Gone Hollywood or on tour with On Tour.

LA. It goes by many names: City of Angels, La La Land, Southland, and sometimes Hollywood's nickname -Tinsel Town. Of course, years ago the urban sprawl that is Los Angeles became synonymous with it's smaller district-Hollywood just as Hollywood became a metonym for all American cinematic endeavors. The independent film industry came west around 1910 to escape the machinations of the Motion Picture Patents Company also known as the Edison Trust and co-opted many of the then Orange fields. The trust controlled all film making and distribution and was an alliance of all the major companies. The trust was weakened in 1911 when Eastman Kodak renegotiated with the Trust to sell raw film stock outside of the trust. By WWI, European film production halted and Hollywood began producing feature length films in a State with a judicial system that was unfriendly to Patent lawsuits. The New York/East Coast based monopolies were slow to create feature length movies and by 1915, the Federal government broke up the monopoly. With the triumph of Cecil B. DeMille's The Squaw Man and D.W. Griffith's Birth of a Nation, Hollywood and Los Angeles' reputation as the film making capital of the world was secured. The recording industry and Television followed in the forties and fifties reinvigorating the reputation of the town as a total Entertainment capital.

Los Angeles today is still the center of a multi-media entertainment industry. Many people, who come to visit LA don't get that. They see the horrendous traffic, the tons of stereotypical actor "types" and the massive hype from huge billboards to lamp post banners and they make their jokes. But they just don't get it. They don't get LA. The core of LA, The West Side, Hollywood & Downtown and surrounding areas of Burbank, Studio City, Santa Monica, much of the San Fernando Valley & some of the Beach Cities is made up of a lot people who work in the industry, many others support the industry with multitudes of service oriented businesses. I would guess that maybe 50% of the population is not indigenous or descended from the indigenous population. That group came to LA for the industry. Ironically, many born here, who loathe the industry's side effects, want to get out, many can't but many are biding their time.

Most of LA is friendly and very laid back but with good reason. Comedians joke about the bleaching effects of the sun being the reason, but it is simpler than that. It's the industry effect. Almost everyone is friendly because they never know who they are talking to and who might one day change their fortune. Yes, their is a certain degree of "Eddie Haskell" phoniness but it is still friendly which is better than surly. Bad behavior often comes from the most successful or quickly successful, who become drunk with fame and excess as wells addled by booze and drugs like Lindsay Lohan and Charlie Sheen. The laid back pace and attitude is also easily explained. The sheer size of the population area and the variety of geographical features- mountains, valleys, beaches and the accompanying road congestion manifests itself in fostering a laid back attitude because- why hurry when the traffic will only hold you up. It's hard to hurry when the top speeds on most roads don't reach 40 mph. Heck, the so called Freeways barely reach 50 in non rush periods and crawl at rush times. It must be terribly ironic to sit in 5 to 8 lane bumper to bumper Freeway traffic and have to read the sign that says Speed Limit: 65. So, if you can't rush- relax! Hence, a laid back personality permeates the region.

I love it. Cruising the avenues and boulevards of " broken dreams" , you begin to appreciate the 50's concept of "cruising" as depicted in films like American Graffiti. My friends and I thought we were cruising our local towns when we were in High School but we were going much too fast by LA standards. Driving the local streets of LA's core is a pleasure. The street signs are informative and the traffic is so leisurely that it is easy to find most any address. Driving around you can easily see the sights and appreciate the architecture from the drivers seat. And then there is the weather: why rush when the weather is so beautiful and mild so much of the year. The average temperature is 72. There is a glory in the mountains, the flora and fauna,when not sun bleached by the sun, especially the succulents, that can be quite beautiful.
For an outsider, there are always cultural differences in each part of the country. LA has it's share of neighborhood variety but nothing out of the ordinary. The once distinctive minorities seem to blend much more into the mix but perhaps that's because they blend so well across the urban centers of the country. No, it's not the people who stand out but the messages of the media. Hollywood's Seeming demand that people be " beautiful" has reached ridiculous heights. Yes, the TV news people are the most plastic anywhere in the world but the need to be " beautiful" now extends to commercial ads, complete with jingles, for Lap band surgery. The lyrics are something like " If you want good things to begin Just call 1-800- GET -THIN" !!! Yikes!
Other than that disturbing note, this has been a wonderfully relaxed portion of my trip. I am "On Tour" in more ways than one. Part of my purpose in coming to LA was to see friends and alums. The visits have exceeded all my expectations. Roy Schwartz from '88, now a business man and musician, met me at the airport, drove me to my rental car and then took me to see Billy Kaplan and Scott Smolev, class of '91 who were working Audio production on a new NBC reality show Fashion Star, at Culver Studios. This was where they filmed parts of Gone With the Wind. In fact, the administration building was used for David O. Selznick's company logo.

