Friday, October 28, 2005
Brrrrrrr.
...and the molecules of NYC speed up with the cold...like a well-shaken cold martini...as the temperature drops, the pace in the street becomes faster, people have red-faced cheery smiles, and those warm woolen clothes, summer-languishing in storage places, are liberated, put on, and snuggled down into....each clothing piece seems to shout "whew.....I am FREE!!! LOOK AT ME!"...
Getting out each season's wardrobe can often feel like opening gift boxes...re-discovery is sometimes as good as buying new!
"Oh, I remember that! I'd forgotten I even had that!"
Summer stuff look postiviely languid next to the stout colors of Autumn. Almost shabby.
I love New York like this. It's Crisp Big Apple time.
Tonight and tomorrow, I will spend time in the presence of Lama Surya Das, who is doing a series of lectures at Tibet House down on 15th Street. I have been reading his books, and am moved by his humane logic and language. I enjoy his particularly Western analysis of and devotion to the Dharma. And I am told his preence is remarkably compelling. So tonight I will experience it for myself. I'm excited.
The small Guest Bathroom is pretty much finished, and looks great. One or two small touches and it will be useful. Next, finally, the repair and re-doing of the Blue Guest Room....can hardly wait, We have been camping out with furniture all over the place. It may be dry enough to begin skimming and plastering next week. We are considering what colors to use there. We want them deep and soothing, and the room uncluttered and calm.
Private classes moving to Ripley-Grier next week. They are going great, and the actors are getting true results in their various auditions. This is good. A more central location will be useul to all. And the people at Ripley-Grier have been so helpful and generous, alleviating my anxiety about holding classes in a new and unfamimliar place. Though God knows, I have auditioned and rehearsed in their rooms for years! So, not all that unfamiliar. I am so proud of the good hard work that goes on in those two classes. They continue to surprise me every week.
Pretty much have decided to spend Thanksgiving in Michigan with Peter's family. We will probably drive out early, relax on the drive, take the doggies...enjoy each other's company....have fun doing it! And simply have some real time together, my beautiful husband and I. We like travel. Especially together. Then Christmas will be a New York one. Festive and full. There may even be time for us to go up to the family cabin in Northern Michigan....gorgeous!Snow, I bet!
Paul and Steve have been so helpful in getting the small bathroom done. I am grateful. Having remodelled basically the entire upstate house together, our small bathroom was a mere morsel to consider, but they really did consider it and their suggestions have been great...Steve's suggestion of Raymond, and Umberto to do the work was perfect, and these two men delighted me with what they were able to accomplish in a short period of time in there. I will use their services again soon.
We have the entire co-op to do.
And soon the clocks will fall back, and we will all be so surprised when it is so dark at 5:30 pm! It happens every year, but we are always so surprised! I do think that is the beauty of life. this ability to be surprised.
Getting out each season's wardrobe can often feel like opening gift boxes...re-discovery is sometimes as good as buying new!
"Oh, I remember that! I'd forgotten I even had that!"
Summer stuff look postiviely languid next to the stout colors of Autumn. Almost shabby.
I love New York like this. It's Crisp Big Apple time.
Tonight and tomorrow, I will spend time in the presence of Lama Surya Das, who is doing a series of lectures at Tibet House down on 15th Street. I have been reading his books, and am moved by his humane logic and language. I enjoy his particularly Western analysis of and devotion to the Dharma. And I am told his preence is remarkably compelling. So tonight I will experience it for myself. I'm excited.
The small Guest Bathroom is pretty much finished, and looks great. One or two small touches and it will be useful. Next, finally, the repair and re-doing of the Blue Guest Room....can hardly wait, We have been camping out with furniture all over the place. It may be dry enough to begin skimming and plastering next week. We are considering what colors to use there. We want them deep and soothing, and the room uncluttered and calm.
