We're open!

Li'l Abner opened at Reprise! last night. It went rather well and folks seemed to really enjoy it. If you want to see a video feature on the show (including a little show footage) meander on over to BroadwayWorld.Com.

It's great to have the show open for a number of reasons, one being that my schedule opens up considerably. Weekdays are mostly mine again (although we do have an understudy put-in rehearsal tomorrow). I have a bit of illustration stacked up – another fun green education project, a sketch of the Abner show, and an endless stack of work on my own projects. I'm loving being able to dive back into the sketching while visiting Dogpatch in the evenings and on weekends.

That's all for now, folks. Take care! Peace and love.

Ahh... Showbiz & Art!

Quick post... I'd like to post links to a couple illustration jobs I've completed this week (even in the midst of a crazy rehearsal process). Fabulous Divas of Broadway is a one man show by Alan Palmer that features him as a bevy of famous leading ladies of the stage. Click here to see my logo. The Kid From Brooklyn, playing now in North Hollywood, tells the story of Danny Kaye. Click here to see my sketch of the talented cast. I'm really happy to have had the opportunity to work on these wonderful projects.

On the show front, Li'l Abner is well on its way. Dress rehearsal went great tonight, and I think at this point our "daylight day off" tomorrow will only help this amazingly talented yet fatigued cast. I myself will most likely meander through Topanga Canyon to grab a bite at a fave seafood diner at the beach. Then final dress rehearsal in the evening. Here we go!

I'm swamped.

Rehearsals are going very well, but the days are long. We have four days of what's referred to in theatre lingo as "10 of 12"s. That is, we are committed to the theatre for 12 hours each of these days, broken up by a two-hour dinner break... long rehearsal days that alternate in bursts of energetic performance and periods of standing and waiting while other parts of the collaborative process are focused, adjusted, spiked, etc. (sometimes the waiting times are the more draining parts of the day). In the little photo above is me and my cohorts, Ray Garcia and Lou Becker (photo by Larry Cedar). We have our "sitzprobe" tomorrow morning at 10. This is when we first sing with the orchestra so that will be fun. Then we gradually add costumes and makeup and all that craziness. Final dress rehearsal Monday. Preview Tuesday. Big opening night Wednesday.

And of course I've committed to a commissioned illustration in the midst of this crazy week. I can't divulge the details yet, but I've got to get it done by this weekend. So I'm trying my darndest to get the inking phase done tonight so I can get everything scanned into the ol' computer. I'll spend my down time at the theatre tomorrow to complete the layout and get it all set for printing. Tomorrow night will find me at Kinko's completing my project. It's a fun piece and I'm SO thankful to be doing it for a number of reasons, but I'm working my butt off.

Well, I'd best be prying myself off of Blogger and get back to inking. Take care, all!

God I'm a dancer!

A dancer dances! Okay that was a little theatre dweeb's nod to A Chorus Line. But in my case it's sort of true. In Li'l Abner, I'm now in the corps du ballet. Well, more accurately I'm doing a lot of running throughout the very long and energetic Sadie Hawkins number before I take part in an "adagio partnering" section or something like that. Along with all the dancers on stage I get to flip and lift a girl. My patient and supportive dance partner is the wonderful Leslie Stevens who I got to play with in Can-Can as well.

Well, enough of my blathering on in dance lingo. I've got to hop in the shower and get unsweaty before I do a little sketching before bed. Then beauty rest then errands tomorrow morn before getting back to the theatre at noon.

Life is good. I'm in the midst of lots of art and I'm so grateful. Take care, all. Peace and love in 2008! Go get 'em!

At a "stopping" point...

Hey gang... We came together for our "designer runthrough" today which marked the end of our time at the rehearsal hall. We're off tomorrow and reconvene at the theatre on Tuesday. Things are going great, but while some might be enjoying the day off tomorrow, I'll be toiling away at the drawing board. But I love my work. See you all on the other side.

I'm currently working on the logo for an off-Broadway show. Then I dive into a sketch of a show that's playing locally, and I do a little illustration jig for Green Riverside. Somewhere in there I create a memento for my beloved Li'l Abner teammates. Lots of art. Lots of love.

Well, I've gotta get some beauty sleep. Take care, all! Peace & love!

Rainin' in Dogpatch U.S.A.

Wow! Has it been soggy here in So Cal or what!? There's one spot in the rehearsal hall that has a little folded towel to catch some drips, but that is nothing compared to the gushing gutters and huge puddles that make driving a bit of an obstacle course. I'm happy my commute is only a few miles (for now).

Li'l Abner is pluggin' right along. It's a deceptively dense show with lots of ensemble interaction, so the days sometimes feel like we're hackin' away at the underbrush. But it's a fantastic group of folks and I'm having a great time. Thank heavens our creative staff and everyone is on the ball.

One little surprise for me is that I'm a part of the dancing ensemble a couple times during the show. In the Sadie Hawkins Day number in particular I'm lifting a girl and boogiein' all over the place. I'm thinking about buying a dance belt and leg warmers.

And more artwork keeps pouring in. I'm working on a logo illustration for a show that's opening soon off-Broadway. This is a rush job, so my down time will be work time. Thank goodness this work load doesn't include Chicago lifts or attitude pirouettes. And I also possibly have a caricature commission in the works which is becoming more and more of a rush job as I wait for photo reference. Hope this one works out. Add it all to the fun Riverside project and I've got a nice work load over the next few weeks. I'm happily busy and grateful.

Oh! Before I wrap this up, here's something exciting for me... Last autumn I drew a sketch of actress Amy Ryan (as commissioned by friend David Quinn). She sent the loveliest note, and I've been wanting to post it, but now – since she received an Oscar nom – I'm just bustin' to show you. She's just fantastic. See her lovely gesture here.

Well, I've got to go run some music stuff and do some sketching. Peace and love, y'all!

Back to work.

Hi all! I've just gone back to work. After my last show closed in early November, it was nice to dig into the freelance work and one shot gigs here and there. Yesterday I started the whirlwind rehearsal process that is a Reprise show. I'm reminded of a couple things. First, I do enjoy being around a group of folks, working as a team to pull off a show. When it comes down to it, I'm a social guy and it's great to have that interaction. And second, I'm so incredibly thankful to be a working actor. The work isn't always consistent, but this past year I've been so thankful for the abundance.

Li'l Abner at Reprise already feels like it's going to be a real hoot. Talented, fun cast – really big for a Reprise show – and a really fresh, creative work environment. I'm really happy to be working with old friends and plenty of folks I haven't worked with before. I'm particularly excited to be working with Fred Willard. I'm constantly curbing my Waiting for Guffman turrets.

And the illustration work doesn't stop. I'm really happy to be getting a lot of work done on my huge personal project. I want to dive into this headlong once Abner is up and running. I also just got a fun new assignment from the Riverside Public Utilities Department. I've really enjoyed these educational projects and with this project, we're really building a full curriculum of "going green" study aids.

Well, that's all for now. I've got to get some sketching done before I'm off to a gig. Peace and love, y'all! Go get 'em.