I'm A Creative Person

I know it's been a long time since I last posted, but my life has changed yet again. (isn't that always how it is?)

Anyway, I've been working on a podcast and it can be found here on blogspot at: http://therandomvarietyshowpodcast.blogspot.com/

Or on iTunes at: http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-random-variety-show-podcast/id493319199

Now that I've released two episodes and have more planned I think I found my venue. Blogging doesn't seem to fulfill me as much as podcasting has thus far.

I hope you give it a listen!

Thanks Charley

Melodrama Recap

Now that the production of the Melodrama is over the time has come to reflect on the memories and friendships made during this two month adventure.

I enjoy using video and photographs to share the journey with others.  This montage/slideshow will be most enjoyed by those who joined me on the adventure.  Which means all the performers, production staff of the production and their extended friends and family who were able or unable to attend.  This narrows my audience down quite a bit, however I do hope others that were not involved enjoy this as well.

Most productions of this nature have an "inside joke" that occurs sometime during the production process.  For your viewing pleasure I have hidden one of ours in this video.

Both links are the same video - your choice of viewing - You Tube or Vimeo!






PowPAC Melodrama Memoirs 2011 from Charley Miller on Vimeo.

Thanks for watching!

"It's About Time..." OR "I'm Performing On Stage Again"

Sunday, June 7, 2008 was the last time I performed on stage. It was the closing performance of "Groucho: A Life In Revue" by Arthur Marx (Groucho's Son) and Robert Fisher at Onstage Playhouse in Chula Vista, California. This production was a dream come true for me. For this I thank the board of Onstage Playhouse and our director Bob Christiansen.

Partial Cast and full band after closing night

Review from our production of Groucho! And here are Rebecca's photos from Groucho and My photos from Groucho.

Ever since I could remember I have always had respect, awe and admiration for the Marx Brothers. One of the first movies I remember watching as a child with my father was "A Night At The Opera" and the state room scene made me laugh so hard that it still gets me to this day just by thinking about it.  I must have been around six years of age therefore by default Harpo was my favorite as he is for most young children with the added benefit of playing the harp so beautifully that the viewer themselves became speechless.  As I continued to move along in life I realized how entertaining, funny and what an amazing piano player Chico was.  Especially in "Go West" when he uses the orange at the end of the piano solo.  Actually all of Chico's solo's were amazing.  It wasn't until 1988 when the high school I attended produced "Animal Crackers" as the Senior Spring Musical.  Being that I was a lowly freshman, I knew I would note land a lead much less a speaking part, but being involved in the production was enough for me to satisfy my love of theatre at the time.  Well, fate smiled and I was cast as the romantic lead "John Parker" which was rewarding because the character enlists the assistance of the Marx Brothers. It was during this time period when I fell in love with Groucho and all his quips, quotes, jibes, and asides.  I knew then that I wanted to perform in "Animal Crackers" in the Groucho role of Captain Spaulding.

Flash forward to 1993 when a mentor of mine had a few people over for a viewing of the 1982 HBO special GROUCHO starring Gabe Kaplan. It was that night that I said to myself: "Forget Animal Crackers! This is the show for me!"  Being a green actor I knew I needed more experience and training before I could tackle such a role honoring one of the greatest comedy legends of all time.  So onward with schooling, other productions and additional life experience...until 2004 when I saw the Frank Ferrante production of "Groucho: A Life In Revue" on PBS. I realized that the authors had changed and revised the script from the 1982 Kaplan Version to a newer 1986 Ferrante version to suit Frank's musical theatre training vs. Gabe's stand up comedy background.  I fell in love with the show all over again and in 2007 I presented the script to Onstage Playhouse and Mr. Christiansen and the rest is history.

You might be asking:  "So...why wait between 2008 and 2011 to perform?"  Well, that is the million dollar question.  To briefly answer it: 1) I became engaged and had a wedding/honeymoon to help plan and 2) Not very many roles came up that I was neither suited for nor I did not want to portray the roles that did come up.  However, I did work on an independent music video in 2010 that can been seen here:


"Exile" by Charlie Ricks from JNP Productions on Vimeo.

