Great Class – Sept 20th! DO IT!

I would normally say that my view of Michael Kostroff may be biased because he is a dear friend, but I can honestly tell you that this post is anything BUT biased.

Michael and I met doing the Les Miserables tour back in 2003. He has remained a close friend over the years even though we weren’t always on the same coast, though we are now! He teaches a class that I FINALLY got around to taking in April of 2013. All I can say is that I should have taken it sooner. It’s called Audition Psych 101. I’m not even sure I’d call it a class. More of a therapeutic play date.

I don’t want to give away too many of his secrets, so I will just direct you to his website at http://www.auditionpsych101.com/.

Next class is this Friday, Sept 20th. All you need to bring is yourself and maybe a notebook. That’s IT. No performing. No casting directors. No 16 bars. Just talking and learning.

Trust me.

Oh, and I will be there. So I mean, double bonus. You get to see me AND learn something.

Mark Fisher Fitness

You guys. . . . My gym is the coolest. I know we probably all say that, but I have to say, I win this one. Mark Fisher Fitness. I can’t even describe it except to say that it’s genius. The slogan is “Ridiculous Humas. Serious Fitness.” I mean, hello?!!!

Here are a few fun facts for you:

When I went there, I HATED gyms. Now, MFF is my happy place.

I weighed 131lbs when I started there. Now I am hovering at 118lbs.

When I started there, I was swinging an 8kg kettlebell. Now I’m at 18kg. It’s been about 6 months. 2-3 times a week for an hour. http://markfisherfitness.com/.

I love these people.

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Cell Phone Etiquette

Here’s the thing. If you go to the theatre, turn off your f***ing cell phone. And you know what else? If you sit in front of me, SERIOUSLY TURN OFF YOUR F***ING CELL PHONE!!!

I recently had the pleasure of seeing PIPPIN on Broadway. I have some dear friends in the show and wanted nothing more than to get lost in the performance, which is hard enough for any actor who knows what goes on behind the scenes, but let’s add an additional challenge to that – a group full of probably high school/possibly late middle school students sitting in front of me.

Here’s the thing – I believe that everybody should experience theatre and understand what it is. I also believe, however, that when you jump into something that isn’t necessarily your “norm” per se, that you need to adjust YOUR norm.

When my friend, Megan, went to Greece during her senior year of high school, for example, I remember her telling me that she had to bring all pants or skirts below the knee so that she was socially ok. I was, oh, 19, when she told me this, so I was kinda surprised, but whatever. I had surely never been to Greece, and you know what, if an adult told me I needed to wear skirts below the knee, I would do it.

Cut to maybe half way into the first act of Pippin and the young man (I’m guessing 16-17 years old) in front of me, ANSWERS HIS PHONE!!!! Granted, it was on vibrate, but his “hello” was loud and clear. I was stunned. I turned to the people I was with and whispered “Did he just answer a phone?” to which they sort of shrugged. I was enraged. SO DISRESPECTFUL not only to those around him but to the actors. I wanted so badly to just enjoy the show and now I was so distracted by this kid on his cell phone.

I tapped him on the shoulder and he shrugged apologetically at me, but did NOT hang up. In the end, I had to get an usher to come and intervene to get him to hang up the phone. I actually said to him “is there a life you are saving on the other end of the line?” and again, he shrugged.

Ugh. Gross.

I was irritated, but what really made me lose faith in humanity was that at intermission, I discovered that the two older women sitting directly next to him were his teachers. In other words, those women did not even bat an eye when he answered his phone during the show! They did not acknowledge me when I tapped him on the shoulder to ask him to hang up, they did not reach out to him to say “hey, get off the phone. . . ”

Guess what, adults? BE ADULTS! Teach these kids some manners, some tradition, some respect!

A friend at intermission said it best. . . . “you can’t go golfing without knowing the rules of golf!”

I am a golfer, so I can COMPLETELY relate to this statement. Golf and theatre are similar in that there are “rules” and “etiquette” that you should follow to respect the very sport and art you are playing/seeing. If that makes theatre and golf not accessible to all, that’s a price I am willing to pay to preserve the art of both. Sure, there is a learning curve. But when somebody else taps you on the shoulder, for example, and tells you that you shouldn’t be on your phone, perhaps hang up . . . . that applies to both golf AND theatre.

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Nutritionist Recommendation

If you are navigating the same health food, grocery, gym and nutrition-related articles that I am, you may be looking for some personal guidance. Well, I have a a fantastic recommendation. Contact certified health coach, Anne Markt, and tell her I sent you. She and I have done everything from discuss similar diet/workout patterns to keeping a food journal to grocery shopping together. She is amazing.

Email her at [email protected] or check her out at www.annemarkt.org

 

Something New Concert

So there’s this lovely gentleman I know. His name is Joel B New. We met through our friend, Kevin Wanzor, who I met through Stephanie Sine and Matt Wilson, who I met through Andrew Byrne. It’s a long long long chain.

somethingnewpostcardHere’s the thing. Joel is a fantastic writer of fresh, smart, complicated musical theatre work. He has been SUPER supportive of the series I co-produce (People You May Know Concert Series) and we haven’t even been able to feature his music yet!

Back in January of 2013, Joel asked me to become a part of his new podcast series, Something New. Long story short, he invites people who he knows somehow who have projects aside from their own performing –  be it writing, producing, teaching, playing, juggling – to come and sing a new song of his AND talk about their other projects. So it’s a “I scratch your back, you scratch mine” kind of situation. As if that wasn’t awesome enough, karmically speaking for sure, in that process, Joel gets to introduce some fantastic new piece of his with the help of said vocalist.

I did a podcast (I am a bit clueless about how to include the link here, but if you got to iTunes, and search podcasts and MY name and JOEL B NEW, you will find it!) and sang a song called “You Know Where To Find Me” which I will be singing again at this concert on Monday. Other performers who have worked on pieces with Joel and have other projects to promote/support will also be there to perform the pieces THEY worked on with Joel. It should prove to be not only an entertaining evening, but an educational one.

This coming Monday, May 20th. 7pm. The Triad/Stage 72. $15 plus two drink min.

“Something New” is presented in honor of Kathy New, and all proceeds will benefit the Human Rights Campaign (www.hrc.org).

For more info and concert updates, please visitwww.joelbnew.com.