Vacation Songs

Current mood: accomplished

I'm past the half-way point of my nearly three-week vacation from August 1—20. This is the longest stretch of time that I've taken off at once, and I wish it would never end. For the most part I've spent it at home with several trips to Laurel Lake or other local swimming holes. The weather has been pretty perfect with mostly sunshine and low humidity, atypically mild for August in Kentucky.

Timi's sister is staying with us right now, so we also re-watched the entire Six Feet Under series with her. It's amazing how much depth it reveals even a second time around. I still swear it's the best television show ever and true to life and death with all of the bliss and mess that go along with it. Of course we all bawled when it was over, not just because everyone literally dies at the end but also because of the sheer beauty and perfection of its last hurrah.

My vacation officially kicked off with the "Ten-Minute Play Festival" on August 1 as part of the annual Quilt Extravaganza. I was in two of the ten plays, and we rehearsed for the entire month before the performance. It was a great experience to work with Kim again and get to know everyone in all of the plays, though it's a little bittersweet now that it's over and Kim has moved back home to North Carolina.

In the opening play, "Vacation" by Gerry Sheridan (Brooklyn, NY), I played one half of a very neurotic couple struggling to have a good time on vacation and not getting very far physically. The quirks of both characters were amusing, and I thought the play was much more charming in action than when I first read it through. Several actors in the other plays as well as people after the performance told me it was a somewhat familiar scene from their own experience on vacation with their spouses! :)

My second role was in the fourth play in the program, "Songs My Brother Sang" by Myra Slotnick (Provincetown, MA). This play was very emotionally intense as I played a depressed stand-up comedian visiting my dead brother's panel at an AIDS Quilt display and getting progressively drunk throughout the play. The role was sometimes more like a monologue in the sense of an extended conversation with my brother, though Denis Burton was amazing as the fastidious quilt monitor that tries to keep me in check. It was challenging to balance the character's ornery sense of humor and antagonism toward the quilt monitor with her sincere grief for her loss.

Afterward, I received the most feedback for "Songs My Brother Sang." I guess I made a lot of people laugh and cry, which the play ideally invoked. The end is especially heart-wrenching because the character finally breaks down, lets her grief rise to the surface, and leans on the one person who she tries to intimidate and distance herself from. Carol O', among others, came up to me at the end and said, "Tambone, you made me cry!" I laughed and said, "I made me cry too!" It's funny because that part wasn't even that difficult; at the end, she sings part of the song "Being Alive," which inevitably and effortlessly choked me up every time I did it in rehearsal and in the final performance.

I had planned to attend the reception and cast party for the plays that weekend, but I ended up not going (it's hard to leave the holler when I don't have to…). I later learned that "Songs" was selected as both the audience favorite and "Best in Show" by a panel of judges! Plus Denis said that he would be thrilled to work with me again, which was a phenomenal compliment from an amazing actor I admire, and Kim told me I did a great job and encouraged me to keep acting.

I've received so much positive feedback that I feel truly inspired and energized to keep doing it; however, short play festivals are few and far between (especially now that Kim is gone), and I'm hesitant about the time commitment that a full-scale production would entail. But I've got the bug again as well as the support and encouragement to continue, so it seems extremely counter-productive to limit myself. I guess I'll just keep my eyes and heart open to the possibility and see what opportunities present themselves.

That said, I'm helping Bob wrap up the details for the Clear Creek Film Festival at the end of the month, which will probably include a version of "Drink of Water," one of my shorts. Also, my Short Term course proposal was approved for January 2009, so I'll be finalizing my lesson plan for teaching "Acting the Part: Filmmaking and Activism."

All in all, I feel very blessed and grateful for, yes, being alive, and hell yes, for vacation!

[Backposted from MySpace 4/24/07] 

Aqualachian Thespianism

Current mood: relieved

Shortly after participating in the V-Day monologues on campus, I was approached by three different people to consider participating in the plays at the first Rain Barrel Festival on April 26. Yeah I know, 5-minute plays about water conservation don't sound especially glamorous, but I was really psyched that yet another opportunity had fallen in my lap so quickly after resuming my theatrical aspirations.

Ultimately, I ended up being in three of the five plays written by local (women) playwrights and directed by Kim Stinson-Hawn as part of her inaugural unveiling of her Theatre Appalachia group. They were all quite engaging and entertaining, and I had the good fortune to play three different parts that are distinctly different from my personality.  In Kim's "Water Depression," I played "Water" that was flaked out and hopped up on prescription drugs to a "Tree" who was seriously annoyed by my loopy, spacey behavior. (Internally, Beck's song "Nightmare Hippy Girl" kept coming to mind... and believe me, I've encountered plenty of real-life versions to somewhat model this character on...)

In Toby Wilcher's "Matter of Perception," I played one of two snooty society women obsessed with pools, spas, Derby Day, and protecting their neighborhood from radical hippies with solar panels, rain barrels, and organic gardens. Toby's granddaughter Lenore played a contrasting role of a young African woman wandering through our superficial banter in search of a clean river to sustain her family. (Again, I had plenty of working models for this role as well...)

