Me and Cami Alys at the Music Box in Chicago

John Bauman, who is now my manager, came in from Los Angeles to see the show that night as well. He immediately saw the potential and started to plan how we would break into the entertainment industry in LA.

Meanwhile, I was working on booking the tour that we currently are in the middle of. I think at the top of the year I had about 15 dates booked with lots of potential. I was starting to get calls from venues I hadn’t even contacted asking about the show, which was a real surprise.

Then in April I went to Los Angeles and met with Doug Edley over at GERSH who wanted to serve as the booking agent for the tour. At first I was hesitant because I felt like I was doing a good job on my own, but Doug really sold me on what he could do–bring the show to all kinds of venues that I didn’t have contact with. So I decided to go for it. And in the first couple of months of working on it, Doug increased our national tour from 22 to 28 venues.

We then played the Worthan Center in Houston and not only did about 900 people come out to see the show that night, but we also played that afternoon to 600 middle-school kids. We had a blast and it was clear that the show was going to kick butt when we started to tour in earnest in the fall.

In June we presented a work-in-progress version of the Book Two: Robot Planet Rising radio drama that Chad Nichols and I reworked from the script that Ray Colgan and I wrote back in 2001. This was instrumental in the next steps of rewriting. We took the feedback the audience gave us and used it to overhaul the material over the next six weeks. When we had a reading of the new version of the script with actors in August, they were laughing so hard at parts that they literally could not continue reading. At that point I knew the script was done and we could wrap up the comic book artwork by David Hutchison (which is looking incredible and should be done in time for STAPLE! next March).

My booth at the 2012 Midwest Arts Conference

In October we began our tour, which I’ve posted about in several recent blog posts. Coming up, we’re finalizing a gig in New Orleans, we just wrapped up plans for a New York City performance, and we’re touring New England, upstate New York, New Jersey, Delaware, and parts Midwest and Texas this spring. And then we premiere Book Two: Robot Planet Rising in June! (Tix HERE.)

Our first fall 2011 tour date!

One of the main reasons I wanted to pursue Nemesis was because I wanted to figure out a way to making a living doing what I do and stay in Austin while paying the people who work on the project a healthy living wage. Well, right now we’re doing that. So, thanks so much for your support.

Looking forward to 2012!

Like some kind of futuristic, metallic(a), winged mammal out of hell, we’re flying and driving around the globe on behalf of our Zygonian masters to bring Earth humans to their knees in awe of the power of our actualized brains! Translation: as of today, we’re touring not just the US, but Australia, too! And in the middle of all of that, we’re bringing Book One back to Austin!

Pollstar, the concert tour industry trade magazine, is so excited about what we’re up to, they featured us on last week’s cover! Our touring starts the first week of October to Australia (Adelaide, Sydney, Melbourne), then Oct. 15 in Seattle, then on Oct. 24 we’re on the road for a month from Fort Worth to Duluth to St. Louis to Austin. In the spring, we hit the Northeast (Connecticut, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, New Jersey, and Delaware), then we shoot out to a couple of spots in Texas, Arkansas, and Indiana. The complete tour schedule is here. And, Austinites, we’re playing the Long Center on November 22! Tix for that show go on sale August 11!

Speaking of which, when those tickets go on sale, you’ll be able to buy at a steep discount. It’s 35% off tickets to both the November 22 show and the premiere of The Intergalactic Nemesis, Book Two: Robot Planet Rising on June 8, 2012. Yes, the sequel premieres next summer and based on the tear-inducing laughter that we had at a reading at my house just the other day, I promise you won’t be disappointed. (And a huge shout-out to those folks who sponsored the reading we did in June through Kickstarter!)

One final bit of news: I just signed with a book agent. Joe Veltre, head of the Book Division at the Gersh Agency, is repping the comic-book series as a graphic novel and also a YA novel I’m working on about Mysterion’s origin story. Wish me luck!

Keyboardist

Job Duties
Keyboardist plays a live cinematic score comprised of pre-written themes and improvised variations on those themes both during action sequences and under dialogue.

Skills Required
• Must be excellent improviser with ability to read music and charts.
• Keyboardist must be able to both play and listen to the performers so that that tone of the music follows the mood of the story.

Must be available to travel Oct. 24-Nov. 20, 2011, and Jan. 6-31, 2012. Must provide own keyboard.

Compensation: $875/wk (inc. per diem), plus travel and hotel

Click HERE to apply!

Driver and merchandise coordinator

Job Duties
• Driving a 15-passenger van with a trailer for two month-long legs of touring, including city to city and within each city from the performance venue to the hotel.
•selling merchandise during the performances
•coordinating laundry for all tour personnel.

