Went to Atlantic City for the weekend, and am poorer than I was when I left town.

However, it's mostly due to buying drinks and dinner and stuff like that, I was lucky enough not to lose tooo much on the gambling. Didn't have a lot of patience for it, was having too much fun just being there.

Great trip though.

I have learned an important lesson recently.

Never, ever, make any decisions about anything. Ever.

Apply as needed.

You know, being that just a couple of days ago I posted that I didn't have reliable internet access, I certainly have posted a lot.

I have two words to say, today.

Really one word and a vocalized sigh.

Aw, crap.

Forgot to mention - no consistent e-mail access here. Luckily, a friend of the theatre happens to own an internet cafe.

So if you don't get a quick reply, that is why.

TITANIC officially opens tomorrow night, but we had our first real audience today for a matinee. It's going exceptionally well. The cast has taken it all to the next level and beyond...

It's so refreshing to feel everyone supporting and caring for one another, the way things should be. I remembered that people used to do that in the theatre, but hadn't experienced it lately.

VERY happy here right now.

MAN OF LA MANCHA closes today, after a two-show day. Then it's off to the Titanic.

Yesterday I woke at 5 a.m. to commute up to the Poconos to do the first run-through of TITANIC. It went... well..? It's such a bear of a show. I remember when I second-acted it on Broadway and hated it. Knowing the show now, I know why I did.

A) The Broadway production wasn't particularly good.
B) Second-acting a show whose second act is primarily full of "evocative reprises" of single lines of songs from the first act doesn't do much for you.

Second-acting a show, for those of you unfamiliar with the practice, is what you do when you're bored in NYC and want to see theatre. You wait until the show lets out for intermission and intermingle with the crowd outside. It helps if you can find a discarded playbill. Then, when the mob returns inside, you let yourself be shuffled in with them.

You know, I think eventually I will have to learn to trust myself and my abilities as a professional actor.

By that I mean I was very concerned I would struggle vainly to grasp what I had to do in TITANIC in the short, short time I had to learn it. Instead, the preparation I did (without a script or score) really paid off. However, had I not been so concerned with making sure I was prepared to hit the ground running I might not be feeling the relief I am feeling now. So the stressing, in my mind, served a valuable end. Being that a (poorly) trained chimp could do what I'm doing in this MAN OF LA MANCHA (let's just be honest), it's nice to actually do something again.

I had several hours of relatively low-key rehearsals on Monday during which I was blocked through the entire show, then some music on Tuesday before driving the just >3 hours back to Lancaster for the performance last night. I return only for the run-through on Friday morning, then leave again and don't come back to stay until tech rehearsal Monday. We open with a matinee Wednesday.

Now to trudge through seven more performances or a greatly deteriorated from what it once was, but still passable, production of Man of La Mancha.

This is going to be a very, very long week.

I leave after the matinee tomorrow for the 2 or 3 hours drive to Bucks County for TITANIC rehearsals Monday. Then, at 2pm Tuesday, I'll start back here for the show Tuesday night. Two shows Wednesday, two shows Thursday, then driving late at night for a rehearsal on Friday until 2pm, at which point I'll head back here for Friday's show. Then we close here with two more LA MANCHAs Saturday, after which I think I'll let myself sleep here before returning to Bucks County to go into tech for TITANIC.

And I haven't gotten my score for TITANIC, so I'm at best "familiar" with it.

Also, I'm in the process of having to make decisions about my fall - winter bookings this week.

So, wish me luck. What'd I get myself into?

Extra-spicy good news comes down the pike today. Turns out one of my favorite fellow geek-out buddies is going to be doing the next gig with me. Color me "Psyched"; if you bought the cheap crayons and couldn't spring for the big box with "Psyched" substitute "Burnt Umber."

Woo hoo, Matt-tastic!

The video camera rules. If I ever get my Firewire port PC card to upload video, currently reordered for a third time from Amazon.com, I'm going to post some video on the site - always my intention, but might take a while to come to fruition.

Working on some stuff right now to line up some future gigs - wish me luck / send good thoughts / say a prayer / do whatever it is you do for me this week.

Start commuting for TITANIC rehearsals a week from today.

Hey - anyone who reads this I have either not heard from in a long while (or heard from and lazily not responded to)... drop me a line.