'Magic is a one time affair'

The regal, silver-haired, street performer I saw in Montreal defined magic as a 'one time affair,' and in a way, we can look at all events in our lives as 'one time affairs,' events that never occur again. 'You can't enter the same river twice.' We are always changing, the river is too.

Our performance at 'Abbie Hoffman' last night was satisfying. It's a real challenge to do a 'roadshow' in a raw space. We had a good audience (40-50 people), one that really listened and responded. Performance is a tremendous act of will -- you put yourself in an extreme situation where you are 'exposed' to an audience that is free, to judge, to reject, to embrace.

The Abbie audience is made up primarily of our peers in the Chicago theater community. Probably the best audience we could possibly imagine. The fest is all about the work, and many of those in the audience know what the work is all about.

'Free Henry Goodbar, Telepath,' another strange, little bastard child, is beginning to emerge. It is a real challenge, and a kick to approach this process as the most important thing we can possibly do. Everyone did justice to the work. Carla and Manny were especially good. Carla is an incredible dynamo, she's a force of nature when she focuses her energies on the task at hand. Manny is over-sized in all ways. A great performer. Liz Gomez was flawless with the lights and sound.

Rich Cotovsky's gem of wisdom: 'If you support someone, somewhere down the line you will find support, what goes around comes around. That's how it works.' Cotovsky is an oddball, a kook, a lone wolf, and one of my greatest sources of inspiration. Yes, I must say...Abbie lives!