Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Phoctober the tenth

Holding out on you

Bloggers generally do not talk about every single aspect of their lives. To do so would be boring and probably even painful for everyone involved.

And it is totally understandable when bloggers do not share something private with their readers. I, however, have been holding out on you in a most sinister way: I have been withholding things from you which are most certainly public, Blogreader. The thought perplexes me as well.

Already, you might have figured out that I never bothered to tell you that my band was doing a semi-reunion at the wedding reception I attended on Saturday. We rehearsed a couple of times, brought our own gear. This wasn't a case of seeing a stage and some musical stuff and playing a spur-of-the-moment set. I knew all about it for over a week without spilling the beans.

Not so bad, if this were an isolated incident. You'd easily forgive me, I suspect, were this my only transgression.

But it gets worse, Blogreader. I have known for weeks now that I will be returning to the stage in a completely different capacity this autumn.

It seems I am doing a play, or a series of short plays presented as a single evening of entertainment.

I meant to tell you. When I wrote that post about finding myself suddenly in Naperville after an extended absence, I was there for the first rehearsal. And I meant to tell you then, but the moment didn't seem right. I didn't know how to work it into that post at all.

And then came Phoctober, and all the activity related to it, and still I did not tell you. Yesterday's "brown room" was actually where we met for the first rehearsal, and still I did not let it slip.

So let me just tell you about it now, if you have forgiven me. I'm in three short plays and also doing a monologue as a part of an actor's showcase running through the month of November. One of them is "Victoria Station," by Harold Pinter. Another is called "Game Theory" and features two men trying to win an adversarial game at a corporate retreat. The third is called "Compatible," and is about a couple finding out that they might be in love. The monologue has yet to be determined.

The irony of doing an actor's showcase after being "retired" for more than seven years is not lost on me. But I am working hard to not embarrass myself or disappoint the director. We shall see.

This certainly is turning out to be an interesting autumn, with me being asked to dip my toe back into both music and theater in completely unrelated requests. Like I'm taking a bite from a sampler platter of every creative endeavor I have ever loved. Or, less blissfully, like I have reunited with several ex-girlfriends. I prefer to try to think of it in the former context. In each case it has been a person from my past asking me if I might be interested in the thing, which I find sweet and more than a little flattering. These people think I am good at the thing they have asked me to do.

Because I kept this from you, Blogreader, I will now share an autumn plan before it is official: I am signing up for NaNoWriMo again this year. If you did not know, this is the thing where you commit to writing 50,000 new words of a novel in the month of November. I'd tell you more, but I'm sure you'll hear all about it in exhausting detail once I am actually doing it.

Busy times.

So, where the hell is the Phoctober post, I hear you ask. It's coming. You needed to know about the play before I got into the images I have selected for today's post.

I am designing a poster for the showcase, and I wanted to do something photographic, somewhat abstract, and evocative of theater. Basest hooked me up with a theater willing to let me run around with my camera, making them raise and lower lights and curtains to suit my whims. They even dragged out a smoke machine when I said I wanted to see the rays of light coming out of the riggings. Such wonderful, helpful people, who I do not thank by name or location because I do not know if this might cause them problems in some way.

So here are some of the shots I got yesterday. The poster will almost certainly be one of the first three, depending on how the copy ends up looking atop them.








Other Phoctobering:

All Phoctober posts from this site.

Kyklops examines the dusk.

Absolute Vanilla and the slow unfurling of a flower.

Taffiny hits a used book sale.

Scarlett takes us to Denver.

It isn't too late to join the fun. Just do a photo post, mention Phoctober, and come and tell me about it in the comments.

14 comments:

Wanderlust Scarlett said...

I like the third pic the best.
Secret keeping huh? Ok.
Well, good luck in the show; break a leg.

Glad to know you are doing things that you love. We should all do more of that... dabble or dive into passions of the heart and soul.
Amen.

Scarlett & Viaggiatore

Unknown said...

