Orderlies.
I got to the hospital today to see my sister. When I walked into the room, my mom and my older sister were changing the bed. Okay. Why? Because that is how they are.
The orderly walked into the room, a bit perplexed to find his job almost completed. He was quite amused at the site of these two women helping and the one woman (me) standing off to the side, least I get underfoot.
But it made me think... being an orderly has got to be incredibly difficult. One: They have horrific messes to clean up (with all kinds of bodily fluids involved). Two: They do have to deal with crazy families, like mine, under various stages of anxiety. Three: They have to deal with the hierarchy of hospitals (drs., etc).
I wonder if they have the weird hours...
Friday, June 05, 2009
Thursday, June 04, 2009
#4
Yep two posts today - last night I got side tracked with a vomiting child and a sister in the hospital. Child doing better. Sister is not.
But I'm not in the mood to go into that. Maybe later.
Today's heroes are my dogs. They just know when everyone is sick, stressed, etc.. and are just the best.
#3 farmers
Today my heroes are farmers. I just bought 1/2 a cow. Yep - COW. I went to Morris Grass Fed and bought a heck of a lot of meat. I did not go out to meet the cow last month when we were invited for a tour - just didn't have the time, but I will next year.
So I picked up the cow (already butchered and put into convenient labeled portions) and drive it home and toss it in the freezer.
A women who was waiting with me said how great it was to get beef that was grass fed and organic. But most of all, to support local farmers.
So here's to local organic framers! And some incredibly yummy cow...
So I picked up the cow (already butchered and put into convenient labeled portions) and drive it home and toss it in the freezer.
A women who was waiting with me said how great it was to get beef that was grass fed and organic. But most of all, to support local farmers.
So here's to local organic framers! And some incredibly yummy cow...
Tuesday, June 02, 2009
Actors
Today my heroes are actors.
Yes, actors.
But I don't want to write about their "process" or the art that they create - which can transport you to another place/time; give meaning to the unspeakable; inspire social change; uncover desires; and provoke you....
I want to write about the act of courage actors make every time they walk into an audition.
I sit on the other side of the table. When I am casting, I want everyone walking thru the door to be the right person for the job. I want to have many choices and I want everyone to be fabulous. I WANT to have a hard time making the final decision. Every audition is an opportunity to learn something new about the actor and the play. There are many of my counterparts who do not feel that way. They feel that the person coming through the door will only serve to show them what they don't want. They can be ungracious and downright rude to actors.
To walk into a room and give an audition requires bravery. Actors have no idea what the director wants to see, mainly because most of the time the director is learning the play as well and they don't know what they want to see. They don't know what happened in the room before they walked in (the rendition of 'Part of your world," five Bastard speeches, a spilt coffee, a nervous artistic director pushing their own agenda) - well, unless they eavesdrop - but that only adds to the pressure. Sure, there are ideas about how to "plan" your audition- textbooks that tell actors to make sure they audition at the end, so they are the last person the director sees, or first thing so they can set the bar and be on the director's mind all day. Those things don't work. Really.
Most auditions are cold reading. The actors reads it as they prepared it at home. Then the director either says, "thanks" and they're done -- which usually means "you don't get the role" OR the director will give them direction and have them do it again.
A lot of directors don't know how to talk to actors (i am sometimes guilty of this as well) and so the actor must try to decipher the director's intentions, ramblings, etc and make a bold choice during their next pass. First they have to get over the "yippee, they want me to try it again" jitters. And they may only get one more pass...
The actor will be asked to jump thru hoops in the 5 - 15 minutes he/she is in the room. Every actor hoop imaginable.
The actor may be doing all this with 2-10 people in the room. In some circumstances, the actor might not even know who the director is until they have done the first pass. God forbid the mistake the director for an intern (this has happened to me).
There is usually a reader, someone the actor has never met, that they now must play off of... if the reader is good, they play off of the actor. If the reader is bad - they give the actor nothing...
Everything is out there. They are asked to expose their core being and leave it open for introspection until the director is done examining it.
