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Grand Rapids Act Three: Anon and Anon
The final act in my trip to Grand Rapids, sometimes called Bears in the Cove. The players continue to be organizer Randy (![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
lostncove), the highly-caffinated Sean (schnitz_mi), the other Shawn (ombraorsa), John (blithwulf) and myself.
Act Three Scene One
After waking up at noon, it was a quick shower, make sure the dogs were let out and given treats coming back in. The dogs were getting familiar with us. Shawn could even tell Cassidy to go away, Daisy however came up to everyone with this look that John described as "I loooooooooove you!" sitting there wagging her tail demanding affection. I had gotten into the habit of refilling their water dish now and again.
The dogs had eaten well during the course of the weekend. Apparently the family that Randy is housesitting for is a big fan of Whole Foods Markets. Everything that they left at the house was full of organically grown goodness, and most would fit the vegetarian lifestyle. This included the dog's food. Why the dogs didn't see us as meat-sickles I'll never know. Daisy and Cassidy have lost some predator edge, but they do know a good preservative-filled snack when they see it. They got into some of the sweet rolls that Randy had kindly purchased for our stay (the promised continental breakfast). The wrappings had ended up on the stairway (some distance away from the kitchen) and the sweet, sticky treats were gone.
Randy had brought cereal and the sweet roles into the house, defiling it's sense of organic goodness, then we had added pizza, soda and Slurpees™. The family (two professors and their children) had left such treats as Oatie Bites, the crunchy cereal with the taste of packing peanuts. Yummy! To wash it down, why not try some delicious Aloe Vera juice? My mere presence in the house had made it unclean. I wanted to leave a box of twinkies for the kids. They're going to need it.
Act Three Scene Two
Back at the Fishladder Performance Center to see the Sunday Matinee performance of Said and Meant. Shawn would be seeing this for the first time. The rest of us were helping Randy by being space fillers, laughing and clapping. We were there to support Randy and to fill the audience for the appearance of the worst thing to ever arrive in blue crushed velvet, Grand Rapids theater reviewer, Sue Merrill.
We loved Sue from the start. She was already sitting down and did not look happy. She also stood out like a sore thumb. Most of us were looking casual on a Sunday afternoon, she was looking like she thought she should for an interview with Donald Trump, if you could do it in the mid 1980's. She looked like young Varuca Salt, in her blueberry dress, grown into a bitter 60 year-old woman.
Sue didn't look happy. Randy had asked her to be here with a nice, but vaguely threatening, vaguely pleading letter to come review his play. Sue was going to pass it up. As the only theater critic in the town, you can get away with seeing what you want. To have this decision making process called on certainly would get under one's skin. She glared at us before the show. The stare could freeze half a dozen Aunt Jemima waffles in their tracks.
The thing is, she did actually laugh during the show, several times. I'm surprised that her review doesn't totally acknowledge this, but she did note that the audience had a good time, which is golden. I'm hoping the people of GR will note this as well and come out to see the show.
(Randy posted a link to the review here)
Here's my interpretation of how she would review the Sound of Music:
"The Sound of Music made me feel like a schoolgirl. I'm 16 going on 17. The audience seemed to enjoy the songs and the commentary on family life shown through the strife that goes on as a father starts dating again. Very poignant. There was one flaw in the story though, why did they have to include Nazis in what would be an otherwise perfect story? Nazis are very inappropriate and not politically correct for today's audience. It reminded me of the movie Amilie, which I saw the trailer for. Otherwise, one should enjoy learning what a problem Maria is."
Sue ran out of the theater quickly after the show, while most of the audience stayed around to mingle with the actors or talk to Randy. The show went well and I know Shawn enjoyed it from the large laughs that came out of him, especially during The Darryl, the show that Ms. Merrill couldn't understand, though she laughed mightily at.
Act Three Scene Three
Back for Coffee at Kava's. We were waiting on Randy to finish closing the theater. While we were there, just shooting the breeze, the ghost of David Bowie and Quentin Crisp's love-child walked in. For a town with no homos, here was a big old queen. One of the pictures with John has him creepily staring from the background. His hair and skin were almost the same color white and he topped this with a lovely blue bandana tied in the Aunt Jemima style. After this, he had on a mauve outfit with a white sweater with mauve and teal reindeer on it. Even creepier, he was reading a biography of Jimmy Swaggart. If there was ever a gay ghost of Jacob Marley, this was probably him.
One of the cast members, Dann, came by and said hello. He's very funny and had been a member of Randy's old improv troupe. He said the cast was going out for Chinese.
Randy appeared and had some tea and chatted about the show and all of our interpretations of it, including the counselor in The Essential Components of Marriage. This lead to some horror stories about therapist. I have never gone to one, and don't think I need to, but you never know. I know a great number of people that have gone, or a re going now. I took in the information, trying to learn what I could. I felt that I had nothing to say, feeling a little left out.
