i think i have partially figured out one possible way to break out of my creative slump. i notice that if i go out to see performances by friends or acquaintances and then hang around after the performances in the theaters and lobbies,  that i will eventually be invited to the after-parties.

and, even if i barely know anyone and barely speak to anyone (and vice versa) at these parties, just being there might give me the delusion that i have somehow contributed in very significant ways…  that i was a collaborator… that we had just shared in this really intense experience.. and i could sense the camaraderie people (even complete strangers) often feel when they’ve been through something really intense together… like a blizzard or a flood or a war or an earthquake or an expedition up Mt. Everest or a Wagner Ring Cycle opera.

as I was leaving tonight’s after-party at the Rainbo Club, i said to one of the artists that i hoped we could together on another project again soon. And she said, “definitely. ” now i just have to figure out a way to learn her name.