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JANUARY

January 25, 2000 — A Wondrous IAP!!

So people keep icqing me or iming me or e-mailing me, “Seth, you haven’t
sent a ledger in AGES. PLEASE send one. PLEASE.” So I’m finally finding
the time to update you all on my life.

IAP rules! I have spent the last 3 weeks relaxing in Boston and doing 5
shows. Very relaxing and enjoyable.

5? Did I say 5? Yes I did. That is purely for shock value, I admit. It
was 5, but some of those 5 are more involved than others. The major show
I’m doing right now is CHESS. I play the ARBITER and get a really cool song
and a cool scene where I totally YELL and SCREAM and just get really pissed
off… It’s the first weekend of February (NEXT weekend) and will certainly
be entertaining, so those of you in the area should make sure to come!

The 2nd largest show would be the singthru of the Secret Garden I’m doing…
I’m playing the Fakir and doing the entire show in falsetto… it actually
brings back many memories since I did it at Techniques in 1996…

The 3rd would I guess be the radio drama I did last week. It was Tom
Stoppard’s Albert’s Bridge and I played George… for those of you who are
free afternoons, it’ll be broadcast on radio WMBR 88.1 FM or RealAudio via
http://wmbr.mit.edu two Mondays from now (FEB. 7th) from 3-4. I think I’ll
also be getting a CD of the production…

The 4th would be the 2nd episode of my cable show. So far we did a “Who
Wants to Be a Millionaire” parody and also a “Judge Judy” one… hopefully
we’ll get our act together to film some more and edit and have an episode
produced eventulaly.

The 5th was the 5th year of Theatre on the Roof, the even I run for Hillel
each year. We did a spontaneous production of Annie where we all constantly
switched parts and stuff…

In other news, I have been recruited by www.clickdough.com to get people to
sign up! SIGN UP AND GET $20 FOR FREE when you also sign up to www.x.com…
it’s a gREAT deal. You can actually cash the $20 right away. Make sure you
put down you were referred by me (my username is seth)…

I have taken advantage of my free time to work on the musical w/ Scribby and
also to FINALLY learn C and Java…

Classes start a week from today. =( I’ll be taking 6.170 (Software Program
Lab), 6.033 (Computer Archetechture), 21M.205 (History of Western Music from
1750-Present), 21M.351 (Music Compostion Seminar) and 21A.230 (The
Contemporary American Family— my third and final HASS-D)…..

I only have on class on Friday, 2-3. I was actually going for a Friday-less
schedule, but oh well…

Also, this spring I’m co-producing, co-directing and co-starring in a
workshop production of Once on this Island, April 14th and 15th… it’s
going to be AMAZING (hopefully…)…

So I guess that’s about it. I turn 21 in 34 days (for those of you who miss
my endless countdowns)!!!!! =) (gosh I’m old)

Anyways, in summer news, Elliott called me and asked if I was coming back
this year to Summer Theatre and I just don’t know if I should… but it will
be the absolute last year I could possibly go back since once I graduate
I’ll have to get a real job, right? Or can I go to grad school? Does
anyone know any school that has a computer music masters program?
Preferably in NYC… oh ewll…

I have to go look over stuff for my shows now. I hope everyone’s having a
fun-filled January!

ps. There is a LOT of snow on the ground today. It’s cold and icky.

pps. WRITE BACK SOON b/c I have one week left to relax and write back and
then no time at all…..

Always–
Seth

MARCH

March 27, 2000 — March Mania!

So it’s really almost April. My, oh, my. I must apologize for not being as
good a correspondant as I usually am, but I’ve been ludicrously busy.
Seeing a few people (and I mean a FEW) over break, I realized that it’d been
AGES since I sent out a ledger. And I wondered why people didn’t know what
was going on in my life. Sheesh!

So, I guess I should run down my classes which is the main reason I’ve been
so busy. I’m taking five, hopefully for the last time. 6.170 or Software
Programming Lab has been a big pain. About 15 hours a week doing work, and
I still haven’t handed in a full problem set yet! But at least I FINALLY
know Java, right? SO, yes, MIT has taught me at least ONE marketable skill!

