Character Portraits

It's been a stormy period of frustration lately.  Whenever my writing or my writing career feel a little stagnate, I turn to artwork to expel those electrons.

It's nice to be able to finish something and share it instantly.

MY BROTHER COLLIN

Took this photo on the left of my brother Collin a couple months ago.  His birthday is April 30th, so I'll post it to Facebook then.  In the meantime DON'T TELL HIM I MADE THIS!
(Don't worry.  He doesn't read this blog anyways.)

Collin moved out here in October from North Carolina, so now all of my brothers and I are in the same city.  I was initially worried about how he'd fare in the city of angels, but he joined UCB Improv and is turning into a superstar.  I'm super proud of him.  And somewhat envious of the mega-talented little circle of peers he's adopted.

TIF

My friend Tif and I used to make music together about 10 years ago when I lived in Florida.  She was the musical talent, and I the witty lyricist.  We sang funny little songs together that amused us to no end -- recording them in her room on her computer.

Then one day I realized I could neither sing nor play guitar, and quickly turned my entire attention to Film School.  That was the day the music died.

Earlier this month, Tif came out to visit me in LA and stay on my couch.  We hadn't seen each other in nearly a decade.  Awkward.  But not really.  We still cray after all these years.

Sometimes Tif dresses up and models.  This photo showed off a whole new side of her and I knew I had to capture it.  (tracer)

THE BEAST

I was stuck and discouraged working on a short play in February that was taking too long and producing limited results.  After reading some Shakespeare, I decided on a lark to take on a story that had been stewing in my head as a collection of dark, gothic, fairy tale images.  I had no idea if I could write anything within the world I had visualized, but I sat down and started typing... experimenting...

What began to develop was a play so chock full of language, sex, poetry and darkness that I was almost embarrassed of its existence.  That's how I knew I might be writing something great.  A good old fashioned "Fuck You if you don't like it" piece that was breathing and kicking with wild, brazen life.

It's freaked some people out, for sure.  But The Beast above was a character worth realizing: a metaphor for all those abused children who grow up without the understanding of intimacy, love or trust.

There's hope for those beasts yet.

Creativity Mafia

With the last three years of my life being 100% devoted to work, I've found myself longing for a community of my own.  Though I've enjoyed making my own improvisational short films here and there, I've done it solo, focusing instead on my day job and breaking through as a writer.

I never joined a team.  Now, seeing my younger brother move out to LA and flourish through Improv classes, I've realized what a difference a little creative community makes.

Saturday night I was planning on catching Cabin in the Woods at my local theatre when I stumbled upon THE RICH AND THE RECKLESS at Skylight Theatre in Los Feliz -- it's an 80's style improvisational soap opera.  After one look at the poster, I quickly changed my Saturday evening entertainment plans.

I'm glad I did.  You never know what you're in for when it comes to live performance in LA, but the show is funny, innovative, and immediately addictive.  The women in the cast are especially hilarious, and the video introduction at the top had me laughing instantly.  What's most fascinating to me is how the show functions as both a fast and furious improv performance, as well as a hyper-engaging romp of soap opera theatrics and devilish plot twists.  It is at once a guilty pleasure AND a confident satire.  Just like The Room, it's exactly the kind of event you want to bring friends to and share.

I left feeling inspired and envious of the tenacity and community of any group that gets their shit together and executes their vision instead of just blowing smoke.  I certainly had one, but every show ends and I'm between mafias at the moment.

I aim to find one in 2012.