Center-Spot

New blog!? NOT AGAIN!

2009-07-24T11:35:00.000-07:00

So, I know I've let this blog go by the wayside, and for that I apologize. BUT, I wanted to let you know - if any of you out there still read this blog - that I have decided to create ANOTHER Blog, but with a twist.

Just like the reality tv shows that air season after season after season, I have to have a new approach to keep enticing readers to read my blogs, blogsite after blogsite after blogsite.

As you can tell, I started running out of things to talk about here and there, and I just would get too busy to care. Well, my new blog has an inspiration behind it. Apart from writing about random nothings, I like to dabble in writing actual stories in my private time. This new blog is dedicated to that hobby. Every blog will have an inspirational picture behind it that I will post along with the story that surrounds it.

I hope you at least check out the new blog, but I understand if you don't *sniffles*

Well... see you there :) err... here rather.

Crazy For You Pictures!

2008-10-12T08:38:00.001-07:00

For those of you who didn't get the chance to see my most recent show - Crazy For You, at Bloomington Civic Theatre - and for those of you who did see the show and really enjoyed it, here are some pictures!

Do the iPod Shuffle!

2008-10-07T05:48:00.000-07:00

I thought I would do a fun interactive thing today!

Get out your iPods, turn it on shuffle, and tell me what the first 10 songs are...

Here goes mine!

1. "Intermission" - Scissor Sisters
2. "Look At Your Hands" - George Michael
3. "Lonely Teardrops" - Huey Lewis in the Duets Soundtrack
4. "Bliss" - Rosie Brown - my City Lounge London CD
5. "Our Town" - James Taylor in the Cars Soundtrack
6. "Quartet/There's a Man--Transition" - The Secret Garden (Musical)
7. "42nd Street" - The Chanhassen Dinner Theatre Recording of 42nd Street
8. "Pale September" - Fiona Apple
9. "Sweetest Thing" - U2 - Now That's What I Call Music Vol. 2
10. "Like a Virgin" - the Moulin Rouge remake

OOOOOOooooh! And I really like my list! Good songs! What are your lists?

To comment - simply click on the "comments" link at the bottom of the post on the blog site. Type in your message, do the word verification, and then choose an ID (If you choose "Name" you can post a comment even without having a blog).

It's not Intermission... but it's STILL Scissor Sisters! :)

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Center-Spot Loves Kathy Griffin!

2008-10-04T11:11:00.000-07:00

As a birthday gift, my friend Chris (who I house sit for on occasion) took me to Kathy Griffin last night, and let me tell you - I loved every minute of it. Not only did she have incredibly smart and up to date material, but she incorporated Minneapolis as much as she could; which made me love her even more, lol. To feel that she really was enjoying her stay here and appreciated our city, made me feel proud to live here and be a part of this community.

I can't really approach this with a critical eye, as I really don't have any experience in performing or viewing a live stand up comedy routine. Also, I absolutely loved it, and I was only there to enjoy a birthday treat and laugh my ass off - both of which were accomplished :)

If you absolutely love celebrity gossip, from an insider with a hilariously sarcastic and cut-throat approach, you will love Kathy's humor. From political characters as Palin and Obama, to powerhouses of the media like Oprah Winfrey, and the confused adolescents that are Britney Spears and Lindsay Loahn, Kathy finds the humor in them all.

If you get offended easily, then you probably wouldn't like her humor as she talks about groups too, not excluding religious affiliations. It's all to make bold statements and to combine that shock factor of - I can't believe she just blurted that out - with the cathartic release of - I've thought that before too, but YOU said it!!

She spoke a lot about her recent Emmy win and the backstage shenanigans. YAY!

This entry is already long enough, so I'm going to post the video I found. If you like her show and ever have the chance to see Kathy Griffin in person, DO IT; it's SUCH a different experience than seeing a video. The exhilaration of seeing her in front of you, live on stage, is enough to sensitize your funny bone and be tickled a lot easier.

My birthday had already been amazing, and this was the perfect cherry on top. Thank you James, Heather, Kirby, Mom, Dad, Rosie, Dan, Grandpa, Chris, Sue, Andrea, all of my friends who sent me their good wishes on Facebook and Myspace or via text and phone calls, that random Happy Birthday comment in my last post, and of course Kathy Griffin for making this a birthday to remember!

PLUS her hair was fabulous AS ALWAYS! :P

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3, It's the Birthday Number, Yeah it Is!

2008-10-03T06:50:00.000-07:00

Now this is a random baby, it's not me, he just fit the theme... but happy belated birthday to him, whenever that may be...

Today is my birthday! I'm going to try to make this a super short blog, as I shouldn't be spending my energies on writing today, it should be on calming myself down... I'm not old... I'm not old... I'm only 24! Older than I've EVER been, but not OLD! Hell no!

Whatever the case may be, you still must know the power of the number 3. To give my fingers a little bit of a rest, let's have School House Rock tells ya!

To the next piece of proof... this is one of my favorite movies... on Youtube the title of this video is Mean Girls 3. If you go to 4:03 in the video you come to a scene... ABOUT?... October 3rd. Hells yeah. And, that's a pairing of how many threes? 3! I rest my case. Now it's time to ENJOY the day! YAY!

videos only appear on the blog website. Click here to go there now.

Scary Snake Story

2008-10-02T05:56:00.000-07:00

This was the moment that turned Lacey and Shirley lesbians for life. They vowed to never go another day without wearing the same pink outfit again... until one day when Shirley started donning plaid flannel.

I was told the following story last night, and while it may have happened to a friend of a friend of a friend, it's not an urban legend. It is a true story, and I find it to be rather disturbing. If you hate snakes, don't read on - this is the most disturbing snake story I've heard.

After rehearsal last night, a group of us went out to Green Mill for some cheap apps and drinks. Somehow conversation turned into scary stories of burglaries, pet nightmares, and to us theatre folks, theatre horror stories. I might have to tell one of those after the snake story as those tend to be hilarious albeit an actor's worst nightmare come true.

