Helping B25 at Window 3

I’ve been here before, but it wasn’t easy the first time, so I wouldn’t expect it to be so this time. A little catch up so you can follow…in ’99 I joined the Navy with a six year contract. In October of 2002 (almost to the day) I re-enlisted for six more, but in early 2003, I incurred my initial left-shoulder dislocation. Before the end of the year, I had transferred off my submarine (Hooyah, Rickover!) and awaited orders while serving with Sub Squadron Eight. Shortly after, my right-shoulder was jealous of my left and then went out for the first time ever as well.

Now, I’m left-handed, and so my left-shoulder injury (and a couple more in the next year and a half because it was now weakened) affected my ability to pass the PFT (then PRT)—in other words, I was unable to support my weight in the push ups portion of the test. We explored surgery as an option, but the docs explained to me that I essentially hadn’t been in the Navy long enough for it to benefit them to attempt the surgery and keep me in not at full strength. If you do the math, at this point, I was in for about four years and having entered the service at 17, soaked up the lifestyle and honored traditions quickly and felt proud to be a part of such a revered team. After leaving everything I knew after high school, I found a niche and began to make a home for myself on the east coast in this brand new life.

But the time came to start a new chapter.

On September 20, 2004, I separated from the Navy with an Honorable Discharge for medical reasons.

Relationships. Army contractor with General Dynamics. Maryland. Oklahoma. DC. Texas. Oklahoma. Life refocus. Move back to California in March of ’05.

Recap:

• Move to a new area and become a part of a team (Navy).
• Major career event/change (medical discharge).
• Refocus.
• Long distance move (VA to CA).

Working in bars. Delivering pizzas. Start at DVC and return to the theatre that I felt comfortable in before I joined the Navy. After a fairly smooth transition back into the performing arts, I had reached a point where I felt like I was waiting for a professional validation to get me to the next level. That came in the form of being selected as the Advanced Student Director of 2008-2009 to direct Jesus Hopped the ‘A’ Train. A great victory was shared among friends and this experience will never be forgotten.

Recap:

• Move to a “new” area and become a part of a team (DVC/east bay).
• Major career event/change (‘A’ Train).
• Refocus.
• Long distance move (Bay to LB).
• Lather, rinse, and repeat.

In 2009 I injected myself into CSULB theatre. Before the end of 2010 I had broadened my effective spread and launched the Long Beach ActingExaminer (#LBAX) and Long Beach Theatre Arts Collaborative (#LBTAC) in addition to getting a job on campus with the Forty-Niner Shops (#49erShops). I was almost let go with the majority of rush employees in Book Info after that first summer, but I was snagged by HR to join the reception desk team upstairs before throwing in the towel. Eventually I had joined the Communications Department and became much more involved with the company. I’ve reached another plateau (for reasons unstated), and it has become time to refocus with a major life event over the horizon—I’m getting married.

Recap:

• Move to a new area and become a part of a team (49er Shops).
• Major career event/change (getting married).
• Refocus.
• Long distance move (Long Beach to South Bend).

So it looks like my number has just came up and things are going “according to plan.” The questions I had in my head were sorted out in the typing of this blog. Although it has been difficult to acknowledge, my upcoming departure from the Shops isn’t a reflection of a lack of effort on my part, it’s more similar to the reasons the Navy wouldn’t operate on my shoulder to keep me in. So instead of looking at this as a lack of professional validation, it’s time to regard this as the world ascertaining the upcoming move to Indiana. The biggest difference in this chapter—it’s not just me anymore. I’ll be taking these next steps with a wonderful, beautiful, supportive wife.

Thanks for coming along with me on this little, late-night realization journey. Sometimes you just have to blog things out to make them clear.

Stovetop Psychology

Just call me Jiffy Pop.

I am associated with movies, parties, fairs, happy hours and other events.

I can be salty, buttery, cheesy, or whatever you feel like having me be for the occasion.

But if you leave me alone for too long, or give me more heat that i really need to get going, I'm going to burn.

I won't be any fun, Ill probably make a mess in your house and throw stuff everywhere.

I'll leave stains on your hands, a terrible taste in your mouth, and in the end, I'll just have wasted your time when all you wanted was a little snack to accessorize your party.

Call it old school, call it stovetop psychology, but don't burn Jiffy Pop.

Quikrete: Foundation

You know, as in cement, or was it a spin off for what I titled in my head "Quick write"?

It's now both. What started as an itch to post a "quick write," I thought of Quikrete (and several bags that sat in the garage growing up), which led to cement...and a foundation.

I've been learning a lot since graduation last May, and as my fiancee approaches her graduation in three fortnights, it's amazing to think I've been done with school for almost a year.

Quikrete. Foundation. Moving on.

I turned 18 after I graduated from boot camp. I enlisted in March of my senior year in high school, and left for boot camp less than two months after crossing that stage as part of the first ever graduating class of Deer Valley High School, Antioch, CA.

Having served in the Navy for 5 years and now having been conferred a Bachelor's degree, I can now reflect and compare the process of both paths. 

1. I thoroughly enjoyed both chapters.
2. Neither path was a cakewalk, but that doesn't mean I didn't enjoy the journey. See #1.
3. From my first full semester at DVC, I was glad I went into the Navy right out of high shcool.
4. Through my final semester at CSULB, I was glad I went into the Navy right out of high school.
5. While in the Navy, I had a CO tell me I was too immature to holder a senior position.
6. While in college, I had a director tell me I took my job as an actor too seriously.
7. Thanks to the Navy, I developed a work ethic with respect and understanding for superiors and rankings.
8. Thanks to the Navy, I learned not to be afraid of superiors, regardless of rank, as long as I addressed them with respect for their rank in regards to my own.
9. Thanks to my time the Navy and in college, I developed my work ethic, discovered talents and strengths, and gained confidence in my work to where I no longer felt necessary to hide behind a smile like I did through high school.
10. One year out of college, and I'm starting to feel like the confidence, work ethic, and foundation I built from the Navy and forged through the diploma isn't right.

Before and after.

• Before: Address with respect to the rank/title first, with consideration for the personality second.
• After: Address the personality you're dealing with first,  with consideration for the rank second (if it all).

• Before: Seniority paralleled rank/experience.
• After: Seniority trumped rank or experience.

• Before: Work out issues with a fight, over a couple beers, and show up the next day ready to work.
• After: Let it stew, complain to HR, attribute it to personality issues and not really fix anything.

I've said it plenty of times in the last year, but I never thought that being in the Navy would be easier, less complicated, and have less drama to deal with.

For whatever reasons, the foundation that I've set does not offer solid footing for my current situation. I never thought respect for higher ranks (including, but not limited to honest, tactful criticism/conversation) would be wrong or discouraged, but I genuinely feel like it's not the way it works.

This, among other things, means it's time to go, and go I shall.

Actors and Athletes Part II

Both actors and athletes alike compete and perform, and for it to be less messy, they tend to compete within their own circles. The disparity in the income earned between the two professionals is staggering, and as I am much more of an actor than an athlete (click here for Part I), I saw the difference from the financially inferior end. Until recently, I blindly scoffed and shook my head over and over as ESPN reported on trade deals, multi-million dollar contracts, and the poor attitude with which these business negotiations and offers were regarded, but I’ve begun to realize where this rift begins.

I have had the pleasure of attending (and working on) a large variety of theatrical performances, from free public school and community center performances to orchestra level seats on Broadway, and the ticket price range extends much, much higher than those I’ve been fortunate enough to afford. As for sporting events, tickets are not even necessary for some community leagues either, but I would be sorely naïve to omit the seats from this blog that I may never be able to afford—courtside NBA or 50-yard line bowl game.

Yes, the events are much different, and the venues are starkly different beasts, but the point is to illustrate the fee-based similarity in two distinctly different events: one where the audience watches athletes and the other to watch actors, and in both cases, premium ticket prices can soar into the thousands.

Fact: Both plays and games can get equally expensive, really quickly.

In any case, let’s get to the performance aspect. John Stockton and Doc Rivers have offered some of the best performances ever seen, but neither was nominated for a Tony. Conversely, the third gazelle from the left in Julie Taymor’s The Lion King could possibly outrun the average human, but they probably will not be invited to the NFL Combine. This should be no surprise, as Stockton and Rivers were NBA stars and didn’t set foot anywhere on a Broadway stage (at least in a running production), and dancers aren’t drafted on their ability to arabesque. However, it would be remiss to allow passage of the fact that actors exert themselves physically in addition to mentally, or that athletes are not challenged mentally.

Fact: Both actors and athletes exhibit levels of physical and mental prowess in their respective vocations.

What are the four requisites to qualify as a theatrical event?

1. Performers
2. Patrons
3. Venue
4. Content

Criteria	Play/Musical	Sporting Event
Performers	Actors	Athletes
Patrons	Audience	Fans
Venue	House/Stage	Stadium/Field
Content	Script	Game

What can we infer? That both stage plays and sporting events are theatrical events.

