New Stuff

So, there're a few new things going on. And thus, I thought I'd keep you all up to date. If anyone out there is actually reading this and following. But hey, I'll keep on writing anyway. And if anyone does pick this up, there will be a lot of stuff to catch up on before they reach the day where they're waiting for another update. Y'know? I hope so.

#1: Got a job. You know how I always go out on Saturday nights to embarrass myself by singing karaoke at a bar called the Phoenix? Well, now I work at the Phoenix, on Saturday nights, as the Karaoke DJ. That's right folks. One night a week (Saturdays, clearly enough), 40$ a night, just for a couple hours. Not a lot, I know, but since it's once a week, I can easily get another job if I have to. And since it's Saturday nights, I can maintain it during the school year. Cool, right? Besides, I'm there anyways, so this means I get paid for it and I have control over the order of songs and whatnot.

#2: Mott, the puppet I'm working on, is currently on hold. He's reached a point where I need to learn more about sewing before I can continue. But I got 3 meters of this awesome fleece (for cheap too!) which is perfect for Mott's skin, since it has the right color and texture for a muppet styled version of me. So I'm hoping to be able to continue working on him as of this weekend, but I can settle for next week if I have to.

#3: The plays I wrote? I'm already working on costume pieces. Mostly the superhero stuff for Cover Art, since the first one is just a bunch of normal people and one of them has powers. I was trying to make pieces for the forearms (you know how superhero gloves go at least halfway up the forearm?), but I made the first one too big. Then I tried it on my calf. It fit really well. So I quickly sewed up another with the sewing machine (that's right ladies, this man can sew!), and slid it onto the other leg. Combined with old winter-boots, I have a pair of improvised "superhero" boots that look a lot like old fashioned boxer/circus-strongman boots. It's good, because the Golden Age Superman was based on a circus strongman, so this is like my play on old fashioned superheroes too. I'm also going to be working on gloves, a mask, and a utility belt soon.

So that's what's new! I'll keep you up to date. And as soon as I finish the costume and Mott and find my digital camera, you'll get to see it all.

Dialogue

Once
when you turn your back
at the kitchen sink
you ask me what colour your eyes were.
I stand very near you,
and very still, not touching
or looking
for what must be a time
because after I answer you ask
what took so long?
Entire geographies of sky between clouds
pool inside my head.
To me no time has passed at all.

Fog

Sometimes I feel like I can't see. I don't know where I am. I can't make sure I am who I think I am. I can't even see my hand in front of my face. In this post, there are two reasons (one literal, one metaphorical) which I will discuss.

First:
A friend of mine is visiting Montréal for the weekend. He arrived on Friday, leaves Monday. And when he arrived, he surprised me with a fog machine. He rented it for the weekend to test out a fog affect for Splash Page (that superhero play I wrote), and we've been having fun with the machine. After getting the mandatory test out of the way, we keep filling up the entire guest room with fog. It's intense.

Second:
The Girl in the Capital. Soon to be "Girl from the Capital." My GC, but not mine anymore. We "parted ways." Well, that's one way of putting it. I personally feel we could have figured things out. I feel that we didn't need to fully break up; we could've just been on a temporary break or something until all things are sorted out. I just... I'm surviving. With difficulty, but I am. Barely. I'm putting on smiles for everything and pretending that nothing happened. But really, to me, everything happened. Now I feel as if I have nothing going for me. I don't know what to do. I can't figure out where I am or where I should go, or even can go, from here.

But to be honest, what hurt the most was the way she put it. She doesn't want to tear herself into another piece just for me, what with all the tearing being done for school and work and family and whatnot. And I want to be supportive of it all. I try to be. I mean, I understand that she's got a lot going on in her life. A helluva lot. More than most people. And it's getting to her. I just thought that I was one of the things in her life that helped. Instead, it turns out that our relationship wasn't a help; it was just making things more difficult.

I... I don't know what to do. I don't know anything. I just don't know. I feel like it's my fault.

Pressure

Read the lyrics. They might give you an idea of how I'm feeling.
"These are the days it never rains but it pours."
"Why can't give love that one more chance?"


Mm ba ba de
Um bum ba de
Um bu bu bum da de
Pressure pushing down on me
Pressing down on you no man ask for
Under pressure - that burns a building down
Splits a family in two
Puts people on streets
Um ba ba be
Um ba ba be
De day da
Ee day da - that's o.k.
It's the terror of knowing
What this world is about
Watching some good friends
Screaming 'Let me out'
Pray tomorrow - gets me higher
Pressure on people - people on streets
Day day de mm hm
Da da da ba ba
O.k.
Chippin' around - kick my brains around the floor
These are the days it never rains but it pours
Ee do ba be
Ee da ba ba ba
Um bo bo
Be lap
People on streets - ee da de da de
People on streets - ee da de da de da de da
It's the terror of knowing
What this world is about
Watching some good friends
Screaming 'Let me out'
Pray tomorrow - gets me higher high high
Pressure on people - people on streets
Turned away from it all like a blind man
Sat on a fence but it don't work
Keep coming up with love
but it's so slashed and torn
Why - why - why ?
Love love love love love
Insanity laughs under pressure we're cracking
Can't we give ourselves one more chance
Why can't we give love that one more chance
Why can't we give love give love give love give love
give love give love give love give love give love
'Cause love's such an old fashioned word
And love dares you to care for
The people on the edge of the night
And loves dares you to change our way of
Caring about ourselves
This is our last dance
This is our last dance
This is ourselves
Under pressure
Under pressure
Pressure

