Life Is An Atom

What are your biggest challenges? Now I could have started in ChatGPT and said, “Give me a metaphor for the challenges I’ll face in 2024,” but I already came up with that (in the shower, of course). I feel that I need to approach life in the new year thinking about the structure of anContinue reading “Life Is An Atom”

If I Had a Sports Team

If you started a sports team, what would the colors and mascot be? To continue the song reference I begin alluding to in the title: If I had a sports team, I’d—actually I don’t know what I’d do. All bets would be off. It might be a sign of the apocalypse. I did follow theContinue reading “If I Had a Sports Team”

Where Are the Macros of Yesteryear?

When are you most happy? Back in the early days of word processing, I used macros all the time. You could set them up as you needed, say, for the end of a letter: Sincerely, Stephen A. Schrum, PhD Leave a voicemail on Google Voice for me: 724-835-4074 And then, when you hit a certainContinue reading “Where Are the Macros of Yesteryear?”

Play or Fun? Play AND Fun!

What was the last thing you did for play or fun? As part of the founding of a new theatre company, I decided to join the Chamber of Commerce for networking. During one of those events, I spoke with some people from a local chain hotel who are interested in some programming. The same wasContinue reading “Play or Fun? Play AND Fun!”

This Year…And the Next…

Is your life today what you pictured a year ago? A year ago I thought I would be starting a new theatre company (I did, on May 1), and then there would be this magical sweep into projects and performances. It didn’t happen. Taking the time to build the structure has been useful, and now,Continue reading “This Year…And the Next…”

The Scammer’s Handbook

Wouldn’t you like to get a glimpse of The Scammer’s Handbook? Well, now you can! All you need to do is look at any scam/spam email and you see a part of what they must circulate (I imagine a 3” 3-ring binder) in order to try to entrap their victims. The amazing part for meContinue reading “The Scammer’s Handbook”

Swimming Fish, Catholic Popes

Have you ever performed on stage or given a speech? Recently, StoryZ, my new theatre/performance group, gave a Free Improv Workshop. For the 8 people registered, we scheduled 1.5 hours of a little bit of talking and a lot of doing. At one point, someone said, as if she was drowning, “Is this an advancedContinue reading “Swimming Fish, Catholic Popes”

From Voracious to Vicarious

What book are you reading right now? A few years back I directed The Birth of Merlin, considered one of Shakespeare’s Apocryphal Works. That is, it’s been attributed to him—at least in part; scholars think he collaborated with William Rowley on the text—but no one is 100% sure. To help explain the play and contextualContinue reading “From Voracious to Vicarious”

Alternate Careers

What alternative career paths have you considered or are interested in? Let me begin by saying that I believe I chose precisely the correct career for myself. As a college professor, I had a great deal of autonomy in making my schedule and teaching what I wanted to teach. At a small campus, as anContinue reading “Alternate Careers”

The Story of B

This is a story I’ve been meaning to recount for years. It’s a bit hazy anymore, though I recall some aspects of it vividly. I first met B at a summer theatre workshop. I was a Theatre major at Temple U. but returned to my first college, York College (where I had been a SpeechContinue reading “The Story of B”