Thursday, August 31, 2006
The Lotus In Central Park
An attempt at writing about Meryl Streep as MOTHER COURAGE , in the NY Shakespeare's production that we saw last night in the Park will take all my courage, because it was so wonderful and full of resonance for me and the audience, it almost feels like a responsibility to "get it right"...I realize how silly that is, because of course, the surest thing to trust is my own passion about it...allow it to flow.
Just as Meryl S. does in what could arguably be the hardest female stage role ever written. Her training is so fine, her sensibilities so healthy and in tune with her desire to serve the play, she sincerely crafts it to look like a pure brilliant conduit for each of Courage's passions. I know what work it is, the planning, preparing, plotting, measuring heavy lifting and building such a role takes...like a huge house, of complicated design and infinite possibilities, made solid , made spacious and sound, for a human family to fully live in...a role like MOTHER COURAGE takes a deeply schooled and wise craftsperson ,a strong , integrated and far-seeng person to fulfill it. We were fortunate to be in the presence of a true Master of the craft last night. And even actors we have typically come to expect less from were brought up to the level of committment and energy and ...well....passion...this important play demands ... we were therefore treated to more of a company experience than I have ever seen in the Park productions.
Because we are dazzled by beauty and ease, cleverness and coolness, American audiences allow...even encourage our actors to be lazy and nonchalant....we expect too little and sadly, receive it. So it was good to see certain actors inspired to fulfill the writing and mission of the play. And to remember their good training and perhaps the days when they wanted to do something important with theater , not just popular.
Musical Theater performers, if they are truly gifted, take us to the place we need to be taken more often than non-musical ones, because by sheer demand of the musical's requirements, they have to have strong, open, free and full bodies and voices...sadly, Musical Theater performers often are content with just that and leave out the necessary mind and spirit to make an evening in the musical theater truly great. So we have that rift between good non-musical theater and good Musical Theater...THE REAL THING, IS ALWAYS MUSICAL, (even when there is not a note written to be sung or played by an instrument other than our bodies) because ALL GREAT WORKS REQUIRE IT ALL OF US AT ALL TIMES!!!!
MOTHER COURAGE is like a lotus flower....and so was Meryl's performance...rooted in the everyday mud of a world at war...(and finally when is the world not at war? Even in times of peace, we battle each other.) But rooted in the slimiest of muddy bottoms, (if anything critical is to be said, this particular production was a bit too clean and shiny...especially the supposedly diseased Prostitute), rooted in shit, Mother Courage continuously rises from it, slogs through the daily samsara, doses herself with good brandy and keeps pulling the wagon...through the deaths of each child, she pulls...(I finally understood the MOTHER in Mother Courage, as she keened over the forlorn corpse of her dead daughter I have never heard such sounds like the ones that came out of her as she carefully arranged Katrin's rags)...
Streep was every instrument in the enormous orchestra..she played her voice and body like whatever instrument was required for that particular passage of script...but the music of the entire symphony flowed through her as one artfully (that's where the mind and spirit come in) composed piece of music...I'd swear there were times she was playing more than one instrument at a time, as the moment required the most complex of human reactions...so, for example as she keened for her dead daughter she was also making sounds and motions of joy at being the girl's mother...joy and grief in one moment ...all within the body of the actress...how could we not be mesmerized by that?"
And what actress do you know who can do that? In my experience, very few.
Meryl and Kevin Kline showed us their pedigrees...America does train actors well...we just don't encourage their further growth...we prefer to encourage their careers. Somehow, Meryl Streep, as she raised 5 of her own children, raised her gifts and consciousness too, and the benign result is an American artist we can be proud of. They say that Kevin K. will assay the role of KING LEAR in 2007...at this point , I would rather see Meryl Streep do it...but maybe Kevin will remember his roots and have a coaching session or two with his old comrade Streep and talk about the good old days...when rolling around in the mud was not only fun but fertile.
Just as Meryl S. does in what could arguably be the hardest female stage role ever written. Her training is so fine, her sensibilities so healthy and in tune with her desire to serve the play, she sincerely crafts it to look like a pure brilliant conduit for each of Courage's passions. I know what work it is, the planning, preparing, plotting, measuring heavy lifting and building such a role takes...like a huge house, of complicated design and infinite possibilities, made solid , made spacious and sound, for a human family to fully live in...a role like MOTHER COURAGE takes a deeply schooled and wise craftsperson ,a strong , integrated and far-seeng person to fulfill it. We were fortunate to be in the presence of a true Master of the craft last night. And even actors we have typically come to expect less from were brought up to the level of committment and energy and ...well....passion...this important play demands ... we were therefore treated to more of a company experience than I have ever seen in the Park productions.
Because we are dazzled by beauty and ease, cleverness and coolness, American audiences allow...even encourage our actors to be lazy and nonchalant....we expect too little and sadly, receive it. So it was good to see certain actors inspired to fulfill the writing and mission of the play. And to remember their good training and perhaps the days when they wanted to do something important with theater , not just popular.
Musical Theater performers, if they are truly gifted, take us to the place we need to be taken more often than non-musical ones, because by sheer demand of the musical's requirements, they have to have strong, open, free and full bodies and voices...sadly, Musical Theater performers often are content with just that and leave out the necessary mind and spirit to make an evening in the musical theater truly great. So we have that rift between good non-musical theater and good Musical Theater...THE REAL THING, IS ALWAYS MUSICAL, (even when there is not a note written to be sung or played by an instrument other than our bodies) because ALL GREAT WORKS REQUIRE IT ALL OF US AT ALL TIMES!!!!
MOTHER COURAGE is like a lotus flower....and so was Meryl's performance...rooted in the everyday mud of a world at war...(and finally when is the world not at war? Even in times of peace, we battle each other.) But rooted in the slimiest of muddy bottoms, (if anything critical is to be said, this particular production was a bit too clean and shiny...especially the supposedly diseased Prostitute), rooted in shit, Mother Courage continuously rises from it, slogs through the daily samsara, doses herself with good brandy and keeps pulling the wagon...through the deaths of each child, she pulls...(I finally understood the MOTHER in Mother Courage, as she keened over the forlorn corpse of her dead daughter I have never heard such sounds like the ones that came out of her as she carefully arranged Katrin's rags)...
Streep was every instrument in the enormous orchestra..she played her voice and body like whatever instrument was required for that particular passage of script...but the music of the entire symphony flowed through her as one artfully (that's where the mind and spirit come in) composed piece of music...I'd swear there were times she was playing more than one instrument at a time, as the moment required the most complex of human reactions...so, for example as she keened for her dead daughter she was also making sounds and motions of joy at being the girl's mother...joy and grief in one moment ...all within the body of the actress...how could we not be mesmerized by that?"
And what actress do you know who can do that? In my experience, very few.
Meryl and Kevin Kline showed us their pedigrees...America does train actors well...we just don't encourage their further growth...we prefer to encourage their careers. Somehow, Meryl Streep, as she raised 5 of her own children, raised her gifts and consciousness too, and the benign result is an American artist we can be proud of. They say that Kevin K. will assay the role of KING LEAR in 2007...at this point , I would rather see Meryl Streep do it...but maybe Kevin will remember his roots and have a coaching session or two with his old comrade Streep and talk about the good old days...when rolling around in the mud was not only fun but fertile.
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
The 4610 Group!!!
...or as they have come to call themselves: The Village Players!!! Bravi and brave to them all!
I had my first official meeting with these terrific older actors last evening, the first since I was officially hired to lead the group, and I felt so proud of them. This is a group of between 8-10 folks, all over 75, at least, (Marthe , one of our leading ladies, is a gorgeous 92!), and theya re so excited about getting together each week and reading their plays aloud! And there is so much for me to learn from them....this odd wonderful group of former salesmen, teachers, jewelry polishers and designers...one marvelous woman, named Peggy Keating, is a former artists agent! And she is so beautiful and stylish and dear and good...a strong voice to spea with, a delightful miond and sense of humor...
Anyway.....to recall: Ruth Selman, a special old friend of Pat Yonka's from Montessori Peace Education days, has a son, a wonderful playwright, Matty Selman, whose plays were sent to me at Barter, and i subsequently suggested that they be read in NYC, and Matty and I became pals. Through him and the Yonkas I met Ruth and her amazing husband of 60 years Jerry....this is an amazing couple...my Old Reds, I call them...genuine dyed-in-the-wook old time Jewish Socialists with a conscience and mighty talented pens! I fell immediately in love with them both...and because a hurricane suddenly displaced them from their Florida home last year, Matty placed them at 4610 Village, near where he and his family live, and I have been able to get o know them all....especially since after they saw A FINE AND PRIVATE PLACE Ruth asked us to dinner at the Village and then asked me to send a script of A FINE AND PRIVATE PLACE to them for her drama club to read!!!!! Always a lover of theater and acting Ruth had STARTED A DRAMA CLUB at her old folks home!!!!! Typical of this astounding woman!
I took them a script of AFPP and then soon, Ruth was calling me to ask me to come talk to the group....amd join them for supper...I did...we had a ball and i got them sort of revved up to really shape the group more formally, which they proceeded to do.
And now for a while at least, i will work with them on a more regular basis...how much and how long for? Dunno. But we have things to teach each other. And I like these people. The Fall is getting pretty crunched , schedule-wise...but we shall see how long i can sustain a regular Tuesday night workout with this terrific group.
I had my first official meeting with these terrific older actors last evening, the first since I was officially hired to lead the group, and I felt so proud of them. This is a group of between 8-10 folks, all over 75, at least, (Marthe , one of our leading ladies, is a gorgeous 92!), and theya re so excited about getting together each week and reading their plays aloud! And there is so much for me to learn from them....this odd wonderful group of former salesmen, teachers, jewelry polishers and designers...one marvelous woman, named Peggy Keating, is a former artists agent! And she is so beautiful and stylish and dear and good...a strong voice to spea with, a delightful miond and sense of humor...
Anyway.....to recall: Ruth Selman, a special old friend of Pat Yonka's from Montessori Peace Education days, has a son, a wonderful playwright, Matty Selman, whose plays were sent to me at Barter, and i subsequently suggested that they be read in NYC, and Matty and I became pals. Through him and the Yonkas I met Ruth and her amazing husband of 60 years Jerry....this is an amazing couple...my Old Reds, I call them...genuine dyed-in-the-wook old time Jewish Socialists with a conscience and mighty talented pens! I fell immediately in love with them both...and because a hurricane suddenly displaced them from their Florida home last year, Matty placed them at 4610 Village, near where he and his family live, and I have been able to get o know them all....especially since after they saw A FINE AND PRIVATE PLACE Ruth asked us to dinner at the Village and then asked me to send a script of A FINE AND PRIVATE PLACE to them for her drama club to read!!!!! Always a lover of theater and acting Ruth had STARTED A DRAMA CLUB at her old folks home!!!!! Typical of this astounding woman!
I took them a script of AFPP and then soon, Ruth was calling me to ask me to come talk to the group....amd join them for supper...I did...we had a ball and i got them sort of revved up to really shape the group more formally, which they proceeded to do.
And now for a while at least, i will work with them on a more regular basis...how much and how long for? Dunno. But we have things to teach each other. And I like these people. The Fall is getting pretty crunched , schedule-wise...but we shall see how long i can sustain a regular Tuesday night workout with this terrific group.
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
My First Gay Wedding
...it scanned too nicely with the idea of My Fat Greek Wedding to let it pass....and it was, this dear wedding of Ed and Sandy, my first gay wedding...I was amazed to realize that was true. And it was meaningful,on several levels....not the least of which was that simply being witness to it was a gentle act of civil disobedience, given the political decisions made against gay marriages lately...and the female Rabbi, a terrifically warm and fuzzy young woman who leads a major gay synagogue in the City, made ample reference to that fact: that it was a seriously Jewish and gay wedding and in that particular distinction, two minorities were being honored.
