Clinton Interviewed on Fox News Sunday

This is awesome. Clinton beats FOX at their own game when they try to set him up with a question about bin Laden. Clinton is just way too smart for them. _______________________________________________________ This is the first 20 minutes of Bill Clinton’s interview with Chris Wallace on Fox News Sunday. In this clip, Wallace asks Clinton why he didn’t do more to capture or kill Osama bin Laden while he was in office. Clinton clearly feels like he has been set up and doesn’t hold back in telling Wallace just how he feels. full transcript here: http://www.crooksandliars.com/2006/09/24/fox-clinton-interview-part-1-osama-bin-laden/

The Underpants at Dragon Productions

The Underpants at Dragon Productions


The Underpants
by Steve Martin
(Sept. 25 - Oct. 15, 2006)

Comic genius Steve Martin, author of the Arden's smash hit Picasso at the Lapin Agile, concocted this hilarious adaptation about a housewife who becomes an overnight celebrity when she accidentally loses her underpants in public. Chaos follows in this witty comedy that explores fidelity, sexuality, and hidden desire. This cheeky satire exposes the bewildering misfortune of love... and other unmentionables.

Call Dragon Productions at 650-493-2006 for tickets.
Tickets: $10-$21.50
Dragon Theatre
535 Alma Palo Alto, CA 94301
http://www.dragonproductions.net/

"

shakes-and-friends

shakes-and-friends
Originally uploaded by Master and Commander.

What one does, when one is home sick. One sets up strange photographyic poses with action figures.

"The Underpants" by Steve Martin in Palo Alto

This is picture is me (center) as Theo,
Blake Maxam as Cohen and Shannon Stowe as Louise in a production photo for THE UNDERPANTS.

Steve Martin, the famous comic, actor and writher, adapted and transformed the Sternheim play of 1911 called "Die Hose." He gave it a modern sensibility and enhanced the woman's place in the household as a sexual being.
Since its New York premiere, it has been produced all over the world. Martin has transformed a play originally about the the decline of the bourgeois, into a play about our American obsession with fame.

It plays from Sept. 21 – Oct. 15, 2006 at Dragon Productions in Palo Alto. 

Mr. Fogg in the W.C.

Mr. Fogg in the W.C.
Originally uploaded by Master and Commander.

I was playing the role of Fogg in a production of "Sweeney Todd" and took this photo while in the can during the show.

The Kill

The Kill
Originally uploaded by Master and Commander.

We went to Acapulco for vacation. Having watched many bullfights on TV as a child, I decided to go see one in person. I can see now why they are on longer on television in the U.S. This is great stuff for animal cruelty people to get very upset about. What you are seeing here as the Matador getting ready to impale the bull with a sword. He puts it in between the animal's front shoulder blades. It then cuts some artery I think. The bull hobbles around for another minute or so and then drops dead. As he is going to his knees the matador puts out his hand as if he were directing the animal to kneel before him. If the bull doesn't die instantly at this point, another guy runs up with a little knife and stabs it into the spinal column at the back of the skull. The these keystone cop kind of guys run out with a couple of donkeys and drag the dead bull away. They do this with much energy and yelping.

Uploaded by Master and Commander o

The Bountiful Actors Theatre of San Francisco

Last night I sat in the second row of the tiny Actor’s Theatre in San Francisco attending a performance of “The Trip to Bountiful” by Horton Foote. Jean Shelton, the person who has taught me more about acting than any other teacher , plays the lead role. I had been looking forward to seeing this show for weeks. Jean hadn’t been on the stage for over thirty years and yet she decided to take on this challenging role.

It turned out to be a challenging experience for me. The acting and direction were excellent in a way that you rarely see on stage today. There was very little pretense going on. The interactions for the most part were so organic and real. The only downside of this was that the show sometimes seemed to lack energy, although it was never boring. Even in the second act, during a very long scene between mother and son when both Jean and her real life son Christian Phillips spoke in hushed tones, seemingly with out a point other than to try to enjoy their last few moments in the soon to be gone forever, Bountiful, Texas, I found myself clinging to every word.

Now about the challenging part. Jean is getting a little up in years and like most actors I know of her age, they often have line trouble. Jean obviously was having that. It might not have been obvious to the casual theatre patron, but to those who have been up on the stage before, it was quite obvious. Normally as an audience member I would just watch with some empathy. But when this happened to Jean, I found my entire body going into a state of complete tension. I wanted to save her. I wanted to do something to prevent her any embarrassment. Being the pro she is, though, she always had a deep understanding of the scene and was able to work her way out of the line problems with more ease than most. It was my reaction that surprised me. It really made me see that when at some point in your life you care about a person, even if you don’t talk to them or see them anymore, there is always a part of you that wants to help, to console, to love, to reach out.

I take my hat off to Jean and to the entire cast. To see this woman who has completely dedicated her life to teaching others and helping others realize their artistic dreams, actually get the opportunity after so many years to go back to what started it all for her in the first place - being up on stage - was a sublime experience that I will never forget.

