Tag Archives: Sketch

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Just an Ordinary Day

Our garage is like almost any garage – kind of ordinary in its rectangular-ness mixed with a hint of boring.  It’s a space where only cars and items that aren’t quite loved enough to hangout inside live.  The occasional yard tool loiters aimlessly against the wall. Every day I come home, open the door and am greeted with the sameness – the blandness.  A life tucked away slowly passing through each season.  I spend as little time as possible there.  No particular reason to linger. Just grab everything from the car, close the door and wait for another day.  Ordinary.

Then came Saturday when I opened the door and found…

Photo Bomb! From left to right: Holt Boggs, Topping Haggerty (Director), Jonathan A. Spear

Closeup! Holt Boggs & Jonathan A. Spear

Ahhh! Magic!

Be sure to look for “Fifi and Mr. Pickles” a short by Topping Haggerty coming to you later this Summer.

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Dunes

You’ve seen the Twilight saga (it’s ok, this s safe place and any snickering on my part will subside soon enough) and now I present to you “Dunes” – a parody of the beloved movie franchise written as part of The Institution Theater’s Sketch 201 class featuring the most underused supernatural love interest.  I do suspect that after this sketch we’ll see more of “them” as romantic leads.  Yes, I’m being vague. I can’t go around spoiling things for you.  (Thankfully, you can’t see the YouTube still below, so it really will be a surprise.  Right? Right?!?!)

This is my second sketch to be filmed and I want to thank all the cast and crew involved in making it happen.  Thank you for your time, your energy, for letting me pay you in sodas, coffee, breakfast tacos and sandwiches.

Some special thanks to:

April – for helping me make the costume (we are now pros and our next supernatural costume of this sort will be even more awesome – lots.of lessons learned there), thanks for your ideas, for all the shopping trips, for letting us invade your space, re-arrange and decorate your room.  Also, huge thanks for all of the behind-the-scenes photos.  You were incredible as always.

Jonathan – thanks for taking care of the cast and crew, keeping everyone happy  and for knowing me well enough that when I get brain-locked, I don’t have to say a word – you just swoop in and do.  I hope you’re always available to PA.  You are awesome!

Richard – I cannot begin to thank you enough.  Without you and your talent this project wouldn’t have happened.  Thank you for volunteering so much of your time from filming to editing to providing the music, sound effects and of course the fantastic special effects.  You are terrific and it’s a great privilege to be a part of any shoot you’re on.  I truly feel guilty receiving any praise for this when so much of what made this work is you and your dedication.  I’m looking forward to shooting Clown Family and for borrowing you again to shoot my horrible family birthday sketch.

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Golly Gee Whiz

I can swear.  It’s not nice or pretty or necessarily called for, but in the heat of the moment I can drop a truck load of locked up bile that would rouse disappointed looks from a long line of long dead ancestors followed by a heated debate on exactly whose side of the family was at fault.  Clean up the stream of unnecessary adjectives from one of my tirades and you’ll uncover a stream of insults tailored to point out every flaw, each one punctuated by a bit of spittle and ideally designed to send the victim scurrying for apologetic cover.  Not me at my best, but a throwback to a time when I was bullied and learned that if the quiet orchestra girl unlocked this vitriolic spray, especially under her breath, people would back up. For example, the kids who told me if I rode the bus again they would kill me.  In my defense, I needed to continue to ride the bus.  I liked school.

Thankfully, I’m a “happy” person for the most part.  The kind of person people drop by and say, “hey, I just needed to see that smile.”  And also thankfully, my Mother taught me both manners and restraint (and how to sit up straight and chew with my mouth closed among many other useful party tricks).  This keeps me in check and allows me to say “golly” and “good grief” in polite company (polite company being family, children and overly sensitive pets of the toy variety – let’s face it, a Mastiff isn’t going to blush at a misplaced f-bomb).

Where I’m Going With This

Saturday rolls around and I’m with a sketch writing gang, sitting around a table and doing table reads in a very public location.  The first sketch out of the gate is a dream letter to a horrible parent written from the point of view of a very dignified school teacher who has finally reached her wits end.  The letter was sprinkled with all the things you should never write in a letter from a teacher to a student’s parent unless your intent was to embark on a career of living off the good will of others.  It really needed more, though.  It needed to go to the proverbial “there” to heighten the humor. You see, the writer was a little restrained because she really works in this field and for the most part isn’t the sort that will go for the jugular.  This is not to imply that she doesn’t get mad at times, I’m sure she does, but it’s framed in a more constructive light.  She’s not the type to level relationships with a wrecking ball of rage filled contempt.  That’s when I jokingly offered to help.

“Would you like me to teach you how to swear?”

“Yes, please.”

