11.30.2001
I'm sitting here with my dog listening to Here Comes the Sun by the Beatles, crying, saddened by the death of George Harrison. I know it's goofy to be tearful when celebrities pass on. We don't really know them as people, but ultimately they create worlds for us to exist in. The loss of self awareness (which ultimately brings us to a deeper sense of self) we experience when participating in great art is such a wonderful creation, and for that we thank the artist who creates the work. Whether they are wonderful people in real life or not, the truly gifted artist transcends their own limitations and creates something that resonates the deeper beauty of the universe. If you believe in God, then this deeper beauty is the majesty of God's creation. If you don't, then you have to accept that this existance is better than none at all. You have to accept that it's good to be alive. That's what I believe. That whatever comes hereafter, it is a wonderfully beautiful experience to be living. Great art causes us to lose ourselves in it. We lose our sense of self, and our sense of self importance, and consequently we gain perspective on our problems. We realize how unimportant our problems are to the universe, and how unimportant they should be to us. When that's gone, you're left with the simple majesty of how great it is to be alive. To breathe, to be cold, to feel love, to feel sunshine on your face, the whole experience. As George put it, as he captured the moment I'm lost in and crying in and happy in, "Here comes the sun, and I say it's alright". Live life. Love living.
Peace,
Dan
posted by Dan Izzo at 11:37:24 AM
11.15.2001
In addition to the review, I updated the photo page and show listings.
posted by Dan Izzo at 4:19:41 PM
Here's my first draft of a review of Leopold! (playing at WNEP) Sketch comedy is a tricky endeavor. Much like California Gold Country in the 1850's, all of the good material has been mined and hauled away. The incessant comedic output of television, from sketch shows, to sitcoms to late night talk shows, have so thoroughly exploited the easy and obvious targets of ridicule (sex, politics, television) that a sketch comedy show needs serious innovation and ambition to succeed. Leopold! (Fridays at 8:00 at WNEP Theater, 3209 N. Halsted) is innovative and ambitious and therefore succeeds.
From the moment you enter the theater for Leopold!, you are immersed in the world of the show. The set is overstocked with myriad props and costumes which hints at the various insanities to come. Martial music fills the room, creating a sense of time displacement. Most striking is the presence of Abraham Lincoln (played by Patrick Brennan) sitting on stage in a box seat. If the notion of Lincoln in a box in a theater doesn't evoke a hysterical sense of impending doom, then you were obviously asleep in 4th grade history class. Without giving too much away, once the show begins, you quickly realize that it truly has been going on from the moment you enter the door.
The show is written and performed by Dave Bonde and Clay Sander under the direction of WNEP Executive Director, Don Hall. The two work well together and provide a fairly interesting contrast in styles. Mr. Bonde is the chameleon of the pair; he shows a great range of character and has a good ability to lose himself in his various roles. Mr. Sander is the energetic one; while he doesn't lose himself as easily in his roles, his intensity and commitment to the material makes everything he does highly watchable. Mr. Brennan manages to keep the great emancipator interesting, without ever unnecessarily stealing focus.
At it's core, the material is good and funny. Under Mr. Hall's direction, however, it becomes great and hysterical. In addition to the brilliant set and sound design (by George Ducker), the transitions between scenes are magnificent. Ranging from smoothly blending scenes together to abrupt and loud shifts into different scenes, the pace of the show is kept up so that even the weakest material succeeds. It is clear that Mr. Hall has mercilessly edited scenes down to their essential core.
Particularly amusing moments include Neil Diamond leading the hokey-pokey at a retirement home ("you put your shitbag in, you put your shitbag out"), a running joke about a bizarre taxicab passenger, a Hitler song parody, a slide show about the life of an ill-fated dog and a monologue peppered with references to the presidential election of 1860 (wherein we see Abe do a great spit-take. The only sour notes strike in a series of staged mistakes which unfunnily break the fourth wall, and a sketch contrasting a white male crossing guard with a presumably black female crossing guard. It strikes me as odd that a show which skewers stereotyping in sketch comedy shows would feature just that sort of stereotypical scene.
