Recently, I upgraded to Lion. Want to know what I discovered right off the bat? I no longer could use Microsoft office programs.
So a stage manager can't use word, or excel....You'd figure that removing support for the world's most popular office software would be MENTIONED!! ARE YOU FUCKING SERIOUS, DUDE?????
Now I've had to drop an additional $40 so I can just do my goddamn job. I have to be able to read .doc and .xls files. Now I have to learn another interface....I'd love to hear an explanation. Oh but that's ok....I'll be able to edit scripts in Final Draft.
Wait what? What do you mean that's not supported anymore either??? You're telling me if I want that program to work, I need to spend $200??!! Get bent, Apple!
But not all hope is lost. Megawatch, the world's most convenient stage management clock program I've ever encountered must still be ok. It's just a stop watch with a break clock countdown....
.....Really? Not that either, huh?
Mac OSX Lion sucks ass, I don't care what improvements they've made. They removed compatibility. Who does that???? Evidently Apple does.
Now after 5 years of using laptops and using finger scrolling, apple decided they wanted to make it more like an iphone/ipad. So now when I scroll down, the page goes up. When I scroll up, the page goes down. It's like old school nintendo games with airplanes, with the reverse controls. But I only picked those games up once or twice. I didn't have it engrained in my muscle memory with five years worth of use. It's pointless. I know it "makes sense" because it mimics all of the other touch screen technology. Mouse pads are not touch screens. You fail.
They redesigned spaces, too. Pointless. Now for some reason all 6 of my traditional spaces have arbitrary wallpapers. But it's not like each one has it's own wallpaper. Screen 1 has one thing, screen 2 has another thing, but screens 3, 4, 5 are all the same and 6 is different from all those. Used to be that spaces would show you all your spaces at once. It still does, but it's also combined with expose. But like....a cracked out expose that doesn't actually....show you all your windows. Things are placed on top of each other and you can't get to all the screens. Oh just in case you were wondering, the alignment of the spaces is arbitrary as well. They don't stay in order. So Screen 2 isn't always screen 2. Sometimes, Screen 3 is screen 2. Even 1st graders know that doesn't make any frickin' sense. This whole mess of crap has been redubbed Mission Control.
The dashboard is changed as well, also not for the better. The default setting is to use the dashboard as a space, instead of an overlay on the space you're working in. So if you need to use the calculator, and need to see the numbers, by default, you can't. Thankfully, they left AN OPTION to turn that preference off.
I do believe this is quite possibly the worst $70 I've spent. I'm not saying the $30 retail price because, as I said before, I spent $40 on more bullshit to make my computer not a worthless hunk of plastic and silicon. You know what? If you don't have to....skip Lion. Fuck this OS. And Fuck apple for foisting this on us without the proper information available. Also, fuck them for making me say fuck about apple products. I don't want to be angry at them, but they are making it really hard for me right now.
Monday, October 3, 2011
Saturday, October 1, 2011
Theater Stats: Ford's Theatre- Washington, D.C.
Theater Type: (Historical) Proscenium
Seating Capacity: 655
I hear you saying, "Wait....you're where now?"
Yeah I know it makes no sense. I know I said touring was over and done with and I was settling down into NYC and makin' it work.
Well sometimes there are opportunities too good to pass up.
As some may know (though most will not) I've been searching for jobs outside of theater for the past 5-6 months trying to find a career that will....oh I dunno.....pay the bills, and maybe if I'm lucky leave me enough left over to purchase more than a pack of gum. So it so happens that I stumbled onto a job opening at a big company in the film/tv/theater industry that specializes in lighting. And I interviewed with them....then I interviewed with them again (well honestly it was more like a quiz day to see how much I knew about lighting) and they told me I would be contacted later that week, or early in the next week.
Well the end of the week came and went with no word. So that's fine. There's still early next week! That Monday, I was out on the town with Godlight folk to celebrate the NYIT awards victory by Nick Paglino and Deanna McGovern for their work in Impending Rupture of the Belly....I think we were all slightly shocked because that show was seen by like.......12 people. Apparently all 12 of them loved the hell out of it! So we were at a Dart Bar when I check my phone and see I got an email just before I have my data scheduled to turn off at midnight. And it's from someone I have never heard of or met in my life, but it contained a job opportunity in the industry. And a pretty good one too. So we schedule an interview with the director.
So now it starts to dawn on me: I have two decent opportunity for jobs. One is short term high immediate reward, the other is long term...well, I'd call it "medium" reward. I never asked how much I'd get paid as a base salary with the lighting company. So I wouldn't know exactly how to quantify them in this equation other than long term employment that I've heard is good money.
I interview and get offered the job with the production. But they know that I have this job opportunity and I need to hear from them before I can really make a decision about the production. I ask for as much time as I can get, including going in on Thursday to work "for free" as an AEA Stage Manager so the company could rehearse to buy me as much time as I could get. Then they put me on the spot and said they needed a decision by 10pm that night. I hemmed and hawed over it until just about as late as I could. Because I know my luck. I'm going to accept this production job and then I'm magically going to be called in the morning with the career job...with benefits and everything! Then I'm going to be stuck in the position of letting someone down I just said yes to which I did to Cherry Lane for The Acting Company and I always felt terrible about it. Finally, I called at 9:56pm to accept the production.
So what I signed on for is Anne and Emmett, a theoretical meeting between Emmett Till and Anne Frank (or Helen Keller to my cousin Ryan....). And it's being rehearsed in New York, and being produced in two different theaters in Washington D.C. The Atlas which is a new complex in the same ilk as the Guthrie but not quite as expansive and borg like as Karen once put it. But still a very nice facility with lots of nice people. And the other: Ford's Theatre.
If that tickles a thought in your head but doesn't quite pull a memory...Shame on you! It's a historical landmark for being the site that Abraham Lincoln was shot by John Wilkes Booth. We have now combined two of my most favorite things in the world: History and Theater!
Ford's is gorgeous. It reminds me of the theater in....uh....South Carolina(??) that looked like an old town hall where people would have decided to declare war against England....though it obviously has more modern touches. Like massive amounts of boom positions in the third balcony, infrared cameras, B/O monitors for the cast etc etc. But the most important thing it has is the booth where Lincoln was shot which still contains original artifacts from that night.
The reason we're at the Ford's now is we're the first reading in a series they are holding over the course of the Fall. So it's the staged reading version of Anne and Emmett and not fully produced. But since we are working out way to a full production, we took a few liberties to how far this staged reading went. We did give the cast costumes to put on and blocked the entire show. But much like a Godlight show, everyone was visible at all times...no exits, no entrances, and there were only two props: Anne's diary, and Emmett's hat both of which are iconic of their owners.
I tend to find I rub elbows with famous people very tangentially in my career. I work with someone who was just working with so and so, or is working on a reading this week with such and such. I've worked with Denise Crosby (played Lt. Tasha Yar on TNG), and because of Godlight have worked with some famous writers. I've now worked with my first famous politician and my first BET personality. William Cohen, the former Secretary of Defense under Clinton is the husband and producer of this piece and is married to the playwright Janet Langhart Cohen.
This play has some history behind it too. Remember back in 2009 when that psychopath/neo-nazi attacked the National Holocaust Museum in D.C.? Well, Anne and Emmett was there that day to premiere. Mr. Cohen had been in the building, and Janet was on the way, and in fact that deranged asshat parked in Janet's designated parking spot out front.
Thankfully, no tried to recreate Lincoln's assassination while we were in residence at the Ford's for 4 hours this afternoon. The show was very well attended considering this was just a reading of the play. We had groups of schools kids bussed in to see it, and a really wide variety of people from all walks of life, and all ages. It was very poetic considering the message of the show of tolerance and respect.
I'm currently sitting on a train back to NYC and trying to wrap my head around where I've been today. I did make the comment (jokingly obviously) that John Wilkes Booth was a pussy because he broke his leg from that short of a fall. I don't know why I always envisioned that jump he took to be so much higher than it actually is. Don't get me wrong, it is a respectable 12 feet from the box seat to the deck and it also looks much closer considering the deck of the show in there now is raised so it's actually about 4 feet closer than it normally is. Pictures to come later. I didn't bring my camera cable to D.C. with me.
And once again in the grand tradition of theater is a small world: Kristen Fox works at the Ford's Theatre. And by golly if she didn't go to Fredonia and know who Steve Rees is!
For those interested: I am apparently still a finalist for that other position, but I still haven't heard from them. I hope I hear from them soon and they say I got it because that way I'd get to have my cake and eat it too!
Seating Capacity: 655
I hear you saying, "Wait....you're where now?"
