The other day, as I was driving home from work, I saw a beat-up old SUV with bumper stickers all over it tailing somebody in the fast lane of I-15. It was around the bend between Orem/Provo, where I often see cops sitting on the side as a reminder to slow down on the curve. I, of course, got excited thinking that the cops would catch this jerk, but was disappointed when there were no cop cars parked there.
However, there WERE flashing lights suddenly. On the SUV. Turns out, it was an undercover cop tailing another guy so he could give him a ticket.
?!
Disclaimer: I've never been pulled over by an unmarked car.
But they bug the crap out of me.
Is the purpose of the cops/highway patrol to make money off tickets, or to keep people safe?
Which is going to keep more people safe? Seeing a marked, obvious cop car on the side of the road, reminding you to slow down, or seeing them and not knowing they're even a cop until they've already pulled somebody over, thereby eliminating the chance that they'll nab any other drivers until they're done with that?
Thanks for using our tax dollars the most efficient way, UHP!!!
Monday, August 24, 2015
Friday, June 26, 2015
Joy and Gladness
I rarely blog anymore, but I want a record of the past few months, if for no other reason than to share with Lucy one day, since she's too young to remember. Plus, great stuff has happened, and I love to share that with people.
On closing night of The Sound of Music, 2 years ago, I told the president of SCERA, Adam, that I called dibs on Mary Poppins when the rights came out. Last year, during Les Mis, I found out that it was a favorite show of my stage manager extraordinaire, Crysta, too. I reminded Adam that I called dibs, and Crysta said she'd be in for the project, too. I had it on good authority that the rights for community theatre would be out later that year.
In January, Adam called and said it was a go. I got my script and immersed myself in the world of Mary Poppins. I read all of the Mary Poppins books. P.L. Travers had some fun ideas, but MAN, it was hard to get through the later ones. I grew to appreciate what Walt Disney had done by creating a better story of all the vignettes. I read a biography of P.L. Travers and really grew to dislike the woman. The way she's portrayed in Saving Mr. Banks makes her look much nicer than she really was. It's funny to me that she was so concerned about what Walt was doing to her story, when he was doing so much to help the story and add to the magic of it.
Around the time of auditions, in late March, I was asked to be in a choir for the dedication of the Payson LDS Temple. As a stake music chair, I had submitted my name, along with a handful of others who I felt were good at listening, blending, and learning pieces quickly, as I had been instructed to do. The people over the choir took the names, looked at musical background, prayed about it, and then put together a choir of 19 people, including 4 from our stake. Way to represent, River Stake!
For the choir, we had to commit to rehearsing every Sunday night from then until the dedication on Sunday, June 7. That was a HUGE commitment, but the opportunity to actually sing in a choir AND do it in the celestial room at a temple during a dedication was one I couldn't pass up. So, I accepted.
This meant that Monday-Friday evenings (with some exceptions during choreography nights and whatnot) and Saturday mornings, I was at rehearsal, and Sunday evenings, I was gone for choir. Towards the end, I had to start rehearsing for stake conference as well, so I would go to one choir rehearsal, come home for a few minutes and then go to another. I was still working a full time job and teaching piano as well. It was an exhausting few months.
With Mary Poppins, I hit the cast jackpot. I could not have cast the show any better. Not only was everybody ridiculously talented, but it was the best group of people I've ever directed. There was no ego among the cast. As they worked together, they became a close family.
In the LDS culture, you hear the term "ward family" all the time. I would not call my ward a family. I have very few people in my ward who I believe would care for me in my time of need like a family member would. (Although, as a dysfunctional family, based on the way Lauren and I have been treated by many members in our ward, I WOULD use the term "ward family"...)
I DO love, however, the term "cast family." There's really no better way to describe this group of people. Other than one small problem who was removed, there was SO much love in the cast. And you could feel it radiating from the stage. If any one of them was in need, I would do my best to help them, and I KNOW it's reciprocated.
I could not have gotten through the last few months without this cast.
After about a month of rehearsing both choir and the show, it started to get more stressful. I'm TERRIBLE at memorization, and I had to memorize three songs for choir with no time to practice other than singing in my car. I was getting the notes, but it was hard to get the words without being able to read them.
One Sunday afternoon, I realized I needed to work really hard on memorizing the first of the three songs. While Lucy was napping and Lauren was resting, I pulled out the music and went upstairs to the bedroom where I could not disturb anybody else. I drilled the song until I felt pretty confident, and then went downstairs and sat down on the couch to work on some things for Mary Poppins. At the same time, Lucy woke up, so Lauren went to get her. A few minutes later, Lauren came downstairs and asked what I had been doing upstairs in my temple clothes. I laughed, and she asked if I was trying them on to make sure they would look good for the dedication in a few weeks. I told her we weren't supposed to wear them, and I hadn't been.
Apparently, while I was downstairs, Lauren and Lucy were in the nursery, and Lauren had her back to the door. Lucy said "Hi, Dad!" and Lauren turned around just in time to see the back of "me" walking into the office, dressed completely in white. She thought I was trying to scare her, so she grabbed Lucy, ran into the office and yelled "BOO!" only to find nobody there.
After finally being convinced that I was telling the truth, and I wasn't upstairs, Lauren asked me to go check it out. I did, and found nothing. But there was an overwhelming presence in the area by the office and nursery. I came back downstairs and told Lauren that I found nothing, but didn't tell her what I had felt. She insisted that we look again, because she KNEW she had seen somebody, so we both went up to look. Again, we saw nothing, but I felt a presence. We came back downstairs, and Lauren asked Lucy if she had seen anybody that looked like Daddy. She said yes, and when Lauren asked her where, she pointed at me, rolled her eyes at Lauren and said "Right there." I felt a presence up in that room for a couple more days, then it was gone, and I haven't felt it since. The dogs sensed it, too, as they were barking a lot and getting anxious for no reason, especially in the evenings when I was at rehearsal. Lauren was convinced that it was a family member, but I don't know of any deceased family members that look like me and are built like me.
On Friday, May 22, Lauren and I finally got ourselves to the temple open house. As we walked out of the church on the south of the temple and Lucy got her first view of the temple and Moroni with his trumpet, she yelled "DISNEYLAND!!!!!" Inside the temple, she was in awe as she saw the most beautiful building she's ever seen in her life. After the tour, we went into the visitors' tent, and words can't describe the love/happiness/awe on Lucy's face as she looked at the statue of the Christus. After that, Lauren and Lucy went home and I stayed to play the piano in the tent for 2 hours. Those 2 hours flew. When the next person got there to "relieve" me, I wasn't ready to go. I asked to play one more song, which was a nice little arrangement of "'Give,' Said the Little Stream." Perfectly fitting.
About a week before Mary Poppins was supposed to open, and the temple was to be dedicated, I started feeling a cold coming. I panicked. EVERY time I open a show, I get sick the day after it opens, as all the stress melts away and the adreneline stops aiding my immune system. It's typically a cold, and more often than not, I lose my voice.
That week, as it was wet and freezing every night at rehearsal, I prayed like never before that I would be able to stay well until after the temple dedication. However, I got sick. The last Saturday before we opened, I came home from rehearsal and crashed. I laid down on the couch and felt miserable from the time I left the morning rehearsal until the time I went to the evening rehearsal. The next week was really hard, because I was trying to fight off the cold, which never seemed to manifest fully. Just lots of congestion which led to really bad headaches and constant fatigue.
On Friday, June 5, I had a "dress rehearsal" at the temple. I hadn't sung all week, because when I had tried, my voice was squeaky and scratchy. I met with the choir and rehearsed for an hour in the church, and then we went to the temple. It was surreal to let myself in and make my way to the celestial room. We then were instructed on how things were going to go down on Sunday, and practiced each number as well as walking in and out. I still hadn't sung my best in the church, but once in the celestial room, my voice was completely fine. As soon as we were excused and given our parking passes for the dedication, I walked quickly (but reverently) to my car and changed my clothes as fast as I could.
