The Classics....

So. Do you like TCM?

You know, TCM…yeah that’s right Turner Classic Movies. Yeah that’s the one.

Do you like it? Do you watch it?

Me, nah, me I aint ever really been one for classic movies. I mean I don’t usually have a cable hook up so I guess that makes it a little hard to like TCM right?

But yeah, some people really like TCM. A lotta folks that I know… in fact if you in the business I’m in, its like you need to like that shit, ya know to prove that you are a part of the community. I mean how many real actors can’t list off the names of a bunch of 1960s movies, movie stars… yeah you know what I mean, you just gotta know so that the next time you sitting with a bunch of dem real actor types and they talking about Cagney, or Matthau, or Monroe or some other shiteating smiled actor, you too can jump right on in and get with that. You can fuckin shoot the shit with these cats. Ya know what I’m saying? Yeah man you dig me.

Aiight, so check it, I’m flipping the channels as one is prone to do when you suddenly got access to t.v, and unlike me, I settle on…fucking TCM. Woah.  Its late, aint nothing else on, aint no rerun of fuckin awful For the Love of Ray-J that I can get sucked into on right now, so I figure, yo let me give this a chance.  

And aint that something, the first face I see on this channel that I don’t ever watch is a face that I recognize, and I, yes I can actually say who she is. Audrey Hepburn. Boom. That’s motherfucking Audrey Hepburn, man even I know who that is.

So I start watching…and yo she is good, and yo she is compelling to watch, and she got tenacity, and feline charisma…and yo! Aint that dude next to her the same dude who would many years later be telling us how he loves it when a plan comes together on fucking A-Team, but he’s looking kinda sharp and kinda young…yeah its him!!!, and I’m thinking I can actually get into this film, I think I can actually watch this one.

So I watch.

Me.

TCM.

Audrey.

A-Team guy.

And it’s a good ass scene, and she runs it. And she’s sexy even though she is hella skinny and she aint no bombshell, she is sexy ya know? Ya know what I’m saying, she got something going on.  She got some tall drink a water, some smoke a cigarette the right way, some, some…some fucking something going on.  And me, I’m just watchin, digging the scene, and yeah man you right I’m starting to wonder what movie this is. 

And, yo I gotta say this is a great fucking moment for me, I’m diggin the TCM, I’m all into this shit…man you know when was the last time I watched anything on Turner Classic? Seriously dawg do you know? Man it was back in the days of high school, and I was in fuckin Tanzania and we somehow got the channel on the TV, and my boys and I would try to stay off the streets so we watched whatever we could, whenever we could and checked out Bruce Lee as Winslow Wong in Marlowe, or Kato in the Green Hornet and hoped maybe they show us a little bit of that 1960s-1970s boob shots on film! No, not Bruce’s boobs, the hot chick Marlowe was fucking, her boobs!  Sorry I cant explain it, we were teens in Tanzania and we were bored…and you know bored teens watch TV…and boobs…, and, and, man that’s all you need to know!

Anyhow back to Audrey. And TCM. And the dope scene, and the great acting, and the charm and the back of my mind thinking “What is this movie?” and the cute sets, and the storyline, and the budding love, and the innocence, and the filming, and yeah the bucktoothed, slant eyed, thick glasses, kimono wearing, annoying ass, white dude Chinaman.

“Breakfast At Tiffanys. That’s what this movie is”

And Audrey is heading back into her room, and this little fuckin guy walks in…and he’s loud, and obnoxious, and he doesn’t really look human, but apparently he looks a whole lotta Asian, and he is hassling them, and his teeth are fuckin big and he’s like a bug, like a parasite, like a dirty, brown/yellow Japanese scum of the earth pest. And yeah I think I mentioned he’s actually white, he’s Mickey Rooney, who’s a king, who’s an icon, who’s a legend of the screen who makes me. Change. The. Fucking. Channel.

And I turn off the TV. And I think. 

About Audrey. 

And A-Team guy. 

And Ching Chong China Man. 

And Breakfast at Tiffany’s.  

And Buck Teeth and Thick Glasses.  

And I remember that yeah…

I aint ever really been one for classic movies.

Sunny Daze

What up world.

