Interviews Whee!!!
Okay, I’ll bite for this meme :)
1. Leave me a comment saying, “Interview me.”
2. I will respond by asking you five questions. I get to pick the questions.
3. You will update your blog/site with the answers to the questions and leave the answers as comments on my blog.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five
question
Warning: These are my VERY LONG responses to three of those interview things. You are under absolutely no obligation to read on.
May I first say that this feels deliciously self-indulgent. Don’t you think that each of us has a secret little hidden part that would like to be famous just so that we would have permission to talk about ourselves all the time? I know that sounds awful, but it’s the gods’ honest truth.
dncr0224’s Interview
1.Writing seems to be a very big passion of yours, where do you find inspiration for things you write?
Real life. Sure, I write about fantasy situations sometimes, but I really like it when the cores of the characters are based in things that I know something about or have experienced in my life. I am thoroughly impressed by people who can convincingly create completely different realities (my friend M-A is excellent at this, methinks), but I don’t think that’s my strength. I also use my writing, sometimes, to have the opportunity to try something or be someone that I will never be in my real life (a true villain, a hyperactive little girl, a lesbian…whatever). Like acting, writing is the opportunity to try out new personas. You only get to actually live one life. Both writing and acting let you cheat that rule a little.
2. Working with kids every summer must require a VERY large amount of patience, what is it that gives you that drive to be able to deal with putting together a show with SO many kids?
One time a mother of five very complex adopted children who were all in the UPD program came up to me after a rehearsal and said, “I just don’t know how you do this. You stay so positive and you get so much out of these kids.” I looked at her, stunned, and said simply, “I don’t have to take them home with me. I don’t know how you do it.” Not having to take them home with me helps. I love these kids. They are difficult sometimes, but they are also creative and wonderful and giving and so willing to TRY everything. In this way, they are so much easier to work with than adults, who often think that they already know everything. The younger the actor the more willing s/he is to actually learn new things…this is not always the case, but often it is. I am also driven by the fact that so many people have such low expectations for what kids can do (“Oh, it’s just a KIDS show.”). This pisses me off and I really love to show these people how very wrong they are.
3. Being both a Director and an Actor, is it easier to convey what you want to the actors? Do you ever find it hard because you know you would play a character a different way, and find that you want your actors to play it how you would?
This is three questions cheater cheater. :) a) You would really have to ask the actors who I have worked with if I am good at conveying my message to them. I think that I learn a lot about how to communicate with actors when I am working with other directors and a lot about how to communicate with directors when I am working with other actors, but…who knows really? b) Yes, sometimes it is hard to resist the temptation to play the role for your actors, but I believe strongly that it is my job as a director to help actors “own” the character for themselves. Sometimes this means letting go of how I picture the role being played a bit and letting them find new options. Often, I am pleasantly surprised when actors find something in a character that is so much better than anything I ever would’ve thought of .
4. Hot Diggity! is a whole new chapter to your life. What brought about the desire to open a store of your own?
Okay, honestly, I don’t like having a boss, so that is part of it. I have always sort of wanted to run my own business. I loved the idea of owning a business that appealed to young people so that I could interact with them on their own terms instead of insisting that they bow to my will. Teaching was a bad match for me, because I am a terrible cop. I don’t like spending my whole day forcing people to do things that they don’t want to do.
5. You have one sexy hubby. How did you guys meet and when were you married, where, etc.? DETAILS!!!
Thanks! I think he’s pretty sexy too :) Well, we went to the same middle school, high school and university, and we didn’t meet until I was student teaching in the room next to his at Urbana Middle School (he was already a math teacher there). Once we started hanging out, we almost immediately fell in love due, in part, to 10 years of common history (we felt like we’d known each other forever). He was the first man I’d ever been with who wanted to be with me more than he needed me and that was incredibly comforting. He was also on my intellectual level, which was HUGE for me. We got engaged after dating for less than a year and got married at McKinley Presbyterian Church on July 8, 2000 (I insisted that we marry in a church that would also marry same-sex couples and McKinley happened to be the church that Dan had grown up in...an added bonus).