She even joked charmingly that if anyone in the room had never been to neither a Jewish or a gay wedding, she promised we would not make them do anything odd or unusual or that they had never done before....the crowd was warm, and the ceremony was full of laughter...which is so very Ed and Sandy.
When Peter and I pulled up in front of the 130 West 56th Street entrance to City Center, there was such a crowd going inside that it looked like something theatrical was about to raise its curtain. Also , so very Ed and Sandy. We joined the crowd (with our large and heavy wedding gift, for which I had laboriously composed a long funny poem), and eventually got upstairs to the 4th floor, where the crowd really thickened....all the food was on one end of the hall and of course that is where everyone was clumped...and we are talking 200 people here...stuffed into an old ballet studio....but it was warm and friendly and dear and so very much like the warmth and loving quality of Ed and Sandy....we got something cold to drink, and found seats at a table near the rear of the hall....I saw so many people from my 30 year friendship with Ed...yet, the hall was so crowded it was difficult to navigate anywhere near them....even Josephine Forseberg was there from our Second City days in Chicago in the 60's but I never did find her, though i tried.
Ed collects and retains friends like material for a scrapbook. He throws nothing away.
Both of the men looked gorgeous in their tuxedos and ornate silver-embroidered yarmelkes, and both of those gorgeous faces gleaming with happiness and welcome...they each looked about age 13! Such sweetness.
And after a tearful ceremony under the chupa (which was made from Ed's late father's prayer shawl), they hugged and kissed and were Mr. and Mr. Edward and Sanford Linderman Levitt!!!
The crowd cheered and yelled Mazel Tov at the top of their lungs after the two glasses were crushed (two glasses becaus there were two grooms)...and the long dancing singing line full of all of us ushered the married men out of the hall.
We could have been in Israel.
It was traditional and Old World. And beautiful.
Mazel Tov and Congratulations, Ed and Sandy!
She even joked charmingly that if anyone in the room had never been to neither a Jewish or a gay wedding, she promised we would not make them do anything odd or unusual or that they had never done before....the crowd was warm, and the ceremony was full of laughter...which is so very Ed and Sandy.
When Peter and I pulled up in front of the 130 West 56th Street entrance to City Center, there was such a crowd going inside that it looked like something theatrical was about to raise its curtain. Also , so very Ed and Sandy. We joined the crowd (with our large and heavy wedding gift, for which I had laboriously composed a long funny poem), and eventually got upstairs to the 4th floor, where the crowd really thickened....all the food was on one end of the hall and of course that is where everyone was clumped...and we are talking 200 people here...stuffed into an old ballet studio....but it was warm and friendly and dear and so very much like the warmth and loving quality of Ed and Sandy....we got something cold to drink, and found seats at a table near the rear of the hall....I saw so many people from my 30 year friendship with Ed...yet, the hall was so crowded it was difficult to navigate anywhere near them....even Josephine Forseberg was there from our Second City days in Chicago in the 60's but I never did find her, though i tried.
Ed collects and retains friends like material for a scrapbook. He throws nothing away.
Both of the men looked gorgeous in their tuxedos and ornate silver-embroidered yarmelkes, and both of those gorgeous faces gleaming with happiness and welcome...they each looked about age 13! Such sweetness.
And after a tearful ceremony under the chupa (which was made from Ed's late father's prayer shawl), they hugged and kissed and were Mr. and Mr. Edward and Sanford Linderman Levitt!!!
The crowd cheered and yelled Mazel Tov at the top of their lungs after the two glasses were crushed (two glasses becaus there were two grooms)...and the long dancing singing line full of all of us ushered the married men out of the hall.
We could have been in Israel.
It was traditional and Old World. And beautiful.
Mazel Tov and Congratulations, Ed and Sandy!
Monday, August 28, 2006
Something I Want To Share...
....for several reasons , not the least of which is that it's just so sweet....and so good of this person to write....it also contains seeds of thought that may help others who happen to read it, so....copying and pasting...
"No! This is not spam!
I don't know if you remember me, but, lordy, do I remember you. I worked as an apprentice at Barter in 2003 for a life-changing summer.
I am currently on the road with the National Tour of Cats. I'm Alonzo, or as I like to call him, the dance bitch.
I was online, and bored (nothing new, and yes, sometimes a dangerous combination) and for some reason went to Barter's website, and I then made it my goal to find you. You were such a presence in my mind after I left Barter. I didn't get to spend as much time as I wanted with you, in Virginia, and the moments I did I was so scared and unsure that the real me never came through. Hell, that summer, I didn't know who the real me was.
I know you probably get emails from pupils all the time, and I just wanted to let you know that you are a huge part of the reason that I am who I am today. You gave me courage, on stage and off, and made me want to be brave. One Evalyn Baron memory that I dust and remember alot, is one in the hallway of the greenroom and wigroom, and Stage II. You were actually talking to Janine Kyanko, not me. I know, funnier still. I happened to intrude on the converstion and you were saying the words, "Janine, you. are. E-NOUGH". I had to run away, because I was about to break down. The universe knew that I needed to hear those words right then. It's stuck with me.
There are countless more Evalyn moments that I recall all the time. Getting to watch you every night in Pirates and Pinafores. Spot Op 2, baby.
I hope you get this, if for no reason other than to know that you, as a performer, woman, and teacher, impacted someone for his whole life. I wouldn't be here in Brazil with Cats if it weren't for that summer at Barter. Post Barter, I left college after a semester, and I went to ballet school in Chicago for almost 3 years after that, and got the tar kicked out of me by two russians with sticks. It was the hardest 3 years of my life. You gave me this little card that you had bought at the Craft Festival in Abingdon, and you wrote on the back, "Happy Birthday, Enjoy the Changes, love, Evavlyn Baron, August 9th 2003." I read that note alot when I didn't know a SOUL in Chicago and was sore, tired, and strapped for, well, just about everything.
I auditioned for every ballet company that was auditioning, and soon realized that that world is NOT for me. Went to the Chicago's audition for Wicked, got called back for Cats, and here I am. who knew. meow.
It was nice to see your face on your website, and I hope eveything is going SO wondefully for you.
Miss and Love you,
Luka McCollum "
lukemccollum@hotmail.com
"No! This is not spam!
I don't know if you remember me, but, lordy, do I remember you. I worked as an apprentice at Barter in 2003 for a life-changing summer.
I am currently on the road with the National Tour of Cats. I'm Alonzo, or as I like to call him, the dance bitch.
I was online, and bored (nothing new, and yes, sometimes a dangerous combination) and for some reason went to Barter's website, and I then made it my goal to find you. You were such a presence in my mind after I left Barter. I didn't get to spend as much time as I wanted with you, in Virginia, and the moments I did I was so scared and unsure that the real me never came through. Hell, that summer, I didn't know who the real me was.
I know you probably get emails from pupils all the time, and I just wanted to let you know that you are a huge part of the reason that I am who I am today. You gave me courage, on stage and off, and made me want to be brave. One Evalyn Baron memory that I dust and remember alot, is one in the hallway of the greenroom and wigroom, and Stage II. You were actually talking to Janine Kyanko, not me. I know, funnier still. I happened to intrude on the converstion and you were saying the words, "Janine, you. are. E-NOUGH". I had to run away, because I was about to break down. The universe knew that I needed to hear those words right then. It's stuck with me.
There are countless more Evalyn moments that I recall all the time. Getting to watch you every night in Pirates and Pinafores. Spot Op 2, baby.
I hope you get this, if for no reason other than to know that you, as a performer, woman, and teacher, impacted someone for his whole life. I wouldn't be here in Brazil with Cats if it weren't for that summer at Barter. Post Barter, I left college after a semester, and I went to ballet school in Chicago for almost 3 years after that, and got the tar kicked out of me by two russians with sticks. It was the hardest 3 years of my life. You gave me this little card that you had bought at the Craft Festival in Abingdon, and you wrote on the back, "Happy Birthday, Enjoy the Changes, love, Evavlyn Baron, August 9th 2003." I read that note alot when I didn't know a SOUL in Chicago and was sore, tired, and strapped for, well, just about everything.
I auditioned for every ballet company that was auditioning, and soon realized that that world is NOT for me. Went to the Chicago's audition for Wicked, got called back for Cats, and here I am. who knew. meow.
It was nice to see your face on your website, and I hope eveything is going SO wondefully for you.
Miss and Love you,
Luka McCollum "
lukemccollum@hotmail.com
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
The Engine...
...the troubled engine of the mind....a phrase that came up in one of the terrific conversations PSD and I were able to have during the time I spent at the House over these past two weeks....I just returned from Upstate tonight, with a happy husband Peter greeting me here at 890 West End....the troubled engine of the mind...Paul and I spoke of so many things, and we've been together as mates and friends for several decades now, so if there is one thing we have learned to do over these roads we've travelled together , it's how to talk! And cut right to the chase, as they say...spending little to no time on small ideas or notions...we read each other so clearly...but what is becoming clear to me is that even though I have known this man for some 30 years or more, it may be that I am just beginning to truly know and understand him now...at the very least, more clearly than ever. And i still not only love him, I like him too.
It's funny...recently my brother Richard, the real writer in the family, complimented me on my ee cummings use of the small case "i"...the truth of the matter? SOmetimes my thoughts are flowing too fast and I am too lazy to push down the little button that would make it "I"....it's laziness, not style. And as anyone can see from reading me for any length of time, there are "i"s and "I"'s all over the place, for no apparent logical reason...will people pore over these one day and wonder why? I seriously doubt it...but thanks for noticing ,Richard.
Tomorrow is the wedding ceremony...at least as far as gay men are able to have one in this stupid world,...of one of my truly oldest friends Edward Linderman, who has been with Sandy Leavitt now for many decades...I have known Ed and Sandy longer than I HAVE EVEN KNOWN PAUL, SO they are marrying after all these years....and Peter and I will be there to help them celebrate! I'm so proud and happy for these two lovely wonderful men. I have known Ed since Northwestern days, but first met him whne i went downtown Chicago to work for the Second City Touring Company....Eddie played piano for the troupe...and from then on ( and that had to be over 35 years ago)Ed and i have been able to share enormous parts of our lives together....we have always loved each other. And tomorrow I get to see him be the bride!
MAZEL TOV Ed and Sandy!!!! MAZEL TOV! Tomorrow is your day!
We can all out the troubled engines of our minds to rest for at least tomorrow: all is right with the world....a marriage of two great souls.
It's funny...recently my brother Richard, the real writer in the family, complimented me on my ee cummings use of the small case "i"...the truth of the matter? SOmetimes my thoughts are flowing too fast and I am too lazy to push down the little button that would make it "I"....it's laziness, not style. And as anyone can see from reading me for any length of time, there are "i"s and "I"'s all over the place, for no apparent logical reason...will people pore over these one day and wonder why? I seriously doubt it...but thanks for noticing ,Richard.
Tomorrow is the wedding ceremony...at least as far as gay men are able to have one in this stupid world,...of one of my truly oldest friends Edward Linderman, who has been with Sandy Leavitt now for many decades...I have known Ed and Sandy longer than I HAVE EVEN KNOWN PAUL, SO they are marrying after all these years....and Peter and I will be there to help them celebrate! I'm so proud and happy for these two lovely wonderful men. I have known Ed since Northwestern days, but first met him whne i went downtown Chicago to work for the Second City Touring Company....Eddie played piano for the troupe...and from then on ( and that had to be over 35 years ago)Ed and i have been able to share enormous parts of our lives together....we have always loved each other. And tomorrow I get to see him be the bride!
MAZEL TOV Ed and Sandy!!!! MAZEL TOV! Tomorrow is your day!
We can all out the troubled engines of our minds to rest for at least tomorrow: all is right with the world....a marriage of two great souls.
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
Passwords
We have so many of them in our lives. To protect us. From what? People getting into where we don't want them to be, where they could discover something about us we do not want them to know? What are passwords?
