My Wife Blogs about her Adventures in Connecticut rehearsing for "City of Angels"

So, I'm lucky enough to have spent the last 14 years of my life with the incredibly talented actress and singer, Sierra Rein.  She's spent the last month in East Haddam, Connecticut, rehearsing for "City of Angels" which just began performances this week at the Goodspeed Opera House.  After spending four weeks learning lyrics and music and rehearsing and surviving Irene and travelling back to NYC one day a week to visit her lonely hubby she finally has the time to blog about it now that the show has gone up.  Go check out the post along with some pics of her at rehearsal and in costume and info on how you can get tickets if you're in the neighborhood before the end of November when the show finishes.

You can also follow Sierra on Twitter or Facebook and she even posts sometimes on Tumblr.  For those of you who have seen my Jay ThePal videos, Sierra performs Kay ThePal :)

 

 

 

Hucklebug.com Fighting Cancer this Weekend but Needs Your Help!

Hucklebug.com is doing the Podcastathon to fight cancer! on 12seconds.tv

My good friends Bet & Stennie over at Hucklebug.com are taking part in Blogathon 2009. They'll be podcasting their show The Hucklebug all day long this Saturday. HOWEVER, they need pledges, so please, please, please, stop by HuckleBug.com and pledge a buck or two today and help them make their 24-hour Hucklebug-a-thon a BIG success.

Or, at the very least, stop by their site, give their show a listen and get addicted like I did well over 150 weeks ago (yes, they've been going for quite a while). Bet & Stennie's Hucklebug is like sitting around listening to your two best friends talk about everything from movies, to news, to whatever. Leave a comment, they give you a shoutout. Too cool.

Tune in Saturday July 25, 2009 starting at 9am Eastern Time for new mini-episodes of the Hucklebug ALL DAY and hear not only Bet & Stennie, but also listen as folks call in. I'll be calling in and so will Jay ThePal and many others!! So, this Saturday, PEOPLE OF EARTH: LISTEN TO THE HUCKLEBUG @ HUCKLEBUG.COM!

You Must Watch "CHUCK" Tonight! My Buddy Alexander Fazel is In It!!

My very good friend Alexander Fazel is an actor out there in Los Angeles and he manage to get himself a gig on the NBC show CHUCK. His episode, entitled "Chuck Vs. The DeLorean" apparently airs TONIGHT at 8pm on NBC and will also be available tomorrow on iTunes for just $1.99!! So, TUNE IN, PLEASE!
(Or iTune in, I suppose!) Watch for the Arab billionaire's sidekick, that's my buddy, Alexander :)

To help you spot him in the show, check out an episode of The 5 Minute Show that I shot with him back in June of 2006:



As you can see, he's pretty funny, a handsome dude and damn talented. So, be sure to watch Chuck, tonight! I will thank you and so will Alexander!!

You can check out more episodes of my webcast The 5 Minute Show here:
http://tv.thepete.com/tag/the-5-Minute-Show/

Posted via email from thepete's posterous

Al Mancini, My Wife's Acting Teacher, RIP

I should have posted on this earlier today, but I just didn't think about it. Al was my wife's acting teacher for something like 4 years and he really helped her grow and become a better actor. He passed away last night in his sleep, at home, with his family, which was the best place for him to go. I'd heard a lot about him over the years but only managed to meet him in person twice. I was slowly developing a script with a role specifically for him in mind. It wasn't science fiction so it never got a high priority. I'll get to it eventually and it'll still have a role specifically designed for him.

To me, he was that ethnicky guy who shows up from time-to-time in movies and TV shows. Most notably, he was one of the golfers in one of my favorite films Falling Down. Al played the golfer who didn't have the heart attack when Michael Douglas fired a shot gun into their golf cart. He was also in two episodes of one of my favorite cheesy 1970s scifi shows UFO. He was in a lot more, too. You can check out Al's IMDB page to see all of his credits.

Since I didn't know him, I'm going to repost what TheWife said about him in her LJ:

A Master is gone - RIP Al Mancini
11/13/07 11:04 am

Got a call this morning from a former classmate that Al Mancini, the teacher who was instrumental in bringing me into the professional attitude and world of acting, passed away last night. No words can describe this man to the fullest - he was the epitome of the "Larger Than Life" man who went through life in an energetic and fantastically enthusiastic way. Short, Italian, loved women and cigars. Challenged us as actors to bring our own into our scenes, nay even rewrite the scenes. Oh and cook something with garlic in every scene as well. He loved food. Gave out his bruschetta recipe to us. Brought up the energy when it felt down. Pointed out to us that WE have the power to feel positive and energetic, no matter what happened to us during the day. Called my cleavage the "Valley of Indecision". Had the best voice over character demo I've ever heard.

