End of the Year Round up.

EndEnd of the Year Round up.


A bunch is going on with me at the close of the year so I thought I’d wrap it up here.

Everyone has been asking me about the cuts at NPR, and wondering if it affects me. Yes and no. I know a lot of good people who got hurt by the cuts at NPR, my “Obi Wan” Doug Mitchell, the staff of New and Notes and a couple other people who have really helped me in this journey through radio have felt the pinch. They are so brilliant at what they do, it sadness me that NPR couldn’t find a way to keep their shows and programs running. Knowing all of these people, I can comfortably say, this will not stop them. It might actually be a blessing. Freeing them to do bigger and bolder projects.

As for me, I’m not affiliated with NPR. My show is funded by CPB, which is the big boss for all Public Broadcasting. What it might affect is my ability in the future to make shows. My development deal runs through 09’, if I am funded in the future by CPB it will depend on a few things, the national economy being one of them. I’m not worried. I’m going to make the best damn show possible and make what I bring to the table essential to the future of public broadcasting. And if they don’t pick up the show, someone else will. The future is bright because the big guy upstairs told me to do the work and let him handle the rest. I can do that.

I have been missing the stage like crazy. With all of the other stuff that’s going on; projects I can talk about (radio) and projects I can’t (shshshsh), I been working my butt off. But no theatre time. It’s driving me a little nutty. I need to get on stage, I need to write for the stage; the feeling I get from both of them is unparalleled. I don’t feel like my theatre career has stalled, but I also don’t think it’s moving at the pace I’d like. But I guess the more important thing is that I can’t control that, what I can control is the work. That sounds clinical when the truth is for me it’s not about making work to advance a career path. It’s about making work because I have a story to tell, something to say. It’s about being in love with the stage, the hot lights, the conversation between me and the audience. I can’t live without it. And so I’m in the midst of working on a new theatre piece. Crumbs.

I’m sure I’ll be writing more about the play here, but in this post I won’t talk about the story itself. This will be the first piece that I’m working with a composer on. It’s a poetical that will use music in a way I haven’t in the past. I’m excited to have a collaborator and though we have not officially decided to work together we are moving in that direction. Very exciting for me, to have someone that can score behind my words because I hear it in my head musically, but mostly I have had to settle for it without music. Irritating. I can’t wait to see and hear how the piece shakes out.

I'm applying for a bunch of fellowships and residencies across the country. I'm excited about the prospects. These things though come and go. You put together a package and then you forget about it. Pray that someone reads it, and gets the work you are looking to do. So we'll see, deep down, I feel like a few of these fellowships are mine. I don't know why but on some of the stuff i submit for, I know before I send off the package that I'm going to get it. Two of them specifically I can feel it. Let's hope that feeling is true.

2008 has been a very good year for me. So personally I feel like things are moving in the right direction. Still it’s hard to be too happy when the economy is falling apart and people all over the country are struggling to pay bills and feed families. The world on a whole is in a tough-tough spot. In the New Year, I of course would like to professionally move forward, but more importantly with all the stuff going on, I want to be apart of the solution. It may be a corny sentiment, but we’ve tried all the other stuff and nothing seems to be working. Personally, I’m going to try and bring what little light I have, I want to be the open palm instead of the closed fist. I’m so tired of the closed fist. So is the rest of the world. May we all wake in a better world tomorrow.

Back in the Saddle

It’s been a few months since I’ve updated this blog. I promise for the five people who read this it that I will not disappear that long again in the future. So what’s been up with me? A ton. In the last couple months I’ve been to NY, Detroit, Chicago, LA, Ashland, Oregon and Atlanta. Mostly for the radio show but also for some theater stuff.

I’ve been working on the newest episode of State of the Re:UNION: Motor City Rebound. It’s been a while since I put together an episode, actually close to a year ago, so I’d forgotten how intense of a process it can be. Fortunately I have an excellent team. My advisors helped me find the producer of the show Zak Rosen, and I got my old producer Taki Telonidis to be the senior advisor of the show for this episode and hopefully for the entire development process. I think it’s important that Taki stay involved with the program since we made the pilot together. He took all my ideas and gave them shape. I think the concept could stand on it’s own without either Taki or I, I believe together we can put our personal stamp on the program and create something really special. Along with Zak, Willie Evans Jr (the incredible beatmaker)and my business partner, Ian, I think we have a good team.

That however does not mean that everything is easy. Creating an episode is like giving birth. It is giving birth, not the physical pain of course, but the mental strain, the sleepless nights, the joy of seeing the baby for the first time, all of it is the same. Zak and I started working on story ideas in August. Zak had an idea of the story he wanted to tell, I had a different take. We went back and forth for a while, but once I got on the ground in Detroit, I could see the story, and it was much closer to Zak’s vision then mine. Taki listened to our ideas gave us some insight, Ian was excellent logistical support. We did all the field recording in Detroit for about three weeks total. For the two weeks we edited the interviews did a lot of writing, and a lot of polish, and I can finally say it’s done.

Prior to going to Detroit, I was really nervous about what kind of show I’d be creating. I wanted to create something that uplifted people but all I heard about Detroit was negative. I’m writing this two weeks since completing the episode, and still the only things I hear in the news or online are negatives. What’s striking to me is that when I went to Detroit, I found a lot of positives. In the vast space between what you’d normally expect in a city and what they actually have in Detroit, I found that the people are making it happen on their own. They aren’t waiting for the government or outsiders to handle it and save them. Instead they’ve started finding ways to get around the road blocks and create a new model for how a city can work. It’s not perfect. People are hurting, the economy is in shambles, the political structure is struggling and yet when I left the “D” I felt hopeful.

Right before our eyes the world is changing. America as a whole is being challenged in a way it hasn’t in decades. What Detroit taught me, was that beyond all of that are the people. The foundation of this republic and that foundation, while battered and bruised is what will see us through.

If you get a chance check out the episode here:
http://www.stateofthereunion.com/podcasts/motorcityrebound.mp3