Sorority Girls and Free Tequila

Reading the title of this post, you'd think that I'd gone 'round the bend and joined a sorority. Fear not, faithful readers, I've not been brainwashed into all-night keggers and wet t-shirt contests! Rather, I've been brainwashed by crazed movie-makers.

About a week ago I received an e-mail from my friend Sean (producer/director/actor extraordinaire). Sean wanted to know if by some miracle I had dropped out of school and wanted to take a month helping him and his minions shoot a movie in New England. My e-mail of reluctant decline followed shortly. Over the next few days our e-mails got more and more... sassy. His last was very adamant in his concern for "what I wasn't telling him." Because, it used to be that if I was faced with the prospects of a drowned sheep prop in the middle of a freezing Vermont river, I would have "jumped up and down like a sorority girl on Free Tequila Night."

I have to admit that he had a point.

Well, the more I thought about it, the more I couldn't stop thinking about it! I mentioned it to my parents, they voiced their concerns, we came up with solutions we're all comfortable with, and I e-mailed Sean back and was able to astonish him by agreeing to his mad scheme (no small feat, I assure you).

So, it's true. Mid-September I will depart for New England, spend a week there, and then head for L.A. where we'll film the rest of The Whisperer in Darkness. Remember two years ago when I helped them film the trailer? No? Maybe this will jog your memory...



You can also check out the blog for the production here.

I'll be acting as Script Supervisor. You know, making sure the actors don't screw up their lines, that we film everything that needs to be filmed, etc.

I'm ridiculously excited! One might even say that I'm as excited as a sorority girl on Free Tequila Night.

Return to the City of Angels

My sweet grandmother and I went to LA this past Wednesday. I told no one, so I could surprise the cast of Macbeth. Watching peoples faces as they saw me was one of the best parts of the trip. :)

We went to the Getty, ate lots of good food, I finally watched Tropic Thunder (thank God for the margaritas I drank beforehand), I saw a bagpipe band in a bar, and watched Macbeth twice.

The set was simple and yet perfect. The lights were beautiful. And the show itself was beyond amazing. GM didn't quite understand why I wanted to see it twice. Friday night's show was good, but not great. Saturday's was spectacular. I told her that is why you see it twice.

I also got to see my friend Shawn in a play of his that closed last week. He was fantastic. The rest of the play, not so much.

It was a little surreal to be at the Banshee and not be in the booth. I felt this instinct to set props and vacuum floors. My aunty told me that she needed to clean the theatre before Friday's show and I said, "Can I help?" She looked at me like I was completely insane (which I am) and then agreed. I did like that I didn't have to clean the blood off the stage after the show. I watched with glee while their current stage manager did it.

She did an admirable job for this being the first show she's ever stage managed, but there were a couple of times, particularly on Saturday night when I longed to go and kick her out of "my" booth. Thankfully, my self-control is better than that.

To think that if I'd left today instead of yesterday I could have gone to a party at Mel Gibson's. Damn.

P.S. Best luck to my fellow Banshees who are nominated for LA Drama Critic's Circle Awards! Win something tonight!

An Ovation for Banshee!

Theatre Banshee has finally won it's first Ovation Award! This is the L.A. equivalent of the Oscars and our own Barry Lynch nabbed one last night for his work as Candy in Of Mice and Men!

Last year, we got one nomination for Matt Foyer in Power and we got two nominations this year! (For Mark Colson's Slim in Of Mice and Men in addition to Mr. Lynch.)

I wrote Barry and e-mail today to congratulate him and he replied with two words, "Come home."

Congrats, Barry!

Endless Summer

Spring has definitely sprung here in the City of Angels. (Crap. What do you mean it's almost June?!) What does that mean? Well, the jacaranda trees are blooming purple, the mock orange trees are exuding their musk, and the jasmine is making the nights fragrant.

It also means that it's getting very close to time for our company picnic, which is at Magic Mountain! The last time I was there I was 17 and I went on the Viper about 5 times in a row. I'm completely stoked, to say the least. The fact that it's free makes it even better! (Maybe I'll get my picture taken with Wakko this time.)

My cousin Amanda is getting married in a week to a very sweet guy who thinks the world of her. We knew they were destined for each other when he bought her Mickey Mouse Croc's for Valentine's Day. Now that's true love.

