Wednesday, October 3, 2007

RETHYMNON ACT II

Yesterday I called Mr Pero to ask him about the money he owes me and guess what , he started saying that he has a lot of problems with the landlord of the theater. I replied that it dose not surprises me since he haven' t payed the rent for about nine (9) months. I am telling you the guy is a regular hustler . He also said that the only reason why he never calls me back is because he has no telephone units and so on . Finally I told him that I shall do what is legal at the end of October .I also spoke to the lawyer from the Actors Guild and everything is ready in case he wont pay me .It is a very sad thing to watch and listen a 55 years old man who claims to be a man of the Arts and a theatrical director , to improvise excuses and then again sometimes he even forgets them and try to use them a second time . Very sad. Theater is about our very existence , our dignity and inner respect and all of these are alien to Mr Pero. Next week I am sending a letter to the local press describing the situation and I shall go visit Rethymnon at the end of this month.

Thursday, September 27, 2007

Rethymnon case An Art Hustle

The summer months are over and here I am in this beutifull city of Athens. I ' ve spent nearly four months in Crete , Rethymnon and worked as an actor there . Others go to southern Crete to raise grapes and feel close to nature all I did was art . We produced and performed a play by B. Tsikliropoulos under the elusive title " Ouch ! My kidney ". It all started as a friendly discussion and ended up in a rather nice performance. All things come to an end and so here I am back to my base in the center of this city.The point is that I haven' t got my money yet , this guy , Mr Pero we will call him for the time being , who was the producer of the play didn't pay me and so he still ows me about 3500 euros. Nice , round figure don't you think ? It seems that there are people who believe that a working man is obliged to work and produce without getting paid . In fact Mr Pero is saying that he will pay as soon as he gets the money from the municipality or the departement and the list goes on and on and he always finds a new excuse. Until now he has not kept a promise and this is making me rather nervous. Of course I am keeping my temper but I had a discussion with the lawyer of our union , the actors union that is . To begin with we made him a phone call informing him that if he does not pay he will have a lot of trouble with Social Security and the Taxes . I really don't want to harm anyone but I am willing to make him stop his business as a theatrical producer. I know that things in Rethymnon are difficult but this guy is one of the lowest creatures I have ever met . He thinks that he can outwit everybody and he is getting paid for a job that I have performed and thinks that he willfind a way to make me forget it . Anyhow I shall give him just one week and then I shall start all the necessary procedures. I shall continue on this issue either it turns good or ugly.

Tuesday, January 23, 2007

It is a beautiful day

It is a beautiful day but everything seems to be out of order. Obviously in winter time it is not normal to have sunny days one after the other two, three months and no rain, no rain at all. Farmers are in distress, their crops ruined, their future ambiguous. Bankers are happy though . They are the only people who benefit every time there is a disaster. Everybody has a debt in one or more Banks so sooner or later properties, buildings, farms, their lives' work will go to the auction crows and this is something nobody can avoid . But it is a beautiful day nevertheless and everybody needs to stretch and lie under the sun. Coffee costs 4 to 5 Euros in a cafe in the center of Athens and most of the unemployed can' t afford it. You get 5 Euros per hour without any social security benefits if you manage to get a work as a hired hand doing a little of everything, cleaning, painting , carrying etc. One hour' s worth for a coffee it is a bit expensive don't you think ? It is a beautiful day alright but only a handful of people can enjoy it. This is the dreadful reality in modern day Greece and things don' t appear to get any better. Only the sun and our will can change something for the better . The sun and us...

           Colour TV .

Sunday, January 21, 2007

Night Visit


When he arrived it was already dark. The door slammed behind him as he dragged his feet in the cold room . On the table he managed somehow to grab an old petrol lamp and struck a match he lit it making the ugliness of the place even gloomier. Dogs were barking and the sounds of late pedestrians who were rushing back from work came through the half-openned window , he drew the curtains and closed it on his way to the fire place. He took a bottle of rye and a glass from a closet next to it and pored himself a drink. As he swallowed it shivers run up and down his spine, his eyes glared and he instantly pricked his ears as he heard a knock on the door. He said " Who' s there ?" and a weak voice answered " Mary " . "Well come on in, what are you waiting for out there in the cold ?" ...the dark haired man replied . As she stepped in it was as if all of a sudden the hole scenery dramatically changed. The colours became smoother and even the sounds filtered in a sweet manner . He rose and with an elegant gesture offered her a chair. She hesitated a bit but finally she took it and relaxing started looking around as he moved towards the closet where he kept his liquor. " Gin or Bourbon ?" he asked and she nodded glancing with a smile at the bottle he already reached for. In a while they were drinking, poring one drink after the other .A small radio balancing on a low table by the bed provided them with some blues music. The fire place now was creating shadows all over the place and his hand rested on her thigh.A crystal clear laughter sounded like melody and they went on murmuring all night long till there voices became moans of passion.


