On why I think I’m over technology?

Once, I had a friend who, when asked if she had any upcoming nights free, would flippantly respond – “I don’t know. Check my Google calendar!”

I found that to be incredibly rude.

Granted, I don’t know my schedule without my planner in front of me, but I’m not going to force you to go to my purse, pull out my planner, look up next week, and find a date I’m free. Are you Britney Spears? Is your schedule so intense you need handlers? No? Then look at your own damn Google Calendar.

I’m getting over technology. Or rather, I’m not over technology, but I’m over the disconnect from people it seems to create.

If you’re having a party, telling me to check facebook for the details is annoying. Really? Sure, I’ll head home right now, boot up my computer, log in to facebook, dig around for your page, find the invite, and read it. I have nothing better to do than to spend my time doing that.

Lately, I’ve come to the realization that I haven’t actually spoken to many of my friends at length in forever, though through the aid of gchat, facebook, and other forms of digital communication, it feels like I have.

It was 11:00 the other evening, and I was home alone and wanted someone to talk to – and realized, when it comes down to it, without getting online, there was no one to talk to. The people I thought about calling would think something was wrong if I called them at 11pm, not that I was simply bored and wanted to talk.

Perhaps that’s why I feel Aleisha is my closest friend. Though we’re facebook and gchat friends, most of our communication is done via phone, so at least there’s a human connection there, even though it’s still in a digital form. (She lives in another state, so coffeeshop meetings aren’t possible.) Since leaving POC, my only communication with any members of the company has been strictly digital, which makes it feel like an aside. When I lived with Brent, that was always an easy connection, but now that we don’t see each other for 10 hours a day every day even we are reduced to mainly a gchat relationship. I’m merely stating a fact by saying that 75% or more of Bob and my friendship is thanks to gchat. Even my Mom has gotten into it – I used to be able to call either the house phone or her cell phone and talk to her, but now I don’t get a response unless I text.

Facebook is an awesome tool. I’m not going to lie. I’m as addicted as anyone else of my generation, but I think it has it’s dangerous side. Not dangerous in a physical sense (though I can see how stalking is made a million times easier with the aid of it) but dangerous in a futuristic, humans-losing-the-ability-to-speak-in-person, kind of way. I hate nothing more than when someone sends me a link to something on facebook, or tells me to check facebook for something, and I have to go through the logging in process and dig around to find something that could have probably been easier explained.

I can’t deal with twitter – I had an account, but I feel like very few people are actually interesting enough to have twitter. I can’t think of one person who I would follow on twitter who I don’t already feel like follow through gchat and facebook. It’s unnecessary. Even for celebrities. I probably don’t care about your opinions, or what club you’re partying at tonight, famous people – or at least people who want to get more famous. I don’t see Brad Pitt twittering. George Clooney, I’m pretty sure, doesn’t Twit. Nope, it’s douches like Ashton Kutcher and those fake morons from The Hills who twitter non-stop. (Which just SCREAMS “Pay attention to me! Me! MEEEE!”)

No, I don’t want a Kindle. Books might be cumbersome, but I already carry a cell phone and an ipod with me everywhere I go. I don’t need another cloying piece of technology to worry about breaking or getting stolen as well.

It’s information overload. And, you know what, I don’t retain every single piece of info, every status update, every photo added, etc. (And don’t get me started on quizzes. No matter how much I love you, I do not care what city you should be living in, what disco song is your mantra, what character from Twilight you are, which zodiac sign your soulmate is, or what kind of sports superstar you’re destined to be. Really.)

Maybe this is coming because I’m a receptionist and alone (or with visitors who I don’t know or care to know) for 8 hours a day, and digital is the only communication I have with the outside world, but I just miss the days of people, you know?

Even this – I’m blogging in place of having this discussion with someone in reality.

GAH!

It never ends. Is it just me?

Doesn’t anyone want to hang out in person anymore?

I miss people.

what do you hope is true?

(Blatantly stolen from White Hot Truth: what do you hope is true?)

I hope it’s true that:

+King Arthur will rise again when England needs him most.

+The recession has changed American’s views on excess and consumerism – and that we can leave behind some of our artificial pleasure from attaining material things and replace them with things like friendship, communication, and laughter.

+This new planned revival of “A Little Night Music” will make it to Broadway. (Since the last few attempts have faltered…and vanished.)

