Goodbye 2005

Well, here it is, a couple more weeks left of 2005, and then we're on to the big 2006. Word. This past year, I made a big deal about getting positive and re-finding myself... this upcomng year, the goal is: to get successful as an artist and to be able to dump my survival job. I'm already starting in a big way.

• I have resumed the big Hollywood marketing game -- I sent out a batch of headshots/postcards to some casting directors I 'd really like to meet with -- if you're out there, folks, prepare to keep getting those postcards until you call me in and hire me!
• I'm getting pretty serious about this gallery showing, having emailed a number of places, tyring to find a home for my artwork.
• I already have three shows lined up for the first few months of the new year - get ready for lots more Greg on stage!
• I've got a good feeling about the upcoming 12 months, friends, it's time to get busy.

Thus ends my presentation, thank you for your time, and good day.

Left Behind Comin' At Ya!

Booya! This is what I'm talking about! If The Left Behind's first show went up with a boom and sparkle, The Left Behind's second show went up with a roar and a mushroom cloud. The audience was much meatier (though a few straggled in pretty late) and I felt that the entire cast was spot on for most of the night. A much stronger, more awesome show... and hopefully we've won some fans. And hey! We all got paid a little for it.... look, ma! I'm a working actor, and I'm getting paid!

My shining moment of the night:

Eric: World's Worst Prostitute.
Greg: First time's free.

(several moments later)

Eric: World's Worst Torturer.
Greg: First time's free.

A-ha! I kill me.

SoHo Gallery?

On my way to The Left Behind tonight, I drove by the SoHo Gallery on Ventura Blvd.... hmmm

New Book + Photo Shoot!

This week, Katie gave me a fantastic book - Act Now which is so clear and well-written, RE: obtaining success as a working actor... this has gotten me galvanized, getting me organized, and is making me so damn excited about next year!

Also, this afternoon found me on the corner of Sunset and Vermont, participating in a photo shoot with Patrick Ecclesine, mastermind of the upcoming book, Faces Of Sunset. I came home and wrote a lengthy monologue about the pitfalls of driving in LA and hopefully you can all see me in this book that should be out in time for summer of next year to tie in with 225th anniversary of Los Angeles!

First Weekend Of December...

...Brings us a much better turn-out for The Haven's 'A Christmas Carol' -- still not where we want the audience numbers to be, but a marked improvement over last weekend. People are talking, telling their friends -- you guys gotta come out! It's a fantastic show.

And this weekend also showed that Katie and I's baked goods were truly the cream of the crop.

On a side note, today I went to go see The Sophisticated Rogue at the ZJU -- really great show, written by my friend, Bill Norret, and featuring some very talented people (Josh T. Ryan, Cynthia Convey, and Denise Devin to name a few) - go see it!

The Left Behind Opens!

In a disturbing trend, The Left Behind opened tonight at the ZJU to a smallish crowd. :( BUT, the show was good and the people who were there were not afraid to make suggestions, get involved, and have a good time. I felt the cast was pretty comfortable, and more importantly, pretty goddamn funny. Nobori-San even made his own mark on the show with his talented foley from the sound booth. Next week is going to be even better!

A Christmas Carol Opens!

'A Christmas Carol' opened in South Pasadena tonight to a small, but enthusiastic crowd. We sold a suprising amount of baked goods and everyone who came to see the show was delighted by our performances, the gags, and above all, the carolling. Zombie and Denise were there (awesome show of support, guys! Thank you!), and they loved it, but were saddened by the lack of people. Us too. But, hey! It's only the first weekend, things'll pick up!

Happy Holidays!

Artwork Updates + New Stuff!

While on vacation this past week, I got busy on a couple of art projects -- the "I Will Not Work A Desk Job" piece is on it's way and I did some nice touch-ups on the Hooka.

Current thought: I need to make an online gallery page... must research...

Alice Is Dead

The final showing of Alice is over, I am exhausted and kinda sad that it's done, but not to fear! 'A Christmassy Carol' opens in a mere two weeks! Rehearsals plus the shows have worn me out, but I'm happy doing what I moved here to do.

Also, on a side note, Zombie was kind enough to give me the hooka, so I plan on doing some more detail work on that particular piece.

