Crazytown

AN INTERVIEW WITH JILL GOLD, STAGE MANAGER [pt. 1]

A career stage manager discusses life, work, family, and bringing up the next generation of theatre tech professionals.
by Loren A. Roberts (guru of multi-hyphenate media)

Jill Gold calling the shots (on a prehistoric computer -- look at that thing!) for Les Miserables in the early 1990s. Fourth National Tour.

LR: I didn't doctor your latte at all.

JG: I didn't want it doctored! Thank you…

LR: I'm glad we got to talk…

JG: I'm glad too! I'm sorry it's taken so long; I'm in the middle of the hardest tech of my life…I'm exhausted! Ohmygosh, this latte is good, is this Europane?

LR: No, it's Coffee Gallery. [both local non-Starbucks coffee shops]

[We get interrupted by a phone call from her husband, who is performing with his quartet in Japan on a cruise ship…]

LR: You know, it's interesting that your husband called right now; you have a unique perspective as a theatre tech professional who also expertly manages a performing family…

JG: Some people might question the word "expertly"…[laughs]

LR: But I mean, that does become a consideration for many of us as we get older, marry, have families, and still participate in the industry. None of us have "9-to-5" jobs…

JG: Boring! But that's also what makes it work for me and my husband, because neither of us have 9-to-5 jobs; many times, if I'm working a 14-hour day on a show, he might not be, so one of us is still home. So it works out.

LR: I find that, because the economy has been so tight, I'm constantly accepting more work, and so the "downside" of not having that 9-to-5 is that I'm working all the time…

JG: …yeah, you can't turn anything down! This is my first Monday off in three and a half months, 'cuz I've been teaching in Redlands...

RIP SMASH (et. al.)

Was I the only CrazyTown writer who never dedicated a post to this show? Oh well. Here's a list of others that we must say goodbye to also...
by Loren A. Roberts (guru of multi-hyphenate media)

It could have been so much more...

Wow. That's all I can say.

A host of cancellations came rolling out at the end of last week.

As many of us expected, Smash didn't make it to next season. The only silver lining for it is that many of the talented actors will be able to find other, higher-profile work. And I can hope that some people got excited for a greater depth and breadth of musical theatre. But when Smash veered off into GLEE! territory, I was hating it with a passion. So RIP, Smash, and let's hope that everyone lands on their feet to do even bigger and better stuff...

Unfortunately there were many other shows that also suffered the same fate this past week, so here is a list of canceled shows, listed by network:

---

ABC

Family Tools, How To Live With Your Parents..., Body Of Proof, Red Widow, Malibu Country, Happy Endings, Don’t Trust The B—- At Apt. 23, 666 Park Avenue, Last Resort, Private Practice, Zero Hour, Bachelor Pad

LEAVING L.A.

Why one young filmmaker found he had to leave Hollywood to start making movies. (Part 4 of the series Art Outside the City)
by Lauren Silverman Durban, writer 

Alexander Jeffery is one of those enviable young people with big talent and even bigger dreams. At 24 years old, his films have started receiving international attention, most recently winning him the Rising Star in Filmmaking Award at the 2012 Canada International Film Festival. He even looks the part of "fresh-faced young filmmaker". (It's totally the glasses.)

Alexander Jeffery

So it shouldn’t be surprising that, after graduating from the Johnny Carson School at the University of Nebraska with dual degrees in Theater and Film, this native Canadian didn’t go home. He did what young actors and filmmakers are supposed to do-- packed his life into his car and drove to Los Angeles. “Because film is in LA, right?”

He got an agent, did various industry jobs both in front of and behind the camera, and learned the lessons about surviving as an actor in LA. But after the film he made as his senior thesis started gaining traction in the film festival circuit, he found his attention refocusing. He started wondering if devoting his time and energy toward acting was really what he wanted.

“And suddenly the people who I loved and trusted most were confirming these feelings that I hadn’t even said out loud. They were saying Alex, you’re a filmmaker. This is what you do.” That realization led to another one-- it was time for another move.

“For actors, you do have to be in a big market. But I’ve always needed to make things, and LA is not a city to make things. LA is a business town. For a true independent filmmaker, it can seem impossible to make things there.” So, a year and a half after his initial move to LA, Alex packed everything back into his car and came back to Nebraska. While it certainly doesn’t seem like the obvious choice for a young Canadian filmmaker, he thinks it’s exactly where he’s supposed to be.

