More of Eddie's Sketchbook

Almost done displaying why I'm a writer and not an artist. (click to enlarge the image)



This is another one that started out with some squiggles which became a pipe organ which became the inside of the movie theater apparently from the perspective of being drunk and passed out on the floor of the balcony. The movie is a reference to the play where my character rants about a film he saw that put movie cameras right in the middle of the action, like on a roller coaster or in a bull fighting ring. In this case, it's Eddie enjoying a gondola ride with another character named Tommy. That's Len steering.



Len, Nude, Descending A Staircase Via A Goose Step. I think that says it all. I love that he has Whistler's -aka Len's -Mother on the wall of his living room.



Yep. A dead bird. If you so the show, you know why.




I imagined Len wanting to advertise his diner, but only being able to afford a billboard somewhere in upstate New York.


HUGHIE/KRAPP'S LAST TAPE

Brian Dennehy in the two one-act double feature of Eugene O'Neill's Hughie and Samuel Beckett's Krapp's Last Tape closes this Sunday. You might be able to score some discounted tickets over at HotTix. see it if you can. These plays are rarely produced, especially at this level of quality. Dennehy is finds delightful moments in two tragic characters that seem crippled by loneliness. Sounds depressing, but it's not. Well, not entirely. "Eerie" in Hughie is a gambler who has been on a long losing streak and who could talk your ear off. The kind of guy you enjoy observing, but would never want to be trapped with in a room. Krapp's Last Tape, in typical Beckett fashion, is a clown act layered with sadness and absurdity and Dennehy completely transforms himself for the role. Kudos to the Good man audience for not having a cellphone go off (a first for me in that theater), but boo for all the frickin' hacking and wheezing. What the hell? Hardly heard any of it during intermission, as soon as the lights started going down, the coughing swelled. Apparently, many Goodman patrons have an allergic reaction to darkness and silence. Much of Krapp is silent, but at the Goodman, it's scored with a tuberculosis orchestra. In spite of the lung songs, Krapp still ended on one of the most powerful moments I have seen on stage in awhile.


THE BS NEWS QUIZ OF THE DAY

Yesterday, I asked...

"YouTube has removed the original video of what popular internet sensation?"

20% said "Two Girls, One Cup" - The original video was never on there. It's just not YouTube's cup of...tea.

20% said "Dramatic Hamster" - Brian Dennehy's acting coach.

No one went for "Keyboard Cat"

60% got it right with "Rick Astley's "Never Gonna Give You Up"

According to Mashable, if you want to Rickroll someone, no problem, there are thousands of copies of the video of Rick Astley’s legendary song, “Never Gonna Give You Up,” on the Internet. However, if you want to use the original Rickroll video, which should be located here, you’ll be greeted by an ugly message: This video has been removed due to terms of use violation.

Nothing can stop Rick Astley. He will never let you down.

I Believe...

...that some people look for a reason to be offended (looking at you GOP) and are more likely to be offended depending on the source (looking at you Sarah Palin). But the thing is, who cares if you're offended? What does it even mean? Were you somehow damaged when you were offended? Did it tear your arm off or just "ruin" some experience for a moment? If someone's goal is to be offensive (looking at you Limbaugh) and you're offended, then score! Or you can choose to not to give the matter any more weight than it deserves and move on.

...theater is fleeting. You toil, you create, you display, you destroy, you move on to the next thing. It's a lot like dating.

...that I used to be a full-fledged vegan. Damn you, pizza. Why do I love you?

...that art is at its best when it has an opinion and someone might be offended.

...that the first two years of high school were awful - crippled by shyness, self-conscious with acne, no sense of fashion. The last two years were a blast because I learned to surround myself with people whose company I enjoyed. They were creative. We explored music, movies and TV together, we shared a lot about what we were learning about the world. We had fun and weren't easily offended. Might be the most important lesson learned in those four years. That and photosynthesis.


EDDIE'S SKETCHBOOK, PART III



The set had a corner that represented a movie theater. This is my take on what the exterior wall might have looked like.


THE BS NEWS QUIZ OF THE DAY

Yesterday, I asked...

"Apple recently pulled thousands of adult-themed apps for iPhone including one from ChilliFresh, an Australian company, called "Wobble" which featured what?"

50% said "kangaroos having sex" - Did you see the pouch on that one? Crikey!

25% said "all things jiggly" - Jell-No

No one said "models falling on runways" - No. That's called "the news."

