My Sister Was Right

My sister is right about a lot of stuff, but this one she got right-on:

Dan in Real Life is amazing.

I first watched Dan in Real Life a few months back. It was on my netflix list, I watched it, I liked it, I sent it back. My sister had it on her netflix list, watched it, watched it again, and then a third time. All in a row. She loved it. She thought it was the best thing since When Harry Meet Sally.

Over the past few months I have been thinking about the story of Dan's real life. Is life ever that complicated? Is life ever that simple? Are family vacations ever that cool? I saw it at Borders, had a coupon, and bought it. Impulse buy. I have not been able to stop watching it.

Steve Carell is the Everyman. He represents all of what we face each day. The opening scene says it all. You open your eyes, you sit up, you take a deep breath, say okay, and start the day. Not because it is going to be great. Not because you are so excited about what you are going to do that day. But because it is what comes next.

The forecast for tomorrow is gradual lightness followed by gradual darkness.

You find a way to keep getting up in the morning and going through the day. There are high and low points, but you get through the day.

Bottom line is this movie is great. My sister was right. Since I bought it Tuesday, I have watched it three times. One time I did fall asleep, but it was late.

The Boy From Where It Hurts (part 2)

A boxer watches a boxing match differently than a non-boxer. A writer reads a book differently than someone who doesn't write. An actor watches a show unlike anyone else in the audience.

As an actor, I want the show to be good. I want the show to be good so I get to watch a good show. I want it to be good so I don't have to pretend that it is good and theater is a valid art form. I want it to be good so I don't have to fake compliments to the cast when I see them after the show. But more than anything, if I go see a good show, it confirms for me the possibility of me being in a good show. When I go see a bad show, it reminds me how many bad shows I have been in and will be in before I have "made it".

Therefor, my review from Boy From Brooklyn was very difficult for me to write. I want the actors to succeed because it means I will someday succeed. I know how hard it is to live the life of an actor - there is no stability, you are constantly judging yourself based on the opinion of others. And most of all, you make sacrifices everyday for your art. The actors in Boy from Brooklyn were not happy about the sacrifices they had to make. To act, they were sacrificing their knowledge of what good and bad are. None of the actors were invested in their character or storyline. They knew the show was catering to an audience that doesn't know better. They knew it and they knew they had sacrificed their dreams of what acting should be.

My heart goes out to the performers. These are accomplished, talented actors. They know it should be better. And they know there isn't anything they can do about it. That is a very scary place to be.

The Boy from Where? (part 1)

This is a two part post:

1. Review of The Boy From Brooklyn currently running at the Mercury Theater.
2. What this review means for the actor and as an actor.

Part one - The Boy From Brooklyn - review
I have one word - painful. Okay two words - utterly painful. I love Danny Kaye. I adore White Christmas. I was raised on this period and adore it for its campy-ness, warm-hearted-ness, and classic story telling. The show being performed at the Mercury Theater is none of these things.

I should have begun by saying my review of this production is completely null and void. I did not make it past intermission. It is only the second show in history that I have walked out of at intermission. Poor sound design, uninspired set design, and lack of directorial "concept" only begins to scratch the surface of this production. Because of the over mic-ed actors and musical direction of "belting the hell out of it" I could not understand a word that was said or sung. Danny Kaye was a dynamic actor, onstage and off. Dynamic is the word - not flamboyant. Was he gay, was he not. I don't care. But his movement (macho, feminine, or ridiculous) had meaning behind it. There was not a wrist twitch just for the sake of it. It was used to physically commit to what his heart/mind/lines was already doing. In this production, Danny Kaye is portrayed as a two dimensional jester with no sense whatsoever.

The supporting characters were performed as adequately as possible. The script gives them only time to make a quick quip and costume change. No relationship is developed, not even between Danny and his wife. I took 3 friends to the show. After we left at intermission, I bought them all ice cream to pay them back for the hour and ten minutes they would never have back.

