A New Record!

Greetings Fans!
As reported last week, Carol (and I) made our last appearance in The Beast last Thursday night. After reviewing the scene even more closely, we found three more shots with Carol visible! This brings the total Carol sightings to nine in this single scene, and ten for the episode. This marks a new record! Six sightings was the record for a single episode, previously held by Prison Break, season 1 episode 22, where we can see Carol (as "Babs") six times during the scene. Prison Break, season 1 episode 16 still holds the record for number of appearances as different characters. We see Carol as a prosecuting attorney, a commuter on the L platform, and a restaurant patron.

In this episode of the Beast, Carol is a whirlwind of activity, as you'll see by the time line below:

At 8:26, we see Travis entering via the revolving door, and Carol standing outside talking with a co-worker.






At 8:29, Travis is inside, and Carol is still standing outside talking with a co-worker.






At 8:39 (several minutes later in episode time), Travis is standing in line while the hot receptionist enters and gives him the stink-eye, and Carol is still standing outside talking with a co-worker.




At 9:28, the hot receptionist sends Travis off to fill-out a form, and Carol is still standing outside talking with a co-worker.





After the commercial break, at 9:39 (and later in the day, episode time) Travis is handing in his completed form, and Carol is now standing in the lobby, chatting with a co-worker. Glad she finally made it inside!




At 9:51, while Travis is still talking with the receptionist, Carol now enters behind the reception desk crosses right to left. Maybe she had to go to the restroom?





At 10:38, Carol is seen starting to enter behind the receptionist, now crossing left to right. Back from the restroom?





At 10:39, we get a wider view of Carol walking left to right behind the reception desk.






At 10:45, as Travis turns to leave, we see Carol again, now standing in the lobby talking with Mark. She must have really hurried back to finish that conversation after just running to the restroom. She doesn't even look winded!




Finally, at 22:58 (the next day in episode time) we see Carol walking down a hall as Travis talks on the phone.

Final Appearances on The Beast

Yesterdays episode of The Beast on A&E marked the final appearance of Carol (and me!) on this series. First, when Travis goes undercover to apply for a job at Emerson Security, Carol can be seen standing outside the revolving door chatting with a co-worker.

Later, as Travis is rebuffed by the hot receptionist, you can see me stroll across the lobby, and then both Carol and I can be seen standing and chatting behind Travis.


The next day, Carol can be spotted walking down the windowed corridor as Travis chats on his phone.





Thus ends another exciting string of Carol (and Mark) sightings. Unfortunately, we don't have any further television or movie appearances lined-up, so in order to get your fix of seeing Carol perform, you MUST come and see Key For Two at the Riverfront Playhouse in Aurora! Only THREE shows remain! You do not want to miss this opportunity!

Contemplating The Bean

Greetings Fans!
Carol's TV appearances continue as she could be seen once again in The Beast. In the beginning of episode 4, Carol can be seen contemplating The Bean (or Cloud Gate, if you prefer), as the woman with a backpack runs through while talking on a cell phone.

Carol (left) contemplates her reflection in The Bean.

A few seconds later, she can be glimpsed again (although only barely) as Travis rides through on his stolen bicycle. Interestingly, you can also see her reflection overhead, fun house-style.

As both the backpacked woman and Travis leave the scene, you can glimpse Carol's disembodied head at the bottom of the screen, and distorted reflection above. Next week in episode 6 of The Beast, and both Carol and I (and my car) may make appearances. Stay tuned!

If you haven't seen Key For Two yet, you only have four more chances! Why not bring your sweetheart to see a hilarious show about infidelity to make up for the lame Valentine's Day gift you got them? Don't miss out!

Carol's Return to TV

Greetings Fans,
As I reported back in August, Carol had worked background on several episodes of The Beast, the new A&E drama starring Patrick Swayze. The Beast airs on Thursday nights at 9pm on A&E, and last Thursday was episode three which marks Carol's return to television!

Not since season one of Prison Break have we seen Carol's face on TV (and truth be told, we can't really see her face this time either). In this episode, we spotted Carol in two different scenes. The first is at 11:31 into the episode, Carol and a friend are walking past the door just as Patrick enters a Romanian bar. Carol is backlit and her face is in shadow, but we are certain that is her on the left. She walks out of frame just as Patrick enters the bar.

Carol (left) and a friend in the Romanian bar

Later in the episode, at 36:34, we see Carol (and the same friend-- they really get around) walking down a sidewalk. We see her twice in this scene, through the windshield in the shots with Nadia looking out the window. Carol is wearing her fabulous purple raincoat, which was unusual for background wardrobe.

