Life

REPOST: Remembering New York

J Thomas Mayfield Leave a comment

Reposting because it’s January 5th and I’ve been visiting NY for a while, and I remembering it and all of this all over again…

REMEMBERING NEW YORK
or, If All Else Fails- Error on the Side of Adventure

I moved to New York with a fiancé, a very specific plan of action for my life, and a full head of hair…

[I’ve seriously tried 5 different punchlines to that joke, but none really work. You get the idea though]

I’ve been in Los Angeles for exactly one week now, and I’m just now realizing how profound of a move this was. As someone who moves often (this marks the 7th city/state I’ve lived in since college) I’ve become very comfortable with just packing up and moving. That also means I usually don’t make deep, lasting friendships. I mostly just focus on the work that brought me to wherever I landed, and then expect to move on within a couple years.

I was in NYC for seven. That’s the longest I’ve been in any one city since graduating high school. (Even in college I spent two years at one college and two and a half at another).

All that to say I was never expecting to be impacted so much by a single city, to meet such incredible people, and despite my best effort make so many memories.

[It’s been a week and people are still texting me regularly to check up on me. I seriously had 3 people text me today, just while writing this post. I mean who does that?] 

Things I will always remember about New York:

My first NYC apartment- a tiny off the books basement studio in Astoria that I literally paid my landlord with an envelope of cash every month.

That first Christmas where I was walking around Times Sq by myself. Aimless, because the woman I had moved here with and I- we had just broken up that morning… And then that night wandering into Colin Quinn’s one-man Broadway show, Long Story Short, and after seeing it realizing that’s what I want to do with my life.

Moving to Brooklyn because Astoria had too many difficult memories.

That first Brooklyn apartment where the room was so tiny it didn’t have a closet, so I used the living room closet. Which meant every time I wanted to change I had to walk out into the living room, get my clothes, and then walk back into my room to change.

Slowly pulling myself out of depression.

Slowly building a new friend group.

That one summer where all we did was drink (I mean that’s what you do in summer anyway, but you know who you are and you know which summer in particular.)

My first tattoo.

My third tattoo.

The hurricane.

The blizzard.

The hurricane that wasn’t

The blizzard that wasn’t.

The time I didn’t go to Madrid.

The camping trips.

The apple picking trips.

The time had sex with a mime right after her America’s Got Talent audition.

The time I dated someone who lived on the upper west side and it made me feel important.

The woman I should never have dated.

The other woman I should never have dated.

The one who was no good for me.

The one who was too young for me.

The other one who was too young for me.

The other other one who was too young for me.

The one who I actually should have dated.

The one who was too good for me.

The one who was right in front of me the whole time.

Laughing.

Lots of laughing.

The backyard at House 180.

The backyard at Backyard.

Smoking.

Quitting smoking.

Picking up smoking again.

Quitting smoking again.

My sixth tattoo.

Prospect Park.

Last minute hang outs.

The strange series of last minute failures that got me into grad school- and the fact that the program I’m attending was itself a last minute find and application decision.

The first play I was cast in that I quit because I thought I was too good for it. (I wasn’t)

The podcast that failed.

The other podcast that failed.

The one-man show that never opened. (because of the hurricane)

The improv team that dissolved into nothing.

The monthly show that didn’t last.

The other monthly show that lasted even less.

The web series I never finished.

The tour that barely happened.

The web series that never happened- that turned into a live radio play that never got a run- that turned into yet another podcast that never got recorded- that turned into a pilot that was never finished.

3 boxes full of hats.

Working in 9 different restaurants.

Encouragement. From more people than I deserve.

Friends who hold each other.

And the many people who cried that I’m leaving but cheered me to go.

I am so grateful. A piece of me will always call New York home.

And I encourage each and every one of you to never settle. Always keep fighting for more.

Embrace your failures- laugh at them with an almost endearing parental pride, for they may very well be what forge the path for your greatest success.

Do what scares you.

Remember that every moment can be a story if it’s genuine.

And if all else fails error on the side of adventure.fullsizerender-1

Dear Republicans, Your Boyfriend’s a Jerk and You Should Break Up With Him

J Thomas Mayfield Leave a comment

Dear Republicans,

I really hate to tell you this but your boyfriend, Donald Trump, is a jerk, and you need to break up with him. I know he seemingly showed up out of nowhere riding a white escalator, telling you everything you want to hear, promising to take you away from all your troubles. I know he’s rich and has a sweet ride. But here’s the truth. He’s not a very good boyfriend.

