Hey! Here's a little post updating my life, and a few thoughts.

Just finished opening weekend for Broadway Bound at Masquer's Playhouse in Point Richmond. It went really well, audiences seemed to like it a lot, and I'm having a lot of fun with it. The one thing that was weird/heart-stopping, was what happened opening night. Central to Act II is a radio show, which was previously recorded on a CD, and is played from speakers hidden in an old radio on the set. The CD started skipping just as the scene got rolling. The other actors and I were freaking out a little. Thanks to the fact that the audience had never seen it before, and they were already way into the story after having seen the first act, nobody seemed to notice. My character is really anxious about the radio show in the first place, so I just  worried more. It worked out just fine! :-)

Also, I improvised a little frustrated whack on the prop radio with my hand. I was a little worried that the director would be upset at me for improvising, but she was spending most of her energy pissed off at the CD skipping, which turned out to be because the CD player in the booth was rather old... My fellow actors thought it was pretty awesome that I hit the radio, and that made me feel great!!

There were some great photos taken at final dress that I'll get my hands on eventually, to share here.

So usually about the time I open one show, I'm doing auditions for the next. This time I have a different plan. Seeing as my savings will not last me forever, I'm going to make getting a paying job my top priority. That is, a better paying job than theater. I have been talking to some people who say now is a good time to look for work. I got job applications from Fry's Electronics and Pete's Coffee, and I'll also be considering internships, paid or unpaid, as my non-acting resume is rather sparse at this point.

Today was my first day of dance class at Diablo Valley College, the local junior college. I'm taking Beginning Tap, and Ballet Fundamentals, one right after the other on Tuesdays and Thurdays. This is something I've been meaning to do for a long time, so I'm pretty stoked! We just did introductions and talked about the syllabus today, we'll really start dancing on Thursday. I need to get some ballet shoes, and I'm also gonna need to ask Mom if she kept my dance belt and tights from way back when I took a few weeks of ballet class in high school. The ballet instructor was pretty intense about clothes, because ballet is a visual art, and if you can't see the lines your body is making, you can't tell if you're doing it right. So yeah. It's gonna be fun! I'm not a complete beginner, but I've never had formal ballet training, so this will be challenging, but hopefully not too hard.

Going to DVC was fun today, seeing all the young people, mostly. I don't always run into many people my age in theatre, but college of course is full of them. I saw many friends that I already knew from the community around here, and hopefully made some new ones... I can be a little shy with socializing, but I'm determined to put myself out there a little more, because I'm always happier when I do.

I also tried out for Fancy Dinosaurs, the second improv team in the Theatre Dept. there (the first being Dragon Viper Cobra, which I knew a few members of already, who also has won some competitions in the city). I think I did okay! It was fun anyways. I'll find out about that later.

So yeah. In other news, I've been watching Adventure Time, which I find very enjoyable despite it being a kids show. My friend Jamie is desperate to get me into Sherlock, but I haven't gotten around to it.

When Mom, Dad, and Steven visited last weekend, I used a gift certificate from Christmas to get new kicks! Check 'em out!

Went to a sushi bar in the city with my buddy Odie to watch the 49ers play the Saints for the NFC championship. Tried hot sake for the first time. It was tasty, but unfortunately followed by the bitter of defeat. But what the hell, it was a good game, especially since we hadn't had a playoff win since 2003. Even the Ferry Building was showing team spirit.

Last but not least, after almost a year of being stuck on World 8, I finally beat Super Mario Bros. Many an expletive were thrown at the hated Hammer Brothers, whose seemingly random movements and endless fusillades of smithing equipment vexed me to no end.

On a final note, I just read this article on io9, and found it very interesting.

PEACE
~Chris

I am writing this instead of doing the dishes.

But you know what, that's okay. Because I am okay with the fact that the sink is full of dishes. And in my personal journey, it's more of an accomplishment to not do the dishes, and feel okay about it, than it is to do the dishes.

Now I just need to do the dishes.