+I’d be a good teacher.

+”Everything will be alright in the end. If it’s not alright, it’s not the end.”

“Nervous-Boy” rehearsal blog…2 weeks in!

(Logo courtesy of Aleisha Knight.)

Well, we’re two weeks into our five-week rehearsal process for “The Adventures of Nervous-Boy,” by James Comtois, presented as part of Gorilla Tango Theatre’s Experimental Series. 

We’ve blocked most of the show – minus one scene that needs a little more attention than we can squeeze into our regular nights – and the cast is working diligently to get those pesky lines learned in time for tomorrow’s official off-book date.

I’m not afraid to admit that, as a director, I’m prone to casting people I already know or have worked with. I don’t feel there’s anything wrong with it, as I’m familiar with their talent and work ethic and frankly, I like working with talented people who are also good people. This time around, I have 2 actors I’ve worked with before (Scott Cupper and Dennis Schnell), 2 ladies I’ve been acquaintences with for a while but never had the pleasure to actually work with before (Leslie Frame and Amy Whittenberger – who might be the best “onstage drunk” I’ve ever seen!) and then 5 brand new faces (Jamielyn Gray, Anthony Stamilio, Joe Von Bokern, Neil Robertson Huff, and Nervous-Boy himself Nicholas Caesar) - and I couldn’t be happier with the way the cast has played out. They’re all lovely people who really and truly like the script, and we’ve been having a blast so far.

I’m looking forward to tomorrow, when we can put down scripts and get on with the business of gettin’ crazy.

To those of you who appreciate dark comedies, I suggest you see the show. I can promise you demons, strippers, cell phones, the consumption of much beer, and a startling commentary on the times we live in.

Don’t be afraid.

(Slightly blurry rehearsal shot courtesy of my camera phone.)

 

presenting the most insular theatre-related blog post in the history of blog posts.

I don’t know if you know this, but the 1995 revival of Showboat was a life-changing show for me. I was 12, and already a musical theatre dork in training, but after I saw their performance of “Kim’s Charleston” on the Tony awards and was launched into a lifetime of full throttle theatre dork-dom.

 

Tammy Amerson played Kim in the revival. I thought she was a singing, dancing, Jesus.

[The performance, for your enjoyment. And reference. You'll need it. ]

So, to bring this to modern times, Garth Drabinsky who was the head of a company called Livent and basically produced said “Show Boat” revival, was recently convicted of fraud and is facing jail time for getting his investors to sink money into big-budget productions which were actually flops. (It’s all very “The Producers,” only without the funny parts.)

Michael Ridel wrote a big article for the New York Post this week about it – and included the following.

“I know of one actress, talented but meaningless at the box office, who was making more than $10,000 a week as a supporting player in “Show Boat” in 1995.”

Fortunately, all along my lifelong travels through Broadway lore, there’s always been Bob. Who gets all the injokes and references. Sometimes when we’re talking, people have no clue whats going on.

Of course, Riedel’s article set us off.

Jamie: “I know of one actress, talented but meaningless at the box office, who was making more than $10,000 a week as a supporting player in “Show Boat” in 1995.” Please Jesus, let him mean Tammy Amerson.

Robert: !!!!!!!! I hope so

Jamie: Basically it has to be Amerson, Gretha Boston, or the girl who played Ellie.

Robert: 10K a week. wowza. In 95. Tammy Amerson – she was his Ulla.

Jamie: Ha.

Robert: When you got it! Charleston! ha-cha!

(Simultaneously)

Jamie: ha-cha! ha-cha!

Robert: ha cha!

Jamie: GREAT minds.

 

 

updates, schmupdates

LIVING

Eric and I are 24 days away from moving into our fabulous new 2 bedroom apartment in Lakeview.

WORKING

Meh. Next!

CREATING

In the beginning of rehearsals for Gorilla Tango’s “The Adventures of Nervous-Boy,” which is basically a study in how to cast a whole bunch of people you think rock and then proceed to have fun with. Good times. Also awesomely good times are rehersals for Rascal Childrens Theater’s production of “Spinning Yarns,” which I’m working on with Eric, Dan, Brett, and Amanda. I play a Princess. All is well.

