Life in da theatre

So early last week was spent in Milwaukee and Chicago. Oddly enough, I spent about a grand total of an hour and a half collectively in each city(travel included). I sped into town last Monday during a horrendous winter storm and auditioned for about 15 theatres in Milwaukee (I made it just in time). Chicago the next day was a much less harrowing experience, as I parked my car at the Cumberland Transit station and rode the El into downtown to audition in a tiny AEA office stuffed with actors overdressed or underdressed for Cincinatti Playhouse in the Park. Right after my 3 minute audition, I headed back to the train and shot out of town. Admittedly, it'd be easier to be in Chicago doing this stuff, but with general auditions being the crapshoots that they are, I feel I'm doing everything for my career that I can within reason.

Some guy just accidently hit me in the head with his flimsy plastic sandwich-board sign as he left the car I was in for the next- while the train was moving back towards Cumberland Station, of course. All in all, it was a good trip. I stayed with my sister in Madison in between auditions, and had a good visit.

I've had to saddle up recently and get back to temping- I start a week-long gig at 3M in St. Paul tomorrow. It's what I expected to be doing, having been spoiled at the Old Log Theatre for the last 5 months. I never took for granted how good I had it when I had it.

So, I'm not despairing by any means, but the unknown is back as it was before. The game is different, though. This Equity thing is what I wanted, so I'm getting used to this moniker and feeling out what it means.

So, if I don't score a summer acting gig, I have the Fringe. I'm actually excited about the project I have in mind, but I don't want to go hog wild in case I leave for the summer. Once March 14 comes around, and if I have no offers that conflict with late July/ early August, I'll be Fringing it. After that, I'll start putting things into motion. Either way I'll have someting to look forward to. It'll be an interesting few months ahead.

Who Watches the Watchmen...?

Apparently director Zack Snyder, who answered my question concerning the upcoming film version of the Alan Moore graphic novel...



ManOWar: The graphic novel contains quite a bit of symmetry, not only in the artwork, but also in the narration and the dialogue. Scenes happening between characters inadvertently comment on an alternating scene in the next frame. This convention is used quite a bit throughout Watchmen. Are you emulating this technique at all in filming/editing, or do you have another approach?


Zack Snyder: That’s absolutely right; there is a lot of symmetry in the graphic novel. When designing the shots, I have made an effort to make the images balanced compositionally to reflect some of the illustrated symmetry of the graphic novel. In addition to the visual symmetry, we do overlap the dialogue — that convention of having one scene comment on the next. That happens quite a bit in the graphic novel and I tried to keep that in the film wherever I could.


ManOWar is my nerd moniker...

I've always been one who thought he needed a plan. To accomplish certain things before I could move on to the next phase. Finish college, get a day job, theatre at night, etc.

But lately I've been thinking about a few of my friends that took the alternative route into a responsible family and career. Stuff I've really admired without ever expressing it to them.

One friend started from the bottom rung for Holiday Station stores, after a failed attempt at a semester and a half at college, and worked is way to being a store auditor. He gets to work with numbers and software to make the stores run more efficiently. No degree, no special training- just using skills that he was always good at utilizing.

Another friend, who is several years younger than me, came to my college, did a few years there, got several lead roles, then left to train with Commedia del Arte in California. He toured with circus groups, taught grad school students physical theatre and has a family.

These friends had a drive that hasn't existed in me for the most-part. They made things happen based on what they knew they wanted, and the universe opened up. I like that. I long for a continued clarity and direction fory life and clear.

Heh. Don't we all.

Then again, having all the answers would be exceedingly boring...