Thursday, January 28, 2010

What Dreams May Come.

I woke up thinking, "squirrels and chipmunks are too small to be adequate food servers." I had a picture in my head of a chipmunk balancing an hors d'oeuvres tray.
Hmm. Peculiar? Certainly. Mysterious? Maybe. Meaningless? I think not.

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

The Job Hunt Part 3.

The search for important work is an interesting process.

I have been offered a job at the LA Theatre Center. Not much money, but with great potential to create good karma and become involved with an evolving theatre company. Looks like a wonderful new play too. I am going to a reading of the play on Sunday.

I have a tentative offer at the Douglas Theatre in Culver City. Again, not much money, but a play I work-shopped and may increase my value and engender good will back at CTG.

I just received an email from the La Jolla Playhouse. No particular job offer, but interest. I would not mind going back there at all. They have washing machines in the apartments!

I am being a bit glib. I don't really mean to be. I take all of these potential offers seriously and ponder the next step.

I have nothing firm. I have some vague offers, contracts have not been offered, but I'm cheered.

Another report next week!
mkk.

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Two Truths.


"People tend to believe that God believes what they believe."

"California has too many chihuahuas."

In my experience I have found both statements to be true.

(Source: Harper's Magazine, Findings, February 2010)

Friday, January 22, 2010

Sun Through The Clouds.

The rain is crazy falling down. We are in the middle of the 3rd or 4th storm. I forget. I took this picture the other day from my front porch, as the 2nd storm abated.
I thought, "oh, good, we got through this one." The sky in the west cleared as the sun was starting to descend and it started raining all over again. But! The sun was shining from its descent, through the rain. I got these two pictures from my backyard.
Okay, they don't quite match up, but I was using my cell phone. It was a glorious full rainbow!
Gotta love it, but I do remember what the nuns told us... the rainbow means the world will never again be destroyed by flood, "fire next time." Oh, good.

Well, my husband and I have survived this series of storms without damage and in great communion with each other. We have the remnants of the final storm tomorrow coming through and finally some very important appointments to keep (Medical and Laundry-ical.) I went downtown for my meeting Tuesday at LATC on what turned out to be the worst day. After a very lovely, exciting and productive reunion with my colleague and friend I walked back through the streets of downtown L.A. in a torrent of rain, got into my car, turned on the radio and heard that I was in the path of a possible tornado! Just as this news made its way to my brain, FLASH, CRASH, BOOM, the lightning was so bright and the thunder so loud and immediate it actually rattled the windows of my car. Yikes. I drove home very carefully!

I am happy to say we spent the next couple of days holed up and happy. I cooked and read and did some puzzles. He cleared the drain in the kitchen, exercised and read. We watched t.v., Netflix and played our new favorite game, "Bananagrams." I figured out how to transfer all our prescriptions to "Cigna Home Delivery Pharmacy." (My Union is insisting we get our maintenance drugs through the mail now.) All in all, a pleasant, productive week. There is something to be said for having to stay at home once in a while.

It is raining again. I can hear it pattering.

I wish I could brush back this rain off of me.
It doesn't pay to look this good if nobody sees.
Settle back they tell me, the weather's in your eyes.
The mint leaf picked tastes better
with a kiss for compromise.

Give me back my letters
I'm back in Berkeley's Soul.
My hair is where it used to be.
My collar doesn't show.
And I'm all for good time money,
but no gold stops this show.

I wish I could wish,
and there I would be.
Sun through the clouds,
And the sunshine on me.
"Walk this way," you ask me,
"And lie beneath the shade."
The fact remains it's raining,
And that gave it away.

Give me back my letters
I'm back in Berkeley's Soul.
My hair is where it used to be.
My collar doesn't show.
And I'm all for good time money,
but no gold stops this show...
No gold stops this show.

by Philip J. Hilow, sometime in the 1970's.

Sunday, January 17, 2010

Meanderings.

Rain is coming. This is a shot from my backyard, and as dry as our last few summers have been, the rain is oh, so welcome.
The forecast is a bit alarming. 3 or 4 storms are coming. 8 to 12 inches in the foothills in the second storm alone. Uh, we live in the foothills. Now, my dear readers, this is Los Angeles. We freak out when it rains, and a rain storm in this area usually delivers about 1/10th of an inch. We don't have a clue how to drive in it and we actually cancel appointments and stay home. We exchange theatre tickets... we won't go to a party. We barely make it to work. This is just the way it is. We have so little experience with wet weather. We have so little experience with any weather at all!

