I just got back from seeing Equivocation at Bard on the Beach. Boy, did tonight make me yearn to join that artistic family. It was a masterful feat. Not an easy play. Some tricky transitions, late introduction of devices in the writing, dense language, complicated plot…and entirely fascinating! Well executed. Beautifully and precisely performed, intelligently directed, courageously written. If nothing else, for having the audacity to say as much as the play did. Really made me think.
Michael Shamata always makes everything sing. (the director) I love everything he does. So much so that I’m a complete IDIOT when I see him in person. A tall lanky handsome brilliant director – and noted to be a nice guy – and I have nothing intelligent to say. He may be the only person in Canada who makes me nervous. (Well, there’s Stephen Harper, but that’s for a completely different reason.) I don’t entirely know why, it’s certainly not Michael Shamata’s fault. He seems approachable and kind enough. The last time I saw him he was on break from rehearsing this play and I thought, “Lucia, just play it cool, for the love of God in heaven, at least talk to the guy.” So I sat down and chatted and out of nerves picked up his script HIS DIRECTOR’S SCRIPT and started thumbing through it. And then I noticed what the F I was doing and put it down. Now I’m not only an awkward moron, I have no professional boundaries. Great. You see? Twenty five years in the business and I still get wobbly knees.
My date tonight was Michele Riml. She looked really lovely tonight, all in black, with her hair pulled back and handsome Jesus sandals with a pedicure. She’s a super smart playwright who is excellent with plot form in particular. We talked about that. Then she confessed to me that she was once crowned Miss Teen Vancouver. I have to admit, it rocked my world. I had to totally rethink her. Here I had her pegged for a nerd who grew into herself gracefully. How can I relate to someone who had her own parade float? I don’t know. But as the night grew on I decided I could embrace her, crown and all. I mean, she drinks Ginger Beer. How adorable is that? And we both leaned forward in our seats with our reading glasses on, enjoying every single nerdy playwright reference on the stage.
I love it when my community surprises me. When they give me a sense of awe. When they challenge me. One only has to look a little closer to be inspired entirely.
“I Am who I Am.”
