Process: Archive

6 tags

Jan 23rd

2 notes

Hitler →

angiemcmahon: This is a new short I wrote.

Nov 20th

1 note

The World of a Artistic Mom: Lilly's Talent Agent... →

angiemcmahon: So at the start of April I got an email from an agency. For the purpose of this article I will keep all names of the agency, photographer and myself out. I wanted folks to know the experience but don’t want other agencies to not take me on because of this incident. The email said: You…

Oct 20th

2 notes

3 tags

Producing 101 →

Hey guys, thanks to everyone that followed my Process. I am going to be teaching a producing class for Second City if you are interested follow the link

Sep 20th

2 notes

Jul 31st

1 note

4 tags

Sheldon Patinkin

Sheldon was my Acting teacher as well as the head of my department when I went to Columbia College. He continues to be an amazing man. He would hate this blog cause of my bad spelling and grammar :) The following is re posted from Kerry Reid’s Facebook: There are a couple of wonderful groups going on here right now about Chicago theater in the 1980s and 1990s, and in a thread dedicated...

Jul 18th

10 notes

4 tags

TimeOut Chicago's Review of the Show →

Jul 6th

1 note

3 tags

Our First Review is in...

http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/separation-of-state-and-division/Event?oid=6751397

Jul 3rd

3 tags

Jul 1st

2 notes

3 tags

Opening Night

When I was 20 years old I signed up for “Comedy Cabaret” at Columbia College for the fall semester. I had NO idea how to write a sketch but I spent the entire summer writing down funny ideas, lines, and what I thought to be scenes. I walked into my first day of class with about 20 full pieces of paper. Two years ago I got accepted into the directors program. I found out I was 8 weeks...

Jun 30th

3 notes

3 tags

Last leg

So we have our final preview tonight (it’s free at 7:30 Tetro Luna) last chance to test stuff and run the show before Saturday. Then we open. I finished the playbills last night so besides printing them out we are basically done. This has by far been one of my best years and I am so sad to see it come to an end. I will post the final show video after we close. But I hope you will join us.

Jun 26th

4 tags

No original ideas left.

So I got my producers notes from my instructor. And one of the big ones was our opening song “Asshole” is very similar to a song of the same title that was put up 10 years ago on Second City’s Main stage show “Red Scare” Few things about this. 1. Part of my program is for me to be very familiar with the archives so how embarrassing that I didn’t catch this. I...

Jun 23rd

3 tags

Ten days till we open

We are almost to the finish line for this show. I feel good about the running order and we have been running the show for the past two days. I can’t wait to hear what my instructor thinks. She sees my preview tommorow night. Stuff left for me to do: finalize playbills, purchase hooks for back stage, pay rent to Tetra Lunua for my last run through, preview night, send my MD a few songs....

Jun 20th

Watch

This is our DeMaat set from Friday. I have to say I am embarrassed that my Imovie is on the fritz so it has 4 min at the top of the video of nothing going on cause I couldn’t slice it off. Other than that it is a real tight set. One of the things I feel real good about is (although I wont be running the tech) I am finally getting better at the tech side. You can tell the nights I pull...

Jun 17th

4 tags

Busy day!

At 4:10 Joey, Mo and I will go on vocalo.org to hock the show. Then back to Second City for a 7pm preview. Update from yesterday we did the previews at CIC and the groups were able to watch each other, it was real nice.

Jun 15th

Whaaaa!

So I wake up to a flurry of emails this morning!!!!! Our (the collective directors program) Thurs previews in DeMaat for the next two weeks are double booked!!!! Now let me say…this shit happens ALL THE TIME! As someone who has been in charge of a calendar for a great number of people let me tell you human error happens. It can not panic you! What are your resources to put in a fix? Well...

Jun 14th

3 tags

Press

So we just got invited to be on Vocalo.org (it’s like the little sister of WBEZ) one of the producers has been a friend for a few years and features my projects once in awhile. Issue is 1. Getting a sitter for this Fri at like 3pm. 2. Getting cast to go to talk about the show 3. Getting the ok from SC PR dept. cause it’s an interview so they actually have to ok it first. Sigh, good problems to...

