Happy New Year/Show

Welcome back, loyal blog readers. I hope you enjoyed the holidays.

Last night was the first real rehearsal for show(s) I'm in, and of course I will tell you about it.

But this year, as I am in a show for the first time in several, I aim to approach these pages a little differently.

For one, the one-act plays I'm in for this production are originals, or otherwise not yet widely known. So my usual approach of talking about my character probably wouldn't work this time around. If I'm Buckingham in Richard III, there is a built in familiarity among most readers as to who he is, and what the nature of the play as a whole is. I could use that to talk about where I was in developing the character, and my approaches to same. That won't be quite as useful in these shows. That's not to say I won't make any observations about my character development, but I'm going to try to make them broader, and more related to the acting process as a whole, as opposed to the specifics of the shows I'm in for now.

I might also through in some advice/observations about the nature of the company here and there as well.

First off, though, I'll mention, as I have in years past here on the blog, that in some ways January through March is the best time to be working on a play. After the holidays, there is little to look forward to in the dark, cold days of winter. Working on a play provides some regular, natural focus to the less-than-appealing time of the year for me. And while March in this area is generally still winter, through the course of a show during the first quarter of the year, the days get progressively, if only slightly, longer. By the time the shows opens, the approach of spring will be a ways off, but obvious. That's another advantage to a show during these months.

A danger of course, is weather that make travel impossible, as happened to me on the final performance night of my one man show last year. But we will think positively in that regard.

At any rate, one of the best things to do during a cold winter is to come into a warm home. However, a close second is to come into a warm theater out of the cold for a rehearsal. (Though many theaters remain cold, I suppose.)

For this show, we might not have to quite work twice as fast, but time is of the essence; the schedules for the cast are difficult. We will only be able to meet three times a week most weeks until tech week. That's not horrible, but of course the more time a cast has to work, the better. But I've been in tight spots with shows before, and it turned out fine. I have no reason to believe this will be any different.

As for last night, most of the evening was about discussing our characters. Again, right now it would not be interesting reading for me to get into much of that, as these plays are not yet widely known. (And one of them we could not go over last night, due to the director having to attend to emergency family business.) But a lot got done.

In fact, we have been encouraged to get together on our own with scene partners to come up with some ideas about relationships and such. Already I have contacted several of my cast mates with whom I share stage time for this very purpose. I normally would not send personal emails to strangers this early on, but they have a purpose after all. Though naturally any observations from such meetings would need to be approved later, it does give the production a bit of flex time in a sense. Work outside of rehearsal. Plus it will help me get comfortable with people I don't know in less time than normal; that's a huge plus for a show, as I've often said.

I have worked with a handful of directors and actors that don't allow this. That is to say, they've gotten angry at the suggestion of discussing the play outside of rehearsals when the director is not present. Thankfully, this has been the case most of the time, and isn't this time. But I actually confirmed last night it was acceptable, even after the director made the suggestion. I've experienced, here and there, some nasty responses to doing such things in the past. I didn't wish to repeat such things.

(Incidentally, as a director I also have no problem with casts discussing and experimenting on their own, as long as I'm made aware of what they've come up with.)

So that's how this year and this show begins. more to come, of course, but it's been interesting to get back to acting under someone else's direction as opposed to my own. Stay tuned.

Latest Show!

Yes, I am once again in a show, that i did not write, produce, direct and promote myself. Actually I am in two show. Two one acts, that are a part of an evening of three one acts plays to be performed in late February and early March at the Black Box Arts Center in Shepherdstown, West Virginia. (Where I have done most of my acting for a while, under various umbrellas.)

As the scripts are original works of the company's director, I realize the name won't give anyone an idea, so I will summarize without spoiling anything.

The shorter of the two is called Blame. It could best be described as paranormal, or perhaps horror, is such a category applies to plays. In it, I play a psychotic, selfish CEO at a board meeting. That play lasts about 15 minutes.

The second show is called Laughter of the Gods. I'd call it a dark fairy tale. I play an adviser to the king of Babylon. That play lasts about one hour.

Ironically, the third play in this night of one acts, the one in which I do not appear is one in which I already appeared years ago for a different company. David Ive's Philip Glass Buys a Loaf of Bread. That was a fun but exhausting challenge to do once, and I am happy I did it back then, but I am also happy I won't have to do it again in this production!

The production is part of a recently launched non-profit local theatre company. Among other things, their's is an actor-based process designed to improve the experience for both the actor and the audience. One can't argue with those goals.

