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Day 303 – Bonnie B.

Posted in Donation, tagged , , , , , , , on November 2, 2010| 3 Comments »



In addition to her stage and television work, Bonnie has produced two radio shows. (photo: Reed)

I recently learned about a local writing workshop.  I thought, heck, I should have seen something like this 303 days ago!  When I started this I had no idea how MUCH writing I would do.  I’ve also never really stopped to think about my writing style or how I can improve it.  Hopefully I have learned something along the way but certainly I could benefit from a more structured environment to develop my writing skills.

 

 

The leader of the workshop is an inspiring and energetic woman whose name is one letter different from yesterday’s recipient!  Bonnie is a former stage and television actress who studied at the performing arts school in New York City that the movie Fame was based on.  She went on to study at Howard and UCLA and helped found the Los Angeles Theatre Works and has taught workshops to all kinds of audiences, even prison inmates!

 

Now divorced, she lives in the DC and has two grown sons; one a cinematographer and the other a plastic surgeon.  

 

Bonnie asked for a few days to consider how she wanted to use the ten dollars.  In an email to me the next day she wrote, “I donated the $10 to the Seva Foundation.  One of their programs addresses preventable blindness.  Through a dynamic network of partners around the world, Seva helps communities develop their own high-quality, affordable eye care services.”  Pretty cool that she decided to use it to help others see…something that many of us take for granted.  On a side note, I have wanted to give my ten dollars to a blind or deaf person.  I don’t know why I am a little obsessed with this idea, but I am.  Haven’t been able to yet, but I still have some time!

 

Bonnie on the set of Good Times

I was so moved by Bonnie’s interest in the Year of Giving.  “I’m going to be up half the night trying to think of ways to help you and your project,” she told me.  Since then she has made some introductions for me in an effort to find a venue for my year-end celebration.  Still nothing confirmed yet, but hopefully soon I will have more details.

 

 

 

In the workshop she asked us to think of one word that described ourselves.  As I write this I wonder what one word Bonnie would use to describer herself.  I can think of a couple: creative, sincere, confident, inspiring, etc.

 

So I did some digging and found some old clips of Bonnie doing some television shows back in the 70s.  From kissing Redd Foxx on the cheek on Sanford and Son to playing J.J.’s cousin on Good Times, she did some exciting work!  Check out this clip of her on successful TV series Good Times.  She plays Naomi and first appears around 7 minutes and 30 seconds.  If you watch the entire episode (there are three parts) you get to see more of Bonnie and hear Jimmie Walker utter his famous phrase “Dyn-O-Mite” twice!

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Day 250 – Matt W.

Posted in Donation, tagged , , , , , , , on September 6, 2010| 2 Comments »

“Be not afraid of greatness: some are born great, some achieve greatness and some have greatness thrust upon them.” – William Shakespeare, Act II, Scene V of Twelfth Night. 

I’m in a Shakespearean mood since on Day 250 I spent the day at the Sidney Harmon  Hall helping out with the Free For All, a free event that the Shakespeare Theatre Company has produced every year for about the last 20 years.  In addition to having two free weeks of Shakespeare’s classic Twelfth Night, on Saturday there was a wonderful all day event for families where children got to explore their creativity and knowledge of theatre and the arts. 

A young boy finds just the right marker to finish his coloring (photo: Reed)

I have dabbled in theatre since my teenage years and had fun helping kids understand the world of Shakespeare as well as helping them with more tangible tasks such as coloring.  While I was helping the children color their tote bags with special markers that write on fabric a very famous individual walked by: William Shakespeare.  I was pretty startled, but the show must go on so I continued with my work.  At one point though I realized that I might be able to steal a few minutes with the great bard and give him my $10.  The rest is history. 

Matt was born in Danville, Pennsylvania but grew up in Tennessee.  He holds a BA in Philosophy from Columbia University and an MFA in Classical Acting from the Shakespeare Theatre Company’s Academy for Classical Acting at The George Washington University.  He is currently working towards a PhD in Renaissance Theatre History at the University of Maryland.  He is also the Founding Artistic Director of the not for profit Theatre Company, Faction of Fools, which is managed by his wife Sarah.  Around for about a year, Faction of Fools focuses on mostly Commedia dell’Arte productions.  “These are plays that are very funny, very silly and very energetic,” says Matt. 

Mr. Shakespeare offers some artistic direction to the young apprentices (photo: Reed)

The Commedia dell’Arte began in Italy 500 years ago and quickly spread throughout Europe and continues to live in theatres around the world today. Its emergence during the Renaissance marked the beginning of professional theatre in the West; furthermore, the comic characters, themes and devices employed by early Commedia troupes influenced artists from Shakespeare, Moliere and Goldoni to The Blues Brothers, American musical theatre and contemporary sit-coms.

Matt’s interest in the theatre started at an early.  “I started telling stories when I was in the third grade.  My third grade teacher was a professional story-teller – which made her the coolest teacher ever!  I’ve been telling stories ever since.”  He says that his favorite Shakespeare work is the distinctively modern Troilus and Cressida, which focuses on the constant questioning of intrinsic values such as hierarchy, honor and love.  “It’s too everything.  It’s too philosophical, too poetic, too stupid, too funny…it blurs all the lines in terms of what a play can do and does it all on top of each another.” 

