Tuesday, December 27, 2005
Christmas Spirit....
...is now afloat in the land, as the Day itself has actually come and gone, and a certain peace seems to have resulted from the celebration of it...maybe because there was such turmoil from the three-day transit strike...maybe because of the sheer discomfort and anger generated by it...there was pain in the City iar, and it was cold, cold, cold....then, when the Strike was over, the weather warmed up and you could feel the muscles of the City relax...we seemed to float into the actual Holidays, and, looking back, I now realize, i stayed very close to home during that entire period of time....I hardly left the neighborhood at all!!! And maybe that is why i feel so relaxed and good...
It doesn't hurt, I suppose that i slept most of yesterday...whenever i got out of bed to do something, I would usually do it for a short while and then i fell back into our warm and comfortable bed for a couple more hours of sleep....I think i actually did catch up on much needed rest. Today I feel wonderful.
Christmas Day , starting at 2:00 was our Open House at Paul and Steve's and after spending a swell morning with my Yonka family around our shiny tree opening lovely gifts, I got ready for the Party day ahead and went down to P and S's to help prepare for the arrival of our guests...Naturally, they begna arriving right on time!
But that was okay because the day was meant to be relzed and full of talk and being together....Kathy R. was the first guest and she looked so pretty...as Steve continued to cook in the kitchen,I was able to sit with KR and talk and talk...she is such a fun woman...a new friend. Smart and talented.
From then on, the in-pouring of people wa spretty steady and I feel like I was on my feet schlepping lovely things to the various food tables for the next 8 hours! Stephen cooked his usual wonderful, luscious and delicious foods and not only did it all look wonderful, it tasted magically good! People adore to come to their home and EAT!!! The place filled up with people, but at a comfortable volume...my darlings Ed L. and Sandy L. arrived, surprising me, and I spent the next hours hugging them a whole lot.....everyone mixed wonderfully well together, jabbering away as if they had all known each other a long time1 That sort of social interaction always amazes me...people really do want to KNOW each other, don't they? And the vibrant yellow-orange and red living room that Paul and Stephen designed for the party they threw for our wedding a couple of years ago, is one of the warmest rooms ever for conversation and letting down one's guard...people sit on those gorgeous plush red microsuede sofas and open up to each other...terrific to see. It doesn't hurt that when Pat and Charles Y. arrived, they warm up a room and talk to any and all comers!
My in-laws are natural poeple persons!
While they chatted away, and Stephen and Paul kept cooking and serving, Peter and I rehearsed a Christmas gift we wrote for the guys...and when the time came, we gathered all the guests in the dining room, where the piano is, and performed THE FIRST NOE (with those two little dots over the "e") for the crowd! I may have to include the lyrics in my next blog, telling the story of when we drove to Bridgeport to hear Jane Siberry, and how we sang carols all the way, until Paul stopped us and informed us of how THE FIRST NOEL should really be sung! Hilarious...so we made it into a tale-told by-song, and including two newly minted T-shirts with the huge word NOE (with the two little dots over the "e") in bright red....I shall put the lyrics in my next blog...Peter's song to the lyrics is really good,though...so you will only be getting half the fun...but...you'll get the idea...the guests adored it!
And so did Paul and Stephen...the gift was received as it was given, with love.
And the party proceeded to break up, in time for the huge family dinner that Stephen was cooking as well...while guests from the Open House were leaving, I was re-arranging the tables with Paul and Stephne, creating sitting space for 16 (!!!) dinner guests! And so we did. I then helped to decorate the tables with candles, napkins wrapped in green and red "Save Darfur" and "Equity Fghts Aids" bracelets,(the gift of awareness for Christmas), sparkles and more candles...and so by the time dinner was ready and those guests were called to the table it look extremely festive and pretty. There was a votive candle in a frosty green holder at each place...my goal was to make it look like the tables at Hogwarts, in the Harry Potter films!!! It sort of did! So nice. Guests "oohed" and "ahhed". And the meal was gorgeous! By then, I was so exhausted from what seemed like miles of running around that large apartment serving, setting, chatting, pouring, etc. I sat and had a quiet meal next to my adorable husband.
After dinner,we adjourned to the living room and opened gifts! We got home by 1:00 A.M.!!! Whew! No wonder I slept yesterday away!!
And now we are here, in that "after Christmas" place, with Peter downtown at his Broad Street office, and me and my in-laws getting ourselves together for a good walk out in the cold December sunshine...we may walk up to St. John the Divine, a favorite place to all of us. or we may go the Guggenheim Museum...Pat has never seen it! At the very least, being in this amazing town gives us the choice of so very much to see and do! Either way, our spirits will be fed and our eyes delighted.
A final nice dinner with our lovely family tonight, then off they drive to home in Michigan tomorrow! Wow. Time and its flight!
And the New year looms. Again...WOW!
It doesn't hurt, I suppose that i slept most of yesterday...whenever i got out of bed to do something, I would usually do it for a short while and then i fell back into our warm and comfortable bed for a couple more hours of sleep....I think i actually did catch up on much needed rest. Today I feel wonderful.
Christmas Day , starting at 2:00 was our Open House at Paul and Steve's and after spending a swell morning with my Yonka family around our shiny tree opening lovely gifts, I got ready for the Party day ahead and went down to P and S's to help prepare for the arrival of our guests...Naturally, they begna arriving right on time!
But that was okay because the day was meant to be relzed and full of talk and being together....Kathy R. was the first guest and she looked so pretty...as Steve continued to cook in the kitchen,I was able to sit with KR and talk and talk...she is such a fun woman...a new friend. Smart and talented.
From then on, the in-pouring of people wa spretty steady and I feel like I was on my feet schlepping lovely things to the various food tables for the next 8 hours! Stephen cooked his usual wonderful, luscious and delicious foods and not only did it all look wonderful, it tasted magically good! People adore to come to their home and EAT!!! The place filled up with people, but at a comfortable volume...my darlings Ed L. and Sandy L. arrived, surprising me, and I spent the next hours hugging them a whole lot.....everyone mixed wonderfully well together, jabbering away as if they had all known each other a long time1 That sort of social interaction always amazes me...people really do want to KNOW each other, don't they? And the vibrant yellow-orange and red living room that Paul and Stephen designed for the party they threw for our wedding a couple of years ago, is one of the warmest rooms ever for conversation and letting down one's guard...people sit on those gorgeous plush red microsuede sofas and open up to each other...terrific to see. It doesn't hurt that when Pat and Charles Y. arrived, they warm up a room and talk to any and all comers!
My in-laws are natural poeple persons!
While they chatted away, and Stephen and Paul kept cooking and serving, Peter and I rehearsed a Christmas gift we wrote for the guys...and when the time came, we gathered all the guests in the dining room, where the piano is, and performed THE FIRST NOE (with those two little dots over the "e") for the crowd! I may have to include the lyrics in my next blog, telling the story of when we drove to Bridgeport to hear Jane Siberry, and how we sang carols all the way, until Paul stopped us and informed us of how THE FIRST NOEL should really be sung! Hilarious...so we made it into a tale-told by-song, and including two newly minted T-shirts with the huge word NOE (with the two little dots over the "e") in bright red....I shall put the lyrics in my next blog...Peter's song to the lyrics is really good,though...so you will only be getting half the fun...but...you'll get the idea...the guests adored it!
And so did Paul and Stephen...the gift was received as it was given, with love.
And the party proceeded to break up, in time for the huge family dinner that Stephen was cooking as well...while guests from the Open House were leaving, I was re-arranging the tables with Paul and Stephne, creating sitting space for 16 (!!!) dinner guests! And so we did. I then helped to decorate the tables with candles, napkins wrapped in green and red "Save Darfur" and "Equity Fghts Aids" bracelets,(the gift of awareness for Christmas), sparkles and more candles...and so by the time dinner was ready and those guests were called to the table it look extremely festive and pretty. There was a votive candle in a frosty green holder at each place...my goal was to make it look like the tables at Hogwarts, in the Harry Potter films!!! It sort of did! So nice. Guests "oohed" and "ahhed". And the meal was gorgeous! By then, I was so exhausted from what seemed like miles of running around that large apartment serving, setting, chatting, pouring, etc. I sat and had a quiet meal next to my adorable husband.
After dinner,we adjourned to the living room and opened gifts! We got home by 1:00 A.M.!!! Whew! No wonder I slept yesterday away!!
And now we are here, in that "after Christmas" place, with Peter downtown at his Broad Street office, and me and my in-laws getting ourselves together for a good walk out in the cold December sunshine...we may walk up to St. John the Divine, a favorite place to all of us. or we may go the Guggenheim Museum...Pat has never seen it! At the very least, being in this amazing town gives us the choice of so very much to see and do! Either way, our spirits will be fed and our eyes delighted.
A final nice dinner with our lovely family tonight, then off they drive to home in Michigan tomorrow! Wow. Time and its flight!
And the New year looms. Again...WOW!
Friday, December 23, 2005
Family Family Family....
......arrived safely last night, and we are so glad they are here! Peter's parents are among the world's best best best people, and not only that, but we actually have FUN with them!!! So, it's not only family who are here,but good friends as well...we are so lucky. So very very fortunate.
