Thursday, October 12, 2006
Sick Days
I've been sick for a week. I'm in tech week for the current show I'm working on, so my schedule has been crazy. Any time I get sick it is always during tech. It's been miserable. Between the day job and rehearsals that do end till 11p, I haven't had any time to rest. So my boss (for the day job) made me take today off and it was glorious. Almost. I wish I could say I did the whole "lady of leisure" routine today, but since I was feeling miserable for half the day (when the drugs kicked it), it wasn't as productive as I wanted it to be. On the other hand, I did get to sleep in till 2p (I got up to eat, take my drugs and move to the TV) and run some essential errands, like get some new windshield wipers (since it's been raining) and getting my hair done. I was excited about that. Now I'm sitting at the coffee shop, casually and calmly sipping my coffee instead of gulping it in the car and waiting to leave for rehearsal. I know, very boring stuff, but it's been a delicious, slow-paced day. I haven't had one of those in a long while. Now I feel ready to attack the rest of today.
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
Taking Care Of Some Overdue Blogs...
N: So what's between a bear and a twink?
Me: A straight guy.
One of the boys complaining about the current dating prospects as we were commiserating over coffee.
(If the terms are confusing you, go ask your trusted gay pal.)
My current work/rehearsal is crazy - even crazier than usual. I'm working on a new show - Jean Sarte's No Exit (Huit Clos). This show is at Rice University. It's an interesting experience. They're all young, inexperienced actors and I have to keep reminding myself that they're baby actors. I can't assume anything with this group - like I said, they're inexperienced actors & students to boot. So aside from working on the show, we're trying to train them in routines & habits that we in the professional world take for granted - warm-ups, checking with the stage manager, line notes, blocking, etc. (One of the positives is that it's an opportunity to instill in this young, impressionable group a sense of fear and blind obedience to the Stage Manager! Muwah-ha-ha-ha!!!) What's been really intriguing is watching these kids move from the cerebral to the physical. Let me explain. These are Rice students (the nerds & geeks that most of collegiate Texas makes fun of), so there's lots of analysis of the symbolic, the philosophical, political & social influences, etc. They ate up the tablework. Getting them to transition from table to stage has been another matter. One of the most commonly heard phrases during the first couple of weeks of rehearsal was "you're over-thinking". We've forced them to distill the 2 paragraph explanation down to a 3 to 5 word sentence that starts with "I want" or "I need".
I digress.
Regardless of whether they turn out to be great actors or just ok, they're a good group of kids. Another upside to working at Rice is that I'm 2 buildings away from really cheap beer. I mean REAL cheap! Shiner for $0.95. Oh yeah!
Me: A straight guy.
One of the boys complaining about the current dating prospects as we were commiserating over coffee.
(If the terms are confusing you, go ask your trusted gay pal.)
My current work/rehearsal is crazy - even crazier than usual. I'm working on a new show - Jean Sarte's No Exit (Huit Clos). This show is at Rice University. It's an interesting experience. They're all young, inexperienced actors and I have to keep reminding myself that they're baby actors. I can't assume anything with this group - like I said, they're inexperienced actors & students to boot. So aside from working on the show, we're trying to train them in routines & habits that we in the professional world take for granted - warm-ups, checking with the stage manager, line notes, blocking, etc. (One of the positives is that it's an opportunity to instill in this young, impressionable group a sense of fear and blind obedience to the Stage Manager! Muwah-ha-ha-ha!!!) What's been really intriguing is watching these kids move from the cerebral to the physical. Let me explain. These are Rice students (the nerds & geeks that most of collegiate Texas makes fun of), so there's lots of analysis of the symbolic, the philosophical, political & social influences, etc. They ate up the tablework. Getting them to transition from table to stage has been another matter. One of the most commonly heard phrases during the first couple of weeks of rehearsal was "you're over-thinking". We've forced them to distill the 2 paragraph explanation down to a 3 to 5 word sentence that starts with "I want" or "I need".
I digress.
Regardless of whether they turn out to be great actors or just ok, they're a good group of kids. Another upside to working at Rice is that I'm 2 buildings away from really cheap beer. I mean REAL cheap! Shiner for $0.95. Oh yeah!
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