For the first time since I’ve moved to Los Angeles, I will be performing in a play and I’m very excited about it! It’s a one act romantic comedy called LET’S HAVE A BABY and it’s written by Jamie Moniz and directed by Jamie and my good friend America Young. The play will be part of a show of five one acts all written be women playwrights. The whole show is about 2 hours long with our 20 minute play being the longest of the group.
We open this Friday January 13th and run for three weekends thru January 29th. Tickets are $15 and you can get them at the door or at www.secretrose.com. Please see the flyer below for all show information, including times for the Friday, Saturday and Sunday shows.
I hope to see you there!
This weekend, I took in two very different kinds of shows at two very different kinds of theaters (or theatres). As different as they were, both productions hit me on a very emotional level just the same.
On Friday I went to Arclight Hollywood to see JJ Abrams & Steven Speilberg’s SUPER 8. Having grown up in the Speilberg era of movies, this homage to that style of film making really hit home with me. I’m not going to talk about the plot because I really think you should go into this movie knowing as little as possible. It’s certainly not a perfect movie if you analyze it but I also don’t think it’s meant to be viewed that way. It’s really about an experience and an atmosphere. It’s about a feel. All I will say is, the kids in this are fantastic! If the movie was only about them and had none of the other Sci-Fi/horror trappings, it would still be a great movie. In fact, I bet some people would think it might even be a better movie.
Oh, I almost forgot! I also saw a woman in front of us drop her ice cream on the ground, debate how long the rule is where you can still eat it…and then eat it anyway! So this night really was a win-win!
Last night, I made my very first ever trip to the Geffen Playhouse to see Tracy Letts’ play SUPERIOR DONUTS. The play stars one of
my favorite actors, Gary Cole (OFFICE SPACE) as Arthur Przybyszewski (pronounced shoopa-shev-ski), a disillusioned former hippie who owns a donut shop in Uptown, Chicago. He dodged the draft during the Vietnam War and now is dealing with the weight of his decisions. His world is turned upside down when Franco Wicks (played by Edi Gathegi, who is truly hysterical and steals the show) walks in the front door looking for a job. Emmy Award Winner Kathryn Joosten is also in this.
The play deals with the themes of the above mentioned disillusionment, guilt, regret and feelings of hope and hopelessness while somehow making it all very funny. I’ve read some reviews stating that it plays out like a 1970′s sitcom and I can definitely see that comparison. I’m about 20 years younger than Arthur but the age is insignificant. The feelings are universal. I look forward to the day when I can play Arthur in a presentation of this.
I absolutely loved the show and, like SUPER 8, even if it wasn’t a perfect show, it was the perfect show for me to see. I can’t recommend either highly enough.
SUPERIOR DONUTS runs at the Geffen Playhouse through July 10.
I’ve been really inspired by Jeff Smith’s BONE comics as the lead characters have a similar body type as the characters in my strip. I’ve long felt my characters can look a little stiff in the panels so I’m practicing on giving them a more fluid look as the example here, which is patterned after how the Bones run in THE GREAT COW RACE.
Also, if you haven’t ever read BONE (and I’m about 20 years behind everyone else on this) it really is tremendous and I highly recommend it! Enjoy!