Private classes moving to Ripley-Grier next week. They are going great, and the actors are getting true results in their various auditions. This is good. A more central location will be useul to all. And the people at Ripley-Grier have been so helpful and generous, alleviating my anxiety about holding classes in a new and unfamimliar place. Though God knows, I have auditioned and rehearsed in their rooms for years! So, not all that unfamiliar. I am so proud of the good hard work that goes on in those two classes. They continue to surprise me every week.
Pretty much have decided to spend Thanksgiving in Michigan with Peter's family. We will probably drive out early, relax on the drive, take the doggies...enjoy each other's company....have fun doing it! And simply have some real time together, my beautiful husband and I. We like travel. Especially together. Then Christmas will be a New York one. Festive and full. There may even be time for us to go up to the family cabin in Northern Michigan....gorgeous!Snow, I bet!
Paul and Steve have been so helpful in getting the small bathroom done. I am grateful. Having remodelled basically the entire upstate house together, our small bathroom was a mere morsel to consider, but they really did consider it and their suggestions have been great...Steve's suggestion of Raymond, and Umberto to do the work was perfect, and these two men delighted me with what they were able to accomplish in a short period of time in there. I will use their services again soon.
We have the entire co-op to do.
And soon the clocks will fall back, and we will all be so surprised when it is so dark at 5:30 pm! It happens every year, but we are always so surprised! I do think that is the beauty of life. this ability to be surprised.
Tuesday, October 11, 2005
Epic at the Irish
Last night, a most interesting time: Epic Theater Company hosts Monday Night playwright nights, and last night was one of them...Peter and I went to this one, and it took place ont he 2nd floor of the Irish Rep Theater (where a musical of BEOWULF is currently playing...yu have to love NYC!!! and all writers everywhere!!!)
Usually, the Epic does these playwright nights at the Players CLub, but because the Players was closed for Columbus Day, Irish Rep offered space....a nice gesture. David Staller seems to inspire this kind of largesse from others. The eveingon on the 31st will be back at the Players Club. We will go to that one as well because last night was really engaging.
A cirlce of about 25 people, actors, contributors to the Epic Company, directors,interested and passionate people who simply love to hear new plays read, gathered and David had even bought fresh Krispy Kremes for the whole lot! A simple but homey and welcoming thing to do...
A play entitled THICKER THAN WATER by Doug Parker was on board, and no one in the room except David and the writer and Artistic Director Richard Kuranda maybe, had read the play, so we all were starting from the same place of no preconceptions or decisions about how to act it or read it or whatever...and then after a warm introduction from Staller to the event, the writer began assigning roles to people sitting in the large circle...those who did not wish to read indicated so during Staller's intro....the rest were considered the readig pool.... and off we went.
The subjectL Andrea Yates, the Texas woman who drowned her 5 kids in her home bathtub...and the examination of good-evil-sanity-reason in all mattters horrifying..the Devil is even a character..and much of the play, like a Greek drama, is structured in verse...as odd as this may sound, it was deeply compelling and i was glued to the pages the entire read! I could not believe how powerfully this thing affected us all. And it was a cold, simple reading, parts being re-assigned all along the way...Peter read the husband all the way through...i read several smaller parts, and the entire effort was so collaborative because everyone in the circle was gifted in this sort of moment-to-moment exploration. it was so much fun.
Staller read the stage directions. And lead the discussion afterward in such a congenial manner, it felt like there was no "leader", but rather a facilitator. The playwright had a list of specific questions he wanted to discuss. No one was allowed to praise or damn the play, only discuss our experience of the writing and shape of the piece itself. As a result, much insightful knowledge was shared. Again, so interesting.And so relaxed. Again, an influence of David Staller. He even led the group in a simple breath exercise before we bengan to read, and the entire group just unwound right away! So simple, so easy.
Can hardly wait for the 31st. I think I'll bring donuts for that one! Orange ones to honor Halloween...!These readings start at 5:30, and so we were out of there by 8:30, after having made some lovely new artistic friendships.
One of my summer students is coming up the weekend of the 21-23 October to work on her college auditions. We shall work all weekend, and she and her mom will see shows in between! A new way of working and teaching for me! Interesting.
