Current obsessions

Grad school has begun, and the Hale has added a few matinees of Beau Jest, so suddenly I find myself with fewer hours per week than I'm used to. But that's okay. I'm moving towards that mountain. And there are a few things making that climb awesome. Here are some of the things I've been digging lately:

The X-Files
I already talked a little about my love for the X-Files, but my love has deepened enough that I recently bought a "I Want to Believe" sticker to put on my laptop. There are so many mysteries! Who is Cancer Man? How much does Alex Krycek know? Will Mulder's sister ever be found? I'm only on the beginning of season 4, though, so no spoilers.

Hamilton
People have been telling me about Hamilton for months, and I haven't believed them. A musical about founding father Alexander Hamilton? A RAP/HIP HOP musical about Alexander Hamilton?! There's no way it could work. But it does. It does so much. I finally bought the soundtrack after a long discussion in the greenroom at the Hale, and I've been listening to almost nothing else for the last week. How is it so good!? It's so good.

The Oscars
I love the Oscars deeply. I often hear people criticize the Oscars, saying it's all pageantry. But I really believe it's more than that. Sure, there's an element of pageantry. But I think everyone involved in the Oscars knows that the pageantry is kind of a game. Of course the red carpet isn't real life. At its heart, the Academy Awards are a celebration of film and filmmaking. It's a recognition of the extraordinary work being done in the industry. It's actors and directors and designers coming together to celebrate the beauty of the work they get to do, and the way that it can change lives. That's beautiful to me, and I look forward to watching it every year.
Notably, I don't have cable, and the Oscars are not easy to find live online. I have been invited to "Oscar parties" on multiple occasions, and I always hate them. Because so far, no one I've met loves the Oscars as much as I do, and when I watch the Oscars with other people, they talk and occasionally heckle and are generally disrespectful of the sacred nature of the Oscar viewing experience. So please, take no offense if I decline an invitation to your Oscar party. I love you, but I'm probably going to rent a hotel room on that Sunday night and eat chocolate and watch the Oscars in my underwear, reverently and joyfully.

Beau Jest
This blog has been an endless stream of Beau Jestery for the last few months, but I just can't believe I get to do this for a whole month. With these amazing people! With this amazing script! At this amazing theatre! (With this amazing wig!) Almost every night, there's at least one golden moment onstage, one of those moments when you're bumping up against that column of light, or standing right in it. And it's this gift, and my heart is going to burst with the thank you's I'm carrying.



Grad School
I haven't been a student for 4 years, and it's sort of surreal to try to become one again. In the back of my mind, I feel vaguely like I'm just pretending--I'm not really a grad student. But my Blackboard account would say otherwise. I've done some amazing reading lately (Jo Ann Beard's "The Fourth State of Matter"?! PHENOMENAL), and I'm excited for this degree.







What are you digging nowadays?