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.
Friday, November 12, 2010
Monday, October 11, 2010
279.8
A milestone. I haven't weighed below 280 since 2001. I've dropped just over five percent of my total body weight since I started.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Lookin' Good
Officially I have lost 14.4 pounds in the last month. I am less than a pound away from my first "goal weight," and just over a pound away from what I will consider a personal milestone: getting under 280. I haven't been there since 2001.
It's Weight Watchers. That's it. In many ways it is so easy I'm slapping myself for not getting on this years ago. In many other ways it is just as difficult as I feared it would be. This past week, for example, has been fraught with indulgences, and with family coming in this weekend I don't expect it to let up until Monday. So when I weigh in on Sunday there may be some discouraging results, but I'm not going to stress about it. There's no reason I can't get back on track next week.
I decided it was time to bite the bullet and commit to this whole plan when I got on the scale for the first time in several months and, for the first time in my life, saw the number climb above the 300 mark. I had a moment of actual panic. I'd spent the whole summer being very physically active, and here I was at the heaviest I had ever been. When I stopped and thought about it, though, the problem was obvious. I'd spent the summer indulging in as much awful food as I could fit into my stomach, justifying it all with the knowledge that I was surely sweating it all off on stage. When I signed up for Weight Watchers I was told I could eat up to 42 "points" worth of food per day. That seemed like a lot until, just for funzies, I calculated how many points I'd eaten the day before I signed up: 68.
Holy shit.
So I'm on the wagon. There are occasional slips, but the progress is noticeable. I'm told I'm looking better. I'm definitely feeling better. My pants are all a little looser, and I can button a shirt I couldn't button three months ago. That's an awesome feeling, but there's a healthy amount of guilt and embarrassment as well. I can't help but chastise myself a little for letting myself go as long as I did.
The next step is exercise. A gym is supposed to be opening right in my building, but there hasn't been any visible progress on it since we moved in last June. I've started just doing push-ups whenever I have a few minutes and some space to myself. I've still got a ways to go, though. I'm hoping I'll find something that works for me soon.
It's Weight Watchers. That's it. In many ways it is so easy I'm slapping myself for not getting on this years ago. In many other ways it is just as difficult as I feared it would be. This past week, for example, has been fraught with indulgences, and with family coming in this weekend I don't expect it to let up until Monday. So when I weigh in on Sunday there may be some discouraging results, but I'm not going to stress about it. There's no reason I can't get back on track next week.
I decided it was time to bite the bullet and commit to this whole plan when I got on the scale for the first time in several months and, for the first time in my life, saw the number climb above the 300 mark. I had a moment of actual panic. I'd spent the whole summer being very physically active, and here I was at the heaviest I had ever been. When I stopped and thought about it, though, the problem was obvious. I'd spent the summer indulging in as much awful food as I could fit into my stomach, justifying it all with the knowledge that I was surely sweating it all off on stage. When I signed up for Weight Watchers I was told I could eat up to 42 "points" worth of food per day. That seemed like a lot until, just for funzies, I calculated how many points I'd eaten the day before I signed up: 68.
Holy shit.
So I'm on the wagon. There are occasional slips, but the progress is noticeable. I'm told I'm looking better. I'm definitely feeling better. My pants are all a little looser, and I can button a shirt I couldn't button three months ago. That's an awesome feeling, but there's a healthy amount of guilt and embarrassment as well. I can't help but chastise myself a little for letting myself go as long as I did.
The next step is exercise. A gym is supposed to be opening right in my building, but there hasn't been any visible progress on it since we moved in last June. I've started just doing push-ups whenever I have a few minutes and some space to myself. I've still got a ways to go, though. I'm hoping I'll find something that works for me soon.
Saturday, September 04, 2010
No Rest for the Wicked
It has reached the point where I write on this blog so infrequently that I wonder if it's worth the trouble of keeping it at all. For now, I shall endeavor to continue. The lack of posts are my failing, not the blog's. And the truth is that August was a busy month.
