Monday, May 25, 2009

Memorial Day

Wow. I've basically been off the computer for three days. That was nice. And I missed it.

I've had a very productive, lazy, enjoyable weekend. What seems to be the overriding force of the weekend was performance. Which is really nice and always completely inspiring.

On Friday I saw Art at Steppenwolf. It was awesome. It's always really nice when one goes to see a lot of black box comedy stuff, it's always nice to see something with higher production values. The play was witty and funny and deep and interesting and all about modernism and whether it is artistic enough on it's own. It was about friendships and how we're influenced by people. And it had one of the greatest monologues ever written. it just feels good to go see something out of my comfort zone.

When I got to the bar Friday night there was standup there. I've always been a fan of stand up stemming from my employment at the Improv that used to stand on wells and illinois. I used to watch for hours and still really enjoy watching, even bad stand up fascinates me.

Saturday I saw THEMS and that turned out to be a really dark show, not nearly so much "funny" as usual and it was really deep. It was kinda neat to watch them all really take it seriously. Great show and scary as hell.

Yesterday I hopped over to the Annoyance to see John Hartmann's one man show . John Hartman makes me giggle like a child. He's a young kid, barely even 21 I don't think, and he is the cutest and most vile man. His show was POLISHED, so polished, his director was spot on. There were no weak links, no dropped lines, no unused part of the stage...just hilarious and I sat in the back and tried hard not to guffaw out loud during the whole thing. That boy, remember his name, there will come a time when you won't forget it.

So it's been a great weekend and I'm always amazed how watching other people do their art makes me want to do my own. I always have to push myself to remember how important it is to get out there and see things you don't normally see.

And now, the fun begins.

2 comments:

alcott said...

what a performance weekend you had.
i played Marc in a production of Art. It remains one of the best experiences on the stage i have had. If only they all could be 90 minutes, witty and sharp and smart. Remember the playwrights new one is God Of Carnage currently on bway. Looking forward to seeing that one someday. ..and its also 90 minutes. wham bam, thanks for listening, thanks for coming.
Steppenwolfs August:osage county is coming for two weeks on a national tour at the Ford, some time in 2010. get yer ass there...2 hours and 45 minutes, but it seems like 90.

Hixx said...

That's so funny, I totally saw you as Serge.

Yeah, you are to help me see more plays.