Record Arts

A few pieces I painted for submission to an upcoming show. Tho only requirement was that the art was to be painted on records. All of these pieces are currently for sale. Here is what I came up with:

Wild West

12" x 12"

Acrylic on Vinyl

$50

Seaweed

12" x 12"

Acrylic on Vinyl

$30

Earth

12" x 12"

Acrylic on Vinyl

$25

America

12" x 12"

Acrylic on Vinyl

$25

Compass Rose

12"x 12"

Acrylic on Vinyl

$75

In search of Americana (Pt.1)

It's been an interesting few weeks. I recently went on a short road trip, for my own personal reasons, which I will not discuss here. It's rather interesting that the more I take these trips, the longer it seems to process what the journeys actually mean. In this case, I was disturbed to find out just how far commercialism is an essential part of the American dream.

Heading west, I went through the Eastern part of the Midwest, also known as the back roads of Ohio. The interesting thing about the back roads is the sense of navigation that occurs. It takes forever to actually get anywhere. Basically, you travel a good five or six hours at a steady clip, only to find my to your surprise and a little bit of your chagrin, you find you have travelled about 600 miles less than you were expecting. As a result, at the end of Day 1, I found myself in the Middle of Nowhere, Ohio.

Now, the thing about this, I was much surprised to find how...utterly commercial the Amish country has become. It surprised me greatly how much that upset me, and it took me a while to figure out why.

Commercialism is more or less destroying the regionalism of America. This is even more unfortunate considering how the "melting pot" culture which founded the country, is now becoming homogenized through the Interstate, and through rampant commercialism.

When you travel through the open country at 80 miles an hour, everything kind of looks the same. Regionalism is slowly dying, and there isn't much that can be done. We just need to savor what little flavor is left.

From Mansfield, Ohio, I next journeyed to Louisville, Kentucky. After having been shocked at the commercial Amish, I then decided to embrace the idea of the search for American symbols, and what could be more American that Mom, Apple Pie, and of course, Baseball.

Louisville is of course home of the Louisville Slugger, the baseball bat of the MLB. Standing outside, with the world's largest baseball bat, I then plotted a journey that would lead to the heart of several American Icons, including, aside from the Slugger, Jim Beam, Maker's Mark, Jack Daniels, and the Civil War. This sojourn would take me through a large chunk of the South.

Moving South through Kentucky, we hooked into the Bourbon Trail, which led right to front doors of the Jim Beam and Maker's Mark distilleries, manufacturers of fine Bourbons.

And I must say, the tours, while interesting, kind of pale in comparison to the highlights, the tastings. After trying several (read as too many) bourbons, I think my favorite has to be Maker's Mark 46, and extra smoky bourbon made by adding extra burned barrel staves to the aging barrels. I recommend it straight, on the rocks. Of course, that was only half the journey.

Until next time,
Andrew

In Medias Res

So, here it is. I currently find myself inside of a large metal box, hurtling through time and space towards an unknown future. That is a ridiculously overly poetic way of saying that I'm currently on a bus on the way home back to Pittsburgh after a somewhat less than successful journey from New York City.

Now, I know several people are inquiring at this point as to when I even left. The answer to that, and to why, is rather complicated, so I'm going to go in media res for a moment, and flash back to an earlier journey that wasn't discussed, travelling to Philadelphia while on The Elephant Man. The reasoning, or at least my thought process, between the two journeys is connected, hence the need to go back to the beginning.

After finishing up a rather successful set of previews for the show, we hurriedly packed up and left for Philadelphia. Arriving rather late, we all turned in at the hostel, and prepared to really get into the work the next day.

Dinner that night was absolutely delightful, as we had decided to pool resources and try to cook, as opposed to spending a significant amount of the budget attempting to dine out. Seeing what was around, we decided to go for Italian that night (I know, it's me cooking, therefore Italian cuisine is likely.) After writing a quick list of ingredients, we set out shopping only to discover that a frost had made eggplant rather scarce. Now, Eggplant Parmesan is rather difficult to make without eggplant, but there were some very good looking baby zucchini in the case. Desperation is the mother of invention, and we decided to go that direction instead.

The cooking process is incredibly simple, a quick saute of the split zucchini, a fast boil of the pasta, and a quick doctoring of the sauce (a little wine goes a long way), we had a delightful meal in very good company.

Following dinner, we were joined by another cast member, who brought along two friends, Ian and Tim. We relaxed the evening away, plenty of good wine and conversation, the two fueling each other, and finally called it a night in the wee hours of the morning.

The next day was rather rough, as the day before a show is liable to be. It was even more stressful, as performing in a museum puts even more restrictions. Tempers (especially my own) were beginning to flare a bit when mercifully, break came around and we found ourselves with several hours free.

After being in the same room with the same people for close to 72 hours, I decided to head off on my own and check out the Franklin Institute. Walking across the park to it, however, I was surprised to hear my voice being called. I turned around as was surprised to see Tim and Ian standing there. After inquiring if I had plans, of which I really didn't, we decided to go on a walk to seek out Tony DiNic's, in the Reading Terminal market.

