You Might Be Dressing on Broadway If:

1. You consider personally doing your own laundry a complete waste of time.
2. People in your union wear tinfoil hats to keep aliens from reading their brain(?) waves.
3. You accept having one day off a week as the norm.
4. You become frustrated when people don't grasp the concept of upstage/downstage.
5. You understand the subtle nuances between dry cleaning fluid and vodka (Dry cleaning fluid comes in plastic bottles, while vodka is packaged in glass).
6. You have quads of death from running 5 flights of stairs multiple times a day.
7. Your chiropractor sends you a Christmas card asking for tickets in exchange for services.
8. You can spot an untied shoe, unzipped trousers, or missing buttons, up to 100 ft away.
9. Your union just recently completely screwed you on healthcare.
10. You can execute a quickchange in the dark and not drop a stitch on your current knitting project (or lose your place in the novel you are reading).
11. You can do 3 things simultaneously and never engage anything more than muscle memory.
12. You are on a first name basis with local deli owners, who make your coffee "your way" whenever you walk in the front door, reguardless of who is in line ahead of you.
13. You attempt to limit your binges to Sunday evening.
14. The Container Store excites you immensely.
15. You not only know the definition and use of a bitelight, but three different locations they can be purchased.
16. You become violent when you catch someone cutting paper with your brand new Ginghers.
17. You know what a Rub-A-Dub is, and what it's used for.
18. You understand first hand the differences between "Cast," "Crew," and "Company."
19. The only personal item in your work apron is a Percocet, 'for emergency purposes only.'

And the biggest sign You Might Be Dressing on Broadway....

20. You've seen so much tit and ass that you are no longer even remotely interested.

Top Ten Signs You're Directing A Flop

I have no idea where this originated, I can only thank my best friend S, for passing it on to me. I just had to share.

Top Ten Signs You're Directing A Flop

1. Your protagonist is named after an outer borough.

2. Your producer can't stop saying 'cutie-patootie!"

3. The mechanical bull is giving the best performance in the show.

4. Your name is John Carrafa.

5. Michael Riedel sends you flowers and a box of chocolates just to say thanks.

6. The biggest laugh in the show involves a Thigh Master.

7. Two Words: "Singing Vampires!"

8. You're staging a scene in which a soap star jerks off a gorilla, and the gorilla is played by Andre deShields.

9. The most likeable character is Yoko Ono.

10. Joe Brooks thinks you may have bitten off more than you can chew.

Something in the Air

There is something in the air. You would have to be a completely self absorbed being to not sense it. It's gathering momentum, every day the sense of urgency grows. You can feel the bite in the air; it's becoming more tangible as the days progress. Are you prepared? No one is going to escape it... Yes folks, It's only mid-November but it's rapidly becoming Christmas Time in the city.

Radio City has opened the Christmas Spectacular. The streets are becoming more and more congested as the annual influx of tourists and families make their pilgrimages to our fair city. Work crews were stringing lights on the still green trees along 8th Ave on Sunday. The bedazzlement has commenced. Window dressers are in full swing, many store fronts already have winter displays set up. Red and green shopping bags are prominent to even the most casual observer strolling around the island. In a city where the locals regularly move with purpose, there is the taste of more urgency. The NYC Marathon is over, the only thing standing between us and full-blown Christmas is the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. It will only become more frantic in this bustling city as the days pass. I ask again: Are you prepared?!

I've gotten a more than decent start on the Christmas Gifts. What hasn't been shipped yet has been selected. I'll most likely spend the evening of Thanksgiving online ordering the rest of the 'family' presents. That only leaves me with the close friends and co-workers to worry about. And I have idea's in that department too. All I require is the time to realize my idea's. Not the easiest thing to have in my profession, "time!" It means I must really apply myself, especially at this time of year.

I realized yesterday as I was plotting out the rest of the month on the calendar that I don't HAVE a day off until Thanksgiving. It's my own doing by accepting work on the TV series, but that's the bottom line regardless. At least I know that I'll be making my great escape from NYC, Broadway, and TV on the 29th of November. Vacation never sounded so good. 6 days off of work and away from the hassle of this city, as I travel and relax in California. I'm very much looking forward to this break and the chance to recharge my own personal energies. Those of you who know me know just how hard 2005 has been for me.