25% git it right with "women's breasts"

According to BBC News, thousands of apps with adult-themed content have been removed from the store since Friday although some, such as one from Playboy, remain. ChilliFresh is an Australian company that creates apps for the iPhone, including the recently banned Wobble, which allows users to add 'wobble' functionality to any picture. The firm markets the app by suggesting people can use it to wobble women's breasts.

That's right. Apple removed the apps because people said they were offended. But kept Playboy, because, well, that's the "good" porn. I'm embarrassed. Not about porn. I read the news article wrong yesterday, or it was updated. I thought Wobble just had pictures of wobbly boobies. This, apparently, can take pictures of women and make their naughty bits jiggle.



This is an amazing advance in technology. Why does Apple hate the future? And why don't women see this as an example of how much we love and appreciate them? Where's that rock I was sleeping under...tiny...brain...tired...

Eddie's Sketchbook, Part II

Flipping through the sketchbook, I noticed that after "Sad Eyed Chihuahua Len" I went back to "serious" sketches. This was out of concern someone in the audience might be able to get a peek of what I was drawing and it would take them out of the play... and make me look like a dork. That lasted for another week's worth of show.

This is the last one of the last one's where I was trying to do it all Hopper-y. (Click on the image for a larger version.)



Totally drawing from what I recall of one of his paintings. A few sketches later, I determined I could draw something without revealing it to the audience and I was back to using Len as my muse.



"Len On Horseback"



Patrick Kelly portrayed the sardonic and often put upon Len. Ours was the only scene where I actually had a conversation, albeit brief, with another character. There was another scene at the end, but it was more like I was talking and someone happened to be there. In our exchange, Len had to tell me the specials of the day - a long list of menu items. This is one of the most difficult things for an actor to memorize. There is no story to tell. No progression. You have to hardwire it into your brain. Patrick did a great job, but there were a few shows where Patrick's actor spider sense told him he was about to go up on the line ("up" means "blow it") so he would quickly wrap it up with a "and that's all we have." The above sketch is from one of those shows.



In the show, I first break out the sketchbook while on the catwalk above the diner. If I had no idea what I was going to draw, I would just throw down some squiggles and then see if I could find something in it. This is one of those. It became the woman Bernie the detective is tailing in the first act diner scene.

There's a few more I'll post this week. Thanks for indulging an outsider artist.

THE BS NEWS QUIZ OF THE DAY

Yesterday, I asked...

"Dominik Podolsky, a German snowboarder stranded in the Austrian Alps for six hours was rescued after attracting attention by doing what?"

25% said "singing "The Sound of Music" at the top of his lungs" - this would actually work as a deterrent to being found

25% said "stripping down to his leiderhosen" - Not wise, he might freeze his schnitzel.

No one went for "dancing a jig"

50% got the right answer with "setting fire to his money"

According to BBC News, Dominik Podolsky, 22, of Munich, was stuck on a ski lift when it shut down for the day, with the temperature -18C. As darkness fell, he began to burn paper handkerchiefs and the contents of his wallet with a cigarette lighter. He started with restaurant bills and business cards before he was spotted burning the last of 120 euros in cash.

My recommendation for Dominik... use the ski lift to go UP the mountain, use your skis to go back DOWN. Might save you a few euros.

Eddie's Sketchbook

Hopper has closed and, like our many reviews, my feelings are mixed. Don't get wrong. I loved doing the show and I loved working with this cast. It was a tremendous amount of fun. It was also a five day-a-week commitment for me, not including pre-production. The weekends were particularly taxing with my teaching schedule at Second City. I'm ready to move on and looking forward to getting out there and seeing some shows.

In the show, I played a Hopper substitute named "Eddie." Eddie was far from being biographical, but I did try to emulate his approach to art. He would stare at things for hours before painting and kept a sketchbook to develop his work before applying paint to brush. My Eddie kept a sketchbook in his back hip pocket. Once a show, I made a sketch. At first, I tried to recreate something Hopper might draw - a landscape or cityscape or something based on one of his classics. Then, I got silly. Often using "Len," the diner owner/operator, as my muse.

Here are a few... (click on the image for a closer view)



This is the very first one in the book. It might even have been done on opening night, as I went through a few different sketchbook options. As you can see, I was trying to take my role seriously.



This is the first appearance of Len about three shows later. It's based on an actual Hopper painting where there's a fully clothed man sitting on the edge of a bed and a naked woman reclining behind him. I gave the sketch the title "Len Gets Laid" and then thought it would be funnier if I erased the woman.







