Trinity University: Maddy

DUSK improvised parody of Twilight opens this weekend!

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 10:40:08 -0600

It never hit me. Post-college depression. University life is over, and I am fine with that, for now. Yes, I definitely miss my friends. I miss the inescapable, yet dependable community that college life creates. I miss cuddling in a dilapidated, half-frozen apartment with my housemate over Winter break. I miss my professors. I miss that last minute enormous group paper and presentation that must be finished before the end of the semester. (Okay, maybe that’s a lie; group papers can stay buried in the past…) I’ve already lived all of those moments, and I don’t feel the need for another dose. I am enjoying a new chapter in my life with no regrets. Completion of college has, by no means, meant the end of my education. I’m taking improv and acting classes and have found new teachers and coaches that can assign group exercises or long monologues or scripts to be memorized. Not to mention, the best learning happens, not in the classroom, but out in the world making mistakes. Throughout my life, I frequently find myself in situations where I think How the _____ did I get here?! What the ____ was I thinking! Usually, this occurs when I’m about to perform something in playhouse full of people. Not the best time to realize you are, in fact, totally inexperienced and completely clueless. Somehow, I thought those instances would decrease after college…i was wrong. In the past few weeks, I’ve found myself thinking those words exactly. On stage about to improvise in a format I’ve never rehearsed, in front of my computer preparing to write a play that I’ve told someone already exists, and on my way to auditions that require skills – puppetry, rollerblading, improvised singing – I had never studied. Unless, of course, you consider youtube’s expert village videos a proper education. In all of these instances, what typically transpires is a trial and error, learn by doing and learn by failing educational experience. More often than not, I hit a brick wall feeling defeated for just a moment, then I ball up my fist and blast through thinking awww just freakin’ go for it! And what do ya know, I get a gig or two or three! Currently I’m in an improvised parody/homage to the Twilight Saga called Dusk: Improvised Tween Erotica. Don't worry, it's erotica to the level a tween would be comfortable with: lots of eye gazing, hand holding, and almost kisses. Rated PG13. Our promotional pictures…. The folks in these pics are a few of my Duskie castmates: our best look-a-likes for Bella, Edward, the Cullens, and the wolf pack. You should immediately google the actual posters so you can see what a brilliant job we did of parodying the actual movie posters. Dusk opens this weekend at the Salvage Vanguard Theatre (2803 Manor Road, Austin, TX 78723 ) at 8pm. Tickets can be bought online and before the show, but they should sell out fast. Here's the link to get tickets online: http://www.eventbrite.com/event/436400285 There's a rotating cast of 16 people. Eight perform each night. So far, I'm the narrator on October 24 and the female lead on October 30. I'll know the other castings at least one week ahead of time. Dusk will be fun for the Twilight fans and foes, and the indifferent. Other than that, I can't tell you what the show will be like because it's improv - we make it up on the spot based on audience suggestion! On Friday, October 16, I got to see the production of a play I wrote at The Rose Theatre in San Antonio. It’s a short play in a series of scary Halloween plays. I’m in an improvised puppet musical called Crack; I finished making one of the puppets yesterday. The musical goes up in late November. Meet Trevor Adelbert. I play the only human in a puppet television show for kids, not unlike Sesame Street or Mr. Rodgers, called Funmi and Friends. To be filmed in several weeks. Still playin almost every weekend in ComedySportz, only now I’m in the ComedySportz Austin family, though I miss my San Antonio CSz family like crazy. I guess that’s the reason I haven’t felt that missing feeling that most college graduates get. I’ve surrounded myself with new families and have become a contributing part of a new set of communities. Between improv and acting gigs, and my day job riding horses (save that for another blog post…) I haven’t had room for nostalgia. I guess that's why it never hit me. Maybe it will... One day sixty years from now, sitting in my front porch on my rocking chair, drinking my beat pulp...I'll suddenly have this longing to be in a rundown, uninsulated apartment with my housemates, our feet inching closer and closer to the single space heater, because more than one space heater overloads the circuit and blows out the power in the apartment...maybe...one day. that is all. madistalgic

the realization is coming...

Mon, 17 Aug 2009 16:28:26 -0600

i think it's coming. it's august. for the past two decades of my life, the month of august has meant school supplies, textbooks, and anxious naked-in-math-class dreams. this year, there should be a whole new set of august related feelings. i miss trinity. i miss my college friends. i miss blue books...okay i would never miss blue books, and really, i'm not as down as i thought i would be. i thought the i'm-out-of-college-what-now-? blues were coming, but they haven't found me yet... here i am post-college depression! come and get me! nope, nothing. i'm actually excited about life after college. i feel prepared. (thanks Trinity) i wake up each morning ready to take on the day, eagerly looking for opportunities to work, learn, network, make friends, and have fun! "college is the best time of your life" - i disagree. today is the best time of your life. that is all. madi

I miss Milwaukee.

