Category: Theatre

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Awesome Memoir Religion Self improvement Sentiment Theatre Writing

How to Write a New Book for the Bible

Yesterday, Drew and I went to see How to Write a New Book for the Bible, by Bill Cain, at Berkeley Rep. I worked with Bill on two shows at Marin Theatre Company – Equivocation and 9 Circles. (Kent Nicholson, who directed How to Write a New Book…, also directed 9 Circles. Kent and Bill are great together – I think that this play wouldn’t have been as good under another director’s hand.) 

Bill was a very active part of both of MTC’s rehearsal processes, and consequently we spent a lot of time together. He is a very sweet and very quirky guy, and was always willing to talk to me about whatever – writing, theatre, etc – and after one conversation about self-editing, he showed me a draft copy of How to Write a New Book…, and the ridiculous amounts of notes he scribbles on every single page. I really liked working with him.

I don’t know what I was expecting from How to Write a New Book…, really – I knew the show was about the death of his mother and that it was highly autobiographical. Bill is a Jesuit priest, and religion is always a main character in his shows.

I’ve never seen a show at Berkeley Rep before. First of all, I loved the theatre – it was their thrust stage, which is a really interesting space. At about 5 minutes til curtain, the house manager (?) came in and announced the whole space, “Feel free to scoot inwards for a better seat,” and then Drew and I watched a bunch more people come in, and we decided that that announcement was the worst idea ever.

As for the show itself…it was about the death of his mother, and it was highly autobiographical. It created a lot of feelings in me. Feelings about writing, about religion, about family, about theatre, about God, about life, about being in rehearsal with Bill and hearing pieces of these anecdotes. I sort of loved the use of the small set, and the staging. The actors (2 playing themselves through the whole thing, and 2 playing multiple characters) were stellar.

There was a Bible passage that was repeated several times throughout the play – I’m not sure of the speaker or the location. But I believe it’s Peter or Paul, and it’s along the lines that “All things come together for the greater good.” (Uncle Pastor, help with this? Book of Acts, maybe?) In the play, Bill (the character – but also sort of the writer) repudiates this. I personally tend to think that all things do work together and work out – but I know that Bill would argue with me on that, and have lots of good examples and probably Bible verses to back it up. So I probably wouldn’t start that argument.

How to Write a New Book for the Bible is only playing through Nov 20th. I fully recommend it to anyone who can go in the next week.

We’ve seen a lot of theatre over the last 6 weeks. I probably walked out of this one with the most residual feelings at the end. Highest commendation?

Categories
Awesome Celebrities Drew Theatre

Glamorous!

List of celebrities we spotted in NYC:

First: Samuel L. Jackson

We actually stood across the street from the stage door of the show he’s currently in, The Mountaintop, and waited for like 20 minutes in this massive group of people. We didn’t actually know who would come out first – him or Angela Bassett. So I’m not sure this really counts as “spotting.” This felt touristy, but you know…Samuel L. Jackson!

That's him, in the green. This was supposed to just be a picture of the mob scene, but I'm happy he stands out.

Second: Bobby Moynihan, from SNL.

Drew and I were having a snack at Pret a Manger in the concourse of Rockefeller Center, and Drew said, “That guy is from SNL.” And I said, “Which guy? That guy?” And he said, “No, the guy in the blue hoodie. Bobby Moynihan.” He had just gone into this little convenience store type place, and so I made us go over there and kind of stalk him in the aisles. He was debating over types of peanuts to buy. I wanted to say something (but what?) but then he came out of an aisle and we sort of did that “oops, excuse me” dance, and I sort of smiled but he didn’t really give me an opening.

But still…he did give us this sketch gold.

And third: Norbert Leo Butz!

It was our last day and we were at Penn Station, going to get salads before going to the airport. So we had all our stuff and looked like total tourists. I have a strong dislike for being mistaken for a tourist. Everyone had umbrellas, but Drew recognized NLB and said, “Norbert Leo Butz. Norbert Leo Butz.” over and over again so I would see him. Yay! I definitely would have liked to say something to him, but again…what would I say? Maybe something like, “I saw you in Is He Dead in like 2008, you’re the greatest!” I don’t know. Or, I know! If I had an opening I’d bring up the fact that he performed in a Samuel French festival play that I worked on!

DREAMY.

