scared — legitimately scared — about school and work colliding on august 26. “i can do it” [wobbly voice]
blasting a lot of silver jews and thinking about greg enlow and dave berman and pain and addiction and a moment of decision
drinking a lot of spearmint tea (based on this article, my new bible)
becoming even more passionate about the benefits of copyediting, PEOPLE IT IS IMPORTANT, IT PROVIDES OUR LIVES WITH ELEGANCE AND STRUCTURE
new godmother to townes braxton ittner — couldn’t believe it, now a godparent to two, can’t let it fluff my feathers and eclipse its important and serious duties
Abrera after rehearsal at A.B.T. Photographs by Brenda Ann Kenneally. Courtesy of the New York TImes Magazine.
from the ny times magazine’s “a star is made” about ballerina stella abrera:
Another mentor of Abrera’s, Georgina Parkinson, also danced through her 40s. Parkinson was a wild and fabulous figure in London during her time as a principal ballerina for the Royal Ballet. She was a ballet mistress at A.B.T. when Abrera joined the company. “She took me under her wing,” Abrera said. “She was hilarious. We would be doing some hard phrase, again and again, trying to make it work, and she’d say, ‘Darling, put on some lipstick, and let’s see how it goes.’ ” Abrera explained that it meant something like try to feel differently about yourself, try to lighten up. It could change how you approach the step. It wasn’t really about appearance; it was about a feeling, about getting some distance.
That video of her doing “Feelings”? Oh god, it’s so good. That cheesy song and she makes it just the most profound thing ever. And investing all of her heart and she’s not judging it. That’s the thing I love about it that I wish artists and audiences would understand more—the profundity isn’t the job of the writer, the profundity is the job of the audience and the performer. She didn’t judge the material, she didn’t expect the material to change for her, she changed for the material. She understood that somebody had to go through some serious heartbreak to write a song that suggests that they want to live without feelings. She went hunting for the profundity instead of expecting the profundity to be fed to her. That’s what I think audiences don’t understand about theater. They’ve been trained to expect it to be handed to them instead of understanding that they have come to do the work and to be collaborators. That’s what we try to do with 24 Decades—to inspire people to engage in a perpetual consideration as opposed to simple decision making of “I like it, I dislike it.”
oh man LIFE what is it? right after hearing that david berman passed away, found out that an old acquaintance has terrible cancer. more than an acquaintance — a pal i got to know right before i left portland, but then we lost touch. it feels like such a long time ago, almost blurry. how do you keep up with everyone? everyone who has a spark, how to keep them all close or at least in your orbit (maybe this is what facebook does well?). and why is time so slow but also so fast? it’s slow and fast and terrible.
as alexa said, “Aren’t we all just like young kids though??”
oh man no. american water is one of my all-time favorites. just read this july interview with him from the ringer, where it felt clear his struggle was ongoing:
We finished talking after the label office had closed but before the sun had gone down. David wouldn’t be going out that night. He had songs to re-learn, lyrics to remember, only 39 days until rehearsals. Just more than a month before he will try out this new life to see how it feels. He’s really going to try, to make and honor new connections with people. To do better.
