timothy c goodwin.nyc-based actor, photographer, writer, and cohost of The Tiffin Inn Writing Workshop.
Monday, December 26, 2005
Monday, December 19, 2005
post 168. yacht rock.
post 167. a man said to the universe, by stephen crane.
"Sir I exist!"
"However," replied the universe,
"The fact has not created in me
A sense of obligation."
Tuesday, December 13, 2005
Monday, December 12, 2005
post 164. kelly and tim's cooking extravaganza, part 1 -- sugar cookies.
1 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 egg
2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
coloured or granulated sugar
1. heat oven to 375°F.
2. beat sugar and butter with electric mixer on low speed or with spoon until light and fluffy. stir in vanilla, nutmeg and egg. stir in flour and baking soda. shape dough by teaspoonfuls into balls. place about 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet. flatten with bottom of glass dipped in sugar.
3. bake 9 to 11 minutes or until set. remove from cookie sheet to wire rack.
Sunday, December 11, 2005
Friday, December 09, 2005
post 162. my interview from insider.
What does it take to make an audience roll with laughter? We caught up with Tim Goodwin, 31, of Rochester to get his perspective on the art of comedy.
As a member of Geva Comedy Improv (and its administrator), adjunct lecturer of improvisational theater at State University College at Brockport, and a cast member of Geva Theatre's production of Shear Madness, Goodwin is busy making Rochester a funnier place.
What does the Geva Comedy Improv administrator do?
Lots of odds and ends. I'm kind of the conduit between Geva Theatre Center and the troupe regarding administrative stuff.
What's your favorite part of the job?
It's not doing it. It's having it finished and being onstage and performing for our audience.
What's the hardest part of improv?
Being able to trust yourself. ... You have to not think and sometimes fail.
Is Shear Madness your first Mainstage production?
Yes. For me, it's important to find new things to do, and acting was a great way to do that. It's professional theater, but it's still so much fun.
Tell me about the play.
Shear Madness is a whodunit. It's really funny. I play Mikey Thomas, a young, energetic fella who gets his hair washed, 'cut' and dried each performance. He's also, most assuredly, the sexiest character in the play. Outside of that, you'll have to come see the show!
Is it difficult to transition from improv to the Mainstage?
Shear Madness is a different kind of comedy ... one that grabs you at the very beginning and just boom, boom, booms, its way to the end. There are a few habits I've picked up in improv that don't translate to the Mainstage, but improv is so important to the theater world that the basic skills are universal. All good theater looks improvised.
What's the best part of teaching improv theater at SUNY Brockport?
It's awesome to teach ... people who have never done improv before. To see them breaking down the fear of having a scene come off of the top of their head is great! ... We like to ... learn to play. Improv is play with a purpose.
What advice do you have for people wanting to get into improv?
Keith Johnstone's Impro: Improvisation and the Theatre is the bible. It is ... the basis for narrative improv. Try and remember that there are stories in every single person. Being the best you that you can be. It's what makes improv!
post 161. i've been busy.
shear madness continues, and i've allowed myself the experience of long nights. it's been a great time, but very tiring. need to get back to my regular routine.
Sunday, November 27, 2005
Friday, November 25, 2005
post 159. my old room on hincher street.
Thursday, November 24, 2005
post 158. shear madness review in city.
Warning to those suffering from vertigo: Do not ride Shear Madness. The largely improvisational comedy, now at Geva, runs at a frenzied pace, thrusting the audience through an enervating and hilarious trip.
The evolution of the play began in Rochester in 1976 when Geva put on a play called Who Dunnit?. That production featured Bruce Jordan, the director of Geva's current incarnation. Excited by the show but left wishing for a brighter adaptation, Jordan secured the rights and, with his partner Marilyn Abrams, created just that.
This version of the show takes place inside a posh hair salon on the corner of Park and Oxford. The set is realistic down to a working washbasin and (keep your eyes peeled!) a City Newspaper stand. With the Rochester skyline as backdrop, the swirling psychedelic pastels of the salon's wall are disorienting which, I suspect, is intentional.
As the audience filters into the theater, the characters are already on stage creating the business of a salon. Madonna's "Material Girl" and "Help Me Rhonda" by the Beach Boys plays. Hair is washed to the beat and nails are wildly filed with the rhythm.
The cast shines, thinking on their feet and reacting with honed comic instincts. Barbara Bradshaw, as Mrs. Shubert, is everything one could hope for in a snooty socialite. Blinding the audience when it caught the light, Mrs. Shubert's rock of an engagement ring was a physical reminder of her superiority. Geva Improv captain Tim Goodwin, costumed in geek worthy button down and off kilter bow tie, turns in a delightful performance as the Barney Fife to actor Larry Bull's Andy Griffith.
Tony Whitcomb, the flamboyant proprietor, played with flair by Tom Wahl, and his second chair Barbara Demarco (Margot Moreland) are constantly annoyed by the blaring concerto of famous pianist --- and upstairs neighbor --- Isabelle Czerny. When police burst in to reveal that Czerny has been murdered with a pair of styling shears, it turns out that Tony, Barbara, and supposed walk-in Eddie Lawrence (Daren Kelly) all had motives. RPD officers Rossetti (Bull) and Thomas (Goodwin) have to solve the case.