As I write this, I am watching White Christmas to confirm for myself that I enjoy Danny Kaye as an actor. They just did Choreography. It is confirmed - Danny Kaye is brilliant. Boy From Brooklyn is not.

Part two of this post will explain the repercussions to both the actor on stage and the actor in the audience.

New Leaf staged readings

Tomorrow I will be participating in a series of 10 minute plays at Summerfest with New Leaf Theatre Company. Apparently Summer Fest is a big deal in the Mid-North area. Bands, food, crafts, and funnel cakes are to be had.

New Leaf is doing free readings of 3-10 minute plays inside the Lincoln Park Cultural Center. All are short and fun staged-readings of new works based on areas in the Mid-North. We do it three times throughout Saturday: 11am, 1pm, and 3pm.

Stop by and check it out if you are in the 'hood.

(Lincoln Park Cultural Center is 2045 Lincoln Park West. It is the park building right next to the old Lincoln Park Zoo building with the statues of the lions in front of it. And - it will be open during Summerfest and has pretty okay bathrooms.)**

**Since when did "pretty good bathrooms become a selling point for theatre? I can just hear Barbara Gain's acceptance speech at the Tony's, "We never would have made it this far without our pretty good bathrooms at Navy Pier." yikes.

Tony's wrap-up

I didn't really finish up my blogging live from the Tony's - I didn't want to step on Chris Jone's toes...actually, I got kind of bored and ran out for ice cream. By the time I got back they were singing RENT and everyone was having a love-fest.

All in all - great night for Chicago at the Tony's. But what I thought was missing was an that you don't have to go to NYC to see a play. This is probably the largest group of non-theater people the Theater Community will amass in 2008. Theatre is happening all across this country. Is it focused in NYC - yes. Are the Tony's Broadway specific - yes. But throw the rest of us a bone. Let freaking Barbara Gains give her speech on the actual telecast. There is more to theater than the Little Mermaid, Jersey Boys, Mary Poppins, and South Pacific. This years Tony's only precipitates that stereotype and it does no good for storefront, regional, or community theaters across the country.

**disclaimer - if anyone is casting for The Little Mermaid, Jersey Boys, Mary Poppins, or South Pacific, I will rescind all comments and happily work for you.***

random thoughts

Just a few random thoughts from today.

If there is a day to spill soy sauce all over your pants, it is the day you wear black pants. Today I wore black pants.

Does the fact that I figured out how to do T9 entry texting on my cell phone make me a Gen Yer? Or does the fact that it took me a month make me a Gen Xer?

If, on the CTA, I hit a fellow passanger in the shoulder with my bag on purpose because she is stupid, am I being aggressive or passive aggressive?

If the highlight of my auditions this week was a picture of my arm pit, was this a good week or a bad week?

If I put in the ice cream store suggestion box that they should be open in the morning so I can get ice cream before I go to work, do you think they will figure out it is me?

Live from the Tony's

I am blogging live from the Tony's.

Well, live from my couch watching the Tony's. And I felt inspired to blog as I watched it.

7:10 - Rondi Reed just won for Featured Actress in a play for August: Osage County. Chicago Actor

7:15 - Woppie was fun at first but now is bothering me. The View has done her in

7:20 - Seriously Cry Baby is a musical. Didn't they already make this one. I am pretty sure it was called Bye, Bye Birdie and the bad boy wasn't in prison, he was going off to war...

7:30ish - Featured actor in a play was just given to Jim Norton. He is old.

7:42 - "I had a dream baby" gave me actual chills. This actress has the opportunity to performer the classic song Every Thing's Coming Up Roses" and the iconic character Gypsy Rose Lee at the Tony's. I hope someday I have the opportunity to do something as scary and fulling as this actress just did. This has been the best performance all night.

What the Tony's taught me tonight is that life doesn't happen in one day. I have a long life a head of me to reach my goals. John Lennon was right: "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans. " To truly enjoy the successes you have in life you have to live through them. If you are constantly looking and working for the next best thing, you will never enjoy the good things that do happen to you. Live in the moment or you will never live.

