Jury Duty....#4

Below is the document that proves that I helped deliever Justice...well...at least that's what they said I did...




...now, when I read the last sentence...I felt a little guilty about getting out of the trial.

*sigh*

Jury Duty #3

Caught and released! Right after lunch...they dismissed me! I guess it pays to be thoughtful and and judgmental in your answers during jury selection.

I'm back in the pool.

We'll see what happens next.

It's funny one of the things I'm most worried about: my writing schedule. I'm doing a show that is going to go up shortly and so soon things were supposed to return to normal, work during the day and write in the morning and evening. But it's a pattern I'm used to.

Having to sit all day in a jury box would be a brand knew boredom. The lack of activity would drive me batty.

If I'm not working my survival job, I would rather be writing. If I have to sit and listen, I would keep thinking: this is time that I could be working.

Sure: it's my civic duty...but, as an artist, isn't it my duty to create work?

(Ok, that last sentence, that's just to make me feel better. I don't know if it's a greater duty than jury duty, or if it's even a duty to create art...that's a subject for a different blog.)

Jury Duty #2

Shit.

I might be on a case. ARGH.

It's a case against the city, some guy who worked for the city tripped over something, or...whatever...who knows yet...and now he's suing. Suing for, probably, a life time of money.

We got called up from a central room to a smaller room and they drew names. And then they started eliminating people. "Have you ever worked for the city?" A few raise their hands. Dismissed. "Anyone been involved in a case like this or maybe know someone that has?" Dismissed.

One woman said that she's unemployed and through a long trial she would only be thinking about not having a job. Dismissed.

Sonofabitch.

Why didn't I think of a great excuse?

I'm giving truthful answers...which maybe the problem...but I'm also being grumpy--again, truthful--and I'm sorta staring down the Attorney representing the plaintiff. I'm hoping he thinks, "This guy doesn't like me..." Which is rapidly becoming the truth. He's droning on and on.

We haven't even gotten questioned by the City's Attorney...we're on a lunch break now.

I have got to figure out a way to make him think I dislike him too...

Then, I bet I'll be off the case.

Jury Duty...part 1

**the below, and following posts, were written in real time--the court house blocked access to the blog site...jerks***

The civic duty of everyone...I suppose. But, now that I'm sitting here, having to get up early, trudge to a not particularly pretty part of Queens, after listening to a court officer at the end of his rope, and a Judge, who recounted his resume from 1948 on, who talked about each court in Queens, and the movies that are based on real court cases from Queens--riveting--and now we get to watch Mrs. Doubtfire as we await our name being called...I really question whether or not civilization is worth it.

I'm here from 9 to 5...no matter what, and I may have to come back on Monday.

And the best thing: it's civil court...so, it's going to be about dogs biting neighbors and car crashes.

This is karmic payback for my love of the People's Court.

More as it comes in...

Hey! Theatre People! Stop HURTING THEATER!

On Saturday my wife and I went to see a site specific piece about the environment. We went because my sister in law in the video installation had a short movie. Now, until we got there I didn't realize it was going to be one of those site specific pieces which drags the audience from site to site. Generally, I hate that kind of work. Rarely does it work, does moving the audience from place to place actually ADD to the story. I feel more like a child being ushered around a museum where I am talked down to by the guide.

And much to my surprise...I wasn't surprised. It was EXACTLY as I expected.

A piece about the environment where they dragged us around and told us how polluting is bad...

WOW. Shocked! Shocked I am. Polluting bad?! Really!? Holy CRAP, we should do something about that. Really. We should get on that, right now. With the polluting stuff...we should, like, you know...start recycling and using less...

It was bad theater. It talked down to the audience (it was a New York theater going audience, I have a feeling they know pollution is bad and recycling is a good idea), wasn't funny when it needed to be, and was awfully, awfully singular in it's dimension.

Why is it when we're doing outdoor theater we suddenly have to simplify? Why do we have to make it like a political rally organized by 8th graders? Why do we need the silly dance with garbage? Why do we need the conceit that an actor is "late" so the other actors have to "improvise?"

What about this? Let's talk about the real world challenges about moving from a nation that consumes a treMENDOUS amount of oil to one that uses less? If you're going to tell me to eat organic food because it's good for the environment, can we talk about how EXPENSIVE it is?

Let's stop preaching to our audience. Let's actually talk about how complicated things can be.

Oversimplifying and preaching to the choir isn't going to get us anywhere. We need theater to be dynamic, challenging in both substance and style. We need to defy the expectations of our audience, we need to excite their imaginations--not meet them.

Because if we don't...why do we need theater when we have so many other things that surprise us, engage us, and challenge us?

And, oh, and one final thing: can we ban the phrase "it's a complicated time" from our work? Like things weren't complicated previously... Yes, they were. It's a sort of temporal selfishness to assume NOW is more complicated than THEN... Get over it.

So.

The performance went well.

It would have been even better if the audience hadn't gotten slowly more and more impatient with the host all night.

She couldn't remember what was next, she interfered with the acts, and worst of all: she wasn't funny.

waiting...

as a part of the clown show i'm in, which be perfoming at a festival in booklyn, we're doing a cabaret...bits and pieces of the shows...

i'm waiting right now to go on...well the whole show is waiting...rain and fires down in the subway.

i'm suppose to come the audience...but I can't sit in the audience...I would be to nevous, but backsage or where the ticket booth is, I can at least move and stretch.

a wee nervous, let's see how it goes!

in a lunch line...

...at chipole...

how about that for a self indulgent blog post?

wurd.

now, I suppose, I should go back to work.