I tell wonder-filled stories about hope and healing
Thank you to everyone who shared their story so that others with stories could be free to tell them. Because of you, people are being held accountable for their actions. Our fight to be heard and believed isn’t over. We have many more miles and years to travel together to find true equality and equity for all, and no one can deny that we’re on our way.
I need your help. I’m pitching the production of a live show in a venue on the lower east side about the secrets of New York City, the secrets that live below our streets, in plain sight, and over our heads. We’re talking wormholes, hidden places, secret passageways, and strange history. I need to choose a format for an engaging evening as a test show. If it gets accepted and is successful, it could turn into a monthly show.
I’ve listed some format ideas below. Which of these ideas appeals most to you, or do you have an idea for a completely different format for the show?
Thank you so much for your input!
1.) Battle of the Secrets – A set of storytellers and secret aficionados battle it out and the audience votes on who has the best secret of New York City.
2.) New York City’s Secret Liar’s Club – A set of storytellers and secret aficionados tell their favorite New York City secrets. All of them are true and one’s a lie. Or all of them are lies and one is true. The audience votes on which one is not like the others.
3.) Secret NYC Trivia Night – Similar to pub trivia, the audience gets the chance to test their secret New York City knowledge to win a fantastic prize of secrets.
4.) The Secret NYC Gameshow – A Family Feud, Price Is Right, or Jeopardy style gameshow that tests contestants’ knowledge of secret New York City.
I binge-watched the entire first season of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel in one weekend. The only times I’ve ever done that are with House of Cards (which also had Rachel Brosnahan) and Gilmore Girls (which was also created by Amy Sherman-Palladino and her husband, Daniel Palladino). Crackling with rich dialogue and shining with heartfelt performances, it’s reminiscent of everything I love about Gilmore Girls. Mrs. Maisel pulled me into a time and a place that I never wanted to leave. I felt the thrill of looking into the long-lost private diaries of a set of characters whom I felt like I’d known forever. It is genius writing.
It’s mostly set on the Upper West Side, my home neighborhood that I deeply love, and it explores the rich landscape of family dynamics, Jewish culture and religion, women’s rights, political activism, racism, socioeconomic disparity, and the coming of age of people, society, and our world. And all of this is framed in the context of what it means to be a comedian, performer, and writer in the gritty Village of New York City in the 1950s.
I found myself rooting for all of the main characters at different points in their journeys. They are all seriously flawed and insanely lovable, champions in their own ways, trying to do the best they can with what they have. Rachel Brosnahan as Midge is certainly our next unsinkable television heroine. Her journey from doting house wife to stage star, complete with her constant note taking and the best wardrobe I could imagine, is one we all want to reach its full potential. Michael Zegen plays Midge’s husband, Joel. In the beginning, I saw him as whiny, needy, and unappreciative. By the end of the season, I completely understood why Midge loved him. And I loved him, too. Tony Shalhoub is the quintessential Jewish father, and is masterfully paired with Marin Hinkle as his alternately reserved and infuriated wife. Alex Borstein rounds out the main cast as Susie, Midge’s scrappy manager. I loved Alex’s characters on Gilmore Girls, and I’m happy to see her stepping into and owning her spotlight in this show.
At the end of the last episode, Midge finally embraces her own identity on stage, Susie acknowledges just how right she was about Midge’s talent, and Joel recognizes his wife’s unstoppable talent. Midge’s parents are still in the dark about their daughter’s budding ambitions. (This secret certainly sets the stage for some explosive moments in Season Two.) And as for me, I was on the edge of my seat wishing the whole thing would never end. Luckily, the show will be filming again in a few short months less than 10 miles from where I live. Let’s hope Amazon gets it to us as fast as Prime shipping.
When I want to do something big, I spend about 30 seconds thinking about what that goal looks and feels like. Almost immediately, I move into what I call breakdown mode. I start to break apart that big, beautiful dream into bite-sized pieces. The big dream, for me, is too daunting and it’s not actionable. I make it happen, I’ve got to unpack it, dissect it, and put it into a to-do list with deadlines. And then I pick a place and begin. For my writing, it’s one word at a time. For my collage work, it’s one tiny piece of paper. For getting a new job, it’s making sure my resume is up-to-date in all its various forms and channels. You get the idea. It’s a puzzle and the best I can do is focus on one piece at a time.
When my head hits the pillow at night or when I sit down for my 18 minutes of daily meditation, I give myself a little chance to think about that shiny goal out there in the distance. I fall asleep thinking about those dreams and I wake up thinking about them. Everything in between, all my waking hours, are devoted to action. It’s the only way I know how to make things happen.