8:12 - okay, cried for the first time. Laura Benanti' s acceptance speach sums just about everything I feel up. (check it out: http://www.tonyawards.com/en_US/tonynight/speeches/index.html)

8:22 - Thank God! Brooke Sheilds got her eyebrows done!

Asking for help

It has been a week.
Every day.
I am finding reasons to do it:

• reward for a great audition
• make up for a not great audition
• celebrate a day off work
• and the reasons go on and on

I can't stop it. It has happened before, and I have no control over it. I am addicted to ice cream. Every night I need to get my fix. There is a new flavor - no Black Raspberry Chip - but a Raspberry Chip Cheesecake. It does the job.

I need but I want any help. I am choosing to suffer though these next three months until it is too cold.

I scream for ice cream. I scream insanely for it.

Dating Karma

For reference, please see the posting from April 27 - second date.

I had my first date with someone from Match.com. He seemed pretty cool, a bit old (33) but well established and witty. Basically my only two requirements. (besides that they have to laugh at my jokes).

Breakfast on Saturday morning. Then we went to the Printer's Row Book Fair. I have always wanted to go and since this was where he had just bought his new condo, it worked out perfectly. Now the check for breakfast comes. I have been down this path before, but I have decided that on a first date, I am a split down the middle kind of girl. It must be the feminist in me. So I through in my $20 and we are done. But now this leaves me with $3 total...not going to take me far in the Book Fair.

First find is a used copy of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. It is in the $1 bin, but when the guy looks at it, he says he can only charge me .50 for it. Done and done. I just might make it through with my now $2.50.

But then we come across the perfect father's day present. I won't say what it is, Dad might be reading, but it was well out of my $2.50 budget. It isn't crazy expensive, but they don't take credit card. So my valiant first date gave me the extra money to get my father's day present. Karma from the second date paid back. World - we are even.

Shhhh - it is a Secret

The other day I had an audition commercial - for Secret deodorant. I had to play a sport. So, naturally, I picked the one sport I don't suck at - tennis. I played tennis for many years. I remember being at the YMCA taking lessons ever summer since I can remember. My sister even taught Pee-Wee Tennis. Not that her teaching made me a better player, but you can see how important tennis was in the life of our family.

Then came high school. I was not that great, but I had a great coach that really believed in me and was willing to spend any amount of time I was willing to spend on improving my game -- my Dad. "It is all about visualizing the swing." "See the image of you hitting the ball in your mind." As I look back on high school, I wish I paid more attention in history and English, and I wish I practiced more tennis.

To prep for my tennis audition (since it has been easily 6 years since I touched a racket, let alone hit a ball with it) my cousin and I decided to hit the ball around. It was amazing -- like riding a bike. I hit the ball a few times and realized that I didn't suck. My backhand was a strong as ever. I still hyper-extend on my forehand. And if I just relax into my serve, I can get it in - it isn't an ace, but it is at least playable. And what is even more crazy, or scary, is I could hear my Dad's voice in my head. "She hits a cross-court shot to your backhand. Return it down the line, make her run." "Approach the next, be aggressive." Ect. Freaky, but reassuring. There is really something to the muscle, memory thing. And it is nice to know I don't suck.

So back to my audition. The first four shots are this: 1 close-up on my face, one full-body, one distant armpit shot, and one up-close armpit shot. Yup. Armpit shot. I should really connect with the photographer to be sure to add that to my comp card. After my good, bad, and smelly armpit has been digitalized, we move on to a fake game. Basically I pantomime a tennis game. A few strokes: Serve, return forehand, backhand, backhand, overhead smash, another serve and then my final winning (backhand) shot. Point, set, match. The high point is the celebration of my success. It was hard won, I almost didn't get it, but the sweet smell of victory (because I am wearing Secret deodorant) smells so sweet.