Yeah I know it makes no sense. I know I said touring was over and done with and I was settling down into NYC and makin' it work.
Well sometimes there are opportunities too good to pass up.
As some may know (though most will not) I've been searching for jobs outside of theater for the past 5-6 months trying to find a career that will....oh I dunno.....pay the bills, and maybe if I'm lucky leave me enough left over to purchase more than a pack of gum. So it so happens that I stumbled onto a job opening at a big company in the film/tv/theater industry that specializes in lighting. And I interviewed with them....then I interviewed with them again (well honestly it was more like a quiz day to see how much I knew about lighting) and they told me I would be contacted later that week, or early in the next week.
Well the end of the week came and went with no word. So that's fine. There's still early next week! That Monday, I was out on the town with Godlight folk to celebrate the NYIT awards victory by Nick Paglino and Deanna McGovern for their work in Impending Rupture of the Belly....I think we were all slightly shocked because that show was seen by like.......12 people. Apparently all 12 of them loved the hell out of it! So we were at a Dart Bar when I check my phone and see I got an email just before I have my data scheduled to turn off at midnight. And it's from someone I have never heard of or met in my life, but it contained a job opportunity in the industry. And a pretty good one too. So we schedule an interview with the director.
So now it starts to dawn on me: I have two decent opportunity for jobs. One is short term high immediate reward, the other is long term...well, I'd call it "medium" reward. I never asked how much I'd get paid as a base salary with the lighting company. So I wouldn't know exactly how to quantify them in this equation other than long term employment that I've heard is good money.
I interview and get offered the job with the production. But they know that I have this job opportunity and I need to hear from them before I can really make a decision about the production. I ask for as much time as I can get, including going in on Thursday to work "for free" as an AEA Stage Manager so the company could rehearse to buy me as much time as I could get. Then they put me on the spot and said they needed a decision by 10pm that night. I hemmed and hawed over it until just about as late as I could. Because I know my luck. I'm going to accept this production job and then I'm magically going to be called in the morning with the career job...with benefits and everything! Then I'm going to be stuck in the position of letting someone down I just said yes to which I did to Cherry Lane for The Acting Company and I always felt terrible about it. Finally, I called at 9:56pm to accept the production.
So what I signed on for is Anne and Emmett, a theoretical meeting between Emmett Till and Anne Frank (or Helen Keller to my cousin Ryan....). And it's being rehearsed in New York, and being produced in two different theaters in Washington D.C. The Atlas which is a new complex in the same ilk as the Guthrie but not quite as expansive and borg like as Karen once put it. But still a very nice facility with lots of nice people. And the other: Ford's Theatre.
If that tickles a thought in your head but doesn't quite pull a memory...Shame on you! It's a historical landmark for being the site that Abraham Lincoln was shot by John Wilkes Booth. We have now combined two of my most favorite things in the world: History and Theater!
Ford's is gorgeous. It reminds me of the theater in....uh....South Carolina(??) that looked like an old town hall where people would have decided to declare war against England....though it obviously has more modern touches. Like massive amounts of boom positions in the third balcony, infrared cameras, B/O monitors for the cast etc etc. But the most important thing it has is the booth where Lincoln was shot which still contains original artifacts from that night.
The reason we're at the Ford's now is we're the first reading in a series they are holding over the course of the Fall. So it's the staged reading version of Anne and Emmett and not fully produced. But since we are working out way to a full production, we took a few liberties to how far this staged reading went. We did give the cast costumes to put on and blocked the entire show. But much like a Godlight show, everyone was visible at all times...no exits, no entrances, and there were only two props: Anne's diary, and Emmett's hat both of which are iconic of their owners.
I tend to find I rub elbows with famous people very tangentially in my career. I work with someone who was just working with so and so, or is working on a reading this week with such and such. I've worked with Denise Crosby (played Lt. Tasha Yar on TNG), and because of Godlight have worked with some famous writers. I've now worked with my first famous politician and my first BET personality. William Cohen, the former Secretary of Defense under Clinton is the husband and producer of this piece and is married to the playwright Janet Langhart Cohen.
This play has some history behind it too. Remember back in 2009 when that psychopath/neo-nazi attacked the National Holocaust Museum in D.C.? Well, Anne and Emmett was there that day to premiere. Mr. Cohen had been in the building, and Janet was on the way, and in fact that deranged asshat parked in Janet's designated parking spot out front.
Thankfully, no tried to recreate Lincoln's assassination while we were in residence at the Ford's for 4 hours this afternoon. The show was very well attended considering this was just a reading of the play. We had groups of schools kids bussed in to see it, and a really wide variety of people from all walks of life, and all ages. It was very poetic considering the message of the show of tolerance and respect.
I'm currently sitting on a train back to NYC and trying to wrap my head around where I've been today. I did make the comment (jokingly obviously) that John Wilkes Booth was a pussy because he broke his leg from that short of a fall. I don't know why I always envisioned that jump he took to be so much higher than it actually is. Don't get me wrong, it is a respectable 12 feet from the box seat to the deck and it also looks much closer considering the deck of the show in there now is raised so it's actually about 4 feet closer than it normally is. Pictures to come later. I didn't bring my camera cable to D.C. with me.
And once again in the grand tradition of theater is a small world: Kristen Fox works at the Ford's Theatre. And by golly if she didn't go to Fredonia and know who Steve Rees is!
For those interested: I am apparently still a finalist for that other position, but I still haven't heard from them. I hope I hear from them soon and they say I got it because that way I'd get to have my cake and eat it too!
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Audition Monitoring or How to Go Slowly Insane 101
It's been a while since I've 1. Blogged, or 2. Monitored an audition. I've found tht in general, the companies I work for in NYC tend to hire the stage manager as the very last part of the pre-production process. So by the time I'm involved with the production, there's already a cast, there's already a solid design in mind, and I just come in and play catch up.
Well for the first time since The Acting Company, I find myself in a process around the time I should be: during auditions. And I forgot how boring it can be to sit around and wait for people to show up! Ultimately it makes no difference, but to sit for 6 hours to shuttle people in and out can be a task in tedium. Asking the same 5 questions over and over again.
Am I complaining? Nah, not really. I'm happy to be working again. Since the end of Winkie I haven't been able to work. Something about a marriage or something like that....I dunno... But since I can't very well tell a theater I need 2 weeks off. I'm supposed to be in charge of the room. And generally speaking, 2 weeks equLs the entire rehearsal process for a lot of the shows I end up doing.
But now that the wedding and honeymoon are behind me, it's time to get working again. It's been actually hard to convince my body I have somewhere to be again. I haven't had to be anywhere theatriclly speaking in just under 3 months. Yet here I am, in the warm lobby of the Neighborhood Playhouse shuttling potential cast members into the auditorium (which by the way is tantalizingly cooled by a wicked air conditioner). I haven't had a chance to read the show yet, so I couldnt tell you anymore about it other than the title. Einstein and Mileva, it's about Einstein's first marriage going to pot as he was discovering the theory of relativity. And it's going to happen at Theater Row so that's some nice exposure once again.
It's good to be back!
Well for the first time since The Acting Company, I find myself in a process around the time I should be: during auditions. And I forgot how boring it can be to sit around and wait for people to show up! Ultimately it makes no difference, but to sit for 6 hours to shuttle people in and out can be a task in tedium. Asking the same 5 questions over and over again.
Am I complaining? Nah, not really. I'm happy to be working again. Since the end of Winkie I haven't been able to work. Something about a marriage or something like that....I dunno... But since I can't very well tell a theater I need 2 weeks off. I'm supposed to be in charge of the room. And generally speaking, 2 weeks equLs the entire rehearsal process for a lot of the shows I end up doing.
But now that the wedding and honeymoon are behind me, it's time to get working again. It's been actually hard to convince my body I have somewhere to be again. I haven't had to be anywhere theatriclly speaking in just under 3 months. Yet here I am, in the warm lobby of the Neighborhood Playhouse shuttling potential cast members into the auditorium (which by the way is tantalizingly cooled by a wicked air conditioner). I haven't had a chance to read the show yet, so I couldnt tell you anymore about it other than the title. Einstein and Mileva, it's about Einstein's first marriage going to pot as he was discovering the theory of relativity. And it's going to happen at Theater Row so that's some nice exposure once again.
It's good to be back!
Sunday, February 27, 2011
A Blog About A Story of Survival
There comes a time in everyone's lives when they are posed an important question, and there is probably none more important than the following:
Ok, so it's not necessarily the most realistic question in the world.......
