A Hearty BB Congratulations!!!!

Ms. Brenda Barrie, one of the most lovely, emotionally raw actresses we've had the pleasure to work with, was nominated by the Jeff Committee for Best Actress in a Principal Role for her title role in Lifeline's Mariette in Ecstasy (which we didn't get a chance to see ... with this little one in the house, we don't get out much. We heard nothing but wonderful things about her work in it.) Congratulations to BB. She helped originate the role of Fanny Hooe in our play, The Thimbleberry Gallows which was produced back in 2005 at Stage Left. She is a gal who is beautiful inside and out, and this nomination has been a long time coming because I've thought she's one of the best actresses in Chicago for quite some time now.



That's Brenda as Fanny and my dearest husband as Henry.

A hearty congratulations to Nick Keenan of New Leaf for his Best Sound Design nod as well. I haven't met Nick in person yet, but I appreciate his work and words. He seems like a very swell guy and we're happy for him.

Where Have All the Ladies Gone?

I read through a gamut of blogs on a daily basis. Blogs about theatre, blogs about my friends' lives wherever they may be, blogs about celebrity gossip. It fills the hours and distracts the mind for a few brief minutes.

A lot of times I'll run into an entry that strikes the nerves of the readers and a huge comment battle ensues. I've noticed, as of late, that it seems like only men get into the exchanges on a lot of the theatre discussions, particularly. Why is that? Why are we women backing off lately?

I can only speak for myself but I've definitely backed off from getting into philosophical discussions with the guys online. I realized it was making me emotionally weary and, at the same time, bored and irritated after a huge exchange happened last year during the run of The Skriker. So, I really forced myself away from engaging on a daily basis. I was still reading the theatre blogs, but I didn't want to join in the discussions anymore. I was also pregnant and realized that I needed to focus my attentions on becoming Clara's mom and needed to provide a calm internal environment for her to take root and grow in. To not only grow, but to thrive. By constantly bristling and getting my moods in ever present craws, I imagined that I was creating a craggly nest for my sweet girl to float in.

Once I backed off and became used to that, I realized that my comments didn't seem to aid the discussion. The talks appeared to retread the same issues and, to be quite honest, started to reek of a lot of hot air and wind. Like the air on a plane, always recycling and starting to stink a little.

I wanted to focus on my family and my life. That hasn't changed 8 months after Clara's birth. I feel that if I engage and share my energy in the sniping, in the verbal castigation and masturbation, in the pettiness of the individual's GREAT IDEA, which negates everyone else's GREAT IDEAS, then I would be doing a disservice to the loveliness of my day to day life and the wonder that greets each morning with a brand new person taking in everything for the first time.

I gotta say though, boys. I'm tired of seeing the same names and hearing the same voices day after day. I scrolled through Scott Walter's big 75 comments blog the other day and only saw one lady saying something and that was at the beginning of the comment run. Where have all the lady bloggers and commenters gone? I know they're out there reading but they're staying mum and I'm not sure why. Any ideas?

Houston on the Flip Side

GreyZelda recently took the Flip Video people up on their non-profit deal, scoring two Flip Video Cameras for theatre, artistic and what-have-you use. Chris took his along to Dave Lykin's concert on April 9th at Sylvie's and recorded a few songs from Dave and The Crimebusters during their debut performance as a band.



Some of you may recall seeing Dave's countenance over the action during A View from the Bridge. He played the lawyer and voice of reason, Alfieri. He's a mighty talent and an even mightier friend and soul. Make sure you catch him next time he's playing solo or with the boys. He's an awesome person to know.

Brain Snapshot

What's on Rebecca's GreyZelda's clipboard:

1. Plan a company meeting, where we will talk about the following:

2. Fundraising. We need to hold a fundraiser or two before we put money down for a space and commit to a season. We could make a season of fundraising, in fact, because fundraising can be fun as well as draising.

3. Define draising, as GreyZelda sees it.

4. Add company members and redefine the job duties and company's mission. Willing to completely rework the company's goals. I know who I would like to invite, that's fo' sho'.

5. Redesign website and update GreyZelda's look and feel. Talk to Gene and Sarah about both.

6. Meet with Jessica Hutchinson again to discuss her ideas for directing a show for our future season.

7. Put the idea out there that we'd like to share a rehearsal space with another theatre company or group of artists. Check this one off the list because I just put it out there.

8. Come up with a web series using our new Flip Cameras. Interviews with company members, community collaborators, etc.

LET'S GET 'ER DONE, BZ.