Badger Country!

Wow! What a paradise Madison, Wisconsin in! We performed the show last night in the beautiful auditorium of The Wisconsin Historical Society. The crowd was terrific and well represented by the Black Student Union, Hillel, students, faculty, and some locals. The discussion after the show went for an hour and we could have went all night, but they had to close the building. The discussion hit on how we tend to sit with our groups and congregate within our own group and how hard it is to mix-it-up and go where we may be a bit more uncomfortable. Also that multi-culturalism and diversity is more than just sitting in an auditorium black, white, black, latino. Jew, Muslim, white, etc. We have to talk! Dialogue! And get to know one another. We grow in life from challenging adversity and overcoming it. We grow in our own humanity from challenging discomfort with those who are not like us and engaging in dialogue. Thank you Badgers for welcoming us to your gorgeous campus and taking such good care of us while we were here. Gotta Go! Catching a plane home to Cambridge this morning. Keep on keepi' on and fighting the good fight!

The Rolling Plains of Iowa!

Cedar Rapids and Iowa and the incredible students of Coe College! Performed last night in The Pub to a wonderfully mixed group of students. So many came out and braved the snowstorm. We thought we left the piles of snow back in New England, but alas, even mother nature poured down on us in Iowa! We already had to cancel one show this winter back in early March at Suffolk University. We didn't expect to have such a large percentage of African- Americans in attendance, but they came out! We had a roaring good time and heartfelt discussion following the performance. Let's hope Spring has finally sprung and the snow will no longer cause us tsuris (trouble in yiddish)  while we continue to tour.  Ron's off to Rochester, Minnesota to be at NACA Northern Plains and I head back to Cambridge today. Keep on keepin' on!

Californ-i-hooray!

We have finally brought the show to the West Coast and performed it last night at the gorgeous campus of the University of California - Stanislaus! The show was extremely well received and we had an incredible dialogue following the performance. Wherever we go there is hate, racism, and intolerance. It just seems to have different colors, religions, cultures, but all in all, human beings seem to be involved in being afraid and intolerant of other human beings because they are either different from you or are thought to threaten your way of life.  Here in the Central Valley of California where Mexicans are a huge percentage of the population, the dominant white majority are on their Latino cases because they think the Mexicans are taking their jobs.  

Correct me if I'm wrong, but America was founded on the principle that we are open to everyone who wants to "work" for a better life. What don't people understand about that??? If you're losing your job to a Mexican, it's probably because the Mexican is doing a better job. (And perhaps for less money.)

Who do you hire? The white worker who doesn't do as good a job and begrudges the dirty work he is doing or the Mexican who is appreciative he has a job and can feed his family tonight?

The more we travel and perform and talk to our audience the more I realize how much the hate and a lack of understanding we have for each other is at epidemic proportions.

There were many Latinos in our audience last night and many spoke about the injustice they feel. And after the show a woman came up to me and said that she has trouble sharing these feelings in a big group because they are so painful and  she needs a more intimate setting to share them, but was so thankful that we had came and performed the show and got people talking about their pain. 

I am writing from a coffee shop in the Castro district of San Francisco which is where gay men and woman were tormented in the early 70's. This morning my friend Andrew and I walked over to the spot where Harvey Milk's camera shop and apartment were. It takes courage, determination and the forbearance that Harvey Milk showed to win over this dark, devilish side of human nature. The battle can be won, and as Ron and I like to say, we're trying to change the world "one show at a time."

By laughing together at the stupidity of hate and racism we seem to release the fetters that hold our tongues and are able to share, and sharing or dialogue, is the first step to understanding and healing. 

We just keep on keepin' on and look forward to touring more of California in the future.

cheers,

Larry

New York and the Frigid Theater Festival

What a week in New York City! First of all, I was sick as a sick dog. I had this flu/cold/cough thing when we left Cambridge at 8:30am on Tuesday, March 3. Then, as though, the universe was testing me (us), the timing chain in Ron's Cruiser went on the Merritt Parkway in Greenwich, CT - about 60 miles from the Kraine Theater on East 4th in The Village! The car just died. We had to push the car up a hill to a safe spot, because the snow had covered the shoulder and we were sitting in the right lane of the Merritt. Not a safe place to be stuck. That 50 yard push exasperted my cold and wiped me out. Then I called my wife in Cambridge and my friend Jeff in California to get on the web and find us a mechanic in Manhattan to tow the car to. AAA needs an address to tow the car. We found a place on West 29th street in Manhattan. We waited about 45 minutes for the tow truck, the it took 90 minutes to get us to the mechanic in Manhattan. By now it's 3:30pm. Our tech was from 1 to 4 and we open at 6pm! Plus, I haven't eaten! There was no place to get a snack. My cold yearns for food. The plan was to get to Manhattan at noon. Chill, eat, tech, eat, rest, perform... HAH! That plan went up in timing chain smoke! We got to the theater at 4. Teched from 4 to 5:30. Show went up at 6. Great show! When it was all over I felt like death. I have never felt so wrung out in my life. Even hiking the Grand Canyon in one day when I was 18 paled against how tired and sick I felt. I almost passed out. Ron and I went to eat something nearby the theater. When the chicken soup hit my lips at 7:48pm my life jumped and I regained some of my soul.  Whew! What a first day at the Frigid.

