Madman on the run.

Today is the New York City Marathon. It had occurred to me to apply, last year the race was cancelled due to Hurricane Sandy, so I imagined this year would be a very special celebration.

However, when Double Heart was accepted into the New York Fringe Festival, that kind of settled that. Do you know how much it costs to enter the New York Marathon? It's a lot, not including transportation and housing, etc. One trip to New York a year is about all I can swing these days.

47 degrees in New York City right now, with a projected high of 50° Not bad, a little cool. Sorry I can't be with you, but welcome home.

Temperature: 45°
Climate: excellent, cool and bright
Distance: 3.25 miles
Weight: 175.5 lbs.

Last year at this time I was suffering from several successive days of sinus pain and headaches. Remarkable, I have been enduring the same symptoms the past several days, today only feeling minor discomfort. Not remarkable, I guess, just a passing of the season, but it is the exact same weekend.

Bit winded today. Maybe it was the pulse-pumping playlist, maybe I should have worn sunglasses.

Antic round.

Mute Playlist
Mute (Jokers of the Scene Remix) - The Brash
Against All Odds - The Postal Service
Everlasting Light - The Black Keys
Comfortably Numb - Scissor Sisters
Zero - Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Oh Yeah - Yello

I need that new vacation where nothing that's spoken is known.

Another fringe festival, another symbolic victory lap in New York. We begin with Summer Streets and so we depart, only not yet. There is one more show to perform and we head out tomorrow.

Did not sleep very well last night, we could have used the AC. It has been cool the last few nights and in spite of the constant honking of horns and increasingly bizarre wailing of sirens, I preferred the fresh air moving across the apartment than feeling boxed in and blasted with freon.

That and like every other night this week, we got to bed late, and I knew I would need to get out early to make a run and be relaxed for costume load-out at 11 AM. Our final performance of Double Heart is at noon. Noon on a Saturday? Well, pre-sale is good, and besides, being the first show of the day means the stage lights haven't been on for hours and hours already.

I set my phone alarm, and as is always the case when I do that, woke up in fits and starts several times before it went off and finally just got up and turned it off.

Headed north today, up Lafayette to Park Avenue, under and through Grand Central Terminal and onto 51st Street. Yes, I could have gone further, I longed to reach the park, but not this time. We will return. The streets were full of bikes and runners and walkers and very small dogs on leashes.

Temperature: 67°

Distance: 6 miles

The Playlist
Get Lucky - Daft Punk
Cousins - Vampire Weekend
Somebody - Jukebox the Ghost
Stronger - Kelly Clarkson
Poker Face - Lady Gaga
Carry Out - Timbaland ft. JT
Not In Love - Crystal Castles ft. Robert Smith
Like a G6 - Far East Movement
Blind - Hercules and Love Affair
Teenage Dream - Katy Perry
Uprising - Muse
Let Me See You - Girl Talk
Blackout - Breathe California
Dance Yrself Clean - LCD Soundsystem

To my friends in New York I say hello.

I got some pictures on my phone.

Trailblazing today, straight down Houston to the river, and south to the Brooklyn Bridge. Big, bright, urban day. Full of anxiety this morning. We have three more performances, but really, we are done here. I know how this goes, the next four days are going to fly by like nothing happened.

Okay, that's a little dour and self-pitying. The next three performances themselves will be great, I am looking forward to them. They will be the final three performances of Double Heart, at least with this company. I hope it has some kind of future.

It was not my intention to go running this morning. Getting back to the apartment last night at 10:30 PM, I still did not get to sleep until almost 2:30 AM. This place is like a college dorm. Beers to drink, snacks to eat, stories to be told. James, Annie and I split off yesterday to see friends, Emily and Diana went uptown for salsa dancing. We all converge here, chat, get into sweats and shorts, and suddenly it is one in the morning.

Brooklyn Bridge Run

Temperature: 60°

Distance: 5 miles

But the light through the window -- and the sirens -- had me up early, and I just had to move. I love a riverside run, especially when graced with iconography. And water stops.

Got to keep my spirits up. People are counting on me. Time to get out and give palm cards to people on line at the Delacorte.

The Playlist
That's Not My Name - The Ting Tings
I Gotta Go - Robert Earl Keen
Good Life - OneRepublic
This Is The Remix - Girl Talk
Ghosts 'N' Stuff - Deadmau5
Every Morning - Basshunter
Thrift Shop - Macklemore ft. Wanz
Five Seconds - Twin Shadow
Hometown Glory - Adele
Break Your Heart - Taio Cruz ft/ Ludacris

Summer Streets 2013

 

"I'm walkin' here."

Double Heart (The Courtship of Beatrice and Benedick) opens TODAY at the Connelly Theater in the Lower East Side, as part of the New York International Fringe Festival!  You know what that means?  