I hope to go Upstate ths coming weekend. The house is now on the market, but so far, it's still ours to enjoy. The Fall up there is gorgeous beyond words. Gold.
Usually, the Epic does these playwright nights at the Players CLub, but because the Players was closed for Columbus Day, Irish Rep offered space....a nice gesture. David Staller seems to inspire this kind of largesse from others. The eveingon on the 31st will be back at the Players Club. We will go to that one as well because last night was really engaging.
A cirlce of about 25 people, actors, contributors to the Epic Company, directors,interested and passionate people who simply love to hear new plays read, gathered and David had even bought fresh Krispy Kremes for the whole lot! A simple but homey and welcoming thing to do...
A play entitled THICKER THAN WATER by Doug Parker was on board, and no one in the room except David and the writer and Artistic Director Richard Kuranda maybe, had read the play, so we all were starting from the same place of no preconceptions or decisions about how to act it or read it or whatever...and then after a warm introduction from Staller to the event, the writer began assigning roles to people sitting in the large circle...those who did not wish to read indicated so during Staller's intro....the rest were considered the readig pool.... and off we went.
The subjectL Andrea Yates, the Texas woman who drowned her 5 kids in her home bathtub...and the examination of good-evil-sanity-reason in all mattters horrifying..the Devil is even a character..and much of the play, like a Greek drama, is structured in verse...as odd as this may sound, it was deeply compelling and i was glued to the pages the entire read! I could not believe how powerfully this thing affected us all. And it was a cold, simple reading, parts being re-assigned all along the way...Peter read the husband all the way through...i read several smaller parts, and the entire effort was so collaborative because everyone in the circle was gifted in this sort of moment-to-moment exploration. it was so much fun.
Staller read the stage directions. And lead the discussion afterward in such a congenial manner, it felt like there was no "leader", but rather a facilitator. The playwright had a list of specific questions he wanted to discuss. No one was allowed to praise or damn the play, only discuss our experience of the writing and shape of the piece itself. As a result, much insightful knowledge was shared. Again, so interesting.And so relaxed. Again, an influence of David Staller. He even led the group in a simple breath exercise before we bengan to read, and the entire group just unwound right away! So simple, so easy.
Can hardly wait for the 31st. I think I'll bring donuts for that one! Orange ones to honor Halloween...!These readings start at 5:30, and so we were out of there by 8:30, after having made some lovely new artistic friendships.
One of my summer students is coming up the weekend of the 21-23 October to work on her college auditions. We shall work all weekend, and she and her mom will see shows in between! A new way of working and teaching for me! Interesting.
I hope to go Upstate ths coming weekend. The house is now on the market, but so far, it's still ours to enjoy. The Fall up there is gorgeous beyond words. Gold.
Saturday, October 08, 2005
Primary Fraser and McNally
...our dear Alison Fraser (one of my favorite people and actors) put two comps on place for us last night to see DEDICATION a new play by Terence McNally, at Primary Stages on East 59th Streety, and it was wonderful. .....an intriguing play, a very wonderful and interesting cast of actors, and ,well,just a very live and affecting night in the theater...so glad that I am alive during the time when a writer like Terence McNally is producing his passionate works. I always feel somehow privileged when I am in the presence of this man's work. There is something in the way he imbues his stories and characters with necessity, flawed necessity...they speak to me of nobility and strength, even at their weakest point. Marian Seldes, definitely my First Lady of American Theatser, was riveting last night, and once again, i learned about acting from watching her work. She left me dry-mouthed with wonder, as she took me on the very difficult journey of this "Annabelle Willard" who came to sanctify the theater she owns with her own death...and in the process gives a passionate (and flawed ) theater artist his life's dream come true..(Don Amendolia was so good, in the role originated, I was told, by Nathan Lane). So McNally had several of his "Muses" up there speaking his words, fulfilling his intentions, and as a result we got to see prime Terence McNally...again, I felt privileged.
