Rudnick at Naked Hoildays

(click image to enlarge)

My play RUDNICK: THE CANDLE-HEADED BOY plays in the "Best of..." version of Naked Holidays 2011 from EndTime Productions in NYC. It was originally part of their 2009 show and they called me up to see if it could be included this year as well. If you're in New York this December, check it out.

I naively asked them for a production photo of the show and they politely declined. It seems the whole revue is what it sounds like... a bunch of naked actors performing sketches. here's the blurb:

NAKED HOLIDAYS is a darkly comic Yuletide bacchanalia, a gleeful pageant filled with indulgent tidings which climaxes in a scantily clad routine that looks a lot like Christmas. This boisterous holiday celebration puts a theatrical spin on some of our best-loved winter traditions. Highlights include:

• “The Annihilator” by Steve Strangio, about X-mas at a professional wrestler’s house.

• “Dead-Nosed” by Oliver Thrun, in which Santa’s reindeer plot the assassination of Rudolph.  A Samuel French short play festival finalist.

• “Fear the Nog” by Rebecca Jane Stokes, The North Pole meets Orwell’s 1984 with Santa as Big Brother.

• “A Very Special Hanukkah Special Hanukkah” by Mark Harvey Levine, a Jewish-themed spoof of It’s A Wonderful Life.

• “The Naked People Play” by Stacy Lane, the traditional Naked Holidays closer.

• “Rudnick the Candle-Headed Boy” by Brad McEntire, A Brief and Cheeky Retelling of a Certain Reindeer Myth

Tickets and more info here.

Halloween Greetings

Didn't dress up much this year, but here's a pic from last year. I went as my comic character, Donnie Rocket Toaster-Face.

In the San Antonio news...

I am mentioned in San Antonio Express-News blog. My play FOR THE LOVE OF AN ANESTHESIOLOGIST is part of the Overtime Theater 2011-2012 season.

Article here.

Engagement Pic

Several weeks ago, Engel and I spent a hot morning and early afternoon out with the wonderful husband-wife duo of Albertex Photography. I was not altogether excited about Engagement photos, since quite frankly, I do not photograph well. But Engagement Photos are part of the tradition nowadays, and Ruth and I never have had professional pictures taken of us as a couple, so...

Despite my oddly shaped head, doughy features and narrow eyes, they managed to get one or two good shots where both Ruth and I look presentable. We were going for a sort of travel theme. Albertex sent over a bunch of untouched-up pics and here's a few I dig. I realize Ruth and I pose the same way a lot...

aftermath...

13 hours of improv...

Around hour 28 of a 30 hour longform set. I'm playing a sea crab.

So, from the last post (or here), you could see what I was up to this weekend. My friend Jeff Swearingen set out to raise money for a charity called Orphans Outreach. I believe the fund-raising goal was less than successful, since during the entire time I was there the audience never really passed 8 people (there might have been 12-15 the first hour). Much of the time it was a teenager or two texting in the front row and a gaggle of kids who would run in and out.

The event lasted just under 30 hours straight from Friday night to Saturday morning. I started with the group at 8:30 PM on Friday and stayed until around 3:30 AM and then returned Saturday night about 8 PM and stayed until the event wrapped up at 2 AM that night. So, 7 hours of continuous improv one night and six the next.

Though the audience attendance was spotty and at times non-existent, the whole experience was fun. I haven't played with a large group of improvisers - especially of such wide ranging experience levels - in a while and it was both enjoyable and frustrating. With hours and hours to play with we certainly developed rounded characters most of the time and had some wonderful interactions. Of course, there were also a few individuals who kept bringing in their own agendas, trying to steer the plot.

If Swearigne sets it up again in the future, I will probably go in again. Maybe I'll clear the rest of the weekend and stay the whole time next time.