Chili Powder

The Reading

I took this (crappy) photo of Zack at the reading last night. It was a great time, Zack's actress was awesome! As usual Zack had everyone entertained, and asking many questions....

Zack's play reading

It's this weekend!

From the Austin Script Works website:

Primer Paso is the culmination of the first phase of the Latino Playwrights Initiative. In the spring, ASW and Teatro Vivo put out a call for new short plays by Latino playwrights. Playwrights from all over the country submitted work. Six plays were selected by a committee that included theater professionals from Texas and California. These plays will receive a professional, public reading with Austin actors and directors, as well as the advice and mentorship of guest artists Michael John Garcès, a playwright and director and the Artistic Director of Cornerstone Theater in Los Angeles, and Kristoffer Diaz, a playwright and educator with Cleveland Playhouse. The festival will include a playwriting workshop and a party.

The festival includes new works by Austin playwrights Monika Bustamante, Amparo Garcia-Crow, and Zach Gonzales; Lakeway writer Guillermo de Leon; and California writers Paco Jose Madden (Los Angeles), and Marisela Trevino Orto (San Francisco), both of whom will be in town for the festival.

Marat/Sade

I had promised Brandi I'd show her Marat/Sade, because I think she could design a very scary and immediate set for the play.  While there are no horses in the immediate script to speak of, I think there's still room for a horse or three in your design if so inclined.

This play's staging by Brook was the closest thing to the realization of Artaud's theories.  Le Momo's the man.

Zomboid

Interesting review of the new Richard foreman play.  I gotta write another play...

Genghis Khan

Tonight I have a date with Genghis Khan.  SVT's opera has been a looooong time in the making, and this marks my first time to (finally) experience Graham Reynolds' music live rather than on KUT or KVRX. 

If'n I don't get stampeded by Mongols, I'll let you know how the show is.

zack 

Richard Foreman

Amazing strange Richard Foreman from Ontological-Hysteric has had a long-standing tradition of posting his texts on their website for anyone to adopt and adapt into a play.  The texts are available for reading and jacking here.

zack

One SXSW Afterparty I'll Be Skipping (As If I'm Invited To Any, But Still)

Factory People is hosting some SXSW afterparty this year.  For those of you not from Austin, Factory People is the place in town where wannabe hipster baristas and I Love Video stockboys spend 90$ on their tshirts.  10 hours labor spent on one tshirt?  Yeah, that and actual musical talent will get you backstage at the Trail Of Dead show.

Factory People is usually a place I am happy to ignore, apart from the occasional bashing lite when Jen and I see a funny ad with a 125$ tshirt in it.  But today on AustinActors.net I found an audition ad from Factory People for its afterparty: one role is for an "Eve-esque snake charmer whose sole function is to look awesome, must bring own snake", and this gem of a stereotype:

One LITTLE PERSON is needed to play a LEPRECHAUN and hand out golden coins to the patrons at the event. Golden coins will be provided by Factory People.

Good thing they don't have to bring their own coins!  Cause that just would be a totally oppressive working environment.

zack   

Blasted, by Sarah Kane

I've just finished reading Blasted by Sarah Kane.  I didn't realize it would be so violent...but I think that's the point of the play, that violence most often occurs with no provocation, no accelerating pattern, and no immediate reason. 

When it premiered it played in a tiny theatre in England, a 60-seat room -- which is an extremely intimate setting for the amount of bones-being-ground-to-make-one's-bread in this play.  And there's some weird life undercurrent following me right now -- maybe guiding me a bit -- where these violent works of theatre and film are finding me.  My copy of Blasted is in a 5-play anthology, and it's the only one I chose to read.  They just keep coming...

This is not a play I'd like to direct.  I'm still wanting to do Nocturne.  It's times like this that make me want to hit the Michener program for graduate writing work, so as to be able to know someone with whom I could immediately talk about this play tomorrow morning, much like we do now with movies and tv. 

Art rules.   

zack

more titles for new monologue

The foodstuffs motif is completely gone from the new monologue.  I'll never understand the creative process; why was it neccessary to begin with Famous Amos? 

