My first date in high school was an Eagle Scout

who later murdered his parents

but that was just the one date

and I didn’t even enjoy it.

–  Missing: the fantastical and true story of my father’s disappearance and what I found when I looked for him

I attended all but a handful of days of this months-long trial. It was pretty revelatory, but I haven’t talked or written about it publicly (except for the above sentence) because it’s all still sinking in.

Assistant Director, Front of House
Andrea del Moral

Costumes
El Springfield
Ashley Foster

Direction, Lighting/Set Design, Choreography, Coat Check
me

Lightboard Operator
Coicoi Duncan-Page

Performers/Devisers
Ashley Foster
Cathy Diebold
Coicoi Duncan-Page
Eileen Tull
Emily Park
Jamie Harkin
Juliana Frick
Ryan Moore
SAM Luckey
Shira Yasiv

Production Team
Jacques Frechet
Andrea del Moral
Mikka P.
me

Recipe Development
Tracy van Cort

Rehearsal Assistance
Lolo Plouvier

Sound Editing
Jesse Olsen Bay

Thanks, us!

Trapeze loveliness via Megan Gendell.

In other news, yesterday I wore bright red lipstick and rose perfume in honor of Careena Melia. That in conjunction with the smoke machine and colored lights I was hanging around sent me into intense Sleep No More dreams last night. What a pleasure.

In other OTHER news, I’m occupying myself directing a Leap Day event which I think is going to be great fun. But it’s also kind of secret, and also completely sold out. If we ever do a second draft version of this project, I’ll be less cagey about it. Maybe.

Also, have you seen The Agony and Ecstasy of Steve Jobs? Maybe you heard an excerpt on This American Life?

The news flurry about the tech industry’s inhumane treatment of workers has died down a bit, but that means it’s a really good time to let the Applers know you’re still thinking about these things, if you’re so inclined. It’s true that the working conditions for manufacturing Apple products are maybe on par with the rest of the industry; so spread the “I’m still thinking about working conditions” love, if it applies.

Here’s one relevant e-mail address: tcook [at] apple [dot] com.

ETA: Ay ay ay. Ira Glass: Mike Daisey lied to us. Mike Daisey: I used theatrical conventions, I don’t do journalism.

Me: agog. Lots of artists do memoir/fact/fiction mashup. The ethical thing is to be clear that it’s memoir/fact/fiction mashup when purposefully putting it in a context where there will be fact checking. Right? How do you not be explicit about your genre to producers who are interested in fact checking?

It was theater in service of a social good, and I’m glad that it helped the cultural pushback on an industry that was doing unethical things. But this just weakens the position of future cultural pushback coming from the theater, which is a shame.

1. So! The Berkshires were heaven. Heaven with mosquitos! The co-artistic directors (Hi Sara! Hi Ryan! Hi Peter!) have created such a warm-hearted festival, and I wish I made new shows every year so I could make a regular trek.

2. NYC! I’ve been doing some secret things here, but the not-so-secret thing is that I’ve been binging on Sleep No More and have been thrilled to the core. Ooooooooooooooooooooh that show totally electrified and inspired me. When not seeing the show, I’ve been writing rhapsodic e-mails to friends about the show.

3. GUESS WHAT! This fall, I’m going to be in Night Falls, which is a show that includes performers WHO ARE NOT ME. We’ve just had a few development rehearsals, and holy crap, they were so intense and exhausting and fun. Maybe I should tell you about this in more detail? Not now, I’m tired.

Oh my god, what a good summer.

Many thanks to SAM for all these great videos today.

The pass at 1:45 is my absolute favorite.