Dan & Erin’s Blog

IMPORTANT!: OUR BLOG HAS MOVED!!

Mon, 2 Feb 2009 08:22:53 -0800

It is now located at www.lizanddan.wordpress.com. If you subscribe to this site (first of all, thank you!), you’ll need to change your settings to pick up the new address.

It was just too messy publishing from .mac. Now we can publish from anywhere (including our phones!), so you’ll probably see more posts at the new site.

Thanks!

Doing my “part”

Wed, 28 Jan 2009 23:21:09 -0800

Never before in my life have I been
so aware of the interconnectedness
of my decisions...

It’s a commonly uttered encouragement among professionals in the entertainment industry these days - Our industry always booms in times of economic distress. Movies and plays that particularly provide opportunity for “escape” and amusement seem to do even better than usual. The movie industry is one of the few sectors that did not experience any drop in revenue last year. And January 2009 has seen one of its strongest starts in ages, with more films succeeding at the box office than usual (you can read a great article on all this specific data here).

Truly encouraging news, right? Well, yes. But sobering too. Because it reflects the decisions that people are making with their severely limited amount of disposable income (or even worse, their precious credit). Suddenly I’m faced with the notion that people may be spending money to come and see me that they don’t have... perhaps skimping on groceries, or letting their gas bill lapse... or foregoing this month’s small contribution to their kids’ college fund...

(I use “me” here in a more representative sense - “the actor” - perhaps I should say “us”. I don’t pretend that too many North Americans are anxiously charging up their credit cards to see the next Dan Amos vehicle... or that rerun on Lifetime of “Blood Ties”...)

It puts things in perspective, and awakens me to the very real responsibility that we entertainers hold a great responsibility in times like these. It’s a very noble thing we do.

Art. Entertainment. Culture. Stories. They make us who we are. Individually and as a society. Even just making someone laugh is incredibly potent. It reminds us of our humanity.

But it does cause me to think about the decisions I’ll inevitably have to make... am I being a good steward of this responsibility?

D.

the Arts Economy

Mon, 26 Jan 2009 22:51:53 -0800

Just discovered a great blog while searching around for info on the proposed $50M “pork” portion of the economic bailout earmarked for the National Endowment for the Arts. An earmark that congressional Republicans are decrying. Some great insights here that I look forward to reading more of:

http://offrubberroad.wordpress.com/

Having spent the last several years of my professional life in finance and development at a relatively small non-profit arts organization, I know very palpably the reality that private sector funding is the bread and butter of North American arts and culture. There are several points that might go unmade if only looking at the broad picture, though.

Private and corporate donations to non-profits are becoming MUCH more volatile in the midst of a financial crisis. The Madoff debacle alone is said to have cost charities millions in budgeted but not-received donations. More regional non-profit theatres have closed their doors in the last 6 months than in the last decade. An influx of government grant money, small as it may be, could provide essential stability to many companies at this time. Even a few thousand dollars from the government can really make a difference to a struggling org. Trust me!
In a free-market economy, the most important way a government can spend its dollars is in a leadership role. $50M, a tiny fraction of an $800B bailout package, may lack broad practical impact, but it signals that the new administration values America’s culture and is not going to let it fall by the wayside. Furthermore, those dollars can exponentially stimulate further programs in marketing, state granting initiatives, endowments, etc.

D.

Acting out

Mon, 26 Jan 2009 17:39:29 -0800

Been a while since our last post because our computer has been on the fritz. After re-installing the OS it looks like we’ve got things under control... strongly considering switching this blog out to Wordpress, though...

Just taking a break from running lines for Room Service. It’s been quite a fortnight! The show is taking strong shape, and my actor insecurities are starting to subside. It’s been a long time since either of us have worked in this kind of format before. We’re used to either a camera in our personal space, or working under the intimate lights of Pacific Theatre. Lamb’s Players has a gorgeous 350-seat performance space in beautiful, waterfront Coronado. It’s a bigger room than we’re used to!

The show itself is also quite different. It’s a madcap comedy that owes an equal part of its humor to truth and text as to rhythm, timing, physicality and an extension of cartoonishness beyond naturalism. The trick is getting that combination right. At first, I’ll admit, I wasn’t comfortable.

Our director is Robert Smyth, the longtime artistic director at Lamb’s, and an amazing man. After several pretty cushy evenings of table work, we were thrown in the deep end as he roughly blocked the entire play in about 2 hours. I was having trouble simply keeping up, let alone writing anything down!