Anyway. Thank God Drew is good at recognizing celebs. Almost all of the celebs I’ve seen are because he’s grabbed my arm and said, “That’s Mel Brooks,” or whatever. It’s just not one of my strong suits.

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Awesome Beginnings Being a girl Dreams Drew Exercise Food Friends Love Memoir Nonfiction Sentiment Theatre

Connecticut & New York City, October 2011

So, Drew and I are back from our East Coast extravaganza. We had a great time, and I’m so happy we went, but I was also totally ready to come home. Which is just about the perfect balance, I guess.

I’m going to start with a Dear Diary overview of the whole thing, then fill in specifics after. I just can’t bring myself to start one, long, DD post of the entire week.

So: last Tuesday night I flew out of SFO on the red-eye to JFK. I got in Wednesday morning, and dropped by my old work to say hi to the people I know who are still working there (there aren’t many left!).

Wednesday afternoon I took a Metro North train to Waterbury, CT, where Megan (the bride), Dawn (the maid of honor) and Toni (the mother of the groom) picked me (the matron of honor) up. We did wedding party things, checked into our hotel, and then Toni and Ken (the father of the groom) took us girls out for dinner.

On Thursday, we had Megan’s bachelorette party in NYC. That deserves, and will get, an entire post.

On Friday, Drew drove up from NYC, where he had arrived late the night before. That afternoon, I had to call in to work for 90 minutes for an interview that I was missing, being out of the office. Friday night – rehearsal and rehearsal dinner.

Saturday was the wedding! Yay for the happy couple!

On Sunday, Drew and I drove back to NYC. We saw an off-Broadway show at Roundabout called Sons of the Prophet, and hung out with Joe and his bf. We had dinner at 5 Napkin Burger, which is always good. We stayed at their Hell’s Kitchen apartment, a luxury and VERY convenient!, and watched Bridesmaids.

On Monday we did some touristy stuff – Wall Street and the protestors, walked along the Hudson, saw the bull at Bowling Green, etc. Then we took our luggage and checked into our Queens hotel, which was in the same neighborhood where we used to live. We had lunch with Jared, our old roommate, and saw our old apartment. That might have been the weirdest part of the whole trip for me. Then in the evening we went to see Sleep No More in the meatpacking district (?).

On Tuesday, we went into Chelsea and I had lunch with Sara, an old coworker who promises me she’s going to come visit San Francisco next summer. I saw the people I didn’t see in the office on my first pass. Then Drew and I did Union Square, The Strand (18 miles of books!), etc, and walked up 5th Avenue. We intended to walk all the way to Central Park (40ish blocks) but couldn’t handle it, so we took the train. We did more 5th Ave, then Rockefeller Center, back through Times Square to the Marquis Theatre to see Follies. Then a late dinner with Kaitlin and Joe on 9th Avenue (at Whym).

Today we checked out of the hotel and took the train to Penn Station, where we got chopped salads for lunch (I miss them so!) and then took the train to JFK, where we were hideously early for our flight. Drew read The Hunger Games, and I called in for a second interview at work. Then a 6 1/2 hour flight and we’re home!

Our apartment is bigger than I remember. And I missed it. It’s really nice to be back.

Okay. I promise to be more interesting in the details. A whirlwind week! But everything went as well as can be hoped, thank God.

I miss things about new York. Other things I don’t miss at all. Bad smells, crazy crowds, the humidity. I definitely am happy that my home is in California. But I hope we can visit NYC again soon!

Categories
Being a girl Dreams Sentiment Theatre Writing

gambling debt / running from

I found this in some stuff from college. My sophomore year, I think? I’m not sure what it is. Maybe some kind of half-dreamed idea for a play? I like that my handwriting hasn’t really changed though.

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"Other people" Being a girl Endings Self improvement Sentiment Theatre

Working hard, or hardly working

You know what’s underrated? The old-fashioned business letter.

I remember learning the format for these things in keyboarding class in high school. I sort of loved making my own letterhead (mine always had a strong Phantom of the Opera theme) and typing up important letters to important people.

We don’t really get to do that very much anymore.

I mean, even though I try to keep my emails nice and professional, I still get tons of work emails from people, using little punctuation or capitalization, and ending with that ubiquitous “Sent from my iPhone.” Like that’s supposed to excuse this mediocre attempt at communication:

“i see no thank you i do not have transportation but im sure other students will jump on this offer”

Also embarrassing is the email signature incorporating some song lyric or “Chinese proverb” that’s not really a Chinese proverb at all.

