Farewell, Crackhead Serenade...

It's Moving Day!

Well, it's 4:30am on moving day, but a clever cocktail of nerves and a crackhead screaming under our window has got me wide awake.

Will I miss this place?

I'm not sure.

I've been in the East Village and in this apartment for eight years to the day. I moved to the City on July 31, 1999 with $900, a one-month sublet in Prospect Heights and a handful of dreams. I found this place about three weeks later through a service called Roommate Finders (I linked to them here, but I used them back before the days of Craigslist, friends, when you actually looked in the paper version of the Village Voice and made live phone calls to secure your space). And I moved in eight years ago today. Remind me some day to tell you the story of me, Carrie Haugh (the ultimate moving buddy) and Stuck Truck-- let's just say me and my UHaul made it difficult to park in a certain garage in midtown.

As excited as I am, it's still a bittersweet move. No, I'm not crying over Screamy the Crackhead, but I know this neighborhood. I know where to send the laundry and which laundromat is the one where all of our pants got stolen right out of the dryer (yeah, it was fun to fill out the police report on that-- the cop actually giggled because he said he's never filled out a report for stolen pants before). I know that you can go to Adinah's Farms on 2nd and C for drinks, but do not under any circumstances drink their coffee. We're a spitting distance from Casimir and their delicious brunch and chill vibes, as well as from Minca, the best Ramen Noodle Factory in town.

And, oh, I don't know... I guess you could say I've grown accustomed to the 10am throat-clearing of our drunk Argentinean superintendent. He's been my across-the-hall neighbor the whole time and as horrifying as it was at the time, I've got the priceless story of The Day He Came to Fix the Toilet Wearing Only a Baseball Cap and His Towel.

(this just in: Will, in his groggy sleepy genius, just figured out that Screamy the Crackhead is trying to sing the Rolling Stones-- yew make a grawn man criiiiiiy...)

I lived in this apartment through the world wide insanity that was 2001 (and watched said insanity from my rooftop) and kept on truckin' through the personal dark cloud that hung over the apartment in 2003. That year brought us

August
A break-in and robbery: when on a first date with Novel Writer Guy, my room was broken into and my laptop stolen. I came home to cops in bullet-proof vests dusting my room for prints (I was really excited someone was dusting the place at all!)

the Blackout: you know, THE Blackout

September
My bedroom ceiling collapsed on me in my sleep in (luckily I had just moved all the furniture around in my room, or I would have had a face full of plaster, as the bulk of it hit my desk which just one day before was where my bed sat!)

October
Nothing. Game off.

November
FIRE! Courtesy of the doof-wad new neighbors upstairs-- it was 5am and they brought the party home with them. Word was one of them (the "DJ" with all the records) passed out with either a cigarette or a candle burning and WHOOSH! I'm homeless for six weeks as my apartment was hit with severe water damage. (thanks to my lovely friend Rita for taking me in to her place in Washington Heights)

There were some big downsides, but this was my home for so many crazy, fun and integral happenings during my time in NYC-- like who could ever forget the party with that bathtub full of champagne?


... and Miss Amelia's crazy showgirl headdress, which we all thought it would be fun to wear!

I came home here after doing my first show ever in the City, after returning from London for a show and from Italy for our hiatus, after many long Fringe Festival show-seeing binges, dates, auditions, jobs, ups, downs, loves, losses. The Crush Project was born here! And this is the place Will walked me home to after our first date, where I left him at the doorstep with a quick and nervous "thanksforwalkingmehomebye!" before darting up the stairs, certain he'd never call again. Who ever would have thought on that night that he'd one day call this place 'home' as well?

Ok, so enough with all the sentimentality-- that's the lack-of-sleep talking. We're pretty much packed up-- we have the obligatory Last Few Random Things that will probably get thrown willy-nilly into one box (hangers, a pot, a photo album, one sock, a picture frame, etc.)

The movers come at 8. Thanks to my dear friends who offered to help us move, but I'll quote Mr. Fred Backus, who generously offered his lugging services, in saying "yeah, we're just not 22 anymore".

Indeed, Fred. Not 22. Eeesh.

Until next time... in Carroll Gardens!

9 to 5 THE MUSICAL!

Can someone please tell me who's casting this and how I can be seen for it? Because I'd be perfect for the Lily Tomlin role. Perfect!

Mabou Mines! Who's With Me?

Ruth Maleczech and Mabou Mines is presenting a project of mammoth proportions, Song for New York: What Women Do While Men Sit Knitting. It starts this weekend on a barge in Long Island City (!) and then I believe changes (?) and goes to a different borough each week.

