ALTERNATIVE JOURNALISM NIGHT at Rattlestick

I saw this tweet a few minutes ago:

RPT224 Rattlestick Theater

TALK BACK WITH CAST AND PLAYWRIGHT OF YOSEMITE AT RATTLESTICK ON WEDNESDAY AFTER THE SHOW!

For course I went to the rattlestick facebook page and found a little more information.:

Are you a blogger? Student writer? Do you host an indie radio station? Join us this Wednesday, Feb. 1 at 8pm for YOSEMITE followed by a talkback with playwright Daniel Talbott and the cast! Email bfoister.rattlestick@gmail.com to reserve two comp tickets!

At Rattlestick we wish to expand the critical voices in our audience, and we value your feedback as such. We also invite you to hang out with the Stick crew post-show for drinks, conversation, and maybe even some dancing. We look forward to seeing you at the theater!

There are still tickets left. Take your chance to look behind the scenes and talk with actors, writer, director and crew of Yosemite.

TVRealm: episodes...

Big tvrealm challenge post of all the small prompts of season three.

Episode: Episode 3 x 09 - This or That.
Ep Summary: Pit two characters/shows against each other and see who the comm prefers between the two.

I got a Bobby & Alex : Tommy & Barbara = 6:2. Maybe you want to vote again?

Poll #1814908 Goren & Eames vs. Lynley & Havers
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 0

This or That?

Goren & Eames
Lynley & Havers

Episode: Episode 3 x 10 - Eat, Drink, and Do Merry.
Ep Summary: A festive feast for friends or foes. Flavour with your fandom of choice.



Episode: Episode 3 x 12 -Text Only.
Ep Summary: Create a TV inspired image/poster using TEXT ONLY.



Episode: Episode 3 x 13 - PHOTOBOMB!
Ep Summary: Create a photobomb image utilizing at least one tv image. - Photobomb: "To drop in a photo unexpectedly...to hop in a picture right before it is taken."





Episode: Episode 3 x 14 - Lyrics to Live By.
Ep Summary: Create a graphic or fanfic inspired off a lyric 2 live by.

Yosemite - Opening Night

Two days ago Playbill. com published a few more ON STAGE pictures of Yosemite.

Yesterday was the official opening of Daniel Talbott's Off-Boraodway Play. The actors, the playwright and director incited to the Opening Night After Party at Dublin 6 in New York City.

With the photo-sources of GettyImage.com and WireImages.com, photographers: Desiree Navarro and Cindy Ord.

A lot of reviews about Yosemite popped up. Some critics like the play other not. Some say the actors are good but the writing is bad and there are too many open answers.

Take a look:

Variety.com: Yosemite by Marilyn Stasio.

...Erbe brings an ethereal quality to Julie's suicidally depressed persona that makes her attractive, in a spooky kind of way. But the character is too catatonic to play the role of catalyst and kick-start this stalled play into some kind of action. And in the end her main contribution is to show us exactly why her miserable kids are so depressed...

HuffingtonPost.com: Kids try to bury big family secret, in 'Yosemite' by JENNIFER FARRAR.

...By the time hollow-eyed, rambling Mom (Kathryn Erbe) shows up to see how it's going, it's clear why none of them will even look at her at first. Erbe gives a deeply affecting performance as their angry, guilty, loving but despairing mother. Numrich and Erbe have a potent scene where they overlap screaming repeatedly at one another, which is as emotionally draining to watch as it must be to enact.

It's clear that the kids have a terrible foreboding about just why their mother has come to reminisce with them, as she tries to plant happy memories in their minds. The actors have created such believable characters that the audience is numbed by the idea of more sorrow ahead for them.

The crackling dialogue and suspenseful silences are well-paced by Pascal. Raul Abrego's impressive onstage forest, complete with sunken hole full of big rocks and dirt, provides an artful, natural background to Talbott's breathtaking, unnatural human tragedy...

TheaterMania.com: Yosemite by Dan Bacalzo.