I drove as fast as I legally/safely could to the Shell, and arrived only 5 minutes late for cast meeting. When I walked up to where the cast was waiting, they all cheered, and my stress disappeared. Mary Poppins opened, and it was a beautiful opening night. On Saturday, June 6, I crashed. I felt terrible. The weeks of no sleep and stress and my cold had caught up to me. I went to bed early that night, since I had to be to the temple pretty early the next morning.
I woke up on Sunday, June 7, popped cold meds, and made it to the temple early. I prayed in my car that I would be able to sing, and then I went and met the choir to rehearse in the church again. After a brief meeting and prayer together, we went into the temple and were seated just off the celestial room. As the dedication started, we walked into the celestial room, stood behind President Eyring and Elder Cook, and sang "On This Day of Joy and Gladness." It was beautiful. As we were walking back to our seats, President Eyring smiled at us like Lauren smiles at Disneyland.
After a bit, we went back in and sang "Come, O Thou King of Kings", and at the end of the meeting, we sang "Hosanna Anthem/The Spirit of God." The celestial room was designed as a quiet place of reflection, but the acoustics were amazing. I've never sung so well in my life. And the Spirit felt was amazing.
Because of my participation, Lauren was given a ticket to be in the temple for that session, too, which happened to be the first one, where the temple was actually dedicated. As she was leaving, she bumped into President Eyring, who put his arm around her and told her how glad he was that she was there. I was a little jealous, because all I got from him were huge smiles and eye contact. BUT! If you add in the head nod he gave me at my graduation, then I'm still ahead of Lauren with Eyring encounters....
I got home from the temple and rested, then we went over to visit my parents while my Uncle Brent was there, and my uncles Pete and Eric came, too. It was...interesting...but nice.
Monday morning, I woke up sick. I don't know that I've EVER had such a bad cold. It's been almost three weeks, and I'm still not all the way better. But now I know that if I bargain with God to not be sick until after an event, He'll come through. I did end up losing my voice, and I was a never-ending source of mucus for days. I wasn't able to go back to Mary Poppins for a week, and when I did, I got sicker the next day from being out late in the cold.
Despite still being slightly under the weather, I made sure to see Mary Poppins three more times closing week. I couldn't stand to be away from it.
At the cast party, I was presented with a wooden spoon that had Mary Poppins and Bert burned into it, as well as a shadow box with an amazing design of Mary Poppins by Hayden Evans. I was also given an umbrella from Laura, who played one of the Janes, and lots of pictures, cards, and love from the cast. Have I mentioned how much I love that cast? And Crysta gave me a small collection of momentos from the three shows we've done together. She's going to be a famous stage manager in New York, and I'm really going to miss her.
Closing night, I turned into a blubbering idiot as I tried to express to the cast how much they meant to me as well as the show. If I didn't trust these people as much as I do, I'd be sure someday a video would turn up to blackmail me.
The best part about Mary Poppins wasn't just that the show means so much to me (spoiler alert: the whole thing is symbolic of Christ), or that the cast was amazing, or that the crew/staff worked so hard, or that the show turned out great. It was that Lauren loved it and said it was the best show I've ever done. And also, Lucy loved it. It's the first show she has sat all the way through, and she bonded with the characters AND the cast. For weeks, the best reward for good behavior was telling her she could see the show. When she was naughty, we would threaten that she couldn't see it, and she would ask if we were going to have the evil nanny, Miss Andrew, come. Or when she was throwing tantrums, she'd ask if Mary Poppins was going to come take her toys. To Lucy, Mary Poppins was REAL.
After the show on closing night, which Lucy watched all the way through again, she wanted pictures with her favorite cast members. Lucy won't let most people hold her. She's very stingy with her loves. But when she got to Josie, who played Mary, she wouldn't let go of her. And I almost lost it again, watching Josie being so good with Lucy. She held her for what felt like a long time, but was realistically 5-10 minutes tops. Lucy was on a high from that for a few days. And now she has pictures of her with Mary, Bert, Robertson Ay, and Mrs. Brill, and a program with their signatures. I goofed up by not getting a picture or autograph from Michael and Jane, but hopefully she won't hold it against me.
With the cast of Mary Poppins, I was able to choose my family for a brief period, and boy, did I choose a good one. And to see them merge with my actual family was the icing on the cake. They were all so kind and good to Lucy and Lauren and made them feel welcome.
The last few months have been some of the busiest of my life. There was much stress, but I never felt like it was too much, and it never became negative.
God is good.
Christ is good.
Mary Poppins is good.
Family is good.
Love is good.
Amen.
On closing night of The Sound of Music, 2 years ago, I told the president of SCERA, Adam, that I called dibs on Mary Poppins when the rights came out. Last year, during Les Mis, I found out that it was a favorite show of my stage manager extraordinaire, Crysta, too. I reminded Adam that I called dibs, and Crysta said she'd be in for the project, too. I had it on good authority that the rights for community theatre would be out later that year.
In January, Adam called and said it was a go. I got my script and immersed myself in the world of Mary Poppins. I read all of the Mary Poppins books. P.L. Travers had some fun ideas, but MAN, it was hard to get through the later ones. I grew to appreciate what Walt Disney had done by creating a better story of all the vignettes. I read a biography of P.L. Travers and really grew to dislike the woman. The way she's portrayed in Saving Mr. Banks makes her look much nicer than she really was. It's funny to me that she was so concerned about what Walt was doing to her story, when he was doing so much to help the story and add to the magic of it.
Around the time of auditions, in late March, I was asked to be in a choir for the dedication of the Payson LDS Temple. As a stake music chair, I had submitted my name, along with a handful of others who I felt were good at listening, blending, and learning pieces quickly, as I had been instructed to do. The people over the choir took the names, looked at musical background, prayed about it, and then put together a choir of 19 people, including 4 from our stake. Way to represent, River Stake!
For the choir, we had to commit to rehearsing every Sunday night from then until the dedication on Sunday, June 7. That was a HUGE commitment, but the opportunity to actually sing in a choir AND do it in the celestial room at a temple during a dedication was one I couldn't pass up. So, I accepted.
This meant that Monday-Friday evenings (with some exceptions during choreography nights and whatnot) and Saturday mornings, I was at rehearsal, and Sunday evenings, I was gone for choir. Towards the end, I had to start rehearsing for stake conference as well, so I would go to one choir rehearsal, come home for a few minutes and then go to another. I was still working a full time job and teaching piano as well. It was an exhausting few months.
With Mary Poppins, I hit the cast jackpot. I could not have cast the show any better. Not only was everybody ridiculously talented, but it was the best group of people I've ever directed. There was no ego among the cast. As they worked together, they became a close family.
In the LDS culture, you hear the term "ward family" all the time. I would not call my ward a family. I have very few people in my ward who I believe would care for me in my time of need like a family member would. (Although, as a dysfunctional family, based on the way Lauren and I have been treated by many members in our ward, I WOULD use the term "ward family"...)
I DO love, however, the term "cast family." There's really no better way to describe this group of people. Other than one small problem who was removed, there was SO much love in the cast. And you could feel it radiating from the stage. If any one of them was in need, I would do my best to help them, and I KNOW it's reciprocated.
I could not have gotten through the last few months without this cast.
After about a month of rehearsing both choir and the show, it started to get more stressful. I'm TERRIBLE at memorization, and I had to memorize three songs for choir with no time to practice other than singing in my car. I was getting the notes, but it was hard to get the words without being able to read them.
One Sunday afternoon, I realized I needed to work really hard on memorizing the first of the three songs. While Lucy was napping and Lauren was resting, I pulled out the music and went upstairs to the bedroom where I could not disturb anybody else. I drilled the song until I felt pretty confident, and then went downstairs and sat down on the couch to work on some things for Mary Poppins. At the same time, Lucy woke up, so Lauren went to get her. A few minutes later, Lauren came downstairs and asked what I had been doing upstairs in my temple clothes. I laughed, and she asked if I was trying them on to make sure they would look good for the dedication in a few weeks. I told her we weren't supposed to wear them, and I hadn't been.