Heard he passed away in his sleep with family in Ohio.

I wrote some quotes in my acting class notebook from Al:
"Who said that art had to be comfortable?"
"You look like I just shot your grandma."
"I want to say something about pants."
"Even when you're dead, we still gotta hear." (on being too quiet on stage)
"Primo...as they say in Nigerian...Primo."
"You didn't say 'I want my ass to shake here.'"
"It's a hot pissed!"
"Whatever you resist, you become."
"Is this the 'Yellow Brick Road' to the sack?"
"That's the worst excuse I've heard since 1812!"
"Sexual Fuckosity"

And here's Al's recipe for Bruschetta:

Get thick slices of Italian bread - toast 'em
Get a couple really great tomatoes - Smell & touch 'em. 3-4, chopped.
Basil & garlic - mix in
A little onion - not too much, otherwise it destroys it
Olive Oil
Vinegar - just a dash
Let this sit in refrigerator for 2 hours
Pile on toast.
Also can add green peppers, chopped finely.

RIP Al Mancini


Lance Percival, Millicent Martin and Al Mancini (far right) were part of the team that was responsible for the show "That Was the Week That Was," 1963

BONA SERA PROFESSORE!

That was the man that was and will still be in our memories. RIP, Al Mancini.

And it's pronounced "manCHIni." Like the Italians say it.

bare: The Album

bare: The Album

This is the site for a show TheWife was in five or six years ago. They've got a cast recording of the latest version of the show. Check it out if you're into pop musicals that are good.

BID ON MY BUDDY CHAD'S STUFF ON EBAY!!

HERE IS YOUR MISSION:

GO HERE:

http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQfgtpZ1QQfrppZ25QQsassZchaddangelo

LOOK AT THE ITEMS TheCHAD HAS UP FOR AUCTION!

BID ON THINGS YOU LIKE!

These items include Star Trek, Star Wars, and other scifi books. READING IS FUNDAMENTAL and scifi RAWKS!!

SO CHECK OUT TheCHAD'S AUCTIONS AND BID IF YOU LIKE ANYTHING, PLEASE!!
ARIGATO GOZAIMASHITA! .

COME SEE MY WIFE SING!!

Last night I had the pleasure of seeing my lovely wife perform a stack of songs for a crowd of people at the Son of Semele theater. I had been meaning to blog on it all week, but I was so busy with helping her put it on (as well as write a screenplay, blogging other stuff, etc) that I managed to let blogging about her show completely slip through the cracks. Well, since she's performing again tonight, I thought I'd sneak in a quick plug for it. So....

If you live in LA and are looking for something different to do tonight, COME SEE MY WIFE!

The above is a screengrab taken from [http://sierrarein.com|her site]. I hope to see you there! Call for reservations fast because the house isn't huge and there's already a lot of people who are coming!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THEWIFE!!

TheWife (yes, uppercase "W"), aka Sierra, is celebrating her birthday today! YAY!!!

So, to the best wife a guy could have

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SWEETHEART!!

I hope our friends and I make this a special day for you!!

I LOVE YOU!!

GRAE DOES THE LA MARATHON 2007!!

Hey there, folks! Just wanted to to post about ThePete's hero of the day! Now, I don't go tossing around the word "hero" lightly, but my friend [http://myspace.com/oneandonlyhellcat |Grae] trained for months to walk the LA marathon and she actually did it! RIGHT ON, GRAE!!

Now, some skeptics may think "oh, she only walked it." Dude, have you ever walked 26.2 miles straight???

Anyway, so Grae, YOU KICK ASS. I'm lucky if I walk 26.2 miles in a MONTH, let alone in a day.

So, here's some media as recorded by me of the welcoming committee at the finish line:

first a pic:

next two vids (click the pics to play 'em):

Congratulations again to Grae for challenging herself and then following through on it! I hope to be more like you, dammit! (I don't think I'll be tackling a marathon any time soon, though...) And good luck in June!!

Come See TheWife SING! (She's DAMN good!)

Live in Los Angeles? Want a night out with good food and great music?

