Toronto Zombie Walk 2011: Your Not-So-Normal Acting Exercise

It's not every day you get to act out your zombie apocalypse fantasies.  I think it's a great idea to celebrate a birthday, too.  It's actually on October 25th, but everyone's always doing something on the weekend after my birthday, and they've usually planned it months in advance, y'know?  I figure I just join a party already happening this year with Nick and a couple of our friends.  And believe it or not, I took this in as a great acting exercise, since I had decided I wasn't going to break character during the entire event.  Preparations abound!

L-R: Tony and Nick as 'survivors' and me as their 'zombie captive'.  Check out the Nerf firepower!

Nick has an awesome collection of Nerf guns, some he's repainted to look like some heavy-duty artillery.  He's been waiting for an opportunity like this to put them to 'good use' in a costume or roleplay, so he and his friend, Tony, picked up a couple of 'em and dressed up as 'survivors'.  Tony's holding the Nerf Vulcan automatic machine gun with ammo belt, while Nick proudly shows his Nerf LongShot painted in grey and tan.  We kept teasing Tony that he looked like Jesse Ventura from Predator (pictured left), especially with the hat!  Tony's friend, Daniel, came as a companion zombie - the only time a man would ever let me put makeup on his face outside of a theatre.

The bathroom looked like Dexter's killroom when we were done.

The Book of Mormon! The Musical: Worth the 20-hour road trip

Author's note: The following post will contain mature language and themes.  Just warning you!

I might be going to Hell for this, but I loved The Book of Mormon: The Musical!

Myself and three friends left Brampton, Ontario on Friday evening, to arrive in New York City on Saturday early evening to see something that could only be witnessed in person.  Jenna, one of the loveliest people you will ever meet - and the biggest Broadway geek in the universe - had this idea earlier this year to take a roadtrip for her birthday to see this show.  I have the privilege of being introduced to some of the best works in musical theatre by this wonderful woman, so this was something I really couldn't pass up.

I must take a moment to give a big 'thank you' to Jenna, Graham and Lisa for being such great friends in helping me out on this trip - especially this being a trip to celebrate Jenna's birthday.  I'm currently in between careers without much money for myself these days, and had earlier politely retract on a matter of making sure I was fed and had a roof over my head.  They had told me that it wouldn't have been the same if I wasn't with them, and they would help me out for this trip.  They knew my personal strain, and wanted to help relieve the pressure and have some fun.  I'm very glad to have this support system, and I had a great time, despite the consistent travel and motion sickness.  The company made it bearable, thankfully - I couldn't think of anybody else I'd rather be stuck in a car with for 20 hours.  Dan Savage podcasts, Cosmo magazines, the surprising 'Americanized' portion of the extra-large Timmies, all-day breakfasts and getting lost in a really scary part of Newark and dealing with actual traffic in New York City.  (At least it was slow enough for me to take some pictures, the tourist that I am!)  That's all part of the magic of the roadtrip, baby!  I must give credit to the beautiful scenery in upstate New York, I had abandoned an already-defunct knitting project and admired what I could while the car zipped by.  Some of these photos were taken by Jenna, our navigator riding shotgun.  Map-reading skills are tricky, so I have to give her credit for 'getting us lost' on really unique scenic routes both on the highways and in the city.  We were just too concentrated on finding road signs to take pictures at times. 

T-Minus 5 Days!

I'm going on a road trip this weekend!  This time, it's Jenna and Cassandra Take NYC: The Sequel - and we've got backup!  It's Jenna's birthday at the end of the week, and being the 'Broadway geek' that she is, the proposition is a trip to New York City to see The Book of Mormon: The Musical!  Yeah!  We got four of us in the car - Graham, Jenna's brother; Lisa, Graham's girlfriend, Jenna and me - ready to go!

Jenna and I visited New York City in 2006, and I was a typical tourist at the time.  I had over 500 pictures from a measly 2 days.  It was inspirational.  The idiot I was, I freaked out a little inside when I heard my first real live Brooklyn accent from a hot dog vendor.  On that trip, we saw Dirty Rotton Scoundrels with Norbert Leo Butz and Jonathan Pryce, and Spamalot with David Hyde Pearce and Hank Azaria.  Jenna also took in an extra show at the Lincoln Centre to see Light in the Piazza, and seeing her with tears streaming down her face meeting up with her after the show, I didn't know if I was relieved or upset at the missed opportunity.  Luckily, PBS broadcasted the musical as part of their Live at the Lincoln specials.  Nothing like the real thing, surely - especially when Jenna had seats close enough actors could spit on her! - but it was really beautiful to watch.

If The Book of Mormon: The Musical is anything like Jerry Springer: The Opera, I think I'm ready for this.  This is the brainchild of the creators of South Park, Trey Parker and Matt Stone.  I've read many positive reviews attributing to the show's 'sweetness' albeit controversial subject matter of two missionaries spreading the Word in war-torn Uganda.  We'll also have a few hours to kill in the city before heading back home, and I'll be playing the tourist again, with camera in hand!  Here are some favourite photos of sights from our last trip.  Hopefully I'll have more to add to the collection when I come back!

Maybe they'll accept our apology?

Remember when Abi and I crashed INXS' party at Breakfast Television?  Well, we got a second chance to show them we actually like them, and we didn't mean any disrespect!  Really!

Sam's so great. She's The Blue Girl, radio star and a pretty awesome person to know.  I received a phone call from her yesterday afternoon.  She and her husband have an extra pair of tickets to the INXS concert at The Sound Academy, would I be interested?  Oh boy, was this a sign!  I called Abi, and we synchronized watches - for yet another trip to Toronto!

Hopefully he'll get his invitation?

Lemme tell you a fun little "gimmick" we've got going for this show, possibly at Sir Elton John's expense.

It's rumoured that Sir Elton John and his husband, Canadian-born David Furnish, have a home in the Caledon-Orangeville area.  My fellow castmate, Abi (playing The Yellow Girl) and I are pretty certain that we pass by it every time we drive to rehearsal from Brampton.  We were initially kidding about walking up to what we possibly thought could be his front door with two tickets in hand for Shout! and a number for a trusted babysitting service (for their new son, Zachary!), inviting them to a night of entertainment, since he's entertained us for so many years.

Uh, the joke had gone from playful "pressure banter" to actually trying to get him there.  Ha!  How are we going to do that?