Scratch Words in the Dirt

Review: Last Life

2009-12-08T13:52:00.004-05:00

The self-proclaimed "fightsical" Last Life (which premieres as part of the Brick Theater's current Fight Fest series) is a violent, post-apocalyptic tale of the quest for revenge following a cataclysmic loss. Co-created by director Timothy Haskell and playwright Eric Sanders, this collaborative effort plays intriguingly with form and structure and offers numerous visceral thrills, but often fails to connect together in a coherent way.

The intentionally fractured and disjointed narrative recounts the sadistic death throes of a small group of survivors who battle each other for control and dominance following an unnamed Armageddon. The play begins with Vadir (Taimak Guarriello, who rabid fight fans will recognize from Berry Gordy's cult classic kung-fu flick The Last Dragon) dramatically vowing to seek vengeance on his enemies. Vadir is being held captive by a rogue's gallery of hostile characters—including the frenzied leader Fenrir (Jo-anne Lee), her drug-addled sister Urir (Soomi Kim), the brutal torture expert Alcindor (Alyxx Wilson), and a cannibalistic psychopath with extensive facial skin grafts aptly known as SkinFace (Aaron Haskell).

(continues here)

now that the blood has dried...

2009-11-17T21:39:00.007-05:00

Well, another Blood Brothers has come and gone. Thanks to everyone who came out and supported us again this year. Patrick and I (and the entire Nosedive crew) had a blast putting The New Guignol together.

I have a couple of things lined up for the next few months. In mid-December I'll be directing the fourth episode of Entrenched, Nosedive's entry in the Vampire Cowboy's Grand Saloon. I've been incredibly impressed with the work Patrick, Adam Swiderski and Matt Gray have done with the previous episodes in the series... I'll definitely have to bring my A-game.

I'm also planning on finally finishing the revamped Nosedive site. When I relaunched it a year ago last August, only the last half dozen shows had individual pages. I've expanded it to include many of the earlier shows over the past year, but there are still 5 early Nosedive shows that don't have pages up. Additionally, in anticipation of the Nosedive 10 year anniversary coming up in early 2010, I have a number of graphic design projects kicking around in the works.

And sleep. Boy, am I catching up on a lot of sleep these days. Running back to back from Infectious to Brokenhearteds to Blood Bros was amazing, but it wore me the hell out. Wouldn't trade it though... Immensely proud of all three shows.

In the meantime, check out some of the excellent production photos from the New Guignol (taken by our fantastic designers, Daniel Winters and Sarah Riffle). Enjoy!

One Week Until The Blood Flows...

2009-10-21T15:51:00.006-04:00

The Blood Brothers present...

The New Guignol

The Brick Theatre

575 Metropolitan Avenue, Brooklyn, NY

Wednesday, October 28th - Saturday, October 31st, 8pm

new plays by

Danny Bowes - James Comtois - Mac Rogers

featuring

Ryan Andes* - Becky Byers - Rebecca Comtois

Jessi Gotta* - Stephen Heskett - Robert Leeds*

Marsha Martinez - Ben VandenBoom - Cotton Wright*

*appears courtesy Actor's Equity Association

directed by

Pete Boisvert - Rebecca Comtois

Stephanie Cox-Williams - Abe Goldfarb

Matt Johnston - Patrick Shearer

The New Guignol

2009-08-18T17:19:00.005-04:00

We've had the basic details up on the Nosedive site for about a week now, but I thought I would add an update here as well. Patrick and I have been madly combing through news articles the last 6 months, searching for the perfect source material. Scripts are coming in from the writers now, and what we've seen so far has been incredibly exciting. I've got high hopes for this fourth installment of the Blood Brothers series.

The Blood Brothers present...

The New Guignol

Featuring new plays by Danny Bowes, James Comtois and Mac Rogers

directed by Pete Boisvert and Patrick Shearer

The Brick Theatre

575 Metropolitan Avenue, Brooklyn, NY

Tuesday, October 27th - Saturday, October 31st, 8pm

More details coming soon...

Brokenhearteds in Rehearsal

2009-08-14T16:00:00.003-04:00

We're four days in to rehearsals for The Brokenhearteds, and things have been clicking along nicely. This show is a very different experience for me... For the first time in about seven years I'm not producing myself, so I'm able to keep my focus solely on the direction. The cast is excellent... I've watched most of these guys in various Vampire Cowboys shows for years now, and it's great to get a chance to work with them first hand.

Here's the postcard for the show. Not my work... our lighting designer Daniel Winters did the photography and graphic design for the card. I love how it came out.

The Torture Garden

2009-08-05T15:24:00.000-04:00

A poster from one of the original Grand Guignol plays. Ran across this when I was poking through some old e-mails from the first year of Blood Brothers. We based the final effect in What Color Is The Sun? on a historical description of the Ribbon of Flesh effect from Choisy's production of Le Jardin Des Supplices.

Infectious Opportunity opens today!

2009-06-07T14:04:00.004-04:00

A quick reminder that Nosedive’s latest production, Infectious Opportunity, opens at the Brick Theater this weekend as a part of the Antidepressant Festival.

I am immensely proud of how Infectious has turned out. After seeing the tech rehearsal last night I can say with confidence that this is going to be one of the best shows Nosedive has ever staged. The cast is an amazing ensemble of actors that will knock your socks off, the design is a bold, eye-catching step forward for the company and James has written one of his most challenging and rewarding scripts to date. To put it simply, this show rocks.

Since we’re performing as part of a larger festival, the show dates are a bit more unconventional than usual. We have two performances this week on Sunday, June 7^th at 5pm and Tuesday June 9^th at 8pm, after which we go on a three-week hiatus. We come back for two more performances to close out the festival at the beginning of July (Wednesday, July 1^st at 9pm and Friday, July 3^rd at 7pm).

Because of this large gap between shows, we need to get all of our word of mouth out there off of the first two shows. Therefore, I strongly urge (read: plead with) you to come to one of the first two performances if you are able to. If you have to catch one of the later shows, I would recommend buying your tickets well in advance, as they are very likely to be sold out performances.

Seriously. This is not one to miss.

Hope to see you at the Brick,

Pete

Wes Farley, a screenwriter known for having HIV, is enjoying national attention with his latest film. There’s only one problem: he's faked his illness for the past 10 years to boost his career, and is now slowly comprehending the drawbacks of his plan. With the help of his friend Josie, Wes revisits his past and sees how an ill-advised white lie early in life ensnared him in his current situation.

Part of the Antidepressant Festival at the Brick.

Get your tickets here!

Infectious Opportunity

2009-04-19T23:37:00.004-04:00

Nosedive Productions
in association with The Brick Theater
presents

Infectious Opportunity

A new play by James Comtois
directed by Pete Boisvert

Wes Farley, a screenwriter known for having HIV, is enjoying national attention with his latest film.

There’s only one problem: he's faked his illness for the past 10 years to boost his career, and is now slowly comprehending the drawbacks of his plan.

With the help of his friend Josie, Wes revisits his past and sees how an ill-advised white lie early in life ensnared him in his current situation.

featuring
Rebecca Comtois ~ DR Hanson ~ Daryl Lathon* ~ David Ian Lee*
Ronica Reddick* ~ Andrea Marie Smith ~ Matthew Trumbull*

Sunday, June 7th at 5pm
Tuesday, June 9th at 8pm
Saturday, July 1st at 9pm
Friday, July 3rd at 7pm

Part of The Antidepressant Festival

Tickets on sale soon!

Soul Samurai Wrapup

2009-03-16T09:41:00.012-04:00

Last night was the final performance of The Vampire Cowboys and Ma-Yi's production of Soul Samurai. Working on this show has been an absoulute blast. I always say the thing I love about the Cowboys is that they never make bad shows. They truly stepped up their game this time though, delivering one of the msot amazing nights of theatre I've ever seen (much less had the chance to work on). Thank you to Qui, Robert, Abby and everyone else at VC and Ma-Yi for the chance to work on such a great show.

Over the last week I worked with Stage Manager Kat West to mix up some images for a production CD as a a cast gift. Below are a few of the design pieces.

Nosedive's Disturbing Burlesque

2009-03-03T10:58:00.001-05:00

Nosedive's Disturbing Burlesque

Lovely Ladies. Bastard Host. Disturbing Company.

featuring unwholesome performances by
Dirty Diva ~ Madame Rosebud
Nasty Canasta ~ Sapphire Jones

hosted by
Bastard Keith

Wednesday, March 11th, 2009
Doors open at 9pm ~ Show at 10pm
$20 Admission

Under St Marks Theatre
94 St. Marks Place, between 1st & Ave A

All Proceeds From This One-Night-Only
Fundraising Event Go To Nosedive's Spring Play,
Infectious Opportunity

Speed Demons - Rust In Peace

2009-01-09T09:44:00.007-05:00

Last Saturday the Vampire Cowboy's held their final installment of this season's Grand Saloon, including Nosedive's episodic Faustian Road Trip serial, Speed Demons. As always, we had a blast working with the Cowboys on this project. I wanted to take a moment to thank the cast and crew of Speed Demons for making this such an exciting project to work on. Our fantastic cast of actors included Christopher Yustin, Daryl Lathon, Leah Carrell, James Comtois, Jon Hoche, Nick Micozzi, Scott Williams, Christian Toth, Stephanie Cox-Williams and Qui Nguyen.

Additionally, Speed Demons was an interesting new experiment for me as a director. Because of conflicts with Master of Horror, I only directly the first and final episodes of the series. The three episodes in between were directing by Matt Johnston, Abe Goldfarb and Patrick Shearer, each of whom brought their own unique style to the series. It was fantastic to see what each of them made of their episode, and a really unique challenge to try to bring all of the elements they established together for the final episode.