Roy and I were surprised to see that alumna actress and writer, Adria Lang, class of '94, was doing production work for them as well.

That evening Adria drove me to the Silverlake section of town to meet with Janet Song, class of '88 who graciously invited me to a Dodger game. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience even though the Dodgers lost. Janet is acting and working or a major health organization, where she often works on theatrical events.

Thursday, I made my way to Burbank for lunch and a tour of Disney Animation Studios from Mike Weissman, class of '06.

Friday, found me back in Burbank.( albeit after a missed turn put me on a harrowing ride on the 101 Freeway. It is near impossible to cross 6 lanes of moderate traffic to try and make an exit on a ramp that is less than a 1/4 mile from the entrance: I got off at the second exit instead).
I finally made it to Warner Brothers Studio ranch for lunch and a tour of Warner Animation Studios with recent Emmy winner, Kevin Schinick, class of '87 and creative force behind Mad TV on cartoon network, ad his brother Scott, class of '91( one of my English students.

Friday night, I had dinner with old college friends, Phil and Monica Rosenthal, their son Ben and their friends. Phil is also a multi- Emmy award winning writer and producer and Monica is a successful actress. They took me to the exquisite restaurant, Mozza, a creation of Mario Batali and his partners. I am very grateful to them for their warm hospitality and I had a really good time.

Later that night, I went for drinks with Brett Lewis, class of '89. Brett is a comic book artist and writer and he has also written for animation and had his work adapted into film.

The hotel was in a great location and had a roof top pool area. I spent my free time making good use of it.

Saturday, I had lunch with Bari Harelick Winter and her husband. They are both editors, he's in sound and she's in film & video. Friday evening, I went with Adria to see a very funny play, ReAnimator: the Musical. It was wonderful silliness. After that I had a late dinner at the famous Canter's Deli with actor Richard Werner, class of 86, my very first year with On Tour. There were a few others that I wanted to see but time and obligations prevented us. However, I was surprised as I was leaving Canter's. As I was speaking to Rich, a young man was walking into the Deli and I recognized him and he me. It was Stu Silverman, class of '95, who I didn't even know was in LA. He is now a successful editor, as well. These things always happen to me. Truly, it's a small world.

Sunday, I had breakfast with the ’91 group, spent the remainder of the day hanging out with Roy until I had to go to the airport and then flew off to Chicago.

The LA leg of my tour has been very successful on many levels. It has been relaxing and refreshing, informative and enlightening and it is always great to see and share good times with old friends. For all these friendships, I am truly blessed. It is also particularly rewarding to see so many students excel in the very tough fields of the arts.



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

The blog is back

It has only been 4 years since the last entry. Just sayin. Anyhow, here we go again. A redesign and first post is a new poem that I wrote while watching a documentary on New York. The Coney Island section was the influence of the observation.I'm hopingbthis can be another new use for my iPod. Enjoy!

Never Changing Summer

Never changing Summer-



Summer by the sea,
it never changes-
look at the pictures 1890's, 1910, 1930's, 1960's etc now
Coney Island, Jersey Shore, Santa Monica, Malibu, Honolulu, Cannes, Saint Tropez, Cote d'Or, Amalfi Coast, Miami Beach, Big Sur, Cabo etc any beach
All the same, after a point all men in trunks or speedos, only the women's wear changes much
On the coast
At the beach
Down the shore
Sur la plage
Sur la mer
Salt air, hot sand
Cool water, wet sand for your toes to grab in the receding waves
Waves, wavelets, big crashing ones, little lapping ones
Cool breezes, hot sun
Coppertone, Bain de soleil, coconut fragrance, nothing like it
Bodies in the water, the same now as before
Couples cavorting, friends communing with the waves and each other
Singles in isolation playing and splashing-children, teens, adults, everybody.

Splish,

Splash,

Swim!

Ah summer.

The Road Ahead and Happy Thanksgiving

To all Calhoun students, staff,  friends, and their relatives and families. 

Happy Thanksgiving.

The coming production will be a challenge . We have a short time and many conflicts but we can do it if we all focus and try to keep to deadlines. To those in the cast especially the ensemble, we depend on your extreme cooperation and highest level of discipline and self control. Many people did not make the production and in some cases it was very close. Some will accept the situation and move on, others will watch for each mistake that those in the cast make and take every opportunity to point it out to officers,staff,  students and even me. They will keep track of all the weaknesses,weak efforts, poor attendance and bad behavior that may emerge. To those cast I say- Don't give them that opportunity, prove them wrong. Learn your lines, learn your lyrics and music and learn them fast, create a truly intense character and we will have an amazing experience. To those not cast, join in and make a major  contribution behind the scenes, help Mallory with the Props, Adam with tech, Amy with paint, Lydia with costumes, Marc with mailings etc. Make a name for yourself by making a major contribution and be a part of the show in that way. The same goes for Annie Get Your Gun.

