Because, you see, I’m not really an actress
I sort of drop into things
Acting
Hiking
I adopted a child
That was…ugh
Anyway
It was, uh, what was the show?
Oh my God, my mind
You know how your mind—
Oh m God
Thank goodness I write everything down now
When I can find a pen
Which is never
Does anyone have a pen?
Never mind
Keep your pens
Nobody has them anyway
Nobody has pens anymore
My mother always had a pen on her
She was always prepared
Oh God it wasssssssssssssssssssssss 1991
We were doing Six
Degrees of Separation
That’s right
Love that play
Anyway, I used to have parties back then
AIDS parties
Where we’d raise money for AIDS
Or somebody would
I was never in charge of sending the money anywhere
I’m no good with money
It’s just there, you know?
Somehow, it’s just there
Anyway, Jim, the Artistic Director
Came to one of these functions
That I would throw
For the AIDS
Or the people with AIDS
Whatever
And he asked me if I act
And I said ‘Not yet’
Because, everything back then
Was ‘Not yet’
I never said ‘Never’
Whenever anybody would ask me
If I did this or that
I’d just say ‘Not yet’
So he said, ‘Well I’m doing this play…’
And the next thing you know
I’m in it
And it’s fabulous
I mean, it was really fabulous
He had to sneak me in
Past all those Equity rules
And whatever
But I’m so glad he did
Because the man who played my husband was…
Uh, goodness
I guess he was this man
Who was married
But who had been, uh, who was
Actually gay
In real life
God, that sounds stupid
What was his name?
I can’t remember his name
Anyway, his wife was also in the company
And I guess they had this sort of arrangement
Between the two of them
And I found him
This man
To be quite lovely
And, uh, when he told me…
He told me that he’d contracted
Uh, the disease
And, uh, suddenly
This thing—this thing
That I had just sort of been—
That I had tried to drop into
Like a hobby
Seemed like something
I should, uh, maybe focus on, more
God, what the hell was his name?
Uh, he passed away
But his wife, she, uh, she was lucky
She didn’t…
Which was good, or—
Well
He was a lovely man
I never knew anyone who was…
Like that before
Or, someone with—any sort of disease
Like that
And, uh, well
It changed my life
It really did
Which is a wonderful thing to say about anybody, really
And it’s a wonderful thing to say
In reference to the theater
That it changes lives
Because it does
It just opens you up
And…
Well, you already know that
You don’t need my, uh, my platitudes
Anyway, I didn’t do anymore acting after that
But I did find being the acting company
For that brief amount of time
Very satisfying
I just, uh…
I just wish I could remember
That nice man’s name
It’s sort of amazing, isn’t it?
What our minds don’t let us remember
Almost like they’re protecting us
From what, I don’t know, but…
But that’s what it seems like
Doesn’t it?
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