"...a long story, filled with sighs..."

I'm in the bathroom of the restaurant looking at myself in the mirror as I wash my hands and, at this moment I decide...that I will never go on a date again. EVER. ...unless it is established before hand that it is NOT a date, or I already know that I like the guy.

Love, or Not Love w/ Mustaches!

My birthday, their benefit.

I got confirmation on the space the evening of January 9th and had a little less than two weeks to pull everything together. I had a solid line up by the 14th, most of the logistics nailed down by the 17th, thought I was going to have a heart attack on 21st, and then managed to pull off an amazing show with my incredibly talented friends on the night of the 22nd.

We had an audience of about 50/60 people, and raised around $500 for the space.

In honor of my performers, here's a (slightly edited) version of my emcee notes from the night:

Cristian and Kristen - stage combat
The groin fight.
Cristian flew out from South Carolina to let me kick him in the groin!! Cristian is an actor and an accomplished stage combatant.

Gabriella - song
Dream a Little Dream w/ a kazoo interlude.
"Gabriella was raised in the wilds of California's wine country on a small farm surrounded by vineyards at the end of a long dirt road. Growing up, she spent her days barefoot in the yard singing songs to the goats and the chickens, and in the evenings she would while away the hours practicing the Jews harp and listening to The Shadow and Inner Sanctum on the radio. Her head is full of random song lyrics and the names of old movie actors, and she frequently can't find her keys."
Gabriella is one of my favorite people. She constantly surprises me with all of the wonderful things she can do -- she can skateboard, she's been a drummer in a band, she's a great dancer, and she sews a lot of her own clothes. She seems to know a little bit about everything, and is one of the most stylish people I know.

Stephen - stand up comedy
Stand up comedy act.
"Stephen started off doing stand up comedy only 6 months ago and in South Korea (telling it to foreigners, not Koreans)"
I met Stephen in a pool hall in Berkeley one night, and he mentioned to me that he was about to move to Korea to teach English... and then, he randomly kept saying "platypus" to me the rest of the night... ? ...which was strange and hilarious! When I heard that he was back from Korea and doing stand-up comedy I had to go see him -- and he was fantastic.

Rebecca - modern dance
"Sunken Crux" w/ music by Thom Yorke.
Rebecca was the first friend I made in California. I met her at Sony, where I worked as a temp for three weeks. One day we went to get burritos for lunch and ended up having this deep personal conversation. After I left Sony, we kept in touch and Rebecca started inviting me to her dance shows. She blew me away with her talent and, because of her, I soon fell in love with modern dance.

Cristian - monologue
"My Personal Journey to Find My Mostacho".
"In middle school, Cristian was enrolled in girls PE for the sixth and seventh grades. The ladies that made the schedule thought his name was Cristina because he spells his name without the 'h'. In his eighth grade year, he decided to put on a wig for his yearbook photo and listed himself in the yearbook as 'Cristina'."
I was at a week long stage combat workshop in LA, and Cristian and I were paired up in the groin shot workshop. Cristian grew up in Texas, moved to LA to be an actor, and now works as the technical theater director at a small college in South Carolina. He wrote this monologue for the show!!


Intermission


Joan and Kristen - stage combat
Ninja butter knife fight.
"When Joan thinks of mustaches she inevitably thinks of Burt Reynolds circa early 80s, and the fact that she somehow managed to convince her parents at the ripe old age of 11 to take her to see her first rated R movie: The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, starring Burt, his mustache, Dolly Parton and her breasts. She's not sure which she wanted more - his mustache or her breasts."
I love Joan! Joan lives in the warehouse and is a big part of why the space is happening, and why the party is happening... she is trained in circus arts, stage combat, acting, is presently working on putting together a one man show, and can do a handstand forever... I want to personally thank Joan...for everything.

Sky - literary reading
Excerpts from her thesis.
"Sky is married to a Canadian named Dan. They met many years ago in Costa Rica and had a love affair by the beach. Three years later, he friended her on Facebook. They wrote to each other for many months before she booked a ticket to Vancouver to see him. The rest, as they say, is history."
Sky is a constant source of inspiration. She's the kind of person who displays so much passion and depth in her life and in her writing that you can't help but find yourself caught up in whatever she wants to share with you. She just finished her masters degree at SF State in creative writing.

Audrey - comedy act
Kitten puppet and song.
Audrey lives in the warehouse and is trained in circus arts. The first night I met Audrey, I thought, this girl is so cute and charming I can barely stand it! One night, I was going to a clown show to see another friend perform, and when I showed up Audrey was greeting the audience playing the ukulele and singing, and she did this wonderful piece that she's going to share.

Keenan and Matt - bass and sax
Improv music.
"Keenan has never seen Raging Bull, Titanic, or The Notebook. He's also not wearing underwear."
I met Matt in 1999, and he quickly became a great friend and one of my favorite musicians. It means so much to me that he's a part of the show. Matt and Keenan used to play music together in Colorado, which has a lot to do with why we're all here -- but that's a longer story than I can get into. Keenan is also an amazing musician and friend, and one of the tallest people I know.

Nikolas - trapeze
Trapeze burlesque piece.
Nikolas lives in the warehouse and is trained in circus arts. Nikolas and I bonded over crepes one night and since then I've been continually impressed with his views on the world, his creativity, and his generous nature. He can tell you great stories about couch surfing and kindergarden detectives.


Special thanks to: Joan, Audrey, Nikolas, Natty for the use of the space, Dave for bartending, Rob on sound, Ikenna on video camera, and for all of my friends who helped me with thinking and planning - Aria, Michael, Maureen, Isabel, Cristian.