I also wanted to single out several Nosedivians who really went to bat for us on this project. Speed Demons relied heavily on music and sound effects throughout it's run, and Patrick Shearer provided an amazing sound design for each episode (as he always does). Marc Landers, Ben VandenBoom and Qui Nguyen made sure we got a video record of each performance, which we were able to post on our website in more or less real time, so that audience members could catch up on any episodes they had missed. Stephanie Cox-Williams performed triple duty as an actor, stage manager/showrunner and prop and car designer.

And most of all, I want to thank Abby Marcus, Qui Nguyen, Robert Ross-Parker and the rest of the Vampire Cowboys for including Nosedive in this exciting project. We look forward to working with them again in the near future! In the mean time, go check out the Cowboys new full length play, Soul Samurai, which is opening February 14th.

(I've included videos of the Speed Demons episodes below, for your viewing pleasure...)

Speed Demons — Episode 1

Video by Ben VandenBoom

Speed Demons — Episode 2

Video by Marc Landers

Speed Demons — Episode 3

Video by Qui Nguyen

Speed Demons — Episode 4

Video by Marc Landers

Speed Demons — Episode 5

Video by Marc Landers

Review: Chair

2008-12-12T17:43:00.003-05:00

It should be no surprise that Chair, the new Edward Bond play freshly opened at the Duke on 42nd Street, is no cheery romp through the Garden of Earthly Pleasures. Bond has a well-earned notoriety for writing brutal, terrifying plays and Chair certainly lives up to that reputation. Bond's theme here is the dehumanization of the individual by the state, and he pursues this theme with a steadfast resolve.

Director and longtime Bond collaborator Robert Woodruff keeps the tone of the play cool and distant throughout. Featuring a brutally minimalist set designed by David Zinn, the stage is stripped down to appear almost naked. Mark Barton's light design complements this bleakness with a cold, crisp palette. Long, blank white walls are broken up by child-like crayon drawings, scribbled on large pieces of paper. A small table and a few chairs give something of an anchor to the set, but the sparse expanse seems to engulf the actors throughout the show.

The horror of Chair doesn't come in spurts of blood or passionate emotion. Rather, the dread imbued in the audience is a barren and empty one. In a play where kindness is a capital offense, our connection to humanity is the first casualty.

(continues here)

Master of Horror Portfolio

2008-12-08T11:32:00.007-05:00

Spent the last week or so putting together a final portfolio of scripts, reviews and photos from The Master of Horror to submit to King's people. I have the graphic design pieces posted up on The Master of Horror page on the Nosedive site now.

Next up: Adding show pages for the remaining missing shows (Hellcat, Allston, Ruins, etc) and starting work on the graphic novel projects.

Season's Greetings from Nosedive

2008-11-19T10:11:00.003-05:00

No Carol this year, but Scrooge and his spectral buddies wanted to wish all of you happy holidays nonetheless...

Nosedive Site Updates

2008-11-19T09:36:00.005-05:00

When I initially relaunched the Nosedive website in August, it included detailed pages for a handful of our most recent shows - all three Blood Brothers installments, Colorful World and Nervous-Boy. I wanted to include more of our previous productions, but I had to shift my focus to directing Master of Horror with Patrick.

Fortunately, since MOH closed a couple of weeks ago I've been fighting off the post-show blues by getting back into the site redesign. Last night I finished up work on new production pages for A Very Nosedive Christmas Carol, Suburban Peepshow, Dying Goldfish, Mayonnaise Sandwiches and The Awaited Visit. It was a lot of fun to go back and look closely at these productions again. Our company photographer Aaron Epstein has always done amazing work for us... I particularly enjoy some of his more surreal photos on Peepshow, Mayo and Awaited Visit.

There are a handful of shows left that are missing production pages, including Hellcat, Ruins and Monkeys. That last one is going to be interesting, as we have no photos, video, reviews or other evidence of production. I hope to get these and all other production pages up by the end of the year. Once those are finished, I'm looking to add expanded company bio pages and a graphic design gallery in the new year.

Election Day

2008-11-04T12:06:00.006-05:00

Voted before work this morning. My polling station is PS 375 in Brooklyn, aka Jackie Robinson School. It was pretty packed... the line outside went around the block two corners. There's a large courtyard in front of the school where the poll workers were trying to organize the front of the line by Election District.

Unfortunately, the organization effort didn't go so well and the courtyard quickly filled up completely. The cops had to chain off the gate to the courtyard and let it clear out before letting the rest of us on the street in. I was the cut off, stuck right at the front of the line that was kept waiting. I got to hang out with a handful of annoyed cops who were trying to sort through the school employees and senior citizens who need to get through the line. Everyone seemed in pretty good spirits though, patiently determined to wait the lines out. This is what high turnout looks like...

I believe the election is going to turn on registration, turnout and enthusiasm. In two words: Ground Game. I think Obama is going to do even better than expected.

Found some really interesting Obama art around the web in various places... thought I'd throw a few up here for Election Day. Enjoy!

http://chicagoist.com/2008/02/04/art_design_obam.php
http://animalnewyork.com/news/2008/07/ron-english-inaugurates-oversi.php
http://www.highsnobiety.com/news/2008/08/21/new-obama-prints-from-david-choe-and-upper-playground/

Skeletor, a Gladiator and the NonaMonster walk into a bar...

2008-11-01T13:48:00.007-04:00

Check out some photos from the Halloween show of Master of Horror.

Only one night left for the Master of Horror. If you haven't caught it yet, get a ticket fast...

A Room With No Doors

2008-10-30T00:34:00.002-04:00

There's something incredibly visceral and immediate about watching horror on stage. In film and television the special effects may look more realistic, but the audience has a psychological distance from the action. When you're watching a horror play, you're trapped in the same room as the monsters and madmen. Blood sprays across the stage, sometimes splashing the audience, and there's no escape for the viewer.

Blood Brothers: Master of Horror Photo Gallery

2008-10-15T10:06:00.004-04:00

Got the production photos for Master of Horror cleaned up and posted on the Nosedive site. Aaron did a fantastic job shooting for us (as always).

Master of Horror is Open

2008-10-14T11:21:00.005-04:00

The Blood Brothers present...
The Master of Horror

Endtimes Underground at The Gene Frankel Theatre
24 Bond Street (between Bowery & Lafayette)
October 9-11, 16-18, 23-25, 30-31, November 1, 2008
Thursday through Saturday, 7:30pm

Buy tickets here!

Nona
by James Comtois

Quitters, Inc.
by Qui Nguyen

In The Deathroom
by Mac Rogers

and
Paranoid: A Chant and The Last Waltz

adapted from the short stories of Stephen King

Featuring

Rebecca Comtois — Michael Criscuolo — Jeremy Goren
Jessi Gotta — Marc Landers — Marsha Martinez
Christian Toth — Ben Trawick-Smith

directed by Pete Boisvert and Patrick Shearer

stage managed by Stephanie Cox-Williams and Ben VandenBoom

Speed Demons at the Grand Saloon

2008-09-03T14:54:00.000-04:00

This weekend , Vampire Cowboys brings back its extremely popular series, THE SATURDAY NIGHT SALOON, a monthly party at THE BATTLE RANCH featuring brand new genre-bending serialized plays by NYC's hottest indie theatre artists. The shows hit every first Saturday night of the month from September to January. It's always free, the all-you-can-drink beer (or until we run out) is always only a mere five dollars, and the shows are always inventive. So why go drink at a bar when you can party at the Saloon?

NEXT SALOON:

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 6th, 2008 at 8pm
At THE BATTLE RANCH

405 Johnson Avenue (Williamsburg, Brooklyn)

(2.5 blocks from Morgon stop off L train)

For a map, CLICK HERE!

FREE ADMISSION!
THEATRE WITHOUT RERUNS!

Featuring six all-new exciting serialized plays by:

James Comtois

Co-Artistic Director of Nosedive Productions

Author of Pinkie*; Colorful World; The Adventures of Nervous Boy

Megan Mostyn-Brown

Member of LAByrinth Theater Company

Author of The Secret Lives of Losers; Girl; Going After Alice

A Rey Pamatmat

Member of the Ma-Yi Writers Lab

Author of Deviant; Beautiful Day; Thunder Above, Deeps Below

Robert Ross Parker

Co-Artistic Director of Vampire Cowboys Theatre Company

Author of Jimmy Starshooter Must Get Laid*

Mac Rogers

Member of Gideon Productions

Author of Universal Robots; Hail Satan; Fleet Week

Webb Wilcoxen

Member of LAByrinth Theater Company & Developing Artists Theatre Company

Author of Patsy Stufflebean Meets The Kentucky Demon*; The Fairy Tale Project; Billy Sleepyhead

MC'd by Jeff Lewonczyk & Hope Cartelli

Co-Artistic Directors of Piper McKenzie Productions & The Brick Theater

Saturday Night Saloon Schedule:

Saturday, September 6th, 2008

Saturday, October 4th, 2008

Saturday, November 1st, 2008

Saturday, December 6th, 2008

Saturday, January 3rd, 2009

New Show and New Site

2008-08-26T11:48:00.002-04:00

Two really exciting pieces of news to announce. First off, we have the official green light for our Blood Brothers show. The show is called The Blood Brothers present... The Master of Horror, and it's going to be a real doozy... we've received the rights for our playwrights to adapt a series of Stephen King stories for the stage! We're all very, very excited about this opportunity, of course. Been negotiating for the rights for most of the summer, and we're psyched to finally go public with our plans.