That is how you get a part.
Actors must also leave the world outside. If auditions are running 10, 15, 30 minutes late (and sometimes an hour) - the second they show their displeasure, they could loose the job. They have to be patient. Expect nothing and give everything.
It's a tough job.
It takes courage.
Yes, actors.
But I don't want to write about their "process" or the art that they create - which can transport you to another place/time; give meaning to the unspeakable; inspire social change; uncover desires; and provoke you....
I want to write about the act of courage actors make every time they walk into an audition.
I sit on the other side of the table. When I am casting, I want everyone walking thru the door to be the right person for the job. I want to have many choices and I want everyone to be fabulous. I WANT to have a hard time making the final decision. Every audition is an opportunity to learn something new about the actor and the play. There are many of my counterparts who do not feel that way. They feel that the person coming through the door will only serve to show them what they don't want. They can be ungracious and downright rude to actors.
To walk into a room and give an audition requires bravery. Actors have no idea what the director wants to see, mainly because most of the time the director is learning the play as well and they don't know what they want to see. They don't know what happened in the room before they walked in (the rendition of 'Part of your world," five Bastard speeches, a spilt coffee, a nervous artistic director pushing their own agenda) - well, unless they eavesdrop - but that only adds to the pressure. Sure, there are ideas about how to "plan" your audition- textbooks that tell actors to make sure they audition at the end, so they are the last person the director sees, or first thing so they can set the bar and be on the director's mind all day. Those things don't work. Really.
Most auditions are cold reading. The actors reads it as they prepared it at home. Then the director either says, "thanks" and they're done -- which usually means "you don't get the role" OR the director will give them direction and have them do it again.
A lot of directors don't know how to talk to actors (i am sometimes guilty of this as well) and so the actor must try to decipher the director's intentions, ramblings, etc and make a bold choice during their next pass. First they have to get over the "yippee, they want me to try it again" jitters. And they may only get one more pass...
The actor will be asked to jump thru hoops in the 5 - 15 minutes he/she is in the room. Every actor hoop imaginable.
The actor may be doing all this with 2-10 people in the room. In some circumstances, the actor might not even know who the director is until they have done the first pass. God forbid the mistake the director for an intern (this has happened to me).
There is usually a reader, someone the actor has never met, that they now must play off of... if the reader is good, they play off of the actor. If the reader is bad - they give the actor nothing...
Everything is out there. They are asked to expose their core being and leave it open for introspection until the director is done examining it.
That is how you get a part.
Actors must also leave the world outside. If auditions are running 10, 15, 30 minutes late (and sometimes an hour) - the second they show their displeasure, they could loose the job. They have to be patient. Expect nothing and give everything.
It's a tough job.
It takes courage.
Monday, June 01, 2009
Hero defined
The NaBloPoMo theme this month is Heroes. So, in my quest to write more, and more often, I am accepting the challenge to write every day this month.
Hero definitions:
From Merriam-Webster
1 a: a mythological or legendary figure often of divine descent endowed with great strength or ability
b: an illustrious warrior
c: a man admired for his achievements and noble qualities
d: one that shows great courage
2 a: the principal male character in a literary or dramatic work
b: the central figure in an event, period, or movement
or from Dictionary.com
1. a man of distinguished courage or ability, admired for his brave deeds and noble qualities.
2. a person who, in the opinion of others, has heroic qualities or has performed a heroic act and is regarded as a model or ideal: He was a local hero when he saved the drowning child.
3. the principal male character in a story, play, film, etc.
4. Classical Mythology. a. a being of godlike prowess and beneficence who often came to be honored as a divinity.
b. (in the Homeric period) a warrior-chieftain of special strength, courage, or ability.
c. (in later antiquity) an immortal being; demigod.
5. hero sandwich.
