December 30, 2004
It's been 14 days since my last confession.
Christmas was good. Got the Lord of the Dance Collector's Set. I mean.... the... Lord of the
Rings collector set. Sorry. Michael Flatley is not on my shelf. But yeah, Return of the King,
man. Phat movie. God, I love Peter Jackson. And the Extended Versions? How incredible
are they? It's like an entire story was missing from the movie theatre!
Anyway, in good news, I'm out of Target. I quit so I could work with Basketcase (see above).
AND so I could keep my sanity. :O) Now I'm working at iSold It - an eBay marketplace.
People drop off their stuff and we list it for them on eBay. Not life-altering work, mind you,
but it's better than Target!
Oh, and I saved my car.
Oh, and Basketcase was a lot of fun. We offended mucho people, and I got to work with old
friends again, so that was cool.
NOW for the awesome news - my play Georgie Gets a Face-Lift was accepted for the Riant
Theatre's Strawberry One-Act Festival! It's a competition, where the audience gets to vote
for their favorite play. Winner goes on to Semi-finals, and then finals. The OVERALL winner
gets $100, published, and a full-length play produced during their main-stage season! So
this is all very exciting. Georgie is a dark play, but a fun one, about a young man who tries
to kill himself, but telemarketers and other folks end up in his way. In previous productions,
audiences were simultaneously rolling on the floor in laughter, and gritting their teeth in
horror. My friends Matt Suber (the unbeatable!) and Ellen Stines will be acting in it, as well
as newcomer Christina Marks. I think we'll at least make it to the semi-finals!
Otherwise, things are good. Nothing too exciting, nothing too boring - I'm waiting
for Eg Er Ekki Hommi! to open (see above), but that's about all for now! I hope
y'all are doing well! Peace!
-Dan
It's been 14 days since my last confession.
Christmas was good. Got the Lord of the Dance Collector's Set. I mean.... the... Lord of the
Rings collector set. Sorry. Michael Flatley is not on my shelf. But yeah, Return of the King,
man. Phat movie. God, I love Peter Jackson. And the Extended Versions? How incredible
are they? It's like an entire story was missing from the movie theatre!
Anyway, in good news, I'm out of Target. I quit so I could work with Basketcase (see above).
AND so I could keep my sanity. :O) Now I'm working at iSold It - an eBay marketplace.
People drop off their stuff and we list it for them on eBay. Not life-altering work, mind you,
but it's better than Target!
Oh, and I saved my car.
Oh, and Basketcase was a lot of fun. We offended mucho people, and I got to work with old
friends again, so that was cool.
NOW for the awesome news - my play Georgie Gets a Face-Lift was accepted for the Riant
Theatre's Strawberry One-Act Festival! It's a competition, where the audience gets to vote
for their favorite play. Winner goes on to Semi-finals, and then finals. The OVERALL winner
gets $100, published, and a full-length play produced during their main-stage season! So
this is all very exciting. Georgie is a dark play, but a fun one, about a young man who tries
to kill himself, but telemarketers and other folks end up in his way. In previous productions,
audiences were simultaneously rolling on the floor in laughter, and gritting their teeth in
horror. My friends Matt Suber (the unbeatable!) and Ellen Stines will be acting in it, as well
as newcomer Christina Marks. I think we'll at least make it to the semi-finals!
Otherwise, things are good. Nothing too exciting, nothing too boring - I'm waiting
for Eg Er Ekki Hommi! to open (see above), but that's about all for now! I hope
y'all are doing well! Peace!
-Dan
February 16, 2005
So Georgie made it to the semi-finals, which was awesome! The Riant Theatre's
Strawberry One-Act Festival - quite the interesting experience. We did not make it
past the semi-finals, but at least we had a sold-out production in New York City, a
WHOLE bunch of people saw our work, and we got some AMAZING feedback. The
person who actually WON the semi round, emailed me to say "I loved your play. It
was haunting, beautiful, poetic, and funny." Words any playwright longs to hear! :O)
And, of course, I worked with the amazing Matt Suber and Ellen Stines once again!
An excellent experience all around.
I'm Not Gay! or Eg Er Ekki Hommi! is still running wild in Iceland right now (See
photos to the left). I got some interesting reviews from it, which I'll be posting soon.
