#NerdsUnite: Big lights, big city, and a journey into confidence

#TalkNerdyToMeLover's Jordan Friedman

Jen, were you always exhausted when producing that girls of TNTML stage show? Because being in producer and director mode has been demanding on me lately.  For the last two days including some prep work before hand, I ran auditions basically on my lonesome. I’ve ran much smaller audition periods and I also assisted on some auditions back in my assistant director days, but never to this scale. I don’t think I ever printed this much paper for one occasion ever in my life so far (I’m sorry ink cartridges, it was a two day thing. Can you get back on good terms with me please?).  On the other hand, this is perhaps the most fulfilling exhaustion I’ve ever had. To say that I’ve been tired in my 22+ years of life has been an understatement. But usually when I’ve been to the point of exhaustion, I don’t want to continue. This is different though. I see my exhaustion this time around as one step towards achieving my goal of putting up this show. In a way, I actually want to continue to be exhausted. These are words certainly as a kid that I’d never thought I’d say.

I’m also dealing with a very interesting situation right now. I’m helping one of my friends build up some optimism that was lost due to a series of circumstances involving professional circumstances not working in this person’s favor. This is someone who I’ve always seen as one who is unflappable in being a theatre artist. However this person has felt more down consistently than I’ve ever seen them. This is a very interesting position for me considering I’ve been in this person’s shoes many times due to lack of confidence. And I believe that’s where I’ll be able to help build up the optimism back, considering I’ve had mine in doubt before, hopefully I can use this information to try to figure out what is going on with my friend’s optimism and try to help build it back up.

That’s the story of my life lately. Next time I’ll probably have more updates on producer/director world as well as seeing how things are going in this quest with helping to build my friend back up. Unfortunately I don’t have the wit as of writing this to come up with a new beer picture and slogan, so I will just have to say I’ll talk to you all next time.

Until next time,

Nerd responsibly.

-Jordan

#nerdsunite

Follw him on Twitter at @jordanbfriedman!

A Director Blogs:  adirectorblogs.blogspot.com

#NerdsUnite: Big lights, big city, and a journey into confidence

#TalkNerdyToMeLover's Jordan Friedman

This has been another interesting week for me. This week has really been the time that I’ve been most consistently in charge and in a leadership position in the last year or so. I’ve directed shows here in New York a couple of times, but these have been under other producers and certain restrictions and ideas that they in particular want for their shows. This is the first time that I’ve had a show where I’ve had this much control and say into what goes on in the process. I think this sunk in for me when I realized that I was conducting interviews. Considering that I have been on the other side of the interview table for what has to be years now, both before I started pursuing theatre regularly and after that fact. There’s a case of good and bad with this situation, as I suspect a lot of people in my boat would have a case of. The good for me is that it allows me to test my abilities to be confident under pressure and I feel that the further in this process of producing and directing a show that I go along, the more comfortable I feel. On the other hand, there is the drawback in that I think that every decision I make has significant consequences, whether they are positive or negative. There’s a nervousness I feel with this thought that is something that I have to control as much as I can to make sure nothing gets in the way too much. It’s one of those fun little dichotomies that make life more interesting.

So what’s next for me besides that? I’ve been in fundraising mode lately, including launching campaigns and brainstorming other ideas. Theatre is not a cheap venture and so any funds I can raise are helpful and crucial. I am still in director mode as well, working on my script analysis and director’s book in order ensure that everything is understood and clear for the actors and staff during the rehearsal process. This has been quite the ride so far, and it’s something that’s already given me great pleasure, tested me, and so much more. I may be talking about this a lot in my posts, and I apologize if I do, but considering this may be one of my biggest tests of confidence and professionalism and it actually is my biggest test professionally, it’s important for me to discuss.

Until next time,

Nerd responsibly.

-Jordan

#nerdsunite

Follw him on Twitter at @jordanbfriedman!

A Director Blogs:  adirectorblogs.blogspot.com

#NerdsUnite: Big lights, big city, and a journey into confidence

#TalkNerdyToMeLover's Jordan Friedman

Hello nerds, 

If you did not read my first entry, I’ll quickly remind you that I am currently pursing a career as a theatrical director. In this blog I’ll go into a little bit on how someone like me, who is in all senses a nerd and at times not the best in social situations, has managed to stay afloat in a social field. As with a lot of my insights into these matters, I’m not speaking as a world-class expert on this matter, just someone who’s going through it right now and wants to share what works for me.

 

*Giving 110% Into What I Do

I think this has been a very key point for me. If I commit myself to working on a production as either a director or an assistant director, then I follow through on it from the first day of the job until the last day. I’d like to think people recognize this and become first-hand witnesses to the effort I put in and the passion that shows through in my work.  People also seem to have a respect for someone who takes what they do seriously, and if I had a hard time talking to people before, people tend to get to know me better once they see what I contribute and what I do to the show that I’m working on.

*Being Respectful To Others

One of the key ideas I’ve been practicing all of my life is being good to other people and treating them with respect. This has come in very handy in working in the theatre world. When people see that I’m not going to treat them like shit and I will work with them fairly and with decency, it makes them easier to talk to and lets me get to know them better both professionally and personally (In my world, it’s important to have both, not only for present commitments but to keep a network for future ones).  This does not necessarily mean being a pushover or giving everybody what they want, but letting people know that you’re going to treat everybody fairly and equally. And when I go into giving notes to actors or other production staff members, I try to make it clear I’m not going into anything too personal, but making sure everything in the performance is as close to 100% as it can be. 