This was a fun day of shooting and since I hadn't done anything in two years it was nice to "stretch my legs" again. Photo's I took during "Exile" on Flickr

Now here we are in 2011 with my next endeavor....which is a very special one considering the quality of life I had during the first part of this year, as well as the gesture of the production staff reaching out to me to inquire if I would perform the role of the villain, without having an audition. (I had portrayed the villain back in 2007 so they were familiar with my work)  I explained my situation with limited physical ability and the production staff was "A-OKAY" with it.  I've been in rehearsal since the end of July with some days being better than others as far as my back is concerned, but the process and journey is very therapeutic and it's nice to be on stage again working with some familiar faces.

The production is of the show "Because Their Hearts Were Pure; or The Secret Of The Mine" by Morland Cary with special arrangements through Dramatists Play Service INC.

The Villain ('Sebastian Hardacre') & The Hero ('Goodwin Dalrymple' played by Dillon Thomas)
Photo by Gerry Reeves (c) 2011

The Villain & The Damsel ('Melody Truelove' played by Roxanne Conowitch)
Photo by Gerry Reeves (c) 2011

More production stills and behind the scenes photos here on my Flickr.  I'll be adding more as the opening draws closer.

The premise is a standard Melodrama from the turn of the 20th Century where the audience is encouraged to participate by "booing" the villain and "cheering" for the hero and his beloved damsel-in-distress all the while trying to thwart the villain and his dastardly deeds. A family show with fun for everyone!

We run September 16-25 2011 at PowPAC in Poway, California.
13250 Poway Road, Poway CA 92064
(858) 679-8085
Fridays and Saturdays at 7pm, Sundays at 2pm.
General Admission = $12,
Children 6-12 = $6

The annual melodrama at PowPAC is proud to be an official event for The Poway Patriotic Parade (used to be Poway Days Celebration.)
Poway Patriotic Parade is on September, 10, 2011 on Poway Road between Pomorado Rd and Community Rd.

If you live in the Southern California area (Orange County or South) Please come out and support us!  Stick around after the show to say hello to the characters!

"I Took A Walk" OR " What Is Bob's Corner?"

Part of my therapy; aside from exercising in the pool, is to walk more frequently, so recently I started taking walks around the large apartment complex where my humble abode resides. As my strength and endurance has grown, I've started expanding my breadth to the surrounding area and neighborhoods.  One of my extended walks found me at an interesting monument.

View from "Bob's Corner"

On the Southeast corner of Camino Del Norte and Carmel Mountain Rd in Carmel Mountain Ranch (Just South Rancho Bernardo) resides a quaint bench with a small placard next to it.

"Bob's Corner"

As of this posting; My wife and I have lived in the area for over three years.  We have seen the bench from our vehicle many times while driving past but never took the time stop, get out of the car and walk over to learn more about why there is a random bench on the corner of a busy intersection under a pepper tree.

I was surprised to discover that the bench itself is actually made of steel and aluminum but painted to have the appearance of an old style wooden bench.  It's nice to know that there will be little to no maintenance needed over the years, excluding upkeep due to vandalizing, and even so it should still be fairly easy to clean and or repair.

When I returned home after my jaunt, I immediately started searching for more information about this location; why there was a metal-to-look-like-wood bench, who was Robert S. Merry and why was 'Bob's Corner' created.  Sadly the results were not plentiful nor easy to find. The only item I could find was the following link from www.sdnews.com dated September 27, 2007.

According to that article Bob was one man who was truly dedicated to serving not only his country by helping create military systems that are still in use today, but also his community by helping to improve the landscaping in his community around the very corner where his bench now resides all the while leaving many memories and stories for those who knew and loved him.

Picture of Robert S. Merry from SDNews.com

I hope that more people get the opportunity to stop by Bob's Corner for a brief moment of R&R on his bench. When I was resting, I imagined what the area may have looked liked when Bob and his wife Judy occupied the same space that I was now sitting in. I also pondered why this specific corner and view was selected to be forever immortalized as "Bob's Corner." Did Bob and Judy come to this very spot and gaze off into the west in the same way the bench is so purposefully mounted; daydreaming about what the future may hold?