Previous retail experience a must.
Professional driving experience a plus.

Must be available to travel Oct. 24-Nov. 20, 2011, and Jan. 6-31, 2012.

Compensation: $700 per week (inc. per diem), plus travel and hotel.

Please submit bio and resume to be considered for this position.

Click HERE to apply!

Company manager and projectionist

Position will:
Travel on tour
Coordinate travel, hotel, and production schedule for touring company
Oversee the setup of the projection equipment (including video projector, screen, and video monitors for the performers)
Run the laptop projections during the performances.

Previous professional production experience in live music or theatre a must.

Previous tour experience preferred. Previous video projection experience preferred, but not necessary. If no projection experience, unpaid training will be provided.

Must be available to travel Jan. 6-31, 2012.

Compensation: $1,050/wk (inc. per diem, pro-rated), plus travel and hotel

Click HERE to apply!

Friday, January 27, 2012 | 7:30 PM
Grand Opera House
Wilmington, Deleware

Saturday, January 28, 2012 | 8:00 PM
Count Basie Theater
Red Bank, New Jersey

Sunday, January 29, 2012 | 7:30 PM
Mayo Center for the Performing Arts
Morristown, New Jersey

Jason Phelps, Shana Merlin, and Christopher Lee Gibson rock Houston

It was an exhausting day for us. We met in the lobby of the hotel at 6:20 in the morning to load into the theater at 7. It was a mad dash to set everything up in time for at 10 AM performance for elementary and middle school students (some of whom came back that night!). Then, after lunch, we focused the lights, ran a sound check (though not comprehensively enough). This took us until dinner. I did a pre-show talk at 7 PM that was a hoot, actually, telling the story of the development of the project. Then, at 8 PM, the curtain metaphorically went up and we were metaphorically off to the races, swimming with the sharks, full systems go!

Yes! I love mixing metaphors!

Also, a big shout-out to Anton and Eric, who came down from Austin to shoot footage for a short documentary they’re putting together about the project! I’ll post footage from their shoot when I get it from them.

Here are some pix of the day. Please don’t forget that we’re now developing the sequel in a kickstarter campaign which you should pledge to now!

]]> http://www.theintergalacticnemesis.com/2011/05/18/awesome-show-in-houston/feed/ 0 http://www.theintergalacticnemesis.com/2011/02/10/now-on-your-mobile-device/ http://www.theintergalacticnemesis.com/2011/02/10/now-on-your-mobile-device/#comments Thu, 10 Feb 2011 15:41:57 +0000 Jason N. http://www.theintergalacticnemesis.com/?p=1149 Today’s big announcement: you can now read the comic book on your mobile device! Thanks to the amazing people at Graphic.ly, the Nemesis comic book series comes to vivid life. This comic-book reader app is really quite amazing. Best of all, the first issue is free (as is the app to read it). If you already have the graphic.ly app, then just search for The Intergalactic Nemesis and download. If you don’t, well, just search for the graphic.ly app, then search for The Intergalactic Nemesis. Either way, it’s easy, it’s totally cool, and it’s FREE! Spread the word!

Issues 1 and 2 are now available. We’ll be releasing the rest one issue at a time–but the coolest part is it doesn’t stop with issue 7 because we’re also going to be making the sequel available! Yes, the sequel!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Jason Neulander Announces Sequel to The Intergalactic Nemesis
New Live-Action Graphic Novel in the Works

AUSTIN, TX--On January 8, audiences for the repeat performance of The Intergalactic Nemesis at the Long Center for the Performing Arts were treated to a surprise. At the end of the curtain call, the performers returned to the stage to present a 75-second teaser of the sequel.

“We knew we’d have more than 1,500 in the audience, so it seemed like the perfect opportunity to let folks know what we had up our sleeves,” said Nemesis creator and producer Jason Neulander.

The actual attendance at the performance was 1,641, a record one-night attendance for the production. In three performances at the Long Center and one screening at Fantastic Fest, the production has been seen by more than 4,000 people. It is scheduled for a 20-city tour of the Midwest in the 2011-12 season.

The sequel, which is as yet untitled, will receive its premiere at the Long Center on June 2, 2012.

Long-time fans of The Intergalactic Nemesis won’t be surprised that there is a sequel, since the radio drama spawned two, but Neulander says this one is different.

“In translating the project to the Live-Action Graphic Novel format, we’ve performed surgery on these scripts, rewriting, revising, and polishing,” says Neulander. “Even audiences that have experienced the sequel in the past are in for a bunch of genuine surprises.”

