Sunday, January 28, 2007
And Yet More About Barter
What happens when you work with the same company of actors for several years on end ?
Why is concept of "company" so appealing? ("Company" implies not being alone, so that is one benefit right away: when you "keep company", you are in a romance...."come keep me company" means "come on'na my house"....let's light a fire and talk about life..."COMPANY" implies warmth and companionship)...but in the theatrical sense, why "company"?
The art and business of theatrical acting is a complex and infinitely interesting thing to consider:
There you are, a person who has decided, for whatever reasons, to become an actor on the stage, and you go to school (hopefully) to learn how to do that in the best ways possible: you train your voice, your body, your mind and spirit to be the most fully communicative and expressive they can be....you know that the product you will be selling is you, you , nothing but you...miles and miles of you (to quote a musical theater writer of our day)...so, as a student actor, you dive in and rip it all apart in order to be able to put it all back together again in the strong, pliable, durable and yet sensitive ways you will need in order to succeed...and there you are, ready to walk into audition rooms, open and vulnerable, yet strong and willing to endure even not getting the job! An actor is contantly asked to be open, and yet still protective of the inner soft soul that fuels the art...open and closed at the same time...it is a Zen pursuit, if ever there was one...to be in the moment and rise above it at the same time...to take it personally,and yet not take it personally at the same time! This is a balancing act that never ends....UNLESS...
and EXCEPT WHEN YOU 'RE IN A COMPANY!
Because in a company like the Barter's, one of the few full repertory acting companies in the country, strangers become family, colleagues become fellow artists, known quantities, friends...the business of the art becomes the daily rehearsing of each project, and the pressure of getting the job is transmuted into the sheer joyous process of realizing the play ! Together, striving toward giving life to a work of art, not separately struggling to pay the rent!
So, right away, "company" implies relaxation of certain survival muscles....and the release of the energy inevitably trapped in those muscles....and, so...where does that energy go instead?
INTO THE WORK! And if there is one thing an actor lives for, it is THE WORK! Actor love what they do for a living, and a "company" like the Barter allows actors to do what they love.
Allowing actors to do what they love to do, which is creating theater for an audience, unlocks a number of magical doors for everyone involved, and the opening of those doors opens lives.
Why is concept of "company" so appealing? ("Company" implies not being alone, so that is one benefit right away: when you "keep company", you are in a romance...."come keep me company" means "come on'na my house"....let's light a fire and talk about life..."COMPANY" implies warmth and companionship)...but in the theatrical sense, why "company"?
The art and business of theatrical acting is a complex and infinitely interesting thing to consider:
There you are, a person who has decided, for whatever reasons, to become an actor on the stage, and you go to school (hopefully) to learn how to do that in the best ways possible: you train your voice, your body, your mind and spirit to be the most fully communicative and expressive they can be....you know that the product you will be selling is you, you , nothing but you...miles and miles of you (to quote a musical theater writer of our day)...so, as a student actor, you dive in and rip it all apart in order to be able to put it all back together again in the strong, pliable, durable and yet sensitive ways you will need in order to succeed...and there you are, ready to walk into audition rooms, open and vulnerable, yet strong and willing to endure even not getting the job! An actor is contantly asked to be open, and yet still protective of the inner soft soul that fuels the art...open and closed at the same time...it is a Zen pursuit, if ever there was one...to be in the moment and rise above it at the same time...to take it personally,and yet not take it personally at the same time! This is a balancing act that never ends....UNLESS...
and EXCEPT WHEN YOU 'RE IN A COMPANY!
Because in a company like the Barter's, one of the few full repertory acting companies in the country, strangers become family, colleagues become fellow artists, known quantities, friends...the business of the art becomes the daily rehearsing of each project, and the pressure of getting the job is transmuted into the sheer joyous process of realizing the play ! Together, striving toward giving life to a work of art, not separately struggling to pay the rent!
So, right away, "company" implies relaxation of certain survival muscles....and the release of the energy inevitably trapped in those muscles....and, so...where does that energy go instead?
INTO THE WORK! And if there is one thing an actor lives for, it is THE WORK! Actor love what they do for a living, and a "company" like the Barter allows actors to do what they love.
Allowing actors to do what they love to do, which is creating theater for an audience, unlocks a number of magical doors for everyone involved, and the opening of those doors opens lives.
Labels: Barter Musings
Friday, January 26, 2007
A Most Gorgeous Gift!
Blessed be the precious and preserving air,
the breath of life, our inspiration and delight.
Blessed be the precious and preserving fire,
the blood of life, our warming guest.
Blessed be the precious and preserving water,
the water of life, our cleansing guest.
Blessed be the precious and preserving earth,
the flesh of life, our sustainer and our wisdom.
Caitlin Matthews
That lovely set of lines accompanied a gift we received yesterday from our dear Abingdon friends Ann and Chris Johnson : a gorgeous piece of fabric art entitled THE FOUR ELEMENTS, created by the woman who wrote those lines as well: Caitlin Matthews...
A wall hanging in most beautiful jewel tones, predominantly deep red to match our dining room walls,and composed of fabric, beads,embroidery,....so very beautiful. Like a precious little piece of quilting art, each piece of velvet and satin and beaded cloth carefully and lovingly attended to in the making...luscious...so luscious. THANK YOU, ANN AND CHRIS!
How can people be so filled with wonderful things,like love and generosity and caring and wisdom, and then you open the newspapers and read how people can also be loathsome and vile and mean and murderous and hate-filled and stupid?
When we are fortunate enough to be able to luxuriate in the kind impulses of our friends, and be made to know the possibilities of a loving world because of their acts of kindness and thoughtfulness, it's easy to forget what is in the newspapers...for a while...and the answer to my question (how can such glory and such vileness exist in the same creature) is, obviously, forever unanswerable, except by the deepest faith and study of that faith....but still, I get so angry, so vengeful and hate-filled myself when I read of peoples' cruelties...and so the world goes 'round....
I send love to it...to the world and all who I know and don't know..I send all the love i can manage. Please open your arms and let it in....
the breath of life, our inspiration and delight.
Blessed be the precious and preserving fire,
the blood of life, our warming guest.
Blessed be the precious and preserving water,
the water of life, our cleansing guest.
Blessed be the precious and preserving earth,
the flesh of life, our sustainer and our wisdom.
Caitlin Matthews
That lovely set of lines accompanied a gift we received yesterday from our dear Abingdon friends Ann and Chris Johnson : a gorgeous piece of fabric art entitled THE FOUR ELEMENTS, created by the woman who wrote those lines as well: Caitlin Matthews...
A wall hanging in most beautiful jewel tones, predominantly deep red to match our dining room walls,and composed of fabric, beads,embroidery,....so very beautiful. Like a precious little piece of quilting art, each piece of velvet and satin and beaded cloth carefully and lovingly attended to in the making...luscious...so luscious. THANK YOU, ANN AND CHRIS!
How can people be so filled with wonderful things,like love and generosity and caring and wisdom, and then you open the newspapers and read how people can also be loathsome and vile and mean and murderous and hate-filled and stupid?
When we are fortunate enough to be able to luxuriate in the kind impulses of our friends, and be made to know the possibilities of a loving world because of their acts of kindness and thoughtfulness, it's easy to forget what is in the newspapers...for a while...and the answer to my question (how can such glory and such vileness exist in the same creature) is, obviously, forever unanswerable, except by the deepest faith and study of that faith....but still, I get so angry, so vengeful and hate-filled myself when I read of peoples' cruelties...and so the world goes 'round....
