Day 27 of 33

In a week's time, I will be home!

We had a funny day today, because The Globe was holding its semi-annual gala tonight for fund-raisers. We had rehearsal in the afternoon but no show. Nobody in the cast or company was invited to the gala because I guess we didn't make enough money.

It certainly looked pretty spiffy out on the courtyard.

I went in early this morning to finally get a look in the Botanical building, which had interested me for weeks. It was a cool building and worth my 15 minute walk, but probably not a whole lot more. One of the coolest plants I saw in there was a Staghorn fern from Austalia, which they had just growing out of the wall. This was my favorite one because it was huge and seemed like a mustachioed Texan. I thought it was going to start talking to me and quizzing me on the stats of the Dallas Cowboys.

We had our short rehearsal where we got a chance to work through some things. So much of what we rehearse now is dependent upon reactions in the preview performances, so it was a relaxed day. Tomorrow we come back for some more rehearsal and then our second preview.

John, the playwright, decided he was going to a Padres game tonight and invited me along. As an aspiring director, I figure it is always smart to hang out with successful playwrights and I gladly accepted. I find it funny that, even though baseball is my least favorite professional sport, I have been to more professional baseball games than any other sport combined. I made my way back to Petco park, loaded up another hot dog, and tried to figure out why sober people would enjoy the game.

Day 26 of 33

Thanks for the well-wishes tonight! It was our first preview, which is not quite the same as opening, but exciting none-the-less.

It went very well.

It was exciting standing out in the plaza, since all the Globe shows started at the same time and all the patrons come together outside, grabbing snacks and drinks.

I met the director and we headed in to our assigned seats. I peeked in the program and there it is, my name! I know it's not that big of a deal, but hey, it's something.

The preview went very well tonight. We have been dissecting the play and delving into the characters and motivations over the past couple of weeks. To be honest, I was afraid we may have been avoiding some of the pure humor of the play. However, the audience tonight not only laughed in all the right places, but gasped, booed and listened in all the right places. It seemed like a very promising preview performance and I look forward to what we learn from this.

In case you were wondering, this is what you should look out for if you ever attend a preview performance. This is my setup for taking all the notes during the performance. If you see this at show, look next to the person holding it and you are probably seeing the director.

It turns out that tonight was also the Opening Night for the next Hershey Felder show, where we portrays Leonard Bernstein. After our notes session, I went with the director and designers to the opening night party. None of us had seen the show, but we figured we could gran some free food and drink. I was glad to have this opportunity because most nights the director and designers go out to dinner together between the afternoon and evening rehearsal, but I really can't afford to go. They seem to know each other through connections at Yale, so I would like to build some relationships there. Also, the free food and drink never hurts. The company manager tried to pass it off on me, but I can only carry so much while riding a bicycle.

Tomorrow we only have rehearsal because The Globe has their Gala for donors in the evening. Supposedly there is a karaoke party somewhere, so perhaps I will make my way to that.

Day 25 of 33

We had our Invited Dress tonight. I am used to the Invited Dress being just friends, family, and other theater people. The Globe, however, has a lot of volunteers that act as ushers and other things, and they get invited to these Dress Rehearsals. We had a decent crowd, but they were mostly quiet and complaining about the cold, if you catch my drift.

On my dinner break, I headed to Jack in the Box to redeem my voucher for two free tacos (a nice break from rice and figs). Someone stopped and asked me for directions on my way there, and I knew where to send them. I have officially been here too long.

Day 24 of 33

I'm behind again, forgive me. In addition to it being tech week, the NFL is back and mad roster realignments have taken up the majority of my internet time.

On Wednesday we had our second 10 out of 12. We were able to run the show twice, do notes in between, and still have a photo call at the end of the day. It was fantastic to see the difference in the two runs with the notes. You don't always get progress like that, and we appear to be way ahead of the curve.



I have moved into leftovers mode on the food front, because I really can't take food home with me and I need to finish off what I have. Most of my meals today consisted of variations of rice, corn, and figs. They may need to fumigate this apartment after I leave.

Day 23 of 33

More technical rehearsals today.

We had a 10 out of 12 today, which means we can work 10 hours of a 12 hour period (we took a 2 hour dinner). In that time, we managed to finish teching the show, including a very complicated scene in Act 2.