If you want to find out more about The Master of Horror, you can keep an eye for more details... at the all new and improved Nosedive website! Yup, after 8 years we've finally dumped the frames and gone all javascripty on ya. The site has been relaunched as of last night, and I'm pretty tickled with the results. We'll be adding older productions in the coming months, as well as the latest info on The Master of Horror as it becomes available. For now feel free to take a look around, kick the tires and bask in the drop down goodness.

Patrick and I are going back for round two of auditions tonight... Hopefully we'll have the cast list and press release out in a couple of days. It's gonna be an exciting fall...

Review: 2 By Sinner

2008-08-18T11:17:00.003-04:00

2 By Sinner
reviewed for nytheatre.com

Good surrealism is hard to pull off. It's all too easy for it to come across as too abstract, too self-conscious, or just plain too weird. It's exciting, then, to catch the polished and well-crafted 2 By Sinner, which achieves a near perfect balance, avoiding these pitfalls.

The title of the evening refers to John Sinner, a surrealist painter and theatre artist from Los Angeles. Sinner pulls triple duty in the evening, writing, directing, and sharing acting duties with Betsy Moore in two short plays.

If you're in the mood for tightly executed surrealism, it would be well worth your time to check out 2 By Sinner. It's certainly a strange evening of theatre, but Moore and Sinner carry the audience through with great skill.

(continues here)

Review: Too Much Memory

2008-08-13T15:06:00.002-04:00

Too Much Memory
reviewed for nytheatre.com

An adaptation of an adaptation, Too Much Memory is a modern retelling of the tale of Antigone. Loosely based on Jean Anouilh's World War II-era take on the Greek myth, co-writers Keith Reddin and Meg Gibson firmly plant the conflict between Antigone and Creon in the present, with reflections on enemy combatants, suicide bombers, and the restriction of civil liberties in a time of war.

On balance, Reddin and Gibson's adaptation is an effective and engaging political thriller. The acting is of truly high caliber, especially the performances by Heisler, Moran, Cancelmi, and Ray Anthony Thomas as the soldier Jones. Gibson directs the play with energy and zeal. Although the play dances right up to the line of political polemic, it avoids triteness through it's emotionally honest portrayal of the characters' humanity. In his opening monologue Moran's Chorus describes an obligation to speak up in an oppressive political environment. Too Much Memory speaks loudly, and knows exactly what it wants to say.

(continues here)

As You Like It

2008-07-23T09:51:00.007-04:00

Got to see Boomerang's production of As You Like It this past weekend. Directed by Matt Johnston, there are a ton of Nosedive folks involved. A really fun, lighthearted production... I enjoyed it a lot. Performance info below, or click here to check out some photos from Saturday's performance.

Boomerang Theatre Company presents

AS YOU LIKE IT
by William Shakespeare

Directed by Matt Johnston

Starring Rebecca Comtois, Michael Criscuolo, Jessi Gotta, John Greenleaf, Paul Hamilton, Brian Moore, Eli Schneider, Maria Silverman, Alisha Spielmann, Christian Toth, Matthew Trumbull, and Scott Williams

Performed FREE and outdoors in Central Park
(enter at West 69th Street and Central Park West)

Saturdays and Sundays at 2pm, July 19th - August 10th

http://www.boomerangtheatre.org/productions/08asyoulikeit.html

"Rosalind is banished and dressed as a boy. Orlando is on the run but smitten by a girl he saw fleetingly at court. Phebe is in love with Rosalind's male persona. Touchstone is in love with Audrey the milkmaid. Audrey...well, she's none too bright. But that's okay, because Celia is in love with bad boy Oliver. And among all this lovin', Jaques wants none of it. Shakespeare's beloved play about the power and verity of amour, presented free and out of doors in lovely Central Park!"

Review: Striptease Into the Trip to Bahia Blanca

2008-07-22T11:26:00.002-04:00

Striptease Into the Trip to Bahia Blanca
reviewed by Pete Boisvert for nytheatre.com

As the audience gathers before the show, we are told that the performance of Striptease Into The Trip To Bahia Blanca begins immediately upon entrance to the theatre. Moving into the darkened space, a figure is vaguely discernible. A woman sits onstage wearing sunglasses and an exotic hat, holding a bouquet of flowers awkwardly to one side. Above her is a projected video image of an unblinking eye, staring out at the audience. An audio track plays a quiet cacophony of voices, guitar music, and various bits of sound collage.

The evening proper consists of two one-act plays by Argentine playwright Griselda Gambaro, both of which center around the character of an actress. We begin with The Trip to Bahia Blanca, where a diva basks in the glow of a successful performance.

(continues here)

The Truth About Barack Obama

2008-06-17T18:00:00.003-04:00

The Truth About Barack Obama
Rumors the Obama campaign shouldn't try to correct.
By Christopher Beam

Posted Tuesday, June 17, 2008, at 5:47 PM ET on Slate.com
http://www.slate.com/id/2193798/

The Barack Obama presidential campaign introduced a new site last week, FightTheSmears.com, that it hopes will debunk persistent myths about the senator: that he's a Muslim, that he won't say the Pledge of Allegiance, etc. As we have argued before, restating the myths often reinforces them, no matter how persuasively they've been refuted.

Rather than restate untruths about Obama, the campaign would do better to start some rumors of its own. Here's a template e-mail the Obama campaign might consider disseminating.

From: [Redacted]
To: [Redacted]
Subject: WHO IS BARACK OBAMA?

There are many things people do not know about BARACK OBAMA. It is every American's duty to read this message and pass it along to all of their friends and loved ones.

Barack Obama wears a FLAG PIN at all times. Even in the shower.

Barack Obama says the PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE every time he sees an American flag. He also ends every sentence by saying, "WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL." Click here for video of Obama quietly mouthing the PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE in his sleep.

A tape exists of Michelle Obama saying the PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE at a conference on PATRIOTISM.

Every weekend, Barack and Michelle take their daughters HUNTING.

Barack Obama is a PATRIOTIC AMERICAN. He has one HAND over his HEART at all times. He occasionally switches when one arm gets tired, which is almost never because he is STRONG.

Barack Obama has the DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE tattooed on his stomach. It's upside-down, so he can read it while doing sit-ups.

There's only one artist on Barack Obama's iPod: FRANCIS SCOTT KEY.

Barack Obama is a DEVOUT CHRISTIAN. His favorite book is the BIBLE, which he has memorized. His name means HE WHO LOVES JESUS in the ancient language of Aramaic. He is PROUD that Jesus was an American.

Barack Obama goes to church every morning. He goes to church every afternoon. He goes to church every evening. He is IN CHURCH RIGHT NOW.

Barack Obama's new airplane includes a conference room, a kitchen, and a MEGACHURCH.

Barack Obama's skin is the color of AMERICAN SOIL.

Barack Obama buys AMERICAN STUFF. He owns a FORD, a BASEBALL TEAM, and a COMPUTER HE BUILT HIMSELF FROM AMERICAN PARTS. He travels mostly by FORKLIFT.

Barack Obama says that Americans cling to GUNS and RELIGION because they are AWESOME.

Colorful World Teaser Video

2008-05-28T15:24:00.002-04:00

Colorful World Production Photos

2008-05-27T10:28:00.001-04:00

Colorful World Production Photos

Colorful World Trading Cards

2008-05-14T20:16:00.002-04:00

ATTEND

2008-05-13T23:47:00.007-04:00

Nosedive Productions presents...

Colorful World

A New Play by James Comtois

The 78th Street Theatre Lab, 236 West 78th St., 2nd Floor
May 8-10, 15-17, 22-24, 29-31
Thursday through Saturday, 8 p.m.

Tickets available at TheatreMania.

Vamps at the New York Comic Con

2008-04-20T23:31:00.004-04:00

I got to go to the New York Comic Con today to help out with the Vampire Cowboys booth. Never been to a real comic book convention before. It was pretty insane... row after row of hardcore geekery. Got some fun photos of the Cowboys and various folks who came in costume.

Colorful World Postcard Art

2008-04-09T16:36:00.005-04:00

Spent the last week or so in epic Photoshop session, pulling together postcard and promotional art for Colorful World. Lost track at about 30 hours... We ended up with two different designs.

The Spectrum design was originally intended for teaser art, but it proved very popular with the company and cast members. I really like the sense of mood and tone in it, and it incorporates the light spectrum metaphor which is at the center of Overman's character. Patrick's face is really haunting...

The Dossier design is much more closely related to the show... Much more "superhero" in concept. It was a hell of a lot of fun to design the little details. We ended up splitting the print run, ordering 2500 of each... first time Nosedive has put two different show cards out.

A Meager Prawn Naps

2008-04-03T11:55:00.002-04:00

Monkeys Write The New York Times

The New York Post Knows To Prey

Village Voice Goal: Evil Vice

The Daily News Wields Nay

Thou Acerbic Gin, Chicago Tribune

The Miami Herald Made Him Rail

Aping Hosts Town, The Washington Post

The Daily Mail Madly I Ail

Coming in May: Colorful World

2008-04-03T09:20:00.006-04:00

Nosedive Productions presents...

A new play by James Comtois

Directed by Pete Boisvert

Featuring
Abe Goldfarb* — Jessi Gotta — Marc Landers
Jason Liebman* — Mac Rogers — Patrick Shearer
Ben VandenBoom — Christopher Yustin

*Denotes member of the Actors Equity Association

The 78th Street Theatre Lab, 236 West 78th St., 2nd Floor
May 8-10, 15-17, 22-24, 29-31
Thursday through Saturday, 8 p.m.

In 1988, the world discovered a man who was indestructible, impervious to pain, and able to destroy a tank with his mind.