Apparently, while I was downstairs, Lauren and Lucy were in the nursery, and Lauren had her back to the door. Lucy said "Hi, Dad!" and Lauren turned around just in time to see the back of "me" walking into the office, dressed completely in white. She thought I was trying to scare her, so she grabbed Lucy, ran into the office and yelled "BOO!" only to find nobody there.
After finally being convinced that I was telling the truth, and I wasn't upstairs, Lauren asked me to go check it out. I did, and found nothing. But there was an overwhelming presence in the area by the office and nursery. I came back downstairs and told Lauren that I found nothing, but didn't tell her what I had felt. She insisted that we look again, because she KNEW she had seen somebody, so we both went up to look. Again, we saw nothing, but I felt a presence. We came back downstairs, and Lauren asked Lucy if she had seen anybody that looked like Daddy. She said yes, and when Lauren asked her where, she pointed at me, rolled her eyes at Lauren and said "Right there." I felt a presence up in that room for a couple more days, then it was gone, and I haven't felt it since. The dogs sensed it, too, as they were barking a lot and getting anxious for no reason, especially in the evenings when I was at rehearsal. Lauren was convinced that it was a family member, but I don't know of any deceased family members that look like me and are built like me.
On Friday, May 22, Lauren and I finally got ourselves to the temple open house. As we walked out of the church on the south of the temple and Lucy got her first view of the temple and Moroni with his trumpet, she yelled "DISNEYLAND!!!!!" Inside the temple, she was in awe as she saw the most beautiful building she's ever seen in her life. After the tour, we went into the visitors' tent, and words can't describe the love/happiness/awe on Lucy's face as she looked at the statue of the Christus. After that, Lauren and Lucy went home and I stayed to play the piano in the tent for 2 hours. Those 2 hours flew. When the next person got there to "relieve" me, I wasn't ready to go. I asked to play one more song, which was a nice little arrangement of "'Give,' Said the Little Stream." Perfectly fitting.
 |
| "Lucy, smile for me! Lucy! Look at me! LUCY! THANK YOU!" |
That week, as it was wet and freezing every night at rehearsal, I prayed like never before that I would be able to stay well until after the temple dedication. However, I got sick. The last Saturday before we opened, I came home from rehearsal and crashed. I laid down on the couch and felt miserable from the time I left the morning rehearsal until the time I went to the evening rehearsal. The next week was really hard, because I was trying to fight off the cold, which never seemed to manifest fully. Just lots of congestion which led to really bad headaches and constant fatigue.
On Friday, June 5, I had a "dress rehearsal" at the temple. I hadn't sung all week, because when I had tried, my voice was squeaky and scratchy. I met with the choir and rehearsed for an hour in the church, and then we went to the temple. It was surreal to let myself in and make my way to the celestial room. We then were instructed on how things were going to go down on Sunday, and practiced each number as well as walking in and out. I still hadn't sung my best in the church, but once in the celestial room, my voice was completely fine. As soon as we were excused and given our parking passes for the dedication, I walked quickly (but reverently) to my car and changed my clothes as fast as I could.
I drove as fast as I legally/safely could to the Shell, and arrived only 5 minutes late for cast meeting. When I walked up to where the cast was waiting, they all cheered, and my stress disappeared. Mary Poppins opened, and it was a beautiful opening night. On Saturday, June 6, I crashed. I felt terrible. The weeks of no sleep and stress and my cold had caught up to me. I went to bed early that night, since I had to be to the temple pretty early the next morning.
I woke up on Sunday, June 7, popped cold meds, and made it to the temple early. I prayed in my car that I would be able to sing, and then I went and met the choir to rehearse in the church again. After a brief meeting and prayer together, we went into the temple and were seated just off the celestial room. As the dedication started, we walked into the celestial room, stood behind President Eyring and Elder Cook, and sang "On This Day of Joy and Gladness." It was beautiful. As we were walking back to our seats, President Eyring smiled at us like Lauren smiles at Disneyland.
After a bit, we went back in and sang "Come, O Thou King of Kings", and at the end of the meeting, we sang "Hosanna Anthem/The Spirit of God." The celestial room was designed as a quiet place of reflection, but the acoustics were amazing. I've never sung so well in my life. And the Spirit felt was amazing.
Because of my participation, Lauren was given a ticket to be in the temple for that session, too, which happened to be the first one, where the temple was actually dedicated. As she was leaving, she bumped into President Eyring, who put his arm around her and told her how glad he was that she was there. I was a little jealous, because all I got from him were huge smiles and eye contact. BUT! If you add in the head nod he gave me at my graduation, then I'm still ahead of Lauren with Eyring encounters....
I got home from the temple and rested, then we went over to visit my parents while my Uncle Brent was there, and my uncles Pete and Eric came, too. It was...interesting...but nice.
Monday morning, I woke up sick. I don't know that I've EVER had such a bad cold. It's been almost three weeks, and I'm still not all the way better. But now I know that if I bargain with God to not be sick until after an event, He'll come through. I did end up losing my voice, and I was a never-ending source of mucus for days. I wasn't able to go back to Mary Poppins for a week, and when I did, I got sicker the next day from being out late in the cold.
Despite still being slightly under the weather, I made sure to see Mary Poppins three more times closing week. I couldn't stand to be away from it.
At the cast party, I was presented with a wooden spoon that had Mary Poppins and Bert burned into it, as well as a shadow box with an amazing design of Mary Poppins by Hayden Evans. I was also given an umbrella from Laura, who played one of the Janes, and lots of pictures, cards, and love from the cast. Have I mentioned how much I love that cast? And Crysta gave me a small collection of momentos from the three shows we've done together. She's going to be a famous stage manager in New York, and I'm really going to miss her.
 |
| Picture stolen from Hayden's Facebook page |
The best part about Mary Poppins wasn't just that the show means so much to me (spoiler alert: the whole thing is symbolic of Christ), or that the cast was amazing, or that the crew/staff worked so hard, or that the show turned out great. It was that Lauren loved it and said it was the best show I've ever done. And also, Lucy loved it. It's the first show she has sat all the way through, and she bonded with the characters AND the cast. For weeks, the best reward for good behavior was telling her she could see the show. When she was naughty, we would threaten that she couldn't see it, and she would ask if we were going to have the evil nanny, Miss Andrew, come. Or when she was throwing tantrums, she'd ask if Mary Poppins was going to come take her toys. To Lucy, Mary Poppins was REAL.
After the show on closing night, which Lucy watched all the way through again, she wanted pictures with her favorite cast members. Lucy won't let most people hold her. She's very stingy with her loves. But when she got to Josie, who played Mary, she wouldn't let go of her. And I almost lost it again, watching Josie being so good with Lucy. She held her for what felt like a long time, but was realistically 5-10 minutes tops. Lucy was on a high from that for a few days. And now she has pictures of her with Mary, Bert, Robertson Ay, and Mrs. Brill, and a program with their signatures. I goofed up by not getting a picture or autograph from Michael and Jane, but hopefully she won't hold it against me.
 |
| Popcorn and Poppins - two things Lucy loves! |
The last few months have been some of the busiest of my life. There was much stress, but I never felt like it was too much, and it never became negative.
God is good.
Christ is good.
Mary Poppins is good.
Family is good.
Love is good.
Amen.
Monday, February 23, 2015
Oh, Toodles! Your Enablement Is Showing
One of my daughter's favorite shows to watch is Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Have you ever seen it? If you have/ever have had kids under the age of 8 and cable, I'm assuming yes.
MMC is not the worst thing she could be watching. It teaches a lot of skills that preschoolers need. It has characters that I support my daughter liking. It's filled with music, and it's filled with morals.
Every once in a while, they air an hourlong special, which then lives on my DVR for weeks/months at a time, and when we desperately need an hour of quiet time, it provides that.
