CANADA ONLY on CBC TV - excerpts from Monster in A Box to be used on TV show Triple Sensations:
TIME: June 29th, 2009, 8 PM (this appears to be consistent across Canada but check your local listings). I have no further details about the show.
Thank you to Instinct Entertainment and www.thesidestreetproject.com for their cooperation.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Friday, June 5, 2009
To SpaldingGray.com mailing list
Spalding Gray Day
No poem today as the sites poet laureate has been ill. I hope for her quick recovery. Today is Spalding Gray day. It is also the U.N.s World Environment Day http://www.unep.org/wed/2009/english/ My math tells me that Spalding would have been 68... News: 1) Lately at the site, I have still been working on updating every page, before adding new pages, such as Poetry, Depression, Performance Rights and others. With the site originally done in Netscape, it is difficult to convert over to Dreamweaver as the code is often misread. However, it is doable as opposed to a complete rewrite in CSS. I have more or less completed such things as Fan Writing and Monologists (http://www.spaldinggray.com/monologuists.html) something like 75 monologists listed! Safe to say, the update of every page is a slow process. 2) Two new dates for SLTT (Stories Left to Tell): a) Stories Left to Tell at Soho Playhouse - All tickets are $5 with a portion of the proceeds from each performance going to benefit the Spalding Gray Scholarship Fund, and may be purchased by visiting the Soho Playhouse website at www.sohoplayhouse.com, or by calling (212) 691-1555. For group sales, please email: boxoffice@sohoplayhouse.com, or call (212) 691-1555. b) March 18-20, 2010 - Minneapolis, the Walker Arts Center 3) Please remember to sign the Bring Back Trying Times petition.Spalding wrote and starred in amazing episode called Bedtime Story. The whole series was wonderful. PBS had said the masters were burned in a fire, but a fan has located 10 out of 12 episodes in master form and we are looking for the missing 2. The Spalding episode is one of the existing ones. I will soon be sending the petition to John Boland (no relation!) who is the head of programming at PBS. Please sign it if you have not already: http://www.PetitionOnline.com/trying87/petition.htl 4) I have recently put google adsense on the blog. This is an experiment to see what ads get placed. If the ads seem poor or inappropriate, I will pull the program. I ask that people join the blog and post to the blog as this helps its exposure. http://uptonatom.blogspot.com/ 5) Affiliates - the affiliate page is up and running. All the companies are at least remotely associated with something about Spalding, though there are stretches... Using the affiliates for on line purchases is very important for the site and for raising funds for the Scholarship fund. Here are some of the companies (they are being adjusted as I go): Amazon if you are not Canadian, use the link, and change countries at bottom of Amazon page. Abebooks, eBay, abebooks UK, alibris books, bonsai boy, cheap air, Barnes and Noble, Zone Alarm, Nirvana chocolates, Rockwell Tools, tshirts, customes, Playboy Store (yes, Spalding was in Playboy ~1968), shopzilla (Rockport shoes), ike stores, spiritual cinema stores, and buy.com (so that almost everything else is covered). welcome other suggestions of companies with affiliates. http://www.spaldinggray.com/fundraising-affiliates.html I notice the page needs some coding changes. It is very strange. The site contents get mysteriously changed quite frequently, including changes to the affiliates. There is essentially no way this can happen unless I do it so it is indeed mysterious. Hence the note on the site that it appears to be haunted! So happy Spalding Gray Day, take care and I hope I can get this out without all that lousy code mixed in. If that happens, I will redo/resend.
