No Strings Attached

Posted By Kathleen David on March 14, 2016

Technically I am still an Equity Stage Manager. On rare occasions and nothing in the past 5 years, I would help out with a showcase or reading. Nor am I pursuing any positions out here on Long Island as they are few and far between. I don’t want to tour. I don’t know anyone on the inside to get back to off Broadway. I am not in a position to take regional theater gigs. But if anyone knows anyone looking for a good AEA stage manager in New York, send them my way.

I have been asked more than once recently if I miss it. And the answer is yes and no. There are parts that I miss terribly. I enjoyed working on a show and getting it from table read to in front of an audience. I miss the camaraderie that comes from the process. Hearing the audience appreciate what we have done. Calling the show.

I don’t miss the ten out of twelve’s. I don’t miss having to deal with adults who act like children on occasion. I don’t miss having to work out a schedule with everyone’s conflicts and discovering that we can’t rehearse.

Right now I get to listen to my daughter tell me about her show and all the things that are going on both on stage and off stage. And in doing so she reminded me why I stopped actively trying to stage manage. I get tired of listening to everything she is telling me. This week is tech/dress/performance which is always a fun week in the theater. For the cast it can be hurry up and wait but the stage manager is on the entire time working through lighting and sound and set movement and the like.

Being a Stage Manager can just suck the life out of you. It can invigorate you but mostly it just sucks. The responsibilities of the show go way longer than the rehearsal. Chunks of it happen when the actors aren’t there. There are tech meetings, staff meetings, scheduling, props and costume things to figure out. You have your book that you need to keep up to date. Lists that must be made for various departments. You end up doing a lot of paperwork.

I do not regret a minute of my time stage managing. I have a bunch of stories from my time there. I know my Shakespeare really well now. I have an appreciation of the theater every time I go see a show that a majority of patrons don’t have. I have friendships that I still have to this day. It is a touchstone between me and people I meet who are also in the biz.

I am still a good Stage Manager but how I stage manage is a little different now. I have used those skills I learned to be a great editor. To organize my puppet slam pieces. To organize and get us through a convention.

I am grateful for my time stage managing.

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Posted By Kathleen David on March 13, 2016

I went through the house last night before going to bed and changed all the timepieces that I need to change manually.

Or I thought I had.

This morning I looked up and we have one wall clock in the kitchen. It is still on standard time.

I contemplated getting out the ladder and changing it. Then thought better of it. It is my one piece of rebellion against Daylight saving time.

We showed Caroline the Sting last night. She enjoyed the complexity of the film and the feel of the time.

I will say that waking up last week about 6:15 got me ready to get up at 7:15 but that didn’t happen as I got up at 9:15 but then it is Sunday and I was up late not able to get to sleep.

Peter was able to see a run through of Caroline’s School Play with Caroline having to fill in as an Eel so he got to watch her performance. This next week is dress and then performance.

Today I think I’ll work on Hook and see if I can get him finished and then onto the next thing. Hook is going to be a lot of pattern drafting. Photos on Tuesday I hope.

But first I have to finish cleaning up from all the sea creatures.

I am grateful for puppets that are appreciated.

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Posted By Kathleen David on March 12, 2016

I like using free-weights over machines but there are times that I need to use machines because I have concerns about being able to keep a grip on the weight.

This morning I started my arm routine with the usual warm up but I could tell only a little way in this was going to be one of those days and I had to switch it out with machines. My hands could not be trusted. I tried using less weight but that didn’t do the trick.

So I used various machines to get the burn that I get with the free weights. There are a lot of adjustments to make the machines fit my body. I have long arms so the standard setting that most people do just doesn’t work. So it took me twice as long to do basically the same thing I can do with the free weights.

Part of that time was resetting the machines to their neutral setting that most people use.

And I have been observing a lot of people using those machines while waiting for the next machine I needed.

Why are women so afraid of weight? Upping the weight would allow them to do the exercise and get more out of it. I know part of it is this insane notion that if they use too much weight they will turn into Schwarzenegger or Jay Cutler. It won’t happen. I know that avoiding injury is a good thing but this is absurd and just adds to the time they are on the machines.

