I'm a big girl and I deserve big girl things...

... like Photoshop?

Good grief, I am six degrees of confused with photoshop. Now of course I am brand new to it, and we have things to do. You know, emails, flyers, ads, and so on. And so I'm learning as I go.

There's a lot to be impressed with, I must say. Like last night, when I found a magical button that will erase the entire background of your image with one click. That's really hot, I thought to myself, and started looking for pictures to do that with. Who needs backgrounds, anyway? I can see that photoshop is powerful; so mighty in fact that it is a verb.

But the terrible awesomeness of it, the sheer size and magnitude of the thing, is a bit overwhelming. Kind of like standing in the cockpit of a plane, looking at all the dials and knobs and levers. In the right hands, you can fly a plane. In the wrong hands, well... you get the point. Let us hope that the introduction of photoshop into my life will prove to be a step forward, rather than a sure sign of the apocalypse.

Does something look different?

Yup, you're in the right place. I'm now the webmaster, and there are gonna be some changes around here. In other words, this is going to be black until I figure out how to do something else. Why the change, you ask? Well, because change is good for you. And it's inevitable. So get comfortable, got it?

Actually we've been discussing changing the look of the website for some time now. The original design is endearing and wonderful, but it was time for something different, something a little more mature, something with a bigger viewing window... you get the idea.

And so, somehow, I got tapped to make this change. I have NO idea how that happened. And being the non-technical artistic type that I am, I did the only thing I could do when faced with HTML. That's right. I ran the 0ther way. Right into the arms of iweb.

Yup, mac saves the day. I can throw things around like I know what I'm doing, and generally it works. We discovered that I got a little overexcited about all the bells and whistles and made the site a little dense for most browsers (*cough*internet explorer*cough*) So I simplified things for now. And like most classy events, we're going black. Black tie, little black dress, you can't go wrong. And so it is. I reserve the right to change it whenever and however I feel like it, because I do what I want and I am drunk with power.

So visit the site, why dontcha, and bask in the glory of a not-at-all-computer-savvy girl who did a thing that got published to the interwebs. And someday I may figure out how to do other things. If I want.

Gearing up for a new year/season

There is so much promise coming up for next year. We are just coming off a tremendous production of "A Few Good Men" (voted one of the top ten productions of 2010 by Lavender magazine) and we have a phenominal season planned for 2011. I feel like this could be a huge year for USP!! We've put together a very talented cast for "Leave" which opens in February. We are doing some amazing things with it as far as staging. We are doing it in the round! With the audience on stage with the performers!!

I hope everyone out there can get as excited about this season as we all are. Have a safe and happy New Year!!

Audition Jitters

Despite feeling really excited about the upcoming auditions for my play, "Leave," with Urban Samurai Productions, apparently my unconscious can't help tweaking me. I woke up on Saturday morning and it took me a couple of minutes to realize, "Oh, none of that actually happened. The auditions haven't taken place yet. Everything's fine. That was a dream."

I don't normally remember my dreams, or that I've even been dreaming, so it takes something major to break through and screw with my head. This production's major, so it certainly qualifies. And the dream was more a personal sort of "Wow, I'm doing everything wrong and missing the auditions for my play" kind of thing, rather than the auditions themselves going badly. It was just all a bit surreal, and I was getting sidetracked, and felt like I was letting the production down somehow. (A subset of directors probably wouldn't mind if the playwright was missing in action. Thankfully, Artistic Director Matt Greseth would actually miss his playwright. He loves new work, has great storytelling instincts, and enjoys working with writers to develop scripts. I'm a lucky playwright.)

