Battery of OA

[GreenLanternMD]

School's Out For Summer... Sort of...

Today, we closed out the year. The students took their final exams and handed in text books yesterday (graduating seniors did all of this last week as Monday was graduation). Today, we finalized our semester grades, turned in last minute paper work and cleaned up our rooms... and when all is finished, we are haned our last check of the year which covers to two months that we will "not be working."

So, I'm on summer break... so to speak.

Tomorrow and Friday, I have workshops to attend. I'll be paid of these, and they are all theater related so I really don't mind.

Memorial Day Weekend is this week. That's when my vacation begins... but not really.

Boring Back Story: The State of Arizona, is their right-wing-WASP&Mormon-dominant-tunnel-vision wisdom, voted in 1992 to make English the "Official State Language." This means, by LAW, all state business must be conducted in English... including public education. Oh, and they still require at least two semesters of foreign language in order to graduate from high school... ANYWAY... A few years back, there was a law suit from an immegrant family who felt that the English Only education was unfair to those who were learning English as a second language. So did they change the "official language" law? NO! They made a new one requiring teachers to get more education and training in order to effectively teach students who don't know what the fuck they're talking about.

So, I have and ESL endorsement on my teaching certification... which somehow expires in July. So, in order to keep myself legal, I have to spend my first "week off" down at the district office getting training I already have. Am I paid for my time? No. I just get a piece of paper in my file saying I took some state required class on the district's dime. Thank's, Glendale! :bleagh:

Okay, so on June 2, THEN my vacation begins... more or less...

There are a number of issues in my auditorium that I have to address and I have volunteered to go in and work on some of this stuff while I have the time. Do I get paid more for this? No, because it falls within the scope of my job description, a job for which I already earn a salary. Well, here's the good news: I can come and go as I please and I have no classroom responsibilities to slow me down. All I have to remember is to actually get in there and do it (I've already told my principal that I would... and even though I went to him the earlier today and volunteered, I think it was more than implied that I should do this), and I have to make sure I'm not leaving a big mess as I exit.

Okay, so at some point, I get to stop and be lazy. I guess I can treat this month like summer school. If you've ever taken summer school, you know that no one really takes it seriously, it's almost impossible to NOT get the credit, and the day always ends early. The point is, even though one may center an entire day around going to "summer school" it's never as consuming as a regular day. And, I really like being in my classroom/auditorium when no kids are around. It's like being king of my own castle.

I have a number of shows coming up in June and July, and I have the camp coming up. So, I won't be bored this summer.

Now, all I have to do is keep my car from getting stolen...

 

[GreenLanternMD]

Ow!

Trust is an important thing to have when you improvise with someone.

One of the many reasons for this is physical confrontation in a scene. It could happen. I could hurt. When it does happen and does hurt, you need to be able to leave the show and still be okay with your team mate.

Stacey punched me in the penis. She was aiming for my thigh. Let's just say were I in the habit of wearing briefs instead of boxers, she may not have hit the unintended target.

I'm fine, by the way.

 

[GreenLanternMD]

No Punch to the Penis Today

Today was day one of our two day theater teacher workshops.

We had three hours with David Barker, one of my former professors from ASU. I think this was one of our better and more productive workshops as a group. Periodicly, the nine theater teachers in my district will get together and take a workshop with the idea that we are supposed to take what we learn and bring it back to our schools. In the past, we've looked at our light boards and discussed set techniques. All good stuff, and the clinicians are all knowledgeable and patient. In the past, I have felt that I have a hard time retaining what I learn, or the "cool stuff" they show us tends to be for stuff that my program just doesn't have the money to invest in. Seriously, when I'm scrambling to get paint and wood all the time, how realistic is it for me to make latex facial applications?

We focussed on stage combat. I've taught some stuff in the past, but working with David again has reminded me of some of the things I've forgotten. We also did cool stuff with weapons... makes me want to spend so money on swords... It was nice to actually have an opportunity to do some practical work. I think that informs me better than sitting and watching someone else do something.

A favorite moment came when we were warming up. As we were rolling up from a crouched position, I took a bit longer than everyone. When David saw this, he said, "There's someone who took my movement class." Nice to know I actually learned something in college... and I'm usiing it!

