You Do What For A Living?

As I was recently reminded, I am not doing so well with the blogging. Work seems to have caught up to me and left me with very little time that I am willing to dedicate to writing. I seem to only have time at home and as my life is largely consumed by work, I don't want to write about anything work related, which is increasingly all that I really experience in my day to day life. I like to keep my home life and work life separate.

When I realized that this was the case I knew that I was no longer doing theatre simply for the love of it. When I reached the point that I did not necessarily want to take Brigitte to see my shows, or wanted my mom to avoid my productions, I realized that in many cases it was just a job. Recently my mom wanted to come down to see a show that I designed here at Ole Miss (the last design that she saw was in January 2001). I tried to explain to her that A) it wasn't necessary and that B) I didn't want to go see it again. She didn't understand either one of these ideas. I explained to her that it would be like me coming to her office and watching her teach kids how to overcome speech impediments. It is what I do to pay the bills. It is my job, and I don't feel the need to have my family or friends come see me work.

This is not always the case. If it is a show that I really like, or think that Brigitte will like, or if it is a project that I am particularly pleased with, then I sometimes feel differently. However, I find that increasingly (over the past few years), when I leave the theatre in the evening, I don't want to think about it or talk about it, much less go back and see it. It is somewhat disappointing.

All of that being said, I am very excited about my upcoming design with Tennessee Repertory Theatre and fully intend to invite all of my family and friends to check it out (although I will probably only be able to comp my mom in the door). It is a challenging space (the Polk Theatre at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center) with the set placed in a very challenging location on the stage - do we really need the actors in the laps of the audience - that is another blog I think... So, if I am able to pull it off, I will be quite proud of it. More to the point, growing up in Franklin, TN, a suburb of Nashville, I always thought that working for the Rep was a sure sign that one had made it. Well, I'm not quite 30, and by the estimation of my 16 year old self, I seem to have "made it." That's not too bad. I think I would be proud of myself. It's also nice that all of the people working on the show are super nice and fun. All around, I am enjoying the experience.

So, things are good, if a bit exhausting. I am still enjoying designing, still looking for design work over the summer (anyone know of anything?), and still acclimating to the new job. It's taking time, but at least I get to throw lights around the stage, and I get paid for it!

Enjoy "Great Performances - Company!" It's killer. Check your local PBS listings. Seriously. Do it...

I Hope That I Get Old Before I Die

So, I seem to be falling short of my goal of blogging once a week, but I'm trying...just not being too terribly successful. That being said, it's late and I need to be up in five hours for work so I am going to keep this short and plan to write more in the coming days.
Some thoughts:

• It's hard being an adult. As I approach 30 I seem to be finding wrinkles and more and more gray hair. I seem to be going gray primarily on the side and back of my head so every time I get my haircut I am surprised by the overwhelming amount of gray that is there (far surpassing the darker hair that I see regularly). However, I am starting to see an increased amount of gray in the top and in my beard. I do not consider myself a particularly vain person, otherwise I would lose weight, dye the gray and probably shop for clothes at locations more upscale than Wal-Mart, but I do find it somewhat troubling that my daughter will likely have no real memories of me with a head of dark hair. I feel like it is a strange thing to concern myself with, but I always remember my grandfather with a head of white hair. When I see pictures of him with dark hair (like mine) he looks like a different person. I wish that she would have some recollection of me as that person, instead of the white haired man who is quickly approaching.
  
• I find that I miss going out on dates with my wife. Last night a friend from Nashville was in town on her current gig in a touring show and it was really nice to have someone over to the house who was not related to us (the first such visitor in the eight months we have been here). Unfortunately, Brigitte and I weren't able to go see her show due to a lack of a babysitter. I realized that since we moved here in June, she and I have only gone out once without Evelyn (other than quick shopping trips when visiting our families), and even that was taking her to see the first show I designed here, which was really just like me going to work again. We decided against going out to dinner that night before the show because we didn't want to have to pay the babysitter for the time of our meal as well. I was quite spoiled having my mom around to watch Evelyn while we were living in Franklin.
• Recruiting students is a difficult, and tiring experience. I was in Dallas last week on a recruiting trip (which was nice because Brigitte got to see her family in Dallas while I was at the conference) where there were approximately 30 colleges recruiting theatre students. There were no more than 25 design students total looking for schools. I do not think that with the limited scholarship money that I have to offer students that my winning personality will compete with the money that some of the in-state and private schools have to offer. I can only hope that they decided that they really wanted to come work with me. On a side note, for those of you from Florida State who may be reading this, an old friend surprised me at the conference. I was walking through the design display area when I turned the corner and nearly barreled into none other than Steve Wallace representing the University of Houston. I'm not sure if he recognized me or not, but I didn't walk up and say "Hi. I don't know if you remember me, but I actively lobbied University officials to get you fired while I was in grad school. How are things?" It was a bit jarring and I found him looking my way here and there throughout the design recruitment period and then during the acting auditions where I got to see 125 acting students sing "Seasons of Love" or "Light My Candle" or to spice it up a bit "Tango Maureen." Perhaps this is an exaggeration, but it seems like a lot of high school theatre kids are big fans of Rent.
  

Well, that is all for now. Enjoy 18-1!