Fact: Competition is a major factor in both actors’ and athletes’ jobs.

BUT!

In the public’s eye, when it comes to criticism, the athlete’s physical ability and the actor’s mental ability are their respective primary targets, regardless of the fact that physical and mental prowess are intertwined partners. Acknowledging society’s point of view on the difference between the two professionals, it can still be ascertained that both athletes and actors exert themselves physically and mentally during their performances.

So…

Fact: Actors compete to perform for a living. Athletes perform in competition for a living.

Broken down…

The exhibition of (mainly) physical (but also mental) strength and prowess is the athlete’s art. Competition is the medium through which athletes perform.  At every level, athletes are competing with peers to get to “the big show,” and when they get there, it’s another competition. However, this terminal competition is viewed as entertainment to non-participants.

The exhibition of physical and mental strength and prowess (together) within a performance is the actor’s art. Competition is the medium through which actors earn the chance to perform. At the audition/callback level, actors compete with each other to get to “the big show,” but when they get there, it is no longer a competition, but a straight-forward performance purely for entertainment value.

But, if actors and athletes are so similar in the skills they possess to execute their jobs, why is there such a difference in the way they are viewed?

Fact: Physical superiority has had mental/creative superiority in a headlock for thousands of years.

In mind versus muscle, muscle has been glorified time and time again. Not to say the excellence of the mind is not regarded, but it’s just not as…dare I say—sexy.

As cliché as it is, let’s go back to the times of Greeks and Romans…

There were physical tournaments (think Olympics and the Colosseum with Gladiators) and theatrical festivals (Festival of Dionysus). Many enjoyed both, but how do you measure success?

When two athletes are pitted against one another, one can easily be declared a victor by whoever is still standing. When two actors (or playwrights) are pitted against one another, the victor is a matter of opinion—literally.

Striving for superiority, athletes and actors evolved and each pushed the boundaries of their craft. Bodybuilders were just that, building upon their own bodies, while actors were…building upon an intangible creative muscle. As athletes compete over measurable factors, actors perform (after the competition) for entertainment value. The theatre becomes a place of leisure and recreation while the stadium becomes a battleground for physical warriors.

Fact: Comedy is more criticized than fear.

As recreational theatre becomes a staple of entertainment, it becomes commonplace that theatre is meant to make the audience feel good. The apparent goal of this magical place where you can escape your own life is joy.

As athletic games develop around their measurable factors, it becomes a commonplace that games are about physical superiority, denoting a winner and a loser. Physical strength and intimidation result in the conquest of the opponent. The audience looks on, and the apparent goal is to be on the side of the victor.

With these two understandings, the presentation of the dramatic/though-provoking work faces some friction from the public as they have been trained that theatre is a place of laughter. Also, the physical conquest of the opponent (often resulting in death) raises a champion to the crowd, and as self-preservation prescribes, you side with the victor, because opposition may result in a fate similar to the carcass being carted off the field.

As time went on, a value was placed on the measurable art of athleticism, and the opinion-based success of actors bred an opinion-based value. Money, power, respect. Lather, rinse, repeat. Fast forward to 2012 and multi-million dollar contracts are flying around the world for athletes from…around the world. Physical competition is still being measured, pushed, and stretched, and the actors’ creative competition/performance is still opinion-based.

Although that delved further into the income disparity, it leaves one major factor out, and that will be explored in the future. That factor?

Perfection.

Actors and Athletes Part I

Let the games begin.

Right off, yes, I acknowledge that between athletics and arts, I’m much better suited to address the latter. However, anyone can ask questions, regardless of vocation. I played the violin for many years, sang in choirs and vocal ensembles, directed for the stage, and acted in stage and screen pieces. In my own defense, though, I will proudly admit that I’m more than just my arts background. I enjoy sports. I like good beer and wine. I love pizza.

That's me in the middle as Angus in a production of the Scottish Play at Diablo Valley College. But enough about me.

Today was the first day of the 2012 NFL Draft, Luck to the Colts, RGIII to the Redskins, trade frenzy, A.J. Jenkins to the 49ers, a couple more, and good night, see you tomorrow. The tweets and Facebook statuses have been running rampant. Coaches from the couch get louder and people think they know how to run a professional sports team.

I digress.

Amidst these draft highlights on SportsCenter (my favorite show, according to my fiancée, yet I don’t deny it…) I notice that one of #SCTopTen is Walden’s blown save, succumbing to the Rays’ walk-off HR. A few days ago, Philip Humber of the ChiSox threw MLBs 21^st perfect game—ever. Yes, this is a feat, but it brings up an interesting concept.

Perfection.

Professional actors (in addition to dancers, musicians, and countless other performance artists) are held to a very high standard. Performances are scrutinized meticulously (at base, to honor the words of the script/libretto), but with good reason—could you imagine heading to Broadway and hearing Annie sing, “The moon will come out tomorrow,” or Elphaba singing, “Defying Gravy”?

Actors say the correct words, often multiple times a week (sometimes twice a day) because it’s their job. We love what we do, we want to be a part of something bigger than us, and yes, we also love the applause. Well, maybe not everyone, but those are definite possibilities—if anything, the first reason applies—it’s their job.

Walden is a closer, as are Brian Wilson, Mariano Rivera, and Joe Nathan, but they all have losses on their records.

But it’s their job!

Now, hold on, put the stones down and let the dust settle.

Actors and athletes have one major thing in common—they’re human. Although some of them may be machines, freaks, or whatever you may call them—they’re human. Yes, athletes are conditioned to perform at a certain level of physical prowess, and the human body can only be driven so far. Actors, believe it or not, are also subject to a level of physical conditioning…and the human body can only be driven so far. Actors (and let’s talk non-musical/dancing for now), broadly speaking, exhibit much more mental and emotional prowess than physical exertion. Athletes, conversely exhibit much more physically, but their mental and emotional states also come into play.

Hammer cocked, point blank—who decided physical prowess needs a greater margin of error than mental/emotional prowess?

This is not about which one is better. I’m not asking about opinions, I’m asking about the standard to which both are held…and how they’re compensated.

Albert Pujols, Torii Hunter, A-Rod, Jeter, Kobe, Peyton, LeBron, Tiger, the list goes on.

Idina Menzel, Don Cheadle, Jonathan Pryce, Kristin Chenoweth, Norbert Leo Butz, I’m sure you caught all the articles on them about their multi-million dollar signing bonus, extensions, or hour-long specials to announce where they’d be taking their talents.

Oh, wait…

Please comment and let me know what you think. I’m all about having an open, rational discussion, and I’m always down to learn more.

:)

Back in the saddle

There are several other tasks I should be doing right now, including writing, but right now I write for someone that hasn’t been written for in a too long of a period of time—myself. Yes, the latter half of that statement referred to Marlon in the third person, as does the former half of this one. And so, in conjunction with the first two sentences, Marlon has successfully referred to himself in the third person (wait for it…) three times.

If a Baker’s Week contains one more day than the regular 7-day week, then it’s taken me three Baker’s Weeks to look back on 2011 in a Year in Review/Recap Blog. By no means was this intentional, and I’ve been quite busy this month in my new position at work (which actually feels like THAT position sometimes), but I did realize something quite interesting about my unintended blog negligence—I’m much more excited to look to the future than I am to my past. Not to say 2011 was a bust, far from, but with the road ahead (although even more uncertain than some in years past), I’m positively anxious and sometimes downright giddy about my future (or should I say “our future”? Confused? Maybe this Recap Blog will help).

New Year’s Eve 2010. Fred’s in Huntington Beach with Pocahontas and the Padre. Midnight hits, a documented kiss, popped collars and high fives everywhere. Balloons fall, noisemakers squeal, and the goal of 11 margaritas before 2011 fell short. Not that I intended to start the year with a missed target, let’s just say the stakes weren’t high enough to really drive the progress. Taxi home, everyone’s safe, hello new year.

Winter Session at CSULB witnessed a few internal promotions at the Forty-Niner Shops, and my transition from Corporate Receptionist to Viral Marketing Assistant began. Facebook flipped from a time-wasting distraction to a foray into the endless field of Social Media. Twitter seeped into my life and my online pulse began to rise. By the time I had settled into a groove with social media, internal communications, and PR, the Spring semester had started and I had survived my last first day of school of my undergraduate career. Yes, almost 12 years since I graduated with the first senior class at Deer Valley High School, I was finally starting the home stretch towards the diploma of a finish line.

Spoiler: I graduated, kept my job on campus, turned 30, got engaged (below is the last pic we took before the proposal ;) , and went back to Fred’s in HB for New Year’s Eve.

Yeah, it finally happened. A long path that started with an encouraging spirit in 2005 that introduced me to Beth McBrien at Diablo Valley College led me through a series of life-changing semesters with some great people at DVC. Thanks to the financial support of the 9/11 GI Bill and the mental momentum from the ‘A’ Train experience at KCACTF, I headed down to 562 with two of the coolest people that transferred in 2009. May 27, 2011 I was conferred a Bachelor’s of Arts in Theatre Arts with an emphasis in Directing. A few weeks before that I had received my class ring in the mail, something that I had wanted since high school, and with that it began to feel like a reality. I was the next to last person to walk at our College of the Arts ceremony.

