1. print this electronic version out and,
2. GET A LIFE!

Work at CSC has shifted gears I’m still with the same section/department just a different subgroup. I’m supporting the scanning effort of converting hard copy versions of documents into the electronic copy for the Navy Yard Folks. I make out log sheets for the documents to be scanned and assign their electronic destinations. If there is no electronic destination I have to create one. I also spot-check the online stuff to make sure it was scanned properly. As this task is only contracted for 1 year, my superiors are looking for some other fire to throw me on. There’s rumored to be some sort of tracking database being constructed and I would be brought in to be the database jockey. (Populating with data and maintaining, editing Yippee!)

JANUARY: Well at the end of last December (The 28th actually) the car I was driving a 1993 Dodge Shadow (my mom’s) decided it had enough and broke down. Readers digest version I got it towed, the repair shop checked it out and determined that the distributor was cracked and it needed a whole new engine (engine block cracked as well?). Since Repairs would be astronomical if effective for a nine-year old car I was forced kicking and screaming to get a new car. The Shadow was donated to the Red Cross for tax purposes for my mom so no trade in. For the first time (as of Wednesday January 9) I now have a car in my name, insured under my name and bankrupting just me, not me and my mother. It’s a brand spanking new 2002 Ford Focus (well OK by now it’s almost a year old, but I got it brand spanking new). It’s a dark Navy like blue called Twilight Blue or as one of the forms says "ight Blue" so it’s a unique colour. Meanwhile I Started 2002 by attending a small party in a huge house (guess which one SSTGers) the highlight of the party was a "house tour" presented by a woman who doesn’t even live there, but she does tours at cast parties and special events there anyway, I hear she had a party where the owner of the afore mentioned mansion gave a tour of her home. I’m working on writing a one-act that was inspired by it. SSTG’s 52nd Annual 12th night party was a blast! We, well Veronica actually, had over 40 people. The highlight was Margaret G. and the beefcake calendar. Or was it Heather and Omar conveniently missing when their gifts were being taken? The gifts ranged from the usual blah to outrageous. I believe that all who, (whom?) attended had a good time. Thanks Veronica! SSTG’s Original One Act Suffering Fools by Paul Handy directed by Uncle Stan, received three awards at the Annual MCTFA MD One-Act Theatre Festival, Second Runner-up Best Production, Best Original Script (tied), and Outstanding Performance for an Actor Tracy Collier. We held Auditions for They’re Playing Our Song and began rehearsals for March performances.

FEBRUARY: I was excited that one of my all-time favorite teams went to the Super Bowl (delayed due to last years 911 terrors). Unfortunately the Was L.A. Now Saint Louis Rams lost 20 - 17 to the New England Patriots. Hmm with all of this Super American Pride since the 911 events don’t you find it just a little bit coincidental that a team with such a name wins the Super Bowl? And the Yankees won the World Series? Hmmmm. OK so the Damn Yankees didn’t win but they played in it. Well less than a week before it’s auditions, the folks in charge of The Pirates of Penzance decided it would be better to present it as a concert version instead of a regular book version (yuck, I’m not a big fan of musical theatre being presented as an ordinary concert). Hey guess what? I was cast in the Concert version of The Pirates of Penzance so I can’t do too much complaining on that. Big trouble is brewing within SSTG a split seems to be imminent.

MARCH: Had a blast "Working it Out" with the cast of They’re Playing Our Song despite the internal problems the show had around tech week, and having a certain redheaded Producer storming off Tech Sunday. I won’t name names but it seems likely that Uncle Stan will never work with said producer again, which is sad because she does a great job when she’s determined to get something done. I still consider her a friend (or Friendly Acquaintance?) but a ‘tude like that could make it difficult [Year end note: Said Producer hasn’t had that sort of ‘tude since then, maybe it was mega stress]. Speaking of Friends a couple of mine who had been best buds for approx. 23 years found themselves on the opposing sides of a disagreement of strange origins and even stranger plot twists and dissolved their friendship, to use an urban colloquialism that is Whack! The split friendship looks to be a permanent thing and it sort of parallels the SSTG split.

APRIL: My birthday Month (Hinty, hint, hint) Yippee Yahooie! Had a blast when we finally had the archive video party (wink, wink) for TPOS. I think that show brought a lot of folks closer. It certainly gave a few people a new way to communicate. Yo junx Word. Meanwhile the negotiations for the SSTG/KAT split are going on, but I’ve been busy with rehearsals for Pirates so there, "Ppphhhffttthhh". It’s got enough regular elements in it to be considered more a hybrid show than a "Concert Version". The chorus doesn’t just stand there looking pretty, except for those of us whose mugs are more ugly than your Uncle Louie! (LOL). The main point is I’m having fun with it and that is what matters. I’ve got to add that my sister visited around the middle of the month, mostly for a reunion party with her Toby’s friends and acquaintances (including a big named 20something Hollywood/Broadway actor named Ed, but we won’t drop names here), but also so she could head down south with my Mother and Uncle to see my Middle Bro (The G.I.) and his Family in NC.

MAY: The Pirates of Penzance Opened on the first weekend of the month. Did rather well and on closing weekend was all profit. Hmmmm and is a 501(C) 3-PO "Non-Profit" Organization? Could someone explain that one? Anyway the closing weekend audiences were something like 112 - 120 folks for each performance. Some friends of mine who hardly come to see my shows came to see me in this one, they had also seen last years The Foreigner that I directed. I’m glad they saw it (Pirates) and enjoyed it even though they don’t like Opera [Almost like the country bumpkin cowboy guys who don’t understand Opera in the Spike Jones song PalYatChe!.]