I was fortunate enough to have worked with Ruth Maleczech and Sharon Fogarty (also of Mabou Mines) a few years ago at the Ko Festival of Performance at Amherst College. They led a workshop where we did everything from super-slow Robert Wilson-y stuff to recreating a Mabou Mines signature piece, the Red Horse. Ms. Maleczech is an older woman, but sharp, and razor sharp when in the rehearsal room. It was one of the most theatrically exciting weeks of my life. Legendary.

Gothamist posted a terrific interview with her today. I love that it captures her sense of humor-- her answers to the questions of class in America and in the Avant Garde are priceless.

I'm not leaving town for the holiday weekend. I'll be in Long Island City, watching beauty on a barge.

Now that the Fringe is over...

I've spent the bulk of today catching up on stuff-- email correspondence, Netflix and generally checking back in with the Non-Theater world.

As I was reading the gazillions of blogs that I haven't seen in weeks, I was shocked to find this article on Gothamist, about a little something the shop Hogan is doing in honor of the 50th Anniversary of Kerouac's On the Road:

The store, an Italian leather company, is "celebrating" the anniversary with their Jack Kerouac Project. The Project offers beatnik-inspired fashion for prices the author himself would never pay, putting this on par with the equally absurd Kerouac Bobblehead of '03. The Village Voice reports that a travel bag goes for $1290, work boots for $475 and a leather bomber jacket for $1,590. The company explains the line is "a clear reference to Jack Kerouac's mood and sensibility to which Hogan strongly relates, captured in the rugged and original preppy nomad appeal."

I grew up in Lowell Massachusetts, home to the Beatnik Prince that is Jack Kerouac. My grandfather knew him (and referred to him as "that drunk bum"-- since gramps was going off to the navy and fighting the wars that the blue collars fight, he didn't find the arty types like Kerouac anything to call a hometown hero). Even though their differences were many, Jack Kerouac and my grandpa, I can't imagine either of them spending nearly thirteen hundred bucks on a piece of luggage.

I'm just sayin...

Done and DONE!

This is my first day with nothing show or rehearsal related in months. It's exciting. I can watch TV. I can do all that laundry that I've neglected like a drunk mother. Or I can go catch up on all my friend's Fringe shows I couldn't see during our run. (hint: the answer is C.)

We closed SCOUT'S HONOR! yesterday to a surprising 30 or so people. Not bad for a 3pm weekday show. And the small but super-responsive house was filled with many friends (thanks, y'all!) and even a literary agent who wants to meet with Ed! So all the rough patches (and there were a good handful) were really worth it after all.

I am going to be part of an upcoming roundtable with Martin Denton of nytheatre.com about FringeNYC. He has invited me and six other members of his reviewer squad who had shows in the Fringe this year as well as in the past to discuss what's different, what hasn't changed and more things Fringe related, as there has been a lot of media attention this year that doesn't necessarily make sense. We're gonna talk about our perspectives on the inside as well as from the outside.

We meet on Wednesday and the podcast should air shortly thereafter. It should be a very interesting discussion. I'll link here once it's posted.

Now... what to do with today... hrmmm... where's my Fringe pass?

Photos from Tuesday's Performance

Big thanks to George Rand for taking such great photos during the show!

SCOUT'S HONOR! Gets 3 Stars from Time Out New York

What a great way to kick off our final week! Read the review here. And if you haven't already, be sure to check out one of our final three shows!!!

Tuesday at 915, Wednesday at 515 and Thursday at 3pm.

Another Show on HGTV

I recorded another promo for HGTV today, this time for Deserving Design with Vern Yip. Sneak peeks start September 9th (with the series premiere beginning 9/12), so my spots should start airing soon.

Will and I flew back from Utah last night where we travelled for our friend's wedding. The flight back offered non-stop satellite cable and I finally got to watch a little HGTV. Let's just say that it's a good thing that we don't have cable because honestly, between home makeover shows and the Ace of Cakes, I would never leave the house!

Photos from the Show!

We've just posted photos from Saturday's show. See them here.

Playwright Ed Valentine goes Furry!

Like I said, we are going to great lengths order to publicize our show!

Here, our trusty playwright Ed Valentine donned his bear suit to hand out postcards at Fringe Central during a preview we presented in the sweltering heat this past Sunday.


And, Mr. Chance I'll Also Go To Great Lengths Muehleck gave the audience a little taste of Mrs. Babcock.

Intrigued? Buy tickets. Our next show is tomorrow!

