sha in LA

for the win

Skatie Holmes at Tom Bergins

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we like to party all the time, party all the time

 

As we all know it’s almost All Hallows Eve and this year the holiday happens to fall on a Saturday night…which means everyone and their brother will be having a party…and that includes The Elephant Theatre Company.

 

If you happen to be out that night, stuck in traffic near Vine and Fountain because you didn’t realize that trying to drive anywhere in Hollywood on Halloween is near impossible, then find a spot to leave your car and walk on over to M Bar and join us.

 

We promise it will be better than sitting in traffic.

 

M Bar

1253 Vine Street

(cross street: Fountain)

October 31, 2009

9pm…

$10

Cash Bar

Costume Contest

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a thrilling time in LA

For the longest time I’ve had the urge to learn the Thriller dance but never found a good enough online tutorial nor put the time and energy into a thorough internet search.  Then one day a few weeks ago, as I was driving home from yoga of all things, I heard an advert on the radio promoting the Worldwide Thriller Event Thrill the World whereby there would be an attempt at breaking the world record for most # of people simultaneously dancing to Thriller.  Viola!  So I immediately went home, looked up the info and reposted to Facebook thinking I’d surely have a ton of friends interested in joining me in this adventure.  How many takers did I get?  One.  But she’s a feisty one that little Marisa…

 

The deal was that you register, then learn the dance which was broken down into sections and available in video format, and perform it at the allotted time.  They also highly suggested that you attend at least one of the organized dance rehearsals that they held around town prior to the day of the event. 

 

Numerous times during that last busy week prior I thought that I’d just learn the dance on my own and maybe bow out of going, simply because I really was packing in the activities and didn’t think I’d have the energy to carry everything out.  Thankfully I had Marisa there every step of the way, clearly much more eager about this event than even I had been originally.  So I pressed on and we went to the Thursday night rehearsal which cemented the dance in my brain and allowed Marisa to learn what she hadn’t at the previous rehearsal she went to the week before.  We then got together on our own on Friday night to go over everything again for about an hour and a half.  Professionals, we are.

 

Then Saturday October 24^th came.  I went to spin class, stopped by Union Station quickly to be on standby for a possible Family Tour (thankfully no one showed), went home, took a disco nap (spinning in the morning makes me tired) and then got ready to Thrill the World.

 

We met up at LA Live in the 3 o’clock hour and prepped, rehearsed, ate, had a drink and then danced; one rehearsal, 2 actual dances and a 3^rd (just because).  Andrew, Marisa’s man, came with her to record the event for posterity and to be our own little cheering section.  He was in a word, awesome.  Got great photos and video and was probably even more excited than we were.

 

I had a great time with truly good friends and made history in the process.  Done and done.

 

 

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red skies at night

 

Tracers, written by a group of Vietnam veterans, portrays the reality of ground warfare and its aftermath, avoiding Hollywood glorification of the fighting experience. Told in a series of interconnected vignettes, it's the story of six soldiers, their medic, and their drill instructor -- members of the same fighting unit -- whose lives are forever altered by their wartime experiences.

Tracers is one of those shows that usually gets produced, at some point, in most college theatres around the country since it’s inception in the mid 1980’s. In my 6 year tenure at Cal State Long Beach we did it, twice. It’s the perfect showcase for young men as they are around the same age as those who were shipped off to the war so many years ago.

However when Tracers is performed by older actors the show takes on a somewhat different tone. Perhaps it’s me, but it seems more grounded. Since the show’s timeline skips around from basic training to many years post-war, having older actors portray the characters lends weight to the later scenes. The after-effects of the war can be expressed, and believed, more readily from a veteran actor versus a 20 year old kid.

These thoughts became evident to me last night after watching the opening at The Elephant Theatre; produced by 881 Entertainment in association with Elephant StageWorks. The last time I worked on this show was about 17 years ago, during my aforementioned college years. However the group of actors that have assembled for this piece aren’t your angst ridden college types, they are just a bit older, wiser and have created a moving piece of theatre as guided by their fearless and award winning Director, David Fofi.

