Titus Andronicus has been reviewed. 

http://www.baltimoresun.com/explore/howard/events-entertainment/ph-ho-go-titus-0503-20120502,0,271103.story

I'm pleased overall with the review.  It's inevitable that I'll nit pick things in the review, but at the end of the day, it makes little difference because there is nothing I'd change in this show.  We had a fantastic opening night, and the Saturday performance was even better. 

The line I liked the most in the review is the one about raising the crime rate in Howard County.  Amusing since after the opening night, I got pulled over for a burned out headlight with a bunch of prop weapons in my back seat.  Suffice to say, after some very carefully worded explanations, the cops had themselves a good chuckle, especially over the presence of a riding crop.

Two more weekends of Titus kids.  Have you ordered your tickets yet?  Well get crackin'!

https://www.vendini.com/ticket-software.html?e=f58717bdd3721bd0b76f4e8cc924c7d5&t=tix

I thought I'd be a bundle of nerves, this being the first show I've ever directed.  I'm definitely wired, but wouldn't say it's nerves so much as good old healthy excitement to see this thing go up in front of an audience.  (God I need better phrasing!)

This cast and crew has worked their collective butts off (not to mention hands, heads, tongues, etc.) and I can see all of it right up on that stage.  It's been a wild ride, and we've had to jump more than a few hurdles to get here, but we have a terrific show with great people doing some of their best work. 

I love this show, and I'm so grateful to everyone who has helped to make it what it is!

Titus Andronicus folks.  It's here.  Go buy tickets!

http://www.rudemechanicals.com/titus

OK, kids, the rumors are true. I am directing Titus Andronicus.

A lot of you already have this information but in case some of you do not, here are the particulars:

Auditions are:

Monday and Tuesday
January 23 & 24, 2012
Callbacks Thursday January 26
Time: 7:30 PM to 10 PM
Location: UCP on the Potomac, Sunrise Community
4409 Forbes Blvd, Lanham, Maryland 20706

Performances in 2012 at the Howard Country Arts Center
April 27th through May 12th

Audition sides will be provided, but you may prepare a 60-90 second monologue if you like.

The setting is modern day with strong leanings toward the Occupy Wall Street movement. Hence the tagline, Occupy Rome.

The cast breakdown is as follows:

Titus Andronicus: 40's-60's. General of Rome's armies in the Goth war, his military acumen is unparalleled. He is unyielding in his beliefs, and respects strength. Fiercely loyal to Rome and his family (in that order) but incredibly dangerous when crossed.

Marcus Andronicus: 40's-60's. Brother to Titus, he is the heart of the family. His loyalty to his family is greater than his loyalty to Rome, unlike his brother. Where as Titus sees the world in black and white, Marcus sees all shades of grey.

Aaron the Moor: 20's-40's. Supplier of drugs to both Romans and Goths alike, he thrives on chaos. He is the sort of person who would set a house on fire so he could listen to the screams. His status as a drug dealer makes him both an outsider and an insider with both Goths and Romans alike.

Lavinia: 20's Only daughter of Titus, she is spirited and independent. She has her father's strength and bravery. Doomed to the cruel mercies of Chiron and Demetrius, she nonetheless exhibits her strength and intelligence even when she is reduced to a mutilated wreck.

Tamora: Late 30's-mid-late 40's. Queen of the goths and mother to Chiron and Demetrius. She is a formidable adversary to Titus and equally dangerous when crossed. Her affection for her sons is somewhat eclipsed by her willingness to use them as pawns.

Saturninus: 30's-40's: Eldest son of Caesar and Emperor of Rome. Huge sense of entitlement eclipsed by his own insecurities and petulant need for praise of his people. Habitual cocaine user.

Bassianus: 20's-30's: Younger brother of Saturninus. More self assured than his brother, he is probably a better choice for Emperor but for the fact that he lacks guile.

Demetrius: 20's-30's Oldest son of Tamora after Alarbus is killed. He is an extremely violent and unpredictable drug addict. He thrives on acts of violence, rape, or worse. He is effectively a weapon to be used either by Tamora or by Aaron.

Chiron: Late teens early 20's. Younger brother of Demetrius, he has been neglected for most of his life. Starved for attention and guidance, his role model is his bestial brother who treats him like a child when he acknowledges him at all.

Lucius: 30's. Titus' eldest son, he is as loyal to his family as his father is to Rome. Impulsive, sometimes bloodthirsty, he is also a natural born leader, though this is a role he will grow into over time.

Alarbus/Clown/Mutius/Goth: 20s-30s: Multiple roles played by same actor. Must be versatile enough to make each role a distinct character

Quintus/Martius/Publius/Goth: Same as Alarbus/Clown/Mutius

Nurse: 30's-60's: The deliverer of Tamora's baby and the only one who knows that the baby is Aaron's and not the Emperors.

All are welcome. Please spread the word.

OK, so...

I finished my first half marathon on Saturday.

Sort of, maybe...

OK...here's the thing, my time was good. Really good.

1:54:55.

Problems:

1. I don't quite buy that this is my time for 13.1 miles because it means I'd covered that distance with an average pace of 8:46 which I haven't been able to cover over a distance of even 4 miles yet. Add to that, the course had several hills which I found extremely challenging. I did very well on them, but I couldn't have done that well.

