#newsamehope / 4.24.20

What is new?

• Doctors now have to actively warn folks to NOT CONSUME bleach/disinfectant, in light of recent remarks made by the person who lives in the White House.

• The Insane Clown Posse is responsible for some of the more rational planning decisions, opting to cancel their upcoming Juggalo gathering. 

What is the same?

• There are so many movies I haven’t seen. Like Rambo. I might watch Rambo tonight.

• The difference between a bad Clementine and a good Clementine is the difference between gnat and a bald eagle.

What is the hope?

• I’m still finding a lot of home in the online theatre community, especially the young artists who are determined to keep building and creating. My heart is warmed by parents who write to say that class or rehearsal is the highlight of their kid’s week. It reinforces for me how special the act of shared creation is. We need play. We need creation. I’ve been re-reading a book that has meant so much to me over the years: and then, you act: making art in an unpredictable world by Anne Bogart. She wrote this after 9/11 in an attempt at sense-making. Her chapter on time seems especially relevant. It opens with the quote, “Time is the school in which we learn. Time is the fire in which we burn.” (Delmore Schwartz) What a weird school we’re in. Whatever shall we learn?

Photo: This day, one year ago. Evanston’s lake shore on a night the sky turned purple and pink and then orange. The sun and sky did both of these things in a single evening.