Tabernacle July 25, 2016

The show was declared a complete mess and ended at midnight almost on the dot, something unheard of in one of the smallest performance venue in Gainesville, much less the southeast.  You can't have more than 5 people inside the Sidecar without feeling thronged by a mob, but last night the only visitor to the Tabernacle who remained for the whole show was Noah from Downtowngainesville.net, who was there to write about the host, Tom Miller, and his upcoming joint exhibition with Alan Bushnell of the Hardback Cafe, titled Sex, Religion, and Food.  This is happening during the July Artwalk, probably one of the three most miserable artwalks of the year because they become death marches as you trudge through the pudding of humidity and heat, even at night.  But I will be there, hopefully with my escort, Rocco, and a fifth of gin stashed in my bra (they only have beer and wine at the Hardback) to see the spectacle and soak up the local love. Free cheeseburgers, apparently, will be served.

For the Tabernacle performance I tried developing a new character, Service Human.  I'm me but not me, more of a victim than usual, I guess. I got on stage with my reflective safety vest that has "Service Human" in iron-on letters on the back, except I didn't have enough room on one side so the first word looks like "Serv-ice."  I like that the signs and props I make look like they've been thrown together in five minutes - mostly because they are, but also because it looks like something I would do, something absurd-looking and hard to read. I talked about how I began volunteering as a Service Human or, as I like to say, "Human, at your service."  The dog I serve, Kaya, wanted to be there but had a headache.  She sent a surrogate, which is a small stuffed dragon; my only comment is that it doesn't look like her. The narrative I'm pushing is that I am a helper for a self-centered dog who seems to ignore me most of the time, except when she wants to play fetch, which is all the time IRL lol.  In thinking about Service Human, it's a way of looking at how I have been a people pleaser in the past, and Service Human is a reflection of that servant, victim attitude.