Saturday, October 30, 2010
Going, Going....
...and in a little more than two weeks - astonishingly - we'll be gone...! from Abingdon, en route to the Left Coast (as my friend Bob F. calls it)..and no one is more surprised by this than I am! Yikes!
I guess I thought this moving to San Francisco was more of an idea than something that was actually going to happen, it seemed so momentous. But, Time has passed (as it will do) and in that passing time we have accomplished the following:
*Peter completed his job as Marketing Director. He seems younger and lighter having done
*He has become the best house-husband anywhere around, cooking, cleaning, organizing and
above all beginning our very important sorting and packing process, so that now, easily, 2/3
of our large life is tidily packed into squares, ready to be loaded onto a commensurately large
truck! Thank you, Peter. There is more to do, but so much has been done already, thanks
to you!
*I've opened and am nearly done with my last show here at Barter Theatre (Where Trouble Sleeps) and have established my final dressing room routine in what may actually turn out to be my very last acting job! Who knows if I'll ever be in another play or musical?
* I've managed to not only get Clyde Edgerton to visit Abingdon (he wrote the novel upon
which our play is based), and he is coming here with his entire family the final weekend we
perform the show), but I've got Glenn Close temtatively lined up (please note I wrote the
word tentatively) next year as part of our Big Read events. The fact that her agents and press
people are even willing to speak to me this much and have taken the idea this far is kin of great! Her mission is to advocate for mental health issues in this country, and the 2011
Washington County Big Read has chosen Edgar Allan Poe as the spotlighted author , making
mental health issues a vital part of this community's conversation during Feb and March 2011.
*We have found another family to take over the last 4 months of our lease on the house
we have been renting, alleviating us of the financial responsibility of having to pay 4 months rent
on a house we will not be living in! This is an enormous relief to us. Whew!
*We've managed to sell, somewhat profitably, I'd say a good third of our worldly goods, in
an effort to lighten our moving load Westward, and this , so far , has resulted in not only the
banking and saving of thousands of dollars, but has brought the some 9000 lbs. of moving mass
we moved down here with from NYC to around 6000 lbs. Another thing to be
grateful for! Also grateful to this lovely community we have been living in: they have really
stepped up to help us with this. And now a lot of our possessions have found homes in thi
community! Including Angel Kitty, who has found much coziness and love with Laura K.one
of our Stage Managers. Thank you, Laura! Thank you all!
* I start raining Karen S. , who is taking over part of my job here, next week. She will be the
new Education Director, while someone else will take over my Director of Outreach duties.
My job here is essentially being divided among 3 people, maybe more, but two new folks
had to be hired just to do those two areas. I guess I've accomplished a great deal here.
* I"ve managed to sell my 26 year old Mercedes that I bought for a mere few thousand dollars
when we first arrived: Amber and Chip B. will take possession of it day after tomorrow , and
they are thrilled! I am glad it's going to people who will appreciate and take care of it: my
Silver Goose, my Evita! Probably the only Mercedes I will ever own! It's been swell!
* AND, I've somehow managed to gain entrance into a writing group in San Francisco that I
wanted to get into: Adair Lara's 2011 Winter Personal Writing Group. Adair is the author of
a marvelous new book called Naked, Drunk and Writing, which flew off the shelf into my hands
some weeks ago at Barnes and Noble, and, not even knowing she was a San Francisco -based
writer, I purchased the book based on its title, and after adoringly reading it, discovered she is
in my new home city. SO, I emailed her, begged , and sent her some writing samples , and she invited me into her January Workshop! All is can say to that is: YAY! ANd thanks, Adair.
Seems to me, like a lot has gotten done in the name of this move West. And though there is alot more to do, looking back on what we've made happen so far gives me heart and hope for what can happen in the next two weeks: we leave Abingdon 3 days after my play closes: the North American Van Lines truck will pull up in front of 216 Stonewall Heights on the morning of November 16th!
If you're in the neighborhood, drop on by! I will be at the Martha Spa getting my hair done (after this play, I need to get refurbished!), but Peter will be there, and will be glad to see you, i bet! After all, you've been our friends and neighbors here for 3 years, and we will miss you all....so come on by...AND COME SEE US IN SAN FRANCISCO! We will be sending out official moving cards with all the new info, but I will do two things here: I will write the new address info down in this blog entry...AND I will invite you all, whoever you may be, to write back to me with your land mail addresses and I will send you one of the limited edition Peter Yonka-designed moving cards , right to your mailbox! So let me hear from you! Send me your name, address (both land and email) and phone contact info...and you will be on our lists for all sorts of news in the future!