BBQ

So I just got back from this awesome bar be que. My friend Adam was throwing it at his place (which is really nice, FYI), and he invited me to join in. What I later discovered was that most of the guests would be from the broadway choir that Adam's in. GC, if you're reading this, it's the same choir that we saw together. Anyway, so I go, I don't know anyone there but Adam, but it isn't long until I start to get along with everyone and manage to join in conversations.

Later on, the night didn't wind down as people left, it just grew more lively. People were singing and dancing, and the best part was that I was able to sing along. I'm a baritone, apparently, or so everyone there told me. It was a lot of fun. Sophie and I were able to do I'll Never Tell from Buffy's Once More With Feeling. I sang Xander's role, naturally, but I jumped in wherever Sophie didn't know lyrics.

I've decided that come the end of August or beginning of September, when the auditions are being held for this choir, I'm going to audition. I had so much fun with all of these people, and I want to keep having fun. It was the most fun I've had for nearly all of the month of July. And all the choir members were enthusiastic about me trying out. Sophie and I were already talking about the choir's retreat in January (as if I was already in and didn't need to audition (which I do, and will!)), where they hold a cabaret for all the members. Since her and I did "I'll Never Tell" so well, we might do that. Provided I pass the audition and become a member.

There are a few reasons why I want to join this choir; for one, it's a lot of fun, and all of the people I met tonight were so very nice. I wouldn't've had so much fun if it wasn't for them. Secondly; I think it'd be nice to develop something of a singing voice and learn music and whatnot. My entire father's side of the family is musical, and yet I can't play any instruments (makes for awkward family BBQs when everyone is jamming and I can't). Thirdly; I want to be an actor for life. As my career. And one thing I learned about acting; the more you can do, the better your chances are of getting a part. Learning how to sing and dance would certainly help with that, as well as expand on my repetoire of "things I can do that are considered performance." I'm a performer ladies and gentlemen, and I plan to be one for life.

So let's hope I make the audition and get in! I've already got an idea for an audition piece, and Adam said he would help coach me. As in learn sheet music, figure out what key I am (and see if I really am a baritone like everyone thinks). I'm so excited for this. I'm as excited for this as I am for my favorite class at JAC (Theatre Workshop English). And that's saying something. It really is saying something.

Dr. Horrible

If you're not watching Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog, my sympathies for that brain tumor that makes you dumb. Like, seriously. All three acts went up at different times this week. Third act came out today. You have until midnight tomorrow to view it for free, otherwise you got to pull out the wallet and purchase it on iTunes.

Need convincing? It's Joss Whedon. 'Nuff said.

And Time Again

So, funny story. I'm on CraigsList, that online job posting website? I'm looking around for stuff I can email my CV to. Under Government Jobs, I see this thing that says Signal Operator. I click on it, and it doesn't say anything BUT Signal Operator. I was thinking that it had something to do with construction or whatever. And since it was under government jobs, I thought that it'd be a good job to have. Good pay, good benefits, all that jazz. So I'm tempted to email my CV to them, but instead I send an email asking about what the position is and what I'd be doing.

Guess what.

I got an email back from the Canadian Armed Forces, talking about how I'd be sent to Manitoba for a 4-week training program, followed by a 4-week Soldier Qualification Exams, and then over the follow two summers I'd be training for a Signal Operator, which turned out to be something along the lines of a communications officer for the Canadian Forces.

I'm a performer and a writer, not a soldier. Let's just say that I seriously dodged a bullet (figuratively AND literally) by asking first instead of sending in my CV right away.

Other than that little tidbit, I've been busy with job hunting and a social life. I was at Karaoke last night. I might be going to Shooters tonight to play pool. Tomorrow is Thursday, which is a normal trip to the Phoenix. Friday is a birthday party. Saturday is The Dark Knight with friends, and then Karaoke at the Phoenix. Sunday is a BBQ with my friend Adam, who invited me because his show choir is going to be there, and I am thinking of auditioning to join them.

Last Saturday, Evan (the karaoke DJ at the Phoenix) showed me how to work the system, so I might end up having a "job" (notice the quotation marks; that signal's "air quote") hosting Karaoke at The Phoenix every now and then. It's nothing fancy or big. Once a week, starting at like 10.30pm and ending at 3am. 40$ a night. Like I said, it's nothing fancy, but it'd still be money in the pocket just for saying "Next up is so-and-so" and "Thanks, that was so-and-so singing such-and-such" and working on a computer. It's not assured to me yet either, but I have the training now, so whenever Evan wants some time off or can't make it, I can fill in for him. It's not like a real job, but it's still something that pays, so here's hoping that I can start hosting karaoke myself. Because I am in need of $$ to see the Girl In The Capital.