Sometime around Halloween I was trolling through iTunes while in bed looking for a new podcast to listen to. As many of you know, I am a gigantic podcast whore. I hardly listen to music anymore. I listen to a whole bunch of NPR podcasts, ESPN podcasts, a couple of wrestling podcasts (judge all you want), but around Halloween iTunes was promoting this podcast called "We're Alive: A Story of Survival." I read the description and was like "Wow.....it's a radio drama merged with a zombie apocalypse survival horror story....that's.....so....that's so cool!" So I streamed the first 4 episodes directly to my iPod and was like "whoa....this is really good. The acting is excellent, the writing is awesome, and I'm getting out of bed and downloading the entire series...now!"
Which I did, and I then spent the next 24 hours straight (with a few cat naps here and there) listening through the entire series. I couldn't stop! It was so good! Since that time, I have listened through the series 3 times all the way through, and I joined the online forum....and by join I mean I like....bounded to the head of the class and have become an admin of the forums......
If you're a radio drama fan, you should check it out. You can look it up on iTunes here. If you like it, head on over to zombiepodcast.com, and click on "Discuss" and you can find me at the forums. I won't be too hard to find honestly.
It's always great to get behind artists and actors who are doing something that is such high quality and can create such a buzz. The creators and actors don't make any money on this, but still dedicate their time to creating a really excellent product. So kudos to them, and kudos to you if you listen and support the project!
Ok, geek out time: Over. Have to get ready for rehearsal now. I promise I'll blog about the load in process for Winkie this week. I'll be at 59E59 almost all week putting my first real production on its feet as a production manager. It should be interesting.
Sometime around Halloween I was trolling through iTunes while in bed looking for a new podcast to listen to. As many of you know, I am a gigantic podcast whore. I hardly listen to music anymore. I listen to a whole bunch of NPR podcasts, ESPN podcasts, a couple of wrestling podcasts (judge all you want), but around Halloween iTunes was promoting this podcast called "We're Alive: A Story of Survival." I read the description and was like "Wow.....it's a radio drama merged with a zombie apocalypse survival horror story....that's.....so....that's so cool!" So I streamed the first 4 episodes directly to my iPod and was like "whoa....this is really good. The acting is excellent, the writing is awesome, and I'm getting out of bed and downloading the entire series...now!"
Which I did, and I then spent the next 24 hours straight (with a few cat naps here and there) listening through the entire series. I couldn't stop! It was so good! Since that time, I have listened through the series 3 times all the way through, and I joined the online forum....and by join I mean I like....bounded to the head of the class and have become an admin of the forums......
If you're a radio drama fan, you should check it out. You can look it up on iTunes here. If you like it, head on over to zombiepodcast.com, and click on "Discuss" and you can find me at the forums. I won't be too hard to find honestly.
It's always great to get behind artists and actors who are doing something that is such high quality and can create such a buzz. The creators and actors don't make any money on this, but still dedicate their time to creating a really excellent product. So kudos to them, and kudos to you if you listen and support the project!
Ok, geek out time: Over. Have to get ready for rehearsal now. I promise I'll blog about the load in process for Winkie this week. I'll be at 59E59 almost all week putting my first real production on its feet as a production manager. It should be interesting.
Thursday, February 17, 2011
An Astounding Amount of Pure Suck
Used to be when I was growing up January to February was such a great time of life. Holidays had just ended (and so had round 7 bajillion of Christmas between McLean/Tochelli clans), hockey was in full swing (in high school this would mean the lead up to the sectional tournament....not in high school it meant I was still getting my butt handed to me on a silver platter every weekend and traveling to Buffalo from Rochester to do so), but more importantly it was the ramp up to my birthday.
My birthday growing up was always perfect. Falling on the 17th of February almost always (with the exception of my junior or senior year) placed it dead in the middle of the President's Holiday week. My perpetual birthday gift was to get a week off of school. That's pretty sweet as a kid. Though, I did count that one year spent in school as a really great one too. I always felt jealous people got their lockers decorated and had to walk around with balloons. The one year I got to, I did it with pride and was glad to embarrass myself all day long.
Once I got to college, this ramp up was a little more stunted. The spring semester in the theater department in Fredonia was always so crammed full of work. School work was back loaded in the department, and the big musical was always in the spring semester. So after finding myself on vacation for all of high school, I'm now finding myself working really hard on my birthday. But I was with friends, and I was having a good time. So I still got to enjoy the lead up and my birthday.
After graduation, I took a job in retail. I started that job in October, and by November I became a manager. So when my birthday rolled around, I got to request my birthday off. This ended up being one of the worst birthdays ever. I spent the day with my girlfriend at the time and we spent the entire time together running errands for her (including buying a car...seriously) and by the time 9pm rolled around I finally said "Hey can we do something I want to do on my birthday?" and we finally went somewhere to get something to eat. She then passed out with barely so much as a kiss goodnight. I'm pretty certain we broke up less than 2 weeks later.
I won't complain about my birthdays spent at Fairport Hots. Despite having to work 6pm-5am two birthdays in a row, people are very generous with their tips when they are drunk and you are stuck working on your birthday. I made $150 one night because the rest of the crew gifted me the tip jar so we didn't have to split it up. I heart my crew!
Finally, we roll around to my first birthday in New York. My sister Erin is pregnant at the time, and she's due to pop on the 9th of February. I, being the snot that I am, told her she better give birth January 31st, or hold it in until March 1st. With the large family I have I was the only person in the entire extended family (with maybe cousin Katie as the exception) who did not have to share my birthday month with anyone. We're talking 20-25 some odd birthdays. I wasn't ready to give up my month. I swore if she went into labor on or around the 17th, I would drive to Syracuse and just like...hold the babies head in until it became the 18th so I would at least not have to share the day. I then proceeded to tell everyone this joke until someone pointed out I'd be putting my hands into my sister's crotch. I never really mentioned it again. Ella was born on the 22nd. And she's a beautiful miracle.
But more recently, this traditionally exciting and happy ramp up to my birthday has become something else all together. Last year, I had to leave The Acting Company tour to return home to attend to a family emergency. My father was in the hospital, and I needed to get home. And I'm grateful TAC let me abandon 3 venues to be with my family. In the midst of this trip home, my birthday came and passed with very little fanfare. It seemed so muted and unimportant. And in comparison, it was.
I had higher hopes this year. Not only is the ramp up to my birthday my last one as a bachelor, I was actually going to be spending it with Anna which I haven't been able to do since we became a couple. We had a great holiday season, and got so many great gifts for our new life together. Soon after returning home, we had a Wagner family get together to celebrate our engagement. I finally got to meet 3/4's of the southern part of the family I had not yet met (one cousin and his wife had plans they couldn't rearrange). When I say I have found the German version of the McLean clan, I'm not joking. I see shades of my family all over the Wagner clan. The family dynamic is so similar it's almost scary, but very comforting and welcoming all at the same time. Specifically, Anna's cousin Alex reminds me of my cousin Ryan and the energy they bring to each collective family is remarkable.
That was the 20th. Less than 1 month later, everything is different. And ultimately, I will never be the same from a pair of people who are now gone who only tangentially and briefly intersected their lives with mine.
Eight days after the engagement party, I had been cuddling Anna to sleep as I am like to do. I fell asleep and took a quick nap (also as I am like to do). When I woke up to begin my normal night owl routine, I hopped onto facebook and saw on either my mother's or my sister Erin's status that a teacher from my high school had died in a car crash in Kenya. Beyond the fact that Jim Nowak was a social studies, and Eastern religions teacher at Fairport he also deeply influenced Erin and shaped her personality. He was a warm light walking through the school (occasionally dressed in some traditional Tibetan wraps and garb). Beyond even that, he dated my mother briefly after Erin graduated and had moved to Syracuse. During their short time together, Jim joined my mother in Fredonia for a production I was working on, which we had decided we know what show it was but I can't remember it right now. Before the show, we went out to dinner in town and I remember that despite trying to put off what I was doing as nothing important (I was the ASM for the show and I really didn't do all that much except sit backstage and read), he saw past that and remarked how special it was I was pursuing my dreams. And it was great that I was able to still find the passion despite the major set back of being dropped out of the Acting program a mere 5 months previously.
As I sat on the couch and read the brief news article over and over again, these memories flooded back to me and I cried for an hour. I cried not only for the loss of Jim, but for the way he selflessly lived his life. He was in Kenya doing what he loved to do. He was helping people. Building schools and health clinics in under privileged areas of the world. I cried because of the inspired life he had led and the profound impact he had made in my family. I cried because despite what seemed like such a small encounter in a dimly lit restaurant 8 years ago in Fredonia, it was an encounter I would never forget.
