#literary managers

This may be my favorite blog entry, mostly because I love lists, and I especially love lists about books and movies and stuff like that. This one’s even better because it’s personalized. Get to know our producers, choose a favorite! Collect ‘em all! Well, collect three of them this week and three next week. THAT’S RIGHT: WE’RE SPLITTING THIS POST INTO TWO POSTS. And now, in alphabetical order, your pro...duce...rs!!!! (Please read this in loud, arena-rock-style). James Hesla, Literary Manager!

What talent would you most like to have? To dunk like Blake Griffin. Who is your artistic hero? Elvis Costello. He’s an iconoclast and a great song writer. What is the weirdest thing you’ve ever found yourself doing for art? Acting opposite a video-recorded image of myself for an ABD project titled, It’s Me You Should Blame. What’s your favorite pop culture guilty pleasure? Tosh.0. I am not sure that qualifies as a guilty pleasure, but my wife hates it. What book is on your nightstand? Lakoff and Johnson’s Philosophy in the Flesh. It's a huge book that basically debunks Cartesian dualism based on recent findings in cognitive studies. It sounds really inaccessible, but the basic premise is that mind and body are linked in obvious and not so obvious ways. What’s on your i-pod/in your tape deck/on your record player/8-track? Slavic Soul Party, Vampire Weekend, Flight of the Conchords. I also love popular music from South Africa. I am not an expert, but you cannot listen to Mahlathini & The Mahotella Queens’ “Thontodi” or Miriam Makeba’s “Emabhaceni” without feeling happy.

Love the Buddy Holly glasses, and Buddy Holly Jenny McConnell Frederick, producer!

1. What talent would you most like to have? Probably music—I’d like to be able to play something besides the radio. 2. What artist do you most identify with? I don’t know if I can say I identify with him, but I’d love to be Baz Luhrmann when I grow up. 3. What is the weirdest thing you’ve ever found yourself doing for art? One memory that has always stuck with me was while I was working as an Assistant Stage Manager at Theater J. I had to hand off a prop to an actor, so I found myself sitting in the dark backstage, holding an ice cream cone full of instant mashed potatoes dyed to look like chocolate vanilla swirl ice cream. There was always something so sad and strange about that. 4.What are your favorite pop culture guilty pleasures? TMZ and Facebook 5. What book is on your nightstand? Neil Gaiman’s Sandman Vol. 1—research for NEVERWHERE, the next play I’m directing for Rorschach. 7. What’s on your i-pod/in your tape deck/on your record player/8-track? Elvis Costello, the Lucksmiths, Firewater, Cake Jess Jung, Associate Producer!

What talent would you most like to have? I would most like to be able to paint.  To make a canvas that it flat into a 2-dimensional image is extraordinary.  Also, this talent could potentially save me money around the holidays... Who is your artistic hero? Or, what artist do you most identify with? My artistic hero is my high school drama teacher, Ertwin Jones-Hermerding (whose brothers were named something like Bob and Mike).  He was the first person to challenge me as a theatre artist and without him I would not have pursued a creative career. What is the weirdest thing you’ve ever found yourself doing for art? I waited tables at Bubba Gump Shrimp Company to help support myself in graduate school.  Working at Bubba Gump entails mastering a fine array of Forest Gump trivia, as well as memorizing exactly how many shrimp are in ALL of the dishes on the menu. What’s your favorite pop culture guilty pleasure? Oh no-- "classic" Paula Abdul.  Like, early 90s style.  Opposites attract and you know... What book is on your nightstand? The Great Gatsby will never go out of style What’s on your i-pod/in your tape deck/on your record player/8-track? the Stars (the Canadian ones!)