Leopold is an overall funny, immersive evening of cleverly staged and directed, intelligent and challenging, sketch comedy.
posted by Dan Izzo at 3:44:19 PM
10.31.2001
Here's something from my Senator: Thank you for contacting me regarding the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States. I appreciate hearing from you and would like to take this opportunity to respond.
As you know, on September 11, 2001, in an apparently well-financed and coordinated attack, hijackers rammed jetliners into each of the New York World Trade Center's towers and ultimately collapsed them, causing loss of life believed to be in the many thousands. A third hijacked airliner crashed into the Pentagon causing extensive damage and loss of life, and a fourth hijacked airliner crashed near Pittsburgh raising speculation that a related mission had failed. Recovery operations are continuing, law enforcement authorities are investigating leads, and response options are being initiated. U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft has announced that radical individuals and groups affiliated with Saudi exile Osama bin Laden were the likely perpetrators. The federal government immediately launched the largest criminal investigation in American history, redirecting thousands of federal law enforcement officers from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and other agencies to investigate the attacks. The president placed U.S. armed forces on a heightened state of alert and immediately increased security at U.S. embassies, military installations, airports, and other federal facilities and public venues that may be at risk. President Bush -- characterizing the incidents as "acts of war" -- stressed that the United States, in responding to the attacks, will make no distinction between the terrorists who committed these acts and those who harbor them. Secretary of State Colin Powell called for a "full scale assault against terrorism" and announced plans to launch a world wide coalition against terrorism.
Congress acted quickly to respond to the attacks. On September 12, the Senate, in a 100-0 vote, passed S.J.Res. 22, condemning the perpetrators of the attacks and their sponsors, asserting the right of the United States to respond under international law, and supporting the president in bringing to justice and punishing the terrorists and their sponsors.
On September 14, Congress passed S.J.Res. 23, which authorizes the president "to use all necessary and appropriate force against those nations, organizations, or persons he determines planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001, or harbored such organizations or persons, in order to prevent any future acts of international terrorism against the United States by such nations, organizations or persons." The measure -- approved by the Senate by a 98-0 vote and the House of Representatives by a 420-1 vote -- requires the president to consult with, and report to, Congress on military actions in accordance with the terms of the 1973 War Powers Resolution (P.L. 93-148).
That same day, the president declared a national emergency by reason of the terrorist attacks, and announced that military reserve and national guard units would be called to active duty in the coming weeks to assist in recovery efforts, counter-terrorism, and military planning and response.
In the days after the September 11 attacks, the U.S. Department of Transportation instituted a number of stepped-up security measures at U.S. airports. These measures included thorough search and security checks of all airplanes and airports before passengers are allowed to board aircraft, and restrictions on curbside check-ins at airports and off-airport check-ins at hotels or other venues. In addition, only ticketed passengers are now allowed to proceed past airport screeners to board their flights, vehicles near airport terminals are monitored more closely, and all knives are prohibited beyond airport security checkpoints.
On October 11, 2001, the Senate passed a measure designed to improve aviation security. The Aviation Security Act (S. 1447) was approved by the Senate by a 100-0 vote. S. 1447 would increase the number of federal air marshals and provide for their random deployment on domestic commercial air passenger flights and all international flights on U.S. carriers into or out of the United States; federalize airport security screeners, placing them under the U.S. Department of Justice; and require armed federal law enforcement officials to monitor access points and secure areas at airports. S. 1447 would also require the strengthening of cockpit doors and locks to prevent entry by non-crew members; training of flight crews in anti-hijacking procedures; criminal background checks of heavy plane flight training applicants; and X-raying all baggage before it is placed on a plane. Similar legislation (H.R. 2951 and H.R. 3110) has been introduced in the House of Representatives.
Also, on October 11, 2001, the Senate, with my support, passed major anti-terrorism legislation designed to improve the federal government's ability to identify, investigate, and prosecute individuals and groups planning terrorist acts. I cosponsored this measure -- the Uniting and Strengthening America Act (S. 1510) -- which was approved by the Senate by a 96-1 vote. Among other things, S. 1510 strengthens criminal penalties for terrorism, improves security along the U.S.-Canadian border, modernizes the ability of federal law enforcement agencies to conduct court-approved surveillance of the electronic communications of suspected terrorists, and increases information-sharing among federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies. The House of Representatives passed similar anti-terrorism legislation on October 13, 2001, and a final version of the measure (H.R. 3162) that reconciled differences between the House and Senate versions was passed by the Senate with my support on October 25, 2001, and signed into law by President Bush the following day.
