Tag Archives: jobsite

Review #1

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‘Pay’ comes up short by Marty Clear, St. Petersburg Times

It’s not really a bad review, after you’re done reading it. Especially compared to the title of the article. Sheesh. But yeah – he praises just about every aspect of the show (acting,directing,costumes) but spends most of his time slagging the script. Sheesh. He’s been hanging around Mark Lieb too much.

Meh.

So I had an utterly bizarre dream last night. I was on a Goth Cruise, and I had my son along. We were watching a movie in a casino, and he started to feel low so we were talking about what he needed to do (and joking around a bit while doing so). Some uber-pretentious Goths sitting behind us and to the left proceeded to videotape this conversation with the intention of putting it up on the web in some kind of video montage of “assholes on the cruise” that they were planning to make. I caught wind of this, and got confrontational (i.e. I got up in the pasty while little fuckers grill and started yelling). I can’t remember if his name was Ohio or just rhymed with it, but he definitely said something that sounded like Ohio several times. Anyway, one he realized I had a good foot in height and several more in width on him he decided to go get his friends to deal with me. What friend did he end up with? spud. Needless to say, I didn’t have anything to worry about from the Brute Squad. In fact, when spud found out Alex was involved I do believe that there were threats of violence heading towards Ohio and his other half.

Was a funny dream. Made me want to go on a Goth Cruise AND hang out with spud. Hopefully we’ll be able to find some time to do so at Dragon*Con.

Which, I really need to get off my ass and start budgeting for.

I’m sore, tired and more than a little cranky. It’s been a long assed week, and there was extra drama put on top of it that I just didn’t need. One more performance, and then we have two nights off. Man, I really need it.

Final Dress

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Yep. Tonight it technically final dress for We Won’t Pay! We Won’t Pay. Tomorrow night is our paid preview, which means there will (hopefully) be asses in seats that paid to be there. We open on Thursday.

As always, it’s been an exhausting but exhilirating rehearsal process. I continue to be grateful every time I get to work with these folks.

And, as you should expect by now faithful readers, it’s time for me to shill…

Tickets are on sale now through the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center box office. If money is an issue, the paid preview is Wednesday, June 1st and tickets are only $14.25.

One of the things I’m proud of is that with this show we have partnered with Metropolitan Ministries, a faith based organization here in the Tampa Bay area that does some incredible work helping to feed the poor and homeless. As part of that partnership, we’re going to have a food collection bin outside of the theater for every performance of We Won’t Pay!. Bring non-perishable foods to donate and help feed the hungry while enjoying a night at the theater!

Listen for the cast of We Won’t Pay on WMNF 88.5 FM during Art In Your Ear, this Friday from 1:00PM to 1:30PM EST. Also, keep an eye on this space for links to our commercial, which is shooting tonight.

Thanks for all your continued support, my friends.

What are YOU doing tonight?

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Thinking about going to The Castle? Think again! Tonight is the Gasparilla Night Parade in Ybor City! It’s going to be INSANE down there. Parking alone is going to cost you $20, and you’re going to have to deal with thousands of drunken idiots with wandering hands (ladies, if you’ve been you know what I’m talking about). Why on Earth would you want to do that?

How about some live theater instead?

For LESS than the cost of parking alone, you can get a ticket to see the Jobsite Theater’s Phyro-Giants! The Tampa Tribune says that “Phyro-Giants! has something new to say about relationships,” while the St. Petersburg Times calls it “Lively, crisp and entertaining.” What’s more, netgoth, etcet, aishlynn and I are going to be there. Great theater AND great company! You can’t miss!!

Tonight is the last performance of this show, so this is your last chance. Get out and support live theater!

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On a completely unrelated note…. this is a damned tempting offer.

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So I had a great time last night. Went out to Karaoke and finally met junwin (who, it turns out, I actually gave the code to start her LJ three years ago. It’s been so long I had forgotten!). It was an absolute delight to finally get a chance to meet face to face, even if it was hard to hear over the music. I also got to meet queenbarbee‘s other half, who was quite cool (and can throw some MAD gang signs). Several completely new faces to me as well, and a startling revelation – After years and years of promoting herself as a god-awful Karaoke singer, something happened to good_eeevening. She got good. Like, really good. Sure, maybe it’s only on the songs she’s done a billion times…but damn. And my, but does she turn her songs into a production for the rest of the bar.

