Cuteness Overload

Part of Wordless Wednesday.

Stars

I look up at the sky sometimes and I see the stars so far above me, and I just drift away. My thoughts usually drift into some place that makes me think about what it is that has brought me to this physical place, but I wonder if the stars had something to do with it. Some people say that the stars actually control our lives… I believe that to a degree, but not completely. We make our own decisions and I never looked up and asked a star to guide me in making the correct decision, lest one fall on my head. But that is neither here nor there… but everywhere. I’m here because someone or something so far back in time that it is but a mere memory etched in the forbidden reaches of the cosmos, made a decision… Very similar to the decision that my great grandparents made one lonely night, or my grandparents or my parents on their honeymoon. The fact is my life, the life I cherish and value, was the random effect caused by decisions made many years before I even came into the picture. I would never have existed had my Mother not have decided to go to a party one night where she met my father, it was random. God, The Stars, Fate, Karma, all of these are answers to the question, “what happened that brought me here?” But the reality is that the exact opposite was just as mathematically possible at the time. Who is to say that making the decision to use your debit card to pay for gas at the store will not change your life? Ok… So I had my card out to pay for gas… You following me? And then I decided I wanted a Tropicana Pure Premium OJ, The best in the world, so I put my card back in my wallet and I walk into the store. I get ready to pay when this nice looking young man with a nice big black handgun walks into the store; he demands that the clerk and I give him all our cash. The clerk decides to be a hero, the gun goes off…. And now I am a quadriplegic. I would still be able to walk had I just used my card, but that is over there somewhere… not sure where, but what does that have to do with anything. The stars, they are real, decisions we make, they are real… me I know I am real… I think. What is reality? I once read that everything is energy, the molecules that hold everything together is energy, the stars are energy, and I am energy… I’m not sure if I really like that thought, but it still fascinates me, if all we are is energy, than everything that exists only does so because we perceive the energy in certain manners. We touch the surface creating vibrations, we smell vibrations, we taste them, see light waves, and hear sound waves, so we can only perceive our surroundings by sensing the energy in separate ways… this is odd that means that in reality nothing is really solid unless we perceive it in some manner. So who is to say what the office looks like? Or what we really look like, we only see the simulations that our body has set up for us based on the input of several sensory organs that sense energy… nothing more… and the only reason we have those sensory organs to sense the nothingness is because our great-great-great grandparents made a decision one morning to get out of bed, that changed the world. So when people say don’t sweat the small stuff… Stop and think… is it really that small… and when you walk out of a room, stop and ask… does that room exist now that no one is there to perceive it? Or better yet stop and ask yourself if your maternal descendant that lived all the way back in 16 BC thought that when he met that beautiful young girl that it would cause this discussion to take place. Is that the big dipper? You know, the stars are beautiful?

(c) 2008 J. Grant Blakeney

Dearly Departed

Theater, such a fun past time. This is a small gift I did for the Cast and Crew of Dearly Departed being presented at Black Rose Theater in Brandon, Mississippi on June 19, 2008 - Jun 22, 2008 and June 26, 2008 - Jun 29, 2008. The cast list is as follows…

Directed by: Robbie Looney
Bud/Norval : Eric Hambrick
Raynelle: Lydie Vick
Raybud: Andy Achord
Lucille: Cheryl Abernathy
Junior: Cameron Lowery
Suzanne: Brighton Goode
Margarette: LaDonna Rogers
Royce: Spencer Smith
Delightful: Brandi Southerland
Clyde: Troy Plaisance
Juanita: Kimberlee Wolfson
Rev. Hooker: Vince Rogers
Veda: Donna Lewis
Nadine: Dani Baisden

The cast is full of many friends of mine that I know will do wonderfully, I can not wait to come support them as they break legs!!!!!

Bright Lights

Bright Lights…
Hot Lights…
People….
Lots of People…
All Watching…
Nerves…
Hot Air….
Lines…
Do I remember All of my Lines???
People…
Makeup…
Costume…
Props…
Props…
Props…
WHERE ARE MY PROPS???
Oh No…
There They Are…
People…
Entrance…
Lines…
Monologue…
People…
Yes People…
Look At Me…
More Lines…
More People…
This Is Great…
Curtain Call…
Thank You…

The Photo is of a good friend Chris Lloyd on stage in Romeo, Beatrice, and Toto too! at Black Rose Theatre in Brandon, MS.

