June 30 2013

Don Juan in Tech Rehearsal February 2013. Photo: Manuel Rotenberg. Dancers: Joseph Hochschild & Stephanie Maiorano. Another exuberant moment from the Act Three Wedding celebration!

Don Juan in Tech Rehearsal February 2013. Photo: Manuel Rotenberg. Dancers: Joseph Hochschild & Stephanie Maiorano.

Daily Stuff: Had a designer run thru for SUDS today. The show is in great shape. The cast will take a couple of days off now, while the set gets finished and the lighting designer goes in and starts focusing and getting to work.

After the run, I had a "paper tech" with the stage manager and lighting and sound designers to get all the cues decided. Because I had already had a few preliminary meetings it went smoothly.

June 29 2013

Don Juan in Tech Rehearsal February 2013. Photo: Manuel Rotenberg. Dancers: Joseph Hochschild. The wedding dance in Act 3. The idea was to create a "folk dance" that could be repeated in a variety of combinations. I love how well this image captures Joe's long clean lines. Even when he isn't in a particularly classical position.

Don Juan in Tech Rehearsal February 2013. Photo: Manuel Rotenberg. Dancers: max Tchernychev, Joseph Hochschild, & Stephanie Maiorano. Here is the Don watching the happy peasants, unable to really be part of the community.

Daily stuff: Started by having breakfast with my SUDS cast in Carlsbad. Then we did two run throughs of the show. Nothing big to report, the actors are at least in good shape. Run through for the designers tomorrow morning. Oh and it is hot!

June 28 2013

Daily Stuff: Had a meeting with my lighting designer for SUDS during the day at Clair de Lune. Went through the show and laid out a general rough skeleton for the cues.

Came back to the studio for a little moment. Mainly to answer my Facebook birthday wishes. Yes It is my Birthday.

So rather than post Don Juan, I am posting a piece that has informed my artistic sensibilities. This is a link to Other Dances with Baryshnikov and Makarova.

Who knows how long it will stay active. I don't have compunctions about posting it because it is not available on dvd or video.

http://youtu.be/dKYUAp9nxmc

I only saw it once when it was originally aired and both performances stayed with me. And both dancers became my standards for male and female ballet dancers. Makarova's ability to "talk" with developpes and enveloppes, and her slightly decadent port de bras in particular. Seeing it again I am struck by how (unlike many of todays dancer's) you never lose the impact of her face, neck an shoulders. She isn't just an instrument (as a lot of dancers seem to be today). She is primarily a PERSON who uses her body as an instrument.

Oh well, then had a second run through of SUDS at New Village Arts. My cast had a very nice little celebration for me and better yet, a wonderful run thru :)

June 27 2013

A slightly different blog post today. Will pick up again with Don Juan on the 29th.

Daily Stuff: Went to see Man of Steel with Karen and Beverly today as an early birthday celebration.

I didn't have very high expectations as I had heard the early reviews. In a nutshell... Story was dull. The movie consisted of lots of fights (where plenty of innocent bystanders were in all probability smashed), lots of talking head exposition, and characters who you really could care less about. The plus side were slick special effects and an actor who was made to order to wear the Super suit. But the music was forgettable. And there was zero, I repeat zero sense of fun.

Compare that to the 1978 original. Pitch perfect Christopher Reeve as a "friend from another star." Easily digested action sequences where Superman actually saves people. And a full ten minutes of uninterrupted screen time devoted to Lois and Superman's first date. And a smile to the camera at the end.

http://youtu.be/9Hy6S7urCZM

A movie that made you feel good while you watched it. Not just like you endured something.

As for the rest of the day, SUDS run through in the evening. We got through the show pretty well. Good work was done.

June 26 2013

Don Juan in Tech Rehearsal February 2013. Photo: Manuel Rotenberg. Dancers: Stephanie Maiorano, Joseph Hochschild, Sarah Nyfield, & Chris Jovilar. Act Three. The happy peasants continue their happy peasant dance.

Don Juan in Tech Rehearsal February 2013. Photo: Manuel Rotenberg. Dancers: Stephanie Maiorano, & Joseph Hochschild. More happy dancing. This dance had a kind of aerobic element to it, but then many peasant dances do. They just go on and on. Like the Tarantella where participants danced themselves into a state of exhaustion.

Daily Stuff: Car seems to be ok. Worked a bit on the next 24 Preludes. Having to do some editing on this one as I have two version I need to mix into one.