Carol in purple raincoat, stumbling home from the Romanian bar

We can look for Carol again in next week's episode. She is reportedly in a scene near "The Bean", and possibly walking outside the Cultural Center. Later this season, in episode seven, you can look for both Carol and I, and my car. Stay tuned for details...

Key For Two - Opening Night!

Greetings Fans!
Tonight is opening night for Key For Two at the Riverfront Playhouse. I had the pleasure of seeing the show last night at their final rehearsal, and I thought it was excellent! As with all British farces, the show is an escalating stream of fast-paced and hilariously embarrassing situations. In a change from her previous two roles, Carol plays the straight part (get it?) in this show.

If you suffer from schadenfreude and are in need of a few laughs (and in this economy, who isn't!), then this is the show for you! If you are a philanderer and are in need of new material, this is the show for you! If you enjoy seeing women in various stages of undress, this is definitely the show for you! If you're a depressed social misfit who hates comedy, an uptight repressed vegan with an aversion to fur, or a prude... then perhaps you should just stay home.

Tickets for KEY FOR TWO are $15 for adults, and $12 for students and seniors. Some of the subject matter may be considered inappropriate for children, so The Riverfront would like to discourage anyone under the age of 12. Reservations are available by calling the playhouse at (630) 897-9496.

See you at the show!

Key ... Not Tea

... Press Release, as posted on the Riverfront Playhouse web site ...

The Riverfront Playhouse at 11-13 South Water Street Mall in downtown Aurora will present KEY FOR TWO, a British Bedroom Farce by John Chapman and Dave Freeman beginning Friday, January 23, 2009 at 8pm and continuing Friday and Saturday nights through February 28, 2009.

Under the direction of Jack and Jackson Schultz, KEY FOR TWO tells the story of Harriet, a proper English lady who just happens to make her living by entertaining two married men, Gordon and Alec, who know nothing about each other. She is aided in her deceit by split-second timing and her imaginary overly-religious yet alcoholic mother who wouldn't approve of such arrangements. When Harriet’s best friend, Anne, shows up to escape her husband, Richard, things take a turn for the hilarious when Alec and Gordon threaten to occupy the same bedroom at the same time as Richard arrives to reclaim Anne, and the wives of Alec and Gordon trace their husband's whereabouts to Harriet's house. Suddenly the house turns into a hospital that treats everything from broken bones to dislocated backs to delusional philanderers to the highly dreaded disease known as “polygamous palsy.”

KEY FOR TWO features the talents of Kristen Duerdoth as Harriet, Connie Pfister as Anne, Steve Fiorito as Gordon, Chris Dillman as Alec, Bob Becker as Richard, Carol Townsend as Magda, and Vicki White as Mildred.

The Riverfront Playhouse has earned a reputation for their presentation of British Sex Farces. With mistaken identities, split second entrances and exits, broad slapstick humor, and the British penchant for retaining the utmost dignity in the most undignified circumstances, KEY FOR TWO promises to keep the playhouse’s reputation spotless.

This play also marks the return of Jack Schultz to the director’s chair. Along with his son, Jackson, he has assembled a cast that is razor sharp in portraying the timing and absurdity required of British Farces. Says Jackson, “This play has been such a pleasure to rehearse, I almost hate to see it open since it means the nightly fun is going to come to an end. We’ve put together what seems to be a perfect mixture of familiar faces with new talent, and the result has been sheer joy to see develop.”

Tickets for KEY FOR TWO are $15 for adults, and $12 for students and seniors. Some of the subject matter may be considered inappropriate for children, so The Riverfront would like to discourage anyone under the age of 12. Reservations are available by calling the playhouse at (630) 897-9496.

New Year, and a New Play

Happy New Year, fans!
I hope everyone had an enjoyable and relaxing holiday, and here's to a prosperous 2009! To start out the new year, Carol will be starting with a new play, Key for Two, by John Chapman and Dave Freeman.

In this wickedly amusing play, by two master craftsmen of comedy, Harriet, a divorcee living in an elegant flat in Brighton, solves her financial problems by entertaining two married gentlemen callers on different days of the week. The scheme faces collapse when her friend Anne, whose marriage is tottering, arrives at the flat hotly pursued by her husband. One of Harriet’s lovers is confined to her bed with a sprained ankle and the second lover turns up unexpectedly, closely followed by two irate wives in search of their itinerant husbands. The indescribable confusion that ensues builds to a rich complexity of mistaken identity, splendidly farcical situations and a climax of comic wizardry.(1)

Key for Two will be opening on January 23rd at the Riverfront Playhouse in Aurora. We do not have all the particulars as of yet, except that Carol will be playing the part of Magda, one of the irate wives, and the show will be Fridays and Saturdays, January 23rd - February 28th. Stay tuned for further details...

