There’s an interesting thing going on in the arts in Durham in the next couple of weeks in the form of the play an oak tree.
| an oak tree a play by Tim Crouch directed by Jeff Storer Featuring Dana Marks March 8-24, 2007 an oak tree is the story of two men brought together by loss: a father whose daughter has been killed in a car accident and the driver of that car, a provincial stage hypnotist. For the first time since the accident these two men meet, when the father volunteers for the hypnotist’s act… The Hypnotist is played by Dana Marks; the Father is played by a different guest actor for each performance. The actors playing the Father walk on stage having neither seen nor read a word of the play they’re in… until they’re in it. Manbites Dog’s 20th season continues with the North Carolina premiere of an oak tree, a bold and absurdly comic new play about loss, suggestion, and the power of the mind, told with rich theatricality and shocking humour. WHO’S THE DADDY? |
My friend, Gregor McElvogue will be playing the father at the Friday, March 23rd, performance, which I will attend. I also bought tickets for the performance the Friday before, the 16th. I really want to see how things change depending on who is improvising in the role of the father.
Manbites Dog is a great little theater in Durham that’s been doing good work for years now. If you’ve never been, you owe it to yourself to check it out sometime. Tickets can be purchased online here.
I slept in this morning, had a lazy afternoon, and at about 4:00 headed outside to enjoy the great weather today.
I stopped by the Hallmark store at Avent Ferry & Gorman, which was closed. I hate that place, and only shop there when I’m in a crunch. Today’s sign stating Monday through Friday store hours only didn’t do anything to change my opinion of the place.
I stopped in the Family Dollar store, where I purchased five bags of Bit-O-Honeys and a birthday card.
I did the three-mile walk around the lake, during which I listened to a bunch of podcasts, including:
| Series | Episode |
|---|---|
| Legal Lad | Where There’s a Will, There’s a Way |
| Legal Lad | You (Sometimes) Have the Right To Remain Naked |
| Series | Episode |
|---|---|
| Slate Explainer | What Rewards Can Female Suicide Bombers Expect? |
| Slate Explainer | Why Did NYSE Traders Boo After the Crash on Thursday? |
| Slate Explainer | Why Does February Have only 28 Days? |
| Slate Explainer | Was Britney’s Hair Full of Drugs? |
| Slate Explainer | Why Does the Camera Add 10 Pounds? |
| Slate Explainer | Is 50,000 Tons a Lot of Oil? |
| Slate Explainer | Why do clothes wrinkle? |
| Series | Episode |
|---|---|
| NPR Story of the Day | Church Hosts Conference on “Ex-Gay” Therapy |
| NPR Story of the Day | Study Sees Rise in Narcissism Among Students |
| NPR Story of the Day | Death by Excited Delirium: Diagnosis or Cover-Up? |
| NPR Story of the Day | Opting Out of College for a Blue-Collar Life |
| NPR Story of the Day | Katrina Update: Bush’s Friend in the Upper Ninth |
| NPR Story of the Day | Fed Up: Man Sues Telemarketers, and Wins |
| NPR Story of the Day | Creator Seeks to Preserve “Electric Slide” |
| NPR Story of the Day | Greased French Quarter Poles a Mardi Gras Tradition |
| NPR Story of the Day | A Post-Katrina Reunion: Finding Helen Carey |
| NPR Story of the Day | School Faces Dilemma on Valuable Art |
| Series | Episode |
|---|---|
| ABC News Money Minute | U.S. Automaker Picks Up Speed |
| ABC News Money Minute | U.S. Workers Get Fatter Paychecks |
| ABC News Money Minute | Real Estate’s Hard Sell |
| ABC News Money Minute | NYSE Gets Shanghaied |
| ABC News Money Minute | Correcting Credit Mistakes |
| ABC News Money Minute | Which Stores Will Make You Happy? |
| ABC News Money Minute | College Financial Aid Deadline Looms |
| ABC News Money Minute | Money and the Marriage Wedge |
| ABC News Money Minute | Chrysler Doles Out Pink Slips |
| ABC News Money Minute | Job Search News for College Seniors |
The one about the rewards female suicide bombers can expect, if you don’t put much faith in religion, “read” as pure satire. It would have made a great Onion Radio News podcast.
I highlighted the Britney one, because this wasn’t something that had occurred to me—that she might have chopped off all of hair to hide drug use for her pending child custody hearing. I hadn’t heard that in the news, if it was.
I highlighted the Electric Slide one, because it made me both chuckle and sing the whole way through.
Dancing was fun tonight. We bee-lined it out of there as soon as dancing was cut off, which was at 10:25.