a simple note...

For some reason I had it visualized the night before the play I would write this deep meaningful transcending awww dropping, tear jerking blog that would sum up my experiences as a director, writer and actor in this grand experience!

But now that night has arrived...and I can say with full confidence you will not be getting that blog

Instead I shall end this on a simple note.

That note being...

Just believe.

Don't second guess or doubt! Because if it's in your heart, on your mind and in your soul, it's there for a reason! So go after it and just believe in it!

For this production...

Was placed in my mind
Sparked off through my lips
Magically placed into my bones and throughout
my entire body so an unstoppable action could be brought to life!

Yes,an unstoppable action that ran off with the wind! A wind that turned into a contagious wild yet controlled determined tornado that caught a hold of other ambitious like minded passionate people

people like

asia jackson
arielle vaughan
damon hastings
steven grier
jalynda booker
lakeesha seymore
fontaine braggs
mark gatewood


this whirl wind of passion, of desire, of ambition, of creativity, all started with a simple thought, a simple story in my mind that i know for surely goes beyond my own being! This production has only proven when you match your desires and thoughts with God, and just have an ounce faith, to say yes and believe, wonderful things can and do happen!

We hope you enjoy the show, because we sure did enjoy putting it on for you!!!!

Much Love,

~Ayasha J. Tripp =)

And the Count Down Begins!!

2 WEEKS

14 DAYS

336 HOURS

20,160 MINUTES

Ok I think you get it! But yes, we are down to the wire! Which can explain why it has been almost a month since my last blog! I have to apologize for my CP update but we've been working super hard these past few weeks! I mean between rehearsals, production meetings, recording music, and just LIFE, time has seriously been flying by! Continue reading and you'll see what I'm talking about it...

As you can see, we had our first PHOTO SHOOT(hence the photo above) To check out all the photos just go here..

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=161001&id=155319060944&ref=mf

Photos were done collectively by my good friend/actor Mr. Damon Hastings and Mr. Kola

More pictures will be coming soon so stay tuned!!

We also completed our first song fittingly titled, "and an angel came down" recorded by Arielle Rae & Steven Grier! Written by myself, Damon, Arielle and Steven! The track is the business!!! I'm thinking WHEN(not if) the play takes off and becomes a hot success we can go back into the studio and record a soundtrack!! It always was a dream of mine to yell 'DJ CLUE CLUE CLUE' on the track lol or something of that sort! Whatever the case, stay tuned for that track because BELIEVE ME WHEN I SAY IT IS HOT!!

I am also proud to announce that we recently partnered with a great company called My Place Donation. A company dedicated to keeping our earth more safe and green! You can donate any old/new/broken/used cell phones or ipods and have the proceeds of these electronics donated to the non profit organization or charity of your choice

The man in charge of this great company is my fellow SDSU alumni/friend Mr. Andrew Ly! He was ever so gracious enough to let Don't Even Tripp be a part of this campaign for keeping our earth green! So if you have any old cell phones or ipods you're looking to dispose of please click here http://bit.ly/tripp_mpd and you can have the proceeds go towards Don't Even Tripp and our production!! =)


Besides recording music, donating ipods, taking pictures, rehearsing and etc(lol) we also have been planning for our media sneak peak! Which will be held this Saturday at the Youth Uprising center in Oakland! If you haven't already heard we are donating half of our proceeds to this wonderful organization.




In return, Youth Uprising has been ever so generous enough to let us use their venue to host our event! Arielle has been in charge of contacting different media outlets and theatre groups throughout the Bay Area. She put together a very nice press kit explaining all about the production company and the play! So this Saturday we'll be showcasing our talents to a select group of people in hopes that they'll go back out into the community to help promote our cause and what we're doing!

I also did a little promoting myself at the Golden State Slam this past Tuesday, which went very well! The very witty bomb dot com host Mr. Ner City offered to raffle off a few of our tickets so if you're too cheap to buy a ticket(lol) you can come through to the golden state slam on April 20th @ 8pm to hear some hot poetry and to purchase a raffle ticket!

