Be right back, I’m building a canoe
Oh, hi friends!
I’ve become obsessed with canoes.
Let me explain.
My friend Carrie told me she knew a guy who was committing his summer to building a canoe. Not to trekking around Europe or lying by the beach. A canoe. He was building a canoe.
That one all-encompassing task became a singular focus. He couldn’t meet for drinks or hijack his day with meetings. The canoe. He’s gotta build the canoe.
(Ever the intrepid writer, Carrie turned this anecdote into a delightful piece about him and more folks foregoing their summer vacations for “creative hiatuses,” like writing a book, training to be an amateur chef, slinging cockles at Smogasburg, and, yes, handcrafting an 18-foot canoe. It was on the cover of the New York Times Styles section this weekend!)
This idea is fascinating.
We all have our own canoes to build. They take time—so much time—but when do you have as much time as in the summer? Sacrifices must be made, for sure, but…at the end of the summer, you’ll end up with…something big. Something beautiful. Something valuable.
So think about your own canoe this summer. What would you like to build?
“I went for the interview and they said, ‘Why do you want to join the Coast Guard?’ And I said, ‘I want to live in a lighthouse,’” she recalled. “They said, ‘Forget it, you’ll never live in a lighthouse.’”
Well, guess what? Margaret Winski did end up living in a lighthouse—the Montauk Lighthouse—for 30 years. Now she's retiring and moving to Maine. Never give up on your dreams! Loved this little profile in the New York Times.
Do you like thought-provoking new theater?
St. Petersburg, Russia. 2014. As they have many times before, the members of an anti-LGBTQ hate group lure a young gay man to a remote location, intending to entrap him and humiliate him on camera. But tonight, things don't go to plan.
Based on factual accounts, "Lured" explores the persecution of gays in Russia, and the repercussions that follow. The play challenges us to explore how hate is taught and ask ourselves if revenge is ever the answer.
In November 2018, “Lured,” directed by Avella and (Brass Ring-er!) Carlotta Brentan, is coming to Theater for the New City and will also be staged at the inaugural edition of the OnStage! American Theater Festival in Rome in January 2019.
They’re raising money now for the production—please do contribute to this timely piece of theater if it’s in your ability!
Do you like these daily emails? Please share with a friend!
Thanks, as always, for reading.
Love, Kara