Had a nice surprise in the office. Former SDB dancer Megan Lotz dropped in from the East Coast. She and her (soon to be doctor) husband are in town for a vacation and she took class in the morning. Nice to see a smiling face.

Met with Young Audiences today to discuss our offerings for next year. It was productive :)

Zoomed up to SUDS rehearsal. Got there early and there was a Farmer's Market on the street. Yeah! Lemon pie, Cuban sandwiches, and fresh squeezed Lemonade!

Got through the 2nd Act of SUDS. Cleaned up and put the sound cues in. Got done early, so we all got to go home early. Worked a bit on getting one of the sequences a bit more romantic and cleaned up some dialog scenes.

June 25 2013

Don Juan in Tech Rehearsal February 2013. Photo: Manuel Rotenberg. Dancers: Joseph Hochschild  & Stephanie Maiorano. Act Three Celebratory Dance leed by a soon to be Bride and Groom.

Don Juan in Tech Rehearsal February 2013. Photo: Manuel Rotenberg. Dancers: Joseph Hochschild  & Stephanie Maiorano. I am actually quite fond of the movement phrases in this sequence. It is fairly fast and bouncy.

Daily Stuff: Had a meeting this morning at SDB with Matt regarding setting up some communication systems for next year.

Then off to the Rep for a meeting about props for In The Heights. Trying to let that show slowly enter my consciousness. Rehearsals start next Monday.

Then off to a production meeting for SUDS. Mainly dealt with scenic elements and props. Followed by a stumble through of the first act. We plugged all of the sound cues in and worked more props into the show. Dealt a little more with style elements for the women.

The day started with a bit of car trouble, so I had to zoom about in a rental. The mechanic says he thinks he has fixed the problem so hopefully I'll be back in my car tomorrow.

June 24 2013

Don Juan in Tech Rehearsal February 2013. Photo: Manuel Rotenberg. Dancers: Sarah Nyfield & Chris Jovilar. The exuberance of the 3rd Act.

Don Juan in Tech Rehearsal February 2013. Photo: Manuel Rotenberg. Dancers: Stephanie Maiorano & Joseph Hochschild. After the little "show" dance, we have a large celebration dance for the whole community, led by the soon to be bride and groom.

Daily Stuff: Started the day by meeting with Steve Gunderson. We are developing a show based on the songs of Harry Nilsson. We shall see how it goes. We already have a basic shape and song order. Today, we honed down some of the lyrics we are using and who will be singing them. So Steve has a nice base to start writing arrangements.

Afterwards, I finished up posting this week's installment of 24 Preludes on You Tube. And also wrote and scheduled tomorrow's e-mail blast.

Got some good news. The art installation the SDB is hosting in the Mandell Weiss Gallery is going to be able to stay up for an extra month.

Met Candye for an early dinner. She is off for a tour tomorrow. So we had a discussion regarding a possible local holiday/X-mas show.

In the evening, I had SUDS rehearsal. I got to take it easy today as we had a music rehearsal. Steve (who arranged the music) was able to come in today, so I turned over all the time to him. He gave great notes and the cast was eager to work with him. It IS a singer's show after all.

Having a little car issue right now, will have to take care of it tomorrow.

June 23 2013

Don Juan in Tech Rehearsal February 2013. Photo: Manuel Rotenberg. Dancers: Sarah Nyfield & Chris Jovilar. In the middle of this showy dance, we split the stage and do a bit of plot development.

Don Juan in Tech Rehearsal February 2013. Photo: Manuel Rotenberg. Dancers: Max Tchernychev & Stephanie Maiorano. Don Juan makes his moves on the young bride to be. Unfortunately for him, she is immune to his charms.

Daily Stuff: SUDS rehearsal. Finished staging the show. Learned two big long musical sequences. Then we went through Act One. The cast is more solid than they know. We don't have our first audience until July 12th. Still a lot to do, but we are in a good spot.

June 22 2013

Don Juan in Tech Rehearsal February 2013. Photo: Manuel Rotenberg. Dancers: Sarah Nyfield and Chris Jovilar. The inclusion of two dancers performing for the others also gave me an excuse to put in a bit more bravura, showy steps to push the excitement this late in the ballet.

Don Juan in Tech Rehearsal February 2013. Photo: Manuel Rotenberg. Dancers: Sarah Nyfield and Chris Jovilar. For the most part< I tend to stay away from anything that looks intentionally "difficult." That "in your face" type of dancing or choreography has never really impressed me much. It is also the easiest thing to set.