Then go see DeMars & Rein at Sterlings Upstairs, above Vitello's in the Valley! The "Rein" in "DeMars and Rein" is TheWife and boy can she sing! (It's pronounced "rine", BTW.) The "DeMars" is her good friend and pianist, Matt DeMars. Together they make one helluva cabaret act, so if you've got $50 to spare and an empty stomach, go spend an hour this Friday or Saturday night at 8pm (seating begins at 7pm) SUPPORTING MY WIFE, DAMMIT!

No pressure or anything.

Just remember, this is live entertainment in a nice restaurant, so you're getting your money's worth!

Oh yeah, here's the official advert:

BE THERE!

I GOT MY HUCKLEBUG PRIZE!

Check it out! I got my HuckleBug prize for having my idea for topic of the week selected for the Hucklebug podcast!! SWEET!!

Go check out the 'cast at hucklebug.blogspot.com!

YAY! A Great Pic of my little bro, his wife and their baby daughter!

Last month my sister-in-law gave birth to a baby girl. One thing I know from other friends and family who have newborns is that it's difficult to find a really beautiful pic of the new family. Sure, you have the pics of the baby being cute and the baby being cute being held by individual family members, but usually these pics end up just being angled down shots on the backs of said-family-members heads with the baby in the shot.

Not that I'm complaining, really--just observing. Of course, a phone call from my little brother, the new dad, would be nice, but I understand being a parent keeps you busy. Regardless of any of the above, here comes a great pic of the whole fam. Check it out:

Isn't that an awesome pic?

Check out more pics of the new baby [http://flickr.com/photos/donnysoots/|at my bro's page] on Flickr.Com.

ThePete is Now TheUncle!

Hey, check that out! It's my little brother and his new baby girl, Siena. This is so trippy and one of the few instances when I regret being broke all the time.

"But wait, Pete, he doesn't look like you at all!" Yes, it's true--he doesn't. My little brother is actually my step-brother, which is why he's Italian and several inches taller than me. Growing up we always felt closer than step-brothers, so we just dropped the "step". Anyway, so, I'm an uncle now. So weird--I called my mom up on Tuesday after I got her voicemail that my bro's wife had given birth and my mom says "it's Uncle Pete!" to which I replied: "Hi, Grandma!"

To which she replied: "No, but I'd like to be!"

KIDDING!!!

ANYway, so I don't know what to do really. I guess send them a card or something, huh? I've never had a niece before and there is something a little strange inside my head about my little brother having a kid before me. The stupid irony is that I have very different opinions on having kids from most other people, but I'll save those for another post. Right now I'm just stuck between elation and hesitation. Having a kid is a heavy thing, I haven't been that close with my brother since I moved out to LA, but I think he and his wife, together, are ready for parenthood. From what I understand it's quite a team effort--not to sound too cliche.

Anyway, so that's the good news. Thankfully, there is no bad news. :) Then again, I haven't checked the news yet, today, so who knows?

If you want to read more about Siena before she was born, check out BabySparacin.blogspot.com. I'm sure they'll update it soon with more pics.

CONGRATULATIONS KRIS AND CHRIS!

Let's hear it for unorthodox weddings!! I think they're awesome, if I do say so myself. Joining the ranks of the nonchurch-married husband and wife teams are my 'net buddies Kris and Chris who, just this Monday, tied the knot at Disneyland. Check out [http://www.dreamlogic.net/archives/chris-and-kris-new-and-improved|their official announcement] (at their site DreamLogic.Net) or check out [http://photobucket.com/albums/c151/gmjenkins/disneyland%20wedding/?start=0|the pics from their day].

CONGRATULATIONS, GUYS!!

Those golden ears look great on you!

IN LA? COME SEE LILITH!!

TheWife is performing selections from the new rock opera Lilith tonight, March 3rd (today) at 9:30 pm at Rosemary’s Billygoat, 4159 Sunset Blvd, Los Feliz (323) 666-GOAT. Admission is Free.

GET THAT, PEOPLE!! FREE!!

COME CHECK IT OUT!!

Here's the flyer:

[http://thepete.com/shameless-plug-for-own-performance-lilith-the-rock-opera/|Click here for more info!!]

Hey! It's Wednesday! Time to Start Planning Your Weekend!

If you're in LA, odds are you don't go to the theater much. Most people think live theater in LA is a joke compared to Broadway. The thing is, while LA theaters can't really compare to the Great White Way, Broadway ticket prices can't compare to LA ticket prices. So, the next time you're contemplating dropping $10-$15 for a movie ticket, think about spending twice that on seeing a live performance with actual actors breathing the same air as you. It's a whole different and wonderful experience, for sure. It may not be a huge house like on Broadway, but in many LA theaters you're right up close and personal with the actors, which makes it a pretty unique experience.