Keys. Passwords are keys.
But instead of carrying them in the form of little bits of metal, all different shapes and sizes, colors and weights, we carry password keys around in our heads in the form of little bits of information that mean something to us and only to us. If we're smart, we'll write them down somewhere. In case we forget. But if we don't write them down, and we forget them,then we have effectively locked ourselves out of important daily places in our lives. We are up the old proverbial creek without a...well...without a password.
Our mental keychains are so heavy, aren't they? And, if yours is anything like mine, all the keys look pretty much alike, centering on maybe three or four "key" people, numbers, dates, memories. If you want to know what is truly important in a person's mind and life, look at what they make their passwords out of: which memories are "key"? What people are of such importance , that they become NECESSARY to the opening of personal files and money matters?
Bank passwords....vital, right? I mean, our money is the source of such joys and terrors, and we guard our money with passwords. Secret codes. People who matter , dead or alive, guard us. At least for me they do. Maybe other people don't use people's names as codes. Maybe they simply,unemotionally ,use numbers and random letters. Maybe my secret code "poker face" is far too easily read. Or maybe there are things about me that people who think they know me do not know at all. Passwords. We pass them on...things come to pass....he made a pass at me....hurry we must get through the mountain pass before the storm strikes!....pass me the spaghetti, please...he failed to pass the bar exam...p...aaaaaa....sssss.....pass. Funny word, pass.
A "P" in front of an "aas"....Pass. I pass....My client wishes to pass on the offer, thanks...in almost any context, the use of "pass" as referring to an incipient sexual encounter is most interesting...."Men don't makes passes at girls who wear glasses."...in other words, men pass by women who wear glasses , but to make a pass would show they are interested...sort of confusing.
I thought of passwords this morning because it takes so many passwords to get a day going!
To get into a computer account,to make sure a door is locked, to get into a bank account by phone...passwords, passwords,passwords! I wonder the root of the word "pass"...en passe...grande passe...PASS THE BALL!
Oh well, that is about all I can ruminate concerning this word, for now...any contributions, anyone?
Another glorious day in the countryside of Upstate New York,...gorgeous. I am grateful to be here, and let the rest of the world pass me by for a while. And I need no secret word for that.
Keys. Passwords are keys.
But instead of carrying them in the form of little bits of metal, all different shapes and sizes, colors and weights, we carry password keys around in our heads in the form of little bits of information that mean something to us and only to us. If we're smart, we'll write them down somewhere. In case we forget. But if we don't write them down, and we forget them,then we have effectively locked ourselves out of important daily places in our lives. We are up the old proverbial creek without a...well...without a password.
Our mental keychains are so heavy, aren't they? And, if yours is anything like mine, all the keys look pretty much alike, centering on maybe three or four "key" people, numbers, dates, memories. If you want to know what is truly important in a person's mind and life, look at what they make their passwords out of: which memories are "key"? What people are of such importance , that they become NECESSARY to the opening of personal files and money matters?
Bank passwords....vital, right? I mean, our money is the source of such joys and terrors, and we guard our money with passwords. Secret codes. People who matter , dead or alive, guard us. At least for me they do. Maybe other people don't use people's names as codes. Maybe they simply,unemotionally ,use numbers and random letters. Maybe my secret code "poker face" is far too easily read. Or maybe there are things about me that people who think they know me do not know at all. Passwords. We pass them on...things come to pass....he made a pass at me....hurry we must get through the mountain pass before the storm strikes!....pass me the spaghetti, please...he failed to pass the bar exam...p...aaaaaa....sssss.....pass. Funny word, pass.
A "P" in front of an "aas"....Pass. I pass....My client wishes to pass on the offer, thanks...in almost any context, the use of "pass" as referring to an incipient sexual encounter is most interesting...."Men don't makes passes at girls who wear glasses."...in other words, men pass by women who wear glasses , but to make a pass would show they are interested...sort of confusing.
I thought of passwords this morning because it takes so many passwords to get a day going!
To get into a computer account,to make sure a door is locked, to get into a bank account by phone...passwords, passwords,passwords! I wonder the root of the word "pass"...en passe...grande passe...PASS THE BALL!
Oh well, that is about all I can ruminate concerning this word, for now...any contributions, anyone?
Another glorious day in the countryside of Upstate New York,...gorgeous. I am grateful to be here, and let the rest of the world pass me by for a while. And I need no secret word for that.
Monday, August 21, 2006
Thank God, I'm a Country Girl....
....at least enough so to make a decision to stay up here at the House until I must go back to the City, later this week...today is Monday the 21st, and it has been usually on Mondays that Paul, Steve and I return (Peter having trained back the night before since he has to report to work early early down on Wall Street)...but today, Paul and Steve will go back to attend to business of theirs, while I stay up here a few more lovely days and rest simply in the quiet of my own thoughts, and my doggies urgings to go roam the countryside!
And, to write. I have completed one article for BACKSTAGE ("To Teach or Not To Teach: Yeah, So..What's The Question?")
I had so much to say on the topic,that I even completed a second article last night and will send that one along so they can choose...of course, they may hate both...may decide I am not the writer they thought I may turn out to be from reading this blog...and they may reject both of my efforts..but , you know what? I had fun writing them anyway...and as soon as I know what's happening with either or both, I will reprint them here...or tell you all which issue of BACKSTAGE to buy and read...i don't know what the copy-right demands are in such a case as this....
In any event, I had tremendous fun writing both of them, and hope they do like them.
My decision to spend lots of time Upstate here at this House that Paul and Steve have made so beautiful has been a good decision. Both Peter and I know that once NYU begins, I will have little or no time to spend here, and that I love it up here so much, it would be shame to waste time I could have spent here, so I am here with his dear blessing, though we do miss each other every day...it makes it all that much better when he arrives on the Friday train...and the puppies are as glad to see him as I am..speaking of the puppies, they are in their glory heaven when they are here, since they have four fenced-in acres to go wild in, and they do just that!
All I do is let them out in the morning, and after testing the wetness of the dewy grass (Sally has always had a thing about being too delicate to walk on wet surfaces...) they both STREAK, and I do mean STREAK like little gusts of wind, across the back meadow and I don't see them again for 15 minutes, except for the occasional black feathery tail waving through the deep tall forest ferns, or a sleek streak of shiny sunlit brown fur speeding across the gaps in the Secret Garden hedges...they make me laugh....Cyrano, because of the earnest hunter persona he adopts,(Daniel Day Dachshund, indeed, in Last of the MoDachshunds). And Sally becomes the Indian Maiden! No terrain is too rough for her to adventure through, across and up...she becomes a different doggie up here....her true nature reveals itself and she is a wild and daring dog...................adorable!
A wonderful thing has begun to develop in my relationship to Ruth and Jerry Selman, my dear 80-something -year-old friends who live in an old-age home on 10th Aevnue and 46th Street! I have beens pending some volunteer time, (really, personal fun time) working with the small drama group Ruth started at the 46-10 Village, as it's called, (and so shall I from now on...I will refer to it as 46-10)...Ruth is indominable, a tiny powerhouse of creative energies, and smart as hell...her Montessori history, her good work with Peace movements and education I will elaborate on later, but for now, suffice it to say that she cannot sit still, and so she started this drama club...(she always has done theater in some form or other with kids...) and she asked me to come in one Tueaday night and work with them. She and Peggy Keating, a fabulous dame on a walker, had found some small one-acts, each with two characters, and had reprinted them for the various members of the group to read...well, I cast them, read through them, gave some advice and left them to start their club in their own way. And Ruth called to rave to me how my visit had energized them to the point that they all had become quite serious about the club and wanted to make it work well...could I please visit again? And I did. Last Tuesday, and helped them on the plays again, which they had actually been rehearsing! I was amazed at the good shape they were in! One , in particular, Ruth wanted me to pay attention to, called ANNIVERSARY, with Peggy and a retired singer from Village LIght Opera in NY named Warren, because they were to actually perform it at the 60th Anniversay Party for Ruth and Jerry that Friday! So, we worked, I gave copious notes, all of which they wrote down...and, according to Ruth (I decided to stay up here instead of go to their party....) the play was a total success, making then entire gathering laugh their guts out! And now, the performing bug has bitten them all in several more places and they are ready to rock and roll!!!
They want me to work with the group weekly, and have gone to the Social Director of 46-10, a woman whose profession it is to keep the residents happy, and they have asked her to put me on some sort of contract, to pay me to stay working with the group.....how fun! And since I enjoy working with them anyway, the money (whatever it is) will help get me to and from mid-town more easily. I shall be in touch with 46-10 soon and find out the deal. But I am so glad we are all having such a good time. Each member of the group so far is unique and worth writing about, and so I will write about them in coming blog entries....delightful people, of a certain age, ripe for new adventures and fulfilling laid-away dreams. I love their intelligence and passion.
I had better go email David S. at BACKSTAGE my 2nd article...entitled WHY I STARTED TEACHING (or, How It Suddenly Became Clear.....) I hope he likes my writing.
And, to write. I have completed one article for BACKSTAGE ("To Teach or Not To Teach: Yeah, So..What's The Question?")
I had so much to say on the topic,that I even completed a second article last night and will send that one along so they can choose...of course, they may hate both...may decide I am not the writer they thought I may turn out to be from reading this blog...and they may reject both of my efforts..but , you know what? I had fun writing them anyway...and as soon as I know what's happening with either or both, I will reprint them here...or tell you all which issue of BACKSTAGE to buy and read...i don't know what the copy-right demands are in such a case as this....
In any event, I had tremendous fun writing both of them, and hope they do like them.
My decision to spend lots of time Upstate here at this House that Paul and Steve have made so beautiful has been a good decision. Both Peter and I know that once NYU begins, I will have little or no time to spend here, and that I love it up here so much, it would be shame to waste time I could have spent here, so I am here with his dear blessing, though we do miss each other every day...it makes it all that much better when he arrives on the Friday train...and the puppies are as glad to see him as I am..speaking of the puppies, they are in their glory heaven when they are here, since they have four fenced-in acres to go wild in, and they do just that!
All I do is let them out in the morning, and after testing the wetness of the dewy grass (Sally has always had a thing about being too delicate to walk on wet surfaces...) they both STREAK, and I do mean STREAK like little gusts of wind, across the back meadow and I don't see them again for 15 minutes, except for the occasional black feathery tail waving through the deep tall forest ferns, or a sleek streak of shiny sunlit brown fur speeding across the gaps in the Secret Garden hedges...they make me laugh....Cyrano, because of the earnest hunter persona he adopts,(Daniel Day Dachshund, indeed, in Last of the MoDachshunds). And Sally becomes the Indian Maiden! No terrain is too rough for her to adventure through, across and up...she becomes a different doggie up here....her true nature reveals itself and she is a wild and daring dog...................adorable!
A wonderful thing has begun to develop in my relationship to Ruth and Jerry Selman, my dear 80-something -year-old friends who live in an old-age home on 10th Aevnue and 46th Street! I have beens pending some volunteer time, (really, personal fun time) working with the small drama group Ruth started at the 46-10 Village, as it's called, (and so shall I from now on...I will refer to it as 46-10)...Ruth is indominable, a tiny powerhouse of creative energies, and smart as hell...her Montessori history, her good work with Peace movements and education I will elaborate on later, but for now, suffice it to say that she cannot sit still, and so she started this drama club...(she always has done theater in some form or other with kids...) and she asked me to come in one Tueaday night and work with them. She and Peggy Keating, a fabulous dame on a walker, had found some small one-acts, each with two characters, and had reprinted them for the various members of the group to read...well, I cast them, read through them, gave some advice and left them to start their club in their own way. And Ruth called to rave to me how my visit had energized them to the point that they all had become quite serious about the club and wanted to make it work well...could I please visit again? And I did. Last Tuesday, and helped them on the plays again, which they had actually been rehearsing! I was amazed at the good shape they were in! One , in particular, Ruth wanted me to pay attention to, called ANNIVERSARY, with Peggy and a retired singer from Village LIght Opera in NY named Warren, because they were to actually perform it at the 60th Anniversay Party for Ruth and Jerry that Friday! So, we worked, I gave copious notes, all of which they wrote down...and, according to Ruth (I decided to stay up here instead of go to their party....) the play was a total success, making then entire gathering laugh their guts out! And now, the performing bug has bitten them all in several more places and they are ready to rock and roll!!!