The Haven Company Meeting

Tonight, I attended my first Haven official company meeting. It's so good to be a part of something that has so much potential, so early in its life. It hearkens back to a few other groups, both succesful (The Left Behind) and not so much (Fast Dexter), so there is a speck of doubt in the back of my mind, but this group, Ashley specifically, is so determined to get this right, to do this, and a big difference here is the amount of people, versus some other prior groups, The Haven is certainly not lacking man power, a point that Ashley currectly pointed out.

I'm currently an unofficial staff member, searching for theater space in the valley... so if anyone reading this has any leads or ideas, I'm always open.

More Artwork

My artwork continues to strike as I finished the money flag this week and this morning found a few new ideas playing in my already too-full head. Huzzah! I seriously need to get this gallery thing together... thoughts, anyone?

The Left Behind Returns!

The Left Behind has just been locked in to play the first three Thursdays of December at The Zombie Joe Underground theater in North Hollywood! Now you can see us and all of our progressive hilarity without having to drive out to the canyons!

Yay!

L.A. Weekly Review

The L.A. Weekly posted a tasty review for 'Alice Works Wonderland' this week, they even gave us the much lauded 'GO!' Good for us! Come see the show before it's too late!

"Lewis Carroll’s tale about a young girl’s adventures down the rabbit hole becomes, in Zombie Joe and Denise Devin’s surreal adaptation, a Freudian parable, full of sexy undercurrents and acid dream–like imagery. Alice (Rie Sharky), the slacker great-great-granddaughter of the original Victorian Alice, is lured down to Wonderland to save the inhabitants, who are all in danger of being executed by the sexually predatory Queen of Hearts (Jana Wimer, in dominatrix attire and a heart-shaped merkin). Joe and Devin’s production boasts an assured imaginative sensibility and an atmosphere of decadent unease that genuinely gets under one’s skin. Admittedly, there are some directorial missteps, including some awkward attempts at audience participation. Yet, with its cast of leering phantasms, who deftly enact musical director Christopher Reiner’s spooky musical numbers, this is a trippy, erotic Wonderland that owes as much to the Kit Kat Club as it does to the Cheshire Cat. Zombie Joe’s Underground, 4850 Lankershim Blvd, N. Hlywd.; Fri.-Sat., 8:30 p.m.; thru Nov. 12. (818) 202-4120. Written 10/27/2005 (Paul Birchall)"

Two more weekends! Four more shows!

A Christmas Carol

Yesterday, rehearsals started for The Haven's 'A Christmas Carol', and while I was initially disappointed with the size of my role, I am looking forward to working with these beautiful people again. It's all worth it. Plus, a new scene was just added for my character today! Hooray!

Hmmm...

At work today, a regular who I regularly take care of mentioned that he regularly does criminal law as his business, and that he may have some contacts to people I may want to reach. He gave me his business card and I do intend on dropping some Greg Kaczynski press kits off at my dear regular's office.

I cannot lose.

Alice Opens!!

This past weekend saw the triumphant opening of "Alice Works Wonderland" in the heart of North Hollywood. Both shows were nearly sold out, and while the Friday night crowd certainly out-rowdied the Saturday crowd (I think they were a little scared), overall the reaction was very positive.

We have something very special going on out here in NoHo, come check us out!!!

5 Days To Go!

"Alice Works Wonderland" will be attacking North Hollywood in less than a week, you will all be receiving more emails and you all have got to see this show, it's dirty, fun, clever, and amazing. Have a few beers, then come out to see us do our thing. I even built a hooka for my Catterpillar scene. Word.

Midsummers? It's Fall!

Midsummers closed tonight at the ZJU. Surprisingly, we had a nearly full house on this, our only Sunday show. The show itself was pretty good, a solid ending to an amazing run. I have to admit, though, I'm a little sad. I can't wait for the next Haven venture, I hope, hope, hope that I get to work with these amazing, talented, beautiful people again. Ashley Ward, you are a goddess for bringing this experience into my life.

Alice opens in two weeks.

Showcase

The Actor's Showcase went up last night, everything went well enough, I suppose. My scene was good, I felt good about it... but, my only concern... where was the industry? We paid this lady, Camille, 100 bucks apiece for her to organize this thing and get industry there. As far as I know... I didn't see any industry. I suppose some came as the info packets were gone at the end of the night... most of them. But how many were taken by our friends and family? I don't know, overall, I'm pretty disappointed about the money that I spent. I'm not sure it was well spent at all. Ah well.

