Best Sighting Yet!

Okay! First! Out doing the ticket sales thing yesterday evening (or late afternoon rather, since the sun was still up); Marian Seldes passes by on her way to the theatre. She's currently playing in Deuce opposite Angela Lansbury. This is the second time I've seen her. I gesture to her, and say "Break a leg." She mouths a 'Thank You', and went on her way. Classy lady.

I was out with Joyce pitching tickets when she thought she spotted someone out of the corner of her eye, and quickly dismissed it. I asked who, and she said "Martin Sheen."

I scanned the crowd, and found a man walking away; and recognized the walk. I've been a West Wing fan for years, to say nothing of Wall Street, etc. I catch up to him, and as we're stopped at the crosswalk, I offer my hand and say, "Excuse me sir, but I had to say I love your work."

Sheen smiles and accepts my hand. Joyce races up, also shakes hands with him, and the three of us had a very pleasant conversation for about two minutes. He asked if we were actors, we said yes, talked shop for a bit. By this time, others had stopped and started taking pictures. No-one had recognized him prior to this (I think) because of the glasses he wore, or possibly because he was so casually dressed. Regular Joe all the way.

Some people understandably don't have patience or the time to talk to fans; but he was more than happy to talk to us for a few minutes. It was incredible.

So, yeah. That happened.

Because It's Funny, That's Why

Allow me to direct you to The Onion. We're blowing the dust off some classic articles. It's brilliant.

Alzheimer's Sufferers Demand Cure For Pancakes.

Bloodthirsty, Undead Ghoul Advocataes Chocolate-Cereal Consumption.

And my all-time favorite...

Archaeologist Tired of Unearthing Unspeakable Ancient Evils.

Enjoy

New Site!

My theatre company, Maker's Muse Productions now has a blog. There will be an official website coming shortly. Just wanted to announce it, as we're two weeks and counting from opening night of The Yellow Brick Monologues. Shazam.

More to follow, folks.

Just Delicious.

I saw Ratatouille today. I've always enjoyed Pixar's movies. I frickin' loved The Incredibles.

I adored Ratatouille. Absolutely adored it. I can admire passion for something as long as it's genuine; and the attention, the devotion to the preparation of excellent food-- that hit home. Likewise, the brilliance of a rat who likes to cook... it could very easily been a gimmick, a cheap comedy.

Also? Ian Holm. I love his work. All of it. He did a movie some years ago, Big Night, about a pair of competing Italian restaurants. In the movie, he is the successful one; but the lesser cook. Still, at the dinner table, his first taste of the masterpiece meal: "I should kill you. This meal is so fucking good, I should fucking kill you!" Nothing like culinary hubris to show off an actor's chops.

The movie, Ratatouille, is nothing short of excellent. Brilliant script, elegant concept, refreshing pacing, sharp dialogue... and cooking pointers included. Outstanding.

Go see it.

It's A Bird! It's A Plane! It's... A Guy Going To Queens!

This. Was. Awesome. I'm riding home on the subway along with my Stage Manager Amy (who can corroborate this); and this particular night I'm wearing a Superman t-shirt. An eight year old boy comes up to me, and asks, "Are you Superman??"

I look at him, and all I can think to say is, "Ssshhh!! Do you want the whole train to know?"

The look in his eyes was priceless. I had to keep this going as long as possible. He points a small finger at me.

"I know your secret identity. You're Cl--"

"Ssshh!!"

"Clark Kent!"

I give him a look of exasperation. He is completely undeterred.

Next question: "Where's your cape?"

"At the dry cleaners. It's always getting torn and stuff. Bullet holes..." The boy chimes in.

"You know, you can't keep your cape attached with velcro!"

"I know! I'm always having to tuck it into my tunic. Do you know how many capes I've lost, just flying 60 miles an hour?"

By this time, a good portion of the car was listening in, laughing quietly.

"What are you doing on the train?"

"I'm going home. Oh, great. Now everyone knows I live in Queens. That's fantastic."

