Home Stretch!

What a week!

Both of the shows I'm doing at the Fringe are enjoying success, which is a joyful relief. Rock Time received 4 NNNN's from Jon Kaplan in Now Magazine. Here's his review:

http://www.nowtoronto.com/fringe/listing.cfm?listingid=9315

I don't know what I can tell you about Rock Time, other than the fact that I'm extremely proud of it. The cast has worked incredibly hard and managed to create a show that really seems to resonate with children and adults alike. There are moments, when the show is finished, where I pause from wrestling with the set to watch the kids rock out to Iggy Pop or interact with the puppets in the meet and greet. In those moments I'm reminded that I am part of something that is truly good in every sense of the word.

Please do take the time to see the show. There are two left. One today, at 5:40 PM, and one Saturday, at 11:00 AM. 560 Palmerston Ave. You won't be sorry.


Meanwhile, over at the Bingo Show, we got 4 stars from Eye Magazine. Check it out:

http://www.eyeweekly.com/fringe/article/64013

The show has also generated a fair amount of buzz, which is pretty cool. As a show, it's a strange beast. Someone on the boards described it as an "interactive environmental theatre piece", which is as apt as it gets, I suppose.

What I love about the show is the fact that it's not a show at all. There is no audience. Everyone's a participant. And if you win, you end up playing a small role in our story. Sometimes we turn to the people sitting beside us and engage them in conversation. As the preacher who can't keep a secret, I often point out members of our "congregation" and endow them with names and skeletons from their closet. All the while, we quietly dole out what little story we can in order to give a bit of form and substance to the experience.

On nights that it works, it's incredible. Last night we absolutely rocked, and it turned out to be one of the best improv shows I've ever been a part of. But it's taken us a while to find our way. While most people have loved the show (or at least had fun), more than a few people have felt cheated by the looseness of what we're doing. I suppose their points are valid in their own way, but I'm not sure I can offer a solution to their complaints. It's the looseness that allows the cast to discover new moments and make stronger choices for our characters. These choices then help us move the story forward. But it's a game of inches. Every night is a new show. Every night we seem to get better.

This has served to really bond the cast as a performing unit and really forced us to listen to one another and help each other out. Each member of this cast has lent a different character and a different strength to the process. I hope we can carry the show on beyond the Fringe. But if that doesn't happen, it will at least be an experience I'll remember fondly and continue to learn from.

We get 2 more kicks at the can with Bingo the Show. Saturday at 1:45 PM, and Sunday at 4:15 PM. St. Vladimir's Theatre. Check it out!

Once the Fringe Festival is over, it's all about pitching cartoons and planning Zombie film festivals.

Whee!


Jim out.

Bingo Show Videos!

Geez...two blog entries and two shows in one day. Busy fucker, aren't I?

Our first Bingo Show is on tonight, at 10:30 at St. Vladimir's (620 Spadina). Yes, we really play bingo during the show. And yes you can win PRIZES! You also get to meet the congregation of St. Agatha's church. Sadly the church burned down two weeks ago, claiming the life of Reverend Philip Winters.

His widow, Dot. Is bravely carrying on, hosting a bingo night at the Fringe to raise funds to rebuild the church. Here she is explaining the situation:



Dot isn't alone in her plight. She's joined by Beth, the meth-addicted Sunday School teacher with a heart of gold.



Then there's Harvey; a long time parishioner and bingo player who hasn't won a single game in his life.



And finally, there's me! I play Reverend Phil, the hip new minister sent to replace the late Philip Winters.



The show is a ton of fun. Please come! For more info, check out the website at http://www.bingo-theshow.com



Jim out

BRAI...NNNNS!

Jon Kaplan, from Now Magazine was in on yesterday's launch of Rock Time 2009. Here's his review:

http://www.nowtoronto.com/fringe/listing.cfm?listingid=9315

We're off to a pretty great start! The Bingo Show opens tonight at 10:30. I think you should come.

And then there's the Zombie Short Film Festival.

After I opened the email account for it (zombieshortfilmfestival@gmail.com, in case you were wondering...), the first email I got was from my good buddy, Robbo. It simply read:

"You're going to get a buttload of emails."

What followed was a buttload of emails.

Submissions have been pouring in from Canada, the U.S, England and Denmark. Much of last night and most of this morning has been spent answering queries and watching some pretty great stuff online.

I'm getting pretty stoked!

Now, just to book a venue, assemble a jury, get a bunch of sponsors, make a facebook group, make a facebook event, rope a bunch of volunteers...

Holy shit! Who knew unemployment could be so hectic?


Jim Out

Freelancin' and Fringin'

A great deal of you have been kindly offering condolences to me for the loss of my awesome CBC job. I appreciate your support, and consider you all to be true friends.

