Sorry I've left the blog for several weeks. Here's what's been going on:"TEENAGE JONNY QUEST IN TOKYO"
The play is going full steam forward. Despite some early disappointments--several actors did not accept their roles once the time commitment was more fully understood, some were dismissed for absences--the cast is now completely off-book (not bad for a month and a half from opening!), will soon complete their second movement/dance workshop, and has just begun Aikido training with Sensei Eric Harrell.
"SYLVIA" and "THE SEAGULL"
Recent Greenville-area plays have been less than impressive. To be honest, I found SYLVIA at CentreStage and THE SEAGULL at The Warehouse to be a bit of a bore. Though both productions had fine casts and some outstanding performances, neither show gave me much to think or talk about after...except to muse about why I left so unmoved. Ultimately, I decided that SYLVIA was a story over-populated with characters I cared little about, and THE SEAGULL felt suffocated by an overly-ambitious directorial vision.
"TO MY GREAT CHAGRIN"
Felt proud to attend the New York City premier of my friends Jeff Sumerel and Jeter Rhodes', documentary feature film about influential performance artist Brother Theodore. Playwright and actor Eric Bogosian, legendary TV talk show host Dick Cavett, and SNL short film auteur, Tom Schiller were in attendance for the screening which took place at the world-famous Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in Midtown Manhattan. Jeff and Jeter plan to screen the film for Film Criticism students next month!
"FEURZABRUTA"
The best theatre experience I have had since this Argentinian company's last show, "DE LA GUARDA." Still, the most visceral, emotionally riveting...inspiring theatre in the world as far as I am concerned.
"WAIT UNTIL DARK"
This is the real reason I've not been writing on the blog: too busy preparing for my annual foray into live theatre acting. The WAIT is over when the show opens next week at Greenville's CentreStage for a three week run. A true-crime thriller with a cast of colorful character actors (Mann grad and Greenville stage legend, J. MICHAEL CRAIG, Long John Rhydwyn, Jeter Rhodes, and Mann Social Studies teacher, PAUL CALVIN), this is a show no Mann Show member will want to miss! Mann show plans to attend a performance en masse, Friday, March 7.
"SLINGS & ARROWS" Season 3
In the middle of the third and final season on the best television show ever. SLINGS is a Canadian-made comedy series about a Shakespearian theatre company. It will make you laugh, cry and figure out what's so great about The Bard.