Click the link below to find our more info. about the Golden State Slam...

http://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php?id=1064240518&ref=ts

With that being said, let me end this blog on an uplifting note by sharing with you guys the poem that I recited this past Tuesday at the Golden State Slam! I told the audience if they like my poems, then they'll like my play! :-P but all jokes set aside, I just truly believe in going after what's in your heart and that applies to all areas in life! Don't be afraid to stand up for what you believe in and what you are passionate about! If you have anything in life that you are passionate about, i beg of you to pleaseeeeeee go after it and bring it to life!


.......

When I was college
and decide to follow my dreams
to pursue a degree
that would allow me to bring
my fictional work to the big screen...

A lot of people laughed at me
They thought it was a silly
crazy, random far off dream.

"A film major?!" They would say.
"So what does that mean,
you get to watch movies all day?

Oblivious to the fact
that being a film major expanded my mind
built my ambition to an all time high

Allowed me to multi-task
Between 3 jobs,
hustled enough to study abroad.

Working on 2 to 4 film projects all at one time
and being involved in different organizations
on campus gave me
a hard working
YES I CAN state of mind

It built my drive
Re-affirmed my confidence
and gave me opportunities
to pay my dues.
My time at SDSU
gave me experience and provided me with proof
that this,
was what i I was destined to do.

Which was write.

Take my complex stories,
that I created
and make sure
that they got brought to life.

So no!
I would have to say.
Being a film major isn’t about watching films all day!

It’s about perfecting yourself at your art,
mastering your craft
and cultivating those dreams!

So when you step back into the real world
you know how to make sure
those dreams become your reality.

And I know I do not stand alone.
Because I am speaking out to all those
ambitious individuals who
know their purpose
and are driven by their heart and their souls

This is for the people
who don’t see things
for how they are
but instead
for they how they could be.

This for the people
who were never
content with doing the same!

This is for the people
who were already making change
way before Obama came into play!

This is for the people who were told
that it couldn’t,that it shouldn’t and hell,
that it probably wouldn't
But in the end,
IT DID!

Only because they knew it
would happen from the start!

This is for the people
who never let anyone or anything
stop them from bringing fourth the vision
that was place into their hearts.

This is for the people
who don’ just reach for the stars,
they get aggressive and grab them!

This is for the people
Who inhale inspiring ideas that set off in their mind
only to exhale with a quick reaction that will make it come to life!


This is for the people
Whose religion is hard work and discipline

This is for the people
who are living on a strict diet
of pure ambition.

This is for the
The writer,

This is for the
The poet

This is for the
The teacher

This is for the
The singer

This is for the
The musician

This is for
The film major
The art major
The theatre major

The
I JUST WANT TO BE HAPPY AND DO SOMETHING WITH MY LIFE MAJOR

This is for the arts
This is for the artist

Which means this poem is for you
This poem is for me

Because in my opinion
to be an ambitious artist is basically
being someone who shows love and passion
towards something outside of their own natural being.

And I think Erykah Badu put it the best
"for love is life, and life is love"
so if you're not loving life,
then you are not living!
And if you're not living for someone or something
than you are just merely existing

So find your passion!
Do what is right and seek what is true!
So when you look back on your life years from now
hopefully you'll get to reflect on the happiness
you not only brought to yourself
but also to others around


-A.J. Tripp
4/7/10

MAD HATTER PRODUCTIONS....

I contemplated for a moment today of switching the production company's name from Don't Even TRIPP Productions to MAD HATTER Production because as of right now I feel like the real life version of the Mad Hatter....

Wearing all these different hats, as producer, director and actor, is quite interesting! Words such as rest and sleep now sound foreign to me! And the actual act of experiencing a full 8 hours of sleep now seems like a far off fantasy that will not be taking place for some time... =)

However, despite the many roles and responsibilities I have, rest assure I AM HAVING FUN!

If I'm not doing blocking notes for rehearsal, I'm on the phone with the Lesher people going over ticket sells...