For the next week, I felt myself on edge. Little things that shouldn't make me get choked up were. But I finally got it back under control. Anna and I had a wonderful Super Bowl Sunday. We got our wedding bands, updated our registries and had homemade pizza for dinner.
The next day, Anna got a call from her mother saying Alex was in the hospital. I don't remember when we learned that bacteria had gotten through a hole in his sinus cavity and gone into his brain, or when we learned of the two abscesses one of which burst and had to be drained. I know it wasn't until Friday evening that I learned Alex lived his whole life with cystic fibrosis, and that he had an identical twin brother, Evan, who died when Alex was 9 months old.
I also know that around 3am on Saturday the 12th of February Alex passed away, just two days after turning 31.
Since then, life has been a blur of time standing still, and everything mashing together. It has been 96 hours of pain, heart break, outpouring of grief, tears, and love. I generally don't pray, but I do pray that I never have to hear the absolute heart breaking sobs for a young man too soon gone ever again. I don't want to have to hear a family matriarch begging for her to be taken instead because she's ready and wants to go and leave him be. I never want to hear Anna cry like that ever again. Ever.
We spent Sunday at Anna's parent's house scanning pictures and just trying to cope. Monday, Anna went to work to set herself up for substitutes for Tuesday and Wednesday. We then spent our fifth night in a row crying ourselves to sleep.
Tuesday was the wake and spent with family. Anna and I met Alex's parents, Lynn and Lloyd, in the parking lot along with Celeste, Gary, Anna's parents and her brothers. Lynn apologized so hard that she was sorry this is how I was being introduced to the family, which is the furthest thing from the truth. I think I told her something to the effect of "stop that" or something as seemingly ungraceful...though I don't know that there is a graceful thing to truly say when you are hugging the mother who has had this happen to her twice now. I have very frequently found myself tongue tied these past few days, which is why I'm writing this now. It's helping, and I don't have to worry about choking on the words, or sobbing over them.
I was introduced to the final cousin, Ian, who was unable to make it to our engagement party. The entire Wagner family apologized to me in the same manner Lynn did, each time I was finding the actual words I wanted to say originally to Lynn, and eventually was able to say them to one of the aunt's at some point in the last 48 hours "I'm honored you let me be here."
Alex wasn't someone I knew well. But I've heard so many great stories and pieced a few things together here and there. Alex had the biggest heart. He loved everybody, and he especially loved Anna. He was convinced when they were growing up that he and Anna were going to get married. They did everything together, and Anna was called by Lynn and Lloyd the triplet. He was an accomplished musician playing the clarinet, and sax which should be impossible to do as well as he did with C.F. The Wagner cousins all grew up playing Life and somehow Alex always ended up getting stuck with no job and a double decker car full of children.
Like everyone else in my soon to be family, he loves food. There's a picture some where on facebook with him about to ravage a pizza that is so big, the box swallowed up a 3x3 Ikea coffee table. He was shameless with a karaoke microphone. He was a master photo bomber. And apparently, he looked an awful lot like Beeker from the Muppets.
But those are all specific examples of what I could tell on my own. See, Alex wore his entire personality on his sleeve. He was warm, open and caring from the moment you met him. His smile and laugh were infectious. You could tell he lived his life to the fullest, and that was before we had done more than shake hands. You could tell what type of person he was by the way everyone reacted to him, and I could tell exactly what he was like when I came to the realization he was my cousin Ryan. I knew where he fit into the family, and why people acted exactly the same way they do with Ryan.
I am not usually an overtly emotional person. I will get choked up, but its rare that I cry. Maybe it's being on edge from Jim's passing that had opened this introspective part of me. Monday night after Anna had gone to bed, I sat up as I always do on the computer and looking at the plethora of fond memories from coworkers, college friends, and family posted on his facebook page. While I was looking at all these comments recalling memories from years and years ago, I realized how long I knew Alex in person.
11 hours.
Less than half a day. We met at Oktoberfest last October for dinner, and once again at the Engagement party.
I tried over and over again these past two days to find a way to say this to anyone in the family. And specifically I wanted to say this to Lynn and Lloyd. But every time I even thought the words forming together into a coherent thought I knew if I tried to say it I would not be able to do it. So I'm here writing this long blog because I needed to say this and now I can without fear of being unable to complete the thought:
I knew Alex for 11 hours. But in those 11 hours he's changed me forever. To my new family: I know everyone is hurting now, but I hope once the pain subsides you feel blessed to have 31 years of memories and love from Alex to warm your hearts forever. I had 11 short hours and I am honored to have known him.
So that's been the lead up to my 29th birthday. And as the title implies, it has indeed been an astounding amount of pure suck. It's now past midnight, so it's my birthday. You'll have to excuse me if I don't jump up and down for joy like I used to when I got my birthday off as part of President's Day vacation, or if I'm excited because I'm gonna get $150 in tips tonight while working. It's very similar and subdued, much like last year. It's an after thought compared to the enormity of this past week, and honestly doesn't feel all that important anymore. I've never been so unaware my birthday was coming until I looked at the program for Alex's mass today and realized it was the 16th.
If you haven't bought me a gift, not to worry because I have an idea. If you have bought me a gift, I have a wonderful add on to it. The people in your life that you love, tell them you love them. Give them a hug. Give them a kiss. Tell them you love them.
That's the best birthday gift you can give me.
Alex
Jim
My birthday growing up was always perfect. Falling on the 17th of February almost always (with the exception of my junior or senior year) placed it dead in the middle of the President's Holiday week. My perpetual birthday gift was to get a week off of school. That's pretty sweet as a kid. Though, I did count that one year spent in school as a really great one too. I always felt jealous people got their lockers decorated and had to walk around with balloons. The one year I got to, I did it with pride and was glad to embarrass myself all day long.
Once I got to college, this ramp up was a little more stunted. The spring semester in the theater department in Fredonia was always so crammed full of work. School work was back loaded in the department, and the big musical was always in the spring semester. So after finding myself on vacation for all of high school, I'm now finding myself working really hard on my birthday. But I was with friends, and I was having a good time. So I still got to enjoy the lead up and my birthday.
After graduation, I took a job in retail. I started that job in October, and by November I became a manager. So when my birthday rolled around, I got to request my birthday off. This ended up being one of the worst birthdays ever. I spent the day with my girlfriend at the time and we spent the entire time together running errands for her (including buying a car...seriously) and by the time 9pm rolled around I finally said "Hey can we do something I want to do on my birthday?" and we finally went somewhere to get something to eat. She then passed out with barely so much as a kiss goodnight. I'm pretty certain we broke up less than 2 weeks later.
I won't complain about my birthdays spent at Fairport Hots. Despite having to work 6pm-5am two birthdays in a row, people are very generous with their tips when they are drunk and you are stuck working on your birthday. I made $150 one night because the rest of the crew gifted me the tip jar so we didn't have to split it up. I heart my crew!
Finally, we roll around to my first birthday in New York. My sister Erin is pregnant at the time, and she's due to pop on the 9th of February. I, being the snot that I am, told her she better give birth January 31st, or hold it in until March 1st. With the large family I have I was the only person in the entire extended family (with maybe cousin Katie as the exception) who did not have to share my birthday month with anyone. We're talking 20-25 some odd birthdays. I wasn't ready to give up my month. I swore if she went into labor on or around the 17th, I would drive to Syracuse and just like...hold the babies head in until it became the 18th so I would at least not have to share the day. I then proceeded to tell everyone this joke until someone pointed out I'd be putting my hands into my sister's crotch. I never really mentioned it again. Ella was born on the 22nd. And she's a beautiful miracle.
But more recently, this traditionally exciting and happy ramp up to my birthday has become something else all together. Last year, I had to leave The Acting Company tour to return home to attend to a family emergency. My father was in the hospital, and I needed to get home. And I'm grateful TAC let me abandon 3 venues to be with my family. In the midst of this trip home, my birthday came and passed with very little fanfare. It seemed so muted and unimportant. And in comparison, it was.
I had higher hopes this year. Not only is the ramp up to my birthday my last one as a bachelor, I was actually going to be spending it with Anna which I haven't been able to do since we became a couple. We had a great holiday season, and got so many great gifts for our new life together. Soon after returning home, we had a Wagner family get together to celebrate our engagement. I finally got to meet 3/4's of the southern part of the family I had not yet met (one cousin and his wife had plans they couldn't rearrange). When I say I have found the German version of the McLean clan, I'm not joking. I see shades of my family all over the Wagner clan. The family dynamic is so similar it's almost scary, but very comforting and welcoming all at the same time. Specifically, Anna's cousin Alex reminds me of my cousin Ryan and the energy they bring to each collective family is remarkable.