If you know or have more information about this memorial and who Robert S. Merry was, please contact me through this blog as I would love to learn more about this man who touched his community with such greatness they erected a unique memorial in his honor.

Carmel Mountain Ranch

My Pictures From "Bob's Corner" - A Set on Flickr

"Birthday / Anniversary Weekend" OR "Why I Have The Best Wife In The World!"

After pondering and searching the distant caverns of my brain for the next topic of entry... I have decided that it will be about my wife and best friend, Rebecca and our recent getaway.

First ... a little back story for those readers that may not know... I believe that the most common and popular question that is asked of couples is, "How (or where) did you two meet?" so let's get that squared away right off the bat.

Technically we met back in 2005 on that 'old' social networking and music site that some of you may remember called "My Space." I befriended her and sent a message because she was connected to someone I had already known. (you know how it goes) We messaged each other through the site on and off for about nine months and developed a friendship but had not yet spoken to nor met each other in person. We did not meet face-to-face until she and her then boyfriend were producing a short film (Flip: A New Short Film) and they needed to fill a spot in the cast. We completed the film and continued developing our friendship for the next three years.

During those three years our separate lives ran their courses and we both found ourselves with the status of 'single' checked off on those 'about you' questionnaires; but what really brought us together was the production of "GROUCHO: A Life In Revue" at Onstage Playhouse in Chula Vista in May of 2008.  My photos from the production are HERE and Rebecca's are HERE. Working on "GROUCHO" provided the opportunity and time to speak face-to-face more frequently than we had during the previous four years, coupled with the bonus of being able to collaborate creatively on the production. It was during this time that our relationship grew from friendship to romantic interest.

My birthday is July 30th and our wedding anniversary is August 1st.  This did not happen on purpose...it just worked out that way. We became betrothed on 7/30/08 and married on 8/1/09.  After we were engaged, Rebecca expressed her desire to have the wedding on a "Saturday the first" (month was not as important) - so by luck of the draw and Gregorian math, August 1st was selected.  Which overall makes a great weekend getaway for both my birthday and our anniversary...so for me it's win-win all the way around ;-)

Since we are avid Disney fans and have annual passes; using the "happiest place on earth" as our backdrop and environment seemed like the most logical idea.

Just Engaged

First Visit To Park

Our wedding was at the San Diego Wild Animal Park.

The full collection can be viewed on Flickr: Wedding Collection on Flickr

Unfortunately during the first Birthday/Anniversary weekend Rebecca was performing in "The Pajama Game" at Starlight Theatre in Balboa Park - Here are some "Pajama Game" photos - Fortunately for me I was able to say to everyone "That's my wife on stage!" - Which is a fantastic feeling in and of itself.

This year we were able to spend the full weekend at the Disney Parks.

Full set can be seen here:  Birthday/2nd Anniversary set

I feel like the luckiest guy in the world to be married to Rebecca. Of course, I believe that most husbands feel that way about their wives, or at least I hope they would for a healthy, long-lasting, loving relationship.  However with Rebecca, I feel even more blessed because of how wonderful and positive she has been through the last six months. (see previous post)  2011 has been a helluva roller coaster ride for both of us so far and I'm glad things are looking up as we enter the final quarter.  For me it has been very difficult to keep positive due to the pain and inability to do much of anything other than laying down. I know it has been a challenge for her to see me debilitated, but through it all she has remained positive, upbeat and has done everything within in her power to make life (or rather "quality-of-life") the best it can be due to the current circumstances and conditions. Of course being human we both have had the ups, downs and spirals of life, but through it all I am in total awe of how she has been able to "keep her chin up" and continues to be that outstanding pillar of support for me.

She really is amazing.

They broke the mold when they made her.

My Flickr Pictures Of Rebecca

"And So It Begins....." OR "Here Is My First Entry"

Hello and thank you for checking out my blog.  In the past I've never been one for blogging. I never felt the need, desire, nor reason to "speak" out to the vast ether of the never-ending world wide web; however it seems that blogging and micro blogging is the wave of the future to be able to inform and speak to not only the unknown persons searching and cruising around but also my family, friends, and potential new contacts/friends.  Coupled with the fact that I have started to read/follow a small series of blogs myself. So ... here we go with the first entry...

