Sorry I've Been Absent
evilproducer
Posts: 9,050
As the title says. Sorry I've been away.
It was never my intention to be off the forums for such a long period. I had the show I directed last winter, and then some work making a keepsake DVD of the production. After that I had a big video to do for one of the local school districts, and that kept me away.
I was starting to get less busy on the creative side, and then work picked up with six day work weeks, my community theatre's fall show was put in jeopardy when the director had to back out suddenly due to circumstances beyond his control. I stepped in and said I would direct a play for the fall. I had already been selected as the director for our winter 2017 show, so now I had that show which I was studying, and the fall show. After many long weeks of prep. the fall show came to naught as the venue backed out at the last minute (was going to be a rare (for us) dinner theatre, and then after scrambling for a new venue, I couldn't get enough people for my cast. With all that time spent, I was a bit bummed, but used the opportunity to get some work done on the show I had actually been selected for.
I was absent from the forums during this period, but not Carrara. I used it extensively for the titles and credits for the keepsake DVD of the first show I directed. I also used it heavily for the video for the local high school. I have also used it to build a virtual set for blocking my winter show.
I was beginning to feel like progress was being made, hours at work were going back to normal, I had some free time, and then last month the rug was pulled out from under my entire family when my Mom died suddenly and unexpectedly in her sleep. Needless to say, it has been an emotional roller coaster.
My time on the forum will continue to be sporadic over the next couple months, but I felt I owed it to you folks to let you know why I haven't been around. Many of you have been great collaborators. I've shared knowledge and had knowledge shared with me. You have been great internet friends of mine, and I apologize for leaving without a proper goodbye, or notice that I was having to curb my online time. This isn't a goodbye, just a note to let you know I haven't forgotten you, Carrara, or the great things you all accomplish everyday. I hope to be more of a regular here again, but for now, I will just pop in time to time to annoy you. ;)
My ancient computer doesn't play so nice with youtube anymore, but I do have some FB videos of some of the Carrara work I have done for the play I directed. You shouldn't need to be a FB member to view them. I'll also link to my theatre group's FB page, which is public as well. I think I'll also link to a couple excerpts from the play I directed. I was so proud of what my cast accomplished. It literally brought tears to my eyes when my leading lady told me she felt more at ease and had more fun with me as a director than anybody else. She's a 17 year veteran of our troupe.
My theatre group's FB page:
https://www.facebook.com/showcaseplayers/
The title sequence:
https://www.facebook.com/100012031746048/videos/104217849989273/?l=3037021880317900171
The ending sequence:
https://www.facebook.com/100012031746048/videos/104239579987100/?l=7555863128490217219
Some clips from my show:
https://www.facebook.com/100012031746048/videos/108561559554902/?l=331516121360146796
https://www.facebook.com/100012031746048/videos/108577399553318/?l=3138357767914659769
https://www.facebook.com/100012031746048/videos/194825260928531/?l=7821054524916092446
https://www.facebook.com/100012031746048/videos/190431738034550/?l=7591859018804435783
https://www.facebook.com/100012031746048/videos/104217849989273/?l=3037021880317900171
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Comments
evilproducer is also an evildirector!
Looks like you have been up to some great stuff. Glad to see Carrara used to supplement true drama. Congratulations. Stop in when you can. If you can stick some hair on something and combine it with a prop from a different time period, join this month's challenge. Still plenty of time.
Sorry to hear about your mum - my own mum died earlier this year, it wasn't so sudden or unexpected but it still knocks you for six for a while. Plus there's a lot to do in the weeks and months afterwards which takes up a lot of time and can be emotionally draining. But life goes on as you have been finding - I hope your Winter show goes well and thanks for the update and for sharing your work with us.
Oh, hey, missed that about your Mom. Sorry for being insensitive.
Thank you. Yes it does knock you through a loop.
My Mom was a reporter and had done freelance work for many papers. She was responsible (through her articles) of shining the light of day on a maggot's nest of a Ku Klux Klan compound that was trying to establish itself near the town she lived in a few years ago, and chasing it out of the county. She wrote articles on environmental issues and social justice issues. The day of her memorial service, she received in the mail a certificate of appreciation, and notice from The Southern Poverty Law Center in Atlanta, that her name was being added to their Wall of Tolerance. This was not a posthumous honor, this is not something that is done in three or four days. There is a vetting process. For anyone that has followed the civil rights movement in the USA, this is a big deal. I am so proud of her, and wished she could have seen it. What an honor to know that she affected not only her local community, but on a national level as well.
Diomede, thanks for the nice words. I'm afraid I won't be able to enter, but ironically I have been growing hair as grass for a picture I'm working on.
Dart, I just tell my cast to call me, Herr Director. LOL.
No worries. I had it kind of buried because I was going chronologically.
I'm really new to the Carrara side of the forums but I am sorry to hear about your mom. She sounds like she was a great person and did a lot of good in the world. What a great legacy to leave behind. I appreciate your stopping by my newbie thread and helping out!
Thanks Sonja. She is missed.
I like helping people succeed in Carrara. Everyone was a newbie with Carrara at some point. I've stood on the backs of giants to get to the level where I am, so to me, I honor those that helped me by helping others. The amount of talent here is amazing, and I count myself lucky to be among them.
You'll get there too. You have a desire to learn and ask questions. Right now it is at the frustrated learning curve phase that you need to go through to get started. Soon it will be the eager to try new things and push the envelope phase. That is the most fun phase, and one that doesn't have to end. I learn something new or think of something to experiment with almost every time I open Carrara.
Good to hear from you EP.
Sorry that things took the turns that they did but on a positive note you still are using Carrara and did not stop it cold turkey.