I got an email from someone the other day – it ended like so:

I’ve heard it said that people come into our
lives for a reason, bringing something we must
learn, and we are led to those who help us most
to grow, (if we let them) and we help them in return.

Also? No credit on that. So…plagiarism? (To avoid plagiarism myself, that’s from Wicked.)

Meanwhile, I gleefully typed this up this morning:

Not saying it’s perfect, but at least it’s not embarrassing. Simple pleasures…but pleasures nonetheless!

Categories
Drew Family Love Theatre Work

It would probably cut back on my Starbucks habit.

At work we recently hired this woman, who everyone agrees rocks. She happens to be (newly) married to a guy who also works in our office, and who also rocks. Yesterday as I was parking, they pulled up across from me and parked. And I sat there with my head cocked, thinking about what it would be like to work right down the hall from your spouse.

I guess it would be fun…? But, on the downside, I feel like it would also be an infringement on personal space. What if you’re having one of those days where you’re annoyed by everything and everyone? Do you have to hide it from them? What if you have some story of work confrontation – but rather than going home and telling it, clearly skewed so you are the victim/victor, your spouse knows the whole thing because it’s their co-worker than locked horns with you?

On the upside, carpooling. So…there’s that.

Speaking of working with your spouse, two of my Facebook friends, who happen to be married to each other, are working on a show somewhere. She is directing and he is acting in it. He keeps posting things about how awesome of a director she is. That’s sweet, but also makes me cringe. Too close. Too much interaction. What if you were bickering on the way to rehearsal, and now you have to direct how your spouse is supposed to be acting with their play-spouse? I don’t know, man.

I guess that is extra cringey for me because I have residual trauma regarding directing. When I think about it, but put myself in a stage manager role instead of a director role, it’s not that bad. I guess I could do that.

Thoughts? Working with your spouse? My parents have been teachers in the same district forever, but at least they’re at different schools…sometimes.

Categories
Awesome Dreams Friends Theatre Work

A Week In Review

How can life have gotten so away from me? Here are the things I intended to write about this week:

Sunday
I worked at our New Works Festival, which was awesome – I watched 2 shows and then the Meet the Artists panel, and there was a food truck there, serving up delicious Asian tacos! Could my day get any better? Yes it can! Because late Sunday night I picked up Megan at the airport!

Monday
Megan’s dress fitting in San Francisco! So fun. Then Drew and I hit Costco and I picked up my brand new card.

Also of note, today, while waiting at a stoplight, I heard a giant crash. The light turned green and I pulled away, looked in the rearview mirror and saw the car right behind me pulling over. I’m pretty sure someone rear-ended them. I was so grateful it wasn’t me.

Tuesday
Sam and I went to a yoga class. We spent the first 10 minutes sitting criss cross applesauce while the instructor had us “feel the universe” and read us the longest Carl Sagan quote ever. Then we did 45 minutes of yoga. Then we laid on the ground in corpse pose, but with our limbs flailed out to more fully “embrace the universe,” while she reread the longest Carl Sagan quote ever. I like the parts of yoga where you move through fluid stretches. But I don’t like all the politics that comes with us.

Also, most exercise classes make me feel all strong and healthy. Yoga makes me feel roly-poly and incompetent. Plus, I can’t help but notice all the long, lean people around me. (Including the 7-months pregnant woman in the front row.)

Wednesday
Jonathan and I went to Google for a seminar on using Google Apps for businesses. Then we had a brief tour of the campus with a friend of his who works there. Did you know that food there is free? We had frozen yogurt and sandwiches. Also, they have a slide, cool art everywhere, and one of those treadmill swimming pools. Also, I couldn’t take many pictures because it’s not really allowed. But I did make this Google Doodle on a little artsy kiosk.

Google was kinda amazing. I have never really wanted to work there, but after seeing the campus, which is really very college-y, but with a side of cutting edge and more responsibility…I so want to work there. I’m not sure how anyone ever gets anything done. Not when you can go to breakdance class or take a walk outside or go have the deli people make you yet another sandwich!

But I just keep telling myself, I have nothing to offer Google. They are not looking for someone with my skills. Better to just visit people who work on the campus, than keep hoping to somehow get a job there.

They say that the reason they provide so much on campus (and I love that it is called “the campus”), is so that their employees never have to leave, and can work 80-hour weeks. Well, if I was single and career-minded, I would totally love to devote 12 hours of my day to Google.