...Erbe is never convincing in her character's admittedly overwritten and overwrought speeches. And Julie's arrival onto the scene about midway through the play signals the work's descent into bathos, leading to an overly predictable conclusion that does not have the dramatic impact that was likely intended...

TalkinBroadway.com: Yosemite by Matthew Murray.

...It must be said that this is no way the fault of the performers, all of whom are focused and committed to their portrayals. Numrich, late of War Horse, is excellent at conveying the leaking soul of an emotionally hollowed-out teenager; and Erbe tempers Julie's distant resentment with the proper dose of too-processed brightness. They're believable as both individuals coping with layers of troubles, and a family struggling to understand how to live together, which certainly helps fill in a lot of the gaps in Talbott's writing and in Pascal's pace-challenged staging.

But even the best actors can only do so much. These characters are too sketchy to come alive, and Talbott's one-dimensional view of this family in crisis trumpets its emptiness too loudly for you to care about how they could escape from their hopelessness, and the lack of any richness in the writing means you cannot be elevated by their myriad losses. You're ultimately left feeling exactly what they do: nothing. That's a tough hook on which to hang any play, but it can work when concept, execution, and message unite. They never do, and never even come close, in Yosemite...

BackStage.com: Yosemite by Erik Haagensen.

...The production is undermined by a reliance upon hypernaturalistic acting more suited to the small screen, with both Kathryn Erbe, as Julie, and Libby Woodbridge, as Ruby, hard to understand as they underarticulate and somehow throw lines away in the tiny Rattlestick Playwrights Theater space. Erbe has a couple of moments, such as when Julie suddenly accuses her children of being ungrateful because they don't love her anymore, but otherwise her Julie is awfully small for a woman who has behaved in the ways she has. Woodbridge's Ruby stays too much on a single note of subdued plaintiveness. Noah Galvin can't do much with the largely silent Jer, who has so little to do that we sometimes forget he's there at all...

NewJerseyNewsRoom.com: ‘Yosemite’ studies misery - Kathryn Erbe portrays a sorrowful mom in Daniel Talbott’s new drama by MICHAEL SOMMERS

...If the role of Julie seems underwritten – her dissolution particularly -- the frail intensity of Kathryn Erbe’s pensive portrayal helps to vitalize this grieving character, who represents quite an acting contrast from the self-possessed Detective Alexandra Eames that Erbe plays on “Law & Order: Criminal Intent.”...

NYPress.com: Dead and Buried - Rattlestick gives us the rocky Yosemite, about a family and a hole by Mark Peikert.

NewYork.TimeOut.com: Yosemite - Three teens try to bury a family secret by Adam Feldman.

NYDaylyNews.com: Off-Broadway, Daniel Talbott’s ‘Yosemite’ shows a family in deep crisis by Joe Dziemianowicz

The Last Street in Manhattan - clip

I thought I saw every Criminal Intent Season 10 clip USA Network produced to promote the last eight episodes. But yesterday I found this little gem.

Oh wow, what a smile. I miss Alex and Bobby badly.

I think I said it before, but I really like that even after 10 years of work, it's amazing that Kathryn and Vincent still sit next to each other, while waiting on the next scene to film.

Yosemite - more reviews

Last night Blanca published her photos of her Yosemite matinee visit. Take a look at her Vincent and the Mystic Pizza Box blog. She also wrote a little about her meeting with Kathryn.

I also got a wonderful comment of Virginia the author of Acceptance Project. She made this awesome interview with Daniel Talbott.

I have to say, Kathryn is absolutely brilliant in "Yosemite." Her performance is so beautifully subtle, with a smoldering passion underneath even the most off-the-cuff line. You can't help but believe every word! She's so delicate and so strong at the same time. It's a great role for her and she never pulls back from the emotional intensity.

This was my first time seeing her perform live...and I think she's wonderful.

Here another comment about Yosemite made by kcweakley at GoldStar.com:

Excellent show. There were moments when the dramatic tension broke and it was re-focused almost immediately. The actors maintained a level of excellence that was admirable and intense. I was stunned with the content of the show, the story is shocking, and I suspect close to the truth. It is not for the feint of heart. The set was brilliant. The proscenium disappeared into the distant forests of Yosemite. Excellent.

