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Trip to Providence 10/4/2004 2:55:48 PM
Cosmic Spelunker Theater makes its second appearance at Providence's AS220. Saturday, September 4th:
I'm on the platform at Back Bay Station waiting for the Amtrak for Providence, my bags sitting with me on the bench on either as I write a poem in a purple hard bound notebook that begins with the line "Nobody belongs in a train station..." it quickly develops into a piece of self mythologizing that many poets are prone to doing. It has since been typed up and is being revised under the title "Nemo of the Rails."
The train rumbles in and stops. James, having embarked at South Station, is seated in the window right in front of me and gives me a wave. We've begun to develop a telepathy from performing and rehearsing together so that I am not surprised that he is now in front of me and not a car or two in either direction. I board and in less than 40 minutes we are in Providence, Rhode Island.
Before we leave the station, I find the news rack and balance several copies of the _Providence Phoenix_ in a stack on top of my head. I had read the article on line, but we needed hard copies both for our archives. We make our way across a plaza and then to the granite walkways that line the river that winds through Providence. We cross a small foot bridge to the other side. A kayaker paddles by I notice the torch emplacements for the fire festival that I've heard about..
We pass through a tiled pedestrian tunnel that leads to another plaza and soon find ourselves on the streets of an older Providence. These are the attractive buildings built at the previous turn of the century when Providence was another type of city than it is now. Providence still has many of the architectural characteristics shared by many other smaller New England cities that had major periods of growth between the Civil War and World War II, yet the Providence Renaissance is evident all around. James and I both agree that we like the way Cosmic Spelunker gives us excuses to make excursions to other cities and both of us mention the desire to explore Lowell as well-- another city that has reinvented itself.
Soon we are on Empire Street and in front of AS220. It's not yet 1pm. The café staff is still setting up. James turns around the corner to find a hot chocolate. I decide to look at the windows of the Trinity Repertory Theatre to see what's playing there. We return to the front doors of AS220, still not open, and James begins to meditate. I leave my bags and my stack of Providence Phoenixes and decide to take a quick wander about the Arts District.
I had hoped to find an art gallery that was open, but instead I find a used bookstore named Cellar Stories that is ironically a second floor walkup. In my excitement at finding a previously unknown used book store I bound up the ladders and perch atop them as I discover finds on the highest shelves. Eventually, I decide on one "Jackie Chan: Inside the Dragon" by Clyde Gentry III (Chan's "Project A" is currently one of my favorite action comedies) and Jerry Epstein's "Remembering Charlie" (just to add to my Chaplin library.) I head back to AS220, which is open at this point, and this turns into the pattern for the next few hours of James and I working on one thing or another: lunch, placing props, revising the blocking of certain scenes, stretching, and taking walks, viewing art, and chatting with anyone who wanders in. James takes my advice and locates the same bookstore but doesn't find the Buster Keaton book I recommend him (I already had my own copy) but instead returns with Jack Kerouac's "Visions of Cody" and a stack of old comic books while I investigate the art gallery upstairs.
A biker who goes by the name of "Chopper" wanders in, and sits down at the café. He's mostly chatting up the server. Though Chopper mentions being a Vietnam veteran, he and James never end up speaking, though James does not the coincidence to me considering our show. Chopper slips out to get his guitar and sings a few songs before he is on his way.
At one point I decide to practice my pantomime of rope climbing using the support pillars. Oddly enough, the motions, however stylized, work. I am also surprised that I have developed the upper body strength to pull myself to the ceiling.
Finally, it comes time to change into costume and put on make up. At that point our audience begins to trickle in. It's small, owing to the labor day holiday, but it is better than the last time. Everyone who comes mentions reading the Phoenix article as the motivator. Parents bring their teenagers. It's a very different audience that that we perform in front of in Boston and New York-- less overtly bohemian-- but very interested in the issues we present.
Upon watching the video of the show several days later, I have to say that despite my hyper critical analysis of everything that we do, there are some beautiful moments some of the best work I have ever seen myself do on video. There are still a few vignettes that bear more rehearsals in my mind. The new scene on detainment and interrogation adds a level of dark comedy that wasn't in the previous two performances-- but it's worth keeping.
We have a short Q&A after the performance ends. Most of the questions are addressed to James. I already had a lot to say in the Phoenix interview and much of the audience is of the same generation as James and thus his narratives about Vietnam and the aftermath are very real to them. I think that that is an advantage about theatre: we can play to lots of different sorts of folk. Some will identify more with James, others with me, and being that we are on the fringe, most with neither of us. My narrative about childhood in the Nixon era-- and complaints that the Superfriends were doing nothing about Nixon seems to a favorite.
After cleaning up, we trek back the station and catch the train back to Boston. Much to my amazement, I am in my living room only two hours after taking off my make up. I pull some leftovers out of the refrigerator and have a late supper.