He’s manipulative. He’s dishonest. He’s selfish. Maybe he’s not physically abusive, (I mean not with those tiny hands of his), but he says really mean things, to you and to everyone else.

And I know what you’re going to say. “But he always apologizes when he goes too far.”

Does he? Or does what he say sound a little less like ‘I’m sorry’ and a little more like ‘I’m sorry you feel that way’

“But, you don’t know him like I do. You don’t know him in private. In private he’s a big sweetheart.”

That’s the problem. How are we supposed to believe there’s any sweetness to him at all when in public he’s hurling insults left and right, ready to pick a fight at the tiniest hint of a slight like some drunken frat boy at a rival kegger. It’s gotten so bad that at this point his boorish behavior has now become the norm, and you’re left pointing to anything that remotely resembles what should actually be standard boyfriend behavior, and you’re touting it as heroic chivalry. “Look! He’s using a teleprompter this time! He really does love me!”

Yes I know you just got engaged. And I know you’re probably still a little giddy from the giant 4-day long RNC party you both threw back at the end of July. But shouldn’t it tell you something that your own dad, Mitt Romney, refused to even show up to your engagement. And neither did John McCain, your great-great-grandfather. I mean he disapproves so much, the only thing probably still keeping that rusty heart ticking is making sure you don’t go through with the wedding.

I know you think your parents “don’t understand you,” that they’re always giving their “expert advice” telling you things you can and can’t do. You may not see it now, but they really do just want what’s best for you. And this abusive and manipulative relationship is not what’s best for you.

Have you noticed how your boyfriend is slowly trying to isolate you and get you to turn on everyone you’ve ever know and loved for any significant amount of time? That’s textbook abusive behavior. Your little brother, Paul Ryan, is only just pretending to tolerate him so your family doesn’t lose you altogether.

Look we’ve all been there. I know I have. We’ve all fallen in love with the idea of someone more than the actual person. We’ve gone to bed with someone only to find out the next morning that the soul-patch-wearing-rebel-crusader we drunkenly let have their way with us, is actually a soul-devouring-vampiric-demagogue that will do and say anything to ensure their own glory. I know it’s embarrassing to have been so wrong. But get over it. You deserve better, and you know it.

Now I know you and I don’t agree on much anymore, ever since we had our falling out several years ago. But I still care about you. And at the very least I respect you as a political party, which is honestly more than I can say about your current boyfriend. Which is why I’m coming to you as genuinely as possible. Donald Trump is a terrible boyfriend. And I think it’s time you break up with him.

Sincerely,
Jason Thomas Mayfielddonald

Jason to Present at the Educational Theatre Association National Conference

J Thomas Mayfield Leave a comment

*JUST ANNOUNCED*

Super stoked that I am invited to present at the Educational Theatre Association (EdTA)’s National Conference in St. Pete Beach, FL.

I’ll be teaching two workshops.

Stand up Comedy and Why We Laugh, which is about just that. What laughter is, and how as humans we use it to relate to one another.

And also Your [Naked] Body as a Costume, which is about using your physicality as a performer and also a look into the psychology of physicality as just people. What we’re saying with our bodies as we move around, walk around, or even just stand.

I’m a huge fan of the EdTA. They’re the people who run the Thespian Society, which I was a part of in high school.  They do great things.  They sponsor and develop creativity and novelty in students across the country and the world.  They gave me my first taste at being on stage, telling a story, and what it feels like to connect with an audience. And they also give oddballs like myself a place to call home when I didn’t really fit in anywhere else in high school.

I’m extremely honored to present. I owe a great deal of debt to these people, and I definitely wouldn’t be where I am without them.

More about the Educational Theatre Association here at SchoolTheatre.org

For more about where I’ll be when click HERE!

A Special Thank You to the Missouri Thespians

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I just wanted to say thank you again to the Missouri Thespians for last weekend.  I get to teach and perform at a lot of the state thespian festivals all across the country thanks to the International Thespian Society.  And it’s always amazing. Honestly. You guys will always hold a special place in my heart. But I did want to say thank for making this past festival in Kansas City, MO really amazing.

I teach a class called Your [Naked] Body as a Costume. It’s an exploration into how we all walk, move, and carry ourselves differently.  How there are 5 places we all lead from when we move through space (head, chest/shoulders, stomach, hips/pelvis, and heart). And then what our physicality and what we lead with out of those 5 things- what all that says about us, individually.

