January 1, 2009
Another busy year. The most notable event was (finally!) my first commercial, a big one: Nike. It was shot in July and I had to dance, not my greatest skill to say the least. I auditioned on my birthday. I had heard nothing after two days, so I figured, no surprise, that I hadn't gotten it. The next morning I got emails from three people informing me that not only did I have the gig, but that there was a rehearsal that afternoon.
The ad was scheduled to go on the web in September, but has been postponed several times. Twice I was filmed in close-ups. The ad was a follow-up to a 2007 Nike commercial featuring Ladainian Tomlinson, star running back for the San Diego Chargers. The delay may reflect the Chargers' disappointing season (they did manage, barely, to make the play-offs so maybe it'll finally be posted). Whenever it does go on the web, the advertising agency will email me a copy. ()
Soon after, I was in a second commercial (a Visa ad for Canada). This time I was an extra; I'm not even visible (I was able to get a copy). I was placed next to two of the featured actors for a while, but got moved (as were dozens), ending up in the back row.
This fall I was in an ad for Westwood College (an online university), which I haven't been able to get a copy of yet. I play a professor who is boring his class. .
In December I was in a training video for Cap Metro (as a bus passenger). I also played a homeless man on Sixth Street for a live performance film of stand-up comic Jim Gaffigan (to be broadcast on Comedy Central late March 2009).
In July I performed a monologue ("Hunting Cockroaches") for a Talent Works showcase (see it at ). Its DVD was distributed to agents and producers throughout Texas. (My previous showcase "Dream of the Red Spider" is at )
I took acting workshops with Sally Jackson, Laurie Guzda, Daniel Foster, and Will Wallace. Last year Will wanted to cast me in a film he produced in Wisconsin; the director instead selected a friend who was so lousy that his footage was dropped from the film.
I arranged the first public screening of "Z: a Zombie Musical" at the Arbor in June and had a great turnout. (There was even another article in the Chronicle right before the screening: ). I arranged a screening at the Drafthouse in San Antonio in July. I was able to get a news story in the Express-News and was interviewed by the NPR station. There was a good turnout (enough that they invited me back in October when there was a very small turnout). I also got "Z" into the Horrific Film Festival in San Antonio in August where I met the man who, in 1941 - age 8 - was the voice and model for Bambi, and the son in the Son of Frankenstein.
I scheduled a screening in Houston, but it was postponed due to Hurricane Ike. An October screening in Dallas had such a small turnout (including two great former students: Trevor White and Jody Armstrong, and a good friend, Gwendolynn Murphy) that I canceled the Houston screening (I hope to find a university venue there where I can show it in 2009). That screening did yield two rave reviews, "Okay... seriously. I haven't laughed this hard in quite some time! This musical is the new Rocky Horror Picture Show. Every time I would start laughing I had to make myself stop so that I didn't miss anything." And "Z is a very busy film. There are so many things going on in the background. I'd like to buy the DVD just so I could go back and see what I missed. The songs are catchy, the dialog is full of funny innuendos and the cast bounces around unlike any Zombie I've ever seen. Y'all must have had a ball making this film. Great jobs guys!!!!!"
I was in several films; most notable were "Mommyhood" () and "Polecats" (). The former is a short written, directed and co-starring Deborah Abbott. My part was written for me. I had a great role in "Polecats," a feature. I portrayed a weird racist who mostly lives in his bathroom with a little chicken.
I also helped Dave Miller shoot an expanded video version of his "Dear Mr. President" play that I was in 3 years ago. Sadly he was unable to cast me, since I didn't look like one of the letter writers (from the 1960s).
I saw Pilobolus perform for the eighth time (I first saw them in 1980). They're my favorite dance troupe.
There were lots of plays on my schedule. The best were "Bronx Tale" (with its creator, Chaz Palminteri), "The Pirates Of Penzance", "Africa: The Czechs Among The Cannibals" (I got a cameo in this one), and "The Vagina Monologues" (whose author, Eve Ensler, was present and performed a final monologue at the end - I was able to get her autograph and a photo with her).
I took thousands of photos, mostly on set, but also a few photo sessions. The session with Nataly Pe?a in San Antonio (at the Sunken Gardens) was one of my all-time best. My old camera started acting funky, so I upgraded to a much better model, which I'm delighted with.
The most memorable concerts were by Susan Werner, Shawn Phillips (visiting from South Africa for an American tour), John Smith, John Adams (an amazing composer, honored at UT with three great concerts; years ago he returned an autographed postcard adding some of his music from "Nixon in China"); the Austin Handbell Ensemble (whose director, Bob Avant, used to be the band director at Lamar; I saw three of their concerts, including an amazing regional conference concert with about 300 performers); and three Conspirare concerts: one devoted to the music of Tarik O'Regan; the second, a thrilling performance of the Verdi Requiem; and the third was taped for national broadcast on PBS in March (during a pledge drive).
