The Real

I find it increasingly easy to be aloof. To not make sense to anyone but myself. It is easy to hide behind the masks that we wear as people. In an effort to clarify myself and my life, I want to write. To write accessibly so that others can comprehend, follow along, understand.

So here goes:

My life is great. Period.

I could spend a lot of time worrying about what is to come or how ends will link together and meet up.

I would much rather spend my time living. Experiencing, breathing. Those kinds of things.

I do know that I love to write. It's my own personal art. No, I do not have an ear for musical talents. No, my voice is not the greatest. Although both things are things that I would like to both refine within the boundaries of my lifetime.

I'm not a great painter, or sculptor, or drawer. These things take time to harness and perfect. Again, it would be lovely to find some time to work on these things in my life. And, perhaps I will someday.

I must be careful to make this not be a pity party of put downs. I love myself and who I am. The cheesiness be gone from this statement. I am not a 'hippy' but there's nothing wrong with being labeled so if you are.

So, here's to my art. The art of reflection, put forth through words. Words that sometimes can make sense to other people, and sometimes only make sense to me.



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In a completely different vein, I put up a new link today to someone's blog. I can thank Amanda for getting me into blogging, because it is after all another excuse for me to write. Oh right, and she's amazing. Oh right, and I love her. Oh right, I'll shut up now.

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Things to do in life

Be me.

Let you be you.

A few things from the past 72 hours

A visit from an old yet current friend.

Quality time with a best friend:

Rebel Without a Cause
Billy Jack
Rear Window
All the President's Men

A trip to Memphis:
Sleeping in a car
Photos, both amateur and 'professional'
Zoo, with lights
Vietnamese food, complete with six fortunes cookies, with a total of three different messages
A layover in Carbondale
Driving in the rain
Sleeping in the rain
Good music
Art for a quarter



Helping a friend and her family:
Move stuff around
Listen
Talk
Eat


Christmas shopping:
The Mall
My personal stress reliever
A ping pong table from trunks to seats


Lactose free ice cream
Nine oreo cookies

A poem:

12.22.2007

a holiday wish

in a holiday themed kitchen
stands a man, slowly peeling apples

in a holiday harried living room
sits a woman, rapidly wrapping presents

as one room slowly fills with
a fluttering scent of sugary sweet cinnamon

another room quickly fills with
a mound of empty boxes tags and bows

I’m tired,
whispers beneath the echoes of scissors slicing shiny paper

while one room is still buzzing with the stress of the holidays
the other room falls silent,

the pot is on,
but the room lay empty

moments pass and the woman is again lost
amongst her busied self

a soft humming can be heard from the distant hallway
and all the while the woman whittles away at her holiday work

the man appears in the entryway
he pauses for a moment to let her notice him

he walks to her, and begins to speak,
All I want for this holiday and
for each one to come, is to be with you.

and in the woman’s hands lay
a small silver box topped with a small silver bow

she looks at him, and as she opens the box
she begins to smile, and begins to cry


Kevin M. Reader

To take a brief moment.

I've found that for myself, its really good to take a moment out of each day to reflect.

So here goes:

Holiday Party for the Part Time Employee.

Okay, I'm not a big joke telling type of person. It's just not the way I role...but I could become that guy. Hanging out with an old man at an office holiday party in which I knew hardly anyone at, he targeted me, because he heard I was into comedy. Bob is his name. Generic, maybe, but a great guy. He wanted to know my best joke. I told him that I don't do 'jokes'. But he insisted.

So, I have one stock joke in my repoitore. Here goes:

Setup: What did one dehydrated frenchman say to the other dehydrated frenchman?

Punchline: What are we going to do Pierre?

Hilarious I know. Bob went on to tell me a few more jokes that were interesting. Some religiously charged, but satirically sound. In any case, they weren't offensive. Other than that, he told me acouple of other rather risque penis jokes. Mind you, I am at a holiday party for Chinese scholars while he is telling me these.

Okay, so here goes:

Bob: While out on a safari, a hunter stops to go to the bathroom. His manhood is out dangling in the wind when an elephant walks up to him. The elephant says, that's pretty nice, but can you lift logs with it?

Kevin: contained laughter due to immediate surroundings.

Bob: Oh, I've got another one for you.

Kevin: Go for it, I'd love to hear another.

