"Hurricane Katrina"

My thoughts and prayers are with the victims and survivors of Hurricane Katrina. This truely has been one of the worst natural disasters to strike this country. Pray for our leaders, and let's see what we can do to help out.

-Jon
posted by Jon at 10:17 PM  I   I  0 comments

"Monday Recap"

Well, today was one of those long, very tense rehearsals -- involving some difference of opinion between the cast, director, and choreographer. Out of respect, thought, I'll keep most of my comments to myself, and merely say this... I'm tired. Time for bed.

Until the morrow....

Your happily blogging actor friend,
-Jon
posted by Jon at 10:53 PM  I   I  0 comments

"Purple Pants and Puffy Sleeves"

Tonight at rehearsal I found out what my costume for "The Liar" will be. Yep, you guessed it... purple knickers, tights, and large puffy sleeves! Very dashing I might add! In fact, this may even end up being one of my favorite stage costumes so far. (Especially considering that much of it is borrowed from a former Rennaissance historical reenactor!)

-Jon
posted by Jon at 11:01 PM  I   I  0 comments

"Quote of the Day"

"All your life you are told the things you cannot do. All your life they will say you're not good enough or strong enough or talented enough; they will say you're the wrong height or the wrong type to play this or be this or achieve this. They will tell you no, a thousand times no, until all the no's become meaningless. They will tell you no, quite firmly and very quickly. And you will tell them yes."

- Nike Advertisement

-Jon
posted by Jon at 3:21 AM  I   I  0 comments

"Unique Art"

How's this for unique?.... Introducing, apple art.
posted by Jon at 11:03 PM  I   I  0 comments

"Tacky Times"

Here's an interesting online magazine: Tacky Times. (August issue)

A magazine unconcerned with current issues and affairs celebrating tackiness, frivolities and downright decadence.

posted by Jon at 10:56 PM  I   I  0 comments

"Not even close."

Oh, well. It appears I didn't win the MKE Blog of the Week this past week. In fact, the blog that did win took 80% of the entire vote! And according to MKE, that's the largest margin of victory in the history of the poll. Oh, well, maybe next time. :)

Have a blessed Thursday all!

Your happily blogging friend,
-Jon
posted by Jon at 5:09 PM  I   I  0 comments

"How do we sound?"

Voices is an online audio journey about the way people in Great Britain sound today. Listen in to the diverse voices of the British Isles, from Shetland to Penzance.

Eavesdrop on Rotarians in Pitlochry and Travellers in Belfast. Drop in on skateboarders in Milton Keynes. Overhear pigeon fanciers in Durham. Listen to hundreds of conversations.
posted by Jon at 11:23 PM  I   I  0 comments

"Cooling Off."

It's a beautiful evening outside tonight! Cool. Calm. Very comfortable. And an excellent contrast from the warm church basement we spent the last few hours dancing and rehearsing in. Ah yes... Great weather to go home in!

-Jon
posted by Jon at 10:21 PM  I   I  0 comments

"A Day to Myself"

Today was a nice change of pace. Not only did I not have to go into work at Bluemound Graphics, but I also had the night off from rehearsal. What did I do on my wonderful day off? Well, I worked on personal projects of course! Most notably my popular "Let me be your personal artist!" Ebay auction. Plus I had two rental showings for the two open apartments in the building I live in, and I played an hour or two of one of my favorite computer games. Oh, yeah, and I topped the day off with a little splurging on some great deals at my local supermarket. :)

Yep. All-in-all, a pretty darn good day! Of course tomorrow won't be as easy. Now that the weekend is upon me, I get to do some more drawing (hopefully finishing up at least one project), and I get to work rather heavily on my lines and character for "The Liar". But other than that, it's looking like a great weekend as well!

Here's hoping it actually is!

Have a blessed weekend all, and until the morrow,

Your happily blogging friend,
-Jon
posted by Jon at 11:47 PM  I   I  0 comments

"JonBaas.com Nominated!"

I have been nominated for MKE Blog of the Week (August 18-24). Five Wisconsin blogs are up for a consideration. I'm one of them. Feel free to take a moment and vote for your favorite. The results will be posted this coming Thursday.

Thanks much! And have a blessed Friday!

Your happily blogging actor friend,
-Jon
posted by Jon at 11:54 PM  I   I  0 comments

"Dance the Night Away!"

Today was a fun rehearsal. We got to dance, "move about", and make general merriment!

Yes. Tonight's rehearsal for "The Liar" was a choreography session for a few creative dance segments during the course of the production. Being that this is a late 1700's Restoration play (adapted from the original Venetian script), we're performing this show true to the style of the era. In other words, we're performing it as if we're a troupe of underpayed 1700's traveling actors who've come to town and put on a comedy for the audience.

Throughout the course of the production, we all play two characters.... the actor playing the role, and the role the actor is playing. The set is minimal, yet the costumes are extravagent (or so I am told). And the interplay between our actor-characters and the scripted roles they play is priceless!

And, as it just so happens, some of the great "schtick" we've added to the show, are these dance segments we were introduced to tonight. Imagine this.... Sinatra-type lounge music, and all of us -- the cast -- ball-room dancing our way about the stage while physically explaining our scripted characters through humorous antics. It fits the play perfectly, and will easily lend itself to a great evening of theatre all around....