SCOUT'S HONOR! is open! And... Our First Review

We opened yesterday, and although there are still a couple of kinks to iron out, it was GREAT. The audience really seemed to enjoy it-- hearty belly laughs throughout!

Our first review comes from Patrick Lee. Patrick keeps a blog and is in a race with Aaron Riccio and David Bell to "blog the most shows in a calendar year". (Lee won last year).

He says

This cute, exactly-campy-enough comedy at the Fringe Festival, comprised of a sketch about the Boy Scouts (Snipe Hunt) and a longer and even funnier one about the Girls Scouts (Becky's Beaver), should get a special merit badge for its warmth...

Read the full review here (also here on the Show Showdown page).

Publicity is a Tough Game, or How We Got on the New York Times Video

Holy. Crap.

The lengths you have to go to in order to promote your show in the Fringe. On Sunday night, my friend of over 12 years Carrie Haugh and I dressed up like Girl Scouts and headed to Chelsea for the Fringe Launch Party (somehow, I'm sure we weren't the first adults to dress up like that in Chelsea, but that's another story).

I didn't mention this in my earlier post (mainly because I couldn't find it online, but also because my teeny-tiny superstitious side didn't want to... well, you know...) but at that party, Carrie and I were stopped by a Lady with a Microphone and her friend, Video Camera Guy.

To be honest, I am friendly with the publicist for the Fringe and he tipped me off early in the evening that the New York Times was in the house and that I should "look out for the camera". And that's exactly what I did.

I spotted a lady with a very expensive and professional looking still camera and tried to get Carrie and myself in front of her as much as possible.

She didn't exactly seem interested.

So we danced and danced and danced and left.

We started walking toward 10th Avenue when the Lady with a Microphone stopped us and asked us to "do something" from our show for Video Camera Guy (must have been Carrie's ukelele that tipped her off).

What to do? Sing a song about Beaver!

We sang, we gave her our info and a postcard and were on our way. I then realized that I never asked who she was with and where we might find this video masterpiece, so I ran back to ask her.

Her reply? "The New York Times."

Um.

HOLY. CRAP.

See it here.

This is never exactly how I imagined I'd be recognized as an artist, but hell, we've got 180 seats in that theater. If it takes two thirty-something (oh, God!) ladies in Mint Green to fill the house, then hand me my sash and beret, dammit, I'm hittin' the streets!!!

And now... our Trailer

Ok, so it's not Hollywood style, but I think it's charming just the same...

Scouts at the Fringe Launch Party!!!

A couple of the SCOUT'S HONOR! scouts made a splash at the Launch Party for the Fringe Festival last night at HOME in Chelsea.







Marty Schwartz (Robin Reed) and Becky Biedermeyer (Carrie Haugh) get their groove on and set off a full blown dance party!

Here, Becky and Marty get friendly with the Sheep from the show BAAAHHH!!!

And Becky chats with Diane Allison and her puppet from the show Miriam, while the Unicorn (Michael Hirstreet) from the show Animals and Marty look on.










Marty sifts through so many postcards advertising the great shows coming up at the Fringe-- just how does one choose!??!

Wow.

My high school prom date had a baby. This baby, here, to the left-- the little one there in the Pink Red Sox hat (yeah, it's a Boston thing-- not my Boston thing, but a Boston thing).

I feel old. Eeesh.

SCOUT'S HONOR! on the nytheatrecast!

Last night, Carrie, Ed and I recorded a little sneak peek preview with Trav S.D. at nytheatre.com. We're third in the lineup of eight. First, Ed talks with Trav about the show and his own scouting experiences, then Carrie and I do a scene from Becky's Beaver.

Trav really sets Mr. Valentine up beautifully for some funny bits, and we had a great time listening to the other previews.

Listen to it here.

I'm Gonna Be a Cartoon!

I got a call from a dear old friend the other night who has been working for this animation company up in Boston. He and I have known each other since high school (we actually ran the student-run theater company at that hight school!), and have been trying to work together for years and years.

Finally, there's a part for me-- in his PBS Kids' Show, Word Girl! Word Girl is the super-hero alter-ego of Becky Botsford, a linguistically gifted 5th Grader. I'll be playing Ms. Libri, the bookstore owner. Word Girl is Ms. Libri's best customer.

I record tomorrow.

I am thrilled, because really, all I've ever wanted was to be a real live cartoon voice.

I HEART Chance Muehleck and Joel Derfner

Aren't they fantastic? In a Faye Dunaway / Diana Scarwid kinda way?
(if this doesn't sell tickets, I don't know what will...)

Buy Tickets TONIGHT for SCOUT'S HONOR!