I often find myself in one of two working conditions in the theatre:
1. I am given meticulous details on what to do, to the point where I feel as if nobody trusts me to do anything myself.
2. I am given almost nothing to do, to the point where I worry I'm not doing something that everyone expects I should be doing.
In this case, I find myself in the latter. I am mostly left to my own devices, with the exception of occasionally jotting down a note. Perhaps I should volunteer more ideas, but I don't want to interrupt or go beyond my bounds. Also, I find it very interesting just to take everything in. I figure nobody can be too upset with me, since they aren't really paying me anything, but I wish I could actually make some impressions.

Well... another 10 hours tomorrow!

Day 22 of 33

Oh gosh, I've hit the last third of my time here in San Diego. Fortunately, I think I have already done and seen so much, there's not much more I feel I absolutely MUST fit in. Hopefully I can find some time to see some friends from LA, but that may be a stretch.

Today was my day off. Instead of going on some grand adventure, I spent the day trying to line up work for when I get back. I played some smart moves so I think I can go back to the jobs I left... but I'd rather not have to do that. I realized how few people I actually know in high enough places to get me some jobs. I started emailing people I did not know, because I figured only good things can come of it.

In the afternoon, I went to see a reading of a developing play by John Cariani called Last Gas. John is one of the actors in the festival shows (and very good, at that) and is the author of one of the most popular plays among regional and summer stock companies in Almost, Maine. Henry, the director of Shaw was directing the reading, and a couple of actors in shows from The Old Globe acted in it. Note: the picture is not THE reading, just A reading for clarification of what a reading looks like.

I found out that Alex had actually seen this same play in a previous incarnation when it was staged at Portland Stage in Maine. I talked to John briefly after the reading and he said that, because he had already seen a staged production, he could not stand seeing a reading of it. I think everyone in the room really enjoyed the show, though.

It reminds me that I really want to work on developing some new shows. I wish I had a great venue in New York that was willing to just give up a room to have a reading in.

I had some more adventures in cooking last night, as well. When I first went to Nebraska and ordered tacos, I was surprised to find them not in a shell, but laid out on what I called corn latkas. Well, I tried making my own corn tortillas and discovered why. It was extremely difficult to roll out the corn flour into small pancakes, and then to try and transfer these to the frying pan to solidify. I made quite a mess on the stovetop here. Fortunately, I'll be leaving soon so I probably don't need to clean it up. Long story short, making nice tortillas for soft tacos was not in the books.

I then took some sliced garlic and threw it in a pan with some oil and lime juice, then threw in some shredded chicken to get it to a nice brown. Right before taking it off the heat, I gave it a little sip of corona.

The final product looked like this. We've got the corn latka topped with the chicken. On top of that is some home made guacamole (Yes, I finally made some!), some diced tomatoes and tomatillos, and cheese. Delicious.

Day 21 of 33

We started technical rehearsals today. Apart from one scene in the second Act, it is not a technically difficult show, so we managed to get clear through the first Act today.

I felt that I was able to provide some help today, which was great. With everything going on, the director would occasionally ask me to relay some notes. Also, I have a good relationship with the playwright, so I would go back and forth between the two and try to keep everything going smoothly.

I tried to snap a couple pictures of the theatre and backstage, but only when I was alone, so as not to reveal myself as starry-eyed. This is one of the hallways around the theatre. Immaculate except a few boxes scattered around. Apparently this theatre is very new, perhaps only 2 years old or so.

It was fun to work in a professional atmosphere with professional designers, because I think I don't often conceive of what could be possible, as opposed to what we get stuck with on the summer stock and off-Broadway circuit. Although the show is very simple, we have some fairly complex technical elements during transitions that are very nice and beat the heck out of a blackout.

Generally it is frowned upon to take pictures of the set outside of publicity, because it is considered the property of the designer. Since I'm pretty sure the readership of this blog is limited to my parents, I felt it was probably safe.

I may not have mentioned this before, but we are actually working in the round. This offers a unique set of obstacles and I'm glad to have the opportunity to assist on a show in the round before doing it myself.

I went home for dinner break, and got ready to come back for that night's session. There was supposed to be a shuttle that picked us up at our housing at night and brought us all over to the theater, so we don't walk through the park at night. However, the pickup time came and went and there was no bus nor anyone waiting for it. I jumped on my bike and sped back to the theatre (I'm pretty fast, so it was not an issue).