Congress is also closely examining a number of other proposals to improve foreign intelligence gathering; target states that support terrorists; enhance federal, state, and local response to terrorist acts involving high casualties; and centralize federal anti-terrorism efforts.
President Bush, in his September 20, 2001, address to Congress, announced his intention to appoint Tom Ridge, Governor of Pennsylvania, as cabinet-level head of a new federal agency -- the Office of Homeland Security -- to coordinate the anti-terrorism activities of the dozens of federal departments and agencies, and state and local governments, with responsibilities affecting homeland security. Governor Ridge was sworn in as Homeland Security Advisor on October 8, 2001, to lead the federal effort to develop a comprehensive national strategy to safeguard our country against terrorism and respond to any attacks that may come.
The United States has received promises of support from many of our allies and friends abroad. The United Nations Security Council has condemned the attacks in a unanimous declaration, and NATO Secretary General George Robertson has indicated that the attacks, under the terms of Article V of the NATO Treaty, constitute an attack on all members of the NATO alliance, thereby requiring all NATO member countries to assist the United States in its response to the attacks. Most leaders around the world have expressed their condolences and support for the United States.
On October 7, 2001, the battle was joined. U.S. armed forces began conventional military operations in Afghanistan designed to destroy terrorist camps and military installations of the Taliban government that is harboring terrorist groups. These operations have included air strikes against military targets using U.S. bombers, strike aircraft, and sea-launched cruise missiles, and air drops of humanitarian relief supplies to Afghan refugees displaced by the civil war in that country and at risk of starvation. On October 9, 2001, President Bush, in a letter to congressional leaders notifying them of the military operations, explained, "This military action is part of our campaign against terrorism and is designed to disrupt the use of Afghanistan as a terrorist base of operations."
As the conflict continues, we will remember our men and women of the armed services in our prayers and take heart from their courage. A war on terrorism will not end with a strike on the Taliban or even the elimination of Osama bin Laden. This is a new kind of conflict that may be with us -- on our shores, in the middle of our land -- for some time. It is a considerable challenge from which we will not shrink. I thank you for your interest, your comments, and for taking the time to contact me. Should you have any additional questions or comments, please feel free to contact me.
Very truly yours,
Peter G. Fitzgerald United States Senator
PGF/gjg
P.S. I am pleased to invite you to be my guest at a weekly constituent breakfast if you are ever in Washington. Senator Durbin and I welcome our constituents at 8:30 a.m. every Thursday that the Senate is in session for a continental breakfast and a discussion of the issues that affect Illinois and the nation. Please call my office at (202) 224-2854 for more details.
________ This transmission is intended only for the use of the person or office to whom it is addressed and may contain information that is privileged, confidential, or protected by law. All others are hereby notified that receipt of this message does not waive any applicable privilege or exemption from disclosure and that any dissemination, distribution, or copying of this communication is prohibited.
posted by Dan Izzo at 9:37:41 AM
10.2.2001
I did Free Mason Jar! on Sunday, and felt quite conflicted. I had come dressed to do the show since Hillary had bronchitis, Shaun was out of town and Chad was coming into town from Missouri. Since this would have left us at 5 players, I suited up. As it was Hillary was a trooper and showed up and Chad made it with plenty of time to spare. The cast asked me to do the show anyway and I agreed. I kind of wanted to do it since I hadn't had a show in a while and the FMJ cast is awfully talented and fun. So those were the positives going into it for me. My negatives mainly had to do with certain people in the audience. In ascending degree of tension it breaks out as follows. First (least tense) was the presence of some friends of mine who are lawyers with whom I worked. It always throws me into a minor bit of nervousness when I have friends in the audience, and this is particularly true with straight (i.e. non-acting) friends of mine.