 

[GreenLanternMD]

Ugly Mood

Last June sucked because I bought a car and it was stolen from me days later. Srewed me hard financially, and I was depressed for a month.

This June hasn't started yet... Obligations and stresses at work have delayed me from starting a real summer break.

Granted, most grown-up vocations do not have seasonal breaks of this nature; but as anyone who has worked in education will tell you, the disproportionate ratio of stress-over-compnsation dictates that we earn this break.

The frustrating thing is these delays... for the most part... have been created by outside circumstances. The State of Arizona has required me to give up three days of my break to take workshops on issues I've already taken classes to understand. The assistant principal over facilities (the one who's retiring in a couple weeks) has rented out the auditorium for a dance concert featuring autistic children. Noble, but it has required me to find student techs to come in during THEIR summer recess. Easier said than done. I luckily found a couple (after asking two or three others). The kid on the light board should be proficient enough. Given the short notice, they sholdn't expect anything elaborate. Apparantly, these people wanted more than what this young man was prepared to do. I have to go in tomorrow night and make sure everything is done right. My fear is that they're demands will not be met because they may be somewhat unreasonable.

Grrr....

I didn't ask for this.

My theatre has deteriorated over the past three years from over use and vandalism. I'm getting blamed for it all. I've already promissed to put plans into action that will better maintain and protect the facility. If everyone else would just leave it the fuck alone... Just let me run the place... ASK ME before we sign out or rent out the place to everyone and his uncle... TELL ME when shit gets broken... AND DON'T FUCKING TALK ME INTO RECRUITING A BUNCH OF ASSHOLES TO MOVE SETS FOR A SHOW THEY DON'T GIVE A SHIT ABOUT WHEN THEIR GOING TO FUCK AROUND THE WHOLE TIME!!!

And why wasn't the back stage being supervised? I can't be everywhere. Didn't I ask certain people to look after that area for me while I ran rehearsal? 40 Fucking People in the cast of Guys & Dolls, why would anyone other than me, Chuck and Scott be out in the house? We had two other adults there.

I can fix this.

I have to.

I can't lose the thing that gets me out of bed in the morning.

 

[GreenLanternMD]

Ray of Light

I went to to work tonight... yeah, I went down to my school at NIGHT during SUMMER BREAK... I went in with my heart kicking and screaming, dreading the duty of providing tech support for a pageant of autistic kids.

Wow. What a surprisingly pleasent experience.

First, my student techs were on top of everything and did a great job. The girl on the light board had been more comfortable with sound in the past, but we got her set up very well tonight so she had no problem doing what needed to be done.

And the show was a treat to watch.

40 kids of various ages and varying functional levels. All autistic. My expectations were of something that would be a pleasure for the parents but an painful nightmare for an outsider. I was so wrong. The show was a delight. A few of the older kids sang some Gershwin tunes in the middle of the show. They were good... I mean really good! The one guy doing "They Can't Take That Away From Me" had a whole Sinatra thing going and he was working the crowd. And then the girl singing "Someone to Watch Over Me..." adorable. Had I not known the nature of the program, I would never have guessed she was autistic. She was as bright and powerful as some of the best singers at the school where I teach. Perhaps the stage is her place of comfort...

Well, even though I went in under duress, I was happy to be a part of it.

I know I was told I'd be paid for tonight... but if they forget, I won't complain.

 

[GreenLanternMD]

Hit the Wall

I'm feeling very unmotivated at the moment.

Could be the time of year. Could be burn-out from having so much going on in recent months.

I see a lot happening without me. I see other troupes being invited to festivals that Apollo 12 is not invited to. When Apollo 12 does go to a festival, I'm not always available.

I know putting together more workshops will be good for us, but I also know that I really have neither the time nor the energy to take on new projects.

I'm afraid of over-committing myself for the future since the school year starts in mid-August... which will commit me to even bigger things at work.

I love what I do; I keep feeling that I will miss out on something if I am not at every event that comes up...

But I'm only one person.

 

[GreenLanternMD]

Train Slowly Pulls Away from Station

Last night's A12 session was all talky... which I anticipated. I learned Monday that Bill would be in LA with Golopagos, so we were left without any goals for practice. I won't go into what was discussed... It was good stuff, but it's stuff we've talked about before. Really what it comes down to is we have a lot of ambition and good ideas, but neither the time, energy, or man power to follow through. We need to take a moment and figure out what needs to be done and when.