I discovered that Hershey Felder, who was doing a show in another theater in the complex and I mentioned earlier, had sprung on dinner for everyone! There was a huge spread in the green room with pastas, dips, salads, and deserts. All the actors decided to hang out and get free food at the theatre instead of heading back. The stage manager then thought they should cancel the shuttle since nobody would be taking it. Apparently, I went forgotten in all these proceedings - Womp Womp Womp...

Well tomorrow is a day off. I think I need to spend some time on my career instead of leveling up my Petilil on my illegal Pokemon game. Where would I like to be n 5 years? I'd like to not be forgotten!

Day 20 of 33

We go into tech rehearsals tomorrow, so we took another easy day in rehearsal. It is rather unconventional to begin tech at the end of the week, because it can be a grueling process, but that is how everything lined up for us. Today was our last day by ourselves in the rehearsal space, so we simply did some scenework and then ran the play again. Again, everyone reiterates that it seems to be in very good shape.

I've grown increasingly frustrated with my position in my career. Not in regards to the process out here, which I am enjoying tremendously, but with the realization that I have nothing to come back to. I now have a great Assistant Director credit to add to my resume, but it only gets me so far. I started to apply for a directing fellowship for new directors, but they want a reference from a theatre professional who can evaluate my directing. I can come up with something, maybe, but it would be a stretch.

If I had done work that a "theatre professional" had seen, and I felt it was good enough to be critiqued, then what would I need a new directors fellowship for? Wouldn't that make me a theatre professional?

It is frustrating because there is no good track to get where I want to go. There are no entry level jobs in directing, and I find myself playing the endless game of Chicken-and-Egg (you know, which one comes first?).

As I go through the business, I find more and more people connected with the Yale Drama Program. When I went out with the director and designers the other day (who had all gone to Yale) I mentioned that I was looking into the program. The Lighting Designer responded "For Directing, where else is there?". He was being completely honest with this question and not facetious. There are a couple of other good programs, but that question really shows how important a degree from Yale is.

Now I feel like I need to rush to build enough credits and references just to be able to apply to Yale in December. Their website says they want my resume to show at least two years of professional directing outside of college. If I had two years of professional directing, what the hell would I need graduate school for?! However, I worked with a director at Shakespeare Theatre of NJ who got into Yale Directing program directly out of college, so I'm not sure how strict they are with that and how much they just put that to scare people off.

It just continues to overwhelm me that it should be so difficult for me. I know that I am smart enough, talented enough, and hard-working enough to work as a director. I have to know that in my heart or I can't go on. I just can't get there fast enough.

Day 19 of 33

Today was a pretty interesting day. As I mentioned, we had our designer run-through today. It looked like the show was in great shape. I took some sparse notes, and the past couple days I have felt my notes have been on point and I'm on the same page as the director. I am looking forward to tech rehearsals on Thursday and possibly having some more to do.

After rehearsal we had some meetings to attend with tech staff and designers, and then we grabbed a drink with the lighting designer.

I went to see "Amadeus" tonight, the final show playing in rep at the Festival Stage. It is a fabricated story based on the rumor that Salieri had poisoned Mozart. I thought it was very well done and well acted and I had a lot of fun.

Sorry, no grand musings or funny pictures tonight.

Day 18 of 33

When Marketing Initiatives Backfire!

More on that in a moment. I had a fun day today. We had another good rehearsal and are homing in on tech rehearsals. The designers come to watch a run tomorrow and we get into the theater on Sunday. Generally, tech is crazy, but I have a feeling this one won't be so bad.

After rehearsal, I went back to the San Diego Museum of Art, where they had an exhibit of Spanish master painters called From Greco to Dali. I learned a decent amount about Spanish painters in my High School Spanish classes (Kudos, Senora!), so I was interested in going.

It was a nice exhibit, and just my size. It was very interesting to see the distinct change from the early religious styles to realistic to surrealistic. I thought it would have been such a nice finishing touch to the exhibit if they could have tied in local art that perhaps tied back to Spanish influences.

