Mt. Vernon/Lisbon Community Theatre is looking for adult actors interested in performing a show for children. Auditions will be held September 7 and 8 for “Noodle Doodle Box”, a short play written by German playwright, novelist, and children’s author Paul Maar in 1972.

Translated into English in 1979, the script uses a bare stage and clown-like actors who live in boxes to explore social problems, political situations and interpersonal relationships. During the course of the one act play, two friends, Zach and Pepper, have a falling out and retreat to their separate boxes. A third character, the Drum Major, tries to capitalize on their feud and trick them out of their boxes while turning them further against each other. Although they are eager at first to go along with the propaganda of the Drum Major, they eventually realize that their friendship is more valuable to them and that they must accept each other’s differences in order to get along. The themes of friendship, authority, bullying and trust are all explored on a level suitable for young children of school age even as the larger political and global themes can be appreciated by older students and adults.

The play will be performed locally in October.

Any questions, please call Braden Rood at 319-895-8476 or 319-654-1016 or email at mvlcommunitytheatre@gmail.com.

The Halloween and Haunted Attraction season is quickly approaching.  This season I will be devoting a page on The Canman Show, just for Haunted Attraction Reviews.    Several years ago I founded The Frightmare Forest.    I’ve since retired from the Haunting business.  I still have a great fondness for Haunted Houses and Haunted Attractions.   I am making it my goal to visit each haunted attraction in the Corridor and do a detailed review.   

I will use my Haunted House experience when I review your haunt.     Each haunt will be given a grade based on many factors including but not limited to:

• Wait time.  How long you wait in line is very important.  It shows that you are managing your “through-put”.  The most successful haunts, get the visitors to their attractions through the line quickly.
• Que Line Entertainment.  While waiting, what did you do to set the mood?   Was it effective?  
• Safety and accessibility.  Did I ever feel that I was in danger in the haunt?  Did I ever feel the actors in the haunt were in danger?   Will everyone who visits the haunt be able to enjoy their visit (AKA Wheel Chair Accessible and other special needs.)
• The appearance of the Haunt.  How was the design?   Were the public areas of the haunt kept clean?  Did the appearance of the sets/rooms keep me in the haunt mood? Were the props in good working order?
• Scares.  How was the Scare Factor?  Was I really frightened?    
• The Flow.  Did I ever get bunched up with the people ahead of me?    How much time did it take me to go through the haunt?  
• Was it worth the wait?  Did I want to go back through when I was finished?
• Amenities?  What amenities does the attraction offer that give the Haunt added Value?
• Originality.   I give extra bonus points for originality.  The best haunts have something I’ve never seen before in them.  I give even more points to Haunts that don’t rely on Hollywood for their ideas.   

The Haunts with the best grades will be mentioned on The Canman Show Podcast.

If you would like your Haunt listed or know of a haunt that should be listed, Please contact me as soon as possible.  Please include the name of your attraction, hours of operation, admission price, detailed directions to your attraction and what makes your haunt worth the trip.  

 I look forward to hearing from you- Canman

Be sure to catch the Iowa Hawkeye football team’s season opener Saturday!   They host the Maine Black Bears.  Kick off is at 11:03 AM Central.  Check out the game on The BigTen Network. 

To get pumped up for the game be sure to check out GOHAWKS.COM and make sure to have your speaker’s up loud!   The music caught me off guard and I jumped out of my seat!   They have a count down clock to kick off.  

LETS GO HAWKS!- Canman

With WWE Raw in Cedar Rapid’s tonight at the “5″ (AKA the US Cellular Center) I wanted to share some etiquette tips, as not to upset the fans of the sport (which I’m not).

Do NOT make fun of a wrestling fan.  For many of them, this is as close to culture as they get.  

Do appreciate that Wrestling is a form of Theatrical entertainment.  But  Do NOT point out to a fan that wrestling is fake.   Most of them already know this.  Think of it as pointing out to a fan of David Copperfield that his tricks are all a sham.

Also remember many fans of wrestling are bigger than you.   They worship the wrestlers, as many young girls worship Hannah Montana.  But DO NOT ever point that out to them.   

Thanks for your time- Canman

I travel on interstate  I-380 from Cedar Rapids to North Liberty daily.   Over the last month I’ve noticed a string of web cam’s be installed.  Traveling south from Cedar Rapids the start at the Highway 30 bridge and continue all the way down to North Liberty.   I’ve counted more than 10 of them.   Each camera has line of site of the next one.

This concerns me a little.    Did anyone even know they were there?  or that they were being put up?   I realize in today’s world with almost everyone having a camera in pocket and our addiction to social networks, that we have little or no privacy.    Even with all these intrusions, I’ve never had the uneasy feeling that “big brother” is watching.     I’m starting to get that “feeling” now.   

