And now, for something completely different...
(Thanks to Monty Python for creating such a wonderfully versatile lead-in line...)
At the questioning of a few individuals, I want to start with a progress update: Edgar is doing well. He is now at my friend, Marla's, house in Trenton. Marla used to be a vet technician, and probably knows more about caring for sick animals than I will ever hope to learn. She informs me that he is doing well, he is redefining the concept of 'eating like a bird', as he's apparently eating like a very small horse. His current accommodations are an adapted dog carrier, which gives him a lot more room to walk around than the box I had him in. And he has a very devoted 'nurse'--Marla's 3-year-old daughter, Vivian, insists on checking up on him every couple of hours.
He grunts at people when they try to take him out of his home (he did the same thing to me with the box, I never knew pigeons could grunt). His wing seems to be in a good position for healing, though it is quite likely he will never fly again. Short of surgery, only luck will heal it up properly, and neither of us can afford to pay for a pigeon to get pins in his wing. He should be quite healthy after a month, at which time I plan to bring him back here. There are actually two kinds of pets that ARE allowed under my contract: Fish (which I really have no interest in...too much effort for the 'return' I get from them), and birds. So I've got to figure out what kind of facilities he will need (assuming he doesn't heal up completely and fly away the first time he gets a shot at the outdoors), and how to pay for them while keeping all my other bills paid.
I've never had a bird before. The closest I got was taking care of someone else's while they were on vacation. And NOBODY I know has ever kept a pigeon as a housepet. So I really don't know where to start looking for cages/perches/toys/etc. I get the feeling, as the coming month moves further and further along, I'm going to spend more and more time conferring with Marla about what to get.
Now, on to other things--
I just finished watching Blue Man Group's 'Complex Rock Show' concert video. I don't even remember how many times I've seen it already, and it still just blows me away. Had my life gone a little differently, I might have ended up being a Blue Man (I was seriously considering auditioning for them at one point in time...but no more, I haven't picked up a pair of drumsticks to play in years!)
If/when the time comes that I leave Lagoon, I think I'd want to go work for them. I've done a little bit of research into their organization, and I think I'd feel very much at home there. They refuse to hire union personnel, because they believe very much in an integrated approach to the shows...everyone helps out where they are needed, there's none of this, "That's not my union" bullshit. If you're on props and they need a light moved, and you're the closest man, they'll have you move it. And that just makes sense to me.
However, the unions HATE them, because while they don't hire union labor, they DO provide union benefits to their non-union employees. They're a group that takes care of their own. It doesn't surprise me to hear that, looking at their show. They are all about quality and showmanship...but they definitely do NOT think inside the box.
If you ever get the chance to see them perform, live or recorded, take it. It's a kick. I've already promised myself, if it hasn't happened before then, that I'm going to Vegas for my 40th birthday to see their show live. Just a little over two years to go...
Of course, that means I'll need someone to babysit a pigeon for me...any takers? ;)
(Thanks to Monty Python for creating such a wonderfully versatile lead-in line...)
At the questioning of a few individuals, I want to start with a progress update: Edgar is doing well. He is now at my friend, Marla's, house in Trenton. Marla used to be a vet technician, and probably knows more about caring for sick animals than I will ever hope to learn. She informs me that he is doing well, he is redefining the concept of 'eating like a bird', as he's apparently eating like a very small horse. His current accommodations are an adapted dog carrier, which gives him a lot more room to walk around than the box I had him in. And he has a very devoted 'nurse'--Marla's 3-year-old daughter, Vivian, insists on checking up on him every couple of hours.
He grunts at people when they try to take him out of his home (he did the same thing to me with the box, I never knew pigeons could grunt). His wing seems to be in a good position for healing, though it is quite likely he will never fly again. Short of surgery, only luck will heal it up properly, and neither of us can afford to pay for a pigeon to get pins in his wing. He should be quite healthy after a month, at which time I plan to bring him back here. There are actually two kinds of pets that ARE allowed under my contract: Fish (which I really have no interest in...too much effort for the 'return' I get from them), and birds. So I've got to figure out what kind of facilities he will need (assuming he doesn't heal up completely and fly away the first time he gets a shot at the outdoors), and how to pay for them while keeping all my other bills paid.
I've never had a bird before. The closest I got was taking care of someone else's while they were on vacation. And NOBODY I know has ever kept a pigeon as a housepet. So I really don't know where to start looking for cages/perches/toys/etc. I get the feeling, as the coming month moves further and further along, I'm going to spend more and more time conferring with Marla about what to get.
Now, on to other things--
I just finished watching Blue Man Group's 'Complex Rock Show' concert video. I don't even remember how many times I've seen it already, and it still just blows me away. Had my life gone a little differently, I might have ended up being a Blue Man (I was seriously considering auditioning for them at one point in time...but no more, I haven't picked up a pair of drumsticks to play in years!)
If/when the time comes that I leave Lagoon, I think I'd want to go work for them. I've done a little bit of research into their organization, and I think I'd feel very much at home there. They refuse to hire union personnel, because they believe very much in an integrated approach to the shows...everyone helps out where they are needed, there's none of this, "That's not my union" bullshit. If you're on props and they need a light moved, and you're the closest man, they'll have you move it. And that just makes sense to me.
However, the unions HATE them, because while they don't hire union labor, they DO provide union benefits to their non-union employees. They're a group that takes care of their own. It doesn't surprise me to hear that, looking at their show. They are all about quality and showmanship...but they definitely do NOT think inside the box.
If you ever get the chance to see them perform, live or recorded, take it. It's a kick. I've already promised myself, if it hasn't happened before then, that I'm going to Vegas for my 40th birthday to see their show live. Just a little over two years to go...
