It's The Little Things
Yesterday was tremendous. I saw Long Day's Journey Into Night, making for two very good shows in one weekend. A trip to Elliot Bay Book Company blowing $60 on scripts. Still need a bunch more for my monologue work, so I'll be calling a couple local bookstores to order them. I ordered the one I wanted to start on through Amazon. It is the one where I get to be a bad fellow, so it jazzed me the most.
Then I met up with Steve and Paula, and we went to the Elysian. I called Gregory and he was thinking about going to work. I pointed out he needed sustenance. As we were finishing our food, after having socialized for several hours I blurted, "This is my favorite way to finish the weekend." A lot of "Yeah, me too." followed. Gregory will be leaving for Rutgers' a few days after Steve and Paula's wedding, and again I was thinking of how dynamic friendships are on the way home. I think you can never make new friends too many times. Old friends are always a part of you, and those relationships enrich future ones. New friendships can invigorate and enrich old friendships too.
Tonight in class I sang in front of the whole class, and while I could see how the Alexander work helped, I was horrified at how badly I was off key. Despite my disgust and the abject fear I had worked up, I kept going. It was a personal triumph, and it will make the work down in the subsequent classes easier.
I was thinking of Tennyson's Ulysses which I just memorized, because I like it and I thought my Dad would really like it. Of course, I may never recite it for him. Anyway, I had a meeting with George Lewis, who assigned the last bit to us in his class a while back. We talked about the mask class, and other things. It turns out I may not need to use much vacation time for the Shakespeare Intensive. Freehold is thinking of doing it in the evenings and weekends, which means I could probably work 30 hour weeks. I'm not sure how I feel about that, after having saved all my vacation time for 16 months. Also, he mentioned the ETI (Ensemble Training Intensive) program will likely have hours where I could reasonably work 3/4 time. Would Expedia support that for ten months? If not, should I bag high tech now? God, that will be a hard choice.
I saw the two full-length Shakespeare productions the ETI class did several years ago when Gregory went through it. A couple other people I knew went through the program, and the work they did was inspiring. The awe came from having seen their work before. While it was at least two times the time commitment of Meisner, I'd say the growth was more than two times what we experienced. Without Expedia's support in working shorter weeks I would have to sell my house to do the program. Oh God, I thirst for something like that.
Injury Report:
The right foot is nearly the same color as the good foot and the end of day swelling is noticeably less for the first time since I broke the leg February 19th. I can walk without pain! Well let's be honest, I can limp in a big way making me look like a duck with hemorrhoids, without pain. It may not be a pretty sight, but I can do it. I go for the pain, and a more normal stride. It has worked so far to accelerate the healing, but succumbing for a few steps every once in a while is an amazing treat. Walking (limping) without sharp pain is terribly nice, and a harbinger of better things to come. It still seems like it is taking forever to heal, though I know I am ahead of the curve for people my age. Pretty good for an overweight programmer. Somehow, I don't find it surprising for an actor.
Totally tangential, but it took me a couple years to feel comfortable saying I am an actor. I credit that self-perception with my faster than average healing for my demographic. Thank you Paula, Steve, Gregory, Robin, John H, Rachel, Sarah, John A, Gary, George, Kate, Robin, Jessica, Tess, Jody, George, Lynn, Vince, Ben, Matt, Lucia, Rachel, David, and Robin. Those are the instructors/mentors(directors) that pop into my mind -- a couple listed more than once because of their impact. The classmates and cast comprise an even larger group, and as important. My Dad and StepMom who are two of my best friends have encouraged me the entire time. They even considered leaving Hawaii and Spring Training in Arizona when I had my motorcycle crash and then broken leg while roller-skating a few years later. I'd have been horrified if they gave up their vacations, but knowing they thought of it and would have without hesitation or regret is wonderful. Good God! How is it all you wonderful people have been such delightful and meaningful parts of my life the last five years? Like I said you can never have too many close friends.
If I see this kind of improvement with my leg the whole week I'll be calling the orthopod for physical therapy referrals. The interesting thing I've learned. I can deal with a great deal of pain and maintain a positive mood, something I could not do a few years back, even if I had no pain. Today... Well, I fucking love life, and I never fucking thought I'd fucking say that! Hmm. My vocabulary. Maybe I am feeling ready to get fucking laid. Or maybe I just feel like being a potty mouth.
