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Friday, 20 August 2004
Gadgets...don't you just love them?!
I picked up a new cell phone yesterday. My old was just that...old. Not that it was the size of a breadbox or anything like that. It was just about 6 or 7 years old. I haven't used it in so long. The reception on it was extremely poor. Each phone call was an adventure in trying to find just the right spot to stand in.
Being that my brother and I live in the middle of nowhere, we both thought that it would be a good idea to each have a phone. Not only for emergencies, but, being that I'm my brother's soul means of transportation, when he needs to call for a ride.
The thing about buying any new gadget is the fact that you have to play with it. I LOVE electronic stuff. If I'd had the money, I would have bought one of those PDA, phone thingys. You know. The kind that cost a fortune just because they have all of this extra stuff that comes with them. But, my little Motorola is just as good.
I spend 2 hours last night just setting up my phone (phone numbers, ringtones, voicemail etc). Then I spent this morning setting up my brother's. I just finished downloading games and extra ringtones. My brother loves (and I mean LOVES) The Incredible Hulk. It's all he talks about. That and robot societies. So, you can guess what his ringtone is set to.
The thing about anything new is that it's just that. New. It's like getting your driver's license and driving the car for the first time on your own. It's kind of scary and a big rush. A novelty that soon wears off.
I remember when I got my Ironman Watch. The kind with the Indiglo backing. I spent about half an hour in the bathroom with the lights off just marvelling at the backlight.
Ok. So, small things amuse small minds. It was neat at the time. But then again, so was television when it first came out.
Have a great weekend everyone. Have to play with my phone.
B
Posted by brookside10 at 10:48 AM MDT
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Updated: Friday, 20 August 2004 10:49 AM MDT
Wednesday, 18 August 2004
So, the lucky contestant is...
So, last night was the final night I was holding auditions for the play that I'm directing. Everything went fairly well. I had everything planned out. I made up my own audition forms, wrote out the synopsis and character breakdowns, made up schedules, etc. Then, I read them my address detailing the play itself, commitment level, tentative schedule for rehearsals, and show dates. Each actor was given sides (a portion of the script) and my stage manager and I acted as readers. It was kind of fun. I got to make notes and give direction! It's so different being the one behind the table rather than in front of it. We had a really small turnout on Sunday. Of course, it was the weekend and the weather was amazing. Nicest day we've had in a few weeks. The Fringe is also in town. A lot of people are in Edmonton on Whyte Avenue enjoying the street performers and the plays. But, that's alright. Being summer and the fact the play is a dinner theatre, I didn't expect there to be a fabulous turnout. We had a few more people show up yesterday. Why is it that you always get a lot more women showing up to this kind of a thing? There should be more men turning out. What guy wouldn't jump at the chance to be around a lot of really attractive women? All of the male roles were filled almost immediately, as I only had 4 men audition. A number of people who auditioned read very well. There were a few who didn't audition as well as I hoped. But, I could see potential in them (be it the fact that they were more animated or better able to follow direction when given). It was really difficult trying to select some people for the roles that were available. I decided to take a role for myself, so that only left 3 female roles. But, it's all been cast. I selected some really strong, hard-working, committed people. We have our first read through next week. Now, all I have to do is call everyone. I really hate the idea of telling anyone that they weren't successful. One girl was WAY too young. She looked as if she was about 14 years old. And another one...she's apparently difficult to work with. I'll just leave it at that. After the auditions were over last night, my stage manager and I sat around for about an hour trying to place people into roles. As I said, we filled most of the roles almost immediately. In the end we were only struggling with one role. There was one role I had to fill over the phone. One of the women who was on the Dramaturge committee with me had expressed an interest in a small role. So, I cast her as the mother because she's only seen in the first 10 - 15 minutes at the beginning and the last 10 - 15 minutes at the end. Now, it's down to business. Rehearsals start next week and we can FINALLY get the ball rolling. We only have about 2 months to pull a show together, but I'm not worried. All of the people in the cast are very dedicated and experienced, so it shouldn't be a problem. B