I only read one tumblr entry, that the visitor didn't like Kathryn's performance.

For more news about Yosemite, remember tomorrow (01/26/12) will be the official opening of the play (Will there be a red carpet hour and press??? I really hope so), here another interview with Daniel Talbott: Theater in the Now posted by Michael Block.

Yosemite Review by Blanca

Please visit the Vincent and the Mystic Pizza Box blog of Blanca. She had the opportunity to visit Yosemite and wrote a long report about her impressions. There will be picture posts later. But one photo is already online:

@Nantzee @reelblog @havers_barbara @detective3ames @YAINetwork Kathryn Erbe&Valentine Heart made by my brother Alberto. http://twitpic.com/8aihza

The Love Guide

Maybe you discovered it but a few days after New Year I deleted nearly my whole Kathryn’s Current Movie section here at the blog. Today I finally found the time to reinstall the tab. Thank God, I never deleted the movie information in my side bar. I only need to add all the screenings for Mother’s House and 3 Backyards to have the section complete again, phu.

With checking all the information I was curious about the status of Sunny Side Up and made a new google check.

Take a look what I found. They renamed the movie to ‘The Love Guide’. There is also a trailer available (sniff they really managed to make TWO spelling mistakes in Kathryn’s name). But I didn’t found anymore news beside a page with a synopsis and the DVD cover, spotlight-pictures.com.

Published of SaintAireFilms at 11/28/2011

How cool the dramaturge of Icarus is also in the movie. OMG, to Kathryn's styling.

GENRE: Romantic Comedy

CAST: Parker Posey (Superman Returns, You’ve Got Mail)

SYNOPSIS: A married couple, Millie and Al, are dealing with a struggling chicken farm business and a struggling marriage. Fortunately, they may have a savior—reality television!

After a chance meeting with a television producer named Ira, Millie agrees to have her life featured in the reality show, “Cut the Crap,” hosted by everyone’s favorite hippie/yogi—Angela Lovecraft (Parker Posey). Angela is the ultimate free-spirit--living in the moment with only the slightest grasp of reality.

Al hates the idea of being filmed and refuses to participate, creating more friction in her relationship with Mille. He spends most of his time on his fishing boat.

In the first few days of shooting, Ira realizes that Millie is, how shall I say this…boring! He decides to spice things up by following Al, who is having lunch with a mysterious woman. Ira tells Millie that Al might be doing more than just fishing on his boat, even though he isn’t, just to create more drama.

Just when it seems Millie and Al might be headed for a divorce, Angela uses her New Age powers to remind the couple exactly why they love each other, and that using love, they can survive any obstacle in their way. Angela learns that it’s sometimes fun having your feet on the ground, instead of always having your head in the clouds.

“Sunny Side Up” is a charming, funny tale about life, love and chickens.

Yosemite - On Stage

I'm so happy, the Rattlestick Playwrights Theater facebook page published three photos of their first Yosemite preview.

There are still tickets available. Go to TicketCentral.com.

I read a wonderful interview with Daniel Talbott you can find here at Acceptance Project.

If you watched/will watch the play and want to write a review let me know. I would love to invite you for a guest post.

Yosemite - Auditions

See what I found on my last web check before the beginning of Yosemite. I wish everyone who'll have the chance to see Kathryn in the Off-Broadway play much fun. I can't wait to read critics and fan reports.

YOSEMITE - Rattlestick Playwrights Theater Auditions
Posted: June 23, 2011 by BoradwayWorld.com

YOSEMITE – Equity Principal Auditions

Rattlestick Playwrights Theater LOA-NYC (approval/salary level pending; 2010-11 weekly minimum: $270).

Artistic Dir: David Van Asselt

Author: Daniel Talbott

1st reh: 12/20/11. Runs 1/18 - 2/26/12.

