46 lines
2.5 KiB
Plaintext
46 lines
2.5 KiB
Plaintext
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Parties
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by j z provo
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"yahsss, I've been on *the*stage* for years..."
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...blah blah blah art blah blah blah "conformists" blah blah blah
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Ginger blah blah....
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...one of the best and worst parts about working on a show, on
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the boards or in tech or in production, _has_ to be The Cast Party. (Not to
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be confused with The Crew Party. On some levels, like h.s. and non-theatrical
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colleges, the two are one and the same. But this is before the actors become
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[dramatic pose please] AcTORS!) O joy -- just what I want to see, a group of
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people trying to out-impress one another.
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"Back in OUR theater group, we did a version of..."
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...the stories are all as fabricated as the people. A
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bunch of people with such weak egos that they can _become_ someone else for
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a period of hours, weeks, months even. . . and then they want to be re-assured
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that they are actually someone of 'substance', instead of just another mask,
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just another pose, just another way of walking. So they find a great hovering
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herd of other weak-egoed [read: sense-of-self] people and spend the night
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drinking, singing, trying to maneuver one another or anyone into bed,
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dredging up old stories and past triumphs [of their false selves], appearing
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to debate lofty concepts and trying to come out 'on top' in their inflated
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little flown-in, plywood-'n'-cheap paint, as-long-as-it-looks-good-from-
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the-front-row world. They are _still_ performing . . . and still expecting
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applause. They won't hear any from me, though.
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I am one to be their technician; I lubricate their conversations,
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dealings and manipulations with esoteric music ["ohh, yes I saw that album in
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the used record store...in the import section, wasn't it?"] and alcohol. I
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give them each their fifteen minutes; I nod at the appropriate spots in their
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speeches and make appreciative noises. And then I move on. . . I don't
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critique their performances ["Perhaps you need one _more_ dead relative story
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to really convince me that you 'Know' death. Try it again."] but I don't
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try to stop them.
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Yes, I'm full of vituprative speech for them, but I'm no better.
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How _can_ I deem myself far enough above "them" to pass judgment? How am
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I sure that I'm not just wearing a different face to try and pass off my ego
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as strong?
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I can't. For I am one. I never pass judgment, I merely observe. So
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let me perch at the bar and give me my moments before I give you your fifteen
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minutes. I have to make notes for _my_ next performance.
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