Friday, 13 August 2004
Weekend again
Well. It's the weekend. The BIG weekend for me. This is the weekend I run auditions for the play I'm directing. You know, it's funny. I'm amazed at how much people will beg for a part and what they are willing to sacrifice. Could be kind of interesting to find out what I could get out of all of this (hee, hee, hee). But, who am I kidding. I'm too chicken to actually follow up on any of that stuff. I have at least 1 moral left and I'm saving it for a special occasion! I have a fairly good idea of what types I'm looking to cast anyway. It just a matter of now going through the paces. Making sure that I find the right people with the right commitment. And being that I'm new to the director's chair, this is going to be a very fun learning experience. I've even gone so far as to write up an "audition address" to thank all those who come out. I think I can officially be labelled a keener and/or a geek now. I'm casting myself in one of the roles. I've been told that I'm the director and I can do anything because it's MY show. This is something I've been looking forward to for the past several months. I would have already cast the parts and been in rehearsal if it weren't for the fact that 90% of the people have been on holidays. Basically, I'm really anxious. I'm usually the weirdo behind stage who's pissing everyone off at dress rehearsals with questions like, "Who wants to go for an extra 2 weeks?" Or, "Can't we just open the doors and start now?" Kind of like a kid who goes on a trip with their parents. He/she sits in the back seat and for about 300 miles (which feels more like a million) does nothing but say, "Are we there yet?" and "I have to go to the bathroom." Is it show time yet? B
Thursday, 12 August 2004
My one...and only...experience with Hollywood and LaLaLand
At one point or another in everyone's life, they travel. Although, usually when I go somewhere, strange things always seem to follow me. I thought that I would share some of my experiences when I went on a trip to Los Angeles a few years back.
I was working as a dance instructor at the time. Our vacations were scheduled. One week in the summer and one week at Christmas. A friend of mine was going to Las Vegas and Los Angeles and offered to take me along. Hey, free trip. So I said yes and the reservations were made.
The flight was great. We went to Las Vegas for a few days first and then flew to Los Angeles. I'd never been to the U.S. before, so this was going to be quite the experience for me.
Aside from the usual things, seeing a guy standing on the side of the road with a sign begging for money for his son and getting lost after a tie-up on the freeway, everything was pretty much normal.
Being that I was fairly young, I wanted to experience some of the nightlife that L.A. had to offer. We were staying at the Universal Hilton at the time. Not knowing anything about L.A., I decided to ask the concierge if they could recommend a good nightclub. Of course they could. A little place just off Rodeo called Tatoo's (at least I think that's how it's spelled). Boy, was I naive.
So, I get dressed up in my favorite navy dress. It was my favorite because of the reactions that I used to get from men when I would wear it. Sleeveless, form fitting, panel slits in the skirt to show off my legs. That kind of thing. Sexy and classy.
We pulled up and out in front there were a couple of limos. There really wasn't a line up, so getting in was easy. We made our way down this really strange hallway (red carpet, red walls and ceiling, with a red curtain leading into the club). The place was tiny. I could have fit my room into the dance and bar area alone.
I noticed as I walked in how "over" dressed I was. On the dance floor was a girl with bleached blonde symmetrical hair, a silver skirt, and pink tights. I can't remember what else she was wearing as those were the most noticable features. She wasn't the only memorable attraction, but I'll leave it at that.
I figured, what the hell. The place was obviously a little strange. We're here. Might as well have a beer and head somewhere else. To my dismay, I later found out that the bars in L.A. (so I was told) shut down at 1:00 am (unlike the 3:00 am here). So we never did go anywhere else that night.
My friend and I were standing at the bar when this guy walked up. He had mafioso written all over him. Big guy, suit, kind of greasy. And he said, "My boss would like to buy you a drink." MY BOSS! Either this was a joke or I was on candid camera. But, ok. What the hell.
At the end of the bar is "his boss". I go to the end of the bar and have a quick beer. I don't even remember the conversation. Probably because I wasn't really listening. Afterward, I thanked him for the drink and my friend and I left.