On this specific day, several of the children didn’t immediately recognize him as the bard from Stratford-upon-Avon.  “No less than five children thought I was a pirate,” Matt told me grinning.  “That’s ok, even my wife told me this morning, ‘your beard makes you kind of look like a pirate.’” 

I got my picture taken with the great William Shakespeare! (photo: Reed)

I thought I would ask young Shakespeare a few things about his life.  He told me that he was born in 1564 and although his exact birth date is unknown it is commonly believed that he was born on April 23rd since he was baptized on April 26th and 3 days were commonly passed before baptism.  In addition to this, the fact that he died on April 23rd, 1616, many historians hold steadfast to the April 23rd date for both is birth and death. 

Matt was quite busy with the activities of the day and I didn’t want to keep him too long, but I did get him to agree to do a very quick question/answer on video.  Check it out: 

Although Mr. Shakespeare would have preferred to receive pounds and shillings, he readily accepted the ten dollars and promised to donate it to the Faction of Fools Theatre Company. 

DC residents have an opportunity to see Matt this November at the Wooly Mammoth Theatre.  He stars in The Great One-Man Commedia Epic, single-handedly bringing to life 12 characters drawn from historical Commedia dell’ Arte.  It’s a hilarious tale of some common Shakespearean themes that come together to bring an entire town to the brink of tragedy before love prevails, normalcy is restored, and comedy triumphs.  It’s on my calendar, maybe I’ll see you there?  

The Great One-Man Commedia Epic
Wooly Mammoth Theatre
Wed, Nov 3 — Sun, Nov 7
8pm Wed, Thu, Fri, & Sat / 3pm Sat & Sun

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Day 140 – Pieter A.

Posted in Gave the money to someone else, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on May 7, 2010| 5 Comments »

On Monday morning I was enjoying a chat with my friend David on the sun-drenched patio of Kramerbooks.  David was in town from New York City, where people are apparently accustomed to seeing famous people all the time. 

We hadn’t been seated for more than a few minutes and David said, “The guy who plays McNulty on The Wire just walked in.”  I don’t watch The Wire, so I wouldn’t have recognized actor Dominic West even if I had seen him.  About two weeks ago I walked out of the Asian restaurant RICE here in DC and didn’t notice actor Kal Penn holding the door for me.  I am simply lousy at recognizing actors – I once got frustrated with Sir Anthony Hopkins and elbowed him.  I had no idea it was the famed English actor.  I guess I just don’t watch enough television and movies, or perhaps I just don’t pay enough attention.  Who knows?

Anyway, I suggested to David that I give my $10 to the hit HBO series actor.  David got up and did a quick sweep of the store and said that he had already left out another door.

We went back to talking.

About 30 minutes later David says to me, “You are not going to believe this, but Peter Ustinov is sitting behind you.”  Ok, what is the chance of David seeing two famous actors in the span of about 30 minutes…4 blocks from my home in Washington, DC no less!  I found myself repeating his name in an effort to draw a connection to who Peter Ustinov was.  Spartacus is the only thing that came to mind…but I couldn’t recall the details of his appearance.  Both of us showing our geek side quickly Googled the actor’s name on our phones and sure enough, the man behind me looked a lot like him.  The man sitting behind me looked a little younger than the image on my phone, but was pretty similar.

I decided to offer him my $10 and see if we were right.  David reminded me, “If he has a British accent, then it’s definitely him.”

I approached the man and explained my giving project.  In an English accent, he politely replied, “I would love to but actually I have to be leaving to take a flight.” 

I asked for his name just to track in my records which is my common practice. 

He replied, “Peter.”

This is him!  Wow, this is kind of exciting.  I had to ask him if he was the famed English actor of Spartacus, many Agatha Christie movies, Lorenzo’s Oil, etc.  “No,” he said shaking his head side to side.  “I get that a lot, but I am much younger and not nearly as fat as him!” he said with a grin. 

My first thought was that he was politely denying being the real Peter Ustinov…I mean what are the chances that they look similar, have British accents, and are both named Peter!

Peter Ustinov

Pieter Ariaans (Photo: Reed)

As it turns out, I was speaking with Pieter Adriaans, an accomplished Dutch professor, scientist, and painter.  He was sitting by himself reading Programming the Universe by MIT professor Seth Lloyd.  “It’s interesting, however, I disagree with some fundamental points that he makes in the book.”

Pieter probably can make a good case for his arguments too!  He studied philosophy and mathematics in Leiden, The Netherlands and has been active in research in the areas of artificial intelligence and relational database systems since the mid 1980s.  He later cofounded a company called Syllogic that he sold to little company out of Plano, TX called Perot Systems.  Since then, he has focused mostly his research, sailing, and painting.

Pieter was part of a very interesting sailing project to make a state-of-the-art sailing vessel that had superior auto-piloting.  You can find out more here at the Robosail Sailing Lab’s website.

I don’t know when he has time to do his painting, but apparently he does.  He has hundreds of impressive works.  You can browse through his paintings on his website which has paintings that date back to the 1960s.

Pieter was such an interesting person that every answer triggered a new question, but I was ever mindful of his time, so I thanked him for sharing a few minutes with me and said goodbye. 

David says he will leave the $10 as an extra tip for someone working in the service industry while he is here in the US.

As we were leaving, David said he saw Harrison Ford walking into the bookstore.  Ok, I just made that up!

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