The End Of The NY Adventure, And Life In DC

The NY adventure went well.

Friday night, after the first preview and expected rounds of drinks at the bar just down the street, I went with the General Manager, the Sound Designer and others to a party being thrown in the Museum of Natural History. It was a blast, despite the odd "buy tickets to get drinks" system that did not seem to be working particularly well (we just slipped the guy at the table some cash). We went to the planetarium and watched the Cosmic Collisions show, narrated by Robert Redford. An interesting experience while somewhat less than sober.

Of course at all such events I feel fairly out of place. I kept waiting for one of the staff to come up and say, "Sorry sir, but you are not nearly hip enough to be in here."

Saturday morning was a bit murky. I woke up about an hour and a half before my alarm, probably because I was so excited that the GF was coming in that night. I packed up my stuff and left the keys for the whacko landlady, then headed to the theatre to go over focus with the person who will be responsible for maintaining the show through it's run.

After the matinee I checked into a hotel in midtown, and took a nap. Then was the evening performance, then back to the hotel for, you guessed it, another nap.

The GF was coming in on a bus at around 2:00 AM, so I left the hotel around 12:30 to get a bite to eat and meet her at Port Authority. While I was walking around the block, I had one of those quintessential NY experiences. A guy came up to me and tried to sell me Ex. I so love NY.

Her bus arrived in NY on time, but because the gate into the station was closed, they ended up circling the block for the better part of half an hour waiting for a guide to get them in a different route.

Sunday we saw a matinee of The Drowsy Chaperone which was fabulous. I cannot gush enough about this show. It is this sweet, mildly self deprecating ode to musical theatre and it's ability, when really good,I to transport us out of this at best tedious and at worst soul crushing experience that is daily life. I cried a little at the end.

Afterwords was dinner with D and R and a friend of theirs, then the evening performance of Beyond Glory. We finished the evening having cocktails with the other designers at the hotel, and saying farewell to the Sound Designer, who lives in Portland, and the Projection Designer who is from Chicago.

On Monday we checked out of the hotel, and then headed for Coney Island. A friend had tod me they were closing the attractions there to build condos or something, so I figured we should go see it before it was gone.

The place was delightfully tacky. We rode a roller coaster that actually aggravated an old back injury, took a turn on the Wonder Wheel Ferris wheel, rode some other ride the name of which
I can't recall (I think the name was shaken out of my head by all the twisting around), and even watched the Coney Island Side-Show. We finished up with hot dogs from Nathan's. Then was the long bus ride back home.

I am endeavoring to settle back into life in DC.

The past couple of days have been about trying to straighten up the cave and putting out a few fires in work life. I am trying to take it easy this week, as much of a vacation as I can manage. Next week the madness starts again as I finish up with my last three shows of the season and start prepping for the top of next season, which is much fuller than it has ever been.

Peace in yer crease.

The New York Adventure- Day ?

The show here has been going frighteningly well so far. We have invited dress this evening, and during yesterday afternoon's run I took not one single note. We are so far ahead of the game that I went with the design staff of our show last night to see Corum Boy. Despite some over the top moments, I really enjoyed the show. I was saddened (although not really surprised) to hear that it has already posted closing notices. If you get to NY before it closes it is certainly worth a look.

Not much else going on. I had thought I would be here for three weeks, but I will now be home Monday night. I will miss the great food to be had here in NY, but I am ready to be back home and perhaps spend some time quietly in my apartment for a few days.

The GF is coming to NY on Saturday night. Since the woman I am subletting a room from here is such a nutjob, we will be checking into a hotel. I am excited to see her.

Peace in yer crease!

The New York Adventure- Day 1

We began focus around 9:00 AM this morning. We finished up about 4:20 PM. D and I went to have dinner and a cocktail with a friend of his and R's. A delightful day full of work done with enough people, all of whom were competent and eager to perform their duties.

How I wish every show could be that way.

On a side note:

It is often easy for those of us who do not live and work here to be cynical about it, but I have to say working every day in the theatre district in NY is pretty effing exciting.

There is an energy here that just infects you.

Peace in yer crease!

