God is in the Wind

Last night, while cat sitting in the Oakland Hills, I had a good view to catch the NYE fireworks that were happening in San Francisco. For the first time, in a long time, I could see the fireworks clearly because the wind had blown the fog away. It’s rare that this happens in the Bay Area and I couldn’t help but think that God was trying to tell me something about how even though I don’t like wind (it’s messy, annoying, uncomfortable, unpredictable) it’s sometimes necessary because it blows away what is blurring my vision, so I can see more clearly what’s really going on.  God is in the wind.

I’m not one for making New Years Resolutions, and I know I say that every year. But I always feel like I need to write something down so I can look back at it a year from now and see how far I have come.

2018 was a busy year for me- performance wise. I know that’s a good thing, but I also noticed how tired I was for much of the time. I wish I had an endless supply of energy. I wish performing only gave me more energy- but I’m an introvert, so being on stage doing solo performance actually wipes me out.

Then why do it?  I wish I knew.  I think Steve Martin recently said something to the effect of “doing a show with Marty” (Martin Short) made him realize it was the first time he wanted to perform, verses having to perform.

I am assuming he felt like he could maybe relax more on stage and enjoy the ride because not everything was riding on his shoulders because he was no longer the only one on the stage.  If that’s the case, then I totally get it. For the most part, I usually perform because I feel like I have to- like it’s this itch I must scratch, but I don’t necessarily want to.  And yes, being on stage with other people definitely takes the pressure off. I get it. This is the part where I say something cheesy like “but how do I share the stage with God so I don’t feel like all the pressure is on me?”  I don’t know.

Then there are other solo performers who do not want to share the stage because they do not want to share the attention.  I don’t mind sharing.

2018 brought comedian Hannah Gadsby to the forefront with her solo show “Nanette” on Netflix.  It was part stand up, but then it really veered into more of a one woman show with powerful vulnerability and honesty that I found inspiring.  Then she would bring the humor back. Amazing skills.  Not easy to do.

Then this morning I woke up and watched a video of comedian Tiffany Haddish “bomb” (by stand- up standards) at her New Years Eve show last night. But watching her weed through the rubble of her fresh material, (I think she was working out some personal issues out that weren’t ready for the stage yet), I enjoyed watching her creative process-turning pain into jokes.  Not that the pain isn’t to be taken seriously- humor is just another way to communicate the pain.  Again, it was inspiring.

I don’t have a point to this post. I am just hoping I “catch wind” (wah wah) of what God is doing for 2019 in my life.

Happy New Year!

This how crazy the wind was last night in San Francisco. The one newscast on Channel 4 that showed our fireworks!

NYE Cat Sitter Selfie

 

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People, People Who Need People…

I have my final performance of 2018 tonight (unless I get some last minute invitation to perform on NYE-but I am not holding my breath).  Information at bottom of post.

I try to take the day off of work when I have a show that night.  I haven’t figured out how to conserve enough energy to do both.  There are some extroverted performers who can just go and go and go- but I am not one of them.  I need a ridiculous amount of alone time when prepping for a performance. Even when it’s only 20 minutes.

My background is theater, which means I prefer to not talk to anyone at all until after my show is over- because it can throw me off mentally and emotionally.  The problem is- that kind of solitude is not possible in real life.  I have to take public transportation to the theater.  There are people on the train.  I have to run a quick tech rehearsal before a show- again, more people.  I have to sit backstage with other performers before the show begins.  Even more people!  And no, I do not like listening to music with ear buds on.  I prefer silence.  But I don’t get that luxury in theater life.

I think this is partly why I love going on first when there are multiple people on the bill. Tonight I go on first out of five performers.   I get it done and over with, then I can relax and enjoy the rest of the performers!

I will be doing a 20 minute excerpt of my current one woman show “Born Again in Berkeley” at the Marsh Theater tonight.  So come on out on a Monday night in the Mission District in the beautiful city of San Francisco.  And be part of the people that I actually need in order to have a show!

Tickets:

Monday Night Marsh
December  17th
The Marsh Theater
1062 Valencia Street, San Francisco (near 24th Street BART station)
Show Info:
Time: Doors open at 7:00pm | Performances start at 7:30pm
Tickets Online: $8 – $15 sliding scale
Tickets At the Door: $10 – $15 sliding scale
All seating for these performances are first-come, first-served.
Performances take place in the Main Stage Theater in San Francisco

Short Term Memory Loss+ 2 Shows!!