Google bikes are everywhere! And you just take one when it's available. If it's broken or needs maintenance, you remove the seat and put it in the basket, and someone comes and fixes it.
The "Android" section of the campus has several large dessert sculptures.
Categories
Awesome Dreams Memoir Theatre Work

Of smoking and drinking. And parachuting dogs. (And Hugh Hefner.)

While reading this, please listen to this song:

The show that we’re opening on Saturday is set in 1965, against a backdrop of the NYC blackout. One of the best pieces of dramaturgy they had in the rehearsal room is a copy of LIFE magazine from November 19, 1965, which has a giant spread on the blackout. The story and the accompanying pictures are crazy beautiful – pictures of the city from Brooklyn, with zero lights on and only the light of the moon and cars on the road; ditto a picture of the Statue of Liberty as the only light around. Breathtaking.

But then I started flipping through the rest of the magazine, and I was hooked. The 60s! Such a decade! A decade where they ran ads that would never run now.

This perfume ad:

Gender conformity, I say!

This insurance ad:

I love the quaintness of the idea of both husband and wife working.

Fourteen ads for alcohol – well, at some point I stopped counting:

This cigarette ad! This almost makes me want to pick up a pack of Chesterfields!

This ad for bikes. Look at these kids! Where are they now?

Look at him, doing a little BFF pose with that Bronco.

This article about parachuting dogs! I’ve totally heard this story recently – meaning within the last year – but I can’t remember where.

Speaking of things that never go away – these are letters to the editor, and even in 1965 they were talking about Hugh Hefner. We still talk about him today! Jeez.

I just googled Hef - apparently he's 85. Huh. I would have guessed older. Like 10 years older.

But life wasn’t all fun and games and Hugh Hefner. They had to worry about the draft:

And this is my absolute favorite thing. I don’t know why. I just want to be with these people, in autumn, in this tree, drinking a Coke from a glass bottle, without even knowing how bad it is for me. It looks so nice.

I could look through this magazine all day. Just imagine all the things I didn’t scan – the actual pictures from the blackout, the coupon for a 59-cent bottle of steak sauce (the coupon unfortunately expired April 30, 1966), and more ads for alcohol!

I never really cared about the 1960s before…well, that’s not true, I did a whole History Day report on the 60s when I was in middle school, but what do you know in middle school? I just liked Simon and Garfunkel. But this magazine made me wish for a time machine so I could experience the 60s just for a little while. You know, the Golden Age. (I guess I didn’t learn a thing from Midnight in Paris.)

PS. The show that we’re opening on Saturday is called Fly By Night – it’s a World Premiere musical, I love the music, it’s going to be great, it’s running tonight through August 13th, see http://www.theatreworks.org for more details. There. What kind of marketing person would I be if I didn’t at least mention that?

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"Other people" Awesome Books Memoir Sentiment Theatre Work

“I always wanted to be an expert at something.”

This morning I was thwarted – again – from getting my iced latte.  As I pulled up and parked in front of Starbucks (you park perpendicular), I watched this guy track in front of my car and then wait there for me.  I’ve seen him outside of Starbucks before* and he’s asked for money, and I’ve given it to him, but I wasn’t feeling it today.  I killed some time sitting in the car, avoiding making eye contact (easy because the visor was flipped down), putting on mascara and whatever.  Someone parked next to me, and he tracked in front of their car and asked for a dollar.  After a minute or so of debate I decided I didn’t really want to deal with this – I had $4 in cash, enough for a drink, not enough for a handout; I didn’t want to have to use a credit card so I could save him a dollar; etc. – and I just started the car back up and pulled out and went to work.  I drank my VitaminWater Zero and was sort of satisfied.

But tomorrow?  No one is standing between me and that iced latte.

(*One big difference between Mill Valley and Menlo Park/East Palo Alto…I liked the bourgeois atmosphere in MV.  I miss that.  Also it was so much easier to just “run out and grab some dinner” – at TW that involves getting in a car, and sometimes on the freeway, if you don’t have a hankering for Togo’s, Jack in the Box, or something from the Extra Mile, also known as Chevron.)

