Flight Response

Went to see Rondo aka long-form Harold troupe
perform @ Improv Boston last night.

No simple feat. They've had a run of Wednesday's
there for Hump Night all month. Yet I find excuses
not to go. Like Chinese food. Or Netflix. Or dopey,
forgetable excuses (see...I've forgotten them!) I'm
even working late last night-- 6:30PM & I'm still
shooting sun-flared billboards in Taunton. But I
race back up Rte 28 & make it into the driveway
by 7PM. One costume & cologne change later, I'm
on my way into town. I actually arrive @ the theatre
early & listen in as two comic book collectors in
the middle section drool Joss Whedon fanboy talk.
How embarrassing. At least I keep my comic collecting
to myself.

Rondo is paired w/ Tivo Nation which goes on first.
Despite being exceptionally gamey & high-concept
(host controls "remote control", can switch to any
station & get fellow players to enact any TV channel
program, genre, etc...can also fast-forward, replay,
watch alternate episodes) they are really tight. OK
3/4 of them are. One guy has some good lines but
they're sparse & insular. His fellow players seem to
work overtime in their scenes with him.

Reminded me a lot of myself. Thank God I don't
improv anymore. Enjoyed it but was barely adequate.

Rondo goes on 45 mins later. They open awkwardly
& slowly. I wonder if these are all the same players.
There's sort of a feeling-out at times esp. in some of
the set-up 2-person scenes. Lot of talk & little action.
Thank Heaven for Will Luera. He turns a talk scene
into a ping-pong match & then intro's one of the funnier
call-backs-- characters circling each other for dramatic
effect. The action racks up a notch after that & people
find their characters, their voices. While Tivo Nation
peaked mid-way, Rondo crescendos w/ some nice
physicality and cross-over.

I dash off right after. Wanted to talk to Will about
upcoming project. Wanted to talk to S. But I chicken
out & skeedaddle. I even see S on the street later
but do I shout out, "Hey! Great show!" or something?
Nope. I chicken out & skeedaddle.

Sadly, I'm getting a lot of my social advice from msn.com.
I read an article about shyness. Shy people stay shy
because they don't put themselves in new situations,
interact in varying environments w/ different people.
The common response is to run when placed in one of
these situations.

I'm reminded of the Grub Street writers' party a month
back. How long did I stay? All of 10 mins. All the way into
Boston from the burbs & I duck out in 10 freakin' minutes
because I start to get uncomfortable, self-aware.

I have become a clumsy hermit out here.