Also, I got an email the other day from some dude near Albany. He saw a
production of "Where's Julie?" some years ago, and wants to put it up at RPI
(Rensselaer Polytecnics Institute). I was like, um, ok. :O)
And my play Spat! is opening in LA this Saturday - Feb. 19th. And it's being
published in the latest Original Works' anthology: Short and Painless: The Best of
Saturday Night Lites.
It's been an amazing year so far, and it's only one month old! :O) Coming in April,
four plays are entered in the Author's Playhouse New Author Festival. I don't even
know how to respond. I'm just like.... "cool."
Oh, and I got my FIRST EVER royalty check today! It's only $34.44, and it's for 26
sales of my play "Attic." But still, it's my first one! Just another 50 checks like these
a month, and I'll be ROLLIN in the dough! :O)
Hope everyone is well!
-Dan Guyton
So Georgie made it to the semi-finals, which was awesome! The Riant Theatre's
Strawberry One-Act Festival - quite the interesting experience. We did not make it
past the semi-finals, but at least we had a sold-out production in New York City, a
WHOLE bunch of people saw our work, and we got some AMAZING feedback. The
person who actually WON the semi round, emailed me to say "I loved your play. It
was haunting, beautiful, poetic, and funny." Words any playwright longs to hear! :O)
And, of course, I worked with the amazing Matt Suber and Ellen Stines once again!
An excellent experience all around.
I'm Not Gay! or Eg Er Ekki Hommi! is still running wild in Iceland right now (See
photos to the left). I got some interesting reviews from it, which I'll be posting soon.
Also, I got an email the other day from some dude near Albany. He saw a
production of "Where's Julie?" some years ago, and wants to put it up at RPI
(Rensselaer Polytecnics Institute). I was like, um, ok. :O)
And my play Spat! is opening in LA this Saturday - Feb. 19th. And it's being
published in the latest Original Works' anthology: Short and Painless: The Best of
Saturday Night Lites.
It's been an amazing year so far, and it's only one month old! :O) Coming in April,
four plays are entered in the Author's Playhouse New Author Festival. I don't even
know how to respond. I'm just like.... "cool."
Oh, and I got my FIRST EVER royalty check today! It's only $34.44, and it's for 26
sales of my play "Attic." But still, it's my first one! Just another 50 checks like these
a month, and I'll be ROLLIN in the dough! :O)
Hope everyone is well!
-Dan Guyton
NEWS
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December 16, 2004
Ok, so I decided to start a "news" window so I could update everyone
without sending mass e-mails. Hopefully, this works... :O)
To the right is the poster for my dark and disturbing comedy I'm Not
Gay! which is being produced in Iceland! The translation is Eg Er Ekki
Hommi! Click on the photo for cast and crew. The dates for that show
are January 8th until audiences stop coming. :O) There is also video
footage of the translator, Thordis Thorvaldsdottir, advertising on
National Icelandic television! So click the blue words if you want to
check that out. (You won't be able to understand it, and you have to
fast-forward for about 10 minutes to get to it, but it's still freakin' cool
to see my poster!) Oh, and Thordis is hot, so it's worth checking out.
In BAD news, my car is about to be repossessed. :O( I got a nasty call from
Mitsubishi Motors yesterday wanting to know why my payments were
delinquent. I told them, and then they said If I don't pay in 48 hours I will have
to "surrender" my vehicle. I was like "Whoa! Chill! I'll pay!" It was like a scene
from Goodfellas. So yeah, so much for Christmas. My first paycheck in a
month and a half, and it's going to Mitsubishi Motors. Sorry, relatives!
Which brings me to my next point. I'm currently working at Target. Yes, that's
right, Target. My MFA and 9 years of theater and college experience have
apparently earned me the ranks of "Overnight Shelf Stocker." How fun. Oh,
and my 10-year reunion is coming up. That'll be great. "Hey Dan, what do you
do?" "Oh, I'm working at Target." Beautiful.
God, I hope the Iceland show pays well!
Actually, in good news again, my buddy Ricky just cast me in a play! His group
Basketcase has had a STRING of successes lately. They're a sketch comedy
team that I've worked with in the past. The name of the show is Saved by the
Basketcase, and it runs Sunday, Dec. 19th - Tuesday, Dec. 21st at the
Manhattan Theatre Source. Directions can be found online. Show starts at
9pm all 3 nights. I hope some of you can make it there! It's a parody of Saved
by the Bell and it features some hilarious Christmas "commercials" in between
the acts! I'll be the Mr. Belding-like principle.
