Gerard Marzilli is the winner!

Jeez, man. When they're not right there in your face, you forget how much you love the things you love. It's been about a year since the last Heartsgaard rehearsal, and today was my first day working with the cast of The Starmind Record.

Too long. That was too much time away from my cast. Admittedly, I spent the whole time writing furiously... but what's the point of writing anything if you never get to share it with actors such as these?

Money. I thought it was going to make me money.

But back to Marzilli and winning: Tonight, I worked Gerard Marzilli and Charlotte Gallagher through some basic character exercises to help build the improv for production, as well as taking them through their first practicum in cinematography. Both Gerard and Charlotte are actors fully committed to play, and by the time we were done I was in the bathroom trying to get gobs of peanut butter out of my beard... which in a roundabout way is the point of this blog.

Our success with The Starmind Record relies on the thrill of experimentation, both in the story sense and in terms of how we deliver production value. Both actors are playing documentary filmmakers, and much of the camerawork is going to be the product of their improv. To compound the challenge, the actors are using those cameras to penetrate and explore the perspective of a being from another world. This entire story rests on what questions these characters are willing to ask about their subject, and the lengths to which they will go for answers.

When it comes to exploration, there are no two actors more insatiable or enthusiastic than Gerard Marzilli and Charlotte Gallagher... which brings me to the title of this post. Before we got to the camerawork and the peanut butter (which is another story entirely), I played a little game with them where I asked them questions about one another. When I can't think of a way to reward someone, I pretty much always offer to write good things about them on the internet - so those were the stakes of victory, and Gerard Marzilli is indeed the winner. By one point only.

I can't even tell you how much it delighted me to see these two fantastic performers feeling each other out, planning birthday parties for one another and talking about movies in character, making fun of one another and enjoying the hell out of this quirky little process I've devised. Boy, I missed this.

Perhaps I say this too frequently for you, dear reader, but I once again feel compelled to mention just how blessed I am to work with such magnificent performers. Gerard Marzilli and Charlotte Gallagher are two actors with unquenchable passion, liberating courage, and an unrelenting commitment to excellence.

How they got peanut butter all over me is a question I leave to your imagination.