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It's kind of amazing when you decide to write a blog about things that inspire you. Not only do you start to see inspirations EVERYWHERE, but you also begin to draw it to you. You become a beacon that attracts inspiring things! It's fascinating really. So now I carry my camera (well...my iPhone) with me everywhere so I can capture inspiring things AS THEY OCCUR. Also, even after just one issue, many of my friends have written me and said, "I want to do something inspiring so I can get in your blog!" LOL But let's face it. The reason I created this blog is to honor YOU. I'm inspired everyday by the amazing friends I have around me. Why just last night a group of friends gathered at my house for a friendly game of Texas Hold 'em, a hobby that I took up on the road with Wicked. The cool thing about last night was, it was almost like a Wicked reunion. Even 2 extra Wicked-ers showed up who didn't play and suddenly my house was filled with love, laughter and pizza! Gotta love Big Nick's pizza...now that's inspiring! But truly, choosing to BE INSPIRED means that sometimes even the things you take for granted are suddenly inspiring to you. I mean I'm always inspired by talent, music, ordinary people doing extraordinary things. But what about ordinary people doing ordinary things. Inspiration can be found everywhere. You just have to look for it!
TODAY'S INSPIRATIONS
The Ordinary Subway Artist. This dixieland jazz duo had be be-boppin' in the subway to the point where everyone was looking at me funny because I happened to be smiling and tapping my foot. How can you not tap your foot to a dixieland version of "Oh when the saint's go marchin' in." And let's face it, how many of we "serious actors" would do our "serious acting bits" on the subway platform??? These guys have guts and get little or no glory. They do it cuz they love it and they do it for the few bits of change that people throw them. It's phenomenal really. And the audience in HUGE. Now let's think about this for a minute. Millions of people ride the NY subway every day...let's say 2 million. The average Subway Artist performs about a two-hour set. That's an exposure of about 83,000 people an hour!!! Way better numbers than performing 8 shows a week on Broadway. Hats off to these musicians who fill our subways with something other than bitter faces and rats.
The Ordinary Ice Cream Store: Well, I guess it's tough to call Cold Stone Creamery 'ordinary' but the basics of ice cream haven't changed over the decades. Its always good. It always makes you smile and those extra pounds it adds to your waist are in the end very worth it. But here at Cold Stone Creamery they've got a clan of high energy, pearly white-smiled teenagers who make the whole ice cream experience even more fun. My concoction of mint ice cream with brownies and almonds was sheer perfection.
The Ordinary Playwright: Let's face it, everyone has a play inside of them. We've all got stories we want to tell. But the majority of us don't actually do it. Or we might actually write it down, but we never show it to anyone. Or, we might show it to someone, but nobody actually thinks its any good. And the chances of the very first play you write having any success whatsoever is really kind of well...unheard of, unless of course, you're Paul Slade Smith. Now this inspires me! An actor, loves to do farces, realizes there's a need for good contemporary farces, writes one, gets it produced and is now featured in Dramatists top 50 upcoming playwrights to look out for. An Unnecessary Farce is hilarious by the way (and I've only read it on paper). Clearly it reads AND plays well because it's booked in theatres across the country and booking more everyday. Inspiring beyond belief and clearly there is nothing ordinary about Paul Slade Smith.
PLACES AND THINGS NOT TO BE MISSED
A ride on the Staten Island ferry at sunset. Just take the trip this summer and see the beauty of Manhattan at sunset one direction, and evening in the other. Just to look at the fabulous NYC skyline when you're at the front of the ferry is magical. Truly magical. NY, NY
The Oklahoma National Memorial. Lives changed forever on that fateful day when a 26-year old bombed a Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City killing 168 people. But I've never seen a finer, more "human" and profound memorial featuring "the field of chairs" for each of the souls who lost their lives all resting amidst the most serene expanse of water I've ever seen. The designer of the memorial must have been an extraordinary human being to have conceived this incredible tribute to the victims. Oklahoma City, OK
Facebook. Okay, yes. I've become a Facebook whore. Truly, I have. But let's face it, it's kind of brilliant! In fact a friend of mine who is a computer programmer is even blown away by the intricacies of the program. If you're not on Facebook, who are you??? Visit and get hooked. Global, Everywhere.
Until next time, be inspired!
Leslie
www.LeslieBecker.com
www.InspiredINK.blogspot.com
www.OrganizedActor.com
www.SendOutCards.com/lesliebecker
Why do we blog? Is it our inane thought that others are even remotely interested in what we have to say? Or is it a journal, in a way, for ourselves (we blog writers) to look back on our lives someday and say, "Wow! I was funny!" Or "Wow! What crazy person wrote that?" Or, if we're lucky, "Wow. I was more prolific than I thought." Well, I don't know why the other 7 trillion, six-hundred thousand, fifty two bloggers blog. I can only speak for me. So here's why I'm blogging.1) Because I have SO MUCH to say and my dog gets tired of listening to me talk.
2) Because I have NOTHING to say of any significance, but if I write it down maybe someone will discover it when I die and call me the new Jane Austin,
3) Because I can.
