I've always been busy, always running around. None of the excuses, but I'll let you know what's up.
I'm currently sitting on the third floor of an arts center in Ocean Grove, all the way down the shore - about an hour and some change away from where I live. I just finished a Saturday matinee of a two-man show I was in, which was part of a larger play festival. During my journeys up and down the coast, I've been rolling around in playlists I have on Spotify, but I've become truly enamored with one particular artist since the end of the school year: Lianne La Havas.
If you don't know who she is, you should check her out. She's really mellow and maybe her sound isn't what suits your fancy, but she's got a gorgeous voice and plays guitar extremely well.
From her album, Is Your Love Big Enough.
It's not Blog Day, I know many have gone by, but I think my free time has come and go too often for my writing bug to crawl in and nestle comfortably. So, because the matinee performance was my last performance of the festival, I figured it prudent to acknowledge the wonderful people I got the opportunity to meet during this experience and a half.
The yoga class is getting out, now. They're all rolling up their mats and putting on their shoes and walking past me and I'm just smiling at all of them. There's a pair that have a lot of tattoos. Took me by surprise.
Anywho, this summer started when I dove back into the pharmacy with my buddy, Raj. He's been a great help and so generous with letting me back into his pharmacy to gain more experience in that field. I think it's pretty rad and that there are a lot of memories that I've made that wouldn't happen elsewhere, or have possibly been overlooked by people who've shared them. It's been nice.
Then I auditioned for a show in the city and my friend Steve contacted me about another in Asbury Park. I decided it'd be pretty cool to do some shows for the summer that would be outside of my usual element and radius of home and so, here I am. The show in the city is a kids theatre show, while the one in Asbury Park was to engage the LGBTQ community, a Rainbow Festival. The structure of these two organizations are really cool: Mentoring in Medicine for the kids' and La Strada Ensemble Theatre for the festival. I've met some pretty great people and I keep saying it because I kinda don't want it to be done. It stirred a little bit of the pot, but everything's good and everyone's happy.
I almost forgot to mention this amazing workshop that I did in Brooklyn with Carter Gill. My Roomz, Igor took it with me, along with a few other fellow Broncs. They were amazing at the clowning work and I was so proud to share such a wonderful, safe space with them. That was great.
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| This clown got his nose at the end of the week. Until next year, Carter! |
So, yeah. That'll be an adventure for another day.
The festival consisted of six different programs. The one I participated in was Program Orange, via the show "The History of Us." I'm just gonna jot down the names in the order of the program. Hope you guys can find yourselves relatively easily and that you understand how fantastic you are from the little blurb I'm gonna leave here for you!
Here it goes!
LA STRADA ENSEMBLE THEATER'S RAINBOW FESTIVAL - PROGRAM ORANGE (2015)
Terrence B. - Man, Joy was right: you are the man. You're hilarious and such a jovial spirit and I wish I could have worked with you in this experience. Just means until next time. You bring such fantastic work to the table and I'm super proud of you for putting on the amazing show you did, bud! So glad to have had you open the show with Erica and warm up the crowd and be a fellow black man who knows how to work the crowd. As a fellow Benjamin Coffin, III, I know you're gonna do great things bud. Congrats on continuing your experience with La Strada and I look forward to working with you in the future!
Joy C. - You doll, you. Thanks for putting up with all my weirdness and awkward moments. Makes it more delightful to see you judging me, but not really judging me, when you were the one deserving of judgment for eating all of our pink starbursts. Shout out to you for that. Also, even though your voice was pretty low for an eight-year-old [ or however old you were supposed to be, ] you did a fantastic job laying into Chase and telling him who's boss. You're hilarious and I genuinely appreciate your sense of humor. If Sam actually follows through with putting us in his webseries, I demand that we just make snarky comments the entire time, ad libbing and improving and hopefully it turns out pretty damn good. Okay, thanks for always keeping the crew delightful with your wonderful smile and amazing light in your eyes. See you on the flipside.
Daniel C. - WHAT?! YOUR FIRST NAME'S NOT CHASE??? Okay, hold on, I gotta read this playbill again. Yeah, what? DANIEL?! Who are you. My life is a lie. You're a delight and adorable and such a great kid, I can just tell. You've got this genuine aura about you that probably is coupled well to your jubilant nature. Keep your mind clear and your heart open, just like you ritualized every night with Joy - that gave me some kind of ground to latch onto you guys with and support you for your performances. I mean, it's weird, but I just appreciate they dynamic you provide to the group and thank you for being the funny guy. There could have been a much worse funny guy. So, go you! See ya soon, man. Good luck in the future!
Erica K. - I'm so glad your husband brought you back into acting because your energy and drive are incomparable. There wasn't a time when you stepped into the building or when we attended your house for rehearsals that didn't delight me and make my day better. You're such a wonderful spirit and I am just humbled by your grateful and loving attitude. It's very refreshing knowing that art does bring friends together on both sides of the table. Keep up the amazing work. Can't wait to work with you again in the future! [ P.s. Give your pups a hug for me! ]
Liz M. - Yes! YESSSSS!!! It's official. You're my girl. Like, Lisa and Joy are my girl too, don't worry, but you're my girl. You're hilarious and blunt and so entertaining. It's okay to want attention and I just wish that we could have spent time together before tech week so that I got to know you better. Also, thanks for accepting me and not making me walk into rehearsal and cry because you didn't want to be my friend. Also, sometimes a shark-velociraptor-whale-blimp-tractor-dinosaur is exactly what this world needs. I mean did you see Age of Ultron? What would have happened if Vision wasn't created????? Okay, see you soon. I'll watch all of the television just for you. And maybe Steve and Sam. But mostly for you.
