Thanks, Bay Area SIGGRAPH members! I had a wonderful time teaching Acting for Animators at Fort Mason in San Francisco Oct. 24th. Particular thanks to Pat Johnson for making it all happen and to Randy Nelson from Pixar for sharing the dais with me. For those of you who weren't able to get there, I will teach an all-day Acting for Animators workshop on Saturday, January 20th, in my San Francisco studio. For more info, drop me an e-mail.

DON'T FORGET! SAN FRANCISCO SCENE STUDY WORKSHOP RESUMES NOVEMBER 20th. THE PALO ALTO CLASS RESUMES NOV. 30TH.

NEW SESSIONS OF THE Film Demo Workshop BEGIN NOV. 21ST (Tuesday nights) AND NOV. 22nd (Wednesday nights). The last time I looked, there were a couple of spaces remaining in the Wednesday night class. If you are interested, send an e-mail. Marnie Levee is looking after things while I'm away, and she'll get back to you.

UPCOMING CLASSES
Commercials Workshop -- Dec. 2-3
Scene Study (San Francisco) -- Mon, 7-10:30pm, ongoing
Scene Study (Palo Alto) -- Thurs, 6:30-10pm, ongoing
Acting for Animators -- Saturday, Jan. 20th
Film Demo Workshop #1- Tues, Nov. 21st, 7-10:30
Film Demo Workshop #2- Wed. Nov. 22nd, 7-10:30

HOOKS ACTORS WORKING
DOREEN FOO CROFT (s.stdy '91) is shooting "The Theatre of Martin Lim". CAMILLE MANA (comml '99) shot an episode of the new UPN crime show "Arrest and Trial" hosted by Brian Dennehy. PHIL SHERIDAN played the lead in an indie film entitled "Indulgence." ROCKY LAROCHELLE (F/TV - 2000) has been cast in two indies: "Judy" and "Shredded." MARNIE LEVEE (F/TV & s.stdy - '00) is in "June Bug Music", a new play playing at the Magic Theatre from Nov. 3- Nov. 19. Tickets are available through Eastenders Repertory Company at 510-434-0730. MING LO (s.stdy ' '91) is playing Malvolio in Shakespeare's "12th Night" at the Morgan Wixson Theater in Santa Monica, October 20 - November 19th. Ming can also be seen on screen these days, playing Ben Chaplin's assistant in the film "Lost Souls, and on CBS as Bette Midler's ENT specialist on "Bette." AnnieScott Rogers has been cast in an indie, "Sex Games". She also recorded a v/o for a segment on oil for NPR. T.J.PIERCE (s.stdy - '00) is in "12 Angry Jurors" at the The Next Stage, 1620 Gough St. at Bush, San Francisco. Reservations 415.333.6389. 8 pm, Oct 26 - Dec 3, no performances 11/17, Thanksgiving weekend, or 11/30. Tickets $18 & $15.

CRAFT NOTES
Rome, Italy, November 8, 2000

My Italian isn't very good, but if I am interpreting the television news correctly, we Americans went to the polls and elected George W. Bush to be the 43rd President of the United States. Or maybe not. If it's true, this is a good time to be in Rome, the Eternal City, a place where the people take things political with a shrug that suggests "This too shall pass."

Cally and I awoke yesterday to the rat-a-tat of a gentle Fall rain and, by eleven o'clock it had been replaced by the kind of sharp, golden, slanting rays of sunshine that have inspired Italian artists for thousands of years. The narrow streets of Trastevere glistened as we made our way to the outdoor food market where we purchased an assortment of cheeses to go with freshly baked pane from the bakery on the corner, several bunches of ripe tomatoes and some peppery arugula. A pro forma bottle of Chianti (David, 1997) was already waiting, half-empty from the night before, on the kitchen table. Then we stopped at a bar for morning caffe, sweet rolls and the International Herald Tribune.

Rome is the midway point in my round-the-world trip which began Oct. 26th with a flight to Singapore from San Francisco, continued with a short stop in Frankfurt, Germany and now brings me to Italy. It has been a fun, even emotional trip. Three weeks ago, my knowledge of Singapore, a country roughly half the size of Los Angeles, was limited to the widely reported ban on chewing gum. Now I am impressed at how much Singapore has grown since its formation a short thirty-five years ago. Yes, the citizens have forfeited some personal rights in exchange for team-like growing of the country, but my sense of things is that they always knew it was a temporary measure and not a way of life. Even now, local artists speak glowingly of personal expression and creativity, and it looks to me like the government is encouraging free expression. As with any adolescent, the growth is measured in fits and starts, but the important thing is that it is there. While I was at Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP) Institute judging animation and teaching Acting for Animators, the Singapore Straight Times was reporting government censorship of a one-woman monologue play which evidently criticized the abuse of women within Muslim marriages. On one hand, the government is encouraging expression through animation and, on the other, is restricting it in a live play. These are philosophical contradictions that must be worked out in time. Based on my personal conversations with people in the Ministry of Culture I am betting that freedom of expression will prevail in Singapore.

I will be returning to Asia next year some time, probably for several weeks. NYP is setting up an on-going Acting for Animators program, and I hope to help. There is also a good chance that I will be teaching in London, Australia and Hawaii, in addition to my regular classes in San Francisco and Palo Alto. For me, the world is getting smaller, and the word "global" is taking on very personal meaning. I am just plain dog-fool lucky to be in a position to meet so many talented people in different cultures and to participate in cutting edge communication arts. The more I do it, the more I am reminded how much things have not changed over the past thousands of years. Performing artists, including animators, are shamanistic and special. They speak to the tribe about what it means to survive successfully in this life. It always has been and always will be an honorable activity.

Tomorrow morning, we'll visit the Bottecelli "Divine Comedy" exhibit. Scuderie Papali al Quinale, telepohne 0639967500. No politics, just beauty. Salute! Until next month, I send you a cyber hug from ancient Roma.

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