Lindy Log Blog Day 2

Lindbergh's Rehearsal Log
Day: 2
Weather: Beautifully sunny, Spring is near
Hours of Rehearsal: 14
Days until 1st Preview: 29
Dialect Sessions: 8
Number of New Jersey shaped temporary tattoos on members of the company: 5

*Note: After a long day of rehearsals, I decided to pick up some mini-cupcakes at the Bent Spoon and low and behold found New Jersey shaped temporary tattoos for sale. Included is a photo of mine proudly displayed on my arm.

*Note: Special thanks to the nice women at J. Crew who lent me an umbrella yesterday when it was very rainy. They only had umbrellas in the women's section and I couldn't bring myself to show up with a pink flowery umbrella.

Lindbergh's Rehearsal Log Blog

I was that kid on the first day of school who was so excited and nervous that he packed two lunches, just in case, and had his clothing options lined up four days ahead of schedule. Obsessive? Maybe a little. But it all grew out of excitement for the unknown and the exploration of something new. What will my teachers be like? Will the other kids like me? Will they make fun of my Thunder Cats trapper keeper?

Now as an actor, I get to have the first day of school about every three months as I begin work on a play. But rarely do I get the extra-exciting thrill of working on a new musical. I couldn't hide my grin as I walked into the Berlind Rehearsal Hall today, having John Weidman, Richard Maltby and David Shire in the room casually sipping coffee. Three men who's work I admire so much and here we are about to embark on a new adventure together: Take Flight. Plus an outstanding director, crew, cast and company on the runway, just waiting to take off. We all milled around and ate delicious bagels (and macaroons and matzo in honor of Passover) then took our seats to start our day.

So much preparation has gone into the weeks and months before our arrival that I couldn't even begin to describe. What I can tell you about, however, is my preparation for playing Charles Lindbergh. Its always tricky playing a historical figure because you can study and research to your hearts content, but the story told within the script is the most important piece of reference material. There are countless books on Lindbergh and each paints him such a different light, I wasn't sure where to begin. Lost in a sea of Lindbergh biographies at the Strand Bookstore in New York, I emailed John Weidman to ask for advice. He recommended a few books that he felt gave a good unbiased overview and a great piece of advice: Be careful, Lindbergh wasn't necessary the heroic man you picture in your head standing next to his plane, scarf waving in the wind. Well, maybe that's not exactly what he said, but thats what I took away.

The month prior to starting rehearsals I did a lot of traveling, perfect time to get some reading done. I spend so much time on planes that I ended up reading The Spirit of St. Louis, Lindbergh's account of his transcontinental flight, entirely in the air. Learning so much about flying makes your senses heighten when you're on a commercial flight. How amazing is it that we can get into a big metal tube and 5 hours later be on the opposite coast? We're long past the days of Lindbergh when planes had an open cockpit and were made out of a metal frame covered in cloth and painted with dope. Before the jet engine, cargo weight was a very important issue pilots had to deal with. Lindbergh was so concerned about weight that he used a wicker chair as his pilots seat in the Spirit of St. Louis. And he probably would have charged you a lot more than $25 a bag to check your luggage.

Reading the Spirit of St. Louis gave me an idea, which leads me to the real purpose of this blog entry. In the book, every hour Lindbergh notates in his flight log. So, I bought myself a little notebook for my back pocket and decided that I would make a rehearsal log, just as an exercise and a way to connect my experience. And on our first day when it was mentioned that cast members sometimes contribute to the blog, I thought this might be a great addition. Every few days, hopefully, I'll post Lindbergh's Rehearsal Log Blog with some stats, info and maybe a photo or two about our journey into this piece. This first entry will be pretty short, but as the days go on I'll have more to include!

On behalf of the cast and crew, we're all so thrilled to be here at the McCarter and in this fantastic community to create this piece AND we're so excited to share it with you!

Claybourne Elder


Lindbergh's Rehearsal Log Blog

Day: 1, Cast of Take Flight descends on Princeton
Weather: Heavy Rain
Hours of Rehearsal: 7
Cast Members: 12
Bagels Consumed: roughly 24
Cast members with mustaches: 1

Sometimes when I go to an audition

I watch this video on my ipod and it changes my life.

Sometimes I hate it when...

guys wear t-shirts like this:


that practically show this:


It's inappropriate. And not just sometimes.