Glad to be out of there, I relayed to my friend what a surreal experience that was. Unbeknownst to me, however, the "employee" had approached my friend and asked if I could stay out all night.
Well, that was a creepy feeling. Three weeks after I got back home, I heard that the bar had been raided by L.A.P.D. Something else was that my friend spotted an undercover officer in the bar the night all of this had happened.
The only other thing that happened on the trip happened on Sunset. We went to this bar (can't recall which but the name Roxy springs to mind). Anyway, tiny place once again. Strange people. Weird, shitty band.
We're sitting quietly at the bar having a beer (my beverage of choice) when this guy approaches me. He says that I should be in the movies. My first instinct is to think, "What kind of movies are YOU talking about?" He then hands me his "business card". Now, I'm no expert, but business cards are usually printed. This one had his name printed on it with a phone number hand written on the bottom. I said thank you, while trying not to laugh, and he left. I then tore the card up and left it in the ashtray.
The rest of the vacation was pretty good. I haven't been back to L.A. or Vegas, but would really like to go someday. At least vacations with me are eventful. Stuff like this is always happening.
B
Wednesday, 11 August 2004
This isn't really where I thought I'd be
Do you ever feel that life just hasn't turned out the way you imagined? I know that not everything works out the way that we hope it will when we're younger. But, my life is just so far from where I thought it would be by now. It's not that I don't have alot to be thankful for. I'm healthy. I have a roof over my head and food in the fridge. Sole-control over the remote (except when my brother's home). No real responsibility (except for my brother). I have a great dog, an easy job (that I really don't care for), and a few friends. I'd just like more. Every year, for some unknown reason, I decide to re-evaluate my life. Gotta stop doing that. It's not that my life is terrible. Just sometimes it's nice to have someone to come home to. Still looking for Mr. Right. Well, now that I've had my "pity me" moment I feel a little better. On the plus side of things, I begin auditioning this week for the play that I'm directing. I'm really excited. I've never directed anything before, so it's going to be ALOT of fun. We have a great group of actors who are going to be auditioning. All of them are very committed and most have alot of experience. I've been finalizing all of the pre-production stuff this week, so I'm almost ready. About the only thing left to do is give my set design to the set construction crew. I can't wait! I also signed up with the local Fire Department to be put on the list as a Volunteer Fire Fighter. Something about playing with large hoses really appeals to me right now! B
Friday, 6 August 2004
Have a great weekend
Well, it's weekend time again. Time, once again, to attempt to get SOMETHING done, but actually accomplish very little.
I'm going to leave it short for today. Haven't really had much to say the last few days. Partly due, I think, to sleep deprivation. I've been having alot of trouble sleeping lately. I'm averaging about 4 hours a night if I'm lucky. This really sucks as I have to be up at 4:30 am every morning.
My brother and I carpool to work everyday. He starts work at 6:00 am. We have to be up early because it takes us about an hour to get into the city. I don't start work until 8:00 am. There's a changeroom with a shower at work, so I get ready there. My brother then finishes work at 2:30 pm and takes the bus downtown (where I work). I finish at 4:00 pm and we spend another hour driving home. It makes for a really long day. In order for me to get enough sleep, I have to be in bed by 8:30 pm. Lately, it's been more like 10:30 pm, 11:00 pm, or later.
Hopefully, I can sleep in tomorrow. I LOVE Saturdays!
Have a great weekend.
B
Tuesday, 3 August 2004
Why on Earth would you drink that?!!
My Dad, for some unknown reason, doesn't always think. Not to say that my Dad is an idiot. Far from it. It's just that sometimes I think his brain goes on hiatus for a few minutes.
I said I'd post it. So, here's the story of when he drank poison...on purpose.
My Dad and my step-mother live on an acreage outside of town. They have about 40 acres. Nice little place. Because they're both retired, they spend their time "working" on the farm.
My Dad has a leather supply business. He manufactures and designs equipment for Emergency Services Departments (Police, Fire, Ambulance, Security, etc.). He does quite well with it and it gives him enough to keep him busy.
