Last day of January, my friends. Did you ever have the feeling that before you know it, it's going to be New Years Eve again, and you're going to be saying to yourself, "Whoa, where the fuck did Y2K+1 go?!?" Dear Lord, please give me the sentience to not sleep through my life.

I've been thinking about that a lot, actually. I'm not one of those people who zones out in front of the TV each night after coming home from work, then gets up in the morning and repeats the drudgery all over again - I'm lucky in that I have the sort of job that offers something different every day, and I love it besides.

But even I occasionally find myself suddenly snapping to and realizing that I haven't exactly been paying attention as the world passed me by. I thought about it particularly in a coffee shop this afternoon, while I was killing time before going off to a voice-over session. Sometimes I think our environment has a lot to do with it... I mean, clearly we are affected by seasonal changes in weather & such... look at all those people who get depressed in the gray light of winter, only to bounce back again once spring comes. It doesn't help that I live in Pittsburgh, which traditionally gets more cloudy, gray days than Seattle - and that's saying something.

By the way - the picture at the right is what your dog looks like when he's really sorry he just chewed your socks, and he thinks that's enough to get you to take him for a walk.

Check out what Ted Hoover had to say about Gavan's production of Joseph... in Pittsburgh's City Paper...I think he liked it:

And besides, after having just seen the Pittsburgh Musical Theater's production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, I had the desperate need for a simple tale of dismemberment and murder.

Joseph's director/choreographer Gavan Pamer has discharged his duties with such wattage, I swear I left the Byham Theater with 50 percent of my body covered in radiation burns.

If you could somehow take the essence of Lola Falana, Liberace, Juliet Prowse and Chita Rivera, toss in a few more spangles and neon, melt the whole thing down and shoot it up, the resultant high might come close to the entertainment overkill of this production.

Except it's not overkill because, given how mind-numbingly idiotic Joseph is, Pamer takes the only theatrically logical step -- he plasters over every inch of this musical with showmanship. Odd, certainly, for a story based on the Bible, but if you've gotta sit through it, it's a blessed relief.

Replicating the alacrity and punch of a lightning bolt, this is a ruthlessly precise production, and in no area does the show score higher than in its choreography: A little bit of Fosse, DeMille, Robbins and a whole lot of Pamer floods over the footlights at warp speed -- and when that doesn't work, Pamer has the male chorus strip down to their loincloths and sing.

Angela Bloomquist sings with a glorious voice marred only by the distortion of the sound system. Kevin Covert and Joe Pedulla unfurl their talents on two wonderfully funny numbers, and all of it is driven by Doug Levine's miraculous musical direction.

Pamer's final ace-up-the-sleeve is Peter Matthew Smith as the dream-deciphering Joseph. Smith sings and dances up such a storm that you can't help think that if his soothsaying ever bottoms out, Joseph should seriously consider a career as a go-go boy.

Though I personally believe that Andrew Lloyd Webber is exactly what the Bible deserves, I have to say it's doubtful that you'll ever see either performed better.

Buster's Day Out

I took Buster with me when I went to run some errands today, and when the errands didn't take nearly as long as I had expected, Buster and I went to Settlers' Cabin Park to have a walk in a different venue. Something actually just occurred to me: I've lived here all my life, and actually went to high school and kinda grew up in the vicinity of Settler's Cabin Park, and I don't ever recall having seen a cabin in the park. Where the hell did it get that name, I wonder. Something I must look into.

Anyway, Buster did his usual low-level perpetual whine while we were driving in the car. I must confess I'll never understand this little dog - at least in this respect. He refused to relieve himself when I leashed him up and we went out into the yard before getting in the car, but as soon as the car was in motion, the whining began. Not until we had reached the park and he'd had the chance to sniff around a great deal did he let loose and empty his bladder. And I'm telling you, judging from how long and how forceful that little event was, he'd been holding it in for quite some time.

Buster is all about the nose, my friends. I wish I'd had my camera along with us, 'cuz I'd have loved to capture a picture of him sniffing through the snowdrifts for traces of scent from other animals. There was one point where his enitre head was under a snow bank so that he could get close enough to the ground to smell some quarry.

All in all, we had a swell time, and it offered a lovely little quiet time for me - a chance to engage in a little reflection.

The time is looming when I'll be leaving for Philadelphia, and excited as I am, I'm going to miss all my friends here. Now, I know that I'm likely to see them all when I get back from the New York excursion, but that's not going to be 'til the end of May. And who knows what'll happen while I'm up in New York. Hell, in a perfect world, I'm going to find work that'll last through the summer and beyond. I don't know when I'll be back in Pittsburgh.