Tickets go on sale online TONIGHT AT MIDNIGHT for SCOUT'S HONOR! (and 187 other shows) at FringeNYC. Get yours early! At fringenyc.org.


Oh, and an update on the postcard voting -- the ladies won, 5-3, yet we're still in negotiation and may have two different postcards. Hey, it's better than having zero good photos!

Postcards: a Bump in the Road

Ed and I have come to a cheery disagreement about the photo for the postcard-- we like both of the pictures so much that we're having trouble deciding!

We've opened the question up for a vote to the director and cast. I'll keep you posted. For now, the choices:

SCOUT: the Photos

Here is a first glimpse at what's to come in August!

We took some photos yesterday in Tompkins Square Park (but doesn't it look like a campground?!). Again, Will served as our trusty photographer and was able to catch some gems. A special thanks to our phenomenal (and great-in-a-time-crunch) costume designer, Adrianna Desier, who managed not only to pull some girl costumes together (Ed still had a bunch of boy-stuff from a previous Snipe Hunt production), but did genius work with a random bag of make-up on a park bench.

We're currently sifting through hundreds of shots, but these are a couple of the current favorites.

I Was Hoping for Eyebrows, but...

And there wasn't an option for pigtails, so it was this or a bouffant...

As my friend Kori said a few weeks ago, the make-yourself-a-Simpson is perhaps the most addictive thing ever. (Well, I said since Boomshine, but whatever...)

Does This Scare You?

Scary, huh?








How about this guy?









And her?








What about her?









Boo!










And this dude could be the scariest of all! (Um, kidding. It's me!)








This guy is definitely scared...









...but not nearly as much as this joker!


This is the very long and picturesque way of saying Macbeth Without Words has been extended for six more shows at the Brick and you should come see it!!

And just as an added bonus, if you come see it tonight or (scary!) this Friday, July 13th and use the code SILENCE123, you'll get two tickets for the price of one! What a deal!

For more information, click here, and to buy tickets (you can use the 2-for-1 code online, too!) click here.

Macbeth Without Words Open (Yee-Haw!!)

We opened Macbeth on Wednesday to a nearly full house and some nice reviews (nytheatre.com and Backstage).

Review time is always strange.

A few months back, there was a big to-do about a certain New York Times review that was unfavorably received by the show's director. She wrote a pleading letter to her mailing list, basically asking that they disregard the review and still come out to see the show. An essay on Culturebot dissected the issue, which shone the first big spotlight on the role of theater bloggers beyond the indie theater scene. (Martin Denton, in my opinion a "theater blogger" before the term came into the vernacular, discussed it on his blog here.)

I found this whole situation fascinating, with everyone buzzing about the artist/critic food chain. I have written theater reviews (for nytheatre.com and the L Magazine) since around 2000, and being an actor as well puts me in an interesting position. When I write reviews, I write my opinion. Just my one opinion. Is my opinion more important because it ends up in print?

Maybe.

But then I am (like many at nytheatre.com) also on the other side of the pen-and-paper, actually being reviewed.

Our first review for MWW was very positive. The guy got what we were going for and liked it. That feels good. The other guy's review looks like he didn't like it as much as the first guy: the initial reaction is to say that he didn't get it.

But perhaps he just didn't like it. And that's ok. (Christ, I'm giving myself therapy over two reviews where I'm mentioned as ensemble-- get a grip!)

The bottom line is that I feel really good about this show. We've worked our asses off for months, the ensemble is tight and I like what we're doing.

I'll be interested to see if I can take these grains of salt with me when reviews start coming in for SCOUT'S HONOR!, where I actually have money going into it... (not that money matters... we're all in this for the art, of course!)

First Read Through

We had our first read-through for SCOUT'S HONOR! last night, and the ball is officially rolling!

These plays are really really funny and the cast is rock-solid (if I do say so myself).

Now once we figure out a rehearsal schedule (the downside of having an awesome cast is that we've all got super-busy schedules!) and get confirmation from a costume designer, we can really get down to business. This is going to be a super fun show to work on and an even super funner show to see!

Announcing SCOUT'S HONOR! Cast

After going back and forth what seemed like years, we finally decided on a cast. A super-groovey, uber-talented cast!




Scout's Honor! (Snipe Hunt and Becky's Beaver)
Written by Ed Valentine

Directed by Melanie S. Armer**

Featuring Chris Caron, Joel Derfner, Carrie Haugh, Chance Muehleck*, Renee Rakel and Robin Reed

a Cardium Mechanicum production

at the
New York International Fringe Festival!
(exact dates and location TBA)




* Member AEA
** Member SSDC

Oh, and I'm Doing Macbeth, too...

