# 33 on the list of Places One Would Rather Not Get Snowed-In: A Theatre

Last week, Worcester was hit with some nasty weather of the hurricane/tropical storm variety. Not as bad as that which struck New York and other more coastal locales, but the administration still cancelled classes over it. Two days ago we were hit with some inches of snow. This was nothing over which to cancel classes. It only merited the sending out of snow-plows across campus at 5 AM to the chagrin of, I daresay, nearly every student who resided within earshot. After having watched a video on GLOBAL WARMING for Astronomy, I'm convinced that, as Alanis Morissette told me, "This isn't your grandma's climate." Unless your grandma grew up, alternately, in the Bahamas and Alaska, in which case, it might be exactly the same.

In the past week I've spent about 30 hours in a theatre, so it's difficult for me to consider other classes as being more relevant than that which is called Technical Theatre. As I alluded to last week, my life has successfully meshed the course proper with the play's production. (I use the term "play" in this instance to refer to "Miss Julie," a 19th century Swedish play by August Strindberg.) Though the class has moved into the area of stage management this week, I'm still in audio central. Last night was the show's opening and, despite a number of technical glitches from more than one area, it was pretty good. At this point, having mixed all the sounds and music needed, and having gotten rid of the bits that weren't along the way (a lot), and having set all the correct cues in the computer, all there is to do during the next performances is press a button on the assumption that the actors will do the same thing they did the night before. They usually do.

But stage management, right? Last class I took, like, four pages of notes which essentially boil down to how to structure one's time and get everything done. I think I'll incorporate the basic structure into my next book, "How to Say Yes: Getting Everything Done with Positivity," and then work the opposite angle with the sequel, "How to Say No: Getting More Things Done After You Don't Have Time for Anything Anymore" It's a working title.

Basically, what you need to know is that, 1) to get everything done that you want to, you need to attend to items that are at once important and not urgent before they become important and urgent, and they will, and 2) You can only affect what's within your sphere of influence, and nothing else. Worrying about things that you can't immediately influence will only cause you stress, make your hair fall out, and lead to unhealthy eating habits. As you work on those things that you can easily influence, your sphere will grow and you'll become more powerful than you could ever imagine. Like Godzilla with a clipboard.