 

Tracers at The Elephant Theatre
4322 Santa Monica Blvd.
(between Cahuenga & Vine)
Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday’s at 8pm
October 21 – November 12, 2009
Sunday October 25; Benefit for Disabled American Veterans (by Donation)
Tickets are $20
http://plays411.com/tracers
(323) 960-4410
Limited amount of ½ price tickets available at GoldStar Events

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make that change

If you want change you have to actively seek out change. This is the lesson that I have learned over the past year and a half. Sometimes it takes a while for it all to come together, but once it does...the rewards are amazing.

Case in Point: I wanted to lose weight. I started exercising and watching what I ate and I lost weight. See, simple as that.

Now I understand that for many people the demands of everyday life are daunting with a household to run complete with kids, animals, conflicting schedules and the whatnot. But I am lucky enough to not have all that. Yep, just me and my cat and my 1 and a half jobs. Makes scheduling in a quick hour workout 3-5 days out of the week a relatively easy task.

But here’s the kicker, those of you with families are lucky enough to have a built in tennis partner, able to do mommy and me yoga or play badminton with the entire family!!!

It’s not the fact that we have no time, it’s that we are not seeing the alternatives. Change.

It will happen.

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p.s. This applies to other things as well, not just exercising.

Public Enemy at Troupe Vertigo's Cirque School

 

For the past few years a fellow blogger and coincidental friend of friends has been taking trapeze classes at Cirque School.  I've been toying with the idea of signing up for classes for the past year, even having a bookmark set and ready for me to take the leap which I sense will happen sooner rather than later.

This coming Saturday evening, July 18th, my theatre company is holding a fundraiser for our upcoming production of Block Nine at Cirque School.  The night will feature a screening of The Public Enemy starring James Cagney & Jean Harlow with an opening act created for the night by Troupe Vertigo, the owners of Cirque School.

Doors open at 8pm with the movie screening starting at 9pm.  Entrance fee is $10 and there will be a Cash Bar as well as Concessions available.  We suggest you bring a low profile chair or blanket as official seating is limited.  Think of it as a movie screening in a cemetery but not.  Less crowds, more temperate and all for a good cause.

Troupe Vertigo Cirque School is located at 5640 1/2 Hollywood Blvd (valet parking will be available)

Hope to see you there!

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100.3 The Sound...and your Los Angeles Lakers!

With the demise of local radio station Indie 103.1 this past January, and my reluctance to accept newer forms of technology, I am limited to listening to either standard radio or CDs while driving in the Zoom Zoom.  The first few days after Indie left the airwaves I was in a funk.   What was I going to listen to?  I hated everything that came across the dial.  I was seriously considering a full fledged switch back to all-sports-talk-all-the-time but just couldn’t get myself to go there again.  While it’s nice sometimes it just doesn’t cut it these days with me; especially since I have grown accustomed to listening to music.

Then I remembered a station I had pre-set a few months prior and decided to give it a try.  That station was 100.3 The Sound and it’s now my go-to favorite with things like Album Sides Wednesday, 10at10 and My Turn among other things to keep things fresh and not as repetitive as all the other stations.  If you listen to The Sound then you know what all those references pertain to and if you don’t listen you can probably figure them out pretty easily.  Album Sides Wednesday is just that…complete with the gap between songs where you can hear the static of needle on record; 10at10 involves a theme…be it year or a word or whatever; and My Turn is a program where artists and/or other public figures take over the station for an hour and guest DJ (commercial free).

And speaking of My Turn…last night after I did a few turns of the pedal in Spinning class and was on my way home I heard some DJs with thick accents that I didn't immediately recognize.  Well they turned out to be Sasha Vujacic and Pau Gasol from the Los Angeles Lakers. Two words; AWE-SOME.  I had a huge grin on my face for nearly the entire drive home listening to my beloved cro magnon-ish Sasha with his limited command of the English language and Spicy Spaniard Pau.  What I would have given to be a fly on the wall in that studio!  I’m convinced that there was some major air guitar, air drums and bad singing happening during their set that contained Bohemian Rhapsody…I’m just sayin’.

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I've got an Idea...

