Gather 'round boys and girls. It's finally time again for:

alpha charlie bravo's True Student Theater Stories.

A couple of years after I had graduated High School I was asked by my former H.S. Drama teacher to serve as assistant director for the school's Spring production which was also going to serve as her graduate thesis. I also played a part in the production.

We didn't have a conventional proscenium stage. The theater, which was newly built, was basically a large room with some theatrical lighting fixtures. It doubled as a classroom during the school day. We designed the set with a large playing space center stage at floor level and platforms going up the sides culminating in a raised playing space upstage.

All the actors remained on stage throughout the entire play. If an actor wasn't in a particular scene, he would go off to the side platforms or some other space away from the action.

There was a point in the play when I was placed with my back to the audience at one of the raised side platforms away from the scene taking place. The next scene began with my line, so I would turn, say my line and step down into the center stage area.

Now, I've always liked military turns. I do them in my day to day life. I lift my right foot, place my right toe behind my left heel, turn on my right foot 180 degrees and bring my left foot forward to meet my right. I must have done it that way a dozen times in rehearsal: turn, say the line, walk into the scene.

The first time we performed the play for an audience and reached that particular scene, I opened my mouth to speak, lifted my right foot and placed my right toe behind my left heel as always.
But where there should have been a stage platform under my right foot... there was only air.

I fell.
I fell while turning 180 degrees and landed with hips and shoulders rolling onto arms and chest.

Without a breath of hesitation I stood, spoke my line and continued with the scene as intended.

I keep hoping today is Friday.
I can't believe it's not Friday.

Damn.

Is it Friday, now?

Damn

"I'm not bad, I'm just drawn that way."

Netflix is my Jeebus.

I'm watching Kurosawa's Throne of Blood and this version of the DVD features a kick-ass drawing of Toshiro Mifune.

Check it out:



Doesn't he look bad-ass?
So, I started thinking, what if this film were animated? What if other Kurosawa films were animated? Wouldn't it be cool if someone digitally rotoscoped Seven Samurai or Yojimbo?

So now, if you're a film or television producer you're stroking you're chin and thinking, "hmm... that's actually a good idea."
Well, hold on. I've go another one for you.

It's an Americanized Tv series based on Lars Von Trier's The Five Obstructions. I would say more, but I've got my copy of NCAA '06 here waiting to be played.

New World Water

Everything should be open 24 hours.
Right now I should be playing NCAA 2006, but nothing's open after 11:00pm, so I'm not.

I have become hooked on Glaceau's expensive, tasty Vitamin Water. One of the reasons I like it so much, is that each flavor is associated with a concept. I often drink an "Energy" or a "Power-C" before work and a "Revive" after. For me, it's not just the particular vitamin combination that makes those concepts manifest in the drink. It's the words written on the bottle itself that turn a marketing concept into a physical reality.
I saw a movie that tells me it's true.

I'm always fascinated by people who are, as the colloquial metaphor goes, open books. The idea that someone, a virtual stranger or a co-worker, would feel compelled to tell me details of their personal life when I have shown no prior interest in such matters mystifies me. Especially considering that I myself have some sort of sub-rational aversion to disclosure.

In other news, I have sideburns. They kind of snuck up on me. I wasn't paying attention to the fact that I hadn't been shaving them and then one day: surprise! I'm Luke Perry.