Leigha Horton :: Green room
• • • • •

I have been neglectful. A month ago I should have written the equivalent of the Horton Happy Dance upon the introduction of whole, raw carrots to my diet (yeah, yeah, fine – whole until I chew them, smartypantses). Hell, I’m halfway tempted to add that regained ability to the “special skills” section of my resume (yes, actors have a “special skills” section on their resumes – one never knows when her years Irish step-dancing or the time she drove cattle for a week is going to land her a gig). I digress. Carrots and apples and popcorn and, and, and…caramel. Ohmygod, yes. These incredibly wonderful braces-mangling objets du désir.

I, Leigha Catherine Horton, being of dubious “sound mind,” officially endured 18 months of legalized self-initiated torture, and on March 3, 2009, with the determination that my treatment was complete, had my braces removed. I’m like a shiny new raw-vegetable-eating girl with fabulously straight teeth and a brand-new confident smile. Even now, a month later, I go from quiet delight to spazzy-thrilled and back again without notice. A far cry from the generally ill-disposed and/or bitterly pained swings that, um, “colored” the last 18 months. To put it lightly, that shit HURT. But, this process was way, way overdue and I am now stupidly happy.

And okay, so technically I’m not entirely done yet. I have three weeks remaining with the Invisalign on my upper teeth, but they’re damn near perfect now. And I couldn’t be more thrilled. I’d probably cry if I could somehow stop grinning like a silly idiot. It’s wonderful.

UPDATE 4/21/09 (because Meghan made a valid point in her comment):

In the countdown to my first day as a full-time actor (Wednesday, December 6), I have been consumed by my working life. Blood, sweat, tears, and a slew of curses have been shed, and my social life has been anything but. Yet, I shall soon reemerge, Jean Grey-style, unto my fellow X-Men. Indeed, I am a Phoenix, and we actors are all just mutants when you get right down to it.

Until that day, which then I’ll have no excuse but to write daily, I’ll be offering aggregations of what’s been smoldering as of late:

1) Chasing Windmills won two Judges’ Choice awards at this year’s Vloggies on November 5th: Best Fiction Blog and Best Entertainment Vlog.

2) A Chasing Windmills episode is scheduled to air on The Tyra Banks Show in early December (I am not in the chosen episode, but it doesn’t matter – our team is getting national TV coverage, and that’s pretty sweet). The producers will inform us of the air date a few days prior, and I’ll be sure to give everyone plenty of notice to set their TiVos to record. It’s gonna be fierce.

3) The Easy Reference list of Chasing Windmills episodes that I’m in thus far –

overture – 9/18/06 (just a brief appearance)
relapse – 10/23/06
altar – 10/24/06
shopping – 11/10/06
telephonies – 11/14/06 (just a brief appearance via flashback)
PLUS – two/three more episodes to come this very week! Joy! Rapture!

I’m not providing direct links to these episodes because I think you should spend some time poking around the site. It’ll be a good time, I promise.

4) The Monster of Phantom Lake has continued to woo audiences at film festivals across the nation, and has garnered some great press to go with it – including a glowing review written by the kind and generous Duane Martin for Rogue Cinema magazine. I’ve recently come to know Duane via e-mail, and he’s tops.

5) The Monster of Phantom Lake has been officially picked up for DVD distribution! Here’s the news lifted directly from TMoPL site: “Shadow Creek Studios, a subsidiary of Braun Media Services, has signed an exclusive deal with the producers to distribute the film in retail and online outlets in the United States. A new ’special edition,’ complete with additional special features, will be released first quarter 2007. As part of the deal, the current version of the DVD will no longer be available for sale on (the TMoPL) website and can now be considered a collector’s item!”

Okay – enough news for now. There’s actually more to tell, but I have to pace myself. If I share everything at once, I might implode.

The Monster of Phantom Lake (my first lead role in a feature film) is back by popular demand! Please join me this Wednesday, May 17th, at 7:30 pm at the stunning Heights Theatre in Columbia Heights. We’ve received loads of great press (check out the TMoPL website for links to reviews) – so here’s your chance to pretend you’re from Missouri and insist on seeing it for yourself!