Mon, 20 Jul 2009 20:10:35 -0600

We are due for an update. As you know from the last post, we finished filming in Houston. It was a lot of fun and a wonderful experience. Quick highlight: It was me, the director/camera guy, and a giant blue screen. The scene was set in an extravagant church that doesn’t actually exist, and I was speaking to four other people who weren’t actually there. Quite the acting experience. Ahhh the magic of movies. After the filming was complete, I was home for a week then off to Milwaukee, Wisconsin for the Comedy League 2009 ComedySportz World Championship. It was so much fun. My ComedySportz family grew tenfold. I have nothin’ but love for those folk and I want to marry every single one. I’ll marry the married ones too…yeah it’s a strange family. The CSz Family The Matt Picture. There were a lot of Matts at tournament so we took a picture together. I was honored to be included among the Matts. Wade, the captain of San Antonio ComedySportz, and Me on the CSz Milwaukee stage. Fun Fact: Milwaukee is the birthplace of ComedySportz. Wasn't that fun? YOU: What is this Comedythingy? ME: Well, it’s ComedySportz. And I’m glad you asked. Have you seen Whose Line Is It Anyway? YOU: Yeah, that show with that Jim Cary guy, and Ryan, and Colin? And OMG! I LOVE Wayne Brady! ME: Well, it’s actually Drew Cary. And I love Mr. Brady too. But anywho, ComedySportz is like Whose Line only there are two teams of improvisers battling for points awarded to them by the audience. Instead of Drew Cary, in ComedySportz, we have a ref collecting suggestions and a person in the sound box keeping track of points. Get it? YOU: Hum I wish you had a website or something where I could learn more… ME: Ah, how fortunate for you. Here’s our website: www.comedysportz.com We have teams in many major cities in the United States, and in Manchester, England, and, hopefully two new teams will be starting up in Berlin, Germany and Islamabad, Pakistan! If you have read this far down in this blog, thank you and congratulations! You made it through my shameless ComedySportz plug. Find us on the web at www.comedysportz.com. Now you’ve made it through two shameless plugs! You’re on a roll today! I got back from Milwaukee about one week ago. And I never thought I’d say this, but I miss Milwaukee, and I’m pretty sure there are about 200 other ComedySportz people around the globe that feel the same way. It’s a proud day for Milwaukee and Milwaukeeians everywhere, especially those residing in Milwaukee. Now, it’s time for the great job searching adventure. My priority is acting. I need a job that is flexible so that I can go on auditions. I need a job that is part time so that I have time to market myself to obtain auditions. I need a job that pays money so that I can afford to drive to auditions. And finally, I need a job that I can stand so that I wont poke my eyeballs out. Flexibility? check. Part time? check. Money? check. Eyeballs? double check. I’ve got a few feelers out there prodding certain contacts, not contact lenses aka eyeball covers, but actual people that might be able to give me a job. (And please note that I am speaking metaphorically and do not have actual feelers growing out of my abdomen prodding these contacts/actual people or their eyeballs). Point being, I’m looking for a job, and I’ll keep you updated on this great adventure. Now, for the Reflections of Greatness: People I’ve influenced section, yet this time I have decided to add a twist. Anti-reflections of the polar opposite of Greatness: People who are in a completely separate gene pool than me. These people make me emote in an angered fashion. First is the small group of people who still wear and/or fly the confederate flag. The Onion news has the perfect bit on this symbol that sums up my views. I’m sorry Georgia. http://www.theonion.com/content/node/35101 Second thing, those who drink and drive. I become very angry, and am often incensed to violence, when a person tells their best “crazy drinking” story and it involves driving. ME: Are you stupid!? YOU: No… DRUNK DRIVER PERSON: Yes. End of story. Now, don’t get me wrong, I have my fair share of “crazy drunk times”, but none, I repeat, none involve driving. It’s stupid, irresponsible, and selfish. It kills people, and it kills puppies. So don’t be stupid and tell me you got wasted then drove halfway across town. That is, unless you want your eyeball punched in by a short white girl. Then brag away you soon-to-be eyeless wonder of creation. YOU: What’s with all the poking of the eyeballs Madi? ME: Humm, yes there is a lot of eyeball poking going on in this blog. I apologize for that. No more poking of the eyeballs. Third thing that ticks me off, ranting in blog posts. Come on people, nobody wants to read your rant. How can you be so narcissistic to think that someone actually cares enough to spend time reading your pretentious rant? Jeez loueez! Only kidding. I love rants. Rant away, rant like people care, rant like you’ve never ranted before. Event the word “rant” is cool. R-A-N-T. It’s like the word “man” only with an r and a t, and no m. Or like pants. Only with an r and no s. It’s also pretty close to madi only with an r, n, t, and no m, d, or i. You can also spell rat or ant or an with it. And “rant” has your initials if you name is Randy Allen, or Randy Allen Nugget, or Randy Allen Nugget Toadly. Of course if that’s your name…well, I feel sorry for your children. THE TOADLY CHILDREN: Hey! ME: Sorry kiddos. RANDY ALLEN NUGGET TOADLY (R.A.N.T.): It’s okay, we’re working on getting past our name. Aren’t we kids? THE TOADLY CHILDREN: Yes, Pappa Toadly. ME: Wow, congratulations. R.A.N.T.: What’s that supposed to mean? ME: I’m just saying, it’s quite a name to overcome. R.A.N.T.: How so? ME: Well Toad… R.A.N.T.: Yes? ME: Toads are gross. R.A.N.T.: No, they are not. Toads are beautiful creatures. ME: Are you kidding me, toads are the enlarged, wart-ridden version of frogs, They are completely void of any froggy cuteness, not to mention a frog’s “cuteness” is debatable in the first place. THE TOADLY CHILDREN: Hey! Wahhhhhaaaaaaa! R.A.N.T.: Kids, say it with me. We are not Toads. We are The Toadlys. We are not Toads. We are The Toadlys. THE TOADLY CHILDREN and R.A.N.T.: We are not Toads. We are The Toadlys. We are not Toads. We are The Toadlys. ME: High school’s gonna be a barrel of laughs… In fact, when you start ranting, you sometimes realize that there are people that have it a lot worse off than you, especially those named Toadly. But I still don’t like drunk drivers. Well that tangent made a lot of sense. And this post is way too long enough. I think twitter wants to arrest me. that is all. Matty Allen Nugget Toadly