That was the 20th. Less than 1 month later, everything is different. And ultimately, I will never be the same from a pair of people who are now gone who only tangentially and briefly intersected their lives with mine.
Eight days after the engagement party, I had been cuddling Anna to sleep as I am like to do. I fell asleep and took a quick nap (also as I am like to do). When I woke up to begin my normal night owl routine, I hopped onto facebook and saw on either my mother's or my sister Erin's status that a teacher from my high school had died in a car crash in Kenya. Beyond the fact that Jim Nowak was a social studies, and Eastern religions teacher at Fairport he also deeply influenced Erin and shaped her personality. He was a warm light walking through the school (occasionally dressed in some traditional Tibetan wraps and garb). Beyond even that, he dated my mother briefly after Erin graduated and had moved to Syracuse. During their short time together, Jim joined my mother in Fredonia for a production I was working on, which we had decided we know what show it was but I can't remember it right now. Before the show, we went out to dinner in town and I remember that despite trying to put off what I was doing as nothing important (I was the ASM for the show and I really didn't do all that much except sit backstage and read), he saw past that and remarked how special it was I was pursuing my dreams. And it was great that I was able to still find the passion despite the major set back of being dropped out of the Acting program a mere 5 months previously.
As I sat on the couch and read the brief news article over and over again, these memories flooded back to me and I cried for an hour. I cried not only for the loss of Jim, but for the way he selflessly lived his life. He was in Kenya doing what he loved to do. He was helping people. Building schools and health clinics in under privileged areas of the world. I cried because of the inspired life he had led and the profound impact he had made in my family. I cried because despite what seemed like such a small encounter in a dimly lit restaurant 8 years ago in Fredonia, it was an encounter I would never forget.
For the next week, I felt myself on edge. Little things that shouldn't make me get choked up were. But I finally got it back under control. Anna and I had a wonderful Super Bowl Sunday. We got our wedding bands, updated our registries and had homemade pizza for dinner.
The next day, Anna got a call from her mother saying Alex was in the hospital. I don't remember when we learned that bacteria had gotten through a hole in his sinus cavity and gone into his brain, or when we learned of the two abscesses one of which burst and had to be drained. I know it wasn't until Friday evening that I learned Alex lived his whole life with cystic fibrosis, and that he had an identical twin brother, Evan, who died when Alex was 9 months old.
I also know that around 3am on Saturday the 12th of February Alex passed away, just two days after turning 31.
Since then, life has been a blur of time standing still, and everything mashing together. It has been 96 hours of pain, heart break, outpouring of grief, tears, and love. I generally don't pray, but I do pray that I never have to hear the absolute heart breaking sobs for a young man too soon gone ever again. I don't want to have to hear a family matriarch begging for her to be taken instead because she's ready and wants to go and leave him be. I never want to hear Anna cry like that ever again. Ever.
We spent Sunday at Anna's parent's house scanning pictures and just trying to cope. Monday, Anna went to work to set herself up for substitutes for Tuesday and Wednesday. We then spent our fifth night in a row crying ourselves to sleep.
Tuesday was the wake and spent with family. Anna and I met Alex's parents, Lynn and Lloyd, in the parking lot along with Celeste, Gary, Anna's parents and her brothers. Lynn apologized so hard that she was sorry this is how I was being introduced to the family, which is the furthest thing from the truth. I think I told her something to the effect of "stop that" or something as seemingly ungraceful...though I don't know that there is a graceful thing to truly say when you are hugging the mother who has had this happen to her twice now. I have very frequently found myself tongue tied these past few days, which is why I'm writing this now. It's helping, and I don't have to worry about choking on the words, or sobbing over them.
I was introduced to the final cousin, Ian, who was unable to make it to our engagement party. The entire Wagner family apologized to me in the same manner Lynn did, each time I was finding the actual words I wanted to say originally to Lynn, and eventually was able to say them to one of the aunt's at some point in the last 48 hours "I'm honored you let me be here."
Alex wasn't someone I knew well. But I've heard so many great stories and pieced a few things together here and there. Alex had the biggest heart. He loved everybody, and he especially loved Anna. He was convinced when they were growing up that he and Anna were going to get married. They did everything together, and Anna was called by Lynn and Lloyd the triplet. He was an accomplished musician playing the clarinet, and sax which should be impossible to do as well as he did with C.F. The Wagner cousins all grew up playing Life and somehow Alex always ended up getting stuck with no job and a double decker car full of children.
Like everyone else in my soon to be family, he loves food. There's a picture some where on facebook with him about to ravage a pizza that is so big, the box swallowed up a 3x3 Ikea coffee table. He was shameless with a karaoke microphone. He was a master photo bomber. And apparently, he looked an awful lot like Beeker from the Muppets.
But those are all specific examples of what I could tell on my own. See, Alex wore his entire personality on his sleeve. He was warm, open and caring from the moment you met him. His smile and laugh were infectious. You could tell he lived his life to the fullest, and that was before we had done more than shake hands. You could tell what type of person he was by the way everyone reacted to him, and I could tell exactly what he was like when I came to the realization he was my cousin Ryan. I knew where he fit into the family, and why people acted exactly the same way they do with Ryan.
I am not usually an overtly emotional person. I will get choked up, but its rare that I cry. Maybe it's being on edge from Jim's passing that had opened this introspective part of me. Monday night after Anna had gone to bed, I sat up as I always do on the computer and looking at the plethora of fond memories from coworkers, college friends, and family posted on his facebook page. While I was looking at all these comments recalling memories from years and years ago, I realized how long I knew Alex in person.
11 hours.
Less than half a day. We met at Oktoberfest last October for dinner, and once again at the Engagement party.
I tried over and over again these past two days to find a way to say this to anyone in the family. And specifically I wanted to say this to Lynn and Lloyd. But every time I even thought the words forming together into a coherent thought I knew if I tried to say it I would not be able to do it. So I'm here writing this long blog because I needed to say this and now I can without fear of being unable to complete the thought:
I knew Alex for 11 hours. But in those 11 hours he's changed me forever. To my new family: I know everyone is hurting now, but I hope once the pain subsides you feel blessed to have 31 years of memories and love from Alex to warm your hearts forever. I had 11 short hours and I am honored to have known him.
So that's been the lead up to my 29th birthday. And as the title implies, it has indeed been an astounding amount of pure suck. It's now past midnight, so it's my birthday. You'll have to excuse me if I don't jump up and down for joy like I used to when I got my birthday off as part of President's Day vacation, or if I'm excited because I'm gonna get $150 in tips tonight while working. It's very similar and subdued, much like last year. It's an after thought compared to the enormity of this past week, and honestly doesn't feel all that important anymore. I've never been so unaware my birthday was coming until I looked at the program for Alex's mass today and realized it was the 16th.
If you haven't bought me a gift, not to worry because I have an idea. If you have bought me a gift, I have a wonderful add on to it. The people in your life that you love, tell them you love them. Give them a hug. Give them a kiss. Tell them you love them.
That's the best birthday gift you can give me.
Alex
Jim
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Still on the Road by Sara Wolkowitz
As I mentioned a few times before on this blog, my original tour with The Acting Company was recorded for a documentary. We were introduced to Sara at our first rehearsal and she popped in and out of the tour while we were rehearsing, performing, and traveling. There have been some small screenings before, but tonight was a big ol' screening (with a facebook event and everything!) at the Lincoln Center. It was so surreal to see this finally completed!
Just to make sure I was as fresh as possible, I went back and reread my blog posts starting from the very beginning and going all the way through the end of the 08/09 tour. I can always seem to remember exactly what was going on in my head when I read my old posts, I remember things I deleted from entries, I remember things I was going to say but changed some wording things like that. So the tour was very fresh in my mind before I hopped the train.
I wasn't sure who was going to be attending, but I was hoping I was going to get to see some old familiar faces. And I certainly did. In attendance tonight (in no particular order): Margot Harley, Kelly Curran, Freddy Arsenault, Matt Amendt (whose father I understand still reads this blog: HI MR. AMENDT!), Will Sturdivant, Andy Grotelueschen, Georgia Cohen, Carie Kawa, Sonny Valicenti, and Chris Thorn.
