thehefner | Feb. 21st, 2007

The Hefner Monologue performance at Speakeasy is finished and has been recorded. Having just sat down at watched it, I can say, with the assurance of any artist who's overly critical of his own work, that the final result is definitely not bad. Not bad at all.

I mean, the worst part is the fact that the audience was kinda dead. Which is strange and terrible, considering that normally the crowds at Speakeasy have some of the best energy I have *ever* felt in an audience. That's what happens when the show's delayed for the week. Stephanie, the show's creative director, lamented this fact too, saying that my story should have brought the house down in any normal crowd. That was half of why I wanted to record the live performance, to capture *that* audience! They really only started waking up near the end, but thankfully, I had a few staunch supporters in the back row trying to liven things up. Man, I cannot tell you how much I mourn the lack of that crowd.

Watching the video just now for the first time, I was gonna say that I still spoke too quickly in parts, but frankly, the miracle for me is just how few times that seemed to be a problem. Lord knows I'm a hyper-intense motormouth even in polite company, but when you put me on stage to tell a story within a seven-minute time limit, the potential for disaster is all too apparent. But no, I think, by and large, the speed was just right. I'm currently in a very good place, and after refining it, it'll only get better.

The way I figure it, Speakeasy is going to force me to adapt the Hefner Monologues to a one-man-show by turning my long-winded, detail-oriented written stories into concise, tight, suggestive performance pieces. And once I get enough of them together... I'll have a one-man-show, ready to go.

(As some in the Rudes have speculated, the really weird thing is going to be eventually watching someone else perform the Hefner Monologues.)

Next month, the topic will be "Holding Out for a Hero: Stories about Rescues, Saves, and Close Calls." While I was thinking about if I had any stories about superheroes or comics, I think maybe the ideal story to tell here is "My Day in Traffic Court," if y'all remember what I'm talking about.

And the month after that, it'll be "Irrational Behavior: Stories about temper tantrums, angry fits, and emotional breakdowns." Well, the best story for that is the Tammy fallout, but trying to compress *that* into sixish minutes? Hoo boy, that sure as hell will be a challenge, I'll say that. A hell of a goddamn challenge.

Once I go to Radio Shack and buy a cord that will allow me to upload the video from