jb (take care of what's in front of you, leave the rest to the universe)
No poem today as the sites poet laureate has been ill. I hope for her quick recovery. Today is Spalding Gray day. It is also the U.N.s World Environment Day http://www.unep.org/wed/2009/english/ My math tells me that Spalding would have been 68... News: 1) Lately at the site, I have still been working on updating every page, before adding new pages, such as Poetry, Depression, Performance Rights and others. With the site originally done in Netscape, it is difficult to convert over to Dreamweaver as the code is often misread. However, it is doable as opposed to a complete rewrite in CSS. I have more or less completed such things as Fan Writing and Monologists (http://www.spaldinggray.com/monologuists.html) something like 75 monologists listed! Safe to say, the update of every page is a slow process. 2) Two new dates for SLTT (Stories Left to Tell): a) Stories Left to Tell at Soho Playhouse - All tickets are $5 with a portion of the proceeds from each performance going to benefit the Spalding Gray Scholarship Fund, and may be purchased by visiting the Soho Playhouse website at www.sohoplayhouse.com, or by calling (212) 691-1555. For group sales, please email: boxoffice@sohoplayhouse.com, or call (212) 691-1555. b) March 18-20, 2010 - Minneapolis, the Walker Arts Center 3) Please remember to sign the Bring Back Trying Times petition.Spalding wrote and starred in amazing episode called Bedtime Story. The whole series was wonderful. PBS had said the masters were burned in a fire, but a fan has located 10 out of 12 episodes in master form and we are looking for the missing 2. The Spalding episode is one of the existing ones. I will soon be sending the petition to John Boland (no relation!) who is the head of programming at PBS. Please sign it if you have not already: http://www.PetitionOnline.com/trying87/petition.htl 4) I have recently put google adsense on the blog. This is an experiment to see what ads get placed. If the ads seem poor or inappropriate, I will pull the program. I ask that people join the blog and post to the blog as this helps its exposure. http://uptonatom.blogspot.com/ 5) Affiliates - the affiliate page is up and running. All the companies are at least remotely associated with something about Spalding, though there are stretches... Using the affiliates for on line purchases is very important for the site and for raising funds for the Scholarship fund. Here are some of the companies (they are being adjusted as I go): Amazon if you are not Canadian, use the link, and change countries at bottom of Amazon page. Abebooks, eBay, abebooks UK, alibris books, bonsai boy, cheap air, Barnes and Noble, Zone Alarm, Nirvana chocolates, Rockwell Tools, tshirts, customes, Playboy Store (yes, Spalding was in Playboy ~1968), shopzilla (Rockport shoes), ike stores, spiritual cinema stores, and buy.com (so that almost everything else is covered). welcome other suggestions of companies with affiliates. http://www.spaldinggray.com/fundraising-affiliates.html I notice the page needs some coding changes. It is very strange. The site contents get mysteriously changed quite frequently, including changes to the affiliates. There is essentially no way this can happen unless I do it so it is indeed mysterious. Hence the note on the site that it appears to be haunted! So happy Spalding Gray Day, take care and I hope I can get this out without all that lousy code mixed in. If that happens, I will redo/resend.
jb (take care of what's in front of you, leave the rest to the universe)
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Summer Solos Series Launches 6/16 At Soho Playhouse
Also from http://broadwayworld.com/article/Summer_Solos_Series_Launches_618_At_Soho_Playhouse_20090603
Re Stories Left to Tell - All tickets are $35 with a portion of the proceeds from each performance going to benefit the Spalding Gray Scholarship Fund, and may be purchased by visiting the Soho Playhouse website at
www.sohoplayhouse.com, or by calling (212) 691-1555. For group sales, please email: boxoffice@sohoplayhouse.com, or call (212) 691-1555.
The broadwayworld.com article also has very good list of schedule for other monologists.
Re Stories Left to Tell - All tickets are $35 with a portion of the proceeds from each performance going to benefit the Spalding Gray Scholarship Fund, and may be purchased by visiting the Soho Playhouse website at
www.sohoplayhouse.com, or by calling (212) 691-1555. For group sales, please email: boxoffice@sohoplayhouse.com, or call (212) 691-1555.
The broadwayworld.com article also has very good list of schedule for other monologists.
Spalding Gray's Stories Left to Tell - NYC benefit concert July 16, 2009
June 3, 2009:
This article is so good, and so packed with information about monologists' performances, that I am going to copy and paste right here - I will remove this at any time upon request. Strict copyright remains with Theatre Mania. I am only using it because it is excellent. I apologize that if you don't go to their site to read this, as that means less hits for them and they do have ads. It appears to be a very good site so please visit. Part of article by Dan Balcalzo:
Aasif Mandvi, Dallas Roberts, Nilaja Sun, et al. Set for Summer Solos Series: (my addition to Title - one performance only of Stories Left to Tell):
Jun 3, 2009 · New York
The Soho Playhouse will present the Summer Solo Series, featuring one-night-only performances of acclaimed solo shows, June 18-August 4.