Heather's friend went to a bridal shower. It was at the bride-to-be's house, where some of the girls had been before. They noticed that the host's pet boa constrictor was gone, and so they asked her what happened...

Apparently, the woman, who loved her pet snake and trusted it whole-heartedly (I can only assume), would let the snake roam free about her house. I'm guessing this is all because the pet was rather large, and she felt bad confining it to such a small space... who knows exactly.

Well, the snake stopped eating one day. The owner got worried that the snake was dying and called the vet. The vet told her that sometimes snakes get bored with what you're feeding them and like a change of food every now and then.

The owner took this advice and immediately bought a new type of food for the snake. Still, the snake refused to eat.

One morning shortly after, the woman woke up and found the snake in bed with her. I guess the snake had done this before, having free range of the house and all, as this wasn't what worried her... instead, she was scared because the snake was stretched out and stiff as a board.

Convinced that her snake was dying, she immediately called the vet again and told them what was happening. Over the phone the vet told her;

"Get out of your house right now. The snake is measuring you up to see if it can eat you. It's been fasting."

Needless to say, she ran outside, called animal control, and they took the snake away.

Isn't that disturbing!? I mean holy crap! If you ever own a snake, let alone a boa constrictor, then I suggest not letting it have free reign of the entire house, and for your own sake, switch up it's food every now and then or it'll switch it up for you...

I should be working... so I'm not going to tell one of the acting horror stories, but let me tell you... you will never hear so many crazy stories than those told by actors... where else will you find conversations combining a barfing dracula on a zip line, spewing over the audience, and Julie Andrews?

This is appropriately titled Huge Dead Snake

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I Want To Get Off Here! No Here! Maybe Here! Or Here! No Here! AHHHHHHHH IT HURTS!!!

2008-10-01T05:46:00.000-07:00

This is what happens when you decide to fling yourself out the window in many directions... You've been forewarned.

I have come across an odd, yet somewhat frequent occurance in my building at work, where people decide to hit multiple floors while on the elevator...

The first time it happened, the woman seemed so methodical that I thought it was probably attached to some sort of an obsessive compulsive disorder, but now I think the people are just crazy.

This morning, an older gentleman was walking just feet in front of me, when he ducked down the elevator isle to floors 16-34; my elevator isle. I find it very pleasurable when I get to ride the elevator up to my floor alone, but that was obviously not going to happen today. He pushed the button to summon the closest iron monster, and stood there, without moving, like the elevator button had become his own Buckingham Palace.

Of course, the farthest elevator down the hall opened, and as I was taught manners, I let him get to the elevator first. He walked so slowly, that I feared we were going to miss the elevator altogether, and slight terror coursed through me when it appeared that the elevator doors were going to crush the old man upon entry. Needless to say, we made it inside just fine. I pushed the button for my floor, and then like random, the man put his hand flat against the wall of buttons, lighting up 5 floors. Thankfully, the floors he chose at random were above my destination, so I wasn't going to have to stand through 5 flights of nothingness.

Either way, I wanted to hit his hands and say, "NO! Bad man! You can't get off the elevators onto five floors at once! You're not Multiple Man!"

Seriously though, this has happened a handful of times already, and I'm scared it'll occur yet again... it'll be just my luck if the next time it happens, I encounter none other than Buddy the Elf himself... Christmas is just around the corner afterall...

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Welcome to Australia

2008-09-30T05:54:00.000-07:00

From my all time favorite director, Baz Luhrmann, who brought the world my favorite movie...

Comes another movie... that I'm really excited for... AUSTRALIA.

Now, Country Westerns and War are probably two of my least favorite movie genres of all time... and this one combines both... BUT I am super excited to see it, all because the master genius Baz Luhrmann is directing it.

Unlike other directors who have a huge reputation and always seem to disappoint lately... Baz ONLY comes out with a movie when he is absolutely passionate about it and has had a hand in everything, making sure it will be absolutely amazing. His Red Curtain Trilogy, telling stories of dance, words, and music (Strictly Ballroom, Romeo + Juliet, and Moulin Rouge! respectively) was an absolute epic success in my mind. I found all three to be brilliant.

This is the first movie he's directed outside of the RCT, so he doesn't have the specific points of view and goals as were obvious in the RCT, but I'm confident that he'll bring us something grand yet again!

I LOVE Nicole Kidman, and I got chills from the Wizard of Oz reference in the preview below... to most of you who don't really know, I read all 14 of L. Frank Baum's Oz books when I was little; it was my favorite series growing up. If there is truly any parallel in this movie, I will die.

I can't wait! I'M SO EXCITED!

PREVIEW TIME!

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Walk It Out Fosse!!!

2008-09-29T05:45:00.000-07:00

Any and all Fosse fans should love this!

To any of you who don't know who Bob Fosse is... just watch this:

Bob Fosse was one of the greatest, and my favorite, choreographer of the 50's-70's, creating his own, very distinguishable jazz style. If you recall, I was super excited during rehearsals for Pajama Game, to perform Steam Heat - another famous Fosse choreographed number.

I have had the absolute pleasure of working with a woman at Bloomington Civic Theatre by the name of Christine Fournier; who actually has done many original broadway tours with Fosse himself. She taught us the original choreography for How to Succeed in Business, and helped come up with a very Fosse-esque Steam Heat - without mimicing the original.

The whole reason I tell you about Fosse, is because my friend Heather told me of this AMAZING video on Youtube... it's a mash between Fosse's "Mexican Breakfast" choreography, starring Gwen Verdon, and Soldiaboy's Walk it Out... HILARIOUS!

First, just watch some of the original...

And now, watch the remix... AMAZING!