(Earthquakes we get, as much as any people can. We know we will be alone for at least 3 days. We've been told and we've experienced it. We've laid aside water and food, rope and batteries, the old fashion transistor radio. We have emergency shut-off valves on our gas lines. Oh, Gosh, poor Haiti. Wish we could do more than send money. Younger, healthier, more experienced individuals will have to rescue Haiti's population. I send all my good will to the Haitians and all my admiration to the people trying to help. My heart breaks.)

Our rain storms have the potential to do a bit of damage. We have extensive "burn-areas" and the risks of mud-slides and flash-floods are very real. Our advantage is that we've been warned. We just need to be smart and we will be okay. I am shopping tomorrow so my husband and I can just "hunker down." We will play games and eat and visit. We will watch some of the many programs we've downloaded from Netflix. We will hope that my one appointment on Tuesday falls in between the storms. (I will leave really early!) My husband says, "At least we'll know if we have any leaks..."

I took a lovely walk today and the children I saw cheered me. Two boys were playing in the parking lot of our local park. One on a bicycle, one on a skate board. They were both circling the lot. I am not sure if they even knew each other, both so wrapped up in their own separate adventure. The one on the bike would peddle up the gentle grade and then attempt simple tricks. He had, hmm, like handle bars coming out the sides of his wheels. He would stop peddling and put his feet on these bars, glide around and get an amazing amount of mileage from the left-over energy. He was elegant. The skateboarder simply circled and paid no attention to the cyclist. Lost somewhere in his head. Neither seemed to notice me at all. Deeper in the park a number of smaller children were climbing and sliding and swinging all over the first of two play-sets. A little peanut, she couldn't have been more than 3 years old, was screaming in her mother's arms. She clearly had had some kind of scare and needed Mom for a moment. Still screaming, she broke away from Mom and ran back to the slide. She had to play. As soon as she got herself back to the slide, she stopped screaming and was laughing again. Amazing. A clear dichotomy, but there it was. She made me smile.

My meanderings for the day.

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

The Job Hunt. Part 2.

Here I am in the second week of job-hunting. I don't seem to be very dedicated and anything and everything distracts me. I did finally make an appointment to meet with the Artistic Director of the new LATC. That will happen next Tuesday. In the meantime, I've had a mammogram and will go see my podiatrist tomorrow. (My left foot has been bothering me. Hmm, kind of funny in its way.)

Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow. (Yikes, Shakespeare.) The perseverance is all. The constancy to the task creates the opportunities. I will endeavor, but at my own pace.

In the meantime... I barbecued ribs tonight, added a little cole slaw and some potato salad. Perfect. I watched The Food Network and discovered that gelatin (Jello, gummy bears and the like) are all made from pig skin. Wondering if my vegetarian friends know this. I've seen some of them eat gummy bears. I found this new fact a bit amusing. I've a perverted sense of humor, perhaps.

Whenever my husband feels up to it, I'm game for whatever he wants to do. He doesn't feel that well very often but if he wants to journey out... well, out we go! It is too important to let that opportunity fly by. So, cooking, t.v. and little travels all take me out of some concerted effort to find work. I find I am okay with it all.

That's it. That is week two, at the start.

Maybe I'll try going to bed before 3am.


Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Come It Will.

I spent the day teaching my "advanced" stage management class. They were a wonder. All of my students I've had before in the beginning class, so I know them, but they've transformed into a chatty inquisitive group. (They were so quiet before, like pulling teeth...) It was a great class and I'm looking forward to spending the semester with them.

I did nothing to advance my job search. Instead, I came home and made quesadillas out of leftover chicken, added refried beans and leftover rice. Glorious dinner. Love leftovers!

The neighborhood has become a little wonky lately. My next door neighbors who moved in about 8 months ago with 4 kids in tow and another (I kid you not) 10 elsewhere...seem to be moving out. The wife (with whom I've recently become friends) left with the kids a couple of days ago. No explanation. The husband...who was missing through all this, shows up at night, night after night, with his friends and moves stuff around... vacuums, but never seems to clean up anything. My other neighbors, who've been fighting for years, spent tonight slamming car doors, front doors and screaming at each other. The rest of us on the block turn a bit of a blind eye. The only guy we are sure has a gun seems fairly even tempered. (His name is Verne and his truck has the ubiquitous bumper sticker, "Guns don't kill people, people kill people.") So, we (the sane ones on the block) watch out for each other, look askance at the weird neighbors, call the police once in a while, judiciously, and hope the next new neighbors don't have a barking dog.