Rehearsal is going really well for Broadway Bound, (the play I'm in: info here ) and it's really exciting, because we're so far along in the process, and we haven't even opened the play yet! Often when I'm in a show, we get to the third weekend, and I feel like "Oh, that's how that's supposed to work! I wish I had known that sooner."  This time is different. It's a fun show too.

If you're in the area, and want to come to the show, let me know! Also, if you want to come FOR FREE, we need lots of people at previews this Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday (16th,17th, and 18th) so we can get used to having an audience laugh.

By the way, I never really told you how my time at home for Christmas went.

It was wonderful. I picked up my brother Steven from SFO, and we drove up 101 together, taking turns putting our iPods on the stereo to share music (I found out Steven likes to bump Jurassic 5). It's a really pretty drive. Daniel was there at home, Mom and Dad were really glad to see us, so was Violet (their kitty). Steven and I jammed on a little Paul Simon (I brought my bass guitar), Dad barbecued the turkey for Christmas dinner, it was delicious.

Steven and I even got to take a little walk up the redwoods in the drizzle. It was great. The woods up there are kind of my spiritual home. I love going up there.

When it came time to come back to the Bay, I was a little melancholy. In fact on the drive back, I felt really lonely. Then really angry. I don't know why I get so angry when I leave.

Anyways, that all passed, and I'm very pleased to be back here with all my friends. My new year's resolution is to put more into my friendships.

Here's a picture of the art that my parents gave me for Christmas:

by Elaine S. Benjamin, www.bluechairpress.com

Oh and here's the cool clock Steven gave me:

Hard Drive clock by John Berwick Gearomatic@aol.com (a classmate of Steven's) 

So yeah, that's how things are for now.

~Chris

"There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, that are dreamt of in your Third-Quarter Revenue Projections."

Listening to the rebroadcast of "Forum" on KQED, they're talking about SOPA and PIPA, they have a guy from Google, and a guy from NBC Universal, and they're having a very good discussion. They're making me think harder about the issues, presenting it as a nuanced issue, and assuaging my outrage to a certain extent.

That's not to say I didn't do some yelling in the car at this vogon from Insanely Huge Media Conglomerate dodging questions. Yeah, yeah, I get his point that the online world should have theft laws, just like the physical world. But even so the idea of the federal government shutting down sites just sickens me. I liked it better when art hadn't been dismembered and maimed so it could fit into business models as "Intellectual Property."

I just want to point out that any debate is going to be biased, you can't avoid that. But even when it is biased, you can attempt to minimize the bias, and you can encourage thorough discussion. I haven't taken a course on debate, so I'm not sure of the theoretical basis for productive discussion. But I know it when I hear it.

Does anyone but me realize that discussing divisive issues can actually lead to a solution? That it's not just about getting one's point of view across? And certainly not just about getting higher Nielsen Ratings? Not only that, but the quality of public discussion will directly influence the quality of thinking that goes on about these issues. Better thinking means finding better solutions quicker. Who wouldn't want that?

News and radio and magazines need to make money, but I would greatly appreciate it if they would realize that there are higher needs than making money, and businesses that publish multimedia material are in the perfect position to influence things in a positive way. This won't necessarily make you money in the short run, but it will give you a legacy that will live beyond your product or company name. It's a tall order to have a profitable and "not evil" business, as Google can attest, but I wouldn't mind if a few more businesses actually aspired to that in more than just their mission statements.

It makes me want to start a non-profit that is specifically dedicated to productive public debate. It might prepare citizens better for town hall meetings and legislative hearings. In a democracy, if "the people" rule, then we also have the responsibility of rulers, to be more than just a member of a mindless horde, to see both sides of the issue, to be devoted to oneself, but also to consider things beyond.

Granted, it's hard enough to make a living these days without trying to consider things beyond one's own needs, but it's something that can be done, and every little bit helps. Organized religion has given "faith" a bad rap, but I think it can be applied without danger in this sense: to have faith that the good acts you do and the extra time and work you put in will benefit someone along the way, if you've thought it out right. You may not see these things happen right in front of you, but they will happen, and they'll happen even after you're gone.