Author: susannahmars

An Amble of any other name, smells My daughter Olivia is an adventurer. Several months ago, she proposed a backpacking trip to Gary and me; approximately twenty-seven miles in three days. I am an athletic human, and although it seemed like a big trip, I thought, “I’m in.” I wanted to give it a shot. … Read More

It takes a village In my July newsletter, I mentioned a production of Gypsy I was in at Portland Center Stage. Above is a photo from the show taken by Owen Carey. PCS’s Chris Coleman, Rose Riordan, and director Bill Fennelly took a chance on me. I was slated to play one of the strippers, … Read More

Money makes the world go round I’m heartbroken to report that cultural funding in our state will stop woefully short of our deep need. Read Bob Hicks’ article here. Bill 2459 would have appropriated the necessary funds to the Oregon Business Development Department to distribute to Oregon cultural organizations in response to the negative impact … Read More

Going deeper than our masks of composure In all about love bell hooks cites M. Scott Peck’s definition of community: The coming together of a group of individuals “who have learned how to communicate honestly with each other, whose relationships go deeper than their masks of composure, and who have developed some significant commitment to … Read More

Happy anniversary Happy Anniversary to me! I’ve been blogging for one year, where’d the time go? After digging into my calendar, I found that I was rehearsing We Live Here at Hand2Mouth Theatre a year ago. During that process, through my audio description mentor Cheryl Green, I learned about an offering from Curiosity Paradox. It … Read More

I’m late for a very important date. I just watched the Boston Marathon on ESPN. OH. MY. GOSH. I often end up in tears at sporting events, and watching the Boston Marathon this morning was no exception. Five women, after twenty-five miles, battled, yes, battled to win. Watching reminds me to continue showing up fully … Read More

Good mourning Have you made an error that was so glaring that you couldn’t believe you made it at all? We’ve created the trailer for Mourning Has Broken, and if you can support us in the home stretch, the Go Fund Me is live. That said, there wasn’t an audio description on the trailer first … Read More

My dear collaborators Merideth Kaye Clark and Stephanie Lynne Smith and I have been working away, busy rehearsing Hey Old Friends. We will play at Wilfs Restaurant on February 24th. We’re expanding our initial show that sold out at ReSound NW: A Place to Sing, and I am beginning to learn “The Road You Didn’t … Read More

Happy New Year Lots of friends are celebrating the arrival of the 2023rd year of the Common Era or Anno Domini. Some will celebrate the Lunar New Year in the Spring, Rosh Hashanah in the Fall, Nowruz in the Spring, Pahela Baisakhi in April, or Diwali in the Fall. Recently, my daughter gave me a … Read More

Sing, sing-a-song Above I’m sharing another crosshatch drawing by Meadow, my mentee from Family of Friends. Meadow’s art is essential to our animated short documentary, Mourning Has Broken. The Alt ID beneath it is for blind and low-vision folks. Innovative audio description and closed captions will be created for our final film. It will be … Read More