Too Long Delayed....

Another delayed update....I really need to work on that.....

Anyway.

First, I have been blessed by an amazing group of folks and, through both online and offline contributions, I have been able to enter the UAF payment plan for the Spring semester, 2013. What this means is that, while still having financial challenges, I've been able to retain my enrollment and stay in classes. I don't have good words to thank everyone for their help. All I have is 'Thank You!'. And sometimes that just seems insufficient.

In other news:

**We had 1st tech for the Spring mainstage show (Speech & Debate) yesterday. It went pretty well. Of course, being a cue to cue and working various changes several times, etc means that we still have a bit of the show to complete during today's 2nd tech. Plus (hopefully) a full run.

**The Native Arts Studio had an alumni/student show to coincide  with the Native Arts Festival that is an annual event here on campus. I had a few items of my work from last semesters Beginning Native Arts Studio class in the show. Got some positive comments on them. Which was nice.

**Still working on getting a Summer gig set up. I feel terribly behind. Of course, last year I ended up in even worse straits and still found a gig....eventually. And I do have a presently standing offer for a possible Master Carpenter gig here in Fairbanks, should everything else not pan out.....So we shall see.

**Working the grad school search game again. I'm very torn about my selection process. I've been attempting to pare down my applications list to a maximum of 5 schools. The process of 'finding a fit' has me a bit....anxious. Especially when some schools don't seem to responded to direct email requests for info. Maybe they think that, since I have a Fairbanks PO box as an address, that I am just attempting to spoof them somehow? Sigh and shrug. Had a good phone chat (thanks to Google phone) the other day with a person at one of the schools on my list - University of Iowa. Spent a great deal of time on the departments webpages. While not a true scenography degree, it  might prove to be a good fit.

So. With that said, here are my current (03/03/13 @ ~1128hrs) top picks  :


University of Kansas - Lawrence

University of Illinois: Urbana-Champaign

University of Iowa (Iowa City)

Wayne State University - The Hilberry Theatre Company

Southern Illinois University: Carbondale

-------------------------------------

Yale

NYU


The first five are schools that I get the feeling/think would be a good fit for me, based on current research/prior knowledge. The last two are sort of  'blue sky schools' and I admit to some doubts in their case(s)......

If anyone reading this has ANY thoughts, opinions, suggestions, etc based on personal experiences and/or your experiences with me and my work I would be VERY grateful to hear/receive them. Feel free to comment here or send me an email (sage.cl@gmail.com).

Well, that's about all there is time for now. Just about time for the call for 2nd tech. More again later....Hopefully sooner than I have been.

Again, thanks everyone. Take care. 





http://www.gofundme.com/1txdbo

Embarrassing Post / Request

This is, in candor, perhaps the hardest blog entry I have yet had to write. And the most potentially embarrassing one as well. But it needs done so....

First, while some of you might know that I had hoped to graduate here at UAF this Spring, it now looks as if that is very unlikely. I still have a few cards to play and a few ideas, but should those unlikely efforts fail, I will be here till at least December, 2013. The issue is, in the main, that I made a foolish presumption as to just how much algebra I actually recalled from my high school days some 36 years ago. Yes, I use some of the stuff in woodworking and the like. And no, it wasn't enough to score at an appropriate level for the placement test that UAF requires. So instead I have to take a 'pre-algebra' course first. At least, that is what I am enrolled in until I take the test again early next week (you can only take it twice in a single semester....or so I have been told). IF I score high enough and IF there is still a section of the math course I need to take for my core degree requirement then MAYBE I might also be able to 'massage' another issue – the two lab science courses I need both have a prerequisite of a specific math grade. The gamble/hope is that I might be able to convince the science professors to let me take their courses concurrently with the math course.

Not so likely. But as many of you know by now I can be a stubborn little.....well, you know the abbreviation.

So those are the circumstances as to why I may have to delay grad school till the Fall of 2014 rather than the Fall of 2013 as I had hoped. I'll not blame anyone but me for making presumptions and not getting started on these core courses sooner.....

Anyway, that is one set of embarrassment.

Here is the next....And I fear it will sound so.......emo. Even if I don't intend it to.

As those of you who have read this blog previously might recall I returned to school in 2010 after a 27 year lapse to pursue first my Bachelor of Arts degree (Theatre, with a design emphasis) and then, with luck, moving on to my Masters of Fine Arts degree (also in Theatre, with a design emphasis) and the possibility of teaching. I have been attending UAF thanks in the main to scholarships. For my first two years here, I was blessed to have received enough outside funding to pay for almost everything. Which left what I made with my student employment and one or two outside design and technical gigs to take care of food and other such essentials.