And I've been pounding the electronic pavement to get the word out. Of course, a lot of good actors are already committed to other shows. A bunch more actors I know are Equity and this is a non-union house at present. Then you've got the subject matter. Gays in the military in this case means gays pairing up, which means physical intimacy, and some partial nudity. That's a tough sell for some actors, gay or straight, and I completely understand that. So we have to find four actors playing in the age range of late teens to early thirties (depending on how the pairings shake out) who are willing to go there. Otherwise the play doesn't work. Toss on the pile the fact that three of them have to look convincing as military or ex-military - one Army, two Marines - and we've got another degree of difficulty. Plus, the one female role is the mother of one of those Marines, so we have to get another sort of pairing to look like it makes sense.

It was almost weirder to put the word out to my actress friends. Because, in my head, my compatriots and I are all still in our mid to late 20s. Logically, and chronologically, I know that isn't true. But the way you feel internally isn't always what's reflected back to you in the mirror over the bathroom sink in the morning. Let's face it, if I sired a kid at the age of 25, that child and I would now be able to legally sit down and have a beer together in a bar. Yikes. Time marches on. Even so, I still felt strange asking, as if it was more insulting to ask an actress friend of mine to audition for the part of someone's mother than it was to ask a guy to take a role where he'd have to kiss another dude onstage. (Not that there's anything wrong with any of that. It's just the way my brain was throwing stuff back at me.)

So, in addition to continuing to work on the rewrites, I figured I'd throw another blog entry out there. After all, no human being can see all the theater in this town. There's always a new theater company I'm being introduced to for the first time. New actors, young and old, appear on the scene with delightful and dizzying frequency. If anyone in or out of my network hasn't seen the post on Callboard or MinnesotaPlaylist, well, maybe they'll trip across the blog instead.

Here's where I'll be next Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. Perhaps I'll be seeing you there, dreams to the contrary notwithstanding.

Here's the synopsis...

Leave

Seth is a young Marine serving during wartime. Nicholas is his civilian husband who waits back home. In addition to the strain on their relationship caused by distance and absence, they must hide their love for one another behind code words and secret identities because of the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy barring gays and lesbians from serving openly in the United States military.

Seth’s mother Anne assists them by providing the cover of a woman’s handwriting for Nicholas’ daily letters, but Nicholas and Seth’s resolve is starting to weaken.

Jonas, another young gay Marine in Seth’s unit just coming to terms with his identity, forms an intense bond with Seth overseas.

Tyson, a former Army soldier who got fed up with “don’t ask, don’t tell” and didn’t reenlist, now works alongside Nicholas, providing temptation as well as a reality check.

When Seth returns home for an unexpected leave, with Jonas at his side, and post-traumatic stress following him from the battlefield, old relationships are tested, and new ones bloom. In the end, the realities of war call on one man to make the ultimate sacrifice.

Audition Information

Urban Samurai Productions (USP) invites you to audition for its upcoming production

Leave
Written by Matthew A. Everett
Directed by Matthew Greseth

Leave is an original script by local playwright Matthew A. Everett regarding the U.S. Military's Don't Ask Don't Tell policy. The play focuses not only on the difficulties that gay men have serving in the military, but also the effect of the policy on their loved ones back home, who must hide their feelings for fear of accidentally outing their partner. USP will open Season 2011 with a full production of this world premiere of Matthew A. Everett's expanded version of the play, which has been presented as a one-act at previous venues.

Stipend: $200

Performances: February 11-26, 2011

Rehearsals: An initial read-through and script discussion will take place before the end of the year. Regular rehearsals will begin in January 2011 and take place Sunday afternoons/Monday-Thursday evenings at SJCC.

Auditions: Monday, November 8th & Tuesday, November 9th, 6:00pm to 9:00pm

Callbacks: Thursday, November 11th, 6:00pm to 9:00pm - (please note, this is a change)
(callbacks were originally scheduled for Wednesday, November 10th)

Auditions will consist of readings from the script and actors will be seen in 10-minute intervals.

All roles in this production are OPEN:

Tyson - 20-35 - Took a voluntary discharge from the military because he refused to serve under a policy that made him hide his true self.

Seth - 20-30 - Marine who chooses to hide his homosexuality in order to serve in the military.