Second, 6.033 or Systems Engineering is a lot of reading and writing of and
on technical matters. Kind of interesting, but TOO MUCH READING and
WRITING! I didn’t go to a liberal arts school for god’s sake!

Third, I’m taking my third distributed humanties, 21A.230, or the
Contemporary AMerican Family. It is a LOT of reading (I have done more
reading this term than I ever have for school in my LIFE.) and we have 3
seven page papers… the first one was on my fmaily. The next one due
Thursday (Which I haven’t even thought about) is on a comic and how it’s
cahnged over the years with regard to family values (I picked comics b/c I
used to read them everyday and figure they’d be easier than going through
old magazines and stuff…..)

Fourth, I’m taking 21M.205, or Western Music History from 1750-present. It
is a LOT of listening, but I own cds which most of the songs on them now…
and it’s bearable to listen to! (No more chants or baroque music!) And
we’re doing a bunch of operas which I make a point of watching to be more
cultured…

Finally, I’m taking my 2nd term of 21M.351 or Advanced Music Composition
Seminar. It is still lots of fun to compose. I wrote an AMAZING string
quartet (available on midi, just ask) and am in the middle of writing a
piece for wind/ brass octet…

Other than classes I have been co-producing, co-directing, musically
directing and co-starring in a workshop production of ONCE ON THIS ISLAND.
I am playing Pape Ge, sly demon of death (hence the goatee for those of you
who have seen me…). It is such a remarkable play. The performance dates
are APril 14 and 15th. If you have the ability to make it to Boston, do! =)

So that’s all I’ve had time for. WORK and the SHOW. C’est tout. They are
my life. They always will be. There’s nothing else……

In other exciting news, I have managed to catch a bunch of shows, both in
Boston and in NYC this week over spring break.

THe first show I caught was W;t. (wit) It is AMAZING. Go see it if you
can. It is just great. (It’s the one about the woman w/ cancer that won
EVERY award last year) Judith Light (Who’s the Boss?) was in it and she was
really nice after the show and signed even though it was FREEZING. Not to
mention, she came out withing 10 minutes after the show. Record time for a
diva! (although she’s naked at the end, so she didn’t have to get out of
costume…)

Next, before break I managed to catch ART finally. It was really funny,
just as everyone kept telling me… I got Judd Hirsch’s autograph and told
him my favorite line in Independence Day was “Nobody’s perfect.”

So, yes, I had break this week. And although it was a really boring break
for the most part, it did have it’s high points… I managed to see a
myriad of friends (and managed to not see a bunch of friends who were in NJ
at the same time as me. Those are called BAD friends… you know who you
are!) (don’t worry. you have this summer to redeem yourselves.)

Anyway, I went into NYC on Friday night and saw the brand new musical, The
Wild Party, starring Mandy Patinkin. Only he was sick. (in fact he’s been
sick for 2 weeks now…) But I left a SASE and playbill for him to sign
Saturday when I was in the city so hopefully he’ll return that. ALso in the
show (I got besides Mandy the entire 15 person cast to sign minus 2 minor
characters who slipped out while I was getting Norm Lewis) were Norm Lewis
(duh- from Side Show), Toni Collette (the mother in the 6th sense), Eartha
Kitt (apparently VERY famous in the 60’s and 70’s), and Brooke Sunny Moriber
(from the Dead), plus more of course…

It was interesting, btw. The show I mean. Very late 20th century in terms
of music and style…I really think that modern opera and modern msuicals
are slowly merging… (except for crap like Disney’s Aida and Jeckyll and
Hyde and anything based on a movie…)

ANyhow, I managed to run to see Bernadette for the 4th time afterwards and
had her sign her video which my friend Niki got me for my birthday (which a
LOT of you forgot).

So I saw 2 movies over break before my second city trip. AMerican Beauty
and Erin Brokovich. Both were really very good. GO see them! AB is going
to SWEEP the Oscars, you’ll see….

