Checking In

[thehefner]

Back safe. Exhausted from hardy partying and four hours of sleep. Full Boulder thoughts tomorrow. It'll be a long post, touching on the following topics:

--Overall impressions of Boulder and the Fringe Festival
--How my shows went
--People I met and how they influenced me, for good or ill
--Crushing depression and creeping disillusionment
--The horrible recurring question, when it comes to the Hefner name: To Exploit or Not to Exploit?
--The dread beast known as marketing (or: finding the guts to not be utterly terrified of handing out fliers)
--Facing the fact that some people really don't fucking like nor get solo performances.
--Finding dignity and grace in the best way that I--and only I--can.
--One of the most purely Hefnerian moments I dare say I've ever experienced. I'm still reeling (in that, "remember to see the humor in the situation" kind of way).

So, yeah, lots of thoughts to get out. If you're interested, huzzah, I look forward to your thoughts. And if not, well, I'll just leave you with this observation from my connecting flight in San Antonio, Texas. I'm not three steps off the plane, and what oh what do I see?

A goth cowgirl.

I fucking love it.

Much-deserved sleep now.

Comments

[lairdofdarkness.livejournal.com]

A Goth Cowgirl?
Genius
Pure genius
I must visit Texas one day

Think the name change makes sense sir (sorry a few days behind) but I hope you drag out Cats_N_Crying at some point of the future, even if only as a pub/bar in your Dent novel. That name is too ood to fall into disuse.

I had to do a presentation at work and part of that presentation included a painting.
So I chose a Suerat one (Sunday afternoon on the island of la grande jette)
No-one had a clue what I was doing but I managed to make it work and I got a wee thrill when showing it.
Thought you might like that

[thehefner.livejournal.com]

That would be a fascinating culture clash to witness.

Not sure where I will be able to drag out cats_n_crying, since it really needs the story to back it up or otherwise it just seems odd and random. At least, so I'd think.

Dude, that's so awesome. :)

[pokeyburro.livejournal.com]

Welcome to Texas. Do enjoy a Taco Cabana dinner while you're there.

[scarydavedc.livejournal.com]

I second Taco Cabana. Sweet Tomatoes & Soup Plantation are musts as well.

Also, liquor from gas stations FTW!

[thehefner.livejournal.com]

Truly, it sounds like a magical land of dreams and wonder.

[thehefner.livejournal.com]

I wish I'd actually spent more than a half hour there. Maybe I'll try to stop through there on my upcoming freaky beatnik road trip. We'll see how practical that is, since I've never spent any time in Texas. I'd love to hit up the Alamo Drafthouse movie theater in Austin. Also, I'm DYING for authentic Mexican food. Why is it only in Chicago (or when my brother's cooking) that I can get quesadillas and tacos made with soft corn tortillas?!

[pokeyburro.livejournal.com]

You could go to my childhood church parish and get authentic hogshead tamales. They're made by old Mexican ladies - can't get more authentic than that.

There's actually a place in Baltimore that's pretty good. Not Taco Fiesta, although they're good too (they're more "fresh mex").

I've been working a theory in my head regarding city size and the Standard Cuisine Set (SCS). The Set so far includes Mexican, Hunan, Szechuan, Japanese, Korean, French, Greek, and Italian. There's a stable situation building in the US where a city can be said to be "large" if you can find authentic food for anything in the SCS there; a cuisine becomes permanently part of the SCS if an authentic version of it can be found in any of the ordained "large" US cities.

[heleneotroy.livejournal.com]

I lived with a Goth Cowgirl in my dorm in college. She looked like me and when ever we went to the club together, people assumed we were sisters and tried to pick us up. Which was creepy. Far creepier then the existance of Goth Cowgirls in general.

[thehefner.livejournal.com]

Ahhh. I should have known they existed, but seeing one in its natural habitat was thrilling. I need to incorporate one in a story somewhere.

[heleneotroy.livejournal.com]

At first, I had typed up a rather long reply, detailing the misadventures I had with said Goth Cowgirl roommate.
But then I realized that it's a story much better told in person, so I will save it for the next time I see you.
And speaking of seeing you, are you going to bring Bill to Faire again this year? Please please pretty please!!! *bats eyelashes*

[lonebear.livejournal.com]

you should probably try to keep cats_n_crying as a 'spare' free account.

My opinion for what little it is worth is to milk the name. You have it. It's yours. The other Hef can't do a thing about it no matter how much he wants to forget your father existed.

