Glorying in the Success of My Friends

It has been a very exciting month.

Best Friend Cate and I met at undergrad, in the Theatre Department at New Paltz, but during our four years at school she decided that Theatre wasn't for her. She started focusing on writing, went off to grad school, and now she's a fantastic writer with a blog that will make you laugh, and make you think. Mostly it makes you think "Fuck, I need to read more," because she's so intelligent it makes me want to throw up.

Recently she wrote a review of the novel, "Deathless" by Catherynne Valente that was retweeted by the author on Twitter. And if that wasn't exciting enough, I'm thrilled to announce that Best Friend Cate is having her first story published! Her short story, "Fox and Girl: A Bestial Romance" has won the 2012 Wabash Prize for Fiction! The second place winner is a published author. Suck it, guy.

(*Actor With a Business Card would like to note that the guy who won second place is probably also a really good author, and he should be really proud of his accomplishment, but she's just really happy for her friend so he can suck it.)

Guest Judge Aimee Bender, author of "The Girl in the Flammable Skirt" said, "First off, this story charmed me completely, gloriously. The author has a beautiful sense of the visual; each time I could picture perfectly the scene described, as if it were an illustration by an artist of a children’s book that is really not at all a children’s book.  But the writing is sly, like a fox, because yes, it’s full of wonder and charm and delight, but underneath there’s real depth here, and a genuine exploration of a relationship and the two struggling characters in it.  Both Fox and Girl, iconic as they are, feel real, dimensional, sympathetic, flawed.  So it’s utterly freshly told, but never sacrifices substance.  What a pleasure to read!”

HOORAY FOR CATE!!!

And in the Theatre world, one of my other friends is kicking ass and taking names! The lovely Harmony Stempel, one of my good friends and colleagues (and coincidentally Best Friend Cate's cousin) has been working on a solo show for the past couple of years called Human Fruit Bowl. It's an experimental show that examines the relationships between artists and their models.

Last year it went to the Prague Fringe Festival, where it won the Kreativni cena (Creative Award), and was dubbed "Best of the Prague Fringe" by the Amsterdam Fringe. She was even invited to perform at the Amsterdam Fringe and the Hong Kong Microfest. And finally, FINALLY it is getting produced in New York:

SO I GET TO SEE IT!

They have a kickstarter campaign if you'd like to give them your money.

But most importantly, you should take note of the performance dates, June 8th- 17th at the SoloNOVA Arts Festival, presented by TerraNOVA Collective.

I am SO SO proud and excited for my friends!