Many people look forward to the time that they take off from work.  Some may not really care one way or the other.  For me however, it is fun to be back in the swing of things at work.  Now I suppose most people who visit here know that I work in theatre, but now anyone who just showed up knows as well.  It is certainly an interesting and crazy world to work in.  now as we push on into fall and winter (fall doesn’t last too long in Utah) we get less daylight, so pretty soon, I won’t really see much of it.  Well, I say that, but in reality, it probably isn’t true once we get into ski season.  It is always fun to get up when it is still fairly dark out and not go home again until it is dark.  We did get new curtains for the bedroom windows that let a lot more light in so that it is less like a cave in the mornings and it will be easier to wake up.

So, tonight is the first tech rehearsal for the first show of the season, and it really is fun to be back in the groove.  We have been off to a flying start with Hamlet since I got back to town, but everything has been going very smoothly and we have been very efficient.  This is a great thing considering that I have a bunch of new people working for me and this is the first show.  We also have one of my favorite lighting designers lighting this show, PM.  He calls himself “the other Jew in Salt Lake City” (it is our little joke, me being Jewish and all), and while he isn’t always the easiest to keep up with, he is always fun to have in town.

Last season, I had a hard time keeping up with PM on his show, which should have been one of the easiest shows of the season.  I think it had a lot lot to do with the fact that I had been sick for most of the tech process.  It happens.  This time it seems like we really have kicked things off on the right foot, and that is good because PM will be back for White Christmas in a couple months.

The crazy think now is that we will probably be running at what feels like full tilt until we get to the end of the season.  Like camp, the days will feel long, but the weeks will go by really fast.  The season will be over in the blink of an eye.  I can’t actually believe that I have been out here for five years!  It has gone by really fast (kinda scary), but it has been really great as well.  I am doing what I love in a place that I am quite happy to be, so life is good!

There are nights that we finish up work at the theatre early and we head out to some local place to hang out with the crew.  Sometimes we head over to The Pie, which is a great pizza place right around the corner where they serve heart-attack-on-a-plate (basically more cheese than you have ever seen even on an extra cheese pizza).  Sometimes The Bayou, which is a great bar with the longest beer list in the state: Beervana!  And when we have the young-uns but still want a drink we often hit up Squatters, a local brewery and restaurant.

So, why do I tell you this?  It all has to do with a keeping up morale.  My personal philosophy has always been that you should be happy doing whatever it is that you do.  It has always seemed so strange to me that people go off into the world and take jobs or positions that they don’t really enjoy.  It seems even stranger the people who go through all of their schooling studying things that don’t really make them happy or excited.  I know that not everyone does this, but it seems to me that a lot of people do.

In my line of work, theatre, there are very few of us that are doing this for the money.  Most of us are in this business because we love doing it.  I think the same goes for most people who work in fields like education as well.  We find the jobs exciting and rewarding, and even on the long and hard days that we don’t feel motivated to do anything, we still do it.  There are definitely days that I would rather be at work than sitting at home, even if there isn’t much to do.

There are a few things that I tell all the people who I hire to work for me.  Most of these people are college age and recent post college age.  First of all, I tell them what I just stated: “If you are not having fun doing what you are doing (whatever that may be) then you are doing the wrong thing.”  I want to see people here who want to be here and enjoy the work that we do.  it makes people much more productive when they are excited about coming to work.  So, I try to make sure that I always provide an atmosphere that encourages that kind of excitement.

Second, I tell them that if they are not having fun while we are working, let me know.  I realize that we can’t be chipper and happy all the time, 24/7/365.  It is just impossible.  Everyone has off days, people get tired and start to burn out and get snappy.  However, I do my best to make sure that we don’t get too far down that road, and I hope that my crewtons will let me know when we do.  Whenever we drift that way I can feel our efficiency slip and many times we will get to a point where we are better off calling it a day and coming back later to finish things up (unless we need to meet a deadline).

So, how do I keep my people happy.  Well, I try to really establish a family atmosphere.  We get to the point over a season where we know how everyone works and we work very well together.  If people get edgy we figure out how to work with it.  Sometimes people just need a break.  However one of the most effective things to keep people happy is good and drink.  So, we go out and enjoy when we can.  I try to go out with my crews and have some fun at least once every show.  It is usually pretty effective.  I am also hoping to be able to organize a group paintball game after we open the last show.  All things that help us bond and gel and keep everyone happy.

Be happy about what you do, enjoy work or school.  If you are not enjoying what you are doing, do something different.  Try a new sport or a different class or even a whole different job!

What do you do to keep your job or school exciting?

Shhhh!  Did you hear that?

Yeah, that was my silence for the last couple days.  I suppose it is no biggie as I never claimed to try to blog every day!  However, we are into one of those weeks where time is very short.  We are into working on the final show of the season and then couple that with the fact that it is Passover and guess what?  I have not a lot of time to surf the tubes or write.  So, since I have a few minutes I thought I would let you know what is going on.

