The real and imaginative adventures of Dennis Spielman

Month: June 2012

One State, Two State, Red State, Blue State Videos

On May 28th, Tim Huckeby and Kellen Hodgeson from the improv troupe, One State, Two State, Red State, Blue State, and myself got together and shot these videos. The first in the series are some quick Facebook adverts the troupe used to hype their upcoming festival performances, which have since passed.

Red State Blue State at The Big Sexy Weekend of Improv 2012

Red State Blue State is coming to Colorado!


For Tim and Kellen, we each did political campaign style commercial videos arguing who was the more liberal half of the troupe. Tim makes the first statement.

More Liberal: Tim Huckeby Campaign Ad


Tim Huckeby’s improv partner, Kellen Hodgeson, from “One State, Two State, Red State, Blue State” claims that he is the more liberal half of the improv troupe. Tim Huckeby has issued this press release video in response to those allegations.

More Liberal Response: Kellen Hodgeson Campaign Ad


Kellen Hodgeson responds to his improv partner, Tim Huckeby, from “One State, Two State, Red State, Blue State” claims that he is the more liberal half of the troupe and backs up those claims with facts.

These videos have been archived here in the Music and Short Videos section.

Date Guide Book 2.0 + The Future!

CoverThe Second Edition of Uncovering Oklahoma’s Date Guide book is now available! This edition is twice the size with 32 pages of places and over 50 ideas for dates – whether it’s a first date, a fun day out with other couples, or even an intimate, romantic date – the book has it covered.

The areas included are Oklahoma City, Bricktown, Norman, Edmond, and Arcadia, along with general ideas that can be done anywhere. Here’s a detailed list of what’s new:

  • New cover taken at the SkyDance Bridge in Oklahoma City, with thanks to Jeffrey Burleson and Susan Riley
  • New Section: Edmond and Arcadia with Armstrong Auditorium, E.C. Hafer Park, POPS, Arcadia Lake, Lemongrass, and Elevation Trampoline Park
  • New Section: ANYWHERE! A general date activities section with ideas that can be done anywhere
  • New in the Norman section is the Second Friday Circuit of Art, Pink Elephant Cafe & Tres Cantina, Cookies & Cards, Gaberino’s, and Shall We Dance?
  • New in the Oklahoma City section is The Oklahoma River, Martin Park Nature Center, Will Rogers Gardens, Myriad Botanical Gardens, Pole Position Raceway, Urban Art, Sara Sara Cupcakes, I.V.C., and the Oklahoma City Museum of Art
  • Removed upcoming plays at the theaters to keep the book timeless
  • Added Chapter Quotes because quotes are cool
  • Updated, replaced, and added a new foreword, pictures, quotes, links, etc. with other minor changes and improvements throughout the book

Download Uncovering Oklahoma’s Date Guide Book PDF


If you liked my date book and Uncovering Oklahoma web site, please vote for “Uncovering Oklahoma” as “Best Web Site or Blog” and “Dennis Spielman” as “Best Local Writer” in the Oklahoma Gazette’s Best of OKC 2012 Awards! Every vote helps!


So, what now?

The third edition, which I tentatively set for September 18, will include Tulsa. I will be visiting the Tulsa area throughout the summer.

I will also be working on getting The Crashing of Heaven and Hell released (also tentatively set for early September). All’s that’s left is to get a book cover, a proofread by an editor, and film a book trailer.

In July the goal is to film prequel videos for The Time Traveling Troupe and hopefully in August film an actual show. Raychel Winstead, Kyle Brower, and I held a meeting at Big Truck Tacos and decided to put on an impressive, over-the-top one night show. The show should would be like three episodes with an over arching plot. We’re still working out the details, including the date, but we’ll more and likely partner with OKC Improv.

In September, I want to film a horror movie in a “found footage” style of to be released in October. I’m still working out the script, but it’s going to be a prequel for another book of mine, Too Close to the Ground, that I’ve been working on and off since high school. This book is planned to be released in either November or December.

As you can see, I have a full plate for this year. I even have projects planned for 2013. Keep up-to-date with the “Subscribe via Email” box to the right.

Uncovering Oklahoma on deadCENTER Film Festival and Date Guide Book

On Uncovering Oklahoma I’ve been running a series of Director Q&A sessions with filmmakers from the deadCENTER Film Festival. All of the deadCENTER tagged posts can be read here, including interviews with Jay Webster of LoveTown, Diane Glancy of The Dome of Heaven, and Lance McDaniel of Just Crazy Enough.

The second edition of Uncovering Oklahoma’s Date Guide book will be released online on Tuesday, June 12th. I already have twice the content of the first edition.

Once that is released, I’m going to focus on The Time Traveling Troupe. Since the Kickstarter fundraising failed, I had a meeting with the actors and we decided on having one big show that acts as a three episode story arc. More on that project another time.

Powered by WordPress & Theme by Anders Norén