SUMMER STREETS!

Thank you, Mayor Bloomberg -- three Saturdays every August they close Park and Lafayette Avenues from 72nd Street all the way down to the Brooklyn Bridge. When performing And Then You Die in 2009 I ran from Harris & Liz's apartment where I was staying to my performance space at Astor Place and back.

As much as would like to get a run in in Central Park (and may yet) today I wanted to try something new, and so Annie and I set out for the Brooklyn Bridge. It's a really nice day, not too hot, always a lot of shade, especially in the financial district.

Lots to talk about running with a partner. Annie was telling me about visits she has taken with her brother, and movies that were filmed here, and just about running in general.

Distance: 5.75 miles

Running past the new One World Trade center was moving. I mean, there's just so many emotions there, everyone has something to say or think or feel about that. The best I can say is that the final design is much more attractive than whatever weird thing that was they said they originally going to build.

We also walked across the Brooklyn Bridge, which was a first for me, and in spite of the great views it's something I do not necessarily need to do again. Not, at least, during Summer Streets. We were hardly the only two people clogging a narrow thoroughfare to get our pictures taken.

We discovered during tech rehearsal yesterday that we are missing wig caps for the ladies (I do not use one) and so part of mine and Annie's journey was to locate a beauty shop of Walgreen's so we extended our run up to Astor Place, so I got to point out where I performed four years ago and we each entirely failed to find wig caps, but apparently Lisa is on that.

So, between the walk across the bridge and all the running, we spent about two hours out in the streets of Downtown New York. After the stress and tension of the past couple of days, worrying about arriving, checking in, performing our technical rehearsal, and all of the promotional events, I feel relaxed, calm, confident and peaceful.

Now it's time for a great run!

My boy, you got to keep that chin up.

All relaxed and shit.

Tuesday doldrums. We arrived a week ago. On Wednesday, I couldn't keep the boy away from me, he had to do everything right now. Fish, kayak, play RISK, then go fishing again. We would end one project and he would immediately ask to do the next thing. It was maddening, but I strove to handle it with grace, or at least an even temper.

By yesterday, he was much more subdued, content to sit and stare at a screen for a while, playing a game or watching a video, and I had to remember to motivate him to get out into the air and take action ... much like I had to remind myself to do the same.

Because I have a big show coming up, the performances of Double Heart at FringeNYC, and I could refresh Google a hundred times waiting for some new announcement that has something, anything to do with the festival, in hope of some mention.

Someone (yes, I actually know who) posted a very positive, and strongly-worded personal review on the NYTimes website today. That was very cool. But it also meant making sure everyone on my social media sees it. The day is sunny and clear, and I am huddled in front of a liquid crystal display.

It is a little warm already for a run, but I feel I must. I must motivate, get out, sweat for a change. Then, perhaps, I will be ready to resume the relaxation part of our vacation.

Temperature: 73°
Climate: sunny! bright! hot!
Distance: 3.8 miles

It is common courtesy for pedestrians to wave at passing cars, and vice versa. Likewise, I tend to remove my headphones when passing other pedestrians to actually say, "good morning" and/or "afternoon" depending on the time of day.

Passed a bearded, elderly man walking two dogs on my way out. On my way back, he only had one.

"I thought you had two!" I said as I approached. He shook his head sadly.

"We got fo-ah," he said.

Nothing Decade
American Dream - Jakatta
Flathead - The Fratellis
Blow It Out - Features
Hold On - Holy Ghost!
A Thing For Me - Metronomy
Heavy Metal Drummer - Wilco
Get A Shot Of The Refrigerator - Stereolab
The Fear - Lily Allen

Running like we outta time.

Hurry up and wait. Crazy waiting time. The fundraiser has passed, the free, public performance has been performed. The set is safely stowed, the costumes are in for repairs. The 2013 New York International Fringe Festival opens one month from today -- Double Heart opens at the Connelly Theater one month from tomorrow.

Nothing more be done.

In the meantime, there is work at work, children to be shuttled back and forth to camp, and otherwise fed, kept cool and entertained. And I have a new scene to write.

Yet this is my fourth run this month already. Last year I ran four times in the entire month of July. The year before that, three times. I must stay active, in spite of the humidity.

Tonight it rained, again, another big rain. Lots of those. That brought the temperature down a smidge, as the boy would say. Where did he pick up an arcane word like smidge?

Temperature: 75°
Climate: breezy and humid
Distance: 3.25 miles

On the Tens Playlist
Die Young - Ke$ha
Lights - Ellie Goulding
Cousins (176 bpm) - Vampire Weekend
Paddling Out - Miike Snow
Five Seconds - Twin Shadow
What Makes You Beautiful - One Direction
Waka Waka (This Time For Africa) - Shakira
Sick Of You - CAKE

The rising floods that fill my skin.