Wrapped. For Now.

Sat, 27 Jun 2009 10:46:27 -0600

This past month has been incredibly fun. Sunday (tomorrow) is my final day of filming for The Fifth Column. In the film biz, I’ll be what we call “wrapped” (finished with my part of the film). It comes from the term wrap: "That's a wrap." Some say this comes from the acronym "Wind, Reel, and Print" Anywho, it all means that the director, editor, crew members, and supporting or featured actors might still have work to do, but principal photography is over. For now. At least until we come back for dubbing (which is when we re-record lines that have poor audio quality) and/or pick ups (which are all the little pieces of scenes we either forgot or they didn’t turn out right in final editing so we get to do them again). Everything in this business is for now. Pretty much nothing is definite until you print the final copy and distribute it. Even then, you can go back and re-shoot or add special features, interviews, etc, if you really think it will improve your project. But bottom line, I will be wrapped tomorrow. Which means I head back to Austin. I am actually rather sad. This has been quite a fun experience. The fifteen year old boy in my mind is glumly pouting in the corner. Although…tomorrow will be quite a fun day… 15-YEAR-OLD BOY IN MY MIND: How can that be…we’ll be done…or wrapped as you call it. ME: Yes, but I promise it will be fun. In tomorrow’s scene, a character gets to die and then fall on you. YOU: Fall on You? Wait, I didn’t know I was in this movie! ME: Not you, You. Fall on Me. 15-YEAR-OLD BOY IN MY MIND: And Me. ME: Well you are in my mind, therefore you are me. So yes. You and Me. YOU: Hold it, you said You again. I thought I wasn’t in it… ME: Sorry, You. My mistake, it’s just us. US: Me? ME: No, not You, not Us. It’s just Me and him. HIM: Me? 15-YEAR-OLD BOY IN MY MIND: Can you shut these people up!? I’m trying to glumly pout in the corner, while slowly processing the fact that the scene might actually be fun tomorrow, yet never letting it show because of my overpowering teenage angst and irrepressible desire to be pitied as the poor tortured soul that I am. Anywho, today, we are celebrating my cousin Courtney’s birthday. Two of my cousins who live in Houston had birthdays this month, and I’ve gotten to be there for both. Sweet deal and perfect timing! Here are some pics from The Fifth Column. We are about to shoot a scene where we come up through a hatch in the floor above. This is my GAME2 costume. Most of the film was shot in this fancy getup. Can't tell you much about this scene. You'll have to see the movie. Whahaahaa And of course, a giant whit Hummer. That was a fun day. that is all. madiswrapped

shootin' shootin' and bakin'