The movie itself is wonderful. I understand the trials and tribulations Sara went through to put this piece together. The final product she has put together is really wonderful. It has a very natural, and easy flow to it. It's really conversational which makes sense considering one of the trials/tribulations Sara dealt with was a tremendous shortage of footage. She was only on the road with us for a grand total of 4 weeks...one month vs. the 7 months we were together. She ended up missing a whole lot of great stuff happening live, so she had to hear the cast tell stories. Which one would suppose would be the death of any film (too much talking vs. not enough action), but what is truly amazing about the way this was edited together is how riveting the 12 cast members of the company truly are. There wasn't a dull moment for me in this film. Any time when it felt like you were just about to lose interest in a specific subject, it switched to another subject....or it showcased Tough Nuts (the home spun game involving throwing tennis balls at a distance with the intention of hitting the opponent's testicles and you aren't allowed to move). Sonny was sadly the victim captured on camera for all posterity on the losing end of a game of Tough Nuts.
I also have to say I was very happy that the decision was made by all parties to acknowledge what happened regarding John's departure from the company that season. On this blog, and Karen's too it was glanced over because it wasn't our place to put it out there, and we certainly didn't want to make public the reasons John decided to leave. But it was one of the most definitive things that occurred that season. There were so many things that tested us as a company, but the departure of Ron, and John were the two big ones. And it would have been such a disservice to the resiliency, and professionalism of that group if Sara wasn't able to include that aspect of upheaval we all felt all season long. And it was handled very well with an explanation from Ian.
Some of my favorite things that made it into the film: Pants call officially made it in! With Andy actually responding to Karen making a Pants Call over the PA system. The aforementioned Tough Nuts demonstration was also entertaining. Ian quoting the prayer from the preacher before our performance of The Spy in Houghton, NY, and of course Rick Ford's infamous "ICEBERG!" moment on the bus when he broke his toe. We also had the associated footage of Rick going into the Nurse's office in the high school at Ogdensberg, NY to have it looked at.
It really warmed my heart to see the film, and of course all my colleagues, some of which I haven't seen since we parted ways at SUNY-Purchase. All the exhaustion and frustration have long since melted away and it was such a nice feeling to see those smiling faces again. Both Matt and Freddy made comments about how obvious it is to us now looking back how special a thing we had as a group for those 7 months. And how you can never appreciate how special it is until it's already over. And all you can hope to do is remember it fondly and think of the good times you've had with your life long friends.
I know I'll always remember. And to have such a glorious way as this film to remember is a blessing. So to that, thank you so much Sara and congratulations. It was beautiful!
Just to make sure I was as fresh as possible, I went back and reread my blog posts starting from the very beginning and going all the way through the end of the 08/09 tour. I can always seem to remember exactly what was going on in my head when I read my old posts, I remember things I deleted from entries, I remember things I was going to say but changed some wording things like that. So the tour was very fresh in my mind before I hopped the train.
I wasn't sure who was going to be attending, but I was hoping I was going to get to see some old familiar faces. And I certainly did. In attendance tonight (in no particular order): Margot Harley, Kelly Curran, Freddy Arsenault, Matt Amendt (whose father I understand still reads this blog: HI MR. AMENDT!), Will Sturdivant, Andy Grotelueschen, Georgia Cohen, Carie Kawa, Sonny Valicenti, and Chris Thorn.
The movie itself is wonderful. I understand the trials and tribulations Sara went through to put this piece together. The final product she has put together is really wonderful. It has a very natural, and easy flow to it. It's really conversational which makes sense considering one of the trials/tribulations Sara dealt with was a tremendous shortage of footage. She was only on the road with us for a grand total of 4 weeks...one month vs. the 7 months we were together. She ended up missing a whole lot of great stuff happening live, so she had to hear the cast tell stories. Which one would suppose would be the death of any film (too much talking vs. not enough action), but what is truly amazing about the way this was edited together is how riveting the 12 cast members of the company truly are. There wasn't a dull moment for me in this film. Any time when it felt like you were just about to lose interest in a specific subject, it switched to another subject....or it showcased Tough Nuts (the home spun game involving throwing tennis balls at a distance with the intention of hitting the opponent's testicles and you aren't allowed to move). Sonny was sadly the victim captured on camera for all posterity on the losing end of a game of Tough Nuts.
I also have to say I was very happy that the decision was made by all parties to acknowledge what happened regarding John's departure from the company that season. On this blog, and Karen's too it was glanced over because it wasn't our place to put it out there, and we certainly didn't want to make public the reasons John decided to leave. But it was one of the most definitive things that occurred that season. There were so many things that tested us as a company, but the departure of Ron, and John were the two big ones. And it would have been such a disservice to the resiliency, and professionalism of that group if Sara wasn't able to include that aspect of upheaval we all felt all season long. And it was handled very well with an explanation from Ian.
Some of my favorite things that made it into the film: Pants call officially made it in! With Andy actually responding to Karen making a Pants Call over the PA system. The aforementioned Tough Nuts demonstration was also entertaining. Ian quoting the prayer from the preacher before our performance of The Spy in Houghton, NY, and of course Rick Ford's infamous "ICEBERG!" moment on the bus when he broke his toe. We also had the associated footage of Rick going into the Nurse's office in the high school at Ogdensberg, NY to have it looked at.
It really warmed my heart to see the film, and of course all my colleagues, some of which I haven't seen since we parted ways at SUNY-Purchase. All the exhaustion and frustration have long since melted away and it was such a nice feeling to see those smiling faces again. Both Matt and Freddy made comments about how obvious it is to us now looking back how special a thing we had as a group for those 7 months. And how you can never appreciate how special it is until it's already over. And all you can hope to do is remember it fondly and think of the good times you've had with your life long friends.
I know I'll always remember. And to have such a glorious way as this film to remember is a blessing. So to that, thank you so much Sara and congratulations. It was beautiful!
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Christmas Haul 2010
Please pardon the late nature of the Christmas Haul post this year. This year has been a lot like when I was growing up where Christmas was spread out over the course of nearly a full week, so we just finished Christmas the other day with Anna's family since we spent actual Christmas in Rochester. So without further ado.....actually....there's some ado....Can I tell you how weird it is to go from geeking out for video games, music, movies, pieces of silly technology to now geeking out over kitchen appliances, and utensils? Ok, ado over. And now........The Haul!
Our Stuff
1. Gorgeous new set of kitchen knives and the associated Block!
Here we have an awesome set of knives. Here we have a video of us using our awesome set of knives.
Did I mention that we are dorks?
2. Many a Kitchen Utensil/gadget!
In no specific order we got new measuring cups/spoons, toaster tongs, a skimmer, salt and pepper grinders (with stand), kitchen shears, silicone basting brush, salad/berry spinner, stackable colanders....I think that just about covers all those types of things.
3. Les Crueset Braiser (3.5 quart)
I really have nothing to say about this. It's Anna's toy, not mine, but it was addressed to me as well so I add it to my list.
4. Canisters (porcelain)
Anna desired these like whoa. We now have them.
5. Panini Press
Yeah, it may be essentially a souped up George Foreman Grill, but goddamn it's pretty and I can not wait to fire that sucker up and make me a quessadilla!
My Stuff
6. The Book of Useless Knowledge
Unlike last year, Anna got me a book that wasn't mean spirited. This is perfect. It's a book full of stupid and worthless facts like White Chocolate isn't actually Chocolate. Cocoa Butter, milk and sugar. Who knew?
7. Cafe Press T-shirt
It says "You can't see me, I'm wearing black" but I'm not a fan of it. It looks like a 5 year old made his first t-shirt ever! It's the poorest quality thing I've seen from Cafe Press and we are going to return it and complain. No where on the site does the image look anywhere near as terrible as the final product. Cafe Press=Fail Christmas 2010.
8. Isotoner Touch Gloves
This may be by far the best geeky present I've gotten in a while. They are a pair of isotoner gloves. What's so special about that? Well, they have been designed with the modern smart phone user in mind and they have harnessed the technology to allow you to wear gloves to avoid frostbite, and still use your touch screen devices. Sadly, it doesn't work with Android's Swype all that well, but for tapping messages and unlocking the screen, they are excellent. Full review to come later on those! And obviously, the ones on the right are not mine, they are Anna's.
9. Clothing
Anna's parents got me some great clothes for Christmas. I got a zip up sweater (I suppose to replace my not quite so attractive hoodie) and a very nice and comfy sweater. Both came in black of course.