Illinigurl33’s Interview
1. Why UPD shows? And why directing? (Sorry, that question's kinda extended...)
Ellie Sanders (who started the UPD program) was one of my greatest role models. When she suggested that I try for the directing position for the UPD program when it became available, I had to do it. Once I started, it changed my life completely. The kids in the summer program are family to me and the program is one of my deepest passions. I love directing, because I imagine in pictures, both big and small, and I like to have my hands in every aspect of a production. I love directing this program, because the kids are so amazing and fun and talented…and I love watching them grow into themselves, gaining skills and confidence and wonder as they go. It’s amazing feeling like I had a hand in that (however small).
2. How's Hot Diggity going? Any upcoming changes?
This quarter’s been pretty slow. We have our website (www.getdiggity.com) complete with webstore up and running now, but it hasn’t really caught on out there in the world yet, so…we’ll keep working at that. I’d also like to get a lot more performances happening here. Any ideas?
3. How long have you been an Illini fan?
Well, I have lived in Chambanaland for my whole life, so I have at least half-heartedly rooted for the Illini forever. However, the only team that I *really* care about with any great passion is the Illini Men’s Basketball team. I got into them back in the 88-89 (Flying Illini) and 89-90 seasons. During that time, I was the manager/statistician for the Columbia/Franklin Middle School Girl’s Basketball teams. They were amazing. I believe that, in the 89-90 season, our girls went undefeated in the regular season. It was a great ride and came right after the amazing Illini season. That year, many of the girls from the team went to the Illini Men’s Basketball Banquet together. In high school, I had more theatre opportunities and less time for basketball. In college, I didn’t really follow the team. When Dan and I got together, he rekindled my love for Illini Men’s Basketball. He had been an active fan pretty much since birth. He and I got season tickets up in the nosebleeds together for the 2001-2002 season and have hardly missed a game (or a banquet) since.
4. If you could be doing anything at all right now (regardless of time, money, etc...), what would it be?
There are so many things that I would like to do. It would be pretty cool to be in New Orleans, hanging out in the French Quarter. Umm…but if you’re talking on a more permanent basis, it would be cool to get paid to direct and/or write full time.
5. What's your dream role/show?
There are so many roles that I would like to play before I get too old…the list is far too long to print…but there are also a lot of roles that I would love to play that I care much less about now than I once did. Louise in Gypsy was always my ultimate dream role, and your dad helped me live out that fantasy. That will probably always be in my top five best theatrical experiences. Right now, it is much easier for me to come up with a shortlist of shows I’d like to direct, actually: The Full Monty; Ragtime; Sideshow & Stop Kiss.
never_fear’s Interview
1.) As a child, what did you think you would "be" when you grew up? Don't say astronaut.
Funny, I never actually thought about being an astronaut. When I was a kid, I thought that I would be a famous actress.
2.) You left a stable, decent-paying job as a teacher to open up a toy store. How has this changed your life, and do you have any regrets?
Well, it has changed my life in positive ways in that I actually enjoy my job for basically the first time in my adult life…and I feel like I’m really *creating* something, which is huge for me. However, it has also changed my life in negative ways in that we do not have any real financial stability. It’s been a risk, but a calculated risk. I have no regrets…even if this doesn’t work out. My only regret would have been if I hadn’t at least given this dream a shot.
3.) Who would you cast to play your role in the Broadway adaptation of your life story?
I want Drew Barrymore ;) But if it’s a musical, I think that I would want April Cleveland (one of the girls who has been in my summer theatre program) to play me. She’s got a phenomenal voice, and I think that she could capture the sort of goofy awkwardness that is me better than any big oh-so-perfect starlet could.
4.) What do you consider to be your greatest achievement?
Marrying Dan. That is, at least, the thing that I have done that has had the greatest positive effect on my life and the lives of my loved ones. In terms of creative accomplishments, I am also very proud of my work with the UPD summer theatre program and of the two musicals that Drew Edwards and I have written together.
5.) What book could I read to discover hidden insights into your persona?
Whoa! Well, I don’t show my darker side quite as much as I once did, so probably Lost Souls or Drawing Blood by Poppy Z. Brite.