Act Three Scene Four
We then went to the BackDoor Pizzaria (yeah, I know) and had some yummy Italian food. The conversation turned from such things as outdoors sports, the dogs, past bear runs, and yes, SEX. Luckily for the other patrons we had asked to be seated away from the others eating at this late afternoon hour (read: Senior Citizens). Randy and everyone seemed to be having a very good time. The food was good and plentiful. We talked about Randy's future endeavors, which seem to include traveling around the north central part of the country. Everyone agreed that Fiesta would be a good bear run, and was one that most of us would be likely to be at.
We drove back to the Fishladder and got Randy's car, and it was time to see Sean off. Randy had a computer Sean had lent him until such time as Randy could buy it. Money changed hands and now Randy has a pretty nice laptop (for a PC). Hugs were traded and Sean got in the car and drove back to Royal Oak.
Act Three Scene Five
We got back to the house and decided to chill for a bit before taking off on the highway. Shawn and I ended up outside and got to talking. We talked about growing up and why it took me so long to get where I am now. He spoke about his growing up, a marriage and stepchildren and about community. I expressed some of my fears, fear of being out, that I'm really getting over, fears about body image, fears about being naive and coming off as stupid, fears of being rejected, and fears about starting a relationship.
It was nice to get some of these things out. I was working on these with John, too. Shawn was such a sweetheart to listen to me go on. He was very helpful and supportive too. The weekend had dredged up a lot of questions about relations with people and where I stood. I was grateful for the feedback and the understanding. I seem to turn inwardly when I have a problem. I'm not alone, and sometimes when I get a little down I forget that there is people I can go to that will help me out. This I need to remember.
I guess I find my therapist where I can.
We went back in and watched some Oblongs episodes before we got ready to leave. I had already packed and got a chance to say goodbye to Randy for a little while, thanking him for inviting us and for being so amazing. Sean and John said their goodbyes and then we piled in the car and left Grand Rapids.
Act Three Scene Six
The road was dark, but the clouds passing over Indiana were producing a great light show. John fell asleep and Shawn and I continued to talk about past experiences, just getting a feel for one another. We did it partially to keep each other awake. In Indiana it rained, hard. Certainly this part of the trip was ending, and even the weather was saying so. We picked up John's car from Shawn's workplace and went back into Chicago, where it was clearing up, and much cooler. A dinner at Denny's at 1:30am topped off the whole experience with more conversation that was getting stranger as we were all getting tired. We went out to John's house and crashed. More fun in Chicago awaited, but Grand Rapids was now in the past.
The Curtain Falls.
Grand Rapids, the world looks to your fluoridated goodness....
lostncove), the highly-caffinated Sean (schnitz_mi), the other Shawn (ombraorsa), John (blithwulf) and myself.Act Three Scene One
After waking up at noon, it was a quick shower, make sure the dogs were let out and given treats coming back in. The dogs were getting familiar with us. Shawn could even tell Cassidy to go away, Daisy however came up to everyone with this look that John described as "I loooooooooove you!" sitting there wagging her tail demanding affection. I had gotten into the habit of refilling their water dish now and again.
The dogs had eaten well during the course of the weekend. Apparently the family that Randy is housesitting for is a big fan of Whole Foods Markets. Everything that they left at the house was full of organically grown goodness, and most would fit the vegetarian lifestyle. This included the dog's food. Why the dogs didn't see us as meat-sickles I'll never know. Daisy and Cassidy have lost some predator edge, but they do know a good preservative-filled snack when they see it. They got into some of the sweet rolls that Randy had kindly purchased for our stay (the promised continental breakfast). The wrappings had ended up on the stairway (some distance away from the kitchen) and the sweet, sticky treats were gone.
Randy had brought cereal and the sweet roles into the house, defiling it's sense of organic goodness, then we had added pizza, soda and Slurpees™. The family (two professors and their children) had left such treats as Oatie Bites, the crunchy cereal with the taste of packing peanuts. Yummy! To wash it down, why not try some delicious Aloe Vera juice? My mere presence in the house had made it unclean. I wanted to leave a box of twinkies for the kids. They're going to need it.
Act Three Scene Two
Back at the Fishladder Performance Center to see the Sunday Matinee performance of Said and Meant. Shawn would be seeing this for the first time. The rest of us were helping Randy by being space fillers, laughing and clapping. We were there to support Randy and to fill the audience for the appearance of the worst thing to ever arrive in blue crushed velvet, Grand Rapids theater reviewer, Sue Merrill.
We loved Sue from the start. She was already sitting down and did not look happy. She also stood out like a sore thumb. Most of us were looking casual on a Sunday afternoon, she was looking like she thought she should for an interview with Donald Trump, if you could do it in the mid 1980's. She looked like young Varuca Salt, in her blueberry dress, grown into a bitter 60 year-old woman.