Monday night I was invited over to the Cantor’s house for the first Passover Seder.  For those who don’t know, the Seder is a service and dinner to celebrate Passover.  This is the second year running that I have been invited by the cantor and his wife to celebrate with them and their other guests.  Thankfully, with the current schedule for hang and load-in at the theatre, I was able to move around my work calls so that I could go to the cantor’s for the seder.  There are definite benefits to running your own department!  While it is not quite the same as being with my family, I don’t know if there is any place that is any more welcoming and fun to spend this holiday!

In my traditional style I arrived early and was happy to be put to work helping to set up and prepare food.  I like helping out around the kitchen, and given that the cantor’s wife is a little to short to see over the pot of soup, she was very appreciative of the help.  Besides, it is matzah ball soup, you just can’t go wrong with that!

The Seder itself was very fun and interesting.  I really enjoy the insight that is brought to the text and the ritual by the cantor.  We had a lot of very interesting conversations and of course we had plenty of singing.  It is actually written in the text that the rabbis of old would sit up and tell the story of Passover over and over until it was time for the morning prayers.  Form this we learn that there is always something to learn no matter how well you know the story.  Also, I think it is the justification for how long the cantor’s seder goes.  I don’t think we got to the eating part until about 10PM.  It didn’t really matter though as we were having a good time.  I ended up bowing out at around midnight and they were still singing!

Tuesday started off with a bang.  I totally forgot about the production meeting that we were supposed to have that morning until my computer and my phone started beeping at me.  At least I was awake!  I threw on some clothes and raced up to the theatre and made it in time to not owe donuts or bagels next time.  I was also really happy to see that our TD had brought bagels, since I hadn’t had the chance to eat anything as I rushed out the door.  In fact, I was moving so fast I didn’t even tie my shoes!  Ironically, it was probably a meeting that I could have gotten away with not being at and I didn’t really have anything to say and no one really hand anything for me.  Such is the way of things I guess.  After the meeting I had time to head back home to actually shower and put on clean clothes.

So we started hang a day late (yesterday) and things are moving along well.  This show is not super huge even though it is a big musical, so we are happy.  I even managed to find the time to head over to Skyline High School to do a little workshop on VectorWorks yesterday as well.  It is just the being at the theatre until after midnight that is a killer.  If we hadn’t had to ferry weight up to loading deck to fly out our last to electrics, life would have been easier.  It happens.

So this is what my life is looking like right now.  I should have a little free time next week and then back to the grind.  I am sure that I will find some time to do some writing in there, so stay tuned!

I am sure that by now almost everyone has heard or seen the Discovery Channel’s commercials with the “I Love the World” or “Boom-de-ah-da” song.  If you haven’t, you might just want to check it out below (I even linked a version with lyrics so that you can sing along!):

From the first time that I heard this advertisement I think that I have had the song stuck in my head.  I suppose that is exactly what the Discovery Networks are going for!  I don’t think that I needed a catchy tune to get me to watch the Discovery Channel because they have a lot of fascinating programs and I find that every time I turn it on I get sucked into whatever is on.  There are a few programs that I avoid, but generally I find it intriguing.

So, I suppose this ad really illustrates the power of a well developed song.  When you think about it, this song is not even a very complicated or interesting song.  The verses are “short and sweet” and the chorus is so simple that anyone could sing it.  The melody is catchy and easy, and I would bet that like me, once you have heard it, you go through your day: “boom-de-ah-da boom-de-ah-da boom-de-ah-da boom-de-ah-da!”

The funniest thing about this catchy little tune is that it has spawned many people to create their own renditions based on the things that they do.  If I was really gung-ho about it and if I had a video camera I might consider making one around the theatre.  For now though, I have been content surfing YouTube to see what people have come up with.  There are certainly plenty to choose from.  Though not musical, this song has even made it into the web comic XKCD:

XKCD Loves the Discovery Channel

So, do you love the whole world?  Will you now be humming this song to yourself all day?  I hope so!  How do you “boom-de-ah-da”?!

I feel compelled to write this short little post before I head off to sleepy land tonight.  I went to another performance of The Rocky Horror Show at the U tonight armed with my audience participation script.  As expected, it was not a full house and it was mostly oder people.  There was only a small handful of people who got into any audience response at all despite how many bought prop bags before the show.  Well, needless to say, I still had fun heckling/interacting with the actors.

I threw out a few lines that they hadn’t got before, which was interesting.  They certainly had fun with them.  It seemed like otherwise it was going to be a pretty dead house although the audience did clap and whoop.  Well, I threw out a bunch of lines and got some pretty funny responses from the cast, but I believe it was my response to “What was his crime?” “Premature ejaculation!” line that pretty much brought the show to a stop.  The actor playing Dr. Scott just lost it laughing.  He couldn’t get his next line out so Riff said something to the effect of “Oh come on, your line is my cue!”  Well, they dropped a line that would have given me another funny response line, and then we missed getting to say “Goodbye all of this” because we were laughing too hard.

For their first show in four days without a pickup rehearsal they certainly did a good job.  The cast sounded great, and we had quite a bit of fun!  I think that some of the audience thought that I was part of the show, but whatever.  It was a hoot!