They arrived last night, as Peter and I had just finished putting the beautiful peaceful new Guest room in shape, and it was waiting glowingly for the Yonkas to come ooh and ahhh over it...which is exactly what they did of course, as we knew they would....Peter managed to get the cable hooked up, hide all the wires, hang the several lovely pictures he had from his collection , with Asian themes, and boy! They look great on the velvety purple walls...I swathed my altar area in a gorgeous burgundy cloth i found in the neighborhood....looks luscious....the Gohohnzon looks so elegant against it. And the wonderful deep red carpet is perfect against the purple silk draperies and silk duvet covers...i mean the room really is fabulous. ALso, I am told by my well-rested in-laws, the room is comfortable and peaceful...
By the way: THE NEW YORK CITY TRANSIT STRIKE IS OVER AND DONE!
Subways and busses are back in service ...New Yorkers can now stop walking 70 blocks to work and complaining about how awful the transit workers are...people can resume their manic Christmas shopping and, quite seriously, smaller stores that were suffering badly because of the strike, may now have a chance to survive...it was getting pretty awful out there for many reasons, and happily, cooler heads prevailed and, obviously, some sort of agreement (or sufficient threat) was reached....and here we are. I barely felt it, as I had the luxury and privilege of being at home and in our neighborhood for all of it....but tens of thousands of others really did suffer infuriating delays and chill and sore muscles from walking,etc...I am glad people can more or less relax now...with a renewed sense of how important the transit systems are to our daily lives....at the very least, this may be a useful reminder in days to come...I personally intend to tell my bus drivers how glad I am to see them again! I hope others act in a kind way.
A turkey is a'roastin' in the oven....the tree is prettily glowing ....and the apartment feels like a home. Especially as the day is grey out side...and pretty cold.
Pat is working on finishing various gifts...Charles is wrapping others..I am clearing my desk...]
Christmas 2005....very sweet and good.
They arrived last night, as Peter and I had just finished putting the beautiful peaceful new Guest room in shape, and it was waiting glowingly for the Yonkas to come ooh and ahhh over it...which is exactly what they did of course, as we knew they would....Peter managed to get the cable hooked up, hide all the wires, hang the several lovely pictures he had from his collection , with Asian themes, and boy! They look great on the velvety purple walls...I swathed my altar area in a gorgeous burgundy cloth i found in the neighborhood....looks luscious....the Gohohnzon looks so elegant against it. And the wonderful deep red carpet is perfect against the purple silk draperies and silk duvet covers...i mean the room really is fabulous. ALso, I am told by my well-rested in-laws, the room is comfortable and peaceful...
By the way: THE NEW YORK CITY TRANSIT STRIKE IS OVER AND DONE!
Subways and busses are back in service ...New Yorkers can now stop walking 70 blocks to work and complaining about how awful the transit workers are...people can resume their manic Christmas shopping and, quite seriously, smaller stores that were suffering badly because of the strike, may now have a chance to survive...it was getting pretty awful out there for many reasons, and happily, cooler heads prevailed and, obviously, some sort of agreement (or sufficient threat) was reached....and here we are. I barely felt it, as I had the luxury and privilege of being at home and in our neighborhood for all of it....but tens of thousands of others really did suffer infuriating delays and chill and sore muscles from walking,etc...I am glad people can more or less relax now...with a renewed sense of how important the transit systems are to our daily lives....at the very least, this may be a useful reminder in days to come...I personally intend to tell my bus drivers how glad I am to see them again! I hope others act in a kind way.
A turkey is a'roastin' in the oven....the tree is prettily glowing ....and the apartment feels like a home. Especially as the day is grey out side...and pretty cold.
Pat is working on finishing various gifts...Charles is wrapping others..I am clearing my desk...]
Christmas 2005....very sweet and good.
Wednesday, December 21, 2005
TRANSIT STRIKE 2005!!!
Yikes! And so, for the first time in over a quarter of a decade,the City has shut down in all areas transportationally, and thousands and thousands of New Yorkers are walking to work!!! In 20 degree weather! If not walking, then biking, sharing cars (4 to a car is the rule by law) or cabs, or special vans,etc....The Transit Workers Union sent its people out on strike two days ago and, even though it is unsupported by its parent TWU, the City subways and busses are dead as the proverbial doornails...though it is officially against the law, this strike has taken hold and is effective: it is crippling the city, though New Yorkers are so damned stalwart and determined, I have a feeling a lot of business will continue as usual...do not tell a New Yorker they cannot have what they want: so...the strikers will stick to their demands, and the ordinary citizen will stick to what they need to do! The City will roll on , or rather walk on...and life will continue...inconveniently, perhaps, but on it will go! God Bless all concerned....people are so mad at each other....lots of folks think the Transit Workers Union is being selfish and bad...others think their demands are reasonable...SInce,as usual,I do not know all the facts or histories involved, I reserve judgement...
Peter took a day at home yesterday,since getting down to Wall Street (where he is currently earning money) seemed a dicey proposition at best...today he has struck out walking hoping someone will pick him up along the way....from our home down to lower Manhattan is a great walk in the Spring or Summer,but in this cold? I do not wish to lose an adored husband to frost bite! At least the sun is shining brightly through the utter chill. New Yorkers are so strong and good.
We bought the most beautiful Christmas Tree last night...after spending a good part of the day clearing away space for it to live while it is with us...in so doing, we completely transformed the living room space and this is good...opened it up...and once the tree is gone, we shall have ever so much more room...the great thing about visitors and holidays is that one is forced to clean house and throw stuff away! You always say you are going to and never do ..but if "they" are coming soon, and a Holiday approcahed, you really have to get down to it...especially, if a new thing like a 10 foot tall tree is coming to visit!!! And we put lights on it and we hung our large collection of ornaments on it, and low and behold: a beautiful thing is now standing next to my desk, aromatic and comforting. Cyrano,our boy doggie, has found a snuggly place beneath it...I may have to put the wrapped gifts gently around the spot he has made for himself..put a pretty ribbon around his handsome furry neck...Sally stays stubbornly in her sofa spot and will not venture under any new trees...no way, not her! I made a near-perfect loaf of bread last night, and plan to bake cookies today....EVALYN BARON: DOMESTIC GODDESS!!! I love having this time to do that sort of stuff...My darling Ann J. in Abingdon is a genius at all this stuff, and seems to do it all so effortlessly, though I no whow hard she works at all she does....everytime i make some place in our home look pretty, i think of her...Ann: you will love the new purple Guest/Meditation Room...I found the most wonderful curtains....and we will finish it off just in time for the arrival of Peter's folks, who arrive tomorrow. YAY!
So, the Holiday moves onward apace, and before we know it, it will not be 2005 anymore,....impossible to quite grasp how quickly this year has gone by...like magic.
We lost our dearest Alice W.,and Paul's Mom...Peter got to sing with Reba M. and meet a few industry folks he could otherwise not have met, if we were not here...I learned there is a wide world out there...(soon I will write about the most intriguing meeting I had Monday at the famed Stella Adler Studio, with Cynthis Adler Tom Oppenheim, and Carlos Coldat, all of whom so deeply impressed me with their warmth and heart and mind. I love leaving meetings with titles of books to read by authors new to me!!). Suffice it to say: I am discovering a wider world than I had expected on our return here...for some reason, I thought I'd be falling back into the same ruts and patterns I was in before we left for Abingdon...how naive of me...maybe that's why it felt so wrong to come home: I already knew I had outgrown my old life here...well, little did I know (or trust) that there are horizons and horizons to travel toward in a City like this...of course it was that way when I was younger...so much new to discover when young...but as I've gotten older, I must admit I had allowed myself to get into a space of "Been there, done that"...and now, thank God, I have been proven wrong: there are vistas far more exciting and satisfying than I ever imagined...all one has to do is be brave and stay open to the new....stay hungry for it.
So, 2005 has been that for me: new horizons...for that i am grateful. Well, heck: for so much ...I am grateful for so very much.
Not the least of which: you ,dear friends and readers.
Peter took a day at home yesterday,since getting down to Wall Street (where he is currently earning money) seemed a dicey proposition at best...today he has struck out walking hoping someone will pick him up along the way....from our home down to lower Manhattan is a great walk in the Spring or Summer,but in this cold? I do not wish to lose an adored husband to frost bite! At least the sun is shining brightly through the utter chill. New Yorkers are so strong and good.