Now, if you're thinking about taking my advice and you live in Los Angeles, then I have just the play for you. No, I didn't write this one, but my wife is in and the guy who did write it is just about brilliant.

The show is called Mulholland Christmas Carol and follows the adventures of a truly Scroogian William Mulholland as he tosses his morals aside to get a young and growing Los Angeles her water from "nearby" Owen's Valley (just 200 miles away!). The show does a superb job of mixing parody, satire, commentary, history and musical theater together to make a show that every Angelino should see. After all, this show tells the story of the man who basically allowed LA to exist to this day.

It's true--LA has no local water supply. It has to be piped in from a very far away place. The catch is, at that far away place, they need water, too.

Jammed with great actors (not just my wife ;) ), great music, and great musicians, this show is both a crowd pleaser and an eye-opener. You can't go wrong with great lines like:

"Los Angeles is a thirsty bitch-goddess..."

"Are there no prisons? Is there no BARSTOW?"

"Christmas... Ba-BULLSHIT!"

There's also a brilliant solo by TheWife that will leave you giggling madly in your seat. OK, well, it makes me madly giggle. :)

For more info, check out MulhollandChristmasCarol.com

Shows are Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays at 8pm and Sundays at 4pm. Thursday and Sunday shows are $20 with Friday and Saturday shows going for $25. See that? Not much more expensive and I bet you'll have a much better time than at Aeon Flux.

Call (323) 856-8611 for reservations!

Mulholland Christmas Carol runs until December 18, so pick your performance soon and make your reservations fast! This show always does well and the house is always packed when I see it. It's written by Bill Robens, a man far too cool to be this talented (not fair!!), and is directed by the incredibly talented and funny Kiff Scholl (all right, moderately talented ;) KIDDING). [http://www.laweekly.com/ink/06/02/theater-morris.php|Read more about this show] at LAWeekly.com. Also, [http://www.lacitybeat.com/article.php?id=2915&IssueNum=129|You can read about the show] at LACityBeat.com.

Success for Me and Some Pals!

I'm going to start off today on a positive note by blogging a bit about a strange (but welcome) wave of creative successes rolling over my life and the life of a few people close to me.

First, my internet cafe buddy and fellow writer MK Asante Jr has just published a new book called [http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1592214223/qid=1129566168/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl14/102-6568812-7588168?v=glance&s=books&n=507846|Beautiful. And Ugly, Too]. It's a book of poetry and it's Asante's second book after publishing [http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1592210074/qid=1129566168/sr=8-2/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i2_xgl14/102-6568812-7588168?v=glance&s=books&n=507846|Like Water Running Off My Back] in 2002. If that's not enough for you, his film 500 Years Later ([http://www.500yearslater.com/|official site]/[http://imdb.com/title/tt0444593|IMDB]) screened in front of [http://www.prweb.com/releases/2005/10/prweb298498.htm|more than 1 million people this past weekend at the Millions More March in Washington DC]. Funny how it's the first movie in cinema history to be screened in front of that many people and yet the only coverage of it is a PRWeb press release.

While Asante's success may seem unmatchable, we all should remember that success can be measured a few hundred different ways. For instance, my friend Lauren Raab is a student at UCLA but has written a STACK of articles and columns all [http://www.dailybruin.ucla.edu/news/searchresults.asp?author=Lauren%20Raab|readable at the Daily Bruin website]. I think her list of articles is impressive period. She's still in college and has had the opportunity to write that much? That's pretty cool. Of particular note are her food columns that will leave you entertained and educated regarding how you can live life like a college kid while still managing to eat well and fairly healthy, too. :) So, check out her stuff!

Meanwhile, TheWife, has been asked to return to the cast of Mulholland Christmas Carol which begins it's performances for the 2005 winter season Thanksgiving weekend. If you're not familiar with the show, I highly recommend checking it out. I saw the show something like 4 or 5 times last year and it's awesome. It combines the general structure of Charles Dickens A Christmas Carol with the story of how Mulholland brought water to Los Angeles at the turn of the last century. It's both hillarious and sobering at the same time since the LA water stuff is all based on real events--real events that include a terrible damn breaking that killed hundreds. You can get more info on this show at the Theatre of Note website's [http://www.theatreofnote.com/upcoming.html|upcoming productions page].

