What It Is and How It Is Done

Being only human, I cannot form the words that accurately describe how amazing last night was. For the past week I've been answering questions of "Who?" and "Why?" when the real question, it seems, was: What Is It?

Last night's performance started late. After Tuesday's canceled performance, this set the crowd of over 100 on edge. Waiting was kind of fun, though, especially when you're with a group with such a rare common interest. We tried to talk one guy out of getting his Back to the Future box-set signed, while I feebly attempted to start a sing-a-long to "Ben".

When we entered the theatre, classical music was playing, and the screen showed a cover of on of Glover's books, Concrete Inspection (Glover specializes in re-worked or cut-up Victorian-era instruction manuals). Finally, the lights dimmed and our hero took the stage and announced he would read from eight of his books. What followed was probably my favourite part of the evening, where he ranted, whispered, and joyfully led us through a series of books that had everyone laughing. His readings were accompanied by the Big Slide Show---excerpts and illustrations from his books. After the show I bought my favourite book---Rat Catching.

After the Big Slide Show, Glover introduced What Is It?---a film that took him years to create. He has been touring with this film since 2005. In 2007 he began touring with its sequel: It is Fine. EVERYTHING IS FINE!

What is It? is, at first, a bit jarring. After the first ten minutes, though, you begin to sense a sort of rhythm and forgot what made you so uncomfortable. The film's cast, except for Glover and a man called the Minstrel, all have Down Syndrome, but do not play people with Down Syndrome. This is key. The actors were not chosen for any exploitative purpose or "shock" value, but simply because they were good actors and brought a certain interest to the film. Seeing as the film itself is a piece of art that stands up to show what corporate film dare not even whisper, the fact that the actors are disabled is a testament to what their roles would be in "normal film": probably nothing.

I appreciated the film, not necessarily as an adventure in storytelling, but as something that promotes intellectual discourse. Subjects are brought up so they can be thought about and question. This is why Glover has the Q&A after the film: so we could talk, ask questions, and gain insight.

After graciously fielding a few questions and showing us the trailer to It is Fine. EVERYTHING IS FINE!, we all poured out of the theatre and lined up for a book signing. Rat Catching in hand, Andrew and I spoke to Glover briefly about what the film-making process is like for him, his work as a character actor, and so forth. He was such a pleasant and intelligent man, and promised that he'd be back in town, soon, with his next film (gracious after the poor planning that went into this).

This has been such a good year for me, in terms of the folks I've gotten to see perform. Ozzy, Leonard, Bob, and now Crispin. Who is next, friends? Who is next?