Plays by Brian Egland Is STRESSED I TELL YOU, STRESSED!!!!

So back to reality. The Birthday Dinner: A Play By Brian Egland has a huge and I mean HUGE road block I am seeing ahead of the path of its success. That roadblock is REHEARSAL SPACE!!!!

(Gasp, Gasp, Gasp)

No! Seriously. It's becoming a bit of a problem. I'm starting to stress. With the mainstage show and the many dance pieces that make up State of La Danse, the annual ULL Dance show, there is no space in McLaurin Hall for The Birthday Dinner to rehearse.

I've thought of everything I could think of, but nothing really seems to be a viable option. I looked into recreation centers, but those aren't free. lol. I honestly can't afford to rent a space and pay per rehearsal. The Birthday Dinner is going to be a free show, and I'm planning on going to Grad School...so I'm not trying to go broke before I graduate.

I've thought about the A.O.C which is my strongest option. The flaw is that the A.O.C is not open on the weekends. I also need to have a regular rehearsal schedule and I'm not sure if I can just take over the A.O.C like that.

The only other thing I can think about is renting a storgae facility. I hope it does not come down to it, but it seems like it could be my only option. I would be able to physically store all the things I would need for rehersal there. It would be my space so I wouldn't have to worry about being out of rehearsal at this time or that. I could probably afford it, since there are monthly rate options. Some are climate controlled (and I'm hoping that means fisable to have 10 people in at a given time and not pass the hell out.) lol. It could work...I think...I'm not sure if it is allowed. I probably should say I got the idea from some friends of mine that were in a band in high school. I remember them saying that they rented a storage building and rehearsed in it. Amazing what the brain remembers.

Anyone have any better ideas????

Plays by Brian Egland Spotlight: POLLY!!!

So I want to start off today with something good. I want to give a spotlight to what was probably my favorite movie or at least one of them as a kid......POLLY. This was a Disney TV movie made in 1989 and starred Keshia Knight Pulliam (Rudy of The Cosby Show), Brandon Adams (90's Childstar, he was in The Sandlot!!!), Phylicia Rashad (The Cosby Show and the first African American Woman to a Tony for best performance by a leading actress in a play for her work in A Raisin in the Sun), Vanessa Bell Calloway (She was Akeem's first bride in Coming to America. The one that barked. lol), and to top it off it was directed by Debbie Allen who happens to be an actress, dancer, choreographer, and Phylicia Rashad's sister.

What I didn't realize when I was a kid was how special this movie is. It is very rare to see an African American TV movie musical......and a good one that has amazing DANCING!!! Before there was high school musical, there was Polly. The DVD is available, but it is rare so a copy will cost. I'm still searching for my tape. I know I have a VCR tape of this somewhere. I know VCR...for those who may not know that is the tool that was used before Blu-ray and DVD to watch a movie. lol. I do not miss those days of rewinding.

The song is called Angel Eyes.

A Window In The Kitchen: A Play By Brian Egland

A Window In the Kitchen; A Short Play by Brian Egland and one of two plays being featured in the Alpha Psi Omega sponsored short play festival, Salute Your Shorts is still in need of A female actress. The festival is August 14, 15, and 16. Let me know if you are interested. I can't pay you, but hey I can feed you once it's all done with. lol.

Adios Mr. Bates

It is only right to give mention to my acting teacher, Mr. Bates (not the guy in the picture btw), on my blog. He is going to teach at a different University next semester. Mr. Bates is really important to me and this blog, not only because he was my advisor and my acting teacher, but I do believe that The Birthday Dinner would not have happen without him. He literally took me under his wings, taught me how to fly, given me the oppurtunity to fly on my own now that he's leaving. For that I say....

Thank You Mr. Justin Bates.