Second, a couple of people I had conflicts with in the past were in the audience. Both of these conflicts were fairly one-sided deals with the other person being far angrier and disgruntled with me than I was with them. The one conflict was fairly low scale, and is on fairly "neutral leaning positive" grounds. So that person's presence had me nervous in that friend kind of way. The other conflict had gone from "neutral leaning negative" to a period of neutrality, only to turn into some degree of global thermonuclear war (mainly due to their drunken persona getting into it with mine, and also due to a little flare up on the ImprovChicago bulletin board). I had a bit of a sortie with them prior to the show which had me charged with a touch of negative energy. It served as a good reminder to retune my blindspot so that person fits securely in there. Getting into it with some people is like punching a wall. You just end up hurting your hand since the wall is too stupid to understand the gesture.
Third, Doug Difenbach, one of the founders of the Playground was at the show. This put me into a little bit of conflict since I wanted him to like the show, but was worried that he'd be wondering what I was doing up there.
This last point ties into my major source of anxiety for the whole evening. Two of the people who auditioned for the show were going to be in the audience. Both of them were pretty darn close to actually being cast in the show, and I felt weird being up there. I felt like it created the impression that I was casting myself over them. I knew this was all in my head, but it still caused me to have some mixed feelings about doing the show.
As it turned out, the show went great. The cast dig a great job, and I had a pretty decent show. I was probably a little more zany that I would have liked, but it went well. My lawyer friends, Doug and both of the audition people came up to me and said that they really enjoyed the show.
Its strange how our most anxious moments can distract us to the point where we're free to have a great show. Hmm.
posted by Dan Izzo at 2:57:33 PM
Here's where the wonder twins stand on the current crisis. Horrifying. Mary-Kate and Ashley
Hello Everyone,
We are so saddened by the horrific acts of terrorism on Tuesday in New York City, Washington D.C. and outside of Pittsburgh. We should all pull together in a time like this, as our President said in his speech, and support each other and our democracy. The most important thing we can do is help each other and pray for all the families affected by this tragedy. Our hearts go out to them. With Love, Mary-Kate and Ashley
posted by Dan Izzo at 11:59:24 AM
9.17.2001
Free Mason Jar opened last night and it went really well. The audience was into the show and I received a lot of compliments afterwards. The cast had fun and I was pleased with everything. All of the proceeds went to the American Red Cross, so that was a great feeling as well. I really have to hand it to the cast. The last two weeks have been crazy, but they held it together and kept having fun with everything. They never seemed to be freaked out or worried. It was cool.
I also need to throw some praise at my assistant director, Greg Inda. He's turned out to be an organizational dynamo, far more than I would ever have anticipated. He's got a great sense of what I need him to do, and his contributions to the show (the THX sound effect and the Fade In edit) were right on target. I can't say enough good things about his role in the process.
Nuff for now.
posted by Dan Izzo at 12:20:53 PM
9.4.2001
I'm back from the 2 craziest weeks of my life this year (probably not, but it feels that way). Lots of stuff going on with TSP and all (see TSP, it closes this week and is better than the review), but no time right now to write now. Instead, I recently answered some questions from ex-students of mine, and thought some of the stuff there might be interesting to read. So here is a compilation of things I've said to people in emails. It's self-indulgent, but then again, this is my website after all. "Success is based as much on dedication and commitment as it is on talent. While it may seem like comedy should be all fun and giggles, it's actually hard work. While the work can be fun, and it's important to have fun, the work can also be challenging and difficult, and it must be committed to. . . . Being funny is probably the least important thing in comedy. The most important thing is timing and pace, and these are acting skills. . . . There is a general misapprehension that the performing arts should be fun and shouldn't be work. After all, the reasoning goes, if we wanted to work, we'd be in business school and not acting school. Unfortunately, nothing could be further from the truth. Acting is hard work. Its extremely rewarding (personally, not necessarily financially), but can be challenging.
Work hard. Learn as much as you can. Focus on specific goals in your career and take the necessary steps to make those goals happen. That's the best advice I can give you."
(This is about being told to "play angry characters")
"It's about being assertive. Taking high status in a scene. Being the lead person in a scene. Placing your priorities in a scene as the lead motivation of the character. Angry characters tend to manifest all of those characteristics. So when I tell a beginning improviser to play angry characters, it's to trick them into being all of the above, since if I directly told them to be assertive, high status, and maintain their focus and priorities, they'd look at me with a deer in the headlights look and say "I can't do that." Yet everyone can slip into angry. Hopefully when they do, they just go with it and don't get all self conscious and embarrassed and fail to commit to it. If they do commit to it fully, then occasionally they will find that they are able to bring the full power of their personality and uniqueness to each character they play. They become fully committed and fully in the moment.