Yesterday, I went to see Sondheim’s first ever musical that was written in
the 50s but not produced until now, Saturday Night.

It was AMAZING. Amazing. I haven’t smiled that much in years. It’s just
so much better and cuter than any modern show could ever be. And that’s, in
a big way, very sad. My musicals will have to recapture what Broadway used
to be.

Anyway, then I saw Hedwig and the Angry Itch which was VERY loud. (My ears
are STILL ringing…) It was very odd also. But worth seeing before it
closes, methinks… definitely an experience.

And I guess that’s about it. After a LONG train ride, I am back in Boston,
ready to do more work…………..

Do write back since instead of class, 6.170 has a big project coming up
soon, and I’ll be able to resume being up late at night and writing e-mail
and such…

Laterz!

Always–
Seth

JUNE

June 1, 2000 — June Is Busting Out All Over!

Oh my, it’s June, and I haven’t written a ledger since MARCH… I do
apologize. Welcome to the first (and hopefully not that last) Seth ledger of
the SUMMER! We have a lot of catching up to do, so here we go:

So when I last wrote, in March, I was stressed beyond belief trying to make
it through my 3rd year at MIT. Now, however, I am peacefully relaxed and
NOT stressed at all! Yay!

What has happened since March, you ask? Well in April the show I
co-produced, co-directed, musically directed and co-starred in, ONCE ON THIS
ISLAND, went up. It was just simply amazing. AMAZING. Everyone LOVED it!
I have a video of it for anyone itching to see it… Which reminds me I
should add the cast to my ledger list… Ok, that’s done.

Um, then I spent the rest of the term trying to catch up in my classes. And
I think I succeeded. I managed to get 3A’s, 2B’s, and a C. Which I think
is very good. So my GPA is now 4.1, almost what it was in high school…
although it’s a different scale, but we won’t go into that.

Then I proceeded to PACK everything up and watch NINE movies finals week (I
didn’t have any finals– I don’t think I ever want to have them again.
They’re just not fun at all…) I don’t have the list on me, but among them
were: Life is Beautiful (a sad if somewhat unrealistic film), Prince of
Egypt (an ok animation with good music by Stephen Schwartz!), The Graduate,
Basic Instinct, Robin Hood: Men in Tights, Get Shorty, Mars Attacks!, Some
Like it Hot and one more… I came close to remembering them all…

Oh and in between packing and stuff, I made some MONEY doing experiments. I
got $50 for taking an MRI. And I also have a picutre of my brain, which has
according to Samidh and Nabeela a really large cerebellum… and I also took
a bunch of surveys online and got a FREE ticket to Loews and a GIFT
CERTIFICATE FOR $100 TO AMAZON!

So I proceeded to get SEVEN cds: The Secret Garden (I had broken my tape of
it in the fall), the Stephen Schwartz Album, FLOYD COLLINS (which is
AMAZING. Simply amazing.), Audra Macdonald’s new CD How Glory Goes, Myths &
Hymns, Hello Again, and The Wild Party (which I saw over spring break).

And they are all really good except for Myths & Hymns which is just blah…
it’s y the same guy who did Floyd Collins, Adam Guettel who’s Richard
Rodger’s grandson… so I figured if one was great the other would be,
too… but I was wrong. At least they were all FREE though. =)

So now I’ve proceeded to bore those people at MIT whom knew all of that
stuff. MIT PEOPLE WHO KNEW ALL THAT, RESUME READING HERE:

So my father and I packed up my room in about 4 hours (I just keep having
more stuff each year) and drove home in the UHaul van he rented. Then I
spent the first night unpacking, etc. Of course the computer was up and
running within an hour…

So what am I doing this summer, you ask? I am home in EB until August 18th,
when I go back to be an orientation leader again.

I am going back to SUMMER THEATRE for the ELEVENTH year… And this year I’m
actually playing the PIANO for the shows. And I’m making almost twice as
much… I figure it’s better to show dedication on a resume then just get a
random internship, right?

