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!