Category: WWdN in Exile

not exactly time enough at last

Posted on By Wil

I'm heading out to Tucson at the end of the week for a con my friend is running called RinCon. It sounds very similar to the laid back gaming cons I cut my geek teeth on when I was a teenager, and I'm really looking forward to it. I plan to play in as many games as I can during the weekend, and if you're planning to come to the con, you'll probably find me in open gaming playing Revolution!, Dominion, Pandemic, Munchkin, or hopping among whatever demos are available. I'm also bringing a chapter from Memories of the Future Volume One, and one from The Happiest Days of Our Lives for a reading, and there will definitely be a Rock Band party. The whole schedule will be at the con.

I went to lunch with Anne today, ordered my food, and then, while waiting for it, realized how much stuff I have to do between now and when we leave for the con. I felt so overwhelmed, I totally lost my appetite. I kind of wish we'd been dining at this place I just made up called The Science Fiction Cliché Café, where I could have ordered a device to give me more hours in each day, as well as some clones of myself to do a bunch of work for me. Sadly, we were eating at one of my favorite Indian restaurants, and I couldn't even enjoy my masala (hopefully my stomach will be settled down and I can have it for dinner tonight. Um. I've just overshared, haven't I?)

Anyway, in an effort to get this stuff under control and not feel so completely stressed out and overwhelmed: I had planned to release Memories of the Future Volume One on Tuesday, but I forgot that I'm working a voice job all day, so I'm going to delay the release until I get back from the con. I'm sure this sounds a little silly, but I've worked on this book for so long, and I've worked so hard to get it exactly how I want it, that I want to be able to participate in its release, probably with some kind of liveblog or something. Since I can't do that while working as a voice actor all day, I'm going to make everyone wait for an extra week. I'm real sorry about that, and if you're waiting for the release, I hope you understand.

Let's end on a happier note, from the not-stressful-but-actually-awesome department: it feels like Autumn today. The air is cool, the sun (when it's not behind the scattered puffy white clouds) is warm, and there's just a tiny bit of a breeze, stirring the leaves that will soon be falling from the trees in my neighborhood. Autumn is my favorite time of year, and though I know Summer isn't going to completely relax its 100 degree grip on Southern California for at least another couple of weeks, the preview we've gotten today has been wonderful.

this is the coolest picture you’ll see all day

Posted on By Wil

Well it's been a wonderfully busy week, and now it's over. I finished Big Bang Theory on Tuesday, spent much of Wednesday wishing I was still working with them, and then recorded the voice of Mr. Qubit for the IRREDEEMABLE motion comic yesterday.

Since I'm too busy to write up the stuff that needs writing up, and I really don't like those blog posts that are about not posting to your blog, I thought I'd share this incredible picture that Warren Ellis showed me:

Mr. Spock on a Buick. Hosted by imgur.com

Have a great weekend, everyone. Memories of the Future comes out next week. (I guess I probably should have lead with that, huh?)

unraveling the mystery

Posted on By Wil

We rehearsed some more this morning, and then did our run through for the producers and the network this afternoon. 

Before I share what little I can about the actual work, let's get the important stuff out of the way: I trained hard to improve my ping pong game with Nolan last night (Nolan plays ping pong competitively, and is one of those freakishly good players who you'd swear are using telekinesis on the ball) and played a singles and two doubles matches today. I won my singles match by 3 points … but lost both doubles matches by 5 and 7 points, entirely because I stink at ping pong. Thus it is official: I have been ping pwned.

Okay, to the work, then:

I can't get into any real specifics, because we've reached that point in the production where any new insights or revelations that have happened (and they have) are all related to things that would certainly qualify as spoilers, or are observations that I feel would be unprofessional to share without the explicit permission of my fellow actors.

