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September 30, 2003
"The Audience"
So we opened Neutrino Project 30,000 at the 3 Penny Cinema on Saturday night. Opening night was a little rocky from a technical perspective. We were in a different theater than we had been planning on and my cable bag was a mess and we plugged the projector into an outlet that turned out to be controlled by the house-lights switch, so when Shaun turned off the house-lights as he left the theater, the projector went out, too. Fortunately, Greg kept his head and figured out the problem.
It's really great to see our freshly-made movie up on the big screen. We have, however, learned some things about movie theaters. They don't, for example, have a back stage. Nor is the sound system really designed to have anything plugged into it.
I'll report that I felt great about my Neutrino Project acting debut. I just counted up and realized that I've been on the Neutrino screen three times before (twice here and once in NY) but somehow this felt like a beginning -- being an actor for the whole run and all. Becky Eldridge and I did a fairly grounded set of scenes about a couple on their fourth date.
Posted by Fuzzy at 5:34 PM | Comments (1)
September 26, 2003
Ted!?
Dave Colan says that someone told him that a short we made for the Fast Forward Film Festival, Ted McGillicutty, Man of Action, was shown at their "The Producers" best-of showing. If true, yay!
Posted by Fuzzy at 4:39 PM
Not the one but the other
I grabbed a Red Eye on my way to my root canal this morning, expecting to find a short piece about Neutrino Project 30,000*. Instead, Cinema 2.0 was listed in the "bestbets" section. I love all my theatrical children the same, so I'm very happy. It was just... unexpected.
(I'm really trying to do my best to not say, "but it's not really like Mystery Science Theater so much-- we make up a whole new story." I think I need to just shut up and take a compliment and a little free publicity. Also, I never listed Nancy Drew in the press release, so Laura Baginski must have read this page to discover that piece of information. So she might be reading this. And I certainly don't want her to think I don't like the blurb. I'm tickled pink. I understand the value of such a comparison, especially in such a short piece. I just like to use the space available to me in this, my own forum, to try and explain the subtleties of my projects. And now I'm thinking that to the average person, a simple "it's like MST3K" might get them into the theater, where my lengthy, whiny nitpicking about exactly what the show is like might not. Hmm.)
Oh, and if you're worried about sitting through the whole movie, Nancy Drew is just 65 minutes long.
So, here's your weekend plans: tonight you're on your own. Sorry, I can't hold your hand all the time. Tomorrow night, Neutrino Project 30,000 at 8:30 pm at the 3 Penny (have I mentioned yet that the 3 Penny has a fully licensed bar? They do.), go have a drink some where, then wander up Halsted to WNEP for Cinema 2.0 at midnight (have I mentioned that WNEP is BYOB? They are.). See you there!
*Update: I'm an idiot. I was very clearly told that NP30K would be in the RedEye on Thursday. So now I'm looking for yesterday's RedEye. Oops.
** Double update: I've now been told that the piece was not in the RedEye at all, anyway.
Posted by Fuzzy at 10:44 AM | Comments (1)
September 24, 2003
Best use of a video camera
New City's annual "Best of Chicago" edition came out today and The Neutrino Project was the first item in the Culture section with the heading "Best use of a video camera". Yay!
[nit-pick in brackets]
"The most ingenious idea to hit the camcorder craze is surely The Neutrino Project, that guerilla improv-film hybrid organized by Fuzzy Gerdes [and Shaun Himmerick]. Based on a single audience suggestion, director Gerdes [Shaun's the director now], four different teams of camera crews and a slew of actors race out into the night and create a one-hour film, on the spot. It's a concept so winning (and seemingly obvious), it's kind of amazing no one thought of it earlier. Gerdes and company are back at it again this month at the Three Penny Cinema, launching an 8-week run of "Neutrino Project 30,000" a bigger and better version that features a live score improvised by musician Ben Taylor."