Jun 13th

Watch

This is our set the very next night (our act two) I cut one scene from this running order for our final show.

Jun 13th

Watch

This was our set at the DeMaat. It was the first time doing most of this on the stage for an audience (of three one of who I married). I cut two scenes from this set to our final running order.

Jun 13th

Three weeks left

I had a conversation with a cast member about how we have three weeks left. I the world of plays this would be soooo much time. We would get to the point where we are rehearsing 3 days a week, they would just now get the costumes and props and we would have a full week of tech to run the full show over and over again. In this process (and the way I set it up) I have two rehearsals left, one...

Jun 13th

So where we at?

So after sets this weekend (no surprise) we ran long, like real long! So I cut three scenes ( a term Jim Carlson calls killing babies). It’s my hope that is the end of the baby killing. Press went out annnnd Metromix listed my show as the new ETC show….sooooo I am working to fix that. We staged all the transitions and ran those and songs yesterday. I feel like I am very good at...

Jun 12th

1 note

3 tags

Free Preview Tonight

Tonight we get to do 40 min at the DeMaat Theater (3rd floor of Second City) and because it is just word of mouth it would be great to have people in the audience. Come by and tell me what you think.

Jun 8th

How to speak hip or Second City's Da Vinci Code

PROCESS: The time to takes to create a show. SETS: Performing material in front of an audience to test it. REVUE: The final show NEEDLE DROPS: Musical transitions that are not played live. WORKSHOP: A retired term for Rehearsals CHAIR SETS: Actors deciding before the show starts who will move what chair in the dark. GEEK SLOT/MAGIC PONY SCENE: The scene that the cast loves that is silly and...

Jun 7th

4 tags

Jun 5th

4 notes

3 tags

Jun 5th

1 note

Watch

Asshole

Jun 4th

3 tags

We picked a title

Separation of State and Division

Jun 4th

3 tags

Only three rehearsals left

Ahhhhhh, how did that happen? We have five preview sets, two test sets, three reho and tech. Here is what I have left to do to deliver this show. 1. We need a GD title. We wanted to think on it a week and poll friends. 2. I have to write and send out press releases. 3. I have to design and print a poster/palm card 4. Print playbills (oh and put them together) 5. Work the shows...

Jun 3rd

1 note

4 tags

May 31st

1 note

3 tags

May 31st

1 note

May 31st

4 tags

Its Title Day!

Here is the titles we are gonna vote on today: Fifty Shades of Gay Zamboni 2012 Hey Girl, I heard You like Comedy so I made this Revue One Hundred Years of Attitude One hundred Years of Bad Tattoos One hundred years of watching Youtube Eat, Pray, Give Up The Adventures of Foreclosed Homes Game of Thorns Wrigley’s Field of Dreams Its not me Its you It’s not us, it’s you Don’t Be a Menace to the...

May 28th

McMahon Theory

Here is my theory on high concept scenes. To be successful the scene has three versions of itself. 1.The good enough version. This version has the basic concept down and is testing nothing more than the bare bone basics of that concept. 2. Adding the “high” part of the high concept idea. The thing that is seemingly making it hard to stage. 3.The razzle dazzle. The tasty sauce that...

May 24th

3 tags

Life happens again.

So as these things happen we have a cast member pulled away for the weekend for personal family stuff. The only reason (besides the obvious) its a bummer is because we are taking press pictures Friday. I have hired a photographer to do pictures before and during the set. I can’t put it off cause we need to go to press four weeks out with a picture and press release. So they won’t be in...

May 23rd

Wow!

I know I say it a lot but the talent and dedication of this cast blows me away! They learned and staged three songs today in three hours (a feat I have not even witnessed my short stint with blue co). They will be performing them Friday. Just wow.

