Thursday, May 22, 2008

Surrounded by it and just can't hold it...

Whatever you think this post is going to be about you are probably wrong.

The past two weeks I have been completely surrounded by something that has been a part of my life for most of my life. It is everywhere and I cant get enough but I am feeling very unsatisfied.

Music

For the month of May I have been able to spend everyday listening to amazing singers working on one of my new favorite scores... ever. Yes I am still unemployed... no, I havent found another show yet. I am working on a reading of Giant by Michael John LaChiusa and Sybille Pearson. I can't say much about the reading other than the music is just breathtaking and these singers just dance on the music with their voices. Its a joy to hear everyday and I can't wait until the show is onstage at Signature Theatre.

Last summer I took a chance and saw a movie that I didn't know much about. I knew it was foreign and it was a musical. I left the movie theatre in tears, went directly home and bought the CD. That movie was Once.

The movie is, VERY SIMPLY, about an Irish songwriter who plays his guitar in the streets of Dublin. He is befriended by a pianist from the Czech Republic. Together they record some songs and develop a true relationship.

Once is such an amazing film. The story is beautiful and the music is so emotional. When I bought the CD I listened to it all the time... I still do. It came out on DVD when I was working on Glory Days at Signature and had to have it immediately.

The songs were all written by the guitarist and the pianist in the film (Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova). Glen is from an Irish band called The Frames. This year their song "Falling Slowly" from Once won the Oscar. Now that they have started writing this amazing music together they have started a group called Swell Season.

One of the reasons that this music has been so heavily on my mind is that I recently saw them perform at Radio City Music Hall. Jenny had told me about the concert that was going to be on a Monday (YAY!!) but Glory Days performs on Mondays and I cant go (BOO!). Then Glory Days closed (MORE BOO!) BUT now I can go (YAY!) but the concert is sold out (BOO!). Finally I did some research on Craigslist and bought a ticket from someone who was no longer able to go. I got a FANTASTIC seat for only $60.

The concert was just amazing. It was just incredible to hear the music live and see them in person with thousands of other fans. After the opening band Glen came onstage and stepped in front of the mic. He played the first song from the film unamplified. The entire concert hall fell silent as we all just listened to this great song. I have been describing the concert as "three and a half hours of being on the verge of tears." Everything about the evening was so incredible and emotional that I knew that any moment I could start sobbing. (I didn't)
I love music so much and I think that its the attachment that I have to the music of Swell Season and the subject matter that makes it so special to me. Throughout the entire concert I wanted nothing more than to be able to pick up a guitar or sit at a piano and play this music. I wanted so badly to be able to make the music that they were making. Not necessarily write songs, but just be able to play the songs that they have written. Add to that my days spent with Michael John and his magnificent score... This music is hard and just amazing to watch our musical director play.
Music is a big part of my life. It is vital. It always has been and always will be and that is a gift from God that I am thankful for everyday. The gift I don't have is the ability to reach out and take the notes from the page and put them in the air for others to hear... that's what I am surrounded by but just can't hold.

Friday, May 16, 2008

An Elephant Never Forgets


In 1986, Peter Davies was on holiday in Kenya after graduating from Northwestern University .


On a hike through the bush, he came across a young bull elephant standing with one leg raised in the air. The elephant seemed distressed, so Peter approached it very carefully.


He got down on one knee and inspected the elephant's foot and found a large piece of wood deeply embedded in it. As carefully and as gently as he could, Peter worked the wood out with his hunting knife, after which the elephant gingerly put down its foot. The elephant turned to face the man, and with a rather curious look on its face, stared at him for several tense moments. Peter stood frozen, think ing of nothing else but being trampled. Eventually the elephant trumpeted loudly, turned, and walked away Peter never forgot that elephant or the events of that day.


Twenty years later, Peter was walking through the Chicago Zoo with his teenaged son. As they approached the elephant enclosure, one of the creatures turned and walked over to near where Peter and his son Cameron were standing. The large bull elephant stared at Peter, lifted its front foot off the ground, then put it down. The elephant did that several times then trumpeted loudly, all the while staring at the man.


Remembering the encounter in 1986, Peter couldn't help wondering if this was the same elephant. Peter summoned up his courage, climbed over the railing and made his way into the enclosure. He walked right up to the elephant and stared back in wonder. The elephant trumpeted again, wrapped its trunk around one of Peter legs and slammed his stupid ass against the railing, killing him instantly.
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