I headed home for dinner and to run some lines with a cast member. However, I began to hear the call of the nerds. The Comic Con opened today and, while I really have no interest in most comics or superheroes, the gravitational pull of so many nerds in one place pulled me in. I hopped on my bike and sped downtown. The highlight of my night was going to be a free performance from Cirque du Soleil on the side of Petco Park, the baseball stadium.

I had a great time at Comic Con. The people-watching alone was worth the trip. Most events were reserved for people with badges or tickets, but there were some fun things to do. One of my first stops was into the faux-museum set up by Conan O'Brien featuring all the fan art for his comic persona, The Flaming C. Literally, they managed to fill an entire store with fan art, and gave out food and swag to boot.


Many of the restaurants had been taken over by tv networks or companies. One of the pictures above is at the "Cowboys and Aliens" Saloon, named for the upcoming movie. The SyFy channel took over the Hard Rock Cafe and turned it into the CafeDiem from Eureka.

I found two more temporary exhibits that must have taken over empty storefronts or warehouses. One was for Monstergeddon, a superhero themed Monster truck show. They were showing off some of their cars and selling tickets for their next show, coming to San Diego. Most importantly, I found the SEGA Arcade. They had an entire club littered with gaming systems to promote their upcoming games. True to their word, many of the games had an arcade feel to them. I tried playing a handheld game, and then a destruction game for XBox. The Highlight, though, was a new hands free Zombie Slasher that they were featuring in its own private room. The game used the Microsoft Kinect hardware so that you use no remotes, but stand and control your character as you bash and slice hordes of zombies. I found it sort of frustrating. It might take time to get used to, or it might need some tweaking.

I walked around for a little more, but we were getting close to the Cirque show. In my limited experience with Cirque shows, I knew they were better with a buzz. I downed a beer at a hopping outdoor bar, and headed to the ballpark. People were already taken seat in the prime real estate, so I found a comfy piece of pavement and waited out the next 25 minutes.

The audience counted down the final ten seconds and then grew completely silent in anticipation. The show started amid cheers, but then they apparently had some technical difficulties with the sound. They played around for a minute or so, with a mostly supportive crowd (it was free, after all) and then got it up and running.

They performed a fight between about 10 characters running up and down a wall, although it seemed like you had an aerial view of the fight. There were only 2 live characters, though, and the rest were being projected. In my opinion, I thought it was OK at best, but I understood their real performance was in Vegas and they were lacking some. The fight came to a close and everyone got ready for the next scene.

Instead, we were greeted with a sign that read "See the rest of the show at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas". The entirety of the show, INCLUDING technical difficulties, was 7 minutes. A roar went up from the crowd and people started booing the performance. They had built up this performance, and people like me found themselves waiting for over 3 times longer than the show lasted.

When marketing your event, it's important not to show too much to give away, but to show enough to get people interested. A good show may have sold tickets. This definitely did not. Bad move.

Day 17 of 33

I went to see Shakespeare's "The Tempest" tonight at The Old Globe


I sat next to a very nice woman who was a native Californian and a frequent patron of the Globe. During the intermission, she pried from me that I was working as an Assistant Director there and was very impressed. At the conclusion of the show, she said to me "And you're one of the people that makes these things happen? I always knew that human beings were responsible, but I've never met one." Well, I had nothing to do with "The Tempest", but I still felt like a million bucks.

While I was watching the play, I thought to myself what a fine line there is between sending your audience out saying "That was beautiful and moving" and "That was beautiful... but I don't get it".

There are an infinite number of amazing things you can do in a production when you have money, imagination, or, best of all, both. It's important to analyze why you're doing what you're doing and also if the audience is going to understand it.

I think there are some genius directors out there with magnificent ideas that can weave fantastic stories in their productions. As I sat there, though, I wondered if the blue collar directors, who work with simpler and fewer ideas, aren't better suited for most types of theater. How can the average patron comprehend every idea, art form, and symbol being put into play when they are usually engaging themselves fully already in just the story of the play (if it has any merit).


I suppose my question is, what is the best way to tell a story? Simply? Flamboyantly? Or somewhere inbetween?

Day 16 of 33

I was planning to start this post saying that I had gained anew respect for homeless people.

