Creative inspiration

Ask anyone who does theatre for a living about what keeps them doing it and they will likely tell you something about the magic of the stage. Something about how eletrifying it is to become someone else for a bit, to touch the soul of someone with their work, or to collectively create a moment, or moments in time that live beyond themselves. Its a wonderful thing, this beautiful creative creature.

And then come with me to my world and watch the magic, the mystery, the creative beast disappear. In a sea of spreadsheets, projections and marginal percentages, The Phantom of The Opera becomes a list of past and future purchasers. Jekyll & Hyde becomes an income and expense column and The Grinch steals Christmas to build a new and younger demographic.

The magic is gone.

I'm surprised at how few people on the business end of this industry never go to see the shows they work on. In some cases this includes the very people who sell the tickets. The beast has taken away his beauty and the villagers seem to not even notice.

This is why I hold onto improv, the few moments i get to experience the play. I hop in the sandbox and make believe. It keeps me emotionally connected to my creative spirit, my soul. It keeps me alive inside.

I love it and know it connects me to the magic i sell, to the spirit of the stage and inspires me to press on.

Every time.

Daily Oct 10

So I'm writing this on the 11th, its still the same day to me, really. Again i'm writing this on the plane, somewhere over the southern plains, between Los Angeles and Atlanta.

Flying is one of those things that amazes me. Not only for the simple wonder of putting nearly a hundred people with all of their belonging into a 10,000 pound tube with wings and... it flies! But also for what you see 7 Miles above the Earth.

During the day there are the beautiful layers of clouds covering a vast and ever changing kaliope of textures and colors. At night it's rivers of molten gold breaking through the darkness like a fragile, broken shell holding a couldren of lava under its delicate surface. If the moon is full you also get to view the ghostly reflection of the earth dancing up to you.

Images from even higher, aboard the ISS provide stunning reminders that this wonder of the universe teams with life in a rare, miniscule blanket of breathing elements. And as we learn more about our nearest neighbor Mars, it's clear that we have what that the now barren land lost.

It all amazes me that each of us are here, breathing and aware of our existence.

Daily Oct 9

I missed yesterday's daily. I was busy preparing for today, my trip to Los Angeles to see Book of Mormon and have marketing meetings with teams from across the US.

I had a lot to do to get ready. Not only for the trip, but to be out of the office for 2 and a half days. I think i'm prepared. I want to sound smart and ahead of the curve, a leader in our industry trying to chart new territory - as much as you can in the theatre business. As i was putting together box office spreasheets yesterday it hit me that the farther and farther you delve into the business end of theatre the more removed you get from what draws us to the stage. The magic gets lost a few formulas into a Ticketmaster TROH report.

But here, at 22000 feet, i'm mezmorized by the dual cloud deck below. Fog on the ground and a thin layer of clouds just above it, like a thin sheet of parchment floating above a sea of cotton. Its quite remarkable.

Daily Oct 6

Ah brunch. I love brunch. I think it is something of a requirment to live in Ferndale. We must have the most brunch places of any place in Michigan. So it cant be much of a surprise that I'm waiting for a brunch carry out at Mae's, technically pleasant ridge but still Ferndale in my mind.

I love breakfast, anytime breakfast. Sausage, bacon, toast, eggs. I am glad I'm not Jewish so i can enjoy bacon, sausage, and cheese on meat.  The gentile pleasures.

Food is ready. I have brunch, Ian gets lunch.

Daily October 5

6:00 came early this morning, especially after our weekly "Thursday Winos."
Our big meeting at work came and went and was good. I have a stack of things on my desk now to create, implement or distribute... And I feel like it was a very good thing to have this meeting today before my BIG meeting next week. It felt a little like a prep-meeting.

Thursday Winos. Ah Thursdays, when Ian's sister and/or best friend come over and we hang out. Either we go out to eat, make dinner, or order in, but always drink. Beer, wine, mixed drinks, shots, or all of the above. I have never been one to really WANT to drink, at least not DRINK. I don't like the feeling of being drunk and I never want to drink to forget problems, issues, worries, things to do... because I know that they will just be there, even more delayed when I'm done, so to me it's always like what's the point?

And at the same time I am hardly ever able to relax. I am constantly thinking about what needs to be done, what project I should be working on, what items I have to accomplish tomorrow. Last night I found myself wishing I could turn off some of that so that I could just enjoy the company of friends... but the pressure of getting up so early today preventing me from imbibing. I did the best I could.

I am, and have always been, terrible at "hanging out."

And on another note... I constantly hear people say that they are "bored" and I think to myself... HOW? How could you POSSIBLY be bored? There are always a million and a half things to do... no one should ever find themselves bored unless they are stuck somewhere with no access to things they control or own, and even then boredom is a state of mind. You can sing, make up stories, entertain yourself.

The idea of "being bored" not only is foreign to me, it annoys me - although I can understand being bored OF something.. of the way things are, of the status quo, of a job or a situation.

Daily Oct 4

I'm trying something new. I'm going to start blogging like a rolling daily account, first thing when I get to work, perhaps when I get up. We'll see how it works - and how long this lasts.

I need something cathartic.I used to journal all the time. I started in 1993 and today I am on my 23rd volume, each of them the size of an average book. The entries have gotten fewer and fewer over the years. A combination of life changes and becoming more sure of myself. The entries are mostly from meaningful Bible studies, spiritual moments where I have to record what God has shown me.