1. Leave me a comment saying, “Interview me.”
2. I will respond by asking you five questions. I get to pick the questions.
3. You will update your blog/site with the answers to the questions and leave the answers as comments on my blog.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five
question
Warning: These are my VERY LONG responses to three of those interview things. You are under absolutely no obligation to read on.
May I first say that this feels deliciously self-indulgent. Don’t you think that each of us has a secret little hidden part that would like to be famous just so that we would have permission to talk about ourselves all the time? I know that sounds awful, but it’s the gods’ honest truth.
dncr0224’s Interview
1.Writing seems to be a very big passion of yours, where do you find inspiration for things you write?
Real life. Sure, I write about fantasy situations sometimes, but I really like it when the cores of the characters are based in things that I know something about or have experienced in my life. I am thoroughly impressed by people who can convincingly create completely different realities (my friend M-A is excellent at this, methinks), but I don’t think that’s my strength. I also use my writing, sometimes, to have the opportunity to try something or be someone that I will never be in my real life (a true villain, a hyperactive little girl, a lesbian…whatever). Like acting, writing is the opportunity to try out new personas. You only get to actually live one life. Both writing and acting let you cheat that rule a little.
2. Working with kids every summer must require a VERY large amount of patience, what is it that gives you that drive to be able to deal with putting together a show with SO many kids?
One time a mother of five very complex adopted children who were all in the UPD program came up to me after a rehearsal and said, “I just don’t know how you do this. You stay so positive and you get so much out of these kids.” I looked at her, stunned, and said simply, “I don’t have to take them home with me. I don’t know how you do it.” Not having to take them home with me helps. I love these kids. They are difficult sometimes, but they are also creative and wonderful and giving and so willing to TRY everything. In this way, they are so much easier to work with than adults, who often think that they already know everything. The younger the actor the more willing s/he is to actually learn new things…this is not always the case, but often it is. I am also driven by the fact that so many people have such low expectations for what kids can do (“Oh, it’s just a KIDS show.”). This pisses me off and I really love to show these people how very wrong they are.
3. Being both a Director and an Actor, is it easier to convey what you want to the actors? Do you ever find it hard because you know you would play a character a different way, and find that you want your actors to play it how you would?
This is three questions cheater cheater. :) a) You would really have to ask the actors who I have worked with if I am good at conveying my message to them. I think that I learn a lot about how to communicate with actors when I am working with other directors and a lot about how to communicate with directors when I am working with other actors, but…who knows really? b) Yes, sometimes it is hard to resist the temptation to play the role for your actors, but I believe strongly that it is my job as a director to help actors “own” the character for themselves. Sometimes this means letting go of how I picture the role being played a bit and letting them find new options. Often, I am pleasantly surprised when actors find something in a character that is so much better than anything I ever would’ve thought of .
4. Hot Diggity! is a whole new chapter to your life. What brought about the desire to open a store of your own?
Okay, honestly, I don’t like having a boss, so that is part of it. I have always sort of wanted to run my own business. I loved the idea of owning a business that appealed to young people so that I could interact with them on their own terms instead of insisting that they bow to my will. Teaching was a bad match for me, because I am a terrible cop. I don’t like spending my whole day forcing people to do things that they don’t want to do.
5. You have one sexy hubby. How did you guys meet and when were you married, where, etc.? DETAILS!!!
Thanks! I think he’s pretty sexy too :) Well, we went to the same middle school, high school and university, and we didn’t meet until I was student teaching in the room next to his at Urbana Middle School (he was already a math teacher there). Once we started hanging out, we almost immediately fell in love due, in part, to 10 years of common history (we felt like we’d known each other forever). He was the first man I’d ever been with who wanted to be with me more than he needed me and that was incredibly comforting. He was also on my intellectual level, which was HUGE for me. We got engaged after dating for less than a year and got married at McKinley Presbyterian Church on July 8, 2000 (I insisted that we marry in a church that would also marry same-sex couples and McKinley happened to be the church that Dan had grown up in...an added bonus).
