For all who don't know--I'm in Sea-town. Let's have a drink tonight at the Six Arms--8pm. You bring the mistletoe, I'll bring the lips!!!
Logger...brenda's gin and tonics...pool...too many cigarettes....after the show...after the paper....aristotle, the human instinct for imitation...rhythm...I'm drunk...conversation about tree-sitters, what?...home...Bindi in bed...toast with butter and nutritional yeat...what? wwyest...? what....??? yeast?...
Went to Spooky and J's Christmas concert at the Blue Lake School--standing room only in the multipurpose room. Spook and J are 2 out of three violinists in the school (I was proud).
During the choir part Lily brought Freddy outside, then a teacher whispered into Jimmy's ear. He left and when he came back he whispered in my ear: "Freddy just hurled in the hallway." A few moments later we see principle Doug snapping on gloves and exiting. I love Principle Doug.
Earnest Mike just brought me a bag of potatoes. "Keep 'em in a dark place or they'll turn green".
Just had a promotional gig at Wildberrie's Market--us ten little piggies. We sang and passed out fliers and improvised a lament in the Pork section.
Entered my first 9-ball tournament at the Logger the other night--was the first one eliminated. Then long conversation at the bar with Fugazzi about our show--character and timing and ensemble..about how to give the audience permission to clap after this one song. We tried pausing, changing our stage position, striking a pose--is it an unresolved chord? We final got applause the other night because Fugazzi changed the lighting.
Then conversation with Fisherman Pete about...fish.
Then conversation with some of the farmhouse boys and Lily about earthquakes and orgasms.
Another reason I love the Logger--Burly local men think nothing of delaying the pool tournament to wait for Fauxhawk Rick to get back from choir practice:
My day yesterday:
Show for McKinleyville High School--mind you this is a family show where we are dressed in ridiculous piggy costumes--were prepared for them to eat us alive--and they loved it. Clapped at everything, laughed, talked to us afterwards. Go figure.
Came back to Blue Lake in time for an annual ritual--a toast to our founder, Carlo Mazzone Clementi. All day there was an altar outside with his photo, a ribbon with the Italian colors, flowers, candles, wine--as the day grew there were more bottles of wine, and at night we gathered. Joan--the head of the schoool--played the accordian, my classmate Ade played guitar, we ate salami and roasted garlic, and toasted to our Papa.
Our cast had to leave before the trek to his grave, but as part of our warm-up we sang "When I get drunk, on a gallon of Carlo Rossi..." in his honor. It was the night to videotape and two of our instructors were there--so I decided to spice up the show by falling off the set (throughout the play we climb and play on these metal crossbars). We kept going, Jimmy, as our mother pig improvised fabulously, and I just went into clown mode. The shock kicked in on the van ride home. Was feeling a little tender, so Jimmy took me home for a huge family hug, and Spooky Nell wiped my tears with Jimmy's hat, then gave me a dime and a battery to make me feel better.
In my apartment there was Bindi-girl and a few first-year students, then more students, then more wine, then music and salsa dancing, then crepes, then more wine, and ultimately: FLOOR BED.
I try not to remind myself that when most of these people were born I was in junior high. I take their comfort and vitality, I offer them food.
Returned last night from the first leg of our tour. Wed. was Bridgeville school--set up in the school gym/cafeteria. The lunch ladies gave us coffee and cornbread when we were loading in our set at 8am--score! A very fun show there--the kids were cutie patooties and we ate lunch with them afterwards. They all seem to love my classmate Adrian's character the best--he's a hippie pig with a very Bob Dylan-like folk song "Pity the Wolf". Ahhh... Humboldt County.
From there we went to Petrolia which is near the Lost Coast. It could very well be the most beautiful place in the world. Green valleys, hills, trees, ocean, cliffs, sheep...
We arrived to a potluck dinner in our honor where we met our host couples and then departed to our separate homes. Jimmy and Fugazzi (our tech guy) and I stayed with some local legends, Jane and David. Real Haight-Ashbury activist hippies--hung out with the Dead, and Janis Joplin, David was in the SF mime troupe...they lost their home to an earthquake in '92 and then used all of the material to renovate their barn, where they live now. Cook on a wood stove in the winter, grow or raise about 75% of their food, you go pee--"away from the house a little, just anywhere in the garden, and for #2, I'll show you where the shitter is"--an open air outhouse with a view of apple trees and the ocean.
I drove the van on the windy roads home and despite the incredible beauty we had just left, people cheered when they saw the first sign to Blue Lake. I arrived in time to be in the mini 9-ball tournament at the Logger. Was eliminated in the 2nd round and Lily and I walked home arm in arm.