But the REAL reason I blog...or write this particular blog anyway...is to honor the brilliant work (at least the work I think is brilliant) of artists who inspire me. From a city street artist to a concert violinist to a Broadway performance. You see, to me...art is an extension of the human being. And there's nothing more inspiring to me than someone who has found a way to extend their being to something creative and magical. Whether they've created a child, a garden, a piece of art or a performance, THEY HAVE CREATED SOMETHING GREATER THAN THEMSELVES. And the glory of that is that NO ONE, truly NO ONE can make that same creation the same way. It is uniquely theirs. And THAT is inspiring.
BECKER'S BRAVOS! BrAvOs! bRAvos!
COMEDY BRAVO to Tim Minchin (at New World Stage through April) who has found a way to take his rather eclectic background and interests and create an evening filled with some of the smartest, strangest,and delightfully delicious creativity I've seen. From his clever lyrics to his funny facial expressions to his beyond unbelievable piano playing, his show is a winner. P.S. If you can't take crass language, I'd go somewhere else. But even he makes them funny. 
BRILLIANT BRAVO to Sam Buntrock's Sunday in the Park with George. I cried at the first brush stroke (literally) And if you go, you'll see what I mean. Not only has Sam assembled a truly flawless ensemble cast (they are all standouts!), he's also been able to splendidly merge the colder tones of the show with warmth and wit. The second act gets a complete overhaul with animation that oozes with imagination. There is little better on Broadway right now. Go see it. 
COMMITTED BRAVO to F. Murray Abraham for a hilarious interpretation of the Mad God in Almost an Evening. Written by Ethan Cohen who brought us Fargo and others, it's an evening of assorted one-acts that magically DO give us "almost an evening" or even a matinee, as I attended. It boasts a huge line up of theatre names and just delights. Go.
WARM FUZZY BRAVO to Mrs. Pettigrew Lives for a Day. Okay, so my tastes might seem widespread and sometimes sappy but, good god this movie made MY DAY! Amy Adams, who I must admit didn't send me to the moon in Enchanted, is truly delightful in this and Frances McDormand is well..Frances McDormand...always something special. This movie gives you the warm fuzzies and makes you feel like you are back in the 30s and 40s when going to the movies was really special. So I'm a sap! I'll also be shocked if someone doesn't scoop it up and make it a Broadway musical.
VERSATILE BRAVO to Stephanie Bast for inspiring me as an artist in all areas of her life. As an actress, singer, artist and human being, she is a masterpiece. She's not for sale, but her artwork is! Buy some now before you can't afford her.
YOUR BASIC GODLIKE BRAVO to Patrick Garrigan for just being all around Godlike. He's funny! He's witty! He's got some guns! And, he likes to pretend he owns my dog! But by golly, Patrick Garrigan IS ART! Check out his blog for laughs and shock value.
3 EXPERIENCES NOT TO MISS
Bob and Timmys Pizza in Providence, RI. Hands down the best pizza on the planet. Now that's art!
Cara Mia on 9th Ave/46th in New York City. Incredible Italian food
See the Venus de Milo
and the Mona Lisa live and in person. I just did! Paris, France
Until next time....be inspired.Leslie Becker
The Ordinary Subway Artist. This dixieland jazz duo had be be-boppin' in the subway to the point where everyone was looking at me funny because I happened to be smiling and tapping my foot. How can you not tap your foot to a dixieland version of "Oh when the saint's go marchin' in." And let's face it, how many of we "serious actors" would do our "serious acting bits" on the subway platform??? These guys have guts and get little or no glory. They do it cuz they love it and they do it for the few bits of change that people throw them. It's phenomenal really. And the audience in HUGE. Now let's think about this for a minute. Millions of people ride the NY subway every day...let's say 2 million. The average Subway Artist performs about a two-hour set. That's an exposure of about 83,000 people an hour!!! Way better numbers than performing 8 shows a week on Broadway. Hats off to these musicians who fill our subways with something other than bitter faces and rats.
The Ordinary Ice Cream Store: Well, I guess it's tough to call Cold Stone Creamery 'ordinary' but the basics of ice cream haven't changed over the decades. Its always good. It always makes you smile and those extra pounds it adds to your waist are in the end very worth it. But here at Cold Stone Creamery they've got a clan of high energy, pearly white-smiled teenagers who make the whole ice cream experience even more fun. My concoction of mint ice cream with brownies and almonds was sheer perfection.
The Ordinary Playwright: Let's face it, everyone has a play inside of them. We've all got stories we want to tell. But the majority of us don't actually do it. Or we might actually write it down, but we never show it to anyone. Or, we might show it to someone, but nobody actually thinks its any good. And the chances of the very first play you write having any success whatsoever is really kind of well...unheard of, unless of course, you're Paul Slade Smith. Now this inspires me! An actor, loves to do farces, realizes there's a need for good contemporary farces, writes one, gets it produced and is now featured in Dramatists top 50 upcoming playwrights to look out for. An Unnecessary Farce is hilarious by the way (and I've only read it on paper). Clearly it reads AND plays well because it's booked in theatres across the country and booking more everyday. Inspiring beyond belief and clearly there is nothing ordinary about Paul Slade Smith.
