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.

Weeks 5 & 6 - Regan Davis

WEEKS 5 & 6 – “Zombie Space Aliens” – Director: Regan Davis

Regan Davis is directing this block of scenes. I first worked with Regan when he was cast in a play I wrote called Metaluna. Regan is very smart and has a dry sense of humor, which, of course, I dig. He recently directed a scene I wrote called Lighthouse for the Wednesday night Nighthawk Sandwich show. What I like about the job he did with that piece is that he took a pretty basic gag that tags the scene and turned it into one of the funniest moments of the evening with just the slightest change to it. This block has some interesting scenes. Loud Sunshine is very surreal, Public Hair is based on an actual experience a friend had on the dating scene and Once Upon A Time In A Church Basement is a showdown between three old ladies at a rummage sale. Very excited to have Regan on board.

Bad News.2.18.09

Termination.2.17.09

LOUD SUNSHINE.2.22.09

Mercury Poisoning.2.19.09

Once Upon A Time in the Church Basement.2.21.09

Public Hair.2.16.09

Suess Club.2.20.09

Mr. Mysterium.3.1.09

Zombie Space Aliens.2.23.09

That’s Just Jay.2.25.09

TheC-E-Yos(a rap song).2.24.09

The Third One.2.26.09

The Wretched Refuse2.27.09

This Is My Art.2.28.09

THE BS NEWS QUIZ OF THE DAY

Yesterday, I asked...

"Senator Chris Buttars of Utah wants to save up to $60 million dollars in the school system by making what optional?"

75% said "attendance" - Sorry, must be present to win.

No one went for "gym class" or "state exams"

25% got it right with "senior year"

According to The Salt Lake Tribune, Sen. Chris Buttars, who once talked about dropping 12th grade altogether, now is talking about making 12th grade optional for those students who finish their required credits early -- and some lawmakers are listening to the idea with interest. Buttars is proposing the state save up to $60 million by giving students the option of graduating from high school early. Students who finish their high school requirements early are already allowed to graduate early, but Buttars' proposal would provide more incentives for students to do that and make that option clearer, he said.

Some of those incentives include; living at home watching TV, minimum wage employment, a jump on that alcohol or drug addiction.

Theater Review: "Wilson Wants It All"

"Wilson Wants It All"
Written by Michael Rohd and Phillip C. Klapperich
Conceived and Directed by Michael Rohd
The House Theatre of Chicago
@ The Chopin Theatre
1543 West Division
Through March 27

"In the not-too-distant future, America is again on the brink of civil war -- this one a schism of values. A lone man decides the future of a nation as he manipulates the fate of twin girls, separated at birth and caught on either side of this escalating conflict."

Sounds promising, doesn't it? Prior to seeing this production, I had never seen a House show. I was really looking forward to it. I've heard good things, I've heard bad things, I was looking forward to making my own decision and was pretty sure I'd at least see something visually stunning and creatively interesting.

The production looks great. It's sparse, but near monumental as it uses the main theater of the Chopin space close to floor-to-ceiling. The lighting, sound and costuming is all top notch. The cast is clearly talented and, at the very least, personable. These are folks you don't mind spending a few hours with.

The problem is quite simply the script. It comes across like an overloaded first draft, but probably suffered from being overwritten. Somewhere in the process, some brave company members needed to speak up and say, "Um, excuse me, guys... that doesn't make sense...we already covered that information...don't you think the audience will have already figured that out?"

Wilson Wants It All isn't so much a play as it is an explanation of a play. It tells us about a lot of things - how the country is torn apart, in a deep depression, how an assassinated senator was the best hope the country had for a bright future, etc. It tells us all these things, a lot, but never shows us. When a plot "twist" you can see coming is revealed, it's explained to death by the characters to each other and then the news team "chorus" comes out and explains directly to the audience what was just explained.

Occasionally, an actor will persevere and manage to have their characters show some humanity, but those moments are fleeting and quickly stomped out by a buttload of recaps or music that plays like a film score that doesn't trust the audience to know what they should be feeling at any given moment.

There are plot holes a-plenty. We first meet Wilson when he is the chief of staff of a golden boy senator who is running for president. He's known the senator, he says, for twenty years. We get the impression they are close to the same age, which would put them in their 30s. Thirty years pass as Wilson grooms the senator's daughter to run for office as soon as she meets the minimum age requirement. Later, he says he's been in politics his whole life, fifty years. How old is this guy? Shouldn't he be 70 or 80? Maybe he is and in the near future our world is fucked but we look marvelous for our age.

Characters do things that just don't make a lick of sense, but are convenient to the plot. Hope (yes, Hope), the senator's daughter meets a doppelganger named Ruth and within minutes they decide to swap lives without knowing anything about each other's personal details. A switch Ruth's mother, who lives with her, doesn't notice. Although, she does catch on long before Ruth's boyfriend, who even has sex with Hope and doesn't notice. As the story trudges along to its ham-fisted climax, Wilson gives Meredith, the mother of Ruth and Hope, a sealed envelope and tells her not to open it until "it's all over" and to "think of it like a love letter." At this point, it is clear that Meredith does not like Wilson or agree with what he's been up to, yet Meredith forgets to ask "When will I know it's all over?" and "What do you mean love letter, that's creepy?" And on top of that, she decides to open the envelope the moment she's been called upon to speak at a press conference. She reads it out loud without previewing it and without preamble. No one but her knows it was written by Wilson, the guy whose politics she opposes. It turns out to be a speech the he wrote for her for just such an occasion. Good thing it wasn't like a love letter. That could have been embarrassing for her.

Wilson Wants It All, like the future it portrays, might have something going for it if it focused more on people than on ideas and appearance.


THE BS NEWS QUIZ OF THE DAY

Late last week, I asked...

"Times are tough. Donna McPherson of Brooklyn recently filed a complaint that someone did what?"

40% said "ate all the free samples in a grocery store" (I love happy hour at the grocery store)

20% said "stole music from her iPod"(They gave her back all her Taylor Swift songs.)

No one went for "mowed her lawn then asked for money"

40% got it right with "mugged her dog"

According to the Associated Press/NBC New York, Donna McPherson says she tied up Lexie, her 10-year-old Westie, outside a Park Slope supermarket "for two minutes'' while she bought milk.

She heard a "funny bark.'' When McPherson went outside, she found the little white dog shivering. His green wool coat, with leather trim and belt, were nowhere in sight.

Hmmm. Are you sure Lexie didn't just give a homeless guy a buck to take that crap off him?