However, during rehearsal, I got to watch them take something that was already very funny, and then try several different approaches to one particular bit, each one funnier than the last, until they settled on something that I know is going to kill when the audience sees it. You know you're working on a tremendously funny show when the stuff they throw away is funnier than the stuff that makes it on air on other shows. I also have a new appreciation for how perfectly the writers on The Big Bang Theory balance the extremely geeky jokes that guys like me go crazy for, with the non-geeky jokes that people like my wife enjoy. It's a lot harder than it sounds to gently push a time machine through the eye of the comedy needle every week without touching the sides and making that one dude's nose light up … which sounds kind of funny, but trust me, is not.

The run through (for the producers and the network) was great, and I got a fantastic note from Chuck Lorre during one of my scenes that gave me +10 to funny. While I was delighted to get the note, and Chuck was obviously delighted to give it (he's a wonderful man, and is obviously having the time of his life making television people love), I have to admit that I was disappointed in myself, like I'd failed to do my job by not figuring out the particular acting choice he suggested on my own. Once I heard it, I could see that it was obviously there in the writing, and I just missed it. I plan to redeem myself on Monday by applying that note and one other, so I can perform my scenes without making that one dude's nose light up.

the big bang buzz

Posted on By Wil

The Los Angeles freeway system, having thoroughly vexed me yesterday, was more forgiving this morning, and I arrived at work fifteen minutes early. I am happy to report that the simple joy of driving my car across the Warner Brothers lot, between sound stages and behind golf carts and past dozens of people working to create television shows and movies, and then pulling into my very own parking space, has not diminished at all for having done it twice.

I am also happy to share that, upon arriving at Stage 25 this morning, I discovered that it was the stage where they shot the V television series from 1984-1985, among other things. (The more you know…)

I had a little time to kill, having arrived early, so I sat down and played Guillotine with two of the other guest actors. As is the tradition when playing Guillotine with first-time players, I, being the player with the most experience, got my ass kicked. We plan to play some more tomorrow.

Once we started rehearsing, I noticed something that had changed from yesterday's rehearsal: the script was just as funny, but it was more alive when we performed it. I guess that, having lived with the script for a full day and having run the scenes several times alone and together, those difficult-to-quantify things that make us actors (I guess we could call them "Dramachlorians") have started to do their thing. We're thinking about the scenes when we're not in them, we're hearing the characters in our heads, we're subconsciously applying the notes we got from the director yesterday, and what was a collection of notes and chords 24 hours ago is starting to turn into a piece of music.

We rehearsed all morning, then took a lunch break before we did a run through of the whole script for the writers and producers. During lunch, I mowed through some delicious Thai food (I know, right?) and then I played ping pong. Now, let me tell you something about the cast and crew of The Big Bang Theory that you may not know: they love their ping pong. There are two tournament tables, one on either side of the stage, and a large box between them that is filled with paddles and balls. Whenever there are breaks during the day (we usually "take five" after hitting certain milestones during rehearsals) the tables come out, and a chorus of voices cries out dibs for the first game, just before a second chorus of voices announces that they've got winner. I'm not all that good at ping pong, but I still love the game, and I will admit that I wanted to get in on the fun, so I called winner against a couple of guys … before I realized that they both played at a level that was significantly above my own. Still, I did my very best, and over the four games I played, only lost by more than ten points once. (Um. Clearly, I'm going to have to work on my ping pong as much as I'm working on my lines … you know, to be prepared for work.)

After lunch, the writers and producers came in so they could see us put the script up on its feet, and give us some comments and notes after each scene. I will admit that I was nervous; it was very important to me that I didn't kill any jokes or make them question their decision to cast me. I mean, I love this show, I love this script, I love the things they've given me to do, and I didn't want to screw anything up… 

…so of course I stumbled over my first line, and had to say it a second time. But when everyone laughed anyway, (hopefully at my delivery and not at my nerves) I settled in, got out of my own way, did it how we rehearsed, and just enjoyed the experience of working with great actors to bring great material to life. When we finished, there was laughter and applause, and the general consensus was that we were all pretty funny, even Wil Wheaton.

I'm so happy and excited and grateful to be part of this show. After we finished the run through, and I was pretty much bouncing with joy the whole way home.

Even now, over five hours after I walked out of the stage, I can still feel what I'm calling The Big Bang Buzz.