Other than that I have been trying to get myself in bed by 3 every night
(The Next Generation plays at 2am every night here!!!!!), but usually cannot
sleep since I wake up every day around 3… So, I’ve SLEPT through almost
HALF of my break so far.

Other than sleeping, I’m back to doing the daily puzzles in the newspaper
and succeeding much better than I used to (today I only had 5 blanks left in
the crossword!!)…

And of course I’m COMPOSING. I be waiting for Scribby to reappear so we can
FINISH our musical so I can put it on next spring…

And watching LOTS o’ tv…

And hanging out with the few of my friends who ARE home: Rachel, Eric,
Aviva, Lynne, and I even saw Matt and Amanda once! (Incidently Eric has a
motorcycle now.)

Also, I’ve been trying to get myself to study for the GRE’s b/c I’ve been
told by many people that if I don’t go straight to grad school and get a
masters then a phd, I’ll never return… So I’m pretty sure I’m going to
grad school next year (if I get in somewhere) **IF ANYONE KNOWS OF ANY
SCHOOL IN THE BOSTON OR NYC AREA THAT HAS A PROGRAM FOR COMPUTER MUSIC/
MUSIC TECHNOLOGY LET ME KNOW** So far I’m applying to NYU’s master for music
technology and Brown’s master/ phd for Computer Music and Multimedia
Composition.

So I think that catches everyone up to about right before yesterday.

ON WEDNESDAY (yesterday) I HAD THE MOST AMAZING DAY IN NYC:

So every year there is this FREE concert in Schubert Alley, Stars in the
Alley. ALL of the Broadway stars come and do a few numbers from their
shows… Last year Rachel and I went and had SO much fun, we knew we’d have
to go again this year.

So I woke up at 8:15am, much earlier than the 3pm I have been pulling ALL
break so far… then we took the 9:25 bus into NYC and ran to Schubert
Alley. Since the bus was late, we didn’t get there until 10:30.
Fortunately, although it was very crowded, we got very close to where I knew
the performers would enter and exit from (last year we were on the wrong
side, and it drove me nuts!)

When the concert started, it was REALLY loud since we were right in front of
the speakers. So this OLD Chinese couple who were standing RIGHT in the
spot I wanted left!!!!! So I was right across from the door where all of
the celebrities entered/ exited!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I SHALL TELL YOU NOW BETWEEN THE CONCERT AND THE TWO SHOWS I SAW, I GOT 12
(YES TWELVE) AUTOGRAPHS ALMOST ALL FROM VERY FAMOUS PEOPLE (in fact all but
ONE have won or been nominated for a TONY– *****FYI: the TONY awards will
be SUNDAY night, 8-9 on PBS and then 9-11 on
CBS*****)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So I’m not going to talk about the people’s acts and stuff. If you want a
perfect synopsis of who was there and what they sang, go to playbill.com and
search for stars in the alley. They did a great one!

The main emcee for the event was Tony-nominee, KAREN ZIEMBA. Before the
concert started we made eye contact and I shook my pen, and she gave me a “I
can’t come over now, but I will as soon as I’m off stage” motion… =) So
of course as soon as she was off stage, she ran over and was the first to
sign my Stars in the Alley playbill!!!!! She is SOooooooooooooo nice. She
really deserves to win the Tony for supporting actress (she’s in Contact
now). She wins by FAR the SWEETEST DIVA award in my book.

The next person I got to sing my playbill (I used the method in Life is
Beautiful for getting celebs to look over at me…) was CLAUDIA SHEAR who is
starring (and nominated for a tony) in the play, Dirty Blonde. I actually
hadn’t heard of her before, but she seemed so personable! We actually
almost went to see her show…

The next two people are the Tony nominated team from the Music Man (which I
would never go see because, who wants to see a show they were IN on bway?).
But they are great and REALLY nice. Both CRAIG BIERKO and REBECCA LUKER
came over and signed (I had to call “Ms Luker!!” because she is just
AMAZING… And I told Craig he was funny on Conan.