Of course, that means I'll need someone to babysit a pigeon for me...any takers? ;)
posted by Curtis at 11:04 PM
4 Comments:
Glad to hear about the bird.
Have to disagree with you with regard to the union stuff and Blue Man, though. Groups that get around the union actually hurt the entire performing arts profession. The unions are there to insure proper treatment, coverage and safety. And they are also there to insure not only a living and reasonable wage but that the artistry involved, whether it is backstage or onstage, is fairly compensated.
Unions ensure that things on all levels, from management to production, are done correctly and professionally. If you ever get the chance to be on a union set and compare that to the non-union ones you'll see what I mean. The EVERWOOD shoot I did a couple of weeks ago was amazing. So smooth, so professional. I can't tell you how sloppy the non-union shoots I've been on are like and I refuse to be involved with them anymore. It also should be pointed out that the union insures payment within 10 days. There are a number of non-union jobs I've done where I've never been paid to this day. You may have seen me on a smoking commercial on tv recently and another where I'm selling gum as part of a used car lot ad. Didn't get paid for either one and there's nothing I can do.
I made a very good living performing theater and doing commercial work in St. Louis, Kansas City, and Chicago. All union towns. The work was always high quality, the pay was good-to-excellent, and the respect for everyone's professional skills was always evident. Not so in Utah, a non-union state. I shot a number of national commercials in Kansas City and I was paid very well (from $5000 - $16,000). I've done two in Utah. One paid $500 and the other $250. Yet the advertising firm charges just as much. Where do you think that money goes? To the head of the advertising firm, not to the entire production team. Unions are absolutely necessary for the survival of our economy as a country.
I'll bet that if you were paid what you're worth (and what you'd be earning at union-affiliated Disneyland/World) rather than what Lagoon pays, you'd be able to buy a pretty nice cage for that new pet of yours. Plus a house. Plus insurance and retirement. And you would deserve it.
When I do a show at Pioneer Theatre, the minimum they can pay me is $750 a week. Union. When I do a show at SLAC, $500 a week. Union. When you do a show at Desert Star - $20 - $30 bucks a show. No insurance, no retirement.
If you want to make a living as a craftsperson, either in the arts or in any other field, you need to be with a union.
That's why I'm so enthused about the prospect of working with Blue Man Group. They combine the best of both worlds. But I always respect differing viewpoints...especially when I know a lot of what's said is very true. I also know, had I rushed out and gotten into the union, that 90% of the work I've done in the last five years would not have been an option. And while I may not have been paid as much for the work, I feel like I've still gotten compensated fairly. I have, actually, only had trouble getting paid from one job I did (the company nearly went bankrupt because they sunk so much money into running up to the production that they didn't have anything left for afterwards... and they severely over-estimated their take from the box office).
I'm on a costumers' email list...and, thus far, the score stands at one story providing glowing reviews of union work (you) versus about two dozen blazing condemnations of going union (them). The jury's still out, however. But I enjoy being in an environment where I'm free to cross over and do other kinds of work without having to ask permission to do so...that's part of the reason I never finished my theater degree--couldn't stay focused on any one aspect of it long enough to fill all the requirements.
Okay. Good dialogue.
Who are these costume people? Where do they work? Are they union or non-union. Another great thing about a union is you have a mechanism to respond to any employer who doesn't give you a fair shake. I'm guessing these costume people are non-union folk. I've never met a union person who is anti-union and I've known hundreds. But I've met a lot of people who aren't in a union hear horror stories that are untrue and spread like wildfire. Sort of like politics.
One costume person you should talk to is a USU alum named Gary Arave. He's currently doing wig work for SPAMALOT on Broadway. He's done about a dozen Broadway shows in the past 6 years or so. I know exactly what he'd say about his union. If you're interested in asking him about work-related stuff or how New York has treated him let me know and I'll pass on his email to you.
To pick up where I left off before the weekend (if you're still reading this far back...!)--most of them are non-union...and some of them are EX-union. For all the benefits the unions supply, they can cause problems, as well...many of these costumers (from all over the nation and into Canada) can't take on jobs they want without having to jump through union hoops. If they don't live in a major population center, there aren't enough union houses to keep them working...and the non-union houses can't afford to pay what the union demands as a wage. Equity may do wonders for actors... but I know a few equity actors that have started to question whether going union was the best choice for them, given the market in which they work (as there are only three or four union houses in Utah).
The thing I appreciated so much in hearing BMG's non-union approach is that they have basically BECOME their own union...they provide the benefits, the pay...and they hold their people to a demanding standard of performance...but they don't have all the bureaucratic nonsense that seems to accompany any union situation I've ever heard of. I mean, hey...if your employer is already willing to provide you with everything the union is demanding for you, why do you need the union?
Now, in the case of non-union theaters that DON'T provide wages/benefits/environment commensurate to the demands they place on their people *coughcoughHALE CENTERcough*--yeah, well, I don't think I'd go work for them if they begged. I mean, I might...sometimes my ego does get the better of me, and someone begging for my help is tough to walk away from. But Lagoon pays as well or better than any summer stock job I've heard of around here, and there's at least some semblance of a retirement package if you're working enough hours for them...and we've jumped through the hoops to hire union people before, and had it turn out badly when we did.
So the jury's out on union/non-union, in my mind. But, at this point in my life, being where I am and doing what I'm doing, I'm thankful I'm not union. I'm enjoying the flexibility of taking or leaving a job on my own discretion, and not having to worry about making sure I work enough consecutive hours at any specific job that I can maintain my union status.
Thirty years from now, I may regret that. But it's where I need to be at the moment.
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