“We have free reign to get better here. Technology has caught up to the point where we can get the images anywhere. Here, I can write, I can shoot, I can even distribute independently. There’s a talent pool here, but I can bring talent in if I need to. And I can do it all on a small enough budget that I don’t have to compromise what I’m trying to do.”

When he says small budget, Alex isn’t kidding-- he just completed his first feature-length film, One Way, for a whopping $6,000. He refers to it as “entrepreneurial filmmaking”, and says that, at this point in his career, the small budgets allow him to keep the focus on the work.

“There’s a work ethic I like in the Midwest, whereas sometimes LA felt like a lot of talk. You just roll up your sleeves and do it here.”

And now that he knows that, he wants other artists to know it too. His next goal is to raise the bar on what theater and film are in the Midwest by bringing people in and showing them what he’s discovered. “Films are being shot. New plays are being produced. A huge advertising community is bringing in all these young, cool people. And I want to make movies here.”

LAUREN SILVERMAN DURBAN is a freelance writer, former tv news anchor, mom of 3 tiny humans, musical theater fanatic, native Los Angelino, and guacamole enthusiast living in Lincoln, Nebraska.
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FOR THOSE EARLY-ADOPTERS OF MUSICAL THEATRE

What happens when Songs for a New World meets NPR's This American Life meets Paris Je T'aime meets contemporary musical theatre?  
By Joanna Syiek (Director/Producer/Blogger)

You get a wonderful little gem called See Rock City and Other Destinations, a musical travelogue about people’s stories at various American destinations. It's a new one that took home a slew of awards in recent years (including the 2011 Drama Desk for Best Book) and one that merits a place on every new-musical-theatre-lover's radar. 

This show investigates the intersection of expectations and reality, telling human stories across six distinct American landmarks. And it's a story that we've been lucky enough to tell for the past 4 weeks. Going into our final weekend now - it'll be tough to bid farewell to this one. 

These folks are an incredibly talented bunch that are telling these honest stories in some inspiring ways. And while the show keeps up the pace with its humor, the takeaway seems to make us question our basic anxieties or fears – of connecting, of missing out, of seeking, of believing or no longer being able to believe.

 
Where's your heart heading?

If you find yourself in Los Angeles this weekend, join us for the final days of this adventure. All the glory of a good road trip distilled into musical form.

JOANNA SYIEK is a Los Angeles-based music junkie with a penchant for long road trips, original theatre work, clean graphic design, and really good Indian food. She directs around the City of Angels and writes about nourishing creativity, Broadway favorites, and talent obsessions over on her blogging home. www.thoughtsontheatre.wordpress.com
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HOW TO GO BROKE IN ONE EASY STEP

Wowwie! We get to go see a show! But it's the only one we will go to this year, because that's all we can afford...
by Loren A. Roberts (guru of multi-hyphenate media)

Out of cash? Too bad, you can't go see a show.

We don’t get to see theatre as much as you all do. First off, there’s not as much of it here in NE Los Angeles (Pasadena) as in New York. Second, getting anywhere on a Friday or Saturday night is near impossible. Third, my weekends are booked solid with “kid functions” -- and obviously I wouldn’t trade those for the world. 

But fourth: it’s expensive! Take you average ticket, and multiply it times four (the number of people in my family), and add parking, dinner, gasoline, and whatever else you want to throw into the evening, and I’m spending $500 that I don’t have.

So, for Christmas, I splurged and got the family tickets to see Wicked next week at the Segerstrom. We have decent-but-by-no-means-great seats, and we’re not going to do a fancy dinner before the show (because instead I’ll be picking up one of my kids from a performance of his own and racing down to the theatre...grrrrr!!! schedules.), and we'll keep it cheap and simple.

But here’s the thing: I am not a tightwad. I would love to go to shows on a regular basis (schedule permitting, obviously. There's nothing I can do about the number of extracurriculuar events my kids are involved with), but I have a hard time justifying the cost when we’re still in a recession. Let’s look at some comparable costs:

And there goes my disposable income for this year.

WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?

I have heard it discussed amongst my musician friends that greed is the simple reason for ticket prices being so high. I don’t believe it -- I think there are far more factors at work. But from a consumer point of view, we have a situation where most of the live entertainment produced in the United States is out-of-reach to the American middle class, at least as a regular entertainment choice.

Help me here, peoples. What am I not seeing? Is live entertainment -- and therefore theatre and musical theatre -- doomed? Do I need to change economic brackets before I can start going to shows on a regular basis?

