Toni Stone

a kate west review
Toni Stone

by Lydia R. Diamond
directed by Pam MacKinnon  | choreographed by Camille A. Brown

American Consevartory Theater  |  A coproduction with Arena Stage

405 Geary Street , San Francisco, CA
415.749.2228 | tickets@act-sf.org
Mar 5–29, 2020

Please note: Because of the recent outbreak (we all know the one), many theaters have been forced to shut down, but some of them are offering video links for patrons to watch in the safety of their shelter-in-place homes. Thankfully, this play can be viewed by either contacting A.C.T. to obtain a pay-as-you-can video link, or going directly to BroadwayHD. Either way, better hurry, since this option is only good until April 5. 

Toni Stone (according to wikipedia), born Marcenia Lyle Stone in Bluefield, West Virginia, was the first of three women to play professional baseball, as a part of the Negro League. The American Conservatory Theater covers her stint with the 1950's Indianapolis Clowns in their recent production of "Toni Stone", a west coast premiere.

Dawn Ursula is a strong, outspoken, force of nature as Toni Stone, who had to have been a force to reckon herself, in order to compete as a female in a man's world of sports, as well as a black player in a white owner's universe. Lydia Diamond's casual writing style perfectly captures the easy way athletes have related to each other since sports was invented. This team especially needs their comradery as they confront the racism and sexism of the time (much of which is still sadly relevant in our own society).  Director Pam MacKinnon and Choreographer Camille Brown present a smooth, entertaining and vibrant tale of a little known part of sports history. It's funny, poignant, and real. The dialogue, the staging, the game - all poetry.

The rest of the ensemble, Daniel J. Bryant, JaBen Early, Kenn E. Head, Marquis D. Gibson, Rodney Earl Jackson, Jr., Sean-Maurice Lynch, Ray Shell, and Jarrod Smith, match Ursula quite well, stepping in and out of various characters from Stone's life (male and female). In fact, the strength of the troupe shows us how necessary it would be for teammates to support each other, then and now.

The show is a delight from beginning to end, and a wonderful distraction from our current situation, while spotlighting what we still need to work in our world. Hope we get to do so soon. In the meantime, keep playing ball (at home).

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Great Olympic Site

Please take a visit here if you want to know all there is to know, and all there ever was to know about Olympics: http://www.gamesandrings.com.

And here: https://twitter.com/GamesandRings.

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London 2012

a kate west congratulations

You were different. But we loved you. Congratulations Ambassadors of Peace!

And hooray USA!

Catch up:
NBC
BBC

p.s. Huh?!!

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WORLD CHAMPIONS

a kate west congratulations

November 1, 2010

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Beijing 2008

a kate west olympic congratulations

Congratulations to Gold Medalists:

PHELPS Michael, WEBER-GALE Garrett, JONES Cullen, LEZAK Jason, ADRIAN Nathan, WILDMAN-TOBRINER Ben, GREVERS Matt, LOCHTE Ryan, BERENS Ricky, VANDERKAAY Peter, WALTERS David, VENDT Erik, KELLER Klete, PEIRSOL Aaron, HANSEN Brendan, GREVERS Matt, GANGLOFF Mark, CROCKER Ian, WEBER-GALE Garrett, COUGHLIN Natalie, NYMEYER Lacey, JOYCE Kara Lynn, TORRES Dara, SMIT Julia, SILVER Emily, JOHNSON Shawn, LIUKIN Nastia, MEMMEL Chellsie, PESZEK Samantha, SACRAMONE Alicia, SLOAN Bridget, DIX Walter, MERRITT LaShawn, TAYLOR Angelo, NEVILLE David, WARINER Jeremy, TAYLOR Angelo, CLAY Bryan, WILLIAMS Serena, WILLIAMS Venus, ZAGUNIS Mariel, CAFARO Erin, SHOOP Lindsay, GOODALE Anna, LOGAN Elle, CUMMINS Anne, FRANCIA Susan, LIND Caroline, DAVIES Caryn, WHIPPLE Mary, CAFARO Erin, SHOOP Lindsay, GOODALE Anna, LOGAN Elle, CUMMINS Anne, FRANCIA Susan, LIND Caroline, TUNNICLIFFE Anna, WARD Mclain, KRAUT Laura, SIMPSON Will, MADDEN Beezie, ELLER Walton, HANCOCK Vincent, CEJUDO Henry, WAGNER Aly, KAI Natasha, LLOYD Carli, MARKGRAF Kate, O REILLY Heather, RAMPONE Christie, RODRIGUEZ Amy, SOLO Hope, TARPLEY Lindsay, BARNHART Nicole, BOXX Shannon, BUEHLER Rachel, CHALUPNY Lori, CHENEY Lauren, HEATH Tobin, HUCLES Angela, COX Stephanie, MITTS Heather, SONI Rebecca, ARMSTRONG Kristin, HARPER Dawn, BROWN TRAFTON Stephanie, WINEBERG Mary, FELIX Allyson, HENDERSON Monique, RICHARDS Sanya, PONDEXTER Cappie, AUGUSTUS Seimone, BIRD Sue, LAWSON Kara, MILTON-JONES Delisha, LESLIE Lisa, CATCHINGS Tamika, THOMPSON Tina, TAURASI Diana, FOWLES Sylvia, SMITH Katie, PARKER Candace, DALHAUSSER Philip, ROGERS Todd, WALSH Kerri, MAY-TREANOR Misty, BOOZER Carlos, KIDD Jason, JAMES Lebron, WILLIAMS Deron, REDD Michael, WADE Dwyane, BRYANT Kobe, HOWARD Dwight, BOSH Chris, PAUL Chris, PRINCE Tayshaun, ANTHONY Carmelo, DALHAUSSER Philip, ROGERS Todd, TOUZINSKY Scott, LAMBOURNE Richard, LEE David, MILLAR Ryan, PRIDDY William, ROONEY Sean, SALMON Riley, BALL Lloy, GARDNER Gabriel, HANSEN Kevin, HOFF Thomas, STANLEY Clayton

www.olympic.org
www.nbcolympics.com
results.beijing2008.cn Read more!

Marathon Movie

Spirit of the Marathon

a kate west recommendation

A range of racing experiences, from the amateur to the elite, every emotion is covered in "Spirit of the Marathon". One veteran marathoner said he doesn’t feel a runner’s high until the run is actually over and then mentioned that by the time he gets to the start line (which can take a good 20 minutes) and actually starts running a few miles, the elite runners have finished, gotten their medals, driven home, showered and turned on their TIVO. Who are these superhuman finish-in-a-mere-two-hours running gods? Thank God we are able to follow normal mortals, with reasonable marathoning expectations. The encore presentation was sold out, the theater packed, with everyone cheering and crying by the end. What is it about watching someone cross a finish line that speaks to the soul?

After this fantastic cinematic experience (and an unforgettable and inspirational score by Jeff Beal), you will realize that it really is a mental challenge. At some point the human body just can’t physically go beyond a certain mileage and since the Marathon goes beyond that, what gets you through it is the mental training. You are your own competition, battling common sense and the laws of physics. Yes, it should be fun, but it isn’t always. It’s a triumph of will and the very real ability to make your own motivational personal movie in your head. So maybe it’s not something you want to do, but something you have to do. There is nothing else on earth that challenges the common individual this way. You can't wait to see if you can accomplish it.

It's all in the title. It is the spirit and will of the everyman. If the goal is merely to finish, then anyone can be trained to run a marathon, as opposed to say, crazy triathlons with ridiculous mileage. It is something attainable and still tantalizingly impossible. Professionals mixing with the non-athletic. Explains why there are hundreds of thousands of people registering for every marathon.