        Colour TV

Wednesday, January 17, 2007

Doomsday Clock is Ringing

Last Tuesday the January 17th sceintists in an unprecedentent demonstration warned the leaders of this world against the threats from nuclear weapons and the latest technological acheivements in weather control and the hole armory of high tech arsenal which brings us and the Planet itself facing total annihilation. Modern technology and the brutal race for destructive arms widespread all over the world brought our " little village " society in front of a threatenning situation, ie the Doomsday Clock was reajusted by two minutes thus bringing us all less than five before our extinction . Now it depends wethere we will bring about our own deaths or if we shall take the rest of the Planet with us. By the way if anybody is not informed about this Doomsday Clock he or she better check it out quickly since there is a possibility that he' ll find himself in the silly position of not knowing or even understanding vaguely what hit him . And it is really stupid and sad that gossip gives matters of discussion like the new boyfriend of such and such or couplings ,scandals and the list goes on and on but never everyday people get some real information .So sad to be on the verge of extinction and our interest as "educated "minds as we are , remains superficial and frivolous. The clock has been deadly reset pointing five minutes to Midnight and what " night " that will be !!!It may come in mid day or early in the afternoon it doesn' t really matter but IF AND WHEN IT' LL COME THERE WILL BE NO TIME FOR EXCUSES . Einstein had predicted that if a Third World War erupted then the Forth would be fought with stones if we kindly stretch out minds a bit to catch his dark humour then normally we should have started to prepare ourselves for the worst eventuality that a species can face : EXTINCTION. Something which pulls the matter even deeper into the nightmare is that most probably we will provoke the distraction of the Planet Earth and this doesn' t leave in peace not even our Karma if you get my sense of humour. Now since I lost my appetite for silly jokes I think that I am going to get off my TV seat and rather than waiting like the chicken to be slaughtered I prefer to learn at least a few things and I 'll try to do something about it. There are voices all over us calling for attention . There are causes to be fought that have remained marginal . There are people who feel that it is not worthy of a man' s dignity to sit and wait to die without any reaction. I am sure that at least I can go down fighting back and informed . I deserve as much as a human being free and proud . You know that in Greek man means " ANTHROPOS" and it means " ANO THROSKON " . Looking ahead and not bowing before any authority or self proclaimed tyranny is my personal way of reacting. What' s yours ?

Wednesday, January 10, 2007

Well ...there is a start . So I am starting fresh; launching in a new adventure again. This time I am going to do everything properly, no mistakes, nothing but success, you'll see I am going to make it big!!!
    Oops ! I did it ! I started boasting again, oh! well you see you can't teach an old dog new tricks, who said that ? Let' s start once more ...
   I am a new person this year, everything will change . What else is there but constant change ??? The most secret part in a story is the reason of its existence . Nobody tells the truth about the real reasons that made him start a new story and you know why ?... Because all of us are deep inside cowards and we don't dare to confess and accept reality : we are meaningless and completely worthless without a dream. If we don't dream we do not have a purpose and then we just die. Only the motivation created from our most extraordinary dreams can give a meaning to our pitiful existence. A dream, a vision, a purpose . There you can find the real worth of a person. What is his dream ? Is he pursuing it ? Did he suffer while chasing it? Did he ever feel like loosing the ground under his feet when he realized that this dream of his was "nothing but a dream" and nothing more ? I am certain that most men do not accept this definition for the Dream related to their existence but I don't care. My dream is developing right now. I am at the very beginning of a new adventure derived from my oldest and most precious dream. I want to live and then live some more, intensely, furiously, with rage. That was my oldest vision. If I manage to live my life among and despite all these illusions then maybe ...
 I can die a happy man ... when my time comes.
THEOFILOS V.