That dingy, stingy menace....

So much for blogging every day. Although with the amount I have on my plate, I think the fact that I am still standing is pretty impressive. Not really. But I have low standards when it comes to being pleased with myself. Or not. Maybe that whole sentence is a total lie. Let's just move on.

Week two went, week three comes apace. This week was lots of great, lots of not so great. It's hard, touring. I love it very deeply but I've had a lot of mini-meltdowns this week. I don't think I'm bringing it onstage, but it's hard not to show my stress, and my sadness, and all the horrible beasts I have inside me when you're crammed in a van with people every day, and changing next to them in a tent.

So we were in Schomberg. Now, Schomberg might sound like a boring place, but it is awesome.


I am such a city mouse, but I want to live in Schomberg a bit (although I would most likely murder someone within twenty minutes). Mostly because of the things you can eat in Schomberg.

Oh such things!
PIE.



I love this. Hard.


And the show was ok. Two nights there. The first one was a really great audience and I was so happy. The second one got rained out halfway through and then I was cold and miserable. Mood swing Moss strikes again!

Rain out tent!!

Then Kettleby. Do these place names have any significance? No. All I know is that we drive in some direction for an indeterminate amount of time, and, when they tell me to, I get out and say my lines.

Yeah, this was ok. Oh, actually, this was a good show for me. I felt like total crap but I think because of this I was able to just do new stuff. I just let it fly, and that was great. Ann-Marie Kerr used to say the best stuff is when the actor surprises him or herself, and is visibly shocked by what you do. I love those moments. I think I had them in this show. New details. New moments. Man, acting is weird. Does the fact that I have an acting blog make me more or less hateful? Does this make me a douchebag actor, or does it relieve me of douchebag actor status?


Aw, this picture is cute! There was a party after the Kettleby show. Wow, free alcohol is so not my friend. Holy red-face, Batman. It sure is nice to be plied with booze after doing a show. Don't I look like a normal person in this picture? You would think I am a human being. Instead of a troll, which is the sad truth.

Then Alton Mill. This was interesting. Lots of people really liked this venue, and while I didn't, I guess because I have really come to like performing in parks, it was pretty cool. It's this kind of stone enclosure, and there are windows, that we took to climbing in and out of. That was kind of fun. One thing I do love about this project is how every show you have to adapt to so much. There is no room to be precious about the work, because when you aren't being rained on or eaten by bugs, you have to exit through the audience, or project louder than ever because they're so far, or deal with any of the other million things around you. It's such a good exercise as an actor to learn to cope and to tell the story no matter what is happening. I love that shit, because, in my reluctance to set anything and keep everything as alive as possible, I try to just accept what's going on, and i love when stuff is different, even when it falls apart. And Hugh, who plays Petruchio, turned into Errol Flynn in this show, so that was exciting.


For me, though, I thought this was a weak show. Other cast members thought it was our best overall. I guess I am contrary: I never agree with that kind of stuff. I felt that the audience didn't like me. I have to accept the fact that I make big loud choices. I am a big loud actor. I think I do subtle stuff a lot, and I like it, but I'm playing a clown character in a park: I am a big loud actor in this one. And some people aren't going to like that. It's a reflection that I made choices, because there is room to disagree. It still throws me into a spiral of self loathing, though. Because I'm fun like that.

It's so hard to keep doing the work you're doing when you think people don't like the work you're doing. What's up with that?

And then today we had a matinee (I HATE MATINEES. WHO WANTS TO SEE THEATRE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DAY? NOT ME. NIGHT TIME IS THE RIGHT TIME FOR THEATRE, LIKE VAMPIRES AND ALCOHOLIC DRINKS).

Man, this is a lot of shows. We are halfway down, though, and that scares me. I'm enjoying it so much and already starting to fear the post-show depression.

Kevin looks like Huck Finn in this outfit. This is a hard look to pull off.

But, yes, it is really cool for acting to be a job. Maybe that will happen again!

Show me your duck face.