3/31/2011

Putting It in Perspective

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I overheard this conversation on the Silver Line this morning and it really put my life back into perspective for me. I never actually saw the people who were talking. They were right behind me and I didn't have the guts to turn around and look. But their voices were soft and mellow with a sadness that simply can't be described with words. This was the first part of the convo.


Man: I dunno... Sometimes, I wish this bag was just fulla cash.
Woman: Why?
Man: So we could just take this Silver Line all da way to the airport and just hop a flight and get outta here.
Woman: Why?
Man: Start ova ya know? 'S too damn depressing.

(pause)

Woman: Why you wanna do that?
Man: Just can't do it anymore. Just can't do it. (beat) No point in livin like this.

Talk about putting things in perspective, eh? Sometimes I just get so wrapped up in my own little world that I forget how amazing my life is. I absolutely don't wanna hop a flight and get outta here right now. I'm having the time of my life! This was also such a genuine, beautiful, human conversation... I'd consider doing it for acting for the camera.

Carpe diem!

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3/21/2011

The Actor's Curse

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Most people go through their whole lives just working, taking care of the family, and plowing through the daily routine. That's what my parents are doing and that's probably what your parents are doing. But I went to theatre school. And I feel like I am cursed. Semester one at Emerson was a lot of discovery, crying, and rolling on the floor. Phrases like "milling and seething" and "rolling down my spine" became a second language for me. And, while these things have done wonders to my acting abilities, they have been a pain in my ass when it comes to just living life. For instance, I was listening to a friend of mine tell this awesome story about how she got really sick in Europe and everyone thought she was going to die. But, I wasn't just sitting there enjoying the story, I was thinking about how good she was at storytelling. And sure enough, after she finished the story, another (actor) girl at the table was like, "That was the best storytelling you've ever done." Who says shit like that?! Actors, that's who.


Or I've also noticed that when somebody says "How ya doin'?" I actually pause for a moment to consider my current state of being before I reply with, "good." Most people, I feel, just answer that question quickly and efficiently but I feel some weird obligation to give an honest check in. Let's be real, no one actually wants a real answer to that question. Gone are the days of just letting my emotions bottle up and fester and manifest in some weird habit or something. Oh no. I am constantly exploring how I feel about everything. And when I talk to my friends we fucking analyze everything. If someone is a close talker or has a weird problem with eye contact, we say that it is probably related to a childhood event or some lack of self confidence. We legit diagnose people. No longer can I watch a show or movie without commenting about the truthfulness of it. Actors are cursed. Actors are also lazy. They claim that life is their practice (which is true to some degree). They use and abuse everything. And that's the curse I'm destined to live with.

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3/18/2011

Regional Theatre Superiority Complex

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Tis the season of auditioning. Nowadays, I talk to my friends in New York and they are going on four or five auditions a day. I'm in school and in Boston, so opportunities are much slimmer, but I have also felt the heat of the rush for summer work. It is just around this time that all of the regional theaters hold their open calls. This involves a lot of early mornings, a lot of belting at 9am, and a lot of waiting. Hundreds of people show up to these calls, but what gets me is that these theaters suddenly develop a huge superiority complex once they arrive in the big apple to hold their auditions.


It's kinda funny in way. The mule barn po-dunk non-equity theatre from nowhere, USA will hold an open call in NYC and hundreds of people will line up and suddenly this theater is like, "Wow, everyone is just dying to work for us!" While this is undoubtedly true for many, it is more accurate to say that they are just dying to work. Period. That same hundred plus group of people will be at the next podunk mulebarn audition the next morning just as eager.

So I think it would be a good thing to say that during this time of the year, in this economy, we should all, actors, directors, and producers alike take a deep breath and realize that we are all fighting for the same thing. We are all working toward the same goals: to create, to entertain, and maybe, just maybe make money (and when I say make money, I mean break even). No need for anyone (theatre or actor alike) to pretend like they are the next Broadway sensation. We already know that we are all destined for greatness. That's why we do this.


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3/15/2011

How to Know if Someone Works at a Restaurant

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I should preface this Comfy Corner list by saying that I came up with this idea on the bus and I was trying to jot it down in my blog journal (yeah, I keep a blog journal...SUE ME!) but I couldn't spell the word "restaurant" to save my life. I don't know what happened. I work in a restaurant, I've eaten at restaurants my whole life, but at that moment I simply couldn't figure it out. I wrote restarant, resteraunt, restaraunt...every variation. Such a struggle... in any event, this is what to expect from someone who works at a restareont.


1) They score the lemons at a party.