Bob: So a young boy who was recently circumcised is sitting in his kindergarten class. After the teacher walks away during some free time, the boy takes out his penis. A large crowd forms around the boy, so the teacher walks over. The teacher immediately sends the child to the principal's office. The principal talks to the boy and asks him what he was doing. The boy says, "I told my mom it hurt. And my mom told me, as long as I stick it out until noon, everything will be okay."

Kevin: more uncomfortable contained laughter

After this round of jokes, I told Bob that in my improv group we play this game called 185. As I told Bob, the improv game consists of telling a stock joke like this: 185 blanks walk into a bar...exposition exposition, punchline. All I need from you Bob, is to fill in the blank. Then I tell you a joke that usually ends with the rimshot sound from a drumset. So give me an object.

Bob said, alright. Wheel.

After I thought for a moment, I commenced with my jokes:

185 sick wheels roll into a bar. They stop at a stool. The bartender asks them if they would like a drink. They replied, "No thanks, we don't wheel well."

185 sleepy wheels roll into a bar. The bartender asks them if they want a beer. They say, "no, but we'll take a coffee, we're really tired."

185 wheels roll into a bar for their friends bachelor party. They are drinking and slamming shots all night long. At the end of the night they head to the bartender to settle up their tab. The bartender tells them, $1200. The wheels are stunned and begin to plead with the bartender, "Come on, it's our friends bachelor's party, give us a brake."

Then I stopped telling jokes. And left.

The Life Poetic.

Things I've learned today:

People are never late to work parties when food is involved.

I'm not the most adept at hanging things on walls.

Indian food is okay. Mind the curry.

Dry erase marker becomes permanent after four months, regardless of the surface.

Dry erase marker that you think is permanent rubs off easily if you write over it with a new dry erase marker.

Don't park in city snow routes, ever. (You'll get towed)

Running in the winter is good.

Running in the snow is great.

Be wary of frostbite.

8 minute abs is way better than 8 minute buns.

For the first time, in a long time.

I finally found myself driven to write. And the word that inspired me, was broke. Why, I'm not quite entirely sure. I started this piece by simply jotting down the word broke, and this is what happened. I ended up driving a broken bicycle through a memory and a family narrative. And much like getting back up on a bicycle, I found myself writing poetry again. Was it due to the lack of time, or the lack of artistic energy within myself. I'm not quite sure, but here it is. A special something pulled out of the garage of my mind:

12.11.2007 [801 Ohio, Urbana Illinois]

in a family garage

a bicycle lies in the back of a garage
tires deflated
a seat that has been gnawed by squirrels
a chain that has been rusted, gnawed by time

once this bicycle rode through the streets
passing pedestrians
bells chiming
making way for freedom
creating breezes
delivering newspapers
delivering stories to friends

now it is forgotten
displaced and alone
surrounded by blue mason jars
full of old nails
full of old screws

nails and screws that were left over
from the house that was built
to home a family of four
from the garage that was built
to shelter cars, artifacts, memories

enter a boy, enter a son
enter a man, enter a father
two beings, one a shadow of the other
he holding a rag
him holding a bucket

with one swipe of soapy shirt
the white stripe bursts off
of a red painted cross bar
with one swipe of a soapy shirt
the reflectors on pedals
shine with the Saturday afternoon sun once again




Kevin M. Reader

So, you wanna be a writer?

Well...here's the first step. Write. Write as much as you can and as often as you can. Second step. Read. See what is being written. Third step. Experience. Go out and do stuff that is outside of your norm. Do things, enlighten your brain, learn. Fourth step. Be brave and put your material out there for other people to see and experience. So what if they hate it? Feedback is crucial.

a little secret

i never reraed what i write

Academic writing for the ill enthused

So, in much my readings reinterpretations and ramblings, I have noticed a thing or two about academia. So much of the time spent is not necessarily done so in furthering the field, but rather, by being seen and noticed in the field. Written books are no longer the highlight of the academic's career, but rather a necessary key component in their continued hire. Without a published book under your belt, you will not get tenured. However, this trend is changing. With the onslaught of publications in journals and the ever increasing web presence of instructors, books have taken the back burner. A certain past time if you will. In addition, conferences are the new breeding ground for professors. It can still be about who you know, but so much more is where have you been scene. Attend the right conference and you are welcomed to the red carpeted grammy awards ceremony of academia. The world is ever globalized with minimizing travel times and communication efficiency rising, the book is bound for failure.

