The In-Blog-uration

Barack Obama has been President for 78 hours now, and I am neither as rich nor as good-looking as I should be. What gives?

It seems to me that, as a person with a blog, I have some sort of responsibility to write something about the inauguration. I have put it off for a few days partly because I was busy, but also because I had little to say about it that has not already been said by faster if not more eloquent parties. Did I watch it? I did. Did I feel pride? Yes. Hope? Check. Relief? A little. And I must say that the headlines - from closing Guantanamo to loosening restrictions on stem cell research - make me feel better day by day. But again, you can read this stuff anywhere.

There was that one moment during the President's speech where he made reference to "non-believers." That gave me a bit of a thrill, I must confess. It seemed like a huge step. And it ruffled a few feathers, too. Joy Behar of the horrid "The View" made a weird joke about "you pathetic atheists out there." The Friendly Atheist has been trying to give her the benefit of the doubt - that she was in fact trying to be funny - but I frankly don't see the humor. As Friendly Atheist points out, the line would have caused a riot if she'd said "pathetic Christians" or "pathetic Jews" instead. The President's line even, according to some reports, drew boos from some parts of the multitude witnessing the event. Now that is impressive, to be the one thing that gets booed during Barack Obama's inauguration speech.

Of course, those few voices of dissent really had very little to complain about. As Greta Christina pointed out, the inauguration was saturated with god-talk. It required no less than two ministers to see the thing through, plus two Bibles (one each for the President and Vice President), and more references to the Christian God than you can wave a cross at. Granted, Rev. Joseph Lowery's closing benediction was a hoot, but it was still full of Lord this and Almighty that.

But what did I expect? This country is full of Christians. Our new President is a Christian. You can't swing a dead cat without hitting somebody who believes in the Abrahamic god. Our brief, token shout-out was more than any of us could reasonably expect.

Now before you go thinking this is another whine-athon, please know that that one phrase was not the only thing I took away from the President's speech. What has stuck with me the most, what has been rolling around in my brain for the last few days, is this idea of responsibility. I will confess, responsibility is a thing I have striven to avoid. It always sounded like way too much work. There's something different about it now, though, and I can't put my finger on it. "Responsibility" has always, in my mind, seemed like an anchor preventing me from doing what I really want to do. There seems to be more to it now, though. Maybe it's just that I'm not used to hearing this stuff from a truly gifted orator, but there is suddenly this sense of nobility surrounding the idea of responsibility. There is a sense of community about it. You want to go out and make it your own. It's a good feeling, really.

I don't know. The truth is, I've been busy. I started a new job, I'm working on a new play. I haven't truly processed everything that has been going on. To use a cliche, it has been a blur. All I can say is that things feel different, and I am really very curious to see what happens next.

In Arabia is Jeff Recommended

My most recent theatre gig was as fight choreographer for Steep Theatre Company's production of In Arabia We'd All Be Kings, directed by the amazing Joanie Schultz. This is the tenth show Joanie and I have worked on together. (I think I miscounted when I wrote my program bio and said it was the eighth show. My bad.) In Arabia is a great show with a fantastic ensemble working from an excellent script. You should all go see it - but don't take my word for it. The show is also Jeff Recommended.

Congratulations, everybody!

Wheelchairs, Walkers and Peg Legs

About a year and a half ago I and several other local fight choreographers took part in a round-robin interview with Mary Shen Barnidge for an article about disabilities and stage combat. The interview originally appeared in the August 2007 issue of the stage combat quarterly newsletter Moulinet, which sadly does not publish online. This particular article, however, has found its way onto the website Total Theater. It's an interesting discussion, and the other choreographers, all wiser and more experienced than myself, had a lot of great input into the subject. For those of you who are interested you can follow this link to read the full article.

