Blog of the Little Bonsai

Personal Blog of Steve Baumber

I had my last day at the Academy, and now I'm off to the Death Run. I'm then I'm coming through Alberta for a quick visit (if bonsai makes it), and should see you all on Tuesday. Prepare. posted by Steve @ 3:53 PM	7.31.2002
This morning I accepted the position of Recruitment Officer at the UBC Faculty of Forestry, and my life takes another turn... I got the call yesterday, which is an auspicious sign I think, as yesterday would have been Michael's 37th. Getting the job is bittersweet in some respects, as it cancels any travel plans for the fall, and curtails my acting career. However, it's not often that a job comes along that is a good fit, and this one seems pretty snug and comfy. As I say, it seems fitting it should have arrived on Michael's birthday. And now the digusting consumer in me (forgive me Pete) can't wait to have expendable income again - new front shocks for the bike, a new climbing harness, a guitar tree, CDs, DVD player... or maybe I should start saving for the next epic journey... posted by Steve @ 11:34 AM	7.26.2002
A lovely day on the Dow. Some small part of me is glad my RSP is so small. I won't miss it that much when it's gone. If I keep up with my Blog, perhaps I won't have to write as much each time. The possible job at UBC looms nearer. I emailed them yesterday, and they responded saying they were hoping to make a decision by Friday. Now I must surf the web and find a picture of a late-nineteenth century solicitor. The Death Run Chant for Team D.O.A.: D-O-A but our hearts are thumpin' D-O-A but our legs are pumpin' D-O-A better let us past 'Cause the Devil's on our heels and he's kickin' our ass! D-O-A got angels on our shoulders D-O-A we can climb your sissy boulders D-O-A we got calves that can't be beat We've got rocket-powered quads and great big wings on our feet. We're D-O-A and we're all about survival D-O-A we're Dead-tired On Arrival D-O-A we're gonna finish without fail We're exhausted at the end because we left it on the trail WE'RE D-O-A! posted by Steve @ 7:41 PM	7.24.2002
The job interview went very well, but I haven't heard back yet. I knew more than half of the interviewing panel, so it was a very comfortable process. Although I would regret reducing the time I'm spending on acting, a steady job with its own challenges and (financial) securities is pretty attractive right now. I've gained some more contract work, but it's not enough to make the RSP grow. Classes at the Academy continue to be an evolution and a revelation of my own process. I really enjoy the clowning and mask work with Gina, and Alex's class continues to be a source of discovery towards acting without acting. Lindsay's class grounds the whole process in the realities of the business of the business of acting. The school itself is still a confused morass of misdirected intentions, and the students are as unfocused as usual, but the instructors are good and I'm getting what I can out of the opportunity. I'm seriously considering writing and performing a small piece for the Vancouver Fringe Festival if I can. Commercial auditions continue, and I oscillate between hating them and hoping for them. Don S. Williams returns from his absence on Saturday to see what we've done with his play. My character of Krogstad is taking shape, and each rehearsal I am more interested and excited to see what comes out. Baby showers galore for friends here, and Tayt and Lila have only a few months to go before the inner circle from kindergarten enters a new era. It's been hot as KL lately, without the smell. But at the end of the day as I take a cool shower and rinse the grime off my previously sandle-bound feet, I can almost hear the distant call to prayer and the buzz of the mopeds. And the Death Run is only a week and half away... posted by Steve @ 11:12 PM	7.23.2002
I worked as an extra on the set of The Dead Zone series, as a newsperson. If anyone gets the series (USA Network), I'm in the rally scene and the press scrum scene at "Faith Heritage University". I think it's episode # 13 entitled "Destiny". Anyway, I may even get an upgrade, as they gave me an unscripted bit to say while the camera was pointed my way. We'll see. I have a job interview next Monday for a position at UBC. Wouldn't that be nice? Another commercial audition tomorrow; this time I play a doctor. All that MCC training will come in handy... posted by Steve @ 6:03 PM	7.10.2002
Two weeks at the Academy and what can I say? It's free. The play is going well. I'm enjoying the rehearsals. Don S. Williams, the director, has been around for a long time. He directed a great deal of the Beachcombers, worked at the CBC back in the sixties, and has been directing theatre for almost as long. I will learn a lot from him. We've finished the preliminary blocking of the play, and now he'll be away for a couple of weeks. I'm looking forward to when he returns, and we delve into character motivations, plot lines, etc. I hope I will have done enough work by then to meet the task! Everyone in the play is also going to have to master a "neutral" accent, which we are referring to as "North Atlantic". We need to find a balance between all of us - a British-school elocuted South African, Canadian-ized Northern English, middle Scotts, slightly Dutch, and poor old Canadian me. I think they want British pronunciation with Scandanavian shadings. I sent out letters of introduction to all of the Stunt Coordinators currently working in town right now. I told them I was willing to drive my car into something. * Note to the massess - Little Bonsai is out of the Batcave and back on the road! I am once again one of the Men With Bad Cars But Amazing Lives. * No response from my applications to the jobs in Duncan or Sechelt. Oh, well. As they come up, I'll apply for 'em! I'm once again considering a Masters this fall, perhaps at an institution other than UBC, and again hoping for an international exchange of some sort. That is, if Hollywood doesn't call first... Rosemary and I did the Grouse Grind yesterday evening, the steep sweaty climb to the top of Grouse Mountain. We had a drink and a snack at the top, and watched the sunset over Vancouver. We're spinning at a thousand miles an hour... posted by Steve @ 6:11 PM	7.07.2002