The daily unloading though, I miss that. I share with Ian, but I miss sharing with myself, and somehow with the world, the things that captivate my attention. Today is the day of spills. I splilled old Coke on my foot and pant leg this morning - tossing an old McDonald's coke - that I bought just for the Monopoly pieces which didn't come with that size Coke... to moving a small bottle of Coke at work to have it tip over, the cap fall off and spill on my bureau. My first thought was "why is that cap not on tight," then it hit me, "why do I have a three week old half-drunk bottle of Coke in my office..."  good Lord. And clearly I drink too much Coke.

Today I've got a lot of prep on my table. We have a meeting with the marketing team from the Broadway Booking Office tomorrow morning to discuss our sales strategies for the return engagement of Mary Poppins later this month. It's odd that they're making the trip to Detroit to talk about a show that seems, at least from our perspective, to be doing ok - if not well. But I'm looking forward to meeting them, especially Zach who is originally from the Pittsburgh area. It's always nice to meet a fellow Yinzer.  Then I've got to prep for my trip next week to LA for Book of Mormon and "Mormon School." I get to see the show and then discuss overall sales strategies for the show across the country and bringing the brand to Detroit. It's the biggest trip I've made here, and one of the most interesting... from seeing the show to meeting people who do what I do from all over. Very cool.  And I'm hoping to say hi to some of my LA friends while out there.

Day one of my dailies down. I wonder if there will be a day 2.

PS: It's funny that I pick up this blog the day after watching the season 8 Supernatural premier. I'm stuck in that world today in my head - much like I discussed in my last post.

Thunder and rain

It's a rainy, thundery day. The kind of day that makes me think about the TV show Supernatural, like I expect some sort of demon or creature to waltz into my life and I have to rely on Sam & Dean Winchester to save me. Of course if Jared Padalecki and Jenson Ackles stopped by in real life, I wouldn't mind at all.

I have never been able to escape the lingering worlds of my favorite shows or movies. That's both why I love them so much and why I'm very particular on what movies I choose to see, and what shows I watch. They stick with me - for days, weeks, years.  I'm not sure whether it's because I love the fantasy, because I want to escape, or simply because I'm a creative imaginative person. Whatever it is I can't escape it.

I remember in elementary school, after seeing E.T. - the first movie I saw in a theatre, I proceeded to live in my own make believe world where I would foster an alien in my house and become famous.  I even told my best friend at the time that I was IN the movie and hung out with E.T.  I didn't realize it then, but now that I'm older... I was kind of a pathological liar as a child. I told my neighbor that I was going to lead a big band in the Pittsburgh holiday parade - I was 8 and didn't play an instrument. I told my pastor emphatically that plans were being laid to build a second story onto my elementary school... I even had the plans drawn up. And there was the time that I went door to door in my neighborhood selling this book of poetry I was going to write to raise money for my unemployed father.  I collected a lot of orders - and never made the books.  Thank God I didn't have people pre-pay!

I think all of this make-believe imagination is why I became an improviser, why I work in theatre, and why I love movies, stories, theatre, and great TV. I wrap myself up in the story until it follows me everywhere I go, and in my imagination there's always a Winchester brother there to rescue me.

Is this the end of the world, or just the beginning?

This year is already kicking the shit out of me, but for the most part in a good way. We just opened American Idiot, Million Dollar Quartet is next week, followed by Love Loss and What I Wore, Rock of Ages and Shrek The Musical... BAM BAM BAM all while getting ready to announce our next season - which when I say is going to KICK ASS... I mean, it's really going to be an INCREDIBLE season. And I have Go Comedy! stuff (performing and doing PR), and my freelance PR I've picked up... so Scotty's rockin 2012 in busy fashion.

AND it's way too late and I have to be up earlier than normal tomorrow to meet Van Hughes (Johnny in American Idiot) and our publicist at WDET to do a web video of his radio performance for tomorrow's Craig Fahle show. Look for it on the Broadway In Detroit facebook and youtube pages tomorrow afternoon and of course listen to the best local radio show between 10 and 12 tomorrow!

But I have to make a few notes before crashing...

Tonight was the Detroit opening of American Idiot.  We're only the 2nd city, the first in the US to get this tour. I love when that happens. Detroit, despite what you may think, is actually a good theatre town. The show got a standing ovation (two actually because of a clever little encore they do at the end). This cast puts their heart, soul, sweat and body into this show. Even if you're not a fan of the Green Day genre you can't help but applaud the sheer talent and energy exploding from the stage.

Yesterday we sent out a preview Email about the show and I got an Email back from someone who said "This is garbage." After a simple reply, he responded by going on a rant about how this musical is about numbing down the senses of people and brainwashing them into an anti government state, etc etc.  He was also shocked by the photo we used to promote the show.... My response to folks like that is always... I know you will not like all of our shows, please, if you feel this way and know others who will feel the same, tell them not to come to the show.  I'd rather have someone come and enjoy themself than come and be offended or not like the show. But I wanted to see the show before I responded.

Glad I did. This show is quite brilliant actually. Like Rent, it's a period piece of Tween angst at the start of the 21st century (rather than Rent's end of the 20th). And this show did something no other show or piece has done... It made a shockingly emotional connection for me to 9/11 than I have experienced from any other piece done about that day. During Wake Me When September Ends I found myself crying. I don't know if it was the song, the lyrics, or the staging, but somehow that moment was captured for me and I felt a sense of personal healing. It was a moment I yearn for in theatre... a moment that grips you, takes you deep into yourself, and changes you, heals, or helps you. Wonderful.

After the show we had a talk back with students from Mosaic Youth Theatre and then a cast party at Marios. Got to meet most of the cast and band. They rock. They were awesome with the students, so helpful, so insiteful and just great. I always love it when a cast is as friendly and genuine as they are talented. I hope we can get some good word of mouth for these guys while their here and give them a great 1-week run in the D.  They deserve it. And so does the city.