Uncommon Ground
Volume 4 Book 3 of
Living in the Bonus Round
(Part 5)

[ Book 4-2 ] --  [ Pt 1 ] [ Pt 2 ] [ Pt 3 ] [ Pt 4 ] [ Pt 5 ] [ Pt 6 ] [ Pt 7 ] [ Pt 8 ]
[ Pt 9 ] [ Pt 10 ] [ Pt 11 ] [ Pt 12 ] [ Pt 13 ] [ Pt 14 ] -- [ Book 4-4 ]

 
March 11- 15, 2005.
New Shows, New Sessions.

We pulled up in front of the Avery Schreiber Theatre in North Hollywood and parked, with blinkers on, in front of a driveway whose gate was chained shut. It was right next door. All we wanted to do was jump out, see the place, jump back in the car and get home in time for turkey meatloaf. It was just dusk and the sky was a brilliant dark blue.

We've scheduled four performances here on April 15 at 8pm, 16 at 8pm, 17 at 3pm & 8pm. Avery Schreiber Theatre, 11050 Magnolia Avenue.

The sky and darkened marquee of Avery Schreiber Theatre.
NoHo Arts District, North Hollywood, CA

Later, all lit up!

Jimmy went directly into the facility through the parking lot but I jumped out of the car, grabbed my camera and started snapping photos (which are fuzzy cuz I couldn't hold it still and the flash made everything look ugly). I'm out there snapping away and I see an attractive woman out front near the door who is eyeing me suspiciously.

I'm now making my way towards the door, ignoring them, snapping away, when she says, "Can I help you?"

I'm totally embarrased and suddenly feeling like a theif casing the joint, so I thrust out my hand and said, "Hi, my name is Steve and we're doing a show here in a few weeks."

She said, "Oh, yes, Anthony told me about that." (Anthony Barnao, our director -- his Blue Sphere Alliance is now housed there). She flashed a brilliant smile and shook my hand vigorously.

Linda Fuller, Avery Schreiber Theatre, North Hollywood.

She told me it looked it like I was from some lawyer's office. "Am I being sued?" We assured her we were not filing a lawsuit. She took us around proudly. It's a beautiful little facility named after the comedian Avery Schreiber, whose portrait adorns the walls. And the seats are great. They come from the late lamented Shubert Theatre, which was torn down to make office buildings. (We were there at the "wrecking ball party" of the Shubert).

Jim, Linda and Gizmo.

Gizmo.

Avery Schreiber's portrait over the booth.

She said, "Avery was the one who got me into Improv For Kids." I could see that he meant a great deal to her. And you could tell from the way she and husband kept this theatre so clean and spiffy how much this space means to them.

The lobby, looking out onto Magnolia Blvd.

Looking westward.

Looking eastward.

Life on the homefront continues on its merry way. I've been slaving away in my loft, recording demos of the songs I wrote on the ship. Oddly, the one that seems to have worked out the best is a bit of supposed nonsense called "Franco Ate The Paperwork." It's a jazz/funk dance thingy that is completely out of control. (The title was given to me by Ned Sykes on a dare where he gave me a list of ridiculous song titles. Now it's my favorite song.)

In fact, I'm going to fly up to Oakland in a few weeks to record the song at Timber Trout Studios and, if it turns out well, it'll be included on the next edition of their Preoccupied Pipers CD compilation.

More on that soon!

© 1996-2005 by Steve Schalchlin. You have permission to print from this diary and distribute for use in support groups, schools, or to just give to a friend. You do not have permission to sell it.