I awoke this morning utterly apalled at myself for my lack of productivity yesterday. Granted, I am supposed to be on vacation; but, if laziness becomes habit then things that really do need to be done will be left undone, and this will (without question) cause serious problems in the future.

I went into work today to do some necessary clean up in the auditorium. Specificly, my goal was to re-organize the Stage Right stair well because early last fall I stashed a lot of junk that wasn't fitting in the prop room anymore. It needs to be reorganized and cleaned up, a task I promissed to do as I was turning in paper work a couple weeks ago (my promise was to come in right around now and take care of it). I was allowed to retain my keys so I could get into the building, the auditorium and my classroom. Unfortuately, this one stair well is the one door I do not have key to... and it was shut and locked. I called maintainance to come over and let me in. They said five minutes... I waited a half hour, then gave up and came home (not before leaving a message to indicate that I was leaving and would be back in the morning).

So, I can't feel guilty about leaving the task undone today. I really can't do anything if I can't open that door. I'm hoping tomorrow will be more productive.

 

[GreenLanternMD]

Mixed Feelings

I learned today that The Remainders have been invited to the Toronto International Improv Festival. A surprising compliment for such an infant of a troupe.

I really want to go...

BUT...

It happens during the second week of school AND OOB in Austin is one week later...

Can I afford two trips? Dare I miss up to 4 days so early in the year?

I have a lot of thinking to do.

 

[GreenLanternMD]

Summertime Nocturnal Spleandor Returns

It's one of my worst habits.

It's June, which means I don't have to get up at 6AM five days a week.

It's also really hot in the day time (for those of you who don't live in Phoenix, summertime temperatures get up to around 110 F... and that's considered normal... "but it's a dry heat").

What's my habit? Nocturnal existance.

I stay up all night and sleep late into the day.

It's not really a problem until I want to get something done... or actually have to work one day.

Well, it's 4:01 AM and I don't feel sleepy yet. :loopy:

 

[GreenLanternMD]

Why Do I Do This? Can't Be For the Groupies...

The question was raised of whether I wanted to be a "Rock Star" or if I was content with being the middle aged never-was-wanna-be jamming in my back yard on weekends.

Okay, I really should point out that there is a middle ground.

When I graduated from ASU ten years ago, everyone I knew moved somewhere; Some moved to New York, some moved to LA, a few moved to other places like Chicago and San Fransisco. Hell, even I moved to Orlando for a few months. Some people managed to find careers in "Show Biz." Others either crawled back to Phoenix (like me) or found their own little corner of the nation to settle into and re-think where their lives were going.

So for three years, I didn't do improv. I didn't appear on stage. I barely wrote anything. I was misserable. I was doing everything except that which is motivated by my passions. Okay, if you really want the rest of this, go back to entry #1 of this blog.

Here's the point of all of this: there have been a number of minor crossroads in my life in which I could have walked away from everything and moved to LA, New York, Chicago.. whereever. I never did that. Yes, there was that three months in Florida, but I mostly went there for a girl and you can guess how that turned out. Anyway, I never ran to some media driven city to pursue "the dream."

Why?

It comes down to what I want... What I really want...

I have certain abilities and I wish to exercise them freaquently on my own terms. One can think of that as a "Big Fish in a Small Pond" mentallity. I don't care.

What could I have done in LA that I can't do in Phoenix? Wait tables and eat romin for five years? I could have done that here, but never had to and never wanted to. Could I have achieved certain goals? Maybe, but there was never a gauruntee. Could I have been rich and famous? Who knows? Who cares?

I would like to be rich. There are a lot of things that could happen in order for that to occur.

I don't want to be famous.

It's hard to be rich in LA or New York without being famous... to be rich you have to either be famous or an asshole... or both. No thank you.

So, am I content with jamming in the back yard over a bbq pit in between heart attacks?

No.

I get to do my thing, contribute to my community, and I don't have to be a Hollywood Asshole. That's some of the ingrediants to a happy life, my friend.

Do I want the wife and family? Yes, I believe I do. I think I have the luxery of making time for that if I find the opportunity.

