Can't

I've been thinking a lot about how I've never been one to think "I can't (fill in the blank)". It kills me when I see someone say that they can't do something. When I was younger I worked with this children's theatre company called The Treehouse Players in Detroit. The best thing they ever taught us was "Can't...is not an option." That phrase has stuck with me my entire life.

YOU are not so unimportant as to let such a small word like "can't" get in your way.

YOU are amazing. Wake up and deal with your amazingness.

Start realizing how much you CAN do.

Love,
*M*

Me & Philip Glass

We (Focal Point Theatre Company) had our first rehearsal for All in the Timing by David Ives this past week. The production consists of four ten minutes plays, one of which is called Philip Glass Buys a Loaf of Bread. People seem to be very excited that we're attempting to perform this piece. Basically, the dialogue is written in the same vain as Glass' music. It's chaotic, simultaneous, sparse, intense, lovely and difficult. Melissa, our director, decided that for our first night of rehearsal we would focus on just that piece and thank God she did! We broke the script up into 28 movements, figured out the tempos and timing and by the end of it we were all fried. Happily fried. Happily, confidently, satisfyingly fried. This is one of the most challenging pieces I've ever done. I can see why people don't perform it often. And I can't wait to show our audiences that we can pull it off. :)

I've discovered that there is a documentary on Philip Glass on Netflix (that I'm watching as I type this). Within the first 4 minutes I had a better understanding of how his mind works. The opening interview follows his wife as she describes the chaos that is his office. How she hopes there's never a fire in their house because (while the originals of all his scores are in archives) his entire library of all his music was sitting on one shelf in that room. How his desk is covered in papers until he finishes a piece at which time he cleans everything only to have it a complete mess three days later. His sense of humor really surprised me. Not sure why. He also makes his own pizza dough. How can you not love that? :)



*M*

The best thing I've seen in a long time

Mr. T's 80s Fashion Extravaganza!

A New Endeavor!

Dear Readers,

I'm pleased to announce that I am the new managing director for the Focal Point Theatre Company here in Chicago.! :)

One of my best friends and I have been talking about starting our own company for a couple of years now and this is the year we're making it happen. We're about to go into rehearsals for our inaugural production of David Ives' All in the Timing. All the proceeds will go towards applying for our 501c3. If you're in the area the week of June 23-26th please come visit us at the historic Flat Iron Building in Wicker Park.

We'll soon have a blog up and running, but for the mean time please check out our new website: www.focalpointtheatre.com We're also on Facebook, so please become our friend!

Woo hoo!
*M*

Threadknits Winner!

Dear Readers...

I won! I found out over the weekend that I won 2nd place for crochet in the Threadknits contest hosted by Threadless Shirts!

You can see all the winners here!

I'm super excited that my zombie suit won. He was a labor of love (with an emphasis on the labor).



Congrats to all the winners! Woo hoo!

*M*

Espresso and a New Series

There is nothing quite like spending a sunny afternoon embroidering to your heart's content with a side of espresso readily available.

I've started a new embroidery series. Basically, I'll be taking images of nature from illustrated dictionaries and such and couple them with lyrics from rock songs.

This little guy is a Fire Weaver and his lyric will be "I'm a breathing time machine" -The Avett Brothers.

We're Open and the Reviews Are In!

Dear Readers,

Vanishing Points is open and our first weekend went smashingly! With that said...I'm so happy to have a couple days off! We went through tech and dress rehearsals for almost two weeks straight and I. Am. POOPED.

Luckily, we're getting some good reviews. Yay for hard work paying off!

Chicago Theatre Blog
Time Out Chicago

Turn off your TV and come support your local theatre! STAT!

xoxo,
*M*