Yo, let me be real for a quick second and just say, I miss my baby! Dang, I know, I know some of you wanna gag right now, and don’t really wanna be hearing this, but you know I’m a married man, newly married at that and its hard being away from your boo…so yeah I miss my Malena. Thank goodness for skype, and voice chat because without that, this would be even harder…sigh. Anyhow, let me move on before I lose whatever readership I might have!

Well world another week of rehearsals are in the bag and dig this, we are going into tech this week! 12 rehearsals and we are ready for tech…insane right. Nevertheless, the show is in good shape and we are just building it up to where it needs to be. Tomorrow we do a run through for some of the staff at Centerstage as well as the Artistic Director…no pressure no pressure.  I have this opening sequence in the show called “Day in the life” which is hard to explain but its very Lookingglass! Very physical 5-8 minute sequence of repetitive moving around the stage, I run off and do a quick change and am pouring with sweat…I forgot how much of a cardio workout this show is.

This is also the first time in a while that I am part of a show that is has beautiful spectacle and ensemble work but is also very family friendly.  It really is one of those productions that will be enjoyed by the entire family, and while it’s not the most cerebral  production, it is still quite a challenge because of the precision and “cleanness” you need to have every single moment you are on stage. It’s a big departure from Chad Deity, but its very cool, and I’m very excited about whats to come!

As for Baltimore…today I took the water taxi with Rom to Fells Point…really nice neighborhood, amazing cobblestone streets, bars and pubs and thank you Mary Rose for the recommendation! I went to the Waterfront Hotel and got me some crab quesadillas (WHAT!!!) and some Natty Boh (the local beer…quite delightful). After that I walked back through the Red Light District….let me rephrase, the Red Light Block (hella sketchy) to cap off my lovely afternoon off in 73 degree weather!!

Check out the dope shots world!

Peace

So before there was THE WIRE there was HOMICIDE: Life on the Street. I have seen a total of 2 episodes of this show, and it was quite good. I might have to start watching this on Netflix now.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! CRABBY DICK!!! hahahah!

This was at Fells Point. The old style car with on the cobblestone streets outside of boutiques and cute little stores. Quite charming.

Multi-colored apartments and stores with tiny doors and large windows. How odd....quaint.

 Look at that old ass boat. I feel like I was in Huck Finn times, or Pirate times, or in Jolly Ol england in Fells Point.

As seen in Season 2 of THE WIRE.

As seen in Season 2 and many others of THE WIRE

One day I'll load the videos.

BALTIMORE INNER HARBOR

So after the first week of rehearsals I finally got the chance to walk around Bmore a little bit. I took some video but for some reason I can't upload it from my apartment. Maybe the internet isn't fast enough or something. So I took some pics as well. Since I spent most of the day at one side of the Harbor most of these shots are of ships and the water. Next week I think I might go to the Historic Fells Point and see how the cobbled streets and bars are over there.

So for now enjoy these pics of the Inner Harbor! Oh, and rehearsals are going great, the play is moving along nicely, and I think it's going to look great!

ABOVE: The ship on the left is a massive Norwegian ship. Don't know why it's there but it is. In the video I took there is a Norwegian flag as well. The green ship is one of the oldest battle ships in Bmore…notice the cannons all along the side!






BELOW: Big old tugboat or steamer or something (I'm not very good at this) and a HUGE submarine…just chilling in the city. I found this very odd for some reason.

The Chesapeake was just hanging out infront of the Baltimore Aquarium, which I heard is worth checking out. Apparently its one of the biggest. I hope they have sharks. I like sharks. Is that weird?

 Likewise with this bigass submarine. What gives? People were walking around on it, paying 10 bucks to check it out...I think I'll pass on this one. But it is pretty cool looking.

yo it's the BALTIMORE SUN! Very unimpressive building, but so much of Season 5 of THE WIRE was filmed around this building so you know I had to take a picture…just two blocks from my apartment.

And that's the Harbor!

Looking forward to seeing some more of the city next Monday!

Til then,

Peace y'all!

usman

Jeeda

Whats the phrase…God works in mysterious ways? Strange ways? Well, in ways that are completely impossible for me to understand. God, or whatever you might believe in is kind of bizarre, and its days like these where I find it more and more impossible to believe in Its existence.