I send love to it...to the world and all who I know and don't know..I send all the love i can manage. Please open your arms and let it in....
Thursday, January 25, 2007
Barbara Cook's Master Class
...at Carnegie Hall, night before last....Mana Allen took me as her guest, and she and i had a nice small supper beforehand and caught up on life...what a nice woman she is...I always enjoy my occasional time with her, and wish we could meet more often, but she has her family to take care of, as well as a busy teaching schedule, and so i guess we're lucky to see other when we can...it was generous of her to invite me to this amazingly fun evening in the presence of Barbara Cook, who i have always admired...
This event was the openng one for the weeklong series called THE SONG CONTINUES...2007, supported by the Marilyn Horne Foundation and the Mary Duke Biddle Foundation as well. Ms. Horne was there to give opening remarks and she was lovely and gracious...in fact, the entire evening had a gracious feel to it, especially since it took place in the beautifully renovated Zankel Hall, formerly the Crnegie Hall Cinema....
And Barbara Cook was in fine form...dressed, or rather draped, all in black, she strode her 76 years ( or more?) onto the stage, schlepping her large silver leather handbag, which she plopped unceremoniously down on the stage left table that had been set up for her, replete with jug of water and glass....she never went near the table or the water for the entire two hours...this is woman who is used to harder work than these 5 singers presented to her, so she hardly worked up a thirst.....and she never stopped talking, except when the young singers were singing...never touched a drop of that cold water...admirable...what she was truly focused on was obvious: the artists before her...and she couldn't have been more charming and helpful to them...
Each of these signers has been well and throughly trained at such places as New England Conservatory, Peabody,Julliard,etc...and each looked beautiful and had wonderful dsounds coming out of their mouths as they sang Kern, Irving Berlin,etc...large and beautifully produced sounds...good singers! BUT, of course, as Ms. Cook quickly pointed out: there was far too much SINGING going on, and not enough true singing...so she quickly estabished her credo: sing from your heart and from your experience - let us in to who you are and what you feel....communicate to us parts of the inner, usually hidden, you....become emotionally naked and let us see you....
In most cases, after she saw and heard what they initially presented ( and kept presenting even after they saw the coaching right before they went up to sing, which puzzles me), she sat them down, taking them away from the infamous piano "crook", and instructed them in how to simply speak the lyric of the song...speak it as if they meant it, in a natural tone and pitch...then transfer the feeling to a simple singing of the same phrase...it truly was as if she was instructing them not to sing, but to talk...but of course their singing was more pleasing than ever, since the intention of the words was clear and foremost, not the tones they were trying to impress us with...
She uttered such wondrous things as :
"Be present to who you are"..."total access to you"..."I see an awful lot of singin' goin' on ,darlin'"..."the more you can be in touch with what matters to you the more you'll reach an audience with your singing.".."you need to let us know you are more than just a singer"..."forget all but what matters to you..."(I love that one)...."let us see what life has done to you"..."you can heal with your authenticity!" (now, you know I love that one!) She spoke a lot about what is "appropriate" for the particular song you are signing...about "the courage it took to really be there unprotected..."....terrific teachings spoken by a wonderful natural teacher...
I was so glad I saw this.
This event was the openng one for the weeklong series called THE SONG CONTINUES...2007, supported by the Marilyn Horne Foundation and the Mary Duke Biddle Foundation as well. Ms. Horne was there to give opening remarks and she was lovely and gracious...in fact, the entire evening had a gracious feel to it, especially since it took place in the beautifully renovated Zankel Hall, formerly the Crnegie Hall Cinema....
And Barbara Cook was in fine form...dressed, or rather draped, all in black, she strode her 76 years ( or more?) onto the stage, schlepping her large silver leather handbag, which she plopped unceremoniously down on the stage left table that had been set up for her, replete with jug of water and glass....she never went near the table or the water for the entire two hours...this is woman who is used to harder work than these 5 singers presented to her, so she hardly worked up a thirst.....and she never stopped talking, except when the young singers were singing...never touched a drop of that cold water...admirable...what she was truly focused on was obvious: the artists before her...and she couldn't have been more charming and helpful to them...
Each of these signers has been well and throughly trained at such places as New England Conservatory, Peabody,Julliard,etc...and each looked beautiful and had wonderful dsounds coming out of their mouths as they sang Kern, Irving Berlin,etc...large and beautifully produced sounds...good singers! BUT, of course, as Ms. Cook quickly pointed out: there was far too much SINGING going on, and not enough true singing...so she quickly estabished her credo: sing from your heart and from your experience - let us in to who you are and what you feel....communicate to us parts of the inner, usually hidden, you....become emotionally naked and let us see you....
In most cases, after she saw and heard what they initially presented ( and kept presenting even after they saw the coaching right before they went up to sing, which puzzles me), she sat them down, taking them away from the infamous piano "crook", and instructed them in how to simply speak the lyric of the song...speak it as if they meant it, in a natural tone and pitch...then transfer the feeling to a simple singing of the same phrase...it truly was as if she was instructing them not to sing, but to talk...but of course their singing was more pleasing than ever, since the intention of the words was clear and foremost, not the tones they were trying to impress us with...
She uttered such wondrous things as :
"Be present to who you are"..."total access to you"..."I see an awful lot of singin' goin' on ,darlin'"..."the more you can be in touch with what matters to you the more you'll reach an audience with your singing.".."you need to let us know you are more than just a singer"..."forget all but what matters to you..."(I love that one)...."let us see what life has done to you"..."you can heal with your authenticity!" (now, you know I love that one!) She spoke a lot about what is "appropriate" for the particular song you are signing...about "the courage it took to really be there unprotected..."....terrific teachings spoken by a wonderful natural teacher...
I was so glad I saw this.
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
A Voice To Start The Day....
Because my day doesn't start 'til 12 noon, I was lying and cuddling pups in bed, looking out on the crispy cold sunny morning, when the phone rang and it was an old pal from Abingdon, waking me with the deep tones of her gentle Southern accent...Terri L., who, with husband Bob and sons Mitch and Harry, are driving the rounds of NE colleges for the boys to look at and were over in Staten Island looking at Wagner College (because once I had told her that school has a good Musical Theater Department)...she was merely checking in, and it was so nice to hear that voice.... her boys are both quite brilliant, so wherever they decide to go to college will be lucky to have them...Bob and Terri were two of the most interesting and dear people we got to know during our time down south. For a wedding gift, they gave us time at their cottage at Calloway Gardens, which we have yet to take. Maybe one day. So good to her her voice. Thanks for calling Terri.
Grad student at noon...one of the four whose recitals I am helping to coach...but today we are working on her spoken auditions that are coming up for various things. This is good, as one of my personal goals is to make the Steinhardt student as good at speaking as they are at singing text. Glad to have the chance to work with Juliann today on spoken things.
Then, tonight, I 've been invited by darling Mana A. to be her date to a Vocal Performance Master Class at Carnegie Hall led by the marvelous Barbara Cook! And that will be interesting at the very least. Especially since she is working with what appear to be classically trained singers. Right up my particular alley at present. I am so grateful Mana invited me, and we shall meet for dinner before the event at 7:30. She remains, along with Wendy Waterman, one of the very few people from my days at CAP 21 I feel comfortable being with and discussing the work. And i am therefore grateful to her as well for being the open generous person she is. Also, I think she is terrifically bright and gifted at what she does..I admire her teaching. As I do Wendy W.'s who appears to be turning out marvelous students from her classes at Julliard..I am having dinner with her in Thursday of this week.
