Natty is very correct....I have been somewhere between the ceiling and the floor with a noose around my neck. Between the stock market, economy, and UW football...
But yes, we must get together and have a couple beers so I can help explain what's going on. Honestly, if anybody tells you they know what's going on, they are full of $h!+ and you should ignore them.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
A Survey Of Sorts
I'm interested to know, from all of you non-theatre folks (and you too, Michelle, if you want to join in) what it would take to get you to go out and see more theatre.
All of you are very supportive of the work that I have done in Seattle, and come to see the shows I've acted in, the shows I've directed, and the shows of Emerald City Scene. But that is a very tiny percentage of theatre in Seattle. What I'm curious about is this:
a) if you enjoy the shows you come to see that I am involved in
and
b) if you do enjoy them, why not go see other companies productions?
and
c) if you have seen other companies productions, which ones? and did you like them?
and
d) how could a theatre company grab your attention and get you to come see shows, if you aren't affiliated with someone involved in the show?
If and When I come back to Seattle, I'll be working on forming a new "company" and I'm very interested in these responses.
All of you are very supportive of the work that I have done in Seattle, and come to see the shows I've acted in, the shows I've directed, and the shows of Emerald City Scene. But that is a very tiny percentage of theatre in Seattle. What I'm curious about is this:
a) if you enjoy the shows you come to see that I am involved in
and
b) if you do enjoy them, why not go see other companies productions?
and
c) if you have seen other companies productions, which ones? and did you like them?
and
d) how could a theatre company grab your attention and get you to come see shows, if you aren't affiliated with someone involved in the show?
If and When I come back to Seattle, I'll be working on forming a new "company" and I'm very interested in these responses.
Thursday, October 9, 2008
A little levity, please...
I saw B-squared recently, but due to a rousing round of "The Farmer's Game," neglected to get a good explanation of the current financial buggery our country seems to be undergoing. I guess that will have to wait until next time (if we make it that long). But while I check CNN.com obsessively during class, I am always amused by the stock photos they use to describe the meltdown. They particularly enjoy to capture the angst of the poor brokers, sitting on the floor of the NYSE with their heads in their hands, amidst the litter of the tickertapes and whatever the hell else it is they throw around down there. Fortunately, somebody funnier than me has put together a collection of these sad brokers and, since this is the Internet, has added witty captions (image 15 is my favorite). Click any of the pictures to start the slideshow. Bonus: I also just discovered an entire website devoted to this emerging fad.
And to burnPTCruisers: I'm not trying to deviate from the desired format for this blog. I've got another bigger post in the planning states, but this blog has been quiet for a while so I thought I'd try to liven it up a bit :)
And to burnPTCruisers: I'm not trying to deviate from the desired format for this blog. I've got another bigger post in the planning states, but this blog has been quiet for a while so I thought I'd try to liven it up a bit :)
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Why Drama Education? Part One: Creative Thinking
Preface:
At the moment I am employed by Seattle Repertory Theatre as their Education Intern. This means that I am spending most of my time these days bringing theater into the classroom, or bringing students into the theatre. But with all of the things that schools are expected to do these days – provide healthy lunches to students, educate them about substance abuse, teach sex ed (or “no sex!” ed), and provide after-school daycare, not to mention teach kids to read and write so they don’t fall through the cracks and math and science so we can keep up with China – what is the value of art? And do we have time in our busy schedules for Drama education? Why take a whole class period to do a prep workshop with a teaching artist, just to spend another full class period or two taking a field trip to the Rep to watch “The Three Musketeers”?
There are some very idealistic answers out there such as, “Art is what we live for!” or other things that invoke the soul, but I will leave metaphysics out of this discussion for now. Not because I disagree with the idealists about the power of art in the world, but because most educators I know (especially teaching artists) are incredibly down to earth about what they do. I’m sure if you asked each of them why arts in education is important, you would get several different answers. These are mine, and as I am a drama student/educator/enthusiast, they will be in the realm of drama.