Well, that said, I hope you all have an awesome Christmas or a
Happy Channukah, and thanks for checking out my site! :O)
-Dan
Ok, so I decided to start a "news" window so I could update everyone
without sending mass e-mails. Hopefully, this works... :O)
To the right is the poster for my dark and disturbing comedy I'm Not
Gay! which is being produced in Iceland! The translation is Eg Er Ekki
Hommi! Click on the photo for cast and crew. The dates for that show
are January 8th until audiences stop coming. :O) There is also video
footage of the translator, Thordis Thorvaldsdottir, advertising on
National Icelandic television! So click the blue words if you want to
check that out. (You won't be able to understand it, and you have to
fast-forward for about 10 minutes to get to it, but it's still freakin' cool
to see my poster!) Oh, and Thordis is hot, so it's worth checking out.
In BAD news, my car is about to be repossessed. :O( I got a nasty call from
Mitsubishi Motors yesterday wanting to know why my payments were
delinquent. I told them, and then they said If I don't pay in 48 hours I will have
to "surrender" my vehicle. I was like "Whoa! Chill! I'll pay!" It was like a scene
from Goodfellas. So yeah, so much for Christmas. My first paycheck in a
month and a half, and it's going to Mitsubishi Motors. Sorry, relatives!
Which brings me to my next point. I'm currently working at Target. Yes, that's
right, Target. My MFA and 9 years of theater and college experience have
apparently earned me the ranks of "Overnight Shelf Stocker." How fun. Oh,
and my 10-year reunion is coming up. That'll be great. "Hey Dan, what do you
do?" "Oh, I'm working at Target." Beautiful.
God, I hope the Iceland show pays well!
Actually, in good news again, my buddy Ricky just cast me in a play! His group
Basketcase has had a STRING of successes lately. They're a sketch comedy
team that I've worked with in the past. The name of the show is Saved by the
Basketcase, and it runs Sunday, Dec. 19th - Tuesday, Dec. 21st at the
Manhattan Theatre Source. Directions can be found online. Show starts at
9pm all 3 nights. I hope some of you can make it there! It's a parody of Saved
by the Bell and it features some hilarious Christmas "commercials" in between
the acts! I'll be the Mr. Belding-like principle.
Well, that said, I hope you all have an awesome Christmas or a
Happy Channukah, and thanks for checking out my site! :O)
-Dan
January 13th, 2005
Published!
I finally got published!!! :O) Original Works Publishing just released my play Attic for limited
distribution! It's currently only on their website (click the link above, then "plays" and
"one-acts"), though I'm working on making it more widespread! (Amazon, Half.com, Barnes &
Nobles, you know, those guys). Technically, I've had one play published before - Where's
Julie? was published as a one-act in 2002 by The Dramatic Publishing Co. as part of their
anthology Best Student One-Acts: Vol. 7, but frankly, I'm not too thrilled with the published
version of that play. It's since been upgraded to a full-length play, and I'm trying to get it
published again! HOWEVER, Attic marks my first non-anthologized solo piece of literature!
You can actually buy something I wrote! Based solely on my merits! :O) So I'm really excited
about that!
In other news, this is my first posting of the new year - and things definitely seem to be
looking up! I don't want to jinx myself, but I've gotten my first publication, I have a steady job,
my play in Iceland opens this week, and my show at the Riant Theatre is going VERY well,
and I'm actually up to date on my car payments! How cool is that?!?
Oh, and I was interviewed by the Grapevine, an English-speaking Icelandic newsletter. Just
click on the blue link and then "Movies and Theatre."
Well, again, thanks all for checking out my site. You folks are the glue to my model airplane:
you keep my shit together! :O) Peace, love and chicken grease.
-DG
Published!
I finally got published!!! :O) Original Works Publishing just released my play Attic for limited
distribution! It's currently only on their website (click the link above, then "plays" and
"one-acts"), though I'm working on making it more widespread! (Amazon, Half.com, Barnes &
Nobles, you know, those guys). Technically, I've had one play published before - Where's
Julie? was published as a one-act in 2002 by The Dramatic Publishing Co. as part of their
anthology Best Student One-Acts: Vol. 7, but frankly, I'm not too thrilled with the published
version of that play. It's since been upgraded to a full-length play, and I'm trying to get it
published again! HOWEVER, Attic marks my first non-anthologized solo piece of literature!