2) If a fast food place runs out of a certain soda they'll go up and say something like "you need to change the Pepsi."

3) They always tip well. At least 20%. 15% if the service is awful.

4) When company arrives, they always ask if they'd like something to drink.

5) When out to eat, they stack the plates and napkins so it's easier to bus.

6) When in large groups, they are experts at splitting checks and explaining it to the waiter.

7) They use a check presenter as their wallet (my friend Fro does this...very strange)

8) When they are trying to squeeze past you they say "behind" or "right behind you" in a cheery voice.


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3/09/2011

Super Couponers: Spring Break Edition

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It amazes me how much of a bubble college truly is. Every time I leave Boston, it's as though I am awakened from a long, strange dream. We all get so wrapped up in our lives that we forget that their is a whole world of things waiting to be explored. I'm currently blogging live from the William's estate in Windham, Maine where I am melting into a fur rug in true Spring Break bliss laughing about people who buy out entire stores of food for pennies using their coupons. And we couldn't have dumbed life down any more.


We wake up late, eat breakfast, sip coffee, listen to music, take walks, breathe in the freshest air, drink so much drink, eat so much eat and then take the best naps. When removed from the life that is at Emerson College, enjoyment comes in the simplest forms: doughnuts in the morning, trips to Wal-Mart for sour patch kids, and Dollar Store shopping sprees. And while these things are foreign to me while I'm in college, these were actually the things that I grew up with. It's so funny to me that these things that I took for granted growing up have suddenly become these things that I take pride in. I take PRIDE in the fact that my town has five Wal-Marts. I take PRIDE in the fact that I had Krispie Kreme doughnuts or cooked my pancakes in canola oil.

So, I suppose it all comes down to the whole idea of just living in the moment. Never take a single thing for granted because you'll wake up one day and suddenly realize how wonderful it actually was. Or you actually have a moment of realization that your parents were actually smart. Or you'll realize that your friends are actually really beautiful people.

As E-strugs would say...


namaste

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3/04/2011

Words With Friends

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There is nothing I hate more than when I'm listening to a popular band or something and the person I'm with gets all upset and says something along the lines of, "Ugh! I was listening to these guys way before everyone became obsessed with them." It's like, get over yourself. Everyone is listening to them now, no one cares that you "discovered" them.


In any event, I've become that guy that everyone hates. Not with music, though, with the new phone app that is sweeping the nation, "Words with Friends." Every time I see people playing it, I become the douche who is like, "Dude, I am a Scrabble fiend. Like I ACTUALLY play the game. I was playing Scrabble with my Asian friends long before you guys were playing it on your phones."

The weird thing is, I actually feel defensive about it. I understand now why those people get so defensive about their bands that they discovered. It was like the one unique thing that you could call your own. Like a part of your personality. And suddenly it's being spread around like an STD or something. This pure, unique thing you had to call your own is suddenly dirtied and spread around for the masses to use, abuse and throw away in a week or so. It's a sad fact. But I take comfort in knowing that when everyone grows weary from constantly checking their phones for new words with friends, I will still be playing the board game with fervor.

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3/01/2011

Jesus Won't Help You Now!

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I'm currently in this dance class that is quite frankly kicking my ass. The teacher is this small, beautiful, amazing dancer that can win you over with her sweet voice but can also turn your heart to ice at the same time, ya know? Kinda like Professor Umbridge... only skinnier and not evil. On the first day of class, she informed us that we were probably going to cry at some point. And any time someone says "Jesus Christ" while we are doing abs or intense stretches, she just responds "Jesus won't help you now!"


Anyway, for the past two days in class we have been learning lifts. I have discovered that there is no better way to make everyone uncomfortable in a class than by saying, "Today, we're gonna work on lifts!" Immediately, all of the girls in the class started to become uber-self-conscious about their weight. And all the guys in the class started to become uber-self-conscious about their strength. And I ran to my backpack to grab my deodorant. It's just not a fair situation to be thrown into so suddenly! And then it got obnoxious. The straight guys got all defensively masculine about how sore they were from all the bench pressing they had done. And the skinny guys (like myself) strugged it out in the back of the room. I think I pulled a tricep. I didn't even know you can do that.

Midway through our struggles, my partner, Sara, turns to the teacher and says "Is it possible that we just aren't strong enough to do this?" And she tries to convince us that it isn't about strength or weight at all, it's about momentum. And with that she demonstrated with me and practically knocked me over. She raised her eyebrows and said, "You've gotta be a stronger base." Moral of the story? In shows, lifts are lovely and fun. But, we should avoid lifts in dance class. It makes no one feel good about themselves.

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