Illinigurl33’s Interview
1. Why UPD shows? And why directing? (Sorry, that question's kinda extended...)
Ellie Sanders (who started the UPD program) was one of my greatest role models. When she suggested that I try for the directing position for the UPD program when it became available, I had to do it. Once I started, it changed my life completely. The kids in the summer program are family to me and the program is one of my deepest passions. I love directing, because I imagine in pictures, both big and small, and I like to have my hands in every aspect of a production. I love directing this program, because the kids are so amazing and fun and talented…and I love watching them grow into themselves, gaining skills and confidence and wonder as they go. It’s amazing feeling like I had a hand in that (however small).
2. How's Hot Diggity going? Any upcoming changes?
This quarter’s been pretty slow. We have our website (www.getdiggity.com) complete with webstore up and running now, but it hasn’t really caught on out there in the world yet, so…we’ll keep working at that. I’d also like to get a lot more performances happening here. Any ideas?
3. How long have you been an Illini fan?
Well, I have lived in Chambanaland for my whole life, so I have at least half-heartedly rooted for the Illini forever. However, the only team that I *really* care about with any great passion is the Illini Men’s Basketball team. I got into them back in the 88-89 (Flying Illini) and 89-90 seasons. During that time, I was the manager/statistician for the Columbia/Franklin Middle School Girl’s Basketball teams. They were amazing. I believe that, in the 89-90 season, our girls went undefeated in the regular season. It was a great ride and came right after the amazing Illini season. That year, many of the girls from the team went to the Illini Men’s Basketball Banquet together. In high school, I had more theatre opportunities and less time for basketball. In college, I didn’t really follow the team. When Dan and I got together, he rekindled my love for Illini Men’s Basketball. He had been an active fan pretty much since birth. He and I got season tickets up in the nosebleeds together for the 2001-2002 season and have hardly missed a game (or a banquet) since.
4. If you could be doing anything at all right now (regardless of time, money, etc...), what would it be?
There are so many things that I would like to do. It would be pretty cool to be in New Orleans, hanging out in the French Quarter. Umm…but if you’re talking on a more permanent basis, it would be cool to get paid to direct and/or write full time.
5. What's your dream role/show?
There are so many roles that I would like to play before I get too old…the list is far too long to print…but there are also a lot of roles that I would love to play that I care much less about now than I once did. Louise in Gypsy was always my ultimate dream role, and your dad helped me live out that fantasy. That will probably always be in my top five best theatrical experiences. Right now, it is much easier for me to come up with a shortlist of shows I’d like to direct, actually: The Full Monty; Ragtime; Sideshow & Stop Kiss.
never_fear’s Interview
1.) As a child, what did you think you would "be" when you grew up? Don't say astronaut.
Funny, I never actually thought about being an astronaut. When I was a kid, I thought that I would be a famous actress.
2.) You left a stable, decent-paying job as a teacher to open up a toy store. How has this changed your life, and do you have any regrets?
Well, it has changed my life in positive ways in that I actually enjoy my job for basically the first time in my adult life…and I feel like I’m really *creating* something, which is huge for me. However, it has also changed my life in negative ways in that we do not have any real financial stability. It’s been a risk, but a calculated risk. I have no regrets…even if this doesn’t work out. My only regret would have been if I hadn’t at least given this dream a shot.
3.) Who would you cast to play your role in the Broadway adaptation of your life story?
I want Drew Barrymore ;) But if it’s a musical, I think that I would want April Cleveland (one of the girls who has been in my summer theatre program) to play me. She’s got a phenomenal voice, and I think that she could capture the sort of goofy awkwardness that is me better than any big oh-so-perfect starlet could.
4.) What do you consider to be your greatest achievement?
Marrying Dan. That is, at least, the thing that I have done that has had the greatest positive effect on my life and the lives of my loved ones. In terms of creative accomplishments, I am also very proud of my work with the UPD summer theatre program and of the two musicals that Drew Edwards and I have written together.
5.) What book could I read to discover hidden insights into your persona?
Whoa! Well, I don’t show my darker side quite as much as I once did, so probably Lost Souls or Drawing Blood by Poppy Z. Brite.