Encore showing in February!

http://www.marathonmovie.com/











And of course what happens after .... Read more!

Bees and Raptors

a kate west reflection





Bees are the next apocalyptic symbol it seems. When they go, we go, according to everyone from Al Gore to Bill Maher. A source of the only food which never goes bad, bees make precious honey - still good after twenty years when stored properly, or so I hear. And can cure almost any ailment, in my humble opinion. Something about cell phones stresses them out. Already sensitive to environmental disturbances, queens and workers won't return to their hives when cell phones abound. There have been any number of causes throughout the eras; this is just the one we are most directly responsible for. That and horrible new pesticides. Oops.

Obviously it's terribly important for pollination to occur on a regular basis so flowers can reproduce and animals get to keep eating. Bees are nice and even kind of cool. That is, they don't sting unless provoked, and after that, they die. Unlike nasty old wasps, which can sting you repeatedly, and are less cute and furry. So leave them alone already. By the way, a good spiritual read, if you're in the mood, is Sue Monk Kidd's excellent "The Secret Life of Bees" (see below).

6o Minutes spot here:


Speaking of cool, falconry is one of the oldest hunting sports there is. Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. has repeatedly touted falconry as a noble pursuit, one that ultimately allows you to commune with nature, and to finally understand true synergy with the environment. You will learn respect for your bird, or raptor, as they call them, and the bird will respect you and decide to fly back to you each time. Or not. It's really up to him/her. Fascinating. It takes years to train a falcon and to trust that each of you has each other's best interest at heart. Combine that with archery and you may just get yourself knighted.

You can actually try it (next time you're in Ireland, that is) : http://www.ashford.ie/index.html OR http://www.newgrangefalconry.com

Learn More:
Beekeeping for Dummies

The Encyclopedia of Falconry

The Secret Life of Bees Read more!

SF Giants

The San Francisco Giants
a kate west reflection
http://sanfrancisco.giants.mlb.com



I became a real San Francisco Giants fan in about 1993. Before that, I became mildly interested in the sport itself after re-watching "Field of Dreams" (originally released in 1989). I asked my Dad why we had never played catch. Because I'm a girl? So I had to go out and buy a baseball and glove. And a Louisville Slugger bat, for good measure. One of the only times I visited a sporting goods store back then. (Before I tried hiking, rock climbing, martial arts, yoga and now marathon running, of course!)

Anyway, baseball to me now symbolizes old Americana, the simple perfection of a game played in a sacred circle. I love it. And home runs are spectacular, but not the heart of the game. It's really about strategy, inching your way around the circle with bunts, line drives, doubles and triples. Just don't ask me to explain the infield fly rule. Baseball is good when it's heroic, when a team member sacrifices himself for the good of the win, when fans cry their hearts out over losses and lose their minds in ecstasy when they win. Peanuts, popcorn and cracker jack, hot dogs and now burritos, nachos and gourmet coffee. Opening Day used to be as exciting as a theatrical Opening Night. It used to be that die hard loyal fans were rewarded with playoff tickets and maybe getting to see their team make it all the way to the World Series. Then you know you're really in the "Show" (the big leagues). In "The Iowa Baseball Confederacy" by W. P. Kinsella ("Shoeless Joe" a.k.a. "Field of Dreams" author) said that theoretically baseball could go on forever. You could just tie it up in extra innings and have the quintessential existential game. Theoretically. Now that's poetry.

Back then the Giants played in Candlestick Park. (I sound like New York old timers who lamented their team moving to the west coast decades ago.) It got so cold with the wind from the bay that you could earn a Croix de Candlestick pin for sticking out extra innings. I remember Will Clark, Robby Thompson, steadfast Matt Williams, J.T. Snow, Jeff Kent, Rod Beck, Willie McGee, John Burkett, Kirt Manwaring, Robb Nen and of course, Barry Bonds (pictured below). Remember Robby Thompson out with a busted cheekbone in '93? Wasn't that against the Padres? We saw our guys come so close and do battle against the hated Braves, Cardinals and most notoriously the stupid Los Angeles Dodgers. Sorry, but as a Giants fan, I'm practically obligated to hate the Blue Team.

