Here’s a little slice of my present-day life — a far cry from where I was three years ago, flying a sign on sidewalk in Berkeley figuring I’d be dead in a gutter any day now.
As most of you know, we are producing a concert reading of my musical about youth homelessness in America. People in the cast have gotten a little lax about showing up, and some of their reasons remind me of things the Street Kids used to try to tell me when they were trying to convince me I owed them money.
So yesterday the director and I decided to play Good Cop Bad Cop. Below you will find my email to the cast, followed by Dave’s email about three hours later. I told him this was great teamwork. Hopefully, the cast will get the picture, after this:
To the Cast of Eden in Babylon:
ALL means ALL.
I expect to see ALL who have been called tomorrow at 3pm for an “Awake the Dawn” rehearsal, with the exception of Seth and Matt.
On Friday, only four people showed up. Kathy will be making 12 copies of the “Awake the Dawn” score, so that each of you will have his/her own hard copy part.
Come on. No more sudden excuses, no more last minute bail-outs. Michael* has been fired; his behavior and attitude have been completely unprofessional and unacceptable. If you want to be in Eden in Babylon, please prioritize this important project from here on in. If you need to miss a rehearsal, please give me notice. I have received too many texts either immediately before the rehearsal or, in some cases, during the rehearsal, for my comfort. Not to mention, some of the “reasons” why people need to miss rehearsal have been, frankly, implausible.
All that said, I would like to extend a very special thank you to Zach, Alexi, Liz and Vincent for your excellent work on Friday.
I will see you ALL — except for the two exceptions cited, tomorrow at three.
Andy
*The person who has been dismissed is not actually named Michael. All right — so here’s Dave’s version:
Team,
First, thanks for your work on this so far. Every rehearsal I’ve been able to make has shown heart and musicianship and forward momentum. Let’s keep it going.
We’ve got a lot of time until our performance, but we also have some work to do. Andy is working hard to get all of you comfortable with the music so we can put the best possible product on stage in a couple of months. To do this, we all need to work together. Please help us – particularly Andy at this point – by respecting everyone’s time and effort. If you’re having trouble accessing or understanding the calendar, let us know. Everyone should have access. Please look at it a week in advance and plan your schedule accordingly. Let Andy know – well ahead of time – if you can’t make a rehearsal. It may seem like a small thing to miss a rehearsal right now, but it all adds up. It’s also very hard to have a productive rehearsal when we don’t know who is going to be there. Please respect your collaborators and the process.
With all that said, we’ll continue to try to improve the communication process as well. We’re trying to find a stage manager to help with this. We’ll keep you posted.
Thanks again for your work. See you soon.
Dave HarlanDirector – Eden in BabylonArtistic Director, Moscow Art Theatre (Too)
Obviously, I’m lucky to have a guy like Dave. I’m lucky to be alive – let alone working on a project like this. And who knows? Maybe next time I’ll get to be the “good cop.”
Please donate to Eden in Babylon.
A little bit goes a long, long way.
Eden in Babylon 
A great opportunity for young folks to learn about commitment and priorities!
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That’s what I was thinking. I love the way Dave worded his message. It clearly explains the necessity of commitment, when it comes to the collaborative effort. Some of these kids have never been involved in a group endeavor of this kind. So hopefully there will be a turnaround, from here.
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