You can actually buy something I wrote! Based solely on my merits! :O) So I'm really excited
about that!
In other news, this is my first posting of the new year - and things definitely seem to be
looking up! I don't want to jinx myself, but I've gotten my first publication, I have a steady job,
my play in Iceland opens this week, and my show at the Riant Theatre is going VERY well,
and I'm actually up to date on my car payments! How cool is that?!?
Oh, and I was interviewed by the Grapevine, an English-speaking Icelandic newsletter. Just
click on the blue link and then "Movies and Theatre."
Well, again, thanks all for checking out my site. You folks are the glue to my model airplane:
you keep my shit together! :O) Peace, love and chicken grease.
-DG
March 15, 2005
Beware the IDES OF MARCH! It means I will divulge more boring information
about myself. :O)
So, here it goes - my show in Iceland is nearly at an end. I received my first royalties for it today - a cool $1,000.
Quite a step up from the $34.44, and not an amount to scoff at. Mitsubishi is covered for another month. Plus I
paid my phone and cable bill, and am able to use the rest towards my upcoming performance. Of course, I was
originally quoted $4,000, but hey, what's a couple thousand among friends, right? I AM concerned about the
language differences. We had discussed 8% of the profits, and IF the theatre made the purported $13,000 then
I did good. HOWEVER, I cannot read the language, and some of the comments I received from the translator
sounded fishy - ie, "The theatre is going bankrupt. We'll only be able to give you $1,000. I hope that's ok. I'm not
even getting paid - nor are the actors. I know this is lower than we originally discussed, but I hope it will be ok,
etc etc etc." This would be a tragedy if it didn't sound a little weird. I like my translator, she's a good friend of
mine, and there's a chance she'll even read this posting. However, something seems fishy. If the theatre is
going bankrupt, why would they even bother paying me? I'm not even in the same time zone, let alone area
code. How would I know what's going on? Here's the second part that's weird. She gives me all this info, and
THEN later, when I ask her, she says "The show made $13,000, of which 8% is around $1000." Ok, fine, but if
I'm getting what I'm supposed to be getting, why get me all worried about the theatre going bankrupt, and "I
hope you'll be ok with just $1,000?" It doesn't add up. Of course, beggars can't be choosers, and I have no idea
how to even double check her story, let alone combat this if it turns out to be sham. In all likelihood, we're
talking the difference of a couple hundred dollars, which, while shitty, is ultimately not worth the effort of
combating (the travel fees alone would outweigh the benefit).
PLUS, on top of all this, I'm the shitty sitch of having to doubt the word of a friend of mine. I'm a trusting man by
nature, and I've never set out for great stakes of loot or anything. But the info I've been given just doesn't really
add up. I don't want her to accuse her outright, because she may very well be telling the truth. But I'm not sure
how to brooch the situation.
Hmmmm. Moral of the story - don't get into business deals with your friends.
Um, second moral - don't feel asleep during your foreign language class in high school. (Not... that knowing
Italian would help in ANY way with understanding Icelandic. But still, if some Sicilian dicks me over, I have no
one to blame but myself.)
In other news, I mailed out 50 letters to every literary agent in New York City. Of those, 8 responded and 4 were
positive! 4 literary agents want to look at my work! Of course, this guarantees nothing, but it DOES support the
notion that getting your name out there, promoting yourself, sending out your work, eventually people take
interest. It's a stamina game, from what I hear. In that case, i should make it famous in NO time! Well, by
geological standards anyway. How long did it take to create the moon? Hell, my career should kick-start in NO
time compared to that! :O) For those curious, the 4 agents who responded were the Abrams Agency, the Fifi
Oscard Agency, the Lantz Office, and the Robert A. Freedman Dramatic Agency. If you're an up-and-coming
playwright, you may wish to contact these folks.
Otherwise, my show I'm Not Gay! will be performed (in English) at the TSI/PLAYTIME theatre in Manhattan on
Sunday. It will be a staged reading, because the theatre is not quite sure how they feel about the show just yet.
This reading will be a testing grounds for the play. If the audience approves, they will grrant us a full production.
If not, oh well. :O) I'll be playing Sera, the fat woman (you can see a picture of the Icelandic actor Huski a couple
pictures up.) Not a pretty sight, really, but it will be hilarious nonetheless! :O)
I hope y'all are doing well!