They want me to work with the group weekly, and have gone to the Social Director of 46-10, a woman whose profession it is to keep the residents happy, and they have asked her to put me on some sort of contract, to pay me to stay working with the group.....how fun! And since I enjoy working with them anyway, the money (whatever it is) will help get me to and from mid-town more easily. I shall be in touch with 46-10 soon and find out the deal. But I am so glad we are all having such a good time. Each member of the group so far is unique and worth writing about, and so I will write about them in coming blog entries....delightful people, of a certain age, ripe for new adventures and fulfilling laid-away dreams. I love their intelligence and passion.
I had better go email David S. at BACKSTAGE my 2nd article...entitled WHY I STARTED TEACHING (or, How It Suddenly Became Clear.....) I hope he likes my writing.
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
Teachers Meeting...
...and truly collaborating...an exciting thing to me...and after years of working with organizations where that was not the name of the game, where only lip service was given to the concept of collaboration and true mix of opinion and idea was frowned upon, it is with relief and pleasure that I encounter genuine discussion with yet another of Steinhardt's good teachers: Evan Mueller, a handsome and accomplished Rutgers MFA who has been teaching Steinhardt Freshman acting basics for several years, along with some rudimentary Speech and Diction work. Since he has taught the Level One Fundamentals in Acting class, and i am about to begin teaching a Level Two Scene Study to basically the same students, I wanted to get his ideas and his particular philosophy on how a young actor could most effectively be trained...so, we met for coffees this morning at a nice place on Columbus and 83rd...Even was so much fun to talk with. And i learned a lot about how to better focus the beginnings of my Fall class.
It saddens me to remember how difficult it used to be to teach at other places I have taught, where autocratic energies, energies too busy defending and not able to open and be truly creative with others, energies that deadened instead of enlivening others, ...where those sorts of energies prevailed...and it makes me even sadder to remember how unable I was to ask for the freedom I needed...like so many others, I was scared to "make waves" and "rock to boat". People in fear of losing jobs , as GB Shaw pointed out so lucidly in so many of his plays, people in fear behave in ways that make their lives smaller than they deserve to be.
We must do all we can to free each other from fear, not perpetuate it.
In any event, coffee with Evan was fun. And Fall Semester at Steinhardt will be fun too. Rehearsals for URINETOWN, directed by John Simpkins, have already started. ANd classes begin September 5th.
Callbacks for all sorts of commercial work this week, and one job would take me to Cleveland for a few days...or Cinncinnatti, or someplace like that...one I audition for Thursday shoots in BRAZIL or MEXICO or PRAGUE!!!! FOr PlayStation Three...amazing...THAT would be fun! (Though I would have to miss a few sdays of NYU in September...) Anyway, it's only an audition, right?
More soon.....
It saddens me to remember how difficult it used to be to teach at other places I have taught, where autocratic energies, energies too busy defending and not able to open and be truly creative with others, energies that deadened instead of enlivening others, ...where those sorts of energies prevailed...and it makes me even sadder to remember how unable I was to ask for the freedom I needed...like so many others, I was scared to "make waves" and "rock to boat". People in fear of losing jobs , as GB Shaw pointed out so lucidly in so many of his plays, people in fear behave in ways that make their lives smaller than they deserve to be.
We must do all we can to free each other from fear, not perpetuate it.
In any event, coffee with Evan was fun. And Fall Semester at Steinhardt will be fun too. Rehearsals for URINETOWN, directed by John Simpkins, have already started. ANd classes begin September 5th.
Callbacks for all sorts of commercial work this week, and one job would take me to Cleveland for a few days...or Cinncinnatti, or someplace like that...one I audition for Thursday shoots in BRAZIL or MEXICO or PRAGUE!!!! FOr PlayStation Three...amazing...THAT would be fun! (Though I would have to miss a few sdays of NYU in September...) Anyway, it's only an audition, right?
More soon.....
Saturday, August 12, 2006
An Ode: Upstate at the House....
....and it has never been more beautiful. One of those perfect weekends of fair weather and breezes, sunlight glittering through sumptuous greenery, freshness in every breath.....The Sally Garden (the one I started right after Momma's demise) is deeply green and full, with the blue budeleia (Butterfly bush) giving just the right amount of deep color to the whole...darling Steve C. took extremely good care of the entire garden while I was away at Barter, and in fact, he brought it to its present state of fullness and beauty with his knowledge of how to nourish the soil and care for each and every plant....his meticulous hard work has made the yards and meadows what they now are: gorgeous.
The baby pear trees my Momma bought for Paul and me are now tall and graceful, bearing small green pears...the ten forsythia bushes I bought and planted to thank Paul for caring for me during my injured arm period are now really full and in the Spring are yellower and more beautiful than I ever imagined they could be...and together, the two tall pears and the long row of forsythia form a natural gate and fence into the back part of the Star Meadow (thus dubbed by Jackie Y. one summer when she lay there and looked up at the vast spread of stars above us)...this pear and forsythia wall and gateway form an entrance into our Secret Garden area, with the Sally Garden and the fish pond...very lovely now. The Sally Garden is a blue garden, in which I have tried to capture the color of my Momma's eyes: a deep, true blue...and the hydrangea bushes , bearing fat blue blooms, are so large now.
I went through a period of raiding every nursery for all the blue plants I could find. I did not care what they were, only that they bloom blue, at some time or other, and that they be perennial! Then, each year that I have been here, I would border the Sally Garden in all the blue annuals I could buy..ageratum,lobelia,etc. It's sweet curvilinear shape is now mirrored by the landscaping Steve has put in for the small fish pond... perfect....
I have much work to do this weekend on my NYU classes. But, knowing how busy the Fall will be getting, I am intent upon staying up here at this House as much as possible over the next several...the last few...weeks of this dear summer.
True, this wonderful House has been on the market for a year now...but since no one seems to be interested in buying it yet, we are taking it as a sign to live in it, love it and enjoy it more than we ever have before. As I look back over the years we've had to love this place, I am amazed at how much life we have lived here..how many adventures in life and love we have all had....and how tall the pear trees have grown. If there was ever a metaphor for life, it is those trees! These gardens!
Even at times of darkest fear and mistrust, those pear trees and those garden patches were laying down roots, establishing their future joys ...their future rich beauty..( much as we all have, by being here). Each and every one of us have had our seasons of sun and rain here...snows, seeming to smother, instead , lovingly protected us all, for the coming of our various Springtimes. This has been a rare and perfect home to us all.
Today is especially beautiful.
The local Chuang Yen Monastery, a Taiwanese Buddhist refuge, is nearby and we are all driving over there in a while to meditate. It's a very quiet , beautiful place, and by "quiet" I mean profoundly so. The sort of quiet you can practically hear, it's so penetrating. The sort of quiet that heals.
The baby pear trees my Momma bought for Paul and me are now tall and graceful, bearing small green pears...the ten forsythia bushes I bought and planted to thank Paul for caring for me during my injured arm period are now really full and in the Spring are yellower and more beautiful than I ever imagined they could be...and together, the two tall pears and the long row of forsythia form a natural gate and fence into the back part of the Star Meadow (thus dubbed by Jackie Y. one summer when she lay there and looked up at the vast spread of stars above us)...this pear and forsythia wall and gateway form an entrance into our Secret Garden area, with the Sally Garden and the fish pond...very lovely now. The Sally Garden is a blue garden, in which I have tried to capture the color of my Momma's eyes: a deep, true blue...and the hydrangea bushes , bearing fat blue blooms, are so large now.
I went through a period of raiding every nursery for all the blue plants I could find. I did not care what they were, only that they bloom blue, at some time or other, and that they be perennial! Then, each year that I have been here, I would border the Sally Garden in all the blue annuals I could buy..ageratum,lobelia,etc. It's sweet curvilinear shape is now mirrored by the landscaping Steve has put in for the small fish pond... perfect....
I have much work to do this weekend on my NYU classes. But, knowing how busy the Fall will be getting, I am intent upon staying up here at this House as much as possible over the next several...the last few...weeks of this dear summer.
True, this wonderful House has been on the market for a year now...but since no one seems to be interested in buying it yet, we are taking it as a sign to live in it, love it and enjoy it more than we ever have before. As I look back over the years we've had to love this place, I am amazed at how much life we have lived here..how many adventures in life and love we have all had....and how tall the pear trees have grown. If there was ever a metaphor for life, it is those trees! These gardens!
Even at times of darkest fear and mistrust, those pear trees and those garden patches were laying down roots, establishing their future joys ...their future rich beauty..( much as we all have, by being here). Each and every one of us have had our seasons of sun and rain here...snows, seeming to smother, instead , lovingly protected us all, for the coming of our various Springtimes. This has been a rare and perfect home to us all.
Today is especially beautiful.
The local Chuang Yen Monastery, a Taiwanese Buddhist refuge, is nearby and we are all driving over there in a while to meditate. It's a very quiet , beautiful place, and by "quiet" I mean profoundly so. The sort of quiet you can practically hear, it's so penetrating. The sort of quiet that heals.
Wednesday, August 09, 2006
Post Mortem The New School MT Immersion !!!
...core faculty met last night at the wonderful Diane Wondisford's apartment...there we were, our doughty little group of dedicated core faculty: the brilliant Nova Thomas, the wise and dear Chuck Maryan, the energetic and creative Keith Buehl, Diane (ever patient and focused) and me....some 6 weeks after the end of the Musical Theater Immersion this past June, ready to discuss it, dissect it, analyze, and visualize its future....a great meeting. A productive meeeting.
The thing I was most pleased about was: little annoying strings that were left hanging got tied up and cleared away...vague disagreements about procedure, small discomforts about time and schedule, varying points of view about approaches to the students,etc...all bases were covered, and as a true testament to the group, the result was a larger sense of ourselves as a core teaching group, a stronger dedication to next summer's possible program, and a genuine sense that we did indeed accompllsh something this summer, on our first outing of the Immersion!!!
Looking back, and remembering what the group of students was like at the start of the 15 days, we all were pretty much amazed by what was presented at the finish of those days: a group of confident, focused, wiser and far more interesting performers than when they began....we all sat there that final day, I recall, either awash in tears, or stunned into a sort of awed silence, as scene by scene, song by song, they got up and bravely showed themselves to us...and that was no illusion, no mere trick of our self-congratulatory egos...no....those students had palpably grown and improved...they had indeed "shown up" and we were thrilled.And grateful.
Keith kept using the word "magic" at the meeting last night..well, yes...indeed.
Diane is more a fan of the "immersion" process than ever before.
And the other three of us felt deep comraderie, because we knew how delicate the teaching balance was between the three of us, made strong by the mutual trust and respect we do all feel for each other. The mere "getting along" of three strong creative experienced egos is, in itself, no small task....and the open-ness, the willingness to learn from each other is rare. All these elements were present and, no doubt, partially responsible for the end product of this virgin voyage!
We will do some "homework". then meet in another week or so to continue discussions.
Peter is doing some work with Mike S.and Brent, downtown, at their studio...I have a day to focus on NYU business and go to the gym! These August weeks are a blessing. And I am treating them like a true vacstion, and may spend a deal of the next few weeks Upstate at the House.Once classes begin, this will not be as easy to do.
