What a great compliment!  It’s always nice to hear that someone enjoys being there, and that they enjoy it for the same reasons we do!  That did get me thinking, though, about imagination….

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Imagination is the voice of daring. If there is anything Godlike about God it is that. He dared to imagine everything.
Henry Miller

A rock pile ceases to be a rock pile the moment a single man contemplates it, bearing within him the image of a cathedral.
Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Trust that little voice in your head that says ‘Wouldn’t it be interesting if…’; And then do it.
Duane Michals

There is only one admirable form of the imagination: the imagination that is so intense that it creates a new reality, that it makes things happen.
Sean O’Faolain

Think left and think right and think low and think high. Oh, the thinks you can think up if only you try!
Dr. Seuss

I remember, as a boy, feeling like my Dad could make anything happen.  Like my Mom could solve a problem with a hug and a snack.  Like home was a place that was safe, and no matter what happened, I’d be okay. My brother and sister and I, with Mom and Dad, we’d be okay.

Of course, those are the thoughts of a young boy – a kid, with little experience or understanding of the world, living in a home where his folks loved and cared for him, and worked to make his world a good one.  As I grew older, teenage years happened and I rebelled, decided life sucked now and then, argued, grew up, went to college, realized – like many folks – that my parents were much smarter than my teenage self had thought, etc… overall, I had a great childhood… and as a Dad now, I work with my wife to make our home a place that my kids feel safe in.  A home that, like the one I grew up in, isn’t perfect, but is nurturing.  We work together to make their world a good one.

I’m an optimist.  Well, I think I am.  Maybe I’m an optimistic pragmatist?  My friend Suzi once called me the most cynical optimist she’d ever met, and that stuck with me.  I’m pretty sure she meant it as a compliment.

I’m rambling.  I’m bothered.  After a good, productive, nice day I got home tonight and got in bed to read the news on my iPad before falling asleep, and the Lansing State Journal had 5 articles, right in a row:

Toddler shot in chest after collision.
Man sexually assaulted infant, wife took photos.
Michigan mom, son charged in fatal shooting of girl, 12, over cell phone dispute.
Lansing Detective recounts finding boy in sex offender’s home.
Michigan woman charged with torturing boy, 3.

Jesus.  Where are we?  All of these things happened within an hour’s drive of my home. Where are we?  Not geographically.  Where are we as a people?  As a lifeform?

I spent 2 hours today talking with a great class of college students, actors, all who are about to head out for their careers.  We talked about what the theatre does, why we love doing it, how they can approach their careers and the importance of following your heart and doing something you love.

I spent the evening at the theatre, where a bunch of people came to spend an evening together.  Actors, audience, crew, staff, they all came because they wanted to be there.  I think that’s a good thing.  An important thing.  A communal thing that brings us together and can help make the world a better place one or two people at a time.

And then I came home and read the news.

And I know those stories are not indicative of everyone on the planet, and I know the world is also full of wonder and beauty and kindness.  I know those things… but I see those stories, and it’s hard to keep the good things in focus.  It’s easy to wonder what the hell is going on.  And to wonder if some of the things I think are important really ARE important.

I don’t have the answers.  I walk around my house, and I look at my son and daughter and wife, all sleeping.  I think of keeping them safe, and of the news stories I just read.  I think of my parents, and how I felt growing up.  I think of them now, in their retirement, and I think of my siblings raising their own families.  I think I want to hug my kids until they laugh and roll their eyes and say “Daaaaaaaad!”  I think of a line that Joe Zettelmaier wrote for The Sheriff in Dead Man’s Shoes: “I do my part to correct the growing wickedness in the world with small acts of goodness.”

I think we all have to keep trying, and trying hard.

I think I’m going to have a hard time sleeping tonight.

And I think I’m gonna call my parents tomorrow, just to chat.

Here’s a sampling of what I’ve been checking out!

Bars and Pubs!

Old Computers!

