So, let’s REALLY do this! I’ve been thinking frequently about the pros and cons of blogging again, but moreover, I actually WANT to blog again, so I will try.

Tomorrow marks three weeks in the new house. Things are settling into a routine as time goes on. I pass by the old apartment on the way home via the bus, and have the Charles River Park slogan in my mind: “If you lived here, you’d be home now!” – but I’m glad to be where I am now. It’s also testing my physical endurance in ways that my old place did not. I have to walk up a very steep hill to get home, which is almost a 45 degree angle in parts. It’s fun to walk down and a valiant effort to come back up. The first time I did it, I felt sore for three days afterward… but now that I’ve done it again, it doesn’t feel so bad. It’s also a plus to my gas mileage, which has suffered as a result of this steep hill, at least until I find the perfect way to drive down the hill with moderate usage of brakes. Right now I am trying a different tactic each time, and seeing what may work, and if there’s an ideal method.

School continues and feels refreshed. This semester we are exploring Family Therapies and Individual Therapies, while some explore Cross Cultural therapies and others explore the law and ethics of therapeutic work. I feel revived to be part of the community. At the same time I don’t hold too much attachment to the process and take pleasure in the different aspects of my Bay Area life. This also includes continuing work with The Theatre Company, which remains charmingly endearing, though not without challenges at times.

That’s enough for now – another thing to note is how the internet promotes a short attention span, at least in my mind. The hill is having an intense windstorm tonight making it feel like we are right on a bluff.

I really want to blog again. I don’t know what is holding me back. Alright, maybe I do – the rise of microblogging and the amplification of instant updates on Facebook, Twitter and anything/everything else. And then when I actually start the blog, I wonder what to say.

Perhaps starting fresh will help the stagnation go away. I created this blog over a year ago with the intention of turning a new page, but it didn’t happen. Well, now I want it to happen again – and it will! I am challenging myself to write once per day in August. What will the focus be, though – reflective or exploratory? Let’s try a little of both.

It’s been a day of transitions today as I moved out of my apartment, and later said goodbye – for now – to two friends whom I originally knew in MA and are now returning there. Got me thinking about the nature of time, but how time is equally really just a construct.

My Five College Theatre training is appearing in the title of this entry. Have been thinking about my impressions of recent plays in light of the realization that of the 20+ plays I’ve seen in the Bay Area this year, the ones that stood out the most (thus far) were written by men, but produced in all other areas by women. I’m interested to contemplate if this is a coincidence or part of a larger thematic trend. Cases are outlined below. In both cases, I had a direct connection to at least one cast member.

Over the Mountain: “Set in an oddly familiar totalitarian state, this lyrical play explores a world where two sisters, faced with the severities of war, must make choices that threaten to sever them forever” said the press release. I heard about it through an email from a supporting player, whom I’d worked with last fall and co-starred as a close friend and fellow freedom fighter. In her words, this African American actress “didn’t want to look like a Black Panther” so she dyed her black/gray hair platinum blond just for the part.

The play felt like theatrical nirvana to me, from the grand theatre space originally used as a 1930’s cinema to the sparse set design that captured a cross between being stuck in the outside world and stuck in one’s home. Original music emphasized the lyricism of the dialogue and surroundings, and the composer was featured in a small ensemble part. The story felt immediate because it did not over-expositive itself. The totalitarian state was never named, which added to the urgency of the plot and acting. The sisters and protagonists didn’t know where they were going next, and the audience members were right there with them.

Collected Stories, seen last night in its opening performance at the charming Cinnabar Theatre in Petaluma, was a vastly different subject: the wars of academia and hidden issues of class and status within that profession. An older professor and younger devoted student are initially drawn together when the student becomes her personal assistant. As the years pass and they are drawn closer, it becomes apparent that each character has a hidden agenda. It is only through an act of betrayal (or is it?) that a resolution is achieved, and its not a happy one.

This production benefitted from extremely focused performances from its two leads, solid on-the-mark direction, and a beautiful set that included large cutouts of historical figures alongside three musty brown bookshelves in the professor’s apartment. The play stays in my mind because there are no easy answers, and although you may think that one side of the story is the right way to see it, a compelling reason exists to consider the other side as well. Both of the lead actresses have performed in the past with my current company, Porchlight, and the director was the resident directer for PTC from 2002-07.

I wonder if these plays would have been different if it was an all-male company performing it? Or if the genders were mixed of the teacher and student? It’s likely that the dramatic impact would not be the same, and the general theme is something worth considering as I continue to lead an active performing arts cultural life here.

For some time now, I’ve wanted to launch a theatre-centric drama criticism and news blog. I’ve begun to enjoy surfing various drama blogs while at work and at home, such as local powerhouse theaterdogs.net and my two TBA colleagues blogs’ “Editor’s Cut” and “The Mark Up”, among others.

So what to do with this blog…what is my objective?

I’d like to be informative, have some fun, feel comfortable floating opinions, share resources, offer critique and give a sense of the depth of the Bay Area theatre world. After all, it is #3 in the USA, behind only NYC and Chicago.

Let’s see where this goes.