If I'm not setting up a production meeting with my team, I'm working on getting into character for the next scene for rehearsal!

But I'm not alone in this! ALL of my cast/production team is taking on different roles and responsibilities. I cannot stress enough how much I value and cherish their support!

It's quite fun, we'll get done with rehearsal around 11 only to sit down to discuss lights, sound, set, and flyer designs! Speaking of, as you can see in this blog our flyers are officially done! We'll be getting them printed very soon!!!

The design for the flyer was done by my good friend/Virgo brother Damon Hastings who is also ACTING as the character Niko. He truly is multifaceted man! Check out his website...

www.oneofonedesign.com

Another multifaceted man is my actor Steven Grier who is playing the character Jacob. He also is a producer/sound engineer! He is handling all of our sound PLUS he came up with the grand idea of getting our cast together to record an ORIGINAL SONG for the play! So stay tuned for that because that track is about to be the business!!

In other news.... :)

We are officially donating half our ticket sell to the Youth Uprising Center in Oakland! We are super excited that we not only get the chance to entertain our community but we also get the chance to give back!! :-)

Make sure to check out their website as well...

http://youthuprising.org/

The pressure is on the cast and myself because even though we hit the main stage on April 23rd, we are scheduled to do a sneak peak show the 2nd week of April.

It will be an exclusive invite only event!

The purpose of this event is for us to invite different media outlets of the bay area so we can show people what we are doing and what to expect when we hit the main stage!!

We hope by doing this, the right people will be inspired and motivated to write articles and inform others about what we are doing as a production company! So if you know any theatrical/film theatre groups, companies, professionals or anybody who you feel may have some type of influence, please contact our PR Miss Arielle Vaughan at...

arielle@donteventripp.com

(She too is another multi-talented young lady who is handling all of our PR/promotions. She also sings and yes, she'll be making an appearance in the play too! ;-)

So yes! A lot is popping off on this end! Rehearsal tonight ended a bit early (8pm)Because I had some production things to handle....BUT I informed the cast the next 4 days are going to be intense! My goal as director is to go over all blocking(meaning movements, entrances/exits) as well as give acting notes for each scene by the end of this week. We already have worked half through the play and are just about to start ACT III. SO I anticipate that I will have gone over the entire play by this Friday! The cast is expected to have all their lines memorized by MARCH 22ND!!!

But between all the producing and directing I've been doing, I have yet to memorize any of my own lines.... :-P

So you already know, what I'll be doing this weekend, on top of the other hundred and 10 things to do=)

38 more days!!!

Until then.....

Have a blessed week!! =)

A set back? NOPE! Just a setup!

So it has to be a norm...no maybe a custom, oh no no, let's just call it a TRADITION! Because this is the third time this has happened. This is the third I have had to deal with an actor backing out...

I remember my first student film, the day before the shoot I had two actors back out so I had to rewrite the script the night before only to come to the set the following morning to have the main actor NOT show up!! But my friend/associate at the time(who is now my roomie arielle) made some calls and BAM a young nice man by the name of Matt appeared and took on the role that day and the film was a success! =)

For our last production we had a guy who signed up to play the character Rashad only to disappear 3 weeks before the play(i never got my script back from that man) we had to go on a wild goose hunt and ended up getting the character replaced two weeks before show time!

So I guess it would only be normal that we have some type of casting issue in this play right? Lol, I guess I can be thankful though that it happened NOW as oppose to a week before the production...

So our lead decided on the third day of rehearsal that the production was conflicting too much with his school. He didn't feel confident taking on the role and decided to back out. At first we all were a little bummed out about it, but that feeling of disappointment was soon replaced with a feeling of determination. My production team never ceases to amaze me with their constant encouragement and hard work ethic! We were all ready to move forward and make things work!

And in the end everything worked out just fine. One of our other actors(Mark Gatewood) who truly is an angel, originally had read for Malachi. We were going to cast him but we thought to go with the other guy(Arrillious) cause he was taller, so we casted Mark for the character Jacob...funny thinking back on it, i had a friend joke with me weeks ago saying it was discrimination to not cast someone cause of their height lol but we weren't discriminating according to height, we just had our preferences for the character. However as I have come to learn, what truly matters when it comes to casting, is knowing the persons' acting capability, confidence and drive.