I, on the other hand, was frustrated yet again by the selection. I guess my tastes are just far too eclectic (and I’m too over-anxious about sounding bad by picking a song I don’t know backwards and forwards). I choose “Thunder Rolls” by Garth Brooks first, but their CD had been stolen. I settled on the theme from “Rawhide,” but when I got up to do it the song started halfway through so I was up there for all of 30 seconds (and sounded like ass, because it wasn’t in the style of the Blues Brothers). Was going to do the Garth Brooks cover of “Shameless,” but I left before I was called again.

I just need to start carrying my own CD’s with me to these things.

Had some Outback Steakhouse goodness for an early Valentine’s Day dinner last night. Good, but hoooo the points. Yes, I actually calculated them. Needless to say, there are no FLEX points left for me this week.

And on that note, I’m gonna go for a walk. Later, folks.

Shilling

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In the off chance that you are new to my journal, or that you haven’t been really paying attention to what I’ve written in the past, I feel it important to point out here that I am, in some small way, an artist. I honestly feel uncomfortable using the term, because I see so many people around me who are considerably more dedicated to their respective trades than I am, but be that as it may I get on stage every once in a while. Having been part of a company on and off for just over four years now (yikes! Has it been that long???), I’ve seen the struggles they’ve gone through as a small independent house trying to keep their doors open and still offer something new to the local arts scene.

So I’ve got kind of a thing for telling everyone I know to support the arts.

And on that note, I now bring you the shilling. I will also apologize for not cutting this long post, but I think it’s important enough not to.

First of all, my good friend theonebob is currently looking for donations to help keep his radio show, “The Shape Of Things To Come,” on the air. For those of you who are local, he’s on a radio station much like our beloved 88.5 FM – and it’s time for him to fill the coffers again. I’ll let him explain…

The Shape of Things to Come, New York’s only Prime Time, Sunday Evening radio show that plays “Dark Music” needs your help to stay on the air.If you’ve ever listened to the show, you know that TSOTTC supports the entire scene by playing music and interviewing artists and luminaries you won’t hear anywhere else on the airwaves. (You can check out the playlists here here: http://tsottc.livejournal.com.)Since The Shape of Things to Come does not accept paid advertising, the only way the show stays on the air is through donations from supporters like you.

What would your pledge of $10 or more mean to The Shape of Things to Come? Your pledge is YOUR VOTE, YOUR VOICE and the surest way to send a signal to the powers that be that this music has a place on the station and on the air.

To show your support, please click here. Any amount of money you can pledge will be helpful and appreciated. The Pledge Drive ends on February 14.

Broadcasting for over20 years, “The Shape of Things to Come” is the longest running and best dark music show to air in NYC. Sunday nights between 9 pm and midnight Eastern Time. It is hosted by Bob Westphal (TheOneBob) and broadcast to the
New York City region over noncommercial 89.1 WFDU-FM “Where New Music Begins,” and to the rest of the world via the Internet on http://www.wfdu.fm. Plus you can hear the past week’s show repeated on http://www.TheOneBob.com.

Thank you for taking the time to read this.

Bob Westphal (TheOneBob)
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Listen to and support
THE SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME
Station: 89.1 WFDU-FM
Every Sunday, 9PM to midnight EST
Web rebroadcast all day, everyday at www.theonebob.com.
Yahoogroup: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TheShapeOfThingsToCome
LiveJournal: http://theonebob.livejournal.com
Playlists: http://tsottc.livejournal.com

And speaking of my Jobsite family…

This is the final weekend for both Topdog/Underdog and Phyro-Giants!

If you haven’t yet made it out to Phyro– you’re actually getting two extra chances since we held the show over from last weekend. We have a show Sat. at 10:30pm and Sun. at 7pm. We’d love to see you this weekend, Saturday could particularly use some help. Don’t miss out! Check out all our reviews, commercials, press etcet http://jobsitetheater.org/phyrogiants.htm.

