A stunt I may regret

Part of the fun of doing my weekly podcast is just being able to try stuff. There’s no program director telling me to just shut up, read the liner cards, and play the records. And no PD banishing me to the midnight-to-six shift (although, ironically, I record most of my podcasts between midnight and six).

But I’m trying to cobble together a fun mix of stories, interviews, features, advice, general silliness, and stunts. I’m always in the experimental phase, which to me is exciting. Kind of like what I do in the blog but with more freedom. So coming up, along with some cool interviews and tall tales, I plan on doing the following:

I’m going to stage a reading of one of the (many) failed pilots David Isaacs and I wrote. I was never completely happy with the cast (in some cases dictated by the network) so I never felt the material got a fair shot. I think I’ve assembled a much better cast for the reading, which I will record and play back on the podcast. I rented a small theater and am making limited tickets available to podcast listeners. Tune in the latest episode (Episode 26). It just dropped and is as easy to access as clicking the big gold arrow below the masthead.

Also, on that episode I discuss stand-up comedy and talk about why I never did stand-up. Improv, motivational speeches, warm-ups, story telling – yes, but five minutes at the Laugh Factory – no.

Except, I thought it would be fun, for the podcast, to finally sign up for an open-mic night. I’ll put together material, arrange a time and venue, and record the results. And I promise to play it back in its entirety no matter how spectacularly I bomb. This is one stunt I know I’m going to regret.

And finally, as another experiment that could go either way, one week I plan on playing a short one-act play I wrote. Then I’ll re-play it and provide a commentary track. I’ll break it down and explain my thought process, why I made certain creative decisions, objectives and how I got there, etc. Does that sound interesting?

To better interact with you guys I’ve now got a new email address for the podcast. HollywoodLevine@outlook.com. Any comments, questions, requests, complaints, Natalie Wood photos – just drop me a line.

I’m going out of my way to make this a super fun listening experience. All I ask in return is that you check it out, subscribe (very important), and if you’d be so kind – give it a five-star review. Apparently those really help attract new listeners (I don’t know how but whatever). I’d like to get a thousand by the end of the week. Currently I’m stuck at 49.

As always, thanks for your support. Without you I’m just annoying my family with all my crap.

Note:  Photo by Tom Caltabiano