It feels good to have the majority of this day to myself: to sit and have the time to ruminate on what i feel like writing, instead of rushing to do a blog entry just for its own sake...when it is truly cold outside like it is today, with the wind blowing to make it seem even colder, there are many things I am grateful for , not the least of which is to have a comfortable home. A place that shelters me from the biting realities of an outside world...the proverbial roof over my head, and such a comfortable roof at that...a roof over a place filled with love and understanding....a place where the strange puzzles of life can be taken apart at leisure and studied , with the help of a caring partner...a place where hearts beat, and not just human ones, and they all beat for each others' welfare and comfort (I'm sure Cyrano thinks it is for my good that he begs me to throw his "chewie" for the 100th time)....it leads me to think of all those who have no such fortune, and i worry that that person trying to cadge some heat from the grate she is sleeping on in the street is truly me as well, and i am neglecting her....it pains me to think of all I am powerless to prevent, and that people kill each other even though they do have the power to prevent it...people choose to kill and maim and harm and hurt...as if to do so will make them safer. ......and, given leisure , this is where my mind wanders...when one is warm from the cold, it is hard for me not to think of those who are not.
Perhaps it helps to think of theater as one large fire 'round which people can warm themselves...the problem is, these days, it costs lots of money to get a seat around that camp fire...far too much money for the person who really needs the warmth....so , like everything else in human life, we have put a price tag, high price tag, on the things we fear most losing: reassurance that we are all in this together, closing out the very people who need to hear it...perhaps becuase we fear that we are all in this together,EXCEPT FOR THOSE PEOPLE! As if misfortune is contagious....so, if I am to continue this work , I must think about who I want to do it for....and guide my students in the directions that lead them to helping the most people with their gifts....otherwise, we only build more walls....walls behind which we build the very fires the people on the other side need the most. Even a starving man has a right to hear beautiful music. Especially the starving man....
NYU is a brilliant place, filled with gifted and privileged people. I am proud to be among them. And it's odd that today, with time on my hands and the sun shining in the NYC sky, my mind goes where it has gone. I am determined, as i get older, to make as much sense of my life and its uses as I can....to be as effective for the sake of others for as long as I can...to contribute and keep contributing for as long as it is possible for me to do so , in whatever ways I can...so, even as I ramble and write, nothing is wasted...of this I am sure. So, thanks for rambling with me and "listening". As ever, all comments are welcome....
Grad student at noon...one of the four whose recitals I am helping to coach...but today we are working on her spoken auditions that are coming up for various things. This is good, as one of my personal goals is to make the Steinhardt student as good at speaking as they are at singing text. Glad to have the chance to work with Juliann today on spoken things.
Then, tonight, I 've been invited by darling Mana A. to be her date to a Vocal Performance Master Class at Carnegie Hall led by the marvelous Barbara Cook! And that will be interesting at the very least. Especially since she is working with what appear to be classically trained singers. Right up my particular alley at present. I am so grateful Mana invited me, and we shall meet for dinner before the event at 7:30. She remains, along with Wendy Waterman, one of the very few people from my days at CAP 21 I feel comfortable being with and discussing the work. And i am therefore grateful to her as well for being the open generous person she is. Also, I think she is terrifically bright and gifted at what she does..I admire her teaching. As I do Wendy W.'s who appears to be turning out marvelous students from her classes at Julliard..I am having dinner with her in Thursday of this week.
It feels good to have the majority of this day to myself: to sit and have the time to ruminate on what i feel like writing, instead of rushing to do a blog entry just for its own sake...when it is truly cold outside like it is today, with the wind blowing to make it seem even colder, there are many things I am grateful for , not the least of which is to have a comfortable home. A place that shelters me from the biting realities of an outside world...the proverbial roof over my head, and such a comfortable roof at that...a roof over a place filled with love and understanding....a place where the strange puzzles of life can be taken apart at leisure and studied , with the help of a caring partner...a place where hearts beat, and not just human ones, and they all beat for each others' welfare and comfort (I'm sure Cyrano thinks it is for my good that he begs me to throw his "chewie" for the 100th time)....it leads me to think of all those who have no such fortune, and i worry that that person trying to cadge some heat from the grate she is sleeping on in the street is truly me as well, and i am neglecting her....it pains me to think of all I am powerless to prevent, and that people kill each other even though they do have the power to prevent it...people choose to kill and maim and harm and hurt...as if to do so will make them safer. ......and, given leisure , this is where my mind wanders...when one is warm from the cold, it is hard for me not to think of those who are not.
Perhaps it helps to think of theater as one large fire 'round which people can warm themselves...the problem is, these days, it costs lots of money to get a seat around that camp fire...far too much money for the person who really needs the warmth....so , like everything else in human life, we have put a price tag, high price tag, on the things we fear most losing: reassurance that we are all in this together, closing out the very people who need to hear it...perhaps becuase we fear that we are all in this together,EXCEPT FOR THOSE PEOPLE! As if misfortune is contagious....so, if I am to continue this work , I must think about who I want to do it for....and guide my students in the directions that lead them to helping the most people with their gifts....otherwise, we only build more walls....walls behind which we build the very fires the people on the other side need the most. Even a starving man has a right to hear beautiful music. Especially the starving man....
NYU is a brilliant place, filled with gifted and privileged people. I am proud to be among them. And it's odd that today, with time on my hands and the sun shining in the NYC sky, my mind goes where it has gone. I am determined, as i get older, to make as much sense of my life and its uses as I can....to be as effective for the sake of others for as long as I can...to contribute and keep contributing for as long as it is possible for me to do so , in whatever ways I can...so, even as I ramble and write, nothing is wasted...of this I am sure. So, thanks for rambling with me and "listening". As ever, all comments are welcome....
Sunday, January 21, 2007
Cooooooooooooooooold!!!
But gloriously clear, like crystal ice....Good morning all...and Joey, thanks for the comment...good to hear from you and to read your blog too...you write with such immediacy and clarity, it's fun, and though I will probably not agree with a lot , (I have a feeling our sensibilities will usually guide us to polar opposite opinions) it's good to read you.
Today, Alex T. will come over and we will coach his two callback auditions for the two Michael Mayer projects on Monday, including SPRING AWAKENING....I so love this young man and his intelligence and talent...I don't even mind spending an otherwise weekend day off being with him in the work....he has become a friend, to both Peter and me. He and the beautiful Caitlyn F. will come over next weekend and cook dinner here and we shall have a nice dinner party, the four of us...meanwhile, today: we work! For a couple of hours, anyway. His talent is worth it, and anyway, how can I say "no"to a student who actually thanks me in his Broadway program credits like Alex did in his HISTORY BOYS bio? I will always try to say yes to Alex T.
While I write, the Gordon McCrea-Shirley Jones movie of OKLAHOMA is on tv, and as ever, I am thoroughly fascinated by it, especially Agnes DeMille's astonishingly brilliant and forward-peering dance work....SPRING AWAKENING and its unique choreographic vocabulary comes to mind...both OKLAHOMA and SPRING AWAKENING deal directly (though the older show is more obscure in its references, of course) ...they both have directly to do with the sexual lives of young adults! This is very clear in Agnes' MANY A NEW DAY dance, with those two red petticoats exhuberantly proclaiming the "coming of age" of two of the young girls...and the enticing, chilling and deeply sexual Act One finale, that famous DREAM BALLET...there is nothing in SPRING AWAKENING more sexual, even though the stage physicality of the newer show is more blatant, not the least bit obscure as the two leads ravage each other center stage on a rising platform, no less...when i saw that the other night, I turned to Peter and said " Well,
half a century ago, Laurie and Curly wanted to do this, and now, 50 years later, on Broadway center stage, Melchior and the girl are finally doing it! Pants down, full speed ahead!"
