So finally, "Heart Broken", my Tell-tale Heart remake/re-imagining/whatever, is done.
Big thanks to Mike over at Urban Polar Bear for the editing assist. BIG TIME HELP.
All in all, I'm pretty pleased with the final product, especially for my first foray into this extended format. A big step up from producing 2 - 10 minute skits. This baby weighs in at almost 30 minutes.
My actors did a great job, and I hope they'll be pleased with it. The only gripes I have are the few amateurish mistakes I made that have slipped by into the final product. It's mostly sound related.
Then there's a special effect shot. I didn't give the SFX guy, Rob, enough time to work on it. But when I get my hands on a digital editing system, with Adobe After Effects, I'll do it up proper, and then release a "Heart Broken" Special Edition. Heh.
So tomorrow, Friday the 29th, I'll show it to the cast and some other invited guests. I think they'll like it.
Also, I've made my appointment for my next audition. It's with Turtle Lane Playhouse again, and the show is for Miss Saigon.
I'm auditioning for Chris, which is the lead male. But if I don't get cast, I don't think I'll accept another role. We'll see, though. I still need to get in shape for Damn Yankees, and that's about 6 months away from opening. If I don't get the part, I think I'll concentrate on getting into baseball player shape.
But after a brief hiatus from acting, I'm ready to comeback.
Another project I'm thinking of undertaking is a documentary on tattoos. I can have it correspond with the next time I get a tattoo. I'm preparing a treatment for it, to see if I can make it informative and entertaining. One idea is that in one part of the doc, I'll show the audience what the procedure of getting a tattoo is like, from picking the right parlor to choosing a tattoo and finally getting the tattoo.
I think I'd like to show that behind all the fad tattoos (i.e. tribal armbands, tribal suns, and tattoos on the lower back), there are tattoo artists who are passionate about the ages old practice.
Hmmm... I like it.What I'm Listening To: Incubus - A Certain Shade of Green |
So this past Tuesday, I held the first meeting/read through for my very first short film production, "Heart Broken".
All in all, it went pretty smoothly. I talked with the actors about what their characters are like, and we all discussed what we'll be doing, and what is expected of everyone. We also nailed down the shooting schedule.
As for the read through, if that's any indication, then this should be a fun few days. |
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It has been quite some time since my last post, so I'll update what the hell I've been doing with myself...
In my day time hours, I've been getting acclimated to my new job, ahich has been the bulk of my life since 'Grease' ended.
I've finished a script, called "Heart Broken". It's what I'm calling it for now, but I like it. It's the "Tell-tale Heart" adaptation I'm sure I mentioned in a previous post. If not, since I'm not looking at my previous entries right now, here's the gist.
I didn't have the resources (a.k.a. "money") to produce my original short film idea, which was to be a horror film of sorts, set in the obligatory cabin in the woods. Well, the practical effects needed time and money. And when I lost my previous job at the beginning of Summer, there went my resources. so I scrambled to find a new idea. Ultimately, that led me to the idea of adapting a short horror story. I remembered Edgar Allan Poe's "The Tell-tale Heart" thanks to a conversation with a good buddy of mine.
But that seemed like a period piece so instead of a direct adaptation, I decided to write a script using "Tell-tale" as my inspiration. The result is a modern day story that expands upon some of the ideas in the original, along with some updates I felt were appropriate for this day and age. Also, I wanted to keep the same actors who committed to my original project, plus one, so I created some new characters, which actually helped to lengthen out the story a bit, as well as flesh out my version of a classic.
Will it be comparable to the original version of the story? Hell no, it's a classic. I'm not trying to live up to or be better than a classic piece of literature. I simply allowed it to inspire me to write something.
We'll be having our read-through this coming Tuesday, before which I will be touching up the script to produce the final draft. It'll be no more than 30 minutes long, much like "Weekend Getaway" my original idea. I hope to begin shooting in a couple weeks.
I was thinking about auditioning for a couple of plays since 'Grease', but for one reason or another, I opted against it. I don't know. But I WILL be auditioning for Turtle Lane's "Miss Saigon", and of course, there's "Damn Yankees" after that.
But for now, I'm concentrating on "Heart Broken". After that, things are just up in the air.
Sep. 16th, 2004 @ 11:04 pm
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| » The End Of A Truly Fun Experience. |
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Well, this past weekend marked the end of Turtle Lane's "Grease".
It was fun, and quite the experience. Quite possibly the most fun theater experience I've ever had. Friendships were started, as did a new relationship, which only enhanced the good times.
"Grease" had a very successful run. Nearly sold out shows every night, the audiences all loved us.
Now, I take a brief break, finish a new script, and I'll possibly be auditioning for the role of Brad in the Footlight Club's production of "The Rocky Horror Show" this coming Sunday. But for now, I'll be hanging on to the memories of the past few months. All of them good.
Aug. 17th, 2004 @ 12:22 am
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| » Winding Down... |
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Well, there's one weekend of shows left, and Grease is done.
I always get a little sad when a show I'm in ends. But I probably won't be so much when this one does. I truly get the sense that I'll be keeping in touch with a lot of these people, and hell, I'll even see them in the next show I'm in.