Do I want to go on tour with The Remainders and become a cult celebrity?

Ego says yes. Reason says no.

I don't want to be Frank Sinatra. I'm okay with being Joey Bishop.

 

[GreenLanternMD]

Britcom Satisfaction for a Full Week

I just spent the past couple of days watching ALL of the Brittish Office. Sweet! :up:

I have three shows this week, each with a differant group.

Tonight: Apollo 12

Friday: The Remainders

Saturday: Elastic Theater

This is the kind of summer I want to have.

 

[GreenLanternMD]

Still Up

I woke up at noon Wednesday, so that's probably why I'm still wide awake well after 3AM.

It was nice to see an actual audience at tonight's show. Usually our Trunk Space shows are populated by friends and other improvisors; but thanks to a long over-due New Times article on Catorce, there were quite a few "straights" in the house. I was a little miffed that a gaggle of teen girls meandered to the back while Catorce was on because they thought their little chat was more important than what was on stage. Not cool. Then they and their enterage of six left before Apollo 12 went on. Oh well... their loss... They through away $5 to ignore one show and completely miss another.

Bill made a remarkable e-bay purchase. He has in his possession a Life magazine issue covering the Apollo 12 Moon Mission. Among the many awesome bits of retro-goodness was an article about an upscale New York art exhibition which deliberately showcased the worst pieces of art that the notable artists of the time had to offer... specifically anything that the artists themselves hated and were ashamed to have created. Bill immediately showed this to Steph and JRC at the Trunk Space... the awesomeness shall be reborn on Grand Ave.

Today (beginning whenever I wake up from inevitable sleep) I will have 0 obligations for the day. I am not needed anywhere until 5:30 on Friday.

What sort of trouble can I get into within the next 38 hours?

 

[GreenLanternMD]

I Almost Called it Red Delicious

The Remainders presented "Macintosh: The Musical" last night at the Paramount Theater in Casa Grande.

I believe the show was well recieved, but it's been addressed that we've had moments of reluctance as well as issues of volume.

I did something last night that I hadn't done before in a show; I stepped up right away and initiated myself as a central character. I guess I felt confident enough in my idea to try this. I had litteral mixed feelings during the experience; the feeling of "cool, I'm doing this" was well intertwined with "shit! I'm in it now!" No regrets. Bill noted that I was off key early on but found my way into it very quickly. I can credit the support of the troupe for that. Also, sometimes I think I just have to jump in with both feet in order to get where I want to go.

I believe some of our issues can be attributed to practicing in Bill's living room. The space has served us well for practicing shows that are playing in small venues like The Trunk Space or Mardi Gras. The Paramount, however, is huge. If we were to rehearse more in a large space like that, we'll be more accomstomed to playing in a space like that. If we get used to the idea of being as big as our space, then we can do stuff like Mesa Center for the Arts, et al.

I feel good about last night. Given our relative infantsy, the troupe is doing remarkably well. We have only been "The Remainders" for eight months... and we had only begun to work these skills for two and a half months before that. In under a year, we've been asked to do command performances in LA and we've been invited to a festival in another nation. :up:

7 Minutes of Heaven: Week 2 is tonight. Elastic Theater will do "Trailor Park Zombie".

 

[GreenLanternMD]

I'm Tired

I'm tired of being up all night and sleeping until noon. This should be a treat, not a habit.

I'm tired of my day consisting of mostly looking at a screen.

I'm tired of not taking care of myself.

I'm tired of going out of the house only to blow $30 or more, whether it's on necessity or impulse.

I'm tired of my laziness.

I'm tired of my arrogance.

I'm tired.

 

[GreenLanternMD]

Bill Binder is on myspace

http://www.myspace.com/whbinder

 

[GreenLanternMD]

Puppets, Performance Art, and Doughnuts

Elastic Theater played to a healthy showing at The Paper Heart last night. Nice receptive crowd, actually bigger than expected... and they actually came to see US, not an act coming in later. Paper Heart is a good venue for bands, but challenging for live theater. The biggest issue is sound. They have microphones and a lot of amps, but they're the basic hand-held heavy wire kind... no fancy wireless like the ones used at school or the puppet theater. We set up three mics... I think if we play in that venue in the future we should go with two because they tend to get in the way. I'm just glad we were able to set up something that worked... and I feel we were better prepared for this show than the one we did at Trunk Space back in March.