Highlights will include Martin Moran's The Tricky Part (June 22), Dallas Roberts performing writer/director Adam Rapp's Nocturne (June 25), Nilaja Sun's No Child... (July 9), Aasif Mandvi's Sakina's Restaurant (July 28), and Heather Raffo's In Concert: Sounds of Desire (July 30).
There will be a special benefit performance of Spalding Gray: Stories Left to Tell on July 16, directed by Lucy Sexton and featuring Ain Gordon and additional artists to be announced.
The series will also include Amy Wilson (June 18), Stephen Payne (June 29), Taylor Negron (July 7), James Braly (July 14), Thaddeus Phillips (July 21), Debra Ehrhardt (July 23), and performances of works by Glen Berger (June 30 and August 4).
For more information, visit www.sohoplayhouse.com.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
May 09 update on Soderbergh Doc.
At http://www.stltoday.com/blogzone/joes-movie-lounge/joes-movie-lounge/2009/05/steven-soderbergh-on-hookers-and-hedge-funds/ (interview with Soderbergh), it says:
Q: You’re rumored to have at least five other movies coming out. What’s next?
A: I’ve got a movie about Spalding Gray that I hope we’ll finish editing by the fall. “Moneyball,” based on the book about baseball executives, we’ll be shooting this summer. The Cleopatra project (a ’20s musical featuring Catherine Zeta-Jones and a soundtrack by Guided By Voices) will shoot next year, and so will the movie about Liberace (starring Michael Douglas).
Q: You’re rumored to have at least five other movies coming out. What’s next?
A: I’ve got a movie about Spalding Gray that I hope we’ll finish editing by the fall. “Moneyball,” based on the book about baseball executives, we’ll be shooting this summer. The Cleopatra project (a ’20s musical featuring Catherine Zeta-Jones and a soundtrack by Guided By Voices) will shoot next year, and so will the movie about Liberace (starring Michael Douglas).
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Embracing the Mundane
Embracing the Mundane
aka Swimming to Mundane
aka Thinking like David Sedaris
The reason for the multiple titles is that I understand that David Sedaris edits his stories many, many times. Therefore, I would imagine that he has many possible titles. I do not like editing. And yet it does seem mundane so perhaps it is something to explore.
I only recently decided to embrace the mundane, mostly because I seem to do so many mundane things. I also started to finish reading Mr. Sedaris’s When Engulfed in Flames, which was significant in that I have not been reading since I had a stroke, as my one good eye now tires easily. However, this book I had to finish. While reading it, I realized that if I was to begin to think like him (note that all further him/hes will be in reference to David Sedaris), that would assist greatly in embracing the mundane.
To start with, I have an advantage. I tend to be obsessive/compulsive just as he appears to be. Up until now, I have channeled much of this in to specific activities, such as being the Webmaster for the Spalding Gray website (interestingly enough, Mr. Gray seemed quite obsessive compulsive himself). I remember as a child, when I was in the rec room (aka basement with rug and TV), my eyes would seek out shapes, usually squares, in the bookcase. Then my eyes would follow the shape around and around for long periods of time. I resisted doing this quite strongly at the time, but it continued. Why it ended is beyond me. Now, I wish that I could do it again as it is a common method of hypnosis. I’m not sure what self hypnosis would gain me, but am willing to find out.
Now what other characteristics would help me to think like him. He describes himself as both a snob (now due to staying in luxury hotels), but also admits to being kind hearted. I think I can eliminate the snob stuff. Remember that when he arrives at a book signing with hordes lining the block, he goes to the end of the line and begins to sign books. Does that sound like a snob to you?
And this laundry thing. He does all his own laundry while on tour in the hotel room sink. This surely is mundane. It is reported to be the most common reason for him being late. It would seem to help the line build up as well, assisting in his trick to begin at the end.
“Excuse me for being late. I was finishing my laundry. Now that it’s drying on the towel rack, I was wondering if you have a book you wish me to sign? My name is David Sedaris. Am I in the right line?” (not a real quote).
Now there are limits. I don’t intend to type everything on a manual typewriter. I don’t type that well, making word processing akin to a miracle. But typing as he does, only indicates more mundaneness.
So I’ve decided to practice this thinking like him for awhile and report back. So far, I’ve noticed a slight irritable edge which I want to monitor. So far, I think that’s because I’m reading about him quitting smoking. Mark Twain said it was easy as Mark Twain had quit a thousand times. Me I quit years ago and still had a stroke. Excuse me now while I find mundane things to do.