Topdog/Underdogis actually picking up quite a bit of steam. We had some significant walk-up last weekend (more than doubling our audience Saturday night on that strength) and this weekend looks to be doing even better. As a matter of fact – this Saturday’s show just sold out a few minutes ago. Performances remain Thu. – Fri. at 8pm and Sun. at 4pm. Check out all about Topdog at http://jobsitetheater.org/topdog.htm.

It looks like we might make it out of both of these shows alive, and it’s always nice to not lose money. It’s actually harder than you think in the theater. Most importantly, we have two great shows we’re putting on for you. All this hard work doesn’t mean a damn thing in my mind if people don’t see the shows.

I hope, if you haven’t already, that you can find time for us this weekend. If you have already made it out,mind passing on the word there’s a few more chances to see some great pieces of theater?

netgoth and I will be at the Saturday performances of both shows. While Topdog/Underdog has already sold out, there are still tickets available for Phyro-Giants! that night and other shows this weekend.

Support the arts! Donate! Go see shows!!

Shilling done!

One night only!

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I will be participating in a staged reading of the Steve Patterson (Delusion of Darkness) one-act “Deuces” tomorrow night (January 31st) at 7PM in the Shimberg Playhouse of the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center.

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Deuces
by Steve Patterson
Featuring David Frankel, Michael C. McGreevy, Caitlin McDonald and Christen Petitt
Jan. 31, 7pm – Shimberg Playhouse, TBPAC
$5 at the door. Free to Jobsite subscribers.

As part of both TBPAC’s Breaking New Ground series and our own Job-side Projects, we will host a staged reading with a talkback to follow of Steve Patterson’s one-act play Deuces. Set in New Orleans during Mardi Gras, join a couple as they play an interestingly high-stake game of cards with a mysterious figure.

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Tickets available here

And while I’m shilling…

There are currently two shows running in the Shimberg from the folks at Jobsite. Phyro-Giants! and Topdog/Underdog. I’m probably going to try to check out at least one of them this weekend. Can’t give a review of the shows yet, as I haven’t seen them, but if the casts are any indicators they should be stellar.

Read all about ’em!

Remembering Mark Trent

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On Thursday morning I heard that an associate of mine named Mark Trent passed away.

I couldn’t make the claim that I knew Mark very well. We were in Maxwell together back in the early part of 2002, and I’ve seen him a few times since then. We were close in the way that two people who genuinely like each other but don’t cross paths a lot in their every day lives are (the way I am with pretty much all of the Jobsite crew, to be honest). His death didn’t affect me so much in the sense that I felt that I lost a close friend, but I feel that the world lost a genuinely good person.

Mark was a genuinely good person, and a damned talented entertainer. Working with him was a pleasure and I had always hoped to do so again in the future.

I will not, unfortunately, have that opportunity.

There was a memorial for him last night that I had planned to attend, but the illness that has been dogging me for the last few days decided to rear it’s ugly head again last night. I was in bed by 8:30 and slept through the whole night. I had a tribute of my own, though, the day I heard of his passing. I put in my Maxwell soundtrack and remembered the experiences I had with Mark during that process. I cried. A lot. More than I really thought I would have.

I’m just tired of burying my friends. I’ve been so to many funerals already in my life. I know people my age who have never even been to a funeral, but I’ve been to more than I can recall. So many good people passing on.

Mark was the first homosexual that Alex was directly exposed to. He had met them before, but the issue had never really come up. At one point, however, we were talking about Tara and Willow in “Buffy The Vampire Slayer.” Alex mentioned them kissing and said it was gross. When I asked him why he told me it was because “girls weren’t supposed to kiss girls.” I explained to Alex that it was not gross, and that there was nothing wrong with same sex relationships. I used Mark and Peter as an example, as Alex had been exposed to them quite a bit and they had all gotten along quite well. I can’t think of a better person to have used as evidence that there was no reason to fear or distrust someone just because they had a different preference than us.