Agnes DeMille was the genius who rocked peoples' worlds even when they did not notice she was doing so....and I feel there is physical language in SPRING AWAKENING that goes near the edge of the same ideas....there is a journey into a sort of symbolism, a poetry, in SPRiNG AWAKENING's physical expression, and of course, the lyrics...it stays with me....there is sex and young lust all over nightly television...and that does not stay with me...SPRING AWAKENING does.
I am filled with a sort of sadness today....many reasons.....I miss Barter Theatre.
Today, Alex T. will come over and we will coach his two callback auditions for the two Michael Mayer projects on Monday, including SPRING AWAKENING....I so love this young man and his intelligence and talent...I don't even mind spending an otherwise weekend day off being with him in the work....he has become a friend, to both Peter and me. He and the beautiful Caitlyn F. will come over next weekend and cook dinner here and we shall have a nice dinner party, the four of us...meanwhile, today: we work! For a couple of hours, anyway. His talent is worth it, and anyway, how can I say "no"to a student who actually thanks me in his Broadway program credits like Alex did in his HISTORY BOYS bio? I will always try to say yes to Alex T.
While I write, the Gordon McCrea-Shirley Jones movie of OKLAHOMA is on tv, and as ever, I am thoroughly fascinated by it, especially Agnes DeMille's astonishingly brilliant and forward-peering dance work....SPRING AWAKENING and its unique choreographic vocabulary comes to mind...both OKLAHOMA and SPRING AWAKENING deal directly (though the older show is more obscure in its references, of course) ...they both have directly to do with the sexual lives of young adults! This is very clear in Agnes' MANY A NEW DAY dance, with those two red petticoats exhuberantly proclaiming the "coming of age" of two of the young girls...and the enticing, chilling and deeply sexual Act One finale, that famous DREAM BALLET...there is nothing in SPRING AWAKENING more sexual, even though the stage physicality of the newer show is more blatant, not the least bit obscure as the two leads ravage each other center stage on a rising platform, no less...when i saw that the other night, I turned to Peter and said " Well,
half a century ago, Laurie and Curly wanted to do this, and now, 50 years later, on Broadway center stage, Melchior and the girl are finally doing it! Pants down, full speed ahead!"
Agnes DeMille was the genius who rocked peoples' worlds even when they did not notice she was doing so....and I feel there is physical language in SPRING AWAKENING that goes near the edge of the same ideas....there is a journey into a sort of symbolism, a poetry, in SPRiNG AWAKENING's physical expression, and of course, the lyrics...it stays with me....there is sex and young lust all over nightly television...and that does not stay with me...SPRING AWAKENING does.
I am filled with a sort of sadness today....many reasons.....I miss Barter Theatre.
Saturday, January 20, 2007
A Cold and Gorgeous Saturday
...in this year 2007...crystal clear and windy and finally feeling like Winter! Peter's snuggled in bed, sleeping a well-earned late morning sleep-in, Sally the pup is snuggled by his side (where else?) and Cyrano sits at my feet as I write. He is definitely the more literary of our two "children", and seems to love it when i settle in to write for a while...he puts his furry little head down on my right foot and claims the corner next the desk as his own....he sleeps until I move from the desk.....a quiet New York City Saturday morning... each in his place, all's right with the world....it was a busy week for all.
It only slightly amazes me that both Peter and i are so happy not performing on a stage.
Whenever I stop to think about it, it feels a bit shocking...but i rarely have time to stop to think about it. When I do, I remember how so much of my life, (all of it really, until these past two years) has been spent either on a stage, or in desperate pursuit of getting back onto a stage...how much of my life has been spent inside the walls of one theater or another, while "regular life" proceeded without me outside the walls of whatever theater i was booked in at the time. I have always viewed non-theatricals as "they" or "them"...not one of "us"...and now, unquestionably, I am one of "them", and I don't even seem to mind!
I like having my nights and weekends to myself, with the ability to fill the hours unendingly with whatever i want to fill them with! No 1:30 "half-hour" to be on time for and no large chunks of time devoted to entertaining others when there is so much else I want to do out in the world...there were so many times, so many gorgeous days, that i yearned to be anywhere but inside a musty old theater....and this is coming from someone who truly loved the work i was doing all those years...and it's not to say that i won't be back into that schedule one day again...but i am simply writing about how amazing it feels to not miss it! I am surprised by how much I don't !
This is due, in no small part, no doubt, to how happy I am teaching at Steinhardt. It remains a fulfilling , exciting and surprising pasttime....each meeting I have, on whatever subject, with various faculty members, always leaves me feeling happily challenged and excited about how to move forward with what we plan...I vividly remember so many meetings at another palce I used to teach when I would leave each meeting frustrated and angry at the seeming short-sightedness and condescension with which the teachers were treated...and often, going into meetings there, would feel like descending into tortuous hours, where we all just knew we would be told what to do and how to do it....same territory covered constantly as if we needed to be drilled like children...this does not happen at the inventive and brave meetings chaired by Bill W. at Steinhardt...he is a tremendously smart and sensitive man who handles many complexities with a certain grace that I admire.....we made a date for lunch next week.
It only slightly amazes me that both Peter and i are so happy not performing on a stage.
Whenever I stop to think about it, it feels a bit shocking...but i rarely have time to stop to think about it. When I do, I remember how so much of my life, (all of it really, until these past two years) has been spent either on a stage, or in desperate pursuit of getting back onto a stage...how much of my life has been spent inside the walls of one theater or another, while "regular life" proceeded without me outside the walls of whatever theater i was booked in at the time. I have always viewed non-theatricals as "they" or "them"...not one of "us"...and now, unquestionably, I am one of "them", and I don't even seem to mind!
I like having my nights and weekends to myself, with the ability to fill the hours unendingly with whatever i want to fill them with! No 1:30 "half-hour" to be on time for and no large chunks of time devoted to entertaining others when there is so much else I want to do out in the world...there were so many times, so many gorgeous days, that i yearned to be anywhere but inside a musty old theater....and this is coming from someone who truly loved the work i was doing all those years...and it's not to say that i won't be back into that schedule one day again...but i am simply writing about how amazing it feels to not miss it! I am surprised by how much I don't !
This is due, in no small part, no doubt, to how happy I am teaching at Steinhardt. It remains a fulfilling , exciting and surprising pasttime....each meeting I have, on whatever subject, with various faculty members, always leaves me feeling happily challenged and excited about how to move forward with what we plan...I vividly remember so many meetings at another palce I used to teach when I would leave each meeting frustrated and angry at the seeming short-sightedness and condescension with which the teachers were treated...and often, going into meetings there, would feel like descending into tortuous hours, where we all just knew we would be told what to do and how to do it....same territory covered constantly as if we needed to be drilled like children...this does not happen at the inventive and brave meetings chaired by Bill W. at Steinhardt...he is a tremendously smart and sensitive man who handles many complexities with a certain grace that I admire.....we made a date for lunch next week.
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
SPRING AWAKENING!!!