Every morning, right when I get up.

A little FringeNYC-obsessed lately. The Kickstarter campaign ends tomorrow night. I remember how freaked I was about initiating that -- the entire month of June ago.  Brian asked, "So. What if you come up short?" There was no backup plan for coming up short. I mean, we could raise $7,500, right? Good question. It's not as though I have ever done that before, but it was surely possible, right?

Yes. Possible, and we will make it. But that doesn't cover all the expenses, that was the figure we reasonably imagined we could achieve. The campaign ends tomorrow night at (exactly) 11:42 PM. Thirty-three hours from now. Until then, I will continue to obsess, and to ask everyone I know for cash.

That includes you, please. Thank you.

Temperature: 72°
Climate: bright! hot!
Distance: 4 miles

Seventy-two degrees is not, in fact, much warmer than 69° or any other temperature I have run after dark in recent weeks. But in broad daylight, a bright, hot, sunshiny day?

The difference between running 3.25 miles and running 4 miles is that longer distance includes a trip through Cain Park -- and a water fountain, which today is very, very necessary.

I would rather run now, during the day than tonight. The kids come home after a week out of town at their grandparents'. From the moment they home to after they fall asleep, I want to be with them, very much.

Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic Playlist
Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic * - The Police
Back On The Chain Gang - The Pretenders
Save a Prayer - Duran Duran
Boys Don't Cry *  - The Cure
Who Can It Be Now? - Men At Work
Brass In Pocket - The Pretenders
Life On Mars? - David Bowie
Mad World - Tears For Fears
Spirits In The Materials World - The Police

Moving through the Cleveland heat.

Fuck tha police.

Outstanding! What a tremendous week, but one with no time for running. My wife and I simply cannot get to bed until midnight most days, there's so much going on.

This past weekend we held a fishing derby birthday party for an eight year-old, which turned into an all-day affair, as well as soccer games to attend and curtain speeches to make downtown. It's only Wednesday (morning) and we have conducted interviews for next year's actor-teachers, I led a tour of PlayhouseSquare for students from Lake County, and yesterday was packed with performance workshops and sharing I Hate This a medical conference.

We are also laying the groundwork for a fundraising campaign to get Double Heart to the New York Fringe, popping all over to shoot attractive, young actors video in exciting, outdoor locations.

So glad I did not also have to run a marathon last weekend.

However, it has been an entire week since my last run, and I only went out today because my wife suggested I should. I woke this morning with the same backache, and (surprise) a spasm in my left calf. So, yes. Run, we must. But I shouldn't have to spend the summer waiting until she tells me to to do it.

Temperature: 74°
Climate: cool breeze, but humid
Distance: 3.25 miles

School Is In Genius Playlist
Precious - The Pretenders
To Live and Die in L.A. - Wang Chung
Double Life - The Cars
Our Lips Are Sealed - The Go-Go's
Nightspots - The Cars
Last Chance on a Stairway - Duran Duran
Blood & Roses - The Smithereens
Mexican Radio (163 bpm) - Wall of Voodoo

Yes, children. These are the 80s.

I can't be no super-man.

Welcome to my dreams.

Morning run. Spring weather, rainy lightly. Not too cool the the skin, just perfect. So much excitement in the air, annual benefit at work tomorrow night, year-end cultural arts project at the girl's school yesterday afternoon, children's theater festival downtown, making fringe festival fundraising plans, the weather stays nice, the days stay full and relatively free of stress.

Yes? Free of stress? Maybe. Well, no. In spite of putting in 3+ miles I still have a lightness in my belly which betrays anxiety. That, and the zombie dreams. Never too calm, never too sure. Perhaps that's for the best, it keeps me on my toes and in the street.

Temperature: 66°
Climate: a little rainy
Distance: 3.25 miles

You Make Me Feel Genius Playlist
You Make Me Feel ... - Cobra Starship ft. Sabi
Letters from the Sky - Civil Twilight
Suck My Kiss - Red Hot Chili Peppers
My Best Friend's Girlfriend - The Cars
Save You Tonight - One Direction
Animal - Ellie Goulding
Summer Skin (183 bpm) - Death Cab for Cutie
Boys Don't Cry * - The Cure

I'm where I want to be.

When winter passes, and moving into the out-of-doors is no longer uncomfortable (this, before the humidity that falls by mid-June) then all fretting of weight and size seems to pass. For a moment, for a brief moment. Not obsessed by consumption, or the size of my pants, or how my shirts fit. It's just pleasing passage through the air -- even hard smelling air, bright shocking sky, like that I experienced walking up Euclid for an after-work, happy hour drink to discuss FringeNYC plans with other members of the company. It's worth it to squint, when the breeze is not so cool as to chill, nor yet hot enough to make a sweat. Ideal, late afternoon stroll through downtown, which no longer feels desert, great crowds reclaiming the pavement, even if it's just because there's a game tonight. It feels like a city looking forward to summer.