I miss her.

Time

So it's been a while since my last post. I'm tired though, and it's late, so I'll fill you in on what's going on when I wake up tomorrow. Deal?

Next Semester

So I've talked about plays and scene studies that are assignments I actually enjoy doing in my Theatre Workshop English class next semester. The superhero play I wrote is now finished, and I titled it Splash Page. And I even have two or three ideas for potential Scene Studies! But I'm going to start by telling you about the play, since I was kind of sparse on details last time.

The last time I wrote about this play, I expressed concern about how big it was. The outline made it out to be seventeen scenes long, which was pretty big. Well, I managed to take care of the length of the play. It's still seventeen scenes long, but I was able to shorten each scene. Original script was nearly forty-two pages long, but I managed to cut it down to twenty-three pages. How? With extreme difficulty. But the plot still exists, I still haven't cut out entire scenes, so I'm happy with it. This way I'm more likely to be able to put it on in TWE as a Final Showcase.

Basically, the story is about this guy (Josh) who lives a regular life. He's got a crappy apartment, a desk job, the works. And then by unforeseen circumstances, he gets bathed in this chemical. The next morning, he wakes up, and he has super powers. He adapts to these new powers rather well, but there are some times where he doesn't have much idea of what's going on. The idea is "How would your average Joe do things if he had super powers?"

I cover three powers in this play; Strength, Speed, and Flight. There is a scene where a bullet is caught, but you don't need invulnerability for that. You just have to be fast, and know the physics behind it. And with the main character having super speed, it's understandable as to how he caught the bullet. I won't say how I've figured out to portray these three powers on stage, but I will at a later point. That, or I'll record it like I did for Nameless Love and then post it here.

The difficulty in putting on this play still exists in set changes, but I was able to map out what sets are used when, and what order they're in. By doing this, I figured out the simplest way of doing the sets, and the fastest ways to change them. There are two sets that have no set pieces at all either, which helps my cause just a little bit.

Now that I'm finished the play and it's just twenty-three pages long, I realize that I'm still being ambitious with the scene changes and the "effects" used for the power, but I sacrificed the length of the show, so it won't be revolutionizing Final Showcases by how long it is. HOWEVER... I'm tempted to write a sequel.

The sequel would be called Cover Art, continuing the theme that these titles come from comic book speak (example; a splash page in a comic book is when an entire page is just one pane of art). The story of the sequel would pick up either six months or a year after the events of Splash Page, and allow me to further explore what powers can be portrayed on-stage, as well as deal with the plot of "what would happen when a superhero that the world is dependent on is losing his powers?"

Now, the beauty part of a sequel lies in two things. I either (A) save it for next semester, and keep the entire cast commited to it so that I can bring back the same actors and such, or (B) get a friend of mine who will be in this class to hand it in as his own. I really want to go with option B though, because this way we can say that we both collaborated on the two plays, and this way both can be performed this semester. While I won't revolutionize Final Showcases with one long play, I can mix things up and do two plays of a series in the same semester, which is something that hasn't been done in TWE. There was a case where someone wrote a sequel to their play, but it was put on over two semesters. If I can write a sequel quickly, I can put them both on in one semester just a week apart instead of MONTHS apart.

Cool, eh?

As for Scene Studies; one idea is a clip from an episode of Angel (the Buffy spin-off show about a vampire with a soul), this musical I found online, and a Saturday Night Live skit. We'll see what I get permission to do (as I emailed the writer of the musical inquiring permission to do it), and thus see which ones I do. More details will follow.

Tie a Knot

Random thought of the day:

I want a bow tie. Like a real one. Not those clip on ones or those fake ones that you can get at nearly any store or get with all your rentals. But a real bow tie. One you need to tie yourself. One that you can untie later when the party's winding down but leave it around your neck and you'd still look classy. I need to get me one of those.

Oh, and I already know how to tie one. So it's not like "I want to get one and learn how to tie it." I already have the knot figured out, I just need the tie itself.

Home

I'm home again. I've been away for quite some time. Mostly in the capital, to see a certain you-know-who (GC, for those of you-who-don't-know) and to see a few friends. I even started to learn how to juggle while I was in Ottawa! It was nice being there. I got to see some incredible fireworks for the nation's holiday, went swimming twice (which was totally necessary because of the heat) and went to a party and a BBQ.

But overall, I sort of missed my city. The Party Capital, as others would call Montréal. I went out to the Phoenix last night, just to hang out (no karaoke), and I had a really good time. Played pool, caught up with some friends, and listened to some awesome music on the jukebox. And I even have a couple songs in mind for karaoke tomorrow night.

But I'm back. 'Nuff said.