New crew members? You bet we've got new crew members.

So as it turns out, running the financial side of things - Kickstarter and associated rewards, ticketing, front of house, taxes, reimbursements, all that stuff - takes a whole bunch of time.  I really didn't realize just how much time it was going to take.  Now I know, and as it turns out I was stupid to think I could do that AND prop design on top of acting in the play.

That means I have to step down from prop design.  Well, that's not fair to Andre, because even though he's a very talented dude, that's a lot for him to worry about.  I'd already been thinking that we could use a dedicated special effects guy; despite the fact that the movie is horrible in so many ways, there ARE some special effects, and we want to translate those to the stage in a big, beautiful way.  On top of that, we needed to start looking for dedicated stagehands in the near future.

Luckily for me, Columbia is crammed full of talent.  And luckily for me, I know a whole lot of those talented people.  I'd already been thinking of these two guys for special effects and prop design, but I knew they were both really busy and I didn't figure I'd be lucky enough to actually get them for the play.  As it turns out, I was wrong - they expressed an interest to Chris, and we officially brought them on board this week.

So welcome Sam VonCannon and J.J. Shepherd to the crew.  Sam will be doing special effects and prop design, and J.J. will be doing prop design along with designing some of the set pieces we'll be using to make everything look just as Ed Wood would have wanted it if he'd staged his movie as a play.  They'll also be doing all the behind-the-scenes stuff with UFOs, just doing all kinds of crazy stagehand stuff.

Both of these guys are insanely skilled at what they do, and we're all really glad to have them on board.  Combined with Andre, all three of them are basically my dream team when it comes to stuff like this.  So, yeah.  This is going to be awesome.

I continue to think that I couldn't possibly be more stoked for this show, and then things like this happen to make me MORE stoked.  Eventually I am going to just have a heart attack.  I hope I don't have a heart attack.  That would be awful.  But possibly unavoidable, if things continue this way.

The Kickstarter is over, and...

We exceeded our highest goal.  I am usually not a man of few words, and I'm even more rarely rendered speechless, but this has pretty much done it.

I don't really know what to say, because nothing seems to do justice to how amazing you've all been.  Through giving donations, through providing encouragement and moral support, through getting just as excited to see this show as we are to produce and perform in it.  All of you have been simply amazing throughout this process, and I can't possibly thank you enough.  You are absolutely wonderful, and without you this just wouldn't be possible.  Not just the people who donated.  All of you.  This wouldn't be possible without all of you pushing us, cheering us on, and helping us out in ways that help make the dream become a reality.

On that note, I'm going to get a little personal here, because since I have power over this blog, I can get a little personal.  Because it's late, and I've been awake and working nonstop since 7 AM this morning, and I think I've found some words.

I stopped acting after high school.  It was something that I really enjoyed doing, but I never really found a way to pursue it after high school.  I didn't go to USC and get involved in theater there, and I didn't really know how to get involved in any of the local stuff that was going on.  So I just kind of...left it behind.  I got a full-time job, moved out on my own, and became absolutely focused on "growing up."  I messed around with writing for a bit, but eventually I dropped that, too.  I forgot what I was good at.  I forgot what I enjoyed doing, because I was consumed with work, consumed with struggling to make ends meet and to get myself into a position where I could be financially secure.

I've never lost my love for entertaining people, though.  I've never stopped making people laugh, I've never stopped entertaining my friends in various ways.  But somewhere along the way I forgot how to entertain myself. I forgot how to really open up and exercise my talent.  As I grew older, as I worked more and more, I just...stopped remembering to try.  I stopped pushing myself.  I let the acting become nothing but a memory.  The same with the writing.

Last year I had a chance to try out for a production of Reservoir Dogs.  Shane was in it with me; I think he only really went to try out for it because I was going, and he wanted to give me some support.  He's a really great friend that way.  I was surprised as hell that I got a part, considering that I hadn't done acting in years, and I have no real way of judging my own level of talent.  He got a part because he's really, really awesome.  Actually, he got the part that I wanted to get.  But it worked out just fine.  We had a ton of fun with a fantastic cast; I got to shoot guns, shout a lot, and use a ton of profanity.  I got to do that with a friend, while making new friends.

What's more, it made me remember.  It woke something up inside of me.  I was there, surrounded by an insane amount of talent, and I remembered that I was talented, too.  I had something to give, something to offer, a talent that I'd let lay dormant for too many years.  I couldn't get enough, exhausting as it was.  Despite rehearsing for hours in the 90-plus degree summer heat, I craved it.  I wanted to show everyone what I could do.  I showed them, and they loved it, and they wanted me to do more.

And I knew that I had to do more.

So I am.

I won't put acting down like that ever again.  I may not do a ton of it, and I will probably never be famous.  I have a lot of learning to do, a lot of polishing that I never did during those formative college years.  But I'm up for it, and I'm going to enjoy the hell out of it.  I'll still be entertaining my friends, but I'll be entertaining strangers, too, for a change.  I may even pick writing up again and see if I can hammer out some sort of play. My friends have been telling me for years that I need to write a book or a screenplay.  Maybe I need to write a play, and then I need to stage it.

But whatever I do, it's partly because of you.  All of you who have supported this project in some way, all of you who have been cheering me on for years, all of you who have been pushing me to do more with my talents, all of you who have inspired me.  Without you I'd still just be working, working, working, and my talents would still be locked away and forgotten.  But I won't forget again, because you won't let me.  You refuse to let me.

And that is why I cannot possibly thank you enough, or find words which truly express just how much your support means to me, personally.

Thank you.  So very, very much.

How To Explain 'Plan 9 From Outer Space' To Your Parents

Dreading having to explain the premise of 'Plan 9 From Outer Space' to your folks?
Yeah.
Me, too.
And I'm the director.

"Well, y'see, the aliens are trying to warn us about the Solaramanite, a doomsday device, if you will. And so they raise the Earth dead to become a zombie army, y'know? To get our attention, and show us that they really mean business, right? And then the, uh - ... You know what? Nevermind. I'll just see you guys at Xmas."

Isn't it ironic that this film was released in '59 - and we're having to explain it to 60-something year olds?
Kinda spooky-like.

The short answer is that they didn't care then, and they don't know now.
And the fact is, 'Plan 9', for the most part, fell through the cracks of time and right into our loving arms. It's the inherited family brass, that turned out to be solid gold, with just a little care, attention, and some turpentine.
Let's educate the Earth - young and old, male and female, from all walks of life - about the full story of what happened, on that fateful day!
We need to give these people all the evidence, based only on the secret testimonies of the miserable souls who survived this terrifying ordeal.
The incidents!
The places!
My friends, we cannot keep this a secret any longer.
Let us punish the guilty.
And reward the innocent.
If our hearts can stand the shocking facts about graverobbers from outer space, they can withstand anything.

PLAN 9!

Online ticket sales open now!

Hey, guess what?  If you want to go ahead and buy yourself some tickets to see Plan 9, you can do that.  Right now.  Today.  Sure, it's kind of early, but who doesn't love to plan ahead?  I love to plan ahead.  That's why I put this up:

http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/226560

Get your tickets now and you're guaranteed to, uh, to have tickets!  Hooray!