Mind you, this is the conversation that led Alex to declare that he was gay. “I love you,” he said, “and you’re a boy. So I must be gay.”

I had to clear that one up. I asked him to wait a few years before he made that decision.

From what I heard, Mark fought hard for his life at the end. Much like others who were following the saga, I didn’t expect to hear that he had died at all. It just didn’t seem possible. Mark was too strong willed to let death overcome him. I truly thought there was no way that he wouldn’t pull out of it.

Now he’s gone, and his loss is felt keenly by many here in the Tampa Bay area.

Present company included.

Rest well, Mark. You will be missed.

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Just as an update for all of you who have been concerned : I am still sick. I do not believe that I have the flu. I thought I did at one point, but I’m pretty sure that was just a headache. The cold has moved down to my chest now and I’m coughing a lot, but I have definitely improved. I am going back to work today. My co-worker Dawn is over in Europe right now, so I won’t be directly exposed to someone and risk getting them ill. I’ll just try to keep to myself and not make anyone else sick. Unfortunately I don’t think it will be any warmer at the office. Last time I was there it was really cold, and last week my boss was complaining to me that his fingers were going numb.

What is it with offices not wanting to use the heat anyway??

I have a few space heaters on order and they should arrive on Wednesday. Just in time for things to be warm again. At least if it gets cold Wednesday night or Thursday morning I’ll have some way to warm up the rooms while company is here.

Wow. It’s only two days until Christmas Eve. I have several things still in the mail that I really hope get here in time. Tonight I have to start power cleaning my house to get things ready. I’ll finish up the cleaning tomorrow night and hit the grocery store on Wednesday when I get off of work (we only have a half day). There should be a pretty decent turn out on Wednesday night.

Sorry if this has been a disjointed entry, but I’m still kind of out of it. Hopefully I can get some work done today.

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Acting again, school, and other news

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So very much to write about. I almost don’t know where to start. This one is going to be a completely personal, update sort of entry. So for those of you who are looking for some of my more deep and philosophical stuff, I suggest you try back later or check out some of the links below.

I guess what’s on my mind the most right now is the fact that I’m getting involved in the theater again. That’s right, kids. After a self-imposed hiatus of over five years I’m going to be back on the stage with the Jobsite Theater in Tampa. I’m playing the role of Gerhardt in a new Joe Popp musical called Maxwell. The show will run from January 4th to the 20th in Tampa, and then we will have three performances in New York. Who would have thought that I’d actually make it on the stage in New York? Sure, it’s not Broadway. I’m coming back home to Tampa after wards. But damn it, I’m going to be performing in New York. It’s almost unbelievable, but it’s happening. Rehearsals begin on Monday, and I’m more excited than I’ve been in a long time.

My birthday has come and gone, and while I’m a little older now I can’t say I feel any wiser. I did, however, have one of the best birthdays I’ve had in a long time. I threw myself a big party, and many friends came over to watch me get VERY drunk and make a general ass of myself. That’s what friends are for, man. I got some great presents, too. All in all, it was a smashing success.

The weight loss continues, and I’ve now lost 130 pounds. I’m a little nervous about going into the holidays, but I’m taking some definite steps to prevent major back pedaling during the next two months of continual feasting. I think I’ll do fine. I’m even predicting another 10 pound loss by the end of the year. I’m confident I can do it.

The semester is almost over, and as of this point I’m still carrying A’s in all of my classes. Not a small feat in one of them. Philosophy is a real pain in the ass, let me tell you. I love the class, but it’s very hard and our grades are solely based on test scores. I’ve gotten A’s on all the tests, so it’s all good. I have a paper to write by next Wednesday, but I’ve got a pretty firm grasp on what I’m going to include in that. No worries there. In general, the whole school thing is going along quite swimmingly, I must say.

Still nothing new on the job front, but I’ve got a recruiter that is working very hard for me from Kforce. Hopefully she’ll turn up something soon, because the coffers are getting quite thin.

Well, that’s all the updating I’m going to do at the moment. I could write more but I’m tired and it’s late. I’ll try and update more regularly for those of you who have been pestering me to do so.