And not to go completely success-free, my show Director's Cut is still being performed at the John Raitt Theater at 6520 Hollywood Blvd in the heart of Hollywood, just down the street from the Egyptian Theater. It's a truly crazy show that blurs the line between reality and fiction. The story follows an up-and-coming filmmaker who is being haunted by the ghost of his ex-wife whom he killed to stop her from ruining his first film. So, CHECK IT OUT!! Call 310 933-5927 to reserve your seats TODAY! It performs Fridays and Saturdays between now and November 5, 2005.

I've also written another short 1-act play that I'm hoping to convince the director and some cast members from Director's Cut to do some nights after Director's Cut performs. More news on that as it occurs.

I'm also planning on bringing back the infamous The 5 Minute Show. With the advent of the ViPod, I feel like the timing is right to give this fun little show another chance. For anyone new to the site, The 5 Minute Show was a show I produced for the site back in the winter/spring of 2003. I did it as a weekly (yes, 5-minute-long) show that covered all sorts of topics. Part homage to The Daily Show with Jon Stewart part mental enema, T5MS ceased production because of the Iraq Attack. I got so depressed about the US invasion, all I could think to do the show about was the Iraq war and that got old fast. But now I feel like I'm overflowing with ideas for everything from short films to commentary on topics more varying than just the Iraq war.

So, lots of good things happening. Of course, I'm also getting sued for old credit card debt by a collection agency. That's pretty funny since the debt is older than 4 years, which means that, thanks to the statute of limitations on collection a debt, it's too late for them to sue me. But they're trying anyway because they're scumbags. :) So, I'm not too concerned, I just have to figure out how to handle this. I've never been sued before, so this should be a fun learning experience. Oh and you can bet I'll be blogging about it.

In general, I'm trying to keep my eyes on the positive momentum around me. I seriously think that's the key to making things more positive permanently. Wish me luck!!

A Song Off of TheWife's New CD

OK, some of you may know that TheWife is an actor. She's also a singer and a brilliant one at that. Not too long ago she was cast as the lead character in a concept album for a musical called Lilith. Lilith tells the story of Adam's first wife--yeah, "Adam" as in "Adam & Eve." Never knew that Adam had a first wife? Well, he did and the bitch wouldn't put up with his crap so she left him and hooked up with a bunch of demons and had their demon kids.

Of course, in the Bible it plays her like she was evil because she wouldn't be submissive--the irony is that if only Adam had let her be equal, maybe Lilith wouldn't have created humanity's enemies. Then again, it sure seems like all of the major enemies of America in the last 100 years were created by America in the first place, so really, the theme fits, but I digress.

The point is, the concept album is being released in the next month or so and you can listen to a couple of tracks from it by going to the [http://www.myspace.com/thomaskugler|composer's page] at myspace.com. The first track that will play when you get there is the overture for Lilith. To hear TheWife's song, click on "I Lilith."

The musical is a rock opera and is very reminiscent of Jesus Christ Superstar. It also reminds me a bit of the music from Phantom of the Paradise. So, [http://www.myspace.com/thomaskugler|go check it out!]

And thanks!

There's also going to be a concert performance of the musical soon and I'll be sure to post on that once I know when that will be.

Choppertown: The Sinners Teaser Trailer

Hey, if you've got a moment, head on over and check out Choppertown.net--a buddy of mine is making a documentary about bikers who build and ride choppers and that's his site.


The site is jammed with pics of the guys in the docu--they're in a gang called "The Sinners" and one look at their bikes and ya gotta recognize the irony in their name because these bikes are from heaven. Now, I'm not into choppers, myself, but I can recognize a good bike when I see one and these are *very* good. Zach's got some good source material in these guys for his docu, that's for sure.

In fact, he's just posted a teaser trailer for the docu and if you're into bikes or are even curious about them, you might just want to head on over and check it out. It looks like it's going to be a very cool docu.

Pal Lauren Enshrines a Favorite Recipe for the Ages

My friend Lauren Raab writes a funny recipe column in UCLA's Daily Bruin newspaper on a weekly basis--if you enjoy cooking (or are scared of cooking, like I am) you should definitely check out her past columns. However, she does myself and TheFiancee a special honor this week by writing about a recipe of ours in her column.

It's called Guaca-fishy and it's our own unique twist on the guacamole thing.

Oh and while Lauren did explain some nice backstory for avocados, she didn't mention where the Aztec word for avocados, ahuacatl, comes from. Apparently, the word "ahuacatl" is very similar to the Aztec word for testicles.

No joke! I read it somewhere.