Sometimes, I even amaze myself.

You ever open your eyes one day and realize something you always wanted was a reality? Have you ever wanted something and had no idea you actually could do it until it was done? Thanks to my wonderful and talented friend Annie Jackson, I got that opportunity last month. Because last month, my wonderful and talented friend Annie Jackson published a book. And I got the pleasure of editing it. And so now I am the editor of a published book. A real, flesh and blood (and electronic and paperback) book!

It's been such a fun journey, too. About 5 years ago, Annie came to me and said she'd had a dream she couldn't shake, and she thought it could turn into a really cool story. So I told her to write it out and send it to me. A week later, I had about 3 pages in my inbox. Which I asked her to expand upon, and explain a couple elements, and then I had about 11 pages. We had a little dinner meeting, we developed out some of the lore (because it's a fairy tale so the world in which the story was taking place needed to be locked down before we could really dig in), and then I got about 30 pages. And after several years and several drafts and a lot of debates over commas versus semi-colons (not to mention the flat-out refusals of colons and only the very occasional em dash) and discussions about the benefits of dialog versus exposition, after learning the benefits of editing in color-coding in web documents in real time in separate states, after several theoretical discussions about grammar versus artistic expression, Tattered Heart is available on Amazon in both Kindle and paperback forms.

I couldn't be more proud of the hard work and dedication Annie has put into this amazing tale. I couldn't be more impressed with the subtle (and some drastic) shifts that took place for these characters and this story over the last several years. I adore the characters. I get goose bumps reading certain parts. 

And you know what else? We're gonna do it again. That's right - this book is on its way to being a series of books. 

So yeah, this is shameless plugging of my own (and much more so, Annie's) hard work and I've never pat my own back (and much more so, Annie's) quite so openly. But dang it, I'm proud, and I hope everyone gets the opportunity to feel the particular elation of crossing something off their personal bucket lists. 

Please visit Annie's blog to purchase, or Amazon!

http://anniejacksonbooks.com/books

Theatre Unleashed Unleashes Tartuffe!

As the proud holder of an English Literature degree, it's hard for me to admit this, but....well...I'm not the greatest fan of "Classic" drama. It was like pulling teeth for me to get through the requisite Shakespeare courses in college (though I somehow found an appreciation for him after it was done being shoveled down my throat), and I really didn't have time for any other dramatists (minus Christopher Marlowe because I picture him as Ben Afleck and therefore, I find him uncomfortably dreamy). 

But my friends over at Theatre Unleashed are currently running Moliere's Tartuffe and I have to say, it definitely refreshed my opinion of classic drama. A rarely used translation of the 17th century French play (courtesy of Ranjit Bolt), TU's production had some highly prized aspects.

Theatre Unleashed recently moved to North Hollywood, which suits me quite well since I live within 5 minutes of their new permanent home at The Belfry Stage, Upstairs at The Crown Theatre. But besides its relative proximity,  the space itself is quite nice and I've already seen how versatile this space can be. The Tartuffe set was clean and classy - great attention to detail, beautiful fabrics and accents. I especially enjoyed the architectural columns (Ionic, I think), creatively made with white fabric, some wire and well-placed lighting.

Another tried-and-true staple of the TU experience is their production-specific signature (adult) beverage - this show featured an aptly-named drink called "The Hypocrite". The drink was tasty, the name was apropo, and the overall experience inched up another notch in my esteem. There's a lot to be said for this holistic approach to a production.

And the cast. These guys could likely make drywalling entertaining. J. Anthony McCarthy made me adore his bumbling obtuseness when it came to Tartuffe, and his loving yet somewhat...inconsistent love for his family members. Phillip Kelly's Tartuffe was just the right combination of smarmy and inept; his energetic facial expressions were a real treat. Heather Lake's Dorine and Tracey Collins' Madame Pernelle both stole the scene each time they were on stage - I darn near got whiplash trying to keep up with each of them when they were both present. Caroline Sharp and Lee Pollero were a delightful pairing as Mariane and Valere - they made it so easy to root for true (and aptly angsty) young love. The whole ensemble played off each other well, with a flair for rapid repartee.

So, like I said, not the biggest fan of the classic drama - even when it's a comedy. But TU's production of Tartuffe made me giggle and wonder how it was over so soon. If you get a chance, go check it out before the show closes! Tickets can be found at http://www.theatreunleashed.com/2014-season/92-tartuffe.html.

[insert superlative here about] [title of show]

Last night, I had the pleasure of going to see Village Idiom Productions' collaboration with Theatre Unleashed's production of [title of show], and my friend Corey Lynn Howe's directorial debut. First things first: as close, personal friends with the Director, I'm so very happy for Corey in the sheer gritted-teeth willpower and determination to make something so amazing come to life, and to do it so well. If you know her, you know it's amazing to see her achieve something she so clearly loves and even more clearly excels at.

But seriously, folks, about the show. [title of show] surprised the heck out of me with its (fast!) dialog and constant elbow-nudging hilarity. And I could go on all day about the "musical written by 2 guys about 2 guys writing a musical about writing a musical" deal. But [title of show] is really about the absolutely terrifying notion of going after those pipe dreams we all had when we were kids and ignoring the sometimes (well, oftentimes) self-defeating fears of failure or bankruptcy or the "vampires" inside our own minds that keep us from attempting to reach for the skies. We can all relate - we all have something inside us we'd love to go after but have fought with ourselves about whether we have what it takes - if we're good enough or talented enough or smart enough or creative enough (and the list goes on and on, doesn't it?). This show is for all the people who think they don't have what it takes to be who they want to be.

