Just another Paul Rekk Monday. Oh-Ooo-Oh.

Hello friendly online friends! And welcome to Monday!

Well, Friday went off without a hitch. Per Diem's Hitchless Event, one might call it. Or HiTCHLeSS, in big red rubberstamp letters. Why? What a dumb question. Of course I don't know.

Pardon Paul, he's a punchy little bugger today.

Yes, yes, without a hitch indeed. We had a great turnout -- in the whereabouts of 30 or so -- and everyone was willing to play, whether that meant getting on their feet and jumping into a ten-minute play they had never seen hide nor hair of before or just kicking back and enjoying watching others put their neurons in overdrive. There was a surprising (in a very good way) mix of comic and dramatic performances and a lot of surprisingly (in a very amazing way) great performances, considering the zero hour prep time. It was a credit to the level of talent we have to work with in the city. People milled a little afterwards and a few of the more familiar faces hopped down to Goldie's for some cheap PBR and loose post mortem. I had a great time, and it sounds like everyone else did as well, which is all I can really ask for.

Plus, we now have a few interested candidates for that exclusive third ensemble spot. Hopefully we'll be able to meet up with them and have an official ensemble within a matter of weeks. I'll keep you posted, Interweb.

I also caught Sunday's industry matinee of the highly acclaimed Soiree DADA -- and I know you've all been hanging onto the edges of your seats for Senor Rekk to give his thoughts on the show, right? Alrighty then. I don't think you can really spoil the experience of the show by simply talking about it (Don, Joe, Bob, anyone else involved, would you (dis)agree?), but if you are especially adverse to spoilers, you may want to turn away, as I will be going into detail.

It was like nothing I have seen before. Which is a good chunk of the point. After hurting DADA Flutter's feelings and falling prey to DADA Rusty Cluster's misleading ways, I found my stride, impressing DADA DomDeluise with a card trick and eventually being brought into the DADA Brova fold with my keen eyesight, soft hands and ID card declaring my post-21ness. I kicked back at the Brova bistro tables and had a glass of wine. He slid a handwritten Non-Aggression Pact my way, which I happily signed. The guy to my left signed away his Power Of Attorney to Brova, also on a handwritten note. I question that decision.

Then the whirlwind began. And Don was right -- I was never bored. I was challenged at every bend, but always in different ways. Physically, as we were encouraged to (and did) fondle another audience member's ass in order to bring him to a proper level of offense or as DADA Boxcar began to profess her feelings for me before being interrupted by Rusty. Morally, watching the another audience member mercilessly shoot the freak and watching yet another audience member -- this one a friend of mine -- refuse to stop DADA Dabo's burning of an innocent tissue. I urgently wanted to stride across the room and take the tissue away from Dabo's sadistic flame. And had I fully allowed myself to get into the spirit of the show, I probably should have. I suck. And emotionally -- which was the least expected -- inexplicably from DADA Nip's paen to her half-devoured baby and from Dabo's ultra-climactic "One Of Me" a moment of catharsis that hung heavy on an audience aware but unable to meet it.

The show ran about an hour and 15 minutes, felt like 45 minutes, and left me as exhausted as if it were three hours. And magically, after it was all over, Joe Janes was there. I hadn't seen him come in, but I could've been too distracted to notice. Either way it was good to finally meet him and affirm that he is an actual person. There was no Don Hall. The alibi was Work(shop) in Progess, but my suspicion, as from the start, is that he's a figment of my imagination. However, I'm going again on Friday (consider the gauntlet dropped, Don!), determined to honor my heritage by being accepted by the Germans (consider the gauntlet dropped, DADA Mondo Yippeeeeeeeee!), and with a friend in tow. A friend who knows nothing of Dada and who I have instructed to learn nothing of Dada in the coming week. And that's a big gauntlet. Excitement abounds!

By the way, Don -- not only was I not bored, I absolutely liked it and had a great time. Sincere thanks. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got a project to work on: "Make a mobile: Influence: Ch-" The DADA box has spoken.

P.Rekk
2007