Bragging Rights

Journey's End, the show I did last January with Griffin Theatre, has been named as one of the ten best shows of the year by Chicago Tribune theater critic Chris Jones. I am particularly proud of this one, in spite (or perhaps because) of the hideous mustache I wore for two months. Congratulations to everybody involved!

photo by Jonathan Berry

Um, Awkward

I haven't had to do a monologue audition in quite some time, so when a string of them got scheduled I kinda had to scramble and dig up some stuff from my school days. I felt fairly confident in my ability to execute the monologues well enough, having used most of them before, although frankly I could probably use a refresher course for these kinds of auditions. Then again, I don't know what kind of class could prepare me for the faux pas I pulled off this evening.

One of my monologues come from the play Those the River Keeps, by David Rabe. I like the speech a lot. The character is a former mobster discussing the incident that made him realize he was not cut out for the lifestyle. The event he describes involves him punching a dog, and accidentally killing it. The description is vivid and detailed, enough so that I actually have to cut it down some to make it an acceptable length for an audition piece. Still, it's moderately violent, and somehow the fact that the violence is directed toward a dog makes it a little more . . . something. You know what I mean?

Tonight I needed two monologues, contrasting. I've got this dog one, plus another that is funny but straight-laced, and a third that is straight up silly. Given the kind of plays this company was known for, I figured I'd hit 'em with the dog speech first, and then give them the straight-laced comedic one. I was a little rough on the lines for that one, but the combination seemed right. At least, it did until I walked into the audition room and saw an actual, honest-to-god dog lying there. I didn't say anything aloud, and the auditors were making a few preliminary notes and therefore did not notice my double-take.

I got through it. What else could I do? Afterward one of the auditors told me that the speech didn't really work for him. I was too frazzled to explain that I had just done a speech about killing a dog in front of a dog.

There is a part of me that feels like I should have known about the dog. Like I should have remembered, oh yeah, there is a good possibility that there will be a dog in the room. It was a nice enough dog. Black lab, very well-behaved. It just laid on its little doggie mat the whole time. I had to fight hard not to keep looking at it as I worked. I think it was watching me, and judging.

Oh, and that second monologue? The one I was a little rough with on the lines? I scrapped that. No way was I gonna remember that thing. I went straight for the silly. Probably not what they wanted, but at least I got an amusing story out of it.

A Slight Break In the Action

My sincerest apologies for the lack of posts, but I swear I have a good reason for it: I’ve just been too damn busy. I had just enough time off to enjoy Thanksgiving with the folks up in Michigan. But I am not complaining.

The Mark of Zorro just closed last Sunday, bringing to a close the longest run I’ve ever had on a single show, as well as the longest streak of non-stop theatre work in my career. I was sorry to see Zorro end. It was a huge amount of fun, and Lifeline Theatre is just a great group to work with. Fingers crossed, I’ll get another opportunity soon.

This week, I dive back in and try to get a new streak going. Tonight I have a small role in The Strange Tree Group’s holiday party, The 12 Grave Errors of Christmas. I also have auditions lined up for this Tuesday and Wednesday, as well as next Sunday, plus two more the Saturday after that. I am a little stressed about the auditions for this week. They are all monologue auditions, which I have had to do very little of for the past several years. In fact, since 2004 I have done exactly two monologue auditions, total. My success rate is fifty percent.

I also have a small stage combat gig lined up: I will be choreographing the violence for Steep Theatre Company’s production of In Arabia We’d All Be Kings by Stephen Adly Guirgis, directed by one of the best directors I’ve ever worked with (and one of my best friends), Joanie Schultz. She’s usually good enough to give me a call whenever one of her plays requires a beatdown, and I am always happy to oblige.

There is other stuff to report regarding books I’ve read, albums I’ve heard, and jobs I may or may not have gotten. More on all that coming up. Stay tuned!

Atomic Nerdery!

This Saturday is the second (and possibly final!) installment of Atomic Nerdery at the Playground. Once again the hour of dork-based comedy features swashbuckling duo The Gentleman Rogues engaging in mortal combat, their fates decided, literally, by the roll of the dice. Last time I (that is to say, the 8th Level Lawful Good Human Fighter, Orlando Cabanban) defeated my arch-nemesis, the foul Chaotic Evil Thief, Sinister Pinch (Ryan Zarecki). Who shall prevail this time? Come to the Playground, 3209 North Halsted, this Saturday at midnight to find out!