Also, by coming to this screening, you might be helping us land a distribution deal. We’ve got a producer in L.A. who is interested to see audience reaction; so while you’re watching the movie, he’ll be watching you. Oh, the horror!

“The Monster of Phantom Lake” returns to the Heights Theater in Columbia Heights, Minnesota!

BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND!
Wednesday, May 17th, 2006 – 7:30 PM, $5.00 at the door
The Heights Theater
3951 Central Avenue NE
Columbia Heights, Minnesota 55421
www.heightstheater.com

We’ve recently been discussing wider distribution with a producer in L.A. who, unfortunately, is unable to come to the screening. He has asked us to videotape audience reaction to the screening as a way to help him get a better feel for the movie. For this, we would like to absolutely pack the theater with moviegoers so please, BRING EVERYONE YOU KNOW! The more, the merrier, the better our chances of securing a meaningful distribution deal. The film is family-friendly, although children under 5 might be frightened. We will be selling DVDs & posters after the show and much of the cast & crew will be in attendance.

Here’s a little snippet of an article that was published in the Flint, Michigan paper “The Flint Journal” regarding the recent Flint Film Festival held last month:

“… the best of the features I saw was ‘The Monster of Phantom Lake,’ a hilarious parody of grade-D horror/sci-fi films of the 1950s … the film is full of cheesy dialogue, improbable plot turns and a dead-on performance by Josh Craig as a stuffy ‘man of science’ who has none of the right answers but can strum a rock ‘n’ roll song on his handy guitar.

According to the film’s Web site, a ‘Phantom Lake’ sequel already is in the works, with Craig reprising his role as ‘Professor Jackson … from the university.’ Here’s hoping we’ll see it in a future Flint Film Festival.”

It’s only five measly dollars, so bring friends and buy them some popcorn while you’re at it. Can’t wait to see you Wednesday!

A couple of weeks off is definitely enough time to get into scads of trouble… here’s what I’ve got my mitts into these days:

Saturday, March 25 (through June 18)
My disembodied voice will be on the wall at the Walker Art Center as part of its newest exhibition, OPEN-ENDED (the art of engagement) – just find the photographs of skyways and icehouses by Catherine Opie and nearby will be a listening-station where you can hear me read an ice-fishing story or two by local authors (this was from a public reading that I did for Opie’s residency in 2002; recently re-recorded in the studio over at Undertone by my friend, Mr. Tom). This, friends, is the one time where snowpants = sexy.

Monday, March 27
Filming a short PSA for Foster and for equality. It’ll be broadcast on the web at some point in the near future; link to snarky political statement to follow.

Getting interviewed for the April edition of the Lipservice Talent Guild podcast. It’s like my Lipservice quinceanera! Except I’m not 15 and I’m not Mexican. Okay, it’s like my Lipservice Bat Mitzvah! Wait – not 13, nor Jewish. Damn. What coming-of-age celebrations do they have for Irish/Hungarian/German/Russian Americans besides getting blitzed at prom? On second thought, don’t answer that.

Tuesday, March 28
Public reading of The Lost and Found, a new screenplay by James Byrne. Someone recently dropped out, so I will be reading several roles. Come watch me use funny voices so you can tell them all apart! Kidding, Mr. Byrne. 7 pm at The Varsity Theater in Dinkytown if you’re looking to hash up some college nostalgia; be ready with your joneses for coffee and exercises in futility.

Sunday, April 2
Screening of The Monster of Phantom Lake at the Faux Film Festival in Portland. I have family in Portland. Family, if you love me, you probably shouldn’t go to this. Our very special screening is called the B-Movie Massacre for a reason. There will be improv comedians “improving” the script, as it were. B-Movie? Check. Massacre? Check.

Saturday, April 8
Callbacks for a new low-budget (but paid) feature-film, The Completely Remarkable, Utterly Fabulous Transformation of a Regular Joe. I’ve read some of the sides and I’m already getting invested in it… I hate it when I do that. Getting invested is not acceptable unless I’ve been cast. Gah.