There are a couple of things about the show that really bother me, though.
Wait. Three things. Goofy's singing is so unbearable that I have to leave the room whenever that happens.
If you've never seen an episode of MMC, here's a summary of what happens:
- The gang (or some of the gang) gets together for some event or activity.
- Mickey visits the "Mousekedoer," which is a machine that gives Mickey 3 "Mouseketools" that he will need for the activity, plus a "Mystery Mouseketool."
- They embark on their adventure, and a lot of the time, this includes the evil Pete trying to thwart them while lamenting the fact that he's not part of the gang.
- Along the way, they encounter 4 obstacles (sometimes caused by Pete). Shockingly, all 4 objects from the Mousekedoer are exactly what they need to overcome these obstacles! Sometimes the tools are a stretch, like using a broom to tickle a sleeping giant laying across the path so he'll wake up and move. Other times, they're flat-out miraculous, like a Mouseketank when they encounter a horde of zombies. (That may or may not have happened, but in this show, it's highly plausible.)
- In order to obtain the Mouseketools, all they have to do is call for Toodles, who has something to do with the Mousekedoer. I still haven't figured this out. He pops out of the Mousekedoer, I guess, and then when they yell "Oh, Toodles!" he flies in to save them like the eagles in Return of the King. Toodles is the ultimate Deus ex machina.
- On Pete episodes, after spending a half hour screwing over Mickey and Co. every chance he gets, everything is magically okay in the end, and they forgive him and invite him to be part of the gang. Of course, the next time they all hang out, he's not invited again, and we go through the whole process again.
The first thing that bothers me is Toodles.
I'm completely okay with teaching children that God will help you out when you need Him. I fully believe He will. My daughter is barely 2 and understands the concept of prayer, and does a surprisingly good job with it (when she's not cranky or silly). My issue is that the show is teaching kids that every single time you need something, God will just magically hand it to you. Mickey and Co. don't even pack for their trips. They're not backpack savvy like Dora & Diego. They just go to the Mousekedoer and it does everything for them. EVERYTHING. That's not the God I know. He provides everything, sure, but there has to be some effort on our part. Otherwise, my food storage would kick trash, and I would be ready with a tank when those zombies come.
Toodles isn't that big of an issue for me, though. When she's old enough, it will actually be a good discussion topic with Lucy to talk to her about how great God is, but in the real world, we need to do our own part as well. Faith without works is dead, as we've been taught. It will be about as epic as when I use A Charlie Brown Christmas to teach the true meaning of Christmas. Possibly more so, because in our house, Disney somehow trumps Peanuts.
Let's talk Pete, though.
I fully support turning the other cheek. But I hate the message that the show sends about letting a horrible, awful bully into your circle of friends EVERY DANG TIME. Pete does things to put the group in jeopardy to the point where they could literally die if it weren't for the hand of Toodles coming down to save them. And the message is that this is okay? I'm sorry, but when my daughter is in school, if somebody tries to kill her to get to the treasure before she does, I'm going to tell her to go ahead and not invite them to her next birthday party.
This is actually part of a bigger issue. By allowing Pete into the group every time, they're enabling him. They're saying that his behavior is acceptable, and we should not only tolerate it, but reward him with what he wants. This is one of the biggest downfalls I've seen in today's society. Not only are we becoming more and more entitled, but many of us are enabling others all the time to be as awful as they want.
As a teacher, I watched parents and other teachers enable students all the time. Student doesn't want to do an assignment? They shouldn't have to. Doesn't feel like coming to class? They're busy. Being a teenager is hard. I would say that I couldn't wait for college to eat them alive, but when I was in college, some of the teachers were just as bad. It's more effort to actually help the students than to let them get away with things sometimes.
In the theatre world, enablement is awful. I've seen others get walked all over by some nasty, but talented people, and when the opportunity arises to work with them again, they take it, because as talented as they are, it's worth it to put up with the crap. However, in putting up with it, they're saying "I LOVE your crap. Keep doing it. It's helping you get what you want, and I'm grateful to be a part of it and will reward you for treating me like garbage!"
In the business world, I see people who do terrible work, don't follow the rules, and are awful to work with, and yet they seem to get ahead and their behavior is validated time and time again. If Seinfeld were on the air today, I'm pretty sure George Costanza would have worked his way up to be the head of Apple or Microsoft by now. When I interview potential job candidates, it's fascinating to see how many come through my door expecting me to practically BEG them to work for me. Was I that big of an ass right after graduating college? (Don't answer that.)
In general society, I see people do this all the time as well. People are labeled "difficult," but we do what they want anyway, because it's just easier that way.
The most disturbing one for me is the enablement that we see within the LDS Church culture. I've actually seen cases of somebody in a leadership position causing ridiculous amounts of damage, but their superiors haven't wanted to do anything about it because they're afraid of what they'll do. Not long ago, there was a woman in our ward who literally whined herself into a calling. SHE WHINED HERSELF INTO A CALLING. The same woman picked fights with people in church all the time, and nobody fought back. She said wretched things to people's faces, and they put up with it because it was easier than the alternative. Once, she picked a fight with my wife in front of the entire primary. After she had turned both cheeks and then some, my wife snapped back at her. When this happened, the woman stormed out of primary, found a member of the bishopric, cried to him, and then he confronted my wife about it. Instead of fixing the issue with this woman, it became my wife's problem. How is that okay?
I was recently talking to a friend about this issue, and she posed the question "How do we stop that?!"
I honestly don't know. I've actually been called mean and unfair because I've not given into enabling before. And when I've honestly felt like I've taught somebody a lesson in a kind way by not enabling them, I've seen them go to someone else who enables them, further leading them to believe that I was the one in the wrong.
How DO we stop that?
I answered my friend the only way I knew how.
We don't. We can only do our best to make sure that our children can rise above that awful sense of entitlement.
I can't wait until Lucy is old enough to have some of these conversations. Pete is a jerk. And Mickey would be absolutely right to NOT let him come along on the next big adventure. God is good, and will provide, but don't be lazy. And most importantly, food storage and tank acquisition are a must for the impending zombie apocalypse.
As a teacher, I watched parents and other teachers enable students all the time. Student doesn't want to do an assignment? They shouldn't have to. Doesn't feel like coming to class? They're busy. Being a teenager is hard. I would say that I couldn't wait for college to eat them alive, but when I was in college, some of the teachers were just as bad. It's more effort to actually help the students than to let them get away with things sometimes.
In the theatre world, enablement is awful. I've seen others get walked all over by some nasty, but talented people, and when the opportunity arises to work with them again, they take it, because as talented as they are, it's worth it to put up with the crap. However, in putting up with it, they're saying "I LOVE your crap. Keep doing it. It's helping you get what you want, and I'm grateful to be a part of it and will reward you for treating me like garbage!"
In the business world, I see people who do terrible work, don't follow the rules, and are awful to work with, and yet they seem to get ahead and their behavior is validated time and time again. If Seinfeld were on the air today, I'm pretty sure George Costanza would have worked his way up to be the head of Apple or Microsoft by now. When I interview potential job candidates, it's fascinating to see how many come through my door expecting me to practically BEG them to work for me. Was I that big of an ass right after graduating college? (Don't answer that.)
In general society, I see people do this all the time as well. People are labeled "difficult," but we do what they want anyway, because it's just easier that way.
The most disturbing one for me is the enablement that we see within the LDS Church culture. I've actually seen cases of somebody in a leadership position causing ridiculous amounts of damage, but their superiors haven't wanted to do anything about it because they're afraid of what they'll do. Not long ago, there was a woman in our ward who literally whined herself into a calling. SHE WHINED HERSELF INTO A CALLING. The same woman picked fights with people in church all the time, and nobody fought back. She said wretched things to people's faces, and they put up with it because it was easier than the alternative. Once, she picked a fight with my wife in front of the entire primary. After she had turned both cheeks and then some, my wife snapped back at her. When this happened, the woman stormed out of primary, found a member of the bishopric, cried to him, and then he confronted my wife about it. Instead of fixing the issue with this woman, it became my wife's problem. How is that okay?