And so am I. And so am I.

Temperature: 73°
Climate: cool & lightly breezy
Distance: 3.25 miles

Whatever anxieties followed me home melted in the cool night air as I ran, and picked up speed. Confusing conversation made sense, ideas fell into place, timing became a philosophy. These things can be managed and controlled and addressed and solved.

I could not find the clown shoes last Sunday and wore traditional running shoes. That did not feel good, I felt it in my knees, I felt wobbly and uncertain. In the zero drops I feel the pavement -- I know it is there, and I am aware of my alignment, of the way my toes are pointing. I feel it all. And it feels good.

Gorillaz Genius Playlist
DARE - Gorillaz
Too Long - Daft Punk
Like Eating Glass (160 bpm) - Bloc Party
Girls & Boys - Blur
Michael (158 bpm) - Franz Ferdinand
Nothing Better - The Postal Service

Where do we go from here?

Night run following a day like early summer. The wife has returned from five days in NYC, in which time I did manage to get a few runs in, but I say a silent prayer for all those single parents with small children who are also runners. You have my respect and sympathy.

So, again: The news. We will be taking Double Heart to New York for the Fringe. Much excitement, much apprehension. There will be a lot of work ... before we depart. After that it's a ball. Yes and I already checked, Summer Streets will continue this year and this year, maybe, I will go all the way from Central Park to the Brooklyn Bridge.

The only mystery is whether any of my compadres will be joining me. I know one of them runs.

Temperature: 77°
Climate: nice. humid.
Distance: 3.25 miles

Gorillaz Genius Playlist
19-2000 (Soulchild Remix) - Gorillaz
Robot Rock - Daft Punk
The Bends - Radiohead
Rock The House (172 bpm) - Gorillaz
Run Right Back (160 bpm) - The Black Keys
Starman - David Bowie
Once In a Lifetime - Talking Heads
A Forest [Tree Mix] (163 bpm) - The Cure

It's all about where you're going. No matter where you've been.

Ladies and gentlemen ... 47 Playlists for 47 Years.

2013 Playlist
Some Nights - fun.
My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark (Light Em Up) - Fall Out Boy
Let Go - Calvin Harris Ft. Ne-Yo
I Will Wait - Mumford & Sons
Little Talks - Of Monsters and Men
Thrift Shop - Macklemore ft. Wanz
It's Time - Imagine Dragons
Troublemaker - Olly Murs ft. Flo Rida
Don't Stop The Party - Pitbull ft. TJR

This annual tradition, a compulsion, really, began in February 2007 to motivate my depressed, out-of-shape ass out of the house and into the snow to run. This was a few months after running my first marathon, and I was used to the admittedly sane notion that, short of a gym membership, you can't run in Cleveland during the winter.

However, I had been given cold weather gear, and basically had no excuse not to, and so creating one playlist from every year in my life was just the kind of novel idea that would give me an extra reason to get out and do it.

Most years I finish running these lists in May or even June. Last year, training for another marathon, running every other day, or every day, I finished the entire series in March. I am happy to have completed this year before the end of April.

Keeping these annual playlists, many of them over three hours long, saved in my iTunes, means I no longer spend a lot of time curating it. When I hear a song I think is good for running, I pop it into the list. I do this all year. I don't even think too much about it. It means that for, for the first third of any given year, I am not obsessing about what music I will listen to on my next run, it's just there.

Kids Warm-Up
Temperature: 53°
Distance: 2 miles (in 8 1/4 mile increments)

One-third of a year. So much has happened to all of us here since the beginning of 2013. My expectations for the year were high, with three scripts in some form of production, but if you know anything about me you know I do not stay high for very long. Since January, two have opened and closed, and me with no idea as to whether either have a future -- one not yet published, the other not yet finished.

Which brings us to today, when I received notice that Double Heart has been accepted in the 2013 NYC Fringe Festival.

Temperature: 51°
Climate: everything's cool.
Distance: 4 miles

Death By Stereo

It's the big uggh today... though not a bad place to have it. Life has afforded little chance to run. Early mornings, late evenings. And worst of all ... I don't want to. Why? Perhaps because the weather has turned. In fact, that may be a big part of it. When it's hot, and I just can't sleep any long at 5 in the morning, well. Let's go!

When it's cool, however, and you were up until 12 midnight folding laundry, drinking bouron and watching Glee on Hulu, and there's a warm body next to yours who also indluges in the snooze bar. Well. Let's not.

Wednesday night, I couldn't sleep, fretting over the CPAC grant, and Friday night I was up late completeing the thing. Waking at five yesterday all I could think was that, before I had the chance to sleep again, I would need to ride through a long day, pack the car and drive four hours to Athens.

