Lightning

Today hubby, Cosmo and I were walking down a block near our old apartment when we encountered a blast from the past: Lightning the Turtle. His owner brings him out to the neigborhood dog park a few times a year; more often, he can be sighted wandering around the base of his owner's front stoop. He is huge - probably about two feet long - and has the prettiest coloration on his shell: tinges of yellow and gold on dark brown and olive. I wonder what makes a person choose a turtle as a pet...

This week things were slow, work-wise, and I savored it - I went to Whole Foods one day in the middle of the afternoon, and picked out my favorite new treat: papaya with lime juice. I cooked fish for dinner, and spent time in the garden.

A few years ago, I put all my energy into a job that caused me anxiety and stress and made me feel bad about myself. I had no creative outlet, and no time or energy left for all the other things that mattered to me: friends, family, volunteering. I felt this huge disconnect between the real me and the me that I was presenting to the outside world. Worst of all, I felt stuck.

This week I had time to look around at how much my life has changed; I was happy with what I saw.

I wonder what makes a person choose a turtle as a pet...

Tranquil Teens

I volunteer for the Tranquil Space Foundation, an offshoot of Tranquil Space Yoga in Dupont Circle. Right now we're piloting a program called TranquilTeens, designed to help teenage girls tap into their inner voice through a fusion of yoga and exercises in creativity and leadership. Yesterday Tranquil Space founder Kimberly Wilson and I led a pilot workshop at a high school in Maryland, and I was absolutely blown away by the girls who participated.

I often cite the Eve Ensler quote that "We give what we most want to get, and we teach what we most want to learn." Yesterday we went around the room at the end of our 90 minutes together, and the girls each cited one thing they'd take with them after the workshop ended. They talked about how peaceful the yoga had made them feel, and how it helped quiet their busy minds. One girl said she often finds herself reacting to things without knowing how she really feels, and that she saw how journaling could help with that. Another said that writing in her journal reminded her of things that make her happy that she hasn't thought about in a long time.

I believe so passionately that creativity isn't "just" about artists - it's about treating your life as your art, and carving your own path. Yoga and journal writing are essential to keeping me centered and aware enough to live life fully and with intention. The thought that I played any part in planting the seeds of these ideas with young women so obviously full of spark, just means so much to me. To paraphrase a cliche - it's funny how when you set out to help another person, they often end up helping you.

Truth in Comedy

"Acting is the ability to live truthfully
under imaginary circumstances."
-Sanford Meisner

Lately I've been falling out of love with improv, just a little bit.

I've yet to see an improv show that really truly knocks my socks off. No, I take that back - there was a Jackie show a few summers ago that dazzled me with its cohesion, evidence of the "group mind" at work. And don't get me wrong, I've seen a ton of shows that were highly entertaining. But what appeals to me about improv is the promise of truth in comedy - of playing real, and having faith that the laughs will come. I can't remember the last time I saw a show that lived up to that promise. The laughs are too tempting.

I'm hungry for the experience of playing real characters, in real situations... in a performance that is truly willing to go without laughs if they don't come, but that avoids melodrama. No easy feat. But the prospect of it dangles in front of me like a drug.

I suppose you demand the most from the things that matter most, so my angst is probably proof that my love affair with improv is far from over. I'm hoping to scratch the itch I'm feeling with an acting class this summer.

In the meantime, I'm sitting in Tryst in Adams Morgan, and everyone around me is a potential character...

fill 'er up

I thank you God for this most amazing day, for the leaping greenly spirits of trees, and for the blue dream of sky and for everything which is natural, which is infinite, which is yes. ~e.e. cummings

spring has sprung once again in dc (it was here earlier, then had to jet off for a bit, so winter was a good sport and filled in; now spring is back). i've taken several long, luxurious walks with my dog over the past few days, including one this evening just after the rain stopped. i love the quality of the light around 4:30pm, and the feeling of the world after a storm. tulips are coming up in our garden, and our tree is starting to bud. there's a way that springtime just fills me up, feeds my creative energies - inspires me to embark on something new.

you?

Creative DC Profile:Topher Bellavia, Improv Evangelist

Those of you who've been reading Creative DC for a while know that (a) I'm an improvisor, and (b) improv changed my life. By extension, that means Topher Bellavia changed my life, because he's the reason I started improvising. He got me up on stage one night at an open mic where I was fully intending to be an innocent bystander, and then he taught my first two improv classes, through Washington Improv Theater (WIT)... an organization with whom I now perform.

Topher - who was recently appointed WIT's managing director - loves evangelizing improv, and he does it well. When he asked me to post something about WIT classes on my blog, the journalist in me balked. Then I got over myself, and decided to take the opportunity to try to glimpse the mind of Topher. Behold the results.

Why do you evangelize improv?
Improv helped me to understand more about myself, other people, and the world around me. I teach improv because I’m addicted to seeing people have those “Ah-ha” moments, where they suddenly realize why certain people do the things they do, or even better, why they themselves do the things that they do. I evangelize it because I know that if everyone learned to do improv there would be more connection between people and less suspicion.

What's it like to be an introvert in an improv class?
It’s like having permission to do and say all those things you’ve ever wanted to in a fun and safe environment.

In your experience, are most good improvisors funny in real life?
Good improvisers can see the humor in everyday life. They are observers. They can make amusing connections between events and concepts that other people don’t seem to see. But are they constantly going around being hilarious? God no. I’d quit this in a New York minute if I had to hang out with people that are being “funny” all the time. Man are they tiring.

A lot of WIT's materials reference improv as an antidote to the seriousness of life in DC. Is improv about escaping seriousness?
It’s about escaping the fake seriousness that seems pervasive in this city. Ego battles, fake deadlines, territory squabbles, needless paperwork, status rituals. All that stupid stuff that doesn’t even matter. In improv we take a step back and observe this stuff, then use our insights to skewer it and figure out what is really important.

Name something you're intrigued by.
Most people’s inability to put themselves in someone else’s shoes. When we’re in a car, we get annoyed at pedestrians. When we’re walking, we hate drivers. Or at least I do . . .

Ok, here's your chance to make a pitch: why someone should take an improv class, in 10 words or less
Students walk away from class surprised and amazed by themselves.

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Registration is now open for WIT's spring 2007 classes.

Remember me?

Wow, I've never gone so long without posting here before. I'll come clean: I've been in a bit of a blog funk. Not feeling inspired, and not wanting to post just for the sake of posting (I believe in writing no matter what when it's for your eyes only, but not when you have readers).

I've actually been soaking up the pleasure of secret observations - fleeting impressions of things/people/scenes around town that I take a moment to register and then allow to slip away. Sometimes that's yummier than documenting, if that makes any sense at all?

...Or maybe I'm just making excuses. Maybe I'm just in a rut, and for anyone who actually reads this on a regular basis, I'm sorry for the interruption in service!

I will christen my return to the blogosphere with a list of five random things that have inspired and/or delighted me lately:

1. The weimeraner puppy I saw outside the Red Dog Cafe in Silver Spring today
2. "Fidelity" by Regina Spektor
3. Arugula
4. "Rebel Heiress" - the name of a new book about a woman who inspired poets
5. Rain. Lots and lots of rain, pouring down hard, while I sleep.

'Til soon.