Sat, 06 Jun 2009 16:40:38 -0600

helloooo san antonio! upon graduation from college, el universitaire, la higher educashion…my ego has grown considerably, nonetheless it remains proportional to my genuisness…therefore criticism will find no home in this life of adventure and brilliance. it seems as though my brain is so full of trinity grown intelligence that no room remains for an ego. as an optimist, i'd say i'm at least half full of myself. YOU: What are you up to these days? ME: Well, You, I’m glad you asked. for the month of June, i am living in Houston filming a feature length independent film called The Fifth Column. It’s a futuristic action film, and I play a young girl who has mad skills at video games. we’ve been shooting for a week and it has been a freakin blast. literally and figuratively. YOU: Literally a blast? ME: yes. literally. we get to fire a variety of guns. i have a shotgun, a nighthawk assassins pistol with a silencer and a red dot scope, and an XM8 assault rifle. wicked awesome, right? i sound like a badass, right? the 15-year-old boy in my mind is going “wooooo hoooooo, heck yes!” 15-YEAR-OLD BOY IN MY MIND: Wooooo Hooooo! Heck yes! ME: told you. so anywho, that what’s up right now. the shoot (both the guns and the film) is going really well. im living at a cousin’s house while i'm here in Houston. it has been bundles of fun to catch up with this part of my family. bottom line: i am one lucky little dog. livin’ the life, and bakin’ cookies. for real yo. i am actually bakin’ earl grey cookies at my cuz’s house. and they are quite fantastic. the 14-year-old girl in my tummy is going, “yay hooray, yum yum!” 14-YEAR-OLD GIRL IN MY TUMMY: Yay Hooray, Yum YUM! ME: told you again. 38-YEAR-OLD ENGLISHMAN IN MY TASTE BUDS: Ho hum, yes humm, that appears to be a lovely cookie. May I have a go at one? ME: didn't see that one coming...ummm yes, you can have one.... 38-YEAR-OLD ENGLISHMAN IN MY TASTE BUDS: Why thank you my dear. Bites into cookie. 38-YEAR-OLD ENGLISHMAN IN MY TASTE BUDS: Lovely, that is bloody delicious. ME: Thanks, I appreciate the compliment. But in the future, can you not use the term bloody when describing my cookies? 38-YEAR-OLD ENGLISHMAN IN MY TASTE BUDS: oh yes, right, I apologize. The cookies are delicious...no blood. ME: Thanks. 38-YEAR-OLD ENGLISHMAN IN MY TASTE BUDS: Delicious cookies free of blood. Sans blood. All cookie and no red body fluids: plasma, red blood cells, white bl- ME: That's enough. 38-YEAR-OLD ENGLISHMAN IN MY TASTE BUDS: Yes, right you are. that is all. maducky

“there is no charge for awesomeness…or attractiveness.”

Tue, 26 May 2009 10:56:23 -0600

that’s why you get to read my blog for free. graduation week 101 party. take final final. party with faculty. party. graduate. party. party with parents. party. this past month has been quite a trip. after i turned in my final college final (see my May 12 blog post) i could actually feel my heart beat a bit harder. no, the beating didn’t increase in speed. i just felt like my heart was going to punch straight through my chest cavity and go splat on the sidewalk by Trinity’s magic stones. maybe my heart knew i was officially done, and it just wanted to stay here at Trinity. talk about leaving part of yourself behind… i think it was on Wednesday that we climbed the tower and signed a brick. and then we went to a senior "casino party." AND at said "casino party" yours truly was awarded a The $15 iTunes Gift Card for Awesomeness. YOU: Congratulations. ME: Thank you. YOU: How did you achieve such awesomeness? ME: Well, I've been perfecting awesomeness for over two decades. YOU: oh, wow. ME: and they pulled my raffle ticket out of a hat. YOU: oh...but you said... ME: I know what I said. My extraordinarily good luck does not refute my awesomeness. YOU: oh, yeah, right. then Thursday night Trinity hosted what we called our “senior prom” aka Twilight at Trinity. Trinity invited all of the senior class to a dinner on the esplanade. food, fun, and dancing ensued. they also had this text wall, where you could send text messages to a certain number and they would appear on this projector. it started out as a good idea…but alas the tragedy of the commons, we began to abuse our power and the staff had to turn it off. they may be college grads, but gee i guess you can’t expect them all to actually be mature. oh well, a little peer pressure and the ever-present desire for attention can lead even the most responsible adults down the road of gross immaturity. nonetheless, many text-posts were quite witty and sarcastic. i quite enjoyed those. the graduation ceremony was on May 16th. it rained like crazy. no worries though, we took advantage of the rain…had some fun getting wet and got some amazing photos. here's the rents and the bro best grad pictures ever, it was pouring down rain. here are my housemates and dean tuttle. prepare for shameless plug: if you didn't already know, the dean has his own blog, that i must say is quite entertaining. it will change your life forever.* check it out: http://trinitydean.blogspot.com/ *may or may not actually be a true statement depending on an individual's current life stage and his or her sensitivity to brilliant literary geniusness. after the ceremony we went back to our house for a graduation party. again, more rain, more fun, and more pictures. i got to slice the cake...maybe not the best personnel choice for cake slashing duties... after all that crazy college kid shenanigans all that was left was to find inner tranquility... and peaceful slumber... that is all. madawesomeness