Daily Stuff: SUDS rehearsal day. Accomplished what I had hoped. Staged two scenes and a number. One of the had already been half staged, so quick work was made of it. Then ran everything and staged the cast for a theatre benefit they are doing tonight. Just one number from the show, but it will be around a single microphone, so there is a little position jockeying that I set.

At least the rehearsals were early in the day. No traffic. :)

June 21 2013

Don Juan in Tech Rehearsal February 2013. Photo: Manuel Rotenberg. Dancers: Sarah Nyfield. The Peasants Dance at the Wedding. I always felt that this little piece needed to have a bit more presentation "Oomph" than the rest of the Act.

Don Juan in Tech Rehearsal February 2013. Photo: Manuel Rotenberg. Dancers: Sarah Nyfield & Chris Jovilar. As the dancers were actually portraying "dancers."

Daily Stuff: Met with Steve Gunderson on a possible project for next year. Very exciting if it comes through. I had done a little work previous to getting together, so we actually were able to discuss specifics.

Sent out the contracts for next year's trainees. And had a couple of meetings.

Music festival in Carlsbad today so a bit hard to park for SUDS rehearsal, but not horrible. Ran everything we knew. Pretty good shape. Then staged two little scenes and a song (You Can't Hurry Love). I let the cast know that it was the first number that we staged in the show over twenty years ago. Still have a bit to go will try to do a two more scenes and a song tomorrow.

June 20 2013

Don Juan in Tech Rehearsal February 2013. Photo: Manuel Rotenberg. Dancers: As the peasant wedding is a celebration, I decided to set a sort of Peasant pas de deux.

Don Juan in Tech Rehearsal February 2013. Photo: Manuel Rotenberg. Dancers: Sarah Nyfield and Chris Jovilar. Here are the "Celebratory Dancers" Kind of like the "official entertainment" at the party. It allowed to introduce a piece of music that had a bit of more classical Spanish flair, than what the peasants had been dancing to.

Daily Stuff: San Diego County Fair Day. Even though I am immune to the allure of big, fried food, then sun and the the food still managed to get me a little sick. Still it was a nice day. Good company. Candye was performing, so got to do the "Backstage Pass" thing. She did great and was in good voice.

And of course, the Swifty Swine Pig Races :)

June 19 2013

Don Juan in Tech Rehearsal February 2013. Photo: Manuel Rotenberg. Dancers: Members of the San Diego Ballet. So after an Intermission, Act Three begins with a peasant wedding.

Don Juan in Tech Rehearsal February 2013. Photo: Manuel Rotenberg. Dancers: Max Tchernychev, Joseph Hochschild, & Stephanie Maiorano. The Don is welcomed by the soon-to-be-groom.

Daily Stuff: Early in the day, my dog was barking non stop outside. When I went out, he was fixated on a specific spot with some woodwork. As a got nearer, I smelled the unmistakable odor of skunk. Luckily, the dog hadn't been sprayed. So we retreated in to the house and I hope my lovely black and white visitor found his way out.

Pretty much just a SUDS day today.  Missing a cast member, so we spent a lot of time cleaning and giving notes. Then I let Tyler (the guy) go and worked with the two ladies who play the Angels in the show. They have the most to do. Up until now I have been working the sections that involve everyone. But now, have to focus on their stuff. 

We learned a piece set to the old hit, Locomotion. Went well. And then did some scene work. 

If only Carlsbad wasn't so far away. Takes me about an hour to get there. Less to get back because its late and no traffic. Am enjoying the different food choices. Today it was Knockout Burger. I got the Featherweight. It was like a nice slider. Just enough to serve the craving.

June 18 2013

Don Juan in Tech Rehearsal February 2013. Photo: Manuel Rotenberg. Dancers: Max Tchernychev, Elana Lewis, Stephanie Maiorano. Looking at this, I am reminded of how quickly Stephanie had to change costumes. It really was only about 30 seconds to get out of the red "Dream" costume and get the white one on.

Don Juan in Tech Rehearsal February 2013. Photo: Manuel Rotenberg. Dancers: Matt Carney & Elana Lewis. The pleasant peasants. They are about to call Don Juan to Join in the Act Three festivities.

Daily Stuff: Sent out a few more contracts today. Had a meeting with Matt, our director of communications about an upcoming grant and a recent San Diego dance initiative.

Then went to have a late lunch/dinner with my friend Candye Kane. But eating was scrapped in favor of helping with errands. It was cool. She paid me in yellow lemon Starbursts. Anyway, I'll see her playing at the fair on Thursday.