I was recently talking to a friend about this issue, and she posed the question "How do we stop that?!"
I honestly don't know. I've actually been called mean and unfair because I've not given into enabling before. And when I've honestly felt like I've taught somebody a lesson in a kind way by not enabling them, I've seen them go to someone else who enables them, further leading them to believe that I was the one in the wrong.
How DO we stop that?
I answered my friend the only way I knew how.
We don't. We can only do our best to make sure that our children can rise above that awful sense of entitlement.
I can't wait until Lucy is old enough to have some of these conversations. Pete is a jerk. And Mickey would be absolutely right to NOT let him come along on the next big adventure. God is good, and will provide, but don't be lazy. And most importantly, food storage and tank acquisition are a must for the impending zombie apocalypse.
Thursday, January 1, 2015
2014 in Review
Remember how I used to do a million shows every year? And how I'd overlap, and how sometimes I'd be performing in a show at the Hale, race to the SCERA, rehearse for a bit, and then make it back to the Hale before my next entrance? HOW DID I DO THAT?! I went from doing one show last year to doing 4 this year, and NEVER AGAIN. One was even just a brief few days commitment, but it was just too much. I feel like I never saw my family this year. And when I did see them, I was pushing the baby away to work on scene breakdowns and set sketches and whatnot. I have no theatre commitments in 2015, and I'm not feeling bad about that. Maybe it will finally be the year that I audition for something and end up on stage instead of behind it. Who knows? Anyway, here's 2014.
Favorite Personal Theatrical Experience: Les Miserables (Director/Music Director)
Despite the cast member from Hell, who made me question every day why I do theatre, this still came out on top. There were so many amazing people that I got to meet and work with that I would be a terrible person if I couldn't focus on them. And there were some beautiful moments in this show.
Least Favorite Personal Theatrical Experience: Anthem (Accompanist)
I really have high hopes for this show. And my friend, Rachel, who conceived and produced it, has a vision that is inspired. But the composers are really frustrating. I was supposed to music direct it, but I was so micro managed that I gave up. My biggest job ended up being a cheerleader to the actors after one of the composers would constantly beat them down and berate them. Which is nuts, because the only time I've ever worked with such a great group of actors was the last time I helped with Anthem when the other composer was the challenging one. Moral of the story: don't ever work on a show before it's complete. When you write your own work, be willing to see what it can do in the hands of others' and let them work.
Favorite Movies: Guardians of the Galaxy, X-Men: Days of Future Past
Confession: these are the only two movies I saw in the theater this year. I have officially become the crotchety old man who hates everyone, but most especially, movie audiences. Why spend $20 for the two of us to see a movie with awful people when we can just buy the Blu-Ray when it comes out for the same price, or Redbox one for $2 when it's one we're unsure we'll like? However, these two movies were really good. I'm a sucker for a good comic book movie.
Runner-Up: Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Least Favorite Movie: Paranormal Activity: The Marked OnesOriginally, we weren't going to see this, because we found out they had added nudity to this one. But then I found out it would be easy to skip over (it was). Unfortunately, the boring plot/acting was not easy to skip over. And I hate being lied to, such as "this is not a sequel." IT WAS A SEQUEL. And the way they tried to tie it into the original movies was forced and felt more like a sci-fi movie than a good old scary movie. PASS.
Favorite New TV Addictions: Almost Royal, The Flash, Arrow
I dare you to find something more uncomfortably funny than Almost Royal. Ed Gamble and Amy Hoggart are brilliant. We were late to the Arrow game, but glad we showed up. Despite the fact that none of the females on the show can act, it's probably my favorite comic TV adaptation ever. And to be fair, the females are finally showing some growth as actresses in season 3. The Flash is better in some ways than Arrow was, but only because the latter paved the way.
Least Favorite New TV Shows: Gotham
I waited and waited and waited and nothing ever happened. Plus Jada Pinkett. I stopped watching before the "midseason finale."
Favorite New Books: Doctor Sleep by Stephen King, Better Nate Than Ever by Tim Federle
Both came out in 2013, but I devoured them both in January of 2014. The former is definitely not as good as its predecessor, The Shining, but it was a worthy continuation, and though not scary, it had great tension. The latter was just plain fun. I'm not a huge reader. I've been doing year-end blogs for years, and this is the first time I remember adding books. But I was hooked on these pretty quickly and read them both faster than I've read anything non-Rowling in a long time.
Favorite Album: The Blessed Unrest by Sara Bareilles
Technically, it came out last year, but I got it at the beginning of this year. And then listened to it on repeat for days.
Best Concert: Miranda Sings
I'm kind of over her videos on YouTube, but she was ridiculously funny in person.
Runner-up: Dave Coulier
Best New Recipe Discovery: Deep Dish Pizza
I found an amazing crust recipe, bought a pan, and never looked back.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Favorite Personal Theatrical Experience: Les Miserables (Director/Music Director)
Despite the cast member from Hell, who made me question every day why I do theatre, this still came out on top. There were so many amazing people that I got to meet and work with that I would be a terrible person if I couldn't focus on them. And there were some beautiful moments in this show.
Least Favorite Personal Theatrical Experience: Anthem (Accompanist)
I really have high hopes for this show. And my friend, Rachel, who conceived and produced it, has a vision that is inspired. But the composers are really frustrating. I was supposed to music direct it, but I was so micro managed that I gave up. My biggest job ended up being a cheerleader to the actors after one of the composers would constantly beat them down and berate them. Which is nuts, because the only time I've ever worked with such a great group of actors was the last time I helped with Anthem when the other composer was the challenging one. Moral of the story: don't ever work on a show before it's complete. When you write your own work, be willing to see what it can do in the hands of others' and let them work.
Favorite Movies: Guardians of the Galaxy, X-Men: Days of Future Past
Confession: these are the only two movies I saw in the theater this year. I have officially become the crotchety old man who hates everyone, but most especially, movie audiences. Why spend $20 for the two of us to see a movie with awful people when we can just buy the Blu-Ray when it comes out for the same price, or Redbox one for $2 when it's one we're unsure we'll like? However, these two movies were really good. I'm a sucker for a good comic book movie.
Runner-Up: Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Least Favorite Movie: Paranormal Activity: The Marked OnesOriginally, we weren't going to see this, because we found out they had added nudity to this one. But then I found out it would be easy to skip over (it was). Unfortunately, the boring plot/acting was not easy to skip over. And I hate being lied to, such as "this is not a sequel." IT WAS A SEQUEL. And the way they tried to tie it into the original movies was forced and felt more like a sci-fi movie than a good old scary movie. PASS.
Favorite New TV Addictions: Almost Royal, The Flash, Arrow
I dare you to find something more uncomfortably funny than Almost Royal. Ed Gamble and Amy Hoggart are brilliant. We were late to the Arrow game, but glad we showed up. Despite the fact that none of the females on the show can act, it's probably my favorite comic TV adaptation ever. And to be fair, the females are finally showing some growth as actresses in season 3. The Flash is better in some ways than Arrow was, but only because the latter paved the way.
Least Favorite New TV Shows: Gotham
I waited and waited and waited and nothing ever happened. Plus Jada Pinkett. I stopped watching before the "midseason finale."
Favorite New Books: Doctor Sleep by Stephen King, Better Nate Than Ever by Tim Federle
Both came out in 2013, but I devoured them both in January of 2014. The former is definitely not as good as its predecessor, The Shining, but it was a worthy continuation, and though not scary, it had great tension. The latter was just plain fun. I'm not a huge reader. I've been doing year-end blogs for years, and this is the first time I remember adding books. But I was hooked on these pretty quickly and read them both faster than I've read anything non-Rowling in a long time.