From my Apple to Yours

I recently put on a production for a theatre class. It was named An Apple a Day: Peeling Away the Skin ...(an interactive theatre experience). Here are my notes and reflections now that all is said and done with the piece:

Sitting down to reflect and think about a performance well after it has ended is a valuable experience. Just by sitting down and pondering what I have learned about myself and my process is truly profound. The following is a list of thoughts and ideas that come to mind about the performance and the process of getting to a final product.

Writing is easier when you care.

Writing is easier when you have ideas.

Writing is easier when its fun.

There are a lot of different kinds of apples.

There are a lot of different things you can make with apples.

Working individually is productive.

Collaboration is better.

There is always room to grow.

There is always time to learn.

Feedback is good.

Criticism is better.

Rehearsal is good.

Work shopping is better.

Input is good.

Output is better.

There’s always room for last minute additions.

There’s always time for last minute cuts.

A little preparation goes a long way.

A lot of preparation makes a show run smoothly.

Larger attendance might increase the energy of a crowd.

Larger attendance would definitely increase the energy of the performers.

Advertising would increase awareness.

Advertising would take a lot of extra time.

Creative and talented actors/performers make the process much smoother.

Working with people you know can both be extra rewarding and extra frustrating.

Transitions slow down the pace of a show.

Making transitions into a game could keep the energy and excitement of the show alive.

People do not always want to dunk their head in a big bucket of water.

People always love pie.

People like to finger paint.

As far as the final performance goes, I would not have changed a thing. If I were to reproduce this piece, I would keep my audience in mind more. There are definitely scenes that were written and not put into this piece that could be placed as a more appropriate audience. If I were to present this for kids, I could take out certain scenes and insert some more that were not in the presented piece. There are opportunities to find more interactive pieces as well. I would have enjoyed to include in one or two more interactive pieces in the original show, or to change the show entirely so that it was completely interactive. However, that may be more suitable for a younger crowd as well. My reflections may seem a bit scatter brained, but I went through in chronological order as far as writing, revamping, work-shopping, rehearsing and performing. Those were the first thoughts that popped into my mind. These are the most valuable thoughts for my personal process.

Improving improv

It is only appropriate that I write about something that I have an extensive knowledge base in. Every Monday night at in the Illini Union at the Courtyard Café, there is a two hour long night of improvisational comedy. Week in and week out two separate groups perform an hour long set of improv. The first group, Spicy Clamato focuses their attention on short form improvisational games. These games are highly interactive with the audience and depend largely on the audience’s interaction for their weekly success. The second group, De Bono, does an hour set of long form improvisational comedy. They generally take one to two suggestions for a show and continue their scene work based on what the audience gives them as well.

After debating for a long time whether improv comedy would consider itself theatre, the consensus amongst a group of five improvisers was no. The consensus of the group stated that the art of improv could be an allegory or a sidestep away from theatre, but it is not theatre. Improv’s intention is to make people laugh, and the art form is never fully prepared or rehearsed. It is true that there is practice and preparation put into performing improvisational comedy, but all characters costuming and props are created in the moment. They are all imagined and created by both the audience and the performers.

Recently these same groups were given the opportunity to put on a show at a local theatre space. Housed in a black box theatre in the Armory Free Theatre in Champaign, the groups found themselves housed in a completely different space. It would be my intent to move the weekly show that is performed in a large communal space that people very often interrupt and walk through performances to a space that is designated for theatre. Currently, the groups perform in the Courtyard Café. Before each show, there is an announcement that the lights will be turned off in and that a performance will begin. It is true that you may get a passerby or two who stop in to see the groups perform, but by in large, there are more disturbances that additions. There is a coffee shop that is open during the show as well that causes a large distraction.

By relocating the groups to the Armory, the space would be more clearly designated for performance. It would also drastically decrease the amount of ambient noise that occurs. The role of space places such a large role in the professional quality given to performances. By that token alone, relocating these groups would give them a much more professional feel. Although the groups are ‘supported’ by the Union, it is of a negligent amount. They make posters on a yearly basis and hang a few of them around the building. The publicity on the union’s end is not noteworthy of any sort. Needless to say a free venue to perform is no small feat. However, the shows are free. So the groups perform a service to the campus community as well.

