Well, that's pretty satisfying

As I noted earlier on this blog, I recently got involved with Actors' Summit, a professional  theater located in Akron, Ohio, as a member of their Board of Trustees.

Shortly after that, the artistic directors, Neil Thackaberry and MaryJo Alexander, asked me to design the set for Bully: An Adventure with Teddy Roosevelt by Jerome Alden. Well, the reviews are in and they are extremely positive:

• 'Bully' showcases actor's talents
• Actors' Summit stages 'strong' production
• Bully for 'Bully' at Actors' Summit

Now, I'm thrilled for Neil, Peter, MaryJo, Kevin, and Daniel that the show is getting good reviews, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't extremely happy and surprised by the mention of my work:

Rory Wohl’s handsome set is dominated by rich wood panels, a leather chair, desk and large portrait of Roosevelt at center stage, nicely lit by Kevin Rutan. Wohl researched Roosevelt’s study at his beloved Sagamore Hill home on Long Island, a National Historic Site, to re-create the gracious space. ('Bully' showcases actor's talents)

Rory Wohl (set design) brought to the stage one of the most visually exciting sets Actors’ Summit has offered. Wohl’s set has several levels, with steps and platforms. The set included a life-size painting of Roosevelt, the heads of two animals and painting of flowers. These items represent the interest of Roosevelt’s life. Wohl included large carpets, which looked expensive and kept down the sound of the actor walking around on the platforms.

This exceptional set, combined with Kevin Rutan’s excellent lighting, provided an appropriate backdrop by the telling of Roosevelt’s story. (Actors' Summit stages 'strong' production)

Rory Wohl's handsomely appointed and well-placed office setting keeps the action flowing and the transitions seamless. (Bully for 'Bully' at Actors' Summit)

The show features after-performance discussions with Plain Dealer television critic, author and Roosevelt scholar Mark Dawidziak.

So, do yourself a favor, go see some live theater, support local artists, and have a really enjoyable evening.

A thought for Verizon Wireless

Dear Verizon,

You've had a very bad year-end. Your state-of-the-art 4G network has had four outages this year with three of them being in December.

You've taken a beating from the press, customers, and even the FCC over a plan to charge $2 convenience fee for every online transaction. It was so bad, in fact, that you scrapped the plan less than a day after announcing it.

People now say the word "Verizon" the same way they say the word "Netflix," with a small chuckle combined with an eye-roll.

Now, I understand why you want to move folks off of one-time, online bill payment transactions and on to automatic, repeating payments; it costs more to process the one-time payments versus the automatic payments.

But, instead of punishing those who choose the one-time payment, how about incenting them instead? AT&T offers a $10 gift card for customers who sign-up for autopay. Dish Network waives certain upgrade or service fees for customers on autopay and paperless billing.

May I humbly suggest that you give away something that you charge $2 per month for now, like roadside assistance or cell phone insurance? Certainly, it doesn't cost you $2 to provide those services, so it's not like you'd be losing a lot of money. One would think you'd make it up on the processing fees.

It's bad enough you've taken away the "new every two" promotion, shrunk the return window from a month to two weeks, and changed your upgrade policy from 13 months to 20 month on a two-year contract, so how about a "give back?"

Just a suggestion from a guy who won't upgrade his smartphone because he doesn't want to lose his unlimited data plan.

Another way in which Conservatives and Liberals are different

Much is being made and reported of Newt Gingrich getting emotional and tearing up when talking about his mother the other day in Iowa. I understand that; I still get pretty teary-eyed when talking about my father, who passed away about the same time as Newt's mother.

But, it's the quote by Newt which is most telling to me:

And my whole emphasis on brain science comes in directly from dealing -- see, I'm going to be emotional -- of dealing with, you know, the real problems of real people in my family.
And so it's not a theory. It's, in fact, you know, my mother.

(emphasis mine)

See, with Conservatives, issues are only important when they directly affect them. Here, Newt cares about brain science because it directly affected his mother, so he's all in favor of spending government money for research. Things that don't affect him, like unemployment compensation, he's not so concerned about.

Liberals, on the other hand, are generally able to see issues that affect other people, realize that it's in the greater societal good to do something about them, and then actually do something about it. See empathy, compassion.

If you're a Conservative, then when you need a helping hand, it's OK (a farm in which Michelle Bachmann has an interest received over $250K in federal subsidies), but when someone else needs a hand, then it's "pull yourself up by your bootstraps." See hypocrisy.

A Better World

 

(http://www.americanprogress.org/cartoons/2011/12/120611.html)

The GOP’s not even trying…

…to pretend that they give a hoot about average Americans.

For the last 30 years, the Republican stance on taxes has essentially been:

Lower taxes will lead to people having more money. They’ll use that money to buy more stuff. As they buy more stuff, employers will create more jobs and the economy will grow. As the economy grows, the government will still take in the same amount of money because even though tax rates are lower, the economy is bigger.

So, tax cuts are good and pay for themselves (smaller tax rate, but larger economy).

Let’s over-simplify that some more:

If the economy were a $100 bill and the tax rate were 10%, the government would get $10, leaving $90 for everybody else. The Republicans argue that if you cut the tax rate by 20% the economy would grow (let’s, for argument sake, say by that same 20%). So, now the economy should be worth $120, the tax rate is 8%, the government gets $9.60 and everybody else gets to keep $110.40.

Now, there’s not a one-to-one relationship between the tax cut and economic growth (that is, if you cut the tax rate by 1% you don’t automatically grow the economy by 1%; in reality, the economy grows by less).