-Dan Guyton
Beware the IDES OF MARCH! It means I will divulge more boring information
about myself. :O)
So, here it goes - my show in Iceland is nearly at an end. I received my first royalties for it today - a cool $1,000.
Quite a step up from the $34.44, and not an amount to scoff at. Mitsubishi is covered for another month. Plus I
paid my phone and cable bill, and am able to use the rest towards my upcoming performance. Of course, I was
originally quoted $4,000, but hey, what's a couple thousand among friends, right? I AM concerned about the
language differences. We had discussed 8% of the profits, and IF the theatre made the purported $13,000 then
I did good. HOWEVER, I cannot read the language, and some of the comments I received from the translator
sounded fishy - ie, "The theatre is going bankrupt. We'll only be able to give you $1,000. I hope that's ok. I'm not
even getting paid - nor are the actors. I know this is lower than we originally discussed, but I hope it will be ok,
etc etc etc." This would be a tragedy if it didn't sound a little weird. I like my translator, she's a good friend of
mine, and there's a chance she'll even read this posting. However, something seems fishy. If the theatre is
going bankrupt, why would they even bother paying me? I'm not even in the same time zone, let alone area
code. How would I know what's going on? Here's the second part that's weird. She gives me all this info, and
THEN later, when I ask her, she says "The show made $13,000, of which 8% is around $1000." Ok, fine, but if
I'm getting what I'm supposed to be getting, why get me all worried about the theatre going bankrupt, and "I
hope you'll be ok with just $1,000?" It doesn't add up. Of course, beggars can't be choosers, and I have no idea
how to even double check her story, let alone combat this if it turns out to be sham. In all likelihood, we're
talking the difference of a couple hundred dollars, which, while shitty, is ultimately not worth the effort of
combating (the travel fees alone would outweigh the benefit).
PLUS, on top of all this, I'm the shitty sitch of having to doubt the word of a friend of mine. I'm a trusting man by
nature, and I've never set out for great stakes of loot or anything. But the info I've been given just doesn't really
add up. I don't want her to accuse her outright, because she may very well be telling the truth. But I'm not sure
how to brooch the situation.
Hmmmm. Moral of the story - don't get into business deals with your friends.
Um, second moral - don't feel asleep during your foreign language class in high school. (Not... that knowing
Italian would help in ANY way with understanding Icelandic. But still, if some Sicilian dicks me over, I have no
one to blame but myself.)
In other news, I mailed out 50 letters to every literary agent in New York City. Of those, 8 responded and 4 were
positive! 4 literary agents want to look at my work! Of course, this guarantees nothing, but it DOES support the
notion that getting your name out there, promoting yourself, sending out your work, eventually people take
interest. It's a stamina game, from what I hear. In that case, i should make it famous in NO time! Well, by
geological standards anyway. How long did it take to create the moon? Hell, my career should kick-start in NO
time compared to that! :O) For those curious, the 4 agents who responded were the Abrams Agency, the Fifi
Oscard Agency, the Lantz Office, and the Robert A. Freedman Dramatic Agency. If you're an up-and-coming
playwright, you may wish to contact these folks.
Otherwise, my show I'm Not Gay! will be performed (in English) at the TSI/PLAYTIME theatre in Manhattan on
Sunday. It will be a staged reading, because the theatre is not quite sure how they feel about the show just yet.
This reading will be a testing grounds for the play. If the audience approves, they will grrant us a full production.
If not, oh well. :O) I'll be playing Sera, the fat woman (you can see a picture of the Icelandic actor Huski a couple
pictures up.) Not a pretty sight, really, but it will be hilarious nonetheless! :O)
I hope y'all are doing well!
-Dan Guyton
June 25, 2005
Whew! It's been a while since I've updated! Sorry for the delay! :O) Yahoo Sitebuilder 2.2 is a VAST
improvement over the previous version. I can actually upload a LOT quicker than I have in the past!
Anyway, let's cut to the chase! I fly out tomorrow for San Francisco for another stint with NYLF (National
Youth Leadership Forum, an awesome group devoted to making leaders out of young high school
students from all across the country. They come to NYLF to learn how to be leaders in various career
choices they may be interested in. Various forums that I've worked for in the past are LAW,
TECHNOLOGY, and MEDICINE. This month will mark my SECOND stint with the MEDICINE program.