The next person to run by was my favorite diva in the whole world,
BERNADETTE PETERS!!! She was in a major hurry, but I managed to be the ONLY
person there she signed for! I really only got the “B” and then a big
swiggle, but that makes SIX times I have her autograph!!!!!

The final person to sign my playbill was British actor, ROGER REES. He was
really nice…

The other people I got signed my free Kiss Me Kate fan (they were giving
them out…). They were the 2 gangsters who are BOTH nominated for Tony’s!!
Very nice guys.

The people who I wanted to, but couldn’t call over mentally were Eartha
Kitt, Rosemary Harris and Cherry Jones.

The only person who SAW me and still did NOT come over was Patrick Stewart.
He did smile at me though. But since he didn’t come over, we decided to NOT
see his show.

So after a wonderful hour and a half of hearing songs from EVERY show on
Broadway and getting EIGHT autographs, we went to get tickets from TKTS. We
decided we wanted to see something funny. So we went to see DAME EDNA’s
ROYAL TOUR because it was up for 50% off, not the usual 25% off…

I ended up sitting in the FIRST row ALL the way to the LEFT. Rachel ended
up sitting center in the 7th row. (I preferred the first, and she preferred
center.) We were by far two of the YOUNGEST people in the theatre.

DAME EDNA is HILARIOUS. The show was just SOooooo much fun. It was so
differnt than a regular show. She (/he) really interacted constantly with
the audience. She asked us questions and brought people on stage and gave
some people food… One of the bits she does is to call the babysitter of
one of the patrons. However, she chose to call this woman’s husband in
Arizona where he was watching the kids. Unfortunatey, it was only 1 there,
and tehy were all out. She left a message, but was upset because she wanted
to talk to someone.

So she asked who’s mother would be home. So I yelled out, “OOOOH MINE!!!!”
So Dame Edna called my house, but my mother and sister were NOT home!!!!! I
was so embarrassed. =( It turns out they went to Shop Rite and got back a
little after 4. What bad timing.

Anyway, after the show, we got Dame Edna/ Barry Humphries’s autograph and
apologized for my mother’s lack of timing.

Then we went to get tickets to a night show. We got tickets to ENTER THE
GUARDSMEN which is a cute little musical off broadway. In the olden days,
it probably would be on broadway. But unfortunately do to BLASTED TOURISTS
and such, nothing can survive on broadway unless it is mass CRAP (Footloose,
Sat. Night Fever, Aida, Jeckyll & Hyde) or totally OUTDATED (Les Mis,
Phantom, Miss S, Cats)… there are of course exceptions, but it’s rare that
a cute, inimate, non-spectacle musical (which I MUCH prefer) suceeds ON
broadway.

Anyway, after meeting my friend Melinda and her friend Maura, we went to
dinner at BEN’s (a wonderful kosher deli on 38th st we went to b/c Mark
Kudish recommended it in this month’s playbill…). The food was really good.

Then we proceeded to travel downtown to East 15th st to see Enter the
Guardsmen. It was the CUTEST show EVER! The music wasn’t very memorable,
but it was pleasant and most of the lyrics were fairly clever.

Afterwards we got ROBERT CUCCIOLI (from Jeckyll and Hyde originally), MARK
JACOBY (the father from RAGTIME) and Marla Schaffel’s autographs…

Bringing the total to TWELVE semi-famous people’s autographs!!!!!!! (All
but Marla have either won or been nominated for a Tony!)

So that was my WONDERFUL day yesterday!!!!!!

Other events coming up: Dave and I are seeing AUDRA MACDONALD live in
CONCERT on Monday, June 12th and PATTI LUPONE live in CONCERT on June 10th!!!!!!

Very exciting.

So I guess that’s about it. If you made it this far, I’m impressed… but
it’s summer, right? So people have TIME to read my ledgers and WRITE BACK,
right??

So WRITE BACK soon because I haven’t talked to some of you personally in
YEARS………

I hope everyone has a splentaforous summer!!!!

WRITE BACK!!!!!!!!!

Laterz.

