Good morning, all. I can't believe I'm actually up at this hour...remember the good old days when I wouldn't get to bed until 6 or 7 in the a.m.? Ahh...Memories...light the corners of my mind...
All this talk of Egg McMuffins makes me want a sausage biscuit with egg and hash browns. McDonald's breakfast used to be such a treat...I suppose it still is, though it makes me sick from all the grease now. So here I sit, eating my blueberry muffin from the local Dunkin Donuts, drinking my first glass of water for the day and thinking, GEEZ! I wish I had some real food. As you may have gathered by now, I've started watching what I eat. I've also joined...are you ready for this, Dear Readers?...a gym! It's just the YMCA, but it's a gym nonetheless. I've been going for a month and a half now and though I can't tell you how much weight I've lost (I avoid scales) I can tell you that my clothes either fit properly now or they're entirely too big. Now, you may be asking yourself, "But, Jason...when do you find the time?!?" Well, Dear, Inquisitive Reader, that's a good question and I wish I could answer it. Actually, I've been hitting the gym between the hours of 11 p.m. and 1 a.m., primarily because that's the only time I've had to get there. After forty-five minutes on the stairmaster, I can tell you with all certainty that it is nearly impossible to get to sleep, but somehow I manage. I've all but given up sodas, which has been the most difficult part for me, and I've altered my portion sizes. When I can, I choose baked or grilled over fried and I hardly ever eat a whole bag of Peanut M&Ms in one sitting anymore. ;-) I haven't told my parents--I want to surprise them when I go home in July--so I'm excited to find out if they notice a difference.
What else? Hmm... Oh, yes...the summer. Obviously, if I'm going home for a week in July, I'm not doing summerstock this year. I auditioned like a madman and still got nothing, which is part of what prompted the change in my food regiment. I'm going to take this summer, however, to reshape, rebuild and refine myself into a lean, mean singing/acting machine and by next summer people will be falling all over themselves to hire me for their seasons. In the meantime, I've decided to take a full-time receptionist job here at MTI so that I can afford to take classes and send out mailings and pay off my credit card and all that jazz. The position becomes officially available in September, and according to the figures my accountant gave me at tax time, I'll make double what I made last year AND I'll have health benefits (finally). I'm going to technically commit to one year...if I get an acting job that would merit my quitting, I can do that--if not, then I guess I'll stay on until something better rolls around. Did I mention I'll get paid vacation days as well as personal and sick days? Well, I will. It's the only logical choice to make right now, and I think it's a good one.
Theatre I've seen in the last few months: I got to see Luciano Pavarotti's final performance in TOSCA at the Met. I saw BOMBAY DREAMS. I'm seeing CAROLINE, OR CHANGE next weekend as well as the closing of GYPSY next Sunday afternoon, the new cast of 42nd STREET (shall I send my love to Shirley and Patrick, BK?), and FIDDLER ON THE ROOF (this will, God love me, make the third time since February). I've seen BEAUTY AND THE BEAST twice this season (again, God love me) and I'm eagerly anticipating the day I get a rush ticket to ASSASSINS, since I haven't seen it yet. I really want to see RAISIN IN THE SUN since I've heard such wonderful things about Audra, Phylicia and Sanaa Lathan. SIXTEEN WOUNDED, I thought, was a wonderfully written show, and even though the show itself sort of bored me, I though Jefferson Mays was brilliant in I AM MY OWN WIFE. ANNA IN THE TROPICS was pretty decent and I finally got to see Matthew and Nathan in THE PRODUCERS. TABOO frightened me, but I thought the score was enjoyable in a 80's-retro kind of way. The new production of DON GIOVANNI at the Met was splendid (I have new-found admiration for Rene Pape--he was a wonderful Leporello) and I worked way too many performances of Wagner's RING to find any of the beauty in it. GOTTERDAMMERUNG (the fourth and final installment of DER RING) is six hours long. SIX HOURS OF NOTHING HAPPENING!! I was amazed by the number of people who saw THE RING all three times all the way through. I don't have the patience for Wagner's self-indulgence, but more power to 'em if they can stay awake for all of that mess.
Gosh, I'm rambling. I think I'll quit now and see what's going on with the rest of you...
