Operation Golden State: Victory

"A harrowing glimpse into a soul completely transformed by the violence and spirit of war"

or just a guy trying to relax on the beach?

James here.

Big thanks to Paola Hornbuckle at San Diego Theater Scene who gave the above quote in her review of I am the Machine Gunner.  You can check out the entire review here.

I'm finally back in NYC after spending a little post-show down-time in Los Angeles with my brother.   Back to chilly mornings and colder evenings in the winter of the city that never sleeps.  We all had to say "goodbye" to Carlsbad's frolicking dolphins and sounds of surf.  One of New York City's many facets is its ability to put things in perspective but if I said "We didn't know how good we had it" that would be a huge lie.  

We knew how good we had it.  We enjoyed every minute of it.  Big thanks again to Kristianne Kurner and the whole crew at New Village Arts who made our stay so comfortable.  I only wish we could have made it a longer stay.

And I wasn't the only one.

"the excellent I am the Machine Gunner . . . closed all too soon."

 

That was a quote from Marty Jones Westlin, a critic for the website "Words are not enough".  You can read the full review here.  Our review is just under the heading "Picture It".

All in all, Generous Company has made a terrific run of I am the Machine Gunner.  And though we aren't exactly sure where we'll be running next, we know that this isn't the end.  There are plenty of rumors swirling around, a lot places being discussed, and as soon as it solidifies, I'll be sure to post it here. 

Hope to see you soon, onstage or off.

Peace.

Out. 

Yury Klavdiev's I AM THE MACHINE GUNNER Trailer

Operation Golden State: Opening

James here

Sunday morning.  We’ve got two shows behind us and have our sights set squarely on sending I am the Machine Gunner out of Carlsbad with a bang.  It certainly started out that way.

I apologize for not updating the blog sooner, but when you’re blowing away the audience each night before returning to your spacious beachfront apartment to watch dolphins frolic in the sunset, blogging slips a bit down on the hierarchy of needs.  

I know, I know.  Life gets ridiculous sometimes, but I’m not complaining. 

Well, I do have to walk downstairs to get to the Jacuzzi, but whatever.

The show has been going fantastic.  The opening night at New Village Arts Theatre in Carlsbad may have been our best show to date.  We had a good sized house and they were with me from the opening shot.  There are times in the show when I almost beg the audience to directly interact with me but the people of Carlsbad needed no extra prompting.  They sighed in agreement, grunted in assent, even shouted out the answers to some of the questions I asked.  

Fantastic.

To those brave souls who broke theatrical protocol and helped me move the show along, I salute you.

And to the guy whose cell phone went off at precisely the wrong moment, you are lucky I didn’t jump into the audience and strangle you.

But thanks for coming back to see it again on the second night.  You rock.

Out 

Operation Golden State: Raising the Red Flag

James here.

We’re about to head into the theater for our second day of load in.  At some point today, we’re expecting a truck to drop off some major elements for the show, including the background flats and the Black Widow.  We hope for a productive day, but a lot depends on that delivery truck.

And who knows what government watch lists we might have been put on in the last few years that might hold up our shipment.  I’m pretty sure that when you start getting the hardcover Cabela’s catalogue (as we do now) and you’re not a gun retailer, you start to raise a couple red flags here and there.

Which leads me to this quick story.

Jamie and Rebecca flew out of Baltimore two days ago, with not only their own personal items, but a large portion of the show in tow as well.  Now, maybe it was the few errant bullet casings that they found in Jamie’s backpack (the casings are starting to get everywhere, between the sofa cushions, in the heating vents, the dryer – they’re like cat hair), or maybe it was checking things like this. . .

Photo:  What could the TSA possibly have a problem with?

Who can tell for sure?  But it was more than a few detection wands, cotton swabs and rubber gloves before they let the two of them on the plane.

   

But they made it.

 

In one piece, with all the gear in tow. 

 

Hopefully the truck manages to deliver with less scrutiny.

Out.

Operation Golden State: Beachhead

James here.

Writing this at 0800 hours my first morning in Carlsbad, California.  Jamie, Rebecca and I arrived last night and set up HQ at an apartment 5 minutes away from the New Village Arts Theater; the third leg of “I am the Machine Gunner”s westerly advance.

Sometimes in life, you can find yourself in a rough spot.  A thorny patch.  A less-than-desirable situation. 

This is not one of those times.

  

This video shows the view from our 4th story apartment’s balcony. 

  

Yeah.  Its a little difficult to see with the video's resolution, but those are dolphins breaching the surface.   

Welcome to Southern California.

There is nothing quite like the sound of the waves crashing onto the beach.  Something about it sings directly to the soul, lulling you into a sense of security.  The people in this town probably don’t even hear it anymore.  They’ve taken it for granted.  They’ve grown complacent.

Come November 12^th, they’re not going to know what hit ‘em.

Out