The Nemesis sequel introduces two new main characters: Dr. Lawrence Webster, interspacio-temporal quantum physicist; and Dr. Natasha Zorokov, Webster’s assistant and Soviet spy.

Graham Reynolds has committed to creating the live score and Buzz Moran will continue his work on live sound effects. To create the artwork, Neulander has commissioned illustrator David Hutchison, a veteran San Antonio-based comic-book artist. Lee Duhig will once again color the entire comic-book series.

“When Tim [Doyle] told me he couldn’t continue drawing the project, I was really worried,” continues Neulander. “But David’s artwork is incredible and now I’m just psyched.”

In the rapid-fire, action-packed teaser, newspaper reporter Molly Sloan is aboard the starship Shadow Nebula, fired upon by robots. Before she can gain control of the ship, it crash-lands on the surface of Robonovia, the Robot Planet. As she fades from consciousness, she calls for Ben Wilcott, who is presumably in the future with his wife and son.

Neulander and his team will present the first twenty minutes of the sequel on Sunday, March 6 at 12:30 PM, at STAPLE!, Austin’s indie-media expo, held at the Marchesa Hall and Theatre (formerly the Monarch Event Center).

#####

We’ve launched a TOUR PAGE to keep folks updated as we add gigs.

Meantime, all of this kicks off with a gig at the Long Center in Austin on Jan. 8. Tickets for that show are available here. Great Christmas gift for the whole family!

Meantime, the good people at M-TV have caught wind of the show:

More than 2,100 people attended the premiere performances in September. The show broke all per-person merchandise sales for the venue. In an unprecedented move, the programming team at the Long Center has booked the show to come back in the same season in anticipation of a large-scale tour of the Midwest in 2011-12.

You can read the whole article HERE.

Many of the world’s most talented comic book and graphic novel artists and writers, including superstars Michael Golden, Mike Grell, Joe Madureira, Bill Sienkiewicz and Matthew Sturges, are among the more than 150 artist and writer guests scheduled to attend Wizard World Austin Comic Con, Friday through Sunday, November 12-14, at the Austin Convention Center.

In addition to Golden (“Wolverine: First Class,” “New Exiles”), Grell (“Green Lantern,” “Green Arrow”), Madureira (“Uncany X-Men”), Sienkiewicz (“Elektra: Assassin, “Moon Knight”) and Sturges (“Jack of Fables,” “JSA All-Stars”) fans can meet such notable special guests as Gary Friedrich (“Ghost Rider,” “Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos”), Alé Garza (“Fathom,” “Cable,” “Batgirl”), Tom Hodges (“Clone Wars”), Greg Horn (“Blackest Night,” “Elektra,” “Ms. Marvel”), Mike McKone (“Teen Titans,” “Fantastic Four”), James O’Barr (“The Crow”), Emmy Award winner Phil Ortiz (“The Simpsons”), Arthur Suydam (“Marvel Zombies,” “Batman”), Billy Tucci (“Sgt. Rock”), Renee Witterstaetter (Editor – “She Hulk,” Colorist – “Avengers”), and many other national and local creators.

Greater Austin and Texas-based artists will be on hand as well, including Jason Neulander (“Intergalactic Nemesis,” live and in print), Michael B. Druxman (screenwriter and author), Tyler Richlen (published in Heavy Metal), Tim Doyle (ABC’s Lost-underground art project), Sam Lotfi (“Freedom Quest” from Antarctic Press), and others.

Film and TV celebrities scheduled to attend are Adam West and Burt Ward, who played Batman and Robin in the original “Batman” television series, Emmy Award nominee Billy Dee Williams (Star Wars: the Empire Strikes back; Batman, Brian’s Song), Lee Majors (The six Million Dollar Man, the Fall Guy) and Lindsay Wagner (The Bionic Woman).

The Austin Convention Center is located at 500 East Cesar Chavez Street. Austin Comic Con is the seventh stop on Wizard’s eight-city 2010 North American tour. Hours are Friday, Nov. 12, noon – 8 pm; Saturday, Nov. 13, 10 am – 7 pm; and Sunday, Nov. 14, 10 a. – 5 pm (all times Central). Tickets are available in advance or by calling 1-866-882-5860 and online at www.wizardworld.com/austin.html at up to a 15% savings over tickets purchased at the door. Advance adult single-day tickets are $25; three-day weekend tickets are $45, and tickets are free for children age 10 and under when accompanied by a paid adult (limit two children per adult). VIP packages with special entry and exclusive items are also available.