Hunter and Lane return

Last night was the second time in a row they won an "Open mic."

I believe there were a total of 12 acts, of which they were the youngest by between 5 to 35 years.  The performers were all quite good as well as rather serious in pursuit of gaining recognition for their music.

In true Lane fashion, afterwards, as we loaded the car, he was beating himself up over a missed "B" chord; when I reminded him of the guy that handed them prize money, his response was "Hunter has a beautiful voice and cute stage personality.-We can do better"      

10 Years work

I started this blog thinking that it would be a way for me to preserve memories, both current and those residing deep in my parent's past. Far short of bestowing upon them immortality, but as close as I can come using a free online blog.  I even made out an extensive list of possible topics, "Jerry writes well, this is a wonderful idea." I was going to post their tales of school-yard games, soda-shops and proms, progressing to stories about their first date, first apartment, having children, a complete catalog of  precious memories.  I figured and plotted how to "Tag" and then search by name, by date, even create a timeline, and then merge that with generic listing of historical events. Yes, I  thought out all the details, well except one, the fact that my mom and dad had no interest in investing the time needed to write all their stories down.

I must admit I was hopeful at first, then slightly confused why they had not eagerly jumped at the opportunity to spend several hundred hours providing content for the Lubell Family Blog.  I tried to help them get some old stories and photos posted, autobiographical morphing into biographical.  Some  Old Pictures and Memories, Something I wrote about my mom's 67 Camaro, but even I began to tire of pushing square pegs into round holes; so this became a vehicle for recording events in real-time. Since Heidi was fine with me, her brother, posting whatever I pleased, but also not really that interested in sending in stories, the blog has become dominated with me promoting something about Lane's latest accomplishment.

Yes, I am fully aware that the amount of time I've invested in this blog in completely out of proportion to its value. Perhaps I'm just smart enough to recognize that I could make better use of my time, but not so clever as to actually give-up, then reallocate my energy elsewhere. I guess I justify this activity with the fact that I write these posts while eating my lunch at my desk, and so maybe it's no more worthless than surfing the web or playing a video game. The reason I created this blog never came together, the reasons I continue stem from a force-of-habit and the fear I'll regret a decision to stop.      

Larry Lubell

________________________________________________________

Now onto some actual content...

I can't express how proud I am of the way Ilene and Steven are working together to keep Mayer Alloys, the company Ed founded, not just alive, but moving forward. They are helped by the solid team Ed built and his legacy of integrity that continues to open doors.  

The business, brings Ilene to Detroit rather frequently, while I miss her while she's away, I'm glad she is taking advantage of the opportunity to spend time with Steven, other family and friends.

   

 Steven Ruzumna and Milton Roberts at Antonio's Cucina Italiana.

_____________________________________________________________________

I think the picture came out pretty well considering, I hate the way I look in ALL photos.

and there were a few tech glitches with Steppenwolf's equipment.

Ilene and I arrived, uncharacteristically, a few minute early to see Marie Antoinette. While in the lobby I spotted a small area with a backdrop for photos. It was a pretty clever idea on the part of Steppenwolf theater, they figured non-celebrities would jump at the chance to take their picture under any condition that creates the impression of being on the "Red carpet;" so people will post the picture on social media, which will promote their play. Wait, even more brilliant, one must enter your email address so they can send the pictures, thereby building a database for marketing.   See they had a sort of photo machine set up and pointing towards the backdrop. . Really  it was an inexpensive DSLR camera hooked up to an iPad all mounted in this display case.  You would touch the screen where it says "Start", and it would click 4 pictures 5 seconds apart, then let you enter your email address.  Great idea, the problem was who ever set this up must have been no taller than 5 feet, so even when I placed us as far back as possible, my head was cut off. This required that you bend, twist, or sit on the floor, those are NOT the Red-Carpet look poses that a photographer is after.

The woman before us, I'm taking a guess that she did not work for a Tech company,  pushed  "Start" so hard the iPad nearly twisted out of the case, and then stood so close to the camera, that she ended up with 4 shots of her stomach. A friend of hers entered her email; so someone now has probably posted an out of focus shot of her mid-session- Isn't Facebook wonderful?

"Shoot/Get Treasure/Repeat" Northwestern 2015

Went to see a play Lane was the Assistant Lighting Designer, a show titled "Shoot/Get Treasure/Repeat" written by Mark Ravenhil and sponsored by Sit and Spin Productions  .

Ilene and I, love seeing theater, we always take interest in any project Lane is connected with, even if, as in this case, it was a minor contributor, and, selfishly, we look for any opportunity to see him.
Since we had a party Saturday night, we planned on attending the 7:00 performance Friday night. Thursday night, Ilene already sleeping, Lane sends me a text, "No, maybe you should come to the 10:00pm show instead." I quickly reply "OK, great, we'll come to the late show." I count myself lucky that I have a college-aged son that's not embarrassed to have us show-up to events, albeit with certain predetermined guidelines, such as "No dad, you can't bring two cameras, tripods and mics to record the show." Ilene is working out of an extra office here at Urban, so we figure we will leave from here, stop home to change clothes, go out for a dinner, and arrive at Northwestern with time to spare.   At 5;50 I look at my phone and find a message from Lane, telling us to go back to the original plan of 7;00pm. I assume that living on campus for a few months has resulted in Lane forgetting what traffic is like on a Friday night at 6:00 pm.