SUDS rehearsal at night. We set one of the big medleys from the first act and two ballads that follow it. The first medley is fairly physical as it involves the women in the show terrorizing a washer repairman in the name of female empowerment. It is always the worst rehearsal for the male cast member as he pretty much crawls around on the floor for a few hours.

Afterwards, we reviewed the opening of the first act. Sarah (the girl playing the lead Cindy) is doing some very nice things with the opening song. As a matter of fact, the entire cast is doing exemplary work. We ran the second act in its entirety. Just need to keep encouraging them to simplify once they discover where they are going with their choices.

June 17 2013

Don Juan in Tech Rehearsal February 2013. Photo: Manuel Rotenberg. Dancers: Max Tchernychev, Stephanie Maiorano, & Elana Lewis. Don Juan awakens from his dream on a convenient shore.

Don Juan in Tech Rehearsal February 2013. Photo: Manuel Rotenberg. Dancers: Max Tchernychev & Stephanie Maiorano. And of course, the young peasant girl who discovers him has the face of his "ideal."

Daily Stuff: Got out the first batch of dancer contracts. Will send out more tomorrow. Posted the 11th Prelude (of the 24) on You Tube and got the e-mail blast written and scheduled for tomorrow.

The evening was all about taking the parents to the Olive Garden for a belated Father's Day.

No SUDS rehearsal today.

June 16 2013

Don Juan in Tech Rehearsal February 2013. Photo: Manuel Rotenberg. Dancers: Sarah Nyfield. It is always nice when the costume does a little work for you.

Don Juan in Tech Rehearsal February 2013. Photo: Manuel Rotenberg. Dancers: Members of the San Diego Ballet. The end of the 2nd Act Dream. There is the Don on the floor as his visions dance around him.

Daily Stuff: Just another SUDS day today. e had a 6 hour rehearsal day, but I was missing a cast member for the first half. So we set the stuff without her and then went back and worked her in once she came in. It isn't as troublesome as it sounds, as there is usually a lot of multi-layering going on in the staging.

So we finished the 2nd Act and ran it. They had a particularly ood time learning the Secret Agent Man number. The show is very playful, so the number is like a cross between Our Man Flint and the Spy Vs. Spy comic from Mad magazine.

June 15 2013

Don Juan in Tech Rehearsal February 2013. Photo: Manuel Rotenberg. Dancers: Members of the San Diego Ballet. Part of the "folk dance"

Don Juan in Tech Rehearsal February 2013. Photo: Manuel Rotenberg. Dancers: Stephanie Maiorano and Max Tchernychev. As I was resetting this movement for the piece (remember I lifted it from a previous work), I added some new entrances for Don Juan and his "ideal."  This arabesque is from one of those passages.

Daily Stuff: Was supposed to attend a meeting on local dance this morning Was derailed by a smll emergency. Nothing huge, but had to be dealt with ASAP. Sometimes these things pop up. The rest of the day was a SUDS day. Set more of the 2nd Act. We had a fun time with Chapel of Love. Starting to see some ownership of the characters, which is nice.

June 14 2013

Don Juan in Tech Rehearsal February 2013. Photo: Manuel Rotenberg. Dancer: Sarah Nyfield. The long adagio is followed by variation on a Spanish folkdancc.

Don Juan in Tech Rehearsal February 2013. Photo: Manuel Rotenberg. Dancers: Leila Gardener. The folk dance is led by 2 soloists.

Daily Stuff: Did a little work on dancers contracts. They are ready to be sent out.

Day was spent dealing mostly with SUDS rehearsal. Reacquainted myself with the second act. I always start with the second act of the show for tow reasons.

First, it is a less dense choreographic act, so it is easier to set. It gives the cast a good sense of what the show is about.

It also allows for the whole cast to be involved from the start. There are large sections of the first act where the guy in the show is offstage. So setting this stuff first helps everyone feel like a big happy cast.

Anyway, I set a nice chunk. A fairly large medley and the 3 solos that follow it. Also some small scenes between the central character and a Mr. Right. Took a little work but started to get into the right area. The cast does sound great. :)

June 13 2013

Don Juan in Tech Rehearsal February 2013. Photo: Manuel Rotenberg. Dancers: Stephanie Maiorano. A few moments from the end of the Second Act Adagio movement.

Don Juan in Tech Rehearsal February 2013. Photo: Manuel Rotenberg. Dancers: Stephanie Maiorano. After everyone has come back in for the big finish, the piece ends very softly and simply with a brief solo.

