Alexandra Silber's Blog, page 5

Catherine: The Great

The great MamaSilbs left yesterday— after extending her trip slightly (because I wasn't 100%) I want to take a moment to publicly thank Catherine Silber not only for, ya know, giving me life, and a lifetime of care, but for enduring so gracefully beside me. Truly: I have no personal experience that could ever instill within me the ability to fully empathize; to begin to imagine what she’s felt every day for the last few weeks (and frankly, years.)

 
Sure, she’s smoking-hot and has the horse ...

Things I like about Alec: a List

Alec is currently in Edinburgh for all of August, for the third year in a row. It’s been quite the year of time apart— we will really only been together in bursts of 3-14 days from March til September. It’s been tough, but a challenge we are more than capable of rising to— after all, our love was born of and fostered within long-distance. Plus, it is an incredible indicator of our mutual professional/artistic abundance this year. Ya abundance.

All that said? I freaking miss him. And wanted a cha...

Things I am Leaving Behind Me, Right Now: a List

things that no longer serve my highest self.worrying what others think.[within the reasonable realm of responsibilities] anyone/anything that doesn't promote inner peace.comparing myself to other people, in any manner.
stressing about things I cannot change.worrying about unchangeable events that happened in the past.saying 'yes' when I really want to say 'no.'not prioritizing the things that truly matter.doubting my abilities, resilience, strength, courage, intelligence, or capabilitiesbelievin...

Together again.

Alec is home.  Since I left (for Chicago, in March) we've only shared a handful of days together-- 5 days. 7 Days. 9 days. 14 days. Here and there.
 One handful in New York. Then Chicago.Another in Sacramento. Back and forth. There and back again.
But too few here, in our beloved "Winter Palace" as a whole family with Tati. We haven't had that in weeks.
 He's back for 14 precious days before going away again (for his third annual August trip to Scotland, for the Edinburgh Fringe).  

We are a love...

Production Photos: The Music Man

all ©AKA Liz Lauren

"Return to sender. With consciousness attached."

Admission: I'm embarrassed about something.
 Over the last few months I've allowed someone (who doesn't know me at all) to profoundly affect my self worth.
Let me be clear: I let this happen.
I (think?) they passed judgement swiftly and harshly, and I absolutely allowed it to mentally and physically somewhat destroy me. I can only assume they were jealous(?) I'll never know for sure.
They barely know me, and never communicated their feelings directly.

But whoa Nellie was it agonizing, and despite th...

Alec & 'The Newlywed Game"

Beloved, singular and spectacular Alec, O, the utter elation of being yours — of sharing this life, and playing the best role ever: of Biggest Hype Woman. It is an honor to spend my days uplifting your every triumph and expansion as an artist and human being. The last few years you have achieved things as an artist (within a worldwide pandemic!) that filled me with awe. This is no exception.

Congratulations on a magnificent world premiere of The Newlywed Game at B Street Theatre; but also ...

"Goodnight... goodnight..."

@aka_lizlaurenFarewell, Marian Paroo and The Music Man in Chicago.

The most glorious part: creating a new Marian Paroo in tandem with my "whyfe" Katie Spelman-- my favorite contemporary artistic collaborator. It has been a dream, a career highlight, and the definition of platonic intimacy. Katie, along with our peerless female-led creative team Kim Hudman + Laura Rook, not to mention 37 world-class performers. The professionalism of every contributor has made this one of the great artistic ex...

Wonderstudies

Understudying and swinging is one of the hardest jobs in all of show-business, and although we've had a renaissance of uplifting these performers in a post COVID world, don't be fooled: we still don't give them anything close to what they deserve.

A role in a specific production is not "mine" — to be stingy with. I prefer to think of my primary duty as being to the character herself— and to serve her as best I can. More often than not that means coming to work and doing what I know I'm on earth t...

"There was love, all around..."

©aka liz lauren
“There was love all around, but I never heard it singing…”

One of the things I adore—and have truly *learned*—in the playing of this classic song (‘Til There Was You’) is the humble admission of something I know all too well (because I personally did it for YEARS):

That, as individuals who desire to love and be loved, sometimes we *participate* in our own solitude. We perpetuate it by keeping the world at a safe distance. We think that a world kept at arms length cannot hurt...