New Year

As cliche’ as it might seem, 2011 already feels like a whole different thing, doesn’t it? Will hopefully have some good, or at least interesting, news soon.

Meanwhile this is a pretty funny clip even though, obviously, he isn’t talking about me.

December Lull ??

Here in Los Angeles “The Holidays” is an unavoidably slow time of year. From approximately Nov 15th to Jan 4th, when it comes to trying to do (creative) business,  the first sentence on everyone’s lips is: “Let’s talk about this after The Holidays.”

It is easy to find this mindset annoying, especially when you’re trying to get things done, but that sort of angst is futile… better to just give in to the holiday vibe. Know in your heart that everyone is too distracted to focus on any old business and of course it being the “end of the year” no one has any budget left for new business.

So what do you do?

You use the time to work on your own projects and ideas free of the worry of looming deadlines or fast-approaching pitch meetings. It is a time to quietly GET STUFF DONE.

With that in mind I can tell you that I have been keeping myself plenty busy. I’m preparing an essay piece I’ve performed live a few times for possible inclusion in a book (sweet!) I’m hammering out a 2nd draft on the latest feature comedy spec,  and submitting scripts & short film stuff to some 2011 festivals. On the ‘Blunt Farce’ side of things, work is progressing on episode 3 of Bud Fallbrook, but since it is animation, it is painfully slow going.

…but there is little to complain about. We’ve all more-or-less survived another (rocky) year. This weekend I’ve got some holiday parties to attend that I know will be sweet affairs, populated by some of my favorite people in the world. We’ll talk about the year that was and our plans/hopes for the future and remind ourselves how blessed we are regardless of any obstacles or frustrations currently blocking the path to our dreams.

Happy & Safe Holidays to Everyone.

November News

October was an admittedly slow month. I got a lot of work done but didn’t have much to really report. A lot of writing and some progress on various projects via Blunt Farce etc… but November is already shaping up to be a different animal altogether.

Actually have a couple “meetings” scheduled, a few of which have taken a while to get.  I have also already booked two shows on new (for me) stages. You can find full details/addresses by clicking on the “upcoming shows” tab to the right, but here are the basics:

At 7:30 pm on Friday November 5th I’ll be doing the first ever “Word Salad” show at the “Paper or Plastik Cafe.” This should be a great night with some of my favorite storytellers, and (apparently) free baked goods, all for five dollars.

Then at 8pm on Thursday November 18th I’ll be reading a story at “Literally Funny.” at “The Last Bookstore.” I’m really thrilled to get the chance to be in this show – a fairly high-profile weekly ‘readings’ show that was named “Best of LA”  in the annual special issue of the “LA Weekly.” …so I better bring the funny.

This year will definitely be ending on a high creative note.

Quick Mid-month update.

Just got word that the good folks at Storyworthy have posted the podcast ‘episode’ that I recorded with them a few weeks ago. Check out the whole series… some great stories on there.

In other news, still working on new animation(s) and rewriting yet another script. We keep busy.

Night of Champions.

It has been a busy month, although there has also been a lot of “hurry up and wait” as I wait to hear on a possible gig etc.  …but it has certainly been a good month.

The return of ZODIAC THRILLERS has been a complete success. The three ‘first round’ shows went great: We’ve had three packed houses. All 12 teams (of mostly strangers, remember) got together, found a connection and threw down some amazing feats of improv. The addition of Hope, our piano/keyboard player really added a great new layer to the sets too.

And of course THIS Saturday night (aug 28) will be the “Night of Champions” where the three weekly winners will come back to battle it out for final, supreme bragging rights… and it only happens once a year, like the Super Bowl.