LOREN A. ROBERTS produces films, videos and music, designs magazines and logos, plays and sings in a Doobie Brothers tribute band, and is a student of what happens when science and technology and the arts and culture collide. www.hearkencreative.com
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OSCAR THE GROUCH...

Will be played in this performance by...Kristen Stewart.
By Alisha Giampola (Actress) 

Well. The Oscars happened. And K-Stew was NOT AMUSED.

In all fairness, girl was on crutches, and maybe it's hard to wash your hair when you're on crutches?

LIVIN' ON A DREAM AND A PRAYER PART 2

The thrilling conclusion to last week's blast from the past.
By Jen Littlefield (Choreographer/Librettist)

Welcome back Crazytown! As you might remember, we left off with me in LA killing time as I waited to hear if I'd made it into the life-changing, year-long training program at the EDGE Performing Arts Center (for the whole story, click here). I have no idea what the other 24 did to pass the time that night, but I went out with my friend and host for the weekend and his close friend who happened to be one of the judges. All I remember is this teacher telling me how much everyone in the room liked me, especially Cindra, and how he was sure I would be on the list tomorrow; don't worry.

Famous last words.

I got to the studio at 9am and headed straight to the bulletin board. I read the list. I read it again. Then I saw below; the alternate list. I was the third or fourth alternate. I'm pretty sure I stopped breathing for a while. How could this happen? This was my dream, my life. I was meant to be in LA training every day and preparing for my future as a dancer who was going to make a living dancing, and dance forever. I have no memory of the time between reading the list and finding myself in the director's office listening to his explanations of why I didn't make it:

"Jennifer, (I was still a Jennifer then), it just seemed like you didn't want it bad enough. I couldn't find the passion in your eyes."

YOU HAVE BEEN DISCOVERED

"Right Together, Left Together" returns.
By Bob Simpson (Writer)

Change is a natural occurrence in the sculpting of a work of art.  From conception to production, the work shifts and modifies from something rough, but with potential, to a clean, polished, finished product, ready for the public.

Such is the case with The Unknown Artists' production, "Right Together, Left Together."  Penned by former Crazytown contributor, Pamela Eberhardt, with music by Will Collyer, "Right Together, Left Together" has been through the stages, morphing and adapting, adding bits here and shedding them there.  For those that saw one of the earliest productions in New York seven years ago, the change would be dramatic.  For those that've been involved since the beginning, the change seems less drastic, but equally gratifying. 

The musical tells the tale of a group of friends fighting or, in some cases, denying themselves and their true feelings.  Maybe the most satisfying aspect of the show is that it was written by two friends, and performed by a group of friends.  It's less like a production molded from the results of a cattle-call, and more like a family affair.  It's a comedy relatable by the masses, and with each version its potency increases.  The current run of "Right Together, Left Together" will feature some new faces, some new songs and scenes, but the theme hasn't changed: "be true to yourself, and love the ones you're with."

CRUNCHING THE NUMBERS ON ART

Here's why money doesn't matter. And why you should (or shouldn't) care.
by Loren A. Roberts (guru of multi-hyphenate media)

I have never seen this much money...and that's my own fault.

FOOLISH BRAINS

I want to talk about our wrong-mindedness. Yes, I'm calling it out. You, and I, are constantly thinking about the wrong things. Specifically money. And it's stressing you out.

Why? Why do we spend so much time worrying about money -- something that has nothing to do with our art -- and therefore stresses us out so much that we lose sight of the reason we originally dropped everything to become an artist?

Really?

Stop it. This preoccupation with money is a distraction.

I'm not saying to let your finances go in the toilet. In fact, I'm saying the opposite. Go get some simple financial training. Take a class. Math is not hard, if you stick with it for a while. (The main reason that so many of us hate math is that many of our teachers in gradeschool were either scared of math themselves, or scared of their school's math curriculum. Honest. But that's probably another blog post.)

And here's the thing: making your monthly rent is infinitesimally small compared to the truckloads of money being thrown around on paper just a few blocks away from you or me (that's New York City and L.A.).

Okay, get ready for a wild, and completely non-scientific, comparison of your money to their money.

Oooo, looky here: a stupid non-sequitur comparison infographic.

