News & Views

The News & Views page is where you'll find updates on what MacLeod is up to and hopefully a thoughtful reflection or funny story here and there. This is the blog of my blog-site.

Saturday, August 30, 2008

Skilled Hands in the making

This September I will begin an apprenticeship with a carpenter remodeling my friend Alex Cranmer's new home. This is a skill that I have wanted to develop and build upon (no pun intended) for years, so I am very excited at the undertaking. Early mornings and a commute to New Jersey will not be looked forward to, but that's all part of it. Good Things.

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

TMM wins award



TOO MUCH MEMORY
wins Outstanding Play Award at NYC Fringe 2008!
by Keith Reddin & Meg Gibson

Article:
http://www.theatermania.com/content/news.cfm/story/15051

Produced by:
Rising Phoenix Rep

Friday, August 22, 2008

Little blessings raining down

So if my title is a bit quaint I apologize but last week I found New York to be full of small but rewarding coincidences. Of course there were the two instances that I mentioned in my previous post regarding Laura and Annie, but last week held many wonderful surprises of a similar nature.

1. I grabbed a beer down in Greenpoint with an old friend from Louisville, Jamie Buckner (a treat unto itself) at the bar "Matchless". The two of us were production assistants on Keep Your Distance a film shot in Louisville by Stu Pollard. Stu informed the Jamie and I that we were practically neighbors here in New York, so we got together. Jamie tells me that he has been working on a number of major motion pictures including The Departed and, can you guess it, Julie and Julia. For those die-hard subscribers of this blog you'll recall that's the Meryl Streep film I worked on as an extra months ago. So Jamie tells me that he ran the "Dailies" (screenings of the footage captured on the day) for Julie and Julia, and he's prepping the screening one day as he reminisces to a co-worker about a short joke-film called MacLeod: Apocalypse that he shot on the set of another film, Keep Your Distance. He looks up at the screen and sees a handsome young lad dance by in a blue suit. "Holy Shit" he says, "was that MacLeod?" He sees me dance by again. "That looks a whole lot like MacLeod." In disbelief he thinks "there's no way, my life can't be that crazy." He continues to watch the blue suited doppelganger dance by take after take and resolves to check the Extras List after the Dailies were finished. Sure enough, there my name was. So Jamie tells me all this and then remarks that It's going to be pretty incredible if I Don't end up in the final cut of the film. He said I feature fairly prominently and often and that the scene is critical to the story. No lines but at least my face will be up there dancing across the silver screen.

2. I found an antique desk chair on craig's list. I had a bit of difficulty getting to the apartment to pick it up but it proved to be worth my persistence. I walked in and was greeted by Phillip, the owner of the chair. He showed me the chair, "It's great" I said "it reminds me of home". "Where's home?" Phillip asked. "Kentucky. Louisville." Phillip inhaled, "really? I went to NKU, Northern Kentucky University." I inhaled, then "wait, I know someone who went to NKU, do you know Jamie Buckner?"
He inhales, his jaw drops, "get the fuck out, I've known Jamie for like nine years, he's one of my favorite New York friends!" we continue to talk for a bit. Turns out Phillip got his masters in playwriting. He worked for ABC for a spell, writing for a soap and now works in the marketing department of The New Group (an off-B'way Theatre).

3. Bumped into Jan Maxwell on the street, exchanged friendly hellos. Really starts to feel like home when you bump into friends on the street like that.

4. I'm getting ready to leave for a show, Too Much Memory, when I hear a rapping at my door. I assume my roommate has forgotten his keys. I open the door, and who should be standing there but Frankie! My College Playwriting professor's wife. She is always a treat to see and now here she is standing on my doorstep. After a moment of stunned silence and a hug I Squeeze out, "what in the world are you doing here?" She opens the door of my next door neighbor and there stands Vanessa, her daughter. Again, always a pleasure to see her. Turns out they, along with Midd professor of German Bettina, were visiting my neighbor Amy who teaches at AMDA. They invited me in and offered me an ice cream Sundae and though I needed to leave for my show very soon I decided that I simply could not ignore the universe knocking through it's conduit Frankie and took the time to enjoy my Sundae and chat for a bit.

All small things, but they do wonders for the spirit.

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Too Much Memory for me to remember

Too Much Memory rehearsals and now show runs have been fantastic. I really feel blessed to be working with so many talented people! Meg, the director, is great and the actors floor me at every run. It's really a treat. Funny story, the actress playing Antigone, Laura Heisler was in her first equity production years ago at Actors Theatre of Louisville's run of Hair and I saw that show. I must have been 15yrs old. Also an interesting story: I just found out last night that actor Louis Cancelmi who I've been punching in the stomach every night is the brother of actress Annie Parisse who played Becky Shaw in Becky Shaw, a play by Gina Gionfriddo (one of my favorite playwrights) at Actors Theatre's Humana Festival this past year. Months ago, before I moved to New York, I sat in on a few rehearsals and saw the opening show where I met Annie and now I'm in a show with her brother. Small World! Even in New York. I love it! Good things.

-MacLeod