IceWolf's Ramblings » fun

Back in the Saddle Again

Alex — Sat, 11 Sep 2010 00:03:59 +0000

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!

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Work Ethic

Alex — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 20:32:45 +0000

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?

Into Another Wacky Week

Alex — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 20:21:13 +0000

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!

Music on Mondays: I Love the World

Alex — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 16:00:17 +0000

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”?!

Finish your line, it’s my cue!

Alex — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 18:30:34 +0000

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!

Do What You Like, Like What You Do

Alex — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 16:00:07 +0000

I find the concept of “Do what you like, like what you do” to be very important for life. In the entertainment industry in particular I think that it is very important to find a job that you enjoy doing since the odds are that you will never make the money that you want to be making! I personally think that this holds true for anyone in any industry. Sure, it would be great to make lots of money, but I wouldn’t want to be in a job that made me not want to go to work every day.

I love doing what I do, working at the theatre. I enjoy going to work. Even though sometimes I complain, it is usually about being tired and having to get up in the morning. I work with great people, I make enough to live happily, and I have great benefits. Work is interesting and fun. I do my best to make the atmosphere for the the people who work for me interesting, educational, and fun. I even go so far as to tell people to let me know if they are not having fun because I want to know what I can do to make sure that people want to come back.

What made me think about this today is that one of my co-workers at the theatre is entertaining the idea of moving on to a different job. What he wants to be doing and what he really enjoys doing is teaching and the fact that he has a lead on a teaching position is great. It seems like he has had the itch to be doing something different for a while now so I hope that this pans out for him.

Yesterday I posted about living life and doing the things that you want to do. This is no different. For most of us, having a job is a must. There are not too many people who can really just coast through life and not do anything. So, if we have to work, if we have to do something to make a living in this world then I would rather be doing something that I like to do. It doesn’t make sense to me to spend any time working at a job that you don’t like. Do something that makes you happy and brings you some kind of fulfillment.

Apples to Apples

Alex — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 05:39:36 +0000

If you have never played Apples to Apples you should give it a shot, it is a lot of fun. I played tonight with Ruth and her family. It has been quite a long time since I have had this kind of fun with a game, and it has certainly been quite a while since I have had such a good laugh. Here is what I am tonight (in order by rounds):

Naïve
Loud
Classic
Sultry
Worldly
Industrious
Creative
Tame
Saintly
Exquisite
European
Hot
Unusual
Violent
Useless
Twisted
Fantastic
Sweet
Snappy
Stereotyped

If you really don’t know the game at all, they say that the cards you win describe you. It is always fun to discover “new” aspects of your personality as dictated by a game! I am not sure that all of my wins really describe me, but I think that many might. I am not entirely sure what that says about me, but hey!

Making Matinees Fun Again

Alex — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 23:07:24 +0000

There is not much that is more of a bummer than having to go in to work for a double header matinee day on a Saturday. This is a great show and all, and I love my job, but it is still a bummer being inside all day on a Saturday. We have a name for double header days: “Two Do Shays” since by the end of the second show you can’t even speak right.

Me with my marshmallow shooter

So I figured that today I would spice up life a little bit by bringing in my mini-marshmallow shooter and waiting in the dark for the crew to arrive. Of course I had to go out and buy a bag of rainbow marshmallows, but it was totally worth it. I think that every now and then you have to do something to break the mundane rut that we all fall in while working a show. Needless to say, I managed to get everyone pretty riled up and happy, which is what I set out to do. Even one of our actors joined in the antics.

So, make sure that whatever you are doing, you keep it fun and interesting! If you are not having fun then you are doing something wrong.

Looking Ahead

Alex — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 02:59:19 +0000

As my parent’s visit to Salt Lake City came to an end they did offer me some great things. First off I finally got a new pair of ski pants. I have been skiing in my old Spyder pants for a really long time and they are starting to show their age as well as not really fitting well. I did have to go back to REI to exchange the pants as the first pair was a funny cut that didn’t quite fit right, but I think I have landed on something that I am happy with.

Additionally, my father found a photo workshop that looks like it should be interesting. The workshop is down in Moab and it is run by the Nikonians Academy. I was going to do a similar workshop last summer, but that one was cancelled due to conflicts that the hosting photographer had. I was kind of bummed out about that. At that point in time, the workshop was going to be birthday gift for me from my parents, so they made me the same offer on the upcoming one. So, I am all signed up to go on a photo workshop this summer down in Moab, which should be a lot of fun. I think that doing something lie this will be good for me as a photographer. I will get to meet new people and learn something, and hopefully continue to develop my eye.

Other than that, with my parents back in Boston it is back to business as usual here. We continue to run “Touch(ed)” and I hope that people continue to come. Monday night is the archival photo call, so keep your eyes open for the new photos to be posted sometime on Tuesday. I can’t imagine that this will be a difficult show to shoot, if nothing else it should be fast, there are not a lot of actors or scenes. We will also start work on the next show, “Twelve Angry Men” next week, but it should be another small one and hopefully there will be time to get more skiing in.

The forecast for next week has lots of snow in it, so I’ll be keeping my fingers crossed. If there is anyone who needs a ski buddy at Snowbird, Alta, or Deer Valley, let me know!

Quiet Afternoon

Alex — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 17:15:47 +0000

I am actually not entirely sure where everyone is. I know that Dan and Dad went out do deposit Dan’s check and do some shopping, but I am not sure where my mother is. I though she was home. We are supposed to make potato latkes today. I am kinda looking forward to that. i am also looking forward to seeing Jesi and going over the BU theatre to see “Radium Girls.”

In the mean time I have been killing time helping my dad set up a blog (which he will probably never really use) and messing with the format of mine. My formatting is still a work in progress, but I have been learning a lot about CSS and customization. I may just need to build the page from the ground up to really learn it ad make it my own. I think that I spent way too much time in front of the computer yesterday working on it. Had fun though. I was using my dad’s iMac, which really made me want one. I need a computer with a huge screen!

Possibly one of the best things about being home is good food. Last night we had great fish, Hake, I think, and sweet potato fries. It really doesn’t get much better than that! Well, that might not be true because after dinner we walked up the street to Cabot’s to get ice cream sundaes. Yeah, my mother won a bet with my dad and we all got sundaes. Then this morning I woke up to the smell of bacon cooking. Bacon bagels and eggs, what a breakfast. We are also making loads of corned beef for the Hanukkah party tomorrow as well. Of course there is also the obligatory Chinese lunch that we have with my grandparents any time I am visiting. It may not be home cooked, but it is better than almost all of the Chinese places that I have tried in SLC!

So, here I am sitting and waiting for the next thing to happen. So far this has been a pretty good trip. Surprising my dad’s parents before they left for Florida was good. It certainly made them happy. Lots of good food, and friends. It all amounts to a nice bit of time off!