Dear Techs,
On behalf of all performers, thank you. Your job is weird in that the better you are at it, the less anyone notices you’re there. As performers, we constantly struggle with that as a concept. We often link attention with importance, yet without your silent presence, we’d be all screwed.
You’re often at shows before we arrive and you stay back long after we’re gone. Sometimes you’re teching several shows in a row. You sit through the same scripts, the same songs, the same jokes again and again and again. Your patience knows no bounds, yet as soon as we notice a mistake, we are on you like tigers pouncing. But still, you show up. You create your magic through sound, or lights and you make the show complete.
We may forget to thank you as often as we should. We may be...
Lifestyle
Dear Secretary of State
This is a response to the Reforming Key Stage 4 Qualifications consultation on behalf of the Theatrical Management Association (TMA) and the Society of London Theatre (SOLT). SOLT and TMA are trade associations representing the interests of those engaged in the production and presentation of medium to large-scale dramatic and lyric theatre in the UK. Their members, drawn from subsidised and commercial theatre, together number c.520 and include repertory and producing theatres, arts centres and touring venues, major national companies and independent producers, opera and dance companies and associated individuals and businesses.
We have not followed the format of the prescribed template for this consultation as it did not allow us to adequately reflect the...
2,543
Dear Girl/Fellow blogger,
I have been reading your blog and to sum it all up, just wow! You see, I know for a fact that you are a virgo (All of the things I am about to write are not based only by your astrological sign. Funny thing is I actually know you, personally. In junior high school you were one year ahead of me plus we have been in the same drama class and both starred in mediocre renditions of ‘A Christmas Carol’ and ‘Grease’. Anyway, where was I? Oh yes, I have been re-reading your posts and I simply cannot help noticing your dire need for some objective perception/apprehension (What the heck… it might not always be objective).
In your blog, you expressed that you are facing a dilemma between friendships and relationships. As a virgo, there is a tendency of being analytic...
2,694
Dear Ms. Budig,
I’m writing in response to your recent blog post, Color the World, in which you share the “venomous” rejection of you as the face of body positivity and call it an act of bullying. While I, nor the Yoga and Body Image Coalition I co-founded, wrote the post you were referring to, it was shared by YBIC leader, Elen Bahr, on her “Yoga for Every Body” Facebook page, and due to the strong words you used in a very public blog post to your hundreds of thousands of fans and readers, I feel compelled to publicly respond – not just to address specific points with you personally, but to address them with the general public and, hopefully, help educate people on some key points, and help raise consciousness and elevate the conversation.
The Yoga and Body Image Coalition is a...
2,679
Dear Ben,
I just caught your trailer for BBC Two's new season of drama, and it's SO sexy I almost got a semi. Though, I must say, I think some people might be a little bit cun*ish about it. Don't worry, you're leaving soon, so fuck 'em!
I imagine by now you're sick of all this diversity business. I know am! I hear whispers among some that people think Lenny Henry's made a career move out of it. Just as well really, the Premiere Inn gig could only last for so long! It's like all those gays up on Castro Street who were forever harping on about inequality. I only mention the Harvey Milk brigade because I hear we're sisters, you and I. So, both of us are aware of what it's like to be in the minority, aren't we?
I also hear that while you've been at Auntie doing the drama you've...
2,498
Dear Dad,
Yesterday, was May 3rd, the anniversary of the day I lost you forever. I can’t believe it has been 13 years since the moment I sat next to you in your hospital room as you took your last breath.
As difficult as that moment was to watch, I am eternally grateful that I was there with you as you slipped away from us.There is no place on earth I would rather have been at that moment than at your side, where I so gladly spent my entire life up to that very moment.
On this, the 13th anniversary of your passing, I find myself asking the same questions over and over again since that fateful moment that I don’t really think I have an answer to as yet. Did you know I was there…did you hear what I said and do you know how much I loved you and how much you inspired my entire life? I just...
5,546
Dear Rick:
As you have undoubtedly become aware, there is currently an online backlash occurring and you are its target. There is a term, “Don’t bite the hand that feeds you,” that you might want to ponder. See, you’ve expended immeasurable time and energy over the last several months hitting up established bloggers with established followings in order to make connections in the Down syndrome community as a means of relentlessly promoting yourself and your blog as THE place to go for answers (this despite the fact that you are not even a whole year into the journey of parenting a child with Down syndrome; you still have a lot to learn, my friend!). You’ve shamelessly ridden on the coattails of someone else’s accomplishments to make a name for yourself. The problem is that you have...
6,318
Dear Bravo TV, producers of The Real Housewives of New York City, Aviva Drescher and any other parties involved,
I have something very important to tell you: No one likes George Teichner.
George Teichner is not funny. He is, at his most innocent, a lecherous old man who makes off-color jokes at dinner parties. He is, at his worst, a lecherous old man who thinks it’s hilarious to inappropriately grab, grope, poke, and even threaten women in his company. He has, to the best of my knowledge, touched just about every cast member (save his daughter Aviva, thank goodness for small favors) in a sexual way. This content – a breast grab, a butt squeeze, a poke in the behind with his Viagra-fueled erection – is presented on your show as the hilarious hi-jinks of an eccentric old man. The...
15,480
Dear would-be employer,
I know you get more people going for each job than you actually have up for grabs, so I thought I’d try something a bit different in the hope of standing out from that pesky crowd.
A month from today, my fixed-term contract is coming to an end. I’ve loved this job and am really rather sad that it’s coming to an end, but I know there’s something else out there for me. Something even bigger and better, I hope – possibly even with you as my new boss – so I thought I’d let you know about what I could bring to a workplace. I won’t bore you with the fact that I’m an award winning multi-channel editor, journalist and blogger with a decade of experience in a raft of digital and print publications behind me – you can read all that stuff on my LinkedIn profile – so I...
2,821
Dear Dad,
I feel badly that my post, entitled What I Don’t Know, upset and offended you. Hurting your feelings was never my intention as we discussed on the phone. As a writer, I use my words in many ways; and none of them is to cause bitterness or anger. In particular, I write and express myself here, in this space, in order to help other queerspawn and their families who may be struggling. By asking questions, raising sometimes sensitive issues, and by provoking thoughtful dialogue, Amie and I hope to engage our readership and grow our community–creating a safe space– where others like us can feel comfortable expressing themselves as well. Only by talking about our own past, experiences, stories, feelings, and ideas can we expect others to want to join and share theirs as well.
I...
2,509