Faux Fu

Wednesday, August 20, 2014

When a Mistake isn't a Mistake!

One of the lines I wrote for the piece we performed over the weekend, was written in the script, and memorized as this: "The thought crept up and jumped out at me like an inebriated joker in a gorilla suit."

What I actually said during the show on Saturday night: "The thought crept up and jumped out at me like an inebriated gorilla in a gorilla suit."  

What I actually said was "wrong," but got a big laugh. It's actually a funnier line.  It worked so well, I decided, right there, in the moment, to repeat it, to repeat the mistake. And by repeating it, I was kind of claiming it, and deciding that it wasn't a mistake at all.

Someone later remarked that was the mark of a true professional.  Claim the mistake. Or as Brian Eno once put it, "Honor your mistake as a hidden intention."

Not sure, about that, I mean, the idea is to speak the words that are written, but this mistake sort of did the trick, and sometimes doing the trick is just enough.

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