In the early- to mid-nineties, a craze where vigilantes dressed up in flashy costumes and fought crime took the nation by storm.

Now it's 2005. The Twin Towers of the World Trade Center are still standing. Hurricane Katrina has decimated New Orleans. The Iraq War is coming to a close. And several former costumed crimefighters realize their marks on the world are more akin to those of has-been rock stars.

This is Colorful World, Nosedive Productions' latest full-length production that takes on the superhero genre. Far from a pulpy comic book-style romp, James Comtois and Pete Boisvert (The Adventures of Nervous-Boy) envision a world radically changed by the arrival of an invincible man, and not necessarily for the better.

Colorful World will be performed at the 78th Street Theatre Lab (236 West 78th St. at Broadway) May 8-10, 15-17, 22-24, 29-31 (Thursday through Saturday). All shows are at 8 p.m. and tickets are $18. Subway: 1 to 79th Street; A to 81st Street; or 1 2 or 3 to 72nd Street. Tickets available at TheatreMania.

Chicken Poop Trebuchet

2008-03-05T14:09:00.004-05:00

Every night Joe Weston-Webb loads chicken droppings into a 30ft catapult and primes a cannon that used to fire his wife with a railway sleeper, all in the name of security... Mr Weston-Webb, 70, has rigged up Britain's biggest anti-burglar device after being targeted by vandalism, break-ins and even an arson attack... The businessman has even put up a sign outside his property reading: "WARNING. These premises are protected by Smart Poo and railway sleeper projectiles."

h/t to Gizmodo

A Hope In Hell

2008-03-03T10:44:00.003-05:00

This really tickled me. Taken from Morpheus' duel with Choronzon in Sandman #4. Ah, the crossroads of politics and comic books... Feels like home.

Dance of the Bullfrogs

2008-02-27T13:18:00.004-05:00

An excellent high-speed video of bullfrogs feeding, created by the Vancouver Aquarium. Really cool stuff.

(h/t Boing Boing)

Eddie Izzard at Union Square Theatre

2008-02-19T13:03:00.007-05:00

Celebrated Shay's birthday by catching Eddie Izzard in concert last night. Hysterical show, funny as hell. Got a bunch of good pics up on Picasa.

Eddie Izzard at Union Square Theatre

Nosedive's Boxcar Social!

2008-02-15T12:57:00.005-05:00

Nosedive's Boxcar Social

at The Vampire Cowboy's Battle Ranch
111 Conselyea Street, #2L, Williamsburg
Saturday, February 16th, 7pm-11pm.
Magic! Comedy! Poetry! Booze!
$5 Cover, $2 beers, and $1 Jello Shots

Sky High

2008-01-26T09:49:00.001-05:00

Sky High ~ New York to San Diego

San Diego Photo Galleries

2007-12-28T03:08:00.000-05:00

Busy couple of days. Spent most of today at the zoo, which was fantastic. The apes and monkeys were awesome (of course). The elephants and meerkats were excellent as well. Unfortuntely no pandas... the baby was asleep, and we passed by the panda exhibit on a tour but didn't see anything through the trees, and didn't feel up to braving the insane lines.

Yesterday was the Museum of Natural History to catch the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit. It was pretty interesting... they got into a lot of the context of the origins of the Scrolls. The parchment themselves were pretty impressive for tiny eroding scraps of animal skin. No photos though, but they also had a great prehistoric fossil exhibit which I was able to take pictures in. Also got to walk down to the beach in Dan's neighborhood. Four photo galleries below...

San Diego Zoo
Pacific Beach
San Diego Museum of Natural History

[UPDATE] Just added pics of Seals and Pelicans at La Jolla Cove!

La Jolla Cove

Merry Christmas from San Diego!

2007-12-25T22:53:00.000-05:00

Got in to San Diego after a pretty smooth flight on Sunday. Had a brief hang up at JFK when I got to the check in desk and realized that my passport had expired a week or so before. Since my driver's license has been expired for a bit longer than that, I suddenly realized I had no actual valid ID. Fortunately the lady at the check-in desk took pity on me, and I got off with a slap on the wrist and a pat between the legs.

My parents had to stay over in Cincinnati Sunday night due to weather delays in Manchester, but they got in safe Monday morning. We've mostly been hanging around my brother's house enjoying the Boisvert Family Traditions of gluttony and sloth. Caught Charlie Wilson's War this afternoon, which was pretty good, especially Phillip Seymour Hoffman who was excellent, as always. Going to check out the Dead sea Scrolls tomorrow, and probably do the zoo later in the weekend.

California is beautiful... it's been 60-70 degrees during the day, and there isn't a cloud in the sky. Got to go for a walk this afternoon and shoot a few pics around Dan's neighborhood.

Christmas in Cali

Best of holiday wishes to all of you... have a merry Christmas, and safe travels until I see you again.

Aaron Riccio's Carol review

2007-12-17T15:36:00.000-05:00

Aaron Riccio reviewed Carol, and had some very positive things to say! Here's a short excerpt:

"A Very Nosedive Christmas Carol is to the original as Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead is to Hamlet... Once again Nosedive strikes to the heart of what audiences really want this holiday season: laughs and eggnog.

As is typical of Nosedive productions, very little is taken seriously, and this play -- which we've all seen a million times before -- is the better off for it. The ghosts (like Scrooge) still learn a valuable lesson about Christmas cheer, but this time they do so in the midst of baby-chucking antics, caroling monkey puppets (and a sock-puppet Tiny Tim), and the most eccentric Cratchit family you've ever seen."

That Sounds Cool: A Very Nosedive Christmas Carol review

Carol ~ Production Photos

2007-12-15T20:02:00.000-05:00

Carol ~ Production Photos

Three chances left to catch Carol!

2007-12-13T12:43:00.000-05:00

Nosedive Productions presents

A Very Nosedive Christmas Carol

A play adapted from Charles Dickens’ story by James Comtois
Directed by Pete Boisvert

Featuring
Rebecca Comtois ~ Stephanie Cox-Williams ~ Jessi Gotta
Matt Johnston ~ Marc Landers ~ Marsha Martinez
Patrick Shearer ~ Brian Silliman ~ Ben Trawick-Smith
Ben VandenBoom ~ Scott Lee Williams

The Horse Trade Red Room, 85 East 4th Street
December 6-8, 13-15, Thursday through Saturday, 11 p.m.
Tickets are $18 for adults, $12 for children. 6 train to Astor Place; L train to 1st Avenue; or F, V train to 2nd Avenue Stations. For tickets call 212-352-3101 or go here.

Blood Bros: Something Up His Sleeve

2007-12-13T12:08:00.000-05:00

The third PULP video.

Something Up His Sleeve
Conceived by the Blood Brothers
Directed by Patrick Shearer
Featuring Anna Kull and Brian Silliman
Shot and Edited by Ben VandenBoom

You've Got To Know Your Chicken

2007-12-10T00:32:00.001-05:00

As Frank Perdue said, "It takes a tough man to make a tender chicken." Hapy birthday, Mr. Yustin.

Carol is Open!

2007-12-07T15:43:00.000-05:00

A Very Nosedive Christmas Carol opened last night at the Red Room. The show is in great shape... felt very tight last night. Unfortunately the audience was a bit thin, but we hope to rectify that over the next couple of shows. If you haven't bought your tickets yet, get em soon! Our house is tiny, sot he odds of selling out on the last couple shows is pretty high.

Here's some pics the post-show celebrating last night... enjoy!

Carol ~ Opening Weekend

**************************

Nosedive Productions Presents

A Very Nosedive Christmas Carol

A play adapted from Charles Dickens' story by James Comtois
Directed by Pete Boisvert

featuring
Rebecca Comtois ~ Stephanie Cox-Williams ~ Jessi Gotta

Matt Johnston ~ Marc Landers ~ Marsha Martinez

Patrick Shearer ~ Brian Silliman ~ Ben Trawick-Smith

Ben VandenBoom ~ Scott Lee Williams

The Horse Trade Red Room, 85 East 4th Street
December 6-8, 13-15, Thursday through Saturday, 11 p.m.

A Very Nosedive Christmas Carol will be performed at the Horse Trade Red Room, (85 East 4th Street at 2nd Ave.) December 6-8 & 13-15 (Thursday through Saturday). All shows are at 11 p.m., tickets are $18 for adults, $12 for children. 6 train to Astor Place; L train to 1st Avenue; or F, V train to 2nd Avenue Stations. For tickets call 212-352-3101 or visit TheaterMania.com .

A Sneak Peek at Carol

2007-12-05T10:13:00.001-05:00

For those of you who can't hold out 36 hours to get a look at Christmas Carol...

Buy your tickets soon! It's a small house, and it's gonna fill up fast.

Three Photo Galleries

2007-12-03T10:08:00.000-05:00

Pinkie ~ Episode 3
A Christmas Carol ~ Tech
Prospect Park

Spent 9 hours in a very small light booth yesterday. Easiest tech we've had in years though...

A Very Nosedive Christmas Carol

2007-11-26T16:53:00.000-05:00

Nosedive Productions Presents

A Very Nosedive

Christmas Carol

A play adapted from Charles Dickens’ story by James Comtois

Directed by Pete Boisvert

The Horse Trade Red Room, 85 East 4th Street

December 6-8, 13-15, Thursday through Saturday, 11 p.m.

The Holiday Classic. Revamped for Cynics.

"An outstanding production, as measured on the Laugh Till You Cry index. Definitely worth a 10."
~ OOBR.com

"Patrick Shearer's portrayal of Scrooge is truly the best performance I have seen on off-off Broadway all year."
~ OffoffOnline.com

Due to both popular demand and the exorbitant amount of fun the company had staging it in years past, Nosedive Productions is re-helming their version of A Christmas Carol at a new venue and a new time.

