The run is over

Well,  Dearly Departed is over.  What a great couple of months it has been!  I really think it is one of the funniest shows ever written, but in the hands of these seasoned pros... even funnier.  I did some photo setups on the final weekend and had some fun with them. Also, we took the show to La Veta, Colorado this last weekend for two performances.  Steve Sealy  couldn't go, so we recast his three parts with three local thespians.  They did a super job.  Here are the pictures...

Evil Stuff

I was on Facebook last night and saw that my friend Tanya had joined this club:

DEAR LORD, THIS YEAR YOU TOOK MY FAVORITE ACTOR, PATRICK SWAYZIE. YOU TOOK MY FAVORITE ACTRESS, FARAH FAWCETT. YOU TOOK MY FAVORITE SINGER, MICHAEL JACKSON. I JUST WANTED TO LET YOU KNOW, MY FAVORITE PRESIDENT IS BARACK OBAMA. AMEN.

DON'T CLICK ON IT!!
Knowing that she's a big Obama fan, I wrote her and asked why she would join such an evil group.
She DIDN'T!! She merely clicked on it and it added it to her recent posts.
I clicked on it to see what it was all about and it planted it on my page as well. That's just plain evil... and I think what's going on now in America is scary.
We need to start a movement that preaches understanding and caring and loving... not hating.  What is wrong with these people?? It's distressing.

giving a new blog program a trial run

So... I've got Anne Van Etten... successful voice coach in here today. They're putting her face on back in the studio and I'm messing around up here in the office. I'm sure those of you who are waiting for your digital files would rather I was immersed in Photoshop, but I have to come up for air occasionally.
Let's try publishing a photo or two. Right below.... Anne Van Etten.

How about another one.

and this attorney shot...

what are you selling?

It occurred to me that many of you don't understand the importance of a good image of yourself in your marketing material.  What are we selling after all?  It is true that we are selling "you"... but even more so, we are selling an "emotion".  Who cares what you look like?  That is what it is, and beyond plastic surgery there's not much we can do about that.
What makes a person sexy isn't how pretty their features are or how "jaw droppingly" beautiful they are when they walk into a room, but... and listen to this carefully... it's the "fire" in their eyes... the confidence with which they carry themselves.  THAT'S what makes people sexy.
We are drawn to successful people.  Whether you are successful or not,  looking successful is the key.
In your marketing material you MUST look successful.
Wardrobe certainly plays a part in this, although many headshots are cropped closer and you can't even see that.
Facial expression is the key.  The message you send with your eyes is the key. We don't want the viewer to just like the photo of you... we need the viewer to "feel" the "emotion"... to get the message behind the expression... to want to do business with you.
read this:
http://www.cobizmag.com/articles/top-5-marketing-and-pr-blunders-no.-4/

Patty's party

 Fun, fun, fun!  Great to see so many old acquaintances and clients.
Anyway... I got there as soon as I could after our matinee of "Dearly Departed"... really wanted to run these songs with Scott and Misha and Jake. It was pretty close to party time, so we did what we could.
The party went great.  All the different acts were so much fun to see... so many talented people!
Misha and I sang and played "When you come back down" by Nickel Creek
http://nickelcreek.com/
Jake did a super job on the guitar and Scott McClean did awesome on the piano. Oh, the harmonies sounded beautiful too!
 Really didn't want to play solo mandolin for my big finale number, but literally 10 minutes before I went on stage, Scott had to leave... yikes!  I think it went well.... you'll have to ask others.
I drank too much and stayed out too late... felt like shit on Monday!
here's the fb page
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=lf#!/photo.php?pid=1010289&id=1532768654&fbid=1406317087939

thoughts for another Saturday morning

Christie has a new job at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. She loves it, but it means that she leaves me around 9 on Saturday mornings.  I wish she were here with me.  Saturday mornings are such a great time to get things done around here and it's so much more fun when we do it together. Artie and Bitsy are so cute chasing each other and Artie is especially affectionate in the morning.
I'll leave for the studio in about an hour... have one shoot at 1pm... a short one and then a rehearsal with Misha and Jake for our performance at Patty's birthday party tomorrow night... then back home to feed the cats... then to the theater for tonight's performance. 
Not a very interesting blog entry today, but I promised myself that I would keep up with this. Kinda like keeping a diary, but one that everybody can read.

Dearly Departed!!

Fun night tonight. This show just gets further and further out of whack... people taking more and more liberties.  John Ashton is doing great taking over the role of Ray Bud (my older brother).  Steve Sealy continues to have fun with his roles, cracking all of us up and getting great laughs.  What's also cool.... figuring out how to get bigger laughs... trying different stuff.  Then when you hit it... greatest feeling in the world.