Last night I had the pleasure of seeing Jollyship the Whiz Bang at Ars Nova. Nick Jones is in the Ars Nova playgroup so I've known him for a while but this is the first time I saw him perform. He's a freaking rockstar. I had a great time at the show. If you want to see a funny irreverent pirate puppet musical, I would highly recommend this one.

http://arsnovanyc.com/jollyship/

http://www.thewhizbang.org/

listen to songs here: http://www.myspace.com/jollyshipthewhizbang

It doesn't have the Party Island song though which is pretty freaking great.

(update--you can her Party Island at the Ars Nova site if you click on the poster for Jollyship.)

My favorite song is also not there. In it, the Captain wishes that he wasn't so prone to violence, but it's partially the fault of violence for being so funny. There was a line about Punch and Judy being his only role models-or something like that which I found incredibly hilarious and which I hear was an ad libbed lyric. I hope he keeps it in the show.

question

what is the popular online shoot em up game with teams etc?

Is that Doom? Halo? What game is that?

Tony Kusher commencement speech

http://staringatemptypages.blogspot.com/2008/05/tony-kushners-speech-is-online.html

more daisey--a tribute to the amazing Heidi Schreck

http://www.mikedaisey.com/2008/05/huge-congratulations-to-heidi-schreck.sht

Craig Lucas commencement speech

http://www.mikedaisey.com/2008/05/leaving-your-artistic-legacy-by-craig.sht

the last year or so

I made a conscious choice to stop sending out 10 minute plays. I decided to put my energy instead into full length plays and now also into TV and film. In the long run, I think this is a good idea. (Short play productions rarely lead to long plays getting done and do nothing to help out careerwise if your name isn't Ives.) On the other hand, when your full lengths are being rejected, it's nice that someone in Australia or Michigan or California is doing a short play. It helps raise morale. Since I stopped sending out ten minute plays, all I'm getting is the full length rejections and even though many of them are very nice, it feels like I'm treading water. Not that I'm going to go back to sending them out--I have way too many full lengths that should be done and not enough time to submit everything. And I want my work to be seen in larger venues and I want to make a living--thus my beating a path to TV. Also I'm hoping that my published full lengths will be done more and more. I had 11 ten minute plays produced in 2006. If I get that many full lengths done next year, it will be a good year. I've had 4 so far, so that's not impossible. And if one big thing happens in TV or the stage, it would be a very good year. Additionally, I should write a musical, finish writing that novel. Rewrite that screenplay. Rewrite four of my plays. But now, the TV stuff to outline, revise, outline, revise and pitch. whew. pitch.