GodDaughter Evalyn: when does school start for you in Minneapolis and what grade will you be in? Do you like school? What do you like best about it amd what subject is your very favorite? Do you have lots of new school clothes for the Fall? I used to love to shop for new things to start school with)....a habit that has never quite gone away!
Another journal excerpt about San Francisco:
"True, our days here at Sea Ranch have been idyloic`--- vista, ocean horizon, birds, deer, quail,sea lions and seals, all possible life abounding.....Sea Ranch, an actual
working Ranch,has large herds of sheep and goats in certain fields...so bucoloc and lively...so natural...And the houses must be restricted to building materials of a certain tecture and color range, because the brown,tan,ecru,muted sea green, and cream colors of the country and sea sides are adhered to religiously, giving the entire place a stunningly calm, monochromtic pallet, wonderful, subtle and soothing to the eye."
and...
"Splashes of color are sharply provided by flowering vegetation, such as deep yellow spots of sea dandelion and succulent shocking pink blooms of what look like jade plant...In fact, eyes are constantly entertained by what surrounds: wind-twisted, low-lying groves of evergreen trees, their trunks looking like some primordial and mythic creatures in their sea-washed whiteness: forests of weir! Gorgeous cool tunnels of interlacing low brancehes...one needs to bend over to walk under and through them along the seashore path...cool hide-aways...tree homes for lost sea sprites and their ambling human admirers...perfect little tree-shaded coves in which to make love and sing plaintive sea roundelays!"
There is no way for me to adequately express the ways Sea Ranch made me feel.
It was a sublime time.
The thing I was most pleased about was: little annoying strings that were left hanging got tied up and cleared away...vague disagreements about procedure, small discomforts about time and schedule, varying points of view about approaches to the students,etc...all bases were covered, and as a true testament to the group, the result was a larger sense of ourselves as a core teaching group, a stronger dedication to next summer's possible program, and a genuine sense that we did indeed accompllsh something this summer, on our first outing of the Immersion!!!
Looking back, and remembering what the group of students was like at the start of the 15 days, we all were pretty much amazed by what was presented at the finish of those days: a group of confident, focused, wiser and far more interesting performers than when they began....we all sat there that final day, I recall, either awash in tears, or stunned into a sort of awed silence, as scene by scene, song by song, they got up and bravely showed themselves to us...and that was no illusion, no mere trick of our self-congratulatory egos...no....those students had palpably grown and improved...they had indeed "shown up" and we were thrilled.And grateful.
Keith kept using the word "magic" at the meeting last night..well, yes...indeed.
Diane is more a fan of the "immersion" process than ever before.
And the other three of us felt deep comraderie, because we knew how delicate the teaching balance was between the three of us, made strong by the mutual trust and respect we do all feel for each other. The mere "getting along" of three strong creative experienced egos is, in itself, no small task....and the open-ness, the willingness to learn from each other is rare. All these elements were present and, no doubt, partially responsible for the end product of this virgin voyage!
We will do some "homework". then meet in another week or so to continue discussions.
Peter is doing some work with Mike S.and Brent, downtown, at their studio...I have a day to focus on NYU business and go to the gym! These August weeks are a blessing. And I am treating them like a true vacstion, and may spend a deal of the next few weeks Upstate at the House.Once classes begin, this will not be as easy to do.
GodDaughter Evalyn: when does school start for you in Minneapolis and what grade will you be in? Do you like school? What do you like best about it amd what subject is your very favorite? Do you have lots of new school clothes for the Fall? I used to love to shop for new things to start school with)....a habit that has never quite gone away!
Another journal excerpt about San Francisco:
"True, our days here at Sea Ranch have been idyloic`--- vista, ocean horizon, birds, deer, quail,sea lions and seals, all possible life abounding.....Sea Ranch, an actual
working Ranch,has large herds of sheep and goats in certain fields...so bucoloc and lively...so natural...And the houses must be restricted to building materials of a certain tecture and color range, because the brown,tan,ecru,muted sea green, and cream colors of the country and sea sides are adhered to religiously, giving the entire place a stunningly calm, monochromtic pallet, wonderful, subtle and soothing to the eye."
and...
"Splashes of color are sharply provided by flowering vegetation, such as deep yellow spots of sea dandelion and succulent shocking pink blooms of what look like jade plant...In fact, eyes are constantly entertained by what surrounds: wind-twisted, low-lying groves of evergreen trees, their trunks looking like some primordial and mythic creatures in their sea-washed whiteness: forests of weir! Gorgeous cool tunnels of interlacing low brancehes...one needs to bend over to walk under and through them along the seashore path...cool hide-aways...tree homes for lost sea sprites and their ambling human admirers...perfect little tree-shaded coves in which to make love and sing plaintive sea roundelays!"
There is no way for me to adequately express the ways Sea Ranch made me feel.
It was a sublime time.
Tuesday, August 08, 2006
Thr Lazy, Hazy, Crazy Days of Summer...
....are the silly lyrics that kept floating through my head as i walked the pups this early morning...the City feels like a carnival ever since the heat wave of last week ended, and there is a positive bouyancy in the cooler air that makes me think of that song....odd, isn't it: the soundtrack in our heads? So many songs stored up there, and they come out to play ,surprising us, whenever something pushes their particular button...I don[t think I ever actually sang that song in my life...but there it was.
I am off to an audition for ElderCare...down at 9th and 44th...then lunch with the nice student who watched out dogs while we were in SF, and a later int he afternoon tea with Paul D....tonight, a postmortem meeting at Diane W.'s concerning the New School Summer Immersion I taught earlier this Summer...it will be fun to re-hash it, and find out how effective it was...I do know from the kids I have been hearing from that they feel their lives were more or less changed by that powerful 15 days of work...it will be fun to hear what the others have to tell at the meeting.
Did I tell you, dear blog readers, about the song Peter wrote for Paul and Steve's July 18th Birthday? Called FAMILY.... Written from the POV of both men,the chorus of it is:
"So, here we are a family,
Two ex-wives, two kids, three dogs,
That straight guy, you and me!"
And it made Paul cry when he heard it for the first time....They also insisted that the CD of it be played at one of our larger gatherings at Sea Ranch , so many people in our party got to hear it...and now everyone wants a copy...it's such a lovely song...and Peter produced it like a techno-soft rock thing,so it soudns terrific. He sings it, of course. Totally unique, loving and good. All oabout searching for the right love, and ,fortunatley , finding it, and as a result, our crazy wonderful family.... a song for all of us, really.
I had better run to my audition...so much i want to write these days, crowding in my head all the time....but for now...bye.
Two ex-
I am off to an audition for ElderCare...down at 9th and 44th...then lunch with the nice student who watched out dogs while we were in SF, and a later int he afternoon tea with Paul D....tonight, a postmortem meeting at Diane W.'s concerning the New School Summer Immersion I taught earlier this Summer...it will be fun to re-hash it, and find out how effective it was...I do know from the kids I have been hearing from that they feel their lives were more or less changed by that powerful 15 days of work...it will be fun to hear what the others have to tell at the meeting.
Did I tell you, dear blog readers, about the song Peter wrote for Paul and Steve's July 18th Birthday? Called FAMILY.... Written from the POV of both men,the chorus of it is:
"So, here we are a family,
Two ex-wives, two kids, three dogs,
That straight guy, you and me!"
And it made Paul cry when he heard it for the first time....They also insisted that the CD of it be played at one of our larger gatherings at Sea Ranch , so many people in our party got to hear it...and now everyone wants a copy...it's such a lovely song...and Peter produced it like a techno-soft rock thing,so it soudns terrific. He sings it, of course. Totally unique, loving and good. All oabout searching for the right love, and ,fortunatley , finding it, and as a result, our crazy wonderful family.... a song for all of us, really.
I had better run to my audition...so much i want to write these days, crowding in my head all the time....but for now...bye.
Two ex-
Monday, August 07, 2006
The Blank Page...
..has held an irresistable fascination for me ever since I can remember...as it is with so many of you who are reading, I walk into an office supply or stationary store, or even a paper goods section of a larger store, and i get drunk with the possibilities that lay before me....row after row of colored, shaped, blank, lined, journalled,padded,loose,stacked,boxed,crisp,sweetly possible : PAPER....or the equivalent thereof....and of course now, a blank computer screen is like a waiting lover, crouched behind the garden hedges of expectation! I see the space and I want to fill it. Positively sexual.
That being said, I am reminded of a time when I had one of my few (but somehow necessary) readings by a psychic....in fact, if i remember at all correctly, it was more than one reader who told me I would one day, eventually, seriously, write. Did they mean write for a living? I always assumed that is what they meant...but the message was clear i had things to say and they would be said to the world because I wrote them down somewhere.
Not plays. Not songs. (I could never write any of those...i know how hard it is to write a good one and I would never dare try either)...but me, my voice, my opinions and ideas...written. This both delighted and scared me, these psychic declarations,because whereas i wanted to always write (just try and stop me all these years), it was mine and mine alone...no one need ever see it, and so it meant both more to me, and oddly less to me, than performing on a stage....safe in my private writer's corner, I am free to be and create anything I want to....no applause needed...
Now, with people noticing what i am writing on the blog, it is of course wonderful that people enjoy it...and now BACKSTAGE has asked me to write a column on a topic or two...this is also great! And I am grateful for the chance to expand my understanding of what more public writing can be...but...well...the "baby" of my inner most soul has to grow up and walk out in the world a little....what if she steps in a mud puddle or, worse yet, walks right into a wall of stone?
What if she presumes too much and wears lipstick and heels before she is ready?This baby writer of mine....or maybe she's ready to walk the runway and i just have to trust her...
Well, what the hell..for now...that is what i have to do....trust her to get up if she walks on the wrong clouds... if she falls through,there will always be others (clouds that is) to fall on...
SO, God Daughter Evalyn, a new adventure begins..and, San Francisco: stay beautiful, because we will be back some day soon!
Meryl Streep opens this week as Mother Courage in Central Park...though most theater is a large yawn for me these days, that is something I will not miss...dear Alex T. is trying to reserve some seats for us, but I will wait in a line of any length to see this superb actress....there are certain masters in one's lifetime, and Meryl Streep is one of mine!
More soon.
That being said, I am reminded of a time when I had one of my few (but somehow necessary) readings by a psychic....in fact, if i remember at all correctly, it was more than one reader who told me I would one day, eventually, seriously, write. Did they mean write for a living? I always assumed that is what they meant...but the message was clear i had things to say and they would be said to the world because I wrote them down somewhere.
Not plays. Not songs. (I could never write any of those...i know how hard it is to write a good one and I would never dare try either)...but me, my voice, my opinions and ideas...written. This both delighted and scared me, these psychic declarations,because whereas i wanted to always write (just try and stop me all these years), it was mine and mine alone...no one need ever see it, and so it meant both more to me, and oddly less to me, than performing on a stage....safe in my private writer's corner, I am free to be and create anything I want to....no applause needed...
Now, with people noticing what i am writing on the blog, it is of course wonderful that people enjoy it...and now BACKSTAGE has asked me to write a column on a topic or two...this is also great! And I am grateful for the chance to expand my understanding of what more public writing can be...but...well...the "baby" of my inner most soul has to grow up and walk out in the world a little....what if she steps in a mud puddle or, worse yet, walks right into a wall of stone?
What if she presumes too much and wears lipstick and heels before she is ready?This baby writer of mine....or maybe she's ready to walk the runway and i just have to trust her...
Well, what the hell..for now...that is what i have to do....trust her to get up if she walks on the wrong clouds... if she falls through,there will always be others (clouds that is) to fall on...
SO, God Daughter Evalyn, a new adventure begins..and, San Francisco: stay beautiful, because we will be back some day soon!
Meryl Streep opens this week as Mother Courage in Central Park...though most theater is a large yawn for me these days, that is something I will not miss...dear Alex T. is trying to reserve some seats for us, but I will wait in a line of any length to see this superb actress....there are certain masters in one's lifetime, and Meryl Streep is one of mine!