Asking a business to close for two hours is an unreasonable request. Finding a way to make the acoustics of a room be of a theatrical quality is unlikely. By moving to the Armory Free Theatre, the weekly shows could advertised with theatre’s yearly season could drastically increase the audience size that would counteract any amount of passersby. The shows would still retain their free status, and audiences would ultimately be less distracted, and may be engaged in the performance.

snowbird: a colloquial name for a coked out prostitute

Period pieces that are staged today can still hold cultural relevance. Tennessee Williams’ second full length play, Fugitive Kind, was recently staged at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. This piece was written in and based on life in St. Louis in the late 1930s. Centered on a love story between an orphaned girl who was raised in a flophouse and a smooth talking east coast bank robber, the play finds itself ending with the first desolate snowfall of a Midwest winter.

As with any period piece that is done outside of its original time period, the play struggled to find contemporary themes and messages. There were themes of a small town guy afraid to make it in a larger world. The play also had a character who went to school, and returned expelled. He was a writer for the daily school newspaper. He ultimately was expelled from college and lost his scholarship. He wrote a piece in the newspaper that focused on the over militarization of society and the overwhelming influence of the government. His critics labeled him a communist and sent him packing. He returned home to a disappointed father. It’s not hard to find a contemporary theme in this situation. Many parents today struggle to find ways to put their children through college, and this served as an interesting topic of conversation amongst coffee tables during intermission.

There was also a lot of drug usage and prostitution presented in the piece. It is always shocking to a young audience to see how drug usage in America did not start in the 1980s. The use of cocaine was alluded to at many different points in the play. The awareness of drug use at such an early point in our nation’s history can only lend itself to bringing up a larger awareness in the current state of our social climate.

However, by noting the venue that the play was housed in can bring up some interesting points. The Krannert Center for the Performing Arts is an excellent venue for concerts, plays as well as many other types of performances. However, there is a social stigma that surrounds the building and the performances that occur within it. Within the community, not many residents attend plays at the Krannert Center. The center has been fighting against a predetermined notion that it is too high class and not welcoming to people of all economic backgrounds. It could be a reason of the University’s negative relationship with the community, unless dealing with sporting events. Knowing first hand that the Krannert Center is trying to break down this stereotype both in marketing and in programming. Also many of the messages that could be striking to the youth, such as drug and prostitution slander are mostly missed by the youth. The average age of attendants to Krannert Center plays must be near or above 40. At both performances that I attended of this show, as well as numerous others, I rarely see people under the age of 18. Unless of course the center is specifically targeting the youth with a specific event or having a field trip that invites local schools. Sadly, the theatre, or at least this one, is not a family friendly environment.

The casting of this production can also be a distancing factor in the overall quality of the show. Needless to say that this performance was cast with college aged students within the theatre department. That is not to say that the quality of the acting poor of students is low, but rather casting a widely aged show with students portraying characters two to three times their age makes the show much less believable. However, the audience is knowing of this fact well before they enter the acting arena. It may lead to some laughable moments in the production, but it does not completely distance the audience. If this show were cast with say 12 year olds, the audience would go in with a different set of expectations.

On another note, the play is chock full of stereotypes. The stereotypes that were employed in this piece were intentional. They may have not been originally written to seem as abrasive as they were in the contemporary showing. However, they may have been directed to be more so in the plays original production. Without doing extensive research, it is hard to say what the original intention of the stereotypes employed by the playwright were used for. Some examples of stereotypes include a southern man named Texas, lower class ‘hicks’, a prostitute, police officers and an older Jewish immigrant. It is important to keep in mind that this particular piece has not been staged more than a handful of times, let alone since its initial conception. Therefore, historically speaking, this was a great show to see. Based on its rarity alone, it was a real gift both for the performers to act in, and for the audience to see.

The Prefix Bio is important:

Biology.

Biopsy.

Biodome.

Biography:

Kevin Reader is currently pursuing a Master of the Arts degree in Theatre History at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Kevin graduated from the University of Illinois in May of 2005 with two Bachelor’s degrees in Economics and Anthropology.

Kevin has a varied past in the types of work that he has done. Kevin has been known to do some freelance archaeological fieldwork. He has worked on famous world heritage sites such as the Cahokia Mounds in Southeast Illinois to Military bases such as Fort Riley in Manhattan, Kansas. Kevin also has a wide background in interviewing and assessing community development. He spent one year analyzing transcribed interviews highlighting the development of community parks in Urbana, Illinois. Kevin also spent a summer in Colorado interviewing key informants about environmental risk linked to bark beetle infestation within the monoculture of lodge pole pine trees in Rocky Mountain Ski Resort communities. Kevin’s current research interests include exploring community and developmental theatre. Most specifically he is researching the development of the female identity in Mayan cultures through the expression of female characters in texts.