Equity Principal Auditions:

Monday, August 15, 2011 Actors' Equity Association Audition Center

9:30 AM - 5:30 PM 165 West 46th Street, 2nd Floor

Lunch from 1 - 2. New York City

Please prepare a contemporary dramatic monologue, 2 minutes or less.

Please bring a picture & resume, stapled back-to-back.


Story of three young siblings who are sent out into the snow-silent woods in the Sierra Nevada foothills to dig a hole that will be deep enough to bury a family secret. As they dig, they search for a way to escape or be rescued from their lives, as the snow continues to fall and the world sinks in around them.

Seeking (all roles are available):

Ruby:

Female. Seeking actress 18+ to play mid - late teens. Ruby is calm and collected, understanding and grateful most of the time. A little naïve. Puts up with Jake and avoids confrontation. Does not like conflict. Wants to keep the family together.

Jake:

Male. Seeking actor 18+ to play late teens - early 20s. Jake is Ruby's older brother. Curses a lot; bad temper. Means well and cares about Ruby, but comes across as an asshole. Fed up with the life they are living, and wants to escape. A dreamer; reminisces often. Resentful towards their mother for leaving them, and blames her for the death of his baby brother.

Jer:

Male. Seeking actor 18+ to play 10-13. Jer is the youngest of the three. Alone so much that he has developed a wild imagination. Doesn't talk much. Still a child, and very naïve. Entertains himself with simple things, and isn't concerned with the fighting that goes on between his sister, brother and mother.

Julie:

Woman, 30s-40s. Underweight. Beautiful. Mother of the three kids. Appears to have deserted them, and might be responsible for the death of their baby brother. Inappropriate and immature for a mother. Doesn't take responsibility for her actions. Lives in the past. Dead in the eyes most of the time, but much like a wounded animal can be fierce and dangerous when backed into a corner. A lost soul.

www.rattlestick.org

Yosemite - last rehearsal

Remember, Yosemite's previews will start tomorrow at 8pm.

Here you can read two articles/interviews with Seth Numrich and Pedro Pascal:

Tell me about Yosemite. What was the rehearsal process like? What do you love most about the play?

Yosemite is Daniel Talbott's new play that deals with a very dark moment in the life of a family who live in a trailer park near in the foothills of the Sierra mountains in northern California. I am in love with this play and am so happy to be involved in it. I think it is a bold and daring piece of theatre and I'm very excited about sharing it with audiences at Rattlestick. The rehearsal process has been pretty short and very intense. We've found that since the subject of the matter is very heavy we all need to keep the rehearsal room light while we're working. There is a lot of silliness. But when it comes to the work everyone has been extremely committed and I am so proud of what we are creating together.

Read the whole text at zackcalhoon.blogspot.com posted by Zack.


...But he's recently been pursuing his interest in directing as well, and is currently helming the Rattlestick Playwrights Theatre's production of Yosemite, a new play by Daniel Talbott that stars Kathryn Erbe and Seth Numrich.

The play concerns a family in crisis: an older brother, a middle sister and a younger brother. "They've been sent out to the woods by their mother to bury their infant sibling, who has stopped breathing in its crib and been dead about three days," he explains.

Indeed, Yosemite has challenged him to find action in the lyrical language. "Through language, these characters are trying to escape the situation they're in," says Pascal. "It's just them and their words that are so purely motivated by the emotional need to survive."...

Read the whole text at TheaterMania.com written by Edward Karam.

DogCatemy Awards

Maybe you saw the tweets that North Shore Animal League America was allowed to ring the NASDAQ bell last December. I registered the event and also hoped of more information (links via twitter) but didn't grab deeper because there was no hint of Kathryn anywhere a month ago. Yesterday, I stumbles over the NSALA facebook page and clicked through their photo albums, seeing that Kathryn visited the event, too. She didn't ring the bell, but she attended the following DogCatemy Rescue Awards.

Cesar Millan Honored at DogCatemy Rescue Awards

December 11, 2011 by Grace Sydney
Source: DogTipper.com

When it comes to contributions in canine care, many television viewers call Cesar Millan a pack leader, and on December 8, 2011 the Dog Whisperer was honored for his efforts with the first-ever “Cesar Millan Award for Excellence in Mutt-i-gree Education” at North Shore Animal League America‘s annual DogCatemy Rescue Awards Dinner.

