Monday, June 18, 2007

Great Men of Genius

My thoughts on it:

It was a hell of a show. I know how exhausting it can be to hold the stage -- but imagine five hours of it. No wonder Daisey had a glass of water (though I never really saw him drink from it) and a sweat-rag (which I saw him use quite frequently) at hand.

It was big. A big, messy effort. Something on the order of Middlesex, or a P.T. Anderson film -- "Magnolia" comes to mind.

When something's that big, there will be flaws. And there were. Some geniuses entranced me more than others. I found myself not caring too much about Barnum or Tesla -- I wanted to hear more about Daisey's life. I did like Brecht's theories on the stage. And the Hubbard piece kept me riveted in my seat. I could've hung with a whole piece just on Hubbard himself, so personal and sharp was the way Daisey presented this final genius.

At times it was a big overhead shot, much like the type we discussed in Marilyn Abildskov's classes. It was perspective from outside, from above -- geniuses we probably didn't and now never will meet. Daisey brought them to us, and if we liked one more than the other, well, that's kind of how life runs, too.

What I dug was his energy, how he kept connected to the audience, how it was live in every meaning of the word. He said things like "like", "you know" -- made it seem like storytelling. Made it seem like a work in progress. Made it seem like you could be sitting around bullshitting with this guy over some beers. And isn't that the heart of storytelling in any form?

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