In Case You Were Wondering

My landlady here in NY is an effing whacko!

Just thought you would like to know.

What A Difference A Year Makes

About a year ago, I wrote a post about how much I liked New York in the Spring.

It still holds true a year later.

But unlike this time last year, I am not here on my last gig of the season with no work to look forward to. Right now I am booked through October. And the work keeps rolling in.

Also unlike last year, I have someone in my life who puts a big smile on my face. For the first time in a long time I left town for work with a sense of regret. And that is a good thing. It makes me look forward to coming home.

So things are great. Something I sometimes have a hard time adjusting to. But I am beginning to get used to it.

Peace in yer crease.

What's New?

So where the heck have ya'll been?

Just kidding.

Clearly I have been less than diligent about writing here on the ol blog. In my defense, I have been a bit busy of late, so have not had a great deal of free time.

So what's been going on?

I have been in tech for about the past six weeks. The most recent show, The Oracle with African Continuum, was a wonderful experience from a creative standpoint, and is some of the best lighting I have ever done. Go see it, not for my lighting, but for the fabulous work done by the other designers as well as for the cast who are fantastic.

I am trying to get my ducks in a row so I am prepared to go to NY on Thursday. I will be there for about three weeks assisting D on Beyond Glory at Roundabout Theatre.

Those of you who have been reading this blog for awhile probably remember that last summer was a bit stressful because of a lack of work, among other things. No such worries this year. I am at the moment booked pretty solidly through early October. There are a few small gaps in there, but since i just opened my 20th show this season as a Designer or assistant, I will be trying to take it easy during those times.

What free time I have had has been spent with my girlfriend.

I will pause now whilst you pick yourselves up off the floor.




Yes, I used the words "my girlfriend" and I wasn't being ironic. I won't share details here, but if I am not posting a lot for the next while, I hope you will understand.

Peace in yer crease, folks. I love you all.

Things To Look Forward To

On Friday I load in Sleeping and Waking for Charter Theatre. We tech over the weekend and have previews mid next week. I really like the script and am enjoying the challenge of making the show work in a small space with limited resources.

Next week load in begins for The Oracle with African Continuum. I am designing both Scenery and lighting, and although I sometimes feel a little overwhelmed, I am really psyched about the chance to do a big show again.

I am looking forward to something else I won't share here, but it has put a smile on my face more than once during what has been a very stressful week.

Peace out, bitches!

Things To Look Forward To

On Friday I load in Sleeping and Waking for Charter Theatre. We tech over the weekend and have previews mid next week. I really like the script and am enjoying the challenge of making the show work in a small space with limited resources.

Next week load in begins for The Oracle with African Continuum. I am designing both Scenery and Lighting, and although I sometimes feel a little overwhelmed, I am really psyched about the chance to do a big show again.

I am looking forward to something else I won't share here, but it has put a smile on my face more than once during what has been a very stressful week.

Peace out, bitches!

Things Not To Do At 5:00 AM

Leave your X-Acto knife lying on the floor and forget about it.

Because you will find it with your foot.

Who knew a foot could bleed that much?

That Galloping Sound You Hear ...

...is probably the Four Horsemen Of The Apocalypse.

For the first time in a very long time, I am content.

I am not just content, I am truly happy.

My professional life could not be going better.

I have friends who love me, despite their better impulses.

Other things I will not discuss here.

It has been a great week for me personally.

Virginia Tech.

I am heartbroken by the events at Virginia Tech yesterday.

As I try to wrap my head around it, I keep going back to Cho Seung-hui, the gunman. I am saddened that this 23 year old young man ever got to that emotional place where killing 32 people and then taking his own life seemed like the right thing to do.

A lot of questioning and examining will be done in Blacksburg and across the country over the next several weeks. It is my sincere hope that while the pundits are asking about this kid's mental stability and whether there were missed warning signs, we will take a few moments to look at what drove this young man to act in this way.

My deepest sympathies are with the victims and their families, and the entire faculty, staff and student body at Virginia Tech.

Please, be good to one another.

To Quote U2

"I still haven't found what I'm looking for..."

That would be a ticket to the Helen Hayes Awards.

