Wednesday, February 27, 2008

guthrify me

the guthrie theatre was established in the early 1960's by sir tyrone guthrie, who wanted to establish a high-quality regional theatre in the midwest.
at some point in the last few years, the guthrie moved from its old location to the warehouse district of minneapolis, into a huge and shiny new complex which includes three theatre spaces, two restaurants, two long escalators, and a host of huge portraits of world playwrights.
i had a general audition at the guthrie on friday, february 22. i auditioned for the casting director and his assistant. the following day, i was lucky enough to land an audition with the shakespeare theatre company from washington DC. i felt that i did well in both my auditions, though neither of my auditioners gave me any indication of their impressions of my work.
i was discouraged by the continuing realization that i do not have an actor's equity card, and how that might be difficult for me, considering my age and experience. but other than this actuality, i feel really good about the entire experience.
i saw a very enjoyable production of peer gynt at the guthrie, starring the magnetic and spontaneous mark rylance. i also saw a production of wendy wasserstein's last play, third.

Wednesday, February 06, 2008

all the me's (or maybe just some of them)

a volatility in me that sees the same picture through different eyes, depending on the chemical charges being released in my brain, from one moment to the next.
a stability in me that renders me inactive, inert, not all human.
a passion in me that has always yearned so much for others to join in, that when they didn't, it shrieked and berated them and then felt guilty.
a sadness in me that folds clothes into a suitcase, ready to pack up and go.
a compulsiveness in me that doesn't feel perfectly well unless the dishes are done, and as the laundry piles up it wonders about the mold growing under the bathtub.
a critic in me that vehemently opts out of the game then jeers from the sidelines.
a sensitivity in me that responds intuitively to noise, lies, and music.
a hunger in me that rages along the shore voraciously picking up chunks of wood and devouring them.
an aspiration in me that looks into the sun and feels tears of pleasure streaking down its face.

Monday, February 04, 2008

works

northanger abbey is one of austen's novels that was not published during her lifetime. yesterday i read about six chapters. at the end of chapter five, she launches into a parenthetical statement about the bad rap that novels get and how no one will ever admit when they're reading one. maybe it was just me, but after that, chapter six seemed to take on an affected tone. i put the book back on the shelf. i will pick it up again soon.
last night i watched a really good film by kon ichikawa, called the burmese harp. it is about a troupe of japanese soldiers in burma at the end of WWII. through an odd series of events, the soldiers learn that the war is over and that japan has surrendered, and they surrender to the british troupes that are in the same village. soon, they hear of a japanese division that is refusing to surrender, a half-day's walk away, in a mountain; and one of the soldiers, who has a certain higher level of finesse, is asked to go persuade them to give themselves up. since japan has surrendered, their continued fighting is helping no one. so the soldier goes. and the story unfolds from there.
i really liked the composition in the film, the way the shots were set up. in an interview afterwards, kon ichikawa says he wanted to be a painter, which makes sense. there is beautiful use of light and balance on the screen. also, the story is very emotional.

Sunday, February 03, 2008

reading

i wake up today wanting to read.
the computer has damaged my ability and availability to read.
i'm going to open up a tome of jane austen.
apparently i was one of the only kids in my first grade class who already knew how to read.
my mom says it's because of my good brain, but i know it's "the electric company"'s fault.
when i was in second grade i told the teacher's assistant that i wanted to be a writer.
i do love words.
(the teacher's assistant was this really pretty tall redhead named miss wood. once when i wasn't feeling well i went to the front of the class and told her. she felt my forehead and said, "oh baby, you're burning up!" i was immediately in love. somehow i kept in touch with her and when i was in fifth grade, got a note from her that i kept. she'd gotten married by then, which made me feel a little dejected, and at the end of the note, she asked, "do you still want to be a writer?" ...it's the only evidence i have that i'd declared that wish as early as second grade.)

Saturday, February 02, 2008

skeezix

i have been enjoying joe jackson's new album, rain. though joe's face has looked strange to me for about ten years now (i think he must have gotten an eyelift or a cheektuck or something), his voice is unmarred by the years-- still youthful, wild and longing. love him.
yesterday i painted a portrait of george washington on a backdrop for the music man. i copied it from a dollar. i think it turned out pretty good. i'm going to try to remember to take a photograph of it today and i'll post it on my drawings blog. i feel a little bad about the drawings blog lately because i haven't had any new drawings to post. but never fear, another burst of drawings will eventually emerge. (flock of geese, murder of crows, burst of drawings...?)

Friday, February 01, 2008

squeal

FINALLY it's february. i think january might be my least favorite month of the year. i've never been crazy about august, because of the heat and the impending going-back-to-school feeling of it, but january just always takes forever to get through, it seems like.
i went to sleep last night around 9:30, quite early for me, and as a result had very little trouble (although i'm telling you my eyes are weird lately) waking up. i made my stock breakfast-- banana, yogurt and granola, to which i have added a tablespoon of flax oil and, as a result of my recent visit to the grocery store, fresh raspberries. all this immersed in a huge vat of day-old coffee to get those gears shiftin' for my day.
this is going to be a busy month and i'm looking forward to every single minute of it.