More soon.
Sunday, August 06, 2006
SF in NYC!!!
...or at least it feels that way , because the heat wave, that horrible heat wave (not at all worth singing about), finally broke and we have a crystal ,cooler ,sweet and sunny day...our city skin feels liberated and we are (metaphorically) dancing in the streets...freedom from oppression! If feels as good as San Francisco does all year round! Or so I imagine...though friend Drew E. says San Fran 's tendency to chill gets very old very fast...given the choice? I will take the chill over the oppresive moist heat any time I can get it!
Before I forget: another special "hello" to my God Daughter Evalyn in Minnespolis!
Ev, you have really been on my mind, since I last heard from your Mom...and as I began to tell the story of your coming into my life, perhaps I had better continue it now....
Even after your Mom and Dad got married and they both were doing their early struggles that we all do about what direction to go with their talents and their life choices, your Mom was saying how she was absolutely sure that children were the most important thing for her to include in her life. I always sensed, no matter how much she worked on her professional acting career, she knew the truly important thing was her eventual meeting with the spirits that became you and your sisters! Your Mom is a very smart woman.
So, when she let me know she was pregnant with you, I felt such joy for her.
And immediately offered to throw her a nice big Baby Shower!!! I don't recall if she told me right away that they had decided to name you after me, but I DO remember when she did tell me, I felt so honored and so happy....and I do remember that the Baby Shower my husband Peter and I threw here at our apartment was a large and joyous party...we sang a song Peter had written called BABY BAIR (have you ever heard it?) and we had such a good time, with your Mom opening the most wonderful presents! Both your Dad and your Mom had many loving friends here in NYC and though we were all sad at the prospect of them moving away from here, we were even more excited about the prospet of soon welcoming you into the world! So, it all balanced out! You know, Life is more often than not a balance between laughing and crying...that's what makes it so exciting to live!
Not long after the Baby Shower, Peter and i got a call at about 6:00 am one morning,from your Pop, telling us that your Mom was in the hospital, and that you were on your way into our world...we got dresssed, grabbed some quarters in case your Dad needed them to make phone calls annoucing your arrival) and a bag of hard candies (your Mom mght want some whle she was waiting for you to arrive) and we rushed on over to the hospital! Very excited of course.
Your Mom was in such good physical shape and you were so ready to come join us, it really did not take long at all, and soon, there I was (privileged to be in the room with your Mom while she worked hard to help you arrive) helping her breathe, telling the mid-wives to hold the mirror a certain way so your mom could see what was going on,etc...and SOON: THERE YOU WERE! Gorgeous and small and perfect and...well...wow.
We all cried with joy (remember what I said about sadness and happiness at the same time? Thus: crying for joy!)
And you were with us at last! Evalyn H. Bair!!!!! My God Daughter...my namesake!
I thought your Dad would burst ,he was so happy...that handsome face of his smiling...I will never forget it! Your Mom was a real champ! As we say in show business: a real trouper! She did a good job!
So, that's what I remeber of the morning you arrived into our lives...except I do recall that after the Main Event, Peter and i went wearily home, stopping for breakfast at our local Metro Diner and i declared to all : I have a new God Daughter and her name is EVALYN!!!!!
Much too soon after that, you and your family moved to Minneapolis, and I have not had much of a chance to get to know you better. I've only seen you once since you oved away, even though your parents did invite us to your christening...we were working in shows and were unable to come to that important event!
So, you and I have to think of ways that we can get to know each other better!
Toward that end, let's put our thinking caps on and see what we can come up with, okay?
Meanwhile, please know that I am here in NYC if you need me for anything at all...never hesitate to call or write me... even if it's just to say "hi"!
There are a lot of adventures to share in the world, and one day ,you and I shall have a few together! Shows to see, flowers to plant, books to read, clothing to try on and hats to wear! Puppies to pet, music to dance to, oceans to cross and many people, places and things to write and talk about! So many adventures.
Dear Evalyn.
Love, Evalyn!
Before I forget: another special "hello" to my God Daughter Evalyn in Minnespolis!
Ev, you have really been on my mind, since I last heard from your Mom...and as I began to tell the story of your coming into my life, perhaps I had better continue it now....
Even after your Mom and Dad got married and they both were doing their early struggles that we all do about what direction to go with their talents and their life choices, your Mom was saying how she was absolutely sure that children were the most important thing for her to include in her life. I always sensed, no matter how much she worked on her professional acting career, she knew the truly important thing was her eventual meeting with the spirits that became you and your sisters! Your Mom is a very smart woman.
So, when she let me know she was pregnant with you, I felt such joy for her.
And immediately offered to throw her a nice big Baby Shower!!! I don't recall if she told me right away that they had decided to name you after me, but I DO remember when she did tell me, I felt so honored and so happy....and I do remember that the Baby Shower my husband Peter and I threw here at our apartment was a large and joyous party...we sang a song Peter had written called BABY BAIR (have you ever heard it?) and we had such a good time, with your Mom opening the most wonderful presents! Both your Dad and your Mom had many loving friends here in NYC and though we were all sad at the prospect of them moving away from here, we were even more excited about the prospet of soon welcoming you into the world! So, it all balanced out! You know, Life is more often than not a balance between laughing and crying...that's what makes it so exciting to live!
Not long after the Baby Shower, Peter and i got a call at about 6:00 am one morning,from your Pop, telling us that your Mom was in the hospital, and that you were on your way into our world...we got dresssed, grabbed some quarters in case your Dad needed them to make phone calls annoucing your arrival) and a bag of hard candies (your Mom mght want some whle she was waiting for you to arrive) and we rushed on over to the hospital! Very excited of course.
Your Mom was in such good physical shape and you were so ready to come join us, it really did not take long at all, and soon, there I was (privileged to be in the room with your Mom while she worked hard to help you arrive) helping her breathe, telling the mid-wives to hold the mirror a certain way so your mom could see what was going on,etc...and SOON: THERE YOU WERE! Gorgeous and small and perfect and...well...wow.
We all cried with joy (remember what I said about sadness and happiness at the same time? Thus: crying for joy!)
And you were with us at last! Evalyn H. Bair!!!!! My God Daughter...my namesake!
I thought your Dad would burst ,he was so happy...that handsome face of his smiling...I will never forget it! Your Mom was a real champ! As we say in show business: a real trouper! She did a good job!
So, that's what I remeber of the morning you arrived into our lives...except I do recall that after the Main Event, Peter and i went wearily home, stopping for breakfast at our local Metro Diner and i declared to all : I have a new God Daughter and her name is EVALYN!!!!!
Much too soon after that, you and your family moved to Minneapolis, and I have not had much of a chance to get to know you better. I've only seen you once since you oved away, even though your parents did invite us to your christening...we were working in shows and were unable to come to that important event!
So, you and I have to think of ways that we can get to know each other better!
Toward that end, let's put our thinking caps on and see what we can come up with, okay?
Meanwhile, please know that I am here in NYC if you need me for anything at all...never hesitate to call or write me... even if it's just to say "hi"!
There are a lot of adventures to share in the world, and one day ,you and I shall have a few together! Shows to see, flowers to plant, books to read, clothing to try on and hats to wear! Puppies to pet, music to dance to, oceans to cross and many people, places and things to write and talk about! So many adventures.
Dear Evalyn.
Love, Evalyn!
Thursday, August 03, 2006
My God Daughter Evalyn
It's time I wrote of her. Because it's time I began to know her better and , maybe, since her dear mother Karen reads this blog, she will lead little Evalyn to it so that she can get to know me: through my writing about her!! Karen recently wrote me that she wants me to know little Evalyn better...and of course i do want that as well..
It was a rare blessing in my life the day that Karen Samuelson walked into my first class at NYU....or was it the 2nd? I do believe it was the first class that was given me to create in my own way, in order to amalgamate the various styles of the transfer students who were coming over from other NYU Studios to what was ,then ,the Musical Theater Works School...(in due time, it evolved into what is now CAP 21). So, there we all were....a huge class by any standard...some 18 or more....all with different training backgrounds, varying approaches to the techniques of putting a character together fo the stage...young actors from Adler, Atlantic (that was Karen's), Playwrights Horizons, Circle In the Square,etc....the one thing drawing them together: their desire to sing and act at the same time! Their love of music. Their star-struck passion for the Musical Theater. And the one thing in my favor as a new teacher? I knew how they felt!
I had had a brilliant graduate class at University of Minnesota, taught by the astonishing Wesley Balk, called LYRIC THEATER, and it had gotten under my skin in a deep way, changed my understanding of what acting could be...because his true love was the Opera, Wesley devised a way to teach us to understand that music was script and script was music...the first time I had ever encountered the idea! That ALL OF IT IS SINGING in one form or another! And I remember outrageous fun in that room. Darling Tovah Feldshuh was in Wes's class with me, and I recall her melting like an ice cream cone while singing a song, at Wes's command, and even then she was brilliant!
So when it came time for me to teach, I decided to explore that theme: music as script....script as music...the monologue as a song..the song as a monologue...and with this class of transfer students, it was the ideal entree into their various fears and creative terrors. Why? Because those who had done some Shakespeare study or Chekov, had never really sung a musical number, and those who had done all their highschool musicals had never come near Shakespeare or the Russians...so, from day one, since I decided to use Shakespeare, Chekov and songs from the American Musical Theater as class materials, everybody was terrified all the time, and that was great in a sort of obtuse way! It certainly left students open and vulnerable to whatever was truly in the room for themselves and this is always good.....
So, little Evalyn, I met your Mom when she came to class to learn how to be a singing actor! She used to tell me that she and your Dad would put on various records and CD's of shows and sing out loud to them and dance around their apartment! I wish I had been a fly on that wall!! You see, I knew your Mom and Dad when they were dating at NYU, and as your Mom and i became friends as well as student/teacher, she made sure i got to meet the boy she was really beginning to like a lot! I remember the time I first met your Dad, and I remember thinking how handsome he was, and that Karen deserved such a good-looking boyfriend because she was such a pretty girl! AND SHE WORKED SO HARD IN MY CLASS!!
Anyway....by first becoming teacher and student, your mom and I then became friends, especially after she came to study with me privately and worked really hard for me as she figured out her life in New York City, and what her future would hold....I felt so honored being part of her thought process and her continuing life after College, as she figured out her next steps in her life. All I wanted was for her to be happy.
And she was happy, especially after she knew you were coming along!!!!
Tune in soon, for more !
It was a rare blessing in my life the day that Karen Samuelson walked into my first class at NYU....or was it the 2nd? I do believe it was the first class that was given me to create in my own way, in order to amalgamate the various styles of the transfer students who were coming over from other NYU Studios to what was ,then ,the Musical Theater Works School...(in due time, it evolved into what is now CAP 21). So, there we all were....a huge class by any standard...some 18 or more....all with different training backgrounds, varying approaches to the techniques of putting a character together fo the stage...young actors from Adler, Atlantic (that was Karen's), Playwrights Horizons, Circle In the Square,etc....the one thing drawing them together: their desire to sing and act at the same time! Their love of music. Their star-struck passion for the Musical Theater. And the one thing in my favor as a new teacher? I knew how they felt!
I had had a brilliant graduate class at University of Minnesota, taught by the astonishing Wesley Balk, called LYRIC THEATER, and it had gotten under my skin in a deep way, changed my understanding of what acting could be...because his true love was the Opera, Wesley devised a way to teach us to understand that music was script and script was music...the first time I had ever encountered the idea! That ALL OF IT IS SINGING in one form or another! And I remember outrageous fun in that room. Darling Tovah Feldshuh was in Wes's class with me, and I recall her melting like an ice cream cone while singing a song, at Wes's command, and even then she was brilliant!