After the Nat Geo Wild star rang the closing bell at NASDAQ Marketsite in Times Square, it was time for the dinner bell to ring at the start of a star-studded, sold-out soiree emceed by Brian Kilmeade, a co-host of Fox News Channel’s FOX and Friends.

The evening included a line up of animal-loving luminaries, including Law and Order star Kathryn Erbe, actor Josh Flitter (Santa Buddies) and Beth Stern, wife of shock jock Howard Stern and a celebrity spokesperson for NSALA who appears on the organization’s 2012 calendar.

Friends of Fidos and felines who were unable to attend the fundraiser will feel like virtual guests at the glitterati-filled event thanks to North Shore Animal League America, which shares the evening in the following video:

Here are the other red carpet pictures. Wow, Kathryn in snuggling with 4 dogs ;o)
I love how these two little puppies sniff at each other. Mhm, there are again the old rock hoop earrings by Daphna Simon. I had loved to inspect Kathryn's outfit a little closer (the coat is looking great) but like the last animal event, there is always a doggy in front of ;o)

Picture sources:
Facebook
Getty Images: Omar Tobias Vega

Yosemite - Discounted Tickets Offer

Yesterday I got an email from Blanca (Billygrl of Vincent and the mystic pizza box with discount codes for Yosemite tickets. Get your chance to see Kathryn live on stage now...

Rattlestick Playwrights Theater presents the world premiere of: YOSEMITE A new play by Daniel Talbott Directed by Pedro Pascal January 18 to February 26 Performances: Wednesday-Friday 8 PM; Saturday 2 PM and 8 PM; Sunday 3 PM

The cast features stars of stage and screen, Kathryn Erbe (The Speed of Darkness, “Law & Order: Criminal Intent”), Noah Galvin (The Burnt Part Boys, Ace), Seth Numrich (War Horse, Blind), Libby Woodbridge (Jerusalem, Gabriel). YOSEMITE tells the story of three siblings who are sent out into the snow-silent woods in the Sierra Nevada foothills to dig a hole that will be deep enough to bury a family secret. As they dig, they search for a way to escape or be rescued from their lives as the snow continues to fall and the world sinks in around them. **GET YOUR TICKETS TODAY!** SPECIAL DISCOUNTED TICKET OFFERS FOR ALL PERFORMANCES: LIMITED TIME OFFER Tickets for preview performances of YOSEMITE, running January 18th- January 26th, can be purchased for only $25 (Regular priced tickets $55) using the discount code YOPREV25. Enter the code online at www.rattlestick.org or call ticket central at 212.279.4200 Tickets for performances after January 26th of YOSEMITE can be purchased for only $40 (Regular priced tickets $55) using the discount code YOREG40. Enter the code online at www.rattlestick.org or call ticket central at 212.279.4200 Are you a theater artist, student, or under thirty? Go to our facebook page or website for special discounted ticket offers just for you: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Rattlestick-Playwrights-Theater/129210492043 (Regular priced tickets can be purchased online at www.rattlestick.org or by calling ticket central at 212.279.4200) Location: Rattlestick Playwrights Theater - 224 Waverly Place- New York NY 10014 www.rattlestick.org

TICKET CENTRAL416 W. 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036 212-279-4200 mailinglist@ticketcentral.com www.ticketcentral.com

3 Backyards in Norway

The 22nd Tromsǿ International Film Festival running from 17th to 22nd January and will air Eric Mendelsohn's 3 Backyards three times.

Dag	Tid	Place	Kalender	Tickets
Wednesday 18.Jan	20:00	Fokus 2/3	Add show	Fokus 2, Fokus 3
Thursday 19.Jan	13:30	Fokus 1/5	Add show	Fokus 1, Fokus 5
Sunday 22.Jan	09:00	Fokus 1/5	Add show	Fokus 1, Fokus 5

Ticket prices: 85 Kr = 11 € = $14

Yesterday I also stumbled in one of the many Kathryn tumblrs over a page where you can download the movie. I can't tell you how legal this option is, but you need to register to get 3 Backyards this way.