Now, Reading Terminal is kind of a foodie Valhalla. It's almost impossible not to find something delicious, but we were on a mission to seek out the sandwich as it was seen on Man Vs. Food. And find it we did.

This delicious monstrosity of a sandwich contains almost a pound of pulled pork, but it is the way in which it is made makes it something else, possibly in the category of manna. It's by far one of the best sandwiches I've ever had. The meat is prepared by braising overnight in it's own juices, then it it pulled, placed back into the juice, and then braised again overnight. This produces some of the juiciest pork I've ever tasted. Now, this is an even more impressive feat, considering that pork is one of the easiest meats in the world to dry out.

The other ingredients of the sandwich also help complete the flavor profile to be something sublime. First, a layer of provolone adds a sharpness as well as structural integrity (something very important in sandwich engineering) when it melts, juice proofing the bun. The greens are truly what put the sandwich up over the top though. A topping of broccoli rabe adds spiciness and a garlic undertone, which make up the symphony of flavor that is that sandwich. In case you can't tell, my mouth is practically watering at just remembering and writing this description. If you are in Philadelphia, skip the cheesesteak and go for this instead.

After stuffing ourselves on pork, we decided to go touristy and check out the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, and Elphreth's Alley, one of the oldest continuously inhabited blocks in the United States. We had a fascinating discussion on history, as Tim and Ian, both English natives, were curious why Americans celebrated something that was only a little over two hundred and fifty years old, I then explained that it was because in a country only about that old, we have to find our "founding myths" where we can. I also pointed out they had encapsulated the European idea of America in one fell swoop that day, giant sandwiches and the Liberty Bell, or in a metaphorical sense, conspicuous consumption and blind patriotism.

We then adjourned our little adventure to watch and perform in the play, and following another night of carousing, settled in our beds, ready to move on to the next journey.

Until next time,
Andrew

New York City, Round 2

My apologies for not writing from the "field" as it were, but I've only recently recovered from the day trip to New York. I ended up there for the day to audition, and as usual, the randomness of the day did not disappoint.

To start off with, a night bus is always an...interesting place to meet some new people. Usually, it's my preferred method of travel, but due to the lateness of the hour, I usually prefer to pop a sleeping pill or two, pass out, and wake up in my destination, fully rested. Unfortunately, or in this case, fortunately, the fates conspired a bit by having the bus packed to the gills, my own forgetfulness forgeting my medication, so I was wide awake.

I ended up next to Nicole, a 22 year old transgender female, up to NYC for a little vacation after ending her two and a half year old long distance relationship. It's funny how the lateness of the hour and close physical confines inspires a breaking down of borders between strangers. I also met Ashley this trip, an actor also heading up to audition for a show.

Open 24 Hours

After arriving early (ridiculously early, I think) we decided to grab breakfast together at the Tick Tock Dinner, a great little place on 34th and 8th. The big thing to remember about working, and eating as an actor is that each person has their own unique pre-audition rituals. Generally, most actors avoid dairy, and of course, since appearance is so important, we watch our weight. Aside from that, everyone is different. Since she is predominately a dancer, Ashley went with a basic fruit and eggs, while since I do mostly physical fight work and Shakespeare, I prefer to load up on protein. That's why I was thrilled when I saw the Protein Breakfast available, I had to get it. After ordering, an entire chicken breast, and a delicious egg white omelet with tomatoes, asparagus, and mushrooms. Fortunately, I was able to polish it off all the way (after splitting it three ways.) The vegetables were perfectly done, the asparagus with a fresh crisp taste, and the mushrooms, to die for. I found my new traditional NYC breakfast.

A lot of breakfast

With that lump in my stomach, I headed off to my audition. It went well, and I made the callbacks. Suddenly having several hours to myself in the middle of Manhattan, I decided to be an accidental tourist and actually go see the Empire State Building. It's a cool building (I'm a sucker for Art Deco architecture) but, it's a tourist destination, so I wasn't exactly enthralled.

Hopefully, the closest I'll come to being a tourist

Much more interesting to me was the pizza. New York is known all over as a pizza pilgrimage destination (although Chicago might have something to say about that) so I had to see what it was all about. I landed at NY Pizza Supreme, and I now know what people are talking about with pizza. It's probably the best I've ever had. Based off their recommendation, I went for something different, the Upside Down Pie. It's exactly what it says it is, the pizza built upside down, with the cheese on the bottom and the sauce on top. The advantage is that the cheese insulates the crust from the sauce, so it's crispy and chewy all at the same time.

The Upside-Down

It was so delicious, I had to go for one more slice. A true measurement of a pizza place is how they handle a Margherita. It's simplicity, with just mozzarella, basil, and tomato sauce, has been the downfall of more than one pizza joint. This is not the case, however, and NYPS proves that it's all about the ingredients. The perfectly crispy crust (try saying that three times fast) is complemented by the house-made mozzarella, (you can't get fresher than just made) and the basil was like a kick to the face with a basil foot, but in a really good way.