Last night was the first read-throughs, held at the director's house. (Actually, the director of two out of the three shows, and the head of the company itself. One of the shows I am in will be directed by someone else.) Full rehearsals start on January 4th.

"Make the interesting choice," is the unofficial motto of the company. As this has always been a guiding principle of my own, I imagine I will have much to offer the production/company and vice-versa.

I am pleased that three people I've worked with before are also involved. It's always easier when I know someone else.

So there will not be much to report until after the new year, but I will have plenty to say about my adventures with these folks once rehearsals start. You'll have reason once again to check back in to this page on a regular basis. (Though this time around, I am going to try to be more broad, and "philosophical" about my experience in a show, as opposed top strictly reporting what went on any given day, as I usually have in the past.

And just so you know, I will still be doing The King is But a Man. I have been pitching venues, and I still run the lines every so often, so my one-man Shakespeare show is by no means dead. It remains very much a part of my theatre plans.

I also hope to write in this blog on broader topics in general next year, which hopefully you shall see when you visit during that time.

Until then, enjoy the holidays, and I look forward to once again sharing an acting experience with you, loyal blog readers.

Honoring Ten Years of Always Off Book!

That's right, this month marks the ten year anniversary of this humble theatre blog of mine.

In all that time, I have been in many shows, lived a few places, tried a few experiments, published a novel about the theatre, tried to start my own company, wrote produced and performed (for very few people) my own one man show, helped found a small arts center, wrote another stage play I hope to have performed sometime, and generally continued to participate in and celebrate the stage in my life.

Through all of that there has been this blog. True, it has over the last few years had less content on it than it did in its early years. This is due mostly to my not being in someone elses show for quite a while. As regular readers know, most of what I write about here on the blog is how any given show I am in is progressing. I write about other theatre thoughts sometimes as well, but a general over view of my success and that of the production has always been the meat and potatoes of always off book, with general theatre advice columns coming in a decent second place in terms of frequency.

One of my first posts ever, about stage kissing, continues to get responses even all of this time later. I am proud of that, and happy to advise anyone who come to the piece by way of a Google search. (where the post is in the top ten, first pages returns sometimes.)

That early post is, however, in general the exception. I rarely get feedback on my thoughts here on the blog, even when I'm in a show. Outside of that kissing post from 2005, I've not gotten any comments on anything I've posted here in a very long time from the perspective of cyber space, despite my best efforts to involve any readers our there in the conversation.

Does that bother me? Honestly, yes. Perhaps not as much as it did in the earlier years, but the lack of connection I have made with fellow artists on this blog is discouraging and sad. That was and remains that only reason for Always Off Book- to share my thoughts and experiences on acting in the theatre with others who share my deep interest in same. I have hoped for years that a niche would build around this blog and it never has.

Blame promotion, or luck, or something else for that, heaven knows I don't know. I have the same problem with my regular, somewhat more business focused blog, TyUnglebower.com. The fact is that with that one exception, this blog, after ten years of my trying, (ten years!) reaches and touches, it would seem, nobody. I am not even certain if any of the posts get read, though I have, in theory, a few following via blogger, according to the stats.

I'll allow myself a tiny bit of self-indulgence here when I ask, would it have killed any of you guys to have answered and shared your thoughts on something I posted over the last decade, when I asked?

Now that I've put the disappointment front and center, I won't dwell on it. I will say that despite all of this, the blog is vanishing. I may have less frequent original content so long as I'm not in a show, and it would seem I am writing for basically nobody but myself here, year after year. But just as I won't allow myself to give up on the desire to do more acting and directing on my life even during the inexplicably dry periods, I will continue to keep this blog. Like the creative life, it will have eras of high and low points, much activity, and virtually none. But the words remain. My reflections, advice, perceptions and temporary memoirs-in-miniature from productions continue to have value to me, and, I maintain, still have value for others in theatre who should happen to come across it.

So despite the crickets, for now, it stays. And to celebrate ten years of blogging, I will be reposting some of my "greatest hits" on a regular basis throughout the next year, as time allows. Posts of all kinds that I think have defined this blog in its many stages, and posts that I think, or at least hope, can be of service to my fellow actors. Short of that, I hope the posts are interesting.

I'll continued to post original context throughout the tenth year, as it comes to me. But I'll have blasts from the past mixed in as well.

So, happy anniversary, Always Off Book.