The Cusp

Wow, but it has been a busy couple of weeks. Let me catch you up.

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Middle School: The Musical at The Alliance was a rousing success. Everyone involved was just lovely, and I looked forward to spitting my rhyme at the end of the show every day. I'm sad that it was such a short run, but maybe we'll be back...

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Also, having done a show at The Alliance, I have found an odd connection. I've found that I'm more invested in Atlanta theatre, for some reason. I mean, this is my second theatre in Atlanta proper, and I made such great contacts that I can't help but feel like something good is coming. Diany, one of my fellow actors in MSM said that she feels like I'm on the cusp of something. Now, I don't know about that, but I DO think that it isn't ridiculous to hope that this little, fun show is the beginnings of a snowball that will hopefully turn my career into, at least, the bottom of a snowman...

Of course, I could be wrong and this could all blow up in my face, so who knows?

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Speaking of Diany, she has been my theatre companion over the last four weeks or so, and I have seen a lot of theatre. Right off the top of my head, I've got Bunnicula at Synchronicity, Richard III and Macbeth at the Tavern, Julius Caesar at Georgia Shakespeare, and A Life in the Theatre and Second City: Peach Drop, Stop and Roll at The Alliance. It's been wonderful! Some of the standouts were Tiffany Porter (obviously...) in MacB, Amber Nash (Of Dad's Garage fame...) in Second City, and, it sorta goes without saying, Andre DeShields in A Life. Many people were very good, but these guys just get a bonus pat on the back from me.

And, I gotta say, this month has given me the itch to do Shakespeare again. Hard. It has also given me the itch to work all over town. Man, I would love to work with GA Shakes and Synchro. Man, I would love to do more stuff with The Alliance and the Tavern. Man, I want to work! I'm hungry...

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Maybe there's more. Maybe there's not. Personal life is going very well, thanks for asking.

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Also, I would be insane if I didn't give a shout out to Veronika Duerr. She turned in one of the best performances I saw last year in Tradin' Paint. Well, apparently, the Atlanta theatre illuminati agreed with me, because she won the Suzi Bass Award for Best Actress. I'm bursting at the seams with joy for her.

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Maybe there's more. Maybe there's not. You'll know if you need to.

When the crypt doors creak and the tombstones quake...

Happy Halloween! This is one of my favorite months of the year, especially in the south. I've already been to Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween and Universal's Halloween Horror Nights. A few days ago I went to Six Flags to have some Fright Nights fun. Plus, all the Halloween programming and theming around makes me smile. It's a great time of year and I'm always a little sad when its over.

SO, I'm going to be pretty busy next year, hopefully. I've signed on to play the part of Young Ed in Georgia Ensemble's And Then They Came for Me, Remembering the World of Anne Frank. That is a mouthful. It is not that long on my resume. This will be the first time I've worked with Georgia Ensemble, and also the first time I've worked with Peter Hardy, so I'm pretty excited. It runs through parts of February, March and April, so it's a long stint.

ALSO, I've heard that a certain musical I was in this year might be coming back next year. As is my habit, I won't say anything until I've received assurance, but it is seeming more and more like a sure thing. Which should be pretty darn exciting.

Not to mention maybe trying to film something in Louisville. Not to mention all the auditions I've gone on outside of Atlanta. And UPTA. And Kidstuf and reThink. And (HOPEFULLY) some other stuff in Atlanta that I don't even know about yet. I'm loving this town more and more, so all things being equal, I would like to stay here. I just don't know that all things stay equal...

So, that's about caught you up, blogfriend. Week after next, I'm heading to Washington DC. I'm sure I'll have all sorts of adventures.

All Play and No Work

Man, it's amazing what being at the day job less and having my computer die does to my blog output... Don't have a ton of time, so here are some updates.

- Middle School: The Musical has been going beautifully. I'm ecstatic I've been able to be a part of it.

- I may have more information on my next project soon. We'll wait until it's assured to talk about it...

- Also, there may be some interesting things in the works from my buddy Brandon Howell.

There's a lot of stuff going on right now. Here's hoping I'll have a sec to calm down and catch my breath in a bit. I'll let you know how that goes...

King of the Road

So, remember when I said I'm sure I would post another blog last week? Well, that was before the power supply on my computer went kaput thanks to the storm. Oh well...here's a bunch of random notes.

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I'm on the road again this week. It seems like I'm always in my car. Not that there's anything wrong with that, it's just that I'd like to slow down a bit. I know, though, that I've got AT LEAST one thing taking me out of town through December, and maybe through February... We got American Shakespeare Center, DC trip, Christmas and UPTA. Lots of miles...

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We're about to being rehearsals for Middle School Musical at The Alliance, which is exciting. I think this is going to be a good show already. We're all bringing a lot of stuff to the table.

