![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kitchen_kinkDear Bernie,
Forgive my familiarity. I saw Wings of Desire at the ART in Cambridge on Dec. 17, the matinee performance, and was struck by the light that seemed to emanate from you as the angel, Damiel. The character's longing; his carnal desire without knowledge of carnality; his combined innocence, passion, and long-ranging yet necessarily incomplete understanding of the world - all of it brought me right along with him: that desire to fully experience, to touch the world, to be Here Now ("and Now, and Now, and Now..."). The performance affected me deeply, and if anything, Damiel's longing and finally, achievement of contact with Reality brought me ever-closer to the immediate, and thus, to the infinite - an irony of the rare non-bitter variety.
I stayed for the post-production discussion, and when you came out to join it, you and I shared a brief smile that was, to me, one of those completely genuine human interactions - as if our souls connected in space for 5 seconds or so in total understanding, then moved on. In a more earthbound sense, it seemed simply to be that you caught my eye accidentally, saw the broad smile of appreciation I had plastered on my face, and returned it, recognizing it as the highest praise. Nonetheless, in the moment I felt a strong, if momentary, connection, such as those we sometimes have when a stranger in the street really looks at us, with none of his defenses in place, and we look back the same way, and then suddenly, it's over, yet we are changed, having opened our doors to another for just a moment. Most of all, though, I could see in that single smile, before all of the things you said in the discussion that confirmed it, that the light I had seen wasn't just Damiel's - it was fully and completely yours.
I finally got around to checking out your blog, especially since your bio indicated you had founded a theatre dedicated to the sacred in art. It made sense to me; it seemed to me that your approach to the character Damiel was based in something that was very real to you, and that your spirit was completely in the role. I noticed your comments on Advent - the bringing of the light to the darkness. I celebrate Yule at the winter solstice, myself, and my tribe and I keep the fires going all night, the longest night of the year, until the pendulum swings back. It pleased me to see echoes, in your Catholicism, of my own spirituality, though my relationship with the Catholic faith in which I was raised is fairly fraught, and I am now Pagan. It is always inspiring to see deep thoughtfulness and criticism coupled with strong belief. Also thrilling to see another fan of Leonard Cohen and Tom Waits.
I apologize if this letter seems obsessive; I promise I'm not a stalker. I just wanted to express my genuine appreciation, admiration, and, in that sense that applies to all humanity as well as to those who simply seem to "get it," love.
Love, therefore,
[dietrich]
p.s. Your last entry asks: "What to do with the beard afterward?" Keep it. It's hot.
Forgive my familiarity. I saw Wings of Desire at the ART in Cambridge on Dec. 17, the matinee performance, and was struck by the light that seemed to emanate from you as the angel, Damiel. The character's longing; his carnal desire without knowledge of carnality; his combined innocence, passion, and long-ranging yet necessarily incomplete understanding of the world - all of it brought me right along with him: that desire to fully experience, to touch the world, to be Here Now ("and Now, and Now, and Now..."). The performance affected me deeply, and if anything, Damiel's longing and finally, achievement of contact with Reality brought me ever-closer to the immediate, and thus, to the infinite - an irony of the rare non-bitter variety.
I stayed for the post-production discussion, and when you came out to join it, you and I shared a brief smile that was, to me, one of those completely genuine human interactions - as if our souls connected in space for 5 seconds or so in total understanding, then moved on. In a more earthbound sense, it seemed simply to be that you caught my eye accidentally, saw the broad smile of appreciation I had plastered on my face, and returned it, recognizing it as the highest praise. Nonetheless, in the moment I felt a strong, if momentary, connection, such as those we sometimes have when a stranger in the street really looks at us, with none of his defenses in place, and we look back the same way, and then suddenly, it's over, yet we are changed, having opened our doors to another for just a moment. Most of all, though, I could see in that single smile, before all of the things you said in the discussion that confirmed it, that the light I had seen wasn't just Damiel's - it was fully and completely yours.
I finally got around to checking out your blog, especially since your bio indicated you had founded a theatre dedicated to the sacred in art. It made sense to me; it seemed to me that your approach to the character Damiel was based in something that was very real to you, and that your spirit was completely in the role. I noticed your comments on Advent - the bringing of the light to the darkness. I celebrate Yule at the winter solstice, myself, and my tribe and I keep the fires going all night, the longest night of the year, until the pendulum swings back. It pleased me to see echoes, in your Catholicism, of my own spirituality, though my relationship with the Catholic faith in which I was raised is fairly fraught, and I am now Pagan. It is always inspiring to see deep thoughtfulness and criticism coupled with strong belief. Also thrilling to see another fan of Leonard Cohen and Tom Waits.
I apologize if this letter seems obsessive; I promise I'm not a stalker. I just wanted to express my genuine appreciation, admiration, and, in that sense that applies to all humanity as well as to those who simply seem to "get it," love.
Love, therefore,
[dietrich]
p.s. Your last entry asks: "What to do with the beard afterward?" Keep it. It's hot.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2006-12-27 09:16 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-12-27 09:30 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-12-27 10:02 pm (UTC)Seems you were far more affected by the play than I was.
I thought the problems with the direction took away from the performances.
no subject
Date: 2006-12-28 04:41 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-12-28 06:19 am (UTC)just do it...
Date: 2006-12-28 07:14 pm (UTC)you would be SURPRISED ...
and so will he...
mojo