To Build A Creature

Charles Stanton Ogle, Frankenstein, Edison Studios, 1910

Today is the first rehearsal of Frankenstein, a modern adaptation by Bo List in which I have been cast as The Creature. I was just thinking, I remember my first audition, way back in 4th grade, but I don't remember my first rehearsal. There aren't very many memorable ones. Still, the anticipation of the ritual is so exciting.

Nick Vannoy, Frankenstein ,2011

This afternoon, I will sit with a new company of actors. Some are old friends, and some are people I've watched and admired for quite a while. Some are strangers to me. We are going to review the routine tasks of scheduling and policy that go with keeping any herd of artists organized, and then we will open our scripts, pick up our pencils, and set about reading together for the first time. The script has had several productions around the country, and I was present for Nick Vannoy's moving performance as The Creature in the world premier at the Kentucky Conservatory Theatre's SummerFest in 2011. His work is sure to haunt me. He isn't the only ghost who will pursue me as I try to create my own interpretation of the role of the Big Fellow.

Colin Clive and Boris Karloff, Frankenstein, 1931

No, not alive, not yet. But the process of gathering pieces to stitch together has begun. I have had the script in hand for a couple weeks, and I've been pouring over it. I'm not really doing intense analysis at this point, just trying to take it all in through a wide lens. I've read Mrs. Shelley's novel. The story was born in her nightmares: the teen-aged free-thinker whose birth caused her mother's death, and whose elopement with the already married Percy Bysshe Shelley led to estrangement from her father and poverty. She wrote Frankenstein: or, The Modern Prometheus on a dare during the famous summer of 1816 when she and her husband were guests of the notorious Lord Byron at his home on Lake Geneva.

Gene Wilder and Peter Boyle, Young Frankenstein, 1974

The novel isn't a page turner like Bram Stoker's action packed Dracula. It is more of a psychological portrait, told mostly in the voice of Victor Frankenstein, the ambitious scientist whose grief over his lost mother led him to seek the secret of life and reanimation. It is also a moral examination of a man who, like Prometheus, seeks to serve humankind by bringing down fire from heaven, only to find his hubris punished by the gods with an eternity of bondage and agony.

Kenneth Branagh and Robert De Niro, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, 1994

Bo List's adaptation is faithful to this psychological, moral tone, but also draws on more theatrical parts of the Frankenstein myth that have developed since the novel was published. Consequently, I've been digging into some famous and not so famous films. I'm sure I'll be gleaning insights from all of them.

Bela Lugosi, Karloff, and Basil Rathbone, Son of Frankenstein, 1939

In our script, The Creature (who never does get a name,) learns reading and language from hours spent reading Paradise Lost, John Milton's cosmic tale of Satan's fall from heaven and revenge against his Creator. Digging through Paradise... is not exactly light reading, but it helps to understand how the Creature's psyche was rebuilt after Victor's traumatic experiments left his mind a nearly blank slate. It also sheds light in the deep longing for love and acceptance that underlies the "monster's" desire for a companion... and the tragic consequences of Victor's failure to provide a bride for his miserable "son."

Elsa Lanchester, Boris Karloff, Bride of Frankenstein, 1935

Soon, it will be time to put all these outside resources back on the shelf, and turn my full attention to our script and  playing with my fellow actors. Till that time comes, I'll be relishing the opportunity to absorb the ideas and stories that will be components of my own Creature. It's a much more pleasant process than the one poor Victor had to go through. I won't have to dig up any graves.


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Fat Man, Heal thy Heel

The low grade soreness in my right Achilles tendon has lasted long enough to get my attention. it isn’t painful, just sore. Warming up usually loosens it up and it isn’t preventing me from working out, though I have had to shorten my stride considerably on the treadmill. I don’t want it to get worse, so I did some homework.

As you can see from this drawing that I found on eOrthopod.com, the Achilles tendon is really big. It attaches the calf muscles to the very short lever at the back of the heel and allows the foot to flex. If you can stand on your toes, thank Achilles. This is one butch rope of tissue.

According to Dr. Stephen Pribut, DPM (that's a foot doc for the acronymically challenged), "Soreness” in a tendon is not something to ignore or "run through". Tendons don’t get sore like muscles do. Tendons hurt when they are injured. In other words, the discomfort I'm feeling isn't the result of normal exertion like when I lift heavy weights and my muscles feel especially "present" the next day. If a tendon hurts, that's not soreness, that's pain. A painful injured Achilles tendon is something to take seriously and requires immediate attention. Otherwise it will just get worse. The tendon can even rupture (tear) and break completely leaving a runner with months of expensive rehab and NO running while the surgically repaired tissue heals. A ruptured Achilles sucks most profoundly.

Like everything else involving health and the internet, there is plenty of controversy about what to do about Achilles pain, but these seem to be consensus opinions.

LEAVE THE MACHISMO IN YOUR LOCKER
Dr Pribut's first instruction is one everyone agrees with: rest. You don’t have to stop exercising, but slow down. Ease up on things that put particular strain on the tendon: Hill running, Sprinting, Deep stretches of the calf muscles. Shoes with too soft a heel can also cause the Achilles to stretch too far after the foot's initial impact when you're running or walking. Running on your toes instead of your heels will wack you up. I think mine may be the result of too long a stride. Shortening up and taking more smaller steps is helping me. This tendon is terrifically strong because it sustains tremendous force, even during something as simple as walking. Like the cable and pulley on a weight machine, the Achilles is always under strain whenever the foot is in motion. So rule one is - go easy .