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BUT, you know me well, blogfriend... Just because I currently have a job, doesn't mean that I've stopped freaking out about future employment. I've got nothing in November and December, which is...ok. I would have liked to have gotten It's a Wonderful Life out at ART Station, but losing out to any of those folks isn't a diss to me. There are more opportunities coming up in January, which is good, but not exactly something I can fall back on... I'm just hoping I can get in for a few auditions at some places I haven't been before (Actor's Express, Dad's Garage) and maybe get a solid part in Lear or Shrew at The Tavern. Eh, I'm just thinking out loud at this point. I try to plan so meticulously, but it rarely works out...

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There are some people in my life that I really miss right now... Hope I get to see 'em soon.

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The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, which a Youth Players show at The Alliance that I'm assistant directing with KG Morton, is going beautifully. There are a lot of really talented, really great kids in it. It makes me wish I had done stuff like that when I was young...

More info on that when we get closer to performance time.

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I'm a man of means, by no means king of the road.

Bookends

Back in the halcyon days of 07, I shot a little movie called Bookends. It was directed by Matt Riddlehoover, who was a friend at one point, but he hit it big with Watch Out and I haven't heard from him in some time since then. As is life, I reckon.

Anyhow, I JUST found out that the film has gotten a release and is available for you to purchase right here. It even stars my good friends Brandon Eaves, Tia Shearer and more!

I've got to be honest with you, I don't know that it's the best work, but I DO think that Tia is fantastic in it, and for something shot over two weekends, you really can't ask for anything more. It was a good experience and, hey, it got me on IMDb, which is awesome.

Check out the trailer. Please note the great deal of weight I have lost since this movie was shot. Here's the first one where I figure in really prominently.



And then, here's a second one that focuses more on people who have actually been in films before. Whatever, suck it, I got Bane of Matthias coming up, yo!

BOOKENDS Trailer from Matt Riddlehoover on Vimeo.

Retrospective

The end of the year is generally my time for retrospection, but I think this is a special cause. Let me break it down for you. This is going to get a bit personal.

26 has not been a good year.

I mean, sure, one or two good things have happened in it, but, by and large, it will be remembered for the following things.

- The year Clair (my girlfriend of ALMOST 3 years. Almost.) and I broke up.
- The year ALL the dogs in my family died.
- The year I fell off a bit in regards to work. Granted, maybe this is just my opinion, but it seems like I've worked less this year. I was so very busy last year...
- The year my Granny died.

It's been a hard one, but, as I've said to other people, this is the year that everything shows. The work that I have put in this year is going to pay dividends starting now. I've got some good stuff going into my 27th year of life. My gig at The Alliance is coming up, along with the TYA show I'm co-directing for them, which has been great fun. I've got two out of state auditions coming up with places I would really love to work for. I've gotten more confident singing at auditions, which was a big stumbling block in the past. All this, and I started off the year in one of my favorite places in the world with one of my favorite people in the world.

26 was balls, folks. Let's be honest. 27...now that's the year for me...

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Needless to say, Florida was fun. Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween was WONDERFUL! I strongly advise anyone go... it was the best.

Also got to ride the new coaster at Universal, the Hollywood Rip Ride Rocket. You've never ridden a coaster until you've ridden one with Daft Punk blaring in your ears, that's all I'm saying.

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That's all for now, but I'm POSITIVE that I'll have something more this week, in spite of how busy I am. High five.

Kentucky Kisses

I've had an up and down couple of days. More up than down. Let's vent, blogfriends.

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Dennis wrote a country song about me. Yeah, I'd listen to it.

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Had an audition with Nashville Shakes the other day. Feel pretty certain nothing will come of it, but the audition felt GREAT. It was one of those monologues where you feel more powerful at the end than the beginning.

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Also went home for a bit. That was good. It was good to see everyone before my birthday.

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I don't know...I truly don't have much to talk about here. I feel that there's a big, comprehensive "Passing of the year" post coming, but I'm not quite there yet. The big day is this Wednesday (9:16 AM on 9/16) and I'll be in EPCOT that day, so don't expect a post then. We shall see.

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Had my Synchro audition. I'm not good at memorizing things. It's a failing I have as an actor that I work, and work, and work at. But, I buckled down and really worked on one of the sides for Dead Man's Cell Phone that I KNEW I needed my hands free for. So, I worked my tail off and got really off book for the audition...and we didn't even touch that side. We only did the other side. The one that I didn't prepare nearly as much for.

THAT is sorta how my year has gone.

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Also had my Alliance audition. Eh, I dunno. I mostly leave auditions in a state of indifference. Jody Feldman called me a "smart guy." I'm not sure what that means.

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My phone is BROKEN! Let's see if Apple can do something for me today...

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Heading out of town on Monday. Send all gifts beforehand, please.