the mask girls

Sun, 17 May 2009 13:28:44 -0600

i think i got lucky growing up in the hill country. my parents encouraged active play outdoors, and it didn’t take much goading to get me and Fuz, my childhood playmate, to go gallivanting around outside. i am lucky not only because i had a bad-ass childhood (yeah, i just described childhood as bad-ass), but i also got a kick ass immune system (yep, my immune system is kick-ass, notice the subtle syntactical differences between bad and kick). i am quite healthy today, i would like to believe, as a result of frequent exposure to all sorts of germs and filth in the country along with a certain, yet expected, childhood disdain for bathing. however, i have a housemate this year that has zero immune system. long story short: Roomie’s immune system – 0 Any germ, virus, bacteria, spec of dust Roomie comes into contact with – 1,000,000,000. and that’s not a fun match. so when the swine flu pandemic was, and still is to an extent, the seasonal thing to worry about (other topics have been overpopulation, global warming, genetic engineering), my housemate got to be “the mask girl” did “the mask girl” have the swine flu? no did people assume she had swine flu? perhaps a few of the dimmer bulbs in the batch, despite the fact that Trinity would be oh-so much more careful than that. was “the mask girl” over-paranoid? no did people assume she was over-paranoid? probably. a lack of immune system doesn’t have the same visual cue as say, a lack of a left ear does…please note i am not suggesting that lopping off her left ear would have elicited a different reaction: “Oh look, she’s not over-paranoid about swine flu; she’s only wearing a mask because she doesn’t have a left ear. I get it now.” no matter what the case may be, it is never any fun being “the (insert noun or derogatory adjective here) girl/boy/kid/whatever” during high school, i am proud to say that for a time i was the rolley-bag girl. i, however, didn’t have a doctor prescribe a rolley-bag for my weakened immune system. nope. i just wanted to buck tradition and see what it felt like. yeah it sucked. that particular phase lasted about three to six months, and then i couldn’t take it anymore. classmates made fun of my rolley-bag behind my back and to my face and often kicked my rolley-bag as i scooted down the hallways. high school just couldn’t handle my rolley-bag awesomeness. it was a good experience in a kind of cruddy way. anywho, back to the swine flu, i donned the mask with my buddy on the first afternoon she had to go to campus with the mask on. we went to the speech and drama building to tell one of her profs not to be surprised when she showed up in class with the mask. it wasn’t until later during our graduation party (more on that in upcoming blogs) that we took these pictures. but i thought you would enjoy them. the whole mask thing didn’t last too long, because it got too hot to be able to breathe. those things are surprisingly difficult to breathe under. i think i’ll need some fitness training to partake in the outdoor mask wearing competition. we took these at our graduation party (more on that later) and fyi, we are smiling under the masks. all the same, it looks like, at least for now, we’ve got the swine flu under control, which of course is extremely fortunate. that is all madsks

"you're never too old..."

Tue, 12 May 2009 01:59:31 -0600

i am a graduating senior. in about five days, i will graduate from college. i can not even begin to express how strange that feels. a few days ago, i finally took my final college final. in the final essay question on this final, i discussed how matter was created in the early universe through nearly complete annihilation due to quantum fluctuations and space-time inflation…and, yes, i’m still a drama major. see i waited until my senior year to complete my science requirement for common cric. thank you liberal arts college. but actually i really enjoyed the science classes i took: Biological Impacts and Issues sometime during my sophomore year, and Astronomy and an astronomy lab this last semester. those professors were amazing. that’s the trick to satisfying common curriculum requirements that you aren’t interested in: find a professor who is really passionate (lots of those here at trinity) about their field and you are bound to have an interesting class. thanks to Dr. MacAlpine, Dr. Boice, and Dr. Espey i had several really great classes in subjects that i honestly wasn’t excruciatingly interested in. i learned a lot and they changed my perspective on how i see and relate to the world. seriously, it’s good stuff. i also think it depends on the person. i often refuse to be bored or uninterested. for example in my astronomy lab, i had to make a sundial. yes, i made a sundial in astronomy… it was like arts an crafts time. oh the good old days. my sundial could have been boring, but no. it had unicorns on it. pink and blue. and it had fish, a giraffe, a tiger, a fire hydrant, and some stars…all with googley eyes. most of it was my roommate’s left over art supplies. and then you will recognize the googley eyes from another project of mine…(see my last blog post) to say the least my sundial was a beautiful work of craftsmanship blended with creativity, then tossed in a pre-teen girly dressing and garnished with a bit of pink glitter glue. and apparently, as i read on the sundial instruction manual, every sundial has some sort of pithy saying or quote. kind of like a theme. i am quite proud of mine. you will find it inscribed at the foot of the sundial panel. i hope you are inspired by its witty genius. see for yourself: so you agree, an astronomically brilliant sundial for my astronomy lab? YOU: Out of this world brilliant. ME: yes, I guess that’s another way to put it. YOU: You’re my shooting star. ME: uh huh, that’s good. YOU: I’m over the moon for you. ME: okay, you’re done now. YOU: Yeah, sorry I spaced. ME: stop. (pause) ME: thank you. YOU: You’re universally welcome. ME: okay that one didn’t even make sense… YOU: Why not? Isn’t it universal? ME: now that was just painful. anywho, a quick update: i’m not writing a “good-bye blog” because i hope i get to keep sharing my cosmic wisdom with you. right after i graduate, i’m headed to H-town (for the old folk and out-of-towners out there that’s Houston, Texas) to shoot a movie. then, i’ll be in Austin, Texas, (or A-town…) building a resume and preparing to move out to Los Angeles. (La-town…no, not so much…) that is all madigrad