We will be living at: 1320 Lombard Street
Apt.204
San Francisco, California 94109
My cell: 917-327-7385 Peter's cell: 917-602-1693
ev@evalynbaron.com peteryonka@mac.com
Let us hear from you!
Meanwhile: bye, for now!
I guess I thought this moving to San Francisco was more of an idea than something that was actually going to happen, it seemed so momentous. But, Time has passed (as it will do) and in that passing time we have accomplished the following:
*Peter completed his job as Marketing Director. He seems younger and lighter having done
*He has become the best house-husband anywhere around, cooking, cleaning, organizing and
above all beginning our very important sorting and packing process, so that now, easily, 2/3
of our large life is tidily packed into squares, ready to be loaded onto a commensurately large
truck! Thank you, Peter. There is more to do, but so much has been done already, thanks
to you!
*I've opened and am nearly done with my last show here at Barter Theatre (Where Trouble Sleeps) and have established my final dressing room routine in what may actually turn out to be my very last acting job! Who knows if I'll ever be in another play or musical?
* I've managed to not only get Clyde Edgerton to visit Abingdon (he wrote the novel upon
which our play is based), and he is coming here with his entire family the final weekend we
perform the show), but I've got Glenn Close temtatively lined up (please note I wrote the
word tentatively) next year as part of our Big Read events. The fact that her agents and press
people are even willing to speak to me this much and have taken the idea this far is kin of great! Her mission is to advocate for mental health issues in this country, and the 2011
Washington County Big Read has chosen Edgar Allan Poe as the spotlighted author , making
mental health issues a vital part of this community's conversation during Feb and March 2011.
*We have found another family to take over the last 4 months of our lease on the house
we have been renting, alleviating us of the financial responsibility of having to pay 4 months rent
on a house we will not be living in! This is an enormous relief to us. Whew!
*We've managed to sell, somewhat profitably, I'd say a good third of our worldly goods, in
an effort to lighten our moving load Westward, and this , so far , has resulted in not only the
banking and saving of thousands of dollars, but has brought the some 9000 lbs. of moving mass
we moved down here with from NYC to around 6000 lbs. Another thing to be
grateful for! Also grateful to this lovely community we have been living in: they have really
stepped up to help us with this. And now a lot of our possessions have found homes in thi
community! Including Angel Kitty, who has found much coziness and love with Laura K.one
of our Stage Managers. Thank you, Laura! Thank you all!
* I start raining Karen S. , who is taking over part of my job here, next week. She will be the
new Education Director, while someone else will take over my Director of Outreach duties.
My job here is essentially being divided among 3 people, maybe more, but two new folks
had to be hired just to do those two areas. I guess I've accomplished a great deal here.
* I"ve managed to sell my 26 year old Mercedes that I bought for a mere few thousand dollars
when we first arrived: Amber and Chip B. will take possession of it day after tomorrow , and
they are thrilled! I am glad it's going to people who will appreciate and take care of it: my
Silver Goose, my Evita! Probably the only Mercedes I will ever own! It's been swell!
* AND, I've somehow managed to gain entrance into a writing group in San Francisco that I
wanted to get into: Adair Lara's 2011 Winter Personal Writing Group. Adair is the author of
a marvelous new book called Naked, Drunk and Writing, which flew off the shelf into my hands
some weeks ago at Barnes and Noble, and, not even knowing she was a San Francisco -based
writer, I purchased the book based on its title, and after adoringly reading it, discovered she is
in my new home city. SO, I emailed her, begged , and sent her some writing samples , and she invited me into her January Workshop! All is can say to that is: YAY! ANd thanks, Adair.
Seems to me, like a lot has gotten done in the name of this move West. And though there is alot more to do, looking back on what we've made happen so far gives me heart and hope for what can happen in the next two weeks: we leave Abingdon 3 days after my play closes: the North American Van Lines truck will pull up in front of 216 Stonewall Heights on the morning of November 16th!
If you're in the neighborhood, drop on by! I will be at the Martha Spa getting my hair done (after this play, I need to get refurbished!), but Peter will be there, and will be glad to see you, i bet! After all, you've been our friends and neighbors here for 3 years, and we will miss you all....so come on by...AND COME SEE US IN SAN FRANCISCO! We will be sending out official moving cards with all the new info, but I will do two things here: I will write the new address info down in this blog entry...AND I will invite you all, whoever you may be, to write back to me with your land mail addresses and I will send you one of the limited edition Peter Yonka-designed moving cards , right to your mailbox! So let me hear from you! Send me your name, address (both land and email) and phone contact info...and you will be on our lists for all sorts of news in the future!
We will be living at: 1320 Lombard Street
Apt.204
San Francisco, California 94109
My cell: 917-327-7385 Peter's cell: 917-602-1693
ev@evalynbaron.com peteryonka@mac.com
Let us hear from you!
Meanwhile: bye, for now!
Labels: Abingdon to SF
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Three Women and a Bus, and Other Literary Matters
Morning all! Well, both the VIrginia Highlands Festival and the Barter's Appalachian Festival of Plays and Playwrights will be starting in a short time - unbelievably, the Highlands Festival begins this weekend! - and so, as busy as Barter is at all times, it only gets busier now! Meanwhile, the orphan kitty (named Angel) we adopted and have brought back to life, is thriving, happy and, even at his advanced age, he is quite vocal and spry....our two pups have accommodated themselves very nicely to this new brother, and it's stunning to watch dogs and cats lie down together n the same loving lap!
Paul is currently visiting - while Stephen stays in Nashville with his ailing Dad - and it's ,as ever, great to have Paul with us. I miss him so when he is not.
I've begun participating in the summer playwrighting class we offered, taught by Tommy Bryant , and the name of the play I have started is THREE WOMEN AND A BUS, telling the story of a school teacher, a housemaid and a girl in 1960's Atlanta. I am by no means a playwright, and have been in too many good plays to think it is easy to write one, but i am surprised how easily this idea came to me, and so, I've completed two scenes already, and have no idea how to proceed, but shall do so anyway!
Also, in preparation for shipping my 40 years' worth of personal journals to San Francisco (i've been keeping journals for over 40 years of my life!!!) it's been necessary to arrange them first chronologically and then pack them in boxes by decades. In so doing, of course, I've had to stop and read them...or at least portions of them...whatever catches my interest...and i am surprised at how much I wrote and even more stunned at all the moments of my life I have captured already on paper. It's a large body of work, and my dreams of digesting it into book form once I get the time and space in SF, seems so do-able now. THe more i perused the pages of my younger years, the more ideas came flooding into my brain for how to do the books i want to write. And, once again, much as I have been my entire life, I begin to ache to write.
But first, plays to rehearse, personal goods and furniture and stuff to sell and give away...a major move to make...a week long trip to San Francisco for exploration and learning in August...LOTS TO DO !
What great adventures lie ahead of us, and when I calm down and meditate and remember it's all supposed to be FUN, I get very happy and excited about it all...even the seemingly hard parts!
So, if anyone wishes to buy a dining room table and chairs (we have two !!)...or lamps, or a futon, or any number of other things, simply let me know! And we can arrange private showings! Already, we have begun to cleanse our life of objects, and I want to continue! I want San Francisco to be a fresh start!
Paul is currently visiting - while Stephen stays in Nashville with his ailing Dad - and it's ,as ever, great to have Paul with us. I miss him so when he is not.
I've begun participating in the summer playwrighting class we offered, taught by Tommy Bryant , and the name of the play I have started is THREE WOMEN AND A BUS, telling the story of a school teacher, a housemaid and a girl in 1960's Atlanta. I am by no means a playwright, and have been in too many good plays to think it is easy to write one, but i am surprised how easily this idea came to me, and so, I've completed two scenes already, and have no idea how to proceed, but shall do so anyway!
Also, in preparation for shipping my 40 years' worth of personal journals to San Francisco (i've been keeping journals for over 40 years of my life!!!) it's been necessary to arrange them first chronologically and then pack them in boxes by decades. In so doing, of course, I've had to stop and read them...or at least portions of them...whatever catches my interest...and i am surprised at how much I wrote and even more stunned at all the moments of my life I have captured already on paper. It's a large body of work, and my dreams of digesting it into book form once I get the time and space in SF, seems so do-able now. THe more i perused the pages of my younger years, the more ideas came flooding into my brain for how to do the books i want to write. And, once again, much as I have been my entire life, I begin to ache to write.
But first, plays to rehearse, personal goods and furniture and stuff to sell and give away...a major move to make...a week long trip to San Francisco for exploration and learning in August...LOTS TO DO !
What great adventures lie ahead of us, and when I calm down and meditate and remember it's all supposed to be FUN, I get very happy and excited about it all...even the seemingly hard parts!
So, if anyone wishes to buy a dining room table and chairs (we have two !!)...or lamps, or a futon, or any number of other things, simply let me know! And we can arrange private showings! Already, we have begun to cleanse our life of objects, and I want to continue! I want San Francisco to be a fresh start!
Labels: Abingdon to SF