To celebrate Peter's birthday (I gave him a custom made meditation pillow and mat in the colors of our Purple Room......he is heavily into meditation these days, as part of the Dharma Path he is studying from the Kagyu Thubten Monastery in Upstate New York, so I thought this would be a good gift for him...he loves them.)..anyway...our next door neighbor was kind enough to give us two swell seats to SPRING AWAKENING (she's Special Events co-ordinator for that show) and we went last night, after a fortifying homey dinner at The Edison Coffee Shop...we had a very good time. Peter especially liked the courage and innovation of SPRING AWAKENING, and we both deeply enjoyed the terrific talent on display...such a clever and strong conceit: youngsters from the 19th Century Germany, ( it is after all based on the Wedekind play) where sexual repression and shame were daily bread, screaming out their rages and frustrations with wireless mics in hand...showing the true connection between sexual nature and rage..girsl and boys gone wild indeed.....showing us the sincere origins of mosh-pit sensibilities and Sex Pistols outrage and influence on the development of Rock and Roll music...very much fun to watch and easy to get involved with...marvelously clever staging, lighting and choreography...interior thought translated into amazing body language turned into actual choreography...very Martha Graham meets Twyla Tharp (meets Susan Strohman)...but a language all its own...I loved that part the best....the physical expression of the entire thing.
Unique, truly.
I meet with 3 of the 4 graduate students whose recitals I am coaching today. Here at my home studio. I look forward to it. And I set Tuesday February 6th as the date of my return to work with the 46-10 Group....so much to do. So much to think about. So much to do....
Unique, truly.
I meet with 3 of the 4 graduate students whose recitals I am coaching today. Here at my home studio. I look forward to it. And I set Tuesday February 6th as the date of my return to work with the 46-10 Group....so much to do. So much to think about. So much to do....
Friday, January 12, 2007
More, There's Always More....
....which is a reference to a lyric in the fabulous Bill Finn song "Holding To The Ground" from FALSETTOS....this morning, it has to do with all I have to say about Barter Theatre...BUT, it brings to mind the most wonderful time I had last week in the Steinhardt Studio of the wonderful teacher Dianna Heldman, who is, not only a superb and popular teacher, but Head of the Voice Program at Steinhardt...in her charge are both Classical and Music Theater track students, and I have rarely seen a teacher take more sincere interest in students than Dianna does in hers... her intuition alone is a tremendously valuable asset in a person in charge of the delicate training and processes of young performing artists...I like her very much, and value her as both a colleague and new friend. ANYWAY: since I've decided to take voice lessons from certain teachers in the Department, in order to gain a better understanding of what my students hear when they are in a voice lesson, Dianna willingly offered to teach me last week in her 9th Floor studio down on W.4th Street...James Cunningham (my valuable pianist from my classes, and also a new friend) was there to play repertoire for me, but the main bulk of the time spent was on sheer technique, and I learned so much....Dianna is a terrific teacher...and I feel confident that the care she and her colleagues take with those young voices is enough to establish them solidly and usefully in a long performing career....no pushing, no shoving of the voice into anything it is not healthy and ready for...but rather the gentle unfolding of the instrument as it is, allowing it time to grow as it will.....a deeply admirable and smart approach, especially in a business where there is so much forcing and pushing and shoving....again, at Steinhardt, it is all about process and patience.
...I was so lucky because, not only did I have the inestimable Dianna to teach me, but Michael Ricciardone,another master teacher in the Program, stopped by (we are all becoming such good friendly colleagues, and Dianna and Michael have developed a long friendhsip), and they were both coaching me at one point and I felt like an expensive car being taken care of by 2 Master Mechanics! When I began to sing "Holding To The Ground", we were all able to engage in such a creative conversation about emotion, its place in vocal production, how it overtakes a student (and me) and forces the voice to a pressured place, and how not to let that happen, but rather, how to keep the technique in place and get the fullest most expressive sound possible, riding the waves of deep emotion rather than drowning in it....an amazing understanding....It never fails to amaze me how much there is to learn!! And for that I am continuously grateful.
Speaking of gratitude: Janet M....thank you so much for your lovely continuing emails in response to my blog...I am deeply glad you enjoy reading it...and that your love for Barter Theatre has not waned...you are so right in your assessment that Barter is a unique and truly special place....As you read, beign with Rick and Amanda again was nearly painful it felt so good to see them....I guess we all need that place we yearn to be, and Barter is mine. Who knows, maybe one day again...meanwhile, I shall live in my memory and write about it all I can...
...I was so lucky because, not only did I have the inestimable Dianna to teach me, but Michael Ricciardone,another master teacher in the Program, stopped by (we are all becoming such good friendly colleagues, and Dianna and Michael have developed a long friendhsip), and they were both coaching me at one point and I felt like an expensive car being taken care of by 2 Master Mechanics! When I began to sing "Holding To The Ground", we were all able to engage in such a creative conversation about emotion, its place in vocal production, how it overtakes a student (and me) and forces the voice to a pressured place, and how not to let that happen, but rather, how to keep the technique in place and get the fullest most expressive sound possible, riding the waves of deep emotion rather than drowning in it....an amazing understanding....It never fails to amaze me how much there is to learn!! And for that I am continuously grateful.
Speaking of gratitude: Janet M....thank you so much for your lovely continuing emails in response to my blog...I am deeply glad you enjoy reading it...and that your love for Barter Theatre has not waned...you are so right in your assessment that Barter is a unique and truly special place....As you read, beign with Rick and Amanda again was nearly painful it felt so good to see them....I guess we all need that place we yearn to be, and Barter is mine. Who knows, maybe one day again...meanwhile, I shall live in my memory and write about it all I can...
Labels: Barter Musings
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
My Barter Rhapsody
.....in honor of its 75th Anniversary in 2008...and since the photo book they are working on needs my input soon, (I've been asked to send along fond remembrances, points of view, stories), I shall let this blog entry be the start of what i'll send...then, Jayne D. can choose what she wishes to choose to use or not.....
To understand my love for Barter Theatre, a love that transcends an actress' normal caring for a theater that gives her creative employment, it's important to understand my point of view about the art and institution of theater in general: I hold the view that "Theater" (with a capital "T") is essential to the health of a community, vital for the growth and conscience of any civilized society, and I hold that view passionately.
From the first time a person ever had an adventure and had to tell someone else about it ("hey, honey", the cavewoman said, "the kids were so cute today: one of them invented this funny round thing that makes my work so much easier...we decided to call it "wheel"!"...from the first time a person wanted to vicariously engage another in an experience, Theater was born and continued to live through the ages....it seeped into the souls of every civilization known to mankind, (and no doubt into many unknown as well)...anytime or anywhere there were people, rites that can only be called theatrical creatively sprung to life to serve the Community in various ways...man is infinitely inventive, so he even managed to create a connection between Theatre and the Divine in innumerable societies as well...I for one understand that, since another passionately held belief of mine is that Theater is a servant to all that is spiritual in man....to know oneself to be a person of the theater is like being "called" to do so. It is a "Calling". No doubt about it.
And every moment I spent at Barter (over a span of some 10 or 11 years, I spent 4 or 5 in beautiful Abingdon), felt like Destiny. It felt like it had a purpose. It felt like something important. Important for the Community in which we served, and important to us, of course, as well.
And, since I have to get down to NYU soon, I shall stop at this point and put some clothes on.
More soon.
To understand my love for Barter Theatre, a love that transcends an actress' normal caring for a theater that gives her creative employment, it's important to understand my point of view about the art and institution of theater in general: I hold the view that "Theater" (with a capital "T") is essential to the health of a community, vital for the growth and conscience of any civilized society, and I hold that view passionately.
