Semi-review of the Secret Secret Show

The Crux Secret Secret Show was incredible. Had I know how much work went in to this I would have walked from Northern Chico--rain and all--to be there on time. Due to transportation problems I was about 40 minutes late...and soaking wet. I'm still a little bit of the old school artist too, admittedly--stuck in that idealist universe where things don't start until your cocktail is finished but...

I am so grateful that I bucked up and went (and stayed sober no less!). This is an indescribably talented bunch of young people--full of energy and wit. I expect to see nothing but promising works from both the old guard and the new in years to come.

While the use of the script was a slightly distracting in some areas of the performance, it was well made up for during the long monologues and clever banter that happened sans script and given the amount of time this was pulled off in--for writing, staging and performing--I found it excusable. When the jokes are so good and the writing so clever, how could one not?

Particularly impressive was Christine's piece "The Locksmith". This piece consisted of about 5-10 minutes of monologue--perfectly rendered--and with a healthy helping of drag to carry it along. It went on just long enough to make one think of "Hedwig" but without the underlying issues. So many male writers feel comfortable taking on a female persona--it is always refreshing to see it go the other way.

Of course the greatest moment of audience participation was "forced" on us with Weston's "Falling" piece. We are all so afraid these days--of everything--it took poor Weston three or four times of convincing us that we'd caught his sleeping disease for us to feel brave enough to fall asleep--my diagnosis: performance art is something we still desperately need. Even the hipsters are hesitant to participate...but at least he ended up with a beautiful picture...eventually.

I know I've only singled out two particular pieces but the overall show was fantastic. There was so much energy from Dave and Max and all the rest which really pushed it over the top and made it special. Kudos and thanks to you all.