The summer....

So we didn't make it into the Fringe Festival this year (boo) so we actually get to take the summer off for a change. Well, as much as a working theater company can take time off. There is a lot of prep work for "A Few Good Men" for the fall. Have I told you how excited I am for the show?

Other than the fact that I'm getting married, I've decided to take the summer to support all of our other small theaters in this state. For the first time in a LONG time I really have nothing going on for a long stretch. I love a bunch of the theaters here in this lovely state and I have been very bad about attending other shows. Our very own Tuesday Samurai is in "Mame" in June. I must get out and see that. I also want to see "Saved By The Bell" at Bryant-Lake Bowl and "Bye Bye Liver". What else is playing that I must see this summer? Anyone got some ideas?

One week out...

Well, it has been one week since all shows have ended for me. Do I feel a sense of relief? Yes. Is my mind a little clearer? Yes. Can I sleep better at night? Double Yes! Do I have an urge to get started on another show? Nope. Not yet anyways. Even though the Urban Samurai season is one complete calendar year, versus school years that other companies tend to follow, we samuraites still take the summer a bit easier. Does this mean I'm off the hook for doing anything for the whole summer? Well, not exactly. I have already started brainstorming who I would like to bring on as crew, and trying to calculate how much time I will have to take on multiple roles for the show. See, I like to be as involved as possible, especially when I am stage managing a show, because then I feel I can be on top of everything. Not in an egotistical way at all. But in a way, that by doing more, I feel more connected to the show. I know the ins and outs and what that process was to get there. I enjoy that part of getting a show up and running. To know exactly where we started and then where we ended on opening night. It's fun for me!
So what will I do for the summer? Try to put together the most perfect production I have done yet, my wedding. And now I must end, and get ready to do something I never do for a show...drive off to a fitting. There's always a first time for everything!

Tuesday Samurai - Don't Cry For Me, Argentine Tango

We've got to stop meeting like this. It's not healthy to always be blogging when a Dancing With the Stars results show is playing from my DVR.

As (apparently) usual, I've managed to squeeze nuggets of poignancy out of the experience. All three of the finalists (Nicole, Evan, and Erin) chose the Argentine Tango as their favorite dance to be scored again as part of the finale. Now, even though it's easier to compare competitors when they're all doing the same thing, this is dance we're talking about. And dance is a live performance.

The sequence of dance steps may be different for each routine, but one generally knows what to expect. Similarly, the specific story told by a dance routine may change, but the general arc is "I love you, I hate you; I hate you, I love you." Or, more simply, "Let's have angry sex after this."

But it doesn't get boring. No matter how many Argentine Tangos one sees, if it's done well, it's fantastic to watch. There's the potential for unexpected brilliance on every lap around the dance floor.

Such is the excitement gained by other forms of live performance. Like theater. Why go to a play when you can get the DVD and watch it at home?

Because something very different may happen than what you expected. And that's exciting.

And speaking of something very different...it's the finale of DWTS. Which means I won't be bringing you any inane DWTS/vodka lemonade inspired posts anymore.

Or until the next season.

Ryan Grimes
Managing Director
Urban Samurai Productions

Bright Ideas review...

Better late than never, right? Well here is a very fair review of the amazing show have been talking about. Take a look and then come see the show to form your own opinion!!

Rich in talent...

I am constantly impressed with the level of talent in this city. Case one would be the incredibly tlented cast of Bright Ideas. Sometimes I'm worried these people will realize how amazingly talented they are and move away to make their millions. For now I'll be happy to have them grace our company with their awesomeness :)

so only two more shows of Bright Ideas before our summer break. If you haven't had a chance to see this show yet, you must come. I have seen it so many times and I'm still laughing. It's that good. After the break we get to begin work on A Few Good Men. I'll be backing the USP stage playing Ross, the role made famous by Kevin Bacon. I'm excited to get to work on this one. Matt is back at the helm and we have again assembled an extremely talented cast. It is the perfect show to end our 2010 season.