Let's See Yours Now... ... OW! - Teeth Review

2008-09-27T14:08:00.000-07:00

Over a few glasses of wine and a pizza, my great friend Heather and I watched a movie we had been anticipating for months; Teeth. Now, if you're ever looking for a new comedy/thriller with a cult classic appeal, then I definitely suggest you see this movie. It will have you clasping your mouth shut with your hand in shock/disgust while causing you to laugh hysterically at the same time.

Dawn O'Keefe (a brilliant play on the artist Georgia O'Keeffe; most famously known for her paintings of flowers inspired by the female genitalia) was born with a case of Vagina Dentata (sharp teeth in her down-there parts); making the movie's catch phrase "Every Rose Has Its Thorns" very befitting. She grew up with a strong belief that one should always wait until their wedding day to have sex, and that masturbation is a horrible sin. She is completely oblivious to her condition until the influence of sex surrounds her, and she starts contemplating on fooling around with a boy she likes at school. The following is an amazingly gruesome, graphic, and extremely uproarious story of sexual discovery and PAIN that will have many a guy a little scared to venture into the unknown depths again. (Much like my temporary fear of the shower after seeing the movie "IT" when I was in junior high.) All I can say, is that this is one of many instances where I am thankful for being gay!

The movie was directed brilliantly, in my opinion. The whole crew, and all of the actors, knew very well that the story they were telling was absurd, and so there are many moments (from certain comical faces, to just plainly absurd characters/scenes) where the actor/director bring you back from the horror and say 'it's all a joke, just relax'.

Jess Weixler with Josh Pais behind her, in Teeth.
HAHAHAHA, one of the best parts! LOVE IT!

Jess Weixler does a great job portraying the innocence, curiosity, and absolute confusion of Dawn. You really feel a little pity for her character, and are only excited for her when she dons her 'red nipples' (a Showgirls reference for all of you fans out there).

Two of my absolute favorite characters in the whole show are Brad (Dawn's brother who introduces a very funny, quasi-incestuous theme to the story), played by the oh so talented John Hensley (Nip/Tuck), and Dr. Godfrey (Dawn's new gynecologist who is only shown briefly, but in one of the best scenes of the entire movie), played by Josh Pais. These two made the movie so much more enjoyable to me. I loved their characters, and found myself laughing the most when they were on camera. Of course, all of the acting was great, but these two really did it for me.

John Hensley in Teeth.
That picture to the right of his head almost made me crap my pants in laughter when I first saw it... You might have to take a close look to see what I mean... SO FUNNY!!

All in all, if you have a strong stomach, and aren't easily offended by the idea of a sex farce, then find Teeth today and watch it! I was very tempted to steal it from my friend Heather, but I guess that just means I'll have to go out and buy myself a copy to have for some cocktail party in the future! Holy buckets, that's genius! I'll serve little cocktail weenies, and maybe red wine or any other red alcohol... it'll be divine! YAY!

PREVIEW TIME!!!

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Shalom Shelob!

2008-09-25T10:04:00.001-07:00

This was me last night... and yes, I'm talking about Sam, not Frodo. I didn't have a sword, but I did have a mirror...

Yeah, I met my own Shelob last night, and I nearly wet my pants in fear...

Now, I don't know what phobias you readers might have, if any (you strong brutes you), but I can tell you what turns me into a big ole sissy... and that, if it's not obvious yet, is spiders...

Last night, I went to my friend Chris' to housesit/dogsit. I've talked about his house and his cute little pug Harry in a previous post.

It's kind of funny that the one and only other time I've talked about house sitting here, was the one and only other time I tagged a post as 'scary'. Believe me, last night was SCARY.

I got to Chris' house, used my headlights this time to see the front door as everything was pitch black again, and after I was settled in, I was about to go to bed when I saw a HUGE spider, one of, if not THE biggest spider I have EVER seen inside a house.

It had created a web behind a gigantic mirror that Chris has propped up on the ground just centimeters next to his sliding glass door in the living room. I watched in terror as I watched it crawl out of sight behind the mirror. It must have been living there in secret for a while, because after I had tilted the mirror a little bit away from the wall, I noticed it's web covered a large patch of the hidden surface. It was very thick, like a wad of stretched cotton balls, and when I moved the mirror even further from the wall, the web sounded like velcro as it ripped apart.

Thankfully, the spider didn't move too much as I tore up its home. I was able to position the mirror so the edge was directly over the center of the spider, and I pressed it hard against the wall; killing it instantly.

SHABAM!!!!

Shelob wasn't killed instantly, but this isn't HIS story... he's just my visual comparison... as I couldn't take any pictures of my culprit... I was too petrified.

It sounds a little calculated and calm, but believe me... I tried to get Harry to attack it first... but he's too sweet, he wouldn't hurt a fly - although he did try to maul a squirrel today.

Unfortunately, the one and only PERFECT Youtube video for this entry has Embedded disabled per request, so I cannot have it conveniently displayed for direct viewing on my blog :( To see it, you've gotta click on Shelob's face! Go on! I DARE YOU!

What Else Is New In The Year 2000?

2008-09-24T06:19:00.000-07:00

The only REALLY good picture of Conan I've seen. I like it!

Some predictions made during Conan O'Brian's 2004 'futuristic' comedy skit "In the Year 2000" have included

"In the year 2000, America will know I (Drew Carey) am not their daddy's Price is Right host when I launch the new game 'Two in the Plinko, one in the Stinko"

"In the year 2000, Della Reese will star in a spin-off of Touched By An Angel, called Touched By A Huge Black Woman."

"In the year 2000, The number '3' will be outlawed, thereby making all omelets either too large or too small." ... And my birthday will disappear :(

"In the year 2000, Animals will take over the farm just like in the novel Animal Farm, butinstead of setting up a failed communist regime, they will simply go poop in the house."

"In the year 2000, Singer Meatloaf will become a spokesman for a company that makes meat loaf, Vanilla Ice will become a spokesman for a company that makes vanilla ice, and MC Hammer will be arrested for stealing a bike."

"In the year 2000, It will be revealed that the only reason the mitten was invented was because something cute was needed to rhyme with kitten."