Actors Theatre of San Francisco:

"The Trip to Bountiful"
by Horton Foote
Through Sept. 9, 2006

Directed by Jennifer Welch and Rachel Klyce
The Trip To Bountiful tells the story of Carrie Watts, an elderly woman who flees the stifling confinement of the city apartment she shares with her son and daughter-in-law to revisit her hometown in the low farmland of the Texas coast. Amid ruin and decay wrought by the passage of time, she discovers a renewed connection to her past, and the satisfaction of a life well lived.

'The Trip To Bountiful ... is the rarest of theater experiences, an evening which will prove an indelible memory. .. Horton Foote has done, and done beautifully, the one thing it is important for a playwright to do. That is, provide the disciplined material for expert actors to completely capture an audience and hold it through the evening.' -NY World-Telegram

Featuring: James Baldock, Keith Burkland, Scott Agar Jaicks, John Krause, Tim Meehan, Virginia Dare Paulin, Christian Phillips, Duncan Phillips, Jean Shelton, Niki Yapo"

Jesus Christ has been Nailed to His Aluminum Cross for the Last Time

As they say, "all things must end". It was quite an experience to be part of such a magical production. This is the first time I have ever been in the cast of a show in which audiences lined up to get their names on the waiting list. Seats were sold out weeks in advance. Nightly, I would see people leave the theatre stunned, in tears or with looks of shock on there faces or just as often smiling in joy. If I were one to believe in such things, I might believe that our show was divinely inspired. But I'm not, so I guess it was just the love and dedication of every single person in the cast and crew that made this production of Jesus Christ Superstar the memory of a lifetime. From Lisa's inspired direction, to Gus' wild rock band to Shannon's seamless choreography and to all twenty eight performers total commitment, this show was as perfect and as raw as theatre can be. I am forever grateful for having been given the chance to be a part of it.

Mr. Show - Jeepers Creepers, Semi-Star

Here is the same video as below, but without the Director's commentary. Watch this one first.

Jeepers Creepers ( Mr Show)

Fans of 'Jesus Christ Superstar' will bust a gut at this hillarious parody from the HBO series MR. SHOW. Jack Black plays the Jesus role (aka.. Jeepers Creepers). The segment is titled 'The Biggest Failure in Broadway History'. Not only do I love this video, because it's just damn funny, but also because of the fact that they produced it knowing that only a relative handful of viewers would even get it. If you know the movie, you just have to take a few minutes to watch this.

5 Steps To Being More Photogenic - Digital Camera University

Actors - This site has some great tips on how you can make your headshots come out better the next time you decide to have them done.


5 Steps To Being More Photogenic - Digital Camera University

George Bush is Hard Working and Don't You Forget It!!!

Georgie wants you to know that it's "Hard Work". Check out this video.
Hard Working George

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Jesus Christ Pop-Star

Check this out! It's hillarious.

Give Peace a Chance

Give Peace a Chance
Originally uploaded by Master and Commander.

My son's message to the world right now.

Bea & Rock Turnin' On - Sniff, Swig, Puff...

This is both strange and hillarious. Boy, how times have changed in thirty years. Rock and Bea, singing nostalgically about getting high, you gotta love it.

The Merc Loves J C Superstar

MercuryNews.com | 07/19/2006 | Little City Lights pulls off big `Superstar'

Little City Lights pulls off big `Superstar'

AMBITIOUS PRODUCTION BY S.J. COMPANY SHOWS THAT '70S ROCK MUSICAL STILL CAN BE RELEVANT

By Colin Seymour

Mercury News

JEANINE BROWN

Kit Wilder brings charisma and a big voice to the role of Jesus in City
Lights' excellent production of "Jesus Christ Superstar."

The City Lights Theater Company is billing the rock opera ``Jesus
Christ Superstar'' as ``the most ambitious effort that the company has
ever undertaken.'' But some skepticism might surround the production.
For one thing, the image of the show as a cast-of-thousands
extravaganza might seem beyond the means of the tiny San Jose troupe.
Beyond that, would success mean sacrificing the City Light-ness of the
company's being?

O, ye of little faith: Suspend that disbelief.

With a cast of 28 and a five-man rock combo often surrounding the
audience at the 108-seat theater, City Lights artistic director Lisa
Mallette has filled the relatively small 2,000-square-foot space with a
multitude of sights and sounds in every direction, creating illusions
of grandeur worthy of the show's fabled music team, Andrew Lloyd Webber
(``Phantom of the Opera'') and Tim Rice (``The Lion King''). Yet the
set itself is as humble as a rural church.

The show -- which brought round-the-block lines to South Second
Street for previews last week -- even refutes a third cause for
skepticism: the sense that ``Superstar'' is mired in its early '70s
origins and is not worth producing anymore.

The score alone creates ecstasy, especially if you heard it back in
the day but haven't in a while. There's the title song. And ``What's
the Buzz?'' ``Everything's Alright,'' ``I Don't Know How to Love Him,''
``Hosanna,'' ``Jesus Must Die.'' And all those juicy licks for right-on
guitarist brothers Bill and Tim Rupel.