Improv needs to come from that visceral space within us that is single minded, focused and non-judgmental, and angry characters have immediate needs and motivations which tend to place them in an active space with a clear goal in mind.
Or not."
posted by Dan Izzo at 11:38:31 AM
8.15.2001
Here's the latest on the shows: Teenage Sports Parade
The new TSP show opened last week, and I was pretty proud, and very relieved. The boys went for broke and we managed to get a practically whole new show up and running in very little time. Opening night was simultaneously horrible and wonderful. It was wonderful because everyone really hit their marks and played each moment the way it should be played. Out of all the TSP shows I've directed and watched, Saturday's was the most professional and polished from a cast performance perspective.
It was horrible though because the audience reaction was muted at best and non-existant at worst. Most of the crowd were unfamiliar with the type of show TSP puts on (i.e. the type of content), and as a result were kind of shy about laughing at some pretty cutting edge material. The few friends we had in the house were also quiet, probably lured into shyness by their neighbors. I don't think it was the show, per se. The Second City staff people who watched it loved it and were laughing their asses off. Strangers off the street looking for a Second City/Saturday Night Live type show were no doubt not expecting such a blue show. (The show has more "mature" themes and off-color humor than probably the last 40 years of Second City combined). Once we get more of our audience in there to see it, it will be well received (I hope).
Free Mason Jar
The first 2 rehearsals have gone extremely well. The cast is very energetic and responsive, most likely due to the newness of everything. I am certain this won't last, but I'm real happy with how everyone is working together and the attitude they are bringing in. Next week we'll start constructing the form, which is a different phase of the process. Right now we're in the honeymoon, getting to know you phase. Once we make the turn into "I have a better idea" land, we'll see how well things hold together. It's really at that point that my job becomes more difficult and yet, it's when I get to start laying in more of my idea and vision for the show.
And now for something horribly gay, cheesy and inspirational which my dear friend Sabrina sent me:
"Promise Yourself
To be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind.--To talk health, happiness and prosperity to every person you meet.--To look at the sunny side of everything and make your optimism come true. To think only of the best, to work only for the best and expect only the best. --To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your own.--To forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future.--To wear a cheerful countenance at all times and give every living creature you meet a smile.--To give so much time to the improvement of yourself that you have no time to criticize others.--To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear, too happy to permit the presence of trouble."
Sabrina highlighted the last part, so I figured I should too. While it's gross and pithy, it's just what I needed to hear this week. I miss my friends, wherever they've gotten off to.
posted by Dan Izzo at 5:20:34 PM
8.3.2001
I've been derelict in keeping this updated. Not that I'm all that sure that anyone is reading this, but then again I don't really care. But if you are reading this, thanks. So I'm in the midst of directing 3 shows now. The TSP show that closes tonight, the TSP show that opens next Saturday and Free Mason Jar (FMJ). The show closing tonight is on auto pilot. The only concern I have for that is whether I am going out for dinner tonight and if so, I need to figure out what to do with Shirley (my bulldog) since she is needed for the show. As for the other 2 shows, stress abounds.
Teenage Sports Parade
The new TSP show is making me crazy this week. As I write this, my jaw muscles are killing me. I suspect I am grinding my teeth in my sleep. I suspect that this is caused by TSP Goes to College (the new show). It was generally agreed by TSP that this show would be a combination of old material and new material. The idea being that since this is the first time since the Annoyance closed that TSP is appearing on a relatively happening stage (the Skybox), the audience will be completely new, so we should showcase the best material of all 3 shows so far, but add in some new stuff. I had told TSP that last Wednesday was the cutoff for nominating old material to make it into the show, since I wanted to come up with a new running order this week.
This proved to be problematic for two reasons: 1. Josh wanted more old stuff in the show, and different old stuff from what I selected. Since this came up this week, rather than last week, I felt like we were past the point of having that discussion, but I had it anyway, which wasted time and didn't make Josh any more motivated for my new running order which . . . 2. The new running order was full of hypothetical stuff, i.e. stuff which should have been written or rewritten by this point but hasn't been. This made me panic about the amount of time we had left, my panic being compounded by the aforementioned "greatest hits" discussion.