I probably won't get it, but I had fun anyway.

A new level

I don't know if it is the next level up, or the next level of hell, but I am now blogging about blogging. I haven't blogged in about a week and I feel all bocked-up. So get ready, sit down, and get ready to laugh...maybe

I invented the internet

Okay, well that may be a bold face lie, but I invented www.alysekittner.com. And it is live m-f-ers! (say it with a funny accent, it makes it sound less harsh).

alysekittner.com is my new website. I still needs work, but for less than $200 bucks, I got it on its feet. And in half the time it usually takes my IT department to make a new site. Hayoh! (just kidding guys - love y'all).

So go to the site and point out my typos before I send it to the world. I hear the world is now wide and a web. I wonder if that is what the www (that is no longer required) means?

talk abut killing the funny

How Stuff works - sarcasm

Thank you to the wisdom of Google (father, son and holy RSS) I came across the above article. At first I thought it was a brilliant example of sarcasm, by defining sarcasm. However, once I saw the article went on for 5 pages (I only got through page 1) (skimming) (I am a Gen Yer, what can I say) I realized this was an article for the incredibly boring or stupid.

I don't like to use the word stupid, but it is too early for me to find an wittier, but equally insulting, word.

Note to editor of How Stuff Works - I need to know how to increase my 401K contribution without diminishing my existing savings plan. I need to know what sort of diseases are running rampant on el train seats and how I can not get them. I need to know how stuff works - not how un-funny you are. That's right. I said it.

just don't call me shirley

Call me naive. Call me old-fashion. Call me simple.

When did the primary focus of politics become numbers? What happened to character debates, scandals, fighting dirty, oh and the issues!

I like politics. I like to talk about the pros and cons of each candidate. Who is a hawk in sheep's clothing? Who is being lead by lobbyists? Who is going to say one thing to be sure they keep their base, but then do another once in office.

But, all I have heard about these past few weeks is numbers. Yes, the 2000 election taught us all something we had forgotten in our civics class - the electoral college. We are a representative democracy, for better or worse. But since when do we elect candidates on if they can win x number of delegates or this red state instead of what they stand for a politicians.

I don't have CNN or C-SPAN, but I do watch the Sunday morning shows and read online. All we hear about is number strategy - get this voting block, take the $50,000 yearly income sect and the female blue collar and you have it made. What about the freaking issues? What about the war? What about the vets when they come home from war? What about the uninsured? What about the under-insured? What about Roe v Wade? What about the type of supreme court justices they would appoint? What about the funding of public schools? What about the outrageous cost of higher education? What about global warming? What about the environment? What about our foreign policy? What about our allies? What about nuclear disarmormeant?

What about the my future and the future of our nation?

I could not give a shit if the candidate I support will be able to take FL or OH. I care about if they will work for the betterment of the country and the continuation, heck - improvement, of our nation and our way of life. Give me some numbers on that.

your body knows best

There are many situations where your body knows best:

1. Don't eat that extra slice of pizza
2. Getting up for the 8am Saturday yoga class just may kill you
3. Get off the train or the smell of piss will turn your gag into a vomit.

Also, when you get in the elevator at 11am, meaning to go only to the 28th floor, but you actually push the Lobby button - your body knows best. It knows you should just leave. Or, at least it knew that you needed to take a ride in an elevator...

The Best Years of Our Lives

Released in 1946, The Best Years of Our Lives is the story WWII veterans returning from war and learning to readjust to civilian life. I had no idea what the film was about before I watched it. I am not even sure how it got in my Netflix list.

I am surprised this film has not been referenced more as vets come home from Iraq and Afghanistan. I have no experience with strength needed to return to civilian live after living in a constant state of chaos and fear. I don't think anyone who hasn't experienced it first hand (or through a loved one) knows the constant pain and struggle a veteran goes through. The Best Years of Our Lives is a very reserved post-WWII film tackling issues that are still taboo to discuss. I highly recommend reviewing this classic.