Tonight I worked front of house at Snow Falling on Cedars.  I was there partly for Patron Services, and indeed there were a few people who had tickets for the wrong night, or the wrong show (the curse of overlapping shows in different theatres).  I was there also to sell subscriptions and subscription renewals, which mostly entailed me sitting behind a counter smiling at people and telepathically instructing them to come renew their subscriptions.  I had two bites early on, and then another two bites, and I was like, “Yeah, four sub renewals!  That’s awesome!  Last night the person working got ONE.”  (No judgment, I know it’s all about the patrons there that night.)

Then the first act started and I got a sandwich, and I was going to read but instead I listened to Sarah and Vinnie because I’m still a week behind.  Then intermission happened and I majorly lucked out – a group was there and SIX of them wanted to renew their individual subs.  So there I was, filling out forms right and left and collecting credit card numbers.  Ten renewal forms altogether!  I’m pretty stoked.

So, the second act started and I’m half-planning on going down the street to the Starbucks, which I’m pretty sure is closed by now (when I get hooked on something it’s hard to let up).

Then this usher, Judie, starts talking to me.

[I just realized I totally slip into present-tense whenever I’m telling stories.  I’m constantly going back in my writing and just changing the beginning to present tense to keep it all consistent.  But whatever, it’s almost midnight and I don’t care right now.]

So Judie the usher starts talking to me, and then the second act of the show just slips away.  Because she is just talking and telling stories about growing up, and how she moved all the time because her father was a furrier and kept opening up new stores and getting them on their feet.

You know when you’re talking to someone and you’re just wishing you had a tape recorder?  I would have settled for a nice subtle way to take notes.  But there was no way.  For the next hour she and I just talked – I don’t want to imply that she talked the whole time, but she definitely held up the conversation.  But it was all stuff about how she worked as a shill at a carnival when she was a teenager…how she married her husband after 12 days…her college roommate asking her in a letter before they even met, “Who did your nose?”  She’s Jewish but she doesn’t “look Jewish.”

One day her mom met the rabbi in the street and the rabbi said, “Goldie, I didn’t see you in service this week,” and her mother replied, “That’s right Rabbi, you didn’t see me because I wasn’t there.”  …I mean, is she stealing that line from somewhere?

I just kept thinking, Judie, you should write a book.  She just had all these stories, but more than that, she told them really well.  Like, insanely well.  (One might say, as well as a certain famous Jewish writer?  She did remind me of him.)

OMG, Judie, I hope you come across this blog in the universe, and I hope you read it.  If you do, do you want to dictate all your stories to me and I’ll write them down?  I mean, you probably don’t even need me, your delivery is amazing and you clearly know how to tell a story, but I’d still love to be involved.  Thanks for saving me from spending yet another $4 on coffee I don’t need, as well as keeping me entertained for an hour.

I’m sure I’ll see her again – it sounds like she ushers all the time for TW.  So our paths will cross.  And I’m actually kind of excited for that.  (This is the first time, in all my theatre experience, that I’ve said that about an usher.)

Here’s to Judie!

(And also: more info about Snow Falling on Cedars here)

Categories
Endings Sentiment Theatre Work

Closing Seagull

Things I will miss about Seagull:

-The people, etc, etc (this encompasses everything about friendship and memories and good times I’ve had – the rest of my bullet points will be more specifics)
-Craig shouting “I forgot my walking stick” at me
-Kostya’s Act I monologue about his mother, while he plays piano
-All the piano music, actually (luckily it’s all available on soundcloud!)
-Masha’s beautiful hair
-Waiting for Act III to start and making faces across the stage at the people in the other wing
-The Act III-Act IV transition

Things I will not miss about Seagull:

-The schedule, etc, etc
-2:45 running time…and then a full reset at the end of each show
-Watching the prop grapes get ickier and ickier over the week
-Resetting air vibrations

My favorite lines (in no particular order, and completely out of context):

Sorin: Bring ALL the horses here, NOW!

Arkadina: Light as a feather!  I could play a girl of fifteen.

Masha: Once I get married, I won’t have love on my mind.  I’ll have new problems to worry about.

Trigorin (to Kostya): Irina Nikoleyevna said you are ready to let bygones be bygones.

Polina: I know I’m too jealous.  I’m so ashamed.  You must be sick of me.
Dorn: No, no.  If you must keep talking, do.

Seagull isn’t closing quite yet, but I’m starting to feel the first pangs.  I’ll miss you, MTC.  Can’t wait to sit in the audience and watch Fuddy Meers in a month!