and did an act 1 slug-through for two hours. we made it through. went pretty well. we open a week from tomorrow.

yesterday was a day off. i went antiquing in some of the towns near here. this is amish country and there are big farms all over, and 'horse-and-buggies' on the roads and parked outside stores. cool.

and here's the really exciting news...

here is a picture of the new microwave they got for my apartment!!!

the bronx is up and ...

2008-06-27T10:50:00.001-05:00

i don't have rehearsal today. there is so much dancing and singing to work on, they are concentrating on that. i just come in and talk mean to the kids a few times. most of the cast know each other. they have been working together on other shows, and from what i've seen of them, they will be great in this one. i walked in yesterday and they were all doing their warm-ups and work-outs and chatting, and here i am, an old gray guy with a goatee and ponytail...who let this guy in? gonna spend the day working on my new york accent...of which i ain't got one...baddabing baddaboom...faagetaboudit...

choo-choo

2008-06-26T21:53:00.002-05:00

here's one of the trains going past my window...
i'll probably get used to it just when it's time to leave.

Day 1

2008-06-26T13:56:00.001-05:00

hey

well here i am. i arrived yesterday afternoon. i have my own bedroom in a 2 bedroom apartment. my roommate is named ben. the theatre had opening night last night for "cabaret", their current show. it was very good. rehearsals for "west side story" start today. we open on july 9th. there is actually someone here i know. the music director/pianist is named darren, and he was those things for the production of "forever plaid" that i was part of in florida. the town seems okay. need to get out and look around. i am happy to report they have a pizza hut. nearest wal-mart is 20 miles. the apartment is okay. i can survive it. it does not have a microwave. that doesn't sound like a big deal, but it means everything takes a long time to cook. i will go to the store today and look for things NOT for a microwave (lots of grilled cheese sandwiches). and.....there are railroad tracks next to my apartment (i am on the end, upstairs) and it happens to be a busy train area. including at night. all night. there were at least 4 trains overnight. there must be a crossing near here, because they always blast their horns when they get near the apartment. like something from a sitcom. i don't know what this apartment rents for, but it better not be much. ahhh...life in the theatre. internet access in the apartment is questionable. yesterday there was a wireless connection for a while, but not since then. there is an ethernet hook-up in the living room, but my computer did not work with it...don't know about that. so i am writing this on wordpad and will post it when i am able. if anyone emails me, it could be a while before i get it.

on the road

2008-06-26T13:53:00.002-05:00

i passed the big arch yesterday, driving through st. louis

i'm as corny as...

2008-06-26T13:45:00.002-05:00

illinois in late june...
corn fields everywhere

June 16th, 2008

2008-06-16T21:19:00.003-05:00

well hello again...

this is my acting gig blog. i only post to it when I go to an acting job. i started it last year when i played scrooge in "a christmas carol". that is why the post before this is dated last christmas eve. i will be leaving next tuesday for sullivan, il. to perform in "west side story" and "gypsy". i don't know how much i will have to write about, but will do my best.

2007-12-24T09:18:00.001-06:00

MERRY CHRISTMAS !!!

*

that's that

2007-12-24T09:04:00.000-06:00

well... two final shows went great. probably won't be posting anything regularly now. if any more pictures show up i'll put them on. hopefully i'll get more work soon and we can do it again.
thanks everyone for following along. it's been an adventure and an experience. you know how to email me if you want. take care.

melbourne dressing room

2007-12-22T23:40:00.000-06:00

almost there

2007-12-22T23:25:00.001-06:00

i know you get tired of hearing this, but...

wow, wow, wow!!!

the show was great, the audience was great, the theatre was great, my dressing room was great.

the theatre holds 2000 people and it was nearly full. the show is working so well.
we went to the beach on the way here today and played awhile. went to the theatre and had a great dinner. the stage was big, with lots of room backstage. they had 2 white-light christmas trees backstage. my dressing room was pretty cool. it had a big bathroom, and comfy-chair, a little christmas tree, and a refrigerator and a TV!!!... amazing... what fun.
i am staying in a hilton hotel tonight, on the 7th floor. the bed is very comfortable.

one more day to go in the tour. we have two shows tomorrow. have to get up early and get there for the matinee.

2007-12-21T23:17:00.001-06:00

jacksonville

2007-12-21T21:52:00.000-06:00

hey, another good show in another beautiful old theatre. about 1500 people tonight. i had two friends there from apalachicola. that was great. 3 more shows left. we go to melbourne tomorrow - gonna stop by the beach to play for awhile on the way.

wesley chapel and lakeland, fl.

2007-12-20T19:12:00.000-06:00

is that where i was yesterday?...

the "workshop" in wesley chapel went real well. a theatre full of junior and high school kids. we took turns talking about things theatrical, especially pertaining to our tour. i spoke about christmas carol in general, and about our show, and some character/costume/prop stuff. we sang some of the songs. then we drove to lakeland and did a show last night. it was an excellent show - maybe our best one so far. it was another old-timey theatre, with ornate insides. the dressing rooms and backstage area were small - very narrow staircases. one of the dressing rooms had a special protective cover thing on the wall - highlighting the signature of........ elvis presley... no kidding. me and elvis on the same stage...

these are pics of inside the theatre.

2007-12-18T23:13:00.001-06:00

uhhhhh... well it is a picture of me... joe gave his camera to one of the little girls during mic-check and i walked by as she snapped the shutter.