My step-mother, on the other hand, raises animals. She's always been an animal lover. They have horses, cats, dogs, and chickens. At one time, they had geese, goats, turkeys, rabbits and ducks as well. A regular MacDonald's farm.
Having alot of animals means cleaning up alot of crap. Literally. It's hard to find just the right cleaner that will sanitize and kill all the germs and leave everything smelling fresh. Fortunately, she was able to get her hands on some industrial cleaner.
As there are always puppies in the house, she decided to keep some inside in the bathroom. Being that it was a concentrated solution, she put a small amount in a Sun-Ripe juice container, marked a skull and cross bones on it, and put it under the sink in the bathroom.
So, one day my Dad is in the bathroom. For some unknown reason, he gets thirsty. Why he was looking under the sink, I have no idea. But he finds the juice container and decides to take a drink. He then comes out of the bathroom and runs up to my step-mother. All he could say at the time was, "Unngh! Unngh!" and showed her the bottle.
Of course, her first reaction was, "You didn't drink that, DID YOU?!!" So, a call was made to the Poison Control Centre. He was going to be okay. They went through the normal procedure regard when someone ingests chemicals (obviously initially expecting it to be a child rather than an adult).
It's years later and we still like to "remind" him of his momentary mental lapse. Of course, now that he's in his 70's, I tell him it's probably just due to senility. And he can never figure out if I'm kidding or not, because I just smile and walk away.
B
Monday, 2 August 2004
Long weekends...a good time to get nothing done
This weekend was the long weekend. Of course, as with any long weekend, I have all of these great plans for things that need to get done. In the end, I accomplish very little.
I'm still trying to figure out why. I know that half of the things I have planned involve working outside. Unfortunately, it's been so rainy lately that you can't do anything outside. And if the rain doesn't get you, the mosquitos will. When I let Brooke outside last night to do her thing, she got swarmed. These stupid things were coming out of everything. The grass especially because of all of the rain lately.
We did have some sunshine this weekend, but didn't accomplish nearly what my brother and I had planned.
Most of my weekend was spent rearranging everything. When you move from a house to a trailer, there's bound to be a shortage of space. Especially considering I have alot of books, movies, music, etc. Trying to find a space for everything is tough. Sacrifices have to be made. And items either get thrown out or are relegated to the shed. I'm still working on it and it'll probably take me a while yet. I only hope I'm done before Aug. 15 (that's when I start auditions for my play).
I'm going to cut it REALLY short today. Weekends are supposed to be a person's chance to catch up on sleep. I didn't. So I'm a little catatonic right now. Need caffeine.
B
Posted by brookside10 at 6:01 PM MDT
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Updated: Tuesday, 3 August 2004 2:17 PM MDT
Friday, 30 July 2004
We're all a little different from what others would expect
Recently, someone asked me why I got involved in the theatre. So I'll try to explain.
I've always believed in being a well-rounded person. Knowing as much as I can, or enough to get by, in a number of various things. I believe that not only does it make you a better-informed person, but also you're able to deal with various situations more effectively if you have even a small grasp on what's happening. At least you're not completely in the dark.
There are some things that I know a great deal about and some that I'm only still learning. But that's the great thing about life. You never stop learning. And I constantly want to challenge myself.
But with all of these interests comes a love of the arts. More specifically, acting.
I have taken up a number of different interests. Most of them have centered on performing. Figure Skating, Martial Arts, Ballroom/Latin Dancing, Canine Training, Home Construction, Finishing Carpentry, Furniture Restoration and Construction, Gardening, Poetry, Sketching, Calligraphy, Rapier, Singing, and so on, and so on.
But, I can remember being a kid and wanting to be an actress, a dancer, and a singer. I loved the idea of it. But, I was incredibly shy and was always labeled a dreamer. For a kid, there's nothing better than being a dreamer. Our dreams and imagination are what drive us. Unfortunately, I didn't listen to myself and put performing not only on the back burner, but took it off the stove entirely.
