Journey…Into The Past (Lives)

Years ago, when I was an undergrad at my first college (a small private that proved to be inadequate for my proper theatre training—hence my transferring to a real theatre program at a real school), I heard this crazy metaphysical thing: how to see what you looked like in your past lives. The method wasContinue reading “Journey…Into The Past (Lives)”

Whistling Backstage, Dark or Not

There’s an old tradition that one does not whistle backstage in a theatre. Like most theatrical traditions, you don’t question it, but nevertheless  I often wondered about it. And for years I taught the reason for this in my Intro to Theatre course; I don’t know if I read this, or just made it up,Continue reading “Whistling Backstage, Dark or Not”

What’s Your Passion?

I know a lot of people hate their jobs. And I’m sorry for that. A line I used to say to people was: “I love my work, but I hate my job.” There are times when being a college professor could be very annoying,  But the most important thing about that was that I didn’tContinue reading “What’s Your Passion?”

Notes About Dreams

In a recent blog post I mentioned finding old notes about various things that might become future blog posts. Well, the future is now! Four of the notes begin: “Dream:” and have some mention of what happened in some dream I had years ago. Often when I take notes, such brief phrases are enough toContinue reading “Notes About Dreams”

“She Tipped Me A Crystal”

At Berkeley, we had a summer lunchtime theatre series. Each show rehearsed for two weeks (one week in the morning, one week in the afternoon) and then a week of performances. I directed two shows in two summers: Noel Coward’s We Were Dancing (in the Durham Studio Theatre) and Shakespeare’s Love’s Labour’s Lost—which I cutContinue reading ““She Tipped Me A Crystal””

Hand Me the Whiteboard…

Every time someone starts an in-depth explanation of something, or I need to explain something that requires a variety of steps, I ask for “the whiteboard.” I assume at that point that only a detailed diagram will be able to provide any sensical explanation. I always needed a whiteboard when I covered one of theContinue reading “Hand Me the Whiteboard…”

Don’t Tell Me I Can’t

How has a failure, or apparent failure, set you up for later success? One of the quickest ways to encourage me to do something is to tell me I can’t do it, or to speak the more passive phrase, “it can’t be done.” That’s precisely the motivation I’ve often needed to accomplish a goal. ItContinue reading “Don’t Tell Me I Can’t”

A Plethora of Miscellaneous

If there was a biography about you, what would the title be? I wrote that title a few weeks ago and saved it in Notes, because I knew it would come in handy eventually. When seeing today’s prompt I thought it was strictly apropos (which would be a bad title for my biography). Looking backContinue reading “A Plethora of Miscellaneous”

Words, Words, Words…

What books do you want to read? …said Hamlet. When I was a kid I was a voracious reader. I’d get those fifty cent sci-fi paperbacks and devour them like a hungry space monster. The prices would go up but that didn’t slow me down. I read constantly (though it helped to not have friendsContinue reading “Words, Words, Words…”

Theatre Traditions!

Write about a few of your favorite family traditions. Side note (at the beginning, which seems like an odd place for a side note, but hear me out): I recall responding to a similar prompt not too long ago. Rather than repeat myself, I’m pivoting to talk about theatre traditions. In my last position, onContinue reading “Theatre Traditions!”