Day Forty - Two

The other day, I listed the things I do to my son and I actually included "writing a blog". I'm actually kind of (still haven't checked on the validity of that phrase) excited by that. At the beginning, I'll be honest, this was a bit of a chore. Something I had committed myself to without thinking it through. Now I actually look forward to this time. When the kids are FINALLY asleep and it's just my laptop and me. (The fact that I am sipping Shiner Blonde and watching Bridget Jones for the twelve thousand and first time does not take away from the sincerity of the moment.)

So UM asked me to speak to my job. I have spent most of my life in Houston and to work at the Alley Theatre has been a long time dream. While I have not yet been so fortunate as to grace the stage, in a series of events that I can only add up to kismet, I have been blessed enough to be hired to teach in their children's program. (I am not saying this because my boss reads my blog, by the way.) In addition to loving theatre, I love sharing it with children. This semester is especially exciting for me because I have the opportunity to teach Shakespeare, for which I have a deep, abiding passion only rivaled by bad 70s soft rock, and of course, "Bridget Jones's Diary". Seriously, the Bard is the reason I wanted to act and I hate how it is taught in schools (sucking the works dry of all life like an Anne Rice character at a goth party).

So the Alley is really good to their teachers (again no pandering RS!) and they stress the importance of personal growth as artists. Monday, as I mentioned, was a training session and an excellent example of their commitment to us. So I am very fortunate on this front. I like it enough that I'll be driving home from Austin every Saturday to keep it up. I also believe (and hope) that it is keeping my skills honed so when I do have the opportunity to grace a stage, I'll be ready. Here's hoping. Either way, I feel very lucky to have the job and my boss (okay, a little pandering, RS -- just kidding!) and I hope that I do a service for the kids and the theatre.