Favorite Album: The Blessed Unrest by Sara Bareilles
Technically, it came out last year, but I got it at the beginning of this year. And then listened to it on repeat for days.
Best Concert: Miranda Sings
I'm kind of over her videos on YouTube, but she was ridiculously funny in person.
Runner-up: Dave Coulier
Best New Recipe Discovery: Deep Dish Pizza
I found an amazing crust recipe, bought a pan, and never looked back.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Sunday, September 7, 2014
Love Is All You Need
A few weeks ago, I gave a talk in my ward's sacrament meeting. The topic was Love at Home, and was based on these great talks:
"More Diligent and Concerned at Home" by Elder David A. Bednar
"For Peace at Home" by Elder Richard G. Scott
I despise giving talks based on other talks. I'd much rather write a talk about a general topic or a scripture. Because of this, I usually try to just take the basic idea from the talks, mash them up, and add things to make it personal.
In this case, I had been prepping for a few weeks, and I had the talk totally written by the night before. However, the morning of, I suddenly got the feeling that I needed to shift focus a little bit. I felt very strongly that I needed to focus on an aspect of both talks, which was that we should be showing love at home as an example to people who may not have the same values as us. And the funny thing was, I got a clear picture of a woman from my ward in my head. For anonymity's sake, we'll refer to her as Maude. Not because she looks like a young Bea Arthur (although, she kind of does - just a little bit), but I just like the name.
Here's what you should know about Maude.
Maude was (is?) my wife's visiting teacher. At one point, she also worked with my wife, Lauren, in a position within the church. When discussing the fact that they needed more people to help one night over frozen yogurt, the name of someone else in our ward was brought up, to which Maude essentially responded "But s/he supports gay marriage. I will never work with somebody who supports gay marriage."
After trashing on her/him and others who support gay marriage, Lauren finally said "Maude, I support gay marriage." Maude was flabbergasted and sat there speechless for a moment before declaring the meeting over and telling everyone to go home.
Maude has not been visiting teaching in our home since.
Not too long ago, Maude spoke in sacrament meeting, and turned her topic into a hate-filled rant on gay marriage. Lauren had taken Lucy out because she was fussing (don't blame you, kid!), which left me to suffer in silence by myself. When Maude's husband got up to speak after her and seemed to be following her up, I got up and left. I've never walked out of a church meeting before, but I couldn't stay and listen to what I viewed as hate being shared over the pulpit.
There are many other stories I could share about how hate-filled Maude appears to be, or how she constantly tears down others in our ward, but I think that gives you the basic idea without destroying her anonymity.
When Maude's face kept popping up in my head all day, I decided I needed to go ahead and do what I was feeling prompted to do. I switched the focus of my talk JUST enough to fit the message I felt I needed to share. I decided to talk about my amazing Les Mis cast and how we were able to form a family. I talked about how that family had Mormons, Catholics, athiests, homosexuals, and more - and yet we all came together and loved each other and accomplished amazing things. I talked about how both of the apostles whose talks I was referencing had said that we should be inviting people into our homes. I shared examples I had collected on Facebook of how friends show love within their families. It wasn't the best talk I had ever given, but I feel it got my point across.
When I stood up and began talking, I had a clear view of Maude. At first, she seemed fine. Certainly not captivated, but not disinterested either. I began by saying that the topic of love has been on my mind a lot lately, as I've been working on projects that are all about love, which is true. Then, I dared to have the nerve to say that because of issues like gay rights and the Ordain Women movement, I've been seeing some people I love spew hate towards others that I love, and I'm tired of seeing them tear each other apart and finding ways to justify their hatred.
As soon as I said that, it became obvious that this may not be the talk people thought they would be hearing. I saw some perk up, I saw some tune out, I saw some with no change at all, and I saw Maude dramatically roll her eyes, heave a sigh, and slouch in her seat.
Throughout the talk, I kept an eye on Maude. It was comical; not unlike a 6 year old throwing a tantrum. Now, I could have been reading it wrong. Maybe she was reacting to her children. Maybe she was having a hard time deciding what to make for dinner that day. Maybe I had a massive asteroid of a booger hanging from my nose, and she was horrified that I wasn't feeling it and reaching for the tissues.
I never once declared my support for gay rights. I never once declared support for feminism. All I said was that I was tired of seeing people I love tearing down other people I love. I don't think I did anything wrong, but Maude appeared to disagree.
After the meeting, Maude approached Lauren and said "So...your husband spoke in sacrament today. That was.............fun........."
Fun.
Addressing the topic that is the root of the entire gospel and sharing beautiful examples of people displaying that was "fun." And not even fun, but a sarcastic, eye-rolled fun.
After the talk, I wasn't upset. I thought it was quite comical to see the reaction. I'm still not mad. I am, however, frustrated. There are a plethora of negative stereotypes about Mormons, and it bothers me to see how many people perpetuate them.
How can so many people insist on forgetting the basics of the gospel? How can people claim to be Christian, and yet throw away the simplest way to be like the Savior? If Christ was here today, I highly doubt He would be ranting about how disgusting homosexuality is. I'm pretty sure He wouldn't be slut-shaming anyone. I'm pretty sure He wouldn't be using the Priesthood as an excuse to put down the fairer sex. If we've actually read the scriptures, we know He would do the opposite of all those things. Every person is a child of God and deserves to be treated as such.
Last fall, we had the privilege of attending the first ever Utah County Pride Festival. One of my favorite things at the event was a booth by the group Mormons Building Bridges, which advertised free hugs from Mormons. What a simple yet powerful way to reach out to those unlike us! Instead of focusing on differences as a negative thing, people were putting aside their differences and beliefs and just sharing love.
I don't hate people like Maude. They frustrate me, and they do give a lot of reason to be angry. But mostly, I just feel sorry for them. When they are giving out nothing but hate, I think it may have something to do with a lack of love in their own lives. People like that could probably use their own hug from a Mormon. And as much as I struggle to love people (introvert alert), I'm going to do my best to offer those free hugs. Whether actual hugs, verbal, emotional, or even cyber, I'm going to do my best to give those.
Even to Maude.
"More Diligent and Concerned at Home" by Elder David A. Bednar
"For Peace at Home" by Elder Richard G. Scott
I despise giving talks based on other talks. I'd much rather write a talk about a general topic or a scripture. Because of this, I usually try to just take the basic idea from the talks, mash them up, and add things to make it personal.
In this case, I had been prepping for a few weeks, and I had the talk totally written by the night before. However, the morning of, I suddenly got the feeling that I needed to shift focus a little bit. I felt very strongly that I needed to focus on an aspect of both talks, which was that we should be showing love at home as an example to people who may not have the same values as us. And the funny thing was, I got a clear picture of a woman from my ward in my head. For anonymity's sake, we'll refer to her as Maude. Not because she looks like a young Bea Arthur (although, she kind of does - just a little bit), but I just like the name.
Here's what you should know about Maude.
Maude was (is?) my wife's visiting teacher. At one point, she also worked with my wife, Lauren, in a position within the church. When discussing the fact that they needed more people to help one night over frozen yogurt, the name of someone else in our ward was brought up, to which Maude essentially responded "But s/he supports gay marriage. I will never work with somebody who supports gay marriage."
After trashing on her/him and others who support gay marriage, Lauren finally said "Maude, I support gay marriage." Maude was flabbergasted and sat there speechless for a moment before declaring the meeting over and telling everyone to go home.
Maude has not been visiting teaching in our home since.
Not too long ago, Maude spoke in sacrament meeting, and turned her topic into a hate-filled rant on gay marriage. Lauren had taken Lucy out because she was fussing (don't blame you, kid!), which left me to suffer in silence by myself. When Maude's husband got up to speak after her and seemed to be following her up, I got up and left. I've never walked out of a church meeting before, but I couldn't stay and listen to what I viewed as hate being shared over the pulpit.
There are many other stories I could share about how hate-filled Maude appears to be, or how she constantly tears down others in our ward, but I think that gives you the basic idea without destroying her anonymity.