My dear friend, Marita, has been on a quest to create tools and practices for mindfulness. I find daily inspiration in her posts, and every time we get together I feel more motivated, calmer, and happier. Marita’s growing her audience for The Mindful Rebels and I hope you’ll join the journey. Find Marita on Instagram at @themindfulrebels, Facebook at The Mindful Rebels, and her blog http://themindfulrebels.com/. Be prepared to be inspired by her vision to create a global community that supports comprehensive health for all living beings. Be a Mindful Rebel.
There is a major reckoning that takes place when someone who made you leaves this planet, regardless of what your relationship was with that person. For me, that reckoning took two decades; longer than the time my father and I knew each other.
It only resolved after two decades because of my work with Brian. And it was work. It was not fun or inspiring work; it was, however, necessary. I did what I had to do to free myself. That was my only goal.
My father left this world without the two of us knowing or understanding each other. For a long time, I thought that was a sad fact. Now I realize how vital it was to my development; the day he died, I started to become who I am now. It was the day I began to build something from nothing. It is one of the two days I think of as life days, days when everything in my life shifted and there was no way to shift back.
I tell you this story not for sympathy or even empathy. I am long past the stage of needing or wanting either. I have adjusted, healed, and moved on. My point is that you may be in the midst of something difficult now, something that feels like it may break you, something that makes you feel like you may never be whole or at peace. You are in that empty room I walked into 25 years ago today. The space can feel overwhelming. The emptiness can feel like a void. It’s not, I promise you. It’s a canvas, a blank page, a stage. You will build something there, something that is totally of your own design. And there is no rush. You do what’s right for you, when it’s right for you. I look forward to seeing your masterpiece. Happy December 1st. I love you.
Are you tired of men behaving badly filling up your social media feeds? Me, too. I absolutely believe they need to be called on the carpet for their actions and that their behavior must come to a swift and complete end. I also know that there are incredible women all over the world doing amazing work that needs to be celebrated just as loudly. That’s why I’m making the commitment to send at least one tweet a day to share good news that women are creating. I’ll be using the hashtag #amazingwomen. I hope you’ll join me and spread the word.
Yesterday, my life and career went full-circle. The company where I work now is a service and product provider for the Annie Russell Theatre at Rollins College. I worked at the Annie from 2003-2004. What’s more, our products and services are mainly used by the person who now has my former job. I spoke to her yesterday. She sits in the same office where I used to sit, and many of the same people are still at the theater. And to further bring it all around, I found my name and contact info at the Annie in my current company’s opportunities pipeline. (Apparently, I even got a cold email from my current CEO as he was prospecting for the business at the Annie and he sent me his first book on email marketing!)
This reminded me how often our circles cross and overlap, how timing really is everything. Every once in a while, an opportunity comes around a second time, perhaps in a different form, and it clicks in a way that it couldn’t the first time. A missed opportunity today always has the possibility to find its way back to us. I wonder what other opportunities will find me again.
“The heart is built of starlight
And time.
A pinprick of longing lost in the dark.
An unbroken chord linking the Infinite to the Infinite.
My heart wishes upon your heart and the wish is granted.
Meanwhile the world spins.
Meanwhile the universe expands.
Meanwhile the mystery of love reveals itself,
again and again, in the mystery of you.
I have gone.
I will return.”
I just finished the book The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill. This book reminded me how many stories are waiting to be discovered and shared, how many characters and secrets remain buried in our own imaginations. The passage above was a particularly poignant one for me because I believe so strongly in the power of the human heart and the love it can contain, because I remind myself everyday that while there are miracles happening all around us, there are also an infinite number of miracles happening with us. And all those miracles are connected.
People go and people return. Love goes and it finds us again in a different form. But a story? A story finds us and stays with us, helping us through trial after trial until we become so free from what used to weigh us down that we can then share that story with someone else. Today, I share this story of Luna, the girl who drank the moon, and the beauty she found in her own magic. It is the perfect read if you need more hope (and during the times we live in now, we could all use a little more hope.)
Happy Cyber Monday!
I was walking to the Times Square subway from the Bryant Park Holiday Market and stopped short when I saw a set of retail windows that celebrated Artists, Explorers, and Dreamers. I went inside to find an art installation that featured a graffitied subway car, a space scape, and an artist’s work room. They encourage you to go in and snap selfies so Emerson Page did a little photo shoot.
The art installation doubled as a retail popup for online sunglass brand, Privé Revaux. The designer sunglasses are all handcrafted, polarized, and $29.95 in over 100 styles. Now if only all shopping experiences, online and in brick-and-mortar, could come with a side of art, we’d all feel a little more inspired and a little less tired during our holiday shopping.
If you’re in NYC, check out the Privé Revaux popup store at 120 West 42nd Street. Not in NYC? No problem. All frames are also available at https://priverevaux.com/.
