Success!

It's hard to believe that it is over already. Starting promptly at 5:05 yesterday and running until roughly 6:30, the reading of LAN'ded is now a thing of the past. With an audience of about 60 people, the adventures of Christian, Izzy, Natalie, and a legion of zombies, maniacal landlords, angry protesters and livid mimes were played out.

Though we are still having feedback forms handed back to us throughout the week, the response was overall pretty good. People seem to be more open to the idea of the show than I thought they would be, and most of their comments weren't directed at what they didn't like, but what they wanted more of. Mainly, the audience wanted to see more of Christian's reasons for staying inside, his history, addiction to red bull, etc. Also, the audience really took to the puppets, but we had a lot of comments saying they'd want to see them strung into the plot a bit more. The third comment we received the most was that people wanted much more music in the show.

I'm not disappointed in this second reading at all, but I do regret cutting down the script a little in some places because I know that we cut some important plot points in order to condense it to 80 pages. Dr. Cortex, Wally, and most of the 1st episode got slashed the most, so I know that we have the content that the audience wanted more of. Now we just have to work and develop that as well. The reading was very refreshing for me, it was the first time in the entire process where I could fully sit back and just take everything in. I took nearly 3 full pages of notes and have already starting brainstorming ways to implement them. It was so much fun to see everyone playing parts that we've had just imagined in our heads for so long.

So there's all these feedback forms to sift through, but I thought that you should all know that we came out with a few contacts from the reading. I won't name names but a few people inquired about how they could go about attaching themselves to the project as associate producers or consultants. Exciting :).

Expect some announcements by next week about some of the changes we may try and implement.

Keep LAN'ding!

Ashley here!

We did it! We survived! Things were raucous, things happened that were unrehearsed, laughs were had and jokes LAN'ded, and hey that's theater!

There was a pretty good crowd, considering it was a Sunday evening, and Aaron and Jon Rooney started us off on a great foot with their funny pre-show. The puppets look AMAZING, by the way, I'm continually impressed with Fisticuff Puppets' skills...David and Kyle know their schtuff.

Jackie told us we all looked like we were having so much fun onstage, and I was! I had a really good time yesterday, as i have had with the entire process, and I'm excited to see what happens to LAN'ded next. (And to see what everyone had to say on their feedback forms)

Today we LANd

Today is the day!

I woke up fully rested (which seldom happens) and incredibly anxious for the event today. I began my normal routine of checking my mail, blogs, Facebook, etc, and I put on some musicals. One song really spoke to me. You may know it? It's a song called "Nine Percent Chance" from High Fidelity. Based on the movie...which was based on the book by Nick Hornby.

"Sometimes all you need is a sliver of hope and you may just succeed, or at least the door is open."

This project began with nothing more than a passion to create something new and innovative. The first draft opened the door to possibilities, and hopefully we are kicking that same door open with this draft. I guess we'll just have to wait and see? We are expecting a decent-sized crowd in the Rauh and everything is fit as a fiddle and ready to fly.

We will be filming the reading for the Playhouse's archives and we will also have some photographers and video artists taking footage as well. It's less than 3 hours til the reading folks, and I have to get out there and start prepping the pre-show. I hope to see you there. Today is the day that we LANd.

Cortex & Wally Are Here! THE COUNTDOWN CONTINUES! 1 DAY TIL THE READING!

Puppets are fun.

That's the general consensus.

Dr. Cortex and his Wallaby Assistant Wally are in the house, er playhouse! Thanks to this special thing called "overnight shipping" Dr. Cortex and Wally arrived this morning in the mail! I don't think they liked being stuffed inside of boxes though, because as soon as they arrived they just wanted to play! Dr. Cortex keeps telling me funny jokes!
We're only a day away, and after a good long tech rehearsal today we are ready and primed for the staged reading tomorrow! The programs are printed, the puppets are here, and the lights work! Crazy eh?

REMEMBER! TOMORROW AT 5:00 PM IN THE RAUH THEATRE!

PITTSBURGH PLAYHOUSE RAUH THEATRE
222 CRAFT AVENUE
PITTSBURGH, PA 15213

DIRECTOR SPOTLIGHT - JACKIE BAKER

YOU ARE A DIRECTOR, BUT ALSO AN ACTRESS. WHAT IS YOUR PASSION FOR THEM? DO
YOU PREFER ONE?

My passion for both stems from the same desire, which is to bring a playwright's words to life with the hope of instilling morality and encouraging communication among people. As an actress, I get to escape into a character and discover and explore a new side of myself. As a director, I get to immerse myself into the world of a play and have a much more general focus. I absolutely love acting, but I must admit that as I get more experience directing, I get more and more drawn to it. It's the only thing I've found in life that pulls from every well of knowledge, no matter how trivial. It's a fantastic way to incorporate my love of art and music and to also utilize my talents in play analysis and leadership.

