send in the clowns!

Sorry, sorry...I know it's last-minute, but who doesn't need a good last-minute plan? The point of my vague ramblings is to get you to go see a Murray Mednick play called "Clown Show for Bruno". It's tonight at Push Push Theater, and tomorrow night at The Goethe Institute Library.

Here's info on the Goethe Institute...

Goethe Institute Inter Nationes Atlanta
Dr. Michael Nentwich (Director)
Colony Square, Plaza Level, 1197 Peachtree Street, NE
Atlanta, Georgia 30361-2401
Tel: 1 (404) 892-3800
Fax: 1 (404) 892-3832
email: goetheatlanta@earthlink.net

Here's some info from the Push Push site...

"Clown Show for Bruno is a human story, as well as a celebration of creative genius and joy in the face of terror."

"Guy Zimmerman’s direction uses elements of mask, clowning and other theatrical disciplines to underscore the lyrical poeticism of Mednick’s text. "

That's enough to get me to go! Now here's a little about the talented performers..

"Key collaborators in the Bruno project include, playing the lead, celebrated Commedia performer and teacher Daniel Stein. After attending the professional actor training program at Carnegie-Mellon University, Stein studied in Paris with French master Etienne Decroux, and made his home in Paris for 20 years. He started his professional career as an actor with the French National Theatre, and his solo performances have toured in more than 30 countries, as well as in theatres such as the Kennedy Center and Lincoln Center here in the United States. Formerly head of the Dell'Arte International School of Physical Theatre, in Blue Lake CA (among many other prestigious teaching credits), Stein is joined for this production by two of his star students, Kali Quinn and Bill Celentano, who have made names for themselves in the Los Angeles and New York theater community. Also on board for Padua’s production of Clown Show for Bruno are award-winning designers John Zelewski (music and sound design), Ann Closs-Farley (costume design) and Jeffrey Atherton (set and mask design.)"

Here are some photos I took yesterday at rehearsal.

meghan!

How do I begin to describe Meghan...(other than look-alike for "it girl" Ellen Page)? Here goes...she is the human version of a gerber daisy...bright, pretty, and cheerful. I barely remember taking all the photos because we had so much fun goofing off and witnessing shady activity.

Meghan, thank you for your playful spirit. I'm sorry we weren't able to get arrested like we had planned.



Meghan, here's your "hot spy" shot. Use this to audition for James Bond films, please.



I don't know many people who can pull off a silver bomber jacket (definitely not me), but Meghan makes it "fierce", as they say.





This one below, might just be my fav.



Now for the outtakes!!! Did I mention there was goofing around? Me no jokey.



We had a lengthy discussion on how it's funny that a lot of women interpret "look sexy" as "stick lips out like a fish". So, we had to throw in a contrived version of the misguided "sexy" pose.



Now here's a timeless story. Girl meets wall. Wall makes girl laugh. Then, inevitably......



...girl falls in love with wall



You rock, Meghan!

last seen improv festival!

Matt and the other Doug Dank improv folks are hosting The Last Seen Improv Festival at Push Push theater this week. There will be lots of swell performers coming into town to help make the funny. You should come, because if improv falls in the middle of Decatur, and no one is there to hear it, did it really happen?

happy birthday, matty!

Today we celebrate hamsters, robots, and the birth of Matt. Why DON'T!

Matt received not one, but TWO magical greeting cards that play tunes. One plays "Mr Roboto", and the other plays the happiest hamster rave dance remix. These were from his mom and g-ma.

I promise he was more excited than what's conveyed in this photo.



Whaaaa????



Matt nearly blew his mind wide open with the dueling magic.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MATTY!

It's alilve! ALIVE!!!

After over a year of not updating my old website, I traded it in for a younger model. And it's LIVE! I will no longer have to quietly mumble my web address to people and tell them to maybe check my blog instead (while clenching my teeth). The new site is a much more accurate reflection of me and my work. Well, if it was REALLY a reflection of me, it would just be a picture of pancakes. It's better than that, I swear. I hope folks dig it.



I have to give a HUGE thanks to my dear friend Matt Young, who was willing to let me use one of his wonderful songs on the site. It's by Captain Genius, a super-fun pop band. The song on the site is "Good for You", a gorgeous ballad Matt wrote when he was dating Sara (now his wife and mamma of their perfect little girl). If you don't know Sara, I can only offer my apologies because she's got a soul that will restore your faith in humanity. For reals. Anyway, the song is exactly what I hoped to have on my site, so thank you Matt!

women of substance

My friend Tommy wrote a great post on his blog Enjoy Every Sandwich about men in film he'd most want to emulate. Well, there's a lot more to it than that, but he's got a swell list, which inspired me to create one of my own with women in film. Since my memory isn't what it used to be, I actually had to visit my Netflix site and review my favorite flicks and the characters in them. Wow, the women really fall into the "pretty trinket" category in most movies.

trin·ket /ˈtrɪŋkɪt/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[tring-kit] –noun

1.	a small ornament, piece of jewelry, etc., usually of little value.

