Life should be a musical

I started this post a long time ago but never finished it.  It makes me cry too much each time I start to work on it.  So, I will publish it as is, no edits or overdrawn thought:

Every year when I watch the Tony awards I ask the same question: What am I doing?

I am either angry because they are a mess, which is usually the case, or I am torn up inside because I know that is what I should be doing. I belong in a theater.

Now that we have a new person coming into our lives I am faced with a very real question: How do you raise a child without the theater?

Where do you find a built in community of 40 people who are waiting around for their next entrance with raw emotion and endless energy to share?  They are fixtures, even if it is briefly and you know where to find them and what they are going to do.  It is all decided and there is comfort in those few hours of predictability.

How do you entertain kids if it isn't by running through seas of empty seats with show tunes and dance steps filling the air around them?  

How do you make summer memories etched forever in your mind without a stage under the stars, crisp summer air and late night adventures laced with petty theater speak?

How do you learn lullabies without someone to write them for you and a creative team to provide a visual memory to accompany each verse?

How do you learn the answer to obscure trivia if you don't live and breath history and life through musical theater?

How do you offer simple solutions through song? Each problem having such a clear answer, punctuated by a light cue and an ensemble.

Where do you find your moral compass if not in the pages of great play writes?

How do you navigate life's trials without a director and a script to teach you?

Fruition

Once upon a time, I spoke at a conference about Pop-Up retail.  Then, there was some follow-up with an article.  Then, there was a project awarded to us by Timberland.  Then, there was an offer to write a book (I will expand on this part later).  Then, it all came together and now we are getting some attention and my little pet project has blossomed into something significant.  I am very pleased.

It was obviously not without the talent of the  people that work along side me, I cannot go it alone. I am not the designer or the carpenter or the project manager.  So what do I contribute?  Not really sure... BUT, this week I was proud as we debuted this super fancy installation on the corner of 23rd and Broadway on the plaza of the Flatiron Building in NYC.

The point of the booth was to highlight the new Timberland EarthKeepers line of shoes that are made from recycled PET bottles, organic cotton, green rubber and vegetable dye.  Very responsible.

It was only there for 5 days but the response was incredible, better than an infomercial. The setting wasn't too shabby either with the amazing skyline behind us.   Yes, the Empire State Building is tall and spectacular.

A view of the inside, looking up through an acrylic ceiling with a decoy tree applique. You are supposed to feel natural in here, even surrounded by bottles.

The walls are built from 450 lbs of plastic bottles taken from the recycling center and enclosed in a steel mesh.

This project has been a challenge from its inception and the weather in NYC did not make an already nerve racking week any easier.

How do you weather proof a building made out of plastic bottles, secure it at night, keep the electronics safe and the power from shorting out due to the mounting puddles?  Oh and be able to build it in 4 hours.

Well, we did it and fought the bureaucratic bullshit that envelopes all activity in New York.

Remember when I broke up with the Big Apple? Well, this was like going to a gala with an ex boyfriend believing that things really weren't that bad when you were together.  It was all drama you created in your head.  Then you get your $100,000 dress ripped on the way in, your ex is twice as offensive as you remember him and you find yourself without a way home because your date has sourced another romantic outlet by the end of the night.

No, we are broken up for good.  Im coming back NYC because I won't be beaten down by a place.  Next time I am wearing my armor and running shoes, not an evening gown.

Lessons learned:
-Following the rules is for fools with a lot of money and time.  I don't have either so I won't be doing that again.
-If you are going to be installing something in the middle of a busy city, do it in the middle of the night. Daylight is for sissies.
-Carry bribe money.
-Weather sucks and is non-descriminatory
-All installations should be located within 5 minutes of a Home Depot.
-Do not do this at 7 months pregnant.