But at least then I would be in Athens. And here I am.

The woke woke me long before I chose because he wanted comapny on the front porch. Morning, coffee, front porch, and heavy rain. Not bad. Not bad at all.

Distance: 4.25 miles
Weather 65º and damp

HEALTH IS OUR GREATEST WEALTH! DILUTE! DILUTE! OK!

Pefect run by the Hocking. Cool and cloudy and student-free. I don't know where they all were, 4 pm is pretty late to be in bed with a hangover but I was running past Sotuh Green.

I always run past South Green. In my mind, I am always running past South Green.

I feel the slackening as days go by without a run. I see it. In my belly, my thighs, I can feel my butt just drop. I look in the mirror and appear puffy and old. The pants stop fitting properly - and fast.

Everything in its right place.

Chunk Style Playlist
World In My Eyes - Depeche Mode
Pump Up The Volume - M/A/R/R/S
Smooth Criminal - Michael Jackson
Doin Da Butt - Gap Band
Don't Wanna Fall In Love - Jane Child
I Wanna Be a Flintstone - Screaming Blue Messiahs
Higher Ground - Red Hot Chili Peppers
Good Times * - INXS & Jimmy Barnes
House of the Rising Sun - Tracy Chapman
End Of The Line * - Traveling Wilburys

Post-run outdoor shower, last of the season (well, until tomorrow.) Dr. Bronner's, steam whips up, pagan thoughts. Ran into someone from school I hadn't seen inwell, since then. Going on eightteen years. Said he remembered I was quite a player. A Player? Moi? But I spent so much time - my entire life - cultivating a sense of neurotic detachment. I just wanted love and acceptance, it wasn't some kind of hustle, that wasn't me ... was it?

See: "Cultivate." Poor me. Charlie Brown. Introspective. So sexy. Player.

Sorry, my mind is everywhere today. Everywhere and nowhere ... there's a dog here, there's always a dog here, usually more than one. I get serious sinus pain, leads to migraines. I have been fighting this all day. The run helped, big time. And it put me into this place of self-examination ... I mean, it usually does, Jesus, just hit the "Athens" label at the bottom of this entry.

I began smoking (if you do not count the sasfrass leaves we dried and crumbled into rolling papers in fifth grade - that put off real ciagrettes for five years) when I was fifteen. One cigarette a day, on average, for three years. When I left for college, that increased to five a day (on average) until I was almost 33. I was never a chain smoker, but I know there were pack a day periods in school, when I was cartooning.

But let's say, to low-ball it, that's over 30,000 cigarettes. How many days did that strip from my life? If I do not develop some kind of tobacco-related cancer, how much strain did that put on my system, how many days lost? My grandfather lived to be 94. Do I get that? 80 years? 70? Does my running make any difference? Do I get to put days back onto the calendar that I destroyed by inhaling smoke?

There's a more poetic way to put that, I am sure there is. On our way out of town last month, Eva invited Kelly and I for brunch at her place in Brooklyn. We talked about many things, including this play. I made mention of the nytheatre review, where Denton says he does not get why I am running, it's not clear. I mentioned the cigarette thing. Eva thought I should put that in, that that might od the trick.

Alopecia

FringeNYC Announces Excellence Awards

Congratulations, people! It was a tremendous festival, I only wish I could have caught more of these shows.

Must get new Calvin Harris disc. Maybe. Not crazy about what I have heard, but come on. It's Calvin Harris.

Big thought the other night. My scalp. I asked my wife if she was aware of her scalp, if it plays a big part in her life, and she had to admit that no, it does not. But mine does, I have my hands on it a lot. It is like a part of my body, as much as the back of my neck, my shoulders or the small of my back. It is bare, exposed. It becomes tense, it can be very sensitive. Often it can require a massage, and I am so happy when it does.

I have a naked scalp and you do not. I pity you.

Listening to: PODRUNNER Classic - Epinephrine (Repurposed) (173 BPM)

Distance: 5.15 miles
Temperature: 61º
Weather: cool ... and perfect
Weight: 156 lbs.

Crazy. Cool and dark. A nighttime run. That's what time of year it is, and welcome back. I couldn't only go 3 miles - even though my tank feels empty, which is not for lack of food, but energy. I am exhausted, work keeps me at it, but it is so challenging (actor-teacher word!) to sit all day and direct and coach others, especially after so many weeks - months, really - of being on my feet all day long, moving, acting, talking, working it.

It is cool and dark. Sixty degrees. My mind was racing - DeOreo asked me to do a guest spot of AROUND NOON next Wednesday, to debrief on the Fringe. Sure, why not. He also wants seven or eight minutes from the show, and I am trying to think of what to do which will entertain.

