"Remembering The Way Back To The Ledge..."

Starting from nothing isn't easy, but a story has to begin somewhere. The wretched characters in The Only Friends We Have, the new show by the physical theatre troupe Under the Table, have nowhere to go but up. Their collective assets have been reduced to two trash cans and a wooden plank -- they also share a bug infestation, though few would consider that an asset.

This company has produced a series of the most consistently astounding shows I've seen in New York. I got to see a ten-minute preview of TOFWH last night (including a delightful magic trick), and was sincerely impressed -- by trolling the muck for interesting and pathetic characters, Under the Table has struck upon something dark, hilarious, and oddly sweet. Come and check it out -- the show will be at NYC's Here Arts Center from the 4th through the 9th. Take a date, and he or she will be yours for life! Or be mine, because I'll probably hit the show more than once.

(This Saturday at Here they'll also be reprising Solo: A Two Person Show, the act I wrote about so glowingly last year.)

As far as icons go, the Fool has become so well known for his oblique wisdom that we forget what a buffoon he is. Sometimes he appears to be a jester, which implies that his silliness is purely presentational -- a sly commentary on human foibles. At other times, he's more authentically not-all-there, a poor wanderer subject to ridiculous flights of fancy. Whether or not he's in on his own joke doesn't matter (when reading the cards, either interpretation might apply. Or both!). What's important is the playful and experimental spirit of this mysterious, poignant, and inspiring card.

The Fool is typically numbered zero, or not assigned a number at all. He doesn't have an assigned place in the 22-card hierarchy of the Trumps, which makes him a literal cipher. I used the "empty set" notation from mathematics on my version -- an empty set is one which contains no elements. Compare him to the first card in the deck, The Magician, who has all the elements at his disposal. Apparently the gulf between zero and one is wider than we might think...

We can learn a lot from the Fool from watching and following his example, and I think that's the point of his appearance in most readings -- it's an invitation to "play the fool" and see what happens. However, that's a lot different than being the Fool -- actually finding yourself at that precipice, filled with such purity of confidence and gladness of heart that, should you fall, the gods would throw themselves down upon the rocks to cushion your landing. (Remember, God protects children, sailors, drunks, and fools!) These perfectly giddy starting-over times come on their own only occasionally, and while we can often tap into their energy afterward by reminiscing, we also experience a persistent amnesia that keeps us from remembering the way back to the ledge.

In comedy we can laugh at our worst fears. Try to remember that you can also laugh at them when they arise in real life. Perhaps your roots will pull up easier than you think, allowing you to traipse about and settle down somewhere unexpected. Perhaps your dead end is a beginning in disguise. Perhaps your new beginning is a false start, but so what? Keep that helium in your heart and in your head, and you're likely to flourish wherever you ultimately touch down. You're on your own when it comes to any insect problems, though...

Previously On Arcanalogue: The Fool