 

Elephant Theatre Company

presents the World Premiere of

THE IDEA MAN

By KEVIN KING

Directed by DAVID FOFI

 

with  KERRY CARNEY   MEGAN DOLAN*   DAVID FRANCO   ROBERT FOSTER  

GINA GARRISON*   LARVELL HOOD*   FRANK MERINO*   JAMES PIPPI  

GEORGE RUSSO   TIM STARKS*   MATT STURIALE*

(*alternating cast- please refer to online schedule)

 

MAY 8 – JUNE 6

Thursday, Friday, Saturday at 8pm

 

 

General Admission: $20

Previews May 2, 3, and 7, $15 | Opening Night Gala May 8, $30

 

 

ELEPHANT THEATRE

6322 Santa Monica Blvd.

Hollywood CA 90038

(one block west of Vine on Santa Monica Blvd)

 

 

Produced by LINDSAY ALLBAUGH 

Associate Producer BERNADETTE SPEAKES  

Assistant Directors TARA NORRIS & MARISA O’BRIEN 

Set Design ELEPHANT STAGEWORKS  

Lighting Design by JOEL DAAVID 

Costume Design LOUIS DOUGLAS JACOBS

Original Score LANFAIR FIELD 

Sound Design MATT RICHTER

Assistant Set Design NOELLE LEIBLIC

Stage Manager SHANNON SIMONDS

Rehearsal Stage Manager BONNIE MCNEIL

 

 

Reserve Your Tickets Today!

(323) 960-4410

plays411.com/ideaman

ElephantTheatreCompany.com

reflections of...

Last weekend I traveled back to the DC/MD/VA area for my yearly pilgrimage to DCLX; a swing dance event that happens every April. I grew up in the area and usually set aside some time to go visit the old neighborhood that I lived in for 18 years prior to moving to California.

My planned escape from Maryland was no secret to anyone who knew me growing up as I had pretty much decided by the age of 12 to leave directly after high school. That gave everyone a 6 year buffer to get used to the idea of me moving, and generally speaking I had little trouble adjusting to life 3000 miles away from where I was raised. However even though it’s been 21 years since I last lived in Maryland there are still places that haunt me when I return. Inevitably I’ll be driving down a street, one that I had driven on numerous times in my youth, and I will be overcome with waves of memories all hitting me at once, sort of like a movie where there’s a chaotic montage of images flashing through my head. Then the wondering of how my life would have turned out had I stayed and what was it that so deeply pushed me away from the area and to Los Angeles. Sometimes I think I never had “closure” with my old self and this is why I tend to get heavily emotional when I’m back there. Or perhaps it’s just sense memory causing me to be so reflective.

Whatever the reason for my melancholy I will probably never fully know, but I remind myself that I am who I am today due to my experiences and I love the life I have created here in Los Angeles.

You can take the girl out of Maryland but you can’t take Maryland out of the girl.

 

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play games, be entertained, support the arts!!

Join us on Saturday April 25th, 2009 for:
A BIG OLD BENEFIT PARTY!
All proceeds go to The Elephant Theater Company's
13th Season of World Premieres
 

7pm - 10pm
U-GAME-IT
A crazy video game room and a live DJ! With 7 flat screens, 6 X-boxes, and a Wii, play everything from Madden 2009 to Rock Band to Racing Games. Check it out at ugameit.com. You should definitely bring your younger friends, children, nieces, and cousins to this family friendly part of the night. Also, any adult males who like video games, of which, from what we understand, there are many.

THEN...

10 pm - 1 am
ELEPHANT CABARET
A Cabaret Night, full of comedic monologues, spoken poetry, a comedy sketch or two, and of course, lots of music! Clap along, be moved, and laugh!

Why:  'Cuz were Elephants, and THE IDEA MAN opens on May 8th!

When: Saturday April 25, 2009; 7pm - 1am

Where:

The Lillian Theatre

1076 Lillian Way

(south side of Santa Monica, between Vine & Cahuenga)

$$: Adults $20, 18 and younger $10. 

Includes unlimited video game playing, food, and beverages with a drink ticket included in the admission price, and access to the late night cabaret.  There will be a cash bar*. 
(*All attendees must present their ID to get a drink wristband.)

 

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