PEARL'S PLIGHT

Tue, 28 Apr 2009 22:27:53 -0600

on your mark, get ready, get set don't stop reading, not just yet. ya know, i'm thinkin you just might find that this here film will blow you mind. an onion and a pear find true love that's of course, till onion finds the stove. decide to watch it or decide to not but just know that the pear does rot. sorry to spoil, that was kinda low, i guess the end you now know. it's tragedy of sorts, and if you were wise you already knew that everyone dies. now, bare with me if you please, i'm not shakespeare or sophocles. it may make you smile, laugh, or even sigh, but you should know, it made my momma cry. no way it ain't no bull. this film is good, great, i'd say wonderful. now sit back and watch the mayhem it'll change your life, but i'm just sayin' if the embedded link didn't play i'm here to save the day copy and paste and up you'll perk this link is sure to work: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G29qk1ygVqU that is all madi isn't tall

there's something brilliant about the word brilliance

Sat, 18 Apr 2009 09:30:18 -0600

i recently made a film. it’s not HBO material…well technically I haven’t talked to HBO yet, so I can’t say that they wouldn’t be interested. but i think i’ll wait to approach HBO until i finish COMM 3342: Visual Communication. the final project for this class is an original film. i haven’t put the footage together yet, but i can assure you that it is on my standard level of brilliance. prepare yourself for directing, writing, and cinematographic genius… Please note that fruits and vegetables were harmed in the making of this film. Picture this: A young and beautiful green pear meets a strapping red onion. They fall in love, get married, and live happily ever after. Until after “ever after”, when the owner of the fridge gets hungry. Hungry for produce. Their lives are changed forever when the hand of fate chooses to satisfy its desire and take a bite out of destiny. Let me give you a little tidbit of information that will be handy if you ever decide to tackle the film biz: If you ever have to work with actors, don’t. Work with fruits and vegetables. Of course, I did have one human actor who portrayed her villainous role with charisma, appropriate violence, and brilliant technical skill. My other principal produce-actors, Pearl the pear and Otis the onion, are talented professionals. Their dramatic choices were right on the nose. They were committed to the truth in their roles, and they never complained when the scenes ran long. Even when we put a knife through Otis, took a bite out of Pearl and threw her in the trashcan, they didn’t argue one bit. At HEB I recruited and signed four stunt pears, two stunt onions, a bag of stunt potatoes and a stunt garlic clove. All my stunt-produce played a crucial role in this project and paid the ultimate price. Produce-actors are simply delicious….I mean, they are delightful. I cannot wait to show you their inspired work. However, neither Pearl nor Otis will be doing any film work in the future. They have expired…ummm I mean, retired. But they tasted great…I mean, they...awww forget it, I got hungry and ate my actors. Not something I would recommend in future film shoots, especially when you need to go back and pickup extra scenes. that is all. madear

The Walltermelon Metaphor

Sun, 29 Mar 2009 01:47:01 -0600

last week one of you asked me an excellent question that i find imperative to answer. “Hi Madi, first let me say you are awesome. Madz, I have a question for you. I was hungry the other day, and all I had was a giant watermelon. But I didn’t know how to eat it. Before I ask my question, I just want to reiterate how awesome you are. You are awesome. Now here is my question. What is the best way to eat a watermelon?” great question with a very simple response. Cut it in half. Grab a spoon. And chow down. and a very complex response. for the average Trinity student, the fun does not end there. Please note that, with Trinity kids, anything and everything can be made into deeply profound metaphors. Example. The life metaphor: box of chocolates. Need I say more? Watch Forest Gump. The companion metaphor: the lap desk. As you communicate with the world, record your thoughts in a digital format, or absorb the brilliance of this blog, eventually your laptop computer heats up to a point that it burns your lap. Like a true friend, in those times of need, the lap desk will be the buffer between you and the unyielding heat of the world. Everyone needs a friend like a lap desk (as well as an actual lap desk) in his or her life. The wise metaphor: the couch blanket. When it’s cold outside, and the cold seeps into the poorly insulated college apartment you find yourself living in during your senior year at Trinity University, it is necessary to have a blanket on the couch. Yes, on the couch. There is no need to get up and walk to you room, no need to blow all the breakers in the house by plugging in another space heater, no need to light a fire in the fake fireplace where you store your dvds. NO, you have a blanket on the couch. Just wrap up in that little no-sew fleece blanket you keep on the couch for moments just like this. In cold times the couch blanket of understanding cloaks you in a relaxed warmth and allows you to focus and achieve greatness from the comfort of your couch. And finally, back to the watermelon. The historical metaphor: the watermelon. Recently, my housemates and I devoured a watermelon, and not just a watermelon. No, my friend, with this watermelon we constructed a miniature replica of the Berlin Wall for educational purposes. Yes, a Berlin Walltermelon if you will. Please prepare for an innocent, unoffensive, educational Trinity Nerd Moment… Our Berlin Walltermelon was complete with guards (seeds) atop the wall and citizens (seeds and watermelon juices) in East Berlin who were trying to cross over to West Berlin. The citizens in East Berlin tunneled to West Berlin allowing the supply truck (a green grape) to transport essential provisions (grape juice) to the East Berlin citizens (seeds and juice). When West Germany discovered the tunneling, they created a blockade (a hunk of granola). But alas, on November 9, 1989 (March 26, 2009) crowds of citizens (seeds and juice) rushed the checkpoints (spoon dug holes in watermelon wall) and the guards (seeds atop watermelon wall) could not control the confusion. The citizens crossed the border and eventually tore down the concrete (watermelon) wall with their sledgehammers (spoons), thus uniting the country (fruit). arial view of Walltermelon Walltermelon pre-tunneling system Walltermelon post-tunneling system Yes, we took pictures. Trinity Nerds. But enlightening and brilliant nonetheless. And that is the best way to eat a watermelon. Well my friends, as I am typing these words, I sit upon my couch; the lap desk is out of reach next to the television; the couch blanket has fallen into the dark abyss that exists between the back cushions and the wall; and earlier today, my chocolate-loving housemate and I (the same one that suggested hooing outside my window, see blog history. Jan. 09: “plastic owls or hooing housemates”) took care of all the chocolate boxes we had in the apartment. consequently, i find myself sitting here chocolateless, blanketless, and unable to handle the blazing heat radiating from the hunk of computing machine burning a hole in my lap. therefore my dear fans... that is all. madimelon