[And I understand it's a short paragraph, but the implication is that we came up with this "seemingly obvious" idea, and of course that was Neutrino.]
Anyway, here is a picture of our poster up at the Three Penny:
and the cast getting ready to watch themselves at our last rehearsal:
and Greg Inda and Ben Taylor rehearsing being technical:
Posted by Fuzzy at 3:43 PM
Kerianne & Bryan's wedding
The third and last wedding of my summer was my friend Kerianne to a delightful young man named Brian. They got married at a beautiful facility that used to be a Henry Ford auto parts plant. Mostly, I took pictures of penguins.
Posted by Fuzzy at 3:25 PM
September 23, 2003
Busy busy
Bleh. It's one of those weeks where I need to be alert and productive alllll week, or things are going to fall over. I've got two shows opening this week, and projects left over from the summer are stacking up like cordwood. Really, I shouldn't even be typing this right now -- I should be working on a spinning N for Neutrino Project 30,000. Or measuring video cables to make sure I have 60'. Or changing the voice mail at home to be the reservation line for NP30K.
Me and my technical panicking are really the only things left to worry about with these shows. The cast for Cinema 2.0 is the exact same cast as the Playground run, so they got right back up to speed. And the cast for NP30K, which as usual contains a mix of seasoned hands and new folks, just keep getting better and better. We had a rehearsal last night where we ran two full shows. The first one we didn't even watch -- we just rewound the tapes when we were done and shot the next show over that. That was very odd -- it was even more ephemeral than regular improv, since Greg and Ben are the only people in the world who know what that movie looked like.
For myself, I think I've got the hang of this whole "acting on camera" thing. In last night's rehearsal I only did 7 or 8 things that I would have yelled at myself about if I was the director. Self-promo note (not that promo-ing the show isn't already a self-promo, so I suppose this is a self-self-promo note): If you really miss my camera work, be sure to come see the October 25 show, as I'll be on camera again that night. And if you're coming to NP30K just to see me, don't come November 8, because I'll be a runner that night. But otherwise, it's all Fuzzy all the time the rest of the run.
OK, last thing: check out The Depaulia for our ad, and Friday's Red Eye and Sunday's Sun-Times for pieces about the show.
Posted by Fuzzy at 8:01 PM
September 22, 2003
Cinema's back
Earlier this year I created and directed a show for the Playground's Directors Series called Cinema 2.0. I'm pleased to announce that Cinema 2.0 will be part of WNEP's Around Midnite Series this year, so it will play the 4th Saturday of each month, at 12:15 or so.
(As far as I know, only one other Directors Series show has played anywhere after its Playground run. So, umm, yay for us.)
Our grand re-opening is this Saturday, September 27. We'll be doing Nancy Drew... Reporter, a 1939 black and white film starring everyone's favorite plucky girl detective.
Posted by Fuzzy at 5:02 PM | Comments (3)
September 18, 2003
Avast the weekend, ye Scurvy Dogs
Aye, it be Talk Like a Pirate Day, me mateys. So grab ye a pint of grog and a copy of Scurvy Dogs and get ready for thee weekend:
Tonight, some see The Mighty at The Playground. We be funnier than a one-legged monkey stuck in a crows nest.
And I would be remiss in my Exec. Producerness if I didn't mention that the Megan Pedersen-produced Belmont Burlesque Review Revue will be opening at WNEP as part of the Around Midnite Series this Saturday (9/20) at, duh, midnight. Bonnie wenches, all.
(silly picture from the Hero Machine)
Posted by Fuzzy at 5:30 PM | Comments (1)
September 15, 2003
Cards
Saturday night was the season opener of The Sickest F***in' Stories I Ever Heard, the show's third season as part of WNEP's Around Midnite Series. I'm the executive producer of the whole series (which mainly means I check-in with the producer of each show and see if they need anything, which they rarely do) and I had to fight to keep Sickest in the line-up this season, so it was good that the opening night went well, both in terms of attendance and content. (Not a big fight -- just a logical and reasoned argument or two.)