Sam P. - Thanks for being a friend from the beginning. I was honestly a little worried you were going to completely overlook this experience and just hit the show and quit it. But I've gotten to know you as a nice pal and it's so great to be able to work comfortably on a show. It's been a confidence booster racing you with memorizing the lines and OH MY GOD I'M SO EXCITED TO BE FRIENDS WITH YOUR BOYFRIEND SO LET'S DO THIS DOUBLE DATE SOON, PLEASE YEAH THANKS? Don't worry too much about us not being friends anymore, though. Stevarooni and I were always conspiring behind your back. [ P.s. Webseries. That is all. ]
Lisa S. - Hi, best friend. You're gorgeous, inside and out. I just want to let you know that. Simply because everyone in the cast has beautiful souls, but you've got a presence that truly radiates and shares your with everyone in the cast. Thank you for being you, for making me laugh with Liz, for calming Sam down whenever I was running super late or before we went right on. Thanks for the softness of your heart and the sharpness of your mind. You're great, you really are. Super proud to be on your Instagram, too.
Lydia S. - I REMEMBERED WHEN YOU CAME TO RIDER FOR ADMITTED STUDENTS DAY AND I GOT SO EXCITED ON THE STAIRS TALKING TO YOUR MOM. You have no clue. It means so much that you've been so supportive and encouraging during this entire experience. I'm glad to have worked with you on a show while we're both at Rider and I look forward to having all o the many challenges - oh, those challenges - of finding insiders to share back at Rider. You are fantastic and keep up the amazing work. ~ Your Prez. =]
Cassie P. - I adore you. You're fantastic. Thank you so much for making this experience as great as it has been and I thoroughly enjoyed spending what little time I had the opportunity to with you. You're such a sweetheart. Keep up the brilliant work and I'll be seeing you soon!
Clarissa S. - I'm still gonna fight Tom for you, don't worry. Also, you're great and so sweet and so nice. Thanks so much for making every night a different night and for keeping us on our toes. Also, this great thing about my quick change and the long-ass scene changes? Shout-out to you three - Clarissa, Cass and Lydia - for making sure I didn't have to stumble back onstage half-naked almost every time. Really, thank you for that.
Steven R. - To my spectacular director: Thanks so much for this amazing opportunity. I enjoyed every painstaking bit of traveling that helped me discover a lot about myself while coming down to Asbury and going back home to my Mem. Thank you for always looking out for me, and I'm super proud of you for being the amazing star that you are. Sam thinks he's slick because he doesn't want to hang out with us ever, but it's okay because I'm the only one out of the trio who hasn't seen Paradise. And I'd like to keep it that way. =] <3 Best wishes to you for this upcoming project and you better believe I'm sending all of my good vibes your way.
Doug B. - Your work is brilliant and I just wanted to let you know that. You're amazing and I'm astonished by how you know Meaghan Finlay because she's so darling and sweet [ and very close to one of my good friends. ] I can't wait to work with you in the future and thank you for contributing to this awesome festival, it's been so fantastic. [ P.S. Now I have to go back and watch all the episodes of All My Children before I speak to you again. Bahaha. ]
Ryan W. - YOU'RE GREAT. You're so gracious and wonderful and loving and honest and funny and I just appreciate everything you did for us. Your work is brilliant and I wish so many more of my friends were able to come and appreciate it. Nevertheless, this is not the end! We'll be in touch and I am so happy to have shared this fantastic experience with you.
Matt J. - You're so sweet and amazing, I am humbled by your endless support and the countless expressions of love that you've sprinkled among the cast. It has brought us so much closer and I think everyone appreciated their bits of attention. Thank you so much for all you have done and I'm so glad to have shared this experience with you! Love ya!
A.J. C. - You have so many nicknames I never know what to call you. I digress: thank you. Thank you for inspiring me to be a greater performer, for inspiring me to pursue more aspects of the arts and for providing this amazing piece of work that has truly touched me deeply. I am moved by this show and I would have it no other way than to have presented it with as great a friend as I've found in Sam. I'm so happy you enjoyed every night and greeted me with a hug and a smile every night, every time I walked up to you and every rehearsal we ever had - even the very first. Thank you, thank you, thank you. This has been brilliant. I hope to work with you again in the future!
That's all. I just want to say that every time we did our Viva La Strada circle before a performance [ at least for the ones I've been present for ] I just wanted to let you all know that you've been such a great help in making this summer fantastic. So, thank you. I love you all. Wonderful work.
Special acknowledgment for my friends and family who came to see the show. I am so happy you enjoyed it and got to share it with me, especially my favorite person on the face of the planet, My Mem. =]
Alright, I'm gonna go run and sit in the air conditioning, since house opens in 25 minutes and A.J. yelled at me to come. I'm not performing, but I wanted to see program Red, so I'm here! I'll let you all know how it goes!
Thank you so much for reading and I hope to talk to you guys again real soon!
Viva La Strada!
<3 ~ Darin
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