Writer James Comtois and director Pete Boisvert's version of the Dickensian classic opens on the ghost of Jacob Marley lamenting his fate at having to teach Scrooge the same lesson, year after year, and of having to tell the same story to audiences year after year. The spirits haunting Scrooge have done this countless times, every Christmas, over and over again — and they’re tired. So, the ghosts may be a little late this year. Hey, they have auditions to go to.

A Very Nosedive Christmas Carol will be performed at the Horse Trade Red Room, (85 East 4th Street at 2nd Ave.) December 6-8 & 13-15 (Thursday through Saturday). All shows are at 11 p.m., tickets are $18 for adults, $12 for children. 6 train to Astor Place; L train to 1st Avenue; or F, V train to 2nd Avenue Stations. For tickets call 212-352-3101 or visit TheaterMania.com.

Blood Bros: Metaphor

2007-11-16T12:39:00.000-05:00

The opening vignette from PULP, featuring myself, Patrick Shearer and Rebecca Comtois. Written by James Comtois, directed by Rebecca Comtois and shot and edited by Ben VandenBoom.

Blood Bros: What Color is the Sun?

2007-11-15T11:11:00.000-05:00

I'm really proud of how this piece came out... one of my favorite moments from this year's Blood Brothers show, and Ben has done a fantastic job of editing it together for the web.

Featuring Anna Kull and Gyda Arber. Conceived by the Blood Brothers, directed by myself and shot and edited by Ben VandenBoom.

Enjoy!

Nosedive Productions ~ 7 years, 14 plays

2007-11-13T17:15:00.001-05:00

A new photoshop collage I put together for the fundraising mailing Nosedive is sending out shortly.

Badly in need of a new computer. Photoshop barely works on my home machine at this point; had to do most of this in my "spare time" at work.

Pulp ~ Final Weekend and Cast Party

2007-10-28T14:47:00.001-04:00

I'm working on sorting through the production photos for Pulp and should have the gallery up on the Nosedive website soon. Until then here's some pics from the last weekend, and the cast party. Enjoy!

Pulp ~ Week Three
Pulp ~ Cast Party

Three chances left to catch PULP!

2007-10-25T12:52:00.000-04:00

Only three chances left to catch The Blood Brothers Present: PULP before it goes off to The Great Production In The Sky. I really hope you can make it out to this one; we've had great responses from the audiences and critics so far, and I'm excited to pack as many people in for this last weekend as possible. The house is only 40 seats, and tickets are selling fast, so if you're planning on coming I'd encourage you to reserve tickets in at advance at http://www.theatermania.com/content/show.cfm/show/137130

Hope to see you all at the theatre!

Pete Boisvert
Nosedive Productions

The Blood Brothers Present: PULP

featuring

Gyda Arber, Michael Criscuolo, Jessi Gotta,

Anna Kull, Marc Landers, Brian Silliman

Best Served Cold by Mac Rogers

Directed by Patrick Shearer, with Pete Boisvert

Dead Things Kill Nicely by Qui Nguyen

Directed by Pete Boisvert, with Patrick Shearer

Listening To Reason by James Comtois

Directed by Matt Johnston

With additional material directed by

Rebecca Comtois and Stephanie Cox-Williams

The 78th Street Theatre Lab

236 West 78th Street, 2nd Floor

October 11-13, 18-20, 25-27

Thursdays through Saturdays, 8 p.m.

"PULP isn't just right for the October season, it's exactly what the doctor ordered. ... Nosedive knows what they're doing, and Pulp goes down smooth."
~ Aaron Riccio, New Theater Corps.

"PULP is a razor-spiked treat for horror and gore fans."
~ Patrick Lee, It Just Shows to Go You.

"It might be the goriest interpretation of Aristotle yet."
~ Samantha O'Brien, OffOffOnline.

A deranged psycho killer, deaf to pleas for mercy, tries one last-ditch effort to dodge the cops through the reluctant help of one terrified hostage. Molly, a young teen looking for a quick snog in the woods, now has to cover a zombie hicky. And Brianne has to keep Marybeth from pulling the trigger for just eight more minutes, but learns that, when talking for one's life, time has a way of slowing down.

This is The Blood Brothers Present: PULP, Nosedive Productions' follow-up to last year's The Blood Brothers Present: An Evening of Grand Guignol Horror.

James Comtois, Qui Nguyen and Mac Rogers write three original works inspired by the pulp horror comics and short stories of the 1940s and '50s.

The Blood Brothers Present: PULP features graphic violence and strong sexual situations and is recommended for adults only.

The Blood Brothers Present: PULP will be performed at the 78th Street Theatre Lab (236 West 78th St. at Broadway) October 11-13, 18-20, 25-27 (Thursday through Saturday). All shows are at 8 p.m. and tickets are $18. Tickets may be purchased at http://www.theatermania.com/content/show.cfm/show/137130

Pulp ~ Week Two

2007-10-22T15:36:00.000-04:00

Pulp ~ Week Two Photos

Lots of good ones this time. Mostly taken at McAleers after the show on Saturday night...

We did the photo shoot for Pulp last Friday night... should have production photos up shortly.

Contains 25% Real Elephant Urine!

2007-10-17T13:17:00.000-04:00

A pink elephant pissing in your corn flakes? A truly surreal way to start the day...

Opening Weekend and Rabid Vamps pics

2007-10-15T09:54:00.000-04:00

Two new Photo galleries up on Picasa... check em out.

Pulp Opening Weekend

Rabid Vamps Fight Sudio, Fall '07

PULP Opens Tonight!

2007-10-11T16:12:00.000-04:00

The time is nigh... The Blood Brothers present: PULP opens tonight! We're only playing 9 shows over three weeks, and the house is relatively small, so I'd encourage you to get your tickets early by going here. Here's the details, one more time...

The Blood Brothers present...

PULP

featuring
Gyda Arber, Michael Criscuolo, Jessi Gotta,

Anna Kull, Marc Landers, Brian Silliman

Metaphor
By James Comtois
Directed by Rebecca Comtois

Best Served Cold
By Mac Rogers
Directed by Patrick Shearer, with Pete Boisvert

Something Up His Sleeve
Conceived by the Blood Brothers
Directed by Patrick Shearer

Dead Things Kill Nicely
By Qui Nguyen
Directed by Pete Boisvert, with Patrick Shearer

Bugs In My Skin
Conceived by the Blood Brothers
Directed by Stephanie Cox-Williams

Listening to Reason
By James Comtois
Directed by Matt Johnston

What Color Is The Sun?
Conceived by the Blood Brothers
Directed by Pete Boisvert

The 78th Street Theatre Lab
October 11-13, 18-20, 25-27

Thursdays through Saturdays, 8 p.m.

“For sheer playful fun, make this gory confection your Halloween treat."

~Time Out New York

“Sheer, merry sadism, sexual savagery, and witty humor."

~The Off-Off-Broadway Review

A deranged psycho killer, deaf to pleas for mercy, tries one last-ditch effort to dodge the cops through the reluctant help of one terrified hostage. Molly, a young teen looking for a quick snog in the woods, now has to cover a zombie hicky. And Brianne has to keep Marybeth from pulling the trigger for just eight more minutes, but learns that, when talking for one’s life, time has a way of slowing down.

This is The Blood Brothers Present: PULP Nosedive Productions’ follow-up to last year’s Blood Brothers Present: An Evening of Grand Guignol Horror. James Comtois, Qui Nguyen and Mac Rogers write three original works inspired by the pulp horror comics and short stories of the 1940s and ‘50s. The Blood Brothers Present: PULP features graphic violence and strong sexual situations and is recommended for adults only.

The Blood Brothers Present will be performed at the 78th Street Theatre Lab (236 West 78th St. at Broadway) October 11-13, 18-20, 25-27 (Thursday through Saturday). All shows are at 8 p.m. and tickets are $18.

Subway: 1 to 79th Street; A to 81st Street; or 1 2 or 3 to 72nd Street.
For tickets call 212-352-3101 or go here.

The Blood Bros @ ASStro Hour ~ Pics

2007-10-08T01:11:00.001-04:00

A little taste of what the Brothers have in store for ya...

2007-10-05T14:20:00.001-04:00

Get your tickets now!

Three New Photo Galleries

2007-10-02T14:36:00.001-04:00

Birthday Karaoke

The IT Awards

The Grand Saloon

The Blood Brothers present... PULP

2007-10-02T12:25:00.000-04:00

featuring
Gyda Arber, Michael Criscuolo, Jessi Gotta,

Anna Kull, Marc Landers, Brian Silliman

Listening To Reason

by James Comtois

Directed by Matt Johnston

Dead Things Kill Nicely

by Qui Nguyen

Directed by Pete Boisvert & Patrick Shearer

Best Served Cold

by Mac Rogers

Directed by Pete Boisvert & Patrick Shearer

With additional material directed by

Rebecca Comtois and Stephanie Cox-Williams

The 78th Street Theatre Lab

October 11-13, 18-20, 25-27, Thursday through Saturday, 8 p.m.

“For sheer playful fun, make this gory confection your Halloween treat."

Time Out New York

“Sheer, merry sadism, sexual savagery, and witty humor."

The Off-Off-Broadway Review

This is The Blood Brothers Present: PULP, Nosedive Productions’ follow-up to last year’s Blood Brothers Present: An Evening of Grand Guignol Horror. James Comtois (The Adventures of Nervous-Boy), Qui Nguyen (Men of Steel, Living Dead in Denmark) and Mac Rogers (Universal Robots, Hail Satan), New York indie theatre scene’s hottest — and let’s face it, sickest — playwrights write three original works inspired by the pulp horror comics and short stories of the 1940s and ‘50s.