Still Photos Stills

Greetings Fans,
As you may recall, back in June, Carol portrayed a 78-year old grandmother in the Point of Contention production of Still Photos. I have posted some photos from the show in previous posts, but the official production photos are now available here. Go check 'em out!

Brett Lee, Elisé Lammers, Jason Ober, Carol Townsend and Danielle O'Farrell / Photo Credit: Brent Walker

All photos are courtesy of Point of Contention - Still Photos

A Dark Knight Moment

... and one more, while we're at it. As you may have seen mentioned elsewhere on this site, both Carol and I also worked on The Dark Knight. In a cruel irony, I was clearly visible in one scene for almost 30 seconds (and a few seconds in two other scenes), but we weren't able to spot Carol when we saw the movie in the theater.

That said, having been able to take a... closer look... I can now confirm that Carol did, in fact, make the final cut! In the scene in Bruce Wayne's penthouse (as not described in this blog post) when the Joker crashes the party and is terrorizing the guests, as he is walking over to confront Rachel, you can catch a glimpse (albeit blurry) of Carol sitting on a couch in the background.

Holy partycrashers! Carol cowers on the couch as the Joker menaces.

See her? Just to the right of the Joker's left shoulder. I've highlighted her in the picture above (click for a larger version). That's Carol, I swear!

Fred Claus: Revisited

A belated Happy Thanksgiving to all the fans out there! Please excuse the extreme gap between posts. Carol has been busy working various product promotions, preparing a fabulous Thanksgiving dinner, and various auditions.

In the meantime, let's revisit some news from almost two years ago. Back in January 2007, I wrote about our adventures working in the cold Chicago streets as extras on Fred Claus. We saw the movie in the theater last Christmas, but we couldn't identify whether we made the cut or not. Now that the movie is out on DVD and Pay-per-view, we were able to take a closer look. Amazingly, out of the 100s of extras that were working, Carol and I made it to the screen!

At 14:45 into the movie for a full 5 seconds, you can catch us walking behind Fred (Vince Vaughn) as he is ringing a bell and asking for donations. Just as he says "Hey there, gimme a hug ... you gorgeous leopard, meow! Who's the queen of the jungle? You are!", Carol and I are walking right behind him.

If you blink, you're liable to miss it. So here, I've captured the moment for you.

Humbug! Busy shoppers, Mark and Carol, ignore the guy in the Santa hat.

At the extreme screen right, you'll see Carol and me just about to walk off the screen. Another 5 seconds of fame. It's cumulative, right?

Bits of Dodgeville

Greetings fans!
As you may have read on this very site, Carol appeared as Emma Sweet in the pilot episode of Dodgeville.
Last month, we had the pleasure of seeing the final cut at the premiere cast party! Now, for your viewing pleasure, here are a few clips of Carol's appearances...

Table and Chairs II: Duets

Hello Fans!
In these hard economic times, budgets are tight and many are cutting back on non-essential expenses. But who can put a price on quality entertainment?! And at only $10 for 10 plays, Table & Chairs II: Duets is a veritable bargain. That's only $1 per play!

For two nights only, you can see Carol and many other talented actors in 10 different short plays.

Table & Chairs II: Duets, presented by n.u.f.a.n. ensemble.

Monday, October 20
Tuesday, October 21
8:00pm

Bailiwick Repertory Theater
1229 W. Belmont. Chicago

You can get details and purchase tickets online here.

Murder at the Arcada Casino -- revisited

Hello Fans!

Back in March, Carol worked with MurdersRUs, and appeared in an improvisational murder/mystery called Murder at the Arcada Casino.  In addition to the actual stage performance, the entire concept is being considered for a reality TV show.  A film crew was on hand to capture the entire process, from auditions, casting, rehearsal to performance, plus all the backstage antics.  You can view at the promotional trailer right here:

"Murder at the Arcada Casino"

Written, Directed, and Produced by Paul Warshauer, MurdersRUs.

Although Carol had a more prominent role in the staged performance, she managed to avoid the film crew, aside from a few brief appearances.  In case you blinked and missed her appearance (at 5:49 into the video), here's what you missed:

Eiahhh!  Get that camera out of the dressing room!