When Maude's face kept popping up in my head all day, I decided I needed to go ahead and do what I was feeling prompted to do. I switched the focus of my talk JUST enough to fit the message I felt I needed to share. I decided to talk about my amazing Les Mis cast and how we were able to form a family. I talked about how that family had Mormons, Catholics, athiests, homosexuals, and more - and yet we all came together and loved each other and accomplished amazing things. I talked about how both of the apostles whose talks I was referencing had said that we should be inviting people into our homes. I shared examples I had collected on Facebook of how friends show love within their families. It wasn't the best talk I had ever given, but I feel it got my point across.
When I stood up and began talking, I had a clear view of Maude. At first, she seemed fine. Certainly not captivated, but not disinterested either. I began by saying that the topic of love has been on my mind a lot lately, as I've been working on projects that are all about love, which is true. Then, I dared to have the nerve to say that because of issues like gay rights and the Ordain Women movement, I've been seeing some people I love spew hate towards others that I love, and I'm tired of seeing them tear each other apart and finding ways to justify their hatred.
As soon as I said that, it became obvious that this may not be the talk people thought they would be hearing. I saw some perk up, I saw some tune out, I saw some with no change at all, and I saw Maude dramatically roll her eyes, heave a sigh, and slouch in her seat.
Throughout the talk, I kept an eye on Maude. It was comical; not unlike a 6 year old throwing a tantrum. Now, I could have been reading it wrong. Maybe she was reacting to her children. Maybe she was having a hard time deciding what to make for dinner that day. Maybe I had a massive asteroid of a booger hanging from my nose, and she was horrified that I wasn't feeling it and reaching for the tissues.
I never once declared my support for gay rights. I never once declared support for feminism. All I said was that I was tired of seeing people I love tearing down other people I love. I don't think I did anything wrong, but Maude appeared to disagree.
After the meeting, Maude approached Lauren and said "So...your husband spoke in sacrament today. That was.............fun........."
Fun.
Addressing the topic that is the root of the entire gospel and sharing beautiful examples of people displaying that was "fun." And not even fun, but a sarcastic, eye-rolled fun.
After the talk, I wasn't upset. I thought it was quite comical to see the reaction. I'm still not mad. I am, however, frustrated. There are a plethora of negative stereotypes about Mormons, and it bothers me to see how many people perpetuate them.
How can so many people insist on forgetting the basics of the gospel? How can people claim to be Christian, and yet throw away the simplest way to be like the Savior? If Christ was here today, I highly doubt He would be ranting about how disgusting homosexuality is. I'm pretty sure He wouldn't be slut-shaming anyone. I'm pretty sure He wouldn't be using the Priesthood as an excuse to put down the fairer sex. If we've actually read the scriptures, we know He would do the opposite of all those things. Every person is a child of God and deserves to be treated as such.
Last fall, we had the privilege of attending the first ever Utah County Pride Festival. One of my favorite things at the event was a booth by the group Mormons Building Bridges, which advertised free hugs from Mormons. What a simple yet powerful way to reach out to those unlike us! Instead of focusing on differences as a negative thing, people were putting aside their differences and beliefs and just sharing love.
I don't hate people like Maude. They frustrate me, and they do give a lot of reason to be angry. But mostly, I just feel sorry for them. When they are giving out nothing but hate, I think it may have something to do with a lack of love in their own lives. People like that could probably use their own hug from a Mormon. And as much as I struggle to love people (introvert alert), I'm going to do my best to offer those free hugs. Whether actual hugs, verbal, emotional, or even cyber, I'm going to do my best to give those.
Even to Maude.
Thursday, September 4, 2014
Some Miserable Thoughts
I just logged onto Blogger to finish this post while some music prints. This original post was started on May 1, while I was waiting for my oil to get changed at Jiffy Lube. That turned out to be one of the fastest changes I've ever gotten, which left a half-written post.
***
I stink at keeping secrets. Let me clarify. If you confide in me, your secret is safe. No worries. But if I have exciting news, and I'm not supposed to share it, I feel like SNL's Sue, prepping for a surprise party.
***
I stink at keeping secrets. Let me clarify. If you confide in me, your secret is safe. No worries. But if I have exciting news, and I'm not supposed to share it, I feel like SNL's Sue, prepping for a surprise party.
So you can imagine how hard it was when I was asked to direct Les Misérables for SCERA MONTHS ago and asked to keep it a secret because MTI (the licensing company) put a restriction on it. I think the restriction was a little ridiculous, because MTI listed our production on their own website. Why is it not okay for us to advertise it, but fine for them?
I used birthday money and gift cards to buy all kinds of books for researching. Did you know that they make board books of Les Mis for kids? Lucy loves hers.
As much as I've been researching, I've been making discoveries that I've been dying to share. I've been watching movie versions. (But not THE movie version, because we save that for punishment purposes in our house. "You were caught lying, so now you have to hear Russell Crowe singing." That kind of thing.) I've learned more about the characters than I ever thought possible. I designed the set, with great help/input from Nat Reed and my amazing stage manager, Crysta Powell. I've been researching the actual true events that inspired the story, as well as French architecture, and the actual street where the barricade would have been built.
I've learned so much and haven't been able to share it until now. Phew! I've never wanted it to be May so fast.
Tonight is the final night of auditions, and it's going to be insane. The rumor got out months ago (it was actually a fun game trying to trace the origins - surprising how connected this community theatre world is), which turned out to be a good thing, because the first two nights of auditions were great - despite people not being absolutely sure what show they were auditioning for.
***
That's where the original post ended.
The final night of auditions was INSANE. We were auditioning all night long. When all was said and done, it was probably not the highest number of auditioners I've ever had, but the overall quality was much higher than usual.
Callbacks were intense. I was at the theatre the entire day that Saturday. The show mostly cast itself. There were a few people that could have been used for multiple roles, but I'm happy with where they ended up. We cast around 80 people, expecting to lose around 10. By the time the show had opened, the cast was about 73 people.
I loved this cast. I still do. Overall, it was the greatest group of people I've ever directed. There was much love and friendship. There was respect and support. Out of 70+ people, there was only ONE person by the end who I was genuinely ready to kill. One, rotten, stinking apple who was made to look even worse by all the people who were amazing. (Shall we call him Johnny Applestink?) One weed in a beautiful garden. He refused to learn his lyrics/melodies, he put down other cast members, he complained about having to come to rehearsal, he complained about having to get notes, he complained about everything, really. When the show started, my goal was to focus on love, since that's what the story is about. When Johnny started causing problems, that shifted a little. When I realized that he was never going to learn his part and do what I asked, I switched gears and started asking the cast to focus constantly on what they would do for others. The outcome was more than I ever could have hoped. The love among the cast grew even more, and it was amazing to watch them all forget about their own needs and focus on others. Unfortunately, Johnny never fixed anything, but by having everyone around him focus on how to help, they covered for the fact that he never knew his lyrics/blocking by closing night. As much as I dislike reviews, I loved the fact that the reviewers pointed out how strong the ensemble was. It was amazing to have them all receive recognition, and I truly understood why some directors refer to themselves as "proud parents." I wanted these people to succeed, and they did; and it was beautiful.
By the time the show closed, I felt like I had gained a family more than I had with any other show I've ever done. I really hope I get to work with these people again. Well, all but Johnny… Some of them have expressed interest in A Christmas Story, so I'm hoping they audition and there are roles for them. They've ruined me, and I don't know that I'll ever have such a great cast again.
The show itself was pretty good. It honestly wasn't the best thing I've ever done, which makes me feel like I let myself down, but it was good. I treated it as a grand opera and put the focus on the singing/acting rather than movement, and it was blocked as such. The singing was great. The set turned out beautifully. The lighting was amazing. The costumes were nearly perfect. It was well-received.