Obviously, even in this most optimistic of scenarios, the tax cuts don’t pay for themselves.  But, the GOP believes that they do, except when they don’t. Which is now:

“Like many foes of the payroll tax break, [Rep. Allen West, a freshman Republican from Florida] said he opposes the way it reduces the revenue stream to Social Security -- even if those funds are replenished with spending cuts elsewhere in the budget.”

The conclusion that one is left to draw is simply this: tax cuts are good when they help the 1% and bad when they help the 99%.

Black Friday Starts on Thursday, For Some

I know I'm a little late on this, but apparently both workers and consumers objected to stores like Target, Macy’s, Best Buy and Kohl’s opening at midnight on Thanksgiving. If only there was some way for workers to organize and, oh, I don't know, collectively bargain for work schedules and benefits. And, if only there was some organization charged with ensuring that those employees who suggest such a thing would be protected from retaliation. I know, how 20th century of me.

Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in

In 1990, I graduated from the Ohio University School of Theater with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Production Design and Technology. Between 1987 and 1993, I worked for seven different theater companies in various capacities including stage carpenter, master carpenter, and assistant technical director.

In 1993, I left theater to pursue a career in Information Technology.

Now, after 18 years away, I appear to be back. Last night, I was installed as a Trustee of Actors’ Summit, a professional  theater located in Akron, Ohio.

Actor's Summit is entering its 13th year with a season that includes:

Woody Guthrie's American Song (October 6 – 30)

Woody Guthrie, the American troubadour, gave a passionate voice to the nation during the Great Depression. Five talented actor/musicians sing Woody's story from New York's skid row to the ravaged dustbowl to the orchards of California. "So Long It's Been Good to Know Ya," "900 Miles," and "This Land Is Your Land" and 20 other songs from the heart of the heartland will fill your mind and touch your heart.

Winter Wonderettes (November 23 – December 23)

It is Christmas, 1968 and the Marvelous Wonderettes, Betty Jean, Cindy Lou, Missy and Suzy, entertain at the holiday party for Harper's Hardware, where Betty Jean has worked since high school. Santa arrives late and brings bad news – the hardware store is closing. The girls rescue the holiday with a concert of pop Christmas favorites from "Frosty the Snowman" to "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree." 

Bully (January 19 – February 5)

Military hero, President, cowboy, Secretary of the Navy, Nobel Peace Prize winner, conservationist, trust buster, police commissioner, Vice President, explorer, big game hunter, author, governor. It could be a list of things a child might want to be when they grow up. It actually is a list of some of the things that Teddy Roosevelt did become in the course of his 60 years. One actor attempts to explore some of the roles Teddy lived.

A Girl's Guide to Coffee (February 23 - March 11)

Eric Coble, the Cleveland based playwright whose works have been performed all across the country, creates a new play for Actors' Summit. Coffee, from the ubiquitous Starbucks, to the neighborhood shop, has become a defining commodity for a generation. Half-caff macchiato with chocolate shavings and whipped cream has become as common as "burger & fries." A barista, whose creations elevate the humble bean to hitherto unknown heights, carves a path for herself from college to whatever comes next. 

The Importance of Being Earnest (March 29 – April 22)

In the 112 years since its premiere this Trivial Comedy for Serious People play has probably generated more laughter than any other piece of dramatic literature. Jack is Jack in town, but Ernest in the country. His ward, Cecily is deeply in love with Ernest's ne'er-do-well brother who doesn't exist. Lady Bracknel rules all and is certainly not going to allow her daughter to "form an alliance with a handbag." Naturally everything works out perfectly and everyone lives happily ever after.

I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change (May 10 – June 3)

This year Actors' Summit marks the tenth anniversary of their first production of Love, Perfect, Change which was the regional premiere of this laugh out loud, comedy about the stages of love from dating through marriage. The show was extended twice and was Actors' Summit's best attended play. From "I'll Call You Soon" to "Always a Bridesmaid" to "I Can Live With That" this musical finds the laughter in every dating and mating situation.

Route 66 (June 21 – July 29)
Route 66 is a fun, high energy 1950's road trip from Chicago to Los Angeles. The songs, most of which are about cars, move the audience from one town to the next, as we used to travel in the days before the interstate. Beach Boys hits, from "Little GTO" and "Little Old Lady from Pasadena," together with lots of great car songs create an evening of laughter and road trip music

There's a little something in here for everyone.

According to BoardSource, one of the Ten Basic Responsibilities of Nonprofit Boards is to:

Ensure adequate financial resources. One of the board's foremost responsibilities is to secure adequate resources for the organization to fulfill its mission.

To that end, I would encourage all (both?) of the readers of this blog to support Actors’ Summit through attendance or donation (or both).

I do not understand this front office

Yes, it's time for a baseball rant from me. Specifically a Cleveland Indians rant.

Just when I was beginning to get over the trade of the team's two best pitching prospects for a guy with a lifetime record of 56 - 45 and a 3.66 ERA (in the National League; add 0.50 to the ERA to get a comparable ERA had he pitched in the American League), the front office sends down to Triple-A arguably the team's most effective pitcher over the last month, David Huff.

Here are the stats, as I've calculated them, for each of the Indians starting pitchers over their last three starts (includes Ubaldo Jimenez' starts for the Colorado Rockies, the last one an aborted one inning stint when he knew he was being traded):


Last year, Huff fell into the Indians' dog house by prematurely tweeting that he was being called up from Triple-A before the move was announced. Since then, however, Huff has been a model pitcher, working on the things the front office said he needed to work on.

This is evident by the way he's handled himself of the mound as he hasn't let the five errors the team has made behind him affect his pitching. (Compare that to the way Carrasco has handled himself.)

It just seems like for every two steps forward, this front office takes one step back. Well, at least they're moving forward. I just hope it's not to the edge of a cliff.