"In the year 2000, instead of plumping when you cook them, Ball Park franks will MOAN when you suck them"

and MANY more... but none were as prophetic as this one... made during the 2004 James Lipton Edition.

"In the year 2000, Batman will admit he's gay, and Clay Aiken will admit he's Batman." ... it's haunted my dreams ever since I heard it all the way back on it's 2004 debut date - and I never watch Conan...

... now of course the statement is not all true... we all know that Christian Bale already admitted to being batman, and I wish that he WAS gay... but regardles... today... the news is spreading like wild fire that Clay Aiken's national coming out is in the next issue of People Magazine. He just had a child with his friend and music producer, Jaymes Foster (are we sure this is a girl?... just kidding! :P) and he refuses to raise the child with LIES.

Anyway, here's how this news will be taken by the world...

From the point of view of a Claymaniac...

"They always said you were gay, but i never chose to believe it! I wished that I was the lucky girl you made a baby with, I even had a picture of you stitched on my pillow... but now that pillow will BURN! I hate you for ruining my oh-so-realistic dreams!"

From the point of view of the REST OF THE WORLD...

"What else is new?"

Seriously though, I have a lot of respect in regards to his reasoning... it really wasn't anyone else's business in the first place... but, I'm glad that he has finally felt comfortable enough, and proud enough, to share it with the world and not have a secret that he had to keep from his family and new child. I kind of lived my life by the same rule, and didn't act at all on my being gay before I was out... I refused to live a life that I had to keep secret from those I loved most... so I'll applaud him, but I'm already tired of it all, so... ... oooh Megan Mullally!

videos only appear on the blog site

Two to the Zoo! You should see too!

2008-09-22T07:22:00.000-07:00

Here we are, my good friend Heather and I, in front of the Minnesota Zoo. As you can see, the sky is blue, the sun is obviously shining (including into our eyes... good idea Heather!), and boy are we excited to see some animals! (Actually, this was taken on the way out of the zoo... but we were still excited anyway.

Heather was SO excited in fact, that she posed like Ariel (the little mermaid) in front of the Dolphin Fountain near the entrance! (This actually was taken before we went inside).

Our first stop was the monkey cage!

One of the monkeys had just had a baby... it was so cute! It was the most hyper of all the monkeys, but didn't do much climbing. It stayed down by the 'adult' monkeys, who mostly sat in the shade, grooming each other, while the younger adolescent monkeys splashed in the pool and chased each other around the trees.

Next up were the Meerkats! SO Lion King!

We temporarily got stuck INSIDE the Meerkat exhibit! HELP! AHHHH!!!!!!!!

We then started heading down the trails... first up, their temporary exhibit, The Grizzly Coast!

One of the women taught her children that this was a seal... ... she was corrected by another woman in her party, but even after that the woman said "Aren't seals and otters the same thing?"... these are the people parenting the kids of our tomorrow...

BEARS!!! They were so friendly, and sharing a large pond in the hot sun... They seemed rather happy, especially the one that played with its feet while swimming... the zoo has TALENTED animals!

When we were standing next to the Wild Hogs, a very serious girl asked "How can they be wild if they are in the zoo?" Such the philosopher she was... we just wanted to have fun and see the animals, so we left the super serious girl behind.

Heather is "Takin" the world by storm! Watch out! :)

These are real Takin animals... I had never heard of them... and didn't actually read up on them... we were busy laughing at all the silly children around us, and their SILLY parents... "You don't want to jump down there and be their lunch do you? I think Takin eat Stevens for lunch!" ... again... a fine example of the people parenting the kids of our tomorrow...

I LOVE ME SOME FAT PRAIRIE DOGS!!! AWWWWW!!!!

We were trying to teach you about the Moose's antlers, silly people!

UH OH!! THE TIGER LAIR!!!!!

Oh we had fun at the Tiger Lair! That's for sure!

Next up was the Minnesota Trail - Now, we heard a woman say something that would actually be considered a fun thing to tell children... however... she was there with other adults... and NO children... this is what she said... "All of these animals are in Minnesota! That's why it's called the Minnesota Trail!"... OY.

DUCK BUTT!

After the Minnesota Trail, we went down the Tropical Trail!!! I was most excited for this one... but it kind of turned out to be somewhat of a dud... Maybe it was all the screaming babies, and the really dark tunnels that were NOT good for pictures...

We did find a fun Turtle Statue!... notice the baby... she wasn't there when we started posing for the picture, but her mom thought it would be a nice piece of the background, so she moved her into the shot.

That honeycomb must have been made of poop... I tells ya!

A LOT of the fish showed me their butt the very second I took the picture... oh well.

With our highly inappropriate humor... we thought this coral sign was rather funny...

Like I said... DARK tunnels with not good lighting for pictures...

And I don't even remember what this thing was... but it was kind of cute, so I took a picture!

After that we watched the monkeys more... and then left. Seriously, the zoo is great, but I doubt you'll ever find a day to go when there aren't billions of screaming children running around... that was the only down part, but we laughed at most of them... I don't know what my parents did right, but I can say that I never threw a tantrum like these kids did... I would maybe pout, but I wouldn't scream at the top of my lungs at my mom because she didn't buy me ice cream. Plus, a lot of the children were LARGE for their size/age, but with parents teaching them that Otters are Seals, what can you expect? :P

Yeah I Bit Unemployement, And I'd Do It Again!

2008-09-12T05:51:00.000-07:00

So, I recently decided that temping was the perfect way to work full time jobs and get paid OK money, but still be able to pursue theatre, leave work for a few months if I got a tour or another Chan gig, and still have work to go back to when I was done.

I signed on with a temping agency in downtown minneapolis, and the next day I started working for a company on the 21st floor of the the AT&T tower. Now, if I were to tell you that the AT&T tower is the blue building in the picture above, that wouldn't really narrow it down... not in the Minneapolis skyline anyway.