She looked up hopefully and I swear the sun framed her with a little halo as the part of me that is my Mother whispered, “Yes, darling.  Please regale us with that infamous mouth of yours. ” My throat became dry and my eyes darted around.  There were children.  They had balloons (I’m not kidding, they were handing out balloons).  We were near a playscape.  Lovely people surrounded us who were enjoying a beautiful day chatting with their equally lovely friends.  “Go on, Beth. Let out that angry 14 year old.”  I sputtered, “you could say uhhhh…” I blinked and stared as my mouth moved wordlessly up and down.  Finally, another sketch writer came to the rescue and she offered up, “call the parent a c@#7”.  OH MY! You can’t say the “c” word.  That’s a no-no word.  I looked around nervously to see if anyone else had heard.  I was sure parents were fainting around us. Children were being grabbed up to begin what would turn into years of therapy. Of all the words, that’s a forbidden word – the word only the raciest of women say when they’re in one of those places I don’t frequent – like a gym or a wine bar (I kid, I’m sure they say much worse there).

Her eagerness to learn stunned me into actual silence and my well honed abilities were temporarily (and thankfully) castrated by the idea of unlocking a bit of my ugliness and sharing it. “Look at that face. Look at the halo. She’s an innocent.  You can’t just swear at her. Why not go out and kill goodness while you’re at it, Potty Princess?” It occurred to me then that while swearing is one of my many skills that can never be formally listed on my résumé, it’s not something I can (nor should) pass along.   So, I’m here to tell you that I will not be offering up a Swearing 101 class any time soon.  You’ll just have to hang out at a gym or wine bar.

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2012 In Review

Here we are at the end of 2012 and what a great year it has been.  While I don’t have a Top 10, I thought I’d run through some of the personal highlights that made this year so great.  Now I fully accept that I may be the only person interested in this, but by golly I’m doing it anyway despite the yawns and alt+tabbing. (Oh, you thought I couldn’t see that did you?)

This year I’ve read more books than I have in awhile and while that number isn’t impressive by any stretch, I still did it and count it towards my personal achievements.  As a person who used to live in books, my past non-reading has been a bit embarrassing.  This week I’ll finish up A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini and then it’s off to Margaret Atwood’s Handmaid’s Tale.  That only leaves me with a gigantic stack of books (about 2’ high – I have the best intentions) that I’ve been meaning to read for a long while.

I wrote a lot of sketches this year, I got terrific feedback from Esther’s Follies on one I submitted to them, and we had a show that sold out over a three week run.  Fantastic!

I was involved in three film shoots – two were for sketches I had written and the other was for a fellow classmate’s sketch.  I can say that in my shoots, I was surrounded by incredibly amazing people who taught me a great deal.  I’ve learned a lot and hopefully, if we continue to shoot sketches, I’ll become a stronger director.   Right now, I’m more of the, “ummm hey guys like if you could maybe like ummm read the line like this… yeah, ok? Roll sound.  Roll camera.  Scene 1B Take 5. Action.” type.

Behind the scenes for Dunes

Below is my classmate Richard’s sketch “Good Morning” (you’ve gotten to see mine already – time for something new) where I got to play the role of Production Assistant and door slammer extraordinaire.  It turns out I not only have a knack for door slamming, but it’s really quite enjoyable. (Note: I got to slam that door no less than about 20 times.)  Now if I could only spin that into a job.  I know I’d excel.  Maybe move up the door slamming ranks until I became a Slammer Supervisor and allowed to slam two doors at once or maybe a French door on occasion – I mean, if my performance evaluations went well.

(Features many of the cast from our “Moral Compass Rumpus” show and all of the writers.)

I finally used my “big girl” camera and while I’m not entirely amazed by the results, I learned more about it and more about film (yes, yes, I’m a hold out).  Namely, that I may be investing in a DSLR vs. the SLR I have in the future.

Film – Chinese Lanterns – State Fair of Texas 2012

I’ve asked Seth a ton of questions and learned many new things.  Seth endured high school with me and is one of those insanely smart people who kindly puts up (for reasons I don’t understand but appreciate) with a random question a month.  Seth gets nothing in return save the knowledge that I’m kind of an amusing air head and that fuzzy good feeling that comes from helping the hopeless.  This year I’ve learned about topics from Copyright Law to Lomography to purple vs. the light spectrum.  He also tries to encourage me to use my camera. He claims it’s not scary.  I’m supposed to go on a photo stroll.  Yes, I will get on that. You can see Seth’s amazing photos here.

