The Numbers For 2016

This was the 4th year in a row I didn't take a drink.

I went on two vacations. One to Richmond(to visit Matt), the other to Portland(with Nicole).

I did 50 shows with Deep Schwa and the team celebrated its 20th anniversary.

I did 42 shows with Sight Unseen.

I conceived and directed 1 play, Blockbuster, which had 8 shows.

I released 8 episodes of my podcast Hindsight Hour which constituted the second season.

I wrote 59 poems, 7 essays, and did 10 readings.

I self published 1 collection of essays.

I saw 73 movies in the the theater.

I read 56 books my favorite of which was Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison.

I went to 0 concerts.

I went to 1 dance performance.

I went to 1 musical(Hamilton).

I went to 1 play(The Flick).

I went to 3 weddings.

I went to 1 memorial.

I rode my motorcycle for 7 glorious months.

I met my new born niece Maris for the first time.

I celebrated 3 years with an incredible partner.

Hindsight Hour: Conclusion

After two years and two seasons I put this project to rest with the release of these last two episodes. It started as a very vague concept and, over time, developed into something I'm really proud of. I've learned a lot about narrative more specifically narrative improv and I think through the repetition of some of the scenes and themes have been able to highlight some interesting and cool interpersonal commonalities. Over the total 14 episodes there is a lot of great performances and content. Some hilarious stuff and some real honest-to-goodness emotion. I'm grateful for all the time and effort that went into this, doubly grateful for the generosity of time and talent from a list of incredible collaborators top of that list being Tim Joyce my director and podcast partner for four years running. It's been a fulfilling experience, thanks to all who listened.

Domestic life. The first triplet of scenes addresses the contentiousness of cohabitation, the last scene tackles a pregnancy scare.


Growing pains. The first scene depicts the age-old dorm-room pot-bust. The second couplet delves into a student-professor stand off

Season 2:
Directed by Tim Joyce
Improvised by  Damian Anaya, Mike Brunlieb, Sarah Cowdery, Laurel Krabacher, Rosie Moan, Jimmy Pennington, Meaghan Strickland, and Andel Sudik

Hindsight Hour: Family 4

A focus on parental conflict. The first couplet of scenes looks at the expectation of a conventional family, the second at the great "guest list" debate.

Directed by Tim Joyce
Improvised by Damian Anaya, Mike Brunlieb, Laurel Krabacher, Rosie Moan, Jimmy Pennington, and Meaghan Strickland

Hindsight Hour: Work 3

The ennui of the employed. The first couplet of scenes looks at the modern and pervasive idea of the "cool office" followed by an HR encounter and then a run-in with co-worker lethargy.

Directed by Tim Joyce
Improvised by Damian Anaya, Mike Brunlieb, Laurel Krabacher, Rosie Moan, Steve Nelson, and Meaghan Strickland.

Hindsight Hour: College

A peak into contentious collegiate life. The first couplet of scenes looks at classroom disruption, the second at the dorm room bust.

Directed by Tim Joyce
Improvised by Damian Anaya, Mike Brunlieb, Sarah Cowdery, Laurel Krabacher, Steve Nelson, Meaghan Strickland and Andel Sudik

Hindsight Hour: Relationships 3

Romantic minutia and crisis. The first couplet of scenes explores scheduling/planning within a LTR. The second couplet looks at problematic birth control and how a pregnancy scare can escalate.

Directed by Tim Joyce
Improvised by Damian Anaya, Mike Brunlieb, Laurel Krabacher, Rosie Moan, Steve Nelson, Jimmy Pennington, Meaghan Strickland and Andel Sudik

Hindsight Hour: Family 3

A look at familial worry and expectation. The first couplet of scenes delves into sibling concern, the second investigates that tension familiar to a certain generation- parental marriage pressure.