So I'm having a going-away party this Friday, and boy am I looking forward to the opportunity to see a lot of people that I wouldn't otherwise get to see. I've been running around like a freak the past week, having dinners and lunches with all sorts of people, trying to make the rounds of my friends before I leave, and I haven't even made a dent in the throng of people to whom I'd like to say good-bye.

Miss Dee

Not long ago I had the opportunity to have lunch with my dear friend Denise Pullen. It gave me a chance to reflect on just how lucky I am to have the friends I do, and wonder if other people feel this way. How often do we pause and think about what our friends mean to us? And what I really wonder is, do the people that I pass on the street have what I have? Do you have a Denise in your life? We all talk about our good friends, but I sometimes wonder if most of us, wrapped up in our own little worlds, struggling to make the mortgage payment, or feed the kids or please the boss know, I mean really know that there's someone out there who cares? And not just cares, but is often (not always, I'm not an idiot, you know) willing to make you as important in their lives as themselves. I think about the possibility that there are people out there who don't have someone like this in their lives and it actually makes me sad.

And I know that there are people out there who're gonna think I'm a nutcase for saying something like this, but you know what? Those are the people I feel sad for. Those people who can't make that kind of connection with another person, and can't see why it's important. The profound sense of comfort that comes of having that kind of person in your life - the instinctual knowledge that you can try anything - succeed or fail - and know that they're always going to be there to support you.

Anyway, it's important to say thank you to the people who make your life what it is (if it's good, mind you, as I think mine is). So though I don't say it often: Thank you Gavan. Thanks Denise and Amy and Toni and Nick and Jeff. My love, feeble though it sometimes is, is yours.

Sometimes I think I may have lost my way. I mean, I originally conceived the online journal as a way of putting down thoughts about a lot of things - maybe even thoughts I wouldn't normally share out loud, but stuff that I found compelling and interesting and would put out here for whoever wanted to pick through them. Or ignore them, for that matter.

Instead it seems to have turned into a straightforward chronicle of what's going on in my life. Which isn't a bad thing, by any means. I happen to know of one dear friend still slaving away in my former corporate realm who checks these pages regularly simply because there aren't enough hours in the day to keep up with all your friends (hi Toni!).

But the deal is, what happened to the musings that were going to inspire my other writing? Well, the truth of the matter is that I don't know, but I suspect this stuff I've been writing for the past three years isn't all crap. Hidden in there somewhere is a nuggest of useful shit here and there. And even if it is, well, then I'll just put crap in my plays and screenplays, since that's what I have to offer. And really, the whole point of my other writings is to please me, not to make money or show them to people or anything like that. So I guess we'll all get over it, won't we?

Yesterday was yet another Artist Lunch Date at Tuscany Cafe. This week was a little more subdued than the week before - not as many people. But we did have a couple of new folks show up.

Old favorites Jeff Bergman, Amy Hartman, and Nick Ruggeri...


...second-timer Phil Real, and old-timer Michael Saffron...


...new-comers Eric Trow and Kathryn Spitz.

Joseph: By Which I Don't Mean Me

Last night was a pretty big night around here. I went to the opening night of Gavan's production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat which was, in a word, fabulous. Gavan out-did himself with the choreography, and the cast was - in my humble opinion - fantastic! Being an actor, I was too much aware of the copyright laws, so I didn't snap any photos during the show , but I went hog wild at the party. Here are a few of my favorite pics from the evening - scaled down so that (hopefully) they don't take as long to load as the full size versions:

First, there's the a picture of two of my favorite Pittsburgh theater babes, Angela Bloomquist and Sharon Connelly-Schalller. Angela (on the left) plays "The Narrator" and Sharon's husband Tom Schaller is playing "Pharoah." Angela was great in the show - but that's not much of a surprise, since in my humble opinion she's always great. You should have seen her as Peggy Sawyer in 42nd Street!

Next comes a picture of Gavan and his best friend, John Burja - known affectionally to those of us who love him as "Bunj." Bunj is also in the show, playing "Simeon," one of the brothers. He also makes a cameo as "The Jailor." These guys have known each other longer than either would care to remember, I'm sure. Bunj just might possibly be the funniest man I know (granted there are some people who might give him a run for that title, given the crowd I run with, but you can always count on Bunj for the most hilarious understated delivery). He recently did one of my all-time favorite shows, The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940 and was (with apologies to the rest of the cast) the funniest thing in it. I hope I get to work with him on something someday!