I’ve had some great times with some great friends despite April’s attempt to try and bump me off.  She’s now got me in a regular walking group.  I think her diabolical new plan is to make my heart explode.  In the last two months I’ve walked further and climbed higher than I have in a long time.  New muscles reintroduced themselves to me by way of “I can’t move my legs”.  Muscles like hip flexors said their hellos. Hey guys, where have you been?  Ouch.

I look forward to 2013.

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Dunes

I’ve waited over a month, but I’m so excited I couldn’t wait any longer to announce (and update family and such):

In two short weeks we’ll be shooting my second sketch titled Dunes.  I’ve got a knock-out cast and the best crew that a director, offering free food and snacks,  could ask for.  Let’s hear it for Dasani and fruit roll-ups! And I’m so excited I’m ending sentences in prepositions and beginning sentences with conjunctions, because it’s the only way my fingers can type grammar sommersaults! (I don’t think I scored a “10″ with the English judges. :( )

I’ll keep you posted and promise to torture you with the video soon. (Think toothpicks and dripping water.  The kind of torture that will have you saying “good job, guys” and maybe drooling a little bit.)

DISCLAIMER: The cast and crew of Dunes will not be held responsible for drool.

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Hotspots

As promised -  my short film that was shown during our recent sketch review: The Moral Compass Rumpus

Huge thanks go to the cast, to all of my friends and family who I managed to wrangle at the last minute and to my outstanding crew who made it happen on a very tight schedule.  I couldn’t have done this without you.

See my earlier post: Hot Spots: Behind the Scenes if you’re not sure what’s going on.

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Hot Spots: Behind the Scenes

Next week, after the run of our show has come to an end,  I plan to upload my short film onto something like YouTube, Vimeo, or Funny or Die. I haven’t decided which, but people with bigger thoughts than mine are being asked for their opinions and suggestions.  All those sites play videos, right? BUT before that even happens, I thought I’d give you some background on the short I created since it’s a little Austin inside-jokey. You see, there’s a rumor going around that some of you may not be from Austin.  It’s ok, your cities are good, too.  I bet they even have their own inside jokes.  They’re probably even funny, too.

Every year around March Austin hosts a film, music and media festival called South by Southwest (or SXSW)   It’s a festival that draws people from all over the world and showcases great talent.  Movies are premiered.  Favorite bands perform. Panels on a variety of topics are held.  From the mainstream to the off-beat, you can see it all (with a wristband and a great deal of luck).

This past year a clever ad agency had an idea to employ some of Austin’s homeless and turn them into Wi-Fi hotspots.  How it worked: Let’s say you were a hipster in need of internet access and Starbucks was packed, all you had to do was consult your trusty hotspot map, locate a homeless guy, pay them a recommended $2/15 minutes and log in.  It was a way to create needed hotspots during the festival, directly benefit the homeless involved and, as the ad agency argued, help make those individuals visible.

Needless to say, Austin earned a certain amount of attention over this creative use of the homeless.  We were even mentioned in The Daily Show.  (I don’t know about you, but whenever I hear Texas is getting any kind of national, or even worse, international (or Daily Show) attention I tend to cringe.  It’s usually for a good reason. One that  makes me want to point east and say, “Hey guys, look over there.  I think Alabama is doing something crazy!  Did you hear that guy in Missouri?  Insane, right? RIGHT?”)

When all of this was happening, I was starting one of my sketch classes and in need of material.  This topic looked perfect. Plus, I reckoned everyone else had taken their shot at it.  It was only fair that I got my turn.

That’s how Hot Spots came to be.

If you’re new to this controversy, I encourage you to read a bit more about it and watch the testimonials from the homeless involved.  You’ll then be armed and ready for my short. You see, I don’t want you blinking confusedly at your monitor and wandering aimlessly throughout your house. That would make me sad… especially if you bumped into things.

The Atlantic
Wi-Fi Hotspots Made of Homeless People: Not As Horrible as They Seem

The New York Times
Use of Homeless as Internet Hot Spots Backfires on Marketer

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The Moral Compass Rumpus: A Sketch Comedy Review

Banner created by Asaf Ronen

Looking for another excuse to DVR True Blood the next few Sunday nights?  Feel like it’s your mission to “Keep Austin Weird”? Have $5 wadded up in your pockets that you just don’t know how you’ll spend? Then I’ve got just the thing!  Come see…

THE MORAL COMPASS RUMPUS: A Sketch Comedy Revue

The Institution Theater presents The Moral Compass Rumpus: A Sketch Comedy Revue written by The Marshmallow Overthrow and performed by The Stay-Puft Marshmallow Minions.

The writers of The Marshmallow Overthrow are Richard G. Bingham II, Andy Hush, Beth Doughty, Roanna Flowers, and Jessica Green Salinas.