Its working title on Saturday was "Marvel Wang Exacts Revenge", which is now more honest and less pedantic if'n I just call it "Revenge", so that's where I stand.  I'm sure Jennifer saw this coming weeks ago, but I also realized today I am ridiculously burnt out on theatre right now.  Once Revenge is done I am taking a break, and um, I mean it this time? 

Seriously -- with our road trip just a month away I want to spend more time getting ready for it!  We're all so stoked.  March 13th or 14th, I can't remember, we leave Austin and head north-ish.  Cruise through Amarillo, through state parks, drive up more and eventually get to Taylor and Brandi's hood, approx 30 minutes south of Denver.  This drive'll take a couple of days, because we're not rushing AT ALL.  And yes, I promise to take photos, because Jen and me in a state of unrush deserves documentation. 

We'll see Taylor and Brandi's world, and we are planning on spending an evening with Brandi's family.  Marcel and I are rooting for snow -- my NY native wife is not.  :)

On the way back I think we're driving down through Santa Fe, then return to Austin from the east.  We'll be MIA for a week, and man we couldn't be more excited about it. 

zack   

new monologue w/ foodstuffs title

I've begun work on a new monologue, one for Vortex's BareBones New Works Festival.  The theme is 'La Femme: Original Works By/About Women'...so I'll just focus on the 'About' part then. 

It's due in transit with a postmark by March 1st, and I'm posting about it on the blog so's I can't get cold feet and/or heavy eyelids and laze my way on past the deadline with nothing to show for it.  My piece has been titled "Famous Amos Love Me Long Time", and then "Chocolate Chips", and right now its title is "Fresh Plums".  I have no idea what the title will be, and "Napoleon Dynamite" is already taken.  Agh.

Anyway, this one is dedicated to my wonderful sister Taylor and her girlfriend Brandi, who will be getting a Clan Gonzales road trip visit from us next month.  Please make it snow for us, Taylor.      

zack

Sayonara, Open Kimono

Stick a fork in us, dude.  The Best of Fest roster did not include the Open Kimonosters.  I am very much of two minds about it (maybe even more) -- Best of Fest was our initial goal, but for my first Frontera Fest I'm happy with Best of Week, especially with big Geoff.  Geoff Pearson is the man; every director in Austin should hire him and pay him mad cash to play their pet roles.  He's the man, and I cannot thank him enough for taking part in this experience with me.  I will never ever forget how terrified everybody was of him during Best of Week when he goes off and yells "SHE'S not afraid of having a dry hole!", pointing right at the nice lady who happened to choose the front row seat with her well-dressed, mild-mannered date.  I bet we worked some magic for their relationship that night.  Geoff is Tony-bound, no doubt about it.

As for me, I'm cool.  I just thought to myself -- I'll get through this, what would Frank the Tank do right now?  So I beer bonged a 12 of Milwaukee's Beast, sucked back a burro tranquilizer, and streaked off to the quad. 

Frontera Fest was fun.  A GIANT thanks to all my friends and family who supported Geoff and me along the way -- Jen and Marcel, thanks for living with my newspapers last year, and thanks for the late night talks about John Cage etc etc. -- Deneen and her husband and Alex, thanks for being there for Geoff, and Nancy and Adam, thanks for the support, count me in for the next Car Talk song outing, and more importantly thanks for watching the best movie of all time.   

zack

   

Break A Leg

Zack left about an hour ago for the theater. I introduced Marcel the theater way of saying "good luck" by whispering it in his ear for him to repeat to his Dad. A few minutes Marcel shouted this very popular theater sentiment,  "Break Your Leg!"

So then we popped in a movie and cuddled up in our blankets.  Here is Marcel's Movie Review of our Saturday night film choice:

Marcel's Movie Review: Kangaroo Jack

"Kangaroo Jack is WEAK. I don't like Kangaroo Jack" followed by choking/barf sounds.

We turned it off about 20 minutes into it.

MOO.