Mother's House - new website

[Still photos by Colleen Lynch at Cedar Hill Photography.]

The Mother's House team launched their new website. You could watch the movie on several film festivals in 2011 and it's going on. There will be more screenings in 2012, and eventually... you'll be able to download Mother's House and watch it any time on the interwebs!

Here is the list of the next film festivals:


January:

• 27.01-04.02.: 34th International Short Film Festival Clermont-Ferrand, France

April:

• 05.-07.: 9th Annual Davis Film Festival at Davis California
• 18.-20.: Going Green Film Festival at Pacific Theaters at the Grove LA
  

Cadaver - Icon Tutorials

Program: Photoshop CS3
Number of steps: A = 8, B = 6
Difficulty: Easy
PSD: Yes

I use Photoshop CS3 and I thank cath from caths_arts for her German-English PS translation list.

Oh dear, I wrote this tutorial months ago but never published it. Here we go:

A few days ago I found shalowater’s LJ and the beautiful textures she created. I hadn’t done any more dimensional icons for a while but all the lovely textures inspired me to look through my L&O: CI – Cadaver caps. I found two wonderful pictures of Alex and made two new icons.


A)



Step 1:
Take your cap, crop the part you want to include in the icon and do everything else like sharpening or lightening. [In the most cases I add a new fill layer in white and set it to soft light. Then I duplicate the base and set it in soft light on top. Merge all three layers together and sharpen it.]



Step 2:
Open texture1 and set it to Hard Light - opacity 100%. I like the darkening of the frame and corners but didn’t want to change Alex too much. Take the eraser tool to reduce the texture over Alex’s face.



Step 3:
Take texture2 and add it to your icon. Set it to Pin Light - opacity 100%. Again erase the texture over Alex’s face.



Step 4:
Like I told you, I found a lot of wonderful textures and wanted to use them all. Take texture3 and set it to Linear Dodge - opacity 100%. Erase the dots which bug your icon subject.



Step 5:
Add this violet changing texture4 and set it to Color - opacity 100%. I really like the cap coloration (love the green) but with the monochromation the icon and Alex’s expression get more powerful.



Step 6:
Put one more texture5 to your icon and set it to Screen - opacity 50%. Again erase the area over Alex’s head.



Step 7:
To give the icon a bit more contrast: new layer --> New Adjustment Layer --> Brightness/Contrast: Contrast: +30

Step 8:
To finish the icon duplicate the base and add it at top of your layer stack. Set your icon to Soft Light - opacity 40% and also go to Filter --> Blur --> Gaussian Blur: 2,0.



PSD A

B)



Step 1:
Take your cap, crop the part you want to include in the icon and do everything else like sharpening or lightening. [In the most cases I add a new fill layer in white and set it to soft light. Then I duplicate the base and set it in soft light on top. Merge all three layers together and sharpen it.]



Step 2:
I really like icons with not plain edges. Open texture6 and blow it to width: 211, high: 222. Set it to Hard Light - opacity 100% and moving over your icon subject until you like the result.



Step 3:
Take texture7 and add it to your icon. Set it to Screen - opacity 100%. I didn’t want Alex’s face covered with the text, so move it a bit to the left side.



Step 4:
Open texture8 and set it to Pin Light - opacity 100%. Not to disturb the balance of the text move also the cross a bit to the left side until it centers the text. Use the Smudge tool and extend the right line of the cross to the end of your icon.



Step 5:
Open texture9 and change the dimensions to width: 123, high: 122. Set it to Overlay- opacity 100%. Move the texture over the icon that the face is in the circle plus the ring follows the curve of Alex’s hair.

Step 6:
To finish the icon duplicate the base and add it at top of your layer stack. Set your icon to Soft Light - opacity 50%.



PSD B

Have Fun and Good Luck! I would love to see your results. Please credit havers when using my tutorials.