Ooma

Objects of my affection.

Jessica Gruner Waters.... I remember sitting at Cafe du Nord years ago talking with Jessica about her dreams of becoming a writer -- she was a high school teacher at the time. Today, Jessica has written 4 novels, three of which have been published, with the fourth one on its way.

Maybe a year or so after the writing conversation, Jessica asked me to model some clothes for her for her website. She had her hopes set on opening a boutique of her own someday. Today, she and my good friend Matt (her husband) own Ooma - a beautiful boutique in the heart of San Francisco's North Beach neighborhood.

In the past 6 years, I've witnessed Jessica realizing these dreams, and it's been so inspiring!! :)

I'm glad she's a part of my life.

Breathe....

This is painted on a concrete fishing bench at the Berkeley Pier.

I'm throwing a birthday party. Some friends of mine are working to convert a warehouse from an auto shop to a theatrical and training space, and have offered to let me throw a party there. I'm putting together a show to help support the development of their space and to feature some of my lovely and talented friends. I've asked that people not bring gifts, but donate to the space instead.

Right now, my lineup includes: stage combat, stand up comedy, singing, acting, modern dance, clown acts, a literary reading, and some music pieces - Yeow!

I'm ecstatic and terrified.

:D

My new awesome hat!

Yup.  That's all. 

En Garde!

This is my favorite photo from the workshop.  The big guy on the left is Dave! 

We ended on Sunday and my muscles are still sore, but my body just wants to keep on fighting.  Makes sitting at a desk all day a little painful...

Kristen's Month of Possible Death

I kept saying, "December's gonna kill me!" ...to the point where I thought I had maybe predicted my own death.  ...and, getting super sick sort of reinforced that idea...

Yaaaaaaaa!!! 

...but, here I am at LAX, ALIVE! exhausted, inspired, blessed, still fighting mucus, but ready to go back to Oakland and jump in...and, I feel great!  :)

Interesting how having a self predicted possible near death experience can motivate a wildly optimistic perspective on life. 

;) 

Let's FIGHT!!!!

I'm a little over half way through a week long Dueling Arts International stage combat workshop, and I'm getting my ass kicked -- but it's so much fun!!  We fight all day everyday. 

We're focusing on rapier and dagger, broadsword, small sword, and unarmed combat... and we've touched on tai chi, filipino stick fighting, knife fighting, akido, rapier and buckler, rapier and cloak, and groin shots (yes, because they're funny!).

Everyone at the worshop is terrific.  It's been a great way to finish out the year.  ...and, I'm almost (almost) recovered from my cold!

And, we're off!

I probably shouldn't have raised a beer mug of decaf coffee to health when I did because, as it turns out, I'm still fighting a lingering sinus infection and a phlegmy cough.  Yuck. ...but, it's not enough to stop me now. I flew in from Colorado this morning, and am on my way back out to L.A. as I write this...

Wish me luck!

December hasn't killed me yet...

To your health

I asked for a decaf coffee, and this is what they gave me...  it actually IS a decaf coffee. in. a. beer mug. 

?

:) 

Having your health return is an amazing feeling.  It's like coming out of a cave you've been in for too long and seeing the sun again....

Gravity

I guess I should've anticipated a fall after the high I've been on...  :)

I'm sick.  I've been sick for four days...  it's torture.  Wait, last year's hives was torture... this is more kind of miserable and inconvenient.  And, maybe necessary, actually.  I ran myself ragged - what did I think was going to happen...? 

A friend of mine pointed out that keeping busy might be a coping mechanism for me.

Sea of rooftops

New York 2010 - take two.

I'm on a flight back to the Bay with the longest sunset hanging on the horizon...

This time around, my days were filled with work in the New York office, introductions to our brilliant East Coast counter parts, and lunches with some of my former SF favorites. 

My nights were filled with:

Kenichi and Patrick
Des in Brooklyn, Holly in Manhattan
The Creditor's with Patrick (Simón's show), drinks with Simón
The Red Shoes in Brooklyn
NY office Christmas party, Brooklyn artist party
Looking at Christmas with Des (Holly's show), The Pelican with Simón

A self proclaimed ex-runway model at the artist party said that I had a great presence and he could see a future for me as a comedian... ?  In L.A.  ?  And, I think I made a date to see theater with the driver who came to take my boss to the airport...I thought we were just making small talk while we were waiting, but he said he'd meet me at the show the next day.  ?? 

The sun sets... until next time NYC...

Brooklyn

I love it when plans change exactly how you want them to. At the last minute I got to go to the theater in Brooklyn last night.

The Red Shoes was a production full of devices beautifully orchestrated to unlock imagination. Movement and moments made with light and frames and music and dance and smoke and stars... it was like a fable, and a bit of a clown show, and a puppet show, and...I sort want to compare it a little to the Rocky Horror Picture Show... hm. ...but, with less sex and more shoes and churches and old ladies and people in underwear (wait, both seemed to have a lot of underwear). Maybe that's a bad comparison. I only saw it once. (Well, I only saw both of them once.) Anyway...

The end of the show surprised me. I thought we were going to find ourselves arriving at an obvious kind of a moral lesson -- but instead we found ourselves arriving at...humanity. Exquisite.

---------

I haven't slept since... I can't really remember when...? Sometime before Carmel. ...the Bay Area feels like a distant memory of incredible food and chilly rain...

Nighttime in New York

Looking out the picture window of my over priced New York City hotel room... (unfortunately, you can't really see anything in this photo.)

I'm hoping to sleep tonight.

I'm jet lagged, booked solid, and feel great.  What is it about this city that I love so much...?