Jennifer and Marcel

Strange Behavior

Zack is exhibiting some strange behavior today, pre FronteraFest show. I caught him singing a 98 Degrees song, "Give Me Just One Night (Una Noche)":

Give me just one night, una noche
A moment to be by your side
Give me just one night, una noche
I'll give you the time of your life

The time of your life
Ohhhh
Give you the time of your life
Oh baby yeah

Barf.

He is now at the gym, working out, presumable trying to divert some of his pre-play nervous energy. I am now going to hide the coffee.

Be thinking of Zack and Geoff around 9:30 this eve! Hopefully this performance isn't just una noche. . .

-Jennifer

We got Best of Week!

From Hyde park Theatre website:

Saturday, January 29: BEST OF THE WEEK
The five pieces reprised tonight will be chosen by this week's panel, announced after Friday night's show, and listed here Saturday morning.

ORRRRRR - I'll post 'em now!

I don't know our order yet, but tomorrow's bill will be:

24 Minutes (something unintelligible on the voicemail), Exactitude, Wade, the Gypsy Baby thread count extravaganza, and yup, Open Kimono.

I called Geoff at 11:30 and told him; he barfed, tried to pretend he didn't know me, then gave up and said he'd do it again.  At this point the road to Best of Fest is as follows:  we go on this weekend, then the last week of the festival transpires, they have their best of week.  THEN, the Best of Fest lineup is posted on the voicemail Saturday, Feb. 5.  There is a Bill A, a Bill B, and a Wild Card lineup.  Long story short, if we end up on either Bill we go two more times -- if we get Wild Card we go once more.  Of course there is always the possibility that we won't go beyond Best of Week (which is pretty kewl in itself) but by now I am drunk with power, getting my Caligula on.

   I told Geoff tonight to prepare for three more performances; of course, he starts rehearsals for a new show next week, putting him in the sour position of remembering our lines while learning new ones.  I'm thinking Watson and Crick had it easier. 

Lest it slip by, I should take a moment to say how much fun I had last night -- despite the fact that I looked a bit rigor mortisified.  I so appreciate everyone taking time out of their busy weekday schedules to come see the evening plays -- Nancy, Lee, Adam, my wonderful aunt (what a cool surprise!), Jen, and all of Geoff's great friends.  It's nice to have crew.  If'n we get Best of Fest, I'm gonna have me a Dead Poets Society O captain my captain stand-on-the-desk-moment at work and recruit even more peeps. 

I have to go to Kinko's tomorrow and copy more inserts for the evening program.  Of course, being a scrub greenhorn, I trashed my master copy, and now I am unprepared and get to tape two inserts together all ghetto style and photocopy that for 100 copies.  I be suckin'.

Be thinking of Geoff tomorrow!  Wish him a gi-normous "break a leg", and also a gi-normous "please don't throw up", and maybe even a gi-normous "please don't let your peepee fall out of those boxer shorts you're sporting there on stage, Chief".  Jerzy sez, "Give em hell." 

I feel so frickin' good I gotta let my Inner Bibby out again.

zack

FronteraFest

Zack and Geoff last night after the show.

Thursday's Frontera Fest lineup

Our evening's schedule has been posted:

Thursday's bill, in performance order:

"Good Love," (The Changing Lives Youth Theatre Company). A project between Theatre Action Project (T.A.P.) and SafePlace - 15 teens have created their own interactive performance about healthy relationships that they tour to other youth and adults in the community.

"Palmqist," by E.S. Cuny. A touching tale of smouldering passion burning the hearts and hands of those who would contain it! Directed by Erin Meyer, featuring actors Kathryn Morgan and Michael Lenneville.

"Open Kimono," by Zack Gonzales. Performed by Geoff Pearson. Diversify your asbestos portfolio and speculate on chimp futures in this one-man midnight bull market. You will see guaranteed returns!

"The Movement in the Bed on the Brink of Awake and Asleep and How it is All Worked out With the Thread Count," by Lindsay Kayser. A play about the movement in the bed on the brink of awake or asleep and how it's all worked out in the thread count. A Gypsy Baby production.