We bought the most beautiful Christmas Tree last night...after spending a good part of the day clearing away space for it to live while it is with us...in so doing, we completely transformed the living room space and this is good...opened it up...and once the tree is gone, we shall have ever so much more room...the great thing about visitors and holidays is that one is forced to clean house and throw stuff away! You always say you are going to and never do ..but if "they" are coming soon, and a Holiday approcahed, you really have to get down to it...especially, if a new thing like a 10 foot tall tree is coming to visit!!! And we put lights on it and we hung our large collection of ornaments on it, and low and behold: a beautiful thing is now standing next to my desk, aromatic and comforting. Cyrano,our boy doggie, has found a snuggly place beneath it...I may have to put the wrapped gifts gently around the spot he has made for himself..put a pretty ribbon around his handsome furry neck...Sally stays stubbornly in her sofa spot and will not venture under any new trees...no way, not her! I made a near-perfect loaf of bread last night, and plan to bake cookies today....EVALYN BARON: DOMESTIC GODDESS!!! I love having this time to do that sort of stuff...My darling Ann J. in Abingdon is a genius at all this stuff, and seems to do it all so effortlessly, though I no whow hard she works at all she does....everytime i make some place in our home look pretty, i think of her...Ann: you will love the new purple Guest/Meditation Room...I found the most wonderful curtains....and we will finish it off just in time for the arrival of Peter's folks, who arrive tomorrow. YAY!
So, the Holiday moves onward apace, and before we know it, it will not be 2005 anymore,....impossible to quite grasp how quickly this year has gone by...like magic.
We lost our dearest Alice W.,and Paul's Mom...Peter got to sing with Reba M. and meet a few industry folks he could otherwise not have met, if we were not here...I learned there is a wide world out there...(soon I will write about the most intriguing meeting I had Monday at the famed Stella Adler Studio, with Cynthis Adler Tom Oppenheim, and Carlos Coldat, all of whom so deeply impressed me with their warmth and heart and mind. I love leaving meetings with titles of books to read by authors new to me!!). Suffice it to say: I am discovering a wider world than I had expected on our return here...for some reason, I thought I'd be falling back into the same ruts and patterns I was in before we left for Abingdon...how naive of me...maybe that's why it felt so wrong to come home: I already knew I had outgrown my old life here...well, little did I know (or trust) that there are horizons and horizons to travel toward in a City like this...of course it was that way when I was younger...so much new to discover when young...but as I've gotten older, I must admit I had allowed myself to get into a space of "Been there, done that"...and now, thank God, I have been proven wrong: there are vistas far more exciting and satisfying than I ever imagined...all one has to do is be brave and stay open to the new....stay hungry for it.
So, 2005 has been that for me: new horizons...for that i am grateful. Well, heck: for so much ...I am grateful for so very much.
Not the least of which: you ,dear friends and readers.
Sunday, December 18, 2005
WOW!
I received so many supportive emails about my last entry!
Thank you each and every one.
The Mark Twain quote from Dr. A.Crockett is classic: "The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightening and a lightening bug." He had a way about him, literarily, did he not? Thank you Dr.C.
The weekend in the country (again with the Sondheim) was perfect....much accomplished. That craft project almost complete and so lovely.Thanks to the help of Paul D. The snowscape surrounding the impeccable and comfortable House was, as ever, brilliant. We slept, ate and did fun things. Peter caught up on much-needed rest, I stitched to my heart's content...and the Jane Siberry thing was fun and adventurous, none of us ever having been in Bridgeport before! She is an artist unlike any other.Bless her.
The pups loved romping in the snow,even though it did every now and again allow them to sink in so deep it covered their little dachshund heads! They were undaunted!
Ben T.(Nancy's gorgeous tall son who i have known since his birth!) found yet another tall and perfect tree for their living room, this year: 14 feet tall!!! We decorated it and drank fab hot cider while doing so....I have decided that ornaments, especially the really large and gorgeously crafted ones, look the best on a large tree! And they have some beauties! Peter and I will have ours in place by Tuesday night....our first NYC tree in five years! We ache to begin decorating it. And so we shall.
Peter's folks arrive Thursday night of this week...oddly shocking how fast this year is flying...poof! Another Christmas! Hard to even believe that this time last year we were putting up our tree on Valley View Drive in Abingdon....yikes! I was heartsick at having to leave ...it seemed impossible,.and now here we are...a year gone by. Not a day goes by (hello Mr. S, yet again) not a single day....that Barter is not in my heart.
Tomorrow I sign with Abrams...my first on-camera agent in a while....and before even signing they sent me out on a Mercedes TV spot that will shoot in ARGENTINA of all places! Don'y ask me why! BUT if i book this one? THANK YOU MERCEDES BENZ! Danke Schoen!It was simply so much fun to be back in front of a camera again!
The class I wil teach at NYU next semester starts on January 18th, I believe...so I have some serious Holiday time to enjoy here...I will start my private classes up again at that time as well, since it seems all my private students will have finished all their Christmas shows and seem to want to get back to work in class, so....it has surprised me how powerful those nights of class work have been for all concerned. Very productive. Grateful for that.
Steinhardt School people seem very comfortable talking to each other about the work, and if the Faculty Tea i went to is any indication, Bill W. welcomes all to open their hearts and minds and share their ways of teaching. He encourges free ideating and urges courageous talking about any and all experiences and approaches. He honors each individual teacher that way, and they feel it. He also suggests that teachers have times together often when ideas can keep being shared. I could have stayed aournd that table listening and contributing all evening. Mostly listening, but feeling deeply welcome to contribute as well. True sharing....pulling together. No one fearful of any one else...all equal. Therefore, all powerful. So good. Very humble and assured. Each teacher an open book and not afraid to be read out loud.
Truly , this can only result in good things for the Steinhardt future. I do hope so.
It is so good to get to know people I can believe in and trust with my opinions and ideas. One of the things that mark my favorite people is this ability they have to listen and not fear. And if fearful,then admitting it and putting that fear to the good use of their own growth. Rick R. is so that way, and he therefore taught me to want the same from others. I certainly married a man who is demanding in that way. Twice. Both Paul and Peter have that quality of fearlessness in them. I guess they would have to have in order to put up with me!!
Am I talking too much?
But, you see, I am so happy.
As, dear readers, i hope you are.
xxev
Thank you each and every one.
The Mark Twain quote from Dr. A.Crockett is classic: "The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightening and a lightening bug." He had a way about him, literarily, did he not? Thank you Dr.C.
The weekend in the country (again with the Sondheim) was perfect....much accomplished. That craft project almost complete and so lovely.Thanks to the help of Paul D. The snowscape surrounding the impeccable and comfortable House was, as ever, brilliant. We slept, ate and did fun things. Peter caught up on much-needed rest, I stitched to my heart's content...and the Jane Siberry thing was fun and adventurous, none of us ever having been in Bridgeport before! She is an artist unlike any other.Bless her.
The pups loved romping in the snow,even though it did every now and again allow them to sink in so deep it covered their little dachshund heads! They were undaunted!
Ben T.(Nancy's gorgeous tall son who i have known since his birth!) found yet another tall and perfect tree for their living room, this year: 14 feet tall!!! We decorated it and drank fab hot cider while doing so....I have decided that ornaments, especially the really large and gorgeously crafted ones, look the best on a large tree! And they have some beauties! Peter and I will have ours in place by Tuesday night....our first NYC tree in five years! We ache to begin decorating it. And so we shall.
Peter's folks arrive Thursday night of this week...oddly shocking how fast this year is flying...poof! Another Christmas! Hard to even believe that this time last year we were putting up our tree on Valley View Drive in Abingdon....yikes! I was heartsick at having to leave ...it seemed impossible,.and now here we are...a year gone by. Not a day goes by (hello Mr. S, yet again) not a single day....that Barter is not in my heart.
Tomorrow I sign with Abrams...my first on-camera agent in a while....and before even signing they sent me out on a Mercedes TV spot that will shoot in ARGENTINA of all places! Don'y ask me why! BUT if i book this one? THANK YOU MERCEDES BENZ! Danke Schoen!It was simply so much fun to be back in front of a camera again!
The class I wil teach at NYU next semester starts on January 18th, I believe...so I have some serious Holiday time to enjoy here...I will start my private classes up again at that time as well, since it seems all my private students will have finished all their Christmas shows and seem to want to get back to work in class, so....it has surprised me how powerful those nights of class work have been for all concerned. Very productive. Grateful for that.
Steinhardt School people seem very comfortable talking to each other about the work, and if the Faculty Tea i went to is any indication, Bill W. welcomes all to open their hearts and minds and share their ways of teaching. He encourges free ideating and urges courageous talking about any and all experiences and approaches. He honors each individual teacher that way, and they feel it. He also suggests that teachers have times together often when ideas can keep being shared. I could have stayed aournd that table listening and contributing all evening. Mostly listening, but feeling deeply welcome to contribute as well. True sharing....pulling together. No one fearful of any one else...all equal. Therefore, all powerful. So good. Very humble and assured. Each teacher an open book and not afraid to be read out loud.
Truly , this can only result in good things for the Steinhardt future. I do hope so.
It is so good to get to know people I can believe in and trust with my opinions and ideas. One of the things that mark my favorite people is this ability they have to listen and not fear. And if fearful,then admitting it and putting that fear to the good use of their own growth. Rick R. is so that way, and he therefore taught me to want the same from others. I certainly married a man who is demanding in that way. Twice. Both Paul and Peter have that quality of fearlessness in them. I guess they would have to have in order to put up with me!!
Am I talking too much?
But, you see, I am so happy.
As, dear readers, i hope you are.
xxev
Saturday, December 17, 2005
Here's To the Ladies Who Lunch....
