Time In Its Passage - Something Of A Memoir/Ramble

It is interesting how my mind can be inspired to reflect down certain historic paths by seemingly unrelated things. And an excellent example showed up a couple of days ago.

On one of the various feeds which now seem to help define my life, there was a posting regarding 'The Fall of Saigon', which occurred at the end of April 1975. And suddenly, virtually unbidden,  came a rush of memories regarding a milestone of my life from that general time.

Spring, 1975. Earlier in that school year (my freshman year at Waukegan West High School) I had auditioned for a school musical ( You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown ), in part due to some input from one of my teachers, Mr Contois. He had taken me, the budding class clown, to the side and suggested I look into what I later learned were called 'individual events' (ie: speech competitions, etc). And so I joined with my sister and auditioned. I got called back, but not cast. And while I cannot really recall precisely why, I went ahead and volunteered for some work calls. My first few hours on a crew were spent with a nail puller on a Saturday morning. Then I began working on the electrics crew for You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown which resulted in my being a board operator for at least one of the performances. And this was in a smaller venue at my high school, which had an older (for that day) light control system that involved the classic 'switchboard style patch bay' and a series of large, truncheon shaped handles to control the dimmers. To link the dimmers you twisted the handles into a specific position, which ganged them together. Then you ran the master up or down...

The image below shows a similar, but larger, system at another venue (not one that I have worked):

My freshman year was the last year that both of the cities high schools (Waukegan East and my campus, Waukegan West) would be producing a combined Spring musical. That year it was The Wizard of Oz. I auditioned and ended up being cast in the role of The Wizard. And that role, with its rehearsal process and age makeup and all such things are amongst the memories triggered by the anniversary of the fall of Saigon. In part because of one instance where four of us (the performers who played the Cowardly Lion, the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodsman, Dorothy, and I - we hung out together mainly because one of the actors lived near me and so gave me rides to the East campus rehearsals and from there home, etc) were outside of the rehearsal space and, hearing what I believe was a test of a tornado siren, the Tin Woodsman commented 'Oh no! It's Ho Chi Minh!'

And that incident, over the years, has mingled with memories of running out of hair coloring spray, so the adult tech director came up with the idea of putting 'clown white' greasepaint in my hair to accomplish the required age effect for one performance. And of needing to shampoo my hair upwards of six times, including at least one washing using my sisters 'Bonnie Bell 10 o' 6' astringent as part of the process of getting it out. And that same tech director synching his gesticulating shadow onto the cyc to match my amplified voice and serve as a 'special effect' for the Wizards audience chamber scenes.

As I will sometimes say when I am feeling contemplative: Herrmn.

It seems a more than a bit strange to realize that, with an occasional gap or three, I have been involved with the theatre in one manner or another for ~39 years. And thankfully I am, and hope to continue, learning and exploring every day.



Help Me Continue My Educational Momentum
 
A portfolio of my various work and projects, both theatrical and otherwise.

More ramblings to follow.

Working On Concepts...And On Hopes For The Next Two Semesters.

This image showed up rather randomly on one of my feeds today. And it makes me homesick for the Lab Theatre at UAF (which has a control system like this). And it also makes me contemplative, considering what could be done with a similar system (or equivalent) in another venue that, based on classwork in it, inspires me. That is to say the Green Room for Theatre UAF.

Some little while back (~2 years ago) I submitted a concept to the SDA (the Student Drama Association at UAF) for something called (depending on who you spoke with) either 'The Portable Playhouse Project' or 'Carl's thing'. The idea was to create productions that would be separate from any of the various Winter Shorts productions which the group does on a semi-regular basis, or from the Famous For Fifteen play reading event that the SDA also produces. I was spurred to the idea because it seemed as though there could be much more being done, perhaps even something like weekly (or bi-weekly) showcases. And, admittedly, I was looking for personal opportunities to showcase my work as a director and, more importantly, as a designer.

For various reasons the submission was voted down. After which other issues caused me to put such ideas onto the proverbial 'back burner'. But the flame on that back burner never went out. And after toying with presenting one of them in other venue on campus I have some definitive ideas shaping up that can be produced in room Theatre 101 (ie: the Green Room). So, off and on over the last few months, I've begun to do some pre-production work on these projects. That has included considering the existing technical support structure which is (or was, when last I was on campus) in place in the venue.