2. Several runners claimed that their GPS indicated that the distance was 12:65-12:73. I doubt it could be more than .25 miles short because otherwise I think there would be more grousing.

3. If the times are to be believed, then I ran 10 miles in 1:25:36 which I simply don't buy. I mean I'd love it to be true, but the fastest long run I've done to date was an 8 mile run that had an average pace of 9:27 and that run didn't have the hills that this one did.

So, yeah, I suspect that I have yet to actually run 13.1 miles, but I'm also not overly upset. I ran well, I feel good, and I got a nice pretty medal.

However, this has also raised the bar for me somewhat because I am now definitely committed to running the Cherry Blossom again, and my goal is to finish in 85 minutes or better. Given that I have about 4 months to train for it, I think I have a decent chance of meeting that goal.

So, last night I did 5 miles (5.25 actually) with a pace of about 9:37. It felt like a relatively leisurely run which is good, and I felt good.

After the run I devoured 2/3rds of a Chicken Pot Pie and was still ravenously hungry afterward. I can only imagine what I'm going to feel like Saturday after the race.

I've been reflecting a bit on how I got here. It was about a year ago that I actually really started the current...what would one call it...practice of running? It started with the walking commute which I turned into a run and it went from there.

It also occurs to me that I tried several times in the past to get into a regular habit of running with limited success. This begs the question of why this time has worked. The only answer is that I have help from my brother now who has helped me to better understand how much I need to push myself and when it's time to back off and rest.

Following this race, I'll be looking to the new year and what I hope to accomplish. I know I'm going to probably want to do Cherry Blossom again. I will also be looking to do some 5ks to see what kinds of times I can get. As I can now seem to run 4 miles with a sub 9 minute pace, I would think I should be able to get some decent times with 5ks in the new year.

The big question now is, do I want to tackle a marathon in 2012? I honestly do not know the answer yet, and don't even really want to examine the question too closely until I finish the half first.

Not even really.

OK, so I did my last fast run yesterday. It was pretty straightforward. 12 laps at an average of 2:17 a lap. I did pretty well staying within that average, never having a variance of more than 3 seconds on either side, and mostly staying within 2 seconds.

The aim for Sunday is to average about 9:07 pace which would put me finishing in a hair under 2 hours. That is my goal. I don't care if it's 1:59999999999, I want that hour number to be a 1, not a 2.

I was concerned with some soreness I was getting on my left inside shin but it seems to have subsided. I felt it the last couple of days primarily in the mornings, but it would fade over the course of the day. I felt nothing when I woke up so I'm thinking that the ibuprofen and the ice worked finally. Yay.

Tonight will be an easy run of 4-5, Friday will be 3 and then Saturday.

I ask all of you to please not say "Break a Leg".

So, Sunday I covered 10 miles, albeit somewhat sporadically. blimpcaptain was running with me, but his knee started to give him trouble so he had to stop running. Additionally, I had eaten a little too close to when I was running, and I had a headache. Still, I managed to cover the distance in just about 1:40 which is an average 10 minute mile so it's not the end of the world.

My right hip was not happy after the run, and for a while I was actually limping, though it was fine after roughly an hour or so.

Today, owing to the fact that it now is getting dark earlier, I went for my run first thing in the morning. I only made it for 3 miles as it was surprisingly tiring but I suspect I'm still recovering from Sunday. Also, running first thing in the morning is not my norm so that might have had something to do with it.

Anyway, hopefully I can make it 4 tomorrow morning.

Today I'm calling myself jellolegs because that's what it feels like I'm walking on right now.

But, the workout went really well.

Basically it was 3 sets of 4 laps with 2 lap rest periods in between.

The times for the sets came to 7:45, 8:14, and 8:21.

The first is most definitely a personal best for me for 4 laps, outdoors anyway.

I'm fairly amazed. I'm also quite sore. I'm hoping I'll be able to muster up a light run for tonight as I want tomorrow to be my rest period. We'll see. I may just collapse in an exhausted heap when I get home. I may collapse on the side of the road.

10 miles on Sunday. Who's with me?

OK, so last night was supposed to be a light run, right?

I normally do 4 miles (or at least 3) when I'm not doing a long run or a workout run. So last night I figured I'd do a light 4 miles on my usual trail. The first mile is typically the least effort as it's almost entirely down hill from my house to Sligo Creek Parkway. Last night it was rather faster than usual at 8:20. Well, no big, I figure when I'm actually on the parkway, I'd have a more realistic pace.

Long story short, of the 4 miles I ran, only one of them was over 9 at 9:14. The rest were just shy of 9 minutes at 8:59 and 8:58 respectively. This puts my average time at something close to 9 minutes for a 3 mile run which is better than I've done since Cherry Blossom.

I'm both energized and cautious. The last time I was anywhere near here, I blew out my calf and couldn't run for a month and the accompanying inertia made it hard as hell to get started again. I do not want that again. However, I keep focusing on certain things:

1. I was not running consistently correctly for Cherry Blossom. When I ran slowly I would put too much pressure on my ankles and calves as well as run mostly on the balls of my feet.

2. I have the benefit of the training I received for Cherry Blossom now, so while I did not train as much as I probably should have over the summer, I had more in reserve than I did when I started up a year ago.

3. I'm carrying around less weight than I was last year.

I did push myself a little too hard yesterday because I'm really supposed to do my workout run today. Oh well.

Here's hoping the momentum continues.