Why do teen boys think they are Superman? I watched this skinny kid pulling weight that was pulling him out of his seat. He had no control over it and was well on the way to hurting himself. Not the only teenager that I saw doing this sort of thing. Slow and steady wins the race and saves one from joint damage and muscle tears.

There is a rehab group that works out of my gym. They work a lot with the elderly especially those doing out patient rehab for joint replacement. I can tell within 5 minutes pretty much how they are going to do. There are some that are committed to getting better and doing the work to get there. And there are those that are doing this because they are being forced to for whatever reason. They do the minimum effort to get through the exercising. The committed folks seem to stick around. The others vanish after a couple of weeks.

I will give everyone lots of kudos for being polite to each other. People let other people work through when they were between sets. People helped other people and spotted for people they had just met. That makes for a nice gym trip.

I am grateful for times at the gym that just click.

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Posted By Kathleen David on March 11, 2016

Yesterday was a Spring Day. It was lovely. No jacket needed.

I walked to the gym and then worked through my leg routine only to be stopped short by some pain that is the kind of pain that tells you to stop or risk injury.

This morning I stretched and everything seems OK.

The cats are in the various windows looking out at a flock of birds that are on the lawn. Whiskers are twitching and noises are being made. Then one bird landed on the rail outside the window, turned, and shook it’s tush at the cats.

Lots of weird dreams last night but nothing that would be good for a story. I have no idea what my brain was trying to sort out but it was a doozy.

We have been watching Spring Training Baseball, which has been nice. Good to see the new kids and the older players working on getting their act together for this year. The odds makers have the Cubs as winning it all. We’ll see.

Peter will be at the Wizard convention in Las Vegas next weekend. He will be at table c-17 in artist alley.

Caroline’s play will be performed next weekend as well.

Busy weekend for the Davids next weekend. This weekend is tech and dress for the play.

Today I have several things I want to do and a couple that I have to do.

So I am going to start with the have-to’s and work my way to the want to’s.

I had a rant but decided against posting it. The short version is why are Americans so interested in what is happening in the privacy of the bedroom? Is it any of their business? Does it change how people to their jobs? There is a reason it is called a private life.

I am grateful for lovely spring days.

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Posted By Kathleen David on March 10, 2016

There are times that I have to remind myself that I am pretty good at what I do.

Yesterday I finished the puppets for the school production of Little Mermaid that Caroline is in. I had to make the patterns for both the fish and the clams then sort out the best way to put these puppets together based on my knowledge of having build a lot of puppets over the years.

I entitled this one “Fig and Clams”

(For the VI: In the background is Fig the black and white cat sleeping on a pile of purple fleece. In the foreground are two clam puppets made of purple fleece. They have ping pong eyeballs on top of their heads.)

At bowling on Monday I was showing the fish pictures to my bowling partners and the other team asked to see them as well. I showed them pictures of my other puppets as well and they were amazed at the details I put into the puppets.

I got a note from someone through a friend on facebook who was gushing about a short story I wrote and wanted to know where else they might be able to find my work because they really liked my ‘voice’. I can entertain people with my words. I have always been a storyteller mostly in my head as I told myself rather convoluted tales that made sense to me. Now I am finally getting around to putting those words on paper and having others enjoy my mental exercises.

The other day I was at the gym and someone asked why I was doing a free-weight exercise the way I was doing it. I explained that I was focusing on feeling what my body was doing with each rep so I slowed things down to make sure I was getting a full range of motion without putting undue pressure on my joints. I showed them how I do it and they tried it and discovered that they had been short arming the weight and that they were trying to lift too much so were throwing their shoulders into it which was causing some pain for them. I felt good because I gave them some mental tools to prevent injury. They thanked me a couple of days later.

Today I continue on three other puppets I have needed to get done for a while. Each has a deadline and I may have missed one of them.

That and finishing the laundry and go to the gym. It’s leg day.

I am grateful that I can do all these things well.

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