As several of you are likely aware, I do casting for independent productions in the DC area (not just for Jabberwocky Audio Theater). Much of this is centered around the Stonehenge Auditions, which I’ve done since 2005. One of the fellow annual events that DC actors are well aware of is called Monologue Madness. It’s usually scheduled around March, to coincide with another well-known madness, but as with so many events this year, it has…
Pay no attention to the horror that was Friday’s post. It’s well past the first day of Autumn. It’s October. That means two things. It’s (NSFW) decorative gourd season! And Time to watch some scary films. Your mileage may vary.
You know, since it’s 2020, all manner of horrors are possible. You may also know, as many right-thinking people do, that candy corn is, at best, supremely unsatisfying in the Halloween candy pantheon. Perhaps because of this, or more likely because they wish to lay siege to the sanctity of a holiday not usually associated with candy corn, the mad scientists at Brach’s have decided that humanity must face a depressing, possibly disgusting, Thanksgiving dinner…
The seven or nine regular readers of my blog will recall I have, over the years, advocated setting aside time to do creative work, even if you’re not good at it! (from January, March, and December of last year). One of the activities I love doing is “Inktober,” an annual art challenge every October where you try to do an ink drawing every day based on a one-word prompt. I’ve done this as an after-dinner…
Librarians, archivists, and bibliophiles are well represented in my family, so I’ve always enjoyed Banned Book Week. Since many library systems are closed due to the pandemic, many of you probably can’t saunter over to your local library and see their cool “Banned Book” displays. The site does have plenty of resources to read and download — as well as the always interesting top 100 books challenged or banned. That list also provides me with…
Since I’ve often commented on the future of TV (some of the posts being the most popular), checking out a rundown of all the streaming services seems apropos. So I had to share this latest installment from the folks over at Honest Trailers:
TCM usually gets my nod, but the graphics in this one were very well done… (and these are grim times, so I suppose it’s where my head is):
TED Talks are probably good fodder for Monday Motivation posts, and here’s a good one, especially for creatives wondering about why they’re doing what they’re doing.
Many of you already knew this and (spoiler alert), there’s good reasons why he abandoned the ideas as the video goes into, but I was not aware — and it does touch on some of his writing process and his motivation to write in any case.
Back in 2006, writer John August wrote (and presented) a really great talk called “Professionalism and the Rise of the Amateur.” It drew on his own experience as a writer, but it could be applied to other jobs — basically, anywhere where you’re trying to be “professional” — and what that word means, really. Well, lots of things have happened since then, as he recounts as he revisits and expands (and corrects) some of those…