Last Chance

This is it! This weekend is your absolute last chance to see me as Tom Snout, The Tinker in the Haven production of "A Midsummer Night's Dream".

Fri and Sat night at 8:30 (9/30, 10/1)
Sun night at 7:30 (10/2)

You absolutely want to call ahead for reservations, we have been selling out most obscenely!

Artwork Like Burning

Today, trudging along at the Islands, I couldn't work anymore, I had to go home early. I had been thinking about some adjustments I wanted to make on the clouds/horizons project, and I had some other ideas I wanted to try out for other projects. I got Betsy to move up, and by 2:30, I was on my way out the door.

I headed up to Michael's first where I bought yet another frame... came home, made the adjustments on the cloud project, made a whole new cloud project, and finished up the "OCD" piece. I'm really happy with all of the pieces right now... we'll see how I feel in six hours, but for now, I consider them done.

Now I just need to find the right way to affix the latin to the Boxes and they'll be done. Good times! Getting crap done. Being creative...

Love it.

Latin Update

Jeff did email me tonight with a latin translation that I believe is acceptable... pretty sure. Pin Boxes are one step closer to being done.

First Night Of Alice

Rehearsals started tonight for "Alice Works Wonderland", and I gotta say... love the script, love the music, the cast seems solid enough... I really think this show is going to be awesome. More info coming.

I'm playing Bill the Lizard and the Caterpillar, and I am fucking stoked!

Artwork Update

Last night I finished a project that I'd been working out for about a year involving various pictures of horizons and clouds... I'm pretty happy with the result. A friend of Matt's came by on Sunday, saw the prelims and commented on it in a positive fashion.

I also purchased 2 frames yesterday -- one to finally complete the "OCD" project and the other to start work on the dollar flag. The final cigarette box is still waiting to be mounted and expanded upon... I feel like I'm losing some inspiration with that piece.

And, supposedly, Jeff is going to come through with the latin translations I need for the Pin Boxes any day now... I also emailed Ray, but no word from him yet. Damn you, Latin!!!

USC Or Not USC

On the same day that my roommate realizes that he didn't get the CSI job he had hoped to get, I realize that I never received the phone call from Michael Swingler, the USC director. That's too bad, I really enjoyed that audition and would've loved to do that short, little, spicy film.

Ah well, the audition was sweet enough, I suppose.

Midsummer Extension

It's official, "A Midsummer Night's Dream" at the ZJU has been extended! The last weekend will be 9/30, 10/1, and maybe 10/2, depending on sales. Hooray!

USC Audition

I just came from an audition at USC involving vampires and prostitutes... actually, involving a vampiric prostitute. I found the audition to be incredibly challenging emotionally (it sounds more ridiculous than it actually is) and, ultimately, very satisfying craftually. The director seemed to like what I did, here's hoping I get this.

Of course, if I do get it, this means next weekend is going to read like this:

Fri night - Midsummers - 630-10pm
Fri night - Shooting "Dark Existence" - 1030pm-3/4am
Sat morn - Alice rehearsal - 10am-3pm
Sat night - Midsummers - 630-10pm
Sat night - Midsummers cast party (?) - 1030pm-??
Sun morn - Opening Islands - 11am-4pm
Sun night - Showcase rehearsal - ??

This is why I moved out here.

New News Page

As you can see, this an all new NEWS page for gregkaczynski.com. I got tired of updating the old flash news page the old fashioned way, and my friend Jenine did this with her info, so I figured... hey, good idea! So here you are.

This will be updated more frequently than the old news, will hopefully be seen more, and will keep you more up to date with what the Greg K is up to in southern California.

Here's a re-hash of the most current news bits from the old news page.

9/12/2005 - First rehearsal for the Actor's Showcase goes very well, indeed.

9/6/2005 - I audition for Zombie Joe's next production, 'Alice Works Wonderland', and am asked to climb aboard.

9/2/2005 - 'A Midsummers Night Dream' opens to a sold-out house in North Hollywood at the ZJU

8/25/2005 - 'The Left Behind' debuts at the Theatricum Botanicum to a rousing audience... more shows to come!