YES BLOG

On Stage

When we arrive Joan and I peek into the buzzing, packed auditorium, a sold-out 1,500 seater. A sudden lurch of adrenaline. On the stage, under the blinding lights, I begin with “what do you think acting really is?” My goal is to create a space for Joan in which she can shine, relax, and reveal her luminous intelligence. In the process I stumble a bit, but that is irrelevant, for the event is about her. When she throws the focus back on me for a moment, praising my work, I blush and lose my place and, fumbling, have to get out my notebook. No one seems to mind, but my nervousness throughout the experience (which I hope is not distractingly obvious) leaves me with a deep respect for the difficult job of interviewer.

We go out to dinner during the screening with the director of the festival, Roxanne Messina Captor. She is an ex-dancer, so she and I talk about the dancer’s life, missing it, and about Cuba, where she met the legendary Alicia Alonso.

It seems relatively easy to get back up on the stage again after the screening to answer audience questions, helped by the fact that a large number of people are on their feet, applauding. The best answer so far to the inevitable question from the audience of why 'He' eventually joins 'She' in Cuba came from Simon on stage at the Tribeca festival. 'It was a free ticket', he said, not missing a beat.

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