Author: theactorvist

I love the Theatre. It's my church. It's my joy. I have been performing in plays and musicals for over half of my life, and I would be lost without it. Now more than ever, people are cutting back on everything that is too expensive or unimportant to their lives. As an actor, heck as a person, I don't know of anything that is more important than the arts. Art reflects history. It shows humanity at its worst but also its best. Every day some artistic program is getting cut from a school or a great show goes unseen. Maybe a talented singer isn't able to audition for American Idol. There are a ton of people who live in the South Bay Area of California, who go unseen or unheard. There are many production companies that are just bursting with talent, but people don't see the shows. I will do my best to bring you interviews with local artists of every kind, send out the call for local companies looking to cast people in productions, and much more. Stay tuned because this is only the beginning.

Well it took me long enough, didn’t it?

I finally have an Episode 4!

I realized that I really did ramble on and on and on.  So I took the extra time to edit out all the excessive stuff and did my best to keep it concise.  Show notes will be added very very shortly as I am working on them right now!  Also, I have added a new photo album to my Facebook page with some pics of the Breaking Up cast.

Without further, adieu  I present Episode 4

Thanks for taking a listen.

Next week, I’ll have a contest for a cute little character named “Carl”!

A history lesson…

Brought to you by Wikpedia!

The first flash mob

The first flash mob was created in Manhattan in May 2003, by Bill Wasik, senior editor of Harper’s Magazine.[4][7] The origins of the flash mobs were unknown until Wasik published an article about his creation in the March 2006 edition of Harper’s. The first attempt was unsuccessful after the targeted retail store was tipped off about the plan for people to gather.[9] Wasik avoided such problems during the second flash mob, which occurred on June 3, 2003 at Macy’s department store, by sending participants to preliminary staging areas – in four prearranged Manhattan bars – where they received further instructions about the ultimate event and location just before the event began.[10]

More than 100 people converged upon the ninth floor rug department of the store, gathering around an expensive rug. Anyone approached by a sales assistant was advised to say that the gatherers lived together in a warehouse on the outskirts of New York, that they were shopping for a “love rug”, and that they made all their purchase decisions as a group.[11]

Subsequently, 200 people flooded the lobby and mezzanine of the Hyatt hotel in synchronized applause for about 15 seconds, and a shoe boutique in SoHo was invaded by participants pretending to be tourists on a bus trip.[7]

Wasik claimed that he created flash mobs as a social experiment designed to poke fun at hipsters and to highlight the cultural atmosphere of conformity and of wanting to be an insider or part of “the next big thing”.[7] The Vancouver Sun wrote, “It may have backfired on him… [Wasik] may instead have ended up giving conformity a vehicle that allowed it to appear nonconforming.”[12]

Precursors

Flash mobs began as a form of performance art.[9] While they started as an apolitical act, flash mobs may share superficial similarities to political demonstrations. Flash mobs can be seen as a specialized form of smart mob,[4] which is a term and concept forwarded by authorHoward Rheingold in his 2002 book Smart Mobs: The Next Social Revolution.[13]

To me, the Ninja, the Shoot out, and the Supermarket Flash Mobs are performance art.  But they are still amusing.

I love these!

I wish that I could do one! But I can’t think of a reason at the moment, so this will have to do.  When you watch these, look at the faces of the people watching.  After the moment of confusion, there are smiles all over the place.  How could you not love a Flash Mob.

This was on Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution a few weeks back.  I am just catching up on all my DVR stuff, so I think I am like 3 weeks back.

Michael Jackson Dance Tribute in Stockholm

BouncE Flash Mob at Grona Lund

Pinball Wizard Flash Mob in SF!!

It’s not as seemingly organized as some of the others. But still fun.

Speaking of fun, how’s about a little Hamma!

While this one isn’t dancey, it’s definately fun and creative.

Bollywood Hero Flash in New York!

What better place for an incredible dance form to do this than in the great NYC

In York, PA  these folks aren’t pro dancers, but it’s a great lesson to what life is all about.

Don’t take yourself too seriously, and help make the world a happier place.

Aside from the “Sound of Music” dances in the train station, I think this is my other favorite.

A costume change? That’s awesome!

This one is also on the fave list.

Sometimes, they are just madness! Like this one at UC Berkley

Have to admit that this one was cool.  Even though I HATE this song.  It would have been awesome if just some random man jumped in!

And if you haven’t seen the Sound of Music one, here you go!  It’s the first one that I had ever seen and while I am not a fan of the show or movie, this was Epic!

Supporting the Arts…

From The Associated Press, April 20, 2010

Georgia’s arts council was granted a reprieve on Tuesday from the state Senate.
The state House had targeted the arts panel for elimination, a move which arts advocates
said would imperil hundreds of thousands of dollars in federal grants. On Tuesday,
Senate budget writers restored $890,000 in state money to keep the Georgia Council
for the Arts afloat for the fiscal year that begins July 1. The money was included
in the $17.8 billion budget proposal that passed the Senate Appropriations Committee.
The council is still taking a hit. Gone are about $1.7 million in state grants to
local arts and cultural organizations. Georgia would have been the only state in
the nation without a federally recognized arts council if the panel had been eliminated,
making the state ineligible for more than $800,000 in federal National Endowment
for the Arts grants. Artists rallied at the state Capitol on Monday urging legislators
to restore arts money. State Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Jack Hill
said legislators heard an earful on the arts issue. “I think it made the difference,”
the Republican from Reidsville said. The full state Senate is expected to take up
the budget on Wednesday. They must then reconcile their spending blueprint with
the one that cleared the House.

A special thank you to Thomas Cott and the Business Week for this bit of worrisome news.