2.	anything of trivial value.

Even the ones where a gal is the lead, she's typically driven by unrealistic romantic longing. Sigh. It was MUCH harder than I thought to come up with a list of female film characters who were powerful, smart, inspiring, memorable, and more than hookers with hearts of gold.

So, here's my list, but like Tommy wisely said..."We're all lashed to the tracks. Our job is to free ourselves."

1. Melanie Hamilton-Wilkes "Gone With the Wind"
2. Amelie Poulain "Amelie"
3. Maude "Harold and Maude"
4. Pai "Whale Rider"
5. Tessa Quayle "The Constant Gardener"

share the luvs

Kathleen Donahoe from Out of Hand Theater, was kind enough to pass along my photo info to the Oh Baby! Fitness website. If you are pregs, thinking about becoming pregs, or know a pregs gal (I'm looking at you, Shelby), you should send them to this lovely site. It's a great resource for all things an expecting or new mom could need! The only thing I couldn't find on the site was a way to stop time biologically so that I don't have to have a baby until I'm 50. C'mon eggs...hang in there! Are any other women as freaked out as me at the fact that we have eggs hanging out in us? I shouldn't worry, as mine are surely rotten by now. I just remember dissecting a frog in high school, and eggs just pouring out of it. Never really got over that. Bleh.

So please check out Oh Baby! Fitness and also go see what Out of Hand is up too!

jeffery!

I recently had the pleasure of shooting headshots for the remarkably talented Jeffery Z. He's a man of many skills, and you should do us both a favor and check out some of his stuff on his flickr. I met Jeffery while he and Matt were working on Michael Haverty's incredible marionette-and-music-laden adaptation of "As I Lay Dying".

Here's Jeffery lookin' all cool n' stuff.









Of course, we had to take some non-traditional shots too!

Look, acting....this way!!!



I really dig this one.





Thanks, Jeffery!

caitlin gets me

I didn't think Caitlin could get any cooler, until the mail came today. Enclosed with a very kind note were these Betty Crocker recipe cards from 1971, a time when apparently all food and furniture were the same color scheme, and all dishes must involve some type of glaze and be covered in mandarin orange slices.

Thank you SO much Caitlin!!! Here are a few of the cards she sent. They fill me with joy...the way a good tuna salad fills a green pepper.


I used to live in Hawaii. "Aloha" can have several meanings....hello, goodbye, love. "Fonduloha" is not a traditional Hawaiian word, but my guess is that it translates to confusion, pineapple murder, and dysentery. This may not seem too bad until you read some of the ingredients...mayo, chutney, curry powder, banana, TURKEY. Barf.



Caitlin voted this as her favorite, surely due to the title. If Betty really had a clue, these would be displayed on a naked woman wearing a football helmet.



I've experienced the true pleasure of being on an African safari. Let me tell you, peeing unprotected in the middle of the bush land, pants down and within attacking distance of hungry cheetah and hippos wasn't nearly as scary as this cake.



Ok, I have to admit it. Someone will probably be getting this cake on their birthday. However, I will not be serving green tempera paint as a side dish.



I try as hard as I can to keep this blog at a PG-13 level. Everything I WANT to say about the image below would fall into NC-17 at best.



Caitlin, you totally made my day! THANK YOU!

Langston!

When Matt was a young fella (still sportin' Camaro hair in Florida), his mom joined him up with the Big Brothers, Big Sisters program, and he met a wonderful guy named Rick. Matt and Rick spent time together and developed a friendship that lasted into adulthood. Rick was a pilot, and I think of him every time I'm in an airplane. When I told him that I get nervous flying, he said "Just remember, the pilot wants to make it home too". Smart words from a great man.

A couple years ago, Matt decided to become a Big Brother himself, and was introduced to Langston. I have to give a nod to the folks who run the program. They're really careful how they match people, and these guys are two peas in a pod. Langston is one sharp kid, and so polite (thanks to his mom, Patrice). He also has a creative side, which is why we took these headshots. Looking at these pics, I can't believe how much he's grown up since we met him!

jon & avril!

Meet Jon and Avril (hope I spelled that right...pronounced like "April" with a "v"). This couple is about as cool as they come. Jon decided to make all other guys look bad by doing the sweetest thing for Valentine's Day. He arranged this photo session for them to have some nice "couple" shots taken. Love that! They've been dating just two months! I was trying to remember what Matt and I were up to two months into our relationship. I'm pretty sure we flew to LA to hang out with his best friend Matt Young, who had just started dating Sara (now his wifey and mother of their perfect little gal). We attended a "pimps and 'hos" party, and Matt (Young) and I bonded over midori sours, x-men action figures, and talk of the exquisiteness of Sara.

Jon and Avril, I wish you many more happy months of coolness together!