So when it came time for me to teach, I decided to explore that theme: music as script....script as music...the monologue as a song..the song as a monologue...and with this class of transfer students, it was the ideal entree into their various fears and creative terrors. Why? Because those who had done some Shakespeare study or Chekov, had never really sung a musical number, and those who had done all their highschool musicals had never come near Shakespeare or the Russians...so, from day one, since I decided to use Shakespeare, Chekov and songs from the American Musical Theater as class materials, everybody was terrified all the time, and that was great in a sort of obtuse way! It certainly left students open and vulnerable to whatever was truly in the room for themselves and this is always good.....
So, little Evalyn, I met your Mom when she came to class to learn how to be a singing actor! She used to tell me that she and your Dad would put on various records and CD's of shows and sing out loud to them and dance around their apartment! I wish I had been a fly on that wall!! You see, I knew your Mom and Dad when they were dating at NYU, and as your Mom and i became friends as well as student/teacher, she made sure i got to meet the boy she was really beginning to like a lot! I remember the time I first met your Dad, and I remember thinking how handsome he was, and that Karen deserved such a good-looking boyfriend because she was such a pretty girl! AND SHE WORKED SO HARD IN MY CLASS!!
Anyway....by first becoming teacher and student, your mom and I then became friends, especially after she came to study with me privately and worked really hard for me as she figured out her life in New York City, and what her future would hold....I felt so honored being part of her thought process and her continuing life after College, as she figured out her next steps in her life. All I wanted was for her to be happy.
And she was happy, especially after she knew you were coming along!!!!
Tune in soon, for more !
PRY----ow----d!!!
.....yes....PRY-----OW-----D!!!!!! In other words: PROUD!!! PROUD!!!PROUD!!!
There was wonderful Alex Tonetta on that HISTORY BOYS stage last night, not only holding his own, but giving lie to the notion that American actors are not trained on a level with British ones! It seemed as though he was an original company member, and in terms of schoolboy behavior, speech, accent, character specifics and contribution to ensemble, he was wonderful....and he was playing the one of his FIVE understudy roles that is the rather chubby, blond character boy, and he still managed to pull it off in his brunette ,not chubby ,normal persona! In other words : HE DID THE PLAY! and he did it damned well!
Add to that the fact that HISTORY BOYS is intriguing, well-written, thoughtful, provocative and smart as hell, and that Alan Bennett is a wonderful playwright all around, and you get an evening that is worth the money, for a change, and one that put Peter and me in a much better frame of mind than the one we walked in with!
The Broadhurst Theater was packed with audience members who walked in hot and numbed by their New York day and walked out cool and provoked to aliveness by a swell and sexily intellectual play of ideas and words worth listening to!
BRAVO ALEX! AND BRAVO ALAN BENNETT! AND BRAVO HISTORY BOYS!
Meanwhile, thank you Jenks! For suggesting i write for Conde-Nast! Nothing would give me more pleasure than to sit in a cool office like the one I am currently sitting in (in our apartment), and write and write and write and actually get paid for doing so! And maybe one day i will be able to! BUT, for now, I still function under the notion that my writing cannot possibly be interesting to more than a handful of people,(the primary one of those people being ME!). But thank you for the appreciated comment.
I must journey downtown in a few hours, in this totally horrible heat, to audition for a National Network TV spot for some medicine or other, and may have to take some medicine or other as a result of going to the audition!
It's too damned hot! But I promised my wonderful agents at Abrams that I would go and so I will,heat or no.
Much much much towrite about San Fran still....well...maybe a little morsel or two from the journal before signing off:
from 7/29/06...."Pelicans have become my new favorite bird...(and then I attempted a little sketch of one aloft...luckily not translatable here...) Such dignified grace - such gently righteous discipline and purpose in their flight. The Pelican seems a likeable bird! One that would be upright and honest in all his dealings with you..."
...and from the same entry: "And I have continued to let my sweet admiration for the clean and quaint seagull grow...such Navy startling whiteness, such starch! Yet so slicingly graceful and confident, as if they know they own the rocks they perch on and the sky they grace. I have come to love birds...and watching them is a meditation. At Sea Ranch it has become easy to clearly see that
birds are the descendants of the great pre-historic dinosaur families! Some current sea birds look positively primeval in their flight, predatory and rather eerie to watch. I certainly got their family tree more clearly by seeing them search for food!
And we fly so high above them now. How have we earned this?"
Going back to Sea Ranch is imperative...and soon.
There was wonderful Alex Tonetta on that HISTORY BOYS stage last night, not only holding his own, but giving lie to the notion that American actors are not trained on a level with British ones! It seemed as though he was an original company member, and in terms of schoolboy behavior, speech, accent, character specifics and contribution to ensemble, he was wonderful....and he was playing the one of his FIVE understudy roles that is the rather chubby, blond character boy, and he still managed to pull it off in his brunette ,not chubby ,normal persona! In other words : HE DID THE PLAY! and he did it damned well!
Add to that the fact that HISTORY BOYS is intriguing, well-written, thoughtful, provocative and smart as hell, and that Alan Bennett is a wonderful playwright all around, and you get an evening that is worth the money, for a change, and one that put Peter and me in a much better frame of mind than the one we walked in with!
The Broadhurst Theater was packed with audience members who walked in hot and numbed by their New York day and walked out cool and provoked to aliveness by a swell and sexily intellectual play of ideas and words worth listening to!
BRAVO ALEX! AND BRAVO ALAN BENNETT! AND BRAVO HISTORY BOYS!
Meanwhile, thank you Jenks! For suggesting i write for Conde-Nast! Nothing would give me more pleasure than to sit in a cool office like the one I am currently sitting in (in our apartment), and write and write and write and actually get paid for doing so! And maybe one day i will be able to! BUT, for now, I still function under the notion that my writing cannot possibly be interesting to more than a handful of people,(the primary one of those people being ME!). But thank you for the appreciated comment.
I must journey downtown in a few hours, in this totally horrible heat, to audition for a National Network TV spot for some medicine or other, and may have to take some medicine or other as a result of going to the audition!
It's too damned hot! But I promised my wonderful agents at Abrams that I would go and so I will,heat or no.
Much much much towrite about San Fran still....well...maybe a little morsel or two from the journal before signing off:
from 7/29/06...."Pelicans have become my new favorite bird...(and then I attempted a little sketch of one aloft...luckily not translatable here...) Such dignified grace - such gently righteous discipline and purpose in their flight. The Pelican seems a likeable bird! One that would be upright and honest in all his dealings with you..."
...and from the same entry: "And I have continued to let my sweet admiration for the clean and quaint seagull grow...such Navy startling whiteness, such starch! Yet so slicingly graceful and confident, as if they know they own the rocks they perch on and the sky they grace. I have come to love birds...and watching them is a meditation. At Sea Ranch it has become easy to clearly see that
birds are the descendants of the great pre-historic dinosaur families! Some current sea birds look positively primeval in their flight, predatory and rather eerie to watch. I certainly got their family tree more clearly by seeing them search for food!
And we fly so high above them now. How have we earned this?"
Going back to Sea Ranch is imperative...and soon.
Wednesday, August 02, 2006
The Melting Pot
NYC is truly earning that nickname this past few weeks, and especially this past few days: today is hovering all day around 100 degrees of good old concrete city heat!
And it is difficult to breathe outdoors. Ugly and bad. This City, already with more than its fair share of dirt, grime, and evil vibes, heating up to a nice simmering soup of hellish proportions.....ick!
And it remains between 66 and 77 degrees in gorgeous San Francisco....okay, okay...we get the point!
Before I launch into more ecstatic rhapsody about our time on the West Coast, I need to note that i had to do something today that made me sad:
I had to turn down the teaching job I had been offered at Queens College....when it became clearer to me that both current offers of time and money would not work to make it a job I could do as well as I would want to, I had to make the hard decision to not do it. SO ,a series of detailed and explanatory e-mails flew fast to both Susan E. who offered me the job initially) and the administration of the Drama Department (all of whom have treated me so nicely). I had to explain that Wednesday, with my morning class at NYU, would not be a good day for me to try to teach the class out there. I would be late for every class, unless the College could make it possible for me to get to and from Manhattan more easily and quickly. There seems to be no way for the College to help me out, either financially or with a car service, so I had to consider my health and sanity, and turn down the job.
Sad, but necessary.
NYU will keep me plenty busy, and I look forward to having more of the right time and energy to make those two classes the best i can make them! I look forward to them very much, and will begin planning curriculum this week.
Peter and have the privilege of going to see one of my private students in HISTORY BOYS tonight...Alex Tonetta, a general understudy, has arranged houseseats for us, and we are excited about seeing him in the show. Thank you dear Alex.
So, a hot hot NYC day contains both sorrow and goodness.
On Sunday, July 24th, I wrote in my journal:
"San Francisco is a city with the soul of a woman.She seems to accept all who come to her by taking them into her warm arms, the embrace of her Golden Gate.She nurtures and cares for her many children, sets them walking in their Sunday best, then provides photo op after photo op for her wide and historical family album."
"She is a city that loves to look at herself - she preens -she perches slyly, like the maiden on the rock, her silken shift of fog softly falling from one shoulder...she displays her innocence made of sunshine."
...and later that same day:
"Such a specific character to this City - the nature of its highs and lows, its hills, its delicious wedding cake houses on a slant....people live on the sides of steep hills here and think nothing of it at all! It's sort of strange really...like characters from a book. Like odd little more people burrowing into their hillside aeries - but the very Hobitt nature of the landscape and its creatures helps gives the place its innocent cozy identity and fun uniqueness The topography itself creates a coziness, interesting and magnetic, totally liveable."
I loved it there.
And it is difficult to breathe outdoors. Ugly and bad. This City, already with more than its fair share of dirt, grime, and evil vibes, heating up to a nice simmering soup of hellish proportions.....ick!
And it remains between 66 and 77 degrees in gorgeous San Francisco....okay, okay...we get the point!
Before I launch into more ecstatic rhapsody about our time on the West Coast, I need to note that i had to do something today that made me sad:
I had to turn down the teaching job I had been offered at Queens College....when it became clearer to me that both current offers of time and money would not work to make it a job I could do as well as I would want to, I had to make the hard decision to not do it. SO ,a series of detailed and explanatory e-mails flew fast to both Susan E. who offered me the job initially) and the administration of the Drama Department (all of whom have treated me so nicely). I had to explain that Wednesday, with my morning class at NYU, would not be a good day for me to try to teach the class out there. I would be late for every class, unless the College could make it possible for me to get to and from Manhattan more easily and quickly. There seems to be no way for the College to help me out, either financially or with a car service, so I had to consider my health and sanity, and turn down the job.
Sad, but necessary.
NYU will keep me plenty busy, and I look forward to having more of the right time and energy to make those two classes the best i can make them! I look forward to them very much, and will begin planning curriculum this week.
Peter and have the privilege of going to see one of my private students in HISTORY BOYS tonight...Alex Tonetta, a general understudy, has arranged houseseats for us, and we are excited about seeing him in the show. Thank you dear Alex.
So, a hot hot NYC day contains both sorrow and goodness.
On Sunday, July 24th, I wrote in my journal:
"San Francisco is a city with the soul of a woman.She seems to accept all who come to her by taking them into her warm arms, the embrace of her Golden Gate.She nurtures and cares for her many children, sets them walking in their Sunday best, then provides photo op after photo op for her wide and historical family album."
"She is a city that loves to look at herself - she preens -she perches slyly, like the maiden on the rock, her silken shift of fog softly falling from one shoulder...she displays her innocence made of sunshine."
...and later that same day:
"Such a specific character to this City - the nature of its highs and lows, its hills, its delicious wedding cake houses on a slant....people live on the sides of steep hills here and think nothing of it at all! It's sort of strange really...like characters from a book. Like odd little more people burrowing into their hillside aeries - but the very Hobitt nature of the landscape and its creatures helps gives the place its innocent cozy identity and fun uniqueness The topography itself creates a coziness, interesting and magnetic, totally liveable."
