Claudia — Page 410

Misty Morning

October 7, 2021 at 9:43 am by Claudia

More misty mornings.

Spider webs everywhere, leaves turning color, an altogether magical-almost-otherworldly landscape. That is one of the joys of autumn.

I am coaching Ben both today and tomorrow, so this has turned out to be a satisfying week of working almost every day. That hasn’t happened in a long time! It’s wonderful to feel productive and valued and to have the opportunity to do what I do best. Though I am prone to the same doubts as everyone, I am good at what I do and I know it.

One of my former students wrote me the other day. One of the things I taught my students at both Boston University and the University of San Diego, was the International Phonetic Alphabet and its use in transcribing sounds and sound changes. Each symbol represents a sound (and there are far more out there than I had to teach my actors) and they are invaluable for transcribing sound changes for dialect work. Elisa, who I taught at USD, said this:

I was thinking of and channeling you today. After many years of not doing any IPA, I dusted it off today to transcribe Chinese. My son just started taking classes and I am working with him at home. Without IPA, I would not be able to capture the sounds that we need to have to refer to. At any rate, it’s not the original application, but I thought you might like to know that your teaching in phonetics helped me greatly in teaching my dyslexic son to read, and now I am passing my transcription skills to the next generation.

Isn’t that the best? I can’t tell you how much this kind of thing means to me. To see it being used in a new and fresh way that adapts to Elisa’s particular situation is wonderful. I will hold this close to my heart.

I also had a former student reach out to ask me if I could send her the phonetic changes for a German dialect, which I somehow managed to find in my files. I sent them off to her, with the proviso that they were general and if she needed more specific regional sound changes, she’d need to research them.

The coaching and the interaction with former students all happened within the past four days, so I’m beginning to recognize my professional self again.

We stayed up late watching the Red Sox vs Yankees the other night. The Red Sox won, thank goodness (sorry, Yankees fans – I was perfectly willing to accept a Yankees win, if it happened) and tonight they start their 3 game series with the Tampa Bay Rays (my sister’s team.) The Rays are really, really good, so this will be interesting. We don’t often get to watch the Red Sox because we’re not in their broadcast area, so this will be fun.

Okay. Have to get going and put makeup on to zoom coach! After a year and half of no makeup, I’ve been wearing it quite a bit lately.

Stay safe.

Happy Thursday.

The Constant Lists Going On In My Head

October 6, 2021 at 10:21 am by Claudia

You can see all the wild asters that have sprung up next to the garden. The burning bush is turning red. I quickly snapped this picture just a minute or so ago. It’s definitely Fall. Leaves are on the ground everywhere. Normally, this change would leave me feeling more melancholy – I love summer and I dread the onset of winter – but I’m so busy right now that I just acknowledge what I see outside and move on.

I did some zoom coaching yesterday and I will do more on Thursday and Friday. I sent in all my receipts and my bill to the company producing the tour of Anastasia. Today, I’m going to do some cleaning around the house and start making lists for what needs to be done around here before I leave for NYC and what I need to pack and the many things that I do on a daily basis that I need to explain to Don. It’s just a little over two weeks before filming begins. How did the time go by so quickly?

I feel like I’m constantly making lists in my head and I’m also worrying about a possible strike by IATSE, the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees. This action doesn’t concern the theater, but it does address TV and film. They voted to strike for the first time in their history because of impossible working conditions on film sets – 15 hour days, not enough breaks, larger contributions to health and pension plans, and residuals for content aired on streaming services. They are absolutely in the right. They are on the set far longer than the actors, director, or people like me. They’re in a good negotiating position because film is getting off the ground after a long hiatus and no one wants to lose more money. Nevertheless, we are supposed to be starting this film in a few weeks, so this impacts whether I work or not on this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

There’s too much going on in my head and, as you know, I’ve been a worrier since I was a child. I well remember lying awake at night, worrying about school, or gym class, or math, or what happens to us when we die, or why do we die?

Deep breath.

Okay.

Stay safe.

Happy Wednesday.

Back for a Bit

October 5, 2021 at 9:40 am by Claudia

This is Moynihan Train Hall, newly opened. It’s the Amtrak hub of Penn Station and it’s really gorgeous and efficient. There’s a nice waiting room with furniture designed in what is clearly an homage to old train stations. There will be a food hall, but nothing has opened yet, except for a Starbucks and a Magnolia Bakery, and since I’m off sugar, that ain’t happening.

I’ve spent a fair amount of time here this past week and as much as I like it, I’m glad it’s over.

Sunday afternoon, just about an hour before we were to leave for the train station, I got an email from the stage manager, asking if I’d told the Covid Safety guy that I was going to be at rehearsal Monday. Ummm…no. Since the company contracted me for Monday and since all those in charge knew I was coming, why would I tell him? He would know, right? I assumed that since he hadn’t contacted me, I didn’t need another test. The next hour or so – even after I’d left the house – was a back and forth with him about whether I needed a test. The Amtrak train ran late, so there was no way I was going to be able to get one on Sunday. Long story short, I had to get one on Monday morning, which – again – I had to pay for. He admitted it was his fault and that he had dropped the ball – I could have had one done here for free on Friday had I known.

I got one. It was negative. But I let him know I was angry that I’d had to pay nearly $400 for Covid tests and that, in the future, this company – in situations where they require a quick turnaround PCR test – needs to make the appointment for the employee/contractor and pay upfront. Between cabs, ubers, and covid tests, I’m out more than $600. I’ll be reimbursed, but in the meantime, we have bills to pay. To assume that anyone coming in for a rehearsal, especially young actors, and this cast is full of them, has money on hand to pay for these tests is wrong.

I swear, the logistics of these three days in NYC were the hardest. Rehearsals were good, they were productive and satisfying. But getting into the city, trying to find a cab to take me to Queens (finding a cab in Queens is even harder,) grabbing another cab to go back into Manhattan for the test, trying to find food to eat in the Queens neighborhood I was in, trying to grab an Uber that would get me to Penn Station in the rush hour pouring rain…I’m exhausted. I have a love/hate relationship with the city. We live in the country and the contrast couldn’t be more stark. It’s so crowded. Traffic jams everywhere. Horns honking repeatedly. Exciting if you’re a first-time visitor, not at all exciting when you’ve spent a lot of time there.

Today, I’m back to working with Ben on the newly revised script. And I’m panicked because in 20 days or so I’m off to Brooklyn/NYC for 6 weeks.

Let’s have some Sophie fun. I posted this on Sunday, right before I left, based on a suggestion from Don.

Sophie is having none of Big Boy’s flirting. None of it.

I will quote Don: “How can she resist him? Seriously, how can she resist him???”

Stay safe.

Happy Tuesday.

Misty Morning

The Constant Lists Going On In My Head

Back for a Bit

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

Archives