DRAMA ENCOURAGES CREATIVE THINKING
In many standard classrooms – teaching any topic – there is a propensity to encourage correct answers over incorrect answers. In basic studies, such as grade-school level math, geographic memorization, scientific principles, and historic facts, the model of “correct versus incorrect” makes a ton of sense. Because 1+1=2, no matter what any “decide-for-yourself Montessori mom” may say. (I love Montessori school, but seriously? Math is not very kumbaya!) Columbus ran aground in 1492, Baton Rouge is the capitol of Louisiana, and water is made up of oxygen and hydrogen.
However, as we all find out when we get older, most of the important problems in life that we will be expected to solve are not so black and white. What is the most effective way to combat an auto-immune disorder? What transportation modes will be best for the Puget Sound region in the next ten years? What are the best financial decisions that someone can make so that their kids can go to college in fifteen years? How do we get more butts into the theater? How can one person with a given skill set most effectively make a positive impact on the world? These are all complicated questions with no correct answers, and they all require some amount of creative thinking, experimenting, failing, being bold, and outlining objectives and tactics for achieving those objectives.
The funny thing about school is that we begin to encounter gray-area questions at different points in each field. As soon as we have mastered grammatical rules, grammar class turns into a creative course on writing styles in prose and poetry. But at what point in business classes is there more than one right answer? College? 3rd year of college? Dave is in 2nd year medical school and there’s still a predominant culture of having the right answer. When med students turn into doctors they need to make judgment calls on which of several treatments will be most effective, and “being right” is more about finesse and je ne sais quoi than it was in school.
Drama education prepares students – even those who never plan to pursue drama as a career – to think creatively in these gray areas. Forgetting drama history classes for a moment, there are no correct answers in the acting classroom. There are bold choices that you need to justify. There are characters and situations you need to establish. There are requirements to think on your feet. You need to know your strengths and the strengths of your scene partner. And Drama education, unlike most other areas, does not require as much in-class foundation building as the rest of education. You have experience living in the world? Great! You get to think creatively about how you are going to approach a problem – or in drama terms, what is the tactic you are going to apply in order to overcome your obstacle and get to your objective?
And this is the first of many reasons why I believe Drama in education is valuable. It trains students to think about the various ways to creatively tackle a problem – without fear of getting marked down for being wrong – well before other areas of study have built a base upon which students can be creative. And to tell you the truth, I desperately want my future scientists to be bold in their hypotheses, I want my future geographers to seriously consider character and setting when they study distribution of wealth, and I want my business execs to think on their feet (not to mention be killer public speakers!). Drama builds these foundations.
At the moment I am employed by Seattle Repertory Theatre as their Education Intern. This means that I am spending most of my time these days bringing theater into the classroom, or bringing students into the theatre. But with all of the things that schools are expected to do these days – provide healthy lunches to students, educate them about substance abuse, teach sex ed (or “no sex!” ed), and provide after-school daycare, not to mention teach kids to read and write so they don’t fall through the cracks and math and science so we can keep up with China – what is the value of art? And do we have time in our busy schedules for Drama education? Why take a whole class period to do a prep workshop with a teaching artist, just to spend another full class period or two taking a field trip to the Rep to watch “The Three Musketeers”?
There are some very idealistic answers out there such as, “Art is what we live for!” or other things that invoke the soul, but I will leave metaphysics out of this discussion for now. Not because I disagree with the idealists about the power of art in the world, but because most educators I know (especially teaching artists) are incredibly down to earth about what they do. I’m sure if you asked each of them why arts in education is important, you would get several different answers. These are mine, and as I am a drama student/educator/enthusiast, they will be in the realm of drama.
DRAMA ENCOURAGES CREATIVE THINKING
In many standard classrooms – teaching any topic – there is a propensity to encourage correct answers over incorrect answers. In basic studies, such as grade-school level math, geographic memorization, scientific principles, and historic facts, the model of “correct versus incorrect” makes a ton of sense. Because 1+1=2, no matter what any “decide-for-yourself Montessori mom” may say. (I love Montessori school, but seriously? Math is not very kumbaya!) Columbus ran aground in 1492, Baton Rouge is the capitol of Louisiana, and water is made up of oxygen and hydrogen.