Before I get too wrapped up in the Fringe show, I should remind everyone that we're about a week away from opening Macbeth Without Words as part of the Pretentious Festival at the Brick.

I feel like I am constantly in rehearsal, but it's so worth it-- the show is really looking good. Below is a photo from a shoot today with Fred Backus as Macbeth and me, Katie Brack and Iracel Rivero as the Witches in the beginning stages of costumes by Julianne Kroboth. (Will Schenk took the photos-- Will is our hero.)

A View from the Other Side of the Table

We held auditions last night for SCOUT'S HONOR! and, wow.

Since I am primarily an actor, I've almost always only seen auditions from the actor's point of view: signing in, waiting in the hall with the "competition", going over lines and character choices to myself and fending off those nagging butterflies that set up camp in my belly. Luckily, I've had a lot of practice on the waiting part over the last few years doing voiceover auditions regularly, but the tension is rarely not present.

Last night, I sat (as actor and producer) in the audition room with Ed (playwright/producer) and Melanie (director) and served as the scene partner for each of the fifteen actors who auditioned.

In short, eye-opening.

Melanie, Ed and I each invited actors we know and love to audition. We have each worked with a number of different actors over the years and were excited to have each other see "our people".

I was absolutely floored by everyone who walked in the room. Friends, strangers... some whose work I had seen but had never met, others I knew personally but hadn't seen on stage. Everyone was unique and incredibly talented, and many presented takes on the roles that none of us had ever thought of before!

And that was the problem: fifteen actors reading for five parts. There are a number of different ways this thing can go.

It was one of the most fun yet most difficult evenings I've had. The official decisions have still not been made, but should be decided sooner than later.

I will post the cast list here as soon as I know.

Moving Right Along

It's starting to look even more official!










This is now our logo on the Fringe Site, and a black and white version will be in the program guide. I'm having fun with Photoshop.








Will and I have been out at his parent's house for the past couple of days. There are no less than three summer camps in the area, so I managed to snap a few pictures. Here is a photo of a sign pointing to Camp Wayne-- boys on one side of the lake, girls on the other! Ed's play is just littered with verisimilitude!







I would love to do a photo shoot with the soon-to-be-named cast, but don't know if time will allow for a roadtrip. Failing that, we may be able to get some fun outdoorsy shots in Prospect Park or Central Park and then just merge them in (like I said, Photoshop fun!)

The Ball is Rolling

Publicity Logo: check. Well, double-checking, but most likely, check. (See above. Any thoughts? Tell me in the comments, please!)

Designers: check, check, check and super check. We're in the process of getting for-sure yeses on a costume designer and sound designer, but all is looking Good.

Audition Time/Location: check. We're holding auditions next weekend. I'm really jonesing to cast this puppy-- I feel like we should already have publicity photos, but this is difficult with only one out of six actors (me) cast. Another reason I wish we had done auditions earlier: there are two actor-friends that I was really hoping to work with on this project, but they're both doing other Fringe shows. We're going to have such a rehearsal time-crunch that we really need people with super-availability, so we can't really accommodate the sharing of actors. Bummer. But, I think we'll be just fine.

(a little note about the show, since I don't think I've said here what we're doing. SCOUT'S HONOR! is made up of two short plays (Snipe Hunt and Becky's Beaver) by Ed Valentine. As written, the plays have eleven characters. But we're going to do it with six, 3 men and 3 women, so men and women will both play boys and girls. Whee!)

Fringe Friends: check! Apparently, MySpace has become a huge tool in Fringe networking-- the friends on Cardium Mechanicum's MySpace page have nearly doubled since everyone has put their webpage links on the Fringe site. I think it's actually a neat way to "meet" others with shows in the Fringe, especially the out-of-towners.

Also, we've hooked up with some old acquaintances, back from the Theatorium Days.

I'm feeling good about this. We've got a lot of work ahead of us, but it already feels fun.

I Think I May Succumb...

... and blog about my process of producing (and acting in) our Fringe show, SCOUT'S HONOR!

Why? Why do it like everyone else and become a theater blogger? Was it a burst of inspiration from the Pretentious Festival's Blogging Event?

No, no. I don't consider myself a theater blogger. I occasionally write reviews and that's enough "other people's theater" to write about for me. I don't want to talk about The Scene or What's Going On-- there are a bunch of people already doing that very well (like him and him and him and her).

But.


After posting the interview of me on his blog, Michael Criscuolo listed me in his blog rolls-- I've noticed that people are finding this site from a link on his. Obviously, these people are theater related in some way, so I wonder if they're just totally befuddled when they get here and find a travelogue from our Adventures in Italy with nary a mention of theater anywhere.

