Bits 'n pieces
At this point, I won't begin to undertake the task it would be to write about my trip back home. I saw anybody who actually reads this, anyway, so for those of you that might be reading this--I love you! It was great to see you. Australia and I await your visit. ;)
In the meantime, I'm getting back into the groove of things at work. I've gone to four shows already since I've been home--two proper plays, one dress rehearsal and an opera. (Although I think Pirates of Penzance should technically be classed as an operetta.) One of those shows was August: Osage County, a pulitzer prize-winning play which has also won five Tony awards. It's basically the shit, and somehow we snagged the American tour and veered them south. Most of the original American cast performed at our theatre and they were a-mazing. It was easily my favorite show of the year and had quite a few recognizable people in it including the mom from Rookie of the Year--awesome. More dysfunctional family drama, no changes there, but spiced with wit, humor and good one-liners--"Eat your fish, bitch!" That's a daughter talking to her mother. Oh yeah, it's good.
Anyhews, our company has this thing called company runs, where all staff are invited to see the show before it's even gone to dress rehearsals or previews. It gives you an early sneak peek into the show so we know how it is and how to talk about it with non-staff (for me that equals donors). We had the company run of Our Town last Friday. I walked into the rehearsal room with a couple of gals from my department, and snuck into our seats. As I walked in, I realized I didn't recognize anybody on the right half of the room, but I figured it was mostly stage crew and the cast's family and friends, so I didn't pay much attention. Though out of the corner of my eye I spied a face that appeared familiar, in that famous-familiar way. I kept sneaking a look through the first act and couldn't quite place it. Fairly certain it was American, and it almost looked like the current host of America's Funniest Home Videos. Also kind of looks like Kevin Bacon. Turns out it was Gary Cole, the dad from The Brady Bunch Movie. That's when I realized that the cast of August: Osage County was in the rehearsal room watching the company run with us! There was an older guy cracking up loudly behind me during that whole first act--I turned around and realized it was Meredith Grey's dad from Grey's Anatomy. Dude, I was sitting in front of Grey's dad! Rookie of the Year mom was also in there and sure enough, the rest of the cast. Butterflies may have been in my stomach. :)
I still get a bit shell shocked when I see famous people around the office. On Tuesday, I was watching TV, flipping through one of the awful soap operas and there was this guy with fluffy, curly hair who sees and talks to his ghost daughter. I looked a bit more closely and thought I recognized him as one of the actors in Our Town. I looked him up on the soap opera's website and got the name, but before I could compare it to my work website the internet failed. The next day I was putting a letter in the mailbox by reception when who should stroll in but the man in question (after we did a bit of awkward politeness trying to get out of each others' way to squeeze through the reception hall, but only stepping in front of each other and making it worse). As I walked out of the office, the receptionist asked for his name and he rattled off the same name I had read on the soap opera's website the night before. Yay, I win! That same day I met an Olympic gold medalist (the Thorpedo!). Well, I got him coffee, but that still counts. :)
There are also the star power even closer to home. A few of the gals from my office moved over to another one of our buildings to make more space for the new additions to my department (sorry gals!). They threw an office-warming party over at their new digs, so I went over to say hello, chat and have a cupcake. I was chatting to a smiley co-worker when C, one of our artistic directors, starts putting strips of tape across the office doorway and holds an impromptu ribbon-cutting ceremony with speech and all. It is still surreal to get to see a major Hollywood star out of the spotlight, talking with people I talk to. Those are the moments that I tell myself they're just real people, normal people like anybody else...and I hope I believe it.
The office never fails to keep me appreciative. This morning I went in to take a yoga class with our a few of our resident actors up in this rehearsal space called "The Loft". It's tucked way away in a corner of our building. It's all the way at the top of the building and is quite a fun place to visit, so getting to do yoga in it is quite a treat to me. Stretching out on my yoga mat into child's pose, in a room overlooking the harbor and the morning fog disappearing into the sun, trying to drown out any outside distractions.....beautiful.
Later that day the clouds made another appearance and showered us with hail, rain and wind. My workspace sits right undearneath a window that's none-too-watertight, so on occasion I get rained on at work. Today I actually got hailed on. Pieces of hail made it through the window and showered my desk! That's never happened to me in an office before. :) I had to grab a big sheet of plastic and throw it over my cubicle and wait till the rain stopped.
That's not so bad, though. That doesn't happen often. What happens more often lately is the noise. One of our big initiatives at work is greening and sustainability. We're trying to lead the way in green theater practice and become carbon neutral. The bathrooms were remodeled to use less water with sinks and toilets, and the rainwater is harvested to use in our gray water systems. But an even bigger part of this initiative is the installation of solar panels on the roof. Masses of solar panels are currently being installed and the noise from the drilling is atrocious! We actually wear ear plugs in the office. Some people have had it one step worse--the other gal I work closely with was right underneath the drillers one day and got liberally sprinkled with sawdust.