I loved it there.
Tuesday, August 01, 2006
PSD's Birthday Airplane Poem
THE BIRTHDAY JOURNEY (this was in everyone's "goodies bag" for the flight...enjoy!)
It’s said that Time and Space are One,
That all of us are fated
To one day be reborn again,
Continuously mated.
The person who is now your Mom,
May one day be your brother,
And all the lovers that you’ve had
Will somehow know each other!
Now who’s to say if that is so?
And who’s to say what must, in
This life we each are bound to say
We all should put our trust in?
It really takes a leap of Faith.
To say “Yes, I agree here.”
But now if you’ll just look around
This plane, here’s what you’ll see here:
A group of 9 , all Westward-bound,
All traveling together,
Who gamely rose at 4:00 am,
And braved the humid weather,
To come to Newark Airport
(All sleepy like young spaniels),
To show the love they feel for one man:
Namely one Paul Daniels!
Now just who is this man to us,
For whom we all do gather?
Is he “uncle”? Lover? Friend or more?
Quite diffident, he’d rather
We make no fuss at all about his life.
So un-complex!
But we are here because we love him,
Current mate AND ex!
Paul D. has never failed to be
A person to rely on,
He’s generous, warm, both kind and wise,
With shoulders there to cry on.
Oh yes, of course, he’s silly too,
In fact there’s no one sillier,
And when it comes to “highs” and “lows”,
There’s no one who is hillier!!
But when it comes to being there
Whenever any of us need him,
A second thought need never rise,
‘Cause nothing will impede him
From running quickly to your side,
Once in, he’s yours for life,
He believes in long-term ‘vesting,
Both in stocks and in his life.
Once you’re in his portfolio,
If you’re lucky enough to be there,
He treats you like a Blue Chip stock,
Your best is what he’ll see there!
He’ll give and give and give some more,
To make sure that you feel
He values you and trusts you too,
And that his love is real.
He’s given more to each of us
Than we can e’er re-pay.
But, he’ll never accept this praise from us
That is unless we say:
WE GOT UP AT THE CRACK OF DAWN!!!!
For you and only you!
(Got Evalyn on an airplane!)
So what we say is true!
We love and honor you ,dear Paul,
Are awfully glad you were born!
This Birthday Journey to the West
Is all for you. We’ve sworn
To keep it secret ,step by step,
‘Cause Steven’s the Producer,
Who’s done it all with loving care
For the man he loves: that’s YOU,sir!!!
So fasten seatbelt, put your seat
In the required upright position,
And settle back, relax, enjoy
The following proposition:
That all of us who travel here,
Wending Westward through the light,
Will celebrate this time for you,
Together with delight!
And starting now, no “if’s” or “but’s”,
We’ll have the best time ever,
Which really won‘t be hard to do,
Since this group is so clever!
So Paul and Steve, dear Kate and Nick,
Dear Michael, Ev and Peter,
With Rachel and her Alison,
No trip will e’er be sweeter!
Enjoy your goodie bags of gifts,
Enjoy, of course, the company,
Let’s fly across the glorious country
(Clouds: let’s please not bump any!!!)
With loads of gratitude to you,
Dear Stephen, on contemplating,
We know it’s all because you planned,
That we’re together celebrating!
Evalyn Baron 7/19/06
At 6:30 AM on the morning of our departure,July 19th, we made sure Paul got to Newark Airport after all the other surprisers, and since Peter and I spent the hot humid night before we left at their apartment so we would not wake the doggies or Annie K. when we rose so early to leave, it was relatively easy to keep our little family of four together for the first surprise of the journey: as we rounded the curved wall (I had celled Rachel ahead to tell her were on our way down the Concourse to the Gate), the Surprise Chorus (Mike J., Kay C. Nick S., Rachel B. Alison B. and Deb C.) were all lined up with a large HAPPY BIRTHDAY sign and with party hats and blowers, so we rounded the corner and they all started singing "Happy Birthday" to Paul and yelled surprise! It took Paul a few seconds to realize that the crazy group was meant for him and when he did realize it, he looked stunned and then happy..... (I immediately thought of the other poor early morning travellers who were probably sitting there praying that we NOT be on their plane...poor things...).
At first, Paul wondered why all these friends had gotten up so early just to see the four of us off to SF....then he slowly understood: they were all coming with us!!!! And the games began! It was then that I handed out the "goodies bags" to all the travellers in our group. It was a nice way to kick it off, and even before we left the Gate I saw people reading and using the stuff in the bags....this made me feel good...I included lots of mints and chewing gum).
It was amazing how very useful those little sewing kits were for everyone.
So, OFF WE FLEW, into the wild blue, headed for San Francisco....without flowers in our hair, except maybe figuratively...by the way: Steve and Peter put together a terrific California medley CD for the goodies bag....so we were all lifting off to the strains of "California Dreamin'" by the Mamas and the Papas...it was sublime!
More SF adventures to come!
It’s said that Time and Space are One,
That all of us are fated
To one day be reborn again,
Continuously mated.
The person who is now your Mom,
May one day be your brother,
And all the lovers that you’ve had
Will somehow know each other!
Now who’s to say if that is so?
And who’s to say what must, in
This life we each are bound to say
We all should put our trust in?
It really takes a leap of Faith.
To say “Yes, I agree here.”
But now if you’ll just look around
This plane, here’s what you’ll see here:
A group of 9 , all Westward-bound,
All traveling together,
Who gamely rose at 4:00 am,
And braved the humid weather,
To come to Newark Airport
(All sleepy like young spaniels),
To show the love they feel for one man:
Namely one Paul Daniels!
Now just who is this man to us,
For whom we all do gather?
Is he “uncle”? Lover? Friend or more?
Quite diffident, he’d rather
We make no fuss at all about his life.
So un-complex!
But we are here because we love him,
Current mate AND ex!
Paul D. has never failed to be
A person to rely on,
He’s generous, warm, both kind and wise,
With shoulders there to cry on.
Oh yes, of course, he’s silly too,
In fact there’s no one sillier,
And when it comes to “highs” and “lows”,
There’s no one who is hillier!!
But when it comes to being there
Whenever any of us need him,
A second thought need never rise,
‘Cause nothing will impede him
From running quickly to your side,
Once in, he’s yours for life,
He believes in long-term ‘vesting,
Both in stocks and in his life.
Once you’re in his portfolio,
If you’re lucky enough to be there,
He treats you like a Blue Chip stock,
Your best is what he’ll see there!
He’ll give and give and give some more,
To make sure that you feel
He values you and trusts you too,
And that his love is real.
He’s given more to each of us
Than we can e’er re-pay.
But, he’ll never accept this praise from us
That is unless we say:
WE GOT UP AT THE CRACK OF DAWN!!!!
For you and only you!
(Got Evalyn on an airplane!)
So what we say is true!
We love and honor you ,dear Paul,
Are awfully glad you were born!
This Birthday Journey to the West
Is all for you. We’ve sworn
To keep it secret ,step by step,
‘Cause Steven’s the Producer,
Who’s done it all with loving care
For the man he loves: that’s YOU,sir!!!
So fasten seatbelt, put your seat
In the required upright position,
And settle back, relax, enjoy
The following proposition:
That all of us who travel here,
Wending Westward through the light,
Will celebrate this time for you,
Together with delight!
And starting now, no “if’s” or “but’s”,
We’ll have the best time ever,
Which really won‘t be hard to do,
Since this group is so clever!
So Paul and Steve, dear Kate and Nick,
Dear Michael, Ev and Peter,
With Rachel and her Alison,
No trip will e’er be sweeter!
Enjoy your goodie bags of gifts,
Enjoy, of course, the company,
Let’s fly across the glorious country
(Clouds: let’s please not bump any!!!)
With loads of gratitude to you,
Dear Stephen, on contemplating,
We know it’s all because you planned,
That we’re together celebrating!
Evalyn Baron 7/19/06
At 6:30 AM on the morning of our departure,July 19th, we made sure Paul got to Newark Airport after all the other surprisers, and since Peter and I spent the hot humid night before we left at their apartment so we would not wake the doggies or Annie K. when we rose so early to leave, it was relatively easy to keep our little family of four together for the first surprise of the journey: as we rounded the curved wall (I had celled Rachel ahead to tell her were on our way down the Concourse to the Gate), the Surprise Chorus (Mike J., Kay C. Nick S., Rachel B. Alison B. and Deb C.) were all lined up with a large HAPPY BIRTHDAY sign and with party hats and blowers, so we rounded the corner and they all started singing "Happy Birthday" to Paul and yelled surprise! It took Paul a few seconds to realize that the crazy group was meant for him and when he did realize it, he looked stunned and then happy..... (I immediately thought of the other poor early morning travellers who were probably sitting there praying that we NOT be on their plane...poor things...).
At first, Paul wondered why all these friends had gotten up so early just to see the four of us off to SF....then he slowly understood: they were all coming with us!!!! And the games began! It was then that I handed out the "goodies bags" to all the travellers in our group. It was a nice way to kick it off, and even before we left the Gate I saw people reading and using the stuff in the bags....this made me feel good...I included lots of mints and chewing gum).
It was amazing how very useful those little sewing kits were for everyone.
So, OFF WE FLEW, into the wild blue, headed for San Francisco....without flowers in our hair, except maybe figuratively...by the way: Steve and Peter put together a terrific California medley CD for the goodies bag....so we were all lifting off to the strains of "California Dreamin'" by the Mamas and the Papas...it was sublime!
More SF adventures to come!
HOME AGAIN, HOME AGAIN...
...and except for the 90 degree weather and the dank dirty humidity, the City of New York feels like home! It is a cool 77 degrees in San Francisco tonight, and we already miss the clean breezy air and truly lovely people...but hey! We are glad to be home with our puppies in the cool of our air conditioned living room....we have arrived home and the home is always good.
Paul and Steve have already been over since our return ( in the gorgeous white stretch limo that really made arriving back easier, as did half the box of See's delicious chocolates we devoured on the way into the City)...we have already been online to look at future Sea Ranch rentals we may take....I tell you, we are 4 adults yearning for the hometown that was never ours: San Francisco.....and they call it puppy love....
We call it sanity!
Did I forget to mention? We actually sa TONY BENNETT at the SF Airport on the very day we arrived there!!! There he was: TONY BENNETT, leaving as we were walking through the arrival gate....amazing! We were sure that Steve C.was going to walk right up to him and ask him to sing "Happy Birthday" to Paul....but TB disappeared onto his plane before such a delicious thing could happen!
For now, suffice it to say: it is good to be home and together again, the pups and Peter and me....tomorrow, with all we have to accomplish, will be a busy day back in the home office....things from Queens College, NYU, students private and otherwise...much needs attending to....it will be my pleasure to get back in the routine...tomorrow...not tonight!
But for all who care: we are home. YAY!
Paul and Steve have already been over since our return ( in the gorgeous white stretch limo that really made arriving back easier, as did half the box of See's delicious chocolates we devoured on the way into the City)...we have already been online to look at future Sea Ranch rentals we may take....I tell you, we are 4 adults yearning for the hometown that was never ours: San Francisco.....and they call it puppy love....
We call it sanity!
Did I forget to mention? We actually sa TONY BENNETT at the SF Airport on the very day we arrived there!!! There he was: TONY BENNETT, leaving as we were walking through the arrival gate....amazing! We were sure that Steve C.was going to walk right up to him and ask him to sing "Happy Birthday" to Paul....but TB disappeared onto his plane before such a delicious thing could happen!
For now, suffice it to say: it is good to be home and together again, the pups and Peter and me....tomorrow, with all we have to accomplish, will be a busy day back in the home office....things from Queens College, NYU, students private and otherwise...much needs attending to....it will be my pleasure to get back in the routine...tomorrow...not tonight!
But for all who care: we are home. YAY!
