MEGAN ODELL
Co-Artistic Director
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MEGAN'S ANSWERS TO FIVE QUESTIONS FROM GALEN[Galen] - I've heard you ride horses. When did that start, and why haven't I ever seen you on a horse? Is it a lot like surfing?
[Megan] - I went to an all-girls horse camp for one month every summer since I was eight. Camp Tamarack in Central Oregon is still possibly my favorite place on earth. I actually became a counselor there when I was 18 so my first real job was teaching riding, but I don’t think I was ever that good at it really. I loved the power of horses, of jumping through the air, of feeling connected to an animal, but I don’t think I was that good. And you haven’t seen me on a horse because I haven’t been on a horse since I stopped going to camp. It’s pretty pathetic. I would love to go, but I’m not sure where to go in Minnesota, I don’t have the boots, I’m afraid I’d suck – all lame excuses. As for riding and surfing… the acts are very different but I do like them both because of the close connection to the non-human world and the rush you get from them. And they are both ultimately solitary acts, so I guess there is some similarity there. Do you have an idol? That makes me wonder, are you religious?
An idol? I always liked the figure of Siva, but I don’t think that’s what you mean. I’d probably count the Dalai Lama, Kofi Annan, Gandhi and Thomas Jefferson as the people I most look up to. DL for the calm but mischievous spark in his eyes and his discipline to be in this world as it is. KA for his commitment to fairness and level-headed diplomacy. G for his commitment to non-violence and justice and honesty. TJ because he wrote the Declaration of Independence. No, I’m not religious (was never even baptized or anything like that) and if I were to pick some sort of spiritual discipline, it would likely be zen Buddhism. I spent a year or so going to the Zen Center and meditating regularly and that helped a lot with some essential growth and crisis management that I needed at the time. Although Christ seemed to be a pretty amazing guy, I wouldn’t want to deal with most of the dogmas his followers have thought up over the years. What is your favorite season and your favorite restaurant?
I have always loved spring, when things begin to slowly perk up. Back when we used to have real cold winters here, I loved it when the snow would melt and reveal all the left-behind things: single gloves, hair combs, empty bags of chips, etc. I love it when you see the first glimpse of green opening on a tree branch and when you can open the windows again. It’s so sweet and alive. Favorite restaurant? Ummmm, that’s really hard…. Jasmine Deli, Tanpopo, Salsa a la Salsa, Auriga at Happy Hour. Chez Panisse in Berkeley is worth the pilgrimage. Blythe and I had a really magical night at Corner Table this winter where they stayed open during a blizzard just so the two of us could have desserts and wine. He perfectly matched our wines to our desserts, which made my mouth sing.
What is your fantasy vacation?
White sand, warm sun, blue water, just me and Jon. I can read a book all day, we can both surf. We can walk from our little private beach to have amazing food at night that makes you go “oh my god, this is so fresh and so good and so cheap!” And then we’d dance to a small local band and retire to our little hut. Endless. What was your favorite movie when you were 16? Any particular reason?
Hard to remember. At fourteen or fifteen it was definitely “Dirty Dancing” – I loved the desire, the new sexuality, the dancing, the music, that totally hot scene between Jennifer Grey and Patrick Swayze to “Cry to Me.” But at 16? I just looked at a list of Oscar nominees from 1989 to jog my memory – what an interesting year. Of those films, I really dug “Henry V,” “Sex, Lies and Videotape,” “My Left Foot” and “When Harry met Sally.” It was my sophomore year of high school and the world was starting to open up. I was just beginning to get into foreign and arty things and liking the fact that I was getting into them. |