Wednesday, May 17
The Monster of Phantom Lake returns to The Heights Theater – back by popular demand! You’ve asked for it, and the people who can make it happen made it happen. So for those of you who had to leave early to shoot a basketball game and didn’t get to see the end, or were out of town, or were in a show, or, ahem, said you’d show up and then didn’t (you know who you are; and you should know that you’ve earned yourself the title of Chump for that little stunt) – you’ve got another chance! Cast the weight of Chumpiness aside! Redemption in the form of pure entertainment can be yours!

Saturday, June 3
I’ll be wearing my best Appropriate for Children Disguise while reading Pinocchio the Boy: Incognito in Collodi to a bunch of youngsters as part of the Walker Art Center’s Free First Saturdays program. I will be reading the book aloud, playing several characters – come watch me use funny voices so you can tell them all apart! Not kidding, Mr. Byrne.

August 3-13
The Minnesota Fringe Festival returns. And so does the Ministry of Cultural Warfare. YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY! Some of you have recently been surprised to learn that I’m part of that company. Part of it? Hell, I’m Foster’s slave-driver (Write me a script! And make it good!)…seriously though, he’s the Artistic Director, and I’m the Executive Director and Stage Hog, which means he writes the good stuff, and I make sure people see me in it. Here’s a photo of an, um, elated Foster once he heard our name announced at the Fringe lottery! So what is MoCW going to present at Fringe this year? It’s a surprise! To us, too!

Summary
While I shared all of the above so that I could be instrumental in getting you away from the computer and into an active role as part of the arts community, I also did it to prove to myself that I’m a working actor. Sometimes I freak out about stagnancy. List compiled = freak-out averted. Mostly. There are some awfully obnoxious gaps between the April and May gigs, and again between June and August. Perhaps those would be good times to go to New York and San Diego, respectively. Yes. Freak-out officially averted.

Twelfth Night closed with a bang on March 5th – overall, we had a fantastic run of shows; and an even more fantastic closing weekend. It could very well be that they were my favorite cast to work with. Ever. Not counting Reid and Nathan, of course – but those guys are my guys, so I get to hang with them more often than not.

Often when shows come to a close, I am ready to be done with them…it just feels right to move on. But this time around I find myself missing these amazingly kind and funny people. It makes me sad to think that the same group will never hang out in the greenroom together again. Sad-almost-to-the-point-of-tears-sad. Yes, The Post-Show Blues have pulled up a chair and made themselves comfortable. Tacky, really, since they weren’t invited in the first place. But alas, here they are. I hate them.

But then I was quickly consumed with the hype of The Monster of Phantom Lake premiere at The Heights Theatre, which was a certified blast. I don’t know how one goes about getting a blast certification, but one was definitely obtained. Honestly, I was highly apprehensive about the screening; I would have much preferred to take a Valium, show up late, and sit in the back corner and watch everyone – but I realized the evening wasn’t about my acting (which, in this film, I can safely say is pretty terrible), it was about celebrating this silly-yet-enchanting movie that we made. And celebrate we did. I had loads of family and friends there – and I keep finding out daily about more friends who were there, but who I never saw (the glasses didn’t go with the vintage dress). It was reassuring to be surrounded by 250 people who were excited to be there and quick to laugh. The positive reviews kept rolling in, and it felt great…

…but then my usually-out-of-town family went back to their respective homes, I got my apartment back, and I was unable to answer to the question, “what are you working on now?” without sounding pathetic.

But THEN I got to spend some time on Sunday with my main music men Dan and Don…and made super-slick recordings of Feste’s songs from Twelfth Night. Dan played like the pro he is, I sang my heart out, Don was the best cheerleader ever, and we were engineered by Kent, who worked on an album with one of my favorite bands (holy crap!). These guys definitely made my day.