The Blood Brothers Present: PULP features graphic violence and strong sexual situations and is recommended for adults only.

The Blood Brothers Present will be performed at the 78th Street Theatre Lab (236 West 78th St. at Broadway) October 11-13, 18-20, 25-27 (Thursday through Saturday). All shows are at 8 p.m. and tickets are $18. Subway: 1 to 79th Street; A to 81st Street; or 1 2 or 3 to 72nd Street. For tickets call 212-352-3101 or visit http://www.theatermania.com/.

THE SATURDAY NIGHT SALOON

2007-09-27T12:07:00.000-04:00

Come on down to the Battle Ranch in Williamsburg this Saturday night for a chance to check out "Pinkie", James' new Western-Noir serial. Featuring Christopher Yustin, Rebecca Comtois, Brian Silliman and the playwright himself, it should be a lot of fun!

THE SATURDAY NIGHT SALOON
a semi-monthly party at THE BATTLE RANCH
featuring brand new genre-bending serialized plays by NYC's hottest indie theatre artists.

From Sci-fi Teenage Sex Comedies to Old West Film Noir, these new series will have you foaming at the mouth for the next installment.And the best part, it's all FREE!Plus for a $5 donation, all-you-can-drink beer (or until we run out).

BE THERE FROM THE BEGINNING!
DON'T MISS OUT ON THE PILOT EPISODE!
Featuring all new exciting ongoing series by:
James ComtoisCo-Artistic Director of Nosedive Productions
Jeff LewonczykCo-Artistic Director of Piper McKenzie Productions & The Brick Theater
A. Rey PamatmatMember of The Ma-Yi Writers Lab
Robert Ross ParkerCo-Artistic Director of Vampire Cowboys
Webb WilcoxenMember of LAByrinth Theater Company & Developing Artists Theater Company

Saturday, September 29th, 2007 @ 8pmFREE ADMISSION!
at THE BATTLE RANCH111 Conselyea Street, #2LWilliamsburg, Brooklyn
Click here for a map!For more information, check out the VC website

Who Scribbles the Scribbler?

2007-09-25T13:06:00.001-04:00

Looks like Jeremy is posting Leave Freeze or Die on a semi-weekly basis these days. Here's one of the latest, which basically recreates my divorce as a Beatles tune. Much fun!

Also, new link up to Jeremy's blog, Improper Pronoun. A funny, funny man... seriously, check him out.

reviewing respite

2007-09-12T14:22:00.000-04:00

So with the NY International Fringe Festival and the majority of the other summer fringes closed, it looks like the bulk of my summer reviewing is over. This has been a really interesting experiment for me... I don't think of myself as a writer, and certainly hadn't had to write anything on deadline since college. I got a lot out of it though; the challenge of having to have coherent, relatively text that I feel good about standing behind, delivered within 48 hours has been stressful but ultimately very rewarding.

The cool news is that Martin has asked James and I to continue on as permanent reviewers for nytheatre. I'm taking a brief break at the moment in order to get rehearsals off the ground for the new Blood Brothers show, PULP, but in a few weeks I should be back to reviewing. Looking forward to it...

summer winds down

2007-09-11T00:47:00.001-04:00

set your drink down first...

2007-08-16T13:35:00.000-04:00

If you haven't had a chance to read it yet, check out this post over at kick-ass fight choreographer and playwright Qui Nguyen's beyondabsurdity. Milk-snortingly funny...

Review: Riding the Bull

2007-08-14T18:22:00.000-04:00

Riding the Bull
reviewed by Pete Boisvert for nytheatre.com

Plays focusing on religious faith and devotion and their place in our world often fall into one of two camps. Either they become bogged down in the seriousness of the weight of their subject, or they madly tear down sacred cows in an attempt to offend and shock us. Flux Theatre Ensemble’s production of August Schulenburg’s Riding the Bull finds the sweet spot between cynicism and piety, giving us a stunningly imaginative comedy that never loses sight of its own heart.

(continues here)

Review: LA FEMME EST MORTE or Why I Should Not F!%# My Son

2007-07-27T14:25:00.000-04:00

LA FEMME EST MORTE or Why I Should Not F!%# My Son
reviewed by Pete Boisvert for nytheatre.com

Pick up a newspaper, flip through a magazine, or turn on a cable news channel. Odds are the first story you encounter will be on one of two topics: war or celebrity gossip. These twin themes provide the yin and yang of 21st century corporate media. In Shalimar Productions' LA FEMME EST MORTE or Why I Should Not F!%# My Son, a very modern adaptation of the Phaedra myth by Shoshona Currier, military jingoism and the lifestyles of the rich and famous collide, with fascinating results.

(continues here)

Review: Bloody Lies

2007-07-23T15:56:00.000-04:00

Got my third review up on nytheatre.com. They're coming out a bit faster now, thankfully. Check it out:

Bloody Lies

New Photo Albums

2007-06-24T16:08:00.000-04:00

I picked up a new Olympus FE-230 on Friday after work and spent the weekend testing it out. Three new albums up on Picasa.

Folks

The Mermaid Parade

Night Shooting

NYTheatre Reviews

2007-06-20T10:31:00.000-04:00

James and I were asked by Martin Denton to review several shows from the summer festivals for nytheatre.com. Saw my first two shows over the weekend, and the reviews just went up. Here are the links:

OFF Stages: The East Village Fragments

The FeMale Heart

meme

2007-06-17T21:35:00.000-04:00

Well, both Comtois’ tagged me on this, and I’m trying to warm up my underused writing muscles, so here goes…

“Eight Things You Probably Don’t Know About Me.”

Bloggers must post these rules and provide eight random facts about themselves. In the post, the tagged blogger tags eight other bloggers and notify them that they have been tagged.

Most of my earliest childhood memories are of being in a hospital. I was born with a fairly rare medical condition called Hirschsprung’s Disease. To cut an unpleasant story short, when I was three years old the doctors removed about half of my large intestines. Because that was the age at which I started forming memories, and confusing one hospital story for another, for a couple of years when I was a little kid I was pretty convinced I could remember being born.
I don’t have that many of the typical fears… I’m fine with spiders, my dad kept a pet boa constrictor when I was growing up and I find heights to be kind of exhilarating. The one thing that terrifies me in a truly irrational way is the thought of having my eyeballs cut or pierced. One of the scariest things I’ve ever read is the “re-education” scene at the end of 1984, where the Ministry of Love threatens Winston with a cage of ravenous rats that will be attached to his face so they can eat through his eyes. Guh.
A chicken parmigiana hero with mayo is one of my favorite meals in the world. Pretty much everyone I’ve ever told this too finds the idea repulsive, but I don’t give a damn… they’re delicious.
I tend to obsess about one form of entertainment at a time. I went through about six months a couple of years ago where I listened to books on tape around the clock, then one day I just stopped. I’ll go to the movies several times a week for a month, then not go to another one for most of the rest of the year. I spent a considerable amount of time last year watching The Wire again and again then eventually wandered off to other things. I tend to like epic stories that you can really immerse your self in… I’m often drawn to very long series of novels or full seasons of television shows for this reason.
I firmly believe that The Jackson 5’s I Want You Back is the greatest recording of a pop song ever made.
I don’t remember ever making a conscious decision to pursue a career in theatre. I started acting when I was 15, and never felt as much at home anywhere else as I did when working on a play. I never “decided” to pursue theatre, as it never occurred to me to do anything else.
Although I’ve traveled to Canada, Mexico and several different countries in Europe, I’ve only been west of the Mississippi once in my life, to attend my friend Jim Yue’s wedding in Las Vegas with James and Cat. Hopefully with my brother moving out to San Diego next month, I can rectify that situation very soon.
Temping at Martha Stewart Living, I was once yelled at on the phone by Martha for two solid minutes. The first minute was terrifying, but the thought occurred to me about halfway through the chewing out that this is an incredibly powerful and wealthy person who must have better uses of her time than screaming at a temp. I barely got through the second half without cracking up at the ridiculousness of the situation.

I’ll tag Stephanie, Dan, Mac, Qui, Scot, Marlowe, The Ghost of Elvis, and the square root of negative one.

Spoilt!

2007-05-22T16:09:00.000-04:00

Boing Boing tickles me yet again...

As it has been suggested to me that Peepshow is no longer opening tonight...

2007-05-10T17:13:00.000-04:00

Suburban Peepshow Opens Tonight!

2007-04-05T13:21:00.000-04:00

Nosedive Productions presents...

Suburban Peepshow
by James Comtois & directed by Pete Boisvert

-and-

Trailers
by Mac Rogers & directed by Patrick Shearer

The Red Room, 85 East 4th Street (west of 2nd Avenue)
April 5-28, Thursday through Saturday at 8 p.m.

Tickets are $18. Space is limited.
For tickets call 212-352-3101 or go here.

Photo: Christopher Yustin, Leslie E. Hughes, Marc Landers and Zack Calhoon in Suburban Peeepshow. Photo by Ben VandenBoom.

Two New Videos

2007-03-02T12:03:00.001-05:00

Here are the Shooting Babar and Celebrity MySpace videos that we premiered at Just Say Nosedive!... Hope you enjoy.

oh I wish it would rain....

2007-03-01T12:51:00.000-05:00

I’m angry. Frustrated. At loose ends.

And I’m not sure why.

