New Year, New Post, New Plan

So, first things first. I've given the blog a rename, because I want to be able to talk about more than just Stage Management, and as I frequently joke "The Internet is ten blocks away from everything!" So you'll (hopefully) be getting thoughts and updates on pretty much anything theater, be it mine or others'. I may add in reviews of shows I see, because why the hell not, and of course I reserve the right to plug my own projects and/or talk about things completely unrelated if I damn well feel like it.

And now, a quick recap of 2011 and the current 2012 lineup:

2011

* Directed 3 One-Acts, 2 at LPC and 1 at SFSU

* Stage Managed Jump: A Love Story (June-Oct) and Bad Hamlet (Nov-Dec)

* Asst. Directed Jump (and threw in my 2-cents on Bad Hamlet when asked)

* PA'ed a short film, something I hope I get to do again

* and a One-Act that I wrote (woo-hoo!) got a staged reading

For 2012

* SFSU One-Act Fringe - I'm helping produce, directing a set of short pieces in one round, and the One-Act that got a reading last year is getting staged in another round

* Livermore Shakespeare Festival - I'm stage managing one of their summer shows. I won't know which one until we get the second SM, so right now I'm helping with both.

* ...who knows? Hopefully I'll get some writing and such to a point that I can get some theater/film projects rolling. We'll see.

Horrifying Conclusions

The other day on my way home from rehearsal in SF, I was struck by a horrifying thought: what if stage management is God's way of preparing me to have children. And it's not like I had a terrible rehearsal or anything; actually, it was great, and everybody was really on top of their game. But as I was typing the rehearsal report I started thinking about all the things I've been doing on my last two SM gigs:

-- Coordinating eight separate schedules to make sure everyone shows up where they need to be on time.
-- Emailing the office to make sure we have a space to play in.
-- Putting everything away when we're done using it at the end of the night.
-- Mediating heated discussions about insignificant details and facilitating mutually beneficial compromises (though this was definitely the last gig I was on, not the current one).
-- Making sure that everyone eats, gets potty breaks, and takes their vitamins, except myself of course.

And of course when we get into the actual performance space I'll be keeping track of everybody's stuff and seeing that everything gets done the way we need it to happen. There's even a good dose of sleep deprivation and kissing boo-boos…it's all the tropes of parenting, but minus having to rent out my uterus for nine months.

And then I realize that I keep doing this voluntarily, and know that I may, in fact, be doomed to procreate. At least I can rest secure in knowing that I will always be able to blame theater for why my kids got so screwed up. My mom does it all the time.

Two New Projects, and a Headset in a Pear Tree

Because when I return, I return with a vengance...

After a semester sadly bereft of stage management, I am now diving headfirst into, not one, but TWO new projects, and both are entirely different than anything I've done before. It's both exciting and terrifying, and will probably give me a lot of fodder with this dusty old thing.

The first project, which I've been aware of for a while but we've just started to really work on, is a piece called Jump: A Love Story, which will go up this coming October. It's actually the MA thesis project of one of SFSU students who wrote for the One-Act Fringe which I stage managed back in October of '10. It's not so much a play as what we're calling a "multimedia expressionist theatre investigation", incorporating movement, film, animation, theater, found and original text, and whatever else we decide to incorporate. The...well, maybe story isn't the proper word...the premise incorporates a young man who is preparing to commit suicide by jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge, and a chorus of seagulls associated to Shakespeare's Juliet, Ophelia, and Cleopatra. It's very difficult to describe, but it's going to be a unique and interesting experience. In addition to stage managing, I'm also semi-assisstant directing, and I'm quite looking forward to the very collaborative nature of the project.

The second project is much more short term: I'm stage-managing-behind-the-camera, or as we call it, "producing," a short film written and directed by one of my friends who goes to the Academy of Art. The filsm is called Amelioration and deals with the repercussions of child abuse and the hope that love can heal. It's a pretty deep subject, and to boot it's my first real foray into film (the true first doesn't count). Still, I'm thrilled to be a part of it, and my job is mostly emails and paperwork, so there's not much change from my stage work.

Both projects are all over Facebook and Twitter (go social networking!), so I'm going to do a link-dump here to get it out in the open now, and you can expect jucier updates to come soon!

Links for Jump: A Love Story:
Production Blog: http://jumplovestory.wordpress.com/about/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/pages/Jump-A-Love-Story/191452540890869
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/jumpalovestory

Links for Amelioration:
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/pages/Amelioration/209654252384320
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/Amelioration11