as i write this, i have found myself, unexpectedly and gratefully, with a day to rest. i have plenty of tasks to completely, but a few things fell through, and i now have not one single appointment, and i’m going to keep it that way.
i am feeling, if i am being honest, just on the other side of burnout. (insert second and third arrows.) the relief i felt when my day opened up was immense. i have cried more days than not this week. i don’t know when the pressure is going to lift, but i’m finding as many moments as i can to take a deep breath, go lilac hunting in a park, drink an iced chai, arrange a bouquet, or doodle in my planner. i hope you can find time for your equivalent of lilac hunting this week.
reading.
stag dance by torrey peters.
dazzler: the life and times of moss hart by stephen bach.
adam guettel and jesse eisenberg discuss floyd collins for interview magazine. i had no idea eisenberg was such a musical theater geek. now i’m extra excited for his next movie.
this article following erika henningsen getting ready for opening night of just in time on broadway did lead me to create a pinterest board called “red carpet” filled with simkhai dresses.
read this poem about love in a small cafe on a rainy day while sitting, in love, in a small cafe on a rainy day.
and this poem helped me on a day when it felt like my hair was too frizzy and my bag was too heavy and the train was too crowded and the air was too close.
this cool behind the scenes look at how they found the essence of sublime, a knowledge tool for creative people. (yes, i use it.)
this piece on mood boards and the ethics of citation and curation! i think about this a lot!
really enjoyed this compilation of lists of things that make people happy. (scroll down for the lists.)
more whitney white content! she can’t be stopped! this is a great interview!
seeing.
sunset boulevard, with music by andrew lloyd webber and lyrics and libretto by don black and christopher hampton, brilliantly directed by jamie lloyd and starring an unbelievable nicole scherzinger, currently on broadway. my god. i loved this. it’s unhinged. it’s iconic. it’s astonishing. my jaw dropped as soon as the show began and stayed there for two and a half hours. nicole scherzinger is doing something truly otherworldly. (is it too specific to brag that i saw her last show before being nominated for a tony award?) tom francis sounds (and looks) utterly incredible. and, my god, the direction. i know jamie lloyd has his classic bag of tricks, but i’ve never seen them better deployed than here. cameras onstage often make me itchy, but i simply can’t imagine this show without them now. the design! the choreography! the vision! i’m blown away. especially since, and forgive me, the show itself as a piece of writing is not the strongest. truly incredible revival work here.
watchdog, a reading of a new musical written by and starring emerson mae smith and murphy taylor smith, directed by mack brown. eerie, inventive, otherworldly, excellent new musical theater.
kieran culkin & sarah snook doing actors on actors: broadway. i love sarah snook’s mantra before beginning dorian gray, modeled after her daughter’s announcement on the playground: “ladies and gentleman, boys and girls — i do a trick.” i also love kieran culkin describing the difference between getting the right laugh and the wrong laugh.
you on netflix. this show is so utterly bonkers. i’ll be so sad when it’s gone. i NEED to direct penn badgley one day.
spent a day wandering the east village with jonny. finally got to visit nico neco zakkaya and casey rubber stamps, plus a stop at caffe reggio.
also, i am so, so happy there are so many flowers about.
hearing.
re: the above song — one section jumped out at me this time.
i should have been an artist. i was never intended for work.
artists work, franz. i believe they work very hard.
[…]
work is what you do for others, liebchen.
art is what you do for yourself.
maybe my tired brain is overcomplicating — but how do i categorize the work and art i do for the company i co-run? it’s for others and for myself. time to pick up the work of art by adam moss. anyway, speaking of said work…
making.
we held our second ever director-playwright speed dating event for good apples collective, and it was, if i am being real with myself, a huge success! i remain utterly blown away by how many people showed up. people said very nice things, too. i am leaving some of them here as a reminder to my future self.
“the whole thing was awesome!”
“loved every bit of it!”
“i had an amazing time and met so many cool people.”
“great event! do more!”
“such a joy to be connected to so many folks with smart ideas!”
“I HAD SO MUCH FUN!!!!!”
“loveloveloved it. thank you for giving a potentially overwhelming thing such a generous, clear, friendly container!”
obviously, i also took EXTENSIVE notes on how we can make it even better next time. a permit so i don’t freak out about getting shut down! amplified sound! streamlined sign-up and check-in processes so we can more easily share contact info with artists! wooooo!
especially grateful for the apple corp folks (mia, paige, and willow all came!) and my sweet boyfriend, who made it possible for the whole thing to run as smoothly as it did. extra shoutout to sophie (on top of her regular co-founder duties) for finding and bringing this excellent apple-shaped bell.
also spent a good amount of time prepping for light as light, sophie’s thesis reading. as a reminder, tickets are free! come see girls be gay and violent in 1917! this week, we met with the production management team and finally finished casting. (just under the wire!) SO excited about this team.
some of the behind the scenes photos i took for mindplay have been released on socials, so i’m including them here! the show closes may 11, if you’re able to catch it.
