da blogs da thang

Not in the biological way.

But being infected into action. Some call it inspiration… I prefer infection because it spreads…. like a virus. A positive one though. I have been infected at various instances in my life. It has always been the case when an experience has spurred me into action.

I will share with you one instance. I was a theatre major… even went on into the masters program in the field. But by that time (for reasons I won’t go into now) I had lost the spark. So, I told myself that I would complete it and live a life in academics. It would be a comfortable life. I would be making a paycheck… taking care of business… a nice mundane life teaching theatre and getting by.

Then I read that a production of “King Lear” was going to be produced at Berkley Rep. Not any production, mind you… but one that was directed by Tadashi Suzuki. Now, I realize that unless you are a theatre nerd this name does not mean a damn thing. For years I had read about Mr. Suzuki and was intrigued by his work… and here was the opportunity to experience it.

I talked a friend into accompanying me to the show.I thought it was essential for my future (from a purely academic standpoint) to see what the hullabaloo was all about… so that I could impart the theory to my future students in the mundane life that I had planned for down the line. (Theatre folk can be so wanky.)

I went.

I saw.

I experienced.

And it changed my life.

In the course of the experience (and thereafter) I was reminded why I had originally chosen the life that I now live. It was transformational. It is hard to put it into context but let me describe a bit of the show to you.

It opens with a nurse (at least a guy dressed as a nurse) wheeling out an insane patient in a wheelchair onto a bare stage. The nurse pulls out a book and mimes reading it to the patient. At one point the patient straightens up… gets out of the chair and does the entire storm scene from “Lear” playing both Lear and the Fool. That was the entry point into the play…. “Lear” through the mind of a mad man. The rest of the play was done borrowing the Kabuki form (yeah, go figure)… which, made perfect sense by this point. The three daughters were played by men in beards… and it totally worked. The entire show ran an hour forty-five minutes (without intermission) and all the the major subplots were left intact.  (Yes, a lot of the Bard’s text was left out… but, hey… it worked!) It was breathtaking to say the least.

And I will also say that until I saw this production… I harbored a disdain for this play. (Really, it is one of those that is hard to get into until one has a fair amount of life experience under one’s belt.)

But, I came away in a state of epiphany (and a hefty reminder) as to why I chose the path I did. And it has grown and mutated ever since. It infected me to seek out and attempt to tell stories in different ways. It made me a troublemaker…. railing against the “same old”. It is the reason why many in local theatre circles (including some friends) usually deal with me (professionally) armed with a ten foot pole. LOL  But that has never deterred me. Creating the Rogue came out of that infection.

Am I claiming to be an innovator in the realm of theatre… local or otherwise? No. But, I have tried to make others see beyond the conventional. Some of it has worked and many have not. A few claim that some of what I’ve done… or exposed them to… has  infected them. I am both humbled and thrilled by that. Though if it truly has… may it grow and spread wider. Oh, and that life as a college professor never happened.

It is infection… I tell ya! And that is what I’m counting today.

To find out what Da Count is all about… click the flashing sign above.

*The image is from a recent production by the Moscow Are Theatre.

… the beds are now ready for planting. OK… they are about a day away. As you can see in the picture there is a little more work before I can put anything in the ground. I’m shooting for tomorrow.

It took 4 days to get this patch ready simply because it was a bit of a jungle from about 3 years of neglect. Yes, I did plant last year though I did it later than usual… middle of April. The Spring in the Big NO is always generous with an early and extended planting season.

This year I decided that changes and improvements were called for (and long overdue). The entire patch was dug up as the network of roots (from weeds) had practically overtaken the ground. Space was maximized and now I will have 3 planting beds instead of two. (I just realized the last 3 sentences also hold boundless metaphoric potential… lol.)

All of this would not have been possible without the help of Jesus. HERE he is helping extend an extra 2 feet to the front of my office… yet another improvement that I’ve wanted for a while. All this has significantly opened up the entire area aesthetically as well.

BTW… I am also thinking about installing a “greywater” system since the laundry room is actually just to the right of this picture… so, every time I get the clothes washed the plants get watered. Both convenient and eco-friendly. Here is yet another (easy) thing home gardeners in Fresno should really consider to cut down on water usage. If any of you are reading… HERE is a good place to start.

So, today I’m counting improvements (I have and can make) to what I have and hopes to what they will yield.

To find out what Da Count is all about… click the flashing sign above.