To those who are disappointed, remember, there are many reasons why and it is impossible to second guess unless you ask. Sometimes it is seniority, other times, audition quality, other times dance skills, vocal ability or vocal range. Most often, it is sheer juggling of numbers. If you are in a show and did not get the part you wanted, maybe you are not at the right level yet or one of the other variables occurred but you are still in the show while many are not. Be thankful and continue to do as good a job as the one that put you in the show.

For the moment, take time to reflect over this weekend about how much we have to be thankful for. Most of us do not have loved ones, miles away in harms way fighting an unpopular war, most have good  health and families and friends that care, a good home to live in and good food on the table( even our take out is high quality). We have in the On Tour Program an extraordinary blessing with a school, a district , an administration and parent support along with good funding that gives us all a wonderful opportunity to present and participate in a unique, high quality Performing  Arts program that has few equals in the county , the Island and the State.

We have much to be thankful for and should be extremely grateful.

Again, Happy Thanksgiving,

Sal

New iPod selection

Well, Steve Jobs just unveiled a complete new line of iPods to complement the iPhone. Much ado occurred when the iPhone price dropped drastically, alarming and alienating early adopters like me, Mr. Sardo, Mr. Hendler, Mike Weissman and some other friends of mine. Alarm was short lived, however, as Jobs apologized and gave everyone a $100 credit. Still many reviews have been emerging about the newest iPod the iPod Touch which is basically the iPhone without the phone. Reviews have criticized it for very selfish reasons of wanting it to be the be all and end all iPod. They overlook most of the reasons why it can't be. I took the time to answer one such article at Engadget, a great site for information, reviews and announcements of new and emerging products. Here is what I said.
You Engadget folks always neglect the marketing aspects. You focus on the greedy, "gimme , gimme" consumer. The iPod Touch was designed and planned with a two fold mission.- 1- Sell more iPhones, 2- Make Apple more profits outside of the iPhone. The iPod classic is no longer in this equation because it's appeal is only mass storage and competes outside the flash memory paradigm. Here is how the shopping scenario plays out. There are several types of consumers after gadget freaks and early adopters. They are: Low budget- They are choosing between a shuffle and a 4 GB Nano- they ask themselves "should I spend the extra and get more space and value? The wallet often decides. If they splurge, Apple makes more money. If they don't and buy a shuffle, Apple still makes money. The Hi budget group - who want an iPhone and AT & T. They buy the iPhone and are very happy. Hi Budget who are "undecided".- They look at the 16 GB Touch and say "wow cool but compare it to the iPhone and say- hey for another $100, I can get a new cool cell phone. I have to switch to At& T, OK no big deal". Capacity looses. Apple sells another iPhone, makes more money. Hi Budget undecided who hate AT& T. They approach with the same reasoning but choose the 16GB Touch because they like their carrier and feel accomplished because they get an extra 8 GB of space. Apple increases non iPhone profits.Medium budget looking at 8Gb Nano, they see the Touch and say" Hey for $100 more I almost get an iPhone and all that wi Fi internet stuff". Again, both win and Apple wins more profits for Apple. It is not about the feature set at present it; is about selling more iPhones. Eventually, as sales level off, some of the requested features will be include. Software features will probably be added to the Touch same as the iPhone, which will make the Touch owners really happy. I expect weather and note pad myself and maybe calendar as well. They will never give us the ultimate iPod unless we pay the ultimate price. Money wins out. The new iPod family is about Apple making money all the way around. Regardless of iPod choice, it is a win win for both Apple and consumers.

To the On Tour Class of 2007

Greetings from Calhoun,

I know some of you have emailed me and I did not respond that was because I wanted to write you this group letter first. I will probably put this on my blog to accommodate those that I don’t have correct or current email like dean and Alana. I hope that your first weeks of College and university life are going well. Things at Calhoun are now in full swing with our first full week at a close and Back to School Night having come and gone last night. As some of you may have heard, I went to London the last week of August( Quell surprise`!) and beyond the aggravation of a delayed departure flight( read last blog for details) I had a nice relaxing time for the most part. Well , with the exception of dealing with aggravating a foot that I hurt when I went to Baltimore for the Weissman wedding that is. I have a tear of some sort just like Jason Giambi of the Yankees and the only cure is resting it and taking Advil. It is getting better. I also had a test that my doctor suggested when asking me about my weight. It was a sleep test. Perhaps you found me asleep in my chair on many occassions last year? I was sleeping quite a bit but thought it was overwork. No in fact, it is sleep apnea. There is a treatment with a sleep machine but the only cure is too loose weight.To help accomplish that goal I have taken drastic measures and have joined a gym and I am going twice a week- Monday and Wednesday Evenings during Show Choir!. I must say even though it has only been a couple of times, I feel great. Hopefully, I will continue and things will start to change.