How To Tell It's Getting Towards The End Of The Season

My ability to suffer fools gladly is greatly diminished.

Helen Hayes Tickets

Anyone got one they would like to sell?

My Life At The Moment

The Good Stuff:

For the past three days I have been assisting D on Alex in Wonderland at the Kennedy Center. We had an invited dress rehearsal last night, and it was the first time I have had a chance to watch the show. At one point in the stage directions is written "Pharoh's army of cute, tap-dancing bunnies enters". And they do. I love that a part of my job is to watch tap-dancing bunnies.

I received my Union card in the mail last week. I won't go into all that means to me, but it was a big moment.

I have work lined up until the middle of June, and already have six gigs for next season. I might even be able to not work between the end of this season and the beginning of the next.

One of the gigs I have is to design Scenery and Lighting for Hedwig and The Angry Inch. It's one of my favorite shows ever.

I decided the time had come to revive the DC Theatre Technician Cattle Call, and the response has been overwhelming. Three days ago we filled the last of our interview slots, and we have more than thirty theatres and production companies being represented. It will make for a busy Saturday, but hopefully I will get to have cocktails with ECAG-Retired afterwards.

It is beginning to look like I will have AC for the summer.

The Not So Good Stuff:

I am having real insomnia issues. It is becoming something of a pain.

I still have had no luck in striking that work/life balance thing. I have no personal life because I have so much work, but if I am honest with myself a small part of the reason I take so much work is because I don't really have a personal life. Snake eating it's own tail, doncha know.

S' phone died several weeks ago. This is the longest we have gone without talking since before we started dating. It is just plain weird that I can't pick up the phone and call her. I feel un-moored.

About 90 percent of the time I am happy and content with the overall status of my life. Really, I would have to be an imbecile not to be. I get paid to watch cute tap-dancing bunnies for god's sake. But every once in a while a wave of loneliness washes over me that is so heavy I have difficulty breathing, let alone moving. Then things pretty much suck.

I Am So Fucked!

My X-Box 360 was delivered today.

Reading My Stuff

Quite awhile ago I embedded Statcounter code in my blog. I get a weekly report telling me how many pageloads The Lighting Designer's Life recieves on a daily basis.

Recently I discovered that I had access to far more information regarding the visits here, including IP addresses and their country, city and state of origin. I can find out what links brought people here, how long they stayed, and how many times they come back.

Initially it sort of creeped me out, felt far too Big Brother for my tastes. Yet I find I am addicted to the info.

Things I have discovered:

People google the weirdest shit and get links to my blog. Things like "for the rain it raineth every day", "how do you do young willie mcbride", and my personal recent favorite, "sometimes you just stand there, hip deep in pie".

Not surprisingly, most of my readers are from the DC area, but I also have regular visits from people in in NY, California, Florida and Massachusetts. In addition, I have had readers from England, Canada, Mexico, South Africa, and China.

I have a regular reader that sometimes visits this blog five times a day. Unusual for reasons I won't go into.

It is odd to know not just that there are people are reading this, but also knowing from where, and in some cases who they are.

Update

My last day in California.

We had our second preview last night, and the cast received a standing ovation. The show is funny (I am still laughing even after having seen it all week) and I am happy with my work, given the limitations of the equipment.

I met someone last night who would actually make me reconsider my "Don't Date Actors" rule.

I had to bow out of designing the next show out here because I now have a gig assisting D at Roundabout Theatre in May. I am excited about both the project and the chance to hang out in NY for a couple of weeks.

I already have two gigs lined up for next season, one of which is designing scenery and lighting for Hedwig and The Angry Inch out here.

I have a lot of work to catch up on when I get back to DC tomorrow.

S's cell phone died a couple of weeks ago. We have emailed back and forth, but it has been strange not actually speaking to her.

More soon.

For Those Of You Wondering

I made it safely to California.

My Favorite Starbucks In Manhattan

The one on the corner of West 43rd and 8th Avenue.

I have been here for the better part of four hours, reading the mounds of paperwork I picked up today at the union office, and watching the world go by.

I just wish I didn't have to wait another four hours to get on my train to come home.