a chicken or egg question

Wed, 11 Mar 2009 18:46:49 -0600

People have often pondered whether the chicken or the egg came first. This is a tough question. The movers and shakers of our world have posed many similar questions. The seed or the plant? The shoe or the sock? Well, that last one is rather simple. If you’ve got socks, it is customary to put them on before the shoes. And with the chicken or egg question, why doesn’t anyone ask, “Is the egg a chicken’s egg?” Be specific people! That would be such an easy question if the egg was, say, that of a frog. Frogs are amphibians and amphibians came before chickens. Answer: the frog wins. Congratulations frogs. Anywho, here’s the “chicken or egg” question I’d like to pose: Did I make Trinity brilliant or did Trinity make me brilliant? I will admit that when I first came to Trinity I was not as educated and remarkably hip as I am now, four years later. I was a confused little freshman, or “first year” as Trinity likes to call it. I went from an undeclared major to a communication/drama major to a business/drama major to a drama major to realizing how little you major matters as long as you’re learning, growing, and doing what makes you come alive. “Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” -Howard Thurman Sorry moms and dads of Trinity students past, present, and future. I am encouraging your kids to follow their dreams. But I digress. Back to the question at hand: did I make Trinity brilliant or did Trinity make me brilliant? While I was not as “educated, and remarkably hip” as a freshman as I am today, that does not establish the order of brilliance. I could have made Trinity brilliant even in my lesser state of brilliance. Despite the origin of this brilliance, the fact still remains that, yes, both me and Trinity are brilliant. How does one define Trinity? I am Trinity. Trinity students are Trinity. The faculty and staff, the grounds keepers, the grounds, the cats, the naked man statue on Rosemont are all Trinity. At this very moment, you are Trinity. Do you feel the brilliance radiating from this webpage? …that is Trinity. Do I love Trinity? Perhaps the better question is do I love myself? Yes, I do. And thus, transitively I love Trinity very much. that is all. madiponder