After a short rehearsal and grabbing Mexican food with the cast (I got a kids meal to keep it cheap), I went back to Trader Joe's to pick up some food. It's really difficult to ride a bicycle with grocery bags hanging from the handle bars, which is where the homeless reference came in. Imagine tying different weights to each side of the steering wheel in your car. And then take away two wheels. And the motor. Ok, that's a poor example, but it's difficult. On the way home, however, a homeless man blocked my path with his grocery cart so I had to dismount my unwieldy vehicle and walk around. I immediately lost the short-lived respect I had for the homeless.

I mentioned a while back that I wanted to endeavor to buy more local products. Well, I did a little bit of research and paid extra attention to labels at Trader Joe's to try and buy local produce. Trader Joes is a California company, so when all else fails, I hope the generic products and created nearby. Here is my booty:

Some of the items include: Agave Nectar, Corn Flour, California Peaches, Figs, Strawberries and Walnuts. Mexican Tomatoes and Avocados (I know it's another country, but if I can ride my bike there, I figure it's ok.) Goat Cheese and Dried Sausage. Organic Free-Range Chicken.

I got home and started cooking immediately.

I roasted the chicken with some carrots I have, so that I would have chicken to throw into sandwiches, salads, or whatever else. I also set out to make a Fig and Goat Cheese Pizza with a Cornmeal Crust. In the one frying pan, you see caramelized onions (product of USA, at least) along with sliced figs. In the other frying pan, I am frying a small cornmeal crust (Cornmeal from Oregon... close enough).

Then I took the raw walnuts and mixed them up in the Agave Nectar, spread them on a cookie sheet and threw those in the oven as well. Candied Walnuts!

Here is a look at some of the finished products. Roasted chicken. Cornflour pizza with Fig, Onion, Goat Cheese and Spinach (some pizza bites with crust crumbles) and Candied Walnuts.

And of course you can't cook a bird without dealing with the wishbone - so named because you wish it wasn't there when you carve the bird.

All in all - I think it's safe to say that I'm awesome. Good night.

Day 15 of 33

Attention All Readers - All 2 and sometimes 3 of you!

This is an extra special blog post. You will be treated to a bicycle tour of San Diego, without ever having to set foot on a pedal! I cannot stress enough the pain, frustration, embarrassment, and physical and mental anguish you are avoiding by only looking at the pleasant pictures. Of course, it is at the expense of a previously happy and healthy 25 year old man, but everything comes at a cost.


Today, was my day off, and I wanted to finally get to a beach. I mapped out the way to Mission Beach, hopped on my bike, and left. One of the few smart things I did today was to stop and purchase sunscreen and water on my way (Mom), so at least I was prepared. The path too me past Old Town, which you may remember I visited last wee. On my way, I found a handy sign along the highway that said "Bike Path to Ocean Beach" which seemed much more promising than my current course, so I made a quick decision to alter my route.

The path took a course between the San Diego River and Highway 8. I found it an odd mix of smelly between the fumes and the... well.. smelly swamp. In fact, it rather reminded me of home! What could be more New Jersey than highways and swamps?

I eventually made it to Ocean Beach. I was actually at a beach in warm, sunny, southern California. You know what? It was f'ing cold! Fortunately, that has never stopped me before. I spent a good half hour karate chopping waves and reaffirming my inability to body surf, and decided it was time to move on.

The time was only about noon, so I did not feel like heading back already. I thought maybe I could explore some of the coastline. So I took off again, without a specific destination in sight (mistake #1). My first stop was just down the road at a large fishing pier. There was a cafe/fishing shop at the end, where I decided to grab a bite (Mistake #2, and really?!). I got their version of Jalapeno Poppers, which they call "Sinkers" (Really, counting the mistakes is going to get tiring). I can attest that the "Sinkers" certainly sunk in quickly.

I kept pedaling down the coast of Point Loma, and discovered the Sunset Cliffs Park. The park ran along the water and consisted of beautifully colored strata of rock, quickly dissolving into the ocean.

I kept going along the coast until I hit a huge hill. I really did not want to go up, so instead I tried following some little dirt paths, hoping they would be easier. After 10 minutes or so, I found myself walking through high dead brush with prickles, with a canyon on one side of me, and facing a sign that said "US Government Property. Trespassing is strictly Forbidden". Well, as you know, I have quite a track record for making bad choices, but this time I chose to head back and tackle the hill instead.