Since last I wrote, I not only began rehearsals on Louis Slotin Sonata, but as of today we're already in tech. This has to have been one of the fastest rehearsals processes in which I have ever participated, and yet it never for a moment felt rushed, or like we were running out of time. We're in great shape for tech, and I can wait to see what this whole thing turns in to. I wish there was an image of the show's poster online, because it is stunning. We're in previews as of next Friday, and then we open Monday the 13th. I will keep you posted.
Last weekend I also participated in my first ensemble meeting at Lifeline Theatre. As the discussion grew, I found myself look around the room and thinking, I am surrounded by a bunch of really smart people. Seriously. It's a little intimidating. But I left the meeting with a good-sized list of new books to read, and I am now at the very early stages of a new project for the company. I don't want to go into detail yet because it is, as I say, in the very early stages. Nothing official yet, but the ball has started rolling. It's something that has me extremely excited, and perhaps more than a little petrified. We shall see what happens.
A few other things are moving along as well. Next Saturday, Signal Theatre Ensemble holds auditions for Accidental Death of an Anarchist, by Dario Fo. I'm working on the violence for the show, so hopefully I'll get a chance to stop by and get a look at some of the potential cast.
Then, after Louis Slotin Sonata, opens, I start in on a script development workshop with The Strange Tree Group. Getting a chance to work with this company will be the fulfillment of a lifelong dream... or at least it would be if they'd been around my whole life. Actually I first learned about them about three or four years ago, around the time I was directing Rogue 8: Issue #3 with Rogue Theater. Seeing their shows has been some of the most fun I've ever had as a theater audience member. I get excited every time I hear they have something new coming up. And now I get to play along a little. I am all kinds of thrilled about this.
This coming Monday is Labor Day. It is the only full day off I've had in a month, and the only full day off I will have until late October. You'd think that's a bad thing, but really, it's not.
Since last I wrote, I not only began rehearsals on Louis Slotin Sonata, but as of today we're already in tech. This has to have been one of the fastest rehearsals processes in which I have ever participated, and yet it never for a moment felt rushed, or like we were running out of time. We're in great shape for tech, and I can wait to see what this whole thing turns in to. I wish there was an image of the show's poster online, because it is stunning. We're in previews as of next Friday, and then we open Monday the 13th. I will keep you posted.
Last weekend I also participated in my first ensemble meeting at Lifeline Theatre. As the discussion grew, I found myself look around the room and thinking, I am surrounded by a bunch of really smart people. Seriously. It's a little intimidating. But I left the meeting with a good-sized list of new books to read, and I am now at the very early stages of a new project for the company. I don't want to go into detail yet because it is, as I say, in the very early stages. Nothing official yet, but the ball has started rolling. It's something that has me extremely excited, and perhaps more than a little petrified. We shall see what happens.
A few other things are moving along as well. Next Saturday, Signal Theatre Ensemble holds auditions for Accidental Death of an Anarchist, by Dario Fo. I'm working on the violence for the show, so hopefully I'll get a chance to stop by and get a look at some of the potential cast.
Then, after Louis Slotin Sonata, opens, I start in on a script development workshop with The Strange Tree Group. Getting a chance to work with this company will be the fulfillment of a lifelong dream... or at least it would be if they'd been around my whole life. Actually I first learned about them about three or four years ago, around the time I was directing Rogue 8: Issue #3 with Rogue Theater. Seeing their shows has been some of the most fun I've ever had as a theater audience member. I get excited every time I hear they have something new coming up. And now I get to play along a little. I am all kinds of thrilled about this.
This coming Monday is Labor Day. It is the only full day off I've had in a month, and the only full day off I will have until late October. You'd think that's a bad thing, but really, it's not.
Friday, July 23, 2010
Joining the Club
Neverwhere has finally closed, and I can say with certainty that it was the premiere highlight of my theatrical career thus far. I was fortunate to be able to work on a fantastic script based on a wonderful story, with an extraordinary group of talented artists. I've never had this much fun on stage before. I got to be scary and funny at the same time. I got to be larger than life. I got to fight with a quarterstaff, and a machete that sparked. I ate a rat. And an ear.
And Neil Gaiman came to see it.
