Thanksgiving always comes at a naturally reflective time. With almost 11 months torn off the calendar, the “what are you thankful for” prompt serves as a spyglass to consider the entire preceding year.
This year, the holiday coincided with the end of my residency at the Bay Area Discovery Museum, where I created an interactive theatrical experience aimed at young audiences.
The “crew” in The Explorers: A Shipwrecked Play crafted binoculars, built a boat and went on an adventure rife with venomous octopi, mysterious island wanderers and enormous redwoods.
It was a terrifically fun time, and–spoiler alert–I’ll probably be bringing the show back in the early months of 2015 again.
The Speakeasy, a two-year process, was the biggest accomplishment of my life (maybe tied with graduating college). After that closed in June, I decided to go straight into another complex challenge by creating an immersive piece with children.
I’ve never worked with children before, so I’m incredibly grateful for all those who helped me.
This Thanksgiving, which I spent with my girlfriend and friends at an Egyptian-themed retreat center complete with talking parrots and live ocelots, I had much to be thankful for.
As always–keep coming back for updates…there will be some soon.
Examples include the obligatory bullet-point examination of the year and stuff to boast about for next year that new Januaries always seem to bring around.
Happy Holidays/think of the children,
Barry Eitel
Barry Eitel 