I do see both sides of the coin.  This could be good as it would improve safety in the corridor.   It could also be a major privacy concern.   

I would love to hear your thoughts on these eyes in the sky.   Please post a comment, or drop me a line- Canman

I love podcasts.   They have taken over the radio in my car on my daily commute to and from work.   I find myself listening to terrestrial radio less and less every week.   I also find a person’s podcast playlist is a great way to get to know that person.   As I get ready to launch my own podcast in September, I thought I would share a listing of my favorites.  

Extra Life Radio: I listen to Scott, Brian and O every week.   The show focuses on Comic Books, Movies, Video Games… (much of what my show will be about).  The guys always make me laugh and have pretty good insight on what a large percentage of the geek community is thinking about.   Even with their “Poo” stories, I think the show is great.  

This Week In Tech:  I was one of the 7 people who watched Tech TV.  Leo Laporte the former host of Screen Savers and Call For Help created a high quality network of “net casts”.  This Week in Tech has become the show on his network that I listen to most.    He always has a very interesting and entertaining panel of guests and regulars.  They drive the show’s weekly tech discussions.   If you are even remotely interested in technology these guys have the inside track.

Tekzilla: Another Tech TV alum, Patrick Norton along with Veronica Belmont host this tech show on the Revision3 network.   If you were a fan of the Screen Savers, you will love this show.   They keep their discussions tech related.  The tips this show offers are PRICELESS! 

Buzz Out Loud:  Yet another tech podcast.   This is CNET’s “podcast of indeterminate length”.  Tom Merrirt, Molly Wood and Jason Howell are a great team and are very entertaining to listen to.   They provide a daily update on what’s going on in the tech world.  On Fridays they produce a video version of the show.    

Xbox Live’s Major Nelson Radio: Being a fan of Xbox 360, Major Nelson (Xbox lives director of programing) has the inside track on what’s happening on the Xbox 360.   His show features interviews of game developers and gamers.  

I do find myself listening to more and more podcasts every day.   If you have a favorite I should check out, send it my way- Canman

I hear there are still some tickets available for this weekend’s Theatre Cedar Rapids production of Gypsy.  

For more informaiton on show times and to purchase tickets go to http://www.theatrecr.org.   The performances are at McKinley Middle School.

We will be watching Mythbusters tonight in the Canman household!   They are taking on the NASA moon landing.    Was the moon landing a Hoax?   You can catch Mythbusters on the Discovery Channel tonight to find out.  Check your local listings to see when it’ll be on.  Check out the video below:

Yes it’s true, The Movie “The Fly” has been rein-visioned into an Opera.  It even reunites the 1986 films Director, Composer, Costume Designer and Creature Designer!  The show will run at The Los Angeles Opera in September 2008.  

Check out the Reuters story here!

My son Zach (17) is a master of procrastination (I wonder where he gets it).  On Saturday he got his learner’s permit.   Yesterday afternoon I decided it was time for him to start driving just in time for rush hour. 

I who founded Frightmare Forest Productions, thought I knew what it meant to be scared witless.   I was dead wrong.    I had parked the car in the drive way close to the garage with the front of the car facing the garage.  

He started the car and put it in drive.   Bringing the car within milimeters of taking out the garage door.   Then when he placed the car in reverse, he pushed too hard on the gas causing the car to jump backwards at a high rate of speed.    

I of course freaked out… So he slammed on the brakes.   

My heart now pounding and the addrenalyn rushing, I struggled to give him praise.  You know, trying to be the good Dad and giving him some words of encouragement.  

As he started down the street, I realized he was driving with one foot on the gas, and one on the break.  Rookie mistake.   Giving him more encouragement and words I thought would help him relax, he made it down the road with no problems.  

Then a car  turned down the street in front of us driving towards us in the left lane.   I saw the knuckles on his fingers whiten as he tensed up and squeezed the steering wheel.   His second reaction was to take us into the curb.  

Again I freaked out.   Struggling to remain calm,  I gritted my teeth and reminded him with a growl to get away from the curb.     

Then came the first Stop sign.     I asked him if he saw the sign.   He replied he did.     He didn’t slow his pace yet.   Growing more nervous I explained how to slow the car, without slamming the breaks.   He glanced at me in confusion.    Then I saw his left foot going for the break…  I reminded him to use only the one foot when driving.    With seconds to spare, we stopped.   With only a little tire squeak. 

The rest of the trip went by with little error.   That was until we pulled into our destination.   With the car still running and in gear, he began to exit the car.   As we started pulling toward the car parked directly in front of us I had to scream at him to stop the car.    Again barely missing a collision.

As he exited the car I gave him praise for getting us there safe and made a little promise to myself.   Next time he drives, he takes his mom. 

Canman