Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Building Porn/Archisexture

Getting busy in Downtown Saint Paul, MN. Both the Twin Cities famously have skyways connecting many of their buildings, so workers don't have to brave the subzero temps the area gets in the winter. But this one seems to have been built pre-modern skyway boom. And it seems to suggest a 'boom' of its own.


Sometimes a smoke stack is just a smoke stack. But not this one. Bling-ed to the nines with colorful and shiny mosaic, this erection proudly beckons all comers to the Thai deli that it's attached to on University Avenue in Saint Paul, MN.

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

The Fun Perspective

[Photo by Stephan Landry]

I've had a lot of people shake their head at what I do and say something like, "You must have the most fun job in the world." Maybe. It's certainly the most fun job I've ever had.

Lately, I've really been conscious of the show's various perspectives. Audience members, performers, artistic and technical teams.

A first-time audience member sits in awe (or in scrutiny) and lets the magic of the show wash over them. Or their mind wanders to the performers themselves, and they imagine the joy they must be experiencing at that very moment, creating unbelievable feats, defying gravity.

Then there's the performer, waiting in the wings, their mind on a various number of things. Fatigue, concentration, their family, stuff they gotta do tomorrow. Then there's the performer on stage. Now, any number of things could be going on in their minds at any given moment. Mostly, it's concentration, application of notes given by a director or coach, maintenance of a number or act that has been performed almost a thousand times before. Sure there's been evolution within the act, but that evolution has likely been so slow, it almost seems like the exact same act all this time.

The artistic and technical teams watch the show, and their scope and focus zoom in and out from big picture elements like ticket sales and the "story" of the show, to microscopic elements like an uneven trap door or a misstep of a performer. And you know they gotta be thinking about groceries or an upcoming day trip from time to time.

I won't lie. At times, your mind wanders. Mostly at the moments where you can afford to wander. I'm sure the guy on the Chinese Chairs rarely has those moments, but maybe on his last few chairs on the way down? Or when he first enters, before the dangerous stuff starts?

Maybe not, but I find myself at times thinking of how tired I am, noting whether the audience is with us tonight or not, controlling my body and facial expressions, maintaining timing and leaving myself open for improv if needed.

It's all wildly interesting, but I can't say it's "fun" every second. When all is said and done it's work. There's a job to be done, it needs to be done well, and it may require physical or mental strain. And then, on top of all that, fun indeed enters into the equation.

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

First thing's first

Well, hi! Welcome to my blog. I feel like I'm just telling myself this, since I'm not really spreading the word about this blog's existence for now. I guess I've started this to give me some impetus to begin a memoir and to start documenting memories, random thoughts on life... You know, blog stuff I guess...

I'm also currently going through significant changes in my life, the big one being upcoming fatherhood. My beautiful wife is gonna give birth in December, and maybe some life lessons or words of developmental wisdom can be worked out here and eventually be imparted to my spawn.

The title of the blog, Living Well Is The Best Revenge, was found in a New York apartment complex called the Marmara Apartments in Yorkville. It's a Turkish company, and that's their tag line. It's on everything, their marketing materials, their posters, even their room key cards. I initially thought it had kind of a harsh tone to it, maybe a bit conceited. But the more I thought about it, the more it grew on me as a really great mantra. It was originally coined by a 17th century English clergyman and metaphysical poet, George Herbert. It is indeed the best revenge you can have on any adversarial force, be it a person or a personal demon, etc. It's non-violent and yet it's not inactive. One has to work at living well. And that satisfaction can and should well suffice at getting back at the curve balls life inevitably throws at us sometimes.

In my childhood, especially in the awkward junior high school years, I was not a very popular kid. Well, I was very popular with bullies who liked to pick on smaller smartass kids like me. There were some dark, humiliating days on the playgrounds at that time. But it was only a few years later, in most of my high school days, when things started to turn around in my favor, and I started 'living well'. After that, 'living well' began to sink in as a form of revenge for me. The bullies on the playground of course never knew it, and I never really put the 'revenge' label on it, but at one point I found myself saying, "I've arrived at this great point in my life. I'm happy, I have great friends, I'm doing what I love. And guys like Tony Gugliuzza and Chris Siuta are surely somewhere serving 8-10 years for grand larceny, possession with intent to sell, or assault. Advantage: JimmySlo.

Bumps in the road aside, I can count my blessings, lucky stars, thank god, whatever one does to be grateful for what I have and where I am now. Too often I lose sight of that, and it's something I need to work on. Perhaps this blog will help me with that too. Here's to living well!