I grew into my current theatre knowledge with what some today consider archaic systems. Things like two scene manual preset boards connected to a set of a dozen dimmers. So the idea that that is basically what the Green Room is equipped with and which is used for class purposes (such as Lighting Design classes, etc) doesn't phase me. However seeing the image of this board today reminded me that there are other options. And those include such things as shoebox dimmer packs and laptop based DMX control units. Which, funnily enough, were one of the phases of the 'The Portable Playhouse Project' submission, since the concept was to allow for performances in whatever space might be available (much like the educational touring productions I worked on back at The Little Theatre On The Square, etc).

So as long as I can arrange scholarships/sponsorships/funding to get back to school in the Fall, I intend to reserve the Green Room and produce at least one (and preferably more than one) event/show in it. And if possible I'll use the better aspects of 'The Portable Playhouse Project' concept. Because one of the variety of things I have learned over the years is that research is never really wasted.

Help Me Continue My Educational Momentum
 
A portfolio of my various work and projects, both theatrical and otherwise.

Details and other ramblings to follow.

All Right Class, Time For Some Review...And A Very Brief Look At What Is On Deck.

Hello!

To any and all of you who might be new visitors here, having followed links on other websites, welcome!

To those of you who are prior visitors, please bear with me as I spend a paragraph or so reviewing past exploits for the newer folks...Thanks!

Introduction:

"NOT QUITE THE WORLDS OLDEST UNDERGRAD"

Which is, in the main, a documentation of my returning to school since the Fall of 2010 and the activities and adventures connected to such. And, truth be told, it also includes some discussion of my artistic efforts, both theatrical and non-theatrical, as well.

Some history:

For a variety of reasons, both personal and academic, I left my initial collegiate career after I had received my Associate of Arts degree and transferred to the University of Illinois: Urbana-Champaign but prior to being awarded my Bachelors degree. After leaving school I worked in a variety of theatrical and non-theatrical positions including as a technician at the Walt Disney World resort complex. Eventually (2003) I began a succession of what I call 'full time freelance gigs', ranging from locations in Illinois, Virginia, New Jersey, etc... During these gigs, especially one in which I was on tour with a series of educational shows that performed in elementary and middle schools and in which I interacted with the students involved with the producing theatres educational program(s), I became aware that, above and beyond any potential professional benefits inherent in receiving my degree, I had a deep craving to not end up wishing someday that I had taken a chance. When that particular gig (which had lasted ~3 years) ended and I ended up 'at liberty' (a term some of us in the entertainment trade use for being unemployed) for the entire year of 2009 I decided that it was time. I had previously looked into the University of Alaska Fairbanks and decided that it sounded like it might be a 'good fit'. After applying, I was pleasantly surprised by the offer of some scholarship funding which, truth be told, was really the only way I could return to a full time educational program. Thus, in the Fall of 2010, I boarded a plane and flew to Fairbanks, a city I had never before seen or visited beyond various webcams and online informational searches.

That said, there have been a variety of adventures which followed. Some ups, some downs. Some challenges. Challenges such as, due to financial issues, having to spend an entire academic year 'couch surfing' and using various other methods of 'non standard housing'. Even with those challenges I was able to maintain my grades and keep moving forward.

Frustratingly I did hit a set of glitches within the past year, including having the committee for one of my scholarships decide that no prior recipients would be granted scholarship renewals for the 2013-2014 academic year. And a very rough Summer stock gig that, in candor, became a disaster. The ultimate result was that I have had to take another, albeit briefer, 'sabbatical' and so have had to shift my expected graduation date from Spring 2014 to Spring 2015.

All that said I am still committed to my course and, occasional bouts of self-doubt notwithstanding, I am still focused on returning to school in September 2014 so that I can finish the remaining 11 credit hours needed for my degree. Yes, because of how scheduling seems to fall it will take two more semesters. But that just gives me a chance to accomplish that much more portfolio and skill building, both through personal projects and by taking some additional studio art courses. I'll need to have at least 9 credit hours per semester to qualify as, at minimum, a part time student. The current plan has me taking 10 hours each semester, with the required mathematics course and one of the two required lab science courses in the Fall. Then in the Spring I'll take the final required lab science course and fill the additional space with studio art classes.