We performed the show to small, but mighty houses for the next four nights and then came back to Massachusetts on the evening of March 7 at about 12:30am.  Monday the 9th we performed a show at Western New England College in Springfield, Mass, to a great crowd of students and faculty. Tomorrow I'm off to San Francisco and we perform the show at the University of California at Stanislaus on Monday in Turlock, CA. Onward and upward. Still have a little cough but am surely on the mend. One good thing that came out of our New York City run was a nice review by NYU. Here it is: http://www.nyunews.com/arts/theater/frigid_shows_offer_a_variety_of_monologues_and_dialogues-1.1605118

University of Maryland, New York City, Springfield College

We have been on the move! And it seems the road has finally taken its toll on my over 40 ass. I have gotten a little sick. Cough, runny nose thing. Trying to rest this weekend because next week is our New York City premiere! (My hometown yo! Born in Brighton BEACH, Brooklyn and raised in Howard BEACH, Queens... no wonder we moved to Miami when I was 11... I'm all about the BEACHES!) After New Haven last Saturday I came back to Cambridge to spend time with my family while Ron headed down to DC to see his family. I met up with him at University of Maryland on Saturday. I flew down. The show was in the Jewish Student Center and the audience was mostly Jewish. Maryland has about 6,000 Jewish students! About 25% of the students are Jewish! Never knew that. 

We had a great show and discussion, crashed at the Quality Inn they put us up in, and drove to New York City the next morning to see the Kraine Theater where we be performing most of next week - March 3 - 7.  Tremendous space right in the heart of the East Village just up the street from NYU. Really nice folks run it too. Very much behind the artist's they host. We put up some posters and walked over to NYU to promote the show too. We crashed at Ron's friend's house in South Orange, New Jersey. (Nice house! Right on the golf course and a monster view of Manhattan!) Next day, Thursday we drove to Springfield College to perform in the chapel. (see pic) Annie from the Student Activity Center took great care of us and the students we met were so incredibly nice and seeking to laugh and learn. The dean of students came as well as the wife of the school's president. It was a tremendous show! And the post show dialogue had some students sharing some heartfelt experiences that brought tears to many.

Very incredible time. I pray and wish I can give these students whatever I can so that they take a bigger step in their lives and always stand up to authority, racism, and hate with justice and courage. I feel so fortunate to be in a position to do this through art with my dear friend and show partner Ron Jones at my side. Ron spares nothing of himself to encourage youth. He inspires me to do the same constantly. 

Lesley, Hudson Valley Community College, New Haven

What a week! The show was well received at both or the schools we returned to for encore performances - Lesley University in Cambridge (near home!) and Hudson Valley Community College in Troy, New York. We performed the show at both of these wonderful learning institutions about 18 months ago in the Fall of 07. That's the great thing about playing colleges, they keep refreshing their student body so our show is fresh again and again! 

I'm writing from a sweet room at the Courtyard Marriot in Orange, Connecticutt, where we played last night just up Route 1 at The University of New Haven.  What a great bunch of students! Our first time here and we hope to come back.  Heading home this morning to spend some time with the fam'. I told my daughter Ana that I would stop at Rein's Deli in Vernon and pick up some yummy nosh for brunch. We love that place! It's the closest thing to a real NY deli to us. Brookline just doesn't cut the mustard, nor the knish. Cheers!

The Calderwood Pavilion at the BCA

Great show last night in Boston!  "A small but mighty audience" as Ron called them. We never got the press we needed to get butts-in-seats, but as it showed me again, you can't count on the press. You can count on HUGE advertising budgets though. That's why 1/3 of film budgets go to marketing. We will not do another theater show without the advertising support. There really no other way to get the word out, unless Ron and I run through the streets of Boston, naked in the 29 degree weather! That's probably better than a full page ad in the Globe, but much colder. And to all of you who braved the cold to come out a see our show... thank you!

Onward and upward. Cheers.