Recently, a friend was in an accident. It was one of those situations where a split second was the difference between serious injury or death, and a painful, but remediable, injury. Luckily, the timing went the latter direction. She’s injured, but she’ll be back to normal at more or less the moment she gets used […]
Today, Petra and I went to the most amazing event. On Rt. 33, east of Harrisonburg, Bibb and Dolly Frazier (who own the Frazier Quarry) have planted acres and acres of sunflowers. For one day only, they opened their gates and invited the community to come pick as many as we wanted. They did this to […]
If you’ve been reading over here for any length of time, you know that, although I live in Virginia, I have a creative home in Grand Haven, MI, home of The Pigeon Creek Shakespeare Company. I’ve done three plays with them in the past several years, and have made short trips for other occasions, like […]
It’s pancake day, my friends. And that always makes me remember one of the best nights of my life. When I was in grad school, for complicated reasons, I moved my thesis project up by a semester. As a result, I was one of the first (maybe the first?) from my cohort to present my […]
Since I returned from Michigan, I’ve been thinking a lot about what my role is as a director. This is a sign of a good production—it’s making me grow as an artist and reconsider what I value. I’m also reminded, by some of the things that happened there, of the ways that my work is appreciably […]
Last winter, I started taking a ballet class. I’ve been wanting to do it for a long time—since I’m a theater director, expanding my movement vocabulary is an important way to keep developing in my art. Also, many of my favorite actors have a classical dance background, and I wanted to learn more about how […]
I’ve been thinking for a while about how everyone who sees me with my kids has exactly the same comment, which is that I don’t ever flip out at them or let them control my emotions. It’s a comment, of course, that reflects what I’m presenting to the outside world, rather than what’s going on in […]
Our church, like many churches, celebrates All Saint’s Day on the Sunday after Halloween, and so that is what we did last Sunday. The church I used to attend doesn’t practice a strong liturgical calendar, and, although I understand why, I also find power and meaning in the wheel of the year. I like that […]
My being a professional theaterist has made my children, perhaps, a bit weirder than they would otherwise be. The good news is that Silas, at least, has a firm grasp on fiction and reality. When we go see a play, he understands that all those adults are just pretending. He’s been to more rehearsals than […]
While we’re on the subject, I guess I’ll share the other mantra that I carried out of Hiram (many lessons, but just these two mantras): Life is tough. Hiram owns an off-the-grid camp on the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Classes go up there sometimes, and they have a five-day backpacking trip for first year students to […]