Tag Archives: theatre

I Did My Own Thing (and They Weren’t Impressed)

Posted on April 22, 2025 by mitchteemley

George, mime instructor at The Newport Institute of the Arts, 1975 My Real Memoir I was obsessive, proud, and doggedly devoted to dancing to my own tune. And all I asked in return was unlimited love and admiration. I’d learned as a … Continue reading →

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A Star Again, or How I Scored An Extra 15 Minutes of Fame

Posted on November 5, 2024 by mitchteemley

My Real Memoir Following my father’s death, I’d decided not to take over his two profitable enterprises. “I’m an artist,” I told Mom, “not a businessman.” Appearances aside, however, I hadn’t taken a virtuous vow of poverty. So I doubled down on … Continue reading →

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Longing to Fly

Posted on June 18, 2024 by mitchteemley

Photo by Marc-Olivier Jodoin My Real Memoir I flew every day, straight up into the sky. Admittedly, I had help from my grandfather. But then, before I was two, he died, and I had to learn how to fly on … Continue reading →

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Trying to Get the Feeling Again

Posted on May 28, 2024 by mitchteemley

Image by storytelleradams My Real Memoir Something was wrong with me. True, I was happy when I was writing–songs, plays, poems. But ever since my on-stage meltdown a year-and-a-half before, I’d been living with a lid on my heart, “unable … Continue reading →

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Finally Up to Bat!

Posted on March 5, 2024 by mitchteemley

My Real Memoir “When you can’t find a way,” my hero George Pal had told me, “make a way.” I’d decided to do just that. For starters, my GPA had plummeted so badly that I was in danger of winning … Continue reading →

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Thank You, God, For Not Making Me a Star

Posted on February 13, 2024 by mitchteemley

Above: The Daily Planet – Mitch (top), Jeph (L), Joey (middle), Marc (R), B of A Achievement Award, stream-of-conscious notebook pages (no actual writing class assignments have survived) My Real Memoir I was imploding with unfulfilled and unrecognized yearnings. I’d … Continue reading →

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Running On Empty

Posted on February 6, 2024 by mitchteemley

Photo by Warren My Real Memoir We’d moved to a custom-built home in the Coyote Hills, sandwiched between the abandoned oil refinery I’d explored as a kid and the Los Coyotes Country Club where my band had played from the … Continue reading →

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How I Invented Coffee

Posted on January 2, 2024 by mitchteemley

Coffee foam art by Kazuki Yamamoto My Real Memoir Unlike my oldest child, who as a newborn would have been thrilled if Mommy’s breasts dispensed House Blend and Dark Roast, I had to learn to like coffee. The Coffee-Milk Era: … Continue reading →

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Starting to Lose My Way

Posted on November 14, 2023 by mitchteemley

My Real Memoir I’d never really known the way. But I thought I did, which had worked just as well. For awhile. My religion of atheism (there was no god but me, and that was just fine ‘cuz I was … Continue reading →

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Hello, Goodbye!

Posted on June 27, 2023 by mitchteemley

My Real Memoir The Beatles tune “Hello, Goodbye” seemed to be the theme song for my junior year. My life was full of hellos and goodbyes, and moving impossibly fast! In May alone, the month I turned seventeen, I … … Continue reading →

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