The mechanized whirr of camera booms and the unmistakable crackle of an array speaker system in the air, Yes as I sit in the oval surrounded by strangers I am analog recording today’s blog; and the country keeps barreling forward. I am decked out in jeans, a fabulous 80’s Red and White fractal shirt, a blue gingham button-down, and a white macramé fedora. I am America!
Writing on a blanket which was left at the apartment by a friend moving to San Fransisco, I sit waiting for my partner to arrive. I look around at my neighbors and invite people whom I don’t know to sit with me. Secretly I just want to shift over five feet so I am no longer obstructed by scaffolding.
I look up and I am surrounded by my old friends. Theatrical Lighting equipment hung on truss like tiny black birds on a power line. I wonder to myself if all this pomp and technology is really necessary. What would the birds think? A gorgeous wood band shell is ringed with moving lights and color blast led wash units. It looks almost like a tacky tiara. I am sure that the final effect will be stunning. Making that warm wood glow like a cyc.
As I take in the inventory I notice that all the elements are here. There are two wash’s on either side of the stage crossing each other somewhere in space to light us! the audience! Each panel on the shell is lit to reminisce an easier “I Love Lucy” era.
I look across the field and my heart drops into my stomach. I see in front of me my first ex. A shutter runs through me, like being thrown off of your raft while going white water ridding. God you got fat I want to exclaim. But time heals almost everything, and I tilt my fedora clad head down and return to my writing, thanking god that I am still thin and I have grown my hair out.
Twenty minutes ago I finished writing out my magic sheets. I wonder to myself how much more I can add to the show. I take a deep breath, close my eyes, and know that it is all going to work out.
Clap of thunder and a pa announcement… Time to find a tarp…
talk soon!
Michael