But the show has closed, as they all must do, and it is time for new adventures. I actually have a few projects lined up that should keep me out of trouble until next summer. First up is a role in Louis Slotin Sonata at A Red Orchid Theatre, followed by a fight director gig on Signal Theatre Ensemble's Accidental Death of an Anarchist, and wrapped up next spring with Lifeline Theatre's adapation of Watership Down. That's right: I'm gonna be a bunny. I also have a workshop or two thrown into the mix, just for funzies.
Speaking of Lifeline, however, I do have some particularly exciting news: I have accepted an invitation to become a member of Lifeline Theatre's artistic ensemble. There was a press release and everything. I spent about a week after receiving the invitation just vibrating with excitement. What made it worse was that the company wanted to hold off on the announcement until after Neverwhere closed, so that whole week was spent sitting on a secret. But it's out now, and I am thrilled. I can't wait to get started.
And Neil Gaiman came to see it.
But the show has closed, as they all must do, and it is time for new adventures. I actually have a few projects lined up that should keep me out of trouble until next summer. First up is a role in Louis Slotin Sonata at A Red Orchid Theatre, followed by a fight director gig on Signal Theatre Ensemble's Accidental Death of an Anarchist, and wrapped up next spring with Lifeline Theatre's adapation of Watership Down. That's right: I'm gonna be a bunny. I also have a workshop or two thrown into the mix, just for funzies.
Speaking of Lifeline, however, I do have some particularly exciting news: I have accepted an invitation to become a member of Lifeline Theatre's artistic ensemble. There was a press release and everything. I spent about a week after receiving the invitation just vibrating with excitement. What made it worse was that the company wanted to hold off on the announcement until after Neverwhere closed, so that whole week was spent sitting on a secret. But it's out now, and I am thrilled. I can't wait to get started.
Friday, June 18, 2010
Why I Do Theatre - Reason #342
Lifeline Theatre did a fine job of keeping their visit a secret as long as they could, but they couldn't clamp down on actors running out for a cigarette before the show. Sean Sinitski (Mr. Croup - the fellow looming above and behind Neil in the picture) came up to me backstage about fifteen minutes before the start and just said, "Yes or no?" Yes, I said. "Neil's here." I spent about four seconds wondering if I was going to either barf or crap my pants, but then reigned it in enough to give, I believe, a respectable performance for one of my all-time favorite authors. I'd like to think we are doing justice to the work, while accomplishing something all-together new and exciting.
And I got Neil's autograph. He signed one of Croup & Vandemar's prop business cards. First though, he had to search his many pockets because he knew he had an appropriate "evil pink sharpie." And he did. He signed it, "With extra teeth." I'm gonna have it framed.
Thursday, June 03, 2010
Press... and Extension!
NEVERWHERE has come close to selling out ever performance so far. It's going so well that we are extending the run for an entire month. Our new closing date is July 18, 2010. Click here for ticket info.
We've also been getting some great reviews. The folks at Lifeline have collected the best of them here, but I thought I might excerpt a few of my personal favorite quotes:
We've also been getting some great reviews. The folks at Lifeline have collected the best of them here, but I thought I might excerpt a few of my personal favorite quotes:
"Chris Hainsworth and Christopher M. Walsh have the comedy cavern down cold." - Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune
"There is sharp character work by Chris Hainsworth (neatly ambiguous as the Marquis); Sean Sinitski and Christopher M. Walsh (terrific as the sadistic duo); Kyra Morris (as a sleek, unreliable huntress); Patrick Blashill (as the raven stew-eating Old Bailey); and Phil Timberlake (an eerie Angel)." - Hedy Weiss, Chicago Sun-Times
"And the villain brothers, Croup and Vandemar? Terrifically funny. Vile. Wear cravats." - C.S.E. Cooney, Centerstage Chicago
"Sinitski and Walsh are a killer comedy duo." - Katy Walsh, Chicago Now
"Sean Sinitski and Christopher M. Walsh, playing the hilariously sadistic duo Croup and Vandemar, are an absolute delight, their dry banter and garish demeanor heightening a menace that's nothing but playful." - Randall Colburn, Gapers BlockAnd just for fun:
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