Today is my birthday.  Current mood:

I can’t possibly be 48 years old today.  Wasn’t I just 28 years old a minute ago?

Today is the first birthday I have ever had where I woke up and forgot it was my birthday.  Only for a few minutes.  And then I saw all the Happy Birthday FB posts and texts from loved ones.  Getting older is a trip.  My short term memory is not what it once was.

There is good and bad with short term memory loss.  The bad is- I forget I have food in my refrigerator and go grocery shopping instead.  The good is- I forget to worry about things I used to worry about.  It’s like not only do I not have the energy to worry anymore, I simply forget to.  I count that as a win.

Speaking of poor memory- I keep forgetting to tell people I have two performances coming up.  I will be doing a 20 minute excerpt of my current one woman show “Born Again in Berkeley” at the Marsh Theater in San Francisco next month.  I will performing alongside four other solo performers.  So come on out on a Monday night in the Mission District in the beautiful city of San Francisco:

The ticket link should be up soon.  Keep trying here for December ticket dates:

Monday Night Marsh

December 3rd and 17th

The Marsh Theater

1062 Valencia Street, San Francisco (near 24th Street BART station)

Show Info:

Time: Doors open at 7:00pm | Performances start at 7:30pm
Tickets Online: $8 – $15 sliding scale
Tickets At the Door: $10 – $15 sliding scale
All seating for these performances are first-come, first-served.
Performances take place in the Main Stage Theater in San Francisco

 

 

 

It’s a Scream Baby!

So there I was in 1996, standing in for Neve Campbell (whose name I mispronounced  during my job interview) in this obscure film titled “Scary Movie” filming out in the middle of nowhere in Northern California.  It was maybe my third time I had been on a movie set, so I was pretty green.  I had to learn quickly “on the job” what the heck I was doing there.

I just knew that this movie was listed in the back pages of the Hollywood Reporter as “Comedy/Horror“, and that it was being directed by Wes Craven, and  that the Fonz was in it- (plus a bunch of up and coming young actors, who I was not familiar with).

I could not have foreseen this “little movie that could” would gross over $200 million dollars and spawn a four movie franchise.  Say what? When it originally opened in limited release to theaters in my area, it was playing at a $2 movie house and there was hardly anyone in the theater the first time I saw it.

The first time I saw “Scream“, I laughed. I laughed through the whole movie. It wasn’t scary to me at all. I already knew what was going to happen. I was just impressed that the jokes really landed.  But then something weird happened.  It started picking up steam, gained a following, went into wide release and then the rest is history.

I haven’t been back at the location where the huge party scene took place in years, but tomorrow, I get to return to the scene of the crimes, as a special guest, for this event. Join me if you dare:

https://www.screamcomeshome.com/

 

OCTOBER FESTIVAL PERFORMANCE!

I am performing a 40 minute version of my latest solo show “Born Again in Berkeley” at the Times Unseen Festival at the Marsh Theater this month! Half of it will be brand new material, so I am freaking out a little.

DATES:

Saturday, October 20th, 8:30pm

Sunday, October 21st, 4:30pm

BUY TICKETS HERE

There are 15 performances in 3 days, so stick around and catch as many shows as possible! Hope to see you at a show!

 

 

 

Sunday, Sept 23rd! Next Show!

“BORN AGAIN IN BERKELEY”

Theresa has a secret. In the Bay Area, where people are flinging open their closet doors, she’s not sure she’ll be accepted.  Help Theresa come out………as a Christian.

Sunday, September 23rd – “Solo Sundays” 

20 minute performance (with three other performers-I go on first!)

Stage Werx, 446 Valencia Street, San Francisco

Doors at 6:30pm, show at 7pm. $15 at door

TICKETS

THE FOUR PERFORMERS:

THERESA DONAHOE
————————————–
“Born Again in Berkeley”

Theresa’s atheist boss makes fun of her for being a Christian every opportunity he can get.  So imagine her surprise when she finds out the reason he trusts her to cat-sit for him at his Oakland apartment while he is out town is because . . . he knows she will take care of his cats, she won’t drink his wine, and she won’t have anyone in his bed.
Since Theresa’s boss is out town most of the time, she pretty much moves into his place- rent free.  She clears out a couple of drawers, takes up half his closet, and puts up Christian themed magnets and stickers all over the apartment.
But when her boss finally comes back into town, he takes them all down – except for the ones by the cats litter boxes.  When she asks him why, he says,
Well, Its up to the cats to decide what faith they want to believe in.