FIRE AND ICE (AND A NICE RUB DOWN)

In an article in the Jewish World Review , Marlene Cimons (who lacks an acronym, but does her homework) reports that ice after exercise and heat before bed will help control inflamation and relax the gastrocnemius which is a very impressive word for calf muscle. A non-steroidal anti-inflammatory can help - cortisone is wicked bad. Don't let the doc shoot you with it to ease the pain. Cortisone will make you feel better for a while, but it also weakens the fibers in the tendon making it even more prone to tear or rupture.

Massaging the calf can also help. Heel lifts, tape, and elastic braces can get you through the day, but still, only rest will allow the injury to heal.

CAREFUL, GENTLE STRETCHING
CoolRunning has some good stretches for prevention and maintenance for runners. When returning from an Achilles injury, wall pushups and hamstring stretches are especially important. I have had some really bad results from the towel around the foot thing. I think I actually aggravated the injury by pulling too hard. Your mileage may vary.


DON'T CROSS TRAIN AT CROSS PURPOSES

The amazingly named achillestendon.com, recommends some common sense things (stay fit, go easy, check for injury after your workout) and one really interesting one. When you do strength training and run on the same day - run first. Strength training is based on microscopic injury and healing of muscles. Running after weakening your muscles with resistance training just sets you up for further injury.

NO PAIN, NO PAIN

In a wise and funny essay called How Not to Treat and Achilles Injury by a writer named Wiltsey, this advice makes a lot of sense to me:

“Pain sucks”--This might seem obvious, but if it hurts, back off. Cut down your workout to minimal, preferably rest. Although this is anathema to most training athletes, better to miss a couple weeks than your entire season, like me.

My doctor gave me a simple rule to live by- “Let pain be your guide.” Simply, if it hurts, don’t do it and back off. A good recovery program is a must. Consult your coach, or begin with 5 minute sets of walking and every few days add thirty seconds of light jogging.

Achilles pain is really easy to fix unless you get stupid. Then it's really easy to make really really bad. Take it seriously and take it easy until it gets better.

That's what I learned in school today..

WORKOUT UPDATE
My big meeting concluded on Thursday and I went straight to the gym. I had a lot of steam to blow off.

I did a light warm up on the treadmill, then spent a long time stretching. I’m not noticing any increase in flexibility yet - but I am definitely feeling a much shorter recovery time so I can tell that stretching after warmups and after the workout itself is making a difference.

I worked out with the resistance bands and really tried to hold my form while going as fast as I could, snapping each rep against the resistance of the band. It still feels ridiculous when I do it, but my doubts all disappear the next day when my body lets me know that the exercises have done their work. I’m going to do a session with machines and some free weights on Saturday to measure my progress and keep my chops up.

And I guess I better spend some more time on the elliptical for a while.

Peace,
Pennsy

Fat Old Man Finds Hope Sweating with Young Hotties

One of the ways I keep my mind sharp is to read blogs. I found this encouraging word on That's Fit:

In a German study of over 300 people, those who began exercising in their forties were half as likely to develop heart disease as people who never exercised. Interestingly enough, that risk reduction is nearly the same as that realized by people who have been sweating their butts off in the gym since they were in their teens and early twenties. So, you see, it is possible to play catch-up with your health.

One of my irrational fears is a fatalistic sense that I am going to die young like most of the men in my family. When my Dad passed, I started a morbid countdown. By my old reckoning I have 11 years to live.

I find two words of comfort in the Rothenbacher study.

First, I have a chance to change my destiny by living differently than my ancestors. I can move more, eat less, and ingest fewer poisons than they did.

Second, I can stop feeling bad about waiting so long to start. Turns out exercising before you are 40 is a waste of time!

Think I'll go lift weighs and quietly pity the beautiful young people who could be home watching TV and eating ice cream for the next twenty years.

Of course after that, they'll have to really bear down.

Peace,
Pennsy

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The photo of Pennsy's next health club is from the UK website Church Urban Fund.

That's UK the country, not the basketball team who are having a decidedly up and down year.

DANGER: Fat Man Talking (but you didn't hear it from me)

I really like research. When I was an actor, I would pour over stories, biographies, works of art, histories, anything to learn more about the character and the world where he/she lived.

When Molly came to live with us, while Mrs P was carefully combing out the mats in her coat and bonding with her, I was reading books about Golden Retrievers. So naturally, now that I am interested in losing weight and getting fitter, I am all over the internet learning about nutrition, routines, equipment, machines, books, dvds, balls, mats, weights, pedometers and heart monitors.

The other night at the gym I saw a commercial where Lance Armstrong was running on a treadmill carrying dumbells. "Hmm," I thought, "should I try that?" So I did some googling. Here are the top six hits for a Google search using "Walking with weights".

Do it.
Maybe do it
Carefully do it
Never do it.
Do it, it's great!
Don't do it, it's bad!

Heavy hands, dumbells, wrist weights, weighted vests, slow walking, fast walking, longer walks, morning walks --- it doesn't matter what I look for, I find at least four convincing sounding theories about everything related to fitness. And don't even try to get a definitive answer about diet and nutrition. The experts all sound like they know what they are talking about and they rarely say the same thing about anything.

This morning I was reading about joint damage caused by the same weights that another site says helped a man to lose hundreds of pounds. I started to worry. What if someone should stumble onto my blog and think I actually know what I'm talking about? That would so suck for them!

So I've added a disclaimer to the top of the page. I don't know jack, Jim. I know what hurts, and I don't do that. I know who I trust, and I try their suggestions unless they hurt. That's all I know about fitness.

I have only ever recieved one brilliant piece of advice in my life, and I try to apply it to everything I do, including workouts and internet research:

Say your prayers and do the next right thing.

I try to keep my heart pure and my judgment clear - then I do what seems best. If you're looking for fitness advice, then take that.

But if anyone asks, you didn't hear it from me.

Peace,
Pennsy