this week in the only action figures I really care about

( And in action figure news... )

Brain-spew: NYC for McKee and 2009 tour prospects

Heading to NYC Thursday to Monday to attend Robert McKee's writing seminar, on the advice of a fellow solo performer who came to see the original HEFNER MONOLOGUES. McKee's a major name, and the performer called the three-day seminar "one of the greatest solo performances I've ever seen," but I've been told to take his work with a grain of salt. This is a guy who has very clear ideas of what is the right way and what is the wrong way to construct a story. Good to know.

suburbfabulous, take note: I'll be arriving Thursday afternoon. Let's meet up for dinner someplace before I have to resign myself to the hostel and three packed days of lecture. And tamburlaine, we will of course be in touch.

Once I get through the seminar, I'm gonna take what I learned and see if it can apply to my HEFNER MONOLOGUES revisions. The same solo performer also suggested that I make the show present tense. He said that I'm a very writerly performer, and that most times I'm telling the story in past tense, sometimes shifting to present tense. He said such revisions would cut my show down by 20%, which would be exactly what I need.

I'm frankly nervous about what I might lose in the process, what beloved bits might go underfoot, how much of it is needless bulk and how much is just... my style. Y'know? But we'll find out, as I'm flat out of other ideas.

The show desperately needs to be shaved by at least fifteen minutes if it's gonna make it through my 2009 tour. Not just so it will be as tight and powerful as possible to audiences, but also... well, heck, I need to keep it fresh for myself too. Especially considering just how much I'm planning to perform the bloody thing.

Here are all the festivals I'm applying to for 2009:

Frigid (New York): Feb. 25 – March 8, 2009
Orlando: May 14 - 25, 2009 (doing a revised "How Hefnerian")
Montreal: June 11 - 21, 2009
Winnipeg: July 15 – 26, 2009
Minnesota: July 30–Aug. 9, 2009
Indianapolis: Aug 21 – 30, 2009
Vancouver: September 9 - 20, 2009

Have I mentioned that I'm goddamn insane? I barely managed to survive doing three this year alone.

Of course, there's no guarantee that I'll get into them all, but I'm gonna try my damnedest. This is what I've gotta do if I'm gonna make it. Also, it's gonna cost assloads of money, especially since some of that is in Canadian money. Thankfully, I will ideally also be earning some of that Canadian money back. If things keep going the way they do, I might seriously have a future sticking to the Canadian circuit!

But yeah, seriously, I am goddamn insane. I will also be poor, at least for the short run. Gotta sick at it. I should start making the cardboard signs now: "Will Monologue For Food Absinthe."