It’s fun to look at what the bookshelf of an 11-year old boy contains. Old roller skate, tiny metal robot, picture of himself as a baby, microscope, train whistle, Charlie Brown/Detroit Tigers bobblehead, plastic bin containing eyebolts…and a bunch of other fun things.

The Williamston Theatre is in…well, Williamston…which is also known, in slang by the local youth, as Billtown. This graffiti on the back of our theatre is, rather than bothersome, inspiring in a couple of ways… ways that will be revealed later in our season.

Dinner tonight – chorizo/potato/scrambled egg tortillas! SO good. Recipe from the great blog Two Good Eggs

This is for all the sci-fi nerds out there, and it makes me laugh!

Anyone else ever have a Family Movie Night where you rent a DVD, but still go to the movie theatre to get two large buckets of popcorn with butter?

Props from old productions: Decorating Scene Shops since…forever!

I love this shot – Saturday morning in bed with the family! Jeanne’s reading, the kids are playing a game on the iPad… Lots of relaxing and snuggling, the way a weekend morning should be.

First, Paul Wozniak of the Lansing City Pulse says the show is “Zettelmaier’s strongest script yet, sharply witty and gripping.” See the rest of the review here.

Also, Michael Margolin reviewed the show for Encore Michigan, and said it was destined to be “One of the best of the season” – you can read the review here.

I’m very proud of the work that everyone at involved in the show has done: guest Director David Wolber, the cast, company, playwright, staff and crew. Putting a big ol’ Western onstage is a bit of a risk, but one worth taking, and everyone did some wonderful work!

After helping us with the music, The Potter’s Field also re-worked the song a bit, and recorded their own version, which is just fabulous.

Listen to it here:

Then, if you’re interested, find out more about the show here:
The Williamston Theatre

Every cliche about kids is true; they grow up so quickly, you blink and they’re gone, and you have to spend the time with them now. But that’s a joy. -Liam Neeson

Fathers and mothers have lost the idea that the highest aspiration they might have for their children is for them to be wise. -Allan Bloom

Live so that when your children think of fairness and integrity, they think of you. -H. Jackson Brown

(“Sometimes, it’s hard to know what to do in life”, I said.)
Yeah…but that’s what I have you for. -Maggie Caselli

Today my daughter got her braces removed! I don’t remember being old enough to have a teenager having braces removed… but there she is.

Here’s what it can look like when a Director and a Set Designer have their first meeting about a set! We chatted about the play over the phone first, to discuss “approach” and the play as a whole. Then, a few days later, we had a 40 minute sit-down discussion, and left with a starting point! Fun, and exciting. Now to sit down and re-read the play with the starting point in mind…

Ah, another one of those kids I don’t feel old enough to have. This evening we sneaked out to do some shopping for Jeanne’s birthday. (Don’t tell her, it’s a secret!) (Well, the shopping part is… she already knows about her birthday.)

This last one is fun…. it’s from USA TODAY (By Kirill Kudryavtsev, AFP/Getty Images), and the caption read:
A woman sips a cup of cappuccino with the portrait of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, created with cinnamon and cocoa powder, floating on top at a coffee shop in Moscow.

I think the next time I’m in Starbucks, I’m going to ask for a nice President Obama made out of cinnamon and cocoa on my Pumpkin Spice Latte…

Now I’ll send it out on Twitter, and enjoy the irony of that…

The secret is to gang up on the problem, rather than each other.
– Thomas Stallkamp

Individual commitment to a group effort – that is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work.
-Vince Lombardi

When we are debating an issue, loyalty means giving me your honest opinion, whether you think I’ll like it or not. Disagreement, at this stage, stimulates. But once a decision has been made, the debate ends. From that point on, loyalty means executing the decision as if it were your own.
-Colin Powell

Respect your fellow human being, treat them fairly, disagree with them honestly, enjoy their friendship, explore your thoughts about one another candidly, work together for a common goal and help one another achieve it.
-Bill Bradley

You can succeed best and quickest by helping others to succeed.
-Napoleon Hill