Dusty Baker was my first manager - I saw him all the way to the Series against the Anaheim Angels in 2002. I was out of town camping during that time and left secure in the knowledge they had it wrapped up. I had no electricity (or water) for three days and on October 27 driving back home I innocently turned on the radio thinking I could catch the wrap up. Imagine my surprise when it was Game 7 and the Giants were (yikes!) losing. I think that was the beginning of the end for me. Not because of the loss, although that really hurt (not as disillusioning as my Dad's heartbreak over JFK, Bobby, Martin Luther King and Malcolm X, but still). No, it was mostly because from 1993 to 2007, the Giants ended up with a brand new ballpark, two new managers and a whole new team except for the ever-controversial Barry Bonds. I'm pretty loyal in general, but in this case whom am I really following anymore? It's not that I don't like baseball anymore; I will forever love the game (it can be so glorious), but I just can't get into following a team, getting my heart broken and then having to learn a whole new lineup.

So now I enjoy my baseball in cinematic tributes and in enjoying countless retellings of people's first times. The green ballpark, the crack of the bat, the call of the vendors, endless renditions of our national anthem and of course, "Take Me Out To The Ballgame". I once made a bet with my brother that baseball was probably the sport most recreated on film. He named all the football movies he could think of and I named all the baseball films. I won. I could be wrong, but it was a pretty casual bet. And there are a lot of baseball movies. And novels. Small wonder - it's a great sport and so suprisingly lyrical, if you know where to look. All is well now with my brother, by the way, as he did take me to Cooperstown, Yankee Stadium AND the 2005 All Star Game. So I won't give up going to a game once in a while, I just need a little break. Or maybe some time in the Minors (as long as I still get to sit behind home plate).

Classics:
Total Baseball, Completely Revised and Updated: The Ultimate Baseball Encyclopedia (Total Baseball)

The Baseball Encyclopedia: The Complete and Definitive Record of Major League Baseball (Baseball Encyclopedia)

Great Baseball Films:
Field of Dreams (Widescreen Two-Disc Anniversary Edition)

The Natural (Director's Cut)

A League of Their Own (Special Edition)

Bull Durham

The Rookie (Widescreen Edition)

61*

The Bad News Bears

Famous Red Sox Fan:
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Archery

a kate west reflection






I haven't tried it yet, but I've been meaning to. Talk about a Zen activity, a sport from before the middle ages, one still wildly competitive and streamlike sleek and cool. Something warriors do. I'm sure it'll be my next target. Get it?

Learning It:
Zen in the Art of Archery Read more!

Sunflowers, Cacti and Camping, from Van Gogh to Joshua Tree

Sunflower and Cactus
a kate west reflection









I can't explain it but I'm fascinated by sunflowers. I think because they really are sunny and open and obvious. So maybe I can explain it. And I don't remember where it may have started but I have a great picture of me in front of a huge field of sunflowers somewhere in Austria, which I suppose I'll have to scan onto here at some point. My aunt is a really good amateur painter so I gave her the photo to recreate but she ended up painting me out of it. Boo. Nice looking sunflowers though. They just make me happy when I look at them, more than any other kind of flower.


Van Gogh loved sunflowers. His "Sunflowers" (left) are an abstract version of the real thing and really bring out that yellow intensity. But then again, everything about him was strong and intense, so they're the perfect flower study for him. It's a little cliché to be into Van Gogh, but there's no denying he was a colorful tradition-defying artist and did everything bigger than life, making it all that much more real. To simplify a point.

