Who Doesn't Love...

...Carole Lombard?

(If you don't, please, don't tell me...)

Evolution of a Grab Bag Gift

Last week, I started to paint. Bad idea. At work, we picked names for the grab bag. I didn't want to give the usual (candy, gift card, lotion, &c). I should have! Ha! Late in the game, I decided to paint my person something. The price was at least 15clams. I spent 65 on the supplies! Yikes! AND, on top of that, I DIDN'T even like what I had given=( *brr-brr* I gave it anyway because I didn't Hate it=P Meh...

I should have just left the painting as it was. But, no. I painted over it. And over it. And over it. And over it. And, finally, over it. Yes, folks. There are 5 paintings on top of each other on that canvas for my grab bag person! I took pictures of the first painting, third and final. I would leave the piece and come back hoping that I would like it. Didn't work. Eventually, I had to surrender at around 2.30 the morning that it was due to my supervisor.

My person told me that she had to take a peak at it and she said from what she saw she liked it. So, who knows... I feel like I should get her a consolation gift! *ugh*





To think that if that painting is x-rayed...Ha!

PLAYBILL.COM'S BRIEF ENCOUNTER With Amy Morton

By Robert Simonson
19 December 2007

Meet Chicago actress Amy Morton, who plays a rumbling volcano of a wife-mother-daughter in Broadway's August: Osage County.

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Much of the pre-opening press about the cast of August: Osage County centered on Deanna Dunagan, who plays Violet, the vicious matriarch of the triple-decker Tracy Letts drama about three dysfunctional generations of a small-town Oklahoma family.

But Amy Morton, who plays Violet's strongest daughter, Barbara, is actually on stage more and tracks the more expansive character arc. Over three and a half hours, we watch her comfort her mother, then challenge her, outright attack her, verge on becoming her and then abandon her altogether, all while putting out sundry immediate and extended familial fires. Barbara is played by Amy Morton, one of the most dominant actresses and directors in her hometown of Chicago, but a talent almost unknown in New York. Morton mustered up the energy to talk to Playbill.com about the show that has been a thrilling and exhausting experience for her.

Playbill.com: Is this the biggest acting assignment you've ever had?
Amy Morton: Uh, yeah, this being a three-act play (Laughs), this is probably the most time I've been on stage.

Playbill.com: Have you ever been in one of Tracy Letts' plays before?
AM: No. I've been in quite a few shows with him as an actor, and I've directed him.

Playbill.com: When you read the play, did it come as a surprise to you, knowing his previous work?
AM: The breadth of it came as a surprise to me, meaning the size. That many characters, that many generations, that big a set, yeah. I had no idea that was what he was working on. It didn't surprise me it was as good as it was.

Playbill.com: Are you from the Midwest?
AM: Yes, I grew up in a suburb of Chicago.

Playbill.com: I grew up in Wisconsin. When I was watching the play, even though the action takes place in Oklahoma, I recognized many of the attitudes of the characters and the family dynamics and behavior. Did any of the writing speak to you of your own experience growing up?
AM: Absolutely. It was interesting. Most of the cast members of this play come from small towns. All of us in the original Chicago production were from the Midwest. In the New York production, all but two are from the Midwest. And it's a very Midwestern tale. (Laughs.) I don't mean because it's got sensationalism or any of that stuff — the huge surprises you find in the play. I think it's stoicism, its pent-up pain — it's certainly Midwestern.

Playbill.com: Letts has mentioned quite a lot that the character of Violet is based on his own grandmother. Has he said that your character is based on anyone in particular?
AM: I think my character is an amalgamation of a few people in his family, but not specifically just one.

Playbill.com: Your character has an incredible arc in the play. What was the hardest part of achieving that journey?
AM: Stamina. Building up the stamina. Physical and emotional. It's a long haul and it's a tough uphill slog. It takes a while for your emotional muscle and your physical muscle to be able to withstand the whole three hours and 20 minutes. I remember during the previews in Chicago thinking, "Oh my God, it's the third act and I can't act anymore."

Playbill.com: You were out of acting!
AM: That took a little while. But the great thing about the play is it doesn't require a lot a preparation, emotionally or anything like that. It's written so well, you just get on the ride and there it goes.

Playbill.com: What's the most difficult scene for you?
AM: No particular scene. It's jumping up and yelling as much as I do. You see, your body doesn't know you're lying. At the end of the show, the next day you wake up and feel a little bit like a cripple, because as far as your body's concerned, it thinks you're in trauma eight times a week. So, I'm sure the show has taken a number of years off my life, but that's OK.

Playbill.com: Is there a scene in the play that is the most fun for you?
AM: Well, certainly the scene where I say, "Eat your fish, bitch!" That's a fun scene. I get to get away with murder. It's just fun.

Playbill.com: Do you take your days pretty easy to rest up?
AM: Yeah. I really can't do much. It's just too hard to do. I had all these fantasies that "During the day, I'll go to the museum and blah, blah, blah." That's not happened so much.

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Amy Morton is one ferocious mama. I bet she would eat your eyes if you were a horrible collaborator! (JUST KIDDING) Thank you to Matt who told me to get a ticket to the show when I met up with him to watch Pinter's THE HOMECOMING (great performance by Eve Best).

It's a small world. I know her husband. Matt and I worked with him while we were doing LIFE IS A DREAM at South Coast Rep. He was one of the composers.

For me, there really was no weak link in AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY. But, of course, my favorites were the mother (Deanna Dunagan) and the eldest daughter (Amy Morton). Watch out!

I'm so glad that I have more opportunities to see the show. They extended 3 weeks because of the strike. They close on March 9th, I believe.

Get ready to go if you're a friend of mine that lives in NY or that will be visiting before March 9th...!

PS This article came out yesterday the 19th, which--by the buy--was my parents' anniversary. Thirty-one years, folks!