Just a Taste, Pt. II

After dragging myself out of bed, Ashlyn drove me to meet Matthew for a play. The performance took place at Steppenwolf, which is only the most amazing theater in all of Chicago (or so I’ve been told). Dead Man’s Cell Phone was an interesting, though somewhat odd, play that took an in-depth look at how relationships are born after someone passes away. A woman named Jean discovers a very recently deceased man at a local café, and answers his incessantly ringing cell phone. At first, she picks up to quiet the ever ringing phone. Later, however, she becomes entwined in the dead man’s life – consoling callers as they learn about his death, offering condolences to close family members, and even assuming peculiar chores from the dead man’s illegal occupation. Though the undertones of the play explored valid and thought-provoking concepts… the presentation was quirky in most places, funny in some, and odd in all.

Matt and I grabbed food afterwards and explored Wrigleyville, where his apartment was located. Though housed in a modest studio apartment on Chicago’s north side, I had to hand it to the man. His big dreams were surely going to take him places. He had left school, after six years of due diligence, degree-less. Yes, he had changed majors a few times… but by the end of this twelfth semester with the ACC university, after tirelessly completing a thesis and presentation upon which final credits depended, the school “regretted to inform him” that his thesis topic had not been approved. WTF? Huh? What?!

So, he packed up his things, sold his major possessions (along with much of his clothing) and headed home. There, he left his car, bought himself a one-way ticket, and moved to Chicago. He bummed around on friend’s couches and floors for as long as they would let him. He waited tables by day, and acted by night. Sometimes, he would pick up a full-time gig at touristy places like Navy Pier. Other times, it was a hustle just to buy food. But, he was living the life of a starving artist. He was predestined to succeed, and didn’t mind paying his dues. I admire and applaud him to no end.

Very few of us have the gumption, wherewithal, tenacity or drive to do the things Matt has done. We dream big, but act slowly. We trudge along the path everyone before us has taken. We mimic the exact same complaints our predecessors spoke. We talk the talk, but we don’t walk the walk. Matthew literally dropped everything he was doing and said “my dreams are in Chicago”. After acting in a student-run Improv Group in college, performing as the university mascot at major sporting events, and asserting himself in every way imaginable in the theater world, Matt decided it was time. He would move to Chicago, build his resume, and then relocate to New York to join the cast of SNL. It sounds far-fetched, right? It sounds “nice” but unrealistic, right? Well… if you saw this man’s apartment, or sat across from him, dangling your feet over Lake Michigan while laughing about high school days, or listened to the passion in his voice as he described the work he’s done in less than a year… then you would understand. You would believe. And soon, you will. His Seven-Year Plan is well underway. He has remarkable productions under his belt, including one at Steppenwolf. He is gifted, talented, and driven. The ingredients are there, and over the course of our conversation on Sunday I was given just a taste of what his future holds…

I can’t wait for the main course.



http://www.steppenwolf.org/
and, catch the same production on Broadway, featuring one of my faves:
http://theater2.nytimes.com/2008/03/05/theater/reviews/05cell.html