[thehefner.livejournal.com]

Isn't it too late for that? Isn't cats_n_crying gone and replaced now? Besides, what would I do with two accounts? I know some people work that way, but heck, I like having my all-in-one account. I'm an all-in-one kinda guy.

Oh, most assuredly it's mine. You're absolutely right. I'll happily exploit my own name to no end, and use "HEFNER" in big huge letters. But beyond that... well, I'll explain more fully next post.

[badmagic.livejournal.com]

Exploit! You're in a viciously competitive business; you need every edge you can get. Besides, you worked that into your show in a fairly classy manner, pointing out that the name came with its own narrative, and contrasting that with your own story. You worked it into your theme without letting it dominate. That was probably hard enough that you deserve a little exploitation for your work.

Handing out flyers is teh suck. At least you weren't also asking for money. No matter how worthy the cause, fundraising is an awful experience.

Some people don't get solo performances? After comedy clubs have been big for decades, you'd think they'd grok the idea of one guy on stage, being amusing. Yeah, I know, your show is not comedy, more like "stand up tragedy," But a lot of it is funny, and you'd think they'd get the idea. It's not like you're doing "Waiting for Godot." Your stuff is hard not to relate to.

Red says hi. Tiny planet.

[thehefner.livejournal.com]

Let me first state my case in the next post on the matter.

In a way, though, aren't I asking for money? I'm asking them to go out of their way to see a show (at another venue!) and asking them to pay for it. Of course, right there I see one of my major problems, right there in the way I wrote the sentence, but that's another thing I'll get to in greater detail and thought.

"Stand up tragedy." Good fucking lord, I need to remember that. Yeah, this girl was... well, clearly wrong and bizarre, but I know she's hardly the only person who feels that way. At CapFringe this year, I learned that many solo performers label their shows "comedy" or "stand-up comedy" or "drama" before they'd actually list it as "solo performance," as that scares away some people. And yeah, I pride myself on having relatability, thank you, but when I told this girl that, "We're telling stories about our experiences and lives," she said, "Yeah, but everyone can get that just by living."

Red?

[badmagic.livejournal.com]

aren't I asking for money?

I suppose, but you're also offering them something concrete: an hour and a half worth of show.

"Stand up tragedy." Good fucking lord, I need to remember that.

That was my tagline when I was still doing standup. Fits your stuff better.

Red?

Carolyn, your PT. "Red" was the name you gave her in the monologues.

[thehefner.livejournal.com]

This is true! Of course, I just need to get it down to an hour and we'll be solid.

OH FUCK, you met her?! Ha, where? What did you tell her about the show? I don't know if she knows about my ogling. Oh fuck it, of course she probably does.

[badmagic.livejournal.com]

Met her at a photoshoot a few weeks ago. Mentioned that you were in Boulder doing the show, but opted not to bring up her part in it.

[gore-whore-5.livejournal.com]

Next time you've got a local show and I'm not in school, I'll hand out fliers for you! People will be drawn in by the power of boobs!

[thehefner.livejournal.com]

Fuck, why didn't I think of that?! Grr! Next time, most assuredly! I'm happy to exploit boobs!

[gore-whore-5.livejournal.com]

Woohoo! I have a couple of shirts that would work really well. But it'd have to be warm outside since they're quite small. Maybe I'll recruit another cute boobie person to hand out fliers with me! Because who doesn't want to see a performance by some guy that two women with boobs clearly love so much!

[thehefner.livejournal.com]

Ironically, I almost certainly won't be returning to DC Fringe next year, as I'll be focusing on Canada. Can I fly you out to Orlando next May? Bring E, come promote my show, and I'll buy you both tickets to Disneyworld!

[gore-whore-5.livejournal.com]

Haha sweet! I'll show up as long as you're paying. We's po'.

Why won't you be doing the DC fring again?

[thehefner.livejournal.com]

Fuck, I'd pay for Disney World, what more do you want from me?! Damn it, Lea, I'm a solo performer, not a doctor!

Because like I said, I'll be touring Canada. It's set up that you can travel from one coast to the other hitting up festivals for the whole summer. Even if DC didn't conflict with one of the shows, it'd be too much of a pain in the ass to fly all the way back here from Winnipeg or wherever I'll be. Besides, DC (like Boulder) is still a young festival and I think they need a couple years to really find their footing.

[gore-whore-5.livejournal.com]

Fair enough.

Also, I dig the icon.