Broadway Melody of 2008

So now I can honestly say I've acted and sung in a musical on Broadway! (Well, it's honest in the sense that it's technically true but horribly misleading, as Broadway in this context refers to a thoroughfare in Anaheim, California.)

Mars Attacks!

I did a documentary a while back called The History of “The War of the Worlds”. I did this a while back but never got a copy or found it on the TV schedule, so I thought it was "lost." I only recently discovered that it did in fact air, but as part of a series and with a slightly different title. So for anyone who may have thought I made the whole thing up, here are some highlights: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_B5O8WhaNw

"Anne"-Ouncement!

Yes, I know it's a lame title, but it is the middle of the night after all. So here's some news about "Anne of Green Gables": If you're planning on buying tickets but are hesitating because of the price or you just haven't gotten around to it, contact me ASAP and I may be able to get you a big discount. If you already got your tickets, pretend you never read the previous sentence and enjoy the show! Also, be sure you got to the right place. This is not a theater I've performed at before, so if you go to one of those, who knows what you might end up seeing.

Anne of Green Gables
December 18, 19, and 20 at 8 p.m.
December 20 at 2 p.m.
Anaheim Heritage Forum
201 E. Broadway, Anaheim

Skin Flick

In Jordan Raabe's It's Nice Out, I play a man who comes early from a business trip and walks into a coming out party.
This was a student project in which everyone in the class was given a different scenarion but the same few lines of dialogue.

Real Exposure

I'm not a big fan of reality shows, in part because generally when one of them is on in place of a drama or sitcom, fewer actors get work. But when I received an invitation to audition for a reality show about acting, I decided to go for it. Sure, there was the risk of ending up an episode featuring embarrassing clips from the losers' auditions, a la American Idol. Even worse, it might have turned out be like that horrible WB series where contestants thought they were competing to be chosen as the best singer but they were really competing to be named the worst for the amusement of the television audience. But then I reminded myself that I'm pretty much maxed out on humiliation at this point. There's not much more they can do to me. And it could even turn out to be legitimate. In any case, there's the promise of some pay and exposure and the possibility of it leading to bigger things. So I put together a mini stand-up routine and polished up a brand-new dramatic monologue that I thought would really set me apart. (There would also be a solo improv component to the on-camera audition). I got to the audition location in plenty of time, so I thought I'd take the opportunity to run through the monologue one more time, out loud, but I didn't want to disturb the other auditioners, and I was too self-conscious to rant outside on the sidewalk, so I walked down the hall and into the restroom. Well, as long as I was in the restroom, I figured I might as well empty my bladder. So there I was engaged in passionate soliloquoy and bodily discharge when the session runner opened the door, interrupting the verbal stream if not the liquid one. It was a small room and the urinal was situated so that he had a comprehensive view from the doorway. His eyes got wide and he stammered a little, but I guess I really don't embarrass as easily as I used to because I just smiled pleasantly and said I thought I had locked the door but obviously it didn't latch properly. A few minutes later I was standing before the camera as if nothing unusual had happened. I got laughs during my stand-up and improv and a wow after my monologue. When I was done he said I was definitely in the top 5 percent he had seen.

A couple of weeks ago, one of the members of the crew of a short film I acted in asked me to be in his short film. In the previous project, I played a father who was eager for his son to come out of the closet. This time, I play someone who isn't ready to accept it at all. The moment where my character finds his home filled with half-naked young men dancing to techno music made me want to laugh during rehearsal, but I think I pulled off being suitably disturbed on camera.

Nov. 22 Final Improv Show of the Age!

That's right, Improvisation Inundation's next show will be the last one we do in the G.W. Bush years before the dawn of the Obama era, and that's an absolute guarantee (unless we have another show scheduled that no one has bothered to tell me about)!

The Office Sports Bar & Grill
2106 North Tustin Avenue
Santa Ana , CA 92705
Cost: $10

[Map]

Come join us for an evening of improvisational comedy fueled by audience suggestions! Arrive early and have dinner and drinks. Food and beverage service will continue through the show. Reservations suggested. Call (714) 834-0943

Come Again?

Lordy, here's a blast from my past:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6f2rl_yn1c.

You never know what's going to show up on YouTube.

Anne Opportunity to Save Some Green

Tickets for Anne of Green Gables - The Musical are on sale now. Readers of this blog have two ways to save up to $25 on the best seats in the house.

Ticket prices are:

Section A: $45 ($35 group rate, $20 early purchase)
Section B: $35 ($25 group rate, $20 early purchase)
Section C: $25 ($20 group rate, $20 early purchase)

Groups (10 or more) get 2 free tickets for every 8 purchased at the group rate.

The early purchase price is only valid until November 14 and is only available online. Visit https://www.ovationtix.com/trs/pr/59312/prm/avonlea.

I'm Going to Avonlea!