Speaking of The Trunk Space (seague), they have a "new to them" AC. Last night was the first of their fund raiser events to help pay for it and have it installed. Hind-sight is 20/20, so that's where I come from when I say this: I would appear that the funds being raised came in the form of tips and not from any kind of cover... at least I didn't see a cover being collected. I wish they had... because the place was packed last night. Also, I'm not usually a fan of "pay-to-play," but had they asked all of their performers to donate $5 as a "stage fee," I think most of us would have been cool with that... considering the amount they're trying to raise. I think they were doing okay, though. I noticed Stef emptying out the tip jars and locking away the reciepts every five minutes or so.

Elastic Theater went on around midnight. Instead of bringing out our whole puppet stage for a five minute piece, we just had a couple people holding up one of our curtains while we crouched behind it.

Some thoughts on "Performance Art" and why so many people dislike it: Most "PERFORMING ARTS" are appretiated by the immediate audience who have the experience of seeing the performance first hand. They are observing the event but not participating. With "PERFORMANCE ART", the audience is part of the piece. The art is not complete until the artist has a witness to react to what they are doing. This kind of art is usually not appretiated by the first-hand audience because they are part of the project. The appretiation comes after the fact when the piece is talked about and those who only hear about the experience say things like, "Bravo! Good for him!" or "That took some balls," or "I admire the commitment." Andy Kaufman was one of those. He's famous for fucking with people. Anyone who has seen Man on the Moon or any TV special about Kaufman knows of the istance when he decided to get up in front of a full theater and read The Great Gatsby from cover to cover. Many have looked at this as brilliant after the fact, but I'm sure those who were present were not thrilled. Some of the stuff I see on Grand Ave. makes me raise and eyebrow in disbelief... but years from now I may look back with more appretiation... even if I am a part of the piece.

This morning, I woke up to my alarm for the first time in a few weeks. I needed an alarm to get up at 9:00 AM. That's an indication of the bad sleeping habits I develop in the summer.

Creative Youth Theater (now CrYT for legal reasons) had a welcome breakfast to kick off the summer camp (which starts July 3rd). There will be something like 19 kids involved... which is good because it brings in much needed revenue for the theater and I don't have to worry about being paid. It's a few more than I expected; but I'm sure everything will be fine. Paul's daughter will be helping me out in the morning, and Stacey will have help in the afternoon. There will be one young lady helping Stacey who just graduated college at age 19. I haven't met her, but her resume looks more professional than mine (and I don't just mean the formatting... actual credits). I'm still in charge, though. :up:

Elastic Theater has one more short appearance tonight with 7 Minutes in Heaven. When I'm not working on a show, I watching hours and hours of Superman and The West Wing. I'm on vacation.

 

[GreenLanternMD]

Points Proven Last Night

Some thoughts on "Performance Art" and why so many people dislike it: Most "PERFORMING ARTS" are appretiated by the immediate audience who have the experience of seeing the performance first hand. They are observing the event but not participating. With "PERFORMANCE ART", the audience is part of the piece. The art is not complete until the artist has a witness to react to what they are doing. This kind of art is usually not appretiated by the first-hand audience because they are part of the project. The appretiation comes after the fact when the piece is talked about and those who only hear about the experience say things like, "Bravo! Good for him!" or "That took some balls," or "I admire the commitment." Andy Kaufman was one of those. He's famous for fucking with people. Anyone who has seen Man on the Moon or any TV special about Kaufman knows of the istance when he decided to get up in front of a full theater and read The Great Gatsby from cover to cover. Many have looked at this as brilliant after the fact, but I'm sure those who were present were not thrilled. Some of the stuff I see on Grand Ave. makes me raise and eyebrow in disbelief... but years from now I may look back with more appretiation... even if I am a part of the piece.

