Ghoulish Delights, Planes, Trains, and Lyfts, AI, and Other Tales from Summer 2018

It feels like I haven't stopped moving since the last time I wrote. I've been on the road and in the air, having some terrific experiences, doing auditions (some fraught, some not) and have even gotten to act. :)

Prescription Murder with Ghoulish Delights was a delightful caper from top to bottom! Prescription Murder is the play that became the pilot episode of the television series Columbo. In our production that lovable, seemingly bumbling detective was deftly portrayed by Sam Landman. Audiences and reviewers alike enjoyed the show for it's (too) short run. (Hint, hint, Tim.)

"It's really fun to watch Sam and the rest of this great cast play at murder... Director Tim Uren keeps the tone fun and chilling, with an appropriately dark edge since we are talking about murder here."​ - Cherry and Spoon

Heidi Berg as Claire in Ghoulish Delights' Prescription Murder, 2018 (Photo by Christopher Mogel)

In more recent news, the new MN Theater Awards has chosen Prescription Murder as one of its productions to recognize in 2018. They aren't announcing categories until the night of awards, so more to come on that front.

Next up, a film I helped with in LA a while back, Six L.A. Love Stories, was released on iTunes and I was at last able to see it. Click on the link above to check it out. (I worked as a featured extra, so I'm sharing a screenshot here, lest you miss me.) I had remarkably little to do with this film but I am incredibly proud of Michael Dunaway and team - Congrats all!

Ashley Williams, Ross Partridge, and me in the back chillin' in my Mom's bright orange two-piece

I've travelled a lot this year so far. One trip this June took me to San Diego for a brief but interesting work visit. After which I took the train up to L.A. to spend a long weekend with friends. The timing could not have been better as one of my friends, Krystel Seier, had a film premiering that weekend in the Dances with Films festival at the Chinese Theater. Dusty Mesa Productions' film, Track One, took home an Audience Favorite award - very well deserved!  I look forward to more great things from this company.

A little fun on the red carpet with Krystel Seier

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Shortly after that trip, I played around on set for Oxford Comma Films production, The Cabin. And then had a fun garden photoshoot with Roderick Omani at The Imagery.

​The next BIG thing was MN Fringe 2018. I have taken a few years away from Fringe because I was a bit burnt out. But when my friend, Brian Watson Jones, approached me about writing and performing a small piece of a larger Fringe Show, it seemed like a perfect opportunity to jump back into the fray. The show is called Fringe Ophans 4: Back in the Habit and it is a collection of short works and works in progress. As you can probably guess by the title, this is the 4th year they've been in the festival and it was like joining a big family. I staged D0C3NT, my 6-minute monologue about the potential impacts of a post-jobs economy. Light and fluffy it was not, but it was a good deal of fun to dig into. The costume and makeup presented a unique challenge as I am meant to be a hologram, so I had to figure out how to light up. We performed in the round requiring a bit more moving around stage than I originally envisioned, so when people mistook me for a robot that seemed entirely reasonable to me.

People said kind things. I worked with some lovely people. I saw some provocative art. It was a good Fringe year.

"Adelheid (Heidi) Berg's depiction of a robot was showstopping and her costuming was flawless;" - Heather Rand-McKay, audience review

I've just begun rehearsals for River Becomes Sea, with nimbus, a devised piece loosely based on the Bacchae and I have a few other maybes still floating in the world, so more to come.

I am continuing my ASL studies, this time in a semester format at Minneapolis Community and Technical College with teacher Holly Baker - she's amazing! And, I have been lucky to connect with teacher Ellie Abrams - she's keeping me on my toes and always striving to be my best.

The list of successes my friends are having is getting kind of ridiculous in length, so I can't hope to do it justice here. However, I will post a few and beg forgiveness from everyone else. First, my friend, Laurine Price continues to rock in LA. Here's a recent Lexus commercial.

Next up, my friend Matt Kessen and his hilarious Reverent Matt's Monster Science series had a HUGE showing at the Minnesota Fringe Festival with his talk, What to do in case of Dinosaur Attack. He sold out houses in a good sized venue, and received many accolades. I am not remotely surprised, but it seems to have taken him a minute to get used to. (I get to open for him in a couple months, yeah, no pressure.)

Finally, my friends over at Theater People web series CLEANED UP at the New Jersey Web Festival, bringing home 3 trophies: Best Cinematography in a Comedy, Best Comedy Series, & their overall Best of the Best award. So thrilled for their continued successes!