I blame myself for letting the talking/doing ratio get out of control. To paraphrase Mick, talking about stuff seems productive, but really isn't. I also wasn't as demanding on the cast as I should have been. I should have worked them harder to get them on the same page about what they wanted to do with the next show. I still wonder if they all have the same vision of what this show should be. Time will force us to find out. Enough about TSP for now. My jaw is killing me.
Free Mason Jar The process really hasn't started yet. We had our first meeting last week and three cast members and my assistant director missed it. There was a minor mix up on the time, so they missed the meeting. No big deal really, except that Shaun and Jake can't make this week. I tried to change it so that they could, and ended up just making the situation worse. So rehearsal is back to the usual time, but I felt like the gang who couldn't shoot straight.
On better news, I watched a horrifyingly bad improv show last night. Normally I bail out of the room when some bad improv is going on, but I hung in there, and as a result came up with some great ideas for what to do with the Playground space for FMJ. I really want to transform the space as much as possible and create an experience visually and auditorily for the audience. I'm pretty excited about how I want the space to look and what I want to do with it. I'll fill in the details later, but I want FMJ to have a set and a look. All improv shows look the same to me, and I want this one to look different.
I should watch bad improv more often. The last time I watched really bad improv, I came up with the core of ideas which I ended up using in Cubicle Rats.
As a huge detour, here is what makes a show bad for me lately.
Artifice is the defining characteristic of bad improv for me. Creating a Who, What and Where and then continuing to fill in the blanks about the same drives me crazy. Why? Well, the only things that exist on stage are the actors. The Who, What and Where are simply factual details about invisible things which don't exist. I don't care what color the invisible cup in your hand is, because there isn't a cup (although you should be able to identify its color as if it really existed). I want to know how the characters feel about each other, about themselves and about their surroundings. If Who, What and Where were so damned important to successful scenes, we could readily and more effectively establish W/W/W by simply overdescribing the scene before any dialogue is introduced, i.e. "These characters are lovers, they are on a cliff overlooking a river, they were on a drive when their car crashed over the cliff, they escaped with their lives, and are now trying to get off the cliff -- go." That clearly establishes WWW, but are we guaranteed a better scene? I would argue not. The scene only works or fails based on how the actors play the scene, that is how well they bring the characters to life. The descriptive elements of the scene (WWW) can add to the depth or complexity of the audience's and actor's perception of the space, but is an unnecessary element for the success of the scene. Bad improv builds the imaginary and invisible facts of the scene at the expense of the inner life of the characters. I like to see an actor show me a character in genuine happiness or genuine crisis, rather than tell me what a clever premise they can come up with such as "My parents are coming over, I need to hide my gay porn", to which the other character replies "You're gay, this explains why prom sucked", to which the other character says "Oh my god, the refrigerator has stopped running, let's eat this ice cream" which is followed by "You always get to eat the ice cream, its my turn now". Characters are thereby reduced to charicatures. They act inhuman and ridiculous, rather than acting human and reacting like humans.
Don't worry about WWW, show me how your character feels. Create a 3 Dimensional Character for me. And lest anyone make the argument that WWW establishes character, I point to Hamlet. Hamlet is a Prince. His dad was murdered by his uncle. His mother has married the uncle. The uncle has taken the throne. They all live in the same castle. Great WWW, but what do we know about Hamlet based on that stuff. Nothing that tells us about how he feels, what he thinks, how he'll react. It's only when he opens his mouth and says "Oh what a rouge and peasant slave am I", or "To be or not to be that is the question" that we learn who he is as a person. Not a Hamlet fan? Think of your best friend. Do you think of them as a bunch of defining labels "6'2", blue eyes, well educated, Banker, from Nebraska", or do you think of their laugh, their voice, their smile, their stupid opinions of presidential politics. I would argue the later.