Talk about a revival! This audacious stretch by City Lights does not
deviate from its mission to aim high and have fun, with the gambling
and gamboling lacking in many of today's movies and television shows
but still present in good theater.

The two sure things going in -- probably the impetus -- were that
Kit Wilder, Mallette's husband and company co-leader, could deliver a
world-class performance in the title role, and that he could do it with
a City Lights sensibility.

His undeniable charisma has a diabolical element that rides that
edge. City Lights is clubby, and there's an air of a sly wink to this
whole thing that is faithful to rock 'n' roll. Yet it's a good-faith
performance. Wilder is an earnest, volatile, human Jesus throughout
those seven final days among mankind. And, zounds, he can hit a high C
full-voice.

Although there are other praiseworthy principals, the voices that
really carry this production are in the chorus. Everyone is miked,
despite the intimate venue. The surround sound and Lloyd Webber's
adventurous harmonies are so sensational they vastly outweighed any
scattered sound-system glitches that still were being ironed out at
Friday's preview. (The choral depth was not a given going in.)

Standing out among the principals is burly, tattooed Adam Campbell
as Judas Iscariot. The vocal role is nearly as juicy as the lead, and
Campbell is big enough for the job. Jay Steele and Michael Johnson are
perfect counterparts as even-more-burly priests. Tim Reynolds as
Pontius Pilate and Tomas Theriot as King Herod are slick and suitably
smarmy.

As a very soothing Mary Magdalene, Jeanne Batacan-Harper has more
than enough heart. Her lack of oomph as a lead rock vocalist creates a
weak impression, however -- at least until her miraculous turnaround, a
tearjerking rendition of ``I Don't Know How to Love Him.'' She redeems
a song that many consider a mawkish cliche epitomizing a mawkish era.

In that era, ``Hair'' was the quintessential rock opera, with
``Jesus Christ Superstar'' seeming a bit of a rip-off, aside from Lloyd
Webber's inventive score. But that ``tribal musical'' truly is a relic now.

In a production that seems more to be set in AD 2006 than in AD 30,
the relevance of this show is palpable for the audience. John might
step on front-row feet accidentally. Jesus' backdraft might muss
patrons' hair. And don't step in his ``blood'' as you're crossing the
stage on your way out. But the spirit takes hold and, for two hours
anyway, it doesn't let go.

`Jesus Christ Superstar' By Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice

The upshotSmall company aims high, connects big-time

WhereCity Lights Theater Company, 529 S. Second St., San Jose

When8 p.m. Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays; 7 p.m. July 23 and 30; 2 p.m. Aug. 6, 13 and 20

Through Aug. 20

Running time: 2 hours with one 15-minute intermission

Tickets: $15-$35; (408) 295-4200, www.cltc.org

---

Contact Colin Seymour at cseymour@mercurynews.com or (408) 920-5857.

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Theater & Performance in San Jose, CA | 'Jesus Christ Superstar' at City Lights

Theater & Performance in San Jose, CA | 'Jesus Christ Superstar' at City Lights

A Superstar Is Born

City Lights brings a big 'Jesus Christ Superstar' to a small stage

By Marianne Messina

DIRECTING the City Lights Theater Company production of Jesus Christ Superstar, artistic director Lisa Mallette's collaborative style goes well with jazz-minded musical director Gus Kambeitz. He and Mallette have updated parts of Andrew Lloyd Webber's funky rock opera with the occasional hip-hop beat, a smattering of rap and a dynamic range that goes from big production to "unplugged." Both directors wanted the feel of a rock concert while highlighting a very human drama (as opposed to pyrotechnics). Since Kambeitz plays bass through most of the show, he is not there to cue performers in and out of his layered vocal arrangements and Webber's complex time signatures. On the one hand, that has unsettled a few performers who like every cue scripted. On the other, as Kambeitz points out, characters won't have to keep looking up for musical direction. "We've freed them up to just act. ... There's a little more flexibility."

Kambeitz enjoys the idea that every performance will be somewhat different. He offers performers the safety net of a cohesive, synergistic band unit, having just released a jazz album with two of the five-member orchestra. What—Superstar with no string section, no horn section?...more...

Great Review for J.C. Superstar in the Merc

MercuryNews.com | 07/19/2006 | Little City Lights pulls off big `Superstar'

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JC the Superest of Stars at City Lights

We open on Saturday, which is sold out. You can come to a pay what you can night tonight, Thursday July 13, and I think that if you call the box office you can get a ticket for $5.00 for tomorrow's preview.
Theater & Performance in San Jose, CA | 'Jesus Christ Superstar' at City Lights

Jesus Christ Superstar plays
Thursday-Saturday at 8pm and Sunday at 2 or 7pm through Aug. 20 at City
Lights, 529 S. Second St., San Jose. Gala opening July 15. Tickets are
$15-$25/gala $35. (408.295.4200)

DEUCE a World Premiere by Sharmon Hilfinger at The Pear

What a wonderful rich and multi-layered play this is. Rarely have I seen a new play that is so well written. The acting and directing are superb. You have one more weekend to see this thoufhtful and toouching new play.

The Pear Avenue Theatre - Current Show

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