I like the first and third pics - as you say, it will depend on how the copy is set to the pic.

Now, repeat after me, "I shall not withold things from my dear and faithful blogreaders."

Now get on and have fun and enjoy playing in the rolling waves of multiple forms of creativity. No, this is not a pep talk, you already had an unsolicited one of those! ;-)

Gayé Terzioglu said...

Hi,
I found MoonTopples from a clicky link at an Aussie blog mentioning your Phoctobering concept. It is brilliant I must say.
I really like the third photo.
Good luck with all the autumn activities. How much fun is there to be had? :)
Cheers,
G

Reading the Signs said...

Mr. Moon - I am agog at all your creative endeavours, Renaissance Man. And NaNoWriMo? Now you have got me thinking.

Taffiny said...

Sounds great.
How bold to stand upon a stage and speak. How bold to stand upon a stage and sing.
(*note to self - need to be bolder and more productive)

(I do wonder, what is so horrible about spending time with one's old girlfriends? Maybe I just don't know because, I of course, don't have any).

well thanks for deciding to share.

Anonymous said...

Good on ya for trodding the boards again, Matt. Break a leg! That first pic is stunning, btw.

Anonymous said...

Greetings,
Not exactly sure how I stumbled upon your space here (just clicking away I'm sure) but I've taken up the Phoctober challenge--for one day at least. I'm glad you've revealed your "secrets" in truly humorous fashion.

Liz Dwyer said...

This is all fantastic news about your myriad creative endeavors! How wonderful to see you getting back into things that clearly have brought you happiness in the past.

I'm signing up to do NaNo this year as well. EEK! :)

The Moon Topples said...

Scarlett: I am certainly feeling at the moment that I could easily be overwhelmed by all the activity, swept away in a current of various creative projects and never work legitimately again. Except, of course, I'd starve to death.

AbVan: "I shall not withold things from my dear and faithful Blogreaders." How many times am I supposed to repeat this?

Gayé: Endless fun to be had. Any chance you might Phoctober yourself? Welcome to the site, by the way. Hope to see you again soon.

Signs: Oh, please sign up for NaNo. We can be "buddies" and give one another pep talks when things look bleak. And if last year is any indication, things will certainly look bleak from time to time.

Taffiny: The old girlfriend analogy is based on the concept that bumping in to a former flame can remind you instantly of why you were with them in the first place, as well as why you parted. Not bad, exactly, more bittersweet.

DonnaG: Thanks much for the well-wishes and the compliment.

Matthew: Glad to see you taking part. Those sculptures are really amazing. And I felt it best to just come clean. I was developing an eye twitch keeping secrets like that. Hope to see you again...

Liz: Yes, and thanks. I don't know how permanent these dalliances are, since I am becoming keenly aware that I am not writing much at the moment, but it's certainly interesting to see how I have changed in relation to these pursuits, and fun to be wearing so many creative hats at the moment. And I think my name is "moontopples" if you'd like to be NaNo pals.

Nikki Neurotic said...

Sounds like you have a lot of creative activities on your plate, it sounds like a lot of fun, yet challenging to balance all three things at once.

The Moon Topples said...

SilverN: Yes, I am hoping I do not burn out. If I do, though, you are right in your assumption that I should have a lot of fun on the way there.

Unknown said...

Wow those photos are great and you've really got me all excited about the theatre again (although I would never act, I do stage and costume design). Break a leg with the plays and when you hit the apres play rush blues that will be a great time to write loads as you'll still be on that creative rush.

Bronwen said...

Hello Maht!

Are you going to use one of your ongoing projects for your NaNo, or something totally new? I'm voting for the superhero memoir.

For what it's worth, I like the last picture best.

Gayé Terzioglu said...

Hello again :)

I was in London this weekend and for the first time my laptop and I got separated for more than 2 days... *sniffles* Back now and I am going to get my silly lidle camera and join the Phoctober Fest. I have not forgotten!!!!

Gx