Bargering Back in to the Blog Business.

I think the last time I posted I mention Intensives.  Andrei puts them on once a year, and we get the chance to work (intensively) on a few scenes from his class which we either thought were great, or needed work.  We then do a sort of presentation for an audience, which for us is a bit of a rare opportunity.

It's also a great chance to work a bit closer with the Class of 2013, we have an opportunity to sit pin on their sessions and glean what we can from watching other people work on different materials.  It's really cool.

Andrei also gathers everyone together for readings.  Both classes sit and listen for about an hour and a half to selected texts about the craft that Andrei hopes will inspire.  There were two that really got me that week.  One was about the identity of the artist as a person and the other was about drive.

I found myself in a bit of a slump towards the middle of November.  I was informed by some of the writers in the writing program that my work here was not really appreciated.  In fact it was reviled, I believe, and I was truly disheartened because one of the things that had kept me focused was... well, not great.  I had injured my foot which was causing me to lght-step through some of the more physical classes; scene work wasn't going well; I was feeling bit lost; and the semester had become a bit of a mess.

So i decided to work.

But I think I'll take the next few days to catch everyone up on what's been happening.  Also, I did get ONE interview.  I just need to edit and post it.  I might get one more before the end of the year.  I'll have to try to lure Josué in front of the camera some how.  Let me know if anyone has a spare jar of peanut butter or a bottle of sriracha sauce.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I have some pretty amazing friends.  Old ones.  New ones.  All of them amazing; supportive.

My class mates are amazing and truly inspiring.  Something happened at the end of the year.  I think it might have been the Intensives Week, but there was a sudden and dramatic shift.  Everything started really clicking.  Maybe that old prophecy in Winter is Coming finally came true...

I got a chance to see for an extended period two of my absolute favorite people from Los Angeles: Selin Mehrabian (who has one of the largest pieces of my heart) and Brian Turley (A better friend you could not ask for) who came to stay with his girlfriend Rebecca Guzzi.  Selin has been here for about a month now; Brian and Rebeccca for the last week.  All three left NYC today.  All three will be sorely missed.  i also had this wonderful chance encounter with Carly Menkin on the train last night on the way home from midtown.  I felt a hand sliding towards my wallet.  I thought my pocket was being picked and wheeled about to deck the little heavy-handed thief to find that it was just Carly getting a squeeze in.  We chatted and ended up going to grab a beer.

Good friends.  No, great friends!  All.  I'm pretty blessed in that.

And one in particular for whom this is somewhat title, for getting me focused on writing things down again!


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


So tomorrow, I'll start back in in earnest.  Talk church.  I can't promise much over the break, but we'll see what we can do!


"Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art... It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things that give value to survival."

- Clive Staples Lewis


Thank you, Brittni.


-R

Aaaaaaaaand We're Back.

So Thanksgiving has come and gone.  I'm returning from a healthy, and much needed writing break, and also a intensely relaxing four-day weekend.  It felt like a month. Seriously.  A month.

But do you know how hard it is to not write?  It is in my blood, so it should be said that I am very please to be back here with you, reader, typing away from your viewing pleasure.  I hope its viewing pleasure, at least.

So, there's a lot to catch up on, right?  You'd think, but surprisingly it was very much business as usual in class.  Most people, I think (myself included) were really just trying to muscle through to the holiday.

And what a holiday it was.

I stayed, cooked for myself a little stuffed chicken breast (don't worry I had a little turkey later) with some veggies and a little green bean casserole (because what is Thanksgiving without green bean casserole?) before heading out to meet up with brother Phillip and brother Adam at Adam's friend's place in Sunnyside.  These guys were amazing and just what I needed on a Thanksgiving away rom home.  Some really great, genuine down to Earth mid-westerners.  Super hospitable and provided a tremendously enjoyable evening with some brilliant home-made pie.  If you are reading this, seriously, I can;t thank you enough.  Phillip and I later took off to go meet up with some other friends in the Upper West Side... which turned out to be not what we expected.  To save you from having to read what would end up being a thirteen-page blog, I'll say that if you ever for any reason cannot make it home for some of your own family's brand of crazy shenanigans apparently Columbia has some coked-out sociopath PhD candidates on hand to give you a dose of whatever you're missing and then some.  Seriously...  scary stuff.

Also this weekend brought one of my all-time favorite people in the world back into my life: world-traveler and fellow Titan, Selin Mehrabian.  I love her to bits and I get her for a month.  Anarchy.  You should know that if I for any reason miss a blog post now that we're back, it's because I'm probably out having the time of my life.

But what about the school stuff, you ask?

We have started the first week of intensives with Andrei today.  I'll explain a little bit more of the process tomorrow or Wednesday when I have a little bit more time, but I wish that class were like this all the time.  It's brilliant and I hope to catch some video to post as well.  Fingers crossed.  Our scene from Mourning Becomes Electra was becoming a bit of a problem child and a source of some pretty nasty stress, but we get to deconstruct it now, and I'm really excited about the direction and shape that it's taking.  Again, more on that later.

I, honestly, need a little ramen; a little Walking Dead; and a little sleep.  Now that we're back you can expect some more regular updates again.  Huzzah!  Sweet Jesus, I just realized I'm blogging like Brittni Barger (whose antics can be found here).  What.  Have.  I.  Done?  Anyway, I hope you've had a fantastic break from us as well and look forward to updates over the rest of the semester.


"Do not regret growing older.  It is a privilege denied to many"
- Unknown (found on a Snapple cap)


Breathe in.  Breathe out.

-Nix