zzz

This entry has been slow in the writing and deployment. The weekend before last I had a mild, but several day long bout with something like food poisoning. My gut muscles still ache very slightly. That made me pretty tired, and the spike in some variety of pollen gave me enough hayfever to rob the bit of energy left over. I felt like the walking dead, and this morning finally woke up feeling refreshed. The little things are so nice when the come back.

I went to a meeting at Freehold last Tuesday night, a focus group meeting for the Ensemble Training Intensive (ETI) next year. I don't believe I'm ready for this yet. They have worked with Antioch College and now have accredited certification for the course. The program was created because regional professional theatres said they don't use local actors much because they can't handle verse. Well, this is an intensive program that has had great success launching many actors to full-time work in New York, Los Angeles, touring productions, or the competitive MFA programs.

You see, despite my focus on theatre for the last five years, I don't feel I've enough time on the boards. I plan on selling my house and likely leaving Expedia in two or three years to pursue something like this and/or an MFA program. I've been learning the production and backstage ropes, and while I still consider it very important for creating a balanced education and resume, it hasn't worked my chops that much. I've never been a lead, and have only had a handful of significant roles. Well, I was the lead in a 25 minute indie film, but that was not much more than the other roles I've had -- it was definitely a beginner's effort, one all of us beginners worked hard on.

I believe I will get more out of a conservatory program like ETI, if I have more real experience. It is not out of fear about selling my house and giving up my current job, though to be honest that does create an attractive trepidation for me. Rather it is a desire to make the most of the time spent in intensive programs. I'm hoping to get into an MFA program, and something like ETI would be tremendous preparation, as well as greatly increasing my chances.

We started rehearsals for The Cherry Orchard this weekend. Saturday I finally got my copy of the script, so now I've the translation we'll be using. It turns out I'll have three small parts, not two and two of them will have a couple lines. The Passer-By, a Servant, and Stationmaster. The servant makes many more trips across the stage, and the others have a few lines. I think it is a great cast, and it should be a very good show. This Saturday I'm off to the zoo to start researching my characters. That has worked very well for the last three or four productions, and I want to have a different animal for each character. I'll be making a few more zoo trips. There's some other homework I'll be doing, and I'll be organizing my thoughts in the next few days.

Working for professional theatres is so much more fun for me now. It used to be intimidating, now it is just more fun. People will bring interesting choices to the plate right off the bat, and will be off book early in the rehearsal process. I even signed a contract which provides for a stipend. Woo Hoo! I've done it before, and it won't even cover gasoline for the commuting, but this time I feel it is for more than my willingness to carry heavy stuff around -- though that certainly didn't hurt.

I read about a dozen blogs regularly, some updated all the time, some infrequently. I'm going to change my list around a bit. There's some that just don't hold my interest, who just happen to be the same ones who never interact with comments. Sometimes interest is a two way street. Instead I'm going to pick up some blogs listed on the ones I currently read. As part of it, I'm going to put the list of all the blogs I read steadily on my blog. Mostly, so I can find them when I am away from my machine. I'll keep reading the ones that load slow, the ones which have more quizzes posted, basically the one that have engaging personal and art content. (I learned not to follow those quiz links, as too many of them seem to lead back to spyware sites.) I tend to be overly gabby, so I figure I'd best be pretty damn tolerant myself, except for those intolerant people; can't stand the bastards. ; ) So, best not to fuss about what I don't enjoy as much, simply bask in the parts I find enjoyable in people's blogs. Maybe that is the path to keep following to move forward in my journey to live life fully instead of reveling in cynicism.

Food. I made this great salad last Fall or late Summer. Sort of like a potato salad, using sour cream and mayo, I think. A little balsamic vinegar too. But I don't really remember clearly, just that the blend of flavors was similar but left ranch dressing in the dust. I do remember I decided not to punish my readers with the recipe I'd made up, and now I can't remember it. It had lots of beets, plus turnips, potatoes, corn, and other veggies from the end of season with the co-op I joined last year. I saw a fellow with a beet dish in the kitchen at work, and realized my yummy creation is now a vague memory. I'll just have to make up something new. I thought of it when I saw someone in the lunch room with a home made beet entree. My salad also looked suspiciously like a fruit salad because of the beet imparted pink hue.

Goddammit. I still haven't decided how I want to approach the East Side Theatre idea. Greg got me thinking along the right line, asking me what I wanted to get out of it. Well, in thinking about conservatory and MFA programs I'm feeling I really need to have my goals a little more gelled before trying to get this going. I'm still excited by the idea, and want to be able to say it is something I'll work on for a year, or for the next 2-3 years. Tough thinking left to do.

Injury report:
I saw the doctor last Thursday, and my leg is doing very well. Apparently that was about the time a cast would normally be taken off for a tibia. I hadn't realized the big bones took so much longer to mend. It seems obvious, but I hadn't really thought about it. Even though my limp is slight enough my roommate calls it "favoring the leg", the doctor says the pain and inflammation around the break sites will be there until the six month mark, when the healing should be done. Then the bone will be restrengthening for another 4 months or so.

On Saturday I went to the Mariners game with Mike Kawaguchi, and we walked all the way from the international district. It was quite a work out, and my leg was notably achy afterwards. The next morning as I was getting ready for our second rehearsal, I realized it felt really good. So, I've worked more to exercise it and increase the range of motion. I'm six inches away from being able to sit on my heels again. I like doing that for five to ten minutes and breathing into my lower back and pelvic girdle. It relieves stress physical and emotional for me. I envy the old gentleman from Asia and the Philippines who could sit like that for hours. Well, one of my goals is to be able to sit that way again in two weeks.

I can stand on the healing leg and lift the heel off the ground. Not very far, but it was only in the last week that I could even stand with the heel off the ground. It doesn't feel good to lift the heel or stand on the toes of my right leg, but I can do it and that really excites me. I guess I'm easily entertained these days.