Always–
Seth

June 13, 2000 — Yes, I Know It’s Not July Yet, But…

So I just sent a ledger in the beginning of June, I know… but since I
didn’t send one in April or May…

I’ve had a splentaforous couple of days!!!!

Saturday night Dave and I had the utmost pleasure of seeing PATTI LUPONE in
concert. She is just GREAT… her voice is SOooooo powerful and
distinctive. Her Mataters of the Heart concert amazing!!!!

Afterwards, Dave and I found her car (the only one w/ a Connecticut license
plate) and waiting by it… Everyone was by the stage door there, but then
this guy came over to the guy in the car and the car started moving… So
Dave and I keenly followed the car to another exit… A really dark,
secluded one. And sure enough, Patti came out that one!!!!!!!!!!

So we got Patti’s autograph and I got a picture with her!!!!!!

She was really nice.

Anyway, Sunday I spent with Scribby nearly finishing ACT ONE of our
OPUS!!!!! (It’ll be amazing, I promise.)

TODAY Dave and I went into NYC to see AUDRA MCDONALD!!!

We met Elissa for dinner at the Times Square Brewery, and then we were on
our way in the pouring rain. Now, I almost brought an umbrella, but
didn’t… but really, I LIKE getting wet. I really do.

Anyway, AUDRA was AMAZING….. SPECTACULAR!!!! She is unparalleled. And
definitely my second favorite singer nowadays… (Bernadette will always be
first!)

After the show I was looking around for famous people and then coming out of
the orchestra section was none other than, LYNN AHRENS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So I
got her autograph and told her I was a big fan. Then I asked her if her
partner, STEVE FLAHERY, was there too… and she told me he was ocming out
the door to the right… So I sprinted over to that door, and I GOT HIS
AUTOGRAPH TOO!!!!!!!!

They were both SOoooooo nice and SOooooo sincere. I told them I was an
aspiring composer and their eyes lit up and they wished me luck.

That just MADE my day!!!

For those people out there who were some reason or another do not know who
Lynn and Steve are… they wrote ONCE ON THIS ISLAND!!!!!!!!!! (and
Ragtime, the Seussical, My Favorite Year and Lucky Stiff…)

They are my favorite modern composers/ writers!!!!! (After SONDHEIM, of
course, but he’s not really modern, per se.)

And THEN to make matters even better, we found Audra’s car (this is
definitely the way to go) and met her!!!!! She signed for me THREE
times!!!!! I got her to sign the program and both her CDs!!! And I got a
picture with her!!!!! SHE IS SOOOOoooooooooooo NICE!!!!!!!!!
SOOOOOoooooooooooooo NICE!!!!!!

So yes, I had a wonderful night.

In other news, I’m doing a production of Man of La Mancha in Manapalan the
last weekend of July and first weekend of August. I’m playing the DUKE/ DR
CARRASCO, basically the BAD guy (MUHAHAHAHA) of the piece…

So I haven’t heard from lots o’ people since my last ledger… WRITE ME BACK
OR ELSE!!!

I shall go to sleep now……

Always–
Seth

SEPTEMBER

September 29, 2000 — Where Has That Silly Seth Been?

By now you’ve noticed that I haven’t sent a ledger out in a VERY long
time… I just really haven’t been in the mood… But I thought that those
people out there I used to be fairly close to deserve to know what’s
happening in my life.

So you should feel really special getting this e-mail. (Especially since I
keep deleting people from the list.)

If you’re receiving this e-mail, it means that I miss you. I miss what
friendship we once had. As I approach graduation of college, I am
constantly dristing back to graduation of high school. I don’t miss for a
second EBHS, but I do miss those friends I once felt so close to.
Especially the ones I haven’t seen/ talked to in many, many months…

I am going to catch you up on my life now, and I implore you to send me an
e-mail doing likewise. I, as always, promise to respond personally.

Life sucks.

Ok, we’re all caught up.

It’s career week here, and I really decided that I don’t want a career! The
thought of spending the hours of 9-5, 5 days a week, at the same place in
front of a computer sounds awful. I am definitely applying to graduate
school… I just really need to get in and get funded. As I’ve said in
previous ledgers, I’m applying to NYU and Columbia to break into the NYC
theatre scene. I was going to apply to Brown, too, but they want me to take
the GRE writing exam for an extra $50… we’ll see about that.

