In addition to celebrating birthdays for my brother-in-law Ted and myself last week, I also went to a birthday party with friends Michael Cornacchia and Lacy Baxter for Kerim Ekonomi, one of Michael’s theatrical agents at the Stone Manners Agency. The party was held at Life on Wilshire, a lounge-type restaurant/cocktail bar off (yep) Wilshire near Crescent Heights, which had a cool outdoor patio and a small dance floor.  I spent the night eating tasty hors d’oeuvres (the little burgers were especially good), taking pictures and hanging with Lacy on the couch. Although I met them only briefly, Scott Manners and Kerim both seemed like personable, laid-back guys along with the other agents, actors and party-goers who also seemed cool and friendly.

I spent the end of the night on the dance floor with Lacy once the DJ started spinning some 80s dance hits which lured us away from the couch. Although I was shakin’ it pretty hard to BBD’s Poison I didn’t get too stupid out there, although at one point I could be seen doing the Running Man. Good times.

Check out my Flickr page for more images from the party.

 
 

Went to a surprise birthday party for my friend, Matthew, a couple of weeks ago in Playa Del Rey. I’m always surprised when people pull off surprise parties successfully, but I think planners Jeff P., Maggie, and brothers Michael & Chris, actually pulled it off as Matthew seemed genuinely shocked when we all pounced on him upon his arrival.

I’d be way too stressed to actually organize one of these things myself, as I’d become paranoid of spilling the beans accidentally. Beyond bringing firewood, alcohol and limes, I had nothing to do with the planning of Matt’s party, and yet, weeks leading up to the event, I found myself unable to look him in the eye or even talk to him much when I’d see him, for fear of just blurting out, “Surprise Party!” - which made it extremely uncomfortable hanging out with him. So, hats off to Jeff, Maggie and the Cornacchia Bros.

Like I said, the party took place in Playa Del Rey, at Christopher’s pad right off the beach. It was a beautiful day to have a party - the sun was out but it wasn’t too hot, and there was a slight breeze wafting lazily around throughout the day. I spent most of my time outdoors eating barbecued hot dogs and cheeseburgers, and playing Beer Pong with my friend Bevin.

Speaking of which, Bevin and I were the champions of Beer Pong that day, racking up four (five? I lost count after my brain became increasingly beer-addled) wins and no losses. Bevin and I finally had to leave the table as undefeated champions since I was driving later that day to see Iron Man at the Cinerama Dome, and needed time to dry out, especially after combining the pong beer with the vodka-drenched watermelon Bevin brought. yeesh.

Needless to say, I had a great time at the party. Lots of cool people, great food and an awesome locale by the beach. Can’t wait to hang out there again this summer.

Check out pix of the party by clicking here. Beware of some cleavage, butt crack and pubes… Just sayin’.

Last Thursday night I saw my friend Amy Claire perform her hilarious one woman show, “An Classy Evening With Amy Claire: How I Got This Far” in Hollywood at the Pan Andreas Theater. The show (unfortunately, it ran only one night to a sold-out audience) was very much like Amy’s gut-busting stand-up comedy act, and mined much of the same ”1/2 Southern Belle and half White Trash” material, but added blocking, lighting, a few props, and a slide show (the elephant baby was particularly effective) to the mix. Minimal, to be sure, but the direction (by Michael Cornacchia) kept things low-key and natural while keeping the biting spirit of Amy’s stand-up routine intact, much like we (the audience) were at a party where Amy started telling funny stories.

And the stories she told were indeed funny. Most of them let us in on the intimate details of her relationships (”I’m dating a doctor. So there’s a slight chance of me quitting my job and a strong possibility of “accidentally” getting pregnant.”), growing up in Louisiana (”Obviously I’ve never slept with my brother. We’ve only made-out. It’s not serious.”), drinking too much (”What’s that called when you make a wildly inappropriate decision just cuz everything else in your life sucks? Oh yeah. Drunk.”) and working as a secretary (”I just got caught stealing toilet paper at work.”) Funny, funny stuff which I can’t do justice here, but you get the point.

After the show, which was seriously the fastest 45 minutes I’ve experienced in a theater in the past 10 years, we all celebrated Amy’s birthday with the singing of “Happy Birthday” and the eating of cake. And the drinking of free alcohol, which seemed totally appropriate.

Even though her show’s now closed, you can still catch Amy’s stand-up around Hollywood every now and then. She’s performed at the The Improv, Comedy Store and The House of Blues, among others, so if you see her name on a marquee somewhere, be sure to check her out.

Oh yeah, I did the “trailer park” sign for her show and was honored to do it.

Here’s a pic from the set of, WTFWT?!, a pilot I was lucky enough to act in a few weeks back, which was the basis for JEFbot’s “The Short” story arc, which can be found here: 01, 02, 03, 04, 05. The pilot’s being edited at the moment and should be ready for viewing soon.

The amazing group of talent seen above includes (from left-right/up-down, more or less): Pam Cook, Rob Smith, Ted Sawyer, Scott Walker Mullin, Lacy Thomas, Ric Barbera, Matthew Shaffer, Mark Kelly, Mark Reilly, Ryan Styles, Kristina Hayes, Michael Cornacchia, Ali Wiener-Dallas and me, Jeff Schuetze.