LAN'DED IS INTENDED FOR FILM, BUT THIS IS A STAGED READING OF THE SCRIPT. AS A DIRECTOR, HOW DO YOU PREPARE FOR THIS?

To be perfectly honest, this has been my greatest challenge with this project. A lot of the comedy in LAN'ded comes from the fact that it is written for film, and the laughs can be mined from the juxtaposition of scenes, panning, and other film techniques. Though I can't fully capture that essence on stage, I can create quick scene changes and work with sharp blackouts after buttons on scenes and I can create humorous pictures for the beginning of the next.

IF IT COULD RAIN ANYTHING BUT WATER FROM THE SKY, WHAT WOULD YOU WANT IT TO RAIN?

I'm in theatre. So...money. Bills only, of course. Unless I'm having a bad day and I have the gift of prophesy. In which case I'd prefer coins and I'd stay indoors with the curtains open.

WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE FINAL FANTASY?

I absolutely loved Final Fantasy III, which was kinda skipped in the US and then released later on the DS. My eyes were glued to the screen until I beat it. I hated that if I didn't have "friends" I couldn't get all the secrets since I'm an uber nerd like that, but that's the only complaint I had. Final Fantasy XII was absolutely fantastic, but I was also house-sitting at the time of my FFIII
infatuation, which meant I was lonely and it was my replacement for social interaction entirely. Which is a void that was later filled by World of Warcraft.

HOW IS LAN'DED DIFFERENT THAN OTHER DIRECTING PROJECTS YOU'VE HAD?

Aside from the fact that there are zombies, vampires, and mimes (and that it's filmed), there's the fact that I'm bringing someone else's vision to life instead of my own. Instead of researching a play and its playwright, I'm constantly just talking to the writer about how he envisions these people and this world so that I can do his concept justice.

PIRATES AND NINJAS AGREE THAT COWBOYS SUCK, DO YOU CONCUR?

I'm from Central Pennsylvania. So I have to appreciate anyone who can lasso cattle. And ride a horse. And shovel manure. And whatever else cowboys do.

DO YOU CONNECT WITH ANY OF THE CHARACTERS IN LAN'DED, IF SO, WHY?

Christian, definitely. There was a time in my life where I ordered out constantly, drank energy drinks to stay awake, and stayed inside playing World of Warcraft all day and night. At one point, my friends actually broke into my place and pulled me away from the computer,
forcing me to have human interaction. I can't say that I much care for human interaction compared to that of the fantasy world, but alas, I must make appearances from time to time

Greetings from Natalie...er, Alyx...umm Ashley.

Helllllllllllloooooooo!

We are in the final days of rehearsal and getting geared up for Sunday's reading! This has been a really fun experience...we ran the whole show for the first time Sunday night, and although parts were a little chaotic, overall it's fun and smooth.

Personally, I'm glad to have made such good friends; namely with Ben and Alex. We didn't really know each other before LAN'ded and I'm really happy we got to spend so much time together, in and out of rehearsal. It really does make a difference if you like who you're acting with, ya know?

This keyboard really sucks...I'm at school...

Anyways, this experience has given me a better appreciation of video games, physical comedy and lots of other things that are referred to in LAN'ded that still go over my head.

How Aaron Makes Props *Proceed With Caution*

I think the video explains it all. The only thing I say in the video that is false is the amount of time elapsed. In reality, this only took me 20 minutes. That doesn't make it any better at all.

The Countdown Begins - 4 Days...

It's almost here! March 29th at 5 PM will be the cultivation of hard work accumulated from nearly 20 people's input to this project. The reading is upon us...

That kind of blows my mind really. If you were to ask me over a year ago that LAN'ded would have evolved into a musical web-series, I probably would have laughed and said "Sure, that would be nice" and walked away. I never would have thought it'd turn from a cabaret act, into a two-act play, into a web-musical. At this stage in the game I look back on the past iterations and wonder if I sacrificed anything real juicy early on in the development cycle in favor of the new directions we've taken and nothing really comes to mind.

I began making up all the information for the program on Monday and I was told that it may be a good idea to include a "Writer's Note" inside with a message to the audience. So...I began writing one! It's such an interesting experience doing that! I felt like I kept sounding like "Hey, I wrote this, go on" so I re-wrote it several times and I'm pretty happy with it now. Yikes. How do directors and writers do this for every show? Crazytown.