.....thank you Mr.Sondheim for that immortal phrase....because yesterday i was indeed one of those ladies, along with Nancy T., Lois R. and Jacky Y....at the Metropolitan Museum Trustees Dining room! Quiet ,elegant and fun!
And we decided to do it quarterly, as Jax, our lady banker suggested...we really do have the most fun together talking about an entire array of subjects...these women are smart, and funny, and insightful.
After lunch, though Lois had to split, the three of us remaining strolled the galleries and shopped the shops...again...fun!
Last night,while darling Peter remained home working on the Christmas project he is doing for Nancy T., Paul and Steve took me to such a fun thing: Jackie Beat down at the The Cutting Room, in her Christmas Show....I have not enjoyed myself like thst in such a long time...Jackie is a sparkling and deeply clever transvestite performer (HE is actually a sit-com writer in LA), and the show was witty as can be, irreverant to a blushing degree, and, finally, I found, thoroughly engaging on several levels, not the least of which (for me) being the idea that this man creates this character twice nightly, and puts it out there with all the verve and focus and energy committment of a Shakespearean, and in so doing, contributes thrillingly to yet another arena of performance art in this City full of performance artists....
And this was no lip-synching act...this "woman" used her own voice to sing her clever parodies of Christmas songs, and that voice is warm, flexible, rangy, gorgeous and strong...a genuine singer, wrapped up in a glorious blonde wig (complete with poinsettia), a short red-velvet dress and bountiful cleavage...the eye makeup alone was worth the trip downtown...I had sich a good time. And of course being with Paul and Steve is one of my favorite things to do always.
Today, Peter, Paul, Steve and I drive up to the house Upstate, to do some shopping, crafting (I want to put together a gift I am making for someone special)
Tonight we drive to Bridgeport, CT. to see the fantastic Jane Siberry at the Acoustic Cafe..then back to the House for a good nights sleep...tomorrow we get a lot done for the Holiday by running errands Upstate...then to Nancy T's house for some Christmas cheer and tree-trimming...
Monday,I sign papers at Abrams....go do a radio booking for Time-Warner (I auditioned for it last week and booked it yesterday) and then meet wth Cynthia Adler at the Stella Adler Studios about some ideas she has on her mind....that should be interesting...I am sort of curious about what all that may be about.
Lately, I have been made aware that there are people who get up in he morning and one of the first things they do is to tune in to what i have written here on these blog pages...i have received many wonderful warm supportive notes from people who seem to be getting such pleasure from reading what I write...this makes me feel so good, of course. And I thank all who have communicated with me on that score. And there are some others who, while not communicating with me directly, have let it be known that what i write here deeply affects them as well. "I've heard it through the grapevine..."....in all cases, I can only say: I write because I love to write. I am a person with no particular place of power of status or importance and yet, like each and every one of us in this world, I have things to say. I am not filled with hate, I wish no particular person or group of persons harm, I only have opinions (and you know what opinions are often compared to...)I also have the ability to string words together in ways that please at least me...I have a love of words...and I am thrilled beyond measure when what my words say make people feel good...that being said, I do not wish , nor do i intend my words to have any particular power...and as I tell my young acting students about critics: do not read them! Especially while you are in a show they are writing about....no critic is worth losing your focus on what you are doing....and if something you read bothers you, STOP READING IT!!!!!! ...And if what I write continues to bother you in some substantive way, I can only hope it will lead to true dialogue, written or spoken, between parties involved...all we have in this world is our ability to communicate with each other. Not at each other, not behind each other, but with.
And, as I have also always thought: it is possible that reading something can also teach the person reading it something they may need to know....I often have learned, whether I have wanted to or not....I must keep writing....and whoever wishes to, please do keep reading...but above all, enjoy it! Or stop reading it. Clearly, the folk who continue to read, even though it angers them, are enjoying what the blog has to say...after all, finally, i do believe we only do those things we want to do.
I still want to tell you about the Faculty Tea i went to at Steinhardt School...but now i have to get ready to go to the country! So , later, friends...later...
xxev
And we decided to do it quarterly, as Jax, our lady banker suggested...we really do have the most fun together talking about an entire array of subjects...these women are smart, and funny, and insightful.
After lunch, though Lois had to split, the three of us remaining strolled the galleries and shopped the shops...again...fun!
Last night,while darling Peter remained home working on the Christmas project he is doing for Nancy T., Paul and Steve took me to such a fun thing: Jackie Beat down at the The Cutting Room, in her Christmas Show....I have not enjoyed myself like thst in such a long time...Jackie is a sparkling and deeply clever transvestite performer (HE is actually a sit-com writer in LA), and the show was witty as can be, irreverant to a blushing degree, and, finally, I found, thoroughly engaging on several levels, not the least of which (for me) being the idea that this man creates this character twice nightly, and puts it out there with all the verve and focus and energy committment of a Shakespearean, and in so doing, contributes thrillingly to yet another arena of performance art in this City full of performance artists....
And this was no lip-synching act...this "woman" used her own voice to sing her clever parodies of Christmas songs, and that voice is warm, flexible, rangy, gorgeous and strong...a genuine singer, wrapped up in a glorious blonde wig (complete with poinsettia), a short red-velvet dress and bountiful cleavage...the eye makeup alone was worth the trip downtown...I had sich a good time. And of course being with Paul and Steve is one of my favorite things to do always.
Today, Peter, Paul, Steve and I drive up to the house Upstate, to do some shopping, crafting (I want to put together a gift I am making for someone special)
Tonight we drive to Bridgeport, CT. to see the fantastic Jane Siberry at the Acoustic Cafe..then back to the House for a good nights sleep...tomorrow we get a lot done for the Holiday by running errands Upstate...then to Nancy T's house for some Christmas cheer and tree-trimming...
Monday,I sign papers at Abrams....go do a radio booking for Time-Warner (I auditioned for it last week and booked it yesterday) and then meet wth Cynthia Adler at the Stella Adler Studios about some ideas she has on her mind....that should be interesting...I am sort of curious about what all that may be about.
Lately, I have been made aware that there are people who get up in he morning and one of the first things they do is to tune in to what i have written here on these blog pages...i have received many wonderful warm supportive notes from people who seem to be getting such pleasure from reading what I write...this makes me feel so good, of course. And I thank all who have communicated with me on that score. And there are some others who, while not communicating with me directly, have let it be known that what i write here deeply affects them as well. "I've heard it through the grapevine..."....in all cases, I can only say: I write because I love to write. I am a person with no particular place of power of status or importance and yet, like each and every one of us in this world, I have things to say. I am not filled with hate, I wish no particular person or group of persons harm, I only have opinions (and you know what opinions are often compared to...)I also have the ability to string words together in ways that please at least me...I have a love of words...and I am thrilled beyond measure when what my words say make people feel good...that being said, I do not wish , nor do i intend my words to have any particular power...and as I tell my young acting students about critics: do not read them! Especially while you are in a show they are writing about....no critic is worth losing your focus on what you are doing....and if something you read bothers you, STOP READING IT!!!!!! ...And if what I write continues to bother you in some substantive way, I can only hope it will lead to true dialogue, written or spoken, between parties involved...all we have in this world is our ability to communicate with each other. Not at each other, not behind each other, but with.
And, as I have also always thought: it is possible that reading something can also teach the person reading it something they may need to know....I often have learned, whether I have wanted to or not....I must keep writing....and whoever wishes to, please do keep reading...but above all, enjoy it! Or stop reading it. Clearly, the folk who continue to read, even though it angers them, are enjoying what the blog has to say...after all, finally, i do believe we only do those things we want to do.
I still want to tell you about the Faculty Tea i went to at Steinhardt School...but now i have to get ready to go to the country! So , later, friends...later...
xxev
Thursday, December 15, 2005
A Fulfilling Day....
......all day, down at NYU yesterday, at the Steinhardt School of Music , where I have been asked to teach a course in Song Analysis in the coming Spring Semester...
I spent all day down there on West 4th Stree, and I learned a lot about NYU and how things are run from a University point of view....a genuinely fun and interesting day for me from morning til night...
First i went to the Business Admin Floor where I was given a rather substantial "New Employee Packet" to fill out, and so i settled down with my hot chocolate and took my time, relishing each form, reading each word....(I had first made the friendly acquaintance of Naomi, the head receptionist,who, as it happens, is an amazing artist of felted hats and jewelry, some of which she was actually wearing and i wanted to buy it all right off her it was so beautiful...)...so I filled out forms and then more forms....soon, I handed them in and was given more stuff to take home and read about what it was like to work for the University proper and the benefits i could expect.....
Then Bill W. took me to lunch with John Simpkins, another adjunct who has been teaching there for 5 years or so, and who will be teaching the other Sophomore Section of Song Analysis....a terrific Mexican lunch, terrific conversation, and lots of my questions answered, as well as getting to know John better...a smart and focused, articulate and obviously caring man, who spends his summers directing musical shows at theaters all over the place....this is the first time he will be teaching Song Analysis, as well as continuing to carry his Styles Class....the lunch was not only congenial, but instructive for me as well...it feels very comfortable,
these continuing conversations about the shared philosophy of teaching singing actors to become better at all they do.,..the entire instrument, nutured and schooled, not pushed and produced...it's so deeply easy to talk to the people I have met there so far.