Kevin has spent much of his free time outside of academia writing and performing. In the summer of 2007, he wrote, edited and published a small book of poetry aptly named, The Spring That Was. Beyond poetry, Kevin is also a performer. He is currently performing in a variety groups at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Currently he is a leading member with the Spicy Clamato improv comedy troupe. Kevin also writes and performs sketch comedy with Potted Meat. Kevin can also be found performing from time to time with the Inner Voices social issues theatre ensemble. You can continually find Kevin spending some of his free time doing free lance technical work and video editing related to theatre and sketch comedy productions.

Thanks English 505 for keeping honest!

Noticing Resemblance

So, you may notice a photo on my page. That's a photo of my brother and myself two days after Thanksgiving. Every year my mother enjoys putting up her fake Christmas tree with an exorbitant amount of lights. Well, she likes to take a photo of her two boys every year as well.

This photo, amongst dozens of others of my brother and myself, stood out. Perhaps it is because that this photo is in black and white. A certain purity or innocence or truth comes out when you look at the world through only a few shades of color. Something changed or snapped into place rather. I never thought that me and my brother were alike. We like hardly of any of the same things. He has bright orangish hair and a beard. I have dark brown hair and am generally clean shaven. We don't look too much alike. But, you can tell he is my brother. Based upon the 17 years of shared life living in the same house as my parents, its not hard to realize that we would shape our worlds in similar ways.

I also take on characteristics of those people that I live with and spend time with. In language, action, and thought. That is not to say that I do not have individual thought, but I am able to and embrace these resemblances. I value and love the people in my life. That is why they are there. I am privileged that they are a part of who I am.

Postmodern Reality

So there is this huge academic discourse that runs through the halls of Universities and Colleges. It screams out postmodernity. Reaching beyond the grasps of what modernity it. By pure definition, the term seems slightly oxymoronic, but that's always a threat of knowledge. It can be both intoxicating and sinful.

Back to the task at hand. Reflection. Self reflection. Think briefly about entertainment. What is it that we look for to entertain us? Right now you are reading the thoughts as they stream from my mind to my fingers to my computer screen. But we are consuming reality. The lives of someone else as more interesting than the lives we lead as individuals.

Its odd, because the persona that I reflect here is a far cry from that which I hold on a day to day basis: I'm bubbly, cheery and a bit of a goof. But through the contexts of a computer and the lovely consumption of the internet, I am able to mask myself. Create a different identity every day, everywhere I turn. I am able to interact with people and be something that I am not.

That is not to say that I cannot nor have not done this in the 'real' world. However, there seems to be less risk for people via the internet. There is less of a chance of being caught, by anyone, including yourself.

Sidenote: I was also recently introduced to a lovely website called freerice.com - it challenges your vocabulary, as well as donates 20 grains of rice for every correct answer you get. Kids, study up for the ACT/SAT and alleviate some hunger in the world. Talk about a postmodern reality, talk about multitasking!

Thumb Wars

I think I've solved America's weight problem.

I think I have a response to road rage.

I think that I have referenced a bad parody to a George Lucas film.

Crack a knuckle, and bring it on.

Rhyming Schemes

Welcome to Blogger.

Reminds me of Frogger.

Which of course was a video game.

One that I have never played.

It was re-released sometime within the past seven years.

I ask myself wondering...why?

We as people must learn how to dodge the obstacles that are put before us in life. So we make video games to represent ourselves and how we dodge the daily grind....interesting.

Not to mention, it was on a really great episode of Seinfeld. Which of course many people still relate their lives to this show. A show that has been off the air (but still in syndication) for umpteen years. It is amazing that it still holds contemporary relevance. I am sure that many people have said the phrase "this is such an episode of Seinfeld".

In fact the show has retained such popularity, there is a group on the campus of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign completely dedicated to the show. They celebrate the show's many a festive fauxlidays. Such as Festivus. A holiday whose date is nearing. I say, give a gift a love this fauxliday season and spend some real quality thought, time and money:

Go to blockbuster, rent Back to the Future, jump through the television screen with your friends, go back to 1985, then jump in the time machine and time travel to 1981. Go to an arcade, give your friend a quarter, dodge some life obstacles and play some Frogger.