okay, so i am doing a show with a looooong 2 month run right now, and i swear i am ready to walk on it.

i have a family that is like my second family with 9 kids, and i am like the missing tenth. this family has been a part of my life since i was 15, and the youngest 5 are some of my dearest friends, and the parents are like surrogate parents to me. the older 4 kids i have met over the years and barely know.

so one of the older ones who is a theatre person was living in NYC for some time, and came home, and is doing a sketch comedy show he wrote, and the mother and youngest of the kids are all over me to audition, and god knows i owe them a favor or two, so i auditioned and got in.

i knew right off the bat that there were problems with the script, as the ratio of funny to unfunny sketches is about 1 to 3, but i thought to myself "well, he wrote the script, he will fix it before we open"

but he didn't. he thinks the shit is funny, like genius funny.

so i and the other cast mates start talking about how we can fix the sketches, and start adding tiny bits them make them actualy funny, and this bastard totally shoots everything we do down because he didn't write it, and makes them go back to the unfunny way of doing it.

i grit my teeth and beared it.

not only do i find out he is a shit writer, but during the rehearsal process, i find out he is a shit director too. now granted, i know from experience, it is very difficult to direct and act at the same time, but the scenes he isn't in, he barely directs, and when he does say something, it's usually something that makes the scene worse.

and then on top of it, he is extremely unorganized and we FINALLY have our first tech rehearsal the night before opening, instead of the traditional week before open, so as to work out tech problems, and idiot decision which leads to the lights overheating during second night, causing them to turn on and off all through the show, while we continue to act.

i grind my teeth a little harder and fake smile.

he doesn't have a fucking clue what he is doing when it comes to publicity, which i offered to help with (as i have a lot of experience running publicity blitzes, and managed to turn one theatre in town from the theatre no one went to into the theatre that sold out damn near every show while i was there), but again his massive ego steps in the way, and he declares he will do it himself.

well, predictabley, he didn't have a clue how to do that properly either, and during opening weekend, we have audiences of less than 20 each night...

i bit my toungue to keep from screaming at him.

not to be an ego monster, but i am damn good at what i do, and can run circles around most actors in the area. one of the cast members father flew in from cali to see her in the final rehearsal, as he could not be here for an actual show, and when asked, said that the show was "okay, but that blond [sic] is so good he should get his own show" to HIS OWN DAUGHTER! she of course comes in and tells us that, which makes the wannabe director/writer/actor jealous and pissy as all hell. and it gets worse when theaudiences react pretty much the same way.

one week down, 7 to go...

i wanna die.

Mach said:

thank you

i don't think i am gonna get through 7 more weeks without a screaming match. as it is now, i avoid him as much as possible backstage to keep from saying something i will regret. one of the other actors is pretty much on the same page too, and he is the kind to blow up massively.

cborgman said:

people with inflated ego bother me i hope you dont have to explode verbally to release the stress ...


slash his tires

I know it doesn't help much right now, but I think you just have to look at this as a lesson learned.
... try to get through it leaving your friendship intact, which in this case may have to mean you just grin and bear it. I'm assuming you've tried the subtle approach but your friend isn't receptive. UIltimately, if he isn't listening to constructive advice, he isn't ready to progress. That's not really your problem so don't allow yourself to take on his issues.

Mach said:

Reincarnate said:

well, the crap part of it is i really don't have a friendship with him, and woulda left the show some time ago, but my friendship is with the rest of the ffamily...

and you are totally rigt. i will just mediatate and pray each night to calm and center myself, cause the last thing i need to do is get pissed off enough to call him on his shit.

what really makes it difficult is last night at brush-up rehearsal, he was giving me notes on last week that were clearly to undermine me and strip away some of my getting way more laughs than everyone else...

oy.

i am never doing theatre out of favor or devotion to people again, especially since i am doing this shit for free, which i rarely do any more unlezss it's a script i love.

TheOrgerFormerlyKnownAs said:

thank you love

well, tonight after the show, i am doing an AIDS benefit in which i am singing "let's go crazy" and "purple rain", so at least i have that to look forward to.

"Don't you just love theater people....."



Hang in there CBORGMAN. I think you should pull a Carrie, YOU KNOW WHAT I'M SAYING? That is as long as he is the only one on stage.


M

MIGUELGOMEZ said:

screw "carrie"ing him, i'll gon nuts and kill em all with my powers...

hang in there darling.....


thank goodness the audience has you to enjoy!

butterfli25 said:

thanks, hon

Like everyone else said,hang in there!
dedication pays off later.

Some people have it worse..

roddiekay said:

GREAT pic!

thanks

cborgman said:

hang in there, man...omg, i couldn't be you. i woulda had to have told 'im off sooner or later.

Handclapsfingasnapz said:

im trying REALLY hard not to... especially last night

yeah it's sort of a touchy thing.

You could grin and bear it for 7 weeks...but shoo that's a long time.

Or you could all talk to him...but it may be too late for that.

Whatever you do...don't burn a bridge either to the family nor to your acting career. Remain professional even inthe face of ameteurism.

good luck!

superspaceboy said:

it's so frusterating!

thanks hon

hang in there, buddy!

madartista said:

thank you. how are you?

BCorgman said:

not bad. dying to get out of Colo but my car is harrassing me and demanding repairs before I leave. Planning to get on the road Tuesday.

madartista said:

back to cali?

2the9s said:

realplayer won't play it, nor will windows media

BCorgman said:

2the9s jacking up again...

BCorgman said:

Yeah. I've been on holiday since Amsterdam in April. Need to get back to work.

madartista said:

Slacker!!

2the9s said:

And no time for reading, either, so don't even say it!