I will conclude where I began. A year ago I did a gig in the DARK ROOM, and shared the run across Cleveland. This I also performed last New Year's Eve. It goes over well. Clevelanders love it.

But wait, this is radio! Can I include additional voices? I mean, having my high school teacher's voice pop in will sound odd, confusing (it is during the actual performance, too) so why not have someone else play him? Or my wife?

Hmm. Hmnn. Running and thinking, running and thinking.

Cool.

Fall

Must do final reports on the Fringe run, make connections, correspondence, etc. I was waiting until the Fringe was officially over to take care of these things, and I am still settling into the routine here, even after a week. It has been one crazy summer.

And it is over. There will be more warn days, sure, but come on. The block party my wife has been organizing came off last night like a big, successful block party-like thing. People who share the same street and have never spoken to each other were line dancing to The Cupid Shuffle in front of my house.

Then just as abruptly, the clouds burst open (today, not yesterday, last night was perfect for a street party) the temperature dropped and the miniature golf we had planned needed to be shelved. Bam. Autumn.

Tuesday, September 9, 2008 I had knee surgery. That was a very trying time, very emotional. I worried I would never run again. You wouldn't know it these days, I run all the time. No complaints, no worries. I do not know what will break down next. I felt so old then, incapacity makes me feel old. Performing at the Fringe made me feel young. It's all about action, I imagine.

Listening to: PODRUNNER Classic - Glidepath (133 BPM)

Distance: 3.25 miles
Temperature: 56º
Weather: cool
Weight: 157.5 lbs.

Closing

Following yesterday morning's run, I walked all the way back downtown for the final performance. I feel as though, in the past few days, I have gotten worse at standing up for myself and not better. A guy at a juice bar misunderstood me and made me a juice instead of smoothie ... and I let him. Then something in this juice seriously disagreed with me and I began to have ... digestion problems. Like, a half-hour before the show. It's not a show I want to do with the sh*ts.

I'm sorry, what is the show anyone wants to do with the sh*ts? Maybe Jean Genet's The Sh*ts. In any case, once the performance started, in spite of my exhaustion, dehydration, and physical distress, everything went according to plan. There were 14 people in the audience, not that I expect any different on a Saturday at 2 PM, and the response was as warm this day as for any other performance.

In general, more than in general, by large, the audiences were engaged and interested, and they laughed. It was enjoyable presenting this show.

My first partner from GLTF, Mariah came into town to catch the show, and she and her husband Bruce and I went to get me a plate of pasta after the show. It has been years and years since I have had the chance to catch up with her.

Then I found out my camera is dead. Sigh. The pictures I have taken are fine, but it won't take any new ones. Hmn.

And so I was on my own to decide how to spend this last night in New York before heading home today. The plan was to cram as many shows into one evening as possible, but I was demoralized by the first one I saw. More an AEA workshop production than anything else, I was stunned by the amount of people who attended this one-act, which included polished acting, clever dialogue, the potential for conflict, or horror, or revelation, but instead just ended abruptly at 50 minutes. I only attended this show because I knew it was short and it fit into the schedule, by the description I was not expecting much. But I did get caught up in the story so it was even more distressing when it ended with not a bang but with that whisshing sound that came out of the air mattress as I put it away this morning.

So instead of seeing another show, I needed company so I called Kelly and she watched me eat a burger (A REALLY GOOD BURGER) at the Tavern on Jane (hey - check out the first photo on the website, that is exactly where we sat!) Mariah told me she was going to see a show today, one written by an old colleague, PEACE WARRIORS. A bit of kitchen sink, the tangled lives of progressive, academic Jews.

By then it was past midnight, and in spite of my better judgement, I decided to say farewell to Kelly and Sam and make my way to FringeCENTRAL. It was "international night" and Owen and Mark both said they would be there, and so they were. I got to say a proper good-bye to a number of people - I was charmed that Charlie gave me a shout-out from the stage during the show, I think they were saluting the people who didn't just come to drink at 11 PM but actually stayed to be engaged in the variety show.

SPEAKING OF WHICH, you may FINALLY enjoy the podcast from last Saturday night's VPR. I have not listened to them yet, but I am assuming you will find Mark Storen performing Stab U in the first half and my performance in the second half ... which for some reason is not yet online. Not that I could use it to promote my show now, anyway.

I felt a definite sense of sadness that I had no reason to hand any of the people I ran into last night postcards for ATYD. In fact, I didn't have any, I made a point of taken the packet of cards I still had - maybe 50 cards - and putting them in the trash. I do not need them. I have some archive copies at home, and I successfully managed to distribute almost 2,500 cards. At four different fringe festivals, I have never divested myself of nearly that number. I did everything one (or one person with a friend) possibly could.

