Here is a small sampling of photos from the Ready Teddy shoot. These are about all I can share on this blog. The rest are rather brutal. Enjoy!
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The Long Unwinding Reel
Here’s an update on Ready Teddy from writer/director Jarod Costa:
The film is good…in fact it’s freaking amazing. The transfer session could not have gone better. Every shot looks perfect. We did not lose a single take due to focus, underexposure, or scratches on the film. I could not ask for a better looking film. It’s being transferred HD so it looks amazingly crisp. I wasn’t able to get the footage due to some equipment malfunctioning, but I’ll be able to pick up my drive on Monday and then start editing. So for now we have this weekend to celebrate our amazing achievment.
Sounds like it is going very well. I can’t wait to see how everything turns out.
Filed under Film
Happy Birthday, Tiny Tim!
Our Tiny Tim turned nine years old yesterday and we celebrated her birthday at rehearsals for Ebenezer Scrooge. After rehearsing the opening number our director, Jeff Vance, halted everything and announced we would be adding a new unrehearsed song at that point in the show. We then broke out into a chorus of “Happy Birthday to You” and cake was presented. Needless to say, our Tiny Tim was surprised and delighted.
With only one week of rehearsal left, opening night is fast approaching. We open the day after Thanksgiving and run through December 23. I just made reservations for my family and found that seats are already filling up. This will be a long run of sold-out shows, I can tell. If you haven’t made your reservations yet, I suggest you contact Pocket Sandwich Theatre as soon as possible. Seats are going fast!
Filed under Theatre
“I Buried Paul”
Ready Teddy has wrapped!
The bizarre and bloody short film in which I play a Goodfellas-esque Paul McCartney successfully completed principal photography over the weekend. It took two 14-hour days to shoot the six page script but there were a lot of effects to cover in those six pages. Without giving too much away, let’s just say there was more blood spilt in this flick than contained in all four Beatles combined — or perhaps almost as much as was in Elvis himself.
I just received an e-mail from the screenwriter and director, Jarod Costa:
It’s a great feeling to stop for a moment, look to the right and Elvis is on his cell phone wandering a graveled Mansfield parking lot…turn to my left and see George Harrison and John Lennon bloodied and sharing a cigarette and look straight ahead and see Troy shirtless and spitting blood. Every one of you gave a spectacular performance and deserves massive amounts of kudos. I now know what cast and crew I want on all of my projects.
It’s a great feeling for an actor when a director is this enthusiastic about a shoot.
I’ve been promised stills from the set and, of course, a copy of the completed project which should be done before the year is out. In the meantime, above is a shot taken with my phone. Enjoy!
Filed under Film
A Hunk O’ Burnin’ Love Me Do
This weekend I will be playing the role of former Beatle Paul McCartney in a short film titled Ready Teddy. This won’t be a portrayal of the public McCartney, the animal-rights activist, entrepreneur and philanthropist. No. This is the McCartney from the mind of Jarod Costa, a local filmmaker who loves deconstructing icons. This McCartney is nasty.
The film will involve a short scene with McCartney (me), John Lennon (former KD Studios classmate Scott Barber), George and Ringo tormenting a kidnapped Elvis Presley. What they want from him is ambiguous but it is clear that McCartney wants Elvis to acknowledge their superior pop status. Of course, the King bows to no one, not even for a fried peanut-butter and banana sandwich — hence the conflict.
Costa has written a deliciously absurd and campy script. This should prove to be a fun shoot.
Filed under Film
Humbuggery!
Currently I am in rehearsals for Ebenezer Scrooge, a musical based on Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. I am playing two parts in this show: Bob Cratchit and Mr. Fezziwig — two completely different characters, both equally fun to play. This will be the 27th consecutive holiday season the Pocket Sandwich Theatre has hosted this highly successful production. Having lived with the show over the last month, I can understand why it has become a holiday staple in the Dallas market.
This adaptation is one of the most charming musicals I’ve encountered. Every tune is catchy, which explains why you’ll catch me obliviously humming the score if you run into me on the street. All the important story points are present with dialogue pulled directly from the novel. The darker moments are blended with well-timed comedic relief.
The cast has been one of the most entertaining with whom I have had the pleasure of working. Ranging in age from as young as 8 to as old as — *ahem* — myself, every member brings a youth and exuberance that feeds an atmosphere of creative energy. It is also the largest cast with which I have worked; seeing all of us on stage in the small space is an event unto itself.
I have the pleasure of working with Amy Wells who plays both Mrs. Cratchit and Mrs. Fezziwig (she’s a bit put out that no one seems to know her character’s first name, not even, apparently, Mr. Dickens who never mentions it in the novel). The Cratchit kids are all endearing. The youngest, our Tiny Tim, has taken to affectionately taunting me with her “crutch-fu” skills. And David H.M. Lambert reprises the title role for the 15th time and he truly embodies the character. Working against his Scrooge generates an authenticity that should prove engaging to this year’s audience.
With little more than two weeks to go before we open, it is exciting to see the pieces come together. This weekend, the set used in the current Pocket Sandwich melodrama, Sweeny Todd — Fiend of Fleet Street, comes down and our set goes up which, no doubt, will require some re-blocking next week. The rehearsal process has been a great deal of fun and I look forward to sharing that fun with an audience.
The show opens Friday, November 28 and runs through Tuesday, December 23, 2008. This is Pocket Sandwich Theatre’s most popular show so reservations are strongly recommended if you wish to come (and I hope you will). Food and beverage service is available before all shows. Visit www.pocketsandwich.com for more details or call the box-office at (214) 821-1860.
Filed under Theatre
Brad Stephens 