I reached the top of the hill and discovered the beautiful campus of Point Loma Nazarene University. This campus was simply unfair. 1) It was situated atop a mountain with amazing ocean views in San Diego. 2) All the buildings were constructed in beautiful Spanish revival archiecture and 3) They were RENOVATING to make it even BETTER! Aren't there rules about how nice a University is allowed to look? Isn't there a quota of a certain number of ugly buildings which must be present on a campus? Or were these all lies told to me by Rutgers?

I continued on, uphill no less, and found myself in the midst of a Naval Base. To quaify, it is hard to walk 10 feet without finding yourself in Navy property in San Diego, but this one was particularly large. Nobody seemed intent on stopping me, so I continued on. Do you think this is where they train dolphins to blow up Submarines?

I wanted to make it to the end of Point Loma, so I plowed forward. Eventually I hit Cabrillo National Monument and Tidepool Park. The signs said I owed $3, but the ranger waved me through. I think he either thought I was active military (because who else would go that far on bicycle) or just plain took pity on me (because who else would go that far on bicycle). I first took the alluring path down to the tide pools. Paths downhll always sign like sirens at first, but you find their dangers after. More on this later.

I think the tide was high, so I did not find much in the way of tide pools. However, there was a great hike along the cliff's edge, with water splashing up against the side.

The time had come to head back up the mountain. I put the bike into the lowest gear and settled in. I had run out of water and I found myself scaling a mountain in the desert under the mid-day sun. I heard a screech above me and found birds of prey were circling overhead, anticipating my demise. Mind you - do not take it for granted that I survived this occasion just because I am writing this now. It's possible that I could have put certain precautions in place to complete my blog posts should I fall.

Anyway, I did survive. I headed over to the Cabrillo National Monument Visitors Center, seeing it as my oasis for water and civilization. I did find water, and after drinking 10-12 gallons, I sat down for a video on whales. I found it boring. I left the movie early, but luckily got outside just in time to see an ACTUAL whale swimming by. Can you see it spouting off?

By the way, this is something something Cabrillo, who the monument was named after. He was one of the early Spanish explorers. He did not settle in San Diego (no gold), but did land and give it it's first name of San Miguel.

For the first time, I actually turned around. You see, there's no other way off Point Loma. I rolled back down to Sea Level and found myself in a very familiar situation. I was at Shoreline Park, which has a number of marinas. I am almost positive I found the marina where my uncle Perc used to harbor his schooner. I started going door to door (hatch to hatch?) looking for him.

Speaking of fond memories, check this out! I spotted this ship from far away and chased it for a mile or two to get a good photo. I hope you appreciate it. I'm almost positive that this is the ship that first inspired my passion for pirates, long before Pirates of the Caribbean and all the "Pirate Fads". At that time, we were racing against it. Now, it appeared to be doing Pirate-themed cruises around the harbor, so I guess they sold out. I still really want to go on a pirate cruise, though...

I headed back to the downtown. On the way, I passed the San Diego airport and I took a picture, since I missed it before. This is the only city I know of that actually has its airport in its downtown. Can you imagine riding a bicycle past EWR?

I continued along the coastline into downtown. I came across a Nautical Museum for historical ships, as well as a new exhibit on "Urban Trees", which was basically just a bunch of statues.

In the two pictures below, I give you two different perspectives on San Diego Bay. The first was taken atop the mountain at Point Loma, looking down on Coronado Island and Downtown. The second was taken from downtown, and the ridge way in the distance is where the first picture was taken. Remember - ONE DAY - ONE BICYCLE.








I kept on trucking down the harbor of the city and ran right into the USS Midway, an Aircraft Carrier turned into a museum. I did not shell out to go on, but it seemed from the number of chairs strewn about, that much of it had been converted into various cafes. I don't know about you, but to me that seems like a pretty cool place to eat.

Finally I turned up the main drag to try and get home. I had been reduced to about .5 MPH. The downtown area seemed more or less like most other cities, except that it had rather wide streets. This helped me considerably since I had a hard time keeping my bicycle pointed straight ahead.

I crept back through Balboa Park, a familiar picture subject on this blog, and finally made it back home. In total, I estimate that I rode between 25-30 miles today. Imagine riding a bicycle from Metro Park to Times Square, and then add in canyons.

Now I plan to remain immobile for the rest of the week.