And now here I am…reminiscing in the awesomeness of it all…and not foreseeing such levels of awesomeness converging again anytime soon. Who’s feeling needy? That’d be me, the one with her needy little hand raised. The only thing that could make this worse would be getting my wisdom teeth pulled tomorrow. Oh wait, I am getting my wisdom teeth pulled tomorrow. feh.

Just in time for the premiere of The Monster of Phantom Lake (and my first lead in a feature film) tomorrow night at The Heights Theater, we got a great write-up in this week’s City Pages! SCORE!

The Monster of Phantom Lake
Heights Theatre, Thursday, March 9 at 7:30 pm

A glowing tribute to the creature features of the 1950s, this homegrown film from director Christopher R. Mihm works as equal parts reflexive comedy and straight-up drive-in shocker. When a scientist (Josh Craig) and his love-struck grad student (Leigha Horton) set out for a jolly weekend of “scientific experimentation,” they’re in for horrifying results. After a shell-shocked WWII vet stumbles into a lake that’s loaded with nuclear waste, the duo, along with a group of rock’n'roll-loving co-eds, find themselves stalked by a leafy, slimy monster. In keeping with the low-budget tradition, the indelibly costumed creature is kept under wraps for most of the film, appearing only as the hand that reaches into the frame and grasps terrified victims. Craig demonstrates his mastery of Shatner-style pause-acting (”Wait a minute… Wait…a… minute“), while Mihm takes the audience on a jolly tour of tongue-in-cheek ’50s sexism, hilarious innuendo, and plenty of arm’s length slow-dancing. Featuring Mihm’s original composition, “A-Rockin’, A-Rollin’, All the Way A-Ramblin’” along with a wealth of public-domain mood music (listen closely and you’ll hear snippets from Carnival of Souls), this is an unusually warm and witty homage.

Be there, or be so TOTALLY square. Or out of town.

If it isn’t the latter, lie.

The Monster of Phantom Lake Premiere
Filmed in black and white, The Monster of Phantom Lake is a throw-back to the B-grade science-fiction/horror movies of the 1950s.

I am thrilled to report that the premiere date and location for The Monster of Phantom Lake are finally confirmed! Mark your calendars for Thursday, March 9, 2006 and join us at the lovely Heights Theater for a 7:30 pm screening. Running time is 90 minutes, so bribe your babysitters accordingly.

The director and cast (and my parents) will be present, and DVDs of TMoPL that include outtakes and director’s commentary will be available for purchase onsite after the show. For those of you out-of-towners not able to make it to Minneapolis during the snowiest month of the year, I will post an update in the near future about how the DVD can be purchased online.

Heights Theater
3951 Central Avenue NE
Columbia Heights, MN 55421
tel: 763.788.9079

Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night opens next week at Theatre in the Round
1960s Cape Cod is the setting for this production of Shakespeare’s dark, witty comedy of romantic confusion. The drunken Toby Belch torments Malvolio, while cross-dressing Viola finds herself caught in a love triangle. Twelfth Night’s tale of madness, love, and mistaken identities makes for a charming evening, rich with Shakespeare’s poetry and prose, and featuring some of his finest low comedy.

I am playing the part of Feste, and will be dressed as a Drag King and singing regularly throughout the show. Luckily, the director has brought in a guitarist to accompany me onstage, so I have been relieved of my auto-harp duties and will only be playing a few chords on the ukulele (even though I actually learned how to play the song that it accompanies). Performing Shakespeare while singing, and accompanying myself on instruments I’ve never touched before this rehearsal process, is a bit like patting my pia mater and rubbing my stomach, so I find great relief in our new guitarist.

Anyway, we open NEXT WEEK, so come see!

Previews:
Wednesday – Thursday, February 8 – 9, 7 pm
Tickets: $5

Performances:
Fridays – Sundays, February 10 – March 5, 8 pm
(EXCEPT Sunday, Feb. 12 + Sunday, March 5 – 2 pm only)
Tickets: $20*

*I have unlimited vouchers for $2 off per ticket for every member in your party – contact me for details.

Theatre in the Round
245 Cedar Avenue
Minneapolis, MN 55454
tel: 612.333.3010