I got to see an unusually large number of celebrities this year, getting photos and/or autographs for most of them. John Pearson had his usual stellar line-up for his master class: most notably Charles Burnett, Steve Buscemi, and Matt Stone. I was lucky enough to attend a few of the excellent Texas Monthly interviews Evan Smith conducted for KLRU: Debra Winger, Billy Gibbons (ZZ Top), Matthew McConoughey, Jeff Daniels, and John Sayles. I met Phil Donahue at SXSW (here for the amazing "Body of War" he co-directed). I saw Tommy Lee Jones (at a film that he narrated) and got his autograph.
Morgan Spurlock ("Supersize Me") recognized me from "Chalk" (which he distributed). David Mamet, Daniel Ellsberg, and Cokie Roberts delivered great lectures. Ralph Nader delivered a campaign speech a few blocks from here.
Mark O'Connor (violinist) conducted a master class at UT. I met James Cromwell, Robert Townsend, and Charlie Kaufman at the Austin Film Festival. Andre Dubus III, Christopher Buckley, Robert Caro, T. Boone Pickens, and Mike Farrell were at the Texas Book Festival. And finally, Peter Yarrow (Peter Paul & Mary), Mia Kirshner, and Sarah Vowell spoke at BookPeople.
Over the years I've worked on dozens of films and made some wonderful friends; it's great to be able to stay in touch with new friends made on set. One of the joys of teaching is getting to work with some amazing young people. Sadly, they all move on and are rarely heard from again. Thanks to the internet, and in particular Facebook, I've been able to re-connect with almost 400.
At Thanksgiving, one of my all-time best students, Christie Turner Schultz (now in Calgary, Alberta) wanted to get together with some of her friends. Sadly only Scott Russell (in Seattle now at Microsoft) and I were able to meet with her (it was very last minute). We had a great visit. I've been helping Christie locate classmates for their upcoming 15th reunion. I've also been helping Mary Voorhees and DeSean Roby find folks for their 10th and 20th reunions. I noticed a Lamar alumni page on DeSean's profile. After I joined it I discovered that some, like Christie, couldn't join. So I set up a new Lamar alumni page and it now has 366 members. ()
Just before Christmas I got to see Chendrith Pittman, Stephanie Boenig and fifteen more former students at an informal McCallum reunion. I was able to track down two students I taught in San Antonio in the early '70s as well as seven from Dobie in the late '70s. I've found former students all over the world: China, Singapore, Canada, Egypt, Switzerland, Germany, Denmark, Peru, Japan, and many states across the U.S. Occupations range from lawyers, professors, teachers, musicians, brokers, to owners of their own company. I've found a few working for Microsoft, Dell, IBM, and other computer companies who thanked me for getting them started in computers. No doubt some have lost jobs due to the current economic mess. Hopefully next year, the economy will have bottomed out and the recovery will have started. As many as I've found, they represent only about 6% of the students I taught.
As always I saw tons of movies. Some of the best: "The Diving Bell & The Butterfly", "Le Grande Voyage", "Body of War", "Flying: Confessions of A Free Woman", (a great 6 hour documentary available on the Sundance channel), "Young @ Heart", "JCVD", "Historias Minimas", "Slumdog Millionaire", and "The Reader."
I read an amazing 366 books this year and some of them were exceptional. The best of this year's: "Generation Rx" by Greg Critser (a powerful book on the abuses of the pharmaceutical industry). Three excellent books on post 9/11 Afghanistan: 1) "Kabul in Winter" by Ann Jones, 2) "The Punishment of Virtue" by Sarah Chayes, 3) "Kabul Beauty School" by Deborah Rodriguez. Two great books on Iraq: 1) "Ahmad's War Ahmad's Peace" by Michael Goldfarb and 2) "Mayada Daughter of Iraq " by Jean Sasson. "When A Crocodile Eats the Sun" by Peter Godwin, (Zimbabwe), "H2O" by Howard Schatz (unbelievable photography), "Schulz & Peanuts" by David Michaelis, " What Is The What" (Sudan) by Dave Eggers, "Blackwater" by Jeremy Scahill (a scathing indictment of that mercenary company); and "The Story of French" by Nadeau & Barlow. I read the first four books of the great Merchant Princes series by Charles Stross (thank you Sato Nishimura) (books five and six haven't been published yet). And I read 13 books by Robert J Sawyer, especially enjoying his Neanderthal Parallax trilogy.
I was lucky enough to find CDs by Chet Nichols, two of his concerts thrilled me in the 70s; I even got to talk with him on the phone. Likewise, I got all the fantastic CDs put out by Bud & Travis. I even used one of their songs many years ago, when I had a music class one semester.
I walked even more than last year, averaging 10.2 miles a day, with a total of 3726 miles, walking 300 miles every month of the year.
I had to fill the tank only seven times this year. It would've been even less, if I hadn't driven to San Antonio three times and Dallas once. I even avoided driving 60% of the days this year. I was able to average 55 mpg for the year.
I hope that 2009 is a better year for everyone and that President Obama and the new Congress can solve many of the troubles our country is experiencing.