We have been continuously working through the exoskeleton of the script in progressively closer detail. Every day the reality of each moment is settling in. The only real difference is, instead of slowly building a character from the inside out, we’ve been given a skin, under which we must flesh out a larger-than-life (but still very true) personality. Our actor muscles are working strenuously!

Upon reflection this is truly an ideal experience for this time in our careers. A strong challenge, forcing us to hone new skills and widen our “bag of tricks”. What more could an actor ask for than a chance to work with many different talented people under many different circumstances, constantly being exposed to new ways of working and new skills to master?

D.

PS. Oh, and in case people are wondering, this show is going to cook! Seriously, if you have heart trouble you might think twice about coming - you might laugh yourself to death.

Still Moving

Mon, 12 Jan 2009 09:56:08 -0800

Yesterday morning, bright and early, D and I set off for Los Angeles... again, because, we have after two weeks, received word that all our earthly belongings have arrived. We met the moving crew at our storage space in Encino at 8:30 AM. There, for three hours, we felt completely exposed with everything we own laying before us on the hot pavement, (it was 80° F in LA). We squeezed nearly everything into a space measuring 7’ X 10’. The rest our sweet friends agreed to store in their nearby locker. Thank you so much!
Then we were able to hang out with not just one set of great friends, but two. Lunch with those sweet people the Watkinses and dinner with the Auxiers at, (get this,) the Granville Café!
This reunion also brought us to a Southern California gem that we had never been to, sort of. The Americana at Brand Shopping Center in Glendale was created by the same people who brought the world the Grove, so both centers are similar in layout, style and types of shops. The bonus to the Americana is that it’s bigger and the parking is cheaper and my favorite thing is that it’s not in Hollywood. You can now go to Kitson in the Valley!
I remarked to D that it seems to be a ploy for the Hollywood types to keep the Valley-ites out of their territory by appeasing us with all the cool stuff that we like in Hollywood without having to make the 2 mile trek over the “mountains”. Either way, I’m happy. It’s a new favorite that we’ll be taking our friends and family from far away to when they come to visit. (We’re now taking reservations to stay on our inflatable mattress for 2009. Please contact us for further information.)
Anyway, now that we’re getting a little more settled and our stuff is in Southern California, we’re feeling a little more at home here. Still exploring. Still apprehensive. Completely excited.
Stay tuned!
E

San Diego...

Wed, 7 Jan 2009 08:57:43 -0800

Can’t believe it’s been more than a week now since we left... at times it seems like yesterday, and at times it seems like 5 months ago!

Overall it’s been a swell time getting re-acquainted with Los Angeles. We scouted out some potential apartments in Erin’s old neighborhood (Sherman Oaks), and ate at some fine establishments that we were sadly deprived of in Canada. We met up with some old friends, and made plans to meet with more. I spent the better part of a day waiting in line for my Social Security card. Today we’ll no doubt do the same at the DMV.

We are now settled in our temporary home for the next 3 months - a nice, furnished one-bedroom apartment in San Diego, provided by Lambs Players for the duration of our contract with them. It’s a great little place. The only drawback is we had to leave our cat with a friend in LA.

It’s a tough thing to move. I feel like this move is battering us even more particularly on the emotional side. We’re putting on brave faces, but it’s easy to feel... adrift. San Diego is beautiful and our hosts are lovely. But the city is very unfamiliar to us. And all of our friends are more than 2 hours away. We don’t have a home to go back to. Or to look forward to, yet. This is the only home we have; and we know it’s temporary. We’re having to learn to feel at home wherever we are. To be happy and content despite circumstances... that is, to draw our joy from the non-physical things - friendship, love, each other, our faith, and our sense of calling... our sense that we actually do belong here.

It will be very interesting when rehearsals start next week. So far all of our energy has been devoted to establishing some sense of normalcy in an entirely new environment. Soon that energy will have to switch to good old-fashioned artistic work... which is the whole reason we moved. There will be a ton of new people to meet... hopefully new friends to discover... and of course the ongoing work of looking to the future, planning, dreaming and executing.

It feels very daunting at the moment.

D.

Adventure, pt 2. (with pictures)

Fri, 2 Jan 2009 10:47:44 -0800

New Year’s Day arrived and we made the most of it. A misty morning’s drive down US 101, which divides its terrain equally between the wild Northern California coastline and the ancient, towering trees of the Redwood Forest. Beautiful!