And Mark has all of these qualities! We had a few other guys read for the part but none of them matched the passion and dedication that our new lead Mark has! =)

So with Mark now playing as the lead, we had to re audition for the character Jacob. We came across a young man who is down to do the part AND he does sound engineering so we now have someone handling our sound for the play!

so yes, things worked out just fine!!! Like they always do because God would never leave us, he hasn't before so why would he now!? We experienced a minor set back only cause God had something greater waiting for us and besides in this type of industry I've come to learn you have to flexible and BE PREPARED for anything!

In other news, there is 45 more days to the play premiers and I am collectively all over the place, meaning I have all it together but i have a hand in every department...I would go into more detail but considering I have to be up in less than 4 hours, I'll save it for my next blog...

So Stay posted!!! Flyers, and ticket information will be coming your way very very soon! Because as my PR Arielle would say, "It's more than a play, it's an experience!"

And please believe this production process thus far has been THE experience, so I can only imagine what the final result shall be =)

We are a family(My cast) =)

Call me random, call me silly, or call me just plain weird but I put this on everything...

Right before I decided to type this blog I turn on my itunes and what song starts randomly playing....

"We are a family" off the Dream Girls soundtrack!

Ironic thing is, I feel like my cast is definitely going to become my newest family! We are a small cast totaling six main characters and two ensemble roles! Not to say my last cast wasn't my family either but there is going to be a huge difference working with eight people as oppose to the 20 people cast I had to work with in my last production.

Cool thing I notice is, half of my cast has experience on the stage and the other half are virgins to the stage. Despite the differing experiences, there is one thing the entire cast shares in common and that is, they all have passion and dedication! I think some of them are more excited about the production than me!! =)

Last night everyone came to my apartment and we did a full table reading of the script. We timed the play at 2 hours 40 minutes(without intermission) however we had to take into consideration a few interruptions, plus the pacing of some of the lines. I'm estimating after i make some cuts and once everyone becomes familiar with their parts, the play will run at 2 hours 20 minutes WITH INTERMISSION!!

I just sent an email to my family a.k.a my cast breaking down all the important dates they need to remember! Rehearsal starts this Monday! In the email I was explaining to them what to expect at rehearsal....to be quite honest I'm not sure what to expect myself :-P

I'm trying to be as organized as possible, so I wrote out a timeline of what we'll be doing each week and I even started sketching out on paper how I want people positioned on stage for certain scenes. However, you really don't know how things will go until you start! But I'm confident that God will direct me to be the best director I can be! I have faith in my cast and I'm praying that they continue to have faith in me too! I explained to them that I'm an open minded director who takes all ideas into consideration! I'm being patient with them and in return I know they will grant me the same.

This will also be a new experience for me not only because I'm working such a small cast but this will also be the first time, I'll be hitting the stage!!!

Yea can you believe it? I've made some small cameos in my short films in college and even in my last play. But to have an actual speaking part, um no. I've always backed away from the stage, which is funny cause I'm not really shy. In fact, I'm very outgoing and loud(lol) But being on stage wasn't where i wanted to be. I liked being behind the scenes! I found comfort in pouring all my thoughts, feelings, desires and dreams onto paper only to have others convey them for me. But this time around I'm feeling different. I'm feeling courageous and bold and I don't want to hide behind a piece that is so intense and has so much feeling, I want to be a part of this experience, off stage as well as on stage.

and besides acting is fun! =) and if Mel Gibson, Spike Lee, and Denzel can act and direct in their own films, well then heck, SO CAN I!!! =)


Even though my to do list is now exceeding to4 pages lol i will get it done!

by the way...56 more days till we premier!! =)

so much work to do, but this is fun work!!!

and one day...just one day

I'll be able to do this all day everyday.

i just know it.....i just know it! =)