The cast were all fabulous. Just 5 people on a stage with the barest of set dressings, there's absolutely nothing flashy for these talented actors to hide behind. But this was no problem for the troupe I saw last night. Each one shone both individually while lifting up and supporting their castmates. The score is just plain fun, full of lyrical and musical twists and turns, paying homage to just about every musical ever produced. If they're anything like the characters they played (and I think they might be), Christopher Maikish (playing Jeff), Travis Dixon (Hunter), Heather Lake (Heidi) and Julia Plostnieks (Susan) have quite a career ahead of themselves. And we can't leave out the Musical Director and ever-present on-stage pianist, Jim Blackett. This guy made singlehandedly delivering the score to an ambitious and original musical look easy, and provided a few great straight man lines that cracked me up.

[title of show] is playing the rest of June in the Hollywood Fringe Festival. Support the arts and local theater like Theater Unleashed and have a great time; this show does not disappoint!

Play it Again, Gregory Crafts

A couple weeks ago, a friend mentioned that her friend's play was being offered for free on Amazon Kindle. I'm not normally a play reader outside of Lit class requirements, but I'd seen a play the guy directed (and loved thoroughly - review to come) and the stars aligned.

The play is "Friends Like These" by Gregory Crafts, and it's....well...fun's probably the wrong word, given the subject matter. But I had a ball reading it. Took about an hour, and it reminded me of everyone in particular who went to high school with me, and also every incarnation of my own adolescent self, and also everyone I'd ever seen my brothers hang out with, and...well, you get the picture.

This is sort of in the vein of your standard high school drama: jock, cheerleader, geek, love triangle, unrequited love, looks being deceiving, etc. Only, the characters really didn't feel like stereotypes, because they weren't just the typical incarnations of those roles. The cheerleader is kind of a loudmouth with an attitude, not a slutty trend whore. The geeks aren't just geeks, they're LARPing geeks, and one of them also happens to be on the wrestling team, and one of them also happens to be a chick. In a post-Columbine world, kids in black trench coats who hate the popular kids, well, we've (sadly) learned that plot. And we've read the story of the geek who landed a cheerleader. So, you think you have these characters down, and then they go and surprise you. I love that. You also think you have the story line down, and it goes and surprises you, too.

So I highly recommend that you spend an hour living through a harrowing reminder of the darker days of high school. You might find a different viewpoint on the other side.

Pun So Very Intended

Ok. I'm not sure where this came from...but I can't pass up a good historical pun fun. Enjoy.

1. The fattest knight at King Arthur's round table was Sir Cumference. He acquired his size from too much pi.

2. I thought I saw an eye doctor on an Alaskan island, but it turned out to be an optical Aleutian .

3.   She was only a whiskey maker, but he loved her still.

4.   A rubber band pistol was confiscated from algebra class, because it was a weapon of math disruption.

5.   No matter how much you push the envelope, it'll still be stationery.

6.  A dog gave birth to puppies near the road and was cited for littering.

7.  A grenade thrown into a kitchen in France would result in Linoleum Blownapart

8.  Two silk worms had a race. They ended up in a tie.

9. A hole has been found in the nudist camp wall. The police are looking into it.

10. Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.

11.  Atheism is a non-prophet  organization.

12.  Two hats were hanging on a hat rack in the hallway. One hat said to the other: 'You stay here; I'll go on a head.'

13.  I wondered why the baseball kept getting bigger. Then it hit me.

14.  A sign on the lawn at a drug rehab center said: 'Keep off the Grass.'

16. The soldier who survived mustard gas and pepper spray is now a seasoned veteran.

17. A backward poet writes inverse.

18.  In a democracy it's your vote that counts. In feudalism it's your count that votes.

19.  When cannibals ate a missionary, they got a taste of religion.

20.   If you jumped off the bridge in Paris , you'd be in Seine .

21.   A vulture boards an airplane, carrying two dead raccoons. The stewardess looks at him and says, 'I'm sorry, sir, only one carrion allowed per passenger.'

22. Two fish swim into a concrete wall. One turns to the other and  says 'Dam!'

23.  Two Eskimos sitting in a kayak were chilly, so they lit a fire in the craft. Unsurprisingly it sank, proving once again that you can't have your kayak and heat it too.
24.   Two hydrogen atoms meet. One says, 'I've lost my electron.' The other says 'Are you sure?' The first replies, 'Yes, I'm positive.'

25.   Did you hear about the Buddhist who refused Novocain during a root canal? His goal: transcend dental medication.

26.    There was the person who sent ten puns to friends, with the hope  that at least one of the puns would make them laugh. No pun in ten did.

Punday!

Which fairy tales can be told in an expedient fashion?
A.S.A.P.’s Fables.

What? Too Grimm? 

The Call of the Wild by Jack London
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

My husband has been haranguing me to read this book since we started dating, and even as a book buff, I don't like being told what to read and what I'll like. I fought against this one tooth and claw (...snerk). And I'll admit, the first half of the book, despite London's amazing attention to detail and beautiful visual imagery of the Alaskan wild, I thought I was reading a doggie snuff book. Poor Buck! What a horrible story! Why would anyone read this??!! Oh wait, this dog is kinda badass. That's why people read this. And dog or no, this character is WELL defined. He's the uber-dog. The ultimate dog. And his relationship with John Thornton would give anyone chills.

I think most people like it because they become Buck as they read about him. They're the lone wolf, the ultimate against a wild and unfriendly territory, fighting for primacy and seeking love and acceptance. The humans in this book are polarizing: they're great or they're REALLY not. The setting is....well...wild. And beautiful and captivating and tempting and lush and harsh all at the same time.

I liked it almost solely due to the relationship between John and Buck. I can see how some can read it and become Buck...I'm not Buck. But I want to be John Thornton.

View all my reviews