Well, I am back from New Rock City, after making my NY directorial debut, and I am pooped! It was the best trip ever!!!! I got to see Diamond Dead performed in New York, the mecca of theatre! I could go on for several blogs about how amazing Diamond Dead in NY was, and how fun it was being a part of the NY theatre experience, but I think I will take this time to go over the highlights of the wonderful New Yorkers that I met and some funny/weird situations that make me chuckle still.
The Uber-angry, half-naked, ripped dude threatening people as we waited for the D-train.
The Homeless beggar who threatened a man with, "I'll get you tomorrow" after the man smacked his begging cup with a rolled up paper.
Coney Island. The woman who managed to catch two seagulls on her fishing line. While a few people called out, "pull it in", one man screamed, "eat it!". The bird, meanwhile, was bobbing on the water, with wing in the air, attached to her line. The bird was reeled in, and a man sat on the bird, untangled it, and bird flew away. Not sure of the bird's fate. He flew closer to shore, landed in the water and sat there, floating for a while. I never saw him fly away, so maybe he sank to a watery grave. BTW, that was the biggest thing i saw anyone catch that day.
The "Shoot the Freak" barker at Coney Island. He was hilarious and nearly coaxed me to spend money to shoot a live human being with paintballs. I say nearly because my husband and I were far more tempted by fruity smoothies and funnel cake.
The old woman in a fringey Porn Rock shirt. They were another show at Fringe and had a huge following. Apparently someone called out to her as "mom" so I'm assuming she's related to a cast or crew member. Regardless, she was rockin' and apparently very supportive. Old doesn't mean dead!!!
NYPenn Station. Crazy place in general, but one night an unkempt old woman was shuffling around in rose colored underwear and a brown cardigan. That alone struck me as odd, but when she swatted at me with her plastic bag and screamed "get away from me, get out of here" I knew she was special. It ticked me off at the time, but now I can't help but feel bad that she obviously had no family or friends who cared enough about her to take care of her. Still, depressing as it sounds, I have to chuckle at the randomness in retrospect.
The Poet formerly known as "The Homeless Poet". He lives in a men's shelter now, so the homeless status is defunct. But he came up to me and tried to sell me a copy of his poetry for $2. I didn't have any and I am a bit leery of handing out my cashola to strangers. I told him sorry and then he said to me, "I do take numbers". I told him that was good and then he said, "they call me butter, cuz I'm on a roll." I about died. He chatted with me for a little bit and then wished me well. He was very nice and charming, and not high. It was one of those moments when you know that someone is really just a decent human being. I wish I had two bucks for him.
The salty conductor on the NJTransit who was ready to throw some guy off the train for not having a ticket. Made me and my husband think back to Indiana Jones and the Holy Grail. "he didn't have a ticket!"
The night we were on a stoop chatting with some friends and my husband warned one of them that the largest cockroach on Earth was behind her. That was pretty normal for DC or NY, but it was the nearby waif-like girl who said "I've never seen a cockroach before. I want to see it." My husband showed it to her as I told her that when you grow up with roaches you don't really want to visit them. She then proceeded to say, "Oh, wow, they're cute." No lie. Pretty funny.
Bouncing on the bed in my hotel room. Nothing is more fun than jumping on a bed that is not your own!
The stray cat, very clean- mind you, who sat on the steps of an open cellar of a store in Chinatown. I'm sure he was saying, "Shhhh...don't tell anyone I'm here." He was my favorite.
My friends getting engaged at the end of Diamond Dead. How sweet and cool! It was tear-jerking, even for this hard-heart ;p
I can see why NY inspires so many people to write or create art. It is a unique place that makes even the small, mundane things that occur there seem extraordinary. Maybe I'll be moving to NY soon, maybe not. Who knows? All I know is that I walked away with amazing memories and experiences. I was so glad that I shared them with my husband. It made the trip perfect.