Report: Besides the afore mentioned edge which is perhaps not new and does not seem mundane – in fact, it interferes with mundaneness as I tend to stay that way and hence be less likely to be mundane. And a second besides was can a person with such a publicity program really be irritable? On the positive side, my oc tendency (existing yet mostly latent) of counting and doing things in 3s has come back. I am also less anxious upon waking up. I believe that saying ‘Om Mane Padma Hum’ 3 times upon arising helps.
Why ‘Om Mane Padma Hum’? (the six syllabled mantra of the bodhisattva of compassion, Avalokiteshvara. The Dalai Lama is said to be an incarnation of Chenrezig or Avalokiteshvara – see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Om_mani_padme_hum for the Dalai Lama’s translation) I have no idea why as there are certainly other mantra that come to mind.
When I was living in a houseboat in Varanasi (Benares),India, I arrived at the beginning of a 108 day nonstop chant of ‘Shri Ram,Jai Ram, Jai Jai Ram’. I think we got a better deal on the boat (~$3 a month) because it was next to one of the large speakers set up along the river ghats for blaring broadcast. So I listened to that chant for 108daysx24hoursx60 minutesx60 seconds = 9,331,200 seconds. And yet I ever repeat it as a mantra.
Then a close confidant told me that this whole mundane thing was just mindfulness…
And then I heard that David Sedaris is coming to a book signing right here in Victoria BC (rumour being the lineup will start the night before). So I’ll continue to think like him and report back after meeting him. Om Mane Padma Hum, Om Mane Padma Hum, Om Mane Padma Hum…
(unedited…)
www.spaldinggray.com
aka Swimming to Mundane
aka Thinking like David Sedaris
The reason for the multiple titles is that I understand that David Sedaris edits his stories many, many times. Therefore, I would imagine that he has many possible titles. I do not like editing. And yet it does seem mundane so perhaps it is something to explore.
I only recently decided to embrace the mundane, mostly because I seem to do so many mundane things. I also started to finish reading Mr. Sedaris’s When Engulfed in Flames, which was significant in that I have not been reading since I had a stroke, as my one good eye now tires easily. However, this book I had to finish. While reading it, I realized that if I was to begin to think like him (note that all further him/hes will be in reference to David Sedaris), that would assist greatly in embracing the mundane.
To start with, I have an advantage. I tend to be obsessive/compulsive just as he appears to be. Up until now, I have channeled much of this in to specific activities, such as being the Webmaster for the Spalding Gray website (interestingly enough, Mr. Gray seemed quite obsessive compulsive himself). I remember as a child, when I was in the rec room (aka basement with rug and TV), my eyes would seek out shapes, usually squares, in the bookcase. Then my eyes would follow the shape around and around for long periods of time. I resisted doing this quite strongly at the time, but it continued. Why it ended is beyond me. Now, I wish that I could do it again as it is a common method of hypnosis. I’m not sure what self hypnosis would gain me, but am willing to find out.
Now what other characteristics would help me to think like him. He describes himself as both a snob (now due to staying in luxury hotels), but also admits to being kind hearted. I think I can eliminate the snob stuff. Remember that when he arrives at a book signing with hordes lining the block, he goes to the end of the line and begins to sign books. Does that sound like a snob to you?
And this laundry thing. He does all his own laundry while on tour in the hotel room sink. This surely is mundane. It is reported to be the most common reason for him being late. It would seem to help the line build up as well, assisting in his trick to begin at the end.
“Excuse me for being late. I was finishing my laundry. Now that it’s drying on the towel rack, I was wondering if you have a book you wish me to sign? My name is David Sedaris. Am I in the right line?” (not a real quote).
Now there are limits. I don’t intend to type everything on a manual typewriter. I don’t type that well, making word processing akin to a miracle. But typing as he does, only indicates more mundaneness.
So I’ve decided to practice this thinking like him for awhile and report back. So far, I’ve noticed a slight irritable edge which I want to monitor. So far, I think that’s because I’m reading about him quitting smoking. Mark Twain said it was easy as Mark Twain had quit a thousand times. Me I quit years ago and still had a stroke. Excuse me now while I find mundane things to do.
