For Reals?

Read this.

You're not that shocked are you? You saw Bowling for Columbine. You know this happens. But why is it allowed? An AK-47 no less. Christ almighty.

Recently I spoke to Cease Fire Oregon about hosting a gun turn in during the run of THE BULLET ROUND. Unfortunately, they are unable to do one at the moment due to the decline in donations this year. If you are interested in donating click here.

Also, remember way back when I saw my neighbor waving a gun while inebriated in his backyard...well it's going to trail and I've been subpoena. Awesome. I'll keep you posted. I'm hoping they settle out of court.

On a much much happier note, rehearsals are going well. I love watching the scenes develop and can't wait for load in next week. OMG it's coming up fast!
Do you have your tickets?

Below are pictures of Chris Murray and Paul Glazier rehearsing. They play brothers who fight a lot. It's pretty funny watching them rehearse their scene or while constructively messing around during rehearsals.

First Rehearsal & The Pastor Who Urges His Flock to Bring Guns to Church

Yesterday was the first rehearsal of THE BULLET ROUND. It was a fabulous first read and I enjoyed hearing it out loud again & can't wait to get it on it's feet. I can't believe the play is finally on it's way, it's only been over a year in the making. And on that note, tickets are now available!

This morning, along with the rehearsal notes from last night my stage manger passed on this article she found in the NYTimes. It's worth a read. Here is a quote:

“God and guns were part of the foundation of this country,” Mr. Pagano, 49, said Wednesday as he sat in the small brick Assembly of God house of worship, where a large wooden cross hung over the altar and two American flags jutted from the side walls. “I don’t see any contradiction in this. Not every Christian denomination is pacifist.”

So...I guess what I learned in Religious Education class was incorrect. Glad for the clarification.

Guns-A Late Entry

This is from an e-mail from a friend about his thoughts about owning a gun in America. I thought it was worth sharing and brings up some really good points.
Discuss

1) Do I own a gun? The answer is yes, I own 3.
1.a) do I lock it up? ALWAYS! I remember when I turned 21 & a bunch of my friends went & bought firearms. They would not lock them or keep them safely hidden… I disagreed with this very strongly; I didn’t get my first gun until I was older simply because I wasn’t ready. I keep my guns locked up & most importantly… UNLOADED! The reasoning is simple; the owner of the gun is really the only person that needs to have access to the firearm. Locking it up & keeping it unloaded ensures that no one else uses or more importantly misuses the gun without the knowledge of the owner.

2) How do I feel about people owning hand guns? I feel like firearms need strict policies to ensure safety but bearing arms are part of everyday life as Americans. I feel very lucky to be able to own guns. Although we don’t have anything stated in the Constitution about the right to drive a car I feel very similar about both. I have been told that driving a car is not a right but a privilege… I wish it were the case for owning firearms. I say this because I feel like anyone that is against owning firearms is simply uninformed & that with the proper information the answer is simple. Guns are not the problem… stupid people are. Do we need more firearm training & safety education? My answer would be an overwhelming yes, but not to the point that gun ownership would become over restricted for law abiding citizens.

3) Do I feel safer that our policemen carry guns? YES!!! I wish it were not the case but with many criminals carrying guns themselves (almost always illegally obtained I might add) I feel that the men & women of law enforcement need to protect themselves adequately. I know many police officers whom I call dear friends & I speak with them openly about the stress & rigors of their work environment. Although sometimes petty & mundane they must always be prepared for a day when they will need to fire their weapon… believe it or not most cops that you talk to hope that day never comes. Ask someone who has been saved by police intervention in a violent situation & see if they favor the police carrying firearms? I suppose on the flip side ask someone who has lost a loved one from wrongful fire from the police & their answer will be different. However I think that statistics will show that those cases are outnumbered by good cops simply doing their jobs. Sadly we hear about the negatives much much more… as we know bad press makes the best press

4) I grew up in a good home in a very safe neighborhood. Since growing up & traveling I have been involved in some pretty scary situations where my life has been in danger. I feel like after these instances I felt like properly familiarizing myself with self defense… remember that phrase “self defense”. I will always enjoy learning more & more about survival & guns are a part of this. This does not mean that bc I own a gun that I am some right wing militia-esc whacko… simply a man who likes to exercise his freedom to protect his property & his own person. After all human nature isn’t that tough to figure out so being prepared shouldn’t be looked down upon.

Drama, drama & how I feel about guns:

I take gun violence very seriously. I think it all started with that 90210 episode where David's friend shoots himself in the head in the pool house by accident when he's doing a "trick" with the gun. He forgot or didn't know the gun was loaded and it went off and he killed himself. You know the episode. It is forever burned in my memory. I don't believe you need to posses a hand gun in this day and age. I think they are more trouble than they are worth.

So naturally when I saw my drunken neighbor stumble out into his yard last night and shoot a hand gun in the air at a tree and mumble incoherently, I was a little concerned. The second time I called my landlord and the third time I called the cops (the non emergency number). No. NOT O.K. I don't care if it was a pellet gun. Someone who is within city limits holding a gun while inebriated is uncalled for. How am I supposed to know the difference it looked fucking real!

Turns out having a pellet gun within city limits is actually illegal. And according to the officer I did the right thing. The gun looked real enough to him and he said that if he had the gun pointed at him he would have shot him. I'm not exactly sure how I feel about that statement but I'm glad I played it safe.

Apparently the police also take gun possession very seriously. They came out in full force. The street was blocked off by 3 police cars and there was even a fire truck. I found out later that their first attempt was to go to the door polietly and ask after the gun; however, when the inebriated man resisted arrest and refused to show them the gun they had to shoot him down with rubber bullets, tazer him, hand cuff him and bring him to the police car. I missed all this because I was in the back of the house, but I received this information from a trusted source. Other people came out of the hosue peacefully and eventually handed over the weapon in question. After all the comotion I had to identify the man they took into custody as the man I reported. It was quite a dramatic evening for all involved.

And so this makes me think about the play I'm about to direct: THE BULLET ROUND, where there is a gun that travels between characters; and as Chekhov once said if a gun is presented in the first act it must go off in the last. And as this gun is passed around we learn about the relationships these characters have with eachother. Violence begets more violence and what goes around comes around. The gun is a big deal. I mean the play is 6 scenes (the number of chambers in a gun) and the play is called THE BULLET ROUND. Hello.

Guns scare the shit out of me. They are very powerful objects and invoke a pretty powerful response from people. People are very opinionated about guns in our society and I think it is important to consider their place and their meaning and use or misuse in society. So let's begin that discussion.