Directed by Tim Joyce
Improvised by Damian Anaya, Mike Brunlieb, Sarah Cowdery, Laurel Krabacher, Rosie Moan, Jimmy Pennington, Meaghan Strickland and Andel Sudik

Hindsight Hour: Work 2

I'm happy to start releasing season 2 of this podcast. I've changed up the format to streamline it. It's shorter and I provide brief explanations before each scene or scene-couplet. Lot of great work done by all those involved. Give it a listen!

 A descent into the daily grind. Two sets of two scenes- the first couplet exploring layoffs, the second that lazy co-worker. Season 2 opens with a streamlined format to better dissect the theme and the capriciousness of inspiration.

Directed by Tim Joyce
Improvised by Damian Anaya, Mike Brunlieb, Sarah Cowdery, Laurel Krabacher, Rosie Moan, Steve Nelson, Jimmy Pennington, Meaghan Strickland and Andel Sudik

The Numbers For 2015

For the third year in a row I went 365 days without a drink.

I went on 3 vacations. To LA(to visit Alex), Denver(to visit Beanpole), and The Badlands(with Nicole on the motorcycle).

I was laid off for the 1st time and spent 2 months unemployed.

I started 1 new job.

I did 54 shows with Deep Schwa.

I did 47 shows with Sight Unseen.

The Night Shift had 2 shows and retired.

I conceived and co-wrote 2 plays. Contention and My Two Sons which had 12 and 11 performances respectively.

I released 6 episodes of my podcast Hindsight Hour which constituted the first season.

I wrote 62 poems, 10 essays, and did 15 readings.

I applied to 4 graduate schools for poetry.

I saw 76 movies in the theater.

I read 33 books, my favorite of which was The Fifth Head of Cerberus by Gene Wolfe

I went to 2 author readings.

I went to 0 concerts.

I went to 1 opera.

I went to 0 funerals.

I went to 1 wedding.

Nicole and I celebrated our 2nd anniversary. Some days were tough, some were easy, we loved each other every day.

Hindsight Hour: Relationships 2

The season 1 finale. An investigation of romantic relationships. From endearments to the embittered, from diffidence to infidelity. Episode six explores disenchantment, betrayal, and heartbreak.

Directed by Tim Joyce
Improvised by Michael Brunlieb, Sarah Cowdery, Annie Donley, Scott Nelson, Steve Nelson, Tyler Parker, Meaghan Strickland, and Ingrid Walla.

Hindsight Hour: Family 2

An investigation of the nuclear family. From sibling disappointment to paternal oversight, from romantic advise to teenage rebellion. Episode five explores youthful selfishness, parental inconsideration, and childhood defiance.


Directed by Tim Joyce
Improvised by Michael Brunlieb, Paul Chimko, Sarah Cowdery, Annie Donley, Kevin Knickerbocker, Mike Malarkey, Nick Mestad, Scott Nelson, Steve Nelson, Tyler Parker, Meaghan Strickland, and Ingrid Walla

Hindsight Hour: Friendship

An investigation of friendship. From growing apart to moving on, from church solicitations to pet remonstrations. Episode four explores reconnecting, compromise, and companionable conflict.


Directed by Tim Joyce
Improvised by Paul Chimko, Sarah Cowdery, Annie Donley, Kevin Knickerbocker, Mike Malarkey, Nick Mestad, Scott Nelson, Steve Nelson, Tyler Parker, Meaghan Strickland, and Ingrid Walla.

Hindsight Hour: Relationships

An investigation of relationships. From sexual droughts to lakeside breakups, from carnal insecurity to amorous discontent. Episode three explores sensual compatibility, the act of separation, and romantic stagnation.

Directed by Tim Joyce
Improvised by  Mike Brunlieb, Sarah Cowdery, Annie Donley, Kevin Knickerbocker, Nick Mestad, Scott Nelson, Steve Nelson, Tyler Parker, Meaghan Strickland, and Ingrid Walla

Hindsight Hour: Family

An investigation of the nuclear family. From curfew violation to "the talk", from paternal frustration to maternal guidance. Episode two explores familial rules, parental expectations, and youthful experimentation.