READING

Lots of reading lately – I was disappointed by “A Million Little Pieces,” loved “Oryzx and Crake” and “Storming Heaven” and am, at present, almost through “God Shaped Hole” which rings a little Gossip-Girl-y for me to love. For the first time in a while, I’m not sure what’s next on my list! Perhaps whichever book I ordered off Amazon arrives first?

LEARNING

I found out that I got accepted to Roosevelt University for grad school – The Masters of Education in Secondary Education program. (Or rather, training to be a high school English teacher) I’m stoked beyond words. Of course, there’s a great big standardized test I need to rock next week before I can officially register for classes, but hey.. details.

LOVING

The Bucktown Library.

Cafe Absinthe.

The new cast recording of West Side Story.

Chicago in Summer.

PET-TING

Oz and I are on day three of “Jamie should get up and play with Oz at 3am,” which is a super fun game where I’m sound asleep and this wonderful cat decides to lay down next to me, all purry and warm and cute, and then launch at my hair when I’m just about convinced he’s asleep. While it’s hilarious, at 3am it’s not amusing. Good thing I love the little twerp.

EATING

I had a RedBull and Poptarts today. I’m wired.

Deborah Gibson @ Chicago Pride 2009

When I was in elementary school, Debbie Gibson was THE coolest person in the world to me. I’ll never forget the Christmas, not long after my parents divorce, where I made them each a copy of my Christmas list, which contained “Debbie Gibson – Out of the Blue cassette” and somehow randomly Santa brought me two copies.  However, as all bubblegum popstars seem to, Debbie eventually faded – once and a while reappearing on Broadway – but her star had faded. No more stadium tours, no more #1 singles. C’est la vie.

Fortunately, I found a Debbie-fan in Brent’s darling Chris, and when we heard she would be performing at Pride this year, we clearly had to go. So we trekked out into Boystown this past weekend to catch her show. Granted, there was a schedule change and so Debbie (I’m sorry – DEBORAH) took the stage 2 hours later than she was scheduled to, but we waited in the sweltering Chicago June sun. (Happily, the amazing Thelma Houston and some of Chicago’s best female impersonators were onhand to keep us entertained in the meantime.)

Finally, Deborah took the stage – after a rather self-indulgent pre-recorded intro that proclaimed her “America’s original pop princess” – a little fake orange tanned, with two dancer boys, and delighted the crowd with “Shake your love.” For someone who doesn’t want to be judged purely on her past music, she did a lot of her teenage hits – “Foolish Beat,” “Lost in your eyes,” “Electric Youth,” and the big finale of “Only in my dreams.” She only did one original song, which I think was called “Free me,” and then did “Maybe this time” from Cabaret and a long Kander and Ebb medley, clad in an outfit that brought to mind Little Edie Beale.

“Oh, Hi…”

While I appreciate her support of Pride and her willingness to take to the stage on such a hot day, sometimes I think I should leave my childhood heroes, and my visions of how they should be, in my head.

Before she sang “Maybe this time” she talked for a while about how she’d seen NKOTB perform the night before and was so happy for their comeback and “why not me?” There was a lot of “I’m next.. I’m waiting for it..” and talking about how she’d rather be more of an all-around entertainer like Bette Midler, and painting herself as the underdog. It seemed a wee big desperate, as did the Kander and Ebb medley, which seemed like an audition for something. Pretend producers? Our hearts? Her fans continued support?

Oh well, the fans gathered clearly loved her (particularly the two groups of lesbians right in front of me who literally came to blows at one point after one.. cut in front of the other? It was hard to tell what happened, since a pounding speaker was six feet from my ear) and she brought a billion people onstage for the big finale, including Chicago legend Miss Foozy.

Hope everyone had a lovely pride, and that you all get the comebacks you wish for!

Why I’m done with Perez Hilton

Three American Pop Culture icons passed away this week – and forgive me, but all I can think about is how incredibly OVER Perez Hilton I am.

In thinking back over the memories I have of Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett, and Michael Jackson, it strikes me that what we consider fame today is very different than the fame of years past. Ed, Farrah, and Michael were all examples of hard-working, talented people who deserved all the acclaim they recieved. (Say what you will about Michael Jackson and the weirdness of his later years, but he was – in his younger days – a musical genius.)

