Old home morning

I had a great visit and breakfast with Eric Pedersen, who now lives in NJ near Philly but was an actor here in the early 80s. He also writes and did a long profile on me for the Neighbor newspaper in 1983 (online in four parts, starting here, "Playwright-in-residence in Northwest"). Who should walk in the door but another actor from our Golden Age, Tony Armstrong, who certainly makes the short list of the best actors I've ever seen in this town, his lead in OyamO's wonderful The Resurrection of Lady Lester a highlight of my theater audience experiences. (More about OyamO in Oregon Literary Review, here).

OyamO on the play:

I call this piece "a poetic mood song based on the legend of Lester Young" because it does not attempt to present Lester Young's life as chronological biography or as factual "docudrama." This piece is not a schoolroom lesson on an eccentric American genius. Just as Lester used the standard notes of a given melody to create a hundred new melodies and just as he used the words and grammar of English to create his own poetic language, so too have I used the "legend of Lester Young" to create a universal story of an American musical hero. I sought his essence, not his obituary. This play is intended for a general theatre audience as opposed to the specialized audience of jazz cultist "Lestroians."

The structure of the piece is informed by Young's musical style, which broke most conventions in an easy, laid-back virtuosity that used rhythm but was not dominated by it, and the mysterious nature of memories, which are not bound by traditional dramaturgical considerations. The entire piece is designed to flow like music across the stage, but it is not to be simply another black revue.

The language of this play is an extension, of sorts, of Lester's linguistic inventions, but actors should not get hung up on attempting to recite "poetry." They should simply speak the words with the passion of ordinary dialogue. If the character is achieved, the words will speak for themselves. There is much-intended humor in this piece, which should be consciously played to balance against the tragic aspects of Young's brief life. A lexicon of jazz argot could be helpful for those words, which might not be understood in context.

Source

So it was a great morning of nostalgic conversation and blessings, the blessings that we were able to be a part of such an extraordinary time. Charged my battery. The joy of having been there is greater than any sadness that the time has passed. Change is inevitable. What matters is the good fortune that we were in the right place at the right time.