Daily Stuff: Started the day by trying to "lock in" the  cast for In The Heights at the Rep. We are having a little bit of an issue with some ensemble members how haven't been heard from since being cast. So we just need to confirm that they still exist before we head into rehearsal in 3 weeks.

Went in to the SDB office. Had a meeting with a prospective dancer for the upcoming season. It went well.

The evening was spent up in Carlsbad in rehearsal. Here is a pic of my New Village Arts SUDS cast at a vocal rehearsal. They are picking it up fairly quickly.

Today, I reviewed the opening of the show with "Cindy" and set the Postman number. It is amazing when  look at the old video of the show. There are sections that I wouldn't exactly remember. But when  I look at the video, there are sections where I can tell that the performers aren't doing the steps correctly.  In other words, seeing the performers whether the performers are doing the steps correctly or incorrectly doesn't matter, just seeing the original cast do it makes me remember what it was supposed to be.

June 12 2013

Don Juan in Tech Rehearsal February 2013. Photo: Manuel Rotenberg. Dancers: Members of the San Diego Ballet. The Big Climactic moment of the Adagio movement. All of the dancers rushed in and repeated the sequence that was initially performed as a solo by Stephanie. But know they alternate moving in canon and in unison. The music was appropriately large too.

Don Juan in Tech Rehearsal February 2013. Photo: Manuel Rotenberg. Dancers: Stephanie Maiorano and Max Tchernychev. After which, she pulls aways and the other dancers rush off.

Daily Stuff: A little work in the office today. Mainly worked on SUDS at New Village Arts.

Set the opening of the show with Sarah who plays Cindy, the central character in the show. She seemed to have a nice grasp of the character and freedom. Just a couple of tweeks which she integrated right away.

Then listened to music rehearsal. The casts voices sound great together on chords. A very nice blend. Has a shimmering quality.

At the end of the night worked with Tyler on the various characters he plays. We managed to find some keys for a couple of them, which is good this early in the game.

June 11 2013

Don Juan in Tech Rehearsal February 2013. Photo: Manuel Rotenberg. Dancers: Chris Jovilar, Max Tchernychev, Joseph Hochschild, and Stephanie Maiorano. More of the quartet in the Act Two Adagio.

Don Juan in Tech Rehearsal February 2013. Photo: Manuel Rotenberg. Dancers: Chris Jovilar, Max Tchernychev, Joseph Hochschild, and Stephanie Maiorano. All about getting into "pretzel-y" positions. Symbolic of internal conflict or some such "high concept" stuff.

Daily Stuff: Went in today and okayed a couple of new trainees for the company. Uploaded the new 24 Preludes for next week, so that is ready. Sent out some reminders to dancers regarding contracts for next season.

Then went up to Carlsbad to have my first first production meeting and rehearsal for a production of SUDS I am directing at New Village Arts. Looks to be a good show. The cast sounded great singing the songs. Mainly a music rehearsal today, so I got out of the way and let our music director, Justin, do his thing.

June 10 2013

Don Juan in Tech Rehearsal February 2013. Photo: Manuel Rotenberg. Dancers: Chris Jovilar, Maxim Tchernychev, and Stephanie Maiorano. One of the repeated overheads in the adagio. I have to say, overhead lifts can be a bit tricky so far as placing them in choreography. The man should never look as if he is "weightlifting." It should always be about the effect made once his partner is in the air. not the effort (or anticipated effort) of him getting her up.

Daily Stuff: Was supposed to have had my final In The Heights rehearsal with the students at the SCPA today. When I got there, the school was deserted. Evidently, they had a minimum day and didn't let me know. Hmmmmm.

So I spoke to Jacole at the Rep and asked to see if she could reschedule an extra one.

Dropped in the office. The school is closed for the day because they just had an end of year performance. So it was quiet. 

Edited the video of the latest of the 24 Preludes and posted it. We are on #10 now. Scheduled an e-mail blast to go out tomorrow.

Done early, so came home and worked on my terrace garden. Planted some nice drought resistant plants. They always seem to be coming out with new ones. Where do they come from I wonder. I remember, it used to be cactus and sort of straw colored grass. These are actually a nice green with flowers.

June 9 2013

Don Juan in Tech Rehearsal February 2013. Photo: Manuel Rotenberg. Dancers: Max Tchernychev and Stephanie Maiorano. Back into that dip motif I am so fond of.