Such a cool program! We get to meet doctors, patients, nurses, see autopsies! Last summer, I got to
meet Patch Adams (the real man, not Robin Williams)! So it's a really cool program designed to help
focus these students and answer many of their questions as they consider possibly pursuing a career
in Medicine. Of course, some students decide NOT to pursue a career in Medicine, which is valid, too.
We save them HUNDREDS of dollars on Med Schools and exams by pointing out the problems up front.
That said, the next month will be fun, but TAXING. Last summer, I remember not getting a whole lot of
sleep at all. But I'm excited. And it's excellent pay!
My show I'm Not Gay! opened a few weeks ago in New York City. We got a terribly UNFAIR review on
opening night (CLICK HERE), but aside from a difficult start, we managed to pack the house nearly
every night, and get some tremendous audience support! So much so, that we've been offered a FULL
EXTENSION! The theatre has offered to let us run for as many nights and for as long a run as we want!
In fact, they even said they loved the review, as far as publicity is concerned! So, it's a really weird
business we work in.
Some comments on the review - I began this project as an attempt to analyze, mock, and satirize
homophobia. Yet, somehow, in doing so, I managed to get accused of BEING a homophobe. Not a
pleasant accusation. Especially not in this business. Perhaps more hurtful to my career is the
reviewer's claim that the play just isn't funny. While I agree that opening night had its setbacks, I don't
think the PLAY (as in, the script) is to blame. It ran for four months in Iceland with relatively good
reviews. Sure, some reviewers liked it more than others, but all commented on the play being VERY
FUNNY, in fact, to the extent of making some of the reviewers uncomfortable at how much they them-
selves were laughing at it. When it ran in Albany 5 years ago, we received a standing ovation 2 of the 3
nights. So I don't think the PLAY is to blame. And that's the part where I feel the reviewer overstepped
his bounds. Was opening night a resounding success? No. In fact, one audience member wrote us a
note asking the valid question, "Oh, so all homosexuals are homicidal maniacs who want to kill
themselves and molest children? FUCK YOU!!!!" Which is kind of funny, considering he nailed it to the
door of the theatre like it was Martin Luther's "95 Theses" or something. But still, he completely missed
the point. Gary represses his sexuality. He represses it to the point that it drives him nuts. HIM. Not all
gays. But him. The one character. Who refuses to accept and come to terms with his identity. He
refuses it SO MUCH that it drives him mad and he kills people. It's a satire. It's meant to be ironic. The
ENTIRE PLAY is ironic.
But I don't blame the reviewer. Opening night was tough. We've had three weeks, no money, and no
support from the theatre to pull this all together, and it's a DIFFICULT show. So we were not ready for
opening night. That's OUR fault. But I'm very hurt and upset with this reviewer for judging the entire
SCRIPT because of one bad performance. That's like saying "Shakespeare is a hack" because some
theatre group in the Catskills massacred Romeo & Juliet. Please. Let's be responsible analysts here.
Considering the mountain of hardships we encountered bringing this show to life, I feel VERY good
about our accomplishments. By the second night, we had MOST of the kinks worked out, and certainly
by the last two shows, we got VERY positive responses from the crowd. The show has been granted a
full extension from the theatre, which would NOT have happened if it were as bad as the reviewer said.
The show itself is not homophobic, it challenges homophobia head-on and mocks it from every
conceivable angle. When not performed well, sure, the irony is not that evident. I accept responsibility
for that, as director. But as a playwright, I've seen THREE separate productions of this play, in THREE
very different geographical and political environments, and with the exception of one or two low-energy
performance evenings, the overall response has been VERY positive.
So, that's my thoughts. We're trying to figure out how to work out the extension details. After all, I'm flying
out to California tomorrow, and one of the actors has just accepted a job in Atlanta. So timing seems to
be a major problem, in ALL regards. But we're working it out. It may end up being a revival instead of an
extension. But it WILL be coming back before the summer is out. I guarantee it. Hell, we're the Theatre
of the Obnoxious. We gotta live up to our name, right?
-Dan Guyton, morally repugnant and proud)
Whew! It's been a while since I've updated! Sorry for the delay! :O) Yahoo Sitebuilder 2.2 is a VAST
improvement over the previous version. I can actually upload a LOT quicker than I have in the past!
