My Life in the Gush of Boasts

Well, here it is, later June, and the August shows are under way, and I'm back to casting bits of them, as always.

Besides the two dancers for George Bataille's Bathrobe that I've been trying to cast for a while (or rather, HAVE cast twice and then had to recast), I now have three other parts in two plays where actors have had to leave for more lucrative jobs that have come up. So here I am, trying to write this entry in between sending out emails setting up audition times to around 30 actresses that have been recommended to me by trusted friends and collaborators (and a few that came from a public posting of my email to friends that got out by accident, but it's okay).

I understand, of course, people having to leave my shows for better-paying gigs . . . I can't pay more than transportation for rehearsals and performances, plus promise a split of profits, if any (there are NEVER any - only three of my sixty shows have shown even around $100 profit at most - I ALWAYS lose money on them). And sometimes I'm slow on paying back the transportation (I still owe over half the performers from 2008's shows their money -- the unexpected huge costume expenditure on Ambersons ate up over half the year's planned budget).

Still, it's frustrating to feel like a "safety school," that my work is the work you do until something bigger comes along. It is, after all, my work, and it IS what I do first and foremost. I can't begrudge people who leave for a job with a salary, or an Equity Card, or more exposure, but I can feel hurt anyway.

And, of course, it's hard to cast this year's shows in any case -- the Foreman is fairly abstract and hard to make out on the page what the hell it is, the Fassbinder is all wonky and doesn't read well either, no one's seen David's & my script (now called Sacrificial Offerings), but I'm sure that will simply confuse people as well, and Little Piece has such graphic descriptions of serial killings and deaths by radiation that some people are just too disgusted by it to want to do it. Great.

Well, 30 women and a man have got notices from me about the 4 shows, I have two auditions set up already, and time put aside all next week. Hope I get what I'm looking for. Well, I always do, or close to it . . .

Anyway, back in the iPod, here's today's Friday Random Ten tracks from out of the 25,596 on there (with more actual links to YouTube versions of the songs than usual!):

1. "Saturday Night, Stay At Home" - Suburban Reptiles - Saturday Night, Stay At Home 7"
2. "Glad I've Got Nobody" - David Bowie - Early On (1964-1966)
3. "Sole Spento" - Caterina Casselli - Rato's Nostalgia Collection 9
4. "You Better Get a Better" - The Beatstalkers - Decca Originals: The Freakbeat Scene (1964-1968)
5. "Do You Love Me?" - The Sonics - !!!Here Are The Sonics!!!
6. "Bible School" - Delinquents - The Master Tape
7. "What If?" - Bongwater - The Power Of Pussy
8. "Single Girl, Married Girl" - The Carter Family - Anthology Of American Folk Music, Vol. 3A: Songs
9. "Stranded In Time" - The United States Of America - The American Metaphysical Circus
10. "Ocean" - Sebadoh - Single (remix)

And now it's 35 people who've gotten the notices, and 5 auditions are arranged for Sunday/Monday. Back to more emails out . . .