With that said, however, I respectfully ask that you save the sorrow for someone who truly needs it. I loved my time at CBC, and I'm incredibly proud of all the stuff I did there, over the years. But all good things must end some time, and I've managed to secure a few things, here and there, to keep me floating for the next little while. So don't worry.

It's a good thing, folks!

So...I find myself back in the world of freelancing. And I kinda dig it! I also find myself with a bit more free time than usual, on the horizon. I've decided to do something with said time since I don't really feel like wasting it by sitting on the couch. I hate my couch. It's lumpy. The less time spent there, the better.

So here's what I've been up to:

1) The Fringe
The Toronto Fringe Festival is this week, starting on Canada Day and running until July 12. This year I'm in two plays, making me the busiest I've been at Fringe time since my days as a Spleen Jockey.

The first one's for the kids. My girlfriend and our friend Renee Goulet have written a terrific Glam Rock puppet musical called Rock Time 2009. The puppets are custom-made and fan-fucking-tastic! The music is fun as hell, and written by members of John Ray and the River. The cast is hilarious, and their stage manager is very handsome.


Handsome.

In addition to my booth-duties, I also have a bit part as the Rock God. As you can see, I have chosen to regrow my lemmy for this role, and I sport it majestically, like a true God of Rock. The lemmy, along with the rest of me can be seen in this awesome show at the Palmserston Library.


Please come. Bring your kids, if you want.

The second show I'm in is called The Bingo Show. It's the Fringe version of the show we used to do at Clintons over the winter. This version features myself, K10, Mike Kiss, and Megan Fraser. It's character-based improv played around an actual bingo game. With prizes! It's the type of improv that I love to do, done with a great bunch of pals who are fun as fuck to work with.


So check it out, yo!


2) The Zombie Short Film Festival

So my friend Cory and I are sittin' in my kitchen, drinkin' beers, and talking about zombie movies, when we get the above AMAZING idea! How much fun is this thing gonna be? A LOT! That's how much!


Awesome.

We're shooting for Oct. 30, 2009, at the Revue Cinema. But before we can do anything, we need submissions. So please...if you are a film-maker, or if you know and love one, please, please, please tell them about the festival. I've set up a website for it at:

www.zombieshortfilmfestival.com

There's also an email:

zombieshortfilmfestival@gmail.com

And Twitter:

https://twitter.com/ZombieFilmFest

It's gonna rock!


3) Other Stuff That I Think Will Make Me Money Or At Least Be Cool To Do

This is a mishmash of things that run the gamut from HTML coding to warped Russian clowns. I know I want to hit a few stages, here and there, and I've got about a billion ideas for websites...so I better figure out how to make them. I'm going to try to write a lot more, up here. I'm also going to put together a "Professional Jim" website for when I need money, and I gotta get my jarg on.

That way we can keep jimmykayak.com just the way it is.

Sorry it's been so long.


Jim out.

Time for Another Blog Roll!

Today was just too nice a day to just sit behind my desk, so I took a bit of a wander in the early afternoon. Usually my feet lead me straight to the Silver Snail...and today was no exception.

I have a healthy respect for collector figures, and an even healthier respect for comics and graphic novels...but the healthiest of my esteem is reserved for the art books. And it was while I was perusing the art books that I discovered the work of Eric Joyner.

He's an artist that combines robots and donuts. What is there not to love?

Anyway...here's a link to his blog. I also hypertexted his name to his art website, which is pretty fantastic. The one below is one of my faves. It's called Smackdown Showdown. You can click that sucker, too. If you wanna see more stuff like this.



Cool, eh?


Jim out

That Life Song Thingey From Facebook

Sick day today, so I'm catching up on my facebook. This list is kinda fun.

Using only song names from ONE ARTIST, cleverly answer these questions. Try not to repeat a song title. It's a lot harder than you think. You're supposed to tag 20 people, but nah...

Enjoy

Pick Your Artist: The Clash

Are you male or female: (White Man) In Hammersmith Palais…oh we haven’t started yet? Okay. Sorry…

Describe yourself: I’m So Bored With the U.S.A

How do you feel about yourself: Complete Control

Describe where you currently live: Garageland

If you could go anywhere, where would you go: Wait for it…London Calling.

Your favorite form of transportation: Brand New Cadillac

Your best friend is: Janie Jones

Your favorite color is: White Riot or Protex Blue

What's the weather like: Atom Tan

Favorite time of day: Armagideon Time

If your life was a tv show, what would it be called: I Fought The Law

What is life to you: Career Opportunities

What is the best advice you have to give: Rock the Casbah

If you could change your name, what would it be: Rudy Kantfail

Your favorite food is: Silicone on Sapphire

Thought for the Day: Life is Wild

How I would like to die: Overpowered by Funk

My soul's present condition: Stay Free

My motto: Death or Glory





RIP Joe Strummer.

Jim Out

Aw...I Just Love This Guy!