(Plus, my scripted character gets the girl in the end, so I'm happy!) LOL!

Yeah, with the show opening the second week in September, we're just starting to get into the really fun stuff at rehearsals. THIS is the kind of rehearsal work us actors really look forward to! This is the time when we truely get to play!

I am so looking forward to this show!

-Jon
posted by Jon at 11:31 PM  I   I  0 comments

"Wednesday"

Moved Rocks -- Big Rocks. Worked. Did a lot of walking. No rehearsal (a rarity), but back to the fun tomorrow! Enjoying life. Keeping busy. Definitely my kind of gig!

Have a blessed Thursday all! More on the morrow.

Your happily blogging friend,
-Jon
posted by Jon at 11:23 PM  I   I  0 comments

"Playing Catch-up"

Alright folks. Let's play catch-up. :)

First of all, my sincere appologies for my absense. Blame it on my work schedule. I've had every intent of "bloggin' on", but time, work, rehearsals, and who knows what else have repeatedly pulled me away from you (my loyal fans, readers, family, friends, etc), and, as a result, the posts have been nill lately. But, I'm going to try and change that. I gotta get back on track. I started this blog because of you. Time to get back to my commitment!

So, without further adeu, here's where I've been these past three weeks....

On July 23, "A Little Princess" wrapped, and all of us in the cast went our seperate ways. It was a great little show, and one I had a lot of fun being part of. It's sad to develop the bonds that any theatre cast does, only to disolve them once the show comes to an end, but, such is the way of things in theatre. It's a constant journey from one project to the next. A learning experience. And, most of all, one heck of a thrilling career to be part of! I'll definitely miss the cast, but I'll probably see some of them down the line in this great journey called professional acting.

Oh, and before I forget, to all of those who came out to see the show, thank you! I think I speak for the entire ex-cast when I say, we loved having you join us. Sure we have fun auditioning, rehearsing, and ultimately performing, but it's you guys -- the audience -- we're doing this for. It's you who make it all worthwhile!

But enough of "...Princess", on to the next show. As many of you are aware, I auditioned for another Milwaukee show titled, "The Liar", before "...Princess" wrapped. Apparently my audition went well because I was cast in the role of Florindo -- the shy haphazardly romantic "male drama queen" (no, he's not gay!) of a character upon whom the dilemma of the whole play revolves -- and have been in rehearsal already for the past three weeks. In fact, as luck would have it, I started rehearsing for "The Liar" only two days after our last performance for "A Little Princess". How's THAT for keeping busy in theatre!

Performances for "The Liar" are September 9-18, and will be produced at Concordia University in Mequon, WI through the Acacia Theatre Company -- a well-established Milwaukee-based Christian theatre group. My role is a notable one.

But, that's just the theatre end of things that have been keeping me busy. Art has been grabbing just as much of my time if not more....

The commissions -- especially for graphite portraits -- have been pouring in left and right, and have been keeping me busy. So much so, that I'm actually a little bit behind in meeting my self-imposed deadlines. But, hey, so far, the clients have loved the work they've recieved, so I suppose it all evens out in the end. It's nice to see others enjoying my hours of detail work. It's a great perk to loving what I do. :)

But, when I'm not rehearsing, drawing, or trying to keep up on everything else, I'm filling my time with even more projects... Such as helping my apartment landlord with a variety of upkeep projects -- in return for some much-appreciated credits on my housing! Or parking cars on my apartment lot for the Wisconsin State Fair these past two weekends (I live very close to the grounds). Or, my "third" job (other than acting, and freelance art), my creative auctions on Ebay!

Whew! And if that's not enough, I now have a "fourth" job!... Last year I worked for a local graphics art company (Bluemound Graphics) that prints religious calendars for churches all over the country. I was their copy editor. Now that the 2006 calendar season is in full swing, I'm back working for them in the same capacity. I'm signed on again to work until Christmas.

So, four jobs. Acting (currently starring in "The Liar"); Art (currently creating a good many commissioned art projects); Ebay sales (currently selling a variety of creative 'mystery auctions' and other unique items); and working as the copy editor at Bluemound Graphics. Yeah, I've been a wee bit busy! But the best part is, I'm doing what I love, and having a blast at the same time! And, contrary to what I've heard many times lately, I ain't gonna compromise away my passions! Flipping burgers at Micky D's to make a living? Nope. Not my kind of gig. I'm going the route in which my loves reside, and I'll be riding on patience and trust with God as my chauffeur!

That's my kind of life, and, well... that's sort of where I've been these past three weeks. :)

So, many thanks to all of you as I've remained elusive in the blogging world. I hate to keep you waiting and wondering, but I have appreciated your patience. Hopefully, now that I'm back, I can once again entertain you along my journey of creativity and musing -- If you're still with me that is, and haven't already gotten off a few stops earlier! ... [wink]. :P

Have a blessed Tuesday all, and until the morrow,

Your happily blogging, always busy friend,
-Jon
posted by Jon at 11:16 PM  I   I  0 comments