Then they took me to a gathering that they have once a week, required for each and every student to come to, both in the Opera and the Musical Theater sections...a weekly confab, where performances occur,of the students as they progress, or discussions, lectures...always about some aspect of the school's goals with the students: a school-wide reminder of how important it is to integrate what they learn in their acting classes into their private voice sessions and vice-versa...this is of major concern for them all: how to integrate, without forcing the voices into places they are not ready to go yet...
THEN: I went back to Bill's office for more chat about the same subjects,,,,they are really exploring this and the best ways to teach it....and he gave me papers concerning classes he want me to visit and private teachers he thinks I could benefit from speaking with over lunch...I will of course do as he says...if I am to learn more about the 15 kids I will be teaching, the best way to do it is from the P.O.V. of their private voice teachers, all of whom (at least the ones I met at the Faculty Tea I will tell you about in a moment) seem deeply articulate about and concerned with opening up the emotional life of their students and making them as fully expressive as possible, while still keeping the voice on a healthy and properly produced growth path....many jokes are made about how the kids soon learn not to pit their voice instruction against their acting and dance training, because they soon realize that the teachers, all the teachers , talk to each other about each student all the time! Soon,an integrated approach is embraced by all, including the student, and a proper respect for nurtured and patient growth is instilled in even the most impatient young performer. I like this.
THEN: the MOST WONDERFUL FACULTY TEA!!!! MORE DISCUSSION! I will tell you about this later...gotta run to an audition!
xxev
I spent all day down there on West 4th Stree, and I learned a lot about NYU and how things are run from a University point of view....a genuinely fun and interesting day for me from morning til night...
First i went to the Business Admin Floor where I was given a rather substantial "New Employee Packet" to fill out, and so i settled down with my hot chocolate and took my time, relishing each form, reading each word....(I had first made the friendly acquaintance of Naomi, the head receptionist,who, as it happens, is an amazing artist of felted hats and jewelry, some of which she was actually wearing and i wanted to buy it all right off her it was so beautiful...)...so I filled out forms and then more forms....soon, I handed them in and was given more stuff to take home and read about what it was like to work for the University proper and the benefits i could expect.....
Then Bill W. took me to lunch with John Simpkins, another adjunct who has been teaching there for 5 years or so, and who will be teaching the other Sophomore Section of Song Analysis....a terrific Mexican lunch, terrific conversation, and lots of my questions answered, as well as getting to know John better...a smart and focused, articulate and obviously caring man, who spends his summers directing musical shows at theaters all over the place....this is the first time he will be teaching Song Analysis, as well as continuing to carry his Styles Class....the lunch was not only congenial, but instructive for me as well...it feels very comfortable,
these continuing conversations about the shared philosophy of teaching singing actors to become better at all they do.,..the entire instrument, nutured and schooled, not pushed and produced...it's so deeply easy to talk to the people I have met there so far.
Then they took me to a gathering that they have once a week, required for each and every student to come to, both in the Opera and the Musical Theater sections...a weekly confab, where performances occur,of the students as they progress, or discussions, lectures...always about some aspect of the school's goals with the students: a school-wide reminder of how important it is to integrate what they learn in their acting classes into their private voice sessions and vice-versa...this is of major concern for them all: how to integrate, without forcing the voices into places they are not ready to go yet...
THEN: I went back to Bill's office for more chat about the same subjects,,,,they are really exploring this and the best ways to teach it....and he gave me papers concerning classes he want me to visit and private teachers he thinks I could benefit from speaking with over lunch...I will of course do as he says...if I am to learn more about the 15 kids I will be teaching, the best way to do it is from the P.O.V. of their private voice teachers, all of whom (at least the ones I met at the Faculty Tea I will tell you about in a moment) seem deeply articulate about and concerned with opening up the emotional life of their students and making them as fully expressive as possible, while still keeping the voice on a healthy and properly produced growth path....many jokes are made about how the kids soon learn not to pit their voice instruction against their acting and dance training, because they soon realize that the teachers, all the teachers , talk to each other about each student all the time! Soon,an integrated approach is embraced by all, including the student, and a proper respect for nurtured and patient growth is instilled in even the most impatient young performer. I like this.
THEN: the MOST WONDERFUL FACULTY TEA!!!! MORE DISCUSSION! I will tell you about this later...gotta run to an audition!
xxev
Tuesday, December 13, 2005
KING KONG .....
...is a smash hit at the Box Office, the recent re-make by Peter Jackson...and that ape in California turned down the appeal for mercy of Tookie Williams and the former gang leader has, after all, been executed in California...every time i actually experience the inhumanity of man to his fellow, I am always surprised...why is that? It's like when I buy a Lotto Scratch card and I DON'T win, I am always amazed and surprised, because I think i always should win....so when I don't, I am always so taken aback! And it's the same with each act of human stupidity and cruelty... Yes, this former founder of the Crips gang in LA killed people a quarter of a century ago, but in that time he has done so much to make up for what he did, and has, by all accounts, changed to the degree that begs forgiveness....he has been on Death Row for over two decades! And finally, when his last appeal was denied by Governor Schwartenegger (those two words together still chill my blood), he was killed by lethal injection last night! How deeply truly bone-chillingly sad. Well, Arnold S. has his Fate to meet one day,and his karma is laden already with things to pay for, so one more thing...well...how sad. Sad that Forgiveness is not high on the list of Americans' prioroties....the majority on the pop polls did want this guy dead, no matter what. We have not travelled far from our cave days have we?
Along to more hopeful things: the reading of SCARY NATION was so good last night.
The packed audience at The Cherry Lane was delighted, obviously, by the play, and the 90 minutes flew by, filled with laughter and hushed disgust as the dark-limned cautionary tale unfolded. We had fun. All were pleased. I was home by 10:00, which felt good, because the Village always feels colder and more wintry than the rest of NYC...I think it's its romantic legacy, to feel oh so "La Boheme", and wintry, so that the storied struggle of the young masses continues to have the right backdrop!
Being on several of those tiny streets, like Bedford where The Cherry is, feels always like being on some sort of quaint movie set...not quite real, the scale is so human and enter-able...so adorable, so warmly lit from inside the interesting buildings...so it was good to get the reading done, then hurry home to a warm husband and an even warmer Upper Westside apartment! Today is cold cold cold as well.
But sunny!
I have a couple more meetings at Abrams Artists today, then a voice-over audition at Ogilvey...then a large Shareholders Meeting here at the 890...I shifted my classes around so i could go to this large meeting tonight. I want to tune in to more of the Co-op's goings-on...it has become a major Upper West Side building now, and feels more and more like an investment to protect, so going to my first Shareholders Meeting in years seems like a good idea.
Mark D. called form the Barter the other evening. It was soooooo good to talkwith him and his dearest gifted wife Cherry...acording to Mark, the Barters' latest struggle with the Town Council resolved in the theatre's favor, and this is good news. I must email Rick R. to congratulate. I always enjoyed going to Abingdon town meetings, though they often incensed me too, because it really is an example of America at its most human: the genuine Town Meeting...accesible and ...well....human. So I like that. Even if I do not always like politics. I like gatherings of people! And of course I will always think the theatre is right, right? The important part is : a theatre like the Barter is intrinsically involved in the life of the town it lives in...this is only right and good.
So, life, as usual,is about death and change, about argument and resolution, about cold and warming....about listenihg even when it is tough to do so, and hanging in there, even when one' s fingernails start breaking. Or, as the indominable "Dory" in FINDING NEMO says: "Keep swimming, keep swimming, keep swimming, keep swimming, keep swimming.....keep swimming...keep swimming...keep swimming....."
And for now, wetly, xxev
Along to more hopeful things: the reading of SCARY NATION was so good last night.
The packed audience at The Cherry Lane was delighted, obviously, by the play, and the 90 minutes flew by, filled with laughter and hushed disgust as the dark-limned cautionary tale unfolded. We had fun. All were pleased. I was home by 10:00, which felt good, because the Village always feels colder and more wintry than the rest of NYC...I think it's its romantic legacy, to feel oh so "La Boheme", and wintry, so that the storied struggle of the young masses continues to have the right backdrop!
Being on several of those tiny streets, like Bedford where The Cherry is, feels always like being on some sort of quaint movie set...not quite real, the scale is so human and enter-able...so adorable, so warmly lit from inside the interesting buildings...so it was good to get the reading done, then hurry home to a warm husband and an even warmer Upper Westside apartment! Today is cold cold cold as well.
But sunny!
I have a couple more meetings at Abrams Artists today, then a voice-over audition at Ogilvey...then a large Shareholders Meeting here at the 890...I shifted my classes around so i could go to this large meeting tonight. I want to tune in to more of the Co-op's goings-on...it has become a major Upper West Side building now, and feels more and more like an investment to protect, so going to my first Shareholders Meeting in years seems like a good idea.