So I’m having a really easy term for once. I have mastered finding the
easiest classes! I’m taking a survey lab for my institute lab instead of
one with circuits. I’m taking a “discussion” class at the media lab as an
elective instead of a hardcore compiling class. I’m taking my composition
class, a script analysis class, and senior seminar in music.

The worst is the 20 page paper/ thesis I have to write for my music major…
All on one piece… I have to look at the composer’s original sketches and
incoporate the various changes and such they made into the paper as well…

Other than classes, I have spent the last two weeks reading HARRY POTTER! I
cannot express in words how amazing this series is. I would never have
believed it. You all should go out and read it. I am not kidding… Just
to show you how cool it is, there was the following quote in book 4, page
56: “Shut UP, pig!” (I think Elliott wrote it first though… =) ) So I
just finished book 4 and have to wait another 6 months for book 5 to come out.

In other news, I am still dating Melinda (the cutest, most loving girl in
the whole, wide world). It’s been almost 13 months! (I bet none of you
thought I’d ever last that long in any relationship…) She is beyond
wonderful, and she takes care of me.

In the life sucking news, I did not get cast in any of the shows this term.
I have a few running theories as to why:

–I think I might have acquired a reputation of being hard to direct since I
do it myself, and have such a distinct personality on/ off stage.

–I think that various people do not like me.

–I think I am too good for theatre here. I stand out apart from everyone
else b/c I’m professional quality, and everyone else here isn’t. You can’t
have that in an ensemble show.

(I’m hoping some who likes me will direct Cabaret this IAP since I was born
to play the Emcee…)

So I have been extraordinary depressed since (as you all know) I’m not the
best at handling rejection. If it wasn’t for Melinda and Harry, I do say I
would go insane (but then at least I could write a book about it and have a
movie and have Angelina Jolie win an oscar for it…) Hence I haven’t sent
a nice, cheerful ledger out to all those millions of people who idolize me.

Anyways, in a hope to totally outdo all of theatre groups again (like I did
last spring), I intend to do a workshop production of a show in December. I
think I’m going to either do Songs for a New World, Lucky Stiff, or A New
Brain… we’ll see.

I also hope to convince my hallmates to get motivated to do a second episode
of our critically acclaimed cable show, Good Morning, MIT.

Other than that I am very, very enthused to graduate on June 8th. I hope
that I get into graduate school and get paid for it. Otherwise, I will,
unfortunately and reluctantly, have to get a real job.

As for my musical, a certain partner hasn’t talked to me since June, so I do
not know if he finished the final 6 songs and the book. If any of you talk
to Scribby (he IS receiving this e-mail- but since he hasn’t written back to
my daily messages, I’m not expecting a response to this one) please tell him
to at least TELL me if it’s FEASIBLE to try to put it on this spring or not.
I would very much like to as the last thing I do at MIT.

I hope this e-mail finds you all much better than me. Please write me, as I
have plenty of free time to write back. Let me know what your plans are for
after college (those of you who aren’t already working…). Also, please
feel free to visit any time, and perhaps I’ll even visit you!

Cheers…

Always–
Seth

OCTOBER

October 24, 2000 — Ah, To Always Be A Senior!

So I realized that I had left my adoring public out there in the dark for
way too long! I know everyone is dying to read this ledger, so here goes…

Being a Senior is so nice! I finally have finished all of those stupid
required courses so I can take fun ones with as little work to do as
possible… I have only 2 tests this term, NO FINALS, NO PROBLEM SETS, and
of course NO CLASS after Thursday at noon! (although all my classes have
huge projects, so don’t get too jealous…)

I’m taking: MAS.965, Out of Context, a class at the media lab about
artificial intelligence and context in computers. It’s really quite
interesting… for my project I’m going to hack into some music software and
give it some intelligence- perhaps it’ll be able to see dissonent notes and
say “hey do you want that? if so, maybe you should put in a courtesy
accidental.”

