This morning we took a highly abbreviated 20-minute version of The Laramie Project to the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Fairfax, where Steven Johnson had been minister.

The main hall of the church is a lovely space in a diamond configuration, the main axis dominated by a huge exposed truss supported at both ends by two pairs of massive unfinished wooden columns. On two sides of the room are panoramic windows that look out over the nearby woods, a mass of green in this season. As the service began, I followed the flight of a male cardinal flitting through the trees.

Many of us were slightly rattled by the unconventional performance conditions, and by working with a performance order that we'd rehearsed only once, this past week. Andy ended up introducing a couple of people out of order, but when you hear your cue, you just go. I changed a line reading for my express-version Fred Phelps, and ended up confusing myself: I jumped ahead in the text and then brought myself back, maintaining the intentions.

The UU congregation didn't go for Steven's joke "we're not even sure we're a religion," but they liked "what the hell am I doing in Wyoming?"

posted: 11:39:22 PM  

Jane Gross on the Toyota Prius as fashion accessory.

posted: 11:27:17 PM