• Got to be in an outstanding production of Urinetown, one of my cross-off-my-list-before-I-die shows
• Played a wicked stepsister in a kid’s production of Cinderella
• Sang solo for the first time in a musical
• Walked around the city pretending to be a flamingo to promote the local zoo
• Did the entire 54-hour improvathon, and became the world-record holder as far as anyone can account for
• Purchased a fancy new suit (my first since high school!)
• Surprised my mom by flying over 3000 km to visit on her birthday
• Played a legendary role as Riff Raff in The Rocky Horror Show, and in that vein…
  
• Got away with playing a role meant for a rock-tenor-screamer without everyone hating me at the end of it
• Took an expenses-paid trip to Austin, Texas (even if much of it was spent shilling for Microsoft)
• Played as Bob Crachit in An Improvised Christmas Carol
• Got to perform opposite a celebrity on my birthday
• Increased my circle of friends, while also drawing it tighter
• Felt – even for brief moments – like I belonged, and mattered

Tonight I play in the Unexpected Productions New Year’s Eve Extreme Theatresports, which has been sold out since yesterday sometime.

There’ve been downs as well as ups, of course, and I’m not being exhaustive with that list, but on the whole it’s been an exceptional and memorable year. I try telling myself: how many people can claim to have done half as many things that were half as interesting?

Here’s looking forward to 2009 being even beter.

Dan.

… Dashing.

This past weekend was hectic as a friend was visiting from Edmonton. We ran around the city doing and eating far too much. I performed at Theatresports and it was okay, although the energy was a bit weird in a way we couldn’t quite explain afterwards. I also attended what was hopefully my last wedding this summer… it was beautiful and the ceremony was (mercifully, in the summer heat without air conditioning) about the shortest I’ve ever seen.

My attempts at getting the iPhone have failed miserably so far. I went on launch day only to witness a line of several hundred people that apparently was taking as long as six hours for people to get through, and I was having none of that (although I did know three people in the line who were apparently much more dedicated than myself). I thought I stood a decent shot this morning as I returned from dropping my friend off at the airport… but after an hour and a half in line and being second to the front I was informed that they were all out, which was quite a bit infuriating as they kept insisting they didn’t know how many they had left but when the final answer is sixteen they are either deliberately misleading you or grossly incompetent. There’s talk that they might be getting more by Wednesday. My patience is wearing thin, though… I’m sick of my Ocean.

I grabbed a bunch of pictures taken from the last few hours of the Improvathon and added them to my gallery. Unfortunately I don’t have a more complete selection available. I’m hoping to get galleries online of other shows I’ve done as well… Damn Yankees, Urinetown and the like. Dredging up photos is hard, though.

I was feeling kind of ill today but I think I’m better now. It’s probably from all the sun, food and activity over the weekend. My stomach still hurts a bit though… bleagh.

We’ve been having some beautiful weather. I hope it lasts a while longer.

It’s audition season, and I have an audition every week for the next three weeks (including this one). Depending on how I do at them, I may have three callbacks as well in the final week. I’m also pre-invited to a callback in August. It’s all so much stuff… I’m almost as scared of getting cast as I am of not getting cast.

Dan.