You can keep your Athens,
You can keep your Rome,
I'm a hometown fellow
And I pine for home,
I wanna go back, go back
To dear old Syracuse.
Though I've worn out sandals
And my funds are low,
There's a light that's burning in the patio,
I wanna go back, go back
To dear old Syracuse.
It is no metropolis,
It has no big Acropolis,
And yet there is a quorum
Of cuties in the forum.
Though the boys wear tunics that are out of style
They will always greet me with a friendly smile.
I wanna go back, go back
To dear old Syracuse.
--Rodgers and Hart, "The Boys From Syracuse"
As we crossed the border into New York state, the bus was suddenly filled with tinkling bells and little tunes as everyone fired up their cell phones. Back in the USA! I must admit I did feel a little surge of pleasure being back in our country. We drove through upstate New York, past fertile fields and trees just touched with the first of the autumn colors. Syracuse is a quiet, pleasant college town; the kind of northeastern small town that brings back memories of my high school years spent in the Berkshires, or summers spent doing theatre in the Adirondacks. There is a combination of rustic, country living and intellectual, new age liberalism that forty years ago would have been referred to as "hippie-ish" but which I have always called "granola." The weather here has been crystal clear, the air fresh, the leaves turning red and orange. There is a vegan cafe down the street from my hotel, which serves breakfast all day and stays open late, a massage school offering inexpensive massage, and a holistic healing center, Health Pathways, where I am receiving my physical therapy this week. Granola heaven!
The Syracuse University campus is just beautiful, now especially, with the crisp fall weather and changing foliage.
It is a sprawling campus with eclectic and interesting architecture and sculptures. Walking through, I felt that I was being taken back in time to my own college years. On college campuses, there seems to be a timelessness; the students look the same as they ever have, with their funky clothes, multi-colored hair, hackie sack games, passionate discourses, and fresh faces. There was something comforting about being amongst them and in that little bubble of a world so removed from the depressing realities of our current world situation. My friend Tim and I visited the Syracuse University Art Gallery, which had a very interesting exhibit on Michelangelo.
The exhibit explored his life story, his myth, both in the times in which he lived and throughout history, and of course his extraordinary gifts, which encompassed drawing, painting, sculpture (in which he was self taught), poetry and architecture. There was a bronze casting of his famous Pieta, as well as some remarkable examples of his drawing, and a fascinating documentary. It was a treat to find this absorbing portrait of the great master here in Syracuse. I have always said, if you look for beauty you will find it, wherever you are.
Also a place of beauty is the Everson Museum of Art.
To call this contemporary art museum's collection eclectic would be an understatement. Everything from pop art, to furniture by Arts and Crafts pioneer Gustav Stickley (whose studio was in Syracuse), to a large ceramics collection are all housed in a building designed by I.M. Pei, which is a work of art in itself--a structure of concrete and pegged wood floors, with a monumental staircase like the inside of a nautilus shell.
During my visit they had an exhibition of early, whimsical, fashion inspired works by Andy Warhol, and a flamboyant installation of fashion inspired by Sofia Coppola's film of "Marie Antoinette," illustrating the influence of the doomed 18th century French queen on style through the ages. The latter exhibit was delightfully over the top and was like being placed inside an enormous Bergdorf Goodman window display. It was a real hoot.
Time for another of your questions about tour life.
Kimberly asks:
There are days when I go to work and the last thing I want to do is work. How do you as actors fight that and still make the show amazing every night? Also, I know you have mentioned your wanting to be on Broadway someday. How do you audition while on the road all the time?
Well, I can only speak for myself. I have always had an obsessive work ethic. I hold myself responsible for the quality of what I do and the kind of actor I want to be. Also, every night there are a couple thousand people out front who have paid good money to see the best show we can do. I know that seems cliche, but some people save up to buy a ticket to our show; they buy the tickets as a gift or surprise for a loved one, or they plan the night out, paying for a babysitter, buying a new outfit, making dinner reservations. I also tell myself that somewhere out in that audience there might be a young aspiring actor who has come to see our show from a love of theatre and a desire to be exactly where I am. But ultimately for me, the biggest motivator is gratitude. I think about the years of struggle I lived through in New York, hungry to work in my profession, holding down day jobs, experiencing rejection, living hand to mouth. And I am filled with thankfulness that I have the good fortune to make my living doing the work I love to do.
And yes, I do have a strong ambition to work on Broadway, and I see this tour as a powerful step in that direction. As for auditioning, well, that is a challenge, one that every actor faces--do I take a good job that takes me out of New York and the casting pool there, or do I stay in New York and try to hustle up that Broadway show or feature film? My belief is that work begets work. Many key opportunities in my line of work come from the relationships one forms with other professionals--directors, choreographers, producers--when working for them. I also believe that the right opportunities come at the right time. That said, sometimes one has to take a little time off here and there to fly back and be seen for big projects in order to compete. Patrick, who just left our tour, landed his "Gossip Girl" guest star job because he took personal days and flew back and forth to try out for the part. The hunt for the next job is a central theme in the actor's life, and our biggest fear is that each job will be our last. I remember when I was in graduate school Dame Judi Dench came and spoke with us in an unforgettable round table discussion. This Oscar winning star, who has played every leading role in Shakespeare, told us that with each project she does she has the terror that it will be her last--that people will discover she's a fraud and she won't get hired again! As absurd as that may seem coming from such a successful actress, it is a deep seated fear in most performers.
Marie is my Syracuse dresser, and a scrappy little lady she is.
Marie and her husband used to belong to a church theatre group, which was their hobby and her husband's passion. Her husband became a stagehand in the local union because he loved theatre so much, and did back stage work on the side. When he passed away, Marie decided she wanted to join the union to do wardrobe work and carry on the love of theatre that she and her husband had shared. The male dominated union refused to let her in, so she fought it, enlisting the help of the union in New York City, and with persistence she became the first female member of the stagehand's union in Syracuse. Go Marie!!
It has been a real pleasure performing in Syracuse. The house has been packed every night and the audience response has been rapturous. Such a nice change from the small houses we had in Toronto. Next week we go to West Point, where we will spend much of the week rehearsing with new scenery and technical adjustments which are being made to the production. I will explain all of that in next week's post; it should be very interesting. Meantime, I hope that the autumn weather is as beautiful where you are as it is here.
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