Next here's a shot of Bunj with Danny Siford, who plays "Potiphar." Danny's another friend of Gavan's from way back. I'm not sure if they went to school together, or what. I can't say that I know Danny particularly well, but he's been a joy to have as a neighbor. Since Pittsburgh Musical Theater isn't exactly falling over itself with spare cash, Gavan & I are housing some of the out of town actors who've come in to do the show, and Danny's been staying in the small house that sits on our property. The other person we're housing is Kevin Covert (you'll see him below), who's staying in the Marjorie Poe Room of the main house. That's what we call one of our extra guest bedrooms - named for our dear friend Marjorie, who was the first ever guest to stay with us after we bought the house.

And here's a group shot Gavan with some of his favorite people. Bending down in the front there are Bunj and Sharon. In the back row are Kevin Covert - an old friend of Gavan's from his Cats days, Gavan, Lisa Moran-Phinney, who plays Mrs. Potiphar in the show, and Tom Schaller - local actor extraordinnaire and husband to Sharon (and father to the adorable Kelsey!).

Writers Akimbo

Well, the gang got together for another of our regular Friday Lunch with the Artistes. It was fun. Unfortunately, I forgot to take my camera so I wasn't able to capture the explosion in attendence over the last couple of weeks. I, of course, wasn't there last Friday 'cuz I was in Erie, but the Friday before we had, like, five people. This week, there were nine! Three of whom had never joined us before. This little support group thing has really started taking off, and it's really cool. We were joined by Streeter Nelson, a fabulous actress here in town, by my good friend Americus Rocco and Phil Real, who's relatively new to town, and was invited by Robin Walsh. Phil's a playwright for whom Robin appeared in a reading, so I think he'll fit right in with our group.

So, as I said, I forgot to take my camera, but I do have a snap from one of our previous sessions, so I'll post that here. Click on the picture to the right to see a larger version. Those are some of the regulars in the group. From the left there, you see Robin Walsh, Amy Hartman (with the ballcap on), Michael Safron, Tammy Ryan (whose play, The Music Lesson is being done by The Peoples' Light & Theater Company while I'm going to be in Philadelphia... if you're in town, go see it!), and finally, Buster Maxwell, a very talented local v/o artist and playwright.

I also decided that I can't afford to leave it up to other people, so I'm planning my own going-away party for Groundhog Day. Am I a nut, or what? It's just that none of my friends have a house big enough to accomodate the number of people I'm hoping will come. Jesus, I've been a fixture in Pittsburgh theater for nearly 15 years. I better have a lot of people come to my going-away party! I guess we'll see!

Good news, sports fans! I just found out today that the next volume in Tad Williams series Otherland is scheduled for release in April!!! I got a look at the cover at amazon.com, and it's clearly printed on the book jacket that this is the final volume! Whoo hoo! I love Tad Williams if for no other reason than he's not being like Robert Jordon (9 and counting) and George R.R. Martin (3 and counting) and dragging his epic story out over a billion books. So this one's going to be the end of it which is bittersweet news, as far as I'm concerned. Check the whole thing out at amazon.com!

Buster went to PetSmart today to be groomed. He was pretty excited when he realized we were leaving the house and getting into the car, and was just a freak while we drove there - I think it had something to do with his having to pee pretty badly... but it's hard to know with him. He often gets ultra excited and whines during an entire car trip, then has no doggie-business to transact when I let him out and want him to go to it. But today, when we got to PetSmart, I took him off to a corner of the parking lot so's he would have a little privacy, and wham he let loose with a relief stream that woulda drowned an ant farm. Was that a little more info than you needed? Oh well, sometimes you get our lives, warts and all. Anyway, when I dropped him at the grooming section, his pleasure at our adventure was decidedly soured when he realized I wasn't hanging around for the whole thing. He was awfully happy to see me when I picked him up, but strangely subdued, and fell asleep in the car on the way home. That never happens. And when we got home, he simply collapsed onto "his" chair and hasn't moved from it since. He was so cute and adorable and downright clean that I figured I'd better capture it for posterity (did I spell that correctly?). So give him a click to see the larger version.

Erie's Not Boring.

I've come to a startling discovery: It's not Erie that's so boring - it's me. I've been here for nearly five days, and I haven't left my hotel room except to work and find food. And believe me, if there were even a kinda decent restaurant attached to this hotel, I probably wouldn't have left at all. Next time I even think about dissing a small town, remind me of that.

So I'm told that Erie's seen a lot of snow this year. Over 100 inches so far this year. And is it cold here, or what? Yesterday it got up to 38° and the crew members started talking like it was a heat wave. I just started talking like I was cold.