The concept of the show is simple: 5 people play real poker on stage (with real money) and tell real stories from their life. Mostly, gross or obscene stories. It's such a simple and delightful concept (created by Shaun Himmerick and Don Hall) that versions of the show have been produced in New York, Toronto, Seattle, Boston, and Memphis.
("Sickest" trivia: the official name of the show is written "F***in'". I like asterixes.)
Here are some other cards games I like, that are very unlike poker:
Posted by Fuzzy at 2:15 PM
Package
Now, that's a package.
Posted by Fuzzy at 1:54 PM
Happy Birthday Rachel
Rachel Michalski Mottaz' birthday was yesterday. Her party was a "make a piece of art that says how great Rachel is" party. Also, a harvest party. Also, a "pretend that all the people with Mexican flags on their cars and honking are honking for Rachel" party.
I'm a big fan of ephemeral art, so KW and I did "Rachel" tattoos on each other's arms. The O+ on my arm is not the woman symbol, but rather is "O positive" which KW imagines is my blood type. Because I told her about how Japanese video game characters all have their blood type specified. And she thinks I'm a Japanese video game character. Or something.
Look! Rachel is pretending to blow out the candle on her birthday cake, because I missed the picture when she did it for real, but her mom is totally spoiling the illusion by picking up the candle:
Posted by Fuzzy at 11:44 AM | Comments (1)
September 10, 2003
ADB BTS
I spent a couple hours Sunday morning as an extra in a short film Adam Devlin-Brown is shooting for the New York Midnight Movie Making Madness fast film competition. I got to sit for a while and then, excitingly, come in the door of the Gingerman take after take.
Posted by Fuzzy at 5:24 PM
September 9, 2003
artartart
Friday night, KW and I went over to the River West area to see an art opening for one of her Ragdale buddies, Candice Eiseneld. The first Friday after Labor Day is the start of all the galleries' fall season, so the place was kind of a mad house. But if you're looking for free wine and crackers, River West on a First Friday is your ticket.
Posted by Fuzzy at 5:38 PM | Comments (0)
September 8, 2003
PR!
So last Monday Aaron Gang came to Neutrino Project rehearsal and took some new publicity shots for us. We ended up doing all of the shots in Ginger's Ale House, right next door to our rehearsal space. For better or for worse, the Neutrino Project Way is "ask at the last minute." I know it means we've been able to shoot some places we wouldn't have been able to if we had asked ahead of time (Burger King, Taco Bell) but it has meant we couldn't shoot other places that we might have been able to if we explained things better. None of this really applies to Ginger's -- except that we breezed in, got quick permission from the bartender, and then shot in their party room. I just got nervous when we were loud and such. But then, I get nervous a lot, anyway.
Posted by Fuzzy at 5:41 PM
Rearranging the deck chairs on the Titantic
I like my apartment -- I've lived there for all four years I've lived in Chicago. I've had a variety of room mates (oh yeah, Mustapha's back!).
Saturday I spent a good couple of hours rearranging things in the living room to make it a little more livable. And then walked out the back door to have the upstairs neighbors tell me that the sale of the building last month was, in fact, a move to condo-hood and that we had to move out soon. ("An unspecified date" she said, but we don't have a lease right now, so our unspecified date could be any 30-days-notice away.)
So... Shaun and I are looking for (a) new place(s). If you know a nice place to live in Chicago, let me know.
Posted by Fuzzy at 5:40 PM
September 3, 2003
Party Beach USA
The last couple of weeks I've been spending my weekend mornings at Montrose Beach shooting Phillip Mottaz's new short "Party Beach USA." I took a few behind-the-scenes photos.
Posted by Fuzzy at 11:19 AM
September 2, 2003
Engine
The hole in the (old) engine of my Datsun 260Z. I think it was the mayonnaise that did it.
Posted by Fuzzy at 4:26 PM