Day One of THE PROCESS....or at least documenting it =P

Day One....hmmm, yeaaaaaaaa right!!! This production process goes beyond that! I actually conceptualized the story back in 2006, started writing it early 09 and began pre-production in mid 2009...So please believe, A LOT has occurred before today! HOWEVER, today will be the day that I officially start to document my thoughts on this entire production process! This will be my place of sanity =)

Because between all the MILLION and two things that I have to do, I must find time to sit back and just simply relax. I have no problem dealing with pressure, however I do not want my pressure to turn into stress, so a little R&R is good to the soul =)

For those of who don't know, this is my 2nd full length production...but this is the FIRST play, my production company(Don't even Tripp) is heading up! It's ironic though because there are a lot of correlating similarities with this production in comparison to my last production(The Skin I'm In)

First off, with the Skin I'm in that was produced on my camps(San Diego State) spring of 08. That was a during a time in my life when I was going through a great transition, I was graduating from college. =)

As of right now(two years later) I'm putting on this play during a time in my life where I'm in the process of going through another great transition...I'm applying to grad school =)

When I did my first production 'The Skin I'm In." I took a trip to Vegas in January and said when I returned, I would buckle down and get serious about this play!

I did the same thing with this production! I took a trip to NYC last month and told myself when I returned I would get right to work!

The auditions for the Skin I'm in were held right before Valentine's day weekend

The auditions for this play are being HELD NOW, right before valentine's day weekend too =)

The Skin I'm in premiered April 18th

This production will be premiering April 23rd and April 24th

Very interesting all of this similarities, don't you think? I'm just hoping the good karma from my last play will carry over into this one!!

Which I have full faith and confidence that it will. =)

Especially since now, I have more experience and know a lot more as far as what it takes to make a play truly successful! Diligence is key and being organized is MUST! I just feel extremely blessed, because I have the most amazing random creative friends who are now my coolest most dedicated passionate production team ever!

I call them "The SOOO ambitious production team!"

We had our first production Meeting on Monday @ La Pinata in Alameda. The bomb dot com Mexican food matched perfectly with all of our energetic ready to work minds! I came correct and prepared, and they were impressed!

I took the time to make everyone cool folders filled with all the information concerning our production. There was a calendar with all the important dates/deadlines, a breakdown sheet of our budget, and there even was a section within the folder explaining in detail each department and who was in charge and responsible for what.

It truly was a PRODUCTIVE meeting! Ideas were flowing left and right. It felt great to be around motivated individuals who were taking this production just as serious as me. I had explained to them, that this was the first piece I had ever written, where during the entire writing process I didn't let anyone read it until I was done. As with my other works, as I would write I would let people read. But this play is more intimate and very special to me. They were receptive and understanding to that. It's just a great feeling to know that I am working with people who I can trust and have my and the production's team best interest at heart.

While there is a lot on our plate, we're dealing with things one day...or bite at a time, whatever you choose =)

First order of business is, finding the perfect cast. I already have a few people in my mind for parts but I still wanted to keep my options open so we had our first auditions today!!

We had a good turn out! It was funny though, we sat there as a panel reviewing the actors who came in as if we were somebody important! Ha, but honestly, to everyone who came in we all genuinely thanked them and tried our best to make them feel at ease. Because it's not easy getting up amongst your peers to be judged. So we went out of our way to make the audition process as easy and comfortable as possible! We cracked jokes and had a good time and I feel like a majority of the people who came out felt comfortable and at ease...we even had one actot tell us, even if she wasn't casted for a role she still would come out to support the play! So people we're on point and offered a lot of talent tonight!

Not to say there weren't a selected few who came in who were doing a bit much lol...but there is no need to speak on those certain individuals =)

But let me just say this! As a writer, there is something ever so remarkably great about having people finally read your work aloud for the first time. The characters become alive, the lines they speak have passion and the story itself is now on the verge of becoming a reality! It truly was motivating!

So I'm super excited to see what tomorrow's auditions will bring and even more excited for the night the play premiers! Thiis is truly going to be one AMAZING experience =)