Bedlam Farm Blog Journal by Jon Katz

(Above. Madeline has a cold, she was swathed in blankets and, she said, “warm and cozy.”)

Julie put up a new Mansion Amazon Wish List this afternoon , it looks like we will need some help with clothes for some of the residents. Two residents in particular, are in need of help with clothes.

I’ve gotten some of them, I’ll leave some of the other for people who want to help. I know others want the chance to contribute, I respect that.

The items are inexpensive, they range from $6.75 to $28, they are for T-shirts, elastic pants, pajama pants, sweatshirts,  flannel shirts and some other winter clothes.

You can see the list here, I’ll purchase two or three and leave the rest. This will be very helpful to the residents, I appreciate your support.

The new Amazon Mansion Wish List is right here.

This morning, I brought a dozen Word Search Puzzles to the Danforth, where the evacuated Mansion residents are staying. I’ll go back this afternoon to read some stories to them, and come tomorrow morning to do another reading.

Thanks again for your help. Practical Good. In The Real World. Every Day.

Thanks for the kind comments, my landscapes are on a roll, I love a big sky. You can purchase this image for $125, it will be unframed and printed on the highest quality archival paper, 8.5 by 12.5 inches.

You can purchase the photograph on Maria’s Etsy Shop, or if you prefer to pay by check, you can e-mail her at [email protected] for further details. And thanks.

I went to the first session of my acting class Monday night. The class is taught by an accomplished actor, Christine Decker, the Education Director of the Old Castle Theater Company in Bennington, Vt.

I wrote yesterday that I’m not sure why I am taking this class, it was somewhat clarified for me last night. Decker is an impressive actor, and a natural teacher. I had the sense that she had things to teach me, and I see that is true.

We worked together briefly on a short play I wrote – she acted in it – and I felt a very strong creative connection between us. I felt it again last night.

Christine gave us a tour of the funky old theater, now in a period of rebirth and renewal, then she got down to business. We did three rounds of improv acting, and then we got to read a monologue.

I felt comfortable there, the class is a fascinating mix of people – a college professor, a pastor (both vocations call for some theater), a war game role player, an older woman eager to act in local theater, and several young people interested in getting involved in theater.

I didn’t bring Red last night. I don’t really need to have a dog with me all the time, but Christine asked the class if it was okay for him to come, and the vote was unanimous. I’m used to this – lots of places don’t want to even see me if Red isn’t along.

A couple of people were not comfortable being photographed – I respect that, I will protect them from me. It’s fine with Christine if I take some photos of her and the class.

I reassured the class about my blog, I said I wrote mostly about me, but if I do write about others, it is always with permission.

Among the things I learned last night: acting is very similar to writing in the sense of thinking through material, getting your heart straight, projecting the story you want to tell or the emotion you want to evoke.

Creativity is similar in many different  ways – art, writing, acting. It differs in execution, but not always conception. A writer performs in words, not in real space. I don’t have to perform on stage or in public, except when I do readings in public.

I see my blog as a monologue, not a dialogue, but Christine challenged that idea for me – I have to understand and imagine people’s response to me, just as an actor does.

And this is something that has been difficult for me to do. Of course no one acts or writes in a vacuum, there is, in fact, a dialogue going on all the time.

This is an important thing for me to understand and accept, I always thought of writing as a solitary process. Acting is intensely collaborative, but my work is not as solitary as it used to be, or as I like to think it is.

Improv work opens one up – I need to think quickly and act in concert with other people. I can’t do it alone. That is also a good exercise for me. I have never collaborated with anyone.

We also talked a bit about acting and aging.

One fear I have about acting is whether or not I have the ability to memorize a lot of complex material. My memory is fine, but not as sharp as it once was, typical of people my age. I could not memorize hundreds of lines.

But my goal is not to act, or be in a play. That’s not really what I want. I want to learn more about the creative process, and open myself up, a constant challenge.

In a sense we are, all of us, acting all the time. And creative lives are almost similar.

Christine cracked me up when she outline the four responses directors expect from actors  when they give feedback or critiques: 1. “Fuck You. 2. I thought I was doing that. 3. “I Suck.” 4. “OK.”

I laughed because this is precisely what I think when my editors critique my writing. Creativity is creativity.

I think this work can help me see myself in a better way.

I am conscious of how I present myself, and also conscious of my interactions with others. I write about that a lot, and it usually upsets or offends someone. People on the Internet like to be free, but they don’t always like people on the receiving end of their thoughts to be as free as they are.

These are all things the class will help me understand. I will also be called on to work on a monologue I choose or that Christine chooses for me. I think the acting class will help me to visualize and develop the portrayal of people and characters.

Acting is much more visual than writing, this will help me in my photography. I loved the first class, the two hours flew by. Christine has a good way of engaging her students, she doesn’t push too hard, and she tries to encourage, but she is aways pushing in one way or another.

I’m excited about the class, and will share the experience.

 

The Mission, for me, is always the same: Practical Good, Every Day, Small Acts of Great Kindness. We can’t alter the nature of things, we can fill the holes in people’s lives.

Sometimes, I find, the small things mean the most. Flowers, balloons, cookies, stuffed animals, puzzles and books. A celebration when it’s all over. So far, so good.

Nothing dramatic, nothing expensive.

We went room to room visiting each of the Mansion residents, saying hello, checking on them, offering to help, asking what is needed. Alice was delighted to have a cookie, she said she wanted to savor it, take her time eating it.

She loved holding Red while she chose, I could see this settle her, keep her grounded, touch the familiar. Maria carefully explained each cookie and we left a bunch for Brittany, then Tia, to distribute after dinner.