Mark D. called form the Barter the other evening. It was soooooo good to talkwith him and his dearest gifted wife Cherry...acording to Mark, the Barters' latest struggle with the Town Council resolved in the theatre's favor, and this is good news. I must email Rick R. to congratulate. I always enjoyed going to Abingdon town meetings, though they often incensed me too, because it really is an example of America at its most human: the genuine Town Meeting...accesible and ...well....human. So I like that. Even if I do not always like politics. I like gatherings of people! And of course I will always think the theatre is right, right? The important part is : a theatre like the Barter is intrinsically involved in the life of the town it lives in...this is only right and good.
So, life, as usual,is about death and change, about argument and resolution, about cold and warming....about listenihg even when it is tough to do so, and hanging in there, even when one' s fingernails start breaking. Or, as the indominable "Dory" in FINDING NEMO says: "Keep swimming, keep swimming, keep swimming, keep swimming, keep swimming.....keep swimming...keep swimming...keep swimming....."
And for now, wetly, xxev
Monday, December 12, 2005
Tonight: SCARY NATION!!
...at the Cherry Lane Theater, and I read the part of "Carrie Nation"! Teh second read of this fun play by Zach Udko, a talented NYU Grad writer....rehearsal at 3:00, then the reading at 7:00....
...sad that I have to miss the last Epic Rep reading at The Players Club tonight, but a promise is a promise and I promised Janice Goldberg and Zach I would do this reading a long time ago,,,In January, the Epic Shaw Project will begin and that will be fun! It's Staller's goal to read everything Shaw ever wrote for the theatre over a two-year period of time, and he has discovered obscure and wonderful things to include, along with all the old favorites...
There are more Holiday things I look forward to over the next two weeks, not the least of which is lunch with Nacny T. and Lois R. at the Met Museum on Friday...festive and fun! Our Guest Room is making headway and it looks already good! Soon, Pat and Charles will be here to fill it! YAY! Now:
WHERE TO PUT THE CHRISTMAS TREE!!!!????? We must make room !
xxev
...sad that I have to miss the last Epic Rep reading at The Players Club tonight, but a promise is a promise and I promised Janice Goldberg and Zach I would do this reading a long time ago,,,In January, the Epic Shaw Project will begin and that will be fun! It's Staller's goal to read everything Shaw ever wrote for the theatre over a two-year period of time, and he has discovered obscure and wonderful things to include, along with all the old favorites...
There are more Holiday things I look forward to over the next two weeks, not the least of which is lunch with Nacny T. and Lois R. at the Met Museum on Friday...festive and fun! Our Guest Room is making headway and it looks already good! Soon, Pat and Charles will be here to fill it! YAY! Now:
WHERE TO PUT THE CHRISTMAS TREE!!!!????? We must make room !
xxev
Saturday, December 10, 2005
Holiday Molecules...
...thicken and swirl in the air around us all, as the street corners fill with fragrant greenery for sale, people purchase and sling large decorative wreathes over their crooked arms and head home thinking how and where to hang them...small holiday trees in red-wrapped pots, large fluffy Scotch pines that cost far too much and look proud of the fact, NYC becomes a veritable forest for a few weeks....these same proud trees will sooner than later lay in scorned piles on the same street corners, after we satisfied city-dwellers have had our fill of them..one of the saddest January sights are these piles of trees-past-their-time, their tinsel fluttering in the coldest air of all: that of abandonment and neglect.
But for now, each of these firs,pines and hemlocks offer promise and a s..Sexy whiff of "what if..."....we will buy our trees we will decorate!
Something almost chemical happens in this town around this time of year: people seem transformed from grumpy grey lumps into smiling red and green creatures of warmth and friendliness, and I have always wondered why...is it the prospect of the presents they may be receiving? Is it all the sugar they consume at the inevitable office Christmas parties? Or the chance once-a-year sexual encounters that may spring up there, after alchohol and proximity do their party best? Is it all that STUFF that is cheerily presented around us all, leaping and screaming from every shop and store window possible? Is it the message, loud and clear, that seems to get through despite all the other noise: PEACE ON EARTH? How can this be, when we are busy killing more people on the other side of the world in the name of freedom? What is peaceful about war? But that aside, dose the Christmas message get through to us anyway? And is that what changes us? It's a mystery. But huge boxes of food and chocolates that avalanche into offices all over the city...the inevitable client gifts: towers of treats...the normal grey spaces are lit with plenty and sweet plenty at that!
What a place to be at this holiday time....NEW YORK CITY: Christmas Central!
All that being said, there have been a few evetful treats lately that do seem to resonate in our life as real gifts:
Thursday night last (today is Saturday), Peter and I went to the Epic Rep Holiday Perty, and it was a small but warmly congenial gathering. Nice people , deeply committed to their mission of finding and producing new plays. We like these people.
A couple of the couples have already produced some beautiful Epic babies! And they were there too....and I learned more about the initial reasons for this group getting together...and of their past success in producing certain off-Broadway pieces while Peter and I were away in Virginia. I look forward to learning more.
THEN, after that little gathering, David Staller invited Peter and me to a dress rehearsal of MRS.WARREN'S PROFESSION at the Irish Rep, that he is playing "Praed" in, and Dana Ivey is "Mrs.Warren"...their first audience of any size at all, and there were only maybe 20 of us,if that! But wow, we were all genuinely transported to the delightful and brilliant world of G.B.Shaw and glad for the trip! Dana was a perfect and human and believable Mrs. Warren, deeply able to speak the language and deliver us the complex, strong, real woman who shocked Shaw's Victorian audiences into apoplexy, while making her extremely true to today's world as well. That dilemma of mother-daughter identity and love is timeless and eternal, no matter the age or era.
Staller developed a complex,idiosyncratic, appealingly gentle "Praed",making me realize what an accomplished actor he is....I love it when handsome men turn out to be able "character " men...my husband Peter does that...such cleverness and depth! David was wonderful! And the entire rest of the cast was remarkably wonderful! We had a ball. Charlotte Moore's direction was impeccable! And fun, and again human! We so loved seing this. It is a fine example of superb NYC theater at its best.
Thanks to David for the invitation.
MRS. WARREN'S PROFESSION at the Irish.....go see it!
Dana Ivery: wow! David Staller: wow!
But for now, each of these firs,pines and hemlocks offer promise and a s..Sexy whiff of "what if..."....we will buy our trees we will decorate!
Something almost chemical happens in this town around this time of year: people seem transformed from grumpy grey lumps into smiling red and green creatures of warmth and friendliness, and I have always wondered why...is it the prospect of the presents they may be receiving? Is it all the sugar they consume at the inevitable office Christmas parties? Or the chance once-a-year sexual encounters that may spring up there, after alchohol and proximity do their party best? Is it all that STUFF that is cheerily presented around us all, leaping and screaming from every shop and store window possible? Is it the message, loud and clear, that seems to get through despite all the other noise: PEACE ON EARTH? How can this be, when we are busy killing more people on the other side of the world in the name of freedom? What is peaceful about war? But that aside, dose the Christmas message get through to us anyway? And is that what changes us? It's a mystery. But huge boxes of food and chocolates that avalanche into offices all over the city...the inevitable client gifts: towers of treats...the normal grey spaces are lit with plenty and sweet plenty at that!
What a place to be at this holiday time....NEW YORK CITY: Christmas Central!
All that being said, there have been a few evetful treats lately that do seem to resonate in our life as real gifts:
Thursday night last (today is Saturday), Peter and I went to the Epic Rep Holiday Perty, and it was a small but warmly congenial gathering. Nice people , deeply committed to their mission of finding and producing new plays. We like these people.
A couple of the couples have already produced some beautiful Epic babies! And they were there too....and I learned more about the initial reasons for this group getting together...and of their past success in producing certain off-Broadway pieces while Peter and I were away in Virginia. I look forward to learning more.
THEN, after that little gathering, David Staller invited Peter and me to a dress rehearsal of MRS.WARREN'S PROFESSION at the Irish Rep, that he is playing "Praed" in, and Dana Ivey is "Mrs.Warren"...their first audience of any size at all, and there were only maybe 20 of us,if that! But wow, we were all genuinely transported to the delightful and brilliant world of G.B.Shaw and glad for the trip! Dana was a perfect and human and believable Mrs. Warren, deeply able to speak the language and deliver us the complex, strong, real woman who shocked Shaw's Victorian audiences into apoplexy, while making her extremely true to today's world as well. That dilemma of mother-daughter identity and love is timeless and eternal, no matter the age or era.
Staller developed a complex,idiosyncratic, appealingly gentle "Praed",making me realize what an accomplished actor he is....I love it when handsome men turn out to be able "character " men...my husband Peter does that...such cleverness and depth! David was wonderful! And the entire rest of the cast was remarkably wonderful! We had a ball. Charlotte Moore's direction was impeccable! And fun, and again human! We so loved seing this. It is a fine example of superb NYC theater at its best.
Thanks to David for the invitation.
MRS. WARREN'S PROFESSION at the Irish.....go see it!
Dana Ivery: wow! David Staller: wow!
Tuesday, December 06, 2005
New York Winter
...sets in for real, as the winds blow and the temperatures drop.....it has even snowed a time or two in the last week, not majorly, but enough to remind us what it's like to get out the snow boots and allow them to anchor us to the salty sidewalks....that snowy icing that makes the dirty city look clean once more, if even for a very short while....
