Sunday, November 21, 2010

The Dresden Dolls

My lovely wife and I took in the Dresden Dolls concert at the Vic last Wednesday. It was quite extraordinary. Amanda Palmer and Brian Viglione are a pair of dynamic performers. It's amazing that two people could create such a HUGE sound, but they absolutely filled that place - which is doubly impressive considering that their opening act, Mucca Pazza, is a full-on marching band. I'd never heard of them before, but they were a total riot. And they're local, so odds are good I'll have a chance to check them out again.

I also learned an important lesson at the show: The Droid Eris smart phone doesn't take pictures for shit. Either that, or I just don't know what I'm doing. It's probably a little of both. Anyway, here are a couple of the almost adequate pics from Wednesday:

Mucca Pazza:
Amanda Palmer of the Dresden Dolls (no, seriously - see what I mean about this camera?):

Friday, November 12, 2010

A Lull in the Action

I'm writing again. It's been a while. I'm out of practice. It's not NaNoWriMo, although I miss that. I'm telling myself I'll do that next year, but I'm finding it difficult to plan that far in advance.

No, this is a whole new writing adventure for me: Adapting. This is what my theatre company does; we adapt books into plays. But it's not something that I, personally, have ever attempted before. I've written a couple of (shitty, shitty) one-act plays before that will never ever see the light of day, and I've written one full-length screenplay that will also never see the light of day. Scripts have never really been my thing, but adapting has certain advantages. It feels like training wheels.

I don't want to talk to much about the specifics of the project yet because I don't know for sure that it even IS a project. I've pitched the idea to the ensemble and the response so far seems enthusiastic. I've worked some details out with another member of the company who is interested in directing, and soon the ensemble will discuss it. If all goes well I'll get a green light, which basically just means I have to write it. It does NOT mean it's actually getting produced, which is fine. After all, what if I hand in a script that just totally blows?

But rather than sit around and wait for the green light I've decided to get started. The sooner I have a first draft, the sooner I can get started on the second one. And besides, I have a few weeks with nothing better to do. My last show closed a few weeks ago, my next one doesn't even start rehearsing until next month. There are some meetings and discussions between now and then, but nothing too time-consuming. I really can't think of a better way to spend my time.

In other news, the diet has stalled. Not ended. Just stalled. I reached that first goal and then life intruded, and I lost focus. Backslid a little bit. I'll get it back, though. I'm not worried. I'm slightly more concerned about my exercise routine, or lack thereof. I started on this program that is supposed to help you do a hundred push-ups, and two hundred sit-ups. And I started walking three miles every morning. That lasted a week. I need to regroup and start again with that. I have to play a warrior bunny this spring, and I need to look the part!

It's been a fairly pleasant break between shows, but there is still that itch in the back of my brain, freaking out that I'm not in rehearsals or performances for anything right now. But things will get busy again soon enough. I'll do my best to enjoy this while I can -- mostly by catching up on The Wire on Netflix, and waiting for the next episode of Boardwalk Empire.