By Me, for Me
10. Mac Book Battery Replacement
I went up to Buffalo to see my friend Renee whom I haven't seen in nearly 4 years (possibly longer). So we hung out at the mall and she stopped in to a Mac Specialist store and I happened upon a delightful little happy accident. They actually carried a replacement battery for my black mac book. I was stunned. So stunned that I had no choice but to buy it and save myself the cost on shipping! (Only to leave it in Rochester and force someone else to pay the shipping for me....oops)
11. Epic Mickey for the Wii
I haven't been blown away by the game selection available to me recently. Sure, I could buy the latest Professor Layton game for my DS, but it didn't have to happen. I'm torn between buying Black Ops for the wii, and until I can afford the PS3 nothing really comes to mind that I HAVE TO HAVE NOW! But Epic Mickey looked like a lot of fun, and Disney video games are pretty solid. I've really enjoyed the Kingdom Hearts Franchise, and hope Epic Mickey can follow in it's footsteps in some manner.
The one true sentimental gift this year was a Christmas memory book. Many years ago my mother compiled a bunch of people's Christmas memories and created a little book with a typewriter, construction paper cover and bound by yarn. This year was far more modern. Everyone emailed their memory, and it was printed by Office Max. I haven't read through all the stories yet, but I'm looking forward to it!
So I guess it's official. I am now far more an adult than I have been in recent years. I got excited over kitchen stuff, and a book of memories and I got no real nerdy pieces of technology. And I was actually fine with it.
Our Stuff
1. Gorgeous new set of kitchen knives and the associated Block!
Here we have an awesome set of knives. Here we have a video of us using our awesome set of knives.
Did I mention that we are dorks?
2. Many a Kitchen Utensil/gadget!
In no specific order we got new measuring cups/spoons, toaster tongs, a skimmer, salt and pepper grinders (with stand), kitchen shears, silicone basting brush, salad/berry spinner, stackable colanders....I think that just about covers all those types of things.
3. Les Crueset Braiser (3.5 quart)
4. Canisters (porcelain)
Anna desired these like whoa. We now have them.
5. Panini Press
Yeah, it may be essentially a souped up George Foreman Grill, but goddamn it's pretty and I can not wait to fire that sucker up and make me a quessadilla!
My Stuff
6. The Book of Useless Knowledge
Unlike last year, Anna got me a book that wasn't mean spirited. This is perfect. It's a book full of stupid and worthless facts like White Chocolate isn't actually Chocolate. Cocoa Butter, milk and sugar. Who knew?
7. Cafe Press T-shirt
It says "You can't see me, I'm wearing black" but I'm not a fan of it. It looks like a 5 year old made his first t-shirt ever! It's the poorest quality thing I've seen from Cafe Press and we are going to return it and complain. No where on the site does the image look anywhere near as terrible as the final product. Cafe Press=Fail Christmas 2010.
8. Isotoner Touch Gloves
This may be by far the best geeky present I've gotten in a while. They are a pair of isotoner gloves. What's so special about that? Well, they have been designed with the modern smart phone user in mind and they have harnessed the technology to allow you to wear gloves to avoid frostbite, and still use your touch screen devices. Sadly, it doesn't work with Android's Swype all that well, but for tapping messages and unlocking the screen, they are excellent. Full review to come later on those! And obviously, the ones on the right are not mine, they are Anna's.
9. Clothing
Anna's parents got me some great clothes for Christmas. I got a zip up sweater (I suppose to replace my not quite so attractive hoodie) and a very nice and comfy sweater. Both came in black of course.
By Me, for Me
10. Mac Book Battery Replacement
I went up to Buffalo to see my friend Renee whom I haven't seen in nearly 4 years (possibly longer). So we hung out at the mall and she stopped in to a Mac Specialist store and I happened upon a delightful little happy accident. They actually carried a replacement battery for my black mac book. I was stunned. So stunned that I had no choice but to buy it and save myself the cost on shipping! (Only to leave it in Rochester and force someone else to pay the shipping for me....oops)
11. Epic Mickey for the Wii
I haven't been blown away by the game selection available to me recently. Sure, I could buy the latest Professor Layton game for my DS, but it didn't have to happen. I'm torn between buying Black Ops for the wii, and until I can afford the PS3 nothing really comes to mind that I HAVE TO HAVE NOW! But Epic Mickey looked like a lot of fun, and Disney video games are pretty solid. I've really enjoyed the Kingdom Hearts Franchise, and hope Epic Mickey can follow in it's footsteps in some manner.
The one true sentimental gift this year was a Christmas memory book. Many years ago my mother compiled a bunch of people's Christmas memories and created a little book with a typewriter, construction paper cover and bound by yarn. This year was far more modern. Everyone emailed their memory, and it was printed by Office Max. I haven't read through all the stories yet, but I'm looking forward to it!
So I guess it's official. I am now far more an adult than I have been in recent years. I got excited over kitchen stuff, and a book of memories and I got no real nerdy pieces of technology. And I was actually fine with it.
Friday, December 17, 2010
What the heck am I doing in New Jersey?
While working on my design of Clemenza and Tessio Are Dead, I suddenly became concerned that the rotary phone I purchased from an online antique store in Florida was not going to arrive in time for opening. Long story short, there was a death in the family of the store owner and she didn't mail the prop until Monday afternoon and we opened on Thursday. I called and asked if we could work on a deal to have it over nighted to New York so I could avoid the hell of looking for another rotary phone. In a desperate plea I posted to a stage manager forum for help, but there was only one helpful post. I also posted to facebook and got a couple responses.
One response was from a woman I worked with back before my Acting Company days Kathryn (aka China). She tried to get me in touch with Columbia's prop department but it ended up being for naught. The phone arrived just in time, and Columbia's prop department just wasn't going to work out anyway. But this reopened active communication lines between myself and China. She mentioned that she'd love it if I could come talk to her students about touring, what it's like, what would be expected of them etc etc. I said of course. I heart me talking to some students! It's fun!
We made the arrangements for me to take the train out to Dover, NJ and China came to pick me up. After a 90 minute train ride, we drove an additional 20 minutes out to Centenary College in Hackettstown. We had a couple minutes to grab something to eat and she walked me around the theater building. They have a really nice blackbox. It reminded me of the black box in Baton Rouge where we toured to twice with TAC and they set our green room in the black box. Though unlike the college at Baton Rouge, the blackbox in Centenary never got sound proofed. So when it rains, it apparently sounds like they are sitting in a giant drum. Oppsie!
The mainstage there is gorgeous. It's basically a brand new building and everything in there just has that nice new look to it. So it all looks very clean and very pretty. Even the ropes on the fly system are white. The booth is so awesome. It's wide and spacious, located on the lower seating level so the stage manager is eye level with the deck. The light board is on the left, sound on the right and a nice expanse between them for the SM to sit. The now becoming standard camera and infared camera are there too. It would be a great place for tours like the Acting Company to go to. We'd fit in there well.
The class I spoke to was relatively small. Only 7 students, and only 1 student who was definitely choosing stage management as a career. The others were a mix of actors, costumer/make up artist, dancer etc etc. We started off the class with the kids getting their final exams back and they went over it. Every once and a while there would be a question that they would have an issue with. "Well, I got points off for this and I don't get it!" and China would ask me "Hey, Nick, what's the answer" and I'd answer, and she'd say "And that's the sort of answer I was looking for." What happens if you come in as a professional stage manager experty person and you get an answer on an Intro to Stage Management final wrong? Thankfully, I never found out cause I aced the final! :-P
The conversation then turned to me, and my career and how I got to where I was. We went over some paperwork of mine including my resume, sign in sheets (where I explained that I prefer using sheet protectors and dry erase markers vs. wasting paper daily or weekly), my rehearsal and performance reports (which sadly for me, I accidentally printed out a performance report in the rehearsal report window in Filemaker, so the header was all wrong), and a few other things. I also showed them the Washington and Tiger signage from the tours and explained why we chose what we did. One major reason I was asked to come talk to them is the kids just started a touring company themselves so I was trying to let them know some things that will make their lives easier as they go out on their first tour, so we then moved onto what a daily tour schedule will be and since they are non union, they should expect everyone to pull their own weight.
We also went into a few specific examples the kids have gone through and how to handle those situations. One that came up was how to deal with unprofessionalism backstage. I told him that the best policy when working with friends in college as a Stage Manager is to treat it like you would if you were dealing with anyone else in a professional setting. Draw the line backstage as to what is acceptable and what is not. As long as you are in the right, whoever is being unprofessional backstage won't have a leg to stand on. For example, if you have a cell phone backstage and the ASM tells you to turn it off or take it outside the theater, and you don't: You are wrong. And if the situation continues, the ASM can then move up the chain of command to rectify the situation. In a professional setting, the ASM goes to the SM, who then would go to the director (if they are around still), then upwards and onwards to Production Managers/Company Managers, and if that won't do it, then up to the producer. If the producer doesn't deal with it, it becomes the new reality. And the ASM has to deal with it. College setting goes in the same way except you skip the PM/CM step and go to the "Producer" also known as Professor.