Everything in my life is lining up quite well at the moment. Nervous-Boy is still riding high from last year, and is getting a new burst of attention due to its inclusion in the upcoming Plays and Playwrights anthology. We’re a couple of days away from starting rehearsals on Peepshow, for which we have a very solid script and an incredible slate of actors confirmed. Just Say Nosedive, although not a huge moneymaker, was a hell of a lot of fun for everyone in attendance and has spurred us to focus even more on video sketches. We’ve confirmed that we’ll be doing both Blood Brothers and Carol this year, meaning 2007 is going to be one of Nosedive’s most productive years. My day job has been very light on actual work for the past week or so, allowing me plenty of time to work on pre-production for Peepshow. I’m dating an incredibly beautiful, intelligent, funny woman who I’m crazy about. I’m not rich, but I ain’t broke either.

I feel ungrateful complaining about anything, given how well things are going for me. I should feel fortunate: A lot of my friends are going through very rough times right now…

And yet… and yet…

It’s probably just the season.

Meme-tastic

2007-01-04T11:56:00.000-05:00

In a tansparent attempt to get me to update this blog with, well, anything, Piddimus has hit me with a meme.

1) Find the nearest book
2) Open to page 123
3) Type lines 6-8 of said book
4) Tag three others.

I'm carrying Neil Gaiman around as well these days, Smoke and Mirrors to be specific. Here goes (from the story/poem Queen of Knives):

"develop your film, or build a house for dolls./(The dolls house was my mother's. We still had it at my house;/shabby and old, it sat out in the grass, all rained on and forgot.)"

"All rained on and forgot"... I like that. I'll tag James, Mac and Dan... we'll see if they notice.

"We don't need a map to keep this show on the road."

2006-07-20T12:03:00.000-04:00

I enjoy the way Piddimus mapped the Birth-Death-Resurrection structure to the theatre/creation process in his latest blog entry. It’s interesting that you say that there’s nothing pleasant about the Death part of the process. I actually disagree… for me almost all of the joy in creation is in the execution of it (no pun intended).

I find pre-production (Birth) to be satisfying in a detached sort of way – trying to make solid decisions to ensure a strong production, finding the right cast, space etc. In the end, the success or failure of the work you do in pre-prod will define the scope of what you’re able to accomplish with the work.

Performance (Rebirth) is the least satisfying stage for me. It’s (of course) gratifying to have people enjoy your show, and every decision made in the first two stages must work toward and support the audiences eventual experience of it, but in terms of actual pleasure or joy, I’m usually left feeling kind of cold, and often spend the time wondering what my next project will be.

The rehearsal process (Death) is where 99% of the fun of creation comes in for me. This is where the creative decision are largely made, and the detail and depth of the show are discovered. (Rereading that sentence, it’s probable that a lot of directors would put this work into the preprod phase… I’ve always been an on-the-fly type though). One of the things that fascinates me about directing is take a creative work from potentiality to actuality… it’s the process of the execution of the work that gets my blood flowing in the end.

A quick caveat: I’m not trying to reopen the Process vs. Product debate again. As I said before, every single decision made in the pre-production and rehearsal phases of the show by necessity must work towards the good of the final product (which is a bit of an ‘ends justify the means” argument, I suppose). All I’m saying is that the actual pleasure for me largely resides in the journey of discovery, not the stasis of a destination.

Nervous-Boy Trailer

2006-07-04T23:01:00.000-04:00

Ben Vandenboom put this together over the last week... It came out looking fantastic. Three more chances to see Nervous-Boy, folks...

The Adventures of Nervous-Boy

2006-05-11T16:09:00.000-04:00

The Adventures of Nervous-Boy (a penny dreadful)
by James Comtois
Directed by Pete Boisvert

June 8-10, 15-17, 22-24 (Thursday through Saturday)
8pm, $15 Admission

Downstairs at The Gene Frankel Theater
24 Bond Street (between Lafaette and Bowery)

for reservations call 212-352-3101 or click here to order tickets through TheatreMania
www.nosediveproductions.com

"Poor Grendel has had an accident… So may you all."
—John Gardner

"Living in New York, I'm around a lot of people who are stressed out. Always stressed, always freaking out and always living in a constant state of self-created panic. I'm not really like that. I don't really stress out. At least, not in the way that people I know do. I don't feel stress. It's more of a constant feeling of steady dread…"

So opines the eponymous hero of The Adventures of Nervous Boy, a horrifically alienated New Yorker who's slowly and steadily losing his mind. In the new black-as-death comedy-horror play from Nosedive Productions, the cruelly-named Nervous Boy wanders around a grotesque nightmare version of the city and comes across New Yorkers of every kind, from rude cell phone users, belligerent alcoholics, pretentious academics, screaming couples, demons from the underworld and brain-dead zombies as he tries to burn a recently earned paycheck in order to maintain his sanity.

The Adventures of Nervous Boy features graphic violence and strong sexual situations and is recommended for adults only

Good night. And, get laid.

2006-03-14T16:17:00.000-05:00

The Ranking of the Bills

2006-01-20T16:09:00.000-05:00

After a conversation earlier today regarding the new HBO polygamy series Big Love, I realized that even though I have seen him in almost a dozen movies, Bill Paxton has never left the tiniest impression on my brain. I have absolutely no opinion about him whatsoever. Whenever I see him in something, he slips out of my mind almost immediately. He's a cypher, nil, absolute zero.

In short, the perfect neutral point to design a Ranking of the Bills. Here we go:

10. Bill Murray - God
9. Bill Clinton - Slick Willy
8. William H. "Bill" Macy - An improvement to any movie.
7. The Bill of Rights - Essential reading.
6. Bill Shakespeare - A William by any other name...
5. "I'm Just a" Bill - He's ONLY a Bill.
4. Bill Pullman - The One From Spaceballs
3. Bill Maher - Keeps dropping down the list each year...
2. Kill Bill - Volumes: 1 through 2, Inclusive
1. Bill Cosby - PUDDIIIIIIIING!!!
0. Bill Paxton - The Perfect Neutrality of Bill
-1. Bill Bradley - Man, this guy disappointed me.
-2. Bill Nye - Science Guy
-3. Bill Amend - Foxtrot was really never that funny.
-4. William "Buffalo Bill" Cody - Poor man's P.T. Barnum.
-5. Cable Bill - Fuck you, cable bill.
-6. Bill Gates - Has. All. The money.
-7. Bill Kristol - Smart guy. Completely full of shit.
-8. Billy Carter - Drunken Brother of Jimmy.
-9. Mr. Bill - Eddie did a better Gumby on the same damn show.
-10. Bill O'Reilly - The Devil

what I do

2005-03-21T17:47:00.000-05:00

Philucifer, (aka Charlie Willis, aka D. Piddy, aka EveryMonkey) recently made a reference in his blog to a comment I had made about the process of directing. Thought I would answer it here (hey, it’s as good a use for a blog as any, and this page has been silent for too long now).

When I see a production of an established text, I’m primarily interested in what the artists working on this particular production have to say. Any established text that has risen to the point of name recognition has already been dissected in dozens of reviews, critical essays and college bull sessions. The script in and of itself rarely interests me while watching a stage production. On the other hand, I’ve never been much of a fan of concept productions, where the script is completely ignored because the director felt like setting Othello in space so he could make a bunch of Star Trek references and show a bunch of scantily clad women. What I do find interesting are the places where the director and actors shine a new light on a text. To put it another way, I enjoy those moments of symbiosis where text and action work together to accent ideas or images that are only partially realized or alluded to in the script itself.

The first three plays I directed were by ‘established’ playwrights, i.e. plays that I found in a book somewhere, that had been staged in professional productions before. As I left college I switched over to directing new works by playwrights that I knew. At the time I said to anyone who would listen that this was because I didn’t have to pay royalties (which my college/local theatre had covered for me in the past). Closer to the truth, I was fortunate to know a number of very talented playwrights who were kind enough to let me take their new babies out for a spin.

When I started working with playwrights that I knew, my initial feeling was that I had an obligation to stage a ‘pure’ version of the show. The premiere of a new piece is often looked at as the definitive version; if nothing else, it will most likely strongly influence subsequent productions. I still think that there is a huge level of respect that must be brought by the director to a first production, but as I’ve grown as a director I’ve realized that at the end of the day, all I can EVER bring to a show I’m directing is my own point of view. I don’t need to bring the playwright’s point of view to the rehearsal table; if they are skilled at their craft, their ideas will be evident in the text. What I do is to take the ideas, philosophies and emotions of a script and use them as the beginning of a conversation.

This conversation starts in pre-production with the playwright, grows with the addition of actors and designers and eventually becomes fully formed with the inclusion of the audience into the dialogue. One conversation, taking place over the entire length of the production. Often conflicting ideas will exist within the same piece… this friction is one of the essential elements of drama. In Nosedive James generally sets the topics we talk about, but many different opinions and ideas on these topics emerge throughout the production. My job is threefold: first, to begin the initial dialogue with the playwright (or with the script itself in the scribe’s absence) by bringing my own ideas about the topic into the mix; second, to facilitate this conversation as we bring the other artistic elements into the fold; and third, to ensure then when it is presented to the audience it is of a whole cloth.

And yeah, I do most of this consciously.

Signing off for another six months,

Pete

My Union-Leader debut

2004-10-19T13:51:00.000-04:00

Ted Koppel is a Waffle

2004-08-26T11:55:00.000-04:00

One of my all time favorites:

Sorry I haven't updated in a while. This is what I seem to do with blogs... Start up a new one, post for a few weeks and then let it run fallow. Will try to do better.

Lots of good stuff coming up for Nosedive. We just confirmed our dates for the upcoming fundraiser. It's going to be Saturday, Spetember 25th at the Emerging Artists Theatre on 42nd Street. Details are over at the Nosedive site; more will be added shortly.