MARGA GOMEZ
——————————————
“Latin Standards”

Marga is a driven adult child of a blustery Cuban showman. As an impractical tribute to his memory, she defies reason and launches a hipster comedy night at “Esta Noche,” a doomed Mission district drag club, during the onset of San Franciscos gentrification crisis. Margas girlfriend, who is too young and too blonde, worries Marga is committing career suicide and reads her all the Esta Noche bad Yelps from off of her phone in passionate vocal fry.  And still Marga persists, cheerfully promising,  “Esta Noche might smell like bleach and urinal cake now. But potpourri can fix that. I’ll buy all the potpourri in town. Because my father taught me you have to spend money to make money!”

KENNY YUN
______________________________________
Couch Potato Panda Rituals

It’s 1:30am. Kenny is paralyzed on the couch. Bay Area new agers told him to move on so it should be easy. Texting him memes of unicorns shitting zen quotes and rainbows fixes everything, right?

ANNETTE ROMAN
————————————–
“Inauguration Vacation”

January, 2017: Annette flies 3,000 miles to protest Trumps inauguration. This isn’t anything like the inauguration she attended eight years ago… And then she is accosted by a certain infamous conspiracy theorist recently banned from social media platforms. Given her commitment to non-violent communication, how will she handle his incoherent blast of invective and condescension?

 

FUTURE PERFORMANCE DATES FOR “BORN AGAIN IN BERKELEY”:

Saturday-Sunday, October 20-21- Part of the “Times Unseen Festival”

The Marsh Theater, San Francisco

More information to come…

 

And in other news…

IT’S A SCREAM BABY!

Back in 1996, for three months of my life, I worked on the horror movie “Scream” as a stand-in for Neve Campbell.  It was only the second time I had ever been on a movie set and little did I know that this little low budget indie movie filming in Sonoma County, would end up being a sleeper hit, spawning three sequels, and grossing over $200 million dollars?

Celebrating the loyal fan base of Scream, this upcoming Halloween weekend (October 27-28) is an event titled “Scream Comes Home” that will be taking place in Tomales Bay at one of the main locations we filmed at.  I reached out to the producers to simply ask about getting a discount for this event, and instead, ended up being asked to join a Q&A panel with other cast and crew members.  I haven’t been back at this location since working on the movie and am looking forward to sharing memories with the fans.

Performance Dates and More!

“BORN AGAIN IN BERKELEY”

Theresa has a secret. In the Bay Area, where people are flinging open their closet doors, she’s not sure she’ll be accepted.  Help Theresa come out………as a Christian.

DATES:

Monday, Sept 10th

20 minute performance (with four other performers, 20 minutes each, I go on third )

Berkeley Marsh Theater, 2120 Allston Way

Doors at 7pm, show at 7:30pm. $8 at door

Sunday, September 23rd – “Solo Sundays” 

20 minute performance (with three other performers)

Stage Werx, 446 Valencia Street, San Francisco

Doors at 6:30pm, show at 7pm. $15 at door

Fri-Sunday, October 19-21- Part of the “Times Unseen Festival”

Marsh Theater, San Francisco

More information to come…

 

And in other news…

IT’S A SCREAM BABY!

Back in 1996, for three months of my life, I worked on the horror movie “Scream” as a stand-in for Neve Campbell.  It was only the second time I had ever been on a movie set and little did I know that this little low budget indie movie filming in Sonoma County, would end up being a sleeper hit, spawning three sequels, and grossing over $200 million dollars?

Celebrating the loyal fan base of Scream, this upcoming Halloween weekend (October 27-28) is an event titled “Scream Comes Home” that will be taking place in Tomales Bay at one of the main locations we filmed at.  I reached out to the producers to simply ask about getting a discount for this event, and instead, ended up being asked to join a Q&A panel with other cast and crew members.  I haven’t been back at this location since working on the movie and am looking forward to sharing memories with the fans.