So I figured I'd do what a handful of friends and colleagues (like this guy and this guy) are doing/have done, and actually chart our process here.

Buckle up kids. We're going on a bumpy ride to the inner workings of indie theater madness!!

Not Sure How I Feel About This

I just took this quiz in Time Out New York.

It's late, so I can't conjure up a feeling about it now, but perhaps if my drinky (according to the mag) brain can remember, I'll write more on it tomorrow.

If you're dying to know my scores on the other tests, check back. Maybe if I wake up in my thirties tomorrow, I'll finish...

My New York age is 26

This New York age puts you-generally speaking-into the young category. That's what you were hoping for, right? Run and tell your friends. Then get drunk (as usual). Then sleep it off. Then pop an Adderall. Then come back and consider experimenting with a more mature type of New York life (just once in a while). Have you ever been to the Village Vanguard or the Living Theatre? Eaten at Elaine's? Taken a date to Michael Feinstein? Before you laugh, check 'em out and see what old-school NYC experiences you can add to the new.

Does your age reflect how you're living? Let us know.

What's your New York age? Take the Time Out New York quiz and find out!

Mother Is Looking So Well Today, a Grand Opera in 1 Page

We are about 10 days away from Cardium Mechanicum's very first production!

Rehearsal is set for Wednesday, we've cast 2 out of the 3 leads as well as over 20 awesome actors (including Will's fierce 8-year old cousin, Francesca) for the chorus.

The Brick has just posted a little blurb about our show on their blog.

If you're going to be in the city next weekend, I do hope you'll come check us out. Mother plays as part of Brick-a-Brac, a delightful variety hour including this show and others, Sunday June 3 at 7pm. Get your tickets here. I would recommend getting them in advance, as there are just 50 seats in the house, and over 30 people in our show alone!

Interview

I was interviewed this weekend by friend and colleague Michael Criscuolo, who keeps a blog as part of his job at nytheatre.com.

He is working on a series called "A Day in the Life". You can read about me here.

Deception

I grabbed the Time Out New York from my mailbox to read on the train on my way to work this morning. After picking up a coffee and finally making it past some really slow walkers to the M train, I sat down and started thumbing through the magazine.

On page 150, a bolt of lightning hit me when I found what I thought might be a most amazing birthday gift for Will's upcoming age-increase: tickets to see the ultimate emote-a-band, Journey.

My heart raced as I tried to remind myself to go buy tickets online the second I got to work. When I finally sat down I told my friend Jose what was making me so giddy. I got the sense he saw the genius in my plan.

But, yes, the excitement I've built up here is all about to burst.

When I went to the calendar page on the website for Canal Room, the venue that was to host my most perfect gift, all hopes were instantly dashed. To my horror, this is what I found:



This is not what it said in the print ad, and I have never been sadder to see those two sorry words: Tribute. Band. I don't care how great they are, there is only one Steve Perry.

Sorry, Will. But. Don't Stop Believin'. I Faithfully promise, with Open Arms, that we'll figure out a great birthday for you, Any Way You Want It. (sorry, folks. I don't normally get all punny, but when it comes to something as rockin' as Journey, this Girl Can't Help It!)

Calendar Explosion!

Been busy. The general schedule lately may include, but is not limited to:

• working as a simulated patient at UMDNJ out in Newark, NJ (yes, I'm doing the reverse commute!)


• working at a phone bank, similar to the simulated patient work, but for a boutique HR firm that has been contracted by a gigantic bank (does that count as "working for the man"?)


• helping out my friend with her floral design company (we did the James Beard Awards last night, and I realized that I am so grateful to no longer be working in the restaurant industry!)


• rehearsing for the reading of Ed's Thesis Play (which went down quite successfully last week)


• rehearsing for Macbeth Without Words, another in the Bizarre Science Fantasy Series


• casting and getting ready to rehearse Mother..., Cardium Mechanicum's first production and entry into the Brick Theater's Pretentious Festival, as well as putting in motion our next project, a radio play, and beginning work on our new-found acceptance into the Fringe Festival (details TBA!)


• and I've gotten into a pretty healthy pattern of theater reviewing-- I've been doing a show a week for the last few months! (you can read the most recent here, but family, beware. This one was pretty racy!)

and so on.

I also booked a voiceover job for HGTV that I will record tomorrow. Not sure what it's for yet, but I'll let you know so that you can tune in to hear me tell you what's up next on HGTV. (I still can't believe I get paid to talk... it's truly a dream come true... some girls dream of men on white horses, but apparently my dreams are filled with the sound of my own voice... sorry Will...)