Devon: Your cats weren't the only ones acting possessed last night. Bast and Roo were acting as if they were also the sworn angels of the lord last night, bent on slaying every firstborn of the hebrew nation; or anything else they could set their claws upon. Myself included. I slept on the couch last night as I was afraid to leave them unattended, much to my own demise. I'm wearing the battle scars to prove it. 2 days of claw marks across my legs/thighs.

The time has arrived for me to get motivated. I have a lunch date and errands to attend to/accomplish.

Love and Light

The 10 Commandments of Costumes

With special thanks to several friends and acquaintances in the business, I hereby pass on to you The 10 Commandments of Costumes.

1. Thou shalt not lie about thy waist measurement or shoe size.

2. Thou shalt not miss fittings. If one fitting is missed, thou must bring treats. If two fittings are missed, thou shalt go onstage naked.

3. Thou shalt not eat nor smoke in costume.

4. Thy wanting is easy. thou getting is harder.

5. Anything can become a hat.

6. Honor thy draper and thy dresser.

7. Thou shalt not reveal thy gossip sources.

8. First the pants, THEN the shoes.

9. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbors costume.

10. The designer is God.

Short

Lots of things have been running through my mind this past week. I haven't been blogging though. I've come down with a very nasty cold, and have managed to just stay on the functioning side of life. I'm really looking forward to Monday so I can have a full day of rest. WAY to much happening at work this week for me to actually take a 'sick' day off.

Devon, was great seeing you (briefly) at work. As always, you bring a sense of style with you wherever you go... It was a bright spot in my day!!!

I MUST get ready for work. Yes, I know I've said absolutely nothing here. Please know that I've already started a few outlines for future entries. This blog will also be expanding outside of broadway soon. I will be starting work on a major TV series next week, which should make for some interesting entries as well...

Back to the grindstone...

Love and Light,

Contemplation

con·tem·pla·tion

1. transitive verb have something as possible intention: to think about something as a possible course of action
2. transitive verb consider something: to think about something seriously and at length, especially in order to understand it more fully
3. intransitive verb think about spiritual matters: to think calmly and at length, especially as a religious or spiritual exercise
4. transitive verb look at something thoughtfully: to look at something thoughtfully and steadily

I'm dwelling upon the past.

Last night there were dreams about the past, spanning all 30+ years of this lifetime. On a deeper level I also dreamt vibrant dreams of life before that, either mine or someone else's. I'm still not sure which. None of it was malicious, but more a rich stream of images and velvet whispers that subtly caress you; only to retreat just beyond reach when you attempt to focus upon them, to draw them fully into the light.

Whose was the voice that spoke with me last night? The loving and supportive threads of power and strength that quietly rose and fell last night. You were not my guardian angel; at least not the one I am accustomed too. But I do know you were with me last night. Perhaps you have always been with me, but you have never manifested yourself in my dreams. To what end do you make such strength known to me, and why now? Your touch is something I don't remember and yet there remains a sense of familiarity in all you showed me, in fact in you, yourself. Compassionate. Nurturing. Genderless. Mother, Father, Friend, and Lover. Yet you were here to effect something. Why else would you make such a prominent display of your capabilities?
I trust you and yet I can't define who you are. Bold as if you were a longtime lover, quietly slipping into bed with me, enveloping and lulling me; patiently teaching me as if there were no time outside of us. All the while gently turning my attention away from you and inwards back towards myself; like an adult quietly but firmly rebuking a small child. Ah yes, a very skilled lover you are; not lover in the physical, but in the spiritual. The pulse of your power is still echoing through me today.
I have the sense that I have known you and will know you again. Completeness. Harmony both within and without. Two become one; powerful alone yet together unstoppable. We wept together, we mourned together. We laughed together, repeatedly, as only a lover could laugh with their beloved. Yes, I remember that now, you whispered it to me, "my beloved."

I awoke this morning to the noisy city. Relaxed and at peace, but missing you.

I hear your quicksilver laughter still. Come back to me spirit. I would know more of you...

Internal Swing

in·ter·nal adj.
1. Of, relating to, or located within the limits or surface; inner.
2. Residing in or dependent on essential nature; intrinsic: the internal contradictions of the theory.
3. Located, acting, or effective within the body.

swing
Function: noun
5 : to shift or fluctuate from one condition, form, position, or object of attention or favor to another

As in

swing shift
Function: noun
1 : the work shift between the day and night shifts (as from 4 P.m. to midnight)
2 : a group of workers in a factory operating seven days a week that work as needed to permit the regular shift workers to have one or more free days per week

track n.

