This Can't Be Broccoli

  It turns out that absence really is the best way to develop gratitude. This year, the night before we give thanks for what we have, I'm thinking of all the things we don't have this year. The things we lost. The things we hope to get back. On previous Thanksgiving Eves, I would skip the bar hopping and take a trip into New York City for the day to see theater. I tell people that the day before Thanksgiving is the best day to visit the city. There aren't as many people, the weather is usually great, and you get that wonderful train ride home alongside everyone else heading home for the holiday. But no theater this year, and not that many people returning home who didn't already return months ago. I remarked to someone in April when friends from all over started coming back to stay with family in the hopes of riding out the pandemic that it felt like the holidays, but was also frustrating, because we associate the holidays with reunions and coffee dates with old friends...

Welcome back to the most controversial issue on social media-- Standing Ovations If you haven't read Parts One and Two, go to http://thiscantbebroccoli.blogspot.com/2020/11/theater-and-standing-ovation.html http://thiscantbebroccoli.blogspot.com/2020/11/theater-and-standing-ovation-pt-2.html Today, I'm talking with someone else in the community where this took place, but this person has a different perspective on the matter. Here's the interview: ME:  First of all, happy Thanksgiving. THEM:  A very happy Thanksgiving to you. ME:  You wrote to me after reading the last interview, because you had a different take on the whole thing. THEM:  I do. ME:  What is your take? THEM:  That idiot needs to be thrown off a building. ME:  Okay then. THEM:  Who stands all the time and then doesn't understand that if you do that, you have made the gesture meaningless? ME:  How often do you stand? THEM:  Never. ME:  Never? THEM:  I never stand. ...

Before you get mad, I should say-- This is not me disagreeing that we should cancel Thanksgiving. I have never done a large Thanksgiving in my life, so a 15 person Thanksgiving is as foreign to me as the idea of enjoying golf. My issue is not with people arguing that we should cancel it, it's that, once again, we are fighting a small fight and letting much bigger fights just walk right by us. You can understand why. It's easy for local governments to say that what needs to be an issue right now is cancelling Thanksgiving while they allow--pretty much everything else to remain open. You know I was yelling about casinos until they closed back in March (long after theaters and other businesses were forced to close), and now they're open again, and instead of us demanding that changes, they want us to go on social media and fight with each other about Thanksgiving. We're told that people gathering in their homes is where the danger lies, but we're also all aware that th...

Welcome back to the most controversial issue on social media-- Standing Ovations If you haven't read Part One, go to http://thiscantbebroccoli.blogspot.com/2020/11/theater-and-standing-ovation.html Today, I'm talking with someone else in the community where this took place, but this person has a different perspective on the matter. Here's the interview: ME:  So you got in touch with me because I made the mistake of hopping on a thread that was happening in your community about all this. THEM:  I wanted to present you with a different side. ME:  You were on the side of 'I always stand.' THEM:  I do. ME:  So you think it was wrong for the person I was speaking with not to stand? THEM:  I think it was rude. ME:  Do you think everyone should stand for every show? THEM:  I do. ME:  Oh, we're going to have fun. THEM:  I don't see what the harm is in standing up. ME:  What's the harm in not standing up? THEM:  Because, in this ca...

The anxiety is hitting in a different way these days. After four plus years of living under a maniacal, somewhat sentient, giblet-filled McNugget, I realize this week that I...really have no excuse not to be my best self anymore. Oh sure, everything that was wrong with America before Election Day is still just as wrong, and really, we need to have a far-reaching conversation about which island we should ship all the 45 supporters to-- (I hear Sardinia is so lovely. They'll really enjoy it there.) --But whereas before, you could count on POTUS saying or doing something at least once a week that would render you emotionally and mentally unable to achieve anything, now... It's back to work? Over the past few years, I have seen people both crippled by life in the country as it is, while also thriving on the anger of having a Big Bad in the White House. Now, neither one of those things is going to be quite the same. As the pandemic rages on, I've found myself having to find new ...

In February of 2019, I started this series of theater interviews to deal with my own struggle with a passion I've had since I was eight-years-old. What you're reading is the beginning of the final stretch of interviews I'll be doing in this series. I'm not saying I'll never return to it, but I have a new project I want to undertake that I'm very excited about. The work we have to do to make the theater a better place is far from over, but while we're all sidelined due to the pandemic, a lot of that work is going to be theoretical in nature. I look forward to continuing to have conversations privately with friends, colleagues, and new acquaintances about how we can aim for a new better. But before I put the cart before the horse, let's kick off these final interviews. So far, most of the interviews I've done have either fallen on the side of meaningful or entertaining. I think at first glance these last few may appear to be the latter, but upon workin...

This is my prayer for people who voted for the incumbent President in this election. No matter who they are, or why they voted the way they did, I hope they know this is my sincere wish for them and it's something I'll reflect on for years to come. I pray they choke. Amen.

Since it's Election Day and we're all, you know, not well, I asked a friend and writer whose guided meditations I've been using for the past few months to create one especially for theater lovers. I realize it's not as good as hearing somebody speak it out loud, so find a friend who needs some self-care and take turns reading it to each other. Here's the interview: ME:  Thank you for doing this. THEM:  This was interesting for me, Kevin. I've never had anybody ask me to do anything like this. ME:  But you must work with artists? THEM:  I do, you know, and I've done--I've done a few specific meditations on different themes and ideas, but never anything like this. It was a real pleasure, thank you. ME:  Thank you! So you're going to test it out on me. THEM:  I am. ME:  Okay. Should I close my eyes? THEM:  You can, if that's what you'd like to do. ME:  I'll close my eyes. THEM:  Thank you for sending me some material to work with and some w...