Nicholas - 20-30 - Seth's partner

Jonas - 18-25 - Marine in Seth's unit who is trying to come to terms with being gay.

Anne - 35-50 - Seth's mother

All male actors involved in this production must be comfortable with partial nudity and with portraying homosexual intimacy, including kissing.

To make an audition appointment for Leave, please contact Managing Director, Ryan Grimes, at ryan AT urbansamurai DOT org. As USP will be holding auditions for two productions within a week of each other, please clearly state in your email the production for which you are auditioning, the date and time you would prefer to audition, and your gender. Please bring a headshot and resume to your audition(s) and arrive early to complete an informational form. USP encourages all interested actors to audition for this production; there are no race-specific characters in Leave.

Audition, Rehearsal, and Performance Venue:
Sabes Jewish Community Center
(near the intersection of I-394 and MN-100)
4330 Cedar Lake Road
Minneapolis, MN 55416

The use of Mapquest or a similar driving directions application is strongly discouraged. Please visit sabesjcc.org for directions to the SJCC from most areas of the Twin Cities.

For more information about Urban Samurai Productions please visit our website at urbansamurai.org

Oops...

So I have missed out on most of the summer of my responsibility to blog every Saturday. What can I say, I've been busy. I got married, am having a baby, and am in rehearsals for A Few Good Men.

What's that you say? When does that start? Well it starts soon!! On Friday September 24th at 7:30 this amazing production will be brought to the masses for the first time. Are going to be there to witness the birth of awesome? Are you going to be on the front lines to become a part of theater synergy unlike anything seen before? Or are you gonna come later and hear about it second hand like a loser? I knew you would be coming opening night :) You guys are so smart!!

Anyhoo, I'll be playing Lt. Jack Ross. You know, Keven Bacon. Of course, I am not playing the part like Kevin Bacon did. But I did shave my head for the part, which hasn't made the wife too happy.

So come see my newly shaved head and an amazing cast as we kick off this terrific production. We shall see you Friday...

Tuesday Samurai - Another Step in the Crescendo of Energy

Yes, I've been observing the last few rehearsals as assistant director of A Few Good Men and I already have a Matt Greseth gem to quote. It's just one indication of a great rehearsal process so far. This cast is so talented and is already working off book. After three rehearsals. That's nutso!

But we're taking a break from rehearsals tomorrow night for our first ever Urban Samurai FUNdraiser at Park Tavern Bowling & Entertainment Center in St. Louis Park. With bowling, door prizes, an exhibition bowling game, grand raffle prizes, and karaoke - not to mention fun times with USP friends and family - it's sure to be an event to remember. So you should come!

If you don't have it in your plans already, drop by tomorrow night and have an amazing time. $10 gets you through the doorway to FUNtown! Don't miss it!

Ryan Grimes
Managing Director
Urban Samurai Productions

FUNdraisers!

This is the first fundraiser I've ever been in charge of. It's also Urban Samurai's first fundraiser. Coincidence? I think not.

I can tell you that it has been a learning process. It has also been ulcerating. My ulcer is quite intelligent now.

But I think it will all be worthwhile when we come together on Wednesday to bowl and have a good time. Until then I'm sure I forgot at least one thing. I will remember this thing the night before. Or maybe on the drive there.

I truly hope a lot of people come, and that everyone has a good time. Cause at the end of the day, it's about the fun. Well, actually it's about raising money to match grant funds, but you understand what I mean. Matching grant funds is fun. And so is bowling.

On a semi-related note: I think raffles may be obsolete. No one carries cash or checks anymore, and it's illegal to sell them on the internet (we discovered). Whatever. So how are you supposed to sell raffle tickets if no one carries cash?

So if you are reading this, then you are a friend of Urban Samurai. So come out to Park Tavern on Wednesday and celebrate 5 awesome years of theater producing goodness. And for christsake, bring cash.