A six year's old view of theatre...

Opening weekend went well. We got a lot of comments from audience members saying we had put them into the Christmas spirit, so that's good. We also were asked if we plan to make it an annual Christmas show, which is an interesting thought.

Two more performances on Saturday, December 9 at 6:30 and 8:30 pm at Old Brick. Go to Dreamwell's website for all the info and to reserve tickets!

Rachel saw the show, which was the first time she had ever seen me act. She said I was good, but my voice was funny. Also sometimes I was mean. Both of things are true. My old man accent for the Record Keeper is definitely funny sounding. And some of my other characters are certainly mean. I talked to her about how I was just playing a character in the story and sometimes characters in stories are mean. She seemed to get that. Then I asked her what her favorite part of the show was.

"Intermission! I got TWO cookies!"

A Day filled with rather huge news...

Two life changing events to announce today...

This should give you a hint...



Yes, we're having another baby! Little squirmy is due June 11. Big sisters are excited. Well, Rachel is. Sammi appears cautiously optimistic. She did want Sharon to take the baby out so she could see him. Sharon had to explain that it didn't work like that. We're going to get some books with pictures so she can see what the baby looks like while in Mommy's tummy.

And the other big news...

I got a promotion! I am now a financial aid advisor, which means more responsibility, more money, and a nice office. I've only been at Kirkwood a little less than a year so it's a big jump in a short period of time. I gotta say I am really enjoying this job more than any other I've ever had. The interaction with the students is my favorite part of the job. Every day I'm helping people figure out how to pay for college. It's so satisfying to have a job where I'm doing something positive rather than selling something, buying something, processing something or selling or buying something processed (movie reference...did you get it?). Before I can move back to my office, however, we need to fill at least one of the two openings in my department, so if you know anyone who needs a job...

Marley's Christmas Carol

Dreamwell is back with a new show - Jacob Marley's Christmas Carol by Tom Mula. It was originally done as a one-man show, but the version we are producing utilizes four actors. I am one of the four and play the most characters. It's sometimes dizzying switching from one character to another in the space of one minute. It's also been a lot of fun. The other actors are Chuck Dufano in the title role, Josh Sazon as the deliciously cruel Scrooge and Karl Gronwall as the ever delightful Bogle.


Chuck and Karl in rehearsal

So come one, come all to a fun holiday show Dreamwell style. It's December 2 and 9 at 6:30 pm and 8:30 pm each night at Old Brick. Bring a food donation to benefit Old Brick's charitable groups.

The link to the PC article is here.

Ah, Azael...

Yeah, if you've never roleplayed, this one won't mean much to you... and if you've roleplayed with me, this won't surprise you at all... and if you get the title of this one, well damn, that was a fun game, wasn't it?

You scored as Character Player. The Character Player enjoys creating in-depth characters with distinct and rich personalities. He identifies closely with his characters, feeling detached from the game if he doesn't. He takes creative pride in exploring different characters, often making each new one radically different than others he's played. The Character Player bases his decisions on his character's psychology first and foremost. He may view rules as a necessary evil at best, preferring sessions in which the dice never come out of their bags. For the Character Player, the greatest reward comes from experiencing the game from the emotional perspective of an interesting character.

Character Player		100%
Storyteller		95%
Weekend Warrior		45%
Tactician		45%
Casual Gamer		25%
Power Gamer		0%
Specialist		0%

What RPG Player (Not Character) Type Are You?
created with QuizFarm.com

Take a deep breath

You know, I hope the Democrats don't think that they really won on Tuesday. A majority of voters didn't vote for them. They voted against the Republicans. I don't think the majority of Americans were jumping around screaming "Yay Dems!" on Wednesday. We were screaming "Yay Republicans lost!" We want a new direction for our country and in our political system, unfortunately, there are only two viable choices. One choice sucked it up really good, so we're giving the other choice a chance.

Don't blow it.

Credit to the President

I have to give Bush credit. He has listened to the American people and has accepted that we want him to change the way the war is being waged in Iraq. Rumsfeld is out!

This is why this country is great. Democracy does work.

Election aftermath

Well, it happened. At least in the House and probably in the Senate, too, if the current counts hold up. Now the Democrats have the chance to show the Republicans the proper way to act when in the majority. I remember after Bush won re-election in 2004, I lambasted him for saying he had a "mandate" when it was clear he had won by the smallest margins. Yes, the Dems won control last night, but just barely. Many of the races were ridiculously close. So far we've heard from Nancy Pelosi that she wants to work together with the Republicans to get things done. That's a good start. It's time for our country to start to come together. Let's hope I won't have to lambast any Democrats because they start spouting off about a "mandate".

In local news, a fine man was done in by George Bush's failed presidency. Poor Jim Leach. He's been serving in Congress for 30 years, is an excellent man, and has real character. But he lost because he's a Republican. That's truly the only reason he didn't win. Good luck in Washington, Dave Loebsack. Try to fill that seat with the same sort of integrity Jim Leach possesses.

As for our new Governer, I am holding him to one his campaign promises: making Iowa the first state that is not dependent on foreign oil. That's why I voted for you, Chet. Make it happen.

Quiet strength

I went to the Democratic rally last night on the Ped Mall. I felt like something of an interloper since I don't really consider myself a Democrat and am not really that excited about Chet Culver becoming governor. I went to see Barack Obama in person and I'm fairly certain I wasn't the only person in that crowd of one thousand who was most interested in hearing the Illinois Sentor speak.

It was an education in local politics. Lots of yelling about how the Dems are going to take control of government and woo hoo woo hoo! Clearly a rally is not a place to throw any real ideas out there - everyone spoke in generalities and were greeted with raucous applause.

It was a chance to see two potential Democratic presidential hopefuls - Obama and Tom Vilsack, our current governor. What a study in contrasts. Vilsack was swinging his arm and shouting at the top of his lungs and struck me as trying waaaaay too hard.

And then there was Barack. I was surprised at his appearance when he first walked on stage because he is so thin. Skeletal almost. Of course, as a skinny guy myself, I'm not holding that against him. And it didn't help that he was standing next to Chet Culver who is built like a football player. Otherwise, he's a handsome guy with a huge smile. And he looks very young. He's 45, but he looks only a little older than 35 or so.

There were many times when the crowd called out for Barack even when others were speaking. At one point, Vilsack was introducing Tom Harkin, but the crowd thought he meant Obama, and the cheers were deafening. Harkin made light of it when he came to the microphone, but it was clear the crowd would have annointed Obama President that night if it could have. What I appreciated most was Obama's restraint. He was humble in the face of that adulation and made it clear that the reason he was here was to help the Iowa Dems whose fates would be decided on Tuesday.

When he finally spoke, we weren't greeted with the now stereotypical Martin Luther King-like delivery. He spoke quietly, but with confidence and passion. He didn't need to raise his voice to raise our spirits. He spoke about the "audacity of hope", which is also the title of his book and admitted that he filched that phrase from the pastor at his church on the South Side. He rejected the cynicism of politics and asked us Why not? Why not make things better? Why not do it today? He said it so much better than I can write it. His words were possessed a quiet passion that ignited a fire within us. It wasn't that he was saying anything we hadn't heard before. The difference was when Barack spoke of hope, we believed him.