I was about 20 years old, I guess, when I decided that I wanted to take dancing. So, I enrolled at the Arthur Murray Dance Studios. Once I finally started to let go and relax a little, I knew that being in front of an audience was all I wanted.
Then one day, I saw an ad in the paper calling for instructors at another studio. I quickly applied and began a career as a Ballroom/Latin Dance Instructor. Not only did I get the chance to dance (and get paid for it), but also we did 2 variety shows a year. This meant that I also got to sing and act. After a while, my partner and I got the opportunity to do actual shows. What a blast!
Unfortunately, teaching was barely paying the bills. I didn't have a car for about 2 years because I couldn't afford it. And I was living in a not so nice area of town in a cockroach infested building. There's nothing like seeing the police run by your window at least once or twice a week trying to chase down a bad guy. So, for the time being, I got out of dancing and performing.
It's been a few years now and it's time that I do something for myself. We all seem to have so many other things that take over our lives. Our jobs. Our families. Other financial commitments. I realized that I couldn't keep saying no to all of the things that I enjoy about life. All of the things that I love doing and being involved in. There comes a time when you have to do something for yourself and be happy.
I don't love the job that I do right now. It pays the bills and that's it. But I love being on stage. In front of the audience. There is no greater feeling than to know that someone has enjoyed your performance.
One character that I played was E.K. Hornbeck in Inherit the Wind. The character is traditionally a man, but the director decided to change things up a little for me. It was a great role. Hornbeck is a news reporter from the late 20's. Well educated. Very outspoken. And very opinionated. So opinionated that every word has a note of sarcasm in it, but also a lot of truth. Basically, a no bullshit, get right to the point, no sugar coating kind of character. After each performance, the cast did a meet and greet with the audience. People felt such dislike for my character that they would either walk about 10 feet away and wave at me or would approach me to tell me how much they enjoyed hating my character. I told one of the other actors I felt truly accomplished. If people hated me, then my job was done. I found it hard to play a character that was always snide and confrontational. Especially when I'm not like that myself. But I'm still learning.
I took Drama in high school, and it's been a few years. So, I decided that the best thing for me to do would be to take a few classes. I took some scene study and character development classes. And I'm also reading whatever information I can. I try to keep up with what's going on in the acting world. And watch as many behind the scenes kind of show as I can so that I can get a better understanding of what goes on. I also collect movies. I have about 500 now and my collection is growing. I've collected everything from Dramas to Psychological Thrillers and big budget to independent films. I try to take scenes from different movies and break them down into audio and visual communication. There's so much that you can learn just from a person's face.
All in all, I guess I'm just a kid at heart. Still wanting to play make-believe with my friends.
B
Thursday, 29 July 2004
Politics...a taboo subject around my family
My family, more precisely my Dad, is extremely passionate about politics. I'm forever telling my Dad that if he wants to enact some of the changes that he has in mind that he should run for office. I think that would be a much better way to spend his time instead of complaining about the state of our country. I don't usually like to talk politics with people. It's something that most people are very passionate about. And sometimes my opinions come across as a little to the point. Hence the reason why I don't like to talk about it much. Alot of times I like to say it like it is and some people don't know how to handle that. I've become better at sugar coating things a little, but I don't always feel as if I'm being as honest as I should. It's like talking about religion. Everyone has their own beliefs and that's great. I have my own beliefs and can appreciate the thoughts of others on the subject of religion. But some are unwilling to see the viewpoint of another. But politics is a sore spot with my Dad. Once you get him started, be prepared for an evening of, well, basically yelling and swearing. During the last election, I read up on the parties and their platforms. Watched the debates, visited the Party websites, and tried to find out as much information as I could so that I could make an informed choice. You see, I vote for whomever I feel will do the best job. Not just for the party's political platform. People are always frustrated by politics and it's not something that you can usually have a calm discussion about. Especially around my Dad. Well, enough said on that topic. For now, I'll leave it at this. B
Posted by brookside10 at 8:30 AM MDT
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