In other news, Will and I did manage to get out of the city this weekend. We took a drive up to the Catskills and stayed at this groovy little place outside of Woodstock. It's always nice to see a sky full of stars in the middle of a hectic calendar. Hopefully the summer will be littered with more of these little jaunts, although the next few trips we'll take all involve weddings! Four between now and the end of the summer: 2 in Massachusetts, 1 in Pennsylvania and 1 in Utah. Because nobody can see fit to get hitched in New York...

Perhaps the Bush Girls Will Be Next?

Get a load of this.

Art=Oil, Religion=Water

This is jaw-droppingly... I don't know what... the reason the religious kooks in this country are so... so... kooky! Serously. And in Boston no less!

A Media Gadfly

This irks me to the core.


I don't like to discuss politics in public. As I've said before, if my many long nights of bartending taught me anything, it's that talking about religion or politics just fucks things up.

That being said, in response to the recent shootings in Virginia, I have an overwhelming bad taste in my mouth about the (and forgive the buzzwordiness of this next one) sensationalism of the situation in the media. And now some jackwad wants to have his fifteen YouTube minutes by making short films out of the shooters scripts?

This country is in some serious trouble. No wonder the rest of the world hates us.

Best. Sign. Ever. (Part 2)

Back when we were in Trieste, I saw this sign and was convinced it was the best in the world.

Today, I found stiff competition on this great actor's blog.

How does one decide? Which is really the world's greatest sign?

In other news, check out these two ways to manage credit card debt:

SNL via consumerist.com (video)


Fresh Air with Terri Gross (audio podcast)

If you haven't already, now is as good a time as any to chop up those credit cards!

Back in Iceland-- Bjork, nowhere to be found...

We are back in Reykjavik, waiting to board our flight back to NYC. (Keflavik Airport is the only one I've been to where internet access flows freely)

The wedding was great, our rented flat was gorgeous and I'm exhausted.

This is a slightly blurry version of what people getting married in London look like.


And these are professional wedding guests.

So I'm sitting here nervously hoping our luggage fiasco was one-way only, and that our poor manhandled bags are currently being loaded onto the plane we board in an hour.

In other news, plans are in the works for Cardium Mechanicum's first full production, and the Crush Project is still plugging away.

I have a busy schedule coming up, involving the Cardium show, my partner Ed's thesis reading at NYU (this will most likely be something we produce fully in the near future-- it's great!) and rehearsals for Macbeth. Good thing we got all this traveling in now, because it looks like I'm not getting off the island (well, save for Brooklyn) for a few months.

Bella Italia

It's been days since our bag was returned to us, tattered and torn as if having come straight from a bender ending in a bad one-night stand, but with all contents in place. And yes, for those of you following closely, the piece of the wedding dress I was carrying was in there and it was returned intact. (I didn't mention this on either of the previous panic posts, since I was, well... panicking my pants off that I was going to have to tell a nervous bride that Bjork was wearing her dream dress!)

Anyway, a few days in Italy can really make you forget that anything was ever wrong. In the entirety of your life. We have been well fed and well rested, perhaps more of the former than the latter, but we're relaxed.

We spent Easter (Pasqua) in Florence with Will's aunt Deanna and her husband Roberto's family. My Italian is not as bad as I had feared-- I still remember some. That was Feast number 1.

Yesterday, we were invited to Donatella and Pasquale's house for lunch. This is the stuff that they make those romantic mid-life crisis movies about, where the overworked American just takes off for the rolling hills of Italy to learn to make pasta. Donatella and Pasquale are Will's folks' neighbors down the hill, and their generosity, hospitality and good-neighborliness is unparalleled. Donatella could kick Mario Batali's ass without breaking a sweat. Feast number 2. (oh, and did I mention that the day we arrived, Pasquale stopped by to bring some fresh ricotta that they had just made? That has been an ongoing feast.)

So today, Will and I went on a nice long walk over to Montone, the town across the valley. It was probably about 5K all told, and we probably barely nicked away at the impact the homemade pasta made on us, but it was lovely just the same.

We leave tomorrow for Rome, then Thursday for London where I make the final hand-off of the dress. *PHEW!*

And in other news, there are no single people in the Midwest, and all my single girlfriends should move to California. Check this out.

A Public Apology to BjÖrk BjÄrney

Word on the street is that Bjork has released her evil grip on our bag and sent it off to the Queen. The poor bag should have arrived in Berlin bright and early this morning, by way of Reykjavik, London and Munich.

