Guest Post: Emily G

(EDITOR'S NOTE: I've been wanting to write an update, but I haven't had time.  Goo said: "Why haven't you updated the blog?" I said: "Busy. You write one."  She said: "Fine."  This is the result of that. I told her I wouldn't change anything she wrote.  That may have been a mistake.)

Good morning, Friends of Mike. I am honored, chuffed and mildly mad with power to be the first guest blogger in the history of Walking Into A Buzzsaw. They call me Emily Goo. In a year where I have been fortunate enough to make many new amazing friends, Mike is the one I've become closest to by far, and I'm more or less incapable of exaggerating my fondness for him. We met during Curtains, which I used to depart from my regular identity as mild-mannered Congressional staffer by day and develop an alternate nocturnal personality characterized by showtune addiction, allowing myself to be talked into overly revealing costumes, and excessive reliance on any strain of humor that can be coupled with the phrase "That's what she said."

Mike also is one of the few people who gets me to talk about my feelings; since this is not at all my bag, I don't know exactly how he does that - possibly sorcery, maybe sodium thiopental - but to his great credit, I must confess that it hasn't been the worst thing in the world. You know how Tracy Jordan on 30 Rock is always asking the world to help him figure out what's "on his mind grapes"? Mike is, essentially, the curator of my mind grapes. Often, in the middle of a workday (whatever, I get a lunch break), I will tear across the Capitol and over to his apartment, where I drag him away from whatever he's doing to scream with me in the alleyways of Northwest DC. We also are proud to be the two creepiest people in our theater company - his is more of the creepy-hug, heavy-breathing, invading-your-personal-space-to-the-point-that-you-can't-help-but-like-it type, whereas I'm more of a prowl-outside-your-door, leave-you-on-edge-because-you-have-no-idea-if-I'm-watching-everything-you're-doing-from-a-secure-location variety - but either way, we earn the crap out of that title, both competitively and cooperatively. And no, in case this love letter to one of my dearest friends is coming across incorrectly, Mike and I really are just friends. In point of fact, we assume a tremendous amount of personal responsibility for conducting each other's romantic affairs, like some kind of unholy proxy.

Here is a picture of us at Sarah's princess party on Friday (more on that below). It explains everything.

You get the idea. You just want to know: Where exactly IS Mike right now? Well, relax - he's definitely not tied to a post in my basement with a bucket, Latin bible and a daily ration of Xanax-laced sweet tea and 16 ounces of canned beans. No, really, he's spending his entire days in class - just ask anyone dealing with the withdrawal symptoms from his usually liberal use of GChat during the day, cf. your humble guest blogger - and his entire evenings in rehearsal, since we are now less than 36 hours from the opening curtain of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead. For those of you with poor retention, Mike plays the leading role of Guildenstern, where he has to really stretch his range by playing a sarcastic, wisecracking, often befuddled man wandering around a nebulous world waiting to see what happens. In all seriousness, though, he continues to be among the most extraordinary actors I've known, and as the assistant director for the show, watching him inhabit this role has been exhilarating. What? You don't even have tickets yet? How do you even live with...okay. No. We can fix this. Hie you hence to this link and reserve your ticket this instant. http://www.goldstar.com/events/washington-dc/rosencrantz-and-guildenstern-are-dead-1

There, don't you feel better? Isn't it nice not walking around with all that uncertainty about the next time you get to see Mike perform? Surely it's been affecting your digestion. I'm glad I could help.

To give you the full experience, I'll give you a few snapshots from Mike's life in the last few days:
- This most recent Friday night, he attended a princess party for our friend Sarah's birthday. Here, have a picture of Davia, Ben, me, Mike, and Kelsey. Yeah, I know I'm front and center in this one. It's my guest blog, it is my prerogative!

- On Saturday, he blew off much of R+G's load-in, much to Master Carpenter Davia's chagrin, to show Kelsey around the town. (EDITOR'S NOTE: This is not exactly true, but I don't have time to explain.  This may be a flaw in my brilliant plan to let Emily guest-blog.)

- On Sunday night, he saw Kelsey off and then had rehearsal all night. Also Monday. He also will have rehearsal all night tonight.

- Last night, for rehearsal, his detachable sleeves became permanently detached due to a wardrobe malfunction, so he was required to perform his role with a sleeveless jacket over white shirt, which lent a pleasingly Han Solo-esque quality to his portrayal of Guildenstern.

So, there. You're all caught up on all things Mike. Thank you all for having me. Tell Mike how much you adored this post, and perhaps I will be back for future guest blogging.