Sadly, due to a glitch at the end of last year (Spring 2012) I became ineligible for one of my scholarships. And this scholarship had amounted to roughly half of my total funding. At the start of the Fall semester I was uncertain what was going to happen but thankfully I was able to arrange for a 'one time only' injection of some additional outside funds. And I was also blessed to simultaneously receive a smaller, new scholarship out of the blue. When combined with my savings from my Summer theatre gig, the total just met my indebtedness. But a key point is that the larger fund source was a 'one time only' situation. So for the last semester I have been scrambling and submitting scholarship applications and essays and hunting for funding sources. And while I have attempted to save some funds from my student employment, I must admit that much of it ended up being spent for food and related essentials.

While I am waiting for the results of the various scholarships to be announced and while I continue to apply for others, it has come time for the Spring semester to begin. And for that payment to be made.

And, with my two remaining scholarships (a continuing one from last year and the newer, out of the blue smaller one) and my student job in the theatre department I am still $2300 short of meeting my tuition and fees. Not including books or other such. However, those items really become moot if I can't keep my enrollment. And, in candor, if I don't keep the momentum I currently have going towards first my BA and then my MFA I'm not certain I'll ever be able to return and finish them.

Which brings me here.

At the start of the Fall semester I began an effort to 'crowd-fund' some of my educational expenses. There are some online sites that are akin to Kickstarter, but rather than being for businesses they are for personal fund-raising. I spread the word of the page I had created (I mentioned it in one of my earlier, now deleted blog posts) but I hesitated to come out, full bore, and bare it all before Facebook and the world. Which is just as well. After some comparison, I determined that a different site was a better fit for my efforts. So I have made another site. And, attempting to at least stay somewhat within the Kickstarter model, it is with the following offer:

I'm seeking donations. Of any size. With my promise that, at some point within the next five years (my estimated time frame till my completion of my MFA, given my starting it in the Fall of 2014 and it being a three year program) I will pay them back. I cannot guarantee when or how soon, except that it would be within the above mentioned 5 years. Nor can I guarantee the precise order of repayment as it will depend on the cash available. Of course, if I am chosen for any of the scholarships I have applied for, some of the payback could be sooner than later. But the only certain things are the five year window. And my additional pledge to 'pay it forward' and help others in need when I might be able to do so. The rest is, sadly, all variables.

The basic deadline (excluding the unlikely event that I can convince the business office otherwise) is for me to pay my fees by close of business, Alaska Standard Time, Friday January 25^th. About 13 days from now. Which is, realistically, why I am desperate enough to come here and ask for help. For a variety of reasons, that's a very difficult thing for me. But last Fall, a good friend reminded me that sometimes asking for help is not so bad....And so here we are.

Thank you to all who read this. And thank you, should you choose to help.

The link is below.... And, as that page might hit some who have not read this, or the blog, much of what I have said here is repeated there......

Again, thanks.

http://www.gofundme.com/1txdbo

Just The "High Points".......

Well.....

It has, once again, been some length of time since I updated/posted here.....And as it has and as a variety of things have happened (both positive and not so much) I will just hit things with a line or two of description....And perhaps add more at a later point.....or not.

Let's see.....


**Spent the Summer as TD at the Mount Washington Valley Theatre Company in NH.


**Even with funding issues (which were major) had a pretty good Summer at MWVTC.


**Injured my back during one of the load ins this Summer (or perhaps I should say I re-injured the disk of doom in my lumbar spine.....bleh).


**Got better-ish and finished the season and came back to school.


**Scrambling for funding due to a glitch with one of my previous scholarships.


**Floating between housing arrangements due to funding. (Couch surfing is FUN!)


**Directed and designed one of the shows in this Falls Winter Shorts production. Enjoyed the process (mostly.....mostly).


**Re-wrenched my back a couple of weeks ago.


**Dealing with not being able to see physicians due to insurance issues.....(bastards).


**Assigned as Assistant Scenic Designer for the Spring 2013 show Speech And Debate.


**Struggling to figure out exactly how I will get the credits I need to graduate in the Spring. THIS is a MAJOR concern, especially if I want to start grad school come the Fall of 2013. And I DO want to start grad school in the Fall.


**Playing some 'catch up' regarding classes missed and such due to the recent back stuff......


**Still publicly looking for additional financing via Fundrazr.com. Not so proud of doing it but "it is what it is". Here is the page (which I will be updating again soon-ish)[DELETED DUE TO FUNDRAISING SITE UPDATE AS OF 01/12/13 --PLEASE REFER TO THAT DAYS ENTRY FOR DETAILS]



Oh, and apparently Blogger seems to think that this entry is all one stinkin' paragraph rather than a bunch of smaller sections with ** as their header(s).......sigh. [FIXED 01/13/13!!! HURRAY!]