So God, lord, superunknownpower, you have left me heartbroken and hurt. Today you decided it was Jeeda's time.

My life has had very few constants in it. It's hard for there to be much consistency when you move around as much as we did when I was a kid. 3 years in Swaziland, 7 in Botswana, about 2 in Pakistan, about 2 in Kenya and 5 in Tanzania, not to mention the nine years here in the states have not been in one place either. Portland, Florida and Chicago. It is impossible to really feel like you have had a through line that has been with you right from the get go. Our family is very scattered around the world. I think of my life in chapters, and the titles to each one is the name of a city I lived in. The Lobatse years, the Dar years, the Islamabad years etc. When I think about an age or a time or even a memory its always under the headline of a place or space we lived in. This is how I make sense of the world, I compartmentalize things. But, as much as I overlook it, there was one constant for more than 20 years that is there in every chapter. His name was Jeeda.

When I was a very young boy, my paternal grandparents hired a man to work around the house, clean, fix things, garden etc. They were far too old to do it themselves. Jeeda was a nice man, strong but skinny almost to the point of malnourishment. He was very quiet and shy, and when he did speak it was almost inaudible and virtually impossible to understand. He was a mumbler and spoke in a Punjabi that was very localized. I barely understood him as a kid. Jeeda worked and worked and worked. He never stopped. After my grandparents passed on, he continued to work for my mom and dad on and off. Whenever we came back from abroad for a few months, Jeeda would show up and help out. Whenever my mom had to come back to Islamabad and move out some tenants, or fix up the house or pack everything we owned into one room, it was Jeeda and only Jeeda who helped her. He was close to us. Like family. When my parents moved back to Pakistan 7 years ago, Jeeda worked for them pretty much full time. He developed a close relationship with my mother, and even with my father talked politics and about life….always shy though, always respectful and unfortunately always aware of his place in society.

You see, I forget to mention that Jeeda was Christian, and in Pakistan that is not helpful. He lived amongst some of the poorest people in Pakistan, very ostracized and dehumanized because of his religion. He spent all his money on his family and relatives, and when he got married 7 years ago, and he had three kids (one of whom died as is so common in Pakistan) he spent all his income on them. Most children from his part of Pakistan go to schools where the monthly fee is only Rupees 50 (less than a dollar) but he send his kids to schools where they charged Rupees 1000. Jeeda knew our family was different. We always offered him help, and whenever I went home to Pakistan I would hug him and he would smile… this kind of affection is not something that is often shown to "lower class Christians" in Pakistan.

Jeeda was a good, good man. And God thought we didn't deserve him. He died from a ruptured hernia. He was working, again. Far too hard, far too much, and ruptured a hernia…something so treatable in the states. That's what makes it sadder doesn't it? He died working for his kids, and he was only 45. He has left behind a poor, illiterate wife and two very small children.

I feel sad for my mother. Nearly every experience she has had related to Pakistan for the past 20 years, she had Jeeda by her side. I feel sad for my father. Jeeda was a connection for him to his own mother, to his sense of equality and to us, his kids.

And I feel sad for Jeeda and his family, because in this case its JUST NOT FAIR. I do not see the point in someone as good as him, as needed as him dying so young. What does his death accomplish or achieve. It simply makes things harder.

3 years ago when my friend Jagpreet died I cried. And since then I have had other people in my life pass on. My reaction has been one of hurt, sadness but no tears.

But right now, thinking of Jeeda makes my eyes wet.

I have decided with malena that every year we will give Jeeda's family $150 so that his son can stay in the same school. Its not much, but I think its something Jeeda would have done with the money.

A very important chapter in the book of my family's life has come to a close.

Rest in Peace Jeeda.

Below in the only picture I have of Jeeda. It's a still shot from a video I made in Pakistan so its not very clear. But its how I remember him…quickly cycling away before I can embarrass him. And oh yeah, he's smiling cheek to cheek.

See you later Chad Deity, Hello Baltimore!