Regular readers of this blog (if such fabulous creatures were to actually exist outside of my imagination) may recall my account of an audition gone awry during which I performed an inappropriate monologue. This was actually my third audition at this particular theater, and I more or less decided I was going to be permanent persona non grata. To my surprise, I got a callback, but not to my surprise, I didn't get the part. Within days, however, I did get a part (multiple roles, actually) in another show at another theater, so I was happy. Just a few days before the sold-out final performance of that show, I got an unsolicited call from a director at the first theater inviting me to come to an audition. Who am I to pass up another chance for rejection, I thought. So I went in not really expecting much, came out about five minutes later expecting less, and within a couple of hours I found myself cast in Anne of Green Gables - The Musical! I play the title character. No, I don't really. I may only have a couple of lines. I haven't seen the script yet. I'm just excited to be part of it. More news as the story develops.

ANNE OF GREEN GABLES

Dec. 18 and 19 at 8 p.m.
Dec. 20 at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.
Dec. 21 at 2 p.m.
The Heritage Forum
201 E. Broadway Ave.
Anaheim, California


Tickets available online.

For more information, go to chancetheater.com or call (714) 777-3033.

Watch Me Heat Up the Screen! (Discovery Channel 10/27/2008)

I haven't seen the episode so I can't say how long I'll be on the screen, but there have been reported sightings of me in a promo.

Investigation X: Spontaneous Human Combustion
Monday, Oct. 27, 10 p.m.
"Can people spontaneously burst into flames that rise from within their own bodies? Investigators apply the latest technology in search of answers to the spontaneous human combustion phenomena."

Smokin'!

Can't Sleep - NIGHTMARES!

The house was filled to capacity for the opening of Nightmares at the Gallery Theatre. It was great to see Ron and Liz Breach, Mary Margaret Steele, and Mike McCulley in the audience. There were lots of laughs and gasps and not too many gaffes, and nobody got hurt too badly. Of the five vignettes that I was lucky enough to be cast in, I'd have to say "Stay" was the most fun. It's creepy, but very playful. The feedback I got was that it was a lot of fun for the audience too. "Writer" a.k.a "Run" is the most challenging in terms of layers, emotional turns, and intensity, but it seemed to work. It was the piece that really drew me into the production, although Sue Silva has written several funny/creepy/scary original scenes for this show. To anyone still planning on attending, please call 714-630-9870 and book now. The reservation list is nearly full for Sunday and I'd hate for you to miss out!

NIGHTMARES - only 2 shows left!
October 26 @ 8 p.m. - $10 (cheap!)
October 31 @ 8 p.m. - $15 (includes after-show festivities with cast members)
THE GALLERY THEATRE
3152 East La Palma - Suite G
Anaheim, CA 92807

UPDATE: Sold out! Thanks for your support.

Nightmares Tonight!

Will Ronnie act his age? Will Anthony knock it off? Will Davis finish what he started? Will Greg cause trouble? Will Barney ever come out of the bathroom?

Starting tonight, October 23, you have only three chances to find out the answers to these burning questions, and the reservation list is filling up fast.
Call now. Don't make me use italics again.

NIGHTMARES
October 23 or 26 @ 8 p.m.
- $10 (cheap!)
October 31 @ 8 p.m.
- $15 (includes after-show festivities with cast members)
THE GALLERY THEATRE
3152 East La Palma - Suite G
Anaheim, CA 92807
Call for reservations: 714.630.
9870

Living Nightmares

Straight from the subconscious to the stage, bad dreams come to life just in time for Halloween. Like last year's Nightmares, every scene is based on someone's actual nightmare, but these tales are all new for 2008 and the body count is much higher. I don't want to give anything away, but I play an adult who's very much in touch with his inner child, a man with serious family issues, a writer with a vivid imagination, a dude who's a bad influence, and a guy who's dying for a cup of coffee. Let's just hope I remember who I'm supposed to be, let alone my lines.

NIGHTMARES
October 23, 26, 31 @ 8 p.m.
The Gallery Theatre
3852 East La Palma - Suite G
Anaheim, CA 92806
Reservations (strongly recommended): 714-630-9870
Thursday & Sunday admission: $10 (cheap!)
Friday (Halloween) admission: $15 (includes after-show festivities)

Do Over!

We were scheduled for a two-day shoot in the beautiful Manhattan Supper Club, but thanks to the hard-work and talent of the cast and crew, we wrapped in one. So, after patting ourselves on the backs and exchanging pleasantries, we went our separate ways looking forward to a well-deserved day off. Two days later, we gathered in a residential neighborhood of Orange to film another scene and learned that there had been a problem with one of the cameras and some of the footage might be unusable. So the night's shoot suddenly grew by several hours as we shot a new dining-room scene and a completely new, semi-improvised ending. I was a little apprehensive, thinking that the previous shoot had certain qualities that would be difficult to recapture, but I left thinking the new footage was even better. It felt like we were even more relaxed with each other and comfortable exploring and heightening. Kudos to the director for bringing together a group of strangers with the chemistry to function as a convincingly dysfunctional family. After the final night of shooting, I got good news from the director: both night's footage looked usable after all, and he's planning on editing two different versions. I'm looking forward to seeing both of them. It's not often I get a twofer.

