 My New Years Resolution this year-and every year-is to make this years success bigger than the last one. Every year, I've been able to do it. Last year I was a bit worried because 2012 was particularly good to me- (un)missed connections was in Planet Connections, Standby was in the Fringe Fest, I was in a Jenny Craig commercial, I acted in Duncan Pflaster's Taint of Equality and Rachel Foote Baccus's Strange and Separate People...I was on a high...How to beat that? ... I must say, though..2013 has been the year of moving forward.
People ask..."when do you sleep?" The answer is "I sleep normally. I just don't play. Or waste time. " I can't. THAT is settling. I can't do that. Not when I've tasted what it's like to have a non-stop barrage of dreams coming true. Years ago, before I moved to NYC, I dreamed of words like "Fringe Festival, NYMF Festival, playwright, lyricist..." and suddenly...its all happening. I write every day. I have to. My mind works that way...I have so many stories and I have to write them down or I get antsy...I sing every day too (even if its alone in my living room or shower.) I plot. I plan. I rehearse...I can't imagine a life without these things. I believe in storytelling. Sometimes when I listen to people tell me a story about an event in their life, I fade away. Because I'm restructuring their story in my head...Is that weird? Maybe I've been lucky then that I've been able to tell my stories. Whether on the stage myself, or behind the scenes- behind my laptop, I've been able to tell my stories all over the country.
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 To me, creating is the thing that makes me truly happy. It's always been that way. Recently, aside from working out, I have been spending a lot of time going over some old creations of mine. You see, I found my the video camera my Dad gave me for Christmas in 1996! I'll be honest, since I was 16 years old -and had my license and an eagerness for growing up- I was expecting what all of my other 16 year old friends were getting...a car. So it was a bit out of left field to unwrap a present and see something that I hadn't even thought of asking for. But my Dad, who is one of my closest confidants as well as my father, obviously knew me better than I knew myself. That camera was at my side for years. I filmed EVERYTHING. My best friends, Graham and Amanda, as well as my brothers Kenny and Greg were constantly filming skits, and parody movies, and scenes and stories...we were constantly creating. You know, 14 -17 is when some kids get into trouble. I know I had my fair share (I'll be honest, the majority of it had to do with girls - one in particular) But-aside from one particularly bad alcohol experiment- I pretty much managed to steer clear of the bad parties, the questionable behavior, drugs, and overall teenage shenanigans that others got into-at least for a while. Perhaps its because I had two hands and one eye in a camera, and a mind on other things. Who had time for that when there were movies to be made? A deep question to think about...and it was running through my head during INSANITY'S PURE CARDIO...in the end I couldn't catch my breath for two reasons...one for the physical ass whipping I was getting from a DVD and two because changing the world is not an easy thing to do....but here goes.
If I could change one thing about the world...I would give everyone the natural ability to ask themselves "How will this action, or words, be received by others?" We don't think enough of other people. In our aggressive climbs to the top, in our ultrafast walk or drives to work, in our cars, behind our iphones, between our headsets, behind our email addresses and text numbers, and facebook names...We say, and do, and look and purposely disconnect and disconnect and disconnect... "How was that shoulder check received by the person I just ran into?" "How was that cut in line received?" "How was the lane blocking, that newspaper stealing, that tip shorting, that dog kicking, that kid scolding, that mouthing off, that face slapping, that racial profiling, that gay rights stealing, that sexism based hiring, that snide comment, that back stabbing, that envy, that cheating, that crowd pushing, that web bullying..." The list goes on...but if those people had just a little bit more human compassion, a little more empathy...well...the world might be a little bit better of a place. And now I can breathe again. If life is so short, why do we do so many things we don’t like and like so many things we don’t do?
That's a serious question I am asking myself all of the time. - "Do I REALLY want to do this?" These past few years, between work (weight loss) School (BA in theatre) Shows (about 11 this year) and all the many many things I do with my life...its hard to find time for things...and if I DO find the time. Last semester I worked full time, took 16 units of classes, and did a LOT of theatre...and I have to say.. I wanted to do ALL of those things. I will say it was my most productive year. I was in a commerical about weight loss. I was in the NY DAILY NEWS for it too. I filmed my first independent movie, and my first big web series, originated my first stage role, did a damn musical again. EACH of my writing projects got some kind of production this year...I am DOING what I want to do. Question number two on my questions to open my eyes. I actually set down to write this blog earlier and couldn't quite find the words today. It was out during my jog that I found the words. To me, that question is a no brainer. Up until I thought about it, I thought it was a no brainer to everyone. How could anyone even compare the two? But then I thought about how many people there are out there who never even though about trying. How may people have written stories or poems and thought "well that was fun, but i'm not really a writer" and put it away. Or the weekend football players who never ever considered trying out for fear of not making the cut. Or the community theatre actor who says, "I like acting" but never considered going big time because they might fall on their faces. Some people are happy to settle. Some people are just born that way. Some people want to never see their limitations that way they can continue believing that they don't have any. |
Mark-Eugene GarciaWriter/Actor/Storyteller. Theatre Maker. Husband. Bad Hombre. Cat Taunter. ContentsArchives
March 2023
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