This holiday season has been one of veggin' and chillin'. I was expecting to be working a bit on the Fringe play, but I discovered that sleeping can sometimes be more enjoyable than writing. I spent a little while testing this discovery, just to make sure that my results were correct.

My holiday haul included a new phone, some tasty DVDs, books and some high-quality sheets. Not too shabby. People were pleased with my gifts, which is always nice. I also got to see my grandmother for a while, which is even nicer.

Back from Montreal

Some good news for everyone: "The Parrot Monologues" was selected to be a part of the tenth annual Ottawa Fringe Festival. Assuming nothing goes awry, the play will feature the direction of Ms. Sophie Tilgner and the acting talents of Ms. Katie Bunting, Ms. Amanda Klaman and Ms. Vanessa Broze. Rogues and scholars all.

I just got back from Montreal, where I hanged out with my dad and bro. Along the way I picked up some tasty geefts for loved ones. I also got a chance to watch "King Kong", which I really enjoyed. Very exciting flick.

WINTER VACATION!

I think that deserves a "woot".

This month, I'm mainly working and rehearsing, but my schedule is considerably more free than September to November.

I spent today watching "Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, et cetera... et cetera". I can't say I really enjoyed it overall, but it certainly had some fun elements. The good stuff included Mr. Tumnus, the Beavers and the White Witch's crown. The bad stuff included the score (New Age warbling shit), the pacing and Jim Broadbent's continued use of Facial Hair Acting. That goof stole Gandalf's Oscar... grrrr....

That should be it for me...

Matthew

Two Exams Down... A-Varying-Amount-Depending-if-the-Person-Asking-is-Trying-to-Get-me -to-do-a-Work-Shift-or-Not to Go

I wrote my English essay today. I showed up early with a hot dog combo from the Snack Shack, using those last precious minutes to cram bits of data into my short-term memory (and bits of fried potatoes into my short-term mouth). I spoke with a couple of ladies about our professor's policies regarding marking. Apparently she doesn't "give" perfect scores. A completely correct response results in a 7.5 out of 10. What's more, this theory is thought to be common in the English department. I really wish the English department was down the hall from the Math department, that way this kind of thing wouldn't happen.

Let's consider an example:

I ask my friend Snaggletooth Ruth for help because I'm moving. I need her to assist me in moving furniture. She shows up, she moves the furniture, nothing gets broken, we split a pizza.
Good times. I say Ruth gets a ten out of ten. If Ruth didn't show up, I'd give her a zero. If she showed up, but faked a back injury, that's probably worth a three out of ten (generous, perhaps). If she showed up, moved the armoire, then took a three hour nap on my bed as I moved it, that's a five (that armoire's heavy so it's worth extra). If she moved the furniture but broke my seashell collection, even though I specifically warned her that it was fragile, that would get her a 7 or so. But full moving equals a ten.

Except, it seems, in English Department Land (which, as previously stated, shares no common border with Math Departmentania). In order to pry a ten from the cluches of this bitter nation, Snaggletooth Ruth would have to show up early, make me breakfast, massage my feet, feed my cats, haul all my birc-a-brac at once on her back without forgetting to wipe her shoes before she entered my new place... All while simultaneously defining "Country House Poetry" using examples.

(Do I smell a bridge burning...? Mmmmm... mesquite... Maybe I should've waited for my mark before sassin' da prof...)

Anyway, next was my Modern Acting exam. I performed a scene from "Antigone" and I felt it went rather well. I'm trying to cut back on the schmackting, and I thought it was pretty schmack-free.

I also found out that a Murder Mystery I'm doing soon is happening during a private party at the NAC. (Which provides the means for me to sneakily boast that I've performed at the NAC)

Damn... You know what this post needs? Brackets.

(There we go...)

Sleepy... So... Sleepy... BUT FIRST!...

I just got back from an evening shift over at the drugstore. I was scheduled to work until 1AM, but someone cleverly scratched out the "1" and replaced it with a "2", hoping that I hadn't checked it previously. I had, of course, so this desperate bid to scam an extra hour out of me amused me greatly.

The job is a simple one. Product comes in on skids, I help unload it, then stock it on the shelves. Sometimes I get to put theft-preventing stickers on the merchandise, but that's a thrill reserved for special occasions.

The breakroom contained "Double Stuff Oreos" on this particular evening, which is always a good thing.

I spent a little time realizing that my class schedule is desperately screwing over the proposed rehearsal schedule for "Zastrozzi" and trying to figure out a way around it. If anyone knows a tasty Winter course at U of O, drop me a line. I have a few I'm excited about, including "Diction" and "Movement", and I've got one with a very energetic Prof. that I haven't had since First Year.

OK. For reals, I is sleepy. Tomorrow is a day of English catch-up in preparation for my exam on Wednesday (and possibly a brief-but-essential cameo by a certain individual if I play my cards right).

Matthew

With a wave of my hand... the blog begins! 

It begins after a "Zastrozzi" rehearsal. A cold, scruffy young man (eager to munch the Chicken Peanut Curry that was made by his mother) sits down on his incredibly un-orthopedic chair and searches for a way to magnify his miniscule fame. Ego-swelling, he discovers an easy way to become a "blogger". An unfortunately dim star is born!

The main focus of this narcisistic effort is I, Matthew Domville, a tough-talking cop who plays by my own rules. And by "cop", I mean "student".

I study Theatre at the U of O. University of Ottawa for those of you not in the know. Others call it "Ottawa U", but this is clearly wrong. The advertisements on the bus tell me I "benefit from generous scholarships", so the cheque must be in the mail.

No sense getting sassy from the get-go. I'm learning to become an actor, but that doesn't really pay the bills, so I have some part-time jobs. I do tours for the Haunted Walk of Ottawa and I stock shelves at a drugstore. I've also recently started doing murder mysteries for Eddie May Mysteries, but this may be a very temporary job, as the holidays are their busiest time of year.

I act whenever directors are kind enough to cast me. My most recent work was in Natalie Joy Quesnel's production of George F Walker's "Criminal Genius", where I played Rolly Moore. I was a big fan of this experience, largely due to the fun people that were involved with the show. I also used it as a test-run for some of the practical theories I had been taught in my Modern Acting class this semester.

Next, I've got David Whitely's direction of "Zastrozzi: Master of Discipline", also by Walker. I'm playing Bernardo in that one, a nasty little assassasin in this tale of revenge.

Later (hopefully), I'll get to be in Ray Besharah's "G-Men Defective", a two-man show he wrote for us in the Fringe. I hope that it gets selected in the Fringe lottery.

I also write plays sometimes. They tend to be shtick-laden and less-than-entirely-serious. This year, I wrote and directed "How to Save the Day" for Sock 'N Buskin, a one-act about heroes. It had some sold-out houses, but I largely attribute that to the ridiculously awesome cast and stage manager. Also this year, I contributed to "nigh" for 8-0-8 Productions in Calgary. The show combined six scenes about the afterlife, all dealing with a recently-dead person and the man at the "gates". Mine was a typically-comedic scene called "Point System". For Fringe 2006, I've submitted a play called "The Parrot Monologues". It's a story about a the most attractive captain in the world, the dirtiest street urchin in the world, the most virtuous fiance in the world and the parrot with the longest mustache in the world.

We'll see how that turns out.

I also role-play ("Dungeons and Dragons" and such, nothing therapeutic or sexual), when I've go the time. I'm in a couple of bi-weekly Friday games, but my attendance wanes as acting and work priorities take over.

Anyhoo... That's a bit of me. See if any of that interests you.

Matthew