Quadruple Lucky Fliers

Fri, 06 Mar 2009 17:52:45 -0600

Anytime you fly any place. You board a plane. Yes, you board a plane, and then, if you are flying Southwest, you choose your seat. With other carriers, you find your assigned row and seat. When I went to U/RTA auditions five weekends ago, grad school auditions for Acting programs, I was flying American Airlines. I had an assigned seat. My fate was in the hands of the American Airlines seat assingers. Well, the fate of my happiness on this flight to New York City. You can be completely win-the-lottery lucky with a window seat, sorta-kinda lucky with an aisle seat, or go-ahead-and-jump-out-of-the-plane-while-it’s-still-sitting-on-the-ground unlucky with a middle seat. So, let’s go back to the beginning. Anytime you fly any place…on a plane, you sit in a seat. Yes, and that seat is one of three types of luckiness and that seat is also either on the lucky side or the unlucky side. If you have a win-the-lottery lucky seat on the lucky side of the plane…well you, my friend, are a double lucky flier, and that’s a whole lot of lucky. When I went to U/RTA auditions, I happen to be a double lucky flier. As we were landing in La Guardia airport in New York City, I sat window seat to one of the best spectacles the US has to offer. The New York City skyline! It was beautiful. For those interested, when flying into La Guardia from the South, the lucky side of the plane is the left side. That’s what I like to call a little VIPI: very important piece of information. YOU: Thank you, I will remember that VIPI. ME: You’re very welcome you. I’ve got plenty of little gems where that came from. YOU: Please, please, grace Us with your knowledge. (enter US) US: Speak for yourself You. I think Me is a stuck up know-it-all. ME: Excuse me!? YOU: No, I didn’t mean grace Us with your brilliance. I meant the reading audience and myself! (enter MYSELF) MYSELF: Don’t bring me into this! ME: What? Who the heck are all of you? Us? Myself? US: I’m Us. MYSELF: And I’m just Myself. ME: Yeah, I see that. But where did you both come from? US: Same place You did. (confusing pause) YOU: I am so sorry, Me. Us, you’re so disrespectful, just get out of here. US: You don’t have to ask me twice. YOU: Myself, you can stay if you want. MYSELF: I’d rather not. (US and MYSELF exit) ME: Wow, okay…I’ve never met Us or Myself… they appear cynical, close-minded, and ugly. YOU: Yes, I agree. Thank goodness they’re gone. Let’s get back to your brilliance. ME: Let’s do. The auditions went swimmingly well. I was passed through prelim auditions to the final auditions, out of which I got interviews with several grad schools. Trinity helped pay for a lot of my expenses: the flight, the hotel, and a little change left over. Here's a few pics of yours truly in NYC. Hang tight, I promise it won't be as bad as your Great Aunt Margie's slide show from her trip to Lubbock. Times Square! It just so happens that 80 degree weather in January is actually a Texas thing. In case you didn't know, NYC gets cold during the winter. Imagine that. Yep, I got to see the Late Show! The weekend after that was spent in Houston, auditioning for an independent film being shot in Houston this summer. Then, the two weekends after that I got to go to California and audition for two more grad schools. I haven’t heard back from any of the schools yet. But I’ll keep You updated, as well as you my reading audience…and Myself…and Us. US: No need. ME: Right. US: Sorry, you’re just kinda lame. ME: I’ll work on it…? US: Good idea. You do that. Anyway, I do have great news on the independent film front: I am cast. So, this Summer I will be acting and living in Houston for about a month and a half. Yay-hooray! I want to close with a parting VIPI. Lucky side of the plane, leaving Las Vegas, heading toward Burbank California: the right side; the right side of the plane gets a beautiful view of the Las Vegas strip. Low angle, at night…it was lovely. Yes, I was a double lucky flier again. That’s like a quadruple lucky flier. Now for a popular segment that you'll find in past blog entries - Reflections of greatness: people i’ve influenced This time I would like to salute the American Airlines seat assinger, who made me a double lucky flier, twice, thus making me a quadruple lucky flier. Thanks, American Airlines seat assigner person. You have achieved greatness. that is all madair

a few things you should know about life............ my life, because I'm that important.

Thu, 12 Feb 2009 14:55:53 -0600

there are a few things that you should know about before reading another word... but in light of the fact that i can only communicate to you in text, that could be a problem. however, for safe measure you should stop reading and eat your computer right now, that way you can properly digest what i have to say. YOU:But if my computer is in my stomach, won't I have a hard time reading what you are about to type? ME: Good point You. Don't eat your computer. ...ever. Note: please excuse the fact that it is a list. I will have more time later to expound on my adventures, but I felt it necessary to provide you with an update. 1. Audition in (two weekends ago) New York for multiple graduate schools...it was cold. 2. Audition (last weekend) in Houston for an independent film being shot this summer 3. Audition (this weekend) in California for California Institute of the Arts 4. Audition (next weekend) in California for University of California at Irvine 5. Attend (next next weekend) the Humana Festival at Actors Theatre Louisville that is all... madraco madfoy

plastic owls or hooing housemates

Wed, 21 Jan 2009 09:09:44 -0600

i have another blog on which i discussed a certain ailment of mine and i thought it relevant to discuss this issue here as well. and perhaps i can get your feedback on my proposed solutions. oh, and please feel free to offer up any other solutions that might be wandering around in your mind. let's brainstorm. i wake up at 7:30 am almost every morning (sometimes 7:40 am, if i'm lucky). i voluntarily sign up for 8:30 am classes. so, to all those trinity students who like to sleep in...don't worry i'll fill up the early classes so you can get the afternoon classes and your much-needed beauty rest. you're welcome. some of the more advanced of our species don't need any extra rest devoted to our appearances. this earl morning waking malfunction of mine is probably due to one: my childhood growing up on a farm, and two: the annoying gaggle of noisy birds that arrives outside my window around 7 am. i'm thinking about getting a giant plastic owl - like the one in my family's horse barn back home - and placing on the upstairs window sill outside. the birds think the owl is real (poor creatures) so they won't nest in your barn - or outside your bedroom window. lets hope they don't wise up to the plastic owl ruse anytime soon. my housemate suggested we record ourselves saying "hoo hoo hooooo" and play that outside my window to scare the birds away. several problems here. one: we don't sound anything like owls, two: we don't have any recording equipment, three: we don't have the proper play back equipment, and four: it doesn't solve the initial problem of annoying sounds outside my window at 7 am. hummm do i want to hear actual birds squawking or the hooing of my housemates? that is all. madawake