Alison , our friend, has always impressed me with her special sensitivities as a performer and actor, but last night was , arguably, the best thing I have ever seen her do, because she held us all delicately in the palm of her talented hand every single moment by simply creating a complex,funny,tough,conflicted woman of a certain age, a woman who had to deal with love, her daughter, her companion, her lover,her passion for the stage,her own need to hide behind the choices she made for her life...in so many ways, the character of "jessie" allowed Alison to enlighten many of life's mysteries...and she did it so easily... but that is the secret of superb acting: we are suposed to believe in the genuine-ness of what we see, and her performance was deeply moving, pitch-perfect, subtle and deeply well crafted. Award winning caliber. I was so proud of her.So glad to witness it.
Interestingly, it was one of the few things I have seen since returning from Barter that reminded me of a Barter production...i think it was the nature of the ensemble acting and the richness therefore elicited...even Marian Seldes, certainly the "star" by public standards I guess, was so enthrallingly committed to sheer committed acting and truth that she too became part of this strong company...perhaps,as written, its "lode star", but nonetheless company all the way. Never a false or self-serving move. So true. So admirable.
And matters of actual life and death and theater were taken to the mat of audience scrutiny and there we all were, wrestling it out together, were else? IN A THEATER!
It made me feel like doing it again...but , then, every time I teach a class of gifted actors my passion is renewed, so who am I kidding here?
Alison: thank you so much. Terence McNally, thank you. Ms.Seldes: Brava!
Alison , our friend, has always impressed me with her special sensitivities as a performer and actor, but last night was , arguably, the best thing I have ever seen her do, because she held us all delicately in the palm of her talented hand every single moment by simply creating a complex,funny,tough,conflicted woman of a certain age, a woman who had to deal with love, her daughter, her companion, her lover,her passion for the stage,her own need to hide behind the choices she made for her life...in so many ways, the character of "jessie" allowed Alison to enlighten many of life's mysteries...and she did it so easily... but that is the secret of superb acting: we are suposed to believe in the genuine-ness of what we see, and her performance was deeply moving, pitch-perfect, subtle and deeply well crafted. Award winning caliber. I was so proud of her.So glad to witness it.
Interestingly, it was one of the few things I have seen since returning from Barter that reminded me of a Barter production...i think it was the nature of the ensemble acting and the richness therefore elicited...even Marian Seldes, certainly the "star" by public standards I guess, was so enthrallingly committed to sheer committed acting and truth that she too became part of this strong company...perhaps,as written, its "lode star", but nonetheless company all the way. Never a false or self-serving move. So true. So admirable.
And matters of actual life and death and theater were taken to the mat of audience scrutiny and there we all were, wrestling it out together, were else? IN A THEATER!
It made me feel like doing it again...but , then, every time I teach a class of gifted actors my passion is renewed, so who am I kidding here?
Alison: thank you so much. Terence McNally, thank you. Ms.Seldes: Brava!
Tuesday, October 04, 2005
Thanks
...for the emails and answers , you all....the support and caring evinced by my questions and musings makes me feel altogether better...and,even though the plumber is in our guest bathroom knocking a hole in the tile so he can locate a leak, and even though the NYC skies are grey today with a promise of showers, hearing from you (Ann, Janet,all of you!) keeps my spirits up! Only makes me miss Abingdon more though,because I realize that despite how busy we all were down there all of them time, there always did seem time for real conversation and sharing. There was always your porch , Ann and Chris, welcoming and warm, with hospitality to match...and there was always Rick's office door, open and ready for conversation that never seemed dull or false....even the seasonal visits of dear Janet and hubby were a welcome addition to our community and "family" there...and to my delight, I find this blog is reason enough to keep that community together. That is warming.
Makes me feel less lonely in my pursuit of understanding what this part of our life here is about,as we struggle but enjoy.....thanks so much for writing me, all of you.