Sue didn't look happy. Randy had asked her to be here with a nice, but vaguely threatening, vaguely pleading letter to come review his play. Sue was going to pass it up. As the only theater critic in the town, you can get away with seeing what you want. To have this decision making process called on certainly would get under one's skin. She glared at us before the show. The stare could freeze half a dozen Aunt Jemima waffles in their tracks.
The thing is, she did actually laugh during the show, several times. I'm surprised that her review doesn't totally acknowledge this, but she did note that the audience had a good time, which is golden. I'm hoping the people of GR will note this as well and come out to see the show.
(Randy posted a link to the review here)
Here's my interpretation of how she would review the Sound of Music:
"The Sound of Music made me feel like a schoolgirl. I'm 16 going on 17. The audience seemed to enjoy the songs and the commentary on family life shown through the strife that goes on as a father starts dating again. Very poignant. There was one flaw in the story though, why did they have to include Nazis in what would be an otherwise perfect story? Nazis are very inappropriate and not politically correct for today's audience. It reminded me of the movie Amilie, which I saw the trailer for. Otherwise, one should enjoy learning what a problem Maria is."
Sue ran out of the theater quickly after the show, while most of the audience stayed around to mingle with the actors or talk to Randy. The show went well and I know Shawn enjoyed it from the large laughs that came out of him, especially during The Darryl, the show that Ms. Merrill couldn't understand, though she laughed mightily at.
Act Three Scene Three
Back for Coffee at Kava's. We were waiting on Randy to finish closing the theater. While we were there, just shooting the breeze, the ghost of David Bowie and Quentin Crisp's love-child walked in. For a town with no homos, here was a big old queen. One of the pictures with John has him creepily staring from the background. His hair and skin were almost the same color white and he topped this with a lovely blue bandana tied in the Aunt Jemima style. After this, he had on a mauve outfit with a white sweater with mauve and teal reindeer on it. Even creepier, he was reading a biography of Jimmy Swaggart. If there was ever a gay ghost of Jacob Marley, this was probably him.
One of the cast members, Dann, came by and said hello. He's very funny and had been a member of Randy's old improv troupe. He said the cast was going out for Chinese.
Randy appeared and had some tea and chatted about the show and all of our interpretations of it, including the counselor in The Essential Components of Marriage. This lead to some horror stories about therapist. I have never gone to one, and don't think I need to, but you never know. I know a great number of people that have gone, or a re going now. I took in the information, trying to learn what I could. I felt that I had nothing to say, feeling a little left out.
Act Three Scene Four
We then went to the BackDoor Pizzaria (yeah, I know) and had some yummy Italian food. The conversation turned from such things as outdoors sports, the dogs, past bear runs, and yes, SEX. Luckily for the other patrons we had asked to be seated away from the others eating at this late afternoon hour (read: Senior Citizens). Randy and everyone seemed to be having a very good time. The food was good and plentiful. We talked about Randy's future endeavors, which seem to include traveling around the north central part of the country. Everyone agreed that Fiesta would be a good bear run, and was one that most of us would be likely to be at.
We drove back to the Fishladder and got Randy's car, and it was time to see Sean off. Randy had a computer Sean had lent him until such time as Randy could buy it. Money changed hands and now Randy has a pretty nice laptop (for a PC). Hugs were traded and Sean got in the car and drove back to Royal Oak.
Act Three Scene Five
We got back to the house and decided to chill for a bit before taking off on the highway. Shawn and I ended up outside and got to talking. We talked about growing up and why it took me so long to get where I am now. He spoke about his growing up, a marriage and stepchildren and about community. I expressed some of my fears, fear of being out, that I'm really getting over, fears about body image, fears about being naive and coming off as stupid, fears of being rejected, and fears about starting a relationship.
It was nice to get some of these things out. I was working on these with John, too. Shawn was such a sweetheart to listen to me go on. He was very helpful and supportive too. The weekend had dredged up a lot of questions about relations with people and where I stood. I was grateful for the feedback and the understanding. I seem to turn inwardly when I have a problem. I'm not alone, and sometimes when I get a little down I forget that there is people I can go to that will help me out. This I need to remember.
I guess I find my therapist where I can.
We went back in and watched some Oblongs episodes before we got ready to leave. I had already packed and got a chance to say goodbye to Randy for a little while, thanking him for inviting us and for being so amazing. Sean and John said their goodbyes and then we piled in the car and left Grand Rapids.
Act Three Scene Six
The road was dark, but the clouds passing over Indiana were producing a great light show. John fell asleep and Shawn and I continued to talk about past experiences, just getting a feel for one another. We did it partially to keep each other awake. In Indiana it rained, hard. Certainly this part of the trip was ending, and even the weather was saying so. We picked up John's car from Shawn's workplace and went back into Chicago, where it was clearing up, and much cooler. A dinner at Denny's at 1:30am topped off the whole experience with more conversation that was getting stranger as we were all getting tired. We went out to John's house and crashed. More fun in Chicago awaited, but Grand Rapids was now in the past.
The Curtain Falls.
Grand Rapids, the world looks to your fluoridated goodness....