40,000 Hands

(Why am I naming days?)

2/10/14, Day 13,794: 40,000 Hands

This day is so named for one of the plays shared at the Lark Play Development Center’s Playwrights Workshop. We were without Rogelio, Kimber and Chris, so Rajiv Joseph joined us as a guest artist to share along with myself and Lynn. His play follows two imperial guards soon after the construction of the Taj Mahal who are instructed to carry out a particularly grisly insurance policy.

In one of the two scenes he shared, the two guards are cleaning up after that gruesome task, but one is particularly unable to shake the post-traumatic stress of the act. As they clean, his friend distracts him by asking about his inventions, spurring a hilarious fantasia about various creations, including a Transportable Hole. Juxtaposed against the darkness of the visual carnage, the light of the fantasia lifted the scene into that rare iconic space occupied by Beckett and certain passages from Shakespeare and Stoppard. The  characters became lit from within by our long histories of cruelty and invention, silhouettes grounded against that wide horizon, and I had that sinking soaring feeling that comes from witnessing something great.

This is the joy and privilege of being in a room with such extraordinary artists, and it was not the first time I’ve felt that degree of transport. Being in that room, I feel as if I’ve been granted a temporary visa to a rare country in which I do not belong, like a hobbit in Lothlorien.

Technique never stands still: it only advances or retreats…

Writing: 38 out of 43 days (The Sea Concerto)
Spanish: 39 out of 43 days

What small things did I do yesterday to help build the Honeycomb?
(And what does it mean to “Help build the honeycomb?)

• Asked the FAA to protect musicians traveling with instruments aboard airplanes;
• For TCG, shared Jamil Khoury’s challenging and important post, Contesting Categories;
• Sent Secretary Vilsack a tongue-in-cheek Valentine about promoting healthful eating;
• Helped prepare for (but could not attend) Flux’s SpeakEasy last night;
• Asked by state Senators to support the National Popular Vote bill;
• Cooked and ate all vegetarian (and mostly vegan and organic, with some local)