It's the squat one with a lot of personality on the left. The one that is SUPER reflective... it shimmers at night, and if you're in the right spot during the day it could look like this...

Oooooh!

I mainly do data entry stuff... which is fun... but the real entertainment comes at lunch time... when everyone gathers in the lunch room on Floor 22, where the view is just amazing I might add... and we watch tv. Now, most of the time it's HGTV, which isn't that entertaining to me, especially since I usually take a 30 minute lunch instead of a 60 minute lunch, and most HGTV shows are an hour... doesn't usually work well... but some times we watch those tacky Judge shows, which make me happy...

Yesterday, it was Judge Mathis... which is the inspiration for this entry... a girl was suing her former friend (they're always former friends) for biting off the tip of her finger during a cat fight... in the end the plaintiff won, and they had both women standing directly outside the courtroom with a security guard towering between them, as the girls were arguing with eachother... again... but this time they weren't even looking at eachother, it was hilarious...

"Yeah, I bit her finger, and I'd do it again if she sticks it in my mouth again!" (this woman had been denying it the WHOLE time until now.)

"She's just stupid. Why would I put my finger in her mouth?"

"You did it once! That's why I bit it!"

"I didn't put my finger in your mouth, you put your mouth over my finger!"

"Uh huh, whatever"

"Whatever"

Apparently, the clip I found is a goody too, even though it's from a different episode... I haven't yet been able to watch the whole thing, but maybe this episode will actually be on tv today during lunch... that would be fun. Oh the excitements of corporate world.

UPDATE... no Judge shows today... not even HGTV... but Sports Central... I usually only fall asleep during work, but now on my lunch break too? Great... :P

A LONG Overdue, And Excessive Dose

2008-09-11T06:30:00.000-07:00

"That's not dirty is it? I hate olives..."

I am ashamed that this will be my second blog in a row where I say, I'm back!!! I have to start blogging regularly again. I had told myself at the beginning of the year, when I started my blog, that I would write an entry every single day, even when I had nothing to say... it then turned from nothing to say to no time/no motivation... and I apologize to my few yet wonderful readers who actually liked my blog that you had to wait this long...

So I will put my shame on the counter, or better yet, beat it with a hammer, and be happy that I am going to blog again! Motivation, motivation, motivation... I just need to chant it over and over again.

My entries will probably be shorter than I had originally started out with... only because I will probably spend my morning and afternoon breaks to update, which are only 10 minutes each... not a whole lot of time.

Starting with a quick theatre update... like the last "I'm back" post!

As I had stated in my last update, Pajama Game had opened... it's now closed, and has been for a long while... I had started my internship for The Gin Game... which didn't truly start until after Pajama Game closed... the run of that show felt like it lasted forever... but even that finished a long time ago... then came the real fun...

My Producers callback didn't get me into the show at Chanhassen; BUT they thought I had done such a great job at the callback that they called me a couple weeks later and asked me if I could audition to be a replacement in their current production of 42nd Street...

This is where I insert a little fun tidbit of information... remember how I had been offered the understudy role to the lead in BCT's Crazy For You? (If you don't remember, just look at the entry I posted before this) I had been approached months before the Crazy For You audition with the idea of being the lead (not the understudy)... found out that the guy who actually got the role, Rico Heisler, is the very guy that had to drop out of 42nd Street in order to be the lead in Crazy For You, and it was his replacement I would be audtioning for... it's because I didn't get the lead in Crazy For You that I finally got the chance I've been waiting for to perform for CDT.

I went to the audition... realized I was the only one they had called... and the next day Chanhassen Dinner Theatres called me again to give me the replacement part. I had to drop out of Crazy For You, as I would be missing the first three weeks of rehearsal by doing 42nd Street, and a week later I was at rehearsals for 42nd Street and actually getting paid for it...

I learned the show in ONE week... the entire show... all of the dances... all of the scenes... all of my costume changes (without my costumes btw), where I stand for this line, where I walk for this line, what lyrics to sing, what tap routines to perform... I had ONE put-in rehearsal (the one and only time I was able to do the whole show in order, with the entire cast, on stage, and do my costume changes actually with the costumes)... later that evening, I was performing in the show.

All of it was extremely stressful, and extremely tiring, but I was more than willing to go through it, as performing on the Channhassen Dinner Theatre's main stage has been a dream of mine since I was very little. As much as I told myself I wouldn't, I couldn't help but cry during the bows of opening night.

During the run, Tony Vierling came to see the show... Tony was my local idol while I was growing up... I had looked at him for inspiration to pursue theatre, and he is so talented that I had aspired to be as good as him, performing on the stage someday, and I still have that goal... he had done a lot of Chanhassen shows (another reason I wanted to get into Chanhassen at some point in my life) and over the past few years we've actually become good friends and he's helped me with decisions I've had to make regarding shows, and he's also given me good advice on where to take dance classes... Anyway, he came to the 42nd Street, with a friend of his who was in town for a wedding (and had also done a lot of Chanhassen shows before her career hit it big in California)... I'm talking about none other than Amy Adams. I got to meet the lovely Amy backstage before the show... After the show Tony said, very loud, and in front of practically the entire cast as I had exited the dressing room that night, "This guy (pointing at me) was amazing!"

Later on, in the Hogarth (the main bar at the theatre, and also the setting of both the header picture and the following picture in this entry) I got a picture of all of us together!

Amy Adams, me, and Tony Vierling

I learned A LOT in the week I had rehearsal for the show, and the three weeks that I was on stage. It was very odd though, as most people were ready to get the show over and done with (having already performed it for three months, this being their fourth and last month of the show). The cast called me "their lil' Robbie" because I was, as they put it, like a little puppy, so full of excitement and happiness. I felt kind of like an outcast during the first couple weeks, but by the end of it all, I felt a little bit like a part of the Chanhassen family... and the director told me that I did great and I'll be back again soon, which made me feel better about it ending.