This is where I started becoming frustrated with my lack of talent as an artist. I really wanted to do a great "Sad-Eyed Chihuahua Len." Unfortunately, the idea is better than the result.

















Hopper liked his naked ladies and his actual sketchbook is full of him practicing drawing them. The stuff that would get you kicked out of most high school classrooms. Here's my attempt. And then I had a bunch of space left, so I decided this naked lady worked out of her home.

THE BS NEWS QUIZ OF THE DAY

Last week, I asked...

"Fraternity students at the University of California - San Diego threw an off campus party last weekend commemorating Black History Month that encouraged guests to do what?"

I clearly loaded the answers on this one, because the story pissed me off.

The choices were...

"For guys to wear XXXL white t's"

"For girls to have gold teeth, start fights and wear cheap clothes"

"For everyone to enjoy dat Purple Drank made of the color purple, chicken and watermelon"

100% got the right answer, "All of the above"

According to San Diego's 10News.com, administrators at the University of California, San Diego are condemning a weekend ghetto-themed party thrown off-campus by fraternity students to mock Black History Month, but they aren't likely to discipline anyone, it was reported Wednesday.The so-called "Compton Cookout" event urged all participants to wear chains, don cheap clothes and speak very loudly, The San Diego Union-Tribune reported. Female participants were encouraged to be "ghetto chicks."

What a bunch of ass bags. There are three things more than anything that I just do not get; litter, being loud on buses or trains, and racism. Okay, those weren't in order of importance, but I think they all are related. The perpetrators are all people who falsely feel a sense of entitlement and use these tools of disruption to feel superior, which, of course, they are not. Such acts put them squarely at the bottom of the pecking order. People are racist. Seems to be built in or passed down. But that doesn't mean you can't rise above the baseness and use your brain and treat everyone with respect and humanity. Seriously, what a bunch of friggin' ass bags.

Like Taking Ghandi From A Baby

The other day, a friend of mine forwarded to me this list created by Ghandi. I thought it evoked some simple principles that, if adapted from an individual level to global, would certainly make the world a better place. I went on to share the list on Facebook. It generated a lot of responses from my friends, mostly hysterical. So hysterical, I had to share them. Feel free to add your own social sins in the comments section.

Mahatma Ghandi’s list of mankind’s seven social sins:

1. Commerce without morality

2. Politics without principle

3. Wealth without work

4. Pleasure without conscience

5. Education without character

6. Science without humanity

7. Worship without sacrifice

Joe

Not bad for a skinny guy in a diaper.

David

What a stick in the mud.

Jason

8. Men without hats

James

9. Alcohol without cigarettes

Cassandra

10. Ice cream without dairy.

Marty

Why are all the decent and intellectually stimulating men, dead?

Lori

What... we still have Joe.
Oh, wait, decent, well, that's open to interpretation.

Aly

a blessing without a disguise. wrap the diaper around that.

Tom

chocolate without peanut butter.

Allison

My mouth without chocolate in it!

Tom

leisure suits without disco balls.

Ranjit

I think that if Gandhi could read this comment-thread, he'd be pleased and believe that all of his work was not in vain.

Aly

ranjit- you should start a 'what would Gandhi think?' facebook page, there are instances here of all seven social sins and more

Tom

Gandhi went on a hunger strike and Hitler begged him to stop. Hitler thought Gandhi was being unreasonable.

Joyce

Ghandi definitely wasn't a supporter of the American way, was he?

Tom

Morale-suasion works against moral societies, like the British. It won't work against Al Capone, Saddam Hussein, John Gotti, Pol Pot, etc.

Tom

I heard Gandhi drove a Prius.

Weeks 31 & 32 - Chris Othic

WEEKS 31 & 32 – “A Thing I Wrote“ – Director: Chris Othic

I have known Chris Othic for years. he was once a student of mine at Second City and wrote one of my favorite scenes, James Bond from Milwaukee. It was one of those rare scenes where I had no idea how we would do it - it had a helicopter, grappling hooks, beer cans used as weapons, a helicopter crash - but it was so much fun I just had to try. Chris went on to work with me in Teatro Bastardo and now with Robot vs Dinosaur. We don't always see eye-to-eye, which is a good thing, because he's always interested in the doing the best work possible. He is also the engine of Robot vs Dinosaur. His dedication and self-professed "mothering" of the group is our glue. He is also one of the few people who have read every single 365 scene. So, I know his choice for these two weeks is an informed one. This block features quite a variety, including an Odd Couple take on Othello, a Sherlock Holmes take on a drive by shooting, a parody of A Tale of Two Cities, another parody of King Kong based on what I always wondered would happen if he didn't escape from the theater and Wasp-18, about a lovelorn, suicidal planet, a scene that was reference in a lecture at The Royal Academy of Astronomy in London.