Don Juan in Tech Rehearsal February 2013. Photo: Manuel Rotenberg. Dancers: Stephanie Maiorano, Max Tchernychev, Chris Jovilar, and Joseph Hochschild. This is the middle of the section where all three men dance with Don Juan's "ideal." It was always a little tricky in rehearsal because this particular movement phrase came after a natural musical break. When the music came back in, it was a bit rubato and not particularly rhythmic. Stephanie had to initiate the movement and the men followed her. But the couldn't really listen to the music. They just had to wait for her to start.

Daily Stuff: Stayed in LA last night so I could visit the Getty Villa. Woke up at a reasonable hour and then braved the LA traffic. The Villa is located in Malibu. So had to cross the city. As luck would have it, very light Sunday traffic. Malibu was lovely (if a bit overcast). Noshed on some Taco Bell tacos at a convenience store directly across from the beach. Nice view. Called the Getty to see if I could arrive before my reserved time and they said "Yes!"

For those of you who don't know. The Getty is an amazing FREE place to go see art works and the craftsmanship of the creation of art in LA. It has two amazing venues. The larger museum is at the Getty Center. It has a large collection that features mainly European and American painters, sculptors, photographers and decorative artists in an architecturally impressive complex. The Getty Villa (seen above and below) is an altogether different experience. It is modeled after an ancient villa such as might have been beneath the shadow of Mt. Vesuvius, before it erupted. And it features Ancient Greek and Roman works of art.

Because of it's unique design, you are constantly "invited" to wander into various gardens as you drift through the various galleries. I found myself thinking that, so long as there was hot and cold running water, I could get used to the lifestyle. Normally, the BMOC of the collection is the Lansdowne Herakles. A nice hunk of marble.

The guided tour explains that there are sections of the statue that were "repaired" as was the custom in the early days of excavation and exhibition. Nowadays, we wouldn't add a part of a leg or arm, but back then they did. And for a while, modern conservators removed the "repairs." But then it was decided to replace them to keep in the "spirit" of the original restoration. Interesting that there is one part of the statute that was never restored. :)

But now along with the usual collection, they showing an exhibition of the art of Ancient Sicily. And Herk's position has been usurped by this chap.

Statue of a Youth (or the Mozia Charioteer). That's him (above and below in stock photos form the British Museum). The electronic guide called him "the finest example of ancient classical sculpture in the world." At first, I didn't quite get it. But as you walk around him and take it in, you get it.

The figure and the "draping" of the "fabric" are extraordinary. These pics really don't do it justice.  It really looks like you can "see" skin and muscle under the most transparent diaphanous tunic.

So here is the deal. It is FREE. FREE. FREE.

So if you profess to be an art lover, make sure you go before August. Because that is when he goes away.

Here is the link, remember it is at the Villa not the Center. http://www.getty.edu/

June 8 2013

Don Juan in Tech Rehearsal February 2013. Photo: Manuel Rotenberg. Dancers: Max Tchernychev & Stephanie Maiorano. More moments from the Act Two Dream section adagio.

Don Juan in Tech Rehearsal February 2013. Photo: Manuel Rotenberg. Dancers: Max Tchernychev & Stephanie Maiorano. Very ardent.

Daily Stuff: Still in LA. Went to the Los Angeles Dance Summit. It was interesting to hear a community that is so close to us in San Diego. Many of the same issues (affordable space) and a few unique ones (the big for profit vs not for profit communities) and how they intersect. It was did solidify many of the feelings and ideas I have been thinking about recently.

And I will say that we San Diego artists did represent. At lunch time, we had a great strategy session for what we can possibly do in San Diego. Two nice breakout sessions.

Afterwards, hooked up with Doug Jacobs and went to see a dance theatre piece called A Fried Octopus at an interesting LA space called the Bootleg Theater. The piece was described as being "inspired by the women in the paintings of Toulouse Lautrec" and "diving into a pool of absinthe to find the divine feminine bubbling up as the male ideal of art surrenders to the forces that influence us all."

I guess. It is hard for me to get too deep sometimes. I have a fairly simple mind. But as I have mentioned before, the whole "pitting male against female" doesn't really work for me. But there was some nice work done in the evening. My favorite part was a very beautiful lit section with a nude male actor giving a monologue about a female artist's model.

Honestly, my least favorite part was the beginning. It was just TOO LOUD.

But DO check it out if you are in LA, http://www.bootlegtheater.org/

Afterwards went to a very nice Italian place in Highland Park. Maximilliano. http://maximilianohp.com/ Nice food. Nice service (Thank you Jessica). Nice price.