Random Events

Sometimes it's not enough to just draw in ink; sometimes you go through a day and just follow the lines wherever they take you. The best days, like my best drawings, happen without a plan.

I got my hair cut this morning and left Sonya's place on the Lower East Side without much of a schedule for the day. I sent a package of drawings to The New Yorker yesterday and it should be a couple of weeks yet before I get the rejection letter. I've finished enough of the new play now that I just have to wait until tomorrow's reading to figure out what I'm going to write next. I had a rehearsal scheduled for the show (which is now called "Here and Gone") at seven, but that was an entire afternoon away.

So I looked out over East Chinatown and decided to start walking until I felt like stopping.

I wandered over past the end of the Manhattan Bridge and came upon the Golden Unicorn, a dim sum place that I went to with my cousins and brothers and parents last January when everyone was in town for the Lord and Taylor windows. It was about noon so I wandered in and started chowing down on dumplings and shumai and green-tea-rice while drawing the other diners. Soon I had all of the waiters at my table passing around my drawing pad, pointing to the waitress who I'd included in the drawing. They seemed to really like the drawing, but they were all speaking Mandarin, so I'm mostly going on the thumbs-up and smiles they kept flashing me, together and individually.

When I left, full of food and stoned on MSG, I decided to wander over to Tribeca and say hello to the folks at the mighty Drama Dept. I walked into the office just as Alana was leaving to take stuff over to a rehearsal that I had no idea was about to happen. She grabbed me and told me to come along. So, one quick cab-ride later and I was over at Comix, a new club at 14th and 9th where Drama Dept. is presenting The Cartels, a soap opera spoof written by Douglas Carter Beane. If you liked Dynasty and dislike Republicans, this show is probably for you. Also, it's funny and has a crazy, star-studded cast, so I pulled up a chair, grabbed a bottle of water and settled in with pad and paper in front of me.

And that's how I ended up drawing Elizabeth Berkley and Joanna Gleason and David Rakoff (who John and Shana and I just watched the other night on The Daily Show) and the rest of the gang as they made me giggle and got ready for next Monday's show (not necessarily in that order).

And then, later in the evening I had my own rehearsal and it went really well . . .

So, yeah, that's this Wednesday done; full of unplanned fun and a couple of drawings.

And, you know what? Elizabeth Berkley is pretty funny . . . even if she did take Bekkah's role that one time . . .