Diva Dog

I have never seen a canine with so much patience…. Meet Noelle and her mom Meredith, two divas going through life with enough priss and sophistication to put any multi-million dollar heiress to shame. Meredith is the daughter of one of my very best friends. Meredith is the Queen Bee with the heart of an angel, always loving and caring. Noelle is the little black poodle with the courage of a lion and patience of a thirsty cactus. I have never seen a dog play with a child the way that Noelle plays with Meredith… ok well I had also never seen a dog sit in a swing with its legs hanging out, while actually swinging without making some attempt for escape, but I guess if you’re a diva… then its all good!

Mame

Sadly, and at the same time thankfully Mame is over… and it was a great show. It had its rocky moments, and trials and tribulations… but I would not have given anything for it!!!! Cynthia Stuart was a wonderful Mame, and the cast was a wonderful cast… and I personally was honored to have a chance to discover just how far I can take my abilities. I have gained confidence in areas I needed it… and I have made many new friends, and built up ones that I made during Who Killed Aunt Caroline, It was wonderful.

This is a teaser poster I came up with for Mame, nothing big, just Cynthia Stuart as the title character. Cynthia is such a talented sweet lady; it was wonderful playing her nephew!!! Oh I did come up with a photo Montage ….

Sunrise over Beekman Place

I was never a huge fan of Jackson Pollock that is not to say that I disliked his work… its just it seemed to me to be too simple. I mean just spray paint onto a canvas with nom form or design, yes it makes for beautiful patterns and shapes… but not too much was really put into it. I was wrong. I was asked to do several pieces of art for MAME (http://www.blackrosetheater.com/) and one of those is this pollock-esque splatter painting. I must say the amount of emotion that you can put into these is staggering, and the colors you use can very much convey the message that you are sending out. When I was done, I stepped back, and I realized just how wrong I was about one of the strangest and tortred souls of the 20th centry.

Black Rose Theatre

There was something about this photo that reminded me of the Alamo. I think it was the color and the way the lighting played on the building. I of course had to play with it in Photoshop I wanted to play with the color some; I am pleased with how it turned out!!!
The building of course is Black Rose Theatre on Black Street in Brandon, Mississippi. http://www.blackrosetheater.com

Mame!

I took this photo last night at rehearsal for Mame, it is going to be a rather large performance for the Black Rose Theatre, but if we can pull it off it is going to be great. I am rather excited about the play; I am portraying Patrick Dennis (aged 19-29) it happens to be the largest most important role that I have ever taken on… talk about expanding your acting abilities. PLUS!!! Hal and Clif are also in the play, as well as many of my other friends from Who Killed Aunt Caroline!

Performance Dates are: March 06, 2008 - Mar 09, 2008 & March 13, 2008 - Mar 16, 2008.

Dan Donovan 1935-1952

Dan Donovan is retired… he no longer exists. I guess I should somehow give some sort of proper goodbye to the character that I have given life to for the last few weeks. Dan wasn’t very smart, but what he lacked in intelligence he made up with athletics. He never quite understood the opposite sex… perhaps that was because he spent way too much time with the same sex, more time than any normal 17 year old boy. Perhaps Dan was gay, or maybe he was just an idiot… I guess no one but I can be certain on at least my incarnation of him. However one thing is for certain, he did not kill Aunt Caroline Endicott! But he was present during the events that led up to and preceded her death, including one regrettable tryst with a Detective over a red purse… as well as lying and throwing things across the Endicott’s house, but at least he did clean!

Today Who Killed Aunt Caroline has ended… and I am left with few mementos, wonderful memories, a bunch of photos, as well as a whole lotta new friends! I am glad that events led me into doing this, we really did have a dream cast… and it all came together for a wonderful experience, from the first dress rehearsal on… I loved it!

Who Killed Dan Donovan?

When I get bored things tend to happen, sometimes I can get creative. This is a glance at the creative side of me, including my love of graphic design. I did this movie poster and DVD cover for Who Killed Aunt Caroline, as I mentioned in an earlier post I play Dan Donovan. I love doing things like this, and I have learned my photoshop well… What can I say… there might be more stuff like this posted if I get bored enough.

Who Killed Aunt Caroline?

Acting is a passion of mine, I have been in several performances while in high school and now I am in my first post-school performance. This has been an experience that I have really enjoyed, everyone involved is absolutely wonderful, and as we gear up to perform, I know that it is going to be a great show. I personally have considered it an honor for being cast as "Dan Donovan" in Who Killed Aunt Caroline?, Dan is a quirky character that is very likable and rather goofy… and very much the classic dumb jock. The play itself revolves around the Murder of Caroline Endicott by poisoning, apparently something was in her tea, well the murder is someone in the play (could even be Dan), and that’s where the fun is! The play is full of very personable characters that are as great as the people that play them… I have had such a great time, and I have made some wonderful new friends.