Wednesday, 14 July 2004

Climbing out of obscurity...sort of.
So, as I said, I have no claim to fame. Other than my many bad decisions that I have made in my life time. I did, at one time, have quite a following in my own little world.

I was a dancer for a few years. Now, before I get flooded with comments about strippers, I was not, nor have I ever been, a stripper (although, I am pretty hot). I was a Latin/Ballroom Dancer. And quite good, if I do say so myself.

My partner and I did a number of shows around Alberta. Granted, Alberta isn't the big mecca that it appears to be (ha,ha). But, I had my share of admirers. It was kind of nice, actually. I can really see how some people can get used to the adulation that comes with being a star.

Anyhow, due to financial reasons (I was broke), I decided to stop dancing and get, heaven forbid, a real job (gasp!). So, now I really miss dancing. But that's okay, because I'm back into acting (which is really what I wanted to do anyway).

So, now here I am. I have an agent who really doesn't do much except tell me that there aren't any parts I'm "right for" at the moment. Hence, I am stuck doing community theater. Which is okay, because I love live theater. And, let's face it, the only thing that's really filming in Alberta is Brokeback Mountain and a few MOW's. There's only so much self promotion I can do.

The theater I'm with is really good. It's something to start in and get some experience. I haven't been on the stage in years, so it's really exhilarating. I'm usually the only one back stage at the tech rehearsal wanting to know if we can do a extra few weeks!

But, now I've been chosen to direct the next show. This is an avenue that I haven't yet explored and I'm really nervous. I've never really been nervous before. At least not to this extent. I guess it's just that if it flops, it's on my head, name, and reputation.

I'd like to know if anyone else has had a similar experience. What are the essentials of being a good director?

Posted by brookside10 at 3:10 PM MDT | Post Comment | Permalink
Updated: Thursday, 15 July 2004 8:38 AM MDT

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So, what gives?
I suppose I should start out by saying that I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing. So, bear with me as I figure this out.

I decided to start this blog after recently discovering that blogs actually exist (see, I told you I have NO idea what I'm doing). I needed an avenue in which to vent and express myself. Sometimes, venting to complete strangers offers more insight than venting to people you've known your entire life.

Take family for instance. My sister, or as I sometimes call her, "the vacuum", is always going on about something. I say vacuum because after dealing with her problems, you feel like the life has been sucked out of you.

Well, this one day in particular, she called me up and it sound really urgent. Something about the car not being there and whatever. Anyway, I, being concerned that the car was stolen or maybe re-possessed, rush over not giving a rat's ass about the fact that I has only about $2.00 worth of gas in the tank and maybe no way to get home. I show up and all she wanted was to ask my advice on whether to apply for a new job.

Obviously, the car was still there and there was really no sense of urgency in the situation what-so-ever. And this bit of advice couldn't be given out over the telephone.

So, here I am with a site that allows my to not only get a few things off my chest, but to pass along some of the crazy things that happen in my mixed up world. I'll start off with one. I'm going to cite an example from my family. They're the craziest people I know. And that's saying ALOT!

My sister and her husband live on an acreage outside of town. The property isn't large or anything, but it has a mechanic's shop on it for my brother-in-law. The house is a disaster in every sense. Not only is a REALLY, REALLY, old double wide trailer, but it was built on a cinder block foundation. Which, during Canadian winters, is not the best option. It leaks like a sieve. And, the rest of it would provide enough work put a constractor's kids through college/university.

Anyway, my 10 year old niece was home and had gone into the bathroom. Being like most 10 year olds, she forgot to turn the light off. The light was also connected to the bathroom fan (which, at the best of times, really didn't work). She then went down to the shop to visit her Dad and quickly got bored and went back to the house.

As she opened the door, smoke poured out of the house. She quickly jumped on her bike and told her Dad (who was still at the shop). The shop is a good 500 yards from the house. A long way to go for, as I affectionately call him, a fat-guy. Of course, he feels that it's smarter to run up to the house sans fire extinguisher. Luckily, his buddy has the forsight to not only call the fire department and take something to extinguish the fire, but to drive up to the house (laughing all the way as he watched my 280 lb. brother-in-law running and having a coronary).

So, the fire gets put out and the fire department arrives to finish the job. I call my sister, just a weekly check in, and she nonchalantly tells me, "Oh, we had a fire. And now we don't have any water because the pipes burst."

Only in my family. Just enough to piss you off and wonder who the voodoo witch doctor was that put the evil curse on you, but not enough to be really life shattering.

How about you? What's your crazy story?

Posted by brookside10 at 1:02 PM MDT | Post Comment | Permalink
Updated: Wednesday, 14 July 2004 1:03 PM MDT

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