*Keeping The Eyes On The Prize

Even with the initial nervousness I sometimes feel when entering a new social dynamic of a different show, I always affirm to myself that I’m doing what I love and that I entered this production for a reason and I chose to work with these specific people for a reason. I remember the goals that I set out to achieve when I wanted to become a director and moved to New York so that I could actually do it. These reminders and affirmations always stay in the back of my mind so that there’s always a motivation for what I do and that I can attempt to push out any nervousness that I feel when I’m first directing a show. This is something that I believe would be helpful for any person who has nervousness of any kind and is worried that it might paralyze him or her emotionally from doing what has to be done.

I hope you enjoyed reading this blog, if you like what you see you can follow me on twitter or check out my other blog entirely devoted to my directing craft. I’ll be back next time for more nerdy topics. Until then,

Stay nerdy my friends.

 -Jordan

#nerdsunite

Follw him on Twitter at @jordanbfriedman!

A Director Blogs:  adirectorblogs.blogspot.com

#NerdsUnite: Big lights, big city, and a journey into confidence

#TalkNerdyToMeLover's Jordan Friedman

Hi folks.  I’m Jordan, and I’m excited to be sharing my side of the Nerd World to you all. 

I’m kind of a youngin’ here at just 22 years old; I’m originally from upstate New York and went to college there, however I moved to New York City in August of 2011 to pursue my career full-time. What is this career? I’m a freelance theatre director. What does this actually entail, some might ask? It’s interesting to explain. For whatever show I may be directing, I am in charge of getting the actors to understand the story of the script that they are working on, to make sure that their acting and movements help to convey the story in a vision that I feel best tells all of the elements of said story, and to make sure that the effort in the rehearsal room is understood and felt by the audience. I also will work with designers to make sure that the lights, set, sound, and costumes play their own key role in the play or musical, and that all of these elements work well together. It can be challenging at times but I find that this is the one thing that I have done that leaves me one-hundred percent fulfilled and confident that this is what I should be doing, so I continue to do it.

I’ve considered myself a nerd ever since the idea of being a nerd was introduced to me, and I’ve always partaken in nerdy things. From getting my first exposure to AOL when I was 9 (Does it say I’m old if I remember the days when they had those CDs for free hours), to my days of playing Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh when I was younger, to talking about one of my favorite topics, game shows (It goes so far that one of the more active communities I’m a part of is the viewing audience of a British game show). It’s a part of me I don’t think is going away any time soon.

So now that you know who I am, let me tell you a bit of what I’ll be blogging about.

*My Theatrical Excursions

Considering my career is in theatre as well as it being my main passion, many of my blogs will be about my pursuits as a theatre director.  At present I am attempting to not only direct, but also independently produce a show that I really want to put up. Blogs like these share my experiences first hand so you get to see things as I’m seeing them, learning lessons as I’m learning them, and getting a view of theatre directly from an artist pursuing it. I also at some point will blog why this was not necessarily the career choice people initially expected of me, and how that’s fueled my fire to do it even further and confirm that directing theatre has become not just a career, but my passion. (I won’t say too much here because it probably will need its own blog post)

*My Quest To Improve My Confidence

One of the main reasons I’m blogging specifically for this site is that I find that I provide a voice on a subject that I believe many of my fellow nerds have had to struggle with at one point or another, and that is confidence. This is something I’ve had issues with all of my life and something that has given me great anxiety over the years. These issues, to various degrees, have affected my education, finding jobs, my dating life (…really lack there of but we’ll ignore that) and more. Ever since I’ve moved to New York, it’s been a goal of mine to attempt to improve it and get to the point where I consider myself to be a confident person. I’ll be blogging about these attempts, what has worked for me and how someone can grow confidence. Note that with these blogs I don’t claim to be a renowned expert on the subject, but someone who’s tried many tactics and is willing to share what has and hasn’t worked for me personally.

*Various New York City Adventures

Here’s the thing with New York City if you’ve never been there. No matter who you are, there’s always something enjoyable for you to do in this city. I’ll blog about things I’ve enjoyed doing in this new home of mine, things that have taken me out of my comfort zone, and other aspects of the New York City life that are worth sharing. Plus, with all of the stories of Los Angeles on this blog, there’s got to be some New York based stories to even out the coasts a bit.

*Miscellany

I’m one of those people that if there’s something that I really want to discuss, I’ll talk about it. I might blog about something that I’ve never blogged about before and may never blog again, but if it’s something that I can write a passionate blog about and feel a need to, I’ll do it. I might also share fun past stories that you all can laugh at now, and I’ll probably laugh at when I’m drunk and in my thirties.

So that’s my first blog here at TNTML, hope you enjoyed it and I didn’t just metaphorically do a Clint Eastwood at the RNC. If you’d like, you can follow me on Twitter at the link below, as well as look at my own blog site,  “A Director Blogs” where I post daily blogs about the theatre I’m working on. Until then,

Stay nerdy my friends.

 -Jordan

#nerdsunite

Follw him on Twitter at @jordanbfriedman!

A Director Blogs:  adirectorblogs.blogspot.com