In my last post I was welcomed to Chautauqua Institute with the bang of the gate descending on my windshield. In Chicago, it was a parking ticket, minus the bang, but still on the windshield. I had parked in what I thought was an unrestricted space, but the next day I had a $60 fine to contend with. I am going to contest it as the spot was not clearly marked. If they expect me to obey the rules, they need to have some sign of visual notification.
Category Archives: Theater
How you look in the glow of evening…
Welcome to Chautauqua Institute, “THWACK!” That is the sound I heard as the gate came down on the windshield of my car. Ugh. My first stop on my second journey west started with a bang.
Chautauqua Welcome Gate
Check point for gate access
Forget-me-not Berkshires, I’ll be back…
At The Mount
It has been a magical last week in the Berkshires. We have had hot, humid, firefly-twinkling weather interspersed with drenching rainfall, thunder and lightning. I have a renewed sense of purpose, an excitement building inside, new dreams and goals blossoming, and a firm conviction that I am meant to be here even as I leave for a few months. Continue reading
Warming up my engines…
I am getting everything tuned up to take off for a few months. I had my car checked out, washed her inside and out and talked to her like a beloved pet. She seems as eager as I am to be on the road. We have been partners in this great trek for the last year and a half, and she has been a reliable and constant trooper so I want to give her extra care. I am one of those nutty people who talk to their animals and since I don’t have any of my own right now, my car has gained the status of a pet. I pat her on the console, when I am especially pleased, like I would on the beloved neck of a horse, I give her high-octane gas for a treat, and today I diligently groomed her like my friend de-ticking her dog. Continue reading
Couch trekking…
I’ve been sick for almost two weeks so I have been home in bed more than I have in years. I’ve read three books, given to me in various places along the road that I have not previously had time to read. One of them is wild, Cheryl Strayed’s book about her hike along the Pacific Crest Trail from California to Oregon. It was a great read, especially for an adventurer like me, that is stuck on the couch. I’ve also resorted to watching Ken Burn’s National Parks series on Netflix. Since I can’t get out and hike I’ll watch great film of my favorite places.
Been a long time coming…
This has been the longest stretch of silence since I started blogging over a year ago. I have been directing A Midsummer Night’s Dream in a middle and high school residency for the last 7 weeks. It was intense, driving 45 minutes each way, auditioning, directing, planning, costuming, teaching, making mistakes, studying, caring deeply, always trying to improve and control 50 rambunctious and varied-aged kids. It was probably some of the toughest teaching I will ever do. My directing partner has had many years of experience directing here at Shakespeare & Company and he said it was the hardest group he has had to deal with. Continue reading
Me and my many worlds…
I went back to Benedict Pond this weekend and it was like visiting an old friend. Continue reading
My kind of crazy
Ridin’ with her hair in the wind
And her hands in the sky
Like she’s flyin’
Spring has finally arrived in the Berkshires. The snow is gone, my teaching residency has started, this is my 100th post, and I have moved to a new house share. A lot of changes in the last few weeks, so where do I start?
Sunset Mass in Blue Minor
“A true photograph need not be explained, nor can it be contained in words.” -Ansel Adams
I wrote a report in high school on the naturalist photographer Ansel Adams. He was a fanatic about light and how it affects the world through the camera lens, and since then I have been enamored of watching the changes light creates on landscapes. Continue reading
Strutting like a model through the snow covered woods…
Even though February was a dreary month, I did get out for some spectacular hikes. If I am here another winter I definitely need to figure out better footwear for the snow and ice hikes. I have loved the Brooks Cascadia trail runners that have climbed mountains and descended canyons with me, but they just don’t quite cut it in the wet snow. Things are starting to thaw here and mud season is coming. I have been forewarned that it will not be a pretty sight. Just the name “mud season” sounds bad. Continue reading
meanderest 