We rush. Every path, each choice of street, is a mistake, and we spend the trip second-guessing, "if we only had stayed on ______, we would have been there by now."  I'm a nervous wreck, by the time we arrive Ilene is annoyed with me, we park our car somewhere on campus and set off on foot to find the Shanley theater. With minutes till the doors close, and temperatures a balmy minus 5 degrees, we are walking aimlessly across campus stopping random students for directions. Turns out Shanley is not a well known location at Northwestern, everyone was nice but we got a lot of glazed looks. When we finally found the venue, 10 minutes too late, I could see why it was not better known since non-theater majors who pass it, likely assume its a shack where they store lawnmowers.

Lane sends several texts asking things like "Are you in yet," "What side of the stage are your seats?"
I had to inform him that "Mom, is in a building keeping warm, and I'm standing in front of a building with no way in, I'm going to get the car." He writes back, OK, I'll meet you for a quick dinner. So again we return to the Himalayan restaurant,(one of our default locations) and regroup for the 10:00pm show.

The work was actually a collection of short plays, tied around the common theme of US military interventions in the Middle East. The play opens with cast members each declaring "They are good people, so why would they bomb us?" However as the work continues, that question is asked by both the American forces "Bringing democracy" as well as the citizens from the never-named country that has been blown to bits in our noble attempt to bring Western values and Starbucks.

The show was well acted and directed, additional the staging and lighting design were quite effective.
It always amazes me how talented all of these students are, and their ability, to in a very short period of time, to be able to put a show of this quality together. The students do not get class credit, nor do they "get a pass" on any of their assignments because they have chosen to invest time in a show.

 

About the Show

Shoot/Get Treasure/Repeat is an epic cycle of short plays tied together by a common theme. Through a darkly comedic lens, the play examines how we view war, conflict and terror when many of us are largely removed from it. Should we try to imagine the unimaginable or should we accept the fact that we will never understand? The ensemble cast plays everything from a judgmental wife on a juice cleanse to the ghost of a decapitated soldier, a mother not afraid to drop an F-bomb to a man not afraid to strap a bomb to his back. Fast-paced and unapologetically funny, this play is a parody of the world we live in today, utterly absurd while being uncomfortably realistic.

Cast

• Annie Brennen
• Ryan Kenney
• Jenna Levin
• Phoebe Moore
• Dominick Mugavero
• Hannah Verdon
• Peter Vilim
• Shaina Wagner

Production Team

• Producer: Jamie Joeyen-Waldorf
  • Assistant Producer: Madeleine Rostami
• Director: Jared Sprowls
• Stage Manager: Alina Carrel
  • Assistant Stage Manager: Sylvana Caruso
• Costume Designer: Megan Riley
  • Assistant Costume Designer: Faye Oyang
• Graphic Designer: Matt Silverman
• Lighting Designer: Tatyana Aravena
  • Assistant Lighting Designer: Lane Lubell
• Set Designer: Axel Mark
• Sound Designer: Alex Benjamin
  • Sound Board Op: Doug Pinckney
• Props Designer: Mihta Garan
• Publicity Directors: Sam Prose
• Fundraising Director: Sam Freedman
  • Fundraising Assistant: Devon Kerr
• Promo Videographer: Sam Spahn
• Photographer (Poster/Graphics): Devon Levy
• Photographer (Rehearsal): Rafi Letzter

WAVE Productions, Presents their first Director Festival!

UPDATE 02/14/2015

The show was a smashing success, this is not coming from just a biased dad, it was also the assessment of several biased parents, and a collection of Lane's friends that came in from Chicago to see the show.

Brock's family drove in from Indiana to see the show, and it was nice to spend a while talking to them. 

Brock did a fantastic job putting together a very fast moving show, and they did an amazing job gathering actors. I mean these people had to play 10 parts each, and made it look easy. The comedy worked, which is tricky since the show was written in 1971 and points of reference change. It was Brock's show, but Lane was a force behind the throne, designing and running lights, Art design, coordinating costumes.

WAVE Productions is a self-supporting, not-for-profit student theatre company operating primarily on Northwestern University's Evanston Campus. 

WAVE Productions ambition is to connect the Northwestern campus and surrounding communities through a common appreciation of the power of theatre. WAVE seeks to foster a new generation of both artists and audiences who recognize the stage as a way to communicate stories that challenge, entertain, provoke dialog, and perhaps even open doors to a brighter future. 