"Why isn't your skin blue?"

"Don't be silly. My skin isn't blue, I wear tights."

"Why aren't you wearing your underwear outside your clothes?"

"Because I'm on the subway. I want to meet public decency laws." More snickering.

The kid is buying this hook, line & sinker. Now naturally, I don't look a thing like Christopher Reeve or Brandon Routh. The boy had this solved already.

"Why don't you take your mask off?"

"Well. Kryptonians are all very handsome. I mean come on, my dad was Marlon Brando. I don't want to be a distraction, you know?" This seems to satisfy the boy.

"Can I feel your muscles?"

Um.

"Well, I don't think that'd be right. We haven't been properly introduced. I don't know your name, I haven't met your folks..."

He extended his hand. "I'm Noah."

"Noah, I'm Clark. Nice to meet you."

We come to his stop (turns out to be my stop, too). His mom scoots him out the door, giving me a thankful nod.

Simply outstanding.

Thoughts.

I rented a movie-- Peaceful Warrior. Film version of the book, Way of the Peaceful Warrior, a book briefly loaned to me some years ago by the wisest man I know.

I enjoyed it. I liked it. I feel I gained something from it.

Without getting overly poetical or some other such offense, it created as many questions as it indicated it had answers for.

A man seeks to achieve something. He meets someone whose questions reach the core of him, leaving him shaken on several levels. He meets with an accident, leaving him physically broken. Through determination, training and time spent with the asker of said questions; he finds excellence. For different reasons than he started with.

That interests me. The man is asked more or less to shake things up; primarily his life. Once his life is shuffled, he is encouraged to resume the exact same pursuits/activities as before. Happier, more calm, touched with serenity. But he is doing all the same things. And he is enjoying himself more.

I enjoyed this story very much.

I moved to New York. Not only in pursuit of happiness, but to put geographical distance between myself and things that made me sad. I am doing things I enjoy-- writing, creating, etc., but there are times I wonder if I'm doing them for the proper reasons.

Yes, I enjoy doing them (very much so, or I wouldn't do them). In addition, I've wanted to garner some feeling of accomplishment. To accumulate a sense of things done. Finished. Add them to the list.

To what end. Hm? After I achieved these things, how would I feel? What would I be supposed to feel? I can't say, right now.

There is only now. If I take one thing from the experience, I'd like it to be that. There is only now. So I'd better enjoy what I'm doing here.

More to follow.

Pick On Lynn Johnston Week?

Yesterday it was Shortpacked... Today It's Least I Could I Do. Strange.

Funny, but strange.

This Is Brilliant

I'm a fan of For Better or For Worse. It's a fun strip that I inherited an enjoyment of from my mom (I think). It occasionally gets a bit preachy, and the plot is somewhat railroaded but all in all it's a great strip.

Shortpacked just lampooned the crap out of it. They couldn't have done a better job. It's just outstanding. Enjoy.

Damn it.

A friend's Dad died, recently. A friend down in Virginia. We're close. We've worked together. We're close.

I've helped friends grieve before. It's no pleasant duty but I'm happy to be there for my friends when they need someone.

I just wish I could be there for my friend now. I called him, of course. I told him I'd be here if he needed anything. I just wish I could be there for him now. In person. Sometimes a phone call just doesn't do it.

Damn.

This, That & The Other Thing

Well, I've moved for the second time in seven months to an apartment in Astoria. A few subway stops closer to Manhattan, there seem to be decent restaurants about; and I'm living with a friend and improv teammate that makes me laugh like few others can. Good news there.

The Yellow Brick Monologues is rolling towards production. We had an excellent rehearsal last night, and tomorrow's will hopefully go so well. One can only hope.

Speaking of hopes-- I started work on a new script. The concept is sound, and I have people off of which I can bounce ideas. Putting words in the characters' mouths will be that much easier.

Happy Fourth of July, folks. Enjoy the fireworks.