(Hey look: I got a Smash reference into this post!) In Hollywood, as on Broadway, many small people are paid peanuts so that a few people at the top can make millions. Just this past week, Los Angeles watched FX house Rhythm and Hues die (well, Chapter 11) a horrible death, because the major Hollywood studios have decided that they can make tons of money on the backs of small companies to do all the heavy lifting for their tentpole (massive summer blockbuster) films. And there are plenty of us who will bend over and take it in the behind just to get a shot at the celebrity of having the next "The Last Five Years" or "Pirates of the Caribbean," right? But I gotta tell you, it's not worth it. Rhythm and Hues found that out that hard way, and now lots of people (people I know) have lost their jobs.

SO WHAT'S THE ANSWER?

Make your art because you believe in it. Not because it's going to make you gobs of money or celebrity. And then handle your money shrewdly. If you don't know how, find someone who does know how to handle money -- that can be trusted -- and pay them to help you. And then stop spending (even I need to work on this one!), and save and save and save, and spend shrewdly only when you absolutely need to.

Why? Because I want you to have the space -- and place of rest -- to do your art.

CREATIVITY AND SLEEP

We have been told time and time again that rest and sleep help us be more creative. So what happens when you are worried about money? Do you -- literally -- lose sleep over money issues? I know I have. Stop it. Take a break. And if you don't feel you can take a break, then you haven't figured out how to manage your money well enough. Go back and do the math again.

SO WHAT ABOUT THIS WRONG-MINDEDNESS?

Check out that graphic above. I know I'm comparing apples to oranges to Fruit Loops, but check out how much money Apple has on hand. And how much NBC spends on each episode of Smash (it's probably a bit lower this season, or will be as soon as they look at their ratings...). And now let's look at ourselves. A 2-bedroom apartment in NYC could cost you $3,000-$3,500 per month (on average), or up to $42,000 per year. The same apartment in L.A. will cost you $2,000-$2,500 per month, or $30,000 per year. You are spending 1% of the cost of one episode of Smash on your entire year's rent. So get over the money, make the money work, and just get down to the business of making your art. Smash/Wicked/Apple are all a long way off from your reality, and should not be considered part of your income-generating plan. If you win the Broadway/Hollywood lottery, good for you; but most of us won't. And that's fine, as long as our financial house is in order. We can get our rest, be comfortable enough to have the energy and mental capacity to create, and go ahead and make art.

Why am I telling you to do this? Well, first, I'm writing this as much for myself as for you. I need to pull back and get my own financial house in order, and do it so that I can carve out space -- and restful space -- to be creative. But also I'm concerned for many of my friends who believe grabbing part of that Broadway/Hollywood lottery is the only way to succeed at being a performing/writing artist. It's not, and it's dangerous to get distracted by hopes for celebrity, when in actuality what you want to be doing is making good art.

So what are you going to do?

LOREN A. ROBERTS produces films, videos and music, designs magazines and logos, plays and sings in a Doobie Brothers tribute band, and is a student of what happens when science and technology and the arts and culture collide. www.hearkencreative.com
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LIVIN' ON A DREAM AND A PRAYER

Do you remember what you wanted to be when you grew up? My job this month has been like holding up a mirror to a time when I was more singulary determined and less prepared, but completely sure I knew exactly what was going to happen. I was a high school senior, of course. Join me on a little trip down memory lane...
By Jen Littlefield (Choreographer/Librettist)

This past weekend, Pace University had its third round of incoming student auditions for the performing arts department. These long two days were in LA as part of the National Unified Auditions, and we were available to see the (mostly) good, the (disappointingly) bad, and the (few but fervid) crazy in a tiny hotel ballroom with no mirrors and no accompanist. It's kind of brutal.

Oh the pain of curtained tables and carpeted floors...

But watching these seventeen and eighteen-year-old seniors auditioning for 5-15 different college programs, putting it all on the line for the chance to keep pursuing the life they love, I kept thinking of my last semester of high school and my own single-minded dedication to fulfilling my dreams at all costs…

When I was younger, I was a dancer, more specifically, a competition dancer. Have you ever met one of us? Most of you are probably now familiar with our kind thanks to SYTYCD and more importantly to Dance Moms. We're usually the jazz or contemporary dancers, the ones who have been doing this since we were 3 (I was 7 when I started, and boy was I behind), who live at our studios everyday from 3-10pm, who travel around our states and the country to compete against other dancers who live at their studios from 3-10pm… Basically, we are as dedicated to dance as Matt Saracen is to the Panthers.

A huge part of my life at this time were conventions: