Did Someone Say Community?

a new take on an old meme

So, this is a first. Part serious entry, part meme. Memes aren’t my usual style, but hey, with what’s been going on around here lately I think people may appreciate the levity.

My idea for this comes from a letter I received a few years ago from a friend, miranda deely, who is a stage actress by training who was on tour with a Canadian theater company in a performance of The Laramie Project (link is to the HBO documentary).

An intense, deeply moving, and controversial stage production about the 2002 hate fueled beating and murder of gay, twenty one year old Matthew Shepard, it is based on the actual experience of an alternative Manhattan theater group who went to Laramie immediately after the murder to interview locals about their perceptions of the crime. They were not prepared for what they discovered.

Bold and ambitious, The Laramie Project follows, and in some cases re-enacts, the chronology of the Shepard beating, his being left tied to a fence in the freezing dawn, the vigil at his hospital bed, his ultimate death, and the pain of the trial. Mixing real news reports with the actors portraying the locals, adds to the “untethered” feeling one comes away from the production with. The Laramie Project concludes a year after the murder with the performance of Angels In America at the Laramie Town Hall.

It is an intense and difficult piece. Miranda expressed in her letter that travelling throughout Canada and the US, specifically to towns and cities that would normally not have access to the production, had been difficult and often emotionally draining.

The remedy? Turning their attention to inventing mindless games, things to occupy the minimal but important down time they had. It should go without saying, as actors, these creative professionals can come up with some extremely twisted shit. The aforementioned meme is one of the tamer offerings. Based on the somewhat pretentious television show, Inside The Actors Studio with James Lipton. Author of An Exaltation of Larks, Lipton is a man who when interviewing, employs more pregnant pauses than George Bush at a press conference. Often sounding painfully constipated when asking the more personal or erudite questions to his thespian guests, his questions do occasionally offer a real glimpse into who his guests are.

So, to have some fun, because I think we need it after the past few weeks, and to put our money where our mouth is when we throw around that word “community”, let’s get to know each other.

To do that, I present. The Actors Studio meme: Slightly Reframed. Compliments, Miranda. Some of the questions are more than personal so if you want to pass on one or two, no one should give you grief over it. And because I anticipate people are going to be shy, like the first to dance at an eighth grade formal, I will start the ball rolling with a few names of people I’d like to see take a kick at this. Oh, such as Todd Hannula 🤓, Jules, George, Aura Wilming, Jennifer Smith, Sherry Caris, -nick .r, and of course miranda deely.

Anyone else who wants to play is welcome, just copy and paste your answers into a response. My own answers follow each question.

  • What is your favourite word? … balance
  • What is your least favorite word? … Republican
  • What’s the most disgusting or inappropriate thing that’s been said to you in the passion of sex? … “Are you going to be done soon?”
  • Same question reversed? … “Oh, Dan”. Oops. Her name was Bridget.
  • What turns you on creatively, spiritually & emotionally? … Originality, intelligence, a tolerant belief system, self awareness.
  • What turns you on sexually? … We don’t have time for the long list. I’ll go with confidence and face. Keywords would be intense, sweaty, all night, and a bit of dirty talk always helps.
  • What turns you off? … Insecurity, emotional hardness, cruelty, intolerance.
  • What turns you off sexually? … People who are unaware of what they want, discordant power dynamic scenes, scripted verbal, the “100% top or 100% bottom”. One word for that: Greedy!
  • Where is the sleaziest place you have had sex? Who was it with? … In the basement of Kellars bar in Paris. I have no idea what his name was, but he was hot and so was the sex.
  • What is your favorite curse word? … Fuck, said for intent or emphasis. Oddly satisfying.
  • What sound or noise do you love? … A British accent.
  • What sound or noise do you hate? … The voices of religious fundamentalists on a tangent. Or Dr. Laura.
  • Who, in your opinion is “sexy ugly”? (Definition: Kind of creepy ugly, but in an odd way still a hot turn on) … William Dafoe, Christopher Walkin, Kathleen Turner.
  • If it was “for the sake of the art” would you have actual sex on stage?….Well, considering I’m not an actor… Oh what the hell, if I was, maybe, depending on the portrayal or artistic merit. Or, if he was hot.
  • What profession other than your own would you like to attempt … Dolphin trainer. (seriously)
  • What profession would you not like to try? Why? … Sales. I tend to be impatient and fake sincerity poorly with people I wish would just go away.
  • If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates? … If it does, and that is one big if as far as I’m concerned, it would be: “Rae? Oh yes, your party is down the hall on the left. Far left”.