During my run in 42nd Street, Crazy For You had a couple of guys drop out of the show, and so they asked me to come back and perform. 42nd Street closed on a Saturday evening, and Monday evening I was back rehearsing for another show, and cramming to learn everything in a short time again... (they had already been rehearsing for three weeks by that point). The show already opened, and was completely sold out by the second weekend. Tonight starts our fifth and final weekend...

Up next for me is Fiorello with BCT...

We started rehearsals this past Monday... The show opens Fri Oct 24th and runs for four weekends Thur-Sun through Nov 16th. We're apparently around the 80% sold mark... so I would buy tickets SOON if you want to come see the show! I put the link above the picture.

Sorry this post was SO long... but I just got into story mode, and was excited to retell the most amazing thing that has happened to me so far in my theatre career. Love you all! Glad to be back... again :P

GASP!

2008-05-19T10:19:00.000-07:00

Center-Spot is back!?!?

NO WAY!!!
...
yes way!!!

A month... a month and 6 days I have been absent, and I apologize to all of my readers! It has been a very exciting month though, filled with theatre... and I'll rehash it for you.

April 18th, my show - The Pajama Game - opened.

We had 2 preview performances and 22 public performances over 5 weekends. We got a great review in the Star Tribune, and I would have to agree with the writer in stating that we put on a 'first rate performance' of a 'so-so musical'. None of us thought the writing of the show was that great, but boy did we put our all into it and created a fun and energetic show. The dancing was difficult at points, and it definitely pushed my legs to the limit. It closed this past Saturday, May 17th.

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May 1st, I started an internship at the Jungle Theatre in Uptown, Minneapolis for their upcoming show The Gin Game.

The Jungle theatre is a well known theatre in the Twin Cities for it's amazing set designs and high-performance shows. Bain Boehlke, who is responsible for a large percentage of the theatre's amazingly detailed designs, is not only designing for The Gin Game, but he's also directing, and he's acting in its two person cast as well. I saw their most recent show - The Rabbit Hole - a couple of weeks ago, which Bain also directed, and I can only say that it will be an honor working on The Gin Game with him. I'm also going to appear in the show for just a few moments, as an extra, but not sure what those details are yet. Performances run from May 30th - June 29th.

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May 8th, I was offered to play the understudy of the lead role in Bloomington Civic's next show, Crazy For You, which I gladly accepted.

I have never done a tapping show before, and have only had about 6 classes of tap, but they believe in my skills enough to have me understudy a character that has many tap numbers all to himself and his 'chorus girl' friends. I am also cast in the ensemble, so either way, I will be performing - as ensemble or the rare occurance of Bobby Child (if that happens at all). Rehearsals start the first week of July, so I will have pretty much no free time between Gin Game and this... Show performances run from August 15th - Sept 14th.

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May 12th, I had an audition for Chanhassen Dinner Theatres' upcoming Main Stage show The Producers.

I had recently been told, by a good friend, that even if I don't feel like there is a part for me in a show, I should still audition... for EVERYTHING... to get my face out there and become a known name with the theatre company. I went into the auditions thinking, there's no way I'll even get a callback... but then I thought to myself - why not me? Why wouldn't I be able to?... So I kicked some major butt, and got a callback for May 14th... a tap callback...

May 14th, I had my callback for CDT's The Producers... I felt very honored to be there, as there were only a few of us that were completely new to the theatre company... about 90% of the people there had performed for CDT at one point or another... the tap combination was very difficult, and while I didn't get it down pat, I also noticed that nobody else did either... the difference was that I did my best to put on my show face and sell the mo-fo. I felt amazing by the end of it, and have even been told by a few CDT regulars that they thought I did a really great job. Now it's up to fate, and CDT's artistic director, choreographer, and music director... I will let you know when I hear... cross your fingers! Performances would start October 10th.

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So, there's my theatre update... I'll write more tomorrow... OY, lol.

Sit And Sing!

2008-04-13T22:03:00.000-07:00

I house sat again this weekend... in general, I was pretty busy... but the most important thing on my docket was sit and sing!

Sit and sing is the rehearsal during tech week for a musical where you simply sit and sing with the orchestra. It's the first time that the orchestra and the actors are able to combine their singing/playing and make sure everyone's on the same page.

Since our show opens up this week on 4/18, we had our rehearsal Sunday 4/13.

It lasted for about 3 hours... but it went very well, and the orchestra sounds amazing. It's always one of those moments that helps all of us who have been rehearsing the scenes and songs over and over and over again get motivated again and look at the show with new light. Soon we'll add our costumes and make up and before we know it it'll be show time!

Just a little something about the process that I thought I would share.

Caretaker Opportunity!

2008-04-11T22:03:00.000-07:00

I don't remember what happened on Wed/Thurs... It probably consisted simply of me sitting around the house, working out, trying to eat healthier, and contacting people regarding auditions and such, to only end my evening tired and sweaty from a rehearsal... nothing that exciting/different...

BUT FRIDAY was exciting... at least a little bit!

Monday - the same night I watched Hocus Pocus, I had been hanging out with my good friend Ryan, and he was telling me that he was leaving his caretaking job... a little under a year ago Ryan had found this caretaker position at an apt building on Franklin, just east of Lyndale... he got the job and as pay he was supplied an apt free of rent and a free covered parking spot in the back. I kept joking to him about giving me the job, as it's a nice apt and an awesome location (just between downtown and uptown, and just blocks away from Loring Park and the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden; home of the spoon and cherry.)

Well, today (Friday) I had an interview for the position. Shirley - the lady who interviewed me, and who would ultimately be my boss if I got the job - was extremely nice and professional, and I think I impressed her a lot. There has only been one interview in my life that didn't result in getting the job, and I don't think this will be my second - but we'll just have to wait and see. It would be the perfect scenario for the actor that I am.

Here's to hoping!

A Klingon Is Born

2008-04-10T22:03:00.000-07:00

ANTM was filler this week, as they did a recap of the season so far - enticing us to watch by throwing in 'never before seen footage'!