May 22nd

Watch

Here is our set from Saturday. A new ending for Dance Co came to me in a dream last night. Prolly won’t be able to stage it today as it is music day. But I think I finally figured out what is missing!

May 21st

4 tags

Tonight we are Chemically Imbalanced

So tonight we have at set CIC 1422 w Irving Park. 10:30. Come by and check it out

May 20th

4 tags

Watch

So they snuck in Cabin Boy…you tell me do you think it was worth it?

May 18th

4 tags

Sneaky Actors

So because I tend to over commit myself I missed our set on Tuesday but they taped it for me. They snuck in an additional sketch with out asking and went over in time from the 12 min limit. I haven’t see the tape yet and am not sure it was worth it. I am surprisingly not mad, it’s not like they did it opening night. But I should probably address it so it doesn’t become “a...

May 17th

1 note

4 tags

Opening Number

So as I was trying to think how to open our show I looked at traditional openings and what they are for. 1. We want to see the whole cast. 2. We want to teach the audience what this show is about. Some of the Second City traditions are to open the show with three blackouts or a full cast song. For us I have decided we are going to try to take three similar theme scenes and break them each in half...

May 15th

4 tags

Watch

Here is our set from Pimprov this past week. Things are really working and I am starting to put together our running order for discussion today. We are in great shape!

May 14th

5 tags

Keep it Pimp'n

Tonight we open for Pimprov at CIC. How did we get so lucky to get such a valuable set in front of such a great house? Easy just found your own barprov night and fight for 12 years for it to get its own theater space and bar. At least that is how it worked for me. Tonight 10:30 1422 w Irving Park. It usually sells out so get tickets in advance 800-838-3006

May 12th

1 note

4 tags

Watch

Great set! Here is what I love about Blind Date, I really worried at the top of the scene. Then they built so much tension that the laughs at the back end were HUGE! Also I was nervous about neighborhood watch, Cesar, Monique and I talked about it and they both really wanted to do it. So of course we try it again. Both times it got huge laughs and reaction. So this is the case where I was...

May 9th

Tonight we Sketchtest

So tonight we get back on the wagon. We are gonna test two new scenes and two blackouts. One scene we are gonna test with scripts in hand. I believe in this script as written and the actors haven’t had time to put it to memory. I need to know if it works in front of a crowd ASAP so we can move forward with it or not. We are running out of time already (can you believe it?) We only have a...

May 8th

1 note

4 tags

Watch

So here is the set from The Playground. Again we were 5 min over so I have to get better at approx the time of these scenes. Since we had to flip the RO last min it is looser than we planned. Here is what we learned from this set. Downton Abbey is working and is basically show ready. Attic, Spanx, and Future Me are cut. Attic cause it isn’t working, Future Me cause it is not as strong...

May 7th

3 tags

Night off

So Jess is not better, so we aren’t gonna push her to work tonight (cause it could mean her out of reho if so) and with just three cast members rather than force a square peg in a round hole we are gonna take the night off. It sucks, but it is also good. Rest is a good thing.

May 5th

Jess test

So tonight might be a tough one. We originally had a 20 min set that got scrapped. Joey has been out of town all week. Jess got sick yesterday and cause our long set got scrapped Ceaser asked if he could have the night off for a family event. So I am left with three actors and 15 min. That is if Jess is not up for tonight, she will make the call this afternoon. If she is in I have tons to test. If...

May 5th

5 tags

Life Happens

This is why it’s great to have a ton of material. Jess is sick, she is going to the doctor. So I have to flip the RO for tonight. And you know what…we still have 25 min of stuff. We have new stuff and re pitches. It feels good that she doesn’t have to push herself and the show is fine.

May 4th

Mullaney: Performance Class at Upstairs Gallery... →

Cast Members class mullaney: This is an eight week class for intermediate and advanced improv students with some long form improv experience. You will learn how to create fun, interesting, two-person scenes; explore different ways to create second beats from those scenes; and try connecting different threads at the end of…

May 4th

6 notes