Well, the shape our home is in so reflects the shape of my apparent life right now that i have to laugh...the core is calm and solid, as is the core of me ,thanks to chanting and meditation and reading, and the "appearance" is a mess! Dear upstairs neighbor LH is, according to our Managing Agent at MidBoro Mgt. not only responsible for the breakage of her toilet tank and the subsequent damage to all of us below her, but now, dear nice woman, she has fallen ill and , I am told , is in the hospital! So she, (along with her toilet bowl), is broken! Poor dear. She really is a nice woman, bright and friendly. As bad as i feel for our Guest Room, I feel worse for her, having to bear the burden of all our damages and her ill health.
But, that being said,the Guest Room is taking a long long time to dry out because it had become so very soaked by the flood from above. Our "super" did do an initial scraping of the worst plaster, but still the walls and ceiling are o wet...it will take time, and more time before we can even think of repairing and repainting. MEANWHILE,since we had wanted to have the small bathroom re-done anyway,we are taking this opportunity to try to get that done...and so today, they discovered the leak source, and can now fix it, re-tiling can result, and replacement of the small sink as well....plus some other fix-ups...this is all good.
Casting is complete for the reading of BLITHE SPIRIT I will direct for CAP 21 on 17th October ...Mark Lamos had to drop out as "Charles" but I am so glad to have Dan Diggles reading that role now....Kate Skinner as "Ruth", and Eliza Ventura as "Madame Arcati"... Susan Cameron as "Elvira"...lovely.
The wedding of Krista Guffey to Michael Poisson is this coming Monday, October 10th...I wish we could be there...so wish it....we send them all our love...such good, dear and talented people. I can picture the wedding now...in beautiful Fall Abingdon. The prettiest time of year there, except for Spring....and Summer and Winter...that pretty little church. Hazel's delicious food at the reception...
Oh boy...
Krista and Michael: love each other forever and enjoy the changes life brings!
xxxfrom both Peter and from me....
xxev
Makes me feel less lonely in my pursuit of understanding what this part of our life here is about,as we struggle but enjoy.....thanks so much for writing me, all of you.
Well, the shape our home is in so reflects the shape of my apparent life right now that i have to laugh...the core is calm and solid, as is the core of me ,thanks to chanting and meditation and reading, and the "appearance" is a mess! Dear upstairs neighbor LH is, according to our Managing Agent at MidBoro Mgt. not only responsible for the breakage of her toilet tank and the subsequent damage to all of us below her, but now, dear nice woman, she has fallen ill and , I am told , is in the hospital! So she, (along with her toilet bowl), is broken! Poor dear. She really is a nice woman, bright and friendly. As bad as i feel for our Guest Room, I feel worse for her, having to bear the burden of all our damages and her ill health.
But, that being said,the Guest Room is taking a long long time to dry out because it had become so very soaked by the flood from above. Our "super" did do an initial scraping of the worst plaster, but still the walls and ceiling are o wet...it will take time, and more time before we can even think of repairing and repainting. MEANWHILE,since we had wanted to have the small bathroom re-done anyway,we are taking this opportunity to try to get that done...and so today, they discovered the leak source, and can now fix it, re-tiling can result, and replacement of the small sink as well....plus some other fix-ups...this is all good.
Casting is complete for the reading of BLITHE SPIRIT I will direct for CAP 21 on 17th October ...Mark Lamos had to drop out as "Charles" but I am so glad to have Dan Diggles reading that role now....Kate Skinner as "Ruth", and Eliza Ventura as "Madame Arcati"... Susan Cameron as "Elvira"...lovely.
The wedding of Krista Guffey to Michael Poisson is this coming Monday, October 10th...I wish we could be there...so wish it....we send them all our love...such good, dear and talented people. I can picture the wedding now...in beautiful Fall Abingdon. The prettiest time of year there, except for Spring....and Summer and Winter...that pretty little church. Hazel's delicious food at the reception...
Oh boy...
Krista and Michael: love each other forever and enjoy the changes life brings!
xxxfrom both Peter and from me....
xxev