6. the bread or roll used in making a hero sandwich
Today I have a group of heroes... my friends. Yep, I'm going to lump them together for today. Friends perform "heroic acts" -namely, in my case, dealing with my many neurosis. I recognize that I am sometimes a narcissistic talk-aholic with a propensity to interrupt others. Why my friends choose to deal with this - I may never know. But their act of kindness in dealing with me must be deemed Heroic.
I am also a classic flake. I tend to say , "sure I'll do that" and then I flake out at the last minute. I've been trying to get better about this (particularly now that I have a kid and she remembers when I say we're going to do something). But, sometimes I just wanna stay home (so antithetical to being a Sagittarius). The good thing, is that most of my friends, like to hang out...
I am a middle child and thus, Switzerland on many hot button topics. As I also work with actors and write, I do try to see things from various points of view, thus occasionally loosing my own in the process... this could lead to me giving contradictory statements (and advice).
My friends are heroes because without judgment they accept me for who I am. They call me on my shit (yep you do) and know that I will still love them after wards. They push me and challenge me. They have high expectations but also remind me that everyone is human and sometimes its okay to flake, sleep, and just not get something done.
But most importantly, all of my friends (and I am talking about my handful of friends not the "friends/acquaintances" on facebook) - are role models. They inspire me with their words and deeds. They constantly remind me how unique we all are and how utterly fascinating people can be. By the simple act of listening, they perform an amazing heroic deed - allowing people to be human.
There is more to say about the heroism of friends, but I have a whole month to cover it...
And as two of my friends have joined me on a diet today - we will not talk about the HERO as sandwich definition. No bread. That is what friends can do for each other...
Hero definitions:
From Merriam-Webster
1 a: a mythological or legendary figure often of divine descent endowed with great strength or ability
b: an illustrious warrior
c: a man admired for his achievements and noble qualities
d: one that shows great courage
2 a: the principal male character in a literary or dramatic work
b: the central figure in an event, period, or movement
or from Dictionary.com
1. a man of distinguished courage or ability, admired for his brave deeds and noble qualities.
2. a person who, in the opinion of others, has heroic qualities or has performed a heroic act and is regarded as a model or ideal: He was a local hero when he saved the drowning child.
3. the principal male character in a story, play, film, etc.
4. Classical Mythology. a. a being of godlike prowess and beneficence who often came to be honored as a divinity.
b. (in the Homeric period) a warrior-chieftain of special strength, courage, or ability.
c. (in later antiquity) an immortal being; demigod.
5. hero sandwich.
6. the bread or roll used in making a hero sandwich
Today I have a group of heroes... my friends. Yep, I'm going to lump them together for today. Friends perform "heroic acts" -namely, in my case, dealing with my many neurosis. I recognize that I am sometimes a narcissistic talk-aholic with a propensity to interrupt others. Why my friends choose to deal with this - I may never know. But their act of kindness in dealing with me must be deemed Heroic.
I am also a classic flake. I tend to say , "sure I'll do that" and then I flake out at the last minute. I've been trying to get better about this (particularly now that I have a kid and she remembers when I say we're going to do something). But, sometimes I just wanna stay home (so antithetical to being a Sagittarius). The good thing, is that most of my friends, like to hang out...
I am a middle child and thus, Switzerland on many hot button topics. As I also work with actors and write, I do try to see things from various points of view, thus occasionally loosing my own in the process... this could lead to me giving contradictory statements (and advice).
My friends are heroes because without judgment they accept me for who I am. They call me on my shit (yep you do) and know that I will still love them after wards. They push me and challenge me. They have high expectations but also remind me that everyone is human and sometimes its okay to flake, sleep, and just not get something done.
But most importantly, all of my friends (and I am talking about my handful of friends not the "friends/acquaintances" on facebook) - are role models. They inspire me with their words and deeds. They constantly remind me how unique we all are and how utterly fascinating people can be. By the simple act of listening, they perform an amazing heroic deed - allowing people to be human.
There is more to say about the heroism of friends, but I have a whole month to cover it...
And as two of my friends have joined me on a diet today - we will not talk about the HERO as sandwich definition. No bread. That is what friends can do for each other...
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