For Now, She Is Sleeping by Blake

There is no coherent way for me to write my own post-show wrap-up blog post. Especially now, especially for this show. I could write 10 times my word limit, 100 times, and still not be done. So, I’ll just tell you what I’m thinking.

Here’s what I am thinking now: I think that this show is still not done. I think that every piece was exactly as it needed to be for this iteration. I could never ask for more talented, committed collaborators for this iteration of this project. Each piece fit so unbelievably well. I had a conversation after the show one night with Ted Moore, and he expressed that he thought it was just the right length - that he could not imagine it shorter (but perhaps longer), that things had the proper room to breathe, to develop. I couldn’t agree more - you’ll see above that one of the most used words to describe this show is long, and I don’t disagree, but it takes as long as it takes to tell the story of an entire life.

Words describing THESE ARE THE MEN, as gathered from audience surveys.

Photo via Carl Atiya Swanson

A show that began with five scenes 8 years ago - five scenes that I had no particular intention of returning to - has now sunk its hooks well into my brain, into my flesh. We kissed it goodnight, and I don’t know how long it needs to sleep, but at some point it’s going to wake up, and I think we should tend to it. See what’s still growing, see what needs to be pruned for a spring-like rebirth. Some of the work we make has only one life, and that is good; others need to be treated differently. These Are the Men has sisters and brothers yet to be born, and isn’t gone but only sleeping.

Here’s what I’m thinking now: I think that I will never be able to thank everyone enough. My Savage Umbrella family, my TATM collaborators, the people who I talked and talked and talked with about Jocasta’s life and death, ARTshare, the people who took time out of their lives to join us for the show, those that took some more time to write about it or to come back and see it again. Thank you. Thank you.

Photo via Carl Atiya Swanson

Here’s what I’m thinking now: I think it’s time for us to tend to new projects and to new adventures. We are meeting new people, learning new skills, seeing new parts of the world. May we grow ever bolder. May we continue to be interesting and powerful and intriguing. May we become ever more ourselves.

Unlike Jocasta, I don’t know what the future holds. Thank the gods. But I can take an educated guess: our best work together has not happened yet. I have found that the journey is pleasurable and grueling and thrilling and daunting and does not have an end. I have found that it is rarely dull but often dusty. I have found that we are all becoming more interesting supporting characters and more convincing main characters at the same time. I think that this chapter in our collective story has about a paragraph left in it. And I think that there are so many pages left in this book.

Here’s what I’m thinking now: these are my people, and I love them.

Company Picture via Joe Halvarson