From the first time a person ever had an adventure and had to tell someone else about it ("hey, honey", the cavewoman said, "the kids were so cute today: one of them invented this funny round thing that makes my work so much easier...we decided to call it "wheel"!"...from the first time a person wanted to vicariously engage another in an experience, Theater was born and continued to live through the ages....it seeped into the souls of every civilization known to mankind, (and no doubt into many unknown as well)...anytime or anywhere there were people, rites that can only be called theatrical creatively sprung to life to serve the Community in various ways...man is infinitely inventive, so he even managed to create a connection between Theatre and the Divine in innumerable societies as well...I for one understand that, since another passionately held belief of mine is that Theater is a servant to all that is spiritual in man....to know oneself to be a person of the theater is like being "called" to do so. It is a "Calling". No doubt about it.
And every moment I spent at Barter (over a span of some 10 or 11 years, I spent 4 or 5 in beautiful Abingdon), felt like Destiny. It felt like it had a purpose. It felt like something important. Important for the Community in which we served, and important to us, of course, as well.
And, since I have to get down to NYU soon, I shall stop at this point and put some clothes on.
More soon.
Labels: Barter Musings
Monday, January 08, 2007
Our Third Anniversary!!!
Peter and I have been married 3 entire whole years...3 years ago today, at 3:00 pm, at the Polynesian Resort at Disney World in Orlando, we married and partied with friends and family at the Luau at Polynesian Resort! Fun was had by all and we became a married couple in the process! Tonight, when Peter gets home from work, I will have a good dinner waiting for him, a sweet cake to celebrate for dessert and presents to open! This is a fine time in our lives and I value and honor this lovely man who has made my life so happy.
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, my darling Peter. I love you so.
We have been spending the last two weeks, or at least as much as we have been able to, Upstate at the Hosue and it has been ggod...Peter has beguy to go to the Kagyu Thubten Monastery with Paul and volunteer putting hundreds of tapes of the Lama into digital form, so the many requests the Monastery recieves for the talks can be filled. Peter loves it there, and has begun the Dharma Path studies with Paul. I will join them soon in the studies. I really do enjoy visiting the friends we have made there: the monks and nuns are so smart and dear and open, always ready to help us understand better the various steps of the Dharma path we are on...the fact that they are mostly Westerners who had full lives before they came to the Kagyu lineage, and therefore can relate interestingly to how Buddhism and the Dharma relate to "real" life, well,...all of this helps.....I am amazed at how both Peter and Paul have grown in this study.Peter says he has been looking for something like this all his life, and feels comfortable there, which is why he asked to help with the recordings. I sit in amazement and enjoy my talks and quiet times at this gorgeous Monastery on the banks of the Hudson.
I need to begin soon writing about the Barter and collecting thoughts about the value of it in my life and in the life of the community of Abingdon...I have been asked to do so, and need to send those thoughts to the Barter this month....soon, NYU begins again, and already schedules are filling up, so I want to do the Barter writing before all that gets too thick and time-consuming. I now have coachings for 4 Graduate Students and their recitals, so that coaching schedule will be important to juggle...it helps that they are all at various dates and times, thoughtout the semester...other Private coaching is building surprisingly...also, the 46-10 Village Group needs me soon again too....so...so much to do and learn...being at the gym today felt wonderful....the sauna alone is worth it all! More soon.!
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, my darling Peter. I love you so.
We have been spending the last two weeks, or at least as much as we have been able to, Upstate at the Hosue and it has been ggod...Peter has beguy to go to the Kagyu Thubten Monastery with Paul and volunteer putting hundreds of tapes of the Lama into digital form, so the many requests the Monastery recieves for the talks can be filled. Peter loves it there, and has begun the Dharma Path studies with Paul. I will join them soon in the studies. I really do enjoy visiting the friends we have made there: the monks and nuns are so smart and dear and open, always ready to help us understand better the various steps of the Dharma path we are on...the fact that they are mostly Westerners who had full lives before they came to the Kagyu lineage, and therefore can relate interestingly to how Buddhism and the Dharma relate to "real" life, well,...all of this helps.....I am amazed at how both Peter and Paul have grown in this study.Peter says he has been looking for something like this all his life, and feels comfortable there, which is why he asked to help with the recordings. I sit in amazement and enjoy my talks and quiet times at this gorgeous Monastery on the banks of the Hudson.
I need to begin soon writing about the Barter and collecting thoughts about the value of it in my life and in the life of the community of Abingdon...I have been asked to do so, and need to send those thoughts to the Barter this month....soon, NYU begins again, and already schedules are filling up, so I want to do the Barter writing before all that gets too thick and time-consuming. I now have coachings for 4 Graduate Students and their recitals, so that coaching schedule will be important to juggle...it helps that they are all at various dates and times, thoughtout the semester...other Private coaching is building surprisingly...also, the 46-10 Village Group needs me soon again too....so...so much to do and learn...being at the gym today felt wonderful....the sauna alone is worth it all! More soon.!
Thursday, January 04, 2007
The Joys of Old Friends
....and seeing them after far too long a time...we saw Rick Rose and Amanda Aldridge last night,(Wednesday the 3rd) for dinner at Joe Allen's, and it shocked me to feel what I felt when I saw them. I did not expect to feel so tender and happy when I saw them standing in Joe's foyer waiting for us, and the moment Amanda hugged me, I felt like crying! This I did not expect, honestly...and when Rick hugged, it felt like Peter and I had been away far too long from our Barter home! I did not expect to feel this way.
That being said: we had a perfectly marvelous dinner of juicy steaks and much-needed catch-up conversation until they had to go off to see GREY GARDENS...we see them again tonight...for dinner at least...maybe a show...and of course more talk and talk and talk....
AND SO WE DID.....
This morning is Friday, January 5th, so I am combining a couple of days of writing into one blog, since I have to run off to the hairdressers in a few minutes, and I want to rhapsodize yet more about the joys of seeing our dear friends Rick and Amanda more last night....Peter, unable to join us for the first part of the evening, caught up with us after the play we saw at a 45th Street place called Connell's for drinks and food...we were out til 1 AM with them which, for us, is a rare thing to do...we usually are such homebodies lately. But I could tell : none of us wanted to part from the other three!!
Anyway, in brief: I met Rick and Amanda at the Edison Hotel Coffee Shop (a favorite haunt of all of us) and we ate a satisfyingly Edison Coffee Shop "homestyle" meal...quickly too, with much crowded conversation, as ever...we never seem to fit it all in, we have so much to say to each other...conversations lag out of sheer exhaustion, nothing more, we find each other so genuinely interesting, and it has been a long time since we have shared conversation space....so we talked and talked and ate and ate, making our 8:00 curtain over on 45th Street in good time.We saw a wonderful new David Hare play called THE VERTICAL HOUR, starring a terrific Julliane Moore and the fine Brit actor Bill Nighy...a terrific and compellingly written play acted by good good actors...it's been a while since I have allowed myself that...and the three of us enjoyed it truly. I need to see more plays. Hell, I need to see more live theater in general...odd how we have avoided that over the past year...though, thanks to some tix given us by our neighbor Nancy Richards, we are going to see SPRING AWAKENING next Monday, co-incidentally on Peter's birthday! That'll be fun...the new hit musical...