I watched it regardless, and there honestly wasn't that much new stuff... So I'll just throw in this somewhat humorous observation that I had at the beginning of this season but just haven't said yet...

I think Tyra is turning into a Klingon.

I've grown to really respect Tyra Banks as an inspiration for other women and as a very successful business woman... so I don't mean any disrespect towards her, but has anyone else noticed the ridges forming between her brow every time she gets a serious/confused face on? I mean, they're kind of hard to miss... either way, they remind me of the Klingon foreheads from Star Trek...

Just thought I'd mention it.

It Don't Mean A Thing!

2008-04-08T13:26:00.000-07:00

I auditioned for the dance musical Swing! on Tuesday with Chanhassen Dinner Theatres.

I sang the song It Don't Mean A Thing (If It Aint Got That Swing)!

It was quite a literal song for the audition, especially since I was expecting absolutely nothing to arise from it... They were only casting two males and two females as singers... the rest of the cast would be composed of professional swing dancers...

During my song, the judges nodded their heads... they liked my singing!... afterwards they said "Great audition!" about 4 times, and that was it... no talk about callbacks or anything of the sort... but as I already said, I wasn't expecting anything.

Either way, I felt like I did well at the audition - it gets my face out there more, AND helps with my auditioning skills. Always a plus! :)

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We Desire... Children!: Hocus Pocus Review

2008-04-07T22:03:00.000-07:00

I watched one of my all-time favorite childhood movies on Monday... Hocus Pocus...

This is one of those classic children's movies that as an adult had so many more funny moments than I caught/understood as a child. It's a story of three old witches, burned at the stake many years ago, who are allowed one Halloween night to come back to suck the life out of any children they can get their hands on. With every child, the three will grow younger, and with enough children they could gain immortality. The only people who believe in their existance enough to try to stop them are a high school boy, his younger sister, his high school crush, a black cat who used to be a boy until the witches cursed him to live forever as a feline (the reason they got burned at the stake in the first place), and an undead boy who the witches had brought back to life themselves.

Bette Midler plays the leader of the three witches, with Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy as the other two. They make a hilarious trio, and on top of it all, they sing!

There really isn't much to say about this movie, other than it's a great family classic with humor for both children and adults, and an extremely funny cast that will make you laugh until the end. Sure, I might just be biased as I have a soft spot for the movie from childhood... and yeah, the special effects are definitely outdated... but oh well, I still say it's the perfect children's movie...

... otherwise its CURTAINS! hehe

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The Just So Stories

2008-04-06T22:03:00.000-07:00

Sunday, 4/6, I went to a play that my cousins were in, called The Just So Stories performed by Anoka Children's Theatre. I had never heard of the play before, although the writer, Rudyard Kipling, sounded very familiar. Shortly after it started, I recognized how I knew the name - the show was a bunch of short tales on the origins of some animals or their traits (as in 'How the Armadillo Came To Be,' or 'Where the Camel Got His Hump,' etc.) - and I had seen these very stories in a video in elementary school.

The show was very cute, and my cousins did a great job! There were five stories, and of those my two cousins each had their own stories for their own animals - my cousin Carrie played a Rhino in the first story, where they told how the Rhino's skin became so loose. One of the main thing that any actor needs to learn is to always make a strong decision, and don't second doubt yourself, and Carrie definitely knows this, and it showed in her performance. She had a lot of confidence in her character and her actions, and her comic timing is good and smart...

My cousin Callie played the Camel in the final story of the show, where we found out how the camel got its hump. One of the hardest things to do for an actor, is to create a character with non-verbals. The Camel has next to no lines, but is obviously an important part to the story, and completely relies on its actions. Callie did a great job of showing what kind of animal the Camel was through simple things like how she walked and her posture, and how she reacted to the other animals around her.

Both of them did a wonderful job, and I'm very glad I got to see them in such a great program. According to my aunt, the girls were really sad for the show to end, and didn't want to wait until the fall to start their next show. Either way, I can't wait to see them perform again and grow with their talents :)

Memory Loss/Noodles

2008-04-05T22:03:00.000-07:00

I should get a planner... that way, when I update my blog over a week late, I'll remember what I did...

I have such a bad memory in that regards...

So with the question, what did I do Friday or Saturday of LAST weekend, comes absolutely nothing to mind... did I write? no... did I watch tv? probably... did I have rehearsal?... I think?

Actually... now that I think about it, we did have rehearsal on friday and nobody was there... and then on Saturday I hung out with my friend Timmy...

Strange how things come back like that...

Yeah - it was a nice day on Saturday... a warmer day than it has been... and my friend Timmy and I went to Uptown and walked around/window shopped...

We joked that we were dating, and so I bought her Noodles... how romantic am I, right?

Afterwards, we decided to try to see High School Musical by Ashland Productions, as our friend Tom was in it... alas, we drove all the way to the theatre in maplewood to find out that it had closed 3/30 - just the week before. *sigh*

At least it was a nice, warm spring day...

MORE REALITY TV!

2008-04-03T11:39:00.000-07:00

I did my ANTM post a day early, as I wanted to save Thursday's slot for an update on two other reality tv shows... one of which is premiering tonight...

First, I wanted to touch on the fact that tonight is the finale for Bravo tv's first season of Make Me A Supermodel.

I told myself, when Bravo first started airing commercials for the show, that I wouldn't watch it. As a gay male, I have been surrounded by male pretentiousness at the gay clubs/in the gay society alone here in the twin cities - and it's something that I have absolutely no respect for. There is nothing to gain by being pretentious, unless you want a limited group of friends and to come off as arrogant/close-minded.

On the other hand, I don't mind female modeling shows, as women have a different perspective on life and handle pretentiousness a little differently - also in a way that won't affect me as I am not female and don't feel peer pressure by women.

