journey's end

And home.

Feel like a kid playing Capture the Flag, safe on homeground. In the last eight days, the grand total is something like four cities, four beds, four airports, eight or nine meetings, two shows, three or so litres of Johnny Walker Red, countless Marlboro Lights, one really stunning sunrise and just shy of ten thousand miles.

Which is nothing here in the 21st century, half of you reading can probably best that, but it occurred to me flying in from Chicago this afternoon that if you go, say, three generations back most Americans didn't travel ten thousand miles in their lives. We've become homo mobilus over the last fifty years.

Here to report to one and all that A Red Orchid Theater rocks quite steady. Saw a great performance of Fatboy last night in Chicago, beautifully directed by Guy Van Swearingen. Steve Pickering and Jennifer Engstrom tore the room up, really tremendous, funny, disturbing performances. Doug Vickers did a little stellar turn as the Judge in the second act, stealing the show without breaking a sweat, Mark Vallarta was a fucking chameleon in the second banana roles of the Tenant, Prosecutor and Slave, and a very funny chameleon at that. John Luzar did the yeoman work of the Mailman, the Bailiff and the Innocent and honestly, it rocked.

And their design was off-the-hook. Much more realized than we were ever able to pull off. Grant Sabin did the sets and Karen Kawa went fucking nuts on the costumes, hair and make-up. Matthew Gawryk did lights, Joseph Fosco did sound and music and Ann Filmer came in to choreograph the song and dance routine. Can't thank them all enough. Mostly because it would be too boring to keep typing in all these names from the program, but if you're in Chicago, go and enjoy.

Have to thank Sheila Schmidt, the stage manager and Jessica Forella, the ASM who hooked us up with the hotel.