As fresh as it gets.

After the audition, a few of us (Steve and Ally) decided to celebrate and grab a beer at the Smiling Moose। Granted, I ended up with cider (which is manly in its own way) and some poutine (Ally's Canadian, so that's why we had to get an order.) As usual, and after the hilarity of Steve and myself trying to teach Ally to play pool (neither of us are very good to begin with, so a perfect example of the blind leading the blind.) We parted our separate ways, hopefully to meet again (if we get cast) and went back to our separate lives. That's one of the reasons I love to travel, even when you're in a strange city, you're never actually alone.

Until next time,

Andrew

No Amish Country for Old Men

Here it is, February, and the first audition road trip of the year. Some where glamorous? Not exactly, but unique in it's own way. I'm here in the (relative) heart of Amish Country, Lancaster, Pennsylvania. To be truly specific, I'm in Lititz, a smaller town about 8 miles away from Lancaster. Why would I be here, you may ask. Simple, about 10 miles or so from here is the home of the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire, one of the largest Faires in the U.S. I decided to audition this year.

There truly isn't that much to do here, I fully admit it. But what makes this area unique is the people. They are some of the nicest people you will ever meet, right there on the street. As much as I hate to say it, it's almost stereotypically small town. There is rarely a stranger, and you're an old friend within five minutes. Being raised in a city where the outsiders are never trusted, this is a new approach to life.

Not having much to do, and being hungry, as I usually am, I decided to try to investigate the local foods, and try for some regional specialties. In this situation, Lancaster County does not disappoint. The wide variety of food is fairly astounding, and generally pretty good. Some things truly stood out though.

First stop of the day turned out to be for desert, with a visit to the Wilbur Chocolate Factory. For those of you who don't know Wilbur, it's a smaller chocolate company in Downtown Lititz. What makes it notable is that it's been in operation for over 127 years. Due to the size, I think they offer a superior product than a larger company, such as Hershey's. Of special note are the Buds (Think something similar to a Hershey's Kiss, but not quite) which are delicious in the semisweet chocolate. (Granted it's chocolate, so of course it's delicious, but make sure to go for the semisweet, as it has a much more complex flavor profile than the cloying sweetness of the milk chocolate.)

Next up, craving something salty, as one is bound to do after something sweet, I headed to the Julius Sturgis Pretzel Bakery, the first commercial pretzel bakery in the U.S., according to their marketing materials. Also in downtown Lititz, the building is hard to miss with the large pretzel in front of it. I must say, they do make a good pretzel. But it's just that, a good pretzel, not a great one. Still, if you find yourself in the area, stop by, it's always fun to see how they are made.

Finally, after an exhausting audition, on the way back to the hotel, I happened to find a deli, S. Clyde Weaver, Smoked Meats and Cheeses, in the middle of Manheim. Curious to find out about what would be considered "traditional" Pennsylvania Dutch fare, I inquired about it to a rather knowledgeable fellow behind the counter, and he led me to three very disparate items that are unique to the Lancaster region.

The first of these items was Lebanon Bologna. As first glance, it's like no bologna I've ever seen before. Made of all beef, and with sugar, it is almost akin to salami, but even sweeter. I tried a sample, and it is delicious. Also in the case were rolls of the bologna, rolled with a vegetable cream cheese. The two together complement each other perfectly, and fortunately there are still a half dozen waiting for me in the refrigerator.

Next up, an item that 1) took me by surprise on a few counts, and 2) took some mental preparation to try. That item would be the tongue souse. Souse is a type of head cheese, which it turns out is not a cheese at all. It's actually a type of pressed meat (think homemade Spam) and the tongue part, well, you can figure it out for yourself. It's another all beef product. After a minute or five of looking at it, I decided, "What the hell, why not?" and gave it a try. Honestly, once you get past what it is that you're eating, and that mental block, it's actually really good. Full of spice, it has a full body, and the tongue is one of the most tender cuts of meat I've had. It's not something I'm going to dine on regularly, but for something different, it does not disappoint.

Finally, at the end of the day, desert once again, and the final item, shoofly pie. This is the culinary item most people think of when they hear Pennsylvania Dutch. The best way to think of this is as a marriage of a custard and a fruit pie. The notable exception is that in this case, it is a molasses based custard, with a thinner raisin based fruit layer. It is very good, but also extremely sweet, almost too much so. I could only handle a small piece personally. The crust to pie ratio however, is absolutely perfect. Now that is an item I will be dining on again, just in small doses, if only for my health.

I started this talking about travel, but then I ended up discussing the food. But doesn't this make a lot of sense? The best way to get to know a people is by experiencing the way they live. Food is something that unites all of us. The people of Lancaster are a welcoming, kind, down-to-earth group, and it's reflected in the food; simple, but filling, humble, but delicious and prepared with care. So, all in all, what I thought would be an inauspicious start has turned out to be a learning experience worth more than I ever thought it would be.
Until next time,
Andrew