Two terrific meetings today at Abrams Artists with both the commercial department and the literary/directing section...i will meet more commercial agents next week...and probably sign contracts with them over time...I was particulary impressed with the lovely Tracy G. and the writer's agent Beth B., both of whom has terrific stories to tell and lots of good background in this business...they know everyone I know, and have had entirely different experiences over these past two decades....I had a good time at that office today.
And another remarkable class this evening.Paul Johnson is such a good good pianist with singers, so sensitive and insightful...so helpful when allowed to contribute his lovely ideas to the actors' development...i value his presence in my classes so much. Such a nice man too.
The purple Guest Room is finished and looks wonderful wonderful wonderful! ANd now the fun of new furniture and decor can begin....I already placed one beautiful Indian Buddha in the room and it looks so natural there....this wil be a soothing and terrific meditation room....and guests will feel welcome there. So, dear friends who read this, soon you will have a place to come and stay with us...at last! So, that awful leak from the apartment above us has turned into a blessing in disguise, as it made us turn the room into the better room we have wanted all along. That purple is remarkable soothing and mouth-watering...bowls of fresh fruit will look good in that room....
I accepted the offer of a class at Steinhardt today...I will teach the Spring Semester starting January 17th...and I shall be an employee of NYU proper...a step in a direction I wish to go...so that when I was called with an offer of an audition today that would have taken me out of town, i was able to easily turn it down and my agent thoroughly understood my reasons....if i go anywhere that is not NYC, it will be Barter and only Barter....meanwhile, it feels good to be asked to teach again...I have missed it, in a larger classroom atmosphere, and was frankly surprised when it worked out that i was not teaching where I thought I would be teaching this year....but it has served to make me investigate so many other possibilities for myself and this has resulted in a certain growth and understanding of my love of teaching. True collaboration has been a joy to re-discover, and in so doing, I have learned more about this great university I had only scratched the surface of before now. I am grateful.
A FINE AND PRIVATE PLACE, a show I first became associated with some years ago at Goodspeed, has been given a production next spring at York Theater, and the writers called me today to tell me they very much want me to do the role I created for them ,and that I also recorded on the CD a couple of years ago...I was touched they thought of me...and even though the York wants to hold proper audtions for all the roles inluding "mine", I will be thoroughly content with what ever occurs in that regard. I have had the pure pleasure of creating the role of "Gertrude Klapper" and am content. There is so little I need to prove these days, in terms of my acting career, and it feels good to want only the best for that show,and whether it is me or some one else....it is up to them, not me. And that is okay. So very nice of Eric H. to call me first though. Again, grateful.
A lovely show that show. It deserves success. And so do the dear writers.Good friends all.
I hope all is well with Barter. I have not heard lately. And as usual, I miss them all. Terribly.
Two terrific meetings today at Abrams Artists with both the commercial department and the literary/directing section...i will meet more commercial agents next week...and probably sign contracts with them over time...I was particulary impressed with the lovely Tracy G. and the writer's agent Beth B., both of whom has terrific stories to tell and lots of good background in this business...they know everyone I know, and have had entirely different experiences over these past two decades....I had a good time at that office today.
And another remarkable class this evening.Paul Johnson is such a good good pianist with singers, so sensitive and insightful...so helpful when allowed to contribute his lovely ideas to the actors' development...i value his presence in my classes so much. Such a nice man too.
The purple Guest Room is finished and looks wonderful wonderful wonderful! ANd now the fun of new furniture and decor can begin....I already placed one beautiful Indian Buddha in the room and it looks so natural there....this wil be a soothing and terrific meditation room....and guests will feel welcome there. So, dear friends who read this, soon you will have a place to come and stay with us...at last! So, that awful leak from the apartment above us has turned into a blessing in disguise, as it made us turn the room into the better room we have wanted all along. That purple is remarkable soothing and mouth-watering...bowls of fresh fruit will look good in that room....
I accepted the offer of a class at Steinhardt today...I will teach the Spring Semester starting January 17th...and I shall be an employee of NYU proper...a step in a direction I wish to go...so that when I was called with an offer of an audition today that would have taken me out of town, i was able to easily turn it down and my agent thoroughly understood my reasons....if i go anywhere that is not NYC, it will be Barter and only Barter....meanwhile, it feels good to be asked to teach again...I have missed it, in a larger classroom atmosphere, and was frankly surprised when it worked out that i was not teaching where I thought I would be teaching this year....but it has served to make me investigate so many other possibilities for myself and this has resulted in a certain growth and understanding of my love of teaching. True collaboration has been a joy to re-discover, and in so doing, I have learned more about this great university I had only scratched the surface of before now. I am grateful.
A FINE AND PRIVATE PLACE, a show I first became associated with some years ago at Goodspeed, has been given a production next spring at York Theater, and the writers called me today to tell me they very much want me to do the role I created for them ,and that I also recorded on the CD a couple of years ago...I was touched they thought of me...and even though the York wants to hold proper audtions for all the roles inluding "mine", I will be thoroughly content with what ever occurs in that regard. I have had the pure pleasure of creating the role of "Gertrude Klapper" and am content. There is so little I need to prove these days, in terms of my acting career, and it feels good to want only the best for that show,and whether it is me or some one else....it is up to them, not me. And that is okay. So very nice of Eric H. to call me first though. Again, grateful.
A lovely show that show. It deserves success. And so do the dear writers.Good friends all.
I hope all is well with Barter. I have not heard lately. And as usual, I miss them all. Terribly.
Saturday, December 03, 2005
Painting Guest Rooms....
...or at least ONE Guest Room, a deep, velvety royal purple....with a yummy creamy white ceiling....our aim: to create a soft, calming meditation sanctuary where Guests will be warmly welcome, and we can meditate and exercise when guests are not here....and now that it has all been scraped, sealed and primed, Peter and I are doing the painting this weekend!!! Our weekend of painting....I havet o smile, of course , because I am more than lousy at such things, having had absolutely no experience doing it, so Peter, who is good at practically everything, is doing most of the work...I am sitting,looking cute in my Janivoc Plaza painters hat(they gave us 2, with our purchases!) and pouring him iced tea as he rolls that ceiling into a clean fresh beauty! Tonight we prime (they call it "deep base prime", because we are painting with a dark color), the walls, and tomorrow, the walls will be a majestic yet comforting purple! I know I know, it sounds odd...but somehow I think it will look wonderful! Our plan is to keep it spare, yet lush, with Asian things in it, and deeply colored rugs, cushions, and covers....the astonishing Kwan Yin Peter gave me several years ago will sit sublimely against one wall. We will find the right rug. We may even put an interesting ceiling fan in pplace of the boring light fixture...create an intersting spot. Meanwhile, peter and I are cavorting through the weekend, talking, arguing, making up, sorting out and getting paint on each other in very interesting places! I do love this husband of mine.
Paul and Steve will come over and view our progress tomorrow morning, arms filled with warm bagels, no doubt, and hearts filled with love. Elyzabeth Wilder may dropby as well....we have not seen our talented young playwright in a while, and we need to catch up...Nancy T. will be by later in the day...Peter is putting together a DVD memorial of her late George T. for his family at Christmas...it is really coming together and looks and sounds so wonderful..Peter is great at that sort of compilation...extremely creative. Terrific use of George's favorite music, along with photos and clips of family histoy.
Extremely cold here in the city...very much Christmas in the air...we want a tree, but must clesr away a space for it! Somehow,we will!
Sent my darling Momma's Scholarship money on its way to promised use at CAP 21 yesterday. God Bless her.
Gotta go pretend to paint a room.
How is everyone out there doing, anyway? Let me hear.
xxev
Paul and Steve will come over and view our progress tomorrow morning, arms filled with warm bagels, no doubt, and hearts filled with love. Elyzabeth Wilder may dropby as well....we have not seen our talented young playwright in a while, and we need to catch up...Nancy T. will be by later in the day...Peter is putting together a DVD memorial of her late George T. for his family at Christmas...it is really coming together and looks and sounds so wonderful..Peter is great at that sort of compilation...extremely creative. Terrific use of George's favorite music, along with photos and clips of family histoy.
Extremely cold here in the city...very much Christmas in the air...we want a tree, but must clesr away a space for it! Somehow,we will!
Sent my darling Momma's Scholarship money on its way to promised use at CAP 21 yesterday. God Bless her.
Gotta go pretend to paint a room.
How is everyone out there doing, anyway? Let me hear.
xxev
Thursday, December 01, 2005
Feels like home...
...did you ever walk in a particular neighborhood, enter a certain building or house, meet a certain person or people...and feel right away the sort of comfort that comes with familiarity or the ease that comes with the rightness of the situation? There have always been parts of NYC that have felt that away to me...usually the older parts of the city, down by Wall Street, or the South Street Seaport,Gramercy Park, oddly never the Upper West Side or even the Broadway area...and one of the neighborhoods i discovered recently that felt that way to me is the whole area down around Washington Square Park! Starting with the Christopher Street Subway stop, then walking East across Sixth Avenue, onto West 4th Street, as the world closes in around the microcosm that is New York University...Washington Square on the left, NYU Law School on the right...the moment I walked that particular sidewalk, weeks ago, I felt at ease and at home. Familiar and happy to be there.