At this point in time, I know I'll audition for TLP's Miss Saigon. After that is Damn Yankees. But between Grease and Saigon, I have my short film to occupy me, and I'll likely keep tweaking it until Halloween, which is when it will air.
Instead of my originally planned story, which I can't afford to produce at this time, I'm adapting Edgar Allen Poe's "A Tell Tale Heart". It's really more of a modern re-telling, but the main crux is still there. My other story, "Weekend Getaway" will likely be shot next Summer for next Halloween. If I get so inclined, I may extend it to a feature length. But I doubt it.
So anyway, Grease is 4 shows away from being done, and I'm both ready and not ready for it to be done. Argh. It's going to be sad, but I have a feeling the audience will be awesome.
We'll see!
Aug. 10th, 2004 @ 01:08 am
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| » "Grease" Performance Week 4 |
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Well, so far, so good. Both Thursday and Saturday were darn near packed houses. And Sunday is looking very full, too.
My performance tonight (Saturday) was a little off. I have a routine that I need to go through before a show. It's different for each show, depending on what I need to do to change into costume and hair and makeup and stuff like that, and my routine is based around that.
Unfortunately, I recieved my first scene costume late, because they weren't put in the dryer the night before. So that threw my whole pre-show ritual off. I know, it sounds like a little nit-pick that shouldn't bug me, but I've got a touch of OCD, so when I develop a pattern to do something, I have to stick to that pattern.
I don't put the blame on anyone. I have a pattern, and it kills me to change something I've already established. Anyway, as a result, I got into my own head and psyched myself out. I didn't make any huge mistakes or anything, it's just my delivery wasn't as snappy as it had been up until then, I bumped into things that I ordinarily didn't. Literally, I was 1 second behind my usual speed, and it was noticeable to no one but myself.
I freely admit that while, my pre-show pattern was the catalyst, it was my own mind that didn't let me get over it.
But tomorrow's a new day, a new show, and I'll be back on the horse. The audiences have been really good so far, and we've still got 9 more shows to go! Woo!
Aug. 1st, 2004 @ 01:47 am
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| » Easy Sailing |
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Well, this past weekend of shows was a little abbreviated. We didn't have a Sunday show, because Turtle Lane hosts a children's workshop over the summer, and Sunday they had a show. But this weekend saw some pretty full houses, which made the cast happy.
Lauren, the girl who plays Marty, had a repeat audience member this weekend. It was her dad. He came opening night, and said that this weekend's performance was better than the opening night's performance, which only solidifies the notion that we've become tighter, and as a result, are putting on a better show.
Now, we're halfway through the run, with about as many shows behind us as there are ahead of us. I just hope it doesn't go by TOO fast. I'm having too good a time!
Jul. 26th, 2004 @ 04:46 pm
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| » More "Grease" and more "Between Spaces" |
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Alright, so "Grease" is easing into it's groove, and everyone is feeling very comfortable performing in their roles. We've had a couple of reviews so far. There's one full length review and one "quick take" on theatermirror.com, and one in the MetroWest, as a joint review with the Reagle player's production.
Someone else from theatermirror.com was there last night, and she told Jen, our director, that she was really enjoying the show immensely. So I can't wait to see their review.
This Wednesday, some of our cast is going to check out the Reagle production. They invited us a while back, and Wednesday is the best day, since we don't have performances on Wednesdays.
It should be fun. Reagle's an Equity theater (Equity, or Actor's Equity Association, is a theater actor's union), so they will likely have a more polished look to it. But it's a different version of Grease, so it can't REALLY be compared to our version. Yeah, the story is the same, but the version Reagle is doing is more recent, whereas Turtle Lane's is the original version.
Reagle has the version that uses songs from the movie, like "Hopelessly Devoted" and "You're The One That I Want". But I'm sure it'll be a nice night out for those of us who are going.
Yesterday, I shot the opening scene of "Between Spaces". We've now shot the majority of the scenes. We have the closing scene to take care of, and some smaller scenes, but we're almost done with it. It's going well enough.
Jul. 18th, 2004 @ 11:09 am
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| » Opening Weekend Thoughts and More "Between Spaces" |
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Well, opening weekend has come and gone.
The first night, the crowd was totally with us the whole time. The energy we had as a cast, plus the enthusiasm shown by the crowd made the night so great.
The second night, we were all a little tired, but we still gave it our all. This is after running the show Monday to Wednesday, having Thursday off, and then going all out on Friday. So we had ourselves a lot of energy to make up for.
And the matinee show felt good. We were chill, we've eased into the show. We've pretty much worked out any kinks that we still had, and we're free and clear to continue having a great run. I can't wait until this weekend's batch of shows!
Tonight, after several weeks, shooting my scenes in "Between Spaces" have resumed. It was relatively brief. It only took a couple hours, but we got some crucial scenes done.
Having two acting gigs simultaneously is a bit much, though. I can honestly say I won't be doing that again. Unless both are paying gigs. LOL!
Jul. 13th, 2004 @ 12:38 am
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| » Opening Night |
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We rocked the house.
The crowd loved us.
We ruled the night.
Now I'm a little pooped.
Jul. 10th, 2004 @ 12:11 am
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