We pack up today, bid a fond farewell to Allison, the Venue Director from God, and then over to Brooklyn for a picnic with Eva Dean before hitting the road. Hopefully we will be home shortly after dark.

Thanks, NY Fringe. That was a good time.

Curtain Up review

Criticism

And Then You Die is a work-in-progress. I have changed words here and there since the Fringe began. And I intend the alter it even further. I don't think it needs to be 80 minutes long. During the BIG BOX rehearsal process, I was kicking out long pieces of exposition. 

After BIG BOX I got the impression that the NY Marathon pieces were too long, they were difficult to say while running, and besides, we got it, Pengo. Move on.

I also got the impression that people wanted more of Pengo, of the illustrator, of the relationships. I did not add to those, I cut the running bits so we could get back to them.

The reviews I have received here have been extremely helpful. Believe me, I am not just saying that. Some comments I find difficult to take seriously - TONY said (in addition to numerous extremely kind and positive things) "a virtual run through Cleveland goes nowhere." 

But when nytheatre.com adds "Segments about how he trained for the race, especially his final preparatory run, from his own home on one side of greater Cleveland, to his parents house across town, are similarly fascinating," it is easy to dismiss such comments outright. 

 

HOWEVER, I do believe I did not do an adequate job with the Cleveland run on opening night - when TONY was in the audience. And that has changed the way I have done it in subsequent days. That's a lesson, too.

As to the rest of the nytheatre.com review, Martin Denton states very clearly; "What I wanted was to understand why running is so fundamentally important to Hansen. But this show never really gets us to that place." This is extremely important to me, and I take it to heart. Denton's review was very carefully critical, like I was receiving feedback from a member of the Play House Playwrights Unit, or a teacher, or a friend.

What he never does in his review is get clever, add humor for its own sake, write with condescension ... it is as though he cares. And Martin Denton is, by the way, the founder of nytheatre.com. That's who they (he) sent to my show. Time Out New York sent Michael Freidson, the editor-in-chief. Both sites are trying to cover all 201 shows. I am flattered. And I really feel this trip has been worth everything.

Working backward ...

My 7-Day Metrocard expired at midnight. I guess we are about done here.

Took Andrew, his wife Amy, Missy, Gina Gigi and the whole crew to FringeCLUB tonight. Oops. That was awkward. Last week I guess it were only the Fringe faithful who showed up, a pleasant number of people who were up for a great variety show.

Tonight the joint was packed with hipsters aching to line-jump, and double-fist their bracelets for free Tanqueray. I was in line for over a half-hour, and by that time Andrew and Amy needed to be off. Missy hung out thought, and I was a little dismayed at how few people were interested in watching the show, chatting through everyone's performance.

Prior to that I had show #4 - the biggest attended show I have ever had in NYC. 22 people. My grand total now is 67 audience members, which already outdoes my meager 2004 attendance level of 48. That was everyone who saw I HATE THIS in New York.

It was a very good show, though I did have one of my massively amusing malapropisms tonight, where I described how my wife passed a cantaloupe with a boy the size of a head through her vagina. That's her day job. In Thailand.

I finally began seeing people who I did not know in the audiences today, a lot of them tonight (though Brian D. was there, too, thank you!)

Kelly and Sam told me after the earlier gig that they were going to check out Mark Storen at 6.15 so I broke one of my long-standing rules and saw a Fringe show twice (okay, I saw DSG twice, too) because I figured hey, when I am going to be visiting Perth any time soon? I picked a CD, too - so Josh, you are gonna get the full treatment!

I had borscht at Veselka for a snack between shows, talking bidness with someone Lee at home hooked me up with, a U.S. boy named Darren who's now an NYC theater pro.

The first show of the day filled me with big dread, I just didn't know if I had the stamina for a double run today. And yet, it was the best performance of the run, I think. Maybe. It felt good. And there was a lot of Fringey love in the audience as we were joined by Owen - and Michael from the shows DOLLS and ABE LINCOLN. I didn't get to meet him, but I did chat up his dads outside HERE and again before I saw his solo performance yesterday. I guess they dragged him there today, that was very sweet and I hope they all liked the show.

The reason I was so depressed was partially because I had spent so much time walking around downtown in the 90 degree heat, shopping for the kids. I was unhappy with my lunch selection and arrived at 440 feeling drained, spent, miserable, and just damn sleepy. I guess everything turned out all right.

For those who missed it:

TIME OUT NEW YORK review

nytheatre.com review

Critic-O-Meter (not a review - a compendium of other reviews, interesting)

In Review

Live blogging from the Swift on 4th Street ...

Running with Harris this morning was a thrill. He asked if I wanted to do a shorter route, or if I wanted to do the northern route, and I was like, hey! I have nothing else to do, hells yes I want the northern route! I have to run, to feel good. Every day. I am addicted. It's a fact.