Worker Bee's

Okay, so this summer I took on a job at the local Applebee's to save money for The Birthday Dinner. It was my first time working as a waiter. I have friends who are servers in the food industry at various restaurants, and they all say once they got the job they had a lot more respect for servers. I am the same. Waiting on a table, being a server is a really hard job. It may not look like it, but it is. It is fast paced, it is time consuming, it is uncertain, it is a gamble. I would go from 10 AM to 5 or 6 PM without a break, without food, sometimes without stopping to get water, and never stopping to use the restroom. Doing this all from $2.13 an hour. I never worked so hard for such little pay. It is crazy.

I'm a little weird about my view of tips. The way the food industry is set up, we are employed by the restaurant, but we are really paid by the patrons. I don't think it is the patrons responsibilty to pay me as they do not know me or employ me. It is their sole responsiblity to pay for their food. That being said.....the person that has brought you your food has made a short journey to hell and back to bring it to you....so a tip is the least you could do. The patron has made a decision to go to a restaurant and whenever anyone makes a deccision to go to a sit down restaurant know that you made a choice not to go to a fast food restaurant so your food may not come all that fast, know that the server literally only brings out the food and has gone through a lot to get it out, and reward them. If you do not want to wait on food or tip someone for bringing it to you, then don't go to a restaurant. Honestly.

That being said, I am no longer a waiter. Not for those reasons. The Birthday Dinner is slowly approaching and I really want to focus on it and make it the best show I can. That is going to take me a lot of work so I had to leave Applebee's because that also took alot of work and time that I cannot sacrifice at this point. I was able to leave Applebee's having doubled my budget for The Birthday Dinner and feeling really rpoud of myself for working hard despite it all. My bosses told me they were sad I was leaving and told me I can come back anytime I want to. Literally. If I want to work for a day. I can. That's good to know, as I may need money and may only have a day to work. But it's also good to know when your hard work is appreciated. I plan on working just as hard and harder for The Birthday Dinner and I hope to have this same feeling of appreciation once everything is all said and done.

The Birthday Dinner Artwork!!!!

Now of course this is not the artwork for my show. At the end of last semester I approached a good friend, former dorm neighbor, and great artist Toren Hill to do the atwork for The Birthday Dinner cause he was probably one of the first people I told about the play. The idea for the play came to me while taking a shower in the dorm that both Toren and myself lived in so he was one of the first people I told about the idea cause he was next door. Toren is a busy man...he is a working artist now so he would try to, but suggested I get someone else just in case.

I then asked my good friend and fellow theatre major Amanda Lyon to also do artwork for the show as she herself is not only an artist of the stage but a visual artist as well. Today Amanda e-mailed her artwork and it blew me away. It's like my baby has a face. Seeing the sonogram that is so detailed you can almost see your baby. Now all that's left is to see it with my own eyes. The artwork is amazing. It has the right feel for my show.

Strangely enough the day Amanda sends the artwork, Toren sends a message....his plate finally cleared and he can start work on artwork for The Birthday Dinner. I am very pleased and happy and thrilled with Amanda's work and I'm excited to see what Toren will do as well.

I wish I could post Amanda's artwork to blow you away as it did me, but we'll save that for later. All good things come with time.

The Birthday Dinner: A Play By Brian Egland AUDITION NOTICE!!!

I still need to work out a few kinks with the auditions for The Birthday Dinner. That being said, Auditions are Thursday August 27, 2009 at 6PM in McLarin Hall room 104.

Technically these are the auditions for Noises Off the mainstage ULL fall 'o9 production being directed by Mr. Nyalls Hartman. Myself and the other student director, Katie Lamson, are sitting in on the Auditions to save on time since all majors are required to audition. If there are any non majors who would like to audition for Noises Off, you are welcomed. Callbacks for Noises Off will be Friday August 26 at 6PM and Saturday August 29 at 1PM.

Callbacks for The Birthday Dinner will be Monday August 31 at 6PM in McLaurin Hall.

