Big Old Heap of Posting

I've been remiss.  This is true.  I had dreams of posting every day about the experience of being in the current production of Escaaba In Da Moonlight currently playing in Greene, New York.  And yet...

Part of it is that, it feels so strange to write about this show as I'm in it, and it's difficult to place it in context of the whole move to NYC, at least in this moment.  It has felt a bit like I dropped out of the sky into this town and plopped into a concrete compound to live with six strangers and make a family, and a piece of theatre.

The first couple of weeks was like a mad scramble to get into the mindset of these people, learn our individual tracks for the show, and breathe life into the lines.  My particular challenge has been that I'm portraying the character that Jeff Daniels, the playwright, created for himself.  He's the plays heart, and as a result it felt like I couldn't make him quite as broad as would normally be my tendency.  He had to be grounded in reality, and still be outsized and match the energy of the other family members onstage.  It's a fine line, and living in those in-between places can be difficult.

Once we reached opening night, everyone took a huge sigh of relief, as usually happens.  You spend those last hours before opening wondering "Can we do this?  Can I do this?"  And so you metaphorically sprint through those fink moments hoping you will make the finish line, and that you won't be thrown she the element of the audience is added.

It's strange, because as much as I'm ready for the days off when they come, once they are here, it can feel like I've been given a burdensome amount of time.  If I had dollars to drop I could rent a car and go on a road trip, or bus it back to New York City, and yet, right now I just can't rationalize that expenditure.  So life has turned into a routine of watching tv, going to the "store" (whether it be the drug store, the grocery store, the library, etc) and then returning to the compound.  It's a balancing act of time management, because part of me just wants to turtle it and hide out in my dark cavern of a room, but after just two hours of that, I begin to go stir crazy out of a need for external stimulation.  By the time the days off are coming to a close and we head back into the show, I am ready ta go.

  _______________________________________________________________________________

In other news, I've stopped eating red meat.  I just can't do it anymore.  The reason?  This video.  For those of you who are worried, no there's no blood or guts here, just a terrified little creature that deserves kindness.

  

Especially since there are so many delicious vegetarian meat alternatives, I've decided it is the thing to do.  I am still eating chicken and fish, and can't imagine myself ever giving up sea food, but this is a start at least.  

    __________________________________________________________________________

In other other news, I have been working on a permanent place to live in New York, and if all goes well, I'll be making an announcement about it in the next few days.

Escanaba In Da Moonlight Opens Friday!

We start Tech for Escanaba tonight, with three more rehearsals until opening.  It's been a fast rehearsal process, as we've had about two and a half weeks, and there is a lot to think about to make the show work, but I think we are nearly ready.  The set is beautiful, we'll see the lighting and fog effects for the first time tonight... a new layer is added each day.

I have been having a lot of the typical "actor's nightmare" type of dreams the past couple of weeks.  They've all been variations on a theme-  I'm opening a show in thirty minutes and completely forget to prepare, or memorize lines, or show up to a single rehearsal.  I know they're just dreams, and yet, they are a manifestation of my deepest worries, so in one aspect they should be taken seriously.  They are a warning to prepare.  To work on my lines, study my dialect, run through the blocking in my head, make a list of personal props and between act changes, etc.  That's the only way to eliminate the nerves, and even then...

The show itself was written by Jeff Daniels, around the time he was filming Dumb and Dumber, and takes place in a cabin in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, the day before Deer Season starts.  Albert Soady, his son's Reuben and Remnar , and the "legendary" and kooky Jimmer Megamonee have gathered together to drink whiskey, play cards, and go hunting just as they have every year for the past thirty years.  The oldest son Reuben (that's me) is about to become the oldest Soady in family history to have never landed a buck, and the plot revolves around the lengths he and his family go through to keep him from ending up on the wrong end of the family record books.  It's very broad humor, definitely on the lower side, with a touch of the supernatural thrown in for good measure.  I hope it's well received as I've really enjoyed the rehearsal process so far, and am proud of the work that's gone into it.

As far as off-stage life, we've settled into a bit of a routine here:  I've been to the local diner exactly three times for breakfast, and the waitress knows my order, and brings me a Diet Coke without my asking, which is kind of delightful.  It's a cozy feeling you get here after awhile, a feeling of familiarity.  And while I definitely miss the city, and it's easy accessibility to just about anything you could ever need or want, I understand the appeal of a slower pace of life that one can get out here, and the safe and welcoming feeling of being around people who recognize and know you.

My New Home

I arrived in Greene, New York just under a week ago, and you'll have to forgive the absence of new posts.  I'd planned on writing the minute I arrived, but it took a few days to adjust to the new environment and get settled in.  From there, it just became a matter of getting the first one out there, and the more I procrastinated, the harder it was to post (ain't that always the way?)

Regardless, I am happy to report that the bus trip here was uneventful, and I'm currently bunked down in the in-theatre accommodations of The Chenango River Theatre as we prep the production of Escanaba in Da Moonlight opening on August 14th.  Four of the six cast members are from out of town, and so we are living here dorm style along with the stage manager and the theatre intern.  We each have our own rooms, decorated with props from past shows and furniture that includes a bed, a desk, a dresser, and a fan.

My own little corner of my own little room, as decorated with past props

The bookshelf in my room.  I'm determined to read this before the show closes.

 I have to say there was a kind of giddy excitement as I unpacked everything, trying to make the place home, as I'd be here for the next six weeks.  It felt like, and still feels, like theatre camp.  We have a company car, rehearsal once a day for a little under five hours, with one day off a week.  So far there's been plenty of off-time to explore the surrounding area, run errands, make the occasional trip to the Barnes and Noble (a thirty minute drive) and otherwise keep busy.  I plan to do a lot of reading, and hopefully get some writing done, although Netflix and The Witches of East End have proved more tempting than I'd like to admit.  The cast and crew are really friendly, mostly men, with two women, and while I feel a bit isolated as the only gay person within what feels like a twenty mile radius, I've been enjoying the chance to get-away.

Greene is a small farming community, where the grocery store nearest grocery store is a fifteen minute drive, and the downtown consists of about fifteen shops.  They include a few restaurants, a bar, the hardware store and five and dime, which is just about all one would need.  For most other things you would need to drive thirty minutes to the Binghamton mall.  It is gorgeous country out here, and such a change from the crazed energy of the city.  It's strange because on July 1st I moved from Austin to a completely different lifestyle in the city, and one month after that I had taken another detour into a life different from either of those.  By the time Escanaba closes I will have lived here longer than I had in Brooklyn.  

The view from downtown Greene

Of course, it's taken a bit of getting used to, but most of it has been pretty easy.  The one thing I cannot adjust to?  The smell of sulfur in the shower water.  It's like showering in liquid farts.  There's no other way to put it.