Make Me A Supermodel had both male and female models though and I could sense that it would be filled with pretentiousness that I already try to avoid everyday in the gay community. About five or six episodes into the season I watched the show, and I have to say, I got hooked. There was only one gay male in the show, and he not only lacked pretentiousness, but he was extremely classy and respectable.

In the end, the show only motivated me to become healthier and start working out more, plus it was super entertaining, and tonight we will find out WHO of the remaining four will be the next Supermodel. Here they are...

RONNIE!
Ronnie is my absolute favorite, and I want him to win. He is down to earth, fun, has great catwalk skills, and has taken some amazing pictures. Not just that, but he's the most attractive to me out of the remaining four.

HOLLY!
Holly was my favorite of the females, and I would not be upset at all if she won. She has such an interesting/exotic look, and has also been very respectable throughout this whole season - although she has always gunned for Ronnie to go home... She has shown the most adversity in adapting a character or transitioning from commercial to high fashion. She seems to be able to do it all, and well for that matter

BEN!
Ben has been great this season, having improved probably the most out of any of the other contestants. He dealt with his own self-image through this process, and discovered that he is a sexy guy and can accept that without being vain/arrogant.

Perry...
Perry is not my favorite. I found him to be very cocky throughout this whole experience. You can tell that he thinks he has it all in his pocket, and has had it from the beginning... I have enjoyed some of his pictures, but I have never really been impressed by him... and the whole drama during this season between him and his girlfriend back home was pathetic in my opinion. I never grew to like this guy... and he's the only one I don't want to win.

IMMEDIATELY AFTER the Supermodel Finale, another brand new reality tv show is beginning... and I am so insanely excited for it!!

Along similar lines as So You Think You Can Dance comes Bravo's Step It Up And Dance. I know that some of Bravo's ideas might not be purely original, but they have the most high-class reality tv out there. They can turn an idea into a very professional and serious reality tv show that to me is a step above the rest in quality, and the sole fact that they aren't as commercialized as say American Idol or any of the other mainstream reality tv shows, is another positive in my opinion.

I LOVE dancing reality tv shows... but haven't been the biggest fan of ABC's Dancing With The Stars... and so I am extremely excited for Step It Up And Dance. I might have to start blogging about this show too... but we'll see... we'll see.

One of the MAIN reasons I will be watching Bravo's Step It Up And Dance though... is that the amazingly talented Elizabeth Berkley is going to be hosting. HAH!

Speaking of... here she is in her most infamous role in one of America's best movies EVER! :)...

WATCH STEP IT UP AND DANCE PREMIERING TONIGHT ON BRAVO AT 11/10c

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My Head Just Starts Ringing!

2008-04-02T22:03:00.000-07:00

****ANTM SPOILERS INCLUDED****

What else do you expect when you voluntarily faceplant yourself onto a sheet of hard plastic after falling from at least five feet of distance? You're gonna hear the bells... and let's just say they're not going to be pretty.

This week was a very fun/different episode for Next Top Model.

Usually, when the girls get down to about 6 or so, they will be flown to a foreign country, and when there's only about 5 or 4 left they'll have the girls go on go-sees. Well, there are 8 girls left, and they decided to have the girls go on go-sees already...

In past seasons the girls have always gone alone as they meet with designers, show them their portfolios, and walk for them... but this season they did it in 2 groups of 4, and it was much more structured than past seasons... where they usually say good luck, be back by [enter time here], hopefully you'll make it to a couple... they instead gave the groups one location at a time, and there was no time limit...

Whitney, Dominique, Stacey Ann, and Claire's group won the challenge and got to do a photo shoot for Seventeen Magazine as their prize.

The main photo shoot for the episode was one of my favorites in any season so far. They had the girls lay on some thick sheets of plastic, in a small puddle of water, and they photographed them from beneath.

At panel, the judge's favorite was Fatima, who took a fantastic photo, that even Tyra said looked so perfect it looked like someone drew it. Fatima said that it was because she had practiced her poses, but when Nigel asked her to show them one, she fell flat and gave them a pose reminiscent of the teapot song.

My favorite of the day was Whitney. I LOVED the emotion inside her photo, and the fact that you could see her entire body was very cool for me. The judges joked that she was a fetus, and Tyra said it looked like she was taking her first breath... I think that it's a compliment to say that though... it's evokes thought and emotion... much more than the other girls' shots I thought.

Lauren suffered in this shoot, and it resulted in a very awkward photograph that even the judges didn't like. Her awkwardness didn't show high fashion this week, and they're getting tired of her lack of self-confidence. She was in the bottom two this week... but she made the cut over miss faceplant...

...Claire. I didn't think her photo was that bad actually. I thought it was very pretty, and I actually thought the profile in the picture was very beautiful. I have seen profile shots of this girl before and her nose seemed to always take command, whereas in this shot it didn't. Her personality and carelessness seems to have been what tipped the judges against her, although they said she wasn't enough of a chameleon to be a top model... so she was sent home.

Getting down to only 7 girls... it makes me more confident in my choices of Anya and Whitney. I don't see Fatima, Dominique, or Lauren being the top model this season at all... They are actually the bottom three in my opinion for the title. I honestly think they're going to take a Caucasian this season, so that pushes Stacy Ann out of the running no matter how far she gets, although I think she would hold the title really well...

Anya has been versatile and the judges love her, not to mention she has that foreign quality to her, even though she is only from Hawaii. Her communication skills might be lacking, but she's someone unlike anybody already with the Top Model title, and that'll work in her favor.

Whitney is the fiercest plus sized model that the show has ever had. She knows her stuff, and she is showing it. The show would do well to finally have a plus-sized Top Model, and I think Whitney is a prime candidate for that.

Katarzyna is the big question mark for me. She wasn't one of my top picks from the beginning, BUT she seems to be doing spectacularly well in the competition. The judges are liking her more and more, and honestly, I think she would be a great Top Model. I'm excited to see her progress through the rest of the season.

We'll see what happens! We'll see!