Department Reports

beth department: Beth is working today, dining with a friend and then going to a play that's performed on ice in a skating rink. I’m on my own today.

Our visit is going excellently; I am really enjoying life with her. My speech is perfect due to the deep level of trust and long history we share. I’m very stimulated by Beth’s visit and the things we’re doing. Consequently, here at home alone, I’m having trouble with the phone and my arms and I’m mute in stores with clerks. But I wouldn’t have it any other way. We’re having so much fun. She loved riding in my little red Fiat convertible last night; she’s christened it, The Tomato and I like it.

holy shit department: This morning I added up my receipts for my Defiant Dress project. I’m doing my taxes. In 2016 I spent $2,778.82 on mannequins and materials; in 2017 so far I’ve spent an additional $699.76 and I’ve three more dresses to go. Plus there are production expenses if I were to produce it. (That’s $3,478.58 to date.)

rationalization department: My trips to India and Africa (fifteen months for twenty grand) cost me $1,300 per month. My Defiant Dress project is costing me $496 per month so it's a bargain.

no shit department:  The Defiant Dress is pure drivel. Is a short script of simplistic silliness worthy of production? At a modest price and with the dresses viewed as an exhibition with their letters (stories), perhaps. The script definitely improves with each re-write — the dialogue lands a little more naturally — but until I get objective feedback I have absolutely no idea of the merit of my silly script. It’s just fun and I like fun. When I get through this draft, I’ll get an idea from Beth and Colin.

who cares what you think department: The Piano Teacher is a work in progress, I think. I was disappointed in it — only because the reviews were so extremely positive. But I found the student too flat. Her part is weakly written, was poorly acted or was poorly directed; grief has far more variety in my experience — especially two years after the tragedy. And in contrast, the teacher is well conceived and very well performed.

The teacher, however, says she is not a therapist and I’d cut that line given the things she does and says for the rest of the play and given all she says about music and its power and purpose. It’s full of wonderful music and ideas. That’s the only reason I quibble.

I also had trouble with the handyman trope. In this show, he’s too perfect as cast and written; he’s too unbelievable. He’s a female fantasy, not a real man. But there’s a lot there and it will evolve in future productions. This was a premiere performance.