Then I’m taking 15.301, Managerial Psychology Lab, the best institute lab in
the school! We take surveys and stuff… And I’m learning all about
managerial psych which is actually very interesting. So now I can be a manager!

Then I’m taking 21M.500, Senior Seminar in Music. It’s one of those
required classes for the major… I have to write a 20 page paper/ thesis…
fun… I’m doing it on Orff’s Carmina Burana (I wanted to do something
fun)… I would’ve done Sondheim, of course, but I need to look at the
composer’s original sketches and since he’s still alive, they aren’t
published posthomously yet.

Next is 21M.655, Script Analysis. We read plays and analyze them- good for
improving direction skills. We did Substance of Fire, Doll’s House, The
Wild Duck, and Antigone so far…

Finally is 21M.351, Music Composition Seminar. I wrote a piece entitled
Bang, Bang, Bang… Bang! in which the pianist starts playing some ragtime
and then it gets too hard in the right hand, so the left hand becomes
banging… and then there’s a whole bang section! My next piece is going to
be for violin, flute and piano.

Speaking of composition, I have been doing some on the side, as well. I am
scoring my friend, Kevin’s film about himself. It’s going to be an
autobiography that deals with what it’s like to be a homosexual Asian in
America. He’s doing the lyrics for the songs, and they’re great! I am, of
course, doing instrumental pieces, too. This score could easily win an Oscar! =)

In other news, I have been writing for the Tech- I got to see Seussical and
got all the autographs afterwards (Michele Pawk, etc)! And I ran into Lynn
and Steve (Ahrens and Flaherty, lyricist/ composer) in the lobby and got
their autographs (again)!!!!!!!!

And I got the latest Sondheim album for free, too! Dame Edna is featured on
it… (if you’re really looking for something to do, go to:
http://the-tech.mit.edu and search for me- that’ll pull up all of these
articles).

My next review is going to be on DOUGLAS ADAMS’ lecture!! He’s coming to
speak at MIT on 11/2!! I can’t wait… I’m trying to get an interview so I
can have him sign my copy of the Hitchhiker’s Guide…..

In other news, I’m going to be in a DEBATE here! Which of course brings us
to the political part of the ledger. VOTE!!!!!!!!!!!!! GO OUT AND
VOTE!!!!!!!!!!! But only if you’re voting Democratic. Otherwise, just
forget to vote. that’s all this country needs in another puppet president
like Reagan who’ll raise interest rates, plunge the country into further
debt, and get rid of a woman’s right to choose. If Gore doesn’t win, we’re
all screwed for the next 4 years. And while I’m at it, NJians don’t forget
CORZINE and RUSH HOLT– he is currently barely losing in the polls, this
means even ERIC KLEIN who is reading this right now should go back to EB and
VOTE.

VOTE DEMOCRATIC or doom the country to four years of unmistakable, painful
agony.

End political section.

Onto other things:

I am putting on a Sondheim review on campus! I figured that the campus
needed more Sondheim and needed more theatre in general especially around
finals time. Theatre is inspiration after all. So I got $300 in funding
through the Baker Foundation (thanks Chris!) to buy lots and lots of sheet
music (I now own the sheet music to EVERY Sondheim ever written) and also
for copies.

It’s going to be DECEMBER 14, 15 and 16th in Walker 201! Come one, come all!

I am going to include a song from every show, and also throw in a lot of
other obscure songs. It promises to be both educational and inspirational
for all.

In still other news, my applications for Brown, Columbia and NYU are
complete- I am waiting for my recommendations to come back before I mail
them. I asked that they be returned to me by 11/1, so hopefully my favorite
teachers will return them and I won’t have to pester/ beg…

So I think that’s about it from this next of the woods. Being a Senior again
is really a blast, although (again) I can’t WAIT to graduate on June 8th…

Only 2 months until the IAP Mystery Hunt!

I hope everyone is having a splendid fall/ term! Do write back soon!

=-)

Always–
Seth