Lightbulb Over Head Blog

Recently, I was inducted into the company of “Box Full of Wasps Theater Collective” to be a part of the creation and performance of a piece based on the book Mike and the Magic Cookies, by Jon Buller. I’m very excited to be reconnecting with Jenna Freed, the Creative Director of The Collective and the Director/Conceiver of the show, and Emily Floyd, the Co-Creative Director who is also performing with me. I spent my first year at the Playwrights Horizons Theater School with Jenna in the much beloved Purple Group of 2004-2005 and spent my time in the Acting Practicum at Playwrights with Emily. Both are creative minds I trust and admire and I am extremely thrilled and honored to be working with them.

O-Cast© is blasting ahead at full throttle. The pilot trilogy (Episodes 1, 2, and 3) have been completed and the cast assembled to read through it last Thursday. I simply couldn’t stop beaming. We are so blessed to have so many phenomenal performers on this project and they all make me laugh, which assailed my biggest fear of the script not being funny. Let’s just say I don’t think we have to worry about that. It was such a treat to watch them bring Bryan’s and my work to life before our very eyes. [For a cast list see the O-Cast© tab at the top of the site]

We are also humbled by a fabulous group of designers, including another Purple Group 2004-2005 favorite, Ellie Famutimi who will be doing our costume design. I knew she was the woman for the job as soon as we started writing. She’s no stranger to bringing archetypes to life and and her work is always stunning. I’m so excited to see how she realizes these characters. Mary Catherine Moore, our set designer/dresser, led the group through a discussion of what would be on their “dilapidated Olympian thrones” which left us all intrigued and in stitches.

To top everything off, Rachel Mann, our Director of Development, walked us through the plans for “The Olympian Orgy” at Sin Sin Leopard Lounge. All proceeds from the event will benefit our production and are considered tax deductible donations. The event will be fabulous and will not only showcase our promotional photos of the cast in costume, but will also premiere some video of the characters as well as our opening animation sequence. We’ll be hosting artists who will be painting and drawing live during the event and raffling off the fruits of their labors after midnight. We also have several other raffle donations in the works including mounted photo-poetry pieces by Leah Johnston and some tickets to various theatrical events around the city. The owner of Sin Sin is ecstatic to host our party and secured sponsors who created our very own “Shots of Immortality” which will be passed out for free at the event as long as supplies last. There will also be other half priced drink specials. We’ll also be having our very own all-$1-bake-sale featuring a cake by The Neon Squirrel Cake that promises to be a hit! The party is on September 10th, 2009 and starts at 8 PM. Here is our teaser promo art and party blurb:

Attention mortals! Come party like a God at the Olympian Orgy at Sin Sin Leopard Lounge on Thursday, September 10th at 8PM! Dionysus will be serving ambrosia as Apollo’s DJ’s, artists and photographers rule the night. Dance with Aphrodite and win great prizes at Hermes’ raffle at one of the hottest spots in the East Village to benefit the upcoming web series O-Cast!

It is really incredible to think that this whole thing started about a month and a half ago. Bryan and I were restless and sitting in his room in Bushwick wishing we had a way to express ourselves. Now we are heading up an army of incredibly talented artists who all deserve a platform to showcase their talents. I’m so proud and so humbled by all of it and the best part is that there is so much more left to come. My brain feels like a million sparks are going of at once, and it’s a great feeling. I’m learning so much about the production side of things which is very new for me. I think we’re all learning a lot from the project and it promises to be a very fulfilling project.

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Before you Bible thumpers get too excited, let me preface this with the fact that this is not a religious blog, nor is it a religious moment in a religious post. In fact, this is the antichrist of blogs. Well, maybe that’s pushing it, but let me tell you something. The devil is real, ladies and gentlemen.

Now when I say devil, I’m not talking of a red guy with a pointy tail, or an animated Satan in love with Saddam Hussein. No, my comrades, I am speaking of our modern opportunities for addiction. Honestly. Every time I turn around I hear someone saying, “You know what I’m obsessed with now?” Even I must admit that I have a moderately addictive personality. Ok… I may have an EXTREMELY addictive personality.

These days, addiction can sneak up on you. It’s that Starbucks coffee you think you need before class or that last high score you need in Tetris before you get back to writing your final English Paper. It’s facebook and myspace. It’s Ben and Jerry’s Fossil Fuel Ice Cream (Can you really blame me?).

Granted, some addictions are more serious than others. There are the old classics; sex, drugs, and booze. They’re still around.

I happen to be obsessed with Star Wars. I always have been. I think it probably creaped out the rest of my freshman class in high school. Han Solo is a hottie. You know it. I know it. Actually, I think my additional obsession with musical theater didn’t help too much in the popularity department either.

For the last 2 and a half years I’ve played World of Warcraft. Now, if that isn’t an addiction, I don’t know what is. I have levelled away HOURS of my life on that game. I have three level 80’s and I raid with my guild three nights a week. Its like having a part time job that I don’t get paid for. Does this make me sexy? No. The only person WoW makes sexy is Felicia Day. No. World of Warcraft makes me quite decidedly UNSEXY, nay, quirky at best.

I’m amazed at how easy it is to get addicted to games on my phone. The Sims 3 is one of my most recent iPhone love affairs. I loved fishing and selling my wares at the market so I could build my magnificent Sim House and get my Sim married off to whichever loser Sim lived in the house next door. I loved making them have sweet sweaty Woohoo on my hard earned Bohemian bed. After I got bored of repairing refrigerators and filling the empty parts of my Sim Mansion with potted plants, we broke up. I rebounded with Archers, a free iPhone app where you use your finger to aim an arrow at an opponent at a distance which is operated by your phone or in my case, my father. The first one to kill the other player wins. Suffice to say, it got dull fast.

Today, I welcomed the Devil into my home again, and by “home” I mean iPhone (which in itself, is another addiction). I signed up for Twitter. I have 5 followers, all of which are probably selling something. Lets not fool ourselves. They are all selling stuff. I thought Twitter would be some horrible thing that lonely people use to stay connected. Then I realized: I’m just a lonely person who wants to stay connected, plus following Dane Cook provides me with brief comedic respites and frankly, what’s not to love about that?

It is actually kind of fun to read about what your favorite actor’s, writers, and singer’s are up to in an average day. It got me thinking. With all of these little addictions that take us away from being face to face with one another in any sort of recognizable form of social interaction, Twitter is this odd cry for help. People need to feel connected in an increasingly digital world. That’s what their little video on the website says. I mean, sure, there is such a thing as threat level STALKER, but its kind of fun to take stock of what I’m doing during the day or post that my boss is making me prune her cactus with my bare hands (NOT AN ODD SEXUAL REFERENCE, I SWEAR) or reassure renowned award winning novelist Neil Gaimon that its OK for him to want to buy a particularly nice table.

But when it comes down to it, why don’t I just go knock on my neighbor’s door and ask to borrow a cup of sugar and then invite him over for some tea? Is it time we rest our eyes from the glow of the computer monitor or iPhone? Everything that seems fun these days is a trap. Holy shit. We’re living in a booby trapped virtual playground.

That said, if you want to know what goes on inside my crazy head during the day, you can follow me on Twitter. @annrichmond

Or, if you are boycotting Tweets in general, stay tuned to this blog.