Well, that's the high points. At least as I recall them at this moment. So, as always, more later. Or eventually.

Fundraising.....

[DELETED DUE TO FUNDRAISING SITE UPDATE AS OF 01/12/13 --PLEASE REFER TO THAT DAYS ENTRY FOR DETAILS]

Well........

Sigh.

Yes. I started this entry with an exhalation indicative of frustration or some other, potentially pensive emotive state.

Sigh yet again.

Here is the situation:

As I mentioned previously I have been hired by the Mt Washington Valley Theatre Company to serve as their TD for the Summer 2012 season. Hurray!.....And I think I also stated that A) they were unsure that they would be having a season this year and so are getting things organized late and B) that they also agreed to cover a flight out as an advance against some of my seasons pay (at least, that is how I understand the arrangement...). Those two things are important to remember.

I did some online searching and found various flights and sent the info to the contact there for them to proceed with....and then I waited......and waited.....and....well, you get the idea. Then I sent some more, alternate flight info to the contact there.....and waited. Which is, mind you, completely understandable given that they are also auditioning/hiring a full staff beyond me.....Then I discovered some......disquieting news. I saw a post via the theatre's Facebook page that they were looking for a scene shop to rent for the Summer build. Huh?! The last info I had they had arrangements with a local business owner to use a 'storefront/warehouse space' that was available. Apparently, that must have changed....

The original schedule had us starting work on the 26th (this Tuesday). The last email I have from the contact there said that 'because of other issues' things might not be able to start till the 27th and so it would be 'fine for you to arrive on the 25th or even the 26th'.......I can only presume the 'other issues' include needing to find a shop space.....shrug.

We don't open the first show till July 10th. And as the first show is Nunsense Jamboree which is, from all I can determine, a fairly light build we should be okay as far as that goes. And again, I totally get and understand that there are other arrangements needing to be made beyond mine. It's NOT my first rodeo....It is just that the waiting and all is beginning to ravel my nerves a bit is all.

Anyway, I'm very, VERY thankful that the theatre is willing to work with me as far as getting there goes. I just really want to do a good job and to get to work.......

So that's that story.....so far. I'll add more once I know more....Or should I need to 'vent' again.

In other, somewhat tangentially related, news: I am still in planning work for The Veldt production this Fall here at UAF. I must be honest and admit that it has only been about 20% on my schedule as opposed to what it might/could be, in part due to the organizing and such for the Summer gig......

Also, I have to announce that I received a continuation of my Wood Grant for the upcoming academic year. While not as large a sum as last years I am still incredibly grateful to have been selected! Not sure if I've previously mentioned it but, due to some glitch in the process, I also seem to have not been listed as having applied for the UAF Theatre Dept scholarship that I've had the last two years. So it was given to someone else. IF that person does not claim it (ie: they don't enroll or fail to show up in the Fall) I am listed as an alternate. Sigh and shrug. Which means I need to find other funding. Still searching for, submitting, etc additional applications for scholarships, grants, etc. I'll be applying for such things as the Osher Reentry Scholarship and several online essay based scholarships, but some of those deadlines are really close to the beginning of the academic year.....Eeeeeek! So, as always, if anyone has any recommendations, suggestions, etc about grants and such please let me know. Thanks!

Another bit of news: As of right now (please note the disclaimer, which is because I still have an outstanding incomplete on my transcript, even though I have submitted the required essay/paper) based on my GPA I received a letter from the Chancellors Office and it announced that, for the Spring 2012 semester, I made the Chancellors list. Amazing what a 3.92 GPA can do for you.......I just hope that the Incomplete turns into a grade that lets me keep that status.

I guess that's about the size of it for this entry. Here's hoping that the next one will include details about the NH gig....and, if I keep focused, about the scholarship and grad school searches......Till then.

A Bit Frazzled......

It's been roughly a week since the last post....As I mentioned last time I had had an interview with Opera Saratoga, in Saratoga Springs NY, for a carpentry position. And how I was waiting on hearing back from them about it and potential travel details. I was also waiting to hear/have a phone interview with the representative from the Mt Washington Valley Theatre Company, based in North Conway NH.

Well, first let me say that I did not get the carpentry gig, due mainly to transportation issues.

That said, I also did have an interview on June 5th with the rep from Mt Washington Valley Theatre Company. We talked for about an hour, which truth be told I took as a good sign at the time. I had applied for a gig as the seasons Scenic Designer. However, I also (as mentioned in the last post here) said I was/am amenable to other positions. My interpretation of the spin of the interview ran towards it being (mainly) a TD interview with a Scenic Design component included. After the interview I submitted some portfolio materials and started waiting. Of course, given that the rep had stated pretty succinctly during the interview that they would be interested in my being a part of the Summer team had me in a pretty positive mindspace. A few days passed and my neuroses were beginning to raise their head(s) when I got a call last Saturday (the 9th) from the rep. They offered me the following (and bear with my description because it's a little convoluted):

** The position of Technical Director for their Summer season. OR (potentially) the Scenic Design position, IF they do not find someone whose scenic qualifications exceed mine AND IF they have another option for the TD slot......