Directed by Tim Joyce
Improvised by  Paul Chimko, Sarah Cowdery, Kevin Knickerbocker, Mike Malarkey, Nick Mestad, Steve Nelson, Tyler Parker, Meaghan Strickland, and Ingrid Walla

Hindsight Hour: Work

My new podcast Hindsight Hour is first and foremost an experiment. Each episode has a theme and within are scenes improvised by my talented friends based on the same handful of scene premises. I wanted to try something non-narrative and be more deliberate and alternative with the soundscape. To look at where people get their inspiration and to identify commonalities within various themes. I'm very proud of the finished product, how successful we were in realizing those ideas is up to the listener. Tim and I put a lot of work into these and I'm very excited to release episode #1.

An investigation of the workplace. From the break room to human resources, from office spats to questionable employer flirtations. Episode one explores the menial, the humdrum, and the quiet seething frustration of the work-a-day clock-puncher.

Directed by Tim Joyce
Improvised by Paul Chimko, Sarah Cowdery, Annie Donley, Kevin Knickerbocker, Mike Malarkey, Nick Mestad, Scott Nelson, Steve Nelson, Tyler Parker, Meaghan Strickland, and Ingrid Walla

Creative Satisfaction

This afternoon Tim and I put some finishing touches on the first three episodes of season one of Hindsight Hour- our new podcast. It's been a great editing process, things have gone a lot faster then they did with Bubble Boys because we figured out and learned a lot from that experience. This has been much more streamlined.

The editing has been very collaborative between Tim and I, going into it I didn't have any firm ideas that I wanted implement just a couple reference points and a general goal of experimentation. Because of that a lot of the transitions and audio accents came up organically and it has exactly the type of serio-comic abstract feel that I was going for.

After listening to the first couple episodes it turned out exactly how I wanted it to. The idea that I had last summer we were able to realize almost perfectly. Whether it will be successful as far as some of the broader goals or even be entertaining remains to be seen, I'm eager to put it out there and get some feedback.

Regardless of how it will be received its incredibly satisfying to have an abstract idea and to be able to translate into something(more-or-less) tangible and concrete. To be able to create something that mirrors that thought in your head. I think people will like it, I think its engaging, I hope people respond to it. But even before people get a chance to hear it there is immense fulfillment in the act of creation in and of itself.

Post-Production

Tim and I began editing our new podcast tonight. It's a bit lonely without Tisher in the studio but it feels really good to start working and make some progress on this project. We recorded all the material for the first season in the fall and have been waiting for our schedules to clear up so we could devote some time to hunker down in the studio.

It's going to be called Hindsight Hour and the idea is to explore inspiration(where it comes from, the different paths it takes) and theme(family, work, relationships) at least that's what the first season will kind of look like. Each episode will have a theme and within it there'll be six or seven improvised scenes some of them based off the same premise. In so doing the hope is that some larger commonalities or comments will emerge from the theme and maybe some insights as to where people draw their inspiration.

Tim and I are still largely figuring it out. It was real good to start chopping it all up, organizing it, and folding it all together. The goal with this project is to be much more aurally experimental. This will differ from Bubble Boys in that it'll be more of an anthology format and we are not constricted by a certain style or the need to create a through-line reality. We are going to try to create an exploratory, alternative type of soundscape not beholden to the concrete context of the scenes but more using them in counter point to enhance the feeling. At this point I've been working with Tim on and off for three years, things are really comfortable and intuitive. We have a good amount of ambition for this project and I'm very excited to work hard and get it out there.

The plan is to start releasing episodes in April.

The Numbers For 2014

For the second year in a row I went 365 days without a drink.

I went on two vacations, one to Richmond, VA the other to New York City.

I saw 72 movies in the theater.

Deep Schwa had 51 shows.

Prime had 49 shows.

The Night Shift had 20 shows.

