Hi all, I know Sketchy Details has been rather inactive.
I am trying to decide what direction I want to go with the site at this point.
Here's the long and the short of it:
- Working on Songs for a New World reminded me of how much I truly love performing. Honestly. I have not felt so happy and fulfilled in quite some time. The energy I would normally dedicate to researching, drafting, editing, and perfecting posts for Sketchy Details and other sites was funneled into that production and, temporary and fleeting as a short run of live theater is, I felt a sense of pride and passion so strong that no one could derail my mood (and there was someone actively trying to from within the production).
- I am wading through the red tape of forms, deadlines, phone tag, and shipping delays of getting all my English teacher certification paperwork authenticated and approved for the state of NJ. I want all my stuff lined up correctly and approved before I take the mandatory 24 hour course that puts me at the minimum level of certification to A) apply for full time teaching positions and B) enter a more weighty and significant teacher certification course with a better chance of employment in the end.
- I'm actually going to be officially paid by the school I work for sound and lights for the first time in 11 years. The sound stipend was added in for the fall play six years ago (I think? it's early). I've been doing the lights unofficially (but with program credit) for three years on a high tech board no one else would learn and being paid with a cut of the box office, which is unfair to the program and the students. Now that it's official, there's a set amount of pay, there's a paper trail, and I can start negotiating for better equipment, rentals, and reimbursement for training. I can teach students how to design lights the way I've been teaching them for years to score and design sound for shows and lead them into another possible career path in theater. It's awesome. Now to get on them for a makeup and hair stipend...
- I'm stressing out already over the production of Assassins I'm in. The good news is it's super organized, the production staff is nice, and I only rehearse once or twice a week until two weeks out from the show. The bad news is that we're short two ensemble members and they've already cancelled my first rehearsal because it looks like they don't even want to start working on ensemble songs in a SONDHEIM SCORE until they have all the cast members in place to figure out exactly who is singing what part. I knew I should have just auditioned for the Balladeer and stressed out about memorizing that part on top of teching The Crucible two weeks before Assassins later on. Stupid me being responsible and not over committing.
- Halloween is coming quickly and I'm behind on props. I can get them done to my standards, but it's very piecemeal right now with giant swaths of props going up all at once rather than trickling out day by day. When I'm done editing this increasingly longer than I planned post, I'm going outside to hang up all the lights, cut out everyone who needs to be cut out (rather than everything, as inanimate and non-gendered living things like trees will be completed Sunday), spraying a ton of insulation foam, covering a bunch of other props in joint compound, and shaping forms for ghosts to be completed as time permits this week. It's a lot, but it's going to be awesome. Did you see the photos of just the backdrop yet? It's sick.
So where does that leave Sketchy Details? I don't know.
I love writing. I also love theater, teaching, and creating. I need to find a balance.
I will get some content up celebrating horror in honor of Halloween.
I will see and review big and little films leading into the awards season.
I just don't know with what frequency this site will update anymore. I won't make promises either. I love what I do here, but my life is pulling me in a very different direction now.
Thank you for everyone who has supported Sketchy Details and all my years of focus as a writer. It truly means a lot.