"Exactitude," written and performed by Stephen Pruitt. The biggest, bestest performance you ever saw... really... this is going to be so amazing you'll never forget it. I swear. Funny, touching, and timely. Don't miss this show!

___

Our tech rehearsal went so well; Geoff has this thing wired and what's more important it looks like he's still having fun.  He's made this play very successful; I often have interesting ideas, but that amounts to little.  We all have genuinely interesting ideas.  It's finding people like him who are willing to help you see your ideas through and really take a big risk in the process, that's what this is all about.  It helps that I'm a huge fan of Geoff too, even if his apartment smells a bit heavy of turkey burger sometimes.  I want to work with him again already.

Here's a word.doc of our script, Open Kimono.  Last year I spent all March collecting newspapers, then months cutting out snippets of text, rolled dice to randomly arrange them, then stuffed 'em all together in many different shapes, until we came up with this 95% random arrangement of the words.  I feel Geoff really deserves co-directing credit on this, because we both started with intentional blank slates and built it up from nothing.  This all came from a quote by John Cage, the American 20th-century composer, who once said "I am trying to become unfamiliar with what I am doing."  At dead ends we referred to this quote and took the unfamiliar route over and over again.  The process has been fun, but of course audiences don't care about that.  I hope they truly enjoy the show.    

Download open_kimono_for_blog.doc   

zack

MIA...

...are my initials of late, rather than CZG.  This week of rehearsal has been a bear; a wonderful cute anthropomorphic singing bear, but a bear nevertheless.  Writing/directing is quite a task, even with such a talented actor as Geoff.  Writing/directing has also inspired me to pursue the very handsome and distinguished writer/director Neil LaBute look, which I am about 8 beers from having down pat.

LaBute's play "Fat Pig" is having a successful run in NYC right now.  A still from playbill.com:  I'm sure it's super brilliant.  He rocks.  Other plays that surely rock but are far away in other lands:  Robert Wilson's "2 Lips and Dancers and Space"  Richard Foreman and Ontological-Hysteric's new one.  And The Wooster Group's Gertrude Stein adaptation.  Gotta go rehearse some more!  I wonder if we are in the Austin Chronicle tonight?

zack

Rude Mechanicals

I'm taking 5 up here while at work, looking around online at Austin theatre stuff: FronteraFest, Salvage Vanguard, Rude Mechanicals.  Or Rude Mechanicals.  Or Rude Mechanicals!! 

What is up with all the theatre companies naming themselves Rude Mechanicals?  I knew it was from a Shakespeare play, but as I don't know my Titus from my Coriolanus I had to look it up:

From A Midsummer Night's Dream:

PUCK
My mistress with a monster is in love.
Near to her close and consecrated bower,
While she was in her dull and sleeping hour,
A crew of patches, rude mechanicals,
That work for bread upon Athenian stalls,
Were met together to rehearse a play
Intended for great Theseus' nuptial day.

Cool quote, true...but why so many different theatre companies?  Are we that hurting for Shakespeare in-crowd reference material?  Talk about flogging a dead mechanical.

zack

A Play For Marcel

Marcel and I were driving home yesterday, talking about my play.  Turns out he's bummed at me for writing a play that only grown-ups can go see.  There's "bad words" in it, to make a long story short and incredibly reductive.

(Oh man I have to digress: I am at work and listening to David Bowie's "Always Crashing In The Same Car" right now in my headphones, and I am just miles away.  Bowie and Eno, they're like PB & J, like beans & cornbread, Triscuits & cheese.  This sounds so good...)

So Marcel tasked me good, saying that I owe him a play he can go see - which sounds good to me.  The rest of the drive home was a brainstorm session, with him coming up with the ideas and me asking him questions to get his ideas going even more.  The end result:

Superman and Batman are flying in the air and they are going to a farm.  They fly for a long time to get to the farm, and when they get to the farm they rescue the guinea pig who had been taken by the farmer's fox. 