Then I met up with Steve and Paula, and we went to the Elysian. I called Gregory and he was thinking about going to work. I pointed out he needed sustenance. As we were finishing our food, after having socialized for several hours I blurted, "This is my favorite way to finish the weekend." A lot of "Yeah, me too." followed. Gregory will be leaving for Rutgers' a few days after Steve and Paula's wedding, and again I was thinking of how dynamic friendships are on the way home. I think you can never make new friends too many times. Old friends are always a part of you, and those relationships enrich future ones. New friendships can invigorate and enrich old friendships too.
Tonight in class I sang in front of the whole class, and while I could see how the Alexander work helped, I was horrified at how badly I was off key. Despite my disgust and the abject fear I had worked up, I kept going. It was a personal triumph, and it will make the work down in the subsequent classes easier.
I was thinking of Tennyson's Ulysses which I just memorized, because I like it and I thought my Dad would really like it. Of course, I may never recite it for him. Anyway, I had a meeting with George Lewis, who assigned the last bit to us in his class a while back. We talked about the mask class, and other things. It turns out I may not need to use much vacation time for the Shakespeare Intensive. Freehold is thinking of doing it in the evenings and weekends, which means I could probably work 30 hour weeks. I'm not sure how I feel about that, after having saved all my vacation time for 16 months. Also, he mentioned the ETI (Ensemble Training Intensive) program will likely have hours where I could reasonably work 3/4 time. Would Expedia support that for ten months? If not, should I bag high tech now? God, that will be a hard choice.
I saw the two full-length Shakespeare productions the ETI class did several years ago when Gregory went through it. A couple other people I knew went through the program, and the work they did was inspiring. The awe came from having seen their work before. While it was at least two times the time commitment of Meisner, I'd say the growth was more than two times what we experienced. Without Expedia's support in working shorter weeks I would have to sell my house to do the program. Oh God, I thirst for something like that.
Injury Report:
The right foot is nearly the same color as the good foot and the end of day swelling is noticeably less for the first time since I broke the leg February 19th. I can walk without pain! Well let's be honest, I can limp in a big way making me look like a duck with hemorrhoids, without pain. It may not be a pretty sight, but I can do it. I go for the pain, and a more normal stride. It has worked so far to accelerate the healing, but succumbing for a few steps every once in a while is an amazing treat. Walking (limping) without sharp pain is terribly nice, and a harbinger of better things to come. It still seems like it is taking forever to heal, though I know I am ahead of the curve for people my age. Pretty good for an overweight programmer. Somehow, I don't find it surprising for an actor.
Totally tangential, but it took me a couple years to feel comfortable saying I am an actor. I credit that self-perception with my faster than average healing for my demographic. Thank you Paula, Steve, Gregory, Robin, John H, Rachel, Sarah, John A, Gary, George, Kate, Robin, Jessica, Tess, Jody, George, Lynn, Vince, Ben, Matt, Lucia, Rachel, David, and Robin. Those are the instructors/mentors(directors) that pop into my mind -- a couple listed more than once because of their impact. The classmates and cast comprise an even larger group, and as important. My Dad and StepMom who are two of my best friends have encouraged me the entire time. They even considered leaving Hawaii and Spring Training in Arizona when I had my motorcycle crash and then broken leg while roller-skating a few years later. I'd have been horrified if they gave up their vacations, but knowing they thought of it and would have without hesitation or regret is wonderful. Good God! How is it all you wonderful people have been such delightful and meaningful parts of my life the last five years? Like I said you can never have too many close friends.
If I see this kind of improvement with my leg the whole week I'll be calling the orthopod for physical therapy referrals. The interesting thing I've learned. I can deal with a great deal of pain and maintain a positive mood, something I could not do a few years back, even if I had no pain. Today... Well, I fucking love life, and I never fucking thought I'd fucking say that! Hmm. My vocabulary. Maybe I am feeling ready to get fucking laid. Or maybe I just feel like being a potty mouth.
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