Can you believe it's been 6 seasons already?!

Final Weekend of Bright Ideas

Hello once again! The company is entering the final weekend of one of the most fun shows I have worked on in a long time. Don't get me wrong, I have enjoyed plenty of other shows, I've enjoyed other casts, I've loved other scripts, I've loved other directors, I've enjoyed other processes, but collectively at the same time (and nearly peed my pants often)? Nope. This show had it all for me! Even though I missed about a week and a half of rehearsals, and even though I felt overwhelmed at times, I'm really going to miss this show! Perhaps a large factor can be put simply; that I was able to laugh so much of the time?! Many of the shows as of late have been very much dramas. I think I just needed a little pick me up.
So I will be leaving this show with a smile on my face...although a bit saddened because I won't be seeing these fabulous actors and the fabulous director on a regular basis, it makes me wanting more. Which, for me, is hard to come by. I can't say it enough how much I have loved working on this show.
But onwards and upwards, moving right along...I will start prepping for A Few Good Men. Making spreadsheets and starting to get a crew together! You gotta love it:)

Tuesday Samurai - Miley Cyrus Can't Be Tamed

I have some big news for you: apparently, Miley Cyrus can't be tamed. What the heck that means, none of us know. It has something to do with feathers and birdcages and gay backup dancers. That's right, friends, I'm watching the Dancing with the Stars results show again late at night after a long day, mixing in blog writing and a vodka lemonade, for good measure. Didn't we previously learn what a bad idea this is?

No matter. I have a point. I'm sure I have a point. Somewhere. Let's find it together, shall we?

Miley Cyrus. Where do I begin? I don't want to use the term "talentless hack" because I'm sure there's talent in there somewhere. But the girl is just that - a girl. She hasn't fully developed yet. And I'm not talking about her body, sickos, though it does concern me that she sounds like she's been on a pack a day since infancy. What I'm talking about is the fact that she hasn't fully developed as a talent. And it's evident in her career so far. Let's not pretend she didn't get that audition for Hannah Montana because of her achy breaky dad, Billy Ray. And the last time the country collectively agreed that nepotism was a good idea, we ended up with a two-term president who still didn't know how to pronounce "nuclear" after eight years.

Wow am I ever getting off point. That'd be the vodka lemonade talking. Well, that and common sense.

My point is that Miley Cyrus got her start as a performer for no reason other than being in the right place at the right time thanks to a father who found fame singing the wrong song at the wrong time (it works out if you think of "Achy Breaky Heart" being the right song during a time when everything, in retrospect, was just wrong, very, very wrong, a.k.a., 1992).

And here I've stumbled onto my point. Bright Ideas. You should really see this show. And if you've already seen it, you should see it again. I've seen it several times now (natch), and I always find something new on which to ponder. Why are Genevra and Joshua so obsessed with getting their son into that preschool? Is it really about what's best for their child, or are they more concerned with their own "status"? What does that mean about my parents, who put me in a Montessori preschool when I was that age? Did it make a difference? Is that why I'm a successful human being? Or am I successful? What is success? Does any of it really matter, anyway? Would I have been better off having skipped preschool and merely encourage my dad to contribute some cheesy lyrics to the line-dancing craze?

I'm just full of questions for which I have no answers. And that's why I love theater. You get something new every time!

The only thing I know for sure, though, is that I'm a child of the 80s. Which means my dad couldn't have written a cheesy song for the line-dancing craze that we (shamefully) saw in the early 90s. Perhaps if he'd jumped onto the Electric Slide bandwagon, my life would be different now. I could be the one shaking my tail feather (literally...there were a lot of feathers that I'm still desperately trying to connect to the song lyrics) on the Dancing with the Stars results show.

But with my luck, I'd just end up having some crazy, drunk guy write an incoherent blog post about me.

Wait...

I'll try to be a little bit less strange (but only the tiniest bit) next week.

Ryan Grimes
Managing Director
Urban Samurai Productions