So, there we were, the four of us, sitting late at night, as we so often did in Abingdon, over drinks and food, hashing out all the problems of the known world, and it felt so good. The Barter is a place that has engaged the four of us in intimate and important ways in our lives, and, granted, Rick and Amanda's "mission" there, over the past years, has been the focus of two lives well lived, as they contribute profoundly to the life and growth of an entire region of this country...but even though Peter and I have only spent a few years there with them ,so far (dare i add?), the intersection of our experiences at Barter has yielded major crossroads in our lives...it helped to shape both Peter and me...and the love we feel for Rick and Amanda, is the love, not only for dear friends, but for mentors and valued colleagues: this is a powerful combination....
That being said: we had a perfectly marvelous dinner of juicy steaks and much-needed catch-up conversation until they had to go off to see GREY GARDENS...we see them again tonight...for dinner at least...maybe a show...and of course more talk and talk and talk....
AND SO WE DID.....
This morning is Friday, January 5th, so I am combining a couple of days of writing into one blog, since I have to run off to the hairdressers in a few minutes, and I want to rhapsodize yet more about the joys of seeing our dear friends Rick and Amanda more last night....Peter, unable to join us for the first part of the evening, caught up with us after the play we saw at a 45th Street place called Connell's for drinks and food...we were out til 1 AM with them which, for us, is a rare thing to do...we usually are such homebodies lately. But I could tell : none of us wanted to part from the other three!!
Anyway, in brief: I met Rick and Amanda at the Edison Hotel Coffee Shop (a favorite haunt of all of us) and we ate a satisfyingly Edison Coffee Shop "homestyle" meal...quickly too, with much crowded conversation, as ever...we never seem to fit it all in, we have so much to say to each other...conversations lag out of sheer exhaustion, nothing more, we find each other so genuinely interesting, and it has been a long time since we have shared conversation space....so we talked and talked and ate and ate, making our 8:00 curtain over on 45th Street in good time.We saw a wonderful new David Hare play called THE VERTICAL HOUR, starring a terrific Julliane Moore and the fine Brit actor Bill Nighy...a terrific and compellingly written play acted by good good actors...it's been a while since I have allowed myself that...and the three of us enjoyed it truly. I need to see more plays. Hell, I need to see more live theater in general...odd how we have avoided that over the past year...though, thanks to some tix given us by our neighbor Nancy Richards, we are going to see SPRING AWAKENING next Monday, co-incidentally on Peter's birthday! That'll be fun...the new hit musical...
So, there we were, the four of us, sitting late at night, as we so often did in Abingdon, over drinks and food, hashing out all the problems of the known world, and it felt so good. The Barter is a place that has engaged the four of us in intimate and important ways in our lives, and, granted, Rick and Amanda's "mission" there, over the past years, has been the focus of two lives well lived, as they contribute profoundly to the life and growth of an entire region of this country...but even though Peter and I have only spent a few years there with them ,so far (dare i add?), the intersection of our experiences at Barter has yielded major crossroads in our lives...it helped to shape both Peter and me...and the love we feel for Rick and Amanda, is the love, not only for dear friends, but for mentors and valued colleagues: this is a powerful combination....
Labels: Adventures with Friends
Wednesday, January 03, 2007
As Cold As It Is...
..this beautiful Upstate morning, still we hear on the news that it will reach 60 degrees sometime this week, and we have yet to see a snow fall of any kind this supposed Winter....and as much as I know we will all complain about it once it falls, I have to say: I miss it, and wish the weather would begin to behave more normally....the flowering trees in our yard are confused.
I will go back into the City some time today, and joyfully join Peter, Rick R. and Amanda A. for dinner later at Joe Allen's...catch up on news of their lives and the Barter Theatre, hug them and hug them. We have not seen them in a year or more. Since their last trip to the City. I can hardly wait. SO much to talk about, as ever.
Then, since I have some private students who need help, I will work with them tomorrow, and return to the Upstate House after my Friday morning appointment or later that day with Peter when he finishes downtown at work,We will have a nice full weekend here again, as we run the pups around their favorite meadow and Peter helps Paul so some audio work at the local Buddhist monastery....Paul havs found the most wonderful community to engage with and learn from, and Peter is enchanted by the spirit and people there as well, so they are helping to digitalize hundreds of hours of Lama Norla's talks and lectures...plus old recordings of Kalu Rimpoche...it is a rare and wonderful chance to figuratively sit at the feet of Buddhist Masters, and I have not seen Paul this happy in a long long time. Also, when I can, I like going with him over to the Kagyu Thubten Monastery becaause I simply like the monks and nuns there. They are tremendouly warm and welcoming people with enormous knowledge of the Dharma, and since they are mostly Westerners, it is easy to learn from them all sorts of things about Tibetan Buddhism, as well as the Tibetan language itself. Several of them are certified teachers of that language and I am finding that study intriguing. I go at it slowly, but it holds my interest nonetheless. I have loved beginning to know these spirited people. And Paul and Peter are so drawn to the monastic energy. The fact that the entire place sits on the banks of the fabulous Hudson River only adds to the attraction, and a gorgeous ornate stupa the monastery had built there adds to the enchantment. Quite beautiful. And constant dedication to Peace and compassion and the teachings of the Buddha. Lama Norla is in residence there and travels the wide world from his home there to his various communities all over this country and others. He has been the teacher of many Buddhist leaders around the world, and the humble monastery is often host to Buddhist "stars" from all over the place..today the Lama Surya Das is coming for the afternoon,not to give a public teaching, but to simply have lunch with Lama Norla...! At least, that is what Paul told me when he came home from his volunteer work there yesteday....
Lots of Buddhist books as gifts for Christmas, among them several by the amazing Vietnamese monk Thich Nhat Hanh....and various members of his original Interbeing Council that came together in the Vietnam War's darkest days to help their country....the current one I am reading is called simply INTERBEING: Fourteen Guidelines for Engaged Buddhism....such simple and touching writing....so useful...especially when you consider the 14 guidelines were conceived when horrible things were being done to their homes and families by people who seemed intent on their distruction, and as Buddhists, they knew they had to find a way not to hate the people who were doing the horrible things...in fact, from their experience of war, they knew, as Buddhist scholars and spiritual people, that hate and retribution would only prolong the agonies not end them...and in that wisdom alone, I find enough to sustain my admiration and desire to continue to study them. One passage touched me particularly:
"The First Mindfulness Training of the Order of Interbeing opens us to the total openness and absolute tolerance of Buddhism. Openness and tolerance are not merely ways to deal with people in daily life; they are truly gateways for the realization of the Way. According to Buddhism, if we do not continue to expand the boundaries of our understanding, we will be imprisoned by our views and unable to realize the Way.
In the Sutra of One Hundred Parables,the Buddha tells the story of a young merchant and his son. The merchant,a widower, loved his son dearly, but lost him due to his lack of wisdom. One day, while the man was away, his little boy was kidnapped by bandits, who razed the entire village before fleeing. When the young merchant returned, he found the charred remains of a child near where his house had been, and in his suffering and confusion, mistook the charred remains for his own son. He cried unceasingly, arranged a cremation ceremony , and then carried the bag of ashes tied around his neck day and night. A few months later, a little boy, his little boy, managed to escape from the bandits and found his way home. At midnight, he knocked on his father's door, but the father, thinking some mischievous boy was ridiculing him, refused to let him in. The boy knocked and knocked, but the man clung to his view that his boy was dead and eventually his son had to go away. The father who loved so much lost his son forever.
