Hellcab is set in Chicago just before Christmas Day, so we are dressed in winter costumes throughout the play. There is one major problem about wearing coats and scarves in a small blackbox theater in South Texas during the month of May. As you can imagine, it gets pretty hot under all those layers. Not to forget that it’s a fast-paced play so there’s a lot of running around for queues and costume changes. And also the seats are filled with cushy patrons fillng the room with extra body heat. It gets really hot! It becomes a bit of a challenge when we are trying to make audiences believe it’s Chicago in the winter when we are flushed red with beads of sweat. I literally sit in my underwear backstage to cool down between my queues. Ah, the magic of live theater. Hellcab is now at the AtticRep on the campus of Trinity, May 16 and runs til June 2. AtticRep.org for tickets.

Hellcab is set in Chicago just before Christmas Day, so we are dressed in winter costumes throughout the play. There is one major problem about wearing coats and scarves in a small blackbox theater in South Texas during the month of May. As you can imagine, it gets pretty hot under all those layers. Not to forget that it’s a fast-paced play so there’s a lot of running around for queues and costume changes. And also the seats are filled with cushy patrons fillng the room with extra body heat. It gets really hot! It becomes a bit of a challenge when we are trying to make audiences believe it’s Chicago in the winter when we are flushed red with beads of sweat. I literally sit in my underwear backstage to cool down between my queues. Ah, the magic of live theater. Hellcab is now at the AtticRep on the campus of Trinity, May 16 and runs til June 2. AtticRep.org for tickets.

3 days ago
Hellcab expects so much from each actor to play multiple characters. As for me, I felt the pressure when I was placed in a cast with 6 other brilliant and talented actors. I admit there were days I felt I had to compete to feel like I was the right choice for this play. Watching the others explore their characters was as much of an education as it was entertaining. Audiences are going to be pleased. Hellcab opens at the AtticRep on the campus of Trinity, May 16 and runs til June 2. AtticRep.org for tickets.

Hellcab expects so much from each actor to play multiple characters. As for me, I felt the pressure when I was placed in a cast with 6 other brilliant and talented actors. I admit there were days I felt I had to compete to feel like I was the right choice for this play. Watching the others explore their characters was as much of an education as it was entertaining. Audiences are going to be pleased. Hellcab opens at the AtticRep on the campus of Trinity, May 16 and runs til June 2. AtticRep.org for tickets.

4 days ago

San Antonio has Gone to the Dogs

We have dogs roaming the streets in this city! At the drive thru this morning on my way to the studio, a purebred boxer with no collar was coming up to the cars looking for food. She is a part of a San Antonio problem I’ve noticed since I was kid. While I know most of you keep your dogs homebound and have them collared, there are many families who don’t collar their dogs, let them roam free in unfenced yards and neighborhoods, and worst of all don’t spay/neuter them. This problem is worse on the West and South sides. These dogs go off unmonitored and undisciplined, and then create new litters of wayward puppies that are mostly treated the same way. This week, San Antonio was ranked #2 for dog bites on postal carriers. Dogs need owners who insure they behave and respond well with people. If not, dogs will act the only way nature designed them for - foraging, hunting and occasionally attacking. San Antonio has made great strides towards its no-kill status, but the city still had to euthanize almost 400 unwanted animals in 2012. I am not a huge dog fan, but even I say San Antonians need to take more responsibility for their dogs.

5 days ago
In Hellcab, I play 7 characters ranging from a tipsy New York businessman to a Chicago druggie. I tried many techniques and slight exaggerations to separate each character from one another. Costumes and wigs are helpful, but one thing director Stacey Jones Connelly went over is the importance of finding each character’s story and mindset. Where did each of these strange people come from right before they got in the cab? Who are they when they aren’t around strangers? When we broke down their lines, we found a whole wealth of personality - some nasty, some funny, some sad. All interesting. Hellcab opens at the AtticRep on the campus of Trinity, May 16 and runs til June 2. www.AtticRep.org for tickets.