Have you seen the previews for this new movie, Antitrust? They're marketing it as this thriller with all these twists and turns. I'm thinking it can't be all that good if they have to give away all of the plot twists in the previews. I had seen the website for the move about a month ago, and thought it looked interesting enough, but then I saw the TV commercial and thought - why do they take all the suspense out of the movie by putting this stuff in the trailer? Is it because there's no other good stuff in the movie? Are they that desperate for good shit? Just wondering.

Banished.

You're not going to hear from me for a few days, webfriends. I'm leaving in a bit to do a week-long job in Erie, PA. I can't imagine anything more fun!

Right now I'm waiting for some of Gavan's friends to arrive - they're going to be doing Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at Pittsburgh Musical Theater. Rehearsals are beginning tomorrow, so I'm suspecting that Gavan won't even notice that I'm gone! I'll be back on the 12th, so hopefully I'll have lots to report about lovely Erie PA.

Did you dectect the note of cynicism in my writing?

Well, dear friends, I heard from the Arden Theatre today, and they've kindly offered me the role of Einstein in Picasso at the Lapin Agile. I have to admit to being a bit taken aback... I didn't really expect much to come of the audition. The gods of Comedy & Tragedy have smiled upon me, and so thus endeth the long dry spell of not working. I can't believe it's been since the end of October since I've been in a show. That kind of a long lay off is hard for me to take - especially considering the year I just had! I didn't stop working from December of 1999 through to the end of October 2K! That's frankly a pretty damn good run.

So I celebrated my good fortune by treating myself to dinner & a movie with my pal Nick Ruggeri. We drove out to the new Loew's Waterfront cinema to see Cast Away, with Tom Hanks, and I have to say that I enjoyed it a lot. A little predictable, but I always enjoy Tom Hanks, and even some of the cheesy stuff he's asked to do is a lot more palatable because it's him doing it. And I frankly love the relationship he develops with the volleyball. If that's greek to you, go see the damn movie. Dinner was delicious... we went to the Cap City Diner across from the theater, and I had a Romano Crusted Chicken that was really tasty!

So I finally made it home around 9 p.m., and logged on to check my mail, and who should I run into but none other than my good friend Doug Rees, who informs me that a group of friends is meeting at Tuscany Cafe on Pittsburgh's South Side for a few post-show drinks. Doug appears on the right there with Lorraine Venburg, the fabulous resident costume designer at the City Theatre. Never one to want to be left out in the cold... or in during the cold.... or, well, whatever, I dragged Gavan off and met the gang for a lovely evening of cocktails! We closed the bar.

Oh - remember my big discussion of what I should do for a resolution? Well, I had decided that I would resolve to find work at least once this year in a regional theater outside of Pittsburgh. Now I have to rethink or come up with another one, since the Arden kinda fulfills that one in one fell (or should I say "swell?") swoop. Believe me... I'm not complaining.

New Years Rocked!

So the New Years Eve celebration rocked. We had some fabulous friends over, and I cooked a huge pot of my world famous Burn Your Butt Cajun Red Sauce®, and some folks brought appetizers & desserts, and we had a grand old time.

As I was a little busy early on in the evening, I didn't think to drag out the camera until after some of our guests had to leave to go to previous committments - but here's a cross section of the cool folks who joined us:

You may recognize Toni Schlemmer from my Friends page (no, not a web-page devoted to the show of the same name, but a web-page devoted to my actual friends!). She came and in addition to her sparkling personality and some kick-ass pies for dessert, she brought me a fabulous christmas gift - a set of really cool wine glasses and some cloth cocktail napkins. You know how we bachelors are - we never had that kinda stuff. Here's Toni giving me "The Face" in the kitchen. I had but to turn around and face the other direction to capture her beau, Brendon at the dining-room table, happily munching on a slice of pumpkin pie...

We were also joined by our old friend Joe Pedulla... in yet another tale of the synchronicity of our pre-meeting lives, Gavan & I both knew Joe before we knew each other. Just like we both knew Toni Schlemmer before ever meeting, or we both knew Kathy Lash-Fuller before meeting... the list goes on and on. Anyway, Joe was in for the holidays to visit his family, and decided spend the evening with us. It was great fun. Joe used to date someone I'ved worked with a great deal over the years, so we'd see a lot of each other - at least 'til he moved to New York City a few years ago. Now I only see him when he's back in town for brief visits, or if he's in town doing a show. Here's a lovely little picture of him reclined in our arm-chair. Looking as FABulous as ever!