Again, about looking for work. Well, tomorrow I will make a phone call or two. I have an appointment for a mammogram. Thought I should keep it and get it done, because with what all is happening in the world, I may not have insurance that will pay for it next year. I've adopted the mind-set of "just get it done."

I'd forgotten until tonight, that the last time I felt I'd never work again was just a scant 5 years ago. My mother had died from pancreatic cancer so my doctor (who was also one of her doctors) decided I needed to be tested for pancreatic cancer. The test turned out positive. Oh, gosh, I had just accepted a new job at the Old Globe in San Diego! (Realize, at the time, this was a death sentence.) I went through an astounding variety of tests, one after the other. I never told the Old Globe what was going on. Nothing showed up. The doctors were confused and very worried. My father (who happens to be a pathologist) said to me, " have them test your blood again." Well, I did and it turned out negative. All my doctors were so relieved. It turns out that blood tests for pancreatic cancer often give false positives, but the negative results are always accurate. The tests stopped and I went to San Diego.

Well. All my tests are good right now. My husband, though not doing well, is holding his own, and seems to need me home. I want to work, but I am not. There was more to that statement and I can't explain. I like doing little things. If work comes I will take it. I will not stop looking for work, but I don't feel desperate for it. Not yet, anyway.

Oh, I will never not want to work. I need to be with my intimate group of actors and designers and directors. I will see them all again. But, maybe it is all not as urgent as I thought. Maybe it can all wait a bit.

Maybe it is okay to slow down and let life come. Come it will.

Sunday, January 10, 2010

The Job Hunt. Part 1.

Looking for work. Looking for meaningful employment. Looking for a job with health benefits and a pension. Specifically looking for an Equity Stage Management Position.

How does one go about this? It has been 25 years since I've had to actually look. I've said this before. I've been extremely lucky in my career. Jobs have always just found me. This is very peculiar for me.

So, what have I done so far? Well, last Monday I started in earnest to "look for work." I emailed a couple more people whom I felt could help. (I've been trying to keep my contacts local for the time being. The optimum job would be in or around Los Angeles.) I've reached out to The Mark Taper Forum and Ahmanson, The Pasadena Playhouse and the new LATC. I've called stage manager friends who often are contacted by out-of-town producers to recommend people for work. I've called my closest, dearest directors and emailed friendly producers. I've posted requests for work on facebook. I've notified my union. I've collected a series of people who are more than happy to act as references. I've subscribed to artsearch and I check the Equity Job Postings daily.

What have I not done? I have not contacted The Geffen Playhouse. The drive is more than I'm willing to face at the moment, but I probably will in the next couple of weeks. I have not yet tried some of my more inventive ideas, ideas that would take me out of stage managing and off on another course. I have not contacted any organization outside the L.A. area. It will come to that eventually, though, I'm sure. I have more directors to email and plan to reconnect with some of my past designers. Who knows where the next job will come from? I have not redone my resume. It sits at 4 pages and is a little ridiculous. I need to tackle that soon, maybe later today.

So, what has been the result of this tentative labor?
I've been invited to have a meeting with the Artistic Director of the new Los Angeles Theatre Center. I'll arrange that next week. I have received many letters of support and outrage from friends and dear colleagues. This is gratifying, if not a bit overwhelming!

And.. that's it. No jobs in the offing. Not yet. I will continue on this course with patience and without rancor. In the meantime, I'll work on the part-time job I do have, teaching stage management at USC. I'm prepped and ready for my first class tomorrow and will focus my attention there.

I will spend more time with my husband and enjoy being home. I will continue to be optimistic and wake up happy.

I will keep you "posted." (I still make myself laugh.)

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

And The Answer Is.

New thoughts.

I have sent out tentative tendrils tasting the job market. Throughout my career I have been enormously lucky. I haven't had to actually actively search since I was about 30 years old. This is almost like losing a husband and having to date again. I don't know where to start and this all feels a little embarrassing. No, I know what you'd say, but it feels that way.

2 days. That is all I've spent so far. Tentative outreach. Somehow the mere asking is more humiliating. This makes me hesitant. I am used to people calling me. It is all a bit crushing to be here, now, after all my good work and after all this time. (Nearly 30 years.)

I just may be enormously impatient. 2 days after all.

Yes, I've bought the on-line version of ART-SEARCH. I check the EQUITY listings. But, Stage Management jobs are found mostly on reputation and connections. I have those, and after 2 whole days no one is calling.

I'm ridiculous, I know.

I am also being a little sardonic and glib.

Something will come. Something always comes. Don't Panic.

How many surrealists does it take to screw in a light bulb?
A fish.

m.