But to solve it, they need the audience. Audience members help the detectives reconstruct events, locate clues, and determine suspects. During intermission, Detective Rossetti circles the lobby, taking questions and questioning the audience in return. People crowded around him excitedly, raising their hands to offer witness. One woman pointed at me --- standing behind the detective and taking notes like a good little theater reviewer --- and whispered to her husband, "She must be really interested in solving the crime."
Director Jordan goes for the laugh at every turn, whether it be a turn of phrase, punch line, irony, or physical. However, the actors zing the audience so quickly that the following lines are drowned in laughter.
The show is peppered with references only Rochesterians could appreciate, from Vinny and Angelo to Nick Tahou. "If you don't like the weather in Rochester, wait a minute!" says Tony. And, believe it or not, this isn't the worst of the worst. A reference to Detective Rossetti, after a psychic moment, having ESPN? It's true.
No matter how improbable the situation, hold on and enjoy the ride. Who done it? You'll just have to vote and find out.
Shear Madness Tuesdays through Sundays through December 31 Geva Theatre Center, 75 Woodbury Boulevard $13.50 to $48.50 232-GEVA, www.gevatheatre.org
--- Erin Morrison-Fortunato
Monday, November 21, 2005
post 157. shear madness review in the d & c.
(November 21, 2005) — Death is a lively business at the Shear Madness Hairstyle Salon on Park Avenue. Someone killed renowned concert pianist Isabel Czerny, who lived in the apartment above the salon. News 8 reports that Rochester police are interrogating the suspects — after issuing them a "two-word" warning: "Nobody's going anywhere."
Welcome to Shear Madness, a crowd-pleasing whodunit that opened at Geva on Saturday night. Be advised to take your seats early because the fun begins before the first lines are ever spoken.
In a garishly appointed salon with Technicolor hues of orange, yellow, pink and purple (kudos to Gary Jacobs, scenic design), flamboyant, gay hairdresser/owner Tony Whitcomb (Tom Wahl) is lip-syncing to music while washing a customer's hair. Shop assistant Barbara DeMarco (Margot Moreland), decked out in a blue dress and cherry red boots, is busy chewing gum and painting her nails.
Customers enter the salon: Eddie Lawrence (Daren Kelly), a Monroe Avenue antiques dealer with a history of shady dealings, and Mrs. Shubert (Barbara Bradshaw), a Bermuda-bound wealthy socialite who might be having an affair.
We soon learn Isabel died while the foursome were in the shop. Who killed her? Was it Tony, who hated the sound of her music? Was it Eddie, who had an appointment with her later that day? Was it Barbara, who was supposedly having a "Lebanese" affair with Isabel? Or Mrs. Shubert?
Rochester policemen Nick Rossetti (Larry Bull) and Mikey Thomas (Tim Goodwin) must solve the crime — and they need the audience's help. You have the right to ask questions and are not to remain silent.
The latter would be nearly impossible because Shear Madness is riotously funny, filled with Mel Brooks-like groaner lines that are so dumb you hate yourself for liking it. Plus, there's a barrage of hilarious local references.
Wahl's role is so extreme that he manages to run circles around the other cast members. And he does a mean Carol Channing impersonation.
Moreland's contributions are also significant, and her "come-on" ad-libs are just the spark the show needs. There are also rich performances by Kelly, who transforms from respectability to a sharp-mouthed con artist, and Bradshaw as the society-type matron who enjoys more than a drink or two at lunch.
Police officers Bull and Goodwin can be categorized as "Dumb and Dumber" and their improvised "grilling" procedures are a hoot to watch.
Freelancer Marcia Morphy writes about theater.
Sunday, November 13, 2005
Friday, November 11, 2005
Tuesday, November 08, 2005
post 153. my new favorite band.
Purveying an utterly charming sound that borrows from folk, pop, Western swing, and early vocal jazz, Los Angeles' fancifully named Ditty Bops feature the tightly woven harmonies of Amanda Barrett (who also handles mandolin and dulcimer duties) and Abby DeWald (who also plays guitar). Though Barrett and DeWald met in New York City in the late '90s, they didn't begin playing music until they moved back to California. Barrett spent her childhood in Topanga and learned to play fretted dulcimer when she was six, then moved to Europe to model as a teen before moving to New York in her early twenties. DeWald, meanwhile, grew up in northern California and took piano lessons as a child; growing up in a house where only classical was played, she nevertheless developed a fascination with ragtime music and electric blues. A stint in a band that played '20s covers in period costumes inspired the duo to make the Ditty Bops just as theatrical, if not as strictly traditional: puppet shows, illustrations, and fancy dresses and wigs give their live shows a hint of cabaret. The Ditty Bops were discovered by Warner Bros. at one of their shows in the L.A. area; after signing to the label, they released their self-titled, Mitchell Froom-produced debut album. Late that year, the group toured the U.S. with the equally theatrical Dresden Dolls and Count Zero.
