A Start ...

Every journey starts somewhere.

It’s early here in Seattle. And cold, which seems right for a day that felt dreadful from moment one. But we’re here, and we’re doing our best to ignore the inevitable. The news is off. I’m at work. I have plans for the day.

The plans are mostly mundane.

Work. Go to the gym. Live my life. Go to bed. Do something similar tomorrow. And again the next day. Absorb myself so much in my own life, and the lives of the people around me, that it all feels worth it.

This isn’t going to become some kind of diatribe about embracing joy. I don’t think anyone needs that lecture right now, and I’m not sure it’s helpful to begin with. But I do have my own goal set, and that’s to let myself explore. To talk to people about the things I enjoy. To dig into the weird a little more.

I want to tell stories. I want to listen to people tell theirs. I want to hear the weirdest story you have and celebrate it. I want to explore the power of storytelling, and creativity, and theatre.

And I want to know why every theatre has a ghost.

Maybe that’s a weird turn to take here, but that’s what I’m after. I’m a storyteller by trade, I suppose. Both as an actor, a writer, and a tour guide. I always say my singular skill in life is talking, but I suppose that’s not entirely true. I’m pretty okay when it comes to writing. And starting a blog/podcast/newsletter/something-or-other has been on the bucket list for years.

See, the thing about theatre people is that we’re all very superstitious, whether we admit to it or not. And most of us will admit to it, we’re not exactly shy. And along with that superstition comes the firm belief that most theatres are haunted. All of them. I’m not kidding when I say that any theatre you walk into - new, old, huge, small - they all have a ghost. Maybe two — or three. Maybe it’s the creative energy that attracts them. Maybe it’s the people. The act of creating something that’s both ephemeral and lasting. Maybe the ghosts are echoes of the people who’ve shared the stage, or maybe we create them, it’s hard to say.

I just love hearing stories about stories.

Creation begets creation, I think. And whether you believe in ghosts or not, there’s something to it. The collective energy you get in a theatre, both on stage and off. So this is mostly going to be an exploration, I think. Maybe I won’t always stick with the theatre journey.

Maybe you’ll get posts about aliens. You’ll probably get posts about WUFO, and liminal earth, and all the things I do in between.

Maybe you’ll get silence for a while. I don’t know. But I wanted to make sure that I started something new today. That I focused on life instead of dread. So here we are.

We’ll start with The Moore, in Seattle, I think. Old enough that Houdini performed there once! A staple as far as stages go here in the city. Or perhaps we’ll start easy and talk about ghost lights for a bit. Hard to say. I haven’t quite decided. But keep an eye out! Throw me a subscribe. Tell me what you want to hear about. What haunted theatre you have close to home. Or about the weirdest thing that’s ever happened to you.

I love it. It keeps me going. Let’s share.

That’s all for now, I suppose. Until I think of something else, at least. But for now — thanks for tuning in. Thanks for being a little weird with me. And thanks for being in the world.

Okay, love you, byeeee.