+1
Love ya, Brother
Sorry to hear about your mum, EP. Look after yourself.
you have been missed
(I am wendyluvscatz BTW the3Ddigit just latest username, it can be any toe or finger unspecified)
No temptation tom use the name, theMid3Ddigit? :-)
Thanks. Some days are harder than others. The days leading up to Thanksgiving were kind of hard.
You're a fellow community theatre person. Ever directed? What kinds of plays do you like? If you get the time, you should look at those clips I linked to, great for studying upper mid-western American accents. :)
Glad you're back dude :)
my sincere condolences.
congratulations on you theatre work .
Lost my mum a few years ago now. Her birthday was early December, and we always used that day to switch the Christmas lights on. it's a tough time of year and she's never far from our thoughts.
I did direct once, many years ago. It was a Christie -- Murder at the Vicarage, so it wasn't exactly taxing (hard to go wrong with Agatha Christie, I think!) I do remember we had a tough time casting it, the older female roles particularly. In a university town, youngsters seem to be the driving force, and having too many students in the company seems to drive the oldsters away. Although it was fun to do, directing's not for me - it takes up too much time outside the rehearsal period, and time is always thin on the ground around here! Stage management is more my thing, nice and technical, and you get to see the play on tv!
Our group is probably best known for doing first run Pratchetts. This promo for RT is pretty much straight out of one production (although our wizard, sorry wizzard, costume was rather shabbier)
http://www.studiotheatreclub.com
Sorry to hear about your Mom as well. I know that I'm not the only one to have lost their Mom and I try and keep it perspective that way.
We live in an agricultural area, so our hard part is coming up with a young cast many times. We may get some for a single production, but then they move away or work on the farm, or get other jobs. That is if you can even get them to try out. It's a shame really, because our area seems to be blessed with this level of creative and artistic types that you wouldn't expect for a small rural area.
We haven't done Shakespeare, although I think one of our other members who has directed threatens to submit him for show. :-) If you can actually decipher the old English and get the meter right, it's not that bad. I've memorized a few lines.
We have a guy that has also directed many plays, and he likes English Farces, such as Out of Order, Caught on the Net, Ray Cooney stuff. Luckily he doesn't try and Americanize them, which means that sometimes the British Cultural references don't get the laughs. Fortunately, Cooney also has a lot of sexual innuendo and physical gags.
I've only directed the one show, Cookin' with Gus, by Jim Brochu, and I am prepping my upcoming show, Ghost of a Chance, by Flip Kobler and Cindy Marcus, for a February run (with rehearsals starting in Jan. and auditions next weekend.) I find myself shying away from the farces. They can be fun to do, but really don't have much in the way of character development. Especially for the women. I really respect the women in our group, and have been gravitating towards plays with strong female characters, while remembering that our audience likes comedies, and many of our troupe does comedy well.
Cookin' with Gus was pretty light and funny, with slapstick humor and a couple touching emotional scenes. This next play, Ghost of a Chance, will have a lot of humor and physical comedy, but also some real emotional jeopardy and character growth. The challenge will be to make sure that the characters are believable and human as they transition from comic scenes to dramatic scenes. I'm looking forward to it.
Thank you Andy!
Sometimes it is hard to find time for one passion, let alone two!
It is hard to articulate, but directing that show was the most creatively rewarding experience in my life so far. I've had some really creatively satisfying achievements with my artwork, but they were solo endeavors for the most part. I think the reason my show was so satisfying, energizing, exciting, was that it was collaborative. If anyone thing with my cast or crew didn't work, the show wouldn't have been what it was. I didn't have a great show, "we" did. Does that make sense? Like I said, I don't have the vocabulary to properly express the feelings of pride and triumph as I sat in the theatre with the audience on opening night, and all the notes were hit, and the audience reacted the way I had hoped.
EP
Condolences for your Mum.
My mums still going but lost dad through cancer (lung followed by brain tumour)
Glad you're back !!!!!!!
Thanks. I'm so sorry to hear how your Dad went. My Grandma died of lung cancer. No death is easy on the family or on the dying. With my Mom, she died suddenly in her sleep, probably started as a diabetic coma, then caused heart failure. The upside (if you can call it that) was that she passed away in her sleep without regaining consciousness. The downsides are too many to count of course, but the biggest is the lack of closure because it was so sudden. Fortunately none of us had any arguments or hard words with her to feel guilty about, so there's that. She also didn't suffer a lingering illness like Grandma.
My condolences too man, welcome back
mums are the best.... and they are always around in some way
so are mother in laws..
condolences for your loss from way over here
another star in the sky
Hi Kev,
You have been missed and I recently asked after you in the competition thread (at least I think it was the competition thread!)
My sincerest condolences on the death of your mum. I lost my brother suddenly in April. The first year is the hardest as you mark each occasion such as birthdays, anniversaries and the holidays.
Take care.... Silene
Stezza, yes, another star.
Thanks FifthElement!
Silene, I'm sorry to hear about your brother. Many belated condolences to you and your family.
Yes, I can see the first year is going to be difficult if leading up to Thanksgiving was any indication. Again, so sorry for the loss of your brother.
Thank you for thinking about me. I feel like a heel for leaving without any word.
Nice to let us know about your travails, evilproducer. You've done an awful lot for this group. Sorry about your mother.
Thanks Argus!
Condolences on your mum's passing EP, and thanks for sharing from Herr Director's work, sat through viewing one of the clips on youtube and that was quite nicely done.
Thanks DADA.
I hope to have many of my former cast back for this play. I don't know which clip you saw, but Dawn (the blond) who played Gussie, and Elaine (the older woman) who played Carmen will be back with me for sure. They did so well. I loved their chemistry together.
wb
Thanks Misty. Hugs back at you!