Report: Besides the afore mentioned edge which is perhaps not new and does not seem mundane – in fact, it interferes with mundaneness as I tend to stay that way and hence be less likely to be mundane. And a second besides was can a person with such a publicity program really be irritable? On the positive side, my oc tendency (existing yet mostly latent) of counting and doing things in 3s has come back. I am also less anxious upon waking up. I believe that saying ‘Om Mane Padma Hum’ 3 times upon arising helps.
Why ‘Om Mane Padma Hum’? (the six syllabled mantra of the bodhisattva of compassion, Avalokiteshvara. The Dalai Lama is said to be an incarnation of Chenrezig or Avalokiteshvara – see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Om_mani_padme_hum for the Dalai Lama’s translation) I have no idea why as there are certainly other mantra that come to mind.
When I was living in a houseboat in Varanasi (Benares),India, I arrived at the beginning of a 108 day nonstop chant of ‘Shri Ram,Jai Ram, Jai Jai Ram’. I think we got a better deal on the boat (~$3 a month) because it was next to one of the large speakers set up along the river ghats for blaring broadcast. So I listened to that chant for 108daysx24hoursx60 minutesx60 seconds = 9,331,200 seconds. And yet I ever repeat it as a mantra.
Then a close confidant told me that this whole mundane thing was just mindfulness…
And then I heard that David Sedaris is coming to a book signing right here in Victoria BC (rumour being the lineup will start the night before). So I’ll continue to think like him and report back after meeting him. Om Mane Padma Hum, Om Mane Padma Hum, Om Mane Padma Hum…
(unedited…)
www.spaldinggray.com
Saturday, May 2, 2009
REVIEW - from CHOICE, the review arm of the American Library Association
REVIEW - from CHOICE, the review arm of the American Library Association
Humanities \ Performing Arts \ Theater & Dance
Demastes, William W. Spalding Gray's America. Limelight Editions, 2008. 270p bibl index; ISBN 9780879103606 pbk, $19.95. Reviewed in 2009may CHOICE. This first book-length study of the life and work of celebrated monologist Spalding Gray (1941-2004) is wonderful. Covering Gray's life from his early beginnings to his untimely death, Demastes (Louisiana State Univ.) delves into the major works of this most self-reflexive of performers with a deft hand. Although this is not a biography per se, it offers significant information about Gray's life and its intersection with his art: close readings of Gray's performances allow one to see how in exposing his personal triumphs and tragedies Gray exposed and analyzed America and Americans. In sum, in dissecting Gray as observer of events, as artist, and as performer--a fascinating approach to the performer--Demastes makes sense of how Gray's monologues worked and what made him original. Including a wonderful personal reflection on Gray by Richard Schechner, this volume provides theater scholars and practitioners with an invaluable introduction to Gray and his work. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All readers. -- S. W. Cole, Bridgewater College
Note from Webmaster - please remember to order all books, DVDs, video, what have you, using the affiliate page for www.spaldinggray.com (all proceeds to Spalding Gray scholarship fund):
http://www.spaldinggray.com/fundraising-affiliates.html
Humanities \ Performing Arts \ Theater & Dance
Demastes, William W. Spalding Gray's America. Limelight Editions, 2008. 270p bibl index; ISBN 9780879103606 pbk, $19.95. Reviewed in 2009may CHOICE. This first book-length study of the life and work of celebrated monologist Spalding Gray (1941-2004) is wonderful. Covering Gray's life from his early beginnings to his untimely death, Demastes (Louisiana State Univ.) delves into the major works of this most self-reflexive of performers with a deft hand. Although this is not a biography per se, it offers significant information about Gray's life and its intersection with his art: close readings of Gray's performances allow one to see how in exposing his personal triumphs and tragedies Gray exposed and analyzed America and Americans. In sum, in dissecting Gray as observer of events, as artist, and as performer--a fascinating approach to the performer--Demastes makes sense of how Gray's monologues worked and what made him original. Including a wonderful personal reflection on Gray by Richard Schechner, this volume provides theater scholars and practitioners with an invaluable introduction to Gray and his work. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All readers. -- S. W. Cole, Bridgewater College
Note from Webmaster - please remember to order all books, DVDs, video, what have you, using the affiliate page for www.spaldinggray.com (all proceeds to Spalding Gray scholarship fund):
http://www.spaldinggray.com/fundraising-affiliates.html
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