I Don't Perform, Except at Dinner....

Except when I do.

And sometimes, it is not a disaster.

I was lucky enough to be asked to perform at Theatre Caravel's Sea Change, a cabaret-type event they host four times a year. Well, if I start at the beginning, I am lucky enough to know this guy.


Eric Double, who I met doing something ridiculous, which may or may not have involved me pretending to be the Big Bad Wolf, and may or may not have ended with me terrorizing small children, and then dancing around twice a day, every day last summer. But out of that malarky came my friendship with Eric, who is just such a catch. He started this great company which is doing all this very exciting work, including Sea Change. And one night we were working on monologues and drinking beer and it seemed like a good idea for me to do this wacky vocal masque thing I have at his upcoming event.

And then I promptly forget that I said I would do that, and then I told myself that I would just bail, and then it became too late to bail and I said I would perform in a second piece at that same event and then I panicked every day for a week.

And then I did it and it was not so bad.


Although, looking at pictures of it, it is beyond me why anyone would watch such a blatant display of douchebaggery and asshattery.



It's this weird little thing I do. God knows how I would describe it.

It was such a wonderful night. There were four other really terrific acts, including this guy, who was so good that I bought his CD, which is amazing, because I have not spent money since the fall of 1929 when Chipper McGee wrangled me out of a nickel to go to the moving picture show, dagnabbit. I chased him diggity two miles.

Eric and his partner Julia have put together something so special. I met Eric when he was building the first one and it has just grown into this great thing. It makes me really proud, which is amazing because we all know what a horribly embittered person I am. I plan on going to as many as possible in future. And those times I can drink more because I will not be preparing to throw up in front of everyone.

I love performing my vocal masque, and while I have never thought of it having more of a life, I would love it to. I don't know if it's the kind of thing that interests anyone other than me, but it's a style I really connect to. I have an idea for a one-woman show (that, if I play my cards right, I would cast me in), that kind of came out of this vocal masque thing. Again with the wanting to do my own work.

I do love it so.

(These pictures were taken by Marvin Double, Eric's dad, by the way. I am very keen on giving photo credits, because my dear friend Caitlin Cronenberg is a photographer and I know how hard she works. And she just taught me how to put links in a blog).