The performing members of The Stay-Puft Marshmallow Minions are Ben Carneiro, Roxy Castillo, Channon Ford, Topping Haggerty, Lucas Reilly, David Rosenbaum, Beth Shea, and Steve Wright.

You can find more details and purchase tickets by clicking on this link The Institution Theater.

You’ll laugh, you’ll get that warm fuzzy feeling of goodness and I will give each one of you a hug.  That’s right, I will hug! Now there’s a deal you can’t pass up.

I can’t wait to see you there!

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That’s a Wrap!

I have amazing friends.  This is a fact.  Granted, they have fairly poor taste and hang out with the likes of me, but you should forgive them – everyone has to have a flaw. I’m just thankful I’m that flaw.

The Sunday before last I met with my friends Meredith and Jerin.  They’re movie people. They’ve had films in film festivals.  They’ve both worked in television. They’re professionals. I, on the other hand, work for the state and have three sketch classes to boast about.  Still, I somehow managed to con them into agreeing to come over to read a sketch I wanted filmed.  I just wanted to pick their brains to understand how to create a shot list – something I was told I needed before I could film.  I realized this was  a bad idea once they walked through the door and transformed immediately from “oh, these are the awesome people I hang out with” to “holy cow, film-making rock stars are standing in my hallway!” I audibly gasped.

They settled in and I handed them my script wondering what possessed me to be so cocky.  I mean sure, they’re great people, but here I was boldly asking them to bestow their professional wisdom on the likes of me for something ridiculous that I probably should have Googled.  Clearly, a better move would have been to just offer up BBQ.  What was I thinking? I could probably defrost something and throw it on the grill.  I mean, that’s why God made armpits, right?

They took the scripts and stated that if they didn’t like something, they weren’t going to spare my feelings.  They wanted me to learn and grow from my mistakes and their criticisms would not be a reflection on me personally.  They added, “this way you know we’re being honest with you when we say we do like something.”  Fair enough.  As they scrutinized my script, I swear it jumped from being a mere three pages to something that was surely 30 to 100 pages long.  Did an hour just roll by? Two? Each question that bubbled up became confirmation that I shouldn’t be showing them my sketch – that perhaps I should distract them with snacks and then, while they weren’t looking, slip the sketches into the recycle bin.  I would look innocently around, seeming a bit confused if asked and say “what sketch? No, you came over for dinner.  Remember?  Hehe, a sketch.  You guys are such kidders!  Love that sense of humor! Never lose that. You know I don’t write sketches.”

Long story short – they liked the sketch and a few hours into our conversation while they were in the midst of tutoring me on filming basics, Jerin said, “I would like to shoot this.”  My jaw nearly hit the floor.  “Is that being too pushy? I understand if…” I think at that point I started blathering about how this was more than I could hope for and how I had wanted to ask them for a while, but couldn’t muster the courage.  How I had always admired them.  I’m sure I started sounding a bit insane and they probably worried about getting a restraining order, but thankfully they still stuck around.  They added, “We’d also like April on this”.  Having April involved is always a good idea for just about anything you could think of that you might need another person.  I put this on my to-do list, “wrangle April.”  April also works in television and is just another one of the amazing people I’m extremely lucky to know.

The following day, I panicked as I realized we were going to have to shoot the next Sunday (last Sunday to be exact). We were only going to get a week to prepare when I hoped we’d at least have the luxury of two. I called them up, they said something along the lines of “we can do this” and they hopped on board. So, in one short week I managed to have a location scouted, actors rehearsed, props procured/built, extras signed-up and best of all a Director of Photography, an Assistant Director of Photography (that was April – yes, I got her!), a Script Supervisor (who apparently don’t get enough respect, but are extremely important if you want a successful film – in fact, if you meet one, hug them), a PA, and a sound person/editor – all for my goofy little film.

I learned a great deal thanks to Meredith and Jerin’s patience. They checked-in throughout our 6 ½ day to make sure I was doing ok, that I thoroughly understood what was happening and to confirm I was getting what I wanted.  They were careful to make the shoot about me and my vision.  I honestly will never be able to thank them enough.  They’re amazing and they’re also very generous with their knowledge and time.

Huge thanks to my core crew: Meredith, Jerin, Richard and April.  I couldn’t have pulled it off without you.  I hope you all know I mean this quite sincerely when I say, you are my heroes and I am in considerable awe of your talent (I always have been).  I am very fortunate to know each of you.

I’ll share more set stories later, but my favorite moment as we filmed the last scene and the cast and crew looked on:

Meredith: That’s it.  Beth, do you want to call it?

Me:  Ok, umm… that’s it!

Meredith: (quietly) You say, “that’s a wrap”.

Me: OH!!! That’s a wrap!!!!

And… that’s a wrap!