As I get older, and I feel the need to spend more time with my family, I don't feel the need/desire to be doing as many shows. I'm much more picky about how I choose to use my time now. Therefore, when I do a show, it HAS to be a great experience, or else I finish it and think "Why am I doing this?!" Les Mis was definitely an experience for which I'm grateful. I learned a lot. Even Johnny taught me things. God bless him.
On to Christmas!
***
That's where the original post ended.
The final night of auditions was INSANE. We were auditioning all night long. When all was said and done, it was probably not the highest number of auditioners I've ever had, but the overall quality was much higher than usual.
Callbacks were intense. I was at the theatre the entire day that Saturday. The show mostly cast itself. There were a few people that could have been used for multiple roles, but I'm happy with where they ended up. We cast around 80 people, expecting to lose around 10. By the time the show had opened, the cast was about 73 people.
I loved this cast. I still do. Overall, it was the greatest group of people I've ever directed. There was much love and friendship. There was respect and support. Out of 70+ people, there was only ONE person by the end who I was genuinely ready to kill. One, rotten, stinking apple who was made to look even worse by all the people who were amazing. (Shall we call him Johnny Applestink?) One weed in a beautiful garden. He refused to learn his lyrics/melodies, he put down other cast members, he complained about having to come to rehearsal, he complained about having to get notes, he complained about everything, really. When the show started, my goal was to focus on love, since that's what the story is about. When Johnny started causing problems, that shifted a little. When I realized that he was never going to learn his part and do what I asked, I switched gears and started asking the cast to focus constantly on what they would do for others. The outcome was more than I ever could have hoped. The love among the cast grew even more, and it was amazing to watch them all forget about their own needs and focus on others. Unfortunately, Johnny never fixed anything, but by having everyone around him focus on how to help, they covered for the fact that he never knew his lyrics/blocking by closing night. As much as I dislike reviews, I loved the fact that the reviewers pointed out how strong the ensemble was. It was amazing to have them all receive recognition, and I truly understood why some directors refer to themselves as "proud parents." I wanted these people to succeed, and they did; and it was beautiful.
By the time the show closed, I felt like I had gained a family more than I had with any other show I've ever done. I really hope I get to work with these people again. Well, all but Johnny… Some of them have expressed interest in A Christmas Story, so I'm hoping they audition and there are roles for them. They've ruined me, and I don't know that I'll ever have such a great cast again.
The show itself was pretty good. It honestly wasn't the best thing I've ever done, which makes me feel like I let myself down, but it was good. I treated it as a grand opera and put the focus on the singing/acting rather than movement, and it was blocked as such. The singing was great. The set turned out beautifully. The lighting was amazing. The costumes were nearly perfect. It was well-received.
As I get older, and I feel the need to spend more time with my family, I don't feel the need/desire to be doing as many shows. I'm much more picky about how I choose to use my time now. Therefore, when I do a show, it HAS to be a great experience, or else I finish it and think "Why am I doing this?!" Les Mis was definitely an experience for which I'm grateful. I learned a lot. Even Johnny taught me things. God bless him.
On to Christmas!
Life and Stuff
I just logged onto Blogger to do some blogging while I'm waiting for some music to print, and found an unpublished blog! This was written on February 28, 2014, and it's very much like a journal entry.
***
I'm trying to kill some time before rehearsal right now, and I figured I might as well blog, since I rarely do that anymore.
I'm currently sitting in my office. Friends is on my TV, and the horn books for Cinderella are open on my 2nd monitor. Outside my window, there is a Chevy Volt parked in a 30-minute visitor spot but over the line into the handicapped spot. (He was WAY over the line this morning, but I left a nasty note and he went and moved it. Now he's only 6 inches or so over the line.)
I moved my desk today, and from the angle I'm at now, the sensor for the light doesn't ever see me moving behind my giant monitor. It's stormy outside, so it's been pretty dark in here all day. Right now, It's so dark that I'm sure people walking by outside can see my floating head between my 2nd monitor and my TV.
I have rehearsal at the SCERA in less than an hour, but I've been at work for at least 9 hours today, and I can't bring myself to work on anything productive anymore. I've worked several extra hours in the last three weeks because it's such a waste to come to work, drive home and then turn around and drive back to rehearsal. So, I'm way ahead on all of my current work projects, and I can't force myself to do anymore tonight. Sorry, Cinderella.
I'm currently rehearsing The Drowsy Chaperone. Gosh, I love this show. I'm only the music director for the first time in 2 years, and I like it. It's nice to only have to worry about music. It's not nearly the responsibility of directing, and it doesn't consume my life as much.
This is great, because I already have 2 directing projects lined up which take me through the rest of the year.
The first is a show which I can't name, because the licensing company has us on a strict contract to not talk about it until May 1st. Apparently, it's a national restriction, although on their website, they list dozens of productions between now and then. They also list my production, which is funny. I can't advertise my show, but they can. Oh, well. It's worth it.
I've started prep for that show, and I'm pretty far into the research process. I need to get with a set designer soon, because I want to start going over blocking and visuals asap. My goal is to be far enough ahead that by the time I audition (a week after Drowsy closes), I will be able to use any free time I have to spend with Lauren and Lucy instead of working on a show.
When the unnamed show ends, I'll have about a month off, and then I'll audition for A Christmas Story: The Musical. I'm already working on that show, too. I'm probably going to design the set myself (something I haven't done for a long time) because I can already see how it needs to be in my head. It's going to be in a small space, which I love, because it will force the show to be more intimate. Don't get me wrong: there will still be a leg lamp kick line/production number. It will just be right in your face.
I've officially stalled enough time, so I'm going to head to rehearsal.
***
I'm trying to kill some time before rehearsal right now, and I figured I might as well blog, since I rarely do that anymore.
I'm currently sitting in my office. Friends is on my TV, and the horn books for Cinderella are open on my 2nd monitor. Outside my window, there is a Chevy Volt parked in a 30-minute visitor spot but over the line into the handicapped spot. (He was WAY over the line this morning, but I left a nasty note and he went and moved it. Now he's only 6 inches or so over the line.)
I moved my desk today, and from the angle I'm at now, the sensor for the light doesn't ever see me moving behind my giant monitor. It's stormy outside, so it's been pretty dark in here all day. Right now, It's so dark that I'm sure people walking by outside can see my floating head between my 2nd monitor and my TV.
I have rehearsal at the SCERA in less than an hour, but I've been at work for at least 9 hours today, and I can't bring myself to work on anything productive anymore. I've worked several extra hours in the last three weeks because it's such a waste to come to work, drive home and then turn around and drive back to rehearsal. So, I'm way ahead on all of my current work projects, and I can't force myself to do anymore tonight. Sorry, Cinderella.
I'm currently rehearsing The Drowsy Chaperone. Gosh, I love this show. I'm only the music director for the first time in 2 years, and I like it. It's nice to only have to worry about music. It's not nearly the responsibility of directing, and it doesn't consume my life as much.
This is great, because I already have 2 directing projects lined up which take me through the rest of the year.
The first is a show which I can't name, because the licensing company has us on a strict contract to not talk about it until May 1st. Apparently, it's a national restriction, although on their website, they list dozens of productions between now and then. They also list my production, which is funny. I can't advertise my show, but they can. Oh, well. It's worth it.
I've started prep for that show, and I'm pretty far into the research process. I need to get with a set designer soon, because I want to start going over blocking and visuals asap. My goal is to be far enough ahead that by the time I audition (a week after Drowsy closes), I will be able to use any free time I have to spend with Lauren and Lucy instead of working on a show.
When the unnamed show ends, I'll have about a month off, and then I'll audition for A Christmas Story: The Musical. I'm already working on that show, too. I'm probably going to design the set myself (something I haven't done for a long time) because I can already see how it needs to be in my head. It's going to be in a small space, which I love, because it will force the show to be more intimate. Don't get me wrong: there will still be a leg lamp kick line/production number. It will just be right in your face.
I've officially stalled enough time, so I'm going to head to rehearsal.
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