BeeTeeDubs, have you guys been checking out PuppetFix to see the evolution of Cortex and Wally?
LAN'ded has been incredibly fulfilling, particularly in the last week or so. I've written scenes, one-acts, and other various theatrical material before but the thought of writing music always eluded me. I just never fully grasped it, it seemed like something I never had the skills for. In teaming up with Ryan Cavanaugh, I've discovered it isn't anything too scary. First off, having worked with Ryan on several projects before, I really enjoy him onstage and respect him as a performer and musician. Secondly, the whole process of writing the music was totally "process-based" and not "product-based." Ryan would bring in some compositions that he liked and I'd see how my lyrics lined up with the music. After some tinkering and twiddling, we'd determine if something fit the tone and character of the show. It was never "Well, this song needs to sound exactly like this" or "The opening song needs to have 3-part harmony and end with a huge solo." We always worked towards what worked best and never focused on achieving a certain sound because truthfully, there was never a pre-determined sound to work towards.

For instance, we were aiming to have 3 songs in the final script of the reading. The opening song "Here and Now" had its lyrics changed around three separate times. The song I was most excited for, "What It Takes To Be A Zombie" turned out to be best suited for a movement piece. We ended up taking the music that Ryan proposed for "WITTBAZ" and using it's for "Lenneth's Song." In the end, I think the musical decisions we've made really worked in our favor and hopefully that will be reflected Sunday onstage.

I think the trickiest part, on the director's/writer's/audiences' part will be Alyx. Alyx literally enters the show on the last page of the script. I guess we'll see how it works out when I see the feedback forms. Admittedly, Alyx was a planned part of the show from the start, but my implementation of her probably should have been looked at a bit closer. Then again, we've condensed the script to accommodate a shorter run-time so the exclusion of details on her may benefit us. I wish the reading were tonight so I could get everyone's feedback and start re-tooling it and see what the show looks like with a Third Eye right now!

Ah well...I'm off to accumulate the rest of the props for the show. Look for updates every day from here on out as part of the countdown to the reading!

FOTO FRIDAY 3/20 - it's all in the hands edition

Blogger won't eat THIS entry! No way, no how!

Aaron here! With some exciting news for those of you wondering when we were ever going to actually SEE the puppets in the show. Well wait no longer! Over a video conference last night, Dr. Cortex and his Wallaby assistant Wally were unveiled to me! While they're not finished

 products, you can clearly get an idea of who they are!

As I've said before, David and Kyle over at Fisticuff Puppets are no pushovers. They're very

 good at what they do. I personally love the ears on Wally (left) and the details of hair on Cortex (right). These puppets are going to go a long way in developing Christian's imaginative world in LAN'ded. 

So as you can see, most of our meetings go like this. We usually spend the first 45 minutes talking business and then the rest of our meetings are comprised of us imitating David Bowie and The Beatles. No doubt it's all in the name of comedy and good times though. The reading is in 9 days! Keep checking back to LAN'ded: The Blog for updates!

*Burp*

Well, blogger.com seems to have a bit of an appetite because as far as I know, it ate my last two posts!

The scheduled FOTO FRIDAY for last week disappeared from the post queue and the one I was writing earlier today had its draft deleted, so I am writing this all at once in hopes that I can post it and not have any complications!

So, what's happening in the crazy world of LAN'ded you ask? Well, the last update was March 6th, a whole ten days ago. Loads of work has been done and I'm proud to say that we've cleared Friday the 13th. No bad luck or slashers got to any of our cast and crew!

Having a solidified script to work with, things have been going very smoothly. With the inclusion of a new character in the finale, we've had to move around some people and I'm happy to say that things are coming together very nicely. During the process we have experimented with several different Mime Bosses, Cockney Zombies, Natalies, and chorus vampires alike, but now we are locked! With a dedicated person on make-up and Jackie continuing to make headway in directing, the staged reading is all lined up to be a good time!

I had a handful of people approach me today and ask about the show. It's pretty exciting to have people actually come up and ask about this show which wasn't a reality until December. I've even had some people e-mail me about what's happening after the reading is over...and we will discuss that when the time comes, for now the reading is where it's at ("I got two turntables and a microphone"). 

Also, I should have some pictures to post of the puppets this week. David and Kyle have been doing some real lovely work on Cortex and Wally. With so many different interpretations on the character, it's difficult to pick just one! We plan on having some of the puppets on display during the pre-show so people can take a gander at them. If you wanna catch up with Kyle and David and whatnot, check out their blog!

Remember people! The reading is MARCH 29TH! RAUH THEATRE! 5:00 PM! TELL YOUR FRIENDS!

