#7: Quarantine Times
Disco Sondheim Fever Dream | Look I made a collage! | Do I start a book club?
Hello, everyone!
It’s been far too long. I’ve been sitting on sending out one of these things for a while. I may attempt to send these more than just once a month. We’ll see. I make no promises.
Nearly all of my friends are jobless at the moment. I had a stint in Minneapolis, working on a lovely production of Saint Joan. The already short run was cut short by a handful of performances.
I was just about to start rehearsals for another show in the Cities (Sherwood) but that was postponed. They aim to move it to the fall and I was happy to receive two weeks’ pay.
Now I’m nestled back in my basement room in South Dakota.
I wrestle with this time off. It sometimes feels like Christmas vacation. I’ve been playing games with my family. I’ve had a few virtual happy hours. I’ve read a lot and watched some movies (and endlessly scrolled on my phone). I have some projects bustling in my head. But this quarantine/virus time is not a writer’s retreat. I’m not putting a lot of pressure on myself. But I could probably benefit from more discipline and structure (and a work from home job).
Someone recommended to make a goal of ONE thing to do each day. I decided upon embarking on a 30-Day Yoga journey with Adriene. She’s really great (it’s on YouTube and it’s free). I have skipped some days, but I’m still going steady with it.
The other night, I made a collage:
I’m definitely going to make more.
LINKS
I know that in the midst of everything—a quarantine, school cancellations, gatherings of only 10 people or fewer—I know people are reading books. Listening to music. Telling stories. Watching television. I know art matters because in the end, it will be all we have. We won’t have careers. All of that is temporary. We will just have what’s left. The actual stories. I think my role as a theatre artist is to adapt to whatever mechanism I have to tell stories. If it’s not a giant festival, it can be a living room. It might not be a stage with insane production design. It might be around a campfire (as Anne Washburn predicted!). But it’s my job to bring hope and tenderness and humanity to a cruel and impossibly scary world. It’s all I can do. In the best scenario, perhaps that ER nurse comes home and puts her feet up and watches something I’ve made and her mind can rest for just a minute before she goes out again to save the world.
I have a friend who is a neuroscientist. She worked on the team that is likely just a few years away from a drug therapy that will literally reverse the effects of Alzheimer’s. I joked to her at a party once that my job seems so stupid next to hers. She said, without skipping a beat, not even a slightly joking note in her response, “I save people’s brains so they can do what you do. If what you did didn’t matter, we wouldn’t need what I do.” Over a decade later, I remember that moment.
Here’s a schedule of free streaming (theatre, opera, ballet) opportunities. I dunno how comprehensive it is, but it appears thorough.
The 2020 Tournament of Books—Every year, a bunch of novels get sorted into a March Madness bracket. Each match has a different judge (and judgment commentary). That judge has to select a “winner” and defend. It’s a ridiculous notion. It’s all in good fun, but it becomes something truly illuminating as various readers reckon with their taste and why they read. I haven’t been devoutly following this year. But it’s become a mainstay of my cultural diet for at least five years now.
I’VE BEEN LISTENING TO
A Balancing Act podcast - I started binging this hardcore a month ago. Analisa Leaming hosts an interview podcast with Broadway actors, agents, mindfulness folks, etc. about being in this business and finding where our happiness truly lies (hint: it’s not the job). I’ve stopped listening to it since the lock-downs began. But I suspect there are some great nuggets to be mined during this time. I’ll be revisiting someday.
Locklisted Podcast - this is a spin-off of my absolute favorite podcast Backlisted. The hosts and producer have been chatting about what they’ve been reading and watching while the official show is on hiatus. It’s coming back soon. The first episode back will focus on the book Excellent Women by Barbara Pym. And trust me, the book is…well…excellent.
My friend Jennifer has been making classical music playlists for friends. Mine is awesome. (Spotify)
If you didn’t know, there’s a Sondheim Disco Fever Dream album: Losing My Mind (created by a college classmate of mine, Joshua Hinck!)
Speaking of musical theatre, here’s an isolation showtunes newsletter/playlist
I’VE BEEN WATCHING
Westworld season 2 with my brother
Tiger King documentary Netflix series (OOF)
Near Dark (Criterion Channel) - Kathryn Bigelow’s late 80s Vampire Western
The Deadly Affair (CC) - A riff on John le Carre’s first novel with James Mason. It’s okay. There’s a scene of an amateur theatre troupe rehearsing Macbeth, and it’s a riot (Lynn Redgrave makes an appearance there).
Long Day’s Journey into Night (CC) - trippy, beautiful, stunning, and totally baffling. Just watch the trailer.
In a Lonely Place (CC) - remarkable noir. I loved it. Gloria Grahame is a marvel!
I’VE BEEN READING
I’m going to write a books-only edition soon. I think. But here’s a list of books I read since my last missive.
Olive Kitteridge - Elizabeth Strout
Such a Fun Age - Kiley Reid
A Ladder to the Sky - John Boyne
Saint X - Alexis Schaitkin
Apartment - Teddy Wayne
Gideon the Ninth - Tamsyn Muir
Wolf Hall - Hilary Mantel
Temporary - Hilary Leichter
What Belongs to You - Garth Greenwell
Cassandra at the Wedding - Dorothy Baker
BOOK CLUB?
I’m…I dunno…eager and apprehensive with maybe trying to arrange some kind of online book club. And I’m thinking about selecting one of the following for the first book:
The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton
The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James
Middlemarch by George Eliot
I may make a poll on FB and Twitter. I’m also fairly certain if you reply to the email of this newsletter, it’s sent directly to me. So you can throw your two cents in casting a vote that way. I’m not sure how this will manifest itself. I’ve never been a part of a book club, much less hosted one. Each of these books are quite long, but they’re also classic and cheaply accessible. I’d find a way to break up the reading so that it’s an on-going thing.
SPRING 2020 PLAYLIST
Here’s a bunch of music for your spring. I’ll add tracks to it on occasion.
You can also listen to the Winter 2020 playlist here; I’m 96% sure that I’ve added tracks to it since I last sent a newsletter.
Okay, I’ve been fiddling with this for far too long. I hope you find ways to be dazzled and grateful. It’s not easy, but it’s possible.
Thanks for reading. Please subscribe and share with friends!
Cheers,
Tim