Aftermath

Woke up this morning after being serenaded to sleep (not sound) by steady, pelting rains and blustering winds with 68-80 mph gusts. While we have our electricity, and sewage system seems to still work, Chester County was hit by the most severe path of the Hurricane. Our house is OK; however, we are surrounded by floods, and power outages throughout the county.

My 1st hurricane. The name "Irene" will forever now have special meaning for me.

The rain has significantly subsided, but the wind is still steamrolling through the area; broken trees and limbs litter the yards, the already over-saturated ground is covered with newly formed "ponds" and "swamps."

At my parents home, where I located myself during the hurricane, there is a giant sycamore tree in the front yard that has been in a steady state of deterioration over the years. Looking at the tree, one can easily see decay of the interior that can be tracked down to the root system. This tree was the source of my unease during this entire event. Between the decomposition of the base of this tree, coupled with the over-saturation of the ground, add to that hurricane winds - I was (still am at this time) expecting this thing to come down. The cherry on that sundae is that the source of the decay is pointed directly towards the house.
Said another way, when that thing falls - it will do so ON the house.

Bullet dodged...for now.

Our TECH rehearsals were cancelled this weekend for "Midsummer." It is a huge show, with many elements that have yet to be worked out. A great deal of time has already been lost due to Irene. Personally, I am uncertain about my being able to get to New Brunswick by tomorrow, let alone Tuesday. Chester County is flooded at this time and it will take at least a day or two for the roads to be drivable. And we are NOT along a river, nor within a major flood plain. I can only imagine what New Brunswick is like right now as it is bordered by the Raritan River.
One preview has already been cancelled.
I guess we'll have to wait and see.

Keeping my fingers crossed that I will come home to an intact apartment in Jersey City.

Irene...

So those plans went out the window!

New Brunswick is shut down, TECH/Rehearsals are cancelled through the weekend.
So, now I'm at the parent's place in PA, which actually feels OK, considering. Best to be with family during this - I feel better knowing I can be there for them if anything should happen (unlikely, but...who knows?).
Left the apartment clean, dismantled computer, TV, etc.

Keep you posted...

Here's to you, Murphy...

"Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong."
Like the the production needed any more obstacles...in an effort to not be one of those, I have booked a hotel in New Brunswick. We start TECH this weekend (with any hope).
But, alas - meet Irene.

It appears the New York Metropolitan Area is in direct line to be hit by this agitated lady. The first time in recent history. "Hell hath no fury..."

Since I have a heavy work load scheduled for the show, and I happen to live in a flood plain; I figure I'd rather be "stranded" (flooding) where I need to work, rather than live.

Let's keep our fingers crossed for all those ounces of prevention.

I've never been through a hurricane before - new territory for me.

Jesus! We had an earthquake earlier in the week, now this?!

Maybe the Mayans are right...?

go(ing) swifter than the wind!

AWAY WE GO - We've had a few significant rehearsals thus far, and I finally feel like I might be getting a handle on this play. Don't be mistaken, I have quite a bit of work to do; but I have worked hard on my own - dissecting each line, making physical choices and presenting clear ideas. I am comforted that our director not only recognizes the effort, but is also open to working with me and collaborating on ideas. That gives me comfort.

I cannot speak for the rest of the show, I can only focus on my work, my scenes. This has been a problem for me in the past - my ego gets obsessed with everything being perfect that it can often be at the cost of my attitude, or worse, the quality of work. This will change. That said, the show remains to have great potential, and will do my part to ensure its realization. I am hopeful.

I've also been able to begin the make-up work with the apprentice company - what a great bunch! Their attitudes are fantastic, they're eager to learn and "get in there," and seem like genuine hard-workers. I was able to steal a few moments with them yesterday, and they are excited to move forward with their "fairy-looks." I gave them some homework to do, to practice and once we get kits for them, we should be able to really get some work done. While we still don't have a great deal of time, I am confident that we will be able to pull off something simple, bold and effective.

Again, I still have a great deal of work to do.
I am working privately with a trusted friend (and amazing dancer) who is helping me tremendously with the physicality of Oberon and, judging from the reception of my work yesterday - I think I'm on the right track.

"Our remedies oft in ourselves do lie,"

Why, what an ass am I!

I need to lighten up.
period.

Correction!

It seems that some of my last entry has been misconstrued...
Keeping a blog is tricky - I use it as a device to express myself, and purge, if you will.  The other side of that coin is "it is out there." In addition, my "stream of consciousness" style often blur my thoughts; things can be misread, or misinterpreted. This might be one of those times.
Bottom line - life is hard for many of us these days. I am no exception. I am going through my own creative struggles; for the past months I have been faced with some professional and personal crossroads that I am still in the process of negotiating; Familial responsibilities, career paths, personal goals seem to all be at odds right now. These are the issues weighing on me of late.

Professionally, I am so grateful and excited for the opportunities that have come my way. While I do not necessarily rescind what I wrote ( I am worried about the time available for me to do my best work - a common actor's lament, btw), there should be no inferrence that anything is "wrong." We've just begun, for god's sakes! However, I must acknowledge that there are those out there who have worked so hard, and have so much more at stake, I apologize if my expressing my thoughts not as carefully as I should, has lead to misinterpretation.

Roles that have been given to me are a gift, and I am lucky to have them. I look forward to working with those involved and am excited for the potential to be realized.

All that aside, I, for some reason, am having challenges accepting where I'm at in life, and in my career. It is my shit that I need to reconcile, somehow.

I think I'm also surprised to learn that people actually read this thing...

who knew?