Just before the holidays: (1) I applied for a staff position with The Classical Theatre of Harlem; (2) saw Heidi Schreck’s “What the Constitution Means to Me” (transferring to Broadway next month); and (3) TeeRico, Lin-Manuel Miranda’s official artist merch company, mailed me a thoughtful card and new notebook – (and, let me tell you, it made me feel cool).
Long story short: I landed the job and nearly filled the notebook – inspired, in no small part, by Heidi Schreck’s brilliant show. I began my last post with a blurb about the school desks placed by Nick Kozak’s Opposition Position, built for the NYC Parks and “inspired by W.E.B. Du Bois’s conviction that propaganda through the arts creates social change.” I mention them a second time because, well, I’m still there – both literally and metaphorically – wrapping my mind around ways to combine careers (law + art) to best harness my energy for good.
This post will walk through how I aim to use this site moving forward (short answer: arts advocacy). I sincerely hope you’ll stick with me.
A + B = a Portfolio in-Process…
One play, one musical. What this means: less frequent blog entries (working toward a reading of the musical late-summer/early-fall…).
C is the CENTER (here):
JMSunderduress shall remain my independent writing space, used as time and bandwidth permit.
D is for Doreen Simmons-in-Training:
Doreen Simmons (1932-2018) was a British woman who moved to Tokyo in her 40s and worked her way to a four-plus decade career as an NHK sumo commentator. She passed away mere months after I got into the sport, and has held major real estate in my brain ever since.
My 35th birthday present to myself: two school desks that now flank my writing desk, currently covered in books. A generous Christmas gift: Japanese classes and a Membership at Japan Society. I’m now at the super-early stages of developing a project to spread my sumo love to an American audience (and, in the longer-term, attend tournaments and conduct on-the-ground research in Japan).
E is for EMPLOYMENT!
Dreams come true, my friends. I’ve accepted a newly-built, full-time position with The Classical Theatre of Harlem (CTH), landing in a NYC theatre home that’s about to celebrate its 20th Anniversary AND the centennial of the Harlem Renaissance. It’s a mid-level post that combines general management and production – my arts admin sweet-spot.
BONUS FEATURE: #SomethingsGrowing
An onion sprouted recently, inside a bag on my kitchen counter. Huh. Jon and I planted it (why not), while making gluten-free matzo balls to celebrate my new job/working on our musical. …Here’s the thing: it seems to be growing – rapidly – AS we write/record music for our show, which is (1) awesome, (2) oddly motivating, (3) …a little weird (especially considering our show’s subject matter). But, overall, AWESOME.
(…unplanned EPILOGUE.)
More JMSunderduress you may enjoy…