Van Gogh Images:
Van Gogh's Van Goghs





















And apparently I'm also into cactus. Or cacti. I never liked the desert before, but have developed quite an affinity for it the past couple of years. And I definitely do know where that started - my three day camping trip in Joshua Tree (see below). I have one cactus (which I named Harris) I received as a housewarming plant years ago and it's one of the only plants I haven't killed off, so I've greatly admired his hardiness.

Then I started thinking about the design of cacti and how they're able to survive in such harsh conditions and my appreciation grew. I have a second cactus now, a smaller one, called Walter and have dreams of cultivating my own beautiful cactus garden someday. Maybe when I have my own house with a huge backyard, big dog and maybe even a hammock. Sigh.

Best cactus garden around: www.huntington.org



Joshua Tree
a kate west reflection





So my trip to Joshua Tree a few years ago. It was a three day trek and climb, meaning camping out for two nights, hiking and rock climbing under the October stars. It was an incredible experience being out in the desert for three days. The cool thing about that environment is the silence. It's not just quiet, everything seems like it's under a big dome, a thudding kind of quiet. You feel really alive and realize that the desert itself is full of life, in spite of it's outer wear seeming the opposite. It is a truly beautiful place and I finally get why people go to commune there or have vision quests, though hell will freeze over before you catch me at the Burning Man Festival.
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The Derby

The Kentucky Derby
"The most exciting two minutes in sports"
a kate west reflection







www.kentuckyderby.com

I spent my childhood in Louisville, Kentucky and the thing we are most proud of there, of course, is Churchill Downs and the Kentucky Derby. Oh, and mint juleps.

My father says Kentucky is a good place to be from. He prefers the ocean. And liberalism. But as a child I loved it all, even the extreme weather, the snow days staying home from school and the humid summers that come with that cicada tsss-tsss-tsss sound. Real south, man, and yes that grass really is blue. I never got to go to the Kentucky Derby (not yet, anyway), but I've been to many horse parks and to Churchill Downs itself, off season. It is a magnificent racetrack, with those famous spires and that spotless track. I loved horses as a child (what girl didn't?) and read plenty of "Black Stallion" and every other horse book I could get my hands on. Horse racing seemed romantic to me back then. I don't really feel that way anymore, except once a year, during the Kentucky Derby.

Run the first Saturday of every May since the late 1890's, it is indeed a blink-of-an-eye two minute race, this sport of kings. For competing two to three-year olds only, it's "The Run For The Roses" and is part of the Triple Crown, which also includes the Preakness and the Belmont Stakes. Ladies wear big hats, everyone sings Stephen Foster's "My Old Kentucky Home" and by God, they all drink mint juleps (recipe below). With enough money, you can sit old school style, unless you want to try the cheap seats (think bleachers) in the infield, but I'm too old to jostle with that rowdy crowd.

It's one of the few elegant sports we have left in America, often written about and filmed. It sure does provide great cinematic drama, as we hold our breaths right down to the wire (the finish line). A long line of quality horse breeding precedes the modern version, from Triple-Crown winner Secretariat to poor Barbaro (so recently put down). You don't have to be a Racing Form expert to enjoy the spectacle and whether or not you finish Win, Place or Show, it's the best horse race around.

MINT JULEP

2 cups granulated sugar
2 cups water (branch water is ideal)
Fresh Mint
Crushed Ice
Premium Kentucky Bourbon (2 ounces per serving)

Make a simple mint syrup by boiling sugar and water together for 5 minutes; cool. Place in a covered container with 6 or 8 bruised mint sprigs. Refrigerate overnight. Fill a julep cup or glass with crushed ice, then add 1 tablespoon of mint syrup and 2 ounces of bourbon. (Bruise mint by placing in a cup and gently passing the back of a spoon between cup and the leaves a time or two.)Stir rapidly with a spoon to frost outside of cup or glass. Garnish with a fresh mint sprig. Keep remaining covered syrup in refrigerator sans mint leaves.

Read More About It:
The Kentucky Derby: Run for the Roses

The Mint Julep:
Kentucky Mint Julep


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