AMemberoftheChurchofGod.8.22.09

ArtAndAboutWithRandyCarson.8.23.09

HadThisBeenAnActualEmergency.8.19.09

StopSHOUTING.8.20.09

TheCaseoftheSpeckledBullet.8.17.09

TheUnicornAndTheVengeance.8.21.09

WhatPriceGory.8.18.09

AGospelSongforAtheists.8.24.09

AThingIWROTE.8.30.09

BodyFallingDownstairsSlowly.8.28.09

InterestDue.8.26.09

StillLife.8.25.09

TheEighthWonderoftheWorld.8.29.09

Wasp.8.27.09

THE BS NEWS QUIZ OF THE DAY

Yesterday, I asked...

"Beppe Bigazzi, a top Italian food writer, has been suspended from a cooking show for recommending viewers try what?"

40% said "McDonald's" - Only so they know what really crappy food tastes like and better appreciate his cooking.

20% said "Doggie Foie Gras" - It only works on chihuahuas.

20% said "Parrot Pilaf" - Polly want a side dish?

20% got it right with "Cat Stew"

According to Times OnLine, a top Italian food writer has been suspended indefinitely from the country’s version of the television programme Ready Steady Cook for recommending stewed cat to viewers as a “succulent dish”.

RAI, the public broadcasting network, said that it had dropped Beppe Bigazzi, 77, for offering the recipe on La Prova del Cuoco, which is broadcast at midday on the main channel. Its switchboard was inundated with complaints from viewers and animal rights groups. Bigazzi said that casserole of cat was a famous dish in his home region of Valdarno, Tuscany.

“I’ve eaten it myself and it’s a lot better than many other animals,” he told viewers. “Better than chicken, rabbit or pigeon.”

Better than pigeon? Haven't tried the rat pate, yet, Beppe?



This man has eaten cat. I think he's still chewing.

I Believe...

...that in whatever art form you dabble, if you set out to make a "hit", you probably won't. The best you can strive to do is quality work - in my case well-crafted characters with strong wants in opposition to one another and a fun ride as they struggle to achieve their wants - and hope that the emotional connection you have to your work translates to an audience. Aim for a hit, you might get one, but you'll more likely poop out Look Who's Talking 3 or Look Who's Singing: The Musical.

...that parking on the street in Chicago neighborhoods includes digging out your car when it snows. It does not give you squatter's rights to that public space. Leave your lawn furniture and plastic milk crates in your living room.

...that there's good fat and bad fat. Tran fat is bad fat. Trans fat is the result of adding hydrogen to a vegetable oil (hydrogenation) to improve its shelf life, flavor and functional properties. Tans fats have been linked to heart disease. The FDA has determined that trans fat should be consumed in minimum quantities, which means, not at all.

...that people with the most money are still making the decisions that affect the most people. Going to the polls and putting a mark next to a name is no longer a vote. A dollar is a vote. The guy with a billion votes has a better chance of getting a politician to protect his interests than doing what's best for the country. How do we change it? Stop shopping at Wal-Mart, move your money to a community bank, buy local when you can, and get off your ass and go vote on election day for politicians who don't take money from special interests groups - there's a few of them and they need to be rewarded.


THE BS NEWS QUIZ OF THE DAY

Yesterday, I asked...

"Dr. Daniel R. Lerom has been accused of billing Blue Cross Blue Shield for "sessions" with a patient where the two did what?"

50% said "worked on his house" - a new deck makes everyone feel better about themselves

No one said "went gambling" or "hired a stripper" - two activities I have found to be therapeutic

50% got it right with "boinked"

According to 10Connects.com, Tampa, Florida's Dr. Daniel R. Lerom is listed in documents as having a long-standing sexual relationship with a Lakeland patient in a lawsuit filed with Hillsborough County Circuit Court.

Each time they two had sex, documents say, the doctor would bill her Blue Cross Blue Shield Insurance for their "sessions."

Interesting, I call them "sessions" too. "The doctor is IN. What do you mean you can't feel that?"

The main complaint is that the doctor would claim to go a full hour, but always stop ten minutes early.