The Soundtrack Series

On Thursday April 22, I went to the third edition of Sean Williams' and Dana Rossi's The Soundtrack Series at Waltz-Astoria. (Between this evening and Coffee Black Productions, I feel like I only see theater in coffee shops these days.)

On the third Thursday of each month, six writers present a ten-minute monologue about "the memories, stories, or tirades triggered every time they hear a particular song of their choosing."

Back in February, Jennifer went to the first evening with our friend Kate Erin Gibson. Unfortunately, we missed the March evening because it fell on the same evening as our Intellectual Property table reading. Jennifer also had a great time that night, talking about our friends in the area who would really enjoy the format.

Hosted by Dana Rossi, the monologues I saw represented a great mix tape of music and writers. Ben VandenBoom, Tabitha Vidaurri, Kate Spencer, Kevin R. Free, Tammy Oler, and Sean Williams.

I'm a wallflower, and I tend to feel like an outside in my own circle of friends. Before the show I did manage to speak briefly to a gentleman who told me that he was the owner of the Munch Cafe. He asked if this was a karaoke thing, I told him that I wasn't sure what to expect but that I didn't think there would be any singing. What we got was an evening of reminiscences about a variety of experiences, car accidents, trips to London, and may other topics that ran the emotional gamut from depression an humiliation to triumph and just out and out laughter.

There was a ten-dollar minimum, and while I have no problem paying for a wonderful evening of entertainment, I have to admit that it is hard for me to find $10 worth of tea to drink. (Mind you Waltz-Astoria sells sandwiches and desserts, but I had arrived having just had dinner with my family.) A few tall cups of tea into the evening, and with a full bladder I ultimately just handed one of the owners the rest of my money and told him, "Let's just say I spent ten dollars."

I measure the success of a work of art mostly by one question; does it provide inspiration? I am able to consider our show Perfectly Natural a success because an audience member told me that not only did he have a good time, but that his wife left the show talking about being inspired to return to acting. By that standard, The Soundtrack Series is a tremendous success because Jennifer and I have both talked about being inspired to reflect on the soundtrack of our own lives. Who knows, maybe we'll end up with a monologue of our own.