Remembering the Moments that Were: A Look Back at 2021
The Green Room during Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park’s production of A Christmas Carol. (Photo by Britney Nicole Simpson)
As the clock closed the chapter on 2020, I had wished for a great number of things in 2021. For one reason or another, many of those items never came to pass. However, as the year began to unfold before me, new and interesting things began to occur that I could not have anticipated. I may not have ended the year where I thought I would be, but I find myself hopeful with where I am.
When I look back upon this past year, I hope to remember, not all the moments waiting for something to occur, but instead the moments that were. I’ve assembled a short list of some of those moments, that in the far future I can look back upon and remember that I was there.
1. Understudying “A Christmas Carol” at the Marx Theatre at the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park
The Company of Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park’s 2021 production of A Christmas Carol (Photo by Mikki Schaffner)
It might seem counter-intuitive to start this list with the event that just finished a few days ago, but I can’t think of anything more appropriate. It is impossible to sum up everything that I learned and experienced being a member of this company. It’s impact will, without a doubt, reverberate throughout many aspects of my life for the foreseeable future.
As I said before it seems impossible to sum this all up quickly, and I won’t try to. I am currently writing a much lengthier blog recapping my experiences. If you are reading this sentence as it stands, I haven’t finished it yet. I hope to have it done in the next week. Stay tuned.
2. Playing with Plesiosaurs (and the Creation of Unintentional Significance)
I could (and should) write more about my life in puppetry. Being surrounded by so many talented artists, I often forget that I have a skill set that makes me unique. I sometimes forget that puppetry has helped pay the bills for over 17 years. This year, I took my puppetry a step further and created my own show.
I don’t know how many saw my show in the end. I know how many tickets it sold, but that doesn’t equal the real number of those that viewed it. Among the ones that did, their responses were deeply moving. They came up to me and told me their favorite parts. They wrote and recommended the show to others. They found meaning in the meaningless and truth among the absurd.
The moment that I took my plesiosaur puppet in a lake and began playing will forever be etched into the memory. That hour in the lake will not only be remembered as one of the greatest moments of the year, but one of the greatest moments of my life.
Much like A Christmas Carol, I have planned (and stalled and stalled) writing about that day. Eventually, I will write about this and release (publicly) this filmed portion of the show.
3. “Hello, My Name is Rabbi Dov Behr Manischewitz.”
Sean P. Mette as Rabbi Dov Behr Manischewitz
A Christmas Carol was not the first time I worked with the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park in 2021. A few months prior, I was offered the opportunity to join their cast of players/re-enactors for The Ish Festival as Rabbi Dov Behr Manischewitz
These are the types of opportunities that I truly love. I love being given someone from history and doing an intense, deep dive into their lives to bring their story to life. His name was no stranger to me, my church has been using Manischewitz wine my entire life. However, I had no idea that the man that revolutionized the way that matzo was made did so in Cincinnati.
4. The Passing and Funeral of Dr. Bill Kennedy
Bill (Dr. William Kennedy) as Aimable the Baker in Capital University’s production of “The Baker’s Wife”
Not every moment can be good. Not every memory can be joyful. As the weeks pass on, I find myself thinking how I wish that I could tell my friend the new and amazing things that have happened to me. The other night watching the show, I thought I saw him sitting in a chair in the back of the audience. My head knew that it wasn’t him, but my heart wanted to hold on to the hope that it could be. Of course, it wasn’t him, merely someone that looked like him.
My tribute to Bill (“Angel Food Cake”), can be read here.
5. “In my heart, John Candy will always be trending.”
On February 3rd, I tweeted the following nine words and it went viral. As I watched the small simple tweet be re-posted and liked over and over and over, I began to have conversations with people from across the internet that knew or worked with John. Each message and conversation filled with joy and fondness for this man that I wish that I had met in real life. I have always pretended that John Candy was the uncle that I never got to meet, but somehow knew me best. This was one of those moments that the internet revealed the potential for good that it has always been capable of, but rarely shows.
6. The Event 17 Years in the Making
I love cicadas. I could leave this right here, but I will say a little more. I have been waiting patiently for these small creatures to make their return since they left us in 2004. A biological swarm, Brood X emerged and made their presence known. I spent hours outdoors with them. Picking them off of the ground and returning them to the tree. I watched as their songs and short flights made the trees around my house appear to breathe. Even now, I can hear their siren (deafening) calls in my head.
I hope that I am alive to witness their rebirth again.
7. This moment during my niece’s baptism, when she had decided she was tired of wearing her baptismal garment.
8. “For good times and bad times, I'll be on your side forever more…that's what friends are for.”
As the pandemic continued its rampage across the world, I found myself losing contact with more and more people. Living by myself ( and my cat) the isolation began to eat further and further away at my mental state. However, little by little, a few people began to return to my life. Revealing that I had in fact, not lost all my friends.
I am hesitant to name specific people, fearing that I may inadvertently hurt the feelings of someone that I may leave out. However, I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge the following: Rachel Wiley, Maggie Perrino, Tammy Winters, Kristen Ruthmeyer Hammer, Jacob Hammer, Lyndsay Donaldson, Justin Goss, Chris Rusen and George Bailey.
9. Recommitting to Myself (A S’mores & Dinosaurs Story)
When I started the S’mores & Dinosaurs Channel, I was overly optimistic. I thought that I could easily produce multiple videos a week and effortlessly establish myself as a popular channel on YouTube. All I can really say to that naive content creator is: HAHHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!! But seriously…
As the year wore on, I began to become distracted and lost hope with the channel; planning videos that never came to fruition. I would make a video or two and then weeks or months would go by with nothing to show for it.
Then in late Summer, when it appeared that nothing seemed to be working out for myself, I realized that I needed to connect to something; have something stable to work on. I recommitted to myself to making videos: one video a week (or at least almost every week). I started making fossil hunting videos on the channel, which I love. I’ve started planning videos that I want to make in the future.
Are my videos popular…well… it’s hard to say. YouTube and its algorithms are weird. I would love for my videos to be popular and viewed by millions of people. But you know what? My channel passed the hundred subscribers mark this year; ironically, on the same day that I was notified that I was cast in A Christmas Carol…that was a good day.
Epilogue
I don’t know what this new year has in store for me. I know that this will be a very big year of change for myself. Several aspects of my life will or should be very different when I write up my thoughts about 2022 in one years’ time. As the Doctor said, “times change, and so must I.”
I wish you an amazing year. A year filled with joy, laughter, tears, merriment, mischief and kindness; always kindness.
