Low Gravid Water Shut-Off Valve

So the electrician discovered it was the low water shut-off valve that triggered the boiler no-more-worky thing. Easy fix. He was done in 35 minute and now there is heat. (There remains the question of why it was triggered. The plumber is supposed to call tomorrow so we can discuss it. The electrician didn't have any clue. It might be nothing. Maybe it is something more. Who knows.) Still cost as much as it always costs to have an electrician show up at 8pm, but a lot less than having to rip out all the wiring. I also got to discover which outlets I have plus a space heater into and not have it trip the circuit breakers. (One answer is the one in the kitchen... until you attempt to microwave some Hot Pockets... but that is kind of a no brainer).

But because he was so quick and because sister and her horde decided to pass on the ice house and stay in Jersey until tomorrow morning, I was able to book out of the house and run to UCB to see Gravid Water.

Oh my.

Gravid water is, has the program says:

"a theatrical experiment the uses both actors and improvisers. The actors in tonight's show have memorized and rehearsed their scenes much as they would for a regular play--they will not depart from the script. The improvisers, who have never before scene their script, will be improvising."

Oh my god.

I've seen it once before and I worried if that one night had been a fluke. I had loved, adored, melted at it. Tonight was... crying until I couldn't see, almost pee, can't breath type fantastic.

Dan Bakkendahl (The Daily Show) was very good as the improviser in two scenes, but Christina Gausas in her two scene was just amazing! First she was Emily in the "when Emily and George realize they will get married" scene from Our Town. But her scene from Middle of the Night by Paddy Chayefsky... the emotion she allowed her self to show was up their with some of the best performance I have ever seen on stage, scripted or not.

And then Michael Delaney as the improviser with Joel Karrie as the actor in August Wilson's Fences. A particular hard scene since the "actor" had a lot of "response line," lines that are clearly in response to another line. Like "Stop bring your mother into this!" There really was no choice for Delaney but to call it out and make Joel a bit crazy. Which Joel played up so amazingly well. And it was all about heightening. Joel just gets angrier and angrier and Delaney had to just keep playing it real. (In fact there was a bit of subtext in Delaney's words that could be taken as a lesson on why the scene was bad improv... but it was not. It was so the exception that proves the rule.) And watching white Delaney being chased with a baseball bat (real, not "improvised") while being called the N-word by a angry angry black man... okay, that is funny.

I feel bad because I haven't talked about all of the actors, who were all great. But I need to get some sleep now that I can go tourist-ing with family tomorrow.

Oh, I am so happy that I have registered to take level 401 with Delaney. (Must not swoon.)

The next Gravid Water is December 14th.

48 Hour Film Challenge Begins

So it has started.

First some background. A few days ago I responded to a post in a forum. A director was looking for actors for a film he was making for the 48 Hour Film Challenge. The basic run down is that you have one weekend to script, film, edit and toss in the mail a 4 to 8 minute film (in addition you may have 1 minute of credits). No stock footage. No one can be payed. A lot like NaNoWriMo... but even more condensed. And it is an actual contest. Some people do it with one video camera and not much else. Others to it with a full crew and trucks and etc.. (We are probably in the middle.) They also give you the genre and elements you must include: a prop, a character and a line of dialogue. These are emailed on Friday at 7pm.

So I met with the director (Bill) at Starbucks on Wednesday. We talked for a bit and I did a quick monologue for him so he could get a sense of my acting. (I'm tempted to put quotes around 'acting.' It has been years upon years since I have really acted. I of course had no monologues memorized so I took a small speech from last year's novel that I was familiar with (Dave's "How Dating is Like Eating Hot Pockets" analogy) and just improved that.) Bill mentioned some of the sites he thought he might use as locations. I casually mention the brownstone, seeing as it has lots of space and not furniture... something that is damn hard to find in NYC. I'm proud of this place and though it might be possible.

Yesterday Bill and the assistant director (Drew) popped by to check it out. It was fun (as it always is) to see the bit of wide-eyed look folks get when they step inside. Reminds me of when I first looked at the place. At one point Drew and I where chattering on the back deck, and I looked inside to see Bill pacing off camera shots, with his hands practically up in his face creating a frame. The stereotypical director thing. Made me grin. When Bill came outside he said he already had 7 pages of shots figured out in his head. Remember this is without a script or even a genre, and that 7 pages is about 7 minutes of film... on something that can be no longer than 8 minutes.

So I think Bill was sold.

Well, now it is set. The crew and cast has been emailed with my address and will be showing up tomorrow morning.

NaNoWriMo time again

National Novel Writing Month is coming up again and I am diving back in. I have no plans on duplicating last years numbers as this year there is a lot more going on. But I am sure it will be about all I will be able to talk about for a while.

Confessions

Somethings I feel like I need to get off my chest:

- I like vacuuming but I don’t like lugging the vacuum cleaner around. I also have a vacuum cleaner that is worth more than my computer.

- I have an unhealthy relationship with cheese and Coke w/ Lime and Hot Pockets.

- If someone got me reservations at Mesa or Per Se tomorrow night, I wouldn't blink about spending $500.

- I want to eat the offal meal at The French Laundry.

- I can and do use the word “mythos” in reference the superhero genre. With a straight face.

- I like television and I love my Tivo.

- I try to limit what shows I watch regularly but the list gets large quickly. Currently? Lost, Gilmore Girls, Project Runway, Battlestar Galactica, Rollergirls, The Office, 24, The Boondocks and Survivor. I will add The Amazing Race and The Venture Brothers when they start up again.

- I still believe that, in general, Buffy the Vampire Slayer was the best show that has ever been on television.

- I watch the Food Channel more than I cook.

- I applied to be on Survivor and got an interview. My audition tape was quite good, as was my interview. But there are only so many over 30 skinny white boy slots.

- I almost applied for the next cycle of Survivor. But the application was due on Feb. 3rd and I was going to film my tape at the Idiotarod and things got to hectic to thing about lugging around a camera.

- I cheated in a relationship once. And the sex was horrible. It was a drunkin' thing. Afterwards (right after the deed), I casually, because I could think of nothing else to say, mentioned that I had had never used a ribbed condom before. She thought I said "ripped condom" and panicked a bit until I cleared it up.

- I have a desire to do a podcast. Radio drama thing. I wrote a mini-script last night. But my computer is chugging a bit these days. But I may upgrade in March and get the new iLife and see what happens.

- The morning after I cheated, I had to go to a set strike with both women. Later that night (after ending it with both of them), I got drunk with ANOTHER gal that I dated the next semester.

- I chew paper.

- I don't go a day without coming up with an idea for a story. Not a day. Today's story was about a sock that goes to group therapy.

- My rewriting the novel is a huge pain. Not because it's boring and hard (which is true) but because I get distracted. Every time I cut out some element, I feel the need to think about how I can rework it into a new story.

- I really miss playing cards at 2 in the morning at the Hard Times Cafe in Minneapolis.

- More to come.