post 152. shear madness, day thirteen.
you. should smell. my. hair. i had a taste of the fancy life today as i went to metro salon on geva theatre center’s dollar to get my hair cut for shear madness. having been voted with accolades in city’s best of
i walked in and was immediately offered coffee. i stammered at the thought but hey -- why not act the part, right? it’s the first time i’ve had coffee – damn good coffee, too – given to me on a saucer in a fine-looking cup. stefania washed my hair while we waited for amanda doherty (geva’s costume designer) to park the car. she showed up as i sat up from the wash with a towel over my head and the uncontrollable urge to smile at all the fuss made over a hair cut.
after a discussion on where my final hair style should rest (somewhere between amanda's desire to have it long enough for tom wahl to play with while "styling" my hair in the play and bruce jordan's wish that it be really, really short with a "princeton part") stefania erased a year’s worth of growth in a few precise swipes of her shears, giving me the look that supposedly will make me more “mikey thomas”-like. nice time. she even took her scissors to my eyebrows, after which I shook her hand; how many times do you get your eyebrows cut? afterwards she put stuff in my hair – she sweetly condemned the wegmans brand hair gel i admitted to using and put…well, I don’t know what it was she put in my hair but it was a mosh of a few different jars topped with some serious hair spray. smells fantastic. and I look pretty smart.
Monday, November 07, 2005
Saturday, November 05, 2005
Friday, November 04, 2005
Thursday, November 03, 2005
Tuesday, November 01, 2005
Saturday, October 29, 2005
post 146. pearls of wisdom from bruce jordan.
Thursday, October 27, 2005
Tuesday, October 25, 2005
Tuesday, October 18, 2005
Sunday, October 09, 2005
post 141. tim's wildest fantasy, drumming for nin.
post 140. the sister sites.
Saturday, October 08, 2005
post 139. new mix.
2_ooh la la, the ditty bops.
3_kiss off, violent femmes.
4_are you ready?, graham coxon.
5_you are a runner and i am my father's son, wolf parade.
6_i would never want to be young again, gogol bordello.
7_anything but love, the real tuesday weld.
8_the only answer, mike doughty.
9_the nurse, white stripes.
10_c'mon, c'mon, c'mon, paul westerberg.
11_tippy tap, imperial teen.
12_stacked crooked, the new pornographers.
Friday, October 07, 2005
post 138. batman and hangar 18.
just watched the (in)famous "bat shark repellant" scene of the batman movie with windnbreeze of def jux recording artists hangar 18.
Thursday, October 06, 2005
post 137. harvey escapes.
escape.
Thursday, September 29, 2005
Wednesday, September 28, 2005
post 135. look what i bought today.
Sunday, September 25, 2005
post 132. a few pictures from the ol' lg6100.
mark and jessica at the archive.
ben at the archive.
dana at the post "destroy all improvisors!" tournament party down at dad's garage in atlanta georgia.
Friday, September 23, 2005
Wednesday, September 21, 2005
post 130. three reasons why i like working at record archive today.
_2_...and she also gave me the play copy of the suicide girls: the first tour dvd.
_3_the opportunity to make fun of juggalos. stupid juggalos.
post 129. revenge of the tv.
Saturday, September 17, 2005
post 128. persona non grata.
The Urban Dance Squad's penultimate album was also its most heavily metal-influenced. "Demagogue," the album's opener and centerpiece, is an utterly bracing concoction of raw-throated rap and spare, bright metal guitar, all underlaid with minimalist funk drums. That formula remains basically unaltered throughout the rest of the album — "Good Grief," "(Some) Chitchat" and "Selfstyled" all step to the same stripped-down hip-hop beat. It starts sounding pretty samey by the end, of course, but taken in measured doses, the funky beats are guaranteed to move your booty, while the roaring guitars clear your sinuses. It's too bad DJ DNA was no longer in the band by this point; his turntable scratching would have given a welcome additional dimension to the sound. Bonuses abound: like the original release, this one features two hidden tracks, one a remix and the other a live version of "Demagogue." This reissue also adds a bonus live disc.
post 126. maybe i should just start calling myself "domingo wit."
i took a look on www.imdb.com and looked for tim goodwin. he was in "instinct"...but then there's a slew of sound-alikes: tom goodwin (who works in sound production), kim goodwin (make-up in "happy, texas"), jim goodwin (composer for "some girl")...we should have a convention. and how 'bout that guy over elvis' right shoulder in "Bubba Ho-Tep?" his name is timothy e goodwin. that's cutting it a little close.
Wednesday, September 14, 2005
post 124. my first quiz on johnstone's "notes on myself."
2_to johnstone, what do bad teachers do?
3_after that whole "tyre-marks"-thing, what did johnstone realize about education?
4_give one example of how johnstone taught the "uneducable" class at battersea.
5_why wouldn't johnstone like my giving this quiz?
bonus_why is tim so darn handsome?