Today’s celebrities are famous, often for no reason. Who are these useless celebrities we now have, from a fake docu-drama on MTV called The Hills? What? They’re not actors. They’re rich kids faking a reality show, and a reality show that isn’t even interesting. Lindsay Lohan hasn’t contributed anything as an actress or singer in years worth watching or listening to, yet she’s way more famous now for being a disaster than she ever was as a performer.

Take Perez Hilton.

Here’s a dude who got noticed for making fun of celebrities, something almost everyone does anyway. Somehow, from that, he managed to ride on the coattails of the famous and make himself surreally famous at the same time – until now, he’s a legit celebrity for no reason. He, like Paris Hilton from whom he took his nom-de-plume, is famous for nothing.

A few days ago, Perez was making headlines after claiming that Black Eyed Peas member Will.I.Am punched him in the nose. Or rather, claiming all this via twitter – because Perez is so stuck on attention that instead of calling the police, he twittered the following:

“I’m in shock. I need the police ASAP. Please come to the SoHo Metropolitan Hotel now. Please.
I was assaulted by Will.i.Am of the Black Eyed Peas and his security guards. I am bleeding. Please, I need to file a police report. No joke.
Still waiting for the police. The bleeding has stopped. I need to document this. Please, can the police come to the SoHo Met Hotel.
I spoke to my lawyer. I really need to talk to the authorities. Please come to the SoHo Met Hotel. Have called the police. Need them here.
The Toronto police are here now. Thank you. Please stop calling them.” — LA Times

What Perez FAILED to blog about was that Will.I.Am (or his manager, the details are still fuzzy) punched him after Perez hounded him outside a club for a while loudly using a term derogatory to gays. I’ll leave it up to you to figure out what the “f-bomb” in question is.

This is the same guy who shouted loudly from the rooftops about respecting the gay community after the whole Miss America thing – where he asked Miss California Carrie Prejean if she believed in gay marriage. Carrie, a Christian, said she didn’t believe it was right. Though it’s not a popular opinion, I hold that if we’re going to be American and declare our right to Freedom of Speech, we do have to let it go both ways (even if we think what the person is saying is stupid, which I do.)

Perez acted like Carrie was the antichrist for speaking against the gay community, and now he TWITTERS his being upset about getting punched in the face for teasing someone with derogatory slurs?

(FYI – The video is available on TMZ. I would have punched him, too.)

Time Magazine has a lovely article about celebrities twitters after the announcement of Michael Jackson’s death. (See here.) Celebs from MC Hammer to Jane Fonda to John Mayer all express their sadness and best wishes. And then there’s Perez, who writes: “Grieving is not entertainment. That does not need to be public. That adds nothing to the story. I won’t be running any pics. Please follow.”  Nice of him to try and make it all about him, huh?

This comes mere hours after he speculated in a now-removed post that Jackson’s rush to the hospital was probably a publicity stunt…

I used to be a loyal Perez follower back in the day. He was fun and catty. Now, he’s turning into a tragic joke – a young dude who thinks he’s hot shit and deserves all the attention he gets. In truth, Perez himself is not that interesting, seems to be a hypocritical douchebag, and has attributed nothing to the world except being mean. The world doesn’t need help being mean.

I’m done with fake celebrities. I’m done with Perez Hilton.

(Edit: Perez, consider yourself Stupidhead #12 on my list. Welcome to the list.)

Books I never finished

I don’t believe in not finishing books, even if I despise them… I’ve carried around books I disliked for weeks until they were finished. Blame the OCD part of my brain, or whatever. It’s the way I am.

SO – In trying to think of books I never actually finished, only a few came to mind.

1. ANNA KARENINA – I just don’t think I was in the right place to be hauling around hundreds of pages of Tolstoy when I tried to read this book the first time. While I remember being interested by the book, I also remember being mad confused by everything going on and everyone having like fourteen names. (Some books are not meant to be read on the CTA. I think this is one of them.) I still own my gorgeous copy, though, and clearly someday I will be in the mood to tackle Tolstoy again. 

2. ATLAS SHRUGGED – I wanted so badly to “get” the whole Ayn Rand thing, but.. after a few hundred pages of Atlas Shrugged, I’m not sure I ever will. Maybe I’m missing something, but I was starting the third part of the book when I knew it was just time to put down the book and move on. (I’ve heard rumors of a movie version potentially starring Angelina Jolie. I’d see that. It’s not that I hated it. It’s that.. I didn’t understand why I should keep reading?)