Like I said, convoluted.

In part that is due to the fact that, as is often the case, the theatre received more design oriented resumes than production oriented ones. So to make best use of the pool of applicants, they asked if folks would consider other, non-design gigs. And as I've said, while I would love to get the additional scenic design credits and imagery for my portfolio, a TD gig is a worthwhile resume addition too. And it's a gig. Which is important to get after the whole VADA debacle down in Palmer. Plus this theatre was on the edge of not having a Summer season, due to a variety of factors. It was the local supporters who, as I understand it, basically said: what do you need to make the season happen? And after some discussion, the local sponsors came up with the funding and in kind support to make it possible. Which is why they are hiring folks so late in the game. And why the gig itself is still a bit muddled.

I think that the late start is a portion of why they are also willing to help with transportation costs. Of course, the search for appropriate flights has me a bit frazzled (part of the reason for the post title). Especially when you research on a 'compiler site' (ie: Kayak.com) and it gives you one price and when you click through to the airline it gives you a different, higher price.....Anyway, I'm still searching for airfares and forwarding the info to the rep there in NH.....

The rehearsals and build are slated to start on June 26th. And so I should be flying out as early as next Wednesday (June 20th). The season consists of: Nunsense Jamboree, Man of La Mancha, 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, and Stop the World, I Want to Get Off. Pretty much the standard two week run/two week build cycle that I'm familiar with from TLTOTS. Though the theatre is, apparently, somewhat smaller that the one in Sullivan. According to the info I currently have the stage runs 28 feet deep, with a proscenium opening of about 20 feet by 12 feet....And about 8 feet worth of wings on either side. The space is a re-purposed dance and music venue affiliated with a resort hotel. A link to the history of the venue is here:  

http://www.mwvtheatre.org/history.html

Still working through what all I can/need to pack. With the *insert expletive* baggage fees it makes things interesting for someone who travels with tools, drafting gear, and some reference texts and, as a consequence, HAS to check luggage. I was fortunate enough to come across, at the "Really Free Market" that was held recently, a soft sided footlocker sort of luggage piece that just might be able to hold everything that has to be checked as well as most of my wardrobe for the Summer.....At least, that is the current hope. I want to keep it down to one checked bag, my carry on (backpack) and my laptop case. We shall see how that works out.

When I started this post I was certain that I had more to say but.....When it comes to me, I'll post some more. Till then......

Drought, Then Flood.....Or So It Seems.

Well.....It's been an interesting few days. Actually, to be more specific, an interesting last 48 hours (+/-).

Since this is intended to be a brief update (other stuff to do....stuff to accomplish) I'll work at keeping it short. So.......Late on Friday/early Saturday, after what was seeming to be a total wash on all the resumes I had submitted so far for Summer gigs, I saw that there was a new, last minute job posting on Backstagejobs.com seeking a Scenic Carpenter for an opera company in Saratoga Springs NY. So I sent out my resume. Then late Saturday/early Sunday got a message back that they wanted to do a phone interview. Had that (various details being expurgated at the moment due to time....I'll potentially add more detail later) and had to wait to see what the artistic directors decision was. That was supposed to occur this afternoon (Eastern Standard Time). Shortly after the interview for them, I finally got another email back from the theatre in NH (which I believe I mentioned in a previous posting) asking to set up a phone interview with them too. So I emailed back within thirty minutes or so but have not heard back yet.....I was hoping to have spoken with them by now so that, when the opera company calls/emails back with a decision I would have things to compare....IF, of course, either or both make any offers. The opera gig would need me to fly out.....tomorrow. It would be that quick. The NH gig would not start till the 26th of June and then end after the last show opens/whenever my final responsibilities are complete....Or Labor Day, whichever is applicable.

I'll be candid: I really would like the one in NH. I applied for the position of scenic designer for the season of four musicals. It would be an awesome portfolio builder. Admittedly, when the contact there emailed me back the first time (a couple of weeks back) and asked if I would also consider positions such as carpentry or props I did say that, even though I consider myself a designer/scenographer, I would be open to other work as well. So while I am presuming that the interview will be for the scenic design gig it could be for something else......sigh.

Anyway that is the crush of action over the last 72 hours or so.

No matter what happens, it did point out a lesson to me: I should start keeping a '30 plus days' bag packed (or at least ready to be packed) at all times. Just in case.

Time to get back to other projects.....More details/updates when applicable.