Sunday, April 23, 2006

Beirut-Mission Fashion-Week Two

Hello everyone.
Well week two down and just 8 to go. Things have been bumpy to start just as i had expected. But i think we are roiling along in the right direction now. We are starting to understand what the producers want and are accustomed to and realizing our role in all of this madness.
I am learning a lot and working all of the time... The one thing that is for certain is that we all want the program to look as good as it can. And with so much talent around us including of course our New York in da house, the end result is astonishing.
I think next week we are getting a few more female dancers added to the group in from Paris. That will make a great difference, take pressure off and help fill up the stage. At the moment, being a group of only 6 we are all playing several roles. I have officially been inducted in to the role of dancer. I thought I was a circus guy but that shows you what I know. This week was all about 5, 6, 7, 8 turn, 2, 3, 4 ... I look down and say move forward left foot and my right foot moves back, but I'm getting it. And what better way to get it than to have the pressure of either get it or have millions of people see you fumble by Friday.
The TV station is very supportive. They get us what ever we need, more or less. If we have an idea like we need three giant fans and 20 yards of poly silk, and we need to hang three hoops or make it snow little white confetti's they make it happen. Imagination is really let loose here. Delivering it is the challenge. Every week we are to come up with three to 7 production numbers. We are given about 6 days to do this. They are more than willing to run around and buy and rig what ever we need, only thing is the clock is ticking. In NY I would want to spend maybe two weeks or more on just one production number and here we have only 6 days to give 3 to 7. So the reality is we are in heaven and in hell. Basically we are Slaves to This broadcasting company. Though life could be a lot worse.
So life in Beirut is interesting, the little that we do see. For the most part we only see the streets around the apartment building and the inside of the TV station compound.
But... last night we went out. We went to this crazy restaurant where the served amazing food had a great atmosphere and people were singing and dancing as they ate. It was not like some sort of traditional ethnic Lebanese thing this was more or less some upper class up scale dining party thing. Everyone was in suits and ties and smoking cigars. People looked great, the music was loud, and people were dancing all over the place. Really it was like fine dining at a disco. You would have to be there.
Our host and agent for bringing us here (Miya) is a local celebrity in Lebanon, and she knows everyone. She loves to party and where ever we go she shows us off like here American international stars. The velvet rope comes down every where we go and somehow everyone knows what we are doing here. I keep shaking the hands and hanging out with the owners of the places we hang out at. Funny things happen like if we are out and we like the music there. They arrange it so that next time we come they have the CD for us to take home with us. I swear the Lebanese people are so hospitable that they would take the food out of there on mouths and give it to you if they thought they could. And sometimes they try.
But as i said we spend entirely most of our time at the studio. I can see that life here is going to change a lot over the next few weeks. It already has had such ups and downs, now that we are over our jet lag and kind of know the way the studio works and have experienced a little of Beirut I am really looking forward to putting in some good work this week and blowing the doors off by Friday.
More later

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