3. ELDEST (aka, ERAGON 2) – So, coming down off the last Harry Potter book rush, I bought Eragon and read it. While I didn’t find it the greatest book ever, it was entertaining enough. So, when Eldest came out, I bought it… and was promptly bored to tears. I not only stopped reading it, I made a special trip to Brown Elephant to donate it and get rid of it. Terribile book.

*Special note. I read the first two books in the Twilight series in a state of “Well, something exciting has to happen soon.. right?” However, after two books that only mildly held my interest, I decided to jump ship on the Twilight series. No offense, rabid crazy Twilight groupies, but it’s not for me.

What books haven’t you finished?

Into the Wild, by Jon Krakauer

There are books I read and enjoy immensely, and then there are books I devour.

I devoured INTO THE WILD, by Jon Krakauer, finding myself basically unable to set it down in the days I was reading it.

It’s the story of Christopher McCandless, the young man who abandoned all his worldly possessions for a nomadic adventure in the Alaskan wilderness and was found dead in a sleeping bag on the floor of an an abandoned bus by some moose hunters.  It was also the inspiration for the recent film, directed by Sean Penn, and starring Emile Hirsch as McCandless. (Watch it - it’s a great movie.)

A college graduate from an upper middle-class family, McCandless adopted a new identity (Alexander Supertramp) and headed out into the world to live without possessions, without money, without other people, embarking on  a journey that took him from Virginia, to South Dakota, to Mexico, and to where he met his tragic end in the trees in Alaska.

Krakauer was the journalist who wrote the first expose on McCandless back for Outside magazine back in 1992 after the discovery of the body – andthe book, which is an expansion of that article, is brilliantly written. I often appreciate when journalists write books (as Betsy said “They understand that the story is already interesting, and doesn’t need them.”) and Krakauer has an easy style of writing, as well as an obvious deep connection with McCandless. As a young man, Krakauer was inspired as well by the works of Thoreau and others who advised man’s connection with nature, and attempted to climb a mountain, which almost killed him. He argues against people’s complaints that McCandless was dumb, cocky, and perhaps even schizophrenic, instead trying to prove that McCandless was simply just reckless and inspired to try andachieve something that mattered to him, even if it ultimately wound up costing him his life.

Most of McCandless’ story is told through letters, his journal entries, and the recollections of people he met on the way.  Ron Franz, an old man who’s brief time with McCandless caused him to even offer to adopt the boy, offers the most interesting look into Chris’ ideals by sharing the final letter he ever received from the young man.

“..Ron, you must lose your inclination for monotonous security and adopt a helter-skelter style of life that will at first appear to you to be crazy.  But once you become accustomed to such a life you will see its full meaning and its incredible beauty.”

The book raises interesting questions – what could make someone deliberately put themselves so close to death? What drove McCandless away from his family?

It also made me think about my own self – and how I would never be able to survive even a night on the Alaskan wilderness (hell, the Michigan wilderness even) and how really, at the endof the day, that’s alright by me. I love the people around me, and do believe (which McCandless didn’t) that joy comes from connections with others. What’s the point of living without other people?

All that said, I give McCandless mad props for having the balls to even attempt what he did. The world needs dreamers and visionaries, even the ones who wind up as cautionary tales.

Can I eat chocolate every day for a year, please? :)

I’m little miss healthy, y’all know that.

I found this rather cool site the other day – http://www.natmedtalk.com - Which, basically, is a forum for people to talk about health issues.

Of course, the first link I click on is called “Wanted: Women to eat chocolate for a year.”

Before you go fantasizing away, like I did – Here’s the article.

LONDON, England (CNN) — Scientists in the UK are seeking 150 women to eat chocolate every day for a year in the cause of medical research.

The trial, at the University of East Anglia in Norwich, eastern England, will test whether a natural compound found in cocoa, the main ingredient of chocolate, could cut the risk of heart disease among women with diabetes.

A Belgian confectionist has created the special chocolate bar containing high levels of flavonoids — a plant compound that has been shown to reduce heart risk factors — to be used in the experiment. Soy, another natural source of flavonoids, has also been added to the bar.

Participants, who must be postmenopausal women under the age of 70, will have their risk of heart disease tested on five occasions during the year to see whether change occurs.

Dude. If chocolate can help heart disease…I’m so there. 

I love articles like this.