Once class was over, the kids bolted (cause I think it was generally their last class of the day and vacation is coming) and China and I tooled around helping one of her SM students turn in their prompt book from Oliver. Those few minutes actually caused me to miss my train, so China decided to drive me back into the city. It was pretty rough ride in and was horribly stop and go around the Lincoln Tunnel and I started to feel queasy about 500 feet from the entrance of the tunnel. She dropped me off right by Theatre Row and I walked to the Shell to set up for C&T.
Overall, it was fun times out there. Like I said, the space was gorgeous and would be a fun place to work in. But man oh man is it far away!
One response was from a woman I worked with back before my Acting Company days Kathryn (aka China). She tried to get me in touch with Columbia's prop department but it ended up being for naught. The phone arrived just in time, and Columbia's prop department just wasn't going to work out anyway. But this reopened active communication lines between myself and China. She mentioned that she'd love it if I could come talk to her students about touring, what it's like, what would be expected of them etc etc. I said of course. I heart me talking to some students! It's fun!
We made the arrangements for me to take the train out to Dover, NJ and China came to pick me up. After a 90 minute train ride, we drove an additional 20 minutes out to Centenary College in Hackettstown. We had a couple minutes to grab something to eat and she walked me around the theater building. They have a really nice blackbox. It reminded me of the black box in Baton Rouge where we toured to twice with TAC and they set our green room in the black box. Though unlike the college at Baton Rouge, the blackbox in Centenary never got sound proofed. So when it rains, it apparently sounds like they are sitting in a giant drum. Oppsie!
The mainstage there is gorgeous. It's basically a brand new building and everything in there just has that nice new look to it. So it all looks very clean and very pretty. Even the ropes on the fly system are white. The booth is so awesome. It's wide and spacious, located on the lower seating level so the stage manager is eye level with the deck. The light board is on the left, sound on the right and a nice expanse between them for the SM to sit. The now becoming standard camera and infared camera are there too. It would be a great place for tours like the Acting Company to go to. We'd fit in there well.
The class I spoke to was relatively small. Only 7 students, and only 1 student who was definitely choosing stage management as a career. The others were a mix of actors, costumer/make up artist, dancer etc etc. We started off the class with the kids getting their final exams back and they went over it. Every once and a while there would be a question that they would have an issue with. "Well, I got points off for this and I don't get it!" and China would ask me "Hey, Nick, what's the answer" and I'd answer, and she'd say "And that's the sort of answer I was looking for." What happens if you come in as a professional stage manager experty person and you get an answer on an Intro to Stage Management final wrong? Thankfully, I never found out cause I aced the final! :-P
The conversation then turned to me, and my career and how I got to where I was. We went over some paperwork of mine including my resume, sign in sheets (where I explained that I prefer using sheet protectors and dry erase markers vs. wasting paper daily or weekly), my rehearsal and performance reports (which sadly for me, I accidentally printed out a performance report in the rehearsal report window in Filemaker, so the header was all wrong), and a few other things. I also showed them the Washington and Tiger signage from the tours and explained why we chose what we did. One major reason I was asked to come talk to them is the kids just started a touring company themselves so I was trying to let them know some things that will make their lives easier as they go out on their first tour, so we then moved onto what a daily tour schedule will be and since they are non union, they should expect everyone to pull their own weight.
We also went into a few specific examples the kids have gone through and how to handle those situations. One that came up was how to deal with unprofessionalism backstage. I told him that the best policy when working with friends in college as a Stage Manager is to treat it like you would if you were dealing with anyone else in a professional setting. Draw the line backstage as to what is acceptable and what is not. As long as you are in the right, whoever is being unprofessional backstage won't have a leg to stand on. For example, if you have a cell phone backstage and the ASM tells you to turn it off or take it outside the theater, and you don't: You are wrong. And if the situation continues, the ASM can then move up the chain of command to rectify the situation. In a professional setting, the ASM goes to the SM, who then would go to the director (if they are around still), then upwards and onwards to Production Managers/Company Managers, and if that won't do it, then up to the producer. If the producer doesn't deal with it, it becomes the new reality. And the ASM has to deal with it. College setting goes in the same way except you skip the PM/CM step and go to the "Producer" also known as Professor.
Once class was over, the kids bolted (cause I think it was generally their last class of the day and vacation is coming) and China and I tooled around helping one of her SM students turn in their prompt book from Oliver. Those few minutes actually caused me to miss my train, so China decided to drive me back into the city. It was pretty rough ride in and was horribly stop and go around the Lincoln Tunnel and I started to feel queasy about 500 feet from the entrance of the tunnel. She dropped me off right by Theatre Row and I walked to the Shell to set up for C&T.
Overall, it was fun times out there. Like I said, the space was gorgeous and would be a fun place to work in. But man oh man is it far away!
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Theater Stats: The Lion Theatre at Theatre Row, NYC
Seating Capacity: 88
Style: Proscenium
This is the second time I've run a show in Theatre Row in NYC. The first was Noon Day Sun in the Beckett I believe....there are 6 or 7 theaters in Theatre Row, so I always get them confused. I will, however, always remember going in for a 4 hour work call only to be there for 9 hours replacing the deck/subdeck because the set was improperly sealed and when they made it rain during the performance, all they really accomplished was rotting out the floor.
Anyway, The Lion was home to Godlight Theatre Company's An Impending Rupture of the Belly by Matt Pelfrey. It was the first time since I think 2004 Godlight has produced a production not based on a book. Rupture is all about a man who is about to become a father for the first time and the absolute fear he feels about this change in his life. It isn't enough becoming a father for the first time, but now he has to deal with this schmuck of a neighbor who lets his dog crap on his lawn every day.
Traditionally, I would blog about the shows before they open, as they open, or you know..even while they are running..... But this was far too difficult this time. Not only was I around for the performances of the show, I was working on the front end every day as Godlight's new Production Manager. When I wasn't at the show, or arranging comp tickets for VIP/Press, I was dealing with the upcoming strike, audience development, or any other many Godlight tasks. When those tasks were done, I was on to the other production I'm working on which will get its own post soon.
I generally like to keep things nice and neat and organized on my laptop when I'm working. It makes my life much easier, I can find things quickly, and there's no confusion about what's old and what's new. For instance, here's a picture of the production folder for Cloaked which happened right after The Acting Company Tour this past year:
This was what my desktop looked like not quite in the midst of total hell between both shows, but this was on average how my desktop looked the past month. Things didn't even get a chance to get into my production folders. I would work on Andrew's sound, make a quick cut or snip, pump up the volume, save a new file, it would end up on my desktop and it would just sit there....for ever. I literally ran out of space for icons and they started to just sit on top of the icon for my hard drive.
So tech week was crazy for this show, and what made it harder to deal with was the poor attendance of the show. Just to be clear, Theatre Row is not the usual home for Godlight. We usually work out of 59E59 where we've been for the past 5 years, where they have a subscriber base who know who we are and will come see out shows. Theatre Row was sort of a swoop in and save the day situation. Joe had been talking to Theatre Row about a time slot later on next year in October, when suddenly a time slot opened up in November and Theatre Row needed to fill it. We gladly obliged. However, this meant all the advanced publicity in the prime time of 3-4 months prior has already passed and we were kinda on our own. Sadly, it did put a damper on the entire run. In our 88 seat house, I don't think we broke an audience of 30. We did nearly cancel a matinee because we had 2 patrons and they were late...That kinda sucked hard.
But the true badness didn't last past the first week. We got some good press, and we got the word out on facebook and the new Godlight Twitter which Deanna McGovern, Joe and myself all control and tweet from. Audiences became more consistently in high teens and low 20s. We have no problem filling theater C. If we have a house of 50 (out of 70) it's like "Dude, this stinks!!!" so it's certainly humbling to play to a house of 2.
We have learned our lessons from this and are looking forward to the month of December off, and then we retool and hit our next production full force. There are a pair of options for our 59E59 time slot this spring, and I'm waiting to hear officially what show we're doing and I'll be sure to share it here. We already know another piece we will be doing in the late spring back in the Lion, but I'll wait until we officially announce that. There's also another piece of exciting news that hasn't been announced yet, so I won't say it here, but I will wait until next Monday.
Apologies for being absent for the last month. But as I've basically pointed out, I've been a busy little bee this last month in ways I haven't been since I moved to New York. This almost felt like college again in terms of workload. And P.S.- The Backstage Ballet turns 200 with this post! Congratulations to me for not being sick of this blog yet! Thank you for reading, and hope you continue to do so!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Share it