Finally, in Mary Owens' "Leaky Logic," I was one of four caricatured consumers with varying degrees of sustainability savvy: "We Need," "No Problem," "I Need," and "Maybe."  This one was really fun but tough because the banter was so quick and repetitive in a spiraling kind of way. My character, "No Problem" was the quintessential naysayer who doesn't believe that a water crisis exists or requires attention.

I had a great time getting to know some new folks and hanging out with some old faves; but I must admit.... I'm so relieved that Earth Month is finally over!  A month-long marathon of (mostly) successful events on campus has been rewarding, but enough is enough.  I truly love the fact that I got to wear a completely different hat at the Rain Barrel Festival that didn't include MERJ or the College!

So what will be the next dramaturgical endeavor that reveals itself?! There are auditions for the Quilt Extravaganza plays soon, but I heard that the rehearsals for this are pretty arduous even though the plays are only 10 minutes long. Then there's also the Rosebarn Theatre (between Berea and Richmond) and the new Berea Arena Theater to consider, but at this point I don't think I can commit to a serious rehearsal schedule that a full-length production would entail. Last night, C'OB also mentioned something about a play that Mitch is trying to recruit people to audition for, so we'll see what happens. I actually like the way in which the V-Day and RBF opportunities serendipitously presented themselves, so I might just wait for the next act to come to me...

p.s. Actually, now that I think of it, the newest opportunity has perhaps already presented itself in the recent invitation to co-produce the new film festival as part of the annual Clear Creek Music Festival. Much more on this to come in the near future.... Awwwww yeeaahhhh!

 

[Backposted from MySpace 4/29/08] 

Drama Queen Reigns Again!

Current mood: excited

It's been a very long time. I've been yearning for a theatrical outlet since high school (yes, that's over 15 years ago). It's amazing how something that was such a huge and omnipresent part of the first half of my life (performing writ large: singing, dancing, storytelling, acting, etc.), has largely been absent in the latter half of my life. Not entirely absent, but mostly absent of formal opportunities for public performance.

When I was a college freshman, I tried out for several campus productions, and even though I was part of the "alternative" crowd (hippy, artsy-fartsy, drama, queer, et al), it was impossible to break through the impenetrable insularity of the theatre clique. Apparently it discouraged and extinguished any further targeted efforts to participate in the performing arts for well over a decade.

To my credit, my life has never been devoid of creative outlets or artistic expression. Where performance plugs into a public platform for play, I've continued to cultivate more contemplative activities like writing, lettering, and crafts. Our house is also a substantial work of art, and I'd go so far as to say that my activism and community organizing efforts are also a form of public/collective art. Most recently, I have developed an interest and expertise in filmmaking, a medium I find especially enticing.

But now, I finally come back to this love of the formal stage. After pining for it, after actively daydreaming for the past couple of years about various ways I might create this reality, it fell in my lap. And interestingly, it is an amalgamation of my past and present talents and interests... a playful yet serious role-play on behalf of women and their struggle for human rights and bodily integrity.

I suddenly find myself giddy with anticipation, and I can almost taste what I've been missing. I am remembering how it felt to be a kid; how fun it is to wear a different character; how every time I open up my heart, my voice, my gifts, I am pole-vaulting into a cosmic eclipse where vulnerability and invincibility become one and the same.

When I was growing up, my Mamaw was one of my biggest encouragers and mentors. If I was singing in church, performing in a play, telling stories, clogging, she was there. She was my agent, my producer, my role model. I remember watching soap operas with her after school, and she would longingly gaze at the screen and confess that she wished she could've played a part in that daytime drama. It seemed silly to me at the time... a soap opera star, of all things to dream about.

But as I got older, I realized that she was not only serious, but that she was a little sad that she had a dream that she didn't pursue. She found other outlets: playing piano at church and for local civic organizations, writing well over 1,000 songs, painting, writing poetry, gardening; all of which she continues to capitalize on today. She chose to raise a family and serve her community. These were not bad choices, and I certainly benefited from them. She was able to live life on a stage of her own making, but I think she still harbors some sadness at somewhat "settling," not stepping out and soaping the opera.

I'm fortunate to still have my Mamaw in my life; she's still one of my biggest fans and supporters. I'm also fortunate to live in a place like Berea where so many inspiring examples of multiple media and artistic endeavor reside. I'm blessed and grateful to be who and where I am.

And... I'm absolutely thrilled to be included in Berea College's V-Day Campaign events and performances. (Infinite thanks for the opportunity, Courtney... you had no idea, did you?!) I'll be performing the closing monologue "Welcome to the Wetlands" for all of the events (documentary viewings on March 4 & 5, and both performances below), as well as another monologue called "Fur Is Back" by Eve Ensler on March 7. So I ain't wasting no time dipping my toes in the water; I'm diving in heart first.

[Backposted from MySpace 2/5/08]