I’m cautiously optimistic about my Bills this year.
No matter the outcome of tonight’s game (so nice that they’re playing in primetime), I enjoy that the “rivalry” we have with the Patriots results in occasional moments like this one.
Are you ready for some football?
A lot of things haven’t been going as planned, lately. Which, y’know, is life. And while it’s not necessarily good to look at every audition for which you’re not called back as a bullet dodged, my incurable optimism usually leads me to look for the universe to open a window somewhere when a door gets closed.
Sometimes changes come in waves, though, crashing against the side of your vessel and seeming like they’re never going to let up. I feel blessed by all of the personal floatation devices in my life – they’ve made the prospect of getting tossed overboard seem less hopeless. And I’m grateful for the brain chemicals that always, eventually, push me out of bed in the morning.
When the waters calm and the sky clears, I get my bearings (as best I can) and set a course. Even if the destination hasn’t changed, it’s still setting a new course. And eventually the muscles that were tensed, bracing for impact, relax. One enjoys the smooth sailing while one can, ’cause you can’t live worrying about storm clouds that haven’t formed yet. You can only control what you can control. And sometimes it’s best to let yourself forget the rest.
I’m a sucker for things like romantic comedies. Or maybe more like a suck-ee? I get sucked into a lot of moments and I’m along for the ride when it comes to most predictable plot lines, getting misty or even more optically humid just as the music starts to swell.
There are definitely pieces of music like that too. The fact that I’m posting a link to this song now is a pretty clear indication that I don’t have my finger on the pulse of new music as it’s released, but I think this song found its way to my eardrums just when I needed it.
I dunno… maybe you’re hearing it for the first time today. I hope it does good things for your state of mind too. Even if you’re not getting your motor running on a theatre project.
…speaking of theatre projects, this week the audition notice was posted for the show I’m directing this fall. You remember the one with the really nifty fundraising strategy, right? Feel free to share both of those links around. And this song, too. Y’never know who might need a bit of a boost.
If you were to say those words to me, it would definitely be normal to expect my brain to go directly here:
But there’s a pretty good chance, this would pop into my head first:
What can I say? The 90s left their mark on me. Heck, I’m inspired by Jerry Maguire when thinking about fundraising for independent theatre.
I have lots of opinions about theatre, especially the theatre I want to make. Generally, they’re passionate and have been refined over the years that I’ve been making theatre and attending shows, viewing them from a community member’s perspective. I will happily talk ears off when sharing these opinions, particularly after a couple of glasses of wine. I try to keep my more critical stances to myself, both because of the tight-knit interdependent theatre ecosystem of which I’m a part and because I know my own tastes and products are not for all markets.
But there is one topic I will sprint out of rooms to avoid. Fundraising for independent theatre – even when it’s for Monkeyman Productions, the theatre company I helped to found in 2008. I also very seldom read articles that bring up fundraising – you clearly have a stronger stomach than I do if you’re choosing to continue reading. For that, I’m grateful.
The reality is that making theatre requires money. And no one starts working in theatre to get rich. Or, if they do see it as a path to fame and fortune, they don’t hang around. And because we aren’t putting our geeky energies into scheming any major bank heists, for now, there are 3 obvious options Monkeyman Productions has explored as a company. Show Me The Mon(k)ey! (cont.)