In the afternoon, Kelly joined me to see Michael Phillis' DOLLS. We'd met Michaels dads outside ALBGDP on Tuesday night, and they told us about him and the fact that he was not only in ABE LINCOLN, but that he had his own solo performance about, well, dolls. There is something about meeting a guy's parents that makes you need to see their work.

And it is a delightful show - he's really good. Very funny, and more than funny. Very talented and a highly enjoyable hour, he really works well with a close, intimate crowd - and I am so glad we got in, it was very well attended.

Speaking of which ... my show had a smaller audience than last night. Thirteen audience members. And I knew pretty much every one of them. I had cousins from Philadelphia who came in, and from New Hampshire. Tracey came from BARGAINS & BLOOD, parents of my children's friends, and even the professional actor son of one of my favorite English teachers from high school. And Eva Dean and maybe one or two people I did not know at all.

And it went much better than last night - much more relaxed, very comfortable with my story. It went very well ... though I am a little daunted. I mean, if everyone I know came tonight ... what hope do I have of complete strangers showing up? And believe me, short of throwing a lot of money at the problem, I have worked so hard to get people to attend. Met a lot of folks, handed out a lot of cards, there is little else I can do.

Afterwards, we went to this bar, where I still sit with the remnants of this evening's party (Harris, Sam & Kelly) and had a big hurrah when the word came in on everyone's smart phones that WE HAVE A REVIEW.

Time Out New York
**** [FOUR STARS] David Hansen’s autobiographical one-man show, about his lifelong obsession with long-distance running, is a simple and tragic yet reaffirming tale, told earnestly and with minimal poetics. There’s no irony, no wacky AV visuals, no Fringe Festy Negro spirituals in space: how refreshing to be touched by something real. Better known as Pengo, Hansen is a Harvey Pekar–like cartoonist (his well-reviewed graphic novel is titled I Hate This), living in Cleveland with his wife and two children; after a family tragedy, he’s inspired to run the New York Marathon. Onstage, he re-creates that race, interweaving it with flashbacks from his youth (fat dad), teens (awkward first kiss), twenties (joblessness) and thirties (obesity, depression). But despite the hardships it details, And Then You Die is no downer: We hear about Hansen’s rebounds, too, and his emotionally—and, at times, physically—naked performance balances the pathos with high energy. According to my watch, the piece clocks in at 75.3 minutes, about 15 minutes longer than its goal time; a virtual run through Cleveland goes nowhere, as do a few when-I-was-young memories. But the heart is always there. At one point, his daughter asks Hansen if he’s going to “win the marathon.” No matter what happened in the race, kid, trust me: Your dad’s a winner.—Michael Freidson, editor-in-chief

Awesome.

Opening

Okay. Did that.

Spent the day in relaxation mode - which was a f***ing chore, let me tell you. I went the familiar places. After recovering from a potential migraine, and running with Harris, I took my time cleaning up and went to the Met. I saw my regular playlist of attractions, but that has epanded over the years. I find myself more engaged in the avante garde painters of the early 20th century and with the modern wing than with the Medieval or the Impressionists.

But some places must be visited, if only to say hello. I took my traditional trip to the roof to get the most expensive beer in New York, take in whatever weird installation they have on there and gaze at the tops of buildings and trees. But the 90 degree weather is particularly impressive up there and in spite of my best intentions I am developing an urban farmer's tan.

Lunch was Indian food at Bathesda Terrace and back to the apartment for another nap. Indulgence! Eventually I made my way downtown to print up "People's Choice" ballots for the programs (don't see many other acts including those in their programs) and handing out more bottled water with ATYD labels on them. The crowd seeing SCATTERED LIVES weren't as impressed with them, though Josh and Kelly were impressed by that show.

And my show? Well, I had a show. We had 17 folks in the audience, including Gina, Joanna and Eileen from home, and Mark Storen and his crew, plus critis from Show Business Weekly and Time Out New York - who promise to review every show in the Fringe for the online edition.

I was a little tense at first but nothing to be ashamed of. Kelly says I relaxed 3/4 of the way through, which is better than not at all. I think it has a lot to do with the running scenes ... I get concerned that if I am too loosey-goosey I get sloppy. But I also nail the words. Who can tell?

I hope numbers pick up from there, I can say I am already on track to improve overall attendance over the 2004 run of I HATE THIS, which in spite of everything, received a grand total of 48 audience members. That's total, all five shows.

Two people who said they know members of the company bought tickets at quarter til, went out to get pizza, and were shocked to return and discover that the Fringe really does enforce the NO-LATE SEATING POLICY. I don't know who they were yet, but apparently (unless you are going to see Owen Dara) this rule will be ruthlessly carried out.

So if you are planning to attend - please do not be late!