The Buddha said that when we are attached to views, even if the truth comes knocking on our door, we will refuse to let it in. To inflexibly embrace a view and regard it as a fixed truth is to end the vital process of inquiry and awakening. The Buddha's teachings are a means of helping people. They are not an end to worship or fight over."
From reading all I have been reading over the past year, I am happily amazed by the amount of true wisdom man is capable of. One day, it will prevail.
I will go back into the City some time today, and joyfully join Peter, Rick R. and Amanda A. for dinner later at Joe Allen's...catch up on news of their lives and the Barter Theatre, hug them and hug them. We have not seen them in a year or more. Since their last trip to the City. I can hardly wait. SO much to talk about, as ever.
Then, since I have some private students who need help, I will work with them tomorrow, and return to the Upstate House after my Friday morning appointment or later that day with Peter when he finishes downtown at work,We will have a nice full weekend here again, as we run the pups around their favorite meadow and Peter helps Paul so some audio work at the local Buddhist monastery....Paul havs found the most wonderful community to engage with and learn from, and Peter is enchanted by the spirit and people there as well, so they are helping to digitalize hundreds of hours of Lama Norla's talks and lectures...plus old recordings of Kalu Rimpoche...it is a rare and wonderful chance to figuratively sit at the feet of Buddhist Masters, and I have not seen Paul this happy in a long long time. Also, when I can, I like going with him over to the Kagyu Thubten Monastery becaause I simply like the monks and nuns there. They are tremendouly warm and welcoming people with enormous knowledge of the Dharma, and since they are mostly Westerners, it is easy to learn from them all sorts of things about Tibetan Buddhism, as well as the Tibetan language itself. Several of them are certified teachers of that language and I am finding that study intriguing. I go at it slowly, but it holds my interest nonetheless. I have loved beginning to know these spirited people. And Paul and Peter are so drawn to the monastic energy. The fact that the entire place sits on the banks of the fabulous Hudson River only adds to the attraction, and a gorgeous ornate stupa the monastery had built there adds to the enchantment. Quite beautiful. And constant dedication to Peace and compassion and the teachings of the Buddha. Lama Norla is in residence there and travels the wide world from his home there to his various communities all over this country and others. He has been the teacher of many Buddhist leaders around the world, and the humble monastery is often host to Buddhist "stars" from all over the place..today the Lama Surya Das is coming for the afternoon,not to give a public teaching, but to simply have lunch with Lama Norla...! At least, that is what Paul told me when he came home from his volunteer work there yesteday....
Lots of Buddhist books as gifts for Christmas, among them several by the amazing Vietnamese monk Thich Nhat Hanh....and various members of his original Interbeing Council that came together in the Vietnam War's darkest days to help their country....the current one I am reading is called simply INTERBEING: Fourteen Guidelines for Engaged Buddhism....such simple and touching writing....so useful...especially when you consider the 14 guidelines were conceived when horrible things were being done to their homes and families by people who seemed intent on their distruction, and as Buddhists, they knew they had to find a way not to hate the people who were doing the horrible things...in fact, from their experience of war, they knew, as Buddhist scholars and spiritual people, that hate and retribution would only prolong the agonies not end them...and in that wisdom alone, I find enough to sustain my admiration and desire to continue to study them. One passage touched me particularly:
"The First Mindfulness Training of the Order of Interbeing opens us to the total openness and absolute tolerance of Buddhism. Openness and tolerance are not merely ways to deal with people in daily life; they are truly gateways for the realization of the Way. According to Buddhism, if we do not continue to expand the boundaries of our understanding, we will be imprisoned by our views and unable to realize the Way.
In the Sutra of One Hundred Parables,the Buddha tells the story of a young merchant and his son. The merchant,a widower, loved his son dearly, but lost him due to his lack of wisdom. One day, while the man was away, his little boy was kidnapped by bandits, who razed the entire village before fleeing. When the young merchant returned, he found the charred remains of a child near where his house had been, and in his suffering and confusion, mistook the charred remains for his own son. He cried unceasingly, arranged a cremation ceremony , and then carried the bag of ashes tied around his neck day and night. A few months later, a little boy, his little boy, managed to escape from the bandits and found his way home. At midnight, he knocked on his father's door, but the father, thinking some mischievous boy was ridiculing him, refused to let him in. The boy knocked and knocked, but the man clung to his view that his boy was dead and eventually his son had to go away. The father who loved so much lost his son forever.
The Buddha said that when we are attached to views, even if the truth comes knocking on our door, we will refuse to let it in. To inflexibly embrace a view and regard it as a fixed truth is to end the vital process of inquiry and awakening. The Buddha's teachings are a means of helping people. They are not an end to worship or fight over."
From reading all I have been reading over the past year, I am happily amazed by the amount of true wisdom man is capable of. One day, it will prevail.
Labels: Buddhist Influences
Monday, January 01, 2007
And So, It Begins....
...this new year of ours...this space of time, this vast, empty (yet full of possibility) stretch of days in which it is absolutely impossible to know what will occur...oh, we my think we know wht the dys will hold...we think we can predict, based on all the days that have gone before, the things that will happen....the things we hope will happen if all goes well...the work attended to...the people seen and experienced...the meals eaten and dogs walked...we think we know so much...but even the most foolish among us has to admit: we really don't know what even the next breath will bring. So, as ever, before us stretched a road certainly never taken before.
Until others wake up on this first day of the new year, I am sitting solitary in a wonderfully quiet house, sipping a cup of feshly brewed coffee (Trader Joe's does have the best coffee beans)...and I have been awake and watching the rainy morning for many hours now....
Former President Gerald Ford has passed away and lies in state in DC...Saddam Hussein was finally hanged and is lying somewhere in his country...and the world waits for its next big news. For now, it seems as though (but of course I have no way of really knowing) but it seems as though the world is resting peacefully balanced between the end and the beginnning...that special day of rest we all allow ourselves when approximately 365 days have passed and we gird our loins and take a deep breath to prepare to meet the next slew of days...sleep in heavenly peace,indeed: we take the day to regroup. And then we mount our war horses and off we go again into the battle....the battle we benignly view as our lives. We teach, we work, we dress ourselves in all the new clothing we received as presents, we greet each other with tales of our holidays (I will tell of my great Christmas bake-off!) and we will be glad for so much. At the very least, glad for one small preseent we may have received...one free meal....one smile or one shared conversation with a distant relative....our memories remain the true gift of the Holidays....
Until others wake up on this first day of the new year, I am sitting solitary in a wonderfully quiet house, sipping a cup of feshly brewed coffee (Trader Joe's does have the best coffee beans)...and I have been awake and watching the rainy morning for many hours now....
Former President Gerald Ford has passed away and lies in state in DC...Saddam Hussein was finally hanged and is lying somewhere in his country...and the world waits for its next big news. For now, it seems as though (but of course I have no way of really knowing) but it seems as though the world is resting peacefully balanced between the end and the beginnning...that special day of rest we all allow ourselves when approximately 365 days have passed and we gird our loins and take a deep breath to prepare to meet the next slew of days...sleep in heavenly peace,indeed: we take the day to regroup. And then we mount our war horses and off we go again into the battle....the battle we benignly view as our lives. We teach, we work, we dress ourselves in all the new clothing we received as presents, we greet each other with tales of our holidays (I will tell of my great Christmas bake-off!) and we will be glad for so much. At the very least, glad for one small preseent we may have received...one free meal....one smile or one shared conversation with a distant relative....our memories remain the true gift of the Holidays....
Labels: 2007's Early Days