The bag has had more of a vacation than us!

Will keep you posted, as am sure you are glued to your moniter following the latest news on this topic.

In other news, Will and I got haircuts today.

The excitement never ends!

Icelandic Pop Princess, My Ass!

Isn't Bjork great?

Let me answer that for you. No! Bjork eats luggage. I repeat: ICENLAND'S ONLY DIVA STEALS THE BAGS OF INNOCENT TRAVELERS!!

I've been in the same socks since Sunday. That's right, we are having the worst airline karma of all time.

We left JFK more than 2 hours late on Sunday and arrived in Reykjavik, Iceland about 45 minutes after our connecting flight left for London. After being told that the next flight to London would not get us there in time to switch airports and make our flight on another airline to Berlin, we accepted a transfer to a flight to Oslo, Norway that would get us to London two hours before our EasyJet to Germany. Confused? Yeah, try it with jetlag and remnants of a hangover!

So we got to London around 5. Our bag did not make it. We reported it to the baggage control folks and resigned ourselves to the fact that there was little to no way in hell that we could get across London at rush hour to make our flight.

We ended up spending the night near Luton Airport at the world's most generic hotel chain, the Holiday Inn, where we feasted on over-priced microwaved meat and crap wine imported from California (go, Globalization!). Waking up at the crack of dawn, we trekked over to the airport and after a hellish battle with the line that would never move, we checked in and got on our flight. (London's Luton Airport was experiencing a conveyor belt meltdown-- they couldn't get the luggage out of the check-in area. Luckily, our bags werer already lost.

We arrived in Berlin to find that the dumb girl Will spoke to at our hotel had only booked us for one night. Luckily they had a room for us last night, but we had to find another hotel for tonight and tomorrow. Then this morning, when we checked out, she said that she had to charge us for Monday night because we didn't cancel.

So I'm billing Bjork.

The Holiday Inn bill, the night in Berlin we didn't use, the EasyJet ticket-change charge (Will bought travel insurance, but we had to pay a fee upfront and supposedly the insurance company will refund us-- that should be fun and unspeedy!) and seventeen new pairs of socks. It's about 400 pounds. That's like double-dollars, mind you. And the Holiday Inn had this neat little trick where they made their own exchange rate when you used an out-of-country credit card, the Bastards! They had a pound running at about $2.04 when my exchange calculator puts it at about $1.97-- granted, it's only seven cents, but they microwave meat. Need I say more?

So unless Bjork decides to let go of her vicegrip on our clean clothes, I'm taking a cut of her next album, since it will most likely feature songs about the contents of our suitcase. Damn you, Nordic Elves!

I See London, I See... Berlin? Rome?

You know how hard Will and I have been working lately, slaves to the grind, nary a moment's rest. Well, we've decided to treat ourselves right and finally take a much-needed vacation.

Kidding. We know we're really lucky to be able to do all this travling. I jokingly say that it's merely because none of our friends can see fit to get married in the US. But it's really fun to have a reason to fly here and there. Will was just doing some reading up on people who have their own personal jet.

It seemed like he was really envious, so I asked him do you want a jet?

His reply?

Well yeah, but I'd probably need to get a job to get one, so no.

Jobs can really clutter up a schedule, you know?

Today we leave for London, arrive in London tomorrow morning and leave for Berlin tomorrow night. We're there for a few days, then we head down to Italy to visit with Will's dad and sister for a week or so before we head back to London to watch my friends Bill and Julia get hitched.

Last night we went to the New York version of Sang and Lisa's wedding. We have to leave for the airport in a couple of hours, but we're moving sort of slow today-- I think we rolled in sometime around 3am. It really takes me back to the days of my early 20s (all eight years ago) where closing a bar was a 3-4 night a week affair (often solely because I was working behind said bar... I wouldn't want you to get the wrong idea...). But now, staying out so late keeps me feeling young.

But that could just be that last glass of wine talking...

Anyway, I must remember to pack one very important thing (besides the sleep mask). I'm carrying a piece of Julia's wedding dress. She asked me to pick it up, since the dress shop is on my street. I keep having mini panic attacks, thinking we'll be in the air somewhere over the Atlantic and I'll suddenly realize that it's on my bed in the East Village. But no. That is not going to happen. Especially since I've just gone into all this super-fascinating detail about it here.

I'm going to sign off and put the dress piece in my GD suitcase already.

(p.s. In other news, the Crush Project is back on after a travel-related hiatus. We're looking to post one podcast per day, Monday through Friday. Check it out here-- we've recruited some new voices! And I think I may have finally come up with an idea for the next step-- details TBA).