Life On the Wicked Stage: Act 2

Striking 12 Cast Member Vaughn Irving Talks About the Show

Between the first two previews of Striking 12 at Wayside Theatre, cast member Vaughn Irving and I chatted a bit about the show. Here's his take.

Striking 12 Does Indeed Rock the Audience

We had a great first preview of Striking 12 at Wayside Theatre today. A real mixed audience age wise but everyone really got into the music, the story, the performers and the magical time they got to spend with this amazing show. I can't wait for tonight's second preview and tomorrow's opening. You don't get to touch this kind of experience that often. More pictures of the show at this Flickr Feed, or on Wayside Theatre' Facebook Fan Page. Come and see this one folks.

Striking 12 About to Rock and Roll the House

Today we start previews for Striking 12 at Wayside Theatre with shows at 2:30pm and 8pm. It will be a great journey as we unveil this to real audiences as opposed to just staff working on the show. So far, those staff members who have come in and watched rehearsals have been blown away by the music, the design, and the storytelling, as well as the amazing performances by Steve, Vaughn, and Sara. When I say the rock and roll rocks, I'm not kidding. It's tough to sit in your seat for much of this show, until the story begins to grab your heart. Don't forget if you live around the area we're giving away free tickets to the matinee at 2:30 and the evening show at 8pm tonight. Just show up and say you read about it here.

Shenandoah Valley Tweeters See Striking 12 @WaysideTheatre for Free This Satruday Only

Hey, all you Shenandoah Valley Twitterers, this is a perfect time for all that "tweeting" to net you something good. This Saturday we kick off performances of the musical, Striking 12 at Wayside Theatre (@WaysideTheatre) and we're offering free tickets to anyone who follows us (or me) on Twitter. All you have to do is send @WaysideTheatre a tweet and let us know you're coming. If you're not following us, now is the perfect time to do so.

Bring the family if you want to for some great music and some great fun.

Striking 12 Beginning to Heat Up With Some Cool Sounds

We're in the final week (yes, tech week) for Striking 12 and we've moved to the stage. That means a big part of our work these next few weeks is all about tweaking sound so that we can rock and roll with the best of them. That's always a daunting challenge in our space, but we're used to the constant back and forth. Performances start this Saturday and we'd love to see you come out an experience this unique musical theatre entertainment. When that electric violin starts wailing it is something to behold.

And a Cat Plays a Theremin

No, this cat isn't playing with an iPad, but instead making noise with a theremin. Larry, we might have a replacement for you. Watch out. But then again, you don't require a litter box.

Via Make

Sunday Morning Reading

Some Sunday morning reading to share.

The ground is shaking a bit under software developers who use Adobe Flash, and those who create all those third party apps for Twitter. Apple has more than laid down the gauntlet against Flash on its mobile devices making the phrase "just say no" sound tame. Twitter bought Atebits the company that makes Tweetie and everyone is a-twitter about it, thinking this is going to be the end for all those iPhone apps. Crazy times and I'm guessing more than a little scary for quite a few. Those in the fray are in a tizzy. Those who buy the stuff really don't give a hoot.

Frank Rich says no one is to blame for anything and no one takes responsibility. He's spot on.

Looks like a couple of new scientific discoveries unveiled some new life forms, or rather one that was and one that is. First up, there's a new species that can live without oxygen. Then there is fossil that led to the declaration of a new hominid species from that lived 1.78 million years ago. Just remember that when you get in a conversation with those who think we know everything.

A profile on Rocco Landesman and how he's adjusting to live as head of the NEA.

And a submarine driver crashed his boat into a surface ship because he was listening to tunes on his iPod. I'm guessing we won't be seeing any iPads in the US Navy anytime soon.

Buddy Holly Story Opens Tonight

Ok, let's try this again shall we. Yesterday we lost two preview performances for Buddy, The Buddy Holly Story at Wayside Theatre due to snow. The storm wasn't supposed to hit us that hard, but it did. We've got colder than normal temperatures and the usual road treatments couldn't keep up. We basically had no choice but to pull the shows.

We're back on today for the opening night performance at 6:30 after a rehearsal at 2pm. The show is a remount of an earlier production so we know how it plays, so that's not an issue. What we lost was a chance to tweak sound levels with an audience in the house, so we'll be doing some of that live as we perform tonight.

The weather keeps socking us hard and we're beginning to think we can't catch a break as we keep struggling to keep things operating here. Some readers will remember we lost 5 performances and $20,000 back in December when 2 feet of snow forced us to cancel all performances the weekend before Christmas. You can't fight Mother Nature, but I'm beginning to look for ways to do so.

In any regard, we're on for tonight's opening. The cast is raring to go, and I'm sure the rock and roll will melt some of the snow around us. At least in our hearts.

Thank You to the Artists Who Made the Wayside Theatre Benefit Such a Success

Sunday night we had a wonderful evening at Wayside Theatre. One of the many talented artists who we work with whenever we can, Robbie Limon suggested we throw a benefit performance featuring his band, The Robbie Limon Band. We took him up on it. Robbie did all the hard work and put together a lineup of amazing musicians and performers who all donated their time and talents to the cause. I have to tell you, the talent on that stage Sunday night was mind blowing. The house was jammed packed and a sell out.

Not only did The Robbie Limon Band perform its musical magic, but the Medicine Wind Duo (Kevin and Lucille Ball), the Rhonda Sager Trio, and some of our Wayside Theatre regulars got into the act. There were many highlights, but Robbie's on Forrest accompanying his dad by playing the drums was a real treat.

During the finale when all the artist took the stage, the power and the magic of live music were on full display for all to see.

Thanks to all these amazing artists for their efforts on behalf of Wayside Theatre. Your gifts are amazing and your sharing of them was a gift to all of us.

Sunday Morning Reading

Some Sunday morning reading to share.

Saul Hansell of the New York Times wonders: Is There a Method in Cellphone Madness? Saul is a brave man as he trys to meander through the morass of billing, costs, and basically anything having to do with costs on phones as we experience them now. He’s brave because I don’t think anyone really understands the pricing plans and economy. It is worth a read if for no other reading that he uses the phrase “avaricious oligopolists.”

The MPAA shuts down a town’s municipal WiFi because someone in the town was pirating movies. It’s a small town (Coshocton, OH) with a small set of users who all used the same IP address but this sort of craziness is nuts.

Carrie Prejean must be really trying to outdo other colossal PR disasters and create a new definition of hubris. How else could she continue to trip over own mistakes so easily. Let’s skip over her early failures. Lately, word surfaced that there was a (GASP) sex tape of her, doing the naughty by herself. She claimed it was the single biggest mistake of her life. Well, apparently that single biggest mistake turns out to be more than single, as more tapes have supposedly surfaced. Larry King must be laughing. Not since Sarah Palin.

Maybe the Tea Baggers movement will end up feuding itself into oblivion. Somehow I doubt it, and I hope it doesn’t. At the moment the Tea Baggers ire is focused on the Democrats. If power changes hands, I’d love to see if the anti-government hysteria would continue.

Joe Hewitt of Facebook, who developed the Facebook app for the Iphone caused a stir when he said he was done developing for the iPhone platform, due to Apple’s crazy policies. Here’s his statement.

The Republican National Committee makes a move that makes them look like the Democrats on a bad day. Apparently if you worked for the RNC, your insurance policy allowed for coverage of an abortion. Not any longer.

The latest Gillmor Gang takes on the Droid vs the iPhone, among other things, and gives new life to the Crunchpad, which surely needs it.

The Ballad of Windows 7.