The office never ceases to entertain. 
In the meantime, I'm getting back into the groove of things at work. I've gone to four shows already since I've been home--two proper plays, one dress rehearsal and an opera. (Although I think Pirates of Penzance should technically be classed as an operetta.) One of those shows was August: Osage County, a pulitzer prize-winning play which has also won five Tony awards. It's basically the shit, and somehow we snagged the American tour and veered them south. Most of the original American cast performed at our theatre and they were a-mazing. It was easily my favorite show of the year and had quite a few recognizable people in it including the mom from Rookie of the Year--awesome. More dysfunctional family drama, no changes there, but spiced with wit, humor and good one-liners--"Eat your fish, bitch!" That's a daughter talking to her mother. Oh yeah, it's good.
Anyhews, our company has this thing called company runs, where all staff are invited to see the show before it's even gone to dress rehearsals or previews. It gives you an early sneak peek into the show so we know how it is and how to talk about it with non-staff (for me that equals donors). We had the company run of Our Town last Friday. I walked into the rehearsal room with a couple of gals from my department, and snuck into our seats. As I walked in, I realized I didn't recognize anybody on the right half of the room, but I figured it was mostly stage crew and the cast's family and friends, so I didn't pay much attention. Though out of the corner of my eye I spied a face that appeared familiar, in that famous-familiar way. I kept sneaking a look through the first act and couldn't quite place it. Fairly certain it was American, and it almost looked like the current host of America's Funniest Home Videos. Also kind of looks like Kevin Bacon. Turns out it was Gary Cole, the dad from The Brady Bunch Movie. That's when I realized that the cast of August: Osage County was in the rehearsal room watching the company run with us! There was an older guy cracking up loudly behind me during that whole first act--I turned around and realized it was Meredith Grey's dad from Grey's Anatomy. Dude, I was sitting in front of Grey's dad! Rookie of the Year mom was also in there and sure enough, the rest of the cast. Butterflies may have been in my stomach. :)
I still get a bit shell shocked when I see famous people around the office. On Tuesday, I was watching TV, flipping through one of the awful soap operas and there was this guy with fluffy, curly hair who sees and talks to his ghost daughter. I looked a bit more closely and thought I recognized him as one of the actors in Our Town. I looked him up on the soap opera's website and got the name, but before I could compare it to my work website the internet failed. The next day I was putting a letter in the mailbox by reception when who should stroll in but the man in question (after we did a bit of awkward politeness trying to get out of each others' way to squeeze through the reception hall, but only stepping in front of each other and making it worse). As I walked out of the office, the receptionist asked for his name and he rattled off the same name I had read on the soap opera's website the night before. Yay, I win! That same day I met an Olympic gold medalist (the Thorpedo!). Well, I got him coffee, but that still counts. :)
There are also the star power even closer to home. A few of the gals from my office moved over to another one of our buildings to make more space for the new additions to my department (sorry gals!). They threw an office-warming party over at their new digs, so I went over to say hello, chat and have a cupcake. I was chatting to a smiley co-worker when C, one of our artistic directors, starts putting strips of tape across the office doorway and holds an impromptu ribbon-cutting ceremony with speech and all. It is still surreal to get to see a major Hollywood star out of the spotlight, talking with people I talk to. Those are the moments that I tell myself they're just real people, normal people like anybody else...and I hope I believe it.
The office never fails to keep me appreciative. This morning I went in to take a yoga class with our a few of our resident actors up in this rehearsal space called "The Loft". It's tucked way away in a corner of our building. It's all the way at the top of the building and is quite a fun place to visit, so getting to do yoga in it is quite a treat to me. Stretching out on my yoga mat into child's pose, in a room overlooking the harbor and the morning fog disappearing into the sun, trying to drown out any outside distractions.....beautiful.
Later that day the clouds made another appearance and showered us with hail, rain and wind. My workspace sits right undearneath a window that's none-too-watertight, so on occasion I get rained on at work. Today I actually got hailed on. Pieces of hail made it through the window and showered my desk! That's never happened to me in an office before. :) I had to grab a big sheet of plastic and throw it over my cubicle and wait till the rain stopped.
That's not so bad, though. That doesn't happen often. What happens more often lately is the noise. One of our big initiatives at work is greening and sustainability. We're trying to lead the way in green theater practice and become carbon neutral. The bathrooms were remodeled to use less water with sinks and toilets, and the rainwater is harvested to use in our gray water systems. But an even bigger part of this initiative is the installation of solar panels on the roof. Masses of solar panels are currently being installed and the noise from the drilling is atrocious! We actually wear ear plugs in the office. Some people have had it one step worse--the other gal I work closely with was right underneath the drillers one day and got liberally sprinkled with sawdust.
The office never ceases to entertain.
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