The Hague had 3 shows and was cut.

We formed Sight Unseen and had 12 shows.

I read 37 books, my favorite of which was My Real Children by Jo Walton.

I wrote 46 poems and did 5 readings.

Tisher, Tim, and I released 10 episodes of Bubble Boys compromising season 2 completing the series.

Tim and I recorded the first season of a new podcast The Hindsight Hour yet to be released.

I conceived of and co-wrote a play, Contention, which will open in the new year.

I made 1 collage.

I made 1 mix tape.

I wrote 1 song.

I moved twice.

I went to 1 audition.

I rode my motorcycle for 7 glorious months.

I went to 0 concerts.

I went to 11 plays.

I went to 2 weddings.

I went to 0 funerals.

I had the love of a beautiful and supportive woman for the entire year.

Ownership

Right now I have two projects percolating that I'm really excited about. The first is my podcast Hindsight Hour, Tim and I have done four recording sessions and have one more planned before we  delve into the editing. The idea is that each episode will have a theme like family/work/relationships, there will be a series of improvised scenes addressing the theme from different angles. The hope is to not only make some discoveries about the expressed theme but also about where people find their inspiration, shed some light on the elusive creative process. I don't know how I'll set it up, format each episode in order to accomplish those goals but its a stimulating challenge.

Had rehearsal tonight for my other project. A play called Contention, I got the idea a couple months back from an improv show. It's a dark comedy about a failing relationship told in non-chronological order. It starts with the break-up, the second scene is the couple's first date, then it jumps back and forth through time ending in the middle.

I submitted the proposal for it to The Annoyance almost on a whim, not really expecting to get a slot. Much to my surprise and gratitude we'll start previews January 2nd. The cast is Cowdery and I with Phil directing. We're four rehearsals in and have the bones of a script. Working on it has been incredibly fulfilling. It's what I've been looking for- a show with a narrative, a show with a cut and dry script, a show that could(potentially) get reviewed, and most importantly a show over which we have creative control.

I fell in love with improv because it was a mode of performance that allowed me more creative ownership than the straight theatre I had been doing. After doing improv for years I found myself wanting more. Improv, although wonderful, is ethereal. Ultimately it has no product, it is all process. Those rare perfect shows only last in memory.

The past couple months I've been looking for more tangible projects, more active ways to express myself creatively, finite processes with concrete goals. The podcast and the play are the result. Working on them is very gratifying and I look forward to putting both projects out into the world.

Hindsight Hour

Yesterday I had my first recording session for my new podcast project theoretically titled "Hindsight Hour". Tim and I are collaborating again, which is fun and easy, it feels good to get back into his studio. Our working relationship is very fluid because of all the time we spent on Bubble Boys.

Tim and I are still working on the format of the show but basically each week will have a theme like "The Work Place" and will contain scenes improvised from written premises. The goal is to have more realistic grounded type scenes in an effort to get at some commonalities within these generalities and to see how different performers find inspiration with the same prompts. What the end result will sound like I have no idea.

We had Annie, Brunlieb, and Scott in the studio yesterday and it was such a joy. I am very grateful to work with Annie one last time before she leaves and always stunned and delighted by Brunlieb and Scott. They really sunk their teeth into the stuff I threw at them. I'm taking more of a directing role with this project which has its own challenges and excitements.

Today Malarkey and Chimko came in to record, I did some scenes with them, one where I was their dad busting them for curfew which felt real good. Their first team at iO was the first one I coached so we have a bit of a paternal dynamic which added to it. With Malarkey also leaving at the end of the month it was important and gratifying to have them in, felt like closure.

Everyone was responsive, game, and creative and made this new project, which isn't totally defined, really fun to start work on. They gave me some great material and triggered some ideas on how to put it together.

It's incredibly satisfying to start work on a project. I realize it's the thing I've been missing the past couple months which has caused a bit of angst. At the end of the month lots of folks are taking off and it feels like things here are starting to roll.