JUNE: Well the world is really strange now. About mid month some of my longest time friends moved to Miami, gee I didn’t think my breath was that bad. I’ve got mixed feelings on that, I’m glad that they are now living in a place they really enjoy, but I am sad that I won’t see them as often as I once did. The new SSTG spin-off group KAT (Kensington Arts Theatre) doesn’t officially start until July 1, but the beginning of June saw them do a wonderful fundraising Kick-Off Gala. Plus this Summer KAT is co-producing 12 One-Acts with Montgomery Playhouse, more on that next month and in August maybe, but you’ll be reading about it in a few moments. Strange Time Warps these Yearly Reviews are ain’t they?

JULY: Been really busy this month on the clean-up/ organization effort for KAT at the Kensington Town Center Armory and it still isn’t done. My friends who became non-friends apparently are at least making a communication effort via email. One in Miami, One in Manassas with another mutual friend in Winchester who has kept contact with both sides it’s all still weird. On the technical front, Finally after recovering what I could from my dead laptop I revived it, the first resuscitation effort failed so I thought I might have to take it into a professional shop but fortunately the second attempt succeeded so now it’s back on line (for another year or until the next Fatal Death Crash). This revival came on the heals of having to get a second palm pilot, the first one died of unknown causes, the batteries were about ½ used up but still good I replaced the batteries and heard some sort of buzzing attempt at life so I did what had worked about 6 months before and opened the sucker up. I didn’t find out what was wrong but unfortunately while fiddling with it I accidentally yanked the wires from a couple of soldering points from the back panel that connect the batteries to the circuit board. Since I have the new one (with color screen, more compact, more power and more options) there’s no rush to get the old one fixed. I will eventually send it to be repaired but will wait on that. OH and my sister now has email after being a longtime holdout cause she didn’t have any real reason to have it, except that now almost all of da family has email of some kind somewhere, I think my Uncle in DC is the only one without email, or a computer, he’s considering it though.

AUGUST: The KAT/MP One-Acts went rather well. It was a good mix, OK there were, one or two duds but they are mostly very enjoyable. I auditioned for Cedar Lane Stage and their production of Museum it opens in Oct. and I got cast in it playing two roles, Giorgio and Mr. Salt. Mr. Salt is a physical bumbler and Giorgio is an art snob who seems to only know how to lecture. Side Show Auditions were held and it goes up November. I’m doing sound design for that, there are no sound cues but the show needs pre-show and intermission music. Gee do I sound like Sara Jessica Parker in Sex And The City with these review things? Well Charlotte and Samantha haven’t talked since... Just in time for his birthday my military Bro normally stationed at Fort Bragg NC shipped off to Greece for a year, then it’s back to the states when his 20-year hitch ends a few months later.

SEPTEMBER: Museum rehearsals are going rather well, although they seem really fast, at least for now since some of them I get to go home early after my bits are done. The interesting thing will be the fact that it’s being played in two sided almost three quarters round. Now I know how the ancient Egyptian Models for the Hieroglyphics felt. Work Update: well the Government Bums might not renew the funding for the scanning task, which ends January, so I’ve got to move on anyway. No word on exactly what I’ll do yet.

OCTOBER: Museum opened up rather nicely, no major opening weekend blunders. The run went rather well, plus my sister came to town again and got to see the closing show, YEA! Her main agenda was a trip to NY with some of the Toby’s folks to see that certain big named actor Eddie, their old time acting student, on Broadway. SSTG’s one-man show Franklin of Philadelphia goes up, and I’ve got one chance to see it. KAT applied to become a part of WATCH (Washington Area Theatre Community Honors) which is a peer judged awards association for community theatre in the DC area. They will be officially a part of the association beginning in January the WATCH season is the same as the calendar year. Near the end of the month I saw SSTG’s Franklin of Philadelphia, which was appropriately at the Sandy Spring Museum. The Professional Actor who Played Franklin (Merwin Goldsmith) did a super job, the length was just about right and they didn’t spend too much time on any one trivia tidbit, and it flowed very smoothly. The Producers of the show plan on taking it to a couple of other towns before taking it to B’way.

NOVEMBER: KAT Side Show goes up it’s a technical nightmare, despite that fact Opening weekend was very well received, and the show is getting rave reviews. SSTG had auditions for December One Acts, but the turn out was very tiny neither of the two shows being cast could be cast, so the SSTG one acts will be postponed till around March or so. The MD State one acts has been postponed until the last weekend in March, with the Regional tournament being held the next weekend the first weekend of April. Had a wonderful Thanksgiving in Virginia at the Centerville Cousins Cottage.

DECEMBER: Wow this month came and went so fast I barely had time to finish this Yearly Review. Lets see the job thing got settled, the Government folks decided to renew the funding for my task so once more job is semi-secure for maybe a year. I’m between theatre gigs for once in about 6 or 7 years and getting an hour or two more sleep sometimes. Spent Christmas Day back at the Centerville Cousins Cottage. Going to a small New Years party in Rockville, this time no mansion and no tour just chillin’ with some homies, watchin’ da video screen and probably see Dick Clark Rock 2003 on in.

Plans for 2003: