Maybe I should make this blog a morning ritual, like the morning pages in An Artist's Way. Maybe if I did that it would do two things: get me writing consistently again and be more regular with the old blogging!
Of course the blog started to track Old Hickory and I was very religious in keeping it updated as Wallace and I adventured with the piece . . . not so much recently. So let's play catchup!
The Snowball Festival was . . . let's say . . . interesting. I'm certainly glad I didn't put a lot of energy into the tech end of things because I was in a small gallery space (smaller than many of the rehearsal rooms you see around town) with no lights to speak of and no sound equipment. I had done the piece for some friends in their dining room the weekend before and it was good practise for the minimalist approach as it was just me and my knives basically.
That has it's charms for sure. People have nothing to be distracted by and listen to the words more? Maybe. At any rate, seven people showed for the Snowball Fest and they all seemed pretty enthusiastic about it . . . I don't think I'll do it again next year however . . . but hey, it was a chance to act on a Saturday! And to keep Old Hickory warmed up.
Which leads me to my next topic - the possibility of doing it in the city as part of SoloNova Festival in May. I should be hearing from them in the next week or so . . . they said 'on or about Jan. 31' . . . so fingers crossed. It would be three or four performances so it would be a sweet thing to do. I figure I've done OH 13 times for paying audiences . . . a few more would be awesome.
I heard from One Man Talking . . . and to my shock they made me an alternate this year! That really surprised me. Letter of Resignation is as good as any of the others really and I was looking forward to the opportunity, but it it is what it is I suppose . . . I sure can't make them do it! And it is a lot of work for one performance. Still and all . . . the fourth consecutive year would have been nice.
I need to get back to working on a couple of things . . . the solo piece about posing has a lot of potential . . . I'm going to try to whip it into some kind of shape for the Voices From the Fringe this year.
So . . . that's about it for now . . . a tad more consistency in posting is another goal!
Saturday, January 26, 2013
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
2012 a tad of reflection
I think it all together appropriate to look back at the year past and take stock. A good year in just about every way:
First and foremost: our daughter returned safely from her semester in Peru, which was a relief. What an experience for her in so many ways . . . I couldn't be more proud of her.
Theater:
1) I got to perform three of my solo pieces; Old Hickory in Nyack, Like a Sack of Potatoes at One Man Talking, and Letter of Resignation as both a reading (in NYC) and a staged reading (in Woodstock). Though the pace was intense for the first couple of months of the year, with about two weeks between OH and Sack of Potatoes, it still was very rewarding.
2)I got to perform in someone else's play with other actors! What a treat that was. When all you focus on is the solo stuff there are elements of the experience that you forget, and one of those is other people being involved and working with and off them and using that energy to feed off of . . . it was a wonderful time and getting to work closely with Bette and Wallace (the writer/director/visionary) made it that much more rewarding.
3) Other plays in the hopper: two solo pieces in various stages of construction and the third and final piece of the miners trilogy, which I have been working on since taking into the Fringe workshop this fall.
I didn't see nearly enough theater this year, but what can you do. Saw the wonderful Clybourne Park and the disappointing Other Desert Cities in one day, which was a new experience! Also managed to get in the amazing One Man Two Guv'nors . . . I hope to laugh that hard again some day. Outside of B'way we did see Tribes, which was well directed and acted, but I wouldn't call it one of those essential theater memories (a nice topic for a future post).
On a personal level: my job is going about as well as it could go. I don't talk about it much, if at all, here, because this is about the theater side of me, but without the means to pay the bills, there would be a very limited theater side of me. Bette's career is also doing very well, she has as many patients as she can handle and more call for services all the time.
So as we put 2012 in a box and shlepp it to the attic, there is much to look forward to in the coming year . . . and I look forward to surprises as well! This time last year, I knew I was doing OH in Nyack and Potatoes at OMT, but I had no idea about Wallace's play or what the final form of Letter of Resignation would be. Much to look forward to . . . and to be at an age when many or most are calling it a day, having long since forgotten or set aside their dreams . . . to be at that age and still excited about what happens next, what opportunities will arise or what I will create in the coming year . . . to still be pursuing all this that I longed so much for before I moved to the city nearly 26 years ago (Jan 11 1987). . . I don't take one second of that for granted and I hope for many more years to come with that same level of anticipation and excitement! The Great Work does indeed continue!
First and foremost: our daughter returned safely from her semester in Peru, which was a relief. What an experience for her in so many ways . . . I couldn't be more proud of her.
Theater:
1) I got to perform three of my solo pieces; Old Hickory in Nyack, Like a Sack of Potatoes at One Man Talking, and Letter of Resignation as both a reading (in NYC) and a staged reading (in Woodstock). Though the pace was intense for the first couple of months of the year, with about two weeks between OH and Sack of Potatoes, it still was very rewarding.
2)I got to perform in someone else's play with other actors! What a treat that was. When all you focus on is the solo stuff there are elements of the experience that you forget, and one of those is other people being involved and working with and off them and using that energy to feed off of . . . it was a wonderful time and getting to work closely with Bette and Wallace (the writer/director/visionary) made it that much more rewarding.
3) Other plays in the hopper: two solo pieces in various stages of construction and the third and final piece of the miners trilogy, which I have been working on since taking into the Fringe workshop this fall.
I didn't see nearly enough theater this year, but what can you do. Saw the wonderful Clybourne Park and the disappointing Other Desert Cities in one day, which was a new experience! Also managed to get in the amazing One Man Two Guv'nors . . . I hope to laugh that hard again some day. Outside of B'way we did see Tribes, which was well directed and acted, but I wouldn't call it one of those essential theater memories (a nice topic for a future post).
On a personal level: my job is going about as well as it could go. I don't talk about it much, if at all, here, because this is about the theater side of me, but without the means to pay the bills, there would be a very limited theater side of me. Bette's career is also doing very well, she has as many patients as she can handle and more call for services all the time.
So as we put 2012 in a box and shlepp it to the attic, there is much to look forward to in the coming year . . . and I look forward to surprises as well! This time last year, I knew I was doing OH in Nyack and Potatoes at OMT, but I had no idea about Wallace's play or what the final form of Letter of Resignation would be. Much to look forward to . . . and to be at an age when many or most are calling it a day, having long since forgotten or set aside their dreams . . . to be at that age and still excited about what happens next, what opportunities will arise or what I will create in the coming year . . . to still be pursuing all this that I longed so much for before I moved to the city nearly 26 years ago (Jan 11 1987). . . I don't take one second of that for granted and I hope for many more years to come with that same level of anticipation and excitement! The Great Work does indeed continue!
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