And another thing.

I had an audition yesterday for Florida Studio Theatre. It went well enough, but to be honest I'm pretty sure I wasn't what they were looking for. Which is okay, seeing as they were nothing but polite and encouraging (given the fact that my audition was at 5:40 p.m. and they'd been watching a parade of -- no doubt mostly-bad -- actors since 10 a.m). All in all, very nice, and very complimentary folk.

The good thing about the experience was, mostly, the experience. It's been over a year since I've auditioned for anything, and knowing, well, discovering that I can still do it without turning into a big pile of nervous jelly is a good thing.

I did find myself really nervous during this audition; I got into my own head and got more tangled up in finding my place in the script than in actually being in the moment, as we like to say in the biz. So while I think I aquitted myself well enough, I could have done better, but if I don't get the job, I don't think it'll be because of my audition. I think I read a little young for the character's age (the curse of the baby face, even at the age of 41), and I definitely came off as too smart (or maybe "too intellectual" is the better word) for the character, as far as the director was concerned. I'm not projecting here, folks, he told me so.

So I'm taking it for what it was: An excellent opportunity to practice the audition process. To recognize where I need to work on the process.

I spent the evening with Topher and Brian reading through Topher's play The Robbers of Madderbloom in preparation for a reading of it we're doing tomorrow night.

Those of you who know me know that I think Topher is, by far, the best writer of his generation... at least that I've been exposed to. He's smart, he's funny, he subversive, and he has a way with image and poetry that sometimes makes my heart ache... or makes me belly-laugh, depending on the play, of course.

I think Madderbloom is my favorite of his plays -- and not just because it's got a kick-ass part in it for me. It's just so immeasurably droll and snarky and funny that no matter how many times I read it, I can't help but laugh out loud.

Someone once said to me that once a writer hands his play over to actors and a director, he really can't complain if they don't do it the way he intended... if it's possible for someone to read or stage a play in a way the author didn't intend, then the author didn't do his job. A writer's job, this person insisted, is to make his play actor- and director-proof.

I think Topher's plays are like that. Sometimes on the first draft. I'll never forget the first time a group of us sat around reading the first draft of Madderbloom. I was amazed that such a polished play came straight out of a playwright's head and right onto the page... or keyboard, as the case may be.

Someone really needs to produce this fellow. He's the best playwright of his generation, easily.