wMonday, June 7th, 2010
Dear Everyone,
Thank you to all the sons and daughters (and parents!) who joined us for last month's
How I Learned It's Basically All My Parents' Fault. Here's one personal fear about having kids: one day my children will grow up to be writers and storytellers (or worse--actors), and they will gather up all the myriad ways in which I fell shamefully short as a parent and they will TELL THE WORLD.
Here are some pictures, courtesy of
Jon Boulier, of us selling our parents down the river:
JANICE ERLBAUM read from her forthcoming memoir,
My Mother Is Crazy. I really can't say enough about how inspiring I find her to be. I'm sort of in awe of her. I mean Janice, not her mother. Although her mother, we know, is inspiring in her own special way.
TERENCE MICKEY of the great Moth storytelling series empire, shared an excerpt from his novel based on a totally different empire: his family's garbage business.
I know I'm either explaining how my mother fucked me up for life, or I'm quoting Ally Sheedy in
The Breakfast Club, because that's pretty much what I do every day.
RACHEL SHERMAN completely captured the audience with a true tale crafted just for How I Learned. The story began with prank calling her childhood therapist. Man, I wish I'd thought of that as a kid.
RAKESH SATYAL, author of
Blue Boy, read from his new novel-in-progress and then broke into a rousing a capella rendition of Madonna's "Papa Don't Preach." Yes. He. Did.
I continue to be fortunate enough to have great performers and fun crowds so my parents must have done something right. I GUESS.
Stay tuned for June 23rd's How I Learned super spectacular. Bring your ghetto blasters, your concert t-shirts, and your backstage passes for HOW I LEARNED MUSIC COULD CHANGE MY LIFE. Hope to see you there! Stay tuned...