review of some gigs i’ve done lately
thursday, 08.05.04 (latino cultural festival open mic in the queens theatre)
:: get to queens on time(!) but the trolley that is supposed to take us to the theatre is not showin up is what luis cartagena tells me. i tell em that i gots a map and a dream so lets troop it. we also grab a few folks that have been waiting around and lead em on the trek. luis and i go up fairly early in the program. i do “sorta-rican” and fuck up part 3 cuz i still brought the paper up with me like an ass. luis does a kick ass rendition of ‘putomayo.’ manny xavier does a great hosting gig. i am desperately listening for some new voices for acentos and vibe nicely on a few folks that would be great on the open. some 16 yr old kid comes up all cocky and sheet rapping about how great a lover he is. i am crackin’ up inside. the crowd does NOT feel him. i go up again and make up for my sad first half performance with ‘MOTB’ it generates a good feedback and the attention of a lady in the audience- job done!
some schmoozing afterwards and then me and luis walk through flushing meadows park at night (mad cholos pumpin mexican rock!) and the roles are reversed as luis does to me what i do to most folks- answer every question with a deeper question to the point where there is no right answer. im cool with that as it gets us talking about russian acting techniques and their application to performance poetry. nice!
a great night of meeting new folks and learning a lil bit more about my process.