I've been getting a lot of offers to do stage work recently. Just when I decided not to do stage work for awhile. Isn't that typical? The Coach in Richard Greenberg's TAKE ME OUT, a new comedy project of transcribed I LOVE LUCY episodes at The El Portal Theatre (they want me to take a look at 'Fred Mertz'), a couple of others. Just not interested, though. After my last foray onto the stage and the daily bloody skirmishes with the director to get quality stuff on the stage, well, I figure I'm due for a rest.
Tomorrow I have meetings with both my new legit agent and my new literary agent. Both came from contacts made during Praying Small. I'm hoping for the best.
Once again we had to postpone my final commercial shots for the new commercial agent yesterday. We're taking another stab at it today.
Angie and I visited the public library yesterday (my favorite place on earth, the public library) and I picked up the last five "Spenser" books by Robert Parker. I've been a fan of this series since about 1985 when a buddy of mine first introduced them to me. I love them. Parker is the natural successor to John D. McDonald, I think. His Spenser is sharp-witted, smart, sensitive and brutal. Love the juxtaposition in the character. Parker died last year so these are the last of the series. If you're not familiar with them you can always count on two things in every book...a great gourmet recipe (Spenser is an amateur chef) and a blow-by-blow fistfight (he's also a former professional boxer).
I've been thinking a lot lately about what I want to do next. As I said, I'm holding off on doing any stage work because of the foul taste left in my mouth with the rehearsal process of PS. This "Dinner Theatre for the Homeless" idea that my buddy, Melanie Eubank, has come up with is definitely something I'd like to do. Not as an actor, of course, but I wouldn't mind contributing some short plays. Service Work, we call it in some circles. Altruism is always a good thing for people like me. That is to say, for people that have a natural predisposition to selfishness. It gets me out of my head, which can sometimes be a very crowded and dangerous place.
The plans for the August engagement party are rolling along nicely. Angie is checking into a lot of different karaoke outfits in Springfield. I'm the one that really wants that. I figure there will be a lot of drinking at the party and I was looking for a way to occupy my time while others did it. Not that being around drinking bothers me too much anymore, but after a while it just gets kind of boring for me. Listening to people speak a little too loud and repeating themselves over the course of an evening can get a tad tedious. So I figure I'll be the DJ instead. I've become an old fogey, I guess.
We're getting married, Angie and I, in November and our plans at this point are to rent an RV and drive over to the Grand Canyon and take a look around. I know it sounds a little white-trashy, but that's what we wanna do. We'll take the puppies with us and just take out. No set agenda, no careful itinerary, just take out and see what happens. If the Grand Canyon bores us we'll head up north and see what's up that way. Although I'm told the Grand Canyon is quite a spectacular hole in the ground.
Looking forward to seeing a gaggle of people I haven't seen in ages at the engagement party. Not since the halcyon days of SMSU. Back when our biggest worry was the next scene we were doing in Howard Orms' acting class. Or the next theatre history test in Dr. Mac's class. Or the next mainstage show with Dr. Bradley. Ah, to be young again. My buddy and one of my two best men, Johnny Bader, is attending the party. The other best man is Jim Barbour. I've known them both since the eighties. We've been through the wringer together, to say the least. Anyway, John and I are planning on driving over to the now Missouri State University, formerly Southwest Missouri State University, and look around my old stomping grounds. Maybe take a look at my old apartment (a few of us lived in what was then known as the "Belmont Apartments" which was essentially a den of iniquity). A lot of tequila was consumed in that apartment.
So...more pictures today (I'm beginning to feel a little like Fabio), some rewrites on the new piece, maybe a short walk while Angie is off doing her thing, playing with Franny and Zooey, the most spoiled dogs on earth, and then a night of new Netflix. Speaking of which, I've learned it is wise to keep a sharp eye on the Netflix. If not, I end up with some movies or documentaries I have no interest whatsoever in seeing. That happened last week. Although at the time I ordered it, The History of the Little Big Horn seemed fascinating but by the time it arrived I'd sort of lost interest in Custer and his plight.
See you tomorrow.