To add to the mix, there was (and is) a quote outside a church down on West 4th, and it caught my eye right away, especially as i was on my way to observe an acting class at Steinhardt, and it was such a perfect quote for how I was feeling, I wrote it down:
" In the muddled mess of this world,in the confusion, the boredom, the
amazement, we ought to be able to spot something - an event,
a person, a memory, an act, a turning of the soul,the flash of
bright wings, the surprise of sweet compassion, somewhere we
ought to pick out a glory to celebrate."
Samuel H. Miller - The Dilemma of Modern Belief
Ain't that the truth?
And as I walked past this church, down West 4th, it seemed the entire surrounding area was full of memories for me, familiar, comfortable...and I had never even been on that particular stretch of New York street before...but it felt like I had once lived there! Played in the park. Eaten in the cafes. I felt like I was back home. Where I belonged. My head was filled with thoughts of appreciation and recognition.
It was so interesting.
And I have felt that way every time I have gone down there since then.
Everytime I pass NYU Law School, I have this almost irresistable urge to walk inside!
WHAT'S THAT ABOUT???
In any event, down there feels like home to me. And as I have been observing Bill Wesbrook's Graduate Song Analysis Class at Steinhardt, each time I have learned something absolutely new to me, and when he asked me to get up and share the teaching with him yesterday morning, it seemed the most natural thing in the world to do just that, and so I did. It was thrilling. Combined with Bill's sharply intellectual approach, his cool clear way of analyzing what each student is needing, my physical/emotional in-put was catalytic. Bill prepared the way for me, as I knew he would, and the result: the students got a great class out of our combined energies. Bill then took me out to lunch and offered me my own class for the Spring Semester. He's vitally interested in putting his teachers together to discuss the philosophy of shaping each students progress, and since Steinhardt is first known as a School of Music, the inividual voice teachers are key to each team. This makes sense to me, especially if the shaping of the musical actor is all about making the "instrument" as flexible, fully usable and expressive as possible, without pushing, screaming, trying to impress with results....in other worlds: good vocal basics, allowing the young voices to grow in at their own rate, rather than making them all sound like the latest Broadway diva!I appreciate this considerate approach. And the voices I have heard around that school are enough to put me at my ease. I can teach those youngsters to act. Their sensibilities are already in a healthy place. They know how to actually breathe!
So, we will see what comes next. I have to discuss all this with my agency and find out more details from NYU, but already they are making it very attractive to say "yes", and since Wesbrook is interested in adding more working actors to his faculty, i know there is flexibility there, in case I have to go rehearse something. Because they keep enrollment at 30 per class year, it's possible for all the teachers to watch over all the students. I feel he is nurturing me into this circle. And has invited me to lunch with other teachers soon, as well as offering me carte blanche invites to any classes or private voice sessions I want to watch.
I stopped by Arthur Bartow's Office at Tisch to thank him: he set me up with Larry Ferrara, head of Steinhardt, who led me right to Bill Wesbrook and I am grateful. Arthur is a dear friend of many years. He understood both my needs and how they can be useful to the University as a whole. He and I sat and chatted for s while. His is such a welcoming heart.
Great class last night....another of my kids(from Summer PreCollege Class)got the role of "Fagin" in his school OLIVER !! Tuesday night's class was particularly good, as it became a roundtable discussion (with singing and monologing) about auditioning and its perils....I did the "create a safe haven" exercise with them...Paul J.,our pianist,while listening to the various horror stories from each about their audiiton experiences, wrote an hysterically funny short song about trying out, and sang it for us at the end of class....a classic was born!!! He is arranging it for harmonies and the class will actually learn it next week! Too much fun! He actually wrote it in class!!!! Such a great energy in that room! He is so wonderful,that Paul Johnson!
Today: i clean and get the place ready for our weekend painting party! We will get that guest room done!!!!!
Tomorrow: I meet Abrams agents for commercial on-camera work, and for directing!!!They have been most welcoming to me. I look forward to that.
Meanwhile, Christmas begins to fully bloom all around New York City. Gorgeous stands of green and fragrant trees have appeared, bursting from street corners, each tree more beautiful than the other, headily pungent and fresh,waiting to be bought and dragged home to some Upper West Side apartment or other. It will be a familiar scene soon: couples lifting and shouldering their prickly purchases, dropping needles of pine and fir along the way, like some latter-day Hansel and Gretels...hot cocoa awaits! And NYC once more settles in for at least few weeks of comfort and joy!
And once more, as I do each year I am here, I will wonder: why isn't it always like this?
To add to the mix, there was (and is) a quote outside a church down on West 4th, and it caught my eye right away, especially as i was on my way to observe an acting class at Steinhardt, and it was such a perfect quote for how I was feeling, I wrote it down:
" In the muddled mess of this world,in the confusion, the boredom, the
amazement, we ought to be able to spot something - an event,
a person, a memory, an act, a turning of the soul,the flash of
bright wings, the surprise of sweet compassion, somewhere we
ought to pick out a glory to celebrate."
Samuel H. Miller - The Dilemma of Modern Belief
Ain't that the truth?
And as I walked past this church, down West 4th, it seemed the entire surrounding area was full of memories for me, familiar, comfortable...and I had never even been on that particular stretch of New York street before...but it felt like I had once lived there! Played in the park. Eaten in the cafes. I felt like I was back home. Where I belonged. My head was filled with thoughts of appreciation and recognition.
It was so interesting.
And I have felt that way every time I have gone down there since then.
Everytime I pass NYU Law School, I have this almost irresistable urge to walk inside!
WHAT'S THAT ABOUT???
In any event, down there feels like home to me. And as I have been observing Bill Wesbrook's Graduate Song Analysis Class at Steinhardt, each time I have learned something absolutely new to me, and when he asked me to get up and share the teaching with him yesterday morning, it seemed the most natural thing in the world to do just that, and so I did. It was thrilling. Combined with Bill's sharply intellectual approach, his cool clear way of analyzing what each student is needing, my physical/emotional in-put was catalytic. Bill prepared the way for me, as I knew he would, and the result: the students got a great class out of our combined energies. Bill then took me out to lunch and offered me my own class for the Spring Semester. He's vitally interested in putting his teachers together to discuss the philosophy of shaping each students progress, and since Steinhardt is first known as a School of Music, the inividual voice teachers are key to each team. This makes sense to me, especially if the shaping of the musical actor is all about making the "instrument" as flexible, fully usable and expressive as possible, without pushing, screaming, trying to impress with results....in other worlds: good vocal basics, allowing the young voices to grow in at their own rate, rather than making them all sound like the latest Broadway diva!I appreciate this considerate approach. And the voices I have heard around that school are enough to put me at my ease. I can teach those youngsters to act. Their sensibilities are already in a healthy place. They know how to actually breathe!
So, we will see what comes next. I have to discuss all this with my agency and find out more details from NYU, but already they are making it very attractive to say "yes", and since Wesbrook is interested in adding more working actors to his faculty, i know there is flexibility there, in case I have to go rehearse something. Because they keep enrollment at 30 per class year, it's possible for all the teachers to watch over all the students. I feel he is nurturing me into this circle. And has invited me to lunch with other teachers soon, as well as offering me carte blanche invites to any classes or private voice sessions I want to watch.
I stopped by Arthur Bartow's Office at Tisch to thank him: he set me up with Larry Ferrara, head of Steinhardt, who led me right to Bill Wesbrook and I am grateful. Arthur is a dear friend of many years. He understood both my needs and how they can be useful to the University as a whole. He and I sat and chatted for s while. His is such a welcoming heart.
Great class last night....another of my kids(from Summer PreCollege Class)got the role of "Fagin" in his school OLIVER !! Tuesday night's class was particularly good, as it became a roundtable discussion (with singing and monologing) about auditioning and its perils....I did the "create a safe haven" exercise with them...Paul J.,our pianist,while listening to the various horror stories from each about their audiiton experiences, wrote an hysterically funny short song about trying out, and sang it for us at the end of class....a classic was born!!! He is arranging it for harmonies and the class will actually learn it next week! Too much fun! He actually wrote it in class!!!! Such a great energy in that room! He is so wonderful,that Paul Johnson!
Today: i clean and get the place ready for our weekend painting party! We will get that guest room done!!!!!
Tomorrow: I meet Abrams agents for commercial on-camera work, and for directing!!!They have been most welcoming to me. I look forward to that.
Meanwhile, Christmas begins to fully bloom all around New York City. Gorgeous stands of green and fragrant trees have appeared, bursting from street corners, each tree more beautiful than the other, headily pungent and fresh,waiting to be bought and dragged home to some Upper West Side apartment or other. It will be a familiar scene soon: couples lifting and shouldering their prickly purchases, dropping needles of pine and fir along the way, like some latter-day Hansel and Gretels...hot cocoa awaits! And NYC once more settles in for at least few weeks of comfort and joy!
And once more, as I do each year I am here, I will wonder: why isn't it always like this?