For the people who are particularly interested in working with me and being apart of The Birthday Dinner, and you're not a major in performing arts at ULL....I need to check to see if there is a way you would be able to audition for The Birthday Dinner exclusively. I am thinking the callbacks would be a great oppurtunity for this, but I can't official give the word. So check back and I'll post once I know something.

To audition for any of the productions, have a one minute monologue ready to go, and a headshot and resume (if you have one). Also be prepared to read from the script individually and with someone else.

The Birthday Dinner is a 4 Men 4 Women play and here are the character details.

· Jerýline Pete – Main Character/40 years old
· Emma Osmond - Jerýline’s Daughter/18 years old
· Kaden “KC” Channing – Jerýline’s Son/15 years old
· Miles “Mr. Zee” Zeeman – KC’s Teacher/Late 30’s
· Boris Osmond – Emma’s Father/Photographer/Late 40’s Early 50’s
· Guy Channing – KC’s Father/Jerýline’s Ex-Husband/Soap Opera Actor/Early 40’s
· Judith Channing – Guy’s Wife, Jerýline’s Half Sister/35 years old
· Ava – Miles’ girlfriend/21 years old

Plays by Brian Egland Spotlight: SARAH JONES

Sarah Jones is a Tony Award winning performing and huge inspriation to me as an artist. I feel it is only right to give her a Spotlight on my blog. The video features clips from Sarah performing her poem, Your Revolution, on HBO'S Def Poetry, and scenes from her Tony Award wining One Woman Show Bridge and Tunnel. BTW, I made the video...I'm not bragging about it though cause it might be out of synch.

Coping: A Play By Brian Egland UPDATE!!!

Brionnie Andrews and George Silvertooth have joined the cast of Coping: A Play by Brian Egland. They will perform August 14, 15, 16 as a part of the Alpha Psi Omega Sponsored short play festival, Salute Your Shorts.

Coping is a play about two strangers ways of coping with the internal pain they feel.

The Birthday Dinner: A Play By Brian Egland UPDATE!!!!

So we offically have a date for The Birthday Dinner. You can expect to see the show Oct. 29th through the 31st in Fletcher Hall Auditorium. Yes we got the Halloween weekend. Is that good? Maybe? We'll make it work.

A Window In The Kitchen: A Play By Brian Egland

A Window In The Kicthen is the 2nd play that I am scheduled to direct for the short play festival, Salute Your Shorts.

Ragin' On The Stage

A year ago, in the summer of '08, I wrote a series of skits called Ragin' On the Stage for ULL's Student Orientation performed by the Student Oreintation Staff. Ragin On the Stage was the highest rated program from the 'o8 ULL Orientation program receiving an 80% satisfactory rating from the student surveys.

The Birthday Dinner: A Play By Brian Egland

4 Men 4 Women

The Birthday Dinner is my first full lenght play. It will premiere in the Fall of '09 serving as my Senior Project in completion of my BFA in Performing Arts from the University of Louisiana, Lafayette. I don't have many details at this moment, but information will be posted once I get it.

The Birthday Dinner is a story that follows a family with a few missing pieces. Those pieces are brought back to complete the puzzle of a family only to find that the picture has changed and the pieces don’t fit the puzzle the way they once did. Laughs, tears, and everything in between arise in the attempt to place the pieces back into the picture and with the addition of a few extra pieces to make the picture complete.

Coping: A Play By Brian Egland

Coping will be one of the plays featured in Salute Your Shorts: A Festival of Short Plays.

Salute Your Shorts: A Festival of Short Plays

The Univeristy of Louisiana Lafayette's Alpha Psi Omega (The National Theatre Honor Society) is sponsoring a festival of short plays, Salute Your Shorts. The performance dates will be August 14, 15, and 16 at the A.O.C. building in downtown Lafayette. Acadiana Open Channel A.K.A. Acadiana Film and Media, 124 E Main St.

The three directors who will be presenting work are Joshua Coen, David Huynh, and myself, Brian Egland.

The festival is still looking for actors at this time. So if you are interested, let me know.