I wrote a play some time ago. Its been sitting in my computer fro quite a few years now. Its short. I always felt it needed something more. So I recently added a bit more, made some adjustments, tightened it a bit. And then I did something really scary. I invited some friends over to read it.
I hosted a reading in my apartment and cast friends of mine in the various roles. I was nervous. Oh, who am I kidding? I was scared. Really scared. What if it wasn't any good? What if no one got any of the jokes? Or if they thought my story was lame? I mean it is somewhat semi-autobiographical. It reflects my own thoughts and some of my own experiences. What if they laughed at that and therefore laughed at me? I couldn't take it. That's why it was sitting on my computer for so long with our anyone seeing it.
So, they came over. I gave them a brief rundown of the script and the characters they were about to read and they read it. And it was funny. They all laughed in the right places. And appreciated the heart of the story. It was a great relief to me. I mean this was me. I was putting myself out there so to speak. Putting my life on the line, in a way. Its scared me. You see, its difficult for me to share my writing, my thoughts, my ideas, my acting, etc. I'm so scared of rejection, so sure no one gets me. So her it was. Once again, I was proven wrong.
I got nothing but positive feedback. Everyone loved it. Liked my writing. It was fun. But then, of course, once we got past all the positives, I did get some notes. And I have taken them all to heart and done some re-writes. I still have more to do. I've added a couple of scenes to develop the main relationship more. I've given one of the supporting characters a speech at the end where he tells off the bad guys. I've given one of the villains more of an arc to get to their decision to turn on the lead.
So now, I have booked a theater and invited people to come and see a staged reading. All the actors are back. I'm replacing two with actors who are more age appropriate for their roles. I've invited many people. I need to invite meow., I'm scared again. Not sure the re-writes will work. Well, some of them do, but I'm not sure about all the new scenes. Of course, it makes it longer. But it was really short to begin with.
So here we go again. June 19th at 7pm at The Attic Theatre on Washington Blvd. in Los Angeles. The jury will be out. Will it go any further from that? I don't know. It may be a film. Maybe continue as a play. That's what this is for. Hopefully, the right people will come and see this and maybe someone will champion this. And I can develop to even further and get up a full production.
If you're in Los Angeles on June 19 and are looking for something to do, come see it. There will be wine and cheese and a talk back after.
BTW...I should be writing right now. Bye! See you on the 19th.
Tuesday, May 31, 2016
Saturday, May 21, 2016
Why I love the classic TV series Green Acres
In one of my first blogs, I spoke of my love for classic TV. I may have mentioned i collect complete TV series season sets on DVD. I just bought two new sets this week, Maude Season 4 and Newhart Season 5. This past week, I finished watching Designing Women Season 4. I now own 120 different TV series season sets.
I am currently in a show (How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying at Glendale Centre Theatre See link below for tickets). I share a dressing room with another actor the same age as myself. Last night we spoke of the shows we grew up watching and the lineups of the various nights of the week. As good as TV is now, its not the same. I long of the days of good old broadcast network television (ABC CBS and NBC). We all watched the same programs together as families. Each network had something for everyone. They didn't each cater to a different audience. They all shared one big audience together.
Glendale Centre Theatre Tickets
But I digress. Today, I would like to talk about one particular classic television series. And state my case for why I love it. That show, wait for it, is Green Acres. Yes, you heard me right Green Acres, Not Mary Tyler Moore, Seinfeld, Lucy, MASH, Cheers, All in the Family., Dick Van Dyke, Friends, Fraser. Green Acres.
Now, I know the tendency is to lump this show with the 1960s CBS rural comedies, Beverly Hillbllies and Petticoat Junction in particular since they were all from the same producers and crossed over with one another. In fact, Green Acres was a sort of skin off of Petticoat Junction taking place in a neighboring town and sharing a couple of supporting characters. Beverly Hillbillies, as popular as it was in its day, and it was HUGELY popular. Its ratings still rank among the all time highest ever for episodic TV. It does not continue on in syndication like Lucy, Seinfeld, Andy Griffith or The Golden Girls. And its not that great. I'm not a fan. And Petticoat Junction never did anything for me. Its kind of lame.
But Green Acres is a different. And I recently converted a friend after having this conversation. There are sone great running gags. And the show was kind of ahead of its time. You heard me right. Ahead of tits time. Why? They broke the fourth wall. There were inside jokes. That was not common on TV shows in the 1960s. Its common now. There episodes that start with the characters noticing the opening credits floating in front of them. There's one where the written by and directed by credits are spelled out on the pancakes (or as Lisa called them, hotcakes) that Lisa is cooking on the grill.
In another one, Eb is lip synching to Eva Gabor singing the opening theme song as he goes about his chores.