2007-12-18T23:11:00.001-06:00

night and day

2007-12-18T22:49:00.000-06:00

wellllllllllllll, i think yesterday we were swept into the twilight zone... there really wasn't a place called belle glade with a crappy hotel... but now we're out of it and much happier. i am in a beautiful holiday inn - one of the best rooms i've had. but as usual, i won't get to spend much time here. gotta be on the bus at 8:15 am.

we did two shows today - both very good, the second one especially. big crowd, probably about 1500. the theatre was right on the water. beautiful place, sarasota. we had an hour break between and walked around picking up seashells and enjoying the scenery. lots of birds of course, and all these land-lubbers were very excited. yes, i get excited too. the theatre was very nice and the outside was painted purple/lavender. i'm not surprised. these floridians are like that.

tomorrow morning we are doing a "workshop" at a high school about an hour from here, then traveling to lakeland for the evening performance.

the pics are of the theatre and of me and friend marc (the drummer) standing by the seashore.

no contest

2007-12-18T06:08:00.000-06:00

hey everybody, i am in belle glade, fl. sounds nice doesn't it? well... this is the worst hotel we've stayed at. before now it would have been a tough choice - they've all been pretty good... but that's over now. my front door won't close quite right. my smoke alarm is hanging a foot down the wall from it's electrical wires. there is nothing extra in the room. some of the others have worse ones it sounds like. the tv works pretty well...don't have time to watch it.
the show went really well last night. pretty good audience here in belle glade, floriduh.
we're about to leave for sarasota, where we have two shows today.
sorry i don't take more pictures. i don't do that much that is photogenic... wanna see the kentucky fried chicken i had dinner at?... how about the smoke alarm hanging in my room...?

closing in on the end of this trip. mixed feelings about that.

see you down the road.

mickeymouse

2007-12-16T19:04:00.000-06:00

hey - 11 hours on the bus today. we are somewhere near orlando. when we pulled in there was a firetruck outside... bad start... weren't sure we could stay, but we did, and we won't have running water for 2 hours. i am beat. still getting over 3 shows in 26 hours and the bus ride.

the pics are of the fancy hotel from yesterday.

sleepy

2007-12-16T06:40:00.000-06:00

hey, two shows yesterday with about 1 1/2 hours between. gotta get on the bus for a very long ride, all the way to orlando, fl. for a stopover - no show tonight.

have a nice day..............

alabama

2007-12-15T12:47:00.000-06:00

sorry i missed yesterday - bad internet at that hotel. i just got to hoover, al. we have two shows today so not much time otherwise. You should see this fancy hotel. it's connected to a big upscale mall. i'll try to take pics, though i won't get any time to look around here.
more later.

we're all bozos on this bus

2007-12-13T22:04:00.000-06:00

.
.
TEN HOURS ON THE BUS...

we are in newnan, georgia for a layover, before continuing to alabama in the morning.
see ya there...

nc2

2007-12-12T23:19:00.000-06:00

hey, i had a great show tonight. some of us didn't but i did. i haven't had a bad show yet, but tonight really clicked for me. there are always nights when things just feel really right. i had one tonight. went for a walk downtown today. it was nice - nice town. walked along the waterfront and found one antique store and an art gallery. it was a good day.
they have changed some scheduling for me - were supposed to be in alabama tomorrow for a day off, but because tonight's show was originally supposed to be a matinee this afternoon, we are behind and will get there friday. the show in daytona beach is canceled so we are driving to jacksonville a day early and will have that night off.

we have another loooooong bus ride tomorrow probably 10 hours or so, stopping in georgia for the night.

thanks for reading my blog. i appreciate it.

washington, nc

2007-12-11T22:31:00.000-06:00

hey there, had a good show tonight. it was a strange show in some ways, because the stage was very small. we have three big sections to the set - left, right and center, and tonight we could only use the center section, and still the stage was crowded. we had to be careful of each other and the edge of the stage, and the offstage sections were stuffed full of set pieces so there was only one small entrance on each side. yet the show really went well. difficult situations make you pay more attention, give you extra adrenalin because of the uncertainty and danger - everything was different tonight - it was fun. the theatre was pretty. old and ornate. a bit small, but it was sold-out, and tomorrow night is sold-out too.

washington, nc is a pretty town. it is on the water - sort of a big inlet/bay from the atlantic. we are a little ways away from it, but with tomorrow off, i am going to walk that way and have a look. i saw some great old buildings and an antique shop... can't resist.

boonies, nc.

2007-12-10T21:45:00.002-06:00

hey, the show went well tonight. good crowd - there were 1000 people there.

have a fairly short drive tomorrow to another part of n.c. and we stay there two nights with a show both nights.

we are not really in the boonies here, but kinda. we are close to the ocean and about 30 miles from myrtle beach. we drove through a fairly big town with lots of stores and stuff, then we drove on out of town a ways to the hotel which has a restaurant beside it, a car dealer across the highway, and nothing else within walking distance. oh well. don't have much time here anyway. need to eat my snack and hit the sack...

ohmygosh, virginia

2007-12-09T21:43:00.000-06:00

oh my gosh...oh my gosh...

you should'a been here!!!

this theatre was beautiful. had a balcony and side boxes and different levels all around. and... it was a sold-out performance.

guess... go ahead, guess how many people... come on...take a guess...

i performed for 1700 people today. can you believe that? it was great.
and i had a huge cool dressing room all to myself. it had a big comfy-chair, its' own thermostat, and a separate bathroom and shower. i took a movie of it for you to see. heehee.

and this hotel is something. they have a pillow menu - i can call up and order a certain firmness of pillows and they will bring them up... no, i didn't do it.

we have a long ride tomorrow to north carolina, so i gotta get up early. the good news is i have chocolate covered krispy kreme donuts for breakfast. oh boy.

oh, also, 2 weeks from now, i'll be done.

here's my video - press play...