A Near Tragedy

Greetings Fans,

While relaxing on a recent vacation (long weekend) in Hot Springs, AR [by the way... while Hot Springs is beautiful... I do not recommend driving from Chicago], the entertainment world nearly lost one of its most promising rising stars when Carol narrowly avoided being crushed by a runaway horse!  Fortunately, I was ready with the camera and was able to capture the terrifying spectacle.  I warn you, the following narrative and pictures may be disturbing to young children, or those easily terrified by renegade farm animals.

As we guided these wild thousand pound monsters through the rough wooded terrain, we came upon a raging torrent of runoff from the recent rain storms.  One by one, we coaxed our beasts through the turbulent waters, fighting to keep them under control.  Finally, following the rest of the group, Carol's horse entered the water.  Suddenly, her horse began thrashing its feet, churning the muddy water until it boiled, much like a Venti Latte you might order from Starbucks.  Carol tried in vain to move her horse safely through the raging water, but it was beyond convincing.  Then, without warning, the horse dropped to its knees in the swirling flood.  Carol screamed!  In horrifying slow motion, the beast started to roll over, as if to crush the rider on its back. 

Thinking quickly, Carol pulled her right foot from the stirrup, just as the horse's weight would have surely crushed it.  Yanking back on the reins to regain her balance, Carol managed to stay atop the capsized equine.  Having realized it would not taste human blood this day, the horse righted itself and, with Carol still in the saddle, it stood up and sloshed the rest of the way through the raging torrent.  

Finally out of danger, Carol let out a triumphant cry!  The animal had nearly won.  Only by her quick thinking and grim determination was Carol able to remain in control, and break the will of this demon steed.  The remainder of the ride was uneventful.  It had been beaten, and it knew it.

Sertafied Professional

Your friendly sertafied mattress professional

In celebration of Labor Day, Carol labored all weekend promoting Serta mattresses at Sam's Club.  

Another sertafied customer

Carol will be presenting a monologue for the Wheaton Drama general meeting on September 23rd.  Additionally, making his first stage appearance will be Carol's cat, Al!  Carol and Al will be appearing in separate sketches.  It won't be long before Al is working on his own, demanding premium food, and entering catnip rehab.  We can only hope that the success doesn't go to his head.

Miss Ohio

Greetings fans,
It has been a busy week for news! Carol's latest endeavor is that she has landed a part in an upcoming independent film titled Miss Ohio. It is written and directed by Gregory Fitzsimmons, and produced by independent film production company Candy Cane Sammy, LLC. No details yet as to the role, but stay tuned for further details.

Dodgeville Revisited

Greetings Fans!
Back in May, I mentioned Carol's work on a sitcom pilot for Dodgeville. Production is now complete on the pilot, and you can check out the trailer:


Dodgeville - TV Sitcom Pilot from Rory Bolen on Vimeo.
Watch for Carol (Emma Sweet) at the 1:05 mark, with the line: "Hey... you guys seen my schnapps?"

You can also check out the official Dodgeville web site: www.dodgeville.tv

Still Photos Photos

(left to right: Brett Lee, Elisé Lammers, Jason Ober, Carol Townsend, Danielle O'Farrell)

Production photos from Still Photos have been posted on the Point of Contention web site. If you missed the show, you can catch a glimpse of the magic here.

(Carol Townsend and Megan Brown)

Carol Works The Beast!

(get your mind out of the gutter...)

Hi fans!
Tomorrow, Carol (and her Blazer) will be working on The Beast. The Beast is a new A&E drama starring Patrick Swayze which is scheduled to start airing in early 2009. Production started late last year, but was put on hold when Patrick was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

Production has now resumed and The Beast is being filmed in Chicago, so perhaps this could be Carol's next "Prison Break" break? (For new fans, Carol worked as an extra on season 1 of Prison Break, and appeared in six episodes, three-times in one episode. You can check them out here.)

Extras casting is being handled by ExtraOrdinary Casting, so if you are interested in working The Beast, check them out.

I gotta go pinch out a grumpy

Greetings Fans!
You may recall from last year, Carol worked on a scene in Witless Protection. We never got a chance to see it in the theater (and having seen parts of it now, I guess that might not be a bad thing). However, in one memorable scene, you can catch a glimpse of Carol over Larry the Cable Guy's left shoulder. Perhaps not the most prestigious scene, but a memorable line, nonetheless!

"I tell you what..."

"... that beef jerky and marmalade ain't sittin' too good.
You got a crapper? I gotta go pinch out a grumpy."

Carol looks radiant as she descends the stairs, smiling as she greets some unseen acquaintance... oblivious to the gastrointestinal distress occurring just across the room!