A note from de ice, with just a dash of political comment. But you can handle it.

Hey everyone!

Yes, it's been a while.  Since my last post we've elected an exciting new President, and more importantly, I've been out to the Bay Area twice to work with my colleague, Doc Heide, on completion of the first draft of a new, deer-hunting musical called GUYS & DOES.  Our hope is we have it on stage in Fall '09 in Door County.  We'll see what our Artistic Director says about that soon.  Many thanks to Uncle Reed, Uncle Bob and Cousin Mark for their generosity in sharing the details of their hunts with us.  For a couple of non-hunters like Doc and me, this was truly invaluable information and our show will have a level of authenticity that it otherwise would have lacked.

Currently, I'm in the early stage of 3 months worth of musical ice-fishing.  GUYS ON ICE rides again, thanks to the Milwaukee Rep.  Here's a link to some press from Madison about yours truly and my role in the show.

http://77square.com/citylife/qs/story_316793

Sara is doing very well.  As I type she is on her way to the Twin Cities to work once again with Andrew Wade, a big hot-shot in the world of theatrical vocal coaching.  She is assisting him on a production of HENRY V at the Guthrie Theatre, where the Julliard Acting Company is starting a national tour of the show.  This will be a great chance for Sara to make good contacts at the Guthrie (a super major American theatre, for those who don't know.)  I'm extremely proud of the impressive list of accomplishments she's built since finishing Grad School.  Yay Sara!

Speaking of my sweetheart,  Sara will not be going home for Christmas due to the work in Minneapolis, so we will both be heading to Maryland to visit her family in January on a week off from my tour.  Which just happens to coincide with Obama's Inauguration!  We're thrilled to be able to go and witness this historic event and celebrate the end of an error.  Um, an era.  I wouldn't presume to speak for anyone reading this, but as a citizen I feel profoundly and personally betrayed by the current administration and am truly ashamed of much of what they have done (and have failed to do) in my name.  I pray for wisdom for the new Administration, and everyone involved in the Herculean task of trying to fix the damage to our Nation left in the wake of such mismanagement and ineptitude.

Alright, only two sentences and the political ranting is already over.  For now, gosh darn it. (wink)  You betcha!

I'll finish this post by wishing everyone a blessed holiday season, where the material manifestations of the celebration are secondary to the light and hope at the heart of Christmas!

I'll drop a note from the road as the tour winds on!  Love to you all!

Testing . . . testing . . . is this thing on?

I just built a little email list so you will all know when I post something to the blog.  I'm just seeing if it works.   Based on my track record so far, this shouldn't cause any worry about a lot of unwanted email.  And if you would rather not be notified this way, cool.  Let me know and I'll take you off the list.  I did just add a little post today.  Love to you all!

A visit to Mr. Rodgers neighborhood

Hey, all you Packer-backers!  Year 41 is going well so far, especially since Sara and I got to attend the Monday Night Season Opener at Lambeau Field.  Here's some proof, via the lovely camera-phone!  How about that debut by Aaron Rodgers!  Eternal thanks to John Hansen for parting with his season tickets for a fraction of what he could have gotten from a broker.  The man is a saint.

The last night of my 30's

(Perhaps I should have called this blog "Very Rare Lee.")

Here I am, reporting from Door County during a thunderstorm, hours away from turning 40.

Tomorrow is going to be a very busy day.  At 9:37 AM, the moment I turn 40, I will be in the middle of a haircut.  Which somehow seems appropriate.

Then I make an appearance at AFT's Creative Kids day to sing a song and sign some t-shirts for a bunch of creative kids who like AFT.

Following that, I head back home to rehearse for an event tomorrow night.  (More on that soon.)

Then, on a more somber note, I'll attend a memorial for the late, great Paul Sills.  One of the true giants of improvisation and American theatre, Paul lived here in Door County.  He was a founder of Chicago's Second City Theatre, created Tony Award-winning Broadway theatre using classic folk tales, and taught thousands of actors in NYC and Door County.  He also directed for AFT several times, and I'm proud to be able to say I worked and collaborated with him.  He was a gifted visionary with a profound passion for authenticity and will be greatly missed.

After the memorial I'll return to the cottage again, undoubtedly with a healthy dose of perspective.  I have a little time to go for a bike ride, make dinner and head into the Park for:

This concert series has been one of the highlights of the last couple summers, so it's especially cool that it falls on my birthday this year.  It should be good fun.  (Weather permitting.)

And finally, it's back to the cottage for a big bonfire birthday bonanza, baby!

It will be a wonderful day, though many of those I love most aren't able to be here.  Trust me, you will all be thought of and missed.  Especially one, and she knows who she is.

And so I leave my 30's behind.  I really don't have anything deep or philosophical to say about this milestone, except that I'm grateful for every year I've had and every year I'm blessed with going forward.  I know I wouldn't have made it this long without the love, support and patience of my family and friends.  I'm humbled by the many manifestations of God's love in my life.  I see the hand of grace through every one of my 40 years.  It's why I have the faith to try another 40.

I love you all, more than I can say.

Uncle Lee meets Ayman for the first time!

Sara and I were able to scoot down to Chicago last Monday for a short visit with Jen and Adil and Ayman.  I must say that I was really moved to see what wonderful parents Jen and Adil already are.  They're naturals!  He's one lucky little guy!  I only wish my hair was as thick as his.

