Documenting the Decline of Greenpoint

At one point in the future, Greenpoint will have become the neighborhood it is growing into.

As of today, it is still in a weird transition.

On the same day, they listed 2 pieces of news in the hyper-local online sites.

First, our favorite restaurant is closing after 20 years (because that is the life expectancy of a joint in this hood?).
http://www.brooklynvegan.com/enids-in-greenpoint-to-close-at-the-end-of-march/
This is a year after Matchless closed, another great bar that defined the nightlife of this neighborhood.

And second, there was a piece of hate mail sent to a couple who are running a business out of their home.  It was anti-semitic and anonymous (of course), and the funny part is-the couple isn't even JEWISH!!!

So what does that mean-were they targeted by stupid bigots (yes-that's certainly contributing), were they assuming that because one of them was Mexican/Cuban and the other was Italian. was it sheer terror or foreigners? In a Polish neighborhood?-With Williamsburg next door, can they not even IDENTIFY who they hate-or are they trying to target hipsters?

is the neighborhood shifting in ways that are freaking people out? Yes. But go to one of the local places and celebrate, while you still can. And be nice to your neighbors. Please.

Pour Myself a Cup of Ambition

The whole idea of having a desk job had seemed the opposite of who she thought she was.

She looked around at all the others, wondering if they saw her playing her role, watching them watching her-to see if there were any cracks in the facade.

The notion of imposter syndrome was strong in her, except it was true.  She was the real imposter. 

The longer she stayed there, and talked to the others on the career ladder, in the cubicles, in the lunchroom and the hallways. She wasn't sure about her uniqueness anymore. Nobody else wanted to be there either.  Everyone else had a dream as well.

But she had lived hers.  She had been on the stage, she had been singing.  She had lived inside the music in a way that she couldn't find life anywhere else.

She wasn't sure that she was ever going to focus on getting a promotion, but she knew she was disappointed when she didn't get them.  The coffee wasn't her driving force, but it helped the mornings pass and it made her happy.

On the weekends, when she didn't drink it, she might spend the morning crying, which ruined her voice for singing for the rest of the day.  So she made sure to remember her ambition on the weekends, ambition not to become CEO of her company-but to SING.  Not even onstage again, but just to carry the music in her throat. In her mouth, it felt better than being kissed.  It felt like being loved.

Lost and Found

Lost and Found (to be continued)

Elyse, Ntozake and Maria

Three Giant Women of theater have passed away in the space of just a few days.

An influential director.

A playwright of African American women and expanded territories, opening her arms to inclusion of multiple communities. (For Black Girls who have Considered Suicide when the Rainbow is Enuf, a Choreopoem)

A playwright of Hispanic women, opening the theater walls to audiences to Fefu and her Friends.  Staging was nontraditional, taking people beyond a stage to different areas -seeing scenes in various order.

The world is better for them all.

1. https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/oct/24/elyse-dodgson-royal-court-theatres-international-director-dies
2. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/28/obituaries/ntozake-shange-is-dead-at-70.html
3. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/31/obituaries/maria-irene-fornes-dead.html

Ntozake Shange at the Dodge Poetry Festival, Sunday, October 21, 2018

Hallway of Fog

While walking to work, through a Glasshouse Hallway of Fog, I noticed some amazing visions that I will incorporate into ART.

On my way to work, I find many WONDERS in the early morning light.

Dreaming of Vila

Dreaming of Vila

Love Made Visible

Invisible Magic IS Love.

And "Love made visible" is the deeper mission of the Barter Theater.  When farmers couldn't offer money, they could offer things to pay for tickets. And then the actors got fed. 

A way of living as close to the bone as you can, and being happy, truly happy, in a circle of friends who are in the same situation. 

Much like the Fringe Theater, or all theater.