My dear friend, Bethany Lynn Bunce was determined to be the last person to cross the stage, and I stuck by her to run interference and to usher late comers to go ahead of us. It wasn’t easy, but she succeeded in her goal, to her and her sorority sisters’ delight. As for me, with a couple of winks, waves, handshakes, and hugs from the faculty and staff (including President Alexander and Dr. Robinson, whom I was privileged to have dinner with earlier that week at the Graduating Veterans Dinner), I posed for the requisite photos and walked back into the screaming crowd, for our commencement was coming to a close.

For many of us, this was the hard-earned end to a major chapter in our life; for some, this was the teaser of an ending, having made the decision to walk early, having one last semester before full completion. For all of us, though, it was a time of celebration, and celebrate we did. There’s partial documentation in a video of me breaking a celebratory plate at George’s Greek Café at my victory lunch after commencement. Opah!

 ****************

And that's where I left off when I started that post back on January 24th. That would explain the "three Baker's Weeks" statement.

It has since then, passed almost three months to the date, and I've decided to blow the eDust off my blog and jump back in the saddle. However, if you ride bareback (as many of my blogs are...straight out and raw), would you still call it, "back in the saddle" or would it just be, "getting back on"?

Whichever it should be, I'm back. Obviously, and if you're wondering how the rest of the recap blog would have gone, here were the little reminders I kept to make sure I covered everything:

• Angels Baseball
• Keeping the Job/corporate theatre
• Fall Semester, moving on without going anywhere
• right shoulder surgery
• Two Words. En. Gaged.
• Wrap it up!

Now that we’re all caught up… ;)

I’ve thought about coming back to finish the recap blog many times in the last few months, and the more I thought about it, especially when I thought about how it was starting to become a regular thing, you know, my annual recap blogs…I realized I had more exciting things to look forward to, than things to reflect on. This is in no way a dilution of 2011, absolutely not, I finally got that elusive B.A. in Theatre, turned 30, and got engaged. That’s a life turkey (Gobble, gobble, bowling friends), and I loooove turkey.

In a month, Sarah graduates with her B.A. in Theatre, and as we both dive into working as much as possible, we take these next months to transition out of college life with planning our wedding J

Everyday I usually think of something to blog about, and I’d be lying if I said I’d write one everyday, but I’ll shoot for 2 each week. You may remember my attempt at daily blogging last July, and that only lasted a couple weeks, but it was awesome while it was happening.

Until next post, good day, sir!

ps. the following image was the day Ortho released me from the full immobilizer brace I had to wear everyday the first month after surgery. The picture above (pre-proposal) was a couple days later :)

General Answers to so many specific questions

Forgive me for typos or crazy formatting, but I typed this on my iPhone...

For one of my hats, I work for the Communications Department of the Forty-Niner Shops, Inc., the auxiliary on campus at CSU Long Beach supporting Bookstore and Dining Services. As recent alumni of CSULB, I'm considerably younger than many of the upper echelon employees who have been with the company for decades. I've come up against much opposition in regards to social media, but my impetus for the majority of my online performance is rooted in my Theatre background. But enough about me...

The more questions I hear about Social Media, the more it sounds like a form of theatre for the 21st Century. Because there are so many channels, methods, and practices online, those who are involved in any way, to whatever degree they have enveloped themselves and their organizations in already, are asking questions about tailoring social media usage specific to their organization (with good reason).

If I could offer general points of advice for Social Media practices:

1. Know your audience, and listen to them.

2. ALWAYS go back to your mission to help create your voice.

3. Dont feel pressured to match the efforts of fish with bigger budgets, if you tell your story honestly and correctly, the spectacle creates itself.

Obviously, there are hundreds of practices, beliefs, and opinions, and I am "only" one man, but my hope is that this will help at least one person (or one organization), if not in progressive action, at least in their sanity while tackling this huge eBeast.

There are practices that have been shared with us that work for those that testified to their success, but your organization is uniquely different, and so your social media practices should be as well.

By no means am I claiming to be an "expert," strategist, or marketing genius, I simply wanted to share my thoughts in this conference/workshop setting.

Marlon D Deleon
Communications Dept
Forty-Niner Shops, Inc

Facilitator
Long Beach Theatre Arts Collaborative

Dailyownx4@gmail.com