I should have the director spotlight up this week, along with some video and other shenanigans. 

Stay real ;)

FOTO FRIDAY 3/6 - Unsung Heroes Edition

For today's FOTO FRIDAY I decided that I should highlight some of the people who've been instrumental in getting LAN'ded to where it is today. Specifically, Ashley and Jackie.

Though it may seem as if LAN'ded exists entirely within my brain, that couldn't be further from the truth. Like I've said before, it began as a two-act stage play and eventually morphed into being shot a la Dr. Horrible. The biggest changes after that came in the form of the ending and specifically, the character of Natalie and her overall arc. That's where Ashley came in.

I brought Ashley (on the left) onto the project around October or November. I had asked her to help me out with the reading initially but as I thought about it more and more, I knew that I wanted her to actually be IN the reading as Natalie. As I developed Natalie I tried to take in Ashley's input and her ideas and incorporate them into the story. The biggest idea that Ash had was for the ending, where Natalie is essentially replaced by Alyx, her real-world dopple-ganger. This changed the story immensely. Suddenly, the idea of Christian's imaginary friends having real world counterparts became a big idea. Were they somehow linked? Maybe it was a big coincidence? It all started with an idea, and we've run with it.

Ashley has always been a great person to work with, and I'm blessed to have her input in the project. Frankly, in rehearsals I really don't know how Natalie would have become who she is today with Ash's exuberance. 

Another person that I knew I wanted since day one was Jackie. You may have heard me gloat about Jackie before, and that is because she's just that good of a director. Also, Jackie is a recovering WoW player so I knew she'd have some sort of connection with the material. In the beginning I was balancing directing, writing, PR, and everything else for the project be

cause I was the only one in Pittsburgh close to the actual rehearsals. Jackie wasn't able to join the project until sometime after the 1st of February due to a show she was in at Point Park, but has since been at every rehearsal and things have been 100% more organized. Now instead of trying to put stuff up on its feet and also write/edit at the same time, I can sit back and see what works, what doesn't, and make edits on the fly more effectively. 

Jackie has one of the most difficult tasks on the production though, as director. Since LAN'ded is intended to be filmed, adapting it for stage can be a grueling task. Jackie has come up with some great ideas for incorporating the more "film-ie" aspects of the show for the stage. Given the fact that we'll be working with limited lighting and staging, her talents are a godsend and it's always a pleasure to work with someone you respect and are friends with.

These are just two of the many people who have contributed in big ways to our production. Everyone involved has played a crucial part in shaping LAN'ded to where it is today. Maybe I'll spotlight some others in FOTO FRIDAYs to come? Only time will tell...

Rehearsals start up again soon, expect some Spotlights and updates! Keep LAN'ding!

Fear and Loathing with no internet access! (SEASON ONE IS DONE!)

Well, this is it! The first season has been written. Episodes 4 through 9 (we go by Star Wars numbering) have been completed and assembled into one big script for our cast to digest for the reading. After carefully compiling it and editing it extensively, we're able to condense it into 80 pages. This is just the script for the reading though, the actual episodes range anywhere from 15-25 pages on their own. I had to edit down each episode to the core facts so that we could have the entire first season onstage for the event at the end of March. I'm happy to say that we didn't have to sacrifice anything. The episodes we end up filming will have scripts with more filler though.

What a feeling this is! I've just sent out the first season! Nothing more will be written! Sure, some edits are sure to be made, but no more episodes, no more drafts, and no more adding material. It is sad in a way to be sure, but the bright side is that I can formally start to compile ideas for Season 2 (and trust me, Ky, Dave, and I have been thinking about that for a while...).

The one thing I'll always remember about sending out the first season to the cast is that I actually had to search for an internet connection to do so! Since I'm home in Erie for Spring Break, I don't have access to internet at my house. My sister's internet didn't work for me, so all day today I rode around trying to find a hot-spot that didn't require me to have a password. I went to two McDonald's, a few coffee shops, and when I finally thought about giving up a friend told me that Panera of all places offered free internet access! Huzzah! Of course my first thought was to speed up to my nearest Panera locale, but it is Spring Break and I had family things to take care of. So after a very heated game of checkers with my 5 year-old nephew, I sped up to Panera.

And it was closed. Bummer.

However, I figured that if I parked right outside, the internet signal was sure to be picked up from my car! So here I am, parked outside the Panera on Peach Street in Erie, PA, blogging and sending out the full first season of LAN'ded to my intrepid cast. Nothing has been plain about this production and tonight is no exception. I love being an artist. 

Look for a director spotlight later this week and some cool new FOTO FRIDAY pics!