Two Weeks From Tonight

You know what that image means. I'm up to my eyeballs in the show. I put up a guest blogger's post over at the JTMF blog, but don't have a whole lot to say here, tonight. Shocking, isn't it?

But it's probably a good thing. I wrote about 10 pages of notes for the new screenplay the other night, and this is the perfect opportunity to implement some of them. The show becomes all-consuming starting Monday and tomorrow I have an appointment with the costumer to find a dress, PJ's and a frilly robe for Doug, who is playing Brother Boy (and no, that's not really Doug in that linked picture).

I've been in email contact with my lighting designer, though we won't meet until next Sunday. We try to be as simple and minimalist as possible, so we have no walls on stage, just furniture (and the show lends itself to that, quite well). Some hard-to-find props have already been found, and there are solutions available for the ones we don't have, yet. In fact, if you are in Central NJ, and find yourself in need of some weird or special prop for your stage production or film, then I highly recommend Anything But Costumes in Flemington. Good prices and an outrageously inclusive collection of period furniture, props and set-dressings make ABC an invaluable resource for theatre and film companies throughout NJ.

Tickets are still available for the upcoming JTMF production of Sordid Lives, June 25, 26 and 27. If you are unable to attend, but would like to support us and our causes, you can make a safe and secure donation via PayPal at out website, www.jtmf.org.

Catch me tomorrow at The Zombie Zone.

More, anon.
Prospero

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Confessions of a Steampunk Nerd

If you have been following from the beginning, you will undoubtedly know of my affection for Steampunk aesthetics. I started this blog last fall, and posted an on-going commentary about my production of Thorton Wilder's The Skin of Our Teeth, which I imagined as a Steampunk odyssey through time. Wilder, probably best known for the groundbreaking play Our Town, broke theatrical conventions over and over; something I hoped to emulate in my production.

I suppose my fascination with the Steampunk movement really begins before the movement itself, with the "Father of Science Fiction," Jules Verne. In fact, many Steampunk aficionados refer to themselves as "Vernian." Verne foresaw nuclear submarines, calculators, glass skyscrapers, space travel and the Internet, among other scientific advances. His novels Journey to the Center of the Earth; 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and Mysterious Island were all later adapted into films which figured prominently in my youth, no doubt inspiring my love of Victoriana and the fantastic.

So, what does any of this have to do with anything? Only my desire to have the time and means to attend Seattle's SteamCon in October (though I will likely be in Chicago on a business trip).

SteamCon is to Steampunks as ComicCon is to modern Sci-Fi fanboys; a phantasmagoria of all things Steampunk. And how I wish I could attend.

Call me a nerd, geek or weirdo. I don't care. I just want to be there. I already have a costume and a raygun I made myself. Maybe I'll be able to teleport myself to Seattle. Or not. I hear it rains there, a lot.

More, anon.

Prospero

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ComicCon Nonsense

As much as I think I would love to someday attend the San Diego ComicCon, I am brought back to Earth by clips like the one below, and am reminded of the one fan convention my sister and I attended in New York in the 80's. It was the Fangoria Horror Convention, and while we were certainly entertained and enthralled to meet some of our horror icons (make-up FX genius Tom Savini and actor Michael Berryman among them), we were truly dismayed by the number of real weirdos in attendance.

Sci-Fi blog i09 posted this clip of the ComicCon fan costume contest "Project Geek Runway." As much as I love Sci-Fi, Fantasy and Horror movies, I just don't see myself spending the time, energy and money that these folks spend for a few minutes of glory in front of their fellow geeks.

That's not to say that everyone in attendance is a geek or a whacko (though Johnny Depp did reportedly attend, dressed as a squirrel). And I would love the chance to sit in on some of the discussion panels, if only to get a sneak peek at the many upcoming movies and TV shows that get previewed there. But I am happy to sit at my desk and watch from afar, without having to put up with some nerd in a lame Batman costume shoving his way past me to get to the DC Comics booth. Instead, I get to watch the "Heroes" Season 4 trailer from the comfort of my home all while avoiding the expense of traveling to CA and putting up with a bunch of freaks.*

*No offence intended toward those attending ComicCon or any actual circus freaks.

More, anon.
Prospero

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