Anyway, let's cut to the chase! I fly out tomorrow for San Francisco for another stint with NYLF (National
Youth Leadership Forum, an awesome group devoted to making leaders out of young high school
students from all across the country. They come to NYLF to learn how to be leaders in various career
choices they may be interested in. Various forums that I've worked for in the past are LAW,
TECHNOLOGY, and MEDICINE. This month will mark my SECOND stint with the MEDICINE program.
Such a cool program! We get to meet doctors, patients, nurses, see autopsies! Last summer, I got to
meet Patch Adams (the real man, not Robin Williams)! So it's a really cool program designed to help
focus these students and answer many of their questions as they consider possibly pursuing a career
in Medicine. Of course, some students decide NOT to pursue a career in Medicine, which is valid, too.
We save them HUNDREDS of dollars on Med Schools and exams by pointing out the problems up front.
That said, the next month will be fun, but TAXING. Last summer, I remember not getting a whole lot of
sleep at all. But I'm excited. And it's excellent pay!
My show I'm Not Gay! opened a few weeks ago in New York City. We got a terribly UNFAIR review on
opening night (CLICK HERE), but aside from a difficult start, we managed to pack the house nearly
every night, and get some tremendous audience support! So much so, that we've been offered a FULL
EXTENSION! The theatre has offered to let us run for as many nights and for as long a run as we want!
In fact, they even said they loved the review, as far as publicity is concerned! So, it's a really weird
business we work in.
Some comments on the review - I began this project as an attempt to analyze, mock, and satirize
homophobia. Yet, somehow, in doing so, I managed to get accused of BEING a homophobe. Not a
pleasant accusation. Especially not in this business. Perhaps more hurtful to my career is the
reviewer's claim that the play just isn't funny. While I agree that opening night had its setbacks, I don't
think the PLAY (as in, the script) is to blame. It ran for four months in Iceland with relatively good
reviews. Sure, some reviewers liked it more than others, but all commented on the play being VERY
FUNNY, in fact, to the extent of making some of the reviewers uncomfortable at how much they them-
selves were laughing at it. When it ran in Albany 5 years ago, we received a standing ovation 2 of the 3
nights. So I don't think the PLAY is to blame. And that's the part where I feel the reviewer overstepped
his bounds. Was opening night a resounding success? No. In fact, one audience member wrote us a
note asking the valid question, "Oh, so all homosexuals are homicidal maniacs who want to kill
themselves and molest children? FUCK YOU!!!!" Which is kind of funny, considering he nailed it to the
door of the theatre like it was Martin Luther's "95 Theses" or something. But still, he completely missed
the point. Gary represses his sexuality. He represses it to the point that it drives him nuts. HIM. Not all
gays. But him. The one character. Who refuses to accept and come to terms with his identity. He
refuses it SO MUCH that it drives him mad and he kills people. It's a satire. It's meant to be ironic. The
ENTIRE PLAY is ironic.
But I don't blame the reviewer. Opening night was tough. We've had three weeks, no money, and no
support from the theatre to pull this all together, and it's a DIFFICULT show. So we were not ready for
opening night. That's OUR fault. But I'm very hurt and upset with this reviewer for judging the entire
SCRIPT because of one bad performance. That's like saying "Shakespeare is a hack" because some
theatre group in the Catskills massacred Romeo & Juliet. Please. Let's be responsible analysts here.
Considering the mountain of hardships we encountered bringing this show to life, I feel VERY good
about our accomplishments. By the second night, we had MOST of the kinks worked out, and certainly
by the last two shows, we got VERY positive responses from the crowd. The show has been granted a
full extension from the theatre, which would NOT have happened if it were as bad as the reviewer said.
The show itself is not homophobic, it challenges homophobia head-on and mocks it from every
conceivable angle. When not performed well, sure, the irony is not that evident. I accept responsibility
for that, as director. But as a playwright, I've seen THREE separate productions of this play, in THREE
very different geographical and political environments, and with the exception of one or two low-energy
performance evenings, the overall response has been VERY positive.
So, that's my thoughts. We're trying to figure out how to work out the extension details. After all, I'm flying
out to California tomorrow, and one of the actors has just accepted a job in Atlanta. So timing seems to
be a major problem, in ALL regards. But we're working it out. It may end up being a revival instead of an
extension. But it WILL be coming back before the summer is out. I guarantee it. Hell, we're the Theatre
of the Obnoxious. We gotta live up to our name, right?
-Dan Guyton, morally repugnant and proud)