As we prepare to close down Boneyard Prayer, a few days away, reflection is only expected. And necessary. We, as artists, hardly know what our work will become or how it will affect audiences, or ourselves. We have loose ideas, random images, impulse towards certain materials… but rarely do we understand where the product will actually conclude, or how our influences will develop, or what shape the event will actually take. This, at least, is the process we at Redmoon embrace.

I am deeply grateful to the whole team who manufactured this inspired work- not only the primary designers, writers, and performers, but the work of Jim, Vanessa, and Rebecca- the show was really a product of many people’s work. Many people’s skills, devotions, care…. The whole theater- interns, marketing, development, the board- once again, Redmoon stood behind the unknown, the mysterious, the unexpected, the challenging. And I believe we are better people for it. Does the work fit our mission? – almost. Our work tends to be grand in scale, broad and fantastic, transforming and giant, based in celebration and humor. This work was smaller in scale, smaller in story, smaller in approach. But the work shares one major element with our spectacle work- it is an immersive journey into ideas and pictures. It was simply a different road to the same place- alerting the imagination and creating aesthetic arrest.

I am very pleased with where Boneyard wound up, the journey was quite wonderful and intense. Quite honest and thorough. It had very dark days, and days of real light. It was bit like a short and powerful life. The work did not change anything around me, really, it only began to change what was inside me. Magnified what I valued, highlighted my weaknesses, began to clarify what hopes I held deeply and dearly, what kind of man I wanted to become, what this theater and its mission really meant to me. The work helped me become closer to my collaborators, closer to the work we make as a community- helped me see a bit more clearly. The work had great impact on me as a father, a man, a friend. Do I like what I see… No- not always… But I don’t think that is how life works- we are not shown what we want to see, but what we need to see. The event, in the end, has provided me the better set of questions about life, about art, about relationships… No matter the complexity of the artistic journey and the product, this particular outcome is perfect and welcomed.

The close of this show is nestled between my 6th wedding anniversary and my 40th birthday… It’s shortly followed by The Temporarium- a massive transformation of our space and a celebration of Redmoon For Hire; Once Upon A Time going to LA.; Laika’s Coffin headed to New York; and the many, many wonderful artistic opportunities the theater has in store for myself, the team, and our audience…occasions that breed and suggest reflection… which I do with gratitude. All these events suggest one thing… We are blessed. And I am blessed. Blessed to be here now. Blessed to be a leader in the theater, a member of the theater, a collaborator, a friend, a partner, a maker, a student… The list goes on and on.

These 2 videos posted below (“Basin Street Blues” done by Kid Koala and Louis Armstrong), my last Boneyard additions, say it better than I can say goodbye… beautiful videos and songs that make me miss the show already…

Goodbye to a great team, beautiful work, wonderful songs, and a good show… May what was important in the making- good and bad- last in our memories as lessons about our potential as people.

-Frank