As I sit here thinking of how I want to organize the information in this first post I realize that I have a lot that I want to share, but I'm not exactly sure what to share; therefore these first entries may be sporadic and inconsistent until I "get my groove down" and find my writing voice (as the saying goes)

I supposed the first thing would be to share with you a condensed version of the last six months.

Previous History:
Over the last twenty years I have suffered from four separate and different auto accidents. Nothing too major but damage causing accidents none-the-less.
*Age 17:  I was driving with no passengers and stopped at a red light. Was rear-ended at approx 35 miles per hour causing whip-lash to me and moderate but repairable damage to the vehicle.
*Age 20:  I was the single passenger when the driver "bumped" the vehicle in front of us at approx 5-7 miles per hour while the front vehicle was traveling at approx 2-4 miles per hour.  No sustainable damage to the vehicle we hit, but extreme damage to our vehicle's bumper/hood/axle. Personal damage: a few cuts/scraps/minor lacerations but nothing serious.  A few Tylenol and bandages and we were on our way.
* Age 22:  I was the single passenger when the driver and I were rear-ended.  We were traveling at approx 20 miles per hour and the vehicle rear-ended us at approx 30-35 miles per hour.  Minor vehicle damage, and whiplash for both driver and passenger (myself)
* Age 33:  I was the single driver traveling at approx 27-30 miles per hour when I was rear-ended by a vehicle traveling 35-37 miles per hour.  Minimal/superficial damage to my vehicle and no visual damage to other vehicle.  I suffered whiplash yet again.
** After the three accidents that resulted in whiplash I sought Chiropractic Therapy and was back to normal life within 6-8 months after each accident

Current Life:
At the end of January 2011 I was suffering from extreme debilitating pain and soreness in my lower back.  So much so that I could not sit or stand to work and I sought Chiropractic therapy as I have been seeing him for regular maintenance for the last 6 years. After a week of visits and treatments my Chiropractor advised me to contact my primary doctor and schedule a MRI which we would review and take the appropriate steps from there.

The MRI resulted in minor to moderate disc degeneration in L4/L5 which was putting pressure on my spine, nerves and discs resulting in chronic debilitating pain 24/7.  The Chiropractor and I reached a plateau with my therapy and advised me to seek further treatment through my primary doctor/HMO (AKA Kaiser).  Through Kaiser I met with a "spinal specialist" who: 1) Sent me to my first round of physical therapy (which was a joke. A small series of breathing exercises that did not help one bit.) 2) Gave me minor cortisone injections which didn't really help. 3) Sent me to Aquatics Physical Therapy (which has help tremendously!) 4) Referred me for a Spinal Epidural injection of a steroid (results still pending recovery)

The injection was on August 2, 2011 and my first composition of this entry is on August 3, 2011; therefore I'm still in the first stage of recovering, but so far the first 24 hours seem to be going as expected and anticipated.

Before I started Aquatic PT about 6 weeks ago, day-to-day life was pretty much non-existent except for dealing with constant lower back pain making it damn near impossible to sit, walk, stand, move, well pretty much every little aspect of life except for laying on the floor with my feet elevated.  There were many times that Rebecca had to drive me to appointments and run the errands that I predominatly took care of.  Because of the debilitating pain my psyche to a few hits and really caused me to start looking at my life.

Some of the positive things that have resulted from this are:
*Time to surf the web and catch up on social networking
*Time to catch up on my Nexflix que
*Time spent with kitties
*Time to review my life and my journey on this spinning orb of matter
*Catch up on sleep


I will continue with Aquatic Physical Therapy until my referral has expired at which time I am hoping they will renew me for additional sessions.  My next appointment with my doctor is not until the 18th of this moth so I'm playing the waiting game.  From my last appointment in the beginning of July there was much hope and positive response to my recovery and progression thus far which is the light at the end of the tunnel and has given me that spark of hope for some sort of "normalcy" for the future of my "quality of life" as it has come to be referred to.

I feel that this is enough for the first entry.  As entry topics formulate in my head I'll be adding more.  Please feel free to submit comments/suggests/questions.

Thanks for reading!
Until later
Charley