In Hellcab, I play 7 characters ranging from a tipsy New York businessman to a Chicago druggie. I tried many techniques and slight exaggerations to separate each character from one another. Costumes and wigs are helpful, but one thing director Stacey Jones Connelly went over is the importance of finding each character’s story and mindset. Where did each of these strange people come from right before they got in the cab? Who are they when they aren’t around strangers? When we broke down their lines, we found a whole wealth of personality - some nasty, some funny, some sad. All interesting. Hellcab opens at the AtticRep on the campus of Trinity, May 16 and runs til June 2. www.AtticRep.org for tickets.

(Source: )

5 days ago
We are getting close to the open night of Hellcab. Aside from EJ Roberts, who tirelessly plays the Cab Driver in absolutely every scene in our play Hellcab, the 35 other characters are played by only 6 actors. Getting into one character’s head is hard enough. But as for me getting into the heads of the 7 characters I play is quite the challenge. Fortunately, director Stacey Jones Connelly has been patient with each of us, breaking each vignette down as if they each were there own play. Hellcab opens at the AtticRep on the campus of Trinity, May 16 and runs til June 2. www.AtticRep.org for tickets.

We are getting close to the open night of Hellcab. Aside from EJ Roberts, who tirelessly plays the Cab Driver in absolutely every scene in our play Hellcab, the 35 other characters are played by only 6 actors. Getting into one character’s head is hard enough. But as for me getting into the heads of the 7 characters I play is quite the challenge. Fortunately, director Stacey Jones Connelly has been patient with each of us, breaking each vignette down as if they each were there own play. Hellcab opens at the AtticRep on the campus of Trinity, May 16 and runs til June 2. www.AtticRep.org for tickets.

6 days ago
Hellcab at the AtticRep has to be the most demanding play I’ve ever been cast in. I guess I’m doing okay - they haven’t replaced me yet. Hellcab was written by Will Kern, and tells the story of one cab driver and the 35 people who enter his cab on a winter day in Chicago. The treat for the audience is seeing 7 actors turn into 36 people. Becoming a new character in every other scene is the actor’s rush I’m looking for. Hellcab opens at the AtticRep on the campus of Trinity in San Antonio, May 16 and runs til June 2. AtticRep.org for tickets.
Hellcab at the AtticRep has to be the most demanding play I’ve ever been cast in. I guess I’m doing okay - they haven’t replaced me yet. Hellcab was written by Will Kern, and tells the story of one cab driver and the 35 people who enter his cab on a winter day in Chicago. The treat for the audience is seeing 7 actors turn into 36 people. Becoming a new character in every other scene is the actor’s rush I’m looking for. Hellcab opens at the AtticRep on the campus of Trinity in San Antonio, May 16 and runs til June 2. AtticRep.org for tickets.

(Source: brownpapertickets.com)

1 week ago

Dear Gov. Christie,

I have to admit, I’m disappointed in you today. As far as governors go, you intrigue and impress me the most. Your recent admission that you’ve had Lap-Band surgery is off-putting. I feel you’ve done the politician move by cutting corners just to get a quick result. I understand celebrities and politicians are under pressure to watch their self-image (I should know, I’ve been dealing with mine since I was 8). But to self-discipline yourself to eat well and exercise is an empowering opportunity to regain your self-worth and to realize you are capable of so much more. More importantly, you become an inspiration to others. If you are setting a goal to run for president, I think you missed a good opportunity to work like many have and lose body fat through endurance and patience. It would have been an impressive feat in front of other Americans. But sir - I’m sorry to say - you cheated.

~Kareem Dahab

2 weeks ago
Cleveland got a lot cooler today.

Cleveland got a lot cooler today.

2 weeks ago
2 weeks ago
20thcenturypix: whitedogblog: Eniwetok, Marshall Islands, 1944 1944

20thcenturypix:

whitedogblog:

Eniwetok, Marshall Islands, 1944

1944

2 weeks ago