Enough rambling for now.
posted by Dan Izzo at 1:52:21 PM
7.24.2001
I am directing a Director's Series show at the Playground. It's called "Free Mason Jar!" Here's the cast list: Marianna Runge Hillary Shumate Steve Gadlin Shaun Himmerick Chad Reinhart Jessica Rogers Steve Townsend Jake Martin
I am really looking forward to working with everybody, particularly the people I haven't worked with before. Jake and I did a few shows together at the Annoyance, and I directed him in Cubicle Rats. He's also on a couple of improv groups with me, so I'm pretty familiar with his work. Shaun and I did Bare one time at the Playground, and I've done a couple of CageMatches with him, but so far haven't directed. Jessica and I did a CageMatch together, and she did Trigger Finger once at the Annoyance. Everybody else is a full on stranger, so that's awesome.
The auditions themselves were quite weird. While I've been on the auditioner end before, at Second City Conservatory auditions, this was the first time I ever held auditions for a show I was directing, so I was probably as freaked out as everyone on stage. If you ever have the opportunity to be on the receiving end of an audition, I highly recommend it as a learning process. Watching people audition is probably the best insight into how you yourself should approach an audition.
The biggest mistake people make is failing to show up at the audition. By this I mean coming to the audition, but basically hanging back and not demonstrating what you're capable of. That's how competent people fail at an audition. Unready, incompetent or inexperienced performers fail by showing you what they lack. Competent people fail because they don't show you what you have. It's so important to come out swinging. You don't want to be an out of control maniac, but you need to be at your highest energy level and project as much confidence as possible. You want to be noticed at an audition, and yet some people treat it like a high school math class, hiding and hoping they don't get picked to do the problem in front of everybody. I think the underlying mental script at work there is "If I don't make any sudden movements, they won't see my incompetence." Really you need to be thinking "I'm here, I think I can do this part, I'm going to show them what I've got." The worst feeling is leaving an audition feeling like you could've given more. You have your chance, so give it all you can. Don't be an over arrogant prick, but don't be a shy flower either. When you're auditioning people at any level, the director doesn't have the time, or motivation, to coax the best possible performance out of the actor. Rather it is your job as actor to give it your biggest best shot and let the chips fall where they may.
posted by Dan Izzo at 11:41:44 AM
7.2.2001
I am amazed as to how cruel we can be to ourselves. I say this because I have a girl in my Annoyance class, who was pretty upset with herself over her inability to initiate and be more powerful in scenes. She kept saying things like "I know I should . . . but I can't". There are no truer words spoken by humans than "I can't". More so than anything else, those words create their own reality, forcefully. If you say you can't do something, then you can't, thereby proving your statement true and further reinforcing it. The sad part is that she wants to do this, but part of her won't let her. And that's what's got me thinking about how much we hold ourselves back. How we barrage ourselves with negative statements and negative reinforcement. What possible evolutionary function does self doubt serve? And yet it's probably one of the most present human emotions. That's why the Catholic concept of Original Sin pisses me off so bad. Do we really need a religious doctrine to reinforce our notion of ourselves as weak and worthless, as being fallen. Our own brains take care of that negative message rather well on their own. The ultimate goal of religion, philosophy, psychology, or any human pursuit concerned with the emotional parts of our existence, should be getting us to realize that we aren't worthless. To realize how we don't have to listen to those negative messages, and are in control of that dark avatar in our heads which holds us back with fear and self doubt. We need to be liberated from the tyranny of ourselves
Two things on this entry: 1. I am not writing this under the influence of any drugs (really I swear) 2. This rant has everything to do with improv (really I swear).
posted by Dan Izzo at 9:55:49 PM
The opening went really well. A lot of Annoyance people attended and the show was well received. We still have some pacing problems in the second half. I've begun to notice that my shows seem to lack moments for the audience to laugh. I tend to stack so many scenes together that they get hit by a freight train of stuff before there's a break which allows them to laugh. I'm not sure whether this is a bad thing or not. We'll see.
posted by Dan Izzo at 5:52:13 PM
6.28.2001
The show opens tomorrow, and it looks great. We had a select preview last night and it went well. My initial concerns about the energy level of the cast were proven wrong last night. We ran the thing to death and it kept getting better and better and the cast never let me down. Mike in particular went for broke in a scene that he's been struggling with terribly. And I do mean terribly. After the first few runs of the scene, V Victor V, I was ready to recast it, or in avoidance of politics, cut it entirely. Mike must have sensed that because he went absolutely nuts in the scene and nailed the character. His lines (the memorization of dialogue that is to say) was for shit, but the character was exactly where we needed it to be. He totally saved the scene. Hopefully he realizes that my direction is occasionally correct. I am extremely excited to get the show in front of an audience tomorrow. Shirley is doing great. When I picked her up she seemed very dazed and yesterday acted pretty pissed at me all day. Today she's showing signs of her old self and is bouncing around. The only problem so far is that she seems to have forgotten that she's housetrained. Maybe its just because those muscles are sore, or maybe she is pissed at me for paying someone $300 to remove her ovaries. My grandmother got over that eventually, and so will Shirley.
Today we did the second Annoyance Productions publicity stunt. Basically, a group of a dozen of us dressed in regular clothes walk around in an area carrying bananas and promo cards and at a specified time we all freeze. People then gawk at us and occasionally remove the cards from our hands. We had a great time, and its way cool to see who turns out to support the Annoyance by acting like a statue. Dana and Julia showed up (maybe one day they'll be referred to by their individual names), as did Katie Landfehr (maybe one day I'll spell her name correctly), and it was cool to see them show up and lend their support. The whole stunt is cool, but it kind of ravages your body in weird ways. Even though we're only frozen for brief periods, you end up standing in weird positions and giving small muscles you didn't know you had the workout of their lives. I have tiny little aches in one calf and in a small part of my shoulders. When you lift weights or work all day helping someone move, your big muscles ache. When you do the stunt, you end up with a cramp in a two inch strip of your forearm. It's fun though.
The coolest part for me is that once you are frozen, people seem to think that you can no longer hear or see. People come up to you to try and make you move, or they stand back and make rude comments, as though you are not human and not sensitive. One woman in particular near the board of trade kept taking everyone's cards and bananas and moving them around and acting like that was so fucking brilliant to be doing. When we finally broke our freeze, I turned to Dana and Julia, and loud enough for the woman to hear, said "You'd think that cunt never saw a banana before in her life." All of the woman's trader buddies heard and were cracking up. One of them came up to me later and said that the woman was drunk, fell of a bar and managed to lodge a whiskey bottle in her ass. It required 17 stitches to close up. I have often asked for proof of the existence of god, and now I have it. God -- He's one funny mother.
posted by Dan Izzo at 4:46:44 PM
6.26.2001
My optimism on the last R.O. was over stated. It ended up timing out too long. So I cut it, and we came up short and had a few weird moments. I think this one today is going to stick. I am previewing the show this week for a few people to get their feedback on it. We are so burnt out on the material, that it's lost a lot of its fun and interest for us. As Kyle said, getting in the space tonight will drive home the reality that we open on Friday. I'm really looking forward to the opening. It should be a friendly crowd and opening a show is always wild. You never really know how the audience is going to react, so its always a surprise. On other stuff, I took Shirley in to get spayed today. I hope she is doing alright. I need to pick her up later today.
Fuzzy had some useful comments on the website, so thanks to his input, there are now text links as well as icon based links. My deliberately ambiguous buttons are really ambiguous, so that should help.
posted by Dan Izzo at 11:43:02 AM
6.22.2001
So I'm back and I finally think I figured out the TSP running order. I have a great moment in there now which is for me, not the audience. There was one scene which requires a lot of costuming, and I needed to give him time to get out of costume (having already solved the getting in problem). I was at my wit's end when I remebered that the scene which most naturally would follow that scene would not have this actor in it until half-way through. Doesn't sound like much, but running orders are like fly paper, the more you struggle, the more entrapped you get. After looking at the same running order for several days now, I was glad to find a new way to improve it. The more you work with a r.o., the less flexible it becomes in your head. You feel like you can't move something and fix the current problem without causing 6 more. Ultimately you need to remember that the material has just as much flexibility in it as when you started, and therefore be willing to move absolutely anything and reconstruct it.
posted by Dan Izzo at 8:26:21 PM
If you're reading this, thanks. The website is up and running. I've done some preliminary beta testing myself, but now I've shot it off to a bunch of people, so Ill see what they have to say. Everything should work. If there are any problems, questions or comments, let me know. Now I'm off to the dog park with Shirley.
posted by Dan Izzo at 5:59:32 PM
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