Mere hours after posting this, I went to see/participate in the third round of "7 Minutes in Heaven". It's a four part series and Elastic Theater has closed all three so far and will likely bring up the rear in the final set next Saturday (we go on last because we have the puppet stage and our strike usually takes longer than everyone else's set-up... including our own).
A lot of what I saw last night was very much in the Andy Kaufman tradition: The observers were the art. There was an elderly magician doing some traditional slight of hand tricks with a rope and an egg is a small pouch. He broke tradition by eliminating his sleeves... his pants... and his underwear... Doing his final trick in the buff. :bleagh: It was only a couple of acts later when a young lady came to the stage wearing a hat, a banjo... and nothing else. op: She handed off her banjo to another performer and had him play as she walked around the little theater and hugged everyone in the audience. I'm just glad it wasn't the magician doing that. :bleagh:

What was amazing about last night is that I don't have to wait awhile for it all to sink in and be appretiated. I feel clued in to all of the art I saw... even if I was a part of the art.

 

[GreenLanternMD]

Happy Green Lantern Day!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BATTERY OF OA!!!

One year ago today, I launched this blog. Since the title, as well as my icon, are tributes to DC's Green Lantern, I've decided to declare today:

GREEN LANTERN DAY

This is how I will mark the occassion:

1. Read the lastest GL hardcover, NO FEAR
2. Watch the one-time GL Superman episode "In Brightest Day" (possibly followed up by the Justice League 2-Parter, "In Blackest Night")
3. Wear my GL shirt (and ring, if I decide to go down to the office and get it)
4. Modify myspace profile

Also, as always, be Fearless and Honest.

You are only limited by imagination...

 

[GreenLanternMD]

Passion Sometimes Creates Hostility... or Disguises Itself As Such

No, I'm not going to talk about Green Lantern Day... I already talked about it yesterday. Done!

Tonight's Remainders practice ended with a couple of managerial discussions. One was about how to determin when a potential gig becomes a REAL gig... covered that in 5 minutes.

We spent another hour discussing the possibility of inviting new players into the group. My indication that we spoke on this for about an hour is not a complaint. On the contrary. It was an hour that needed to be speant, and it was better that we did it tonight rather than put it off in an attempt to coordinate another time when most of us would be available to talk about it.

I won't go into the details of what we discussed... only to say that there were a number of questions raised and a number of areas where people disagreed... passionately. We willl talk about it again next Monday and make some actual decisions; the good news is we have a better idea of what we'll be talking about.

We discussed the merits of workshops vs. inviting people to practice. Somehow, we ended up briefly talking about the recuitment process for ComedySportz. At one point, I said that sometimes we won't know the potential of a player after one workshop... sometimes it takes up to six... and I mentioned that someone in the room was almost not invited onto the team until the final show. I hope that wasn't taken as an insult, because it wasn't intended as such. The point I was making is that sometimes people hold back when something has the pressure of "an audition," especially if they're new; whereas if something is presented as education, the pressure is off and they can be free fuck-up while they learn... When we started this back in August, we weren't forming a troupe. We were doing a workshop. Every week, we were free to fuck up while we were learning. We still do that. No preassure.

 

[GreenLanternMD]

Monday

Camp starts up on Monday.

I'm actually looking forward to it. Usually, I only dread getting up and going to work if A) I really hate the job or B) I've been so overwhelmed with everything that the idea of going somewhere to teach a class feels like an inconvenience.

There's something to be said about returning to familiar ground. Last year, I went in feeling like I was in for something bigger than myself; I felt like I had oversold my abilities. I was really nervous about working with younger kids. I'm used to high schoolers. They're almost adults and they're more likely to get where I'm coming from. I didn't know if I could relate to 9-13 year olds.

Well, I survived last year's three weeks session and pulled off a miracle or two (as is my rep.). So, there was high demand for me to return. Awesome. This year I'm going in with a raised bar, but I have a firm idea of what I need to be doing. Also, I'll have a little more help than I did last year. Paul's daughter will be assisting me in the morning. And Stacey will have the afternoon with her intern (the 19-year-old suma cum loudi [sp?]). Last year, during the second week, Ric had to go up to Prescott for three days. At the time, the only solution was for me to take the entire day (7:30am to 4:30pm), and while that provided me with some much needed funds, it was overwhelming to be the only adult among 11 kids for that long. That won't happen this year. 5 hours on the clock and only 3 hours of teaching every day... and a good chunk of that will be developing a new script.

I pitched an idea for another Christmas play for Paul. It's corny as hell, but I'm itching to write it now. No comment as to the idea for the moment.