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January!

Acting: Make 'Em Laugh

Some disagree, but one of my favorite things about comedy acting is to see actors struggle through scenes trying not to crack up at each other. These moments are notorious in live shows like like television variety series The Carol Burnett Show and Saturday Night Live as well as in live improv. One of the reasons I enjoy them so much is I don't feel as weird being one that also will spontaneously find something funny and have a hard time forcing myself to regain composure.

During my years as an actor at the Vaudeville Cafe, even though our script was well rehearsed, because of variations in improv and delivery, the opportunity for laughing fits still arose. A few times, the temptation to make my castmates laugh was just too enticing and I went for it.

The main show I did was the Redneck/Italian wedding (it still plays, by the way, and it's fantastic). I spent a year or two playing the Italian groom before having the chance to portray the dimwitted redneck photographer, John. What I loved about playing John is that it gave me opportunity to say pretty much any stupid thing that came into my mind. I joked with the attendees about Waffle House, Alabama, trailers, Wal-Mart, you know the drill. It was Larry the Cable Guy-esque before Larry got popular.

One night, I had the idea to mix up the script and throw something different in. Before I proceed, I'm going to finish this post in invisi-text for two reasons. 1) If you haven't been to the show and would like to, this joke is better performed live and 2) If you're not a fan of bathroom humor. :-) If neither of those apply to you and you want to continue, run your cursor after this and continue the story.

There's a point after the wedding has taken place when the male actors are asked to leave the room because of a wedding shower. The bride gets a few knick knacks, including a toilet brush. One night, I decided to stick around. When they were finished opening the gift, I yelled out "What's that?" and Peggy Lou, my character's mother-in-law angrily responded, "It's a toilet brush, John!" And then I said, "Oh wow, I tried using one of them one time but it hurt me so bad I went back to using paper."

I'll never forget one time in eighth grade when all the boys from my section were gathered for a wrestling match during gym and I threw one of these tough guys around like he was a rag doll and I'll never forget the moment I told this joke. The script stopped in its tracks and the entire audience was laughing while the actors turned their heads. It was a golden moment, perhaps one of the highlights of my life. It fit perfectly with the character and the show.

Months after that joke became a staple of the play, I hit another home run. During the wedding shower, in true shower fashion, the ladies pass the gifts around the room so everyone can "ooh and aaah" over them. Sitting with an audience member in the back of the theater, one of the brushes landed on our table. I took a look at the white toilet brush and noticed the chocolate cake with chocolate icing sitting beside it.

When called to the stage to be interrogated (and on this night to be revealed as the murderer), I carried the white toilet brush, placing snugly back in its holder. The first question the policeman asked me was what the item was I was holding on to. I held it up, pulled it out of its holder and stopped everyone in their tracks again. Thankfully, after the show was over, the only cleanup I had to do was rinsing the icing and cake out of the bristles, not wiping off any customer reactions.

As I mentioned, The Carol Burnett Show had its share of moments. This is one of many such examples:

'Amelia' on Autopilot

Even though we live in a society where air travel is common, we sometimes still have to stop and marvel at the miracle of us earth-bound humans inhabiting the skies. How does a plane gather enough speed to propel not only myself but 300 others into the air on a controlled path to another destination?

That childlike fascination was what interested me most about the film Amelia, which profiles legendary female pilot Amelia Earhart. Set in the 1930s, it chronicles her journey as the first woman pilot to fly across the Atlantic and details her tragic disappearance attempting to fly around the world (sorry, I just spoiled the ending).

Earhart is portrayed by Oscar-winner Hilary Swank, who really digs into her role, assuming new vocal mannerisms and swagger. Like Meryl Streep in Julie and Julia, Swank is captivating in nearly every scene she's in, which is a plus with a movie centering on her character. Conversely, Richard Gere phones his performance in as George Putnam, her mentor and husband. Ewan McGregor also briefly appears as Gene Vidal, “the other man” in Earhart and Putnam's relationship.

While Amelia isn't a bad movie, it never truly soars. It's not the epic adventure that the legendary Earhart name and the trailers might otherwise suggest. Instead, we get scattered glimpses of her personal life, including liberal views on marriage and fidelity, and a few key historical events. To her credit, Swank ably channels Amelia's resistance to being constrained. Perhaps she too felt confined in a production that seems to be stuck on autopilot.

Should you try online dating like 'Eharmony'?

As LeAnn and I first began introducing ourselves to people as a couple, the inevitable question of where we met would often come up. At first, we felt a little hesitant to admit we'd met through Eharmony. Years ago, meeting someone through the internet often conjured up a stigma equivalent to randomly collecting personal ads in the newspaper. At some point, however, I realized there was nothing to be ashamed of. LeAnn and I were both in our 30s, not exactly premium time for meeting outside of our own social circles.

Through the years, people have asked me about online dating and I recommend it. It's not a perfect system (none are), but it's definitely something worth considering if you find the current social dating scene intimidating, fruitless or phony. Here are some observations.

Your personality shows through - For whatever reason, for better or worse, face-to-face human interaction carries with it a set of visual expectations. Generations raised on film and television expect their prospective dates to walk through the door with poise, grace and beauty, not tripping over their feet and sniffling or coughing. I felt like online dating bypassed some of those unfair expectations, instead giving us a chance to connect on a personal level before the awkwardness of meeting face to face.

Your values show through - You don't normally start out a date with a manifesto of what you believe and why, because that would just be weird. Through your questionnaire, you pretty much lay it out online and the other person can accept or reject before they ever get to know you. I liked that, because it wasn't awkward then to try and introduce those conversations later.

You control the experience - Sometimes, when you do find someone you're sort of interested in, then it sometimes becomes a waiting game to see when/if you're both on the same page. If they come on too strong, it produces withdrawal on your end and vice versa. In our experience with Eharmony, we sent questions back and forth and could not contact each other any other way (to send a note saying "hey when are you going to finish those questions?"). It can be slow or quick but at least you don't feel the pressure from the other side to fit into their expectations right off the bat.

No pressure - You can end the experience anytime you want. I received an average of 10 matches a day. By reading their profiles, I filtered at least half or more of them by closing out the communication. At this "match stage," you don't know them and they don't know you. You can close out a communication with a list of a reasons, which include "I'm pursuing another match," "I have too much going on in my life right now" (heard that one before? :-) or "I'd rather not say," which I always assumed meant they found me hideous. No problem, though. They don't have your personal email or any way to get in touch with you, so there's going to be no phone call going, "well, WHO do you think YOU are?" Just a nice and pleasant end.

It's private - If you do think you'll get some ridicule from friends about having a profile on a dating site, don't tell them and they'll never know. My profile even went by my lesser-known name, just for an added step of anonymity. Even though I still ran into a person I knew (results not typical), no one else knew I had a profile online. It's not searchable, even if you're a member. Chances are people in your area may not even be matched up with you.

Have you tried online dating? If so, what were your thoughts? What are your hesitations? Do you know people who have success stories?

Dusting the blog off

Hi friends, you may have noticed a little more action on this blog lately. I'm going to try and revive it somewhat, using it as a place to share longer thoughts than Facebook or Twitter allow for. Perhaps even sometimes the posts will be more political than either of those, if only for the reason that I try to live more peaceably on those sites. Those of you who know me personally know that I have opinions that I don't always express.

We're also about two months away from our first baby arriving and I imagine there will be some lessons learned as our lives drastically change. Finally, life will continues to offer moments to make me stop and think.

Thanks for listening.