In another running bit, every time Oliver starts to wax poetic about the American farmer and working the land, there's patriotic music playing underneath and the men in Drucker's Store comment on the fact that there is music coming from somewhere.
In addition, the show has a real absurdist sense of humor to it. Things work backwards. The house is never finished. The phone is on top of a telephone pole. Only a couple of kitchen appliances can be plugged in at one time and you can't mix up the outlets. The Ziffels pig Arnold is treated like their son and in one episode goes off to Hollywood to be a movie star.
My favorite characters: Mr. Haney and his shyster ways. Somehow always having for sale exactly what the Douglases need when they need it and for a price. The carpenters, the Monroe Brothers Alf and Ralph (who is actually a woman but they are afraid they won't get any business if they call themselves brother and sister. Talk about sexist!) who never get the job done. Mr. Kimball and his constantly going off course in the middle of a sentence and forgetting what he was saying in the first place is probably my favorite character of all.
And then there's that theme song. I mean c'mon. Who hasn't sung that theme song? Its right up there with Gilligan and The Brady Bunch.
I'm telling you have to give this show another shot. Its better than you may remember. I think it ranks close behind Get Smart in its humor. So there you have it. I love Green Acres. I own the first three seasons on DVD. Unfortunately, they stopped with three. We need the remaining three! C'mon Shout Factory or MPI. Do like you did with so many other classic TV shows that the studios stopped releasing. Pick up the rights to Green Acres and give us the full six seasons.
I am currently in a show (How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying at Glendale Centre Theatre See link below for tickets). I share a dressing room with another actor the same age as myself. Last night we spoke of the shows we grew up watching and the lineups of the various nights of the week. As good as TV is now, its not the same. I long of the days of good old broadcast network television (ABC CBS and NBC). We all watched the same programs together as families. Each network had something for everyone. They didn't each cater to a different audience. They all shared one big audience together.
Glendale Centre Theatre Tickets
But I digress. Today, I would like to talk about one particular classic television series. And state my case for why I love it. That show, wait for it, is Green Acres. Yes, you heard me right Green Acres, Not Mary Tyler Moore, Seinfeld, Lucy, MASH, Cheers, All in the Family., Dick Van Dyke, Friends, Fraser. Green Acres.
Now, I know the tendency is to lump this show with the 1960s CBS rural comedies, Beverly Hillbllies and Petticoat Junction in particular since they were all from the same producers and crossed over with one another. In fact, Green Acres was a sort of skin off of Petticoat Junction taking place in a neighboring town and sharing a couple of supporting characters. Beverly Hillbillies, as popular as it was in its day, and it was HUGELY popular. Its ratings still rank among the all time highest ever for episodic TV. It does not continue on in syndication like Lucy, Seinfeld, Andy Griffith or The Golden Girls. And its not that great. I'm not a fan. And Petticoat Junction never did anything for me. Its kind of lame.
But Green Acres is a different. And I recently converted a friend after having this conversation. There are sone great running gags. And the show was kind of ahead of its time. You heard me right. Ahead of tits time. Why? They broke the fourth wall. There were inside jokes. That was not common on TV shows in the 1960s. Its common now. There episodes that start with the characters noticing the opening credits floating in front of them. There's one where the written by and directed by credits are spelled out on the pancakes (or as Lisa called them, hotcakes) that Lisa is cooking on the grill.
In another one, Eb is lip synching to Eva Gabor singing the opening theme song as he goes about his chores.
In another running bit, every time Oliver starts to wax poetic about the American farmer and working the land, there's patriotic music playing underneath and the men in Drucker's Store comment on the fact that there is music coming from somewhere.
In addition, the show has a real absurdist sense of humor to it. Things work backwards. The house is never finished. The phone is on top of a telephone pole. Only a couple of kitchen appliances can be plugged in at one time and you can't mix up the outlets. The Ziffels pig Arnold is treated like their son and in one episode goes off to Hollywood to be a movie star.
My favorite characters: Mr. Haney and his shyster ways. Somehow always having for sale exactly what the Douglases need when they need it and for a price. The carpenters, the Monroe Brothers Alf and Ralph (who is actually a woman but they are afraid they won't get any business if they call themselves brother and sister. Talk about sexist!) who never get the job done. Mr. Kimball and his constantly going off course in the middle of a sentence and forgetting what he was saying in the first place is probably my favorite character of all.
And then there's that theme song. I mean c'mon. Who hasn't sung that theme song? Its right up there with Gilligan and The Brady Bunch.
I'm telling you have to give this show another shot. Its better than you may remember. I think it ranks close behind Get Smart in its humor. So there you have it. I love Green Acres. I own the first three seasons on DVD. Unfortunately, they stopped with three. We need the remaining three! C'mon Shout Factory or MPI. Do like you did with so many other classic TV shows that the studios stopped releasing. Pick up the rights to Green Acres and give us the full six seasons.
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