Well we closed The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity last Sunday, and it was quite a ride being a part of the BIGGEST show in Chicago. We were reviewed over and over, articles came again and again, and the patrons (young and old) all loved it...well 98% of them did, and I'll take that!
What I really appreciated about it was sharing the stage with a friend like Desmin, and working with a group of professionals committed to really presenting the story in the most true form. We worked our asses off, physically and mentally exhausting ourselves, battling flus, H1N1 and everything else thats out there, and I think we ended the run with our heads held high. We told a powerful story about Americans that aren't really a part of the mainstream....and we told it to a diverse audience without sacrificing the authenticity of the piece and the characters. And I'm proud of that. And I don't think this is the last of Chad Deity...it definetely aint the last Vigneshwar Paduar!! So to be continued with this show....we'll see where it goes and when.

And with that, Hello Baltimore and Around the World in 80 Days at Baltimore Centerstage .
The day after Chad Deity closed, I packed up my things, said goodbye to my beautiful, gorgeous wife and headed to Baltimore. After almost missing my flight, then having my flight cancelled, then sitting next to a woman who was terrified of flying, I made it to Baltimore...a short but eventful trip over.

Baltimore is nothing like Chicago, and is almost everything like THE WIRE (greatest TV ever.....I almost lost my shit when I saw the Baltimore Sun building!) which is a mid-size run down city. Its odd seeing what look like boarded up, abandoned buildings next to NFL and NBL supersize stadiums.
I haven't had the chance to walk around the city just yet, and it looks like the walking will be at a minimum anyhow. All the lovely people at Centerstage has repeatedly told us that we should not walk alone, should not walk after 9pm, should not head 15 minutes south, or east, or west or north!
It kind of feels like a police state. Whats odd about the city center is that it is empty...unlike Chicago or NYC, the sidewalks and roads are empty, and you just wonder where everyone has gone. Its an eerie feeling. We've been told to keep an eye out for transvestite prostitutes (awesome) and to just be aware of our surroundings. I don't know how much of this to really buy, but I'm not too worried. I live in Chicago, and living in any big city makes you careful, so I think as long as I use my head, I'll be fine!
Tomorrow I plan to walk down to the gym (Brick Bodies...oh yeaaah) and maybe to the Harbor too which is supposed to be nice...not as kitschy as Navy Pier in Chicago. I did get my grocery shopping done thanks to the great people at Centerstage...bought a bunch of stuff for the new apartment (which is not too far from a Prison! ha!) and the store was like nothing else...very dim lighting, and again hardly anyone there at 6pm. If this was Chicago it would be full at Jewel or Dominicks! Going to Trader Joes on Thursday...should be good.

Rehearsals started today and it went well, a lot of paperwork, talking and introducing the staff and design teams to the staff. Its a huge facility and a huge staff with lots of security features. The theatre is BIG! 560 seats I think, and its a proscenium. Plenty of opportunity for new staging.
Got a long day tomorrow filled with fittings, and getting straight into staging this bad boy. Little nervous but this is a chance to perform a great piece of work on a great stage getting paid to do what I love. I cannot complain. I wish Malena was here, but I've got Skype Video Chat...and that aint bad is it?
More tomorrow. Long day coming up.

Much love.
Maani

American Theater Company taps Usman Ally, ups its ensemble by 25 percent

American Theater Company taps Usman Ally, ups its ensemble by 25 percent

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American Theater Company!!

Today, I officially accepted a position as the latest ensemble member of American Theater Company. Its a big day for me, as I finally have an artistic home with an organization that has a very similar artistic vision to my own.

It was interesting how it all came up. I met with PJ Paparelli (Artistic Director) over some coffee to discuss a couple of ideas I have for this coming year...ways in which I could work with ATC to bring to light the stories of Pakistani Americans in Chicago. We spoke about some of the writing, workshopping and acting opportunities I might have with ATC, and everything was moving a long great.

Then PJ said "well there is no right way to do this..." and he pulled out a file. He told me how much he appreciated my work in Celebrity Row last year, and how much he feels we both want the same thing in Chicago Theater...diverse representations of America on stage, and boom! He asked me to join!

I was a little flabbergasted, completely not expecting it. I took a couple days to think about, just coz it seemed  to be the right thing to do, and eagerly accepted.

So I'm looking forward to it! A new phase in American Theater Company, and I'm a part of it. Exciting times lay ahead!

I'll keep you posted.

www.atcweb.org