Another Saturday at The Office

Yep, it's time for some improvisational fun and games. The venue is a full-service restaurant, so you can have dinner before the show and buy me drinks afterward, if so inclined.

Improvisation Inundation
Saturday Sept. 27 @ 8 p.m.
The Office (http://theofficeoc.com/)
2106 North Tustin, Santa Ana
714-843-0943 – reservations highly recommended
Admisssion: $10. I have a limited supply of 2-for-1 tickets available on a first-come-first-serve basis.

Cheers,
Keith

Opening the Vaults

Hey, kids, maybe you've wondered what Keith was doing when he was your age. Maybe you've wondered if Keith was ever your age. Maybe you've wondered when Keith started referring to himself in the third person. Well, some old footage is now available on the Internet that won't actually answer any of those questions. I'm not sure where I was going with this.

The Return of the Monologue From Hell

What are these words I hear coming from my throat against my will? What horror has been unleashed? The first time I had to do a prepared comic monologue as part of an audition, it didn't go over so well. I was trying out for a part in a holiday production at a theater that, although small and tucked away in a nondescript office park, manages to get a lot of awards and recognitions from local media. Unfortunately, the only comic monologue I had ready was one dealing with anger and disappointment and sex - mostly sex - and probably wasn't what the director wanted to hear. Frankly, I wasn't that thrilled with it myself. When I finished, the director flatly said, "Thank you," which I mentally translated as, "Please leave and don't come back." But I came back this year, determined to correct the mistakes of the past, to audition for a brand-new holiday production. I took center stage, stood tall, and begin speaking - the same damn monologue. It wasn't what I had planned; I had chosen a nice, lighthearted one for the occasion, but somehow the first accursed line just popped out. I felt powerless to stop or turn back, so went on, in horror, to the bloody end. Somehow I got a callback. Perhaps the curse was broken? But no, it seems I haven't been cast. Isn't that just like a curse, to make you think you've escaped, and then bam, it gets you after all.

Working Late at the Office Again, August 9

Improvisation Inundation is doing another show at The Office. We'll be combining old favorites with brand-new games to create a hearty improv stew. ($10 a bowl. Actual food available at additional charge.) The show starts at 8, but you can start drinking at 6:30 to sharpen your comedy appetite. Reservations recommended.

The Office Sports Bar & Grill
2106 North Tustin Avenue
Santa Ana , CA 92705

714/834-0943

Yesterday I auditioned for a commercial in which I was supposed to be an automotive engineer whose wife thought he was cheating on her because he was spending so much time at the office, but he was really working on how to improve a car that couldn't be improved because it was already perfect, but when he gets home his wife gives him a suspicious look and he's supposed to react, but not too much, because the director wants it to be subtle, but enough so that the viewer instantly knows what's going on, but make it funny, but not too funny, because it's supposed to be real, but not too real, because that would be sad. So I just looked tired (because he was working late), hungry (it was suppertime), and confused (because he didn't know what her problem was), which I thought would be easy because I was tired (it was kind of a stressful day), hungry (I'd skipped lunch) and I really could not understand what the director wanted. I haven't gotten a callback, so maybe I didn't look tired, hungry, and confused enough. Or maybe I looked too tired, hungry, and confused. Or maybe I looked too tired, not hungry enough, and just as confused as I was supposed to. Or maybe my tired and confused were enough, but I wasn't supposed to look hungry. Or...

So today I was a sheep, and then a talk-show host. Surprisingly, I think I was a better sheep than a talk-show host. At least, it was surprising to me. Maybe it isn't to others. But they might decided to go with someone woollier anyway.

An Old-Fashioned Murder

If you're anything like most people, you've wondered what it would be like if Keith put on a straw hat and shot someone at close range with an antique revolver. Now, thanks to YouTube, you can see for yourself.

July 12: Laugh Some Laughs, Drink Some Drinks, Eat Some Eats

Improvisation Inundation returns on July 12 for another night of improvisational comedy, fueled by audience suggestions and participation. If you haven't seen it, it's about time. For our repeat customers, we've thrown many new games into the mix while keeping several of your old favorites. The price of admission is a paltry $10. The show starts at 8 p.m., but the room will open at least an hour before that and food and drink service will be available before, during, and after the performance. Contact The Office for reservations.

July 12
Improvisation Inundation @ The Office
2106 North Tustin Ave., Santa Ana, CA 92705
714-834-0943