Talk about an adventure...

Fri, 2 Jan 2009 10:25:23 -0800

Late last night we arrived in Los Angeles. The last 72 hours went very differently than we had planned. But here we are! Boy, where to begin?

The snow and ice made the moving truck experience more complicated... but many thanks to all our friends who came out on Monday afternoon to help us pack it. Ron, you’re a packing mage.

Dan’s official “landing” in the US went off without a hitch. However, shortly after leaving the border, the “check engine” light in the truck came on. Great!

We returned the truck to the Penske rental office, hoping for a quick resolution. Not quite. We were given two options: unpack all of our things from our current truck and pack them into a new one (all by ourselves), or drive the mysteriously broken-down vehicle to a local mechanic and see what the problem is. At first, we opted for the second choice. However, while waiting for them to even hook the vehicle up to their computer (for over an hour), we decided to make some inquiries to full-service moving companies to swoop in and take care of the whole mess. We were tired, had already spent a night in Bellingham (and were probably about to spend a second), and were getting more and more apprehensive about being on our own with one of these trucks throughout the vast hills, prairies and forests of the I-5 corridor.

Luckily we got ahold of a local moving company that would come to us, unload all of our stuff, pack it professionally in their own truck, move it, and unpack it in our LA storage unit, all for a surprisingly reasonable price. Best of all, they could do it that evening! We bit.

A crew of pleasant, hardworking Middle-Eastern fellows arrived at our motel (where we did indeed book for an extra night) and had our stuff fit snugly into their truck within a few hours. Within a day, our entire plan had changed. Now we’d be driving down in our own Jetta. When all was said and done, we were much more at peace about the whole situation.

Driving our own car brought newfound freedom. We decided to capitalize on it and change our route... at Grant’s Pass, OR, we exited the I-5 and drove the mountainous 199 to Crescent City, CA, right at the foot of the Redwood Forest. End of travel day one... or two...or three... depending on when you start counting.

Speaking of counting, we cuddled up in the motel to watch New Year’s Rockin’ Eve... but were asleep before the ball dropped. Happy New Year to everyone!

(continued)

Merry Christmas!

Wed, 24 Dec 2008 10:49:00 -0800

The end of a beginning... and the beginning of a... new... beginning...

Mon, 15 Dec 2008 17:49:54 -0800

Today I met with the American Consul in Montreal, and was approved to immigrate and become a permanent resident in the United States. Erin and I will be moving to California on December 30th; we’ll be spending our first three months of 2009 in San Diego, acting in the play Room Service at Lamb’s Players Theatre. After that, we’ll be settling in LA for the foreseeable future. We’re excited.

Montreal has been incredible. Upon arrival last night I walked the neighborhood around my hotel. The moon was out and snow was lightly falling on the old, brick apartment buildings and fire escapes. I had dinner at a classic old diner called Deno’s, where I unsuccessfully tried to practice my French with the staff.

After my interview today I walked west on St. Catherine’s street through the bustly downtown core to Rueben’s Deli, where I had an incredible Montreal Smoked Meat Poutine, plus the best dill pickle I’ve ever tasted. God bless the Hebrews.

Then I hiked down Peel street, gazing up at the two-hundred-and-something-year-old buildings that undoubtedly housed various banks and government offices (it was rainy and all the signs were chiseled into the stonework in French, so I can’t be sure).

I got to the Notre Dame Basilica, which was at first unimpressive from the outside. Thankfully I paid the $5 admission fee and was admitted to one of the most breathtaking sanctuaries I’ve ever experienced. Pictures will not do it justice. The silence, the vague, sweet smell of incense, and the gorgeous, intricate yet grand artwork was overwhelming. It is a monument, and an inspiration, to worship. I’ve never felt so keenly the desire be holy.

After a good long time just sitting in the cathedral, I stepped out into “Vieux Montreal”, where I strolled for hours among the cobblestone streets, stone buildings, boutiques, cozy winebars and cafes.

All this walking gave me the chance to reflect on my place in this life... how very interesting that I am finally returning to this city, the place where I came into the world, in order to move to a different country! It’s a strangely a fitting close to this chapter... the first quarter (and some pennies) of my life... and an equally fitting start of the next chapter.

Bon chance!