Report from Week Six of Performance for One

Week Six was the penultimate week of the run, and our first outdoor performances.  We were part of the public art festival, Art in Odd Places, which spanned the length of Manhattan.  Ours was the westmost event, near the High Line.

We had to contend with the eternal wild card of outdoor theater: weather.  I had anticipated rain, but what I hadn’t anticipated was wind.  And it was extraordinarily windy.  On the first day, Andrea Gallo and I hid in some semblance of shelter, under the former railroad tracks that had become the High Line.  Everything except the two chairs and a small folding table was abandoned, as our dividers would have turned into sails.  And Andrea sat huddled with the audience members, as the sound of the wind and the street sounds around created their own bubble of privacy.  If you were not sitting opposite her, you couldn’t hear her.

One member of Art in Odd Places wrote a blog of his encounter with her, so you can read and experience it from the audience perspective.  That day, a number of the fellow participants dropped by, so we had a pretty full schedule, despite the wind.  Some hot chocolate was a definite help, as well.

The next day, Jan Leslie Harding was the performer, and once again the wind was unremitting.  This time, we chose a space a little further from the entrance, which felt a little calmer.  It was quite cold after an hour, however, so Jan and our assistant Lauren took shelter inside a nearby building and tried to entice those who noticed them through the glass façade.  I stayed outside and hawked the theater there.

The third day, Saturday, was much prettier.  The wind had died at last and it was warm out.  It started slow, but a parade organized by Arts in Odd Places brought us a number of audience members in the second half.

And finally, the last day: we had to call off.  There was a deluge, raining most of the day, and Jan had recently recovered from pneumonia, so we didn’t want to risk her health.

But despite the weather difficulties, or even because of them, there was a very enjoyable aspect to braving the elements to bring some passing strangers a ten-minute snippet of theater.  And those who stopped and braved the elements with us seemed to very much enjoy the often unexpected opportunity.  We received a lot of compliments, and even hugs, for our efforts.  It felt to me like we were making the New York I also love the most, where there is something unexpected and potentially wonderful around every corner. 

This Sunday, November 3, will be the final performance, at least for now:  4pm – 8pm at the Torn Page Salon.  The is the only show that will be purely by reservation, as it is not a venue which lends itself to walk ins.  So we will see what that experience brings…