I use it as an acting class, but also to really to dive into our own human psyche. And with the students. we really explore the idea that we really are communicating so much information with just with our bodies and our physicality, and we’re not even aware of it.

On the surface it’s an acting class. (and a good one I might add ;-) But if the class is willing to go on the journey, we go somewhere deep. And we almost always go somewhere deep. Because the thespians are the most fearless students I’ve ever encountered… But this weekend at Missouri Thespians, not only did we go somewhere deep. We went somewhere profound. Somewhere where it was ok to be exactly what we are. We are all dynamic, powerful, multifaceted, multidimensional, amazing human beings. Those are the types of characters we as actors are trying to create. Because THOSE are the types of people we all are.

And all of this other stuff we were dealing with. That’s all it was. Just stuff.

It wasn’t who we are.

And we believed it.

And for a brief moment. We went there.

For a brief moment. We lead with our hearts.

And it was powerful.

And for the first time I’ve ever experienced in my years of teaching that class.

People cried.

Because we all witnessed something profoundly beautiful happen.

In the duration of an hour.

In an empty carpeted room with cheap lighting.

Because that’s the power of theatre.

Because that’s the power of humanity.

And that’s what we do in theatre. Reflect humanity back onto itself.

So thank you.

Thank you for your courage.

And for sharing that with me.

I will always hold that in my heart.

-Jason-

On 2014: Reflections and Realizations

J Thomas Mayfield Leave a comment

or, Holy Shit that was just a Year!?!?

Right now I’m in my hotel room at Missouri Thespian Conference [it’s been amazing so far], and I FINALLY have a chance to sit down and reflect over this past year.  And WOW. It’s been amazing. And terrifying and beautiful and powerful and dark and dangerous and gripping and uplifting and disappointing and everything in between.

In 2014 I had my first college tour (5 different colleges over the course of the spring semester). Launched a podcast. Failed to keep up with it. Went camping for the first time in YEARS (the real kind). Went on an actual vacation, like a real travel-wise vacation that had nothing to do with shows, or performing, or even visiting family, just leaving NYC as a real vacation, and I was mostly panicked, most of the time because I didn’t know what to do. I went on dates with no less that 4 different women that have all since moved to a different state or country (or are just about to). (One of which I’m still not over). Launched the podcast again. Again failed to keep up with it. Watched a dear friend move to the other side of the earth. [what’s with everyone moving away]. Hosted an amazing roast/going away party for him. Battled a fairly serious bout of depression. Didn’t tell anyone and just withdrew. Learned I still hide my insecurities in my busy-ness, I’m just a lot better at it now that I was. Did something I’m unbelievably ashamed of and will never write it here, and the person it affects the most doesn’t even know. And I’ll never tell. Because I’m too cowardly. Performed as the opening night, Late-Night entertainment for the International Thespian Festival. Had someone write a research paper about me. Helped a blind man cross the street. Finished a kickstarter for a new webseries and raised $4,000 with the help of 71 different people, many of which I don’t even know. Got inspired by a woman that I knew for only a week before she moved to a different state. [no seriously what’s with everyone moving]. Was so inspired but I didn’t do anything about it. Celebrated New Years Eve with some very close friends and some brand new friends. Realized it was the first time in most of my adult life that I wasn’t working on NYE. Realized I use work as an excuse to not do stuff, but then instead of work I stress out, get anxious, get depressed, because I have no time for real connections with people, and then never accomplish the work I “needed to do.” Realized I’m REALLY good at doing everything BUT the thing I really want to be doing, the real, soul-filling things I REALLY want to be doing. Realized I need to take time to breathe. Realized we all need to take time to breathe. And most of all I’m again reminded this is a beautiful, powerful, terrifying, painful, delicate, and loving life. And it’s flying by. But also there’s plenty of time. Look at all this crazy stuff that happened, all in a single year. So instead of doing what I usually do, which consists of doing the things I think I have to do so that at some point I can to the things I think I want to do- instead I’m going to sit. And breathe. And take a moment to uncover the things I really want to do. The live-giving, soul-fulfilling, things that make my heart smile. And I hope you do too.

This point last year I listed a bunch of things for everyone to look out for in the coming year.

Almost none of them happened.

Tonight. One week in to the new year I’ll simply say this.

I’m smiling. Because I’m so excited about 2015.

And I can’t wait to share it with you.