However, as we all find out when we get older, most of the important problems in life that we will be expected to solve are not so black and white. What is the most effective way to combat an auto-immune disorder? What transportation modes will be best for the Puget Sound region in the next ten years? What are the best financial decisions that someone can make so that their kids can go to college in fifteen years? How do we get more butts into the theater? How can one person with a given skill set most effectively make a positive impact on the world? These are all complicated questions with no correct answers, and they all require some amount of creative thinking, experimenting, failing, being bold, and outlining objectives and tactics for achieving those objectives.
The funny thing about school is that we begin to encounter gray-area questions at different points in each field. As soon as we have mastered grammatical rules, grammar class turns into a creative course on writing styles in prose and poetry. But at what point in business classes is there more than one right answer? College? 3rd year of college? Dave is in 2nd year medical school and there’s still a predominant culture of having the right answer. When med students turn into doctors they need to make judgment calls on which of several treatments will be most effective, and “being right” is more about finesse and je ne sais quoi than it was in school.
Drama education prepares students – even those who never plan to pursue drama as a career – to think creatively in these gray areas. Forgetting drama history classes for a moment, there are no correct answers in the acting classroom. There are bold choices that you need to justify. There are characters and situations you need to establish. There are requirements to think on your feet. You need to know your strengths and the strengths of your scene partner. And Drama education, unlike most other areas, does not require as much in-class foundation building as the rest of education. You have experience living in the world? Great! You get to think creatively about how you are going to approach a problem – or in drama terms, what is the tactic you are going to apply in order to overcome your obstacle and get to your objective?
And this is the first of many reasons why I believe Drama in education is valuable. It trains students to think about the various ways to creatively tackle a problem – without fear of getting marked down for being wrong – well before other areas of study have built a base upon which students can be creative. And to tell you the truth, I desperately want my future scientists to be bold in their hypotheses, I want my future geographers to seriously consider character and setting when they study distribution of wealth, and I want my business execs to think on their feet (not to mention be killer public speakers!). Drama builds these foundations.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
The Most Awesome Thing Ever!!
Ok, so maybe that's a little overboard. But, in the financial world, a Roth IRA is the most awesome thing ever. A Roth IRA is an individual retirement account that you fund with after-tax money. The current amount that you are allowed to fund is $5,000 per year. So what's so great about this thing?? Because Roth IRAs are funded after-tax (you have already paid the taxes on your income), when you take the money out when you retire, the money is taken out is not taxed. Because our government has a progressive tax structure (lower income pays a lower tax rate than higher income which pays a higher tax rate) and we are in our mid-20s, hopefully earning the least amount of money in our career, this becomes a no-brainer. Your current tax rate is somewhere between 15% and 25%, however, when you're older your tax rate could be 38% or higher (depending on who becomes president between now and then). That means the cost to you is 15% now, but could be 38% later. I say pay the taxes now and reap the benefits later.
So why doesn't everybody do this? One is that you have to be under a certain income (I believe it's $100k). Second is that you cannot take the money out until 59 1/2 years old. If you take out the money before then, then you will be major penalties. So, even if you can only put in $200 a month or whatever, set up an account with any brokerage firm (T. Rowe Price, Fidelity, Scottstrade, etc).
Best of luck and keep saving!
B-Squared
So why doesn't everybody do this? One is that you have to be under a certain income (I believe it's $100k). Second is that you cannot take the money out until 59 1/2 years old. If you take out the money before then, then you will be major penalties. So, even if you can only put in $200 a month or whatever, set up an account with any brokerage firm (T. Rowe Price, Fidelity, Scottstrade, etc).
Best of luck and keep saving!
B-Squared
Monday, September 8, 2008
Fannie, Freddie and our Bloated Government
The mess that is Fannie and Freddie is extremely confusing and honestly can't be explained in a blog setting. The next time we all meet up I'll explain. I'm sorry but I've tried to write this twice and it is just so complex that I can not write this and have it make any sense.
B-Squared
B-Squared
Sunday, September 7, 2008
What does it all mean?
Can I make a humble request to out resident financial expert, b-squared, to explain what is going on with Fannie and Freddie? It's all over the news and seems like sort of a big deal... so the government is taking them over, but what does that mean? For those of us who don't have a mortgage, should we care?
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