Speaking of the Nosedive site, we had a little DNS crises there last weekend. Took a couple of days to resolve, but in the process I was able to move it off of Jeremy's machine and on to a professional server. Jeremy's been a huge supporter of Nosedive for years now, allowing us to host our website for free off of Torgo, his in-house server. If you're not familiar with Jeremy's work, he's an excellent cartoonist operating out of the heart of the Granite State. He's been writing his File series for nearly 15 years now. Check out his homepage here (yes, that is me in the upper left hand corner with the squinty eyes) and his new Union Leader published strip, "Leave, Freeze or Die" here.

Boundaries and Limitations

2004-07-21T11:31:00.000-04:00

I want to write a little bit about two recent blog entries written by my fellow Nosedivians, Patrick and James.

I think that an actor, like any artist, needs to be able to make their work a reflection of themselves. Any truly creative instinct will come from a place inside of you, from the bedrock of beliefs and desires that make you who you are. To dismiss an actor as a hack because they choose not to use certain words or do certain things in a performance is dismissive of their individuality and free will.

Now, the places you will find artistic inspiration tend to be toward the boundaries of what you are comfortable with. An actor who is passive and unwilling to stretch themselves into new types of roles will end up giving a boring performance. But, there are many different ways to work outside of your comfort range, and I don’t think it is necessary to break every taboo in your work. Breaking taboos can lead to revelatory moments, but when it is done for purely for the sake of crossing a line, it becomes sophomoric. In my mind, an actor can legitimately choose to not do certain things on stage (profanity, blasphemy, nudity) and still be considered to be an artist. Moreover, if you completely cede you will to a playwright or director, your performance will become less artistic, because it will no longer come from you. The danger comes when an actor refuses to cross ANY line they have set for themselves. This will lead to comfortable drivel.

Basically, I’m saying that it is completely legitimate to have a personal line that you will not cross in a performance, so long as you are actively searching out other ways of pushing your boundaries. If we did not have these boundaries, everybody’s worldview would take on the same shape, which would be incredibly boring.

On the other hand:

If as an actor there are things you will not do, that’s fine. But for God’s sake, make this clear in the audition process. DO NOT accept a role in something that you feel you will need to substantially change in order to perform. This is a recipe resentment and bitterness between you and the writer/director. I always try to make clear upfront what a show entails for the actors. A lot of the work Nosedive does is laced with profanity; when I’m cutting sides for a cold-reading audition I always try to pick scenes that are representative of the extreme elements of a show, in order to show the prospective actors what we are shooting for.

When we produced Ruins (a show with a great deal of nudity and sex in it) we laid our goals and expectations for what the performance would require out on the table, talking in specifics about how much nudity each of the roles required. Several actors who auditioned were uncomfortable with the requirements, and chose to take themselves out of the running. I have an enormous amount of respect for these people; as a young actor in NYC, you want more than anything else to be working. To turn down a show based on your personal beliefs is a very hard thing to do. But I tell you, by being upfront about it in auditions, they saved me so much hassle and grief down the road, and I am grateful to them for that.

i can't even find the words...

2004-07-15T15:41:00.000-04:00

Seymour Hersh claims that the US government has videotapes of boys being sodomized at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq in front of their mothers.

I pray that this is not true.

Nosedive Updates

2004-05-26T16:37:00.000-04:00

If you haven’t been to the Nosedive website recently, you should check it out. We have a ton of new updates posted, including:

* The first entry of Lil Jimmy’s new column, Jamespeak. This will be a regularly updated feature on the site, with James sharing his thoughts on theatre in general, and Nosedive in particular.

* Production photos from Mayonnaise Sandwiches, as well as behind the scenes pics (look for Beneath the Mayonnaise at the bottom of the Photo Gallery)

* My portfolio page, featuring photos and information on excellent productions of Cabin Fever, Woyzeck and many others.

* Recently discovered photos of the Ruins cast in their natural environment (i.e. McGee’s Pub; check the House of Nosedive link at the bottom of
the Photo Gallery)

Enjoy!

They Really Like Us!

2004-05-25T13:09:00.000-04:00

Found out last night that Nosedive just won an Off-Off Broadway Review Award for Mayonnaise Sandwiches. Awaited Visit won one of these a couple of years ago; we had a great time at the ceremony and look forward to going again this year.

Critical accolades haven’t always been on strong suit, so this is really gratifying. I know that awards like these don’t mean that much, but it is a great feeling to be recognized, especially after pouring our efforts into the company for the last (nearly) 5 years.

Will post more details as we get em...

All Tongue, All The Time

2004-05-24T12:53:00.000-04:00

When I was in Junior High I came across this strip and was so tickled by it I tore it out of the Bloom County collection and pinned it up on my wall. Ran across it this morning and thought I would share...

Now I just need to scan that Doonesbury "Impossible Dream" strip that was hanging next to it...

Little Plastic Tombstone

2004-05-24T12:31:00.000-04:00

Had the first reading of the next Nosedive play yesterday. This one is called The Dying Goldfish, and it deals with illness in the family (specifically the effects on a stroke that an older uncle has had) and the ways that language and intellect play an importnat role in relationships. I'm very excited about it -- It seems to be a very tight play about specific characters and issues, something that hasn't always been true with our productions in the past. Hada great time hearing it out loud.

Other than that, had a pretty quiet weekend. Saw Kill Bill V.2 (liked it, but wasn't swept away) on Saturday. Mostly just loafed around and slept otherwise, although I got a fair amount of exercise in. It looks like the Vegas beauty pageant thing won't be happening this time (I was asked to be considered for a judge slot for National America Miss... cheesy, but it meant a free trip to Vegas, so I was kind of excited). They still may sub me in if they lose a judge at the last minute though, so we'll see...

Man, I'm having a tired, brag-ass kind of Monday. Ah well, it's halfway over already.

This Makes Froggeh VERY Happy...

2004-05-21T14:39:00.000-04:00

This is official, off of douglasadams.com. Mos Def as Ford is just about the coolest damn thing I can possibly think of...

-----------------------------------------------------

After what seems like seven and a half million years, the film adaptation of Hitchhiker's is finally underway.

Anything published here is at the request of the production team or Douglas's family and friends, who claim it's far easier than mailing you all individually. So, while rumour and speculation are bound to abound elsewhere, this is the only official source for information.

Cast

Arthur ... Martin Freeman
Ford ... Mos Def
Humma Kavula ... John Malkovich
Marvin ... Warwick Davis
Mr. Prosser ... Steve Pemberton
Questular ... Anna Chancellor
Slartibartfast ... Bill Nighy
Trillian ... Zooey Deschanel
Zaphod ... Sam Rockwell

Exercise

2004-05-20T16:38:00.000-04:00

I few months ago my girlfriend got all health-motivated and picked up an exercise bike off of eBay from a family in Staten Island. Actually, she got two; the first one was a horrible contraption that my parents brought down from NH for us. It was kind of like a rowing machine, except the handlebar was connected to the seat in a very strange way so that when you pulled it toward you, the seat raised about a foot and a half a tilted forward so you're almost standing. Basically, think of a self-powered merry-go-round. Anyway, it ended up giving you about the same workout as chin ups... not something that I'd do for any length of time.

So, since that didn't seem to work, she picked up a recumbent exercise bike from the Staten Island family. Recumbent basically means that your center of gravity is behind your feet; you end up leaning back as you pedal. As I'm generally a lethargic guy in between shows, I thought it would be good to start using the thing. Surprisingly, I've been able to keep at it, biking 5-10 miles a day in the comfort of my living room. I just make sure I do it first thing when I get home from work, before I get settled down for the evening. And I tie it to something I like: Good television dramas.

I have a soft spot for a really well written tv drama. I’m talking about Six Feet Under, West Wing, Oz and (to a certain) extent Sopranos. So I just throw in a DVD, and bike away for an episode. There’s something very surreal about working up a sweat while watching the sweaty inmates of Oz work each other over, but hey, it’s probably the most sustained exercise I’ve gotten in years.

‘Course now when I shower afterwards, I’m very careful with the soap.

Meet Ferdinand

2004-05-19T12:47:00.000-04:00

Ferdinand is a mean-ass bastard of a horse. He is secretly plotting to kill you and all those that you love. Check out those eyes... shiiiiifty.

Seriously, don't turn your back on this guy. He will eat you.

Ferdinand's Link

Debris

2004-05-18T10:53:00.000-04:00

I think today is going to be a strange one. First off, Piddy's free drinks must have gotten the best of him... he didn't show up to work today. Smoke breaks with Piddy are just about the only structure my work days have lately, and when he doesn't make it in my schedule starts sliding around.

Secondly, the office is doing some sort of massive spring cleaning tonight and I need to clean off all the surfaces on my desk and walls. I have a tendency towards messiness; my desk is covered by piles of papers, cds, boxes and general detritus. Got to shove it all into a crate before I go home tonight. Of course, I could do all the cleaning now and get it out of the way, but that somehow doesn't seem likely. I am one hell of a procrastinator.

Yustin came over last night and we hung out a bit. Tried to set up Katie Clark, my beloved hookah, but the seal ring seems to be broken, so we never quite got it going. Watched the Lewis Black special again (funny, funny shit) as he hadn't seen it. Also played the Outkast double album for Yooie. I definitely prefer Speakerboxx to The Love Below, as the latter has too many crappy tracks in between the good ones, but like pretty much every double album there's one good disc of material between the two halves. I don't know why artists can't figure out that a double album almost invariably means they need to do some selective editing. Except, of course, The Wall, which actually manages to earn it's scope.