The Isthmus weighs in on The Nerd

www.isthmus.com/arts/article.php?article=2259

Relaxing after a successful opening.

Whew.  It's been an exhausting week, but we're finally entertaining the masses  The reviews are good and the laughs have been big.

Check out the Capital Times notice:

www.madison.com/tct/entertainment/284595

And here's the Wis. State Journal:

www.madison.com/wsj/home/entertainment/284833

Sara in all her 80's glory!

"The Nerd" is set in the early 80's.  Here's one of Sara's costumes.

My cousin, Spencer, is in the Green Zone

This is Spence with his mom and dad, Muriel and Scott Nichols.  Let's keep every family with loved ones serving in the occupation in our prayers.

Finally, a new post for Mom to read!

Reporting live from the theatre as the tech crew is working on the lighting cues, I'm happy to report things are going very smoothly on The Nerd.  It's been very busy for Sara and me, with lots of lines to memorize, lots of props to juggle and lots of intricately timed comedic bits.  I've never been in a show with my gal before, and it's been a great arrangement.  When things are stressful for one of us, the other can help talk them down.  Plus we can work on lines together outside of rehearsal.  Sara is really well cast in her role and doing a great job.  Plus, she looks fabulous!  Me?  I look nerdy, which works pretty well for this show.

I love being back in Madison, especially for that rare spring day that's actually warm and not rainy.  Soon I'll start biking from our apartment building, through the arboretum, into downtown for the shows.  Once the show is open, we'll have more daytime free for getting outside and enjoying hikes and stuff.

In the meantime, I'm beginning to wonder if every phone call might be news from Chicago where my sister, Jen, is nearly due to unburden her belly of a baby boy!  Prayers for her, and prayers, also, for my cousin Spencer.  He just landed in Baghdad where he'll serve with J.A.G. for the next year (or more?  Who knows?).

Alright, I have to go change into one of my silly costumes.  I promise, I won't wait so long until my next post, for those of you who, like my Mom, might be checking daily.

Nerd signing out.

Sara and her niece, Jenny

Don't ask me to decide who's cuter!

I'm officially a nerd!

Here's the link to the theatre: 

http://madisonrep.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=45&Itemid=95

Cut and paste that in your browser to see more.

Sara and I will both be in the show, and it should be a lot of fun!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Now keep your grubbin' hands offa me gold!

Current Lee

Right now I'm sitting in the sunny front room of the house I've called home for the last 7 years.  I rent from my good friend and long-time roommate, Bo Johnson.  He's a fine actor and musician I met when we were both performing improvisational comedy back in the 80's.

I've recently returned to Milwaukee, following a month on the road out in Northern California and Southern Oregon.  That trip was multipurpose.  My colleague, Dr. Fred "Doc" Heide, teaches at Alliant University's California School of Professional Psychology in San Fran.  Most years I spend some time out there, staying with him in his Berkeley cottage while we work on whatever our current writing project happens to be.

Doc was my writing partner on PACKER FANS FROM OUTER SPACE, and we are now in the early stages of a new musical about deer hunting in Wisconsin.  So we hiked around the area and wrote.  Above you can see one of the places we hike, at Point Reyes National Seashore in Marin County.  

We also had an additional project, teaching a class at his school.  We've been teaching the use of improvisational acting exercises to psychologists, grad students, therapists, etc. for the last 10  years, both in California and in Wisconsin's Door County for the Medical College of Wisconsin's Summer Institute.

This works out nicely, since that is usually where I am in the summer, working with American Folklore Theatre.  Where I will be again this summer, starting in late May through Labor Day.

My other reason for heading to the Pacific Northwest recently was to visit Sara in Ashland, OR and see the shows that she worked on as an assistant vocal coach at the prestigious Oregon Shakespeare Festival.  It's a wonderful place to work, both artistically and geographically, and it was a thrill to see the wonderful work that Sara is doing.

So for the next few weeks I'll be here in Milwaukee doing some work on the house to offset my rent, before Sara and I both head to Madison to start rehearsals on "The Nerd."  More about that soon.

Now I have some phone calls to make and laundry to do.

Lee out.

Meet my Sweetheart, Sara!

Since it's been terribly long since I've been in touch with lots of youse, I first need to make sure you all are caught up on the number one blessing in my life.  Sara Phillips is her name and she's a gem.  In addition to being an actor, she is an up-and-coming expert in the field of Theatrical Voice.  She's talented, ambitious, and way smarter than me.  Her family is from Laurel, MD where George Wallace was shot.  She had nothing to do with that, however.  I feel I know her pretty well, and can safely say she would never do such a thing.

Sara most recently worked at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, which is the biggest of it's kind in the country.  She has worked and trained with the best in the business, and I'm confident she is on her way to becoming one of them in due course.  

We met back in Fall '06, when I was performing in a show called "Muskie Love" in Madison.  She got her Masters in Acting at the UW with one of the other cast members, and so came to see the show.  Turns out she had seen me the previous winter in "Guys On Ice" in Madison.  So her first impressions of me were as "Ernie the Moocher" and "DNR Doug."  If you haven't seen me in either of these roles, let's just say that the fact that she was still interested in me after that is proof of her quality.

I'm ridiculously lucky to have her.

This is only a test.

If this had been an actual post, you would have been instructed where and when to click to see or hear more about something or other.