But I Digress

Steven David martin
Sometimes I wonder just what the hell it is I’m up to on this
planet. I’m sure you do too. Well, maybe not you, but the person
sitting next to you having that mocha frappuccino you wish you had
ordered.
I’ve enjoyed an eclectic career. That, of course, is a euphemism
for career short attention span.
I’ve been a cashier, an actor, a teacher, a puppet, a pauper, a
pirate, a poet and a king.
But you know, that’s life. That’s what all the people say. To
coin a phrase.
Speaking of people, doesn’t it strike you as odd that a good
percentage of Americans would actually consider voting for Donald
Trump for President? Of the United States? I will not stoop to
mocking his hair; he’s already done that splendidly himself. Oops
there I go, mocking his hair, cleverly embedded in a sentence
declaring I would not mock the aforementioned hair. That’s just one
of the myriad reasons I am a proud owner of a Pulitzer. Strike
that, now that I check the label, it’s actually a Wurlitzer.
But I digress.
We all posses something at which we feel skilled. For some it’s
managing people, for others it’s being handy with tools, for a
lucky few it’s the ability to knot a cherry stem in one’s
mouth.
I happen to feel my strength is as a theatre guy. More
specifically as an actor and director. Which leads me to, yes, you
guessed it, the part of the column where I shamelessly shill for my
next production.
This time it is a very special occasion as I alluded in an
earlier column (February 8, 2011, if you want to check out your
archives). I have the rare treat of performing with one of my
oldest and dearest friends, Chuck Noland and a woman I have known
for decades (literally) but only recently been in regular contact,
Cindy Whiston. We all went to school together at UC Davis; you know
that other UC. And we all acted together. But the last time we
shared the stage was in 1983.
Yes, kids, I did know Lincoln.
Chuck and I were in graduate school, Cindy was a young punk
undergrad and we all three were in an infamously difficult
production of Brecht’s In the Jungle of Cities. You may remember
the TV movie with Tony Danza and Heather Locklear. Well, this was a
very tough show in which the director routinely broke actors and
actresses down into tears, was never satisfied with rehearsals and
kicked all of our puppies. Figuratively, of course. I’m pretty
sure.
But now we are together again, older, wiser and hopefully
funnier. The show is The Love List, a comedy that has a quite
interesting theme. What if you could be with your perfect mate?
What qualities would he/she have? Would life be peachy with
perfection or would you miss the jagged edges and unexpected
spikiness that visits us on a daily basis? When are we at our most
genuine, vulnerable and real? And really, what is an ideal
mate?
Full disclosure: these heady themes are woven through a humorous
tapestry of great characters, funny lines and surprisingly
endearing relationships.
It is an amazing treat to work with my friends again. Chuck is a
TV and movie veteran with roles on ER, West Wing, China Beach,
Wayne’s World and Jersey Shore to his credit (I lied about one of
those). He lives in Burbank and Cindy lives in Seattle, so we have
been shuttling back and forth for rehearsals and they have been a
ton o’ fun. It fills me with warmth, delight and unspeakable
gratefulness to be able to play with such supremely talented,
intensely good people. We show each other no mercy and are
unrelenting in our banter. In short, just what good friends do.
Makes me proud and happy and tickles my soul like nothing else has
for a long while.
The show plays May 6, 7, 8, 13 and 14 at the cool new Cloverdale
Performing Arts Center. Come and bring a loved one. Or a hoped to
be loved one. Or the cute guy at the gym you’ve been dying to
figure out a good excuse to ask out. Check out the details here:
www.cloverdaleperformingarts.com
I hope you can join us. I think you’ll like my friends. They
can’t wait to meet you.
Steven welcomes your comments. You can reach him at

st****@my***********.com











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