And that's kinda the long and short of it.  I'm thinking a one-act, maybe something to workshop with the kids on the playground at Bobbie Park come summertime. 

zack

Dorothy Parker's theatre reviews

The night before Nocturne I again stayed up too late, this time reading Dorothy Parker's fabled theatre reviews.  I have read her poems and, as she herself said, they are very dated.  The reviews, however, are surely every bit as frightening as the day she wrote them.  Which was somewhere between 1918-1920 in Vanity Fair.

I'd like to quote a few of them here, as they are terrifying - and, Catholic at heart, I like to be punished:

of John Drinkwater's play Abraham Lincoln:

"This play holds the season's record, thus far, with a run of four evening performances and one matinee.  By an odd coincidence, it ran just five performances too many."

of A.A. Milne's play Give Me Yesterday:

"Its hero is caused, by a novel device, to fall asleep and a-dream; and thus he is given yesterday.  Me, I should have given him twenty years to life."

of George Bernard Shaw's Getting Married:

"I regret to say that during the first act of this, I, for what I hope will be my only time in the theater, fell so soundly asleep that the gentleman who brought me piled up a barricade of overcoat, hat, stick, and gloves between us to establish a separation in the eyes of the world, and went into an impersonation of A Young Man Who Has Come to the Theater Unaccompanied."

Of Shaw we agree.  He's the worst.

zack

Nocturne, by Adam Rapp

Last night I stayed up late and finished reading Nocturne, by Adam Rapp.  The play is beautiful and sad - a one-man show about a 30something young man who killed his 9 year old sister when he was 15. 

The play affected me so much I spent the day today (while at work, of course) scouring the internet, looking for information re: Rapp's required royalties and whom should we contact to acquire permission to produce Nocturne. 

Geoff says he knows Adam Rapp; they met while Geoff lived in NYC.  Of course, Geoff also claims to comprise an entire chapter in Jenna Jameson's new magnum opus, so take it with a grain of salt. 

In any case I want to produce Nocturne.  This experience of writing and directing Open Kimono has thus far been invigorating and challenging.  I want more of it.  I believe Geoff and I could come up with a very strong and well-paced Nocturne.  I've asked Jen to read it so we can talk it over; Geoff returns from Portland, Oregon Sunday - maybe he and I can talk about the possibilities of producing it soon.  I would be willing to do Nocturne this year, if at all possible.  In fact I would love it.

I love just thinking about it.

zack

Frontera Fest 2005 schedule

It looks as if the FronteraFest 2005 Short Fringe schedule has been published.  Interesting to note: we will be performing on the same night as Lindsay Kayser, the Gypsy Baby playwright whom Geoff performed with mid-2004.  He and I have been referring to his experience working with her quite a bit.  He'll definitely be motivated to bring his A-game now.

Other Short Fringe plays that catch the eye:

• Dossier of Pearls -- because the people putting it on couldn't be bothered to actually describe it.  I likes.
• (Hank Schwemmer is on January 18; he'll get Best of Week and probably Best of Fest because he's Hank Schwemmer.)
• Split Left, Split Right.  Any play about toast gets my thumbs up.  I'm GLAD we're not going up with them.  They'd kill us.
• "Mary Lou Turbine: Space CowGirl," by John P. Funk.  Another one I'm thankful is on a different night.  How does one follow Mary Lou Turbine?
• Eve, The Former:2 and Eve, The Former:1 are weeks apart, with '2' going first.  Perhaps Eve, The Former is from Ork.
• Thursday, February 3 -- our friend Chris' show: "The Continuing Story of Rocky and Rita: A 'Pataphysical Romp" in in la casa.  She has worked long and hard at this one, so go see it.
• "Vessel: Crossroads," by Da'mon Stith (Foundation Stage Combat). An Epic Fantasy adventure that chronicles the exploits of four reluctant heroes. -- Epic Fantasy adventure in 25 minutes or less.  This should rule.
• Finally, on the closing night, we have "88 Haiku for 88 Women," by Big Poppa E.  Another I'm glad Open Kimono doesn't have to face. 

zack