Romeo and Juliet has begun and is proceeding nicely, Dinner theatre plans are underway and royalties for The Beggar’s Opera have been ordered. Improv Night is fast approaching. The 10th graders are working hard. The freshmen look promising and the Seniors and Juniors in coordination with the new officers are working extremely well together.

Yesterday, however, was very special. Mr. Seinfeld and Mrs. Kurtz held a special meeting to address all students in the Drama program. He decided to do this because he does it with other large groups but had never done so with Drama. He acknowledged that Drama being so large, a microcosm of the school and one of the few organizations that has cooperative involvement by all grade levels and as such should be properly included . Their address went on to complement and praise On Tour for its over all success last year in the performance and participation areas and how very pleased they were with our extremely successful efforts in mentoring. He went on to encourage continued success in all past accomplishments.

I must say, I was pleased to say the least. More important, however, was the continued pride that I felt about all the work your class did in this accomplishment. I was your efforts as a group that made this succeed. As some of you may have guessed, I bought an iPhone. Like video iPods, it has a feature to store and show photos. Most people put photos of their kids and family on them and while I do have some family pictures, I put on pictures of “ my kids”- you guys. I have pictures of all of last years season, which I think you know I have stated that I was very pleased with. Having them, on the iPhone, I have looked at them often when showing off that feature. On one occasion, I took the time to go through them and really study the ones that I had put on. I want you to know that in looking at pictures like this after the fact always helps me to better appreciate and enjoy the work that was done. One thing that really impressed me, though, that I wanted to make sure to tell you was my feelings about Once in A Lifetime. I know we had a difficult time to get it open especially technically but , my God, you all gave such great performances. Each part was so well executed that it was truly a culmination of four fine years of work. As you now enter into a new chapter in your lives, it my wish that you have continued success in your new endeavors. You will experience new freedoms, new passions, new friends, new relationships,new problems,- for which you must find new solutions, new work, hard work, new fun and new pleasures. As you undergo these changes, it is my wish and hope that you can apply some of the same qualities and types of effort that made your last four years a success and make your next four even more successful. You all started On tour at the bottom of the ladder and came out on top, only you have reached another floor where you find yourselves once again on the bottom. I am sure with time and patience you will once again come out on top. I miss you all not as the students you were but as the friends that you became.

Be healthy, be safe. Enjoy.

All the best,

Sal

UK Greetings

Greetings from London. I booked a last minute getaway at a great price only difference was Hotel location(closer to Covent Garden and Shaftsbury Ave ( Theatreland)- nice Radisson with free WiFi and A/C and flying American not Virgin or BA. I was to leave yesterday at 11:35 at night and arrive at 11:30 in the Morning. I got to the airport at 7:45 expecting crowds and delays. Then the dream began. It was all like a dream. I checked my bag at the curb, walked into the airport and went through customs in under 5 minutes. Hung out had something to eat. Boarded the plane at 11:15, at 11:35 we were ready for takeoff- but the plane wasn't.Computer screen malfunction and error messages and then the nightmare began. They tried multiple repair options. But they let us watch the touch screen TV's in the seat back. Unfortunately, it is still fed by the tape driven system. So, no pausing and you have to watch at specific times. Three and one half hours later we disembarked to change planes. Estimated boarding time was 3:20 AM. Finally, took off at 4:15AM. And when we did takeoff, they served dinner at about 4:45 AM or later and then “breakfast” at 3PM. Arrived in London about 4:00PM, Hotel after 5:00PM. 

Aaaaaaagh,
Lost a day pretty much but the weather is good and looks to stay. No firm plans yet except to see friends and try to see a Globe Touring Production of R & J , being done in a South London park on Friday or Saturday.

I went to the lovely wedding of alumna Elissa Weissman in Baltimore on the weekend of August 17th. It was a great time in a really unique place. I will be posting Web Galleries when I get back to New York.

Two great movies that I highly recommend: Chuck and Larry and A Death at a Funeral- both will make you laugh till it hurts. Chuck and Larry is not as dumb as the premise suggests. It has a heart and the second film is amazing farce with relatively unknown Brits but directed by Muppet director and voice of Yoda Frank OZ. Check them out if you get a chance.
More as the week goes on.