We've postponed the Banshee show for this summer, so I find myself with an appalling amount of time on my hands. Time to go to the gym or jog around the neighborhood and get rid of my pudgy belly. (Read with a Scottish brogue.) Maybe I'll finish the two cross-stitching projects that I've had in the works for years.

We're having a reading on Monday night for another prospective show for Banshee's upcoming season. One of the critics who loves us best, suggested we give Macbeth a go. (We'll see how many Blackadder jokes come out during the evening. "Hot potato, off with her drawers, Puck will make amends!") I'm hoping not very many women come, so I can read one of the witches. "Something wicked this way comes."

Recently, I found out that one of my favorite books The Killer Angels (read it yet, Ang?) has had a stage adaptation done of it. Needless to say, I got my anxiouus little hands on it in short order and read it immediately. Hopefully, the Banshee's will like it as much as I have.

Home Again... Home Again...

One of the quirkier parts of my new job is the drive home.

First, there's the landfill from which emanates fascinating smells when the weather is over 60 degrees. Most of them have a hint of pine. Figure that one out.

Second is the "District of Sin" (my name for it). First, I pass the wholesale ice cream store and then, two blocks later, the wholesale XXX DVD store. Sounds like a good time, right?

Third is the very cool tree. It's on the parking strip in the District and the trunk is completely hollow, but one side is worn away so you can see inside. And despite all this, it's flourishing. Green and glorious. I'm hoping to get a picture of it one day.

Fourth is the cement "river" with four inches of stagnant, rat-infested water in the bottom. It's strewn with grafitti and all sorts of unsavoury garbage. The best part is the "No Swimming" sign right by it.

Last, and this is the best part, was the Lexus I was behind yesterday. In the back window, with a fluffy towel below it and a luxurious sunbeam above it, was a gigantic white cat. You know, like that cat that the Bond villain had. (What was his name, Josh?) It looked out of the window at me as if to say, "Yes, Jeeves and I are out on the town today. A trip to the Turkish baths, a stint on Rodeo Drive, and then off to the Club for brandy and cigars." It made me wish I could join him.

What about the grocery story with the mini carnival in the parking lot? Well, it's long gone.

And what about the latino gentleman riding the dappled grey horse that would mike mother go all giggly and googly-eyed? I still see him occasionally.

This is why I take surface streets instead of the freeway. You never see this stuff zooming along at 70 mph. Try it sometime. You might see the sign for the restuarant "HUNAN TASTE" that (I swear to God) looks like it says "HUMAN TASTE." Really.

Five Freakin' Years! Part I

You've been living in L.A. for almost five years now, Kati. How do you feel?

I feel fantastic, Kati. In a way, it seems like I've been here for five minutes and, in another way, it feels like I've always been here.

Would you like to give us a re-cap of the best memories of the last five years?

I'd be glad to. These are in no particular order...

I saw U2 in concert.
I stage managed nine shows.
I fell off a ladder.
I killed my car and had to live without it for over six months.
I had a total of six roommates.
I've lived with two dogs, three cats, and two fish. And some hermit crabs. (Granted, at different times.)
I've had three jobs. (OK, one was only for a couple of weeks, but still...)
I've been to Disneyland approximately 20 times.
I've been to the beach twice.
I've seen a lot of theatre, including Red Noses, Angry Young Teenage Girl Gang, Wicked, Jersey Boys, Box 27, The Marvelous Wonderettes, Tango 'Til They're Sore, A Christmas O'Carol, Fighting Words, A Glorious Uncertainty, The Lepers of Baille Baste, The Beauty Queen of Leenane, Well of the Saints, The Shoe, a Sherlock Holmes play that I can't remember the name of, some witch play that just managed to piss me off, and others that haven't remained in my head at all.
I've had enough to eat and drink at Timmy Nolan's Irish pub that they automatically know that I want either a Bass or a gin & tonic made with Bombay Sapphire.
I discovered The Macaroni Grill, The White Stripes, Queen, Muse, U2, and Burke Williams.
And I figured out what I want my next tattoo to be.

I'll post more of these as I think of them over the next month and a half.

January 3rd marks the day.