A mark or succession of marks left by something that has passed.
A path, route, or course indicated by such marks
A path along which something moves; a course:
A course of action; a method of proceeding
An intended or proper course


It finally happened today.
The phone rang at 10:30 this morning.
Caller ID told me it was work.
I had been up for a few hours already and had already consumed coffee; so I answered it.
A fellow co-worker (K) was going to be missing work due to illness today. None of his (2) swings were available. The ONLY remaining swing (who was in the building doing daywork) only knew my show. They were going to swing me over to K's track and have my swing do my regular show. So I did K's show today. Nothing major really, a well needed break from thmundanene! Not something that I particularly wanted to hear at 10:30 in the morning, but I was also glad that they didn't spring it on me when I walked through the front door. I had a little time for mentapreparationon.
It all went well. Not only am I professional, but I'm also very good at my job. During the course of the day I realized how much I appreciate my co-worker R, as well as my own normal Track. It was nice to be K for a day, but I'd MUCH rather be Artiessimo.
Thanks for the wake-up call.

Let's all take a moment to appreciate what we have and how much we value those people around us. Be thankful for what you DO have.

I had a most delightful dinner with my best friend Scott and his Mother Jane (who is in town visiting for the week from Illinois). Back at Vynl for the third time in less than a week. A great new space for them, and everything about the move was a positive one. Everything exceeded my expectations AND desires. My favorites are still on the menu, it's still the same price, and they have added a few new things to the menu as well. And something I've come to realize since they have opened in the new space. If you can't get a table during the weekend, shoot for a late lunch on Wednesday. Even with the matinee crowd, I've walked in and been seated instantly just after 5 pm. I don't recommend trying it on Saturday.

Today has taken its toll. I'm no longer thinking clearly. Time for bed.

Love and Light

The Day I Met Anne

Today I don't want to discuss Broadway. Today Broadway was a hassle. This happens occasionally, we simply do whatever we have to do to make it till the curtain comes down. On days like this, I remind myself how lucky I am to have work on a hit show and not have to worry about where next months rent is coming from... That being said, we move forward.

Today was the national release day of Anne Rice's latest endeavor; Christ the Lord, Out of Egypt. It was with some trepidation that I began reading this latest work from one of my favorite authors. I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to handle her approach to the subject matter... I mean, Jesus speaking as a 7 year old. Interesting enough concept, but I was deeply concerned that this was going to be another over the top Philosophy Lesson ale Anne. (Like Memnoch was.) I'm pleased to report that I'm half way through and I've been 'with' her from the very first page. And it wasn't easy starting an Anne book in the corridor of Grand Central Station; it's not the quietest place in the city. Why was I reading a book in Grand Central Station this afternoon?! Simple... I decided to finally take a little more advantage of my location. I live in the western capital of the world. And that also means THIS time around, NYC got Anne on the actually release date for a booksigning.

I had completed the first 5 chapters when it was my turn to approach the table... Not bad, I only waited about 90 minutes in line. Getting there early was a perk, as I was within the first 25 people IN line. Anne was all smiles and extremely friendly and looked Good! We had brief 2 minute conversation before her various assistants started to physically shove the next persons book under her pen. I thanked her for years of entertainment and passion and asked her to continue writing. She assured me she would and called me a gentleman. Sigh... I really would love to have coffee with that woman and discuss her books with her personally. (She may reformulate her opinion of me being a gentleman, if it actually came to that) At least she always elicits a response in me; I'm never luke-warm about anything she writes. I either love it, or hate it. LOL But I've purchased her new books on the day of their release for the last 7 years or so...

Some of you may not know it, but I'm a very avid reader of fiction. It's been a very busy fall for me as a handful of my 'must read' authors have published books within the last 2 months. All of which I have been eagerly awaiting. I'm sure I'll comment on each book individually at some point, so you may look forward to hearing a little of my thoughts on the latest and greatest according to Artiessimo. (but just to put it out there, Praise Heaven that Robert Jordan FINALLY published a book that MOVED the story forward instead of dragging his heels). More on Knife of Dreams Later...

Christ the Lord, Out of Egypt was the Final book in my List of Fall Reads. And I'll most likely have it done by Thursday (if not tomorrow or tonight!) Then I'll get back to the last 2 Terry Brook's books I have to read before his next book is published; a prequel drawing two separate series together.

This posting turned out longer than I thought. Hope this finds you well and in good spirits.

Until Next Time,
Love and Light