Sometimes big things come in small packages

Yesterday I shot an episode of Z Rock for the Independent Film Channel. A show that I had never heard of until yesterday, so when I walked on to the set I really didn't know what to expect. We shot at a restaurant/bar downtown called BLVD on Bowery and Spring and as I walked through the doors, I was greeted by this group:




Thats right, Mini Kiss. An all little person tribute band.

Thats when I realized that all my dreams were coming true.

They were a really great group and a blast to work with. They're actually a very polished team of performers. Mini Gene Simmons had his stage tricks down to a science. Not only did he light his hand on fire during a song, but he also managed to produce a large amount of fake blood in his mouth so that when he did his signature tongue move the snake-like pointed tip dripped and spattered.

Later in the day I was thrilled to learn that there is also a Mini Britney Spears.



Not only that, but at hirelittlepeople.com you can do just that for events. Here's what their website advertises:

Are you having a private party or special event and are interested in hiring a Little Person to attend the event, then you have come to the right place; our Little People are here for your entertainment. Hire Little People for private events such as:

- Birthday Parties
- Holiday Parties
- Corporate Events
- Weddings
- Fraternity / Sorority Parties
- Fundraisers
- Charity Events

After I read this, I sat and wondered how a little person could be deemed a necessity for the events the website had listed. In case you were feeling curious yourself, I've come up with a list of possibilities:

-Birthday Parties: Thats an easy one, little person to jump out of the cake.
- Holiday Parties: Santa's elf, Cupid, Groundhog day reenactment, Leprechaun, Send a mini version of yourself to work for April Fools, New Year's Baby...
-Corporate Events: Hire a mini tribute band to keep people's spirits up in between lecture sessions
- Weddings: Ring bearers
- Fraternity/Sorority Parties: This one just escapes me
- Fundraisers: Make a huge thermometer to show how much the event has raised and instead of a red line, make it a little person in a red outfit with a long cape.
-Charity Events: Have them walking around asking for donations.

I sure learned a lot today. This blog was brought to you by the letter Z and the number 7.


By the way: My birthday is quickly approaching, so hire early and there isn't a little person available then I would like this band to play at my party:

Sometimes its the 1930s

Today I shot a film for Peter McGough, an artist who is dedicated to living his life as if it were the 1930's. I spent the morning getting 1930-ed, having my hair cut and suiting up (thanks to the people at Ralph Lauren). Then mostly I sat around all day in a beautiful apartment/museum and did a shot or two in between long setups. Flashy vintage wallpaper, old lighting fixtures. Everything down to the products in the bathroom are period. And no TV or computer.

It's a funny thing making your life your art. I mean, how many people have heard of this man? He might be more inclined to tell you that he's quite famous, but I have a sinking suspicion that he might just be some guy who doesn't the internet and brushes his teeth with a powder that probably contains sugar.

I was talking to my friend Molly, who was in town on a visit, about Tehching Hsieh, the Korean performance artist who put himself through 5 grueling, year-long performance pieces in the 70s. For one year, every hour on the hour he punched a time card in his loft. One year he spent tied to another artist with an 8 foot rope and they never touched each other. He spent an entire year living outside. Then to me the most astonishing was the year he spent locked in a cage in his loft doing nothing. No TV, radio, books, or even people. Someone came to deliver food and he had a picture taken everyday. Molly, and I hope she won't mind me sharing he opinions, thinks of this as a waste of time. That I can agree with in a sense. However, how can you now be amazed by the commitment and discipline of this man? I realize the life is art genre is pretty tired, but Hsieh managed to make his concepts so simple and yet radically difficult that you can't help at least want to talk about them. And truly that's kind of the whole idea, to make people think and talk.

After we shot all my close ups, they asked me to stick around to make sure they didn't need any pick ups, seeing as we were just filming for one day. Two actors shooting after me were asked to chain smoke old unfiltered cigarettes for about 3 hours for a scene. Neither of them were smokers, but both quickly agreed to smoke for the camera. They eventually got all the shots they wanted between breaks to let the actors go to the bathroom and throw up. The make-up guy had his work cut out for him, trying to blot the sweat literally dripping from both men and simultaneously put a little color back in their cheeks.

What is the film about? Hm. Not really sure. I don't think that Peter even really knows. I think he was just creating an environment where he could let things happen. And they did. Cut and print.

Sometimes I get addicted to strange things

Like this video. I think I've watched it 20 times.