Of course, the evening would not be complete unless we were joined by Doug Rees & Janet Dickinson. Having survived the my Thanksgiving Day attempt to poison them with Turkey, they stalwartly returned for more culinary abuse, and rang in the New Year with us... check out this picture, and tell me seriously, could they BE a cuter couple? I don't think so. Notice, in the picture, that the settee they're sitting on is covered by a big ol' blanket? Look just to the left of Janet's fine-ass shapely calves and molto attractive boots and you'll see the reason why. The poor old thing just couldn't handle the strain of a certain Demon Beagle who likes to nest on it. I have no idea how old the material covering that seat is, but boy, the writing's on the wall for it! We need to have that piece re-covered... it's so beautiful, I don't see how we can't.

And lastly, among the lucky folks I was quick enough to catch with my handy digital camera, are two of my favorite people in the whole world: Steve and Angela Bloomquist! I met Angela through Gavan, as they've worked together frequently over the years, and I met Steve, obviously, through Angela! If Rees/Dickinson have competition for the Cutest Couple in the World® title, it would have to be Angela & Steve. Angela's a school psychologist for a local school district, and I'll be damned if I know what Steve does! We've never discussed it (and it's only just occurring to me now to ask why.... hmmmm). I know Steve better for his extra-cirricular activities than for his work life. Steve's big into lodge activities... I'm not allowed to discuss them or I'll be hunted down by a secret brotherhood wearing purple lingerie. That may be saying too much as it is. Anyway, here's a picture of Steve & Angela... and by the way, you'll be able to see Angela as The Narrator in Pittsburgh Musical Theater's production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, which is being directed by, who else, Gavan!

Oh, and I couldn't let the new year celebration go by without a quick snap of Buster, enjoying all of the new friends he made on New Years Eve! So here he is with his best friend of the evening, Doug Rees:

Welcome to the New Milennium

Welcome to the new millennium.... the REAL new millennium. I don't know about you, but I feel kinda excited to be in on the beginning of a new Age. I wonder what it will be called in a thousand years? I'd like to think that this will be an age when we begin to return to a more spiritual life - not necessarily a religious one, but I'm all for it if that's what you're into - but one in which we take a little better care of our souls (or spirits or chakras, or whatever the fuck you wanna call them) than we do our brains. I think our brains have had quite enough to deal with in the last 1000 years. Stop to think about it - a thousand years ago, a guy was lucky to have a horse, let alone a car. And computers weren't even science fiction, 'cuz science wasn't advanced enough to have fiction based on it! Hell, even a hundred and fifty years ago, most of the people in the world made their living farming and raising their own food!

Now we've pushed computers as far as we could have ever hoped, and there's every possibility that in the next twenty years we'll see shit outta Star Trek® - but I'd rather that the world took the next twenty years, or even the next thousand, to really listen to the Dali Lama, or the pope, or the Archbishop of Canterbury, or some witch doctor in the South Pacific. Anyone but Bill Gates, please - that is, unless Bill Gates is planning on telling people to care a little less about amassing computer peripherals and a little more about helping out the guy sleeping on a blanket over the sewer grate down the block.
Think about it, will ya?

Did I tell you about my trip to Philadelphia to audition for Picasso at the Lapin Agile at The Arden Theatre Company? Actually, I'm pretty sure that I didn't, 'cuz I was afraid of jinxing myself by talking about it too soon. I made reference to it way back on December 6th, and didn't say any more, 'cuz I wasn't sure that I could even get the audition! As it turned out, the folks at the Arden invited me to come in.

Well, the audition went really well, and the folks there were very, very cool about allowing me to drive in from Pittsburgh and audition for them. They were ultra-gracious about fitting me into the schedule and making me feel comfortable. I got to read a couple different times, for a couple different characters, and all in all, it was a sweetheart of an experience. As an actor, you're not often made to feel that comfortable at auditions - usually, it's just "you're-in-you're-out" sorta experiences.
So I was very happy with the whole experience - but didn't really expect anything to come of it. The Arden is a small theater company along the lines of the City Theatre here in Pittsburgh, and I know what a pain it can be for just such a company to have to hire and house actors from out of town when they've a great talent pool in their own hometown. It was one of those experiences where that cliche we all use was true: I was grateful just for the opportunity to audition.

Long story short - the folks at the Arden called me last week to let me know that they were still interested, but that they weren't going to complete casting until this week, and if that were a problem, I should give them a call. I'm no fool, so I dropped them an e-mail telling them that I was waiting to hear on several auditions I've had recently, but no offers had yet been made, so I'd wait to hear from them. This would be the part where I start sweating - waiting for the "wanna work for us?" call, or the "thanks but no thanks" rejection letter. Wish me luck!