That's the history. And the plan. And the update.

Before I close, here are some links of note:

My combined portfolio: A portfolio of my various work and projects, both theatrical and otherwise. 

My general Tumblr, which is something of an eclectic mix of art, art history, architecture, quotations, and various other miscellanea: Semi-Random Shavings

And finally, should you be willing to help support my educational goals, please go here:


Help Me Continue My Educational Momentum

Thanks again to everyone for all of your support. I don't know that I have the words to express how very much it means to me.

More soon-ish. Till later.

A Minor Vent

I apologize but I am going to release a little-ish rant.

It really, really frustrates me when I am attempting to keep a positive mindset and someone basically tells me "Well, just forget about it. It'll never happen."

I may have a great many faults but I'm kind of proud of my stubbornness, at least regarding certain things. I've already had to loose another academic year. I cannot, with four plus months to go, just put things off again. I cannot and will not shelve my plans.

It's Been Too Long.....

Yes.

I am alive. And I have been. I just have been remiss on the upkeep of this narrative. For which I express regret.

There are various stories to share...And I will, eventually, I assure you. However today I am focused on the much too intermittent maintenance of my total online presence, including several other sites beyond this one. Like my Deviant Art page (which is currently terribly barren):

http://clsage.deviantart.com/

And my new (as of yesterday - January 16th, 2014) Tumblr:

Semi-Random Shavings

And, with the Tumblr addition, arises a new question:

Should I continue this blog here? Or migrate it to a separate page on Tumblr? I am, admittedly, torn. Blogger is a 'known quantity' and I am still in a learning curve phase with Tumblr. However, the interface on Tumblr seems.....more fluid? And, as such, then perhaps keeping this blog might be better facilitated? Shrug. I am clearly uncertain. And so I welcome any opinions.

Beyond those items I need to find copies of several of my portfolio images, most especially in the area of non-theatrical woodworking (ie: bentwood boxes, etc), which seem to have vanished due to a failure of a USB drive. And, as an affiliated issue, I need to adjust my Dropbox folders and make additional copies.....Yes, all a part of the ever ongoing quest to become more organized and more supported in my artistic life and such.

Speaking of school (since that is what the primary emphasis of this blog is meant to be) I also need to update the page related to this link as well:

Help Me Continue My Educational Momentum

In regard to that last link, once again I cannot begin to express my thankfulness to all of you for your support. And my hope that soon my newest 'hiccup' will be done and I can get back to Alaska and to school. And thence onward....to a graduate program.

Okay...Time to post this and continue other work. One way or another, there will be more.....soon-ish.

Crit....And Post Crit Crit (Well, really, it was more of a discussion...)

So.

3D Design class crit is done.

So all the 'critique portions' of the studio art courses are complete. Though I still have an exam in one of them (Pixel Painting - the class on Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop).  Tomorrow morning. 0800hrs. A written portion, where we answer questions about how RGB works and what is a pixel and such....And then there is a 'hands on' portion........

After today's crit I was cleaning up and came back to the room where the crit had been(a bit of confusion there...but I'll save that story for another time). One of the other students and the instructor were chatting and I ended up joining the conversation....Discussion about how to make the class better, etc....Kinda fun, pedagogically speaking.

Anyhow, this will be another short entry. I have a bunch of things that are weighing on me and some things that need doing before tomorrow....Plus a minor migraine/tension headache building. So I'm going to go and attempt to deal with that....and those....and all. More on all sorts of stuff later.

Till then.



 http://www.gofundme.com/1txdbo

End Of Semester.....And The Blue It Has Brought

Well.

Spring 2013 semester coming to a close.

Two finals yesterday. Plus a presentation. And, although it was prior to the official start of finals, had two group critiques in a pair of my studio art classes on Monday. Group critique for the third of my studio art courses tomorrow. And later today a 1 on 1 critique with my Native Arts Studio professor......Then, at 0800hrs on Friday, a combined written and hands-on test in my 'digital art' class on Photoshop and Illustrator.

And I am pretty angsty.

Just been a pretty rough week or so.

Okay.........I really need to not spend time on the blog post and rather move forward with some projects....Including plans for Summer and such.

Later.