Favorite moment of Character Pants show Saturday, from Eva D., midway through the set.

"So, they're going to need a situation... a setting."

Silence.

"Anything."

Silence.

"A setting, a place... who here knows what a 'setting' is? Raise your hand."

Nothing.

"So, maybe we could give you examples of a setting and then you could tell us another one."

Yes, Character Pants' first foray into the improvisation performance world was marred by a few things...

First, The band we were billed with (whom we'd never met, and didn't really meet then...) was funnier than we were, at least to us, though they weren't intentionally doing comedy. They actually had laser gun sounds in their songs. The kind that go "Pew pew," not the... more manly(?) laser sound ..... Every song they played that wasn't a cover I decided was in the same family as "She Blinded Me With Science," and it helps you to understand why that was a one hit wonder. We sat in the back interjecting (quietly) our own spoken lines to make the songs more interesting. Yes, I should point out that some of these "SBMWS" style songs were INSTRUMENTALS. Yes, we shared the bill with a band that aspired to the musical heights reached by the original synth versions of the Legend of Zelda and Metroid themes... but without actually being kitschy enough to cover those themes. No, when they covered, they covered "Radiohead," and ... yeah.

Second, we had a nearly last-minute substitution of a new game that seemed to work out okay in our warm-up sessions but then tanked in front of the audience.

Then one bit we thought would be at least reliably funny ... once in front of the audience it became apparent that we hadn't thought it through or been prepared for a less-than-helpful audience... most of us had to sit back and watch as this one painful bit, which had lasted 2 kinda funny minutes in rehearsal, and was TWELVE AWFUL MINUTES in performance.

We were none of us brilliant.

It never mattered - the audience was almost entirely the band and friends of the band. The band was two guys and they each had one and a half friends.

Lessons learned? Nothing specific, but... we know. It's all for fun, so it really doesn't matter. It was fun, though, and God forgive us we may do it again. Why? Because it'll go better next time.

It'd have to.

Okay, now the new pictures are really there. Enjoy responsibly.

SITE UPDATED!

New photos on the photo page. Video stills, mostly.
Marquee now not four months out of date.
Resume now not six months out of date.

Monkeys on the... damn, no monkeys...

Anyway, will miracles never cease.

Ah, hiatus, for a break of a few weeks while Scarlet Pimpernel moves to a new theatre.

Hello X-Box, meet "Knights of the Old Republic."

My birthday is Friday. The 25th. I have no idea what I'm doing, it's going to be a weird one, being so far removed from anyone I've known longer than this gig.

I'm turning 29. That makes it, what, about 366 days to last day, 367 to carousel?

Review links:

Review one...

Review two...

Review three... okay, I can't find a link to review three. It's syndicated, by someone named Anita Donovan.

Reviews! Wow. All I can say is, wow.

I'll post links when I can find them. These are easily the best reviews of my life, and perhaps will remain so until... well, for the rest of it.

I'll post links ASAP.

I never really ... well, I try not to care about reviews, and certainly you can't take reviews to heart whether bad or good.... but... it's nice to get a pat on the back for all the sweat, sturm, und drang.

:)

Per request, copied from comments a few days back:

adriana @ 5:31PM | 2003-07-11| permalink

vocal tonic from the mouth of tori amos herself:

Half a teaspoon of slippery elm
One dessertspoon of honey
two teaspoons of lemon juice
Add just a drop of water
and cream this to a paste.
Then add
6 thin slices of root ginger (or more, to taste)
3-4 thin slices of lemon cut into halves or quarters
Add boiling water, stir, let it sit, and let it cool a bit before drinking.

Tired voices? Well, the voice kinda "went away" as of Friday night. Learned a lot about restraint and adaptation throughout the weekend.

Now, resting and hoping for the best for tomorrow. Send me your good will!

Had a very interesting weekend, in several ways - met some great new people, learned how to fake my way through a difficult performance vocally, then Monday spontaneously decided to daytrip to Atlantic City.

R & R. That's what's required. Also, a monkey.

Thanks for the voice tonic recipie, Adriana!

Press night last night, followed by debauchery.

The show went well, tired voices considered. Now, we await the reviews.

What a LONG week. Universally everyone has been less than satisfied with the rehearsal process for SCARLET PIMPERNEL, but thanks to a great cast and an overworked crew we are in good shape.

Deep cleansing breath...

The scoop is, if Luis (the Pimpernel), Amy (Marguerite), and I (Chauvelin) can keep our voices in shape for opening after all the running and lack of sleep, we'll have a great show. It looks great. Pay no attention to the promo photo on the website, the actual costumes are first-rate. Please send us all your good juju, we need it. Here's a theme for the comments : What tonics, cures and etcetera do you use for vocal health or rejuvenation?

It's been over a week since I last posted. Not much has happened, really, but SCARLET PIMPERNEL rehearsals are in full swing as well as a full performance week of TITANIC. Playing principal roles in both shows makes Don a tired boy.

I have no idea how much of anything I'm rehearsing is being retained, because the schedule is so quick it's hard to review.

Still, working hard is good.

Any news in the real world? The last movie I saw was THE HULK, and unlike many people, I enjoyed it.

Why?

A) I know the Hulk as a comic book character, pretty well, but I'm not a purist and the tweaking of the origin didn't bother me too much. I'm also not that huge a fan of the Hulk to begin with, and this made it new to me. I was afraid it'd just be an overblown action film with a guy who turns green when he's mad.

B) Ang Lee really got to the meat of what the character is all about.

C) The ending was classic and I think now that the exposition is out of the way the next film can be a truly great HULK film for purists and newbies alike.

I'm sure that someday in the future I'll have time to see another movie. Perhaps.