Work/School
- Theatre Appreciation: I am once again teaching a class of 200 non-theatre majors trying to spread the love.
- I am revising my thesis. It's headed toward being over 150 pages long.
- I am going to be taking a class on contemporary plays. I'm really looking forward to it. Awesome plays, awesome prof, awesome friends in the class. College courses don't get better than this IMO.
- I will be travelling to Cleveland the first week in March for the Mid American Theatre Conference to present a paper on Theatre Pedagogy.
- I will be travelling to Louisville for the Humana Playwright's Festival to see EIGHT brand new plays and to hang out with cool people.
Jobs/Future
- Still applying for Theatre Professor jobs (almost exclusively to schools east of the Mississippi.)
- Perhaps its early to give up hope, but I am readying myself for the possibility of staying here and working on my resume (teaching more at Baylor-part time, working on my book on Improv Pedagogy, etc). Staying here is mostly happy as we love our friends, our home, and our church. It'd be nice to be closer to family and to have a great full-time job, but that may not be in the cards for this fall.
Church
- We are regularly attending Dayspring Baptist Church. It's a contemplative Baptist church. I know, it seems strange. Most Baptists I know don't spend a lot of time contemplating, but it's a unique little enclave of very thoughtful and loving people.
- We are in a small group Sunday school class that we very much like.
- The boys regularly participate in the services by ringing the bells (to chime the hour), passing the offering plate, and Elijah even read scripture on Christmas eve.
- I have joined the choir.
Media
- Courtney and I are watching True Blood (Trashy fun), Modern Family (Best new comedy since The Office), Flash Forward (Overacted, and occasionally tedious, but a good larger story arch) and, of course, The Office (which I thought would have run out of gas by now, but the last few episodes have been great).
- Have recently seen Sherlock Holmes (*** out of 4), Inglorious Bastards (***1/2), Alvin and the Chipmunks - The Squeakquel (*), The Frog Princess (**1/2), District 9 (***), Role Models (***)
- Have recently been listening to Cold War Kids, The Format, Sia, The Jackson 5
I've argued with more than a few smarty-pants cinastes about the themes of this film. Regardless of what you think it all means it is a moving portrait of a father's love that is conveyed in joy. This film will make you a better person.
I gushed about this one several weeks ago, but I think it belongs on this list. This is probably one of the most influential plays of the last twenty years and HBO hits it out of the park with this adaptation for the small screen. Al Pacino and Meryl Streep add their heft to a talented younger cast. This film wrestles with some tough issues and connects doubts about the conservative politics of our parents with doubts about God's activity in a world filled with suffering. And yet, it's not just a big pity party. There's wonder, and life, and humor in this play/film. A must see.
Firefly was a Fox show for one glorious season before the netowrk got nervous and pulled it. There was a cult following that was so vocal, that creator 