this and that, and other things

So, posting will continue to be light this coming week, cause I'm in a show that goes up in... well... one week, exactly. And it will demand most of my time. Rehearsals are going fairly well, though the director is rather annoying to many of us (actors), and we still don't have a space secured (the show performs outside). I'm sure it'll all be fine, it's just stressful right now. But my role (Gratiano) is fun.

The Ivy Film Festival was fine, though I barely did anything for it. I actually ditched the latter of my volunteer shifts (since I was totally superfluous at the first one) in order to spend more time at IMPROVidence's 28-hour marathon show. That whole weekend was totally stuffed with rehearsals, parties, improv, movies, and the like.

I saw both A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints and a new documentary, Third Monday in October, at the festival. I still don't care much for the former; the director is a nice guy, and I give him props for getting his film made HIS way... I just don't appreciate the final product at all. The latter is a yet-to-be-released documentary about middle school students elections in October 2004, set against the backdrop of the 2004 U.S. presidential election. I liked it well enough - it's got it's share of laughs and involving moments - but the production values are nearly non-existent, and it looks awfully pedestrian in comparison to Spellbound, another (superior) doc about kids in competition. For those reasons, I can't give it any more than a soft recommendation... but it was fun to see it before everyone else.

Let's see, what else? Who's Cuter? will be a weekly feature (every thursday) as long as people continue to participate. It's all for shits & giggles, but I'm having fun with it. The best part is just coming up with the match-ups. I have some nice ones all planned already. This week's contest is kind of a foregone conclusion, but I like the match-up anyway... and for the record, MY vote would go to Paul Dano. Anyway, look for more of those, more Streepathon, more Altmanathon, and more reviews of current films, as I continue to discover the future of Crumb by Crumb.

I should make a banner.

And do labels.

Sigh... I am feeling oddly torn between this online life and my real life... and between performance and criticism. And the serious and the frivolous. And other things. What are my priorities? What do I really wanna do? Do I really want an acting career? Or maybe more of a singing career? I've been trying to write a musical for a while, but that hasn't been happening. I just auditioned for The Pillowman here, the final show I'd have had a chance to be involved in, and I was not cast. I'm not surprised, but it did put me into that familiar lull of theatrical rejection, even as I prepare to perform in another show in a week. Sigh. It's gonna be weird to be out of college and doing different things. Though I suppose I'll have time to blog more. Oh yeah, and I'm STILL waiting to hear from grad school. That's quite annoying. I wish I knew where my life were headed. I've got a weird couple of years ahead.

Okay, so this post has turned oddly personal. But that's OK. I think I should do more personal posts.

But that's all for today. Back to real life! I'm all behind now.

Ivy Film Festival this weekend!

This weekend, Brown is hosting the annual Ivy Film Festival, a gathering of student and professional filmmakers from around the country and the world, complete with screenings, talkbacks, celebrity guests, and an awards ceremony for winning student films. Here is the Ivy Film Festival Wikipedia entry.

Unfortunately, this year is a bit lacking in quality celebrity guests. No one truly famous will be here (though one year we had Adrien Brody), and the industry professionals present include the people behind Mr. and Mrs. Smith, X-Men: The Last Stand, A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints, and Oldboy. Suffice it to say, I am not particularly fond of any of those titles. In fact, A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints, the big screening/talkback centerpiece of the festival, is (so far) my least favorite film of 2006, barely edging out World Trade Center for that honor. I will be ticketing for it, and presumably watching the screening and talkback as well, so maybe I'll change my mind about it, or at least get some insight into what exactly Dito Montiel was thinking.

There's also lots of other stuff happening in my life this weeked: a 28-hour improv marathon (of which I'd like to watch at least a few hours), two student theatre productions to see, rehearsal for Merchant both friday and saturday, major parties both friday and saturday nights, and another midnight screening of The Host if I'm so inclined... all while I'm supposed to be volunteering for this festival AND hosting a guest student in my suite. Oy.

So yeah, no more blogging 'til next week. Peace.