WAVE is dedicated to accomplishing these goals, while maintaining a safe, supportive environment in which creativity can flourish, and diversity, is embraced. We reject the notion that there is but one way to tell a story, WAVE would rather encourage our students explore, and develop their own voice.

  

It is with these goals in mind, that WAVE Productions Presents their first Director Festival!

The event displays three dynamically different thirty minute shows, intermingling in one small room comedy, absurdism, drama, and how to deal with life's constant obstacles.

Featuring:

"This from cloudland"
Directed by Jenna Perlstein

"Adaptation"
Directed by Brock Hall 

"Tragedy: A Tragedy"
Directed by Emily Martin 

Shows are Thursday and Friday, February 12th & 13th @ 8 PM

At the Music Institute of Chicago. 1702 Sherman Ave. Evanston, Illinois (right next to Panera)

Free admission!!  

(Free,as in devoid of any cost)
________________________________________________________________________

OK, as you guessed, I have not started a new career promoting random,not-for-profit student theatre companies. Yes Lane has a connection to this performance. His roommate, and good friend, Brock Hall, is directing the comedy, "Adaptation," and Lane is going to be holding the jobs of lighting director, Art design, and even tasked with coordinating costumes. I can't speak for the other two works, though I'm sure they are quite good; "Adaptation" is a very funny short play by Elaine May. She is a director, screenwriter and actress. best known for comedy routines with Mike Nichols.

Northwestern CRC Radiothon

Lane J. Lubell and Company performed two LIVE radio dramas on Tuesday 12/5.

 "The Judge's House" Radio play by Lane J. Lubell, Adapted from a short story by Bram Stoker published in 1891.
"Sorry, Wrong Number " by the Generic Radio Workshop for the series "Suspense." originally aired in 1943. 

Yes, these were both performed "Live," (including sound effects) just as in the days of old-time radio. Granted, I'm biased, as proof I point to the fact this site is called "Lubell Family Blog;" but I still think I showing some measure of objectivity when I say the performance is impressive. Especially when you factor in that this was accomplished with just a few hours of rehearsal.

Click Here To Listen

About Radiothon

Radiothon is an annual 50-hour charity event sponsored by Communications Residential College (CRC) of Northwestern University. All fundraising activities benefit the American Heart Association. CRC residents take pride in organizing all Radiothon events, which in the past have included auctions and games, in addition to the nonstop call-in radio shows aired from the dorm’s radio station.  Radiothon began in honor of William G. Arnold, a CRC resident and equipment chairman who died of cardiac arrhythmia.

The 27th annual Radiothon will be broadcast from 10PM Central on Monday, December 1st through midnight on Wednesday, December 3rd 2014.

If you missed the show live, all 50 hours are available

LISTEN ONLINE

Yea, Yea, I get it- Lane's getting older.

As I browse Facebook posts, it is common for parents to post pictures of their college-aged kids back when they were little. The other day was Halloween, and quite a few 12 year old pictures of kids dressed up for Trick or Treat began showing up in my "News feed." I get it, sure there is a part of me that misses pushing Lane on the swings, the birthday parties, the class field trips, and the thousand other memories still so vivid and clear. I still have some 1,000 hours of on-watched video of him, shot on different cameras,, each of which is a format no longer supported.

Three years in a row we trekked out to Rosemont Theater to see Blues Clues Live. Steve Burns was great as "Steve" on TV, but live, with a fake Steve, and 6 foot tall versions of cartoon characters, it didn't really work. Even by age six, Lane had seen enough theater to be a bit disappointed in the production value.  That said, I enjoyed any family time  I felt like a good dad for taking him.

And, based on my tendency cling on him, and demand his attention a bit more than what's healthy, people feel compelled to remind me that " Lane is getting older, you have to let him grow up." Believe me I recognize nothing but the best intentions of those friends and family making the comments. Yea, Yea, I get it- Lane's getting older, the truth is I'm really OK with that fact.

Last week Lane took the train down with a few friends and met me at the House of blues for the Pretty Reckless concert. Of course he focused most of his attention to hanging with his friends (as he should have) but the truth is the concert was way more fun then Blues Clues. The point some people miss is that I'm totally OK with the "He's getting older thing," in fact I have never enjoyed spending time with him more than now. Our conversations are deeper and more stimulating. I greatly prefer discussing cinematography than YuGiOh Cards ( A game he use to cheat when playing with me). I love our two-hour long talks about the development and growth of various characters on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It was an amazing treat to be able to watch him direct talented, passionate actors and to see the mutual respect they showed towards each other.

I don't just get that Lane's getting older, I relish the fact. My only regret is I don't get to spend as much time with him as I would like.

Northwestern University Campus 2014

When your son is a film major, and the camera in your hand shoots video, I guess it's natural to end up with a short film rather than a collection of still images as was my original intent.

Next time I should bring one of the many tripods sitting patiently at home waiting to be used.



It was easier making these when Lane was at home and I could Guilt-trip him into fixing my mistakes.