Moon 8: “Venus is a Star Who Gets What She Wants” *SPOILERS* “It wasn’t a fixable problem. Some of the problems cannot be fixed.” We return to the Ikea in Red Bank in the eighth episode of Mike Daisey’s All the Faces of the Moon, where Daisey and his gender-morphing friend Jack are attending a service of the First Church of Christ Ikea Redeemer. As … Continue reading
REVIEW: ALL THE FACES OF THE MOON PART 7
Moon #7: “The Naked Emperor is Still Laughing” *SPOILERS* “All story is struggle. And this is our secret history.” Mike Daisey works two very different angles in the intro to Part Seven of his 29-part theatrical opus, All the Faces of the Moon. The result is a PACKED episode, but these two angles are important, because they further accentuate the ways in which this insanely … Continue reading REVIEW: ALL THE FACES OF THE MOON PART 7
REVIEW: ALL THE FACES OF THE MOON PART 6
Moon #6: “The Empress Holds Her Cards Close” *SPOILERS* “It’s always been a war of mythologies and dreams. That’s how these things actually work.” First, some housekeeping: now that I have reached Chapter Six of Mike Daisey’s All the Faces of the Moon, I feel the need to tag each of the posts with a SPOILER WARNING. Characters from previous episodes have started interacting with … Continue reading REVIEW: ALL THE FACES OF THE MOON PART 6
REVIEW: ALL THE FACES OF THE MOON PART 5
Moon #5: “Mercury is a Messenger who Will Not Wait” “We all have that feeling of falling out of one narrative and into another because, you know, life.” I’ve made it to part five of Mike Daisey’s All the Faces of the Moon and the world-building in previous episodes is already beginning to pay off. The dense mythological elements that have only been lurking around … Continue reading REVIEW: ALL THE FACES OF THE MOON PART 5
REVIEW: ALL THE FACES OF THE MOON PART 4
Moon #4: “She’s the High Priestess to you, Jack” “This is precisely why no one invites Baudrillard to parties.” For years – YEARS! – my wife and I have racked our brains about why we intermittently receive copies of New York Magazine in the mail. Maybe we signed up for a free trial at a super market or something? Or maybe they are sending them … Continue reading REVIEW: ALL THE FACES OF THE MOON PART 4
REVIEW: ALL THE FACES OF THE MOON PART 3
Moon #3: “The Magician and the Fish” “Roll for initiative.” Episode 3 of All the Faces of the Moon finds storyteller Mike Daisey in top form. Focused, funny, and full of promise about the overall direction of the piece, this chapter recounts Daisey’s early days playing D&D in rural Maine and the events that led to his becoming a monologist. It culminates with a fateful … Continue reading REVIEW: ALL THE FACES OF THE MOON PART 3
REVIEW: ALL THE FACES OF THE MOON PART 2
Moon #2: “The Fool Who Walks Through Walls” “There’s something beautiful about it, if you’ve ever gone to an open mic and seen someone dash themselves against the wall of night.” The second installment of Mike Daisey’s All the Faces of the Moon further explores the theme of change. But it’s not just urban change, like the closing of a fondly remembered lounge and amateur performance venue called “Happy Ending” that … Continue reading REVIEW: ALL THE FACES OF THE MOON PART 2
REVIEW: ALL THE FACES OF THE MOON PART 1
Moon #1: “Playing the Hand You’re Dealt” “I’m going to bore you to tears with the very heart of me.” About halfway through the first installment of Mike Daisey’s All the Face of the Moon, he uses the quote above to liken his monologing to a kind of therapy. It’s a bizarre relationship from his perspective, wherein he talks and talks about his inner life … Continue reading REVIEW: ALL THE FACES OF THE MOON PART 1
ALL THE FACES OF THE MOON PRE-GAME
Monologist Mike Daisey is currently in the midst of an epic 29-night “theatrical novel” called All the Faces of the Moon. Each night from September 5th through October 3rd, Daisey has performed and will perform a new “chapter” at Joe’s Pub. When I first heard about this ambitious format, my first instinct as someone who (wrongly) considers himself a hardcore theater commentator was that I … Continue reading ALL THE FACES OF THE MOON PRE-GAME
Gestalt Reading: Sagan, Shakespeare, and Human Error
Two or three years ago, I had a reading experience that Carl Sagan would probably describe as downright “numinous.” With a few exceptions, my reading is exclusive to the Audible audiobook app. This allows me to read while commuting between White Plains to Manhattan and doing stuff around the house. Despite nearly everyone’s protestations that I am “not really reading” when I listen to audiobooks, … Continue reading Gestalt Reading: Sagan, Shakespeare, and Human Error
Surreal Time Press 