Out Standing

I was amazed her first excursion into writing and solo performance. WEll written, confidently performed and wonderfully entertaining!
Her transitions were seamless!
Go See It!

I am trilled APJ decided to perform this year! A wonderful performance that had me laughing louder than that little space should hear. The connection she made with the audience during her performance allowed everyone to root for her and be on her side, and when she talks about the divorce papers my heart broke… in te years I’ve known this woman I had never heard that story.

My respect and admiration of APJ grew two fold!

Great job honey!

Disclaimer:

I know AirplaneJayne,
well,
not in the Biblical sense…

oh wait, I guess I do,
(The first time I met her she was leading a Bible Study group at her church, (I was new in town, was church shopping, and we were sorta, uh, of the same denom…)
And there was this cute effervescent redhead who was leading discussions… (She made quite a dent, lemme tell ya.)
I had NO idea she was up to this the whole time… (okay, scratch that, I had an idea, but had NO idea she was actually going to go and do it, er, this.)

Tonight at Ashtree Studios it was a packed house, (Literally, no seats left, and they had to do a very minimal Standing Room area…
-something like fifteen to twenty people were turned away at the door.)

Who was there?
A veritable who’s-who of folks in the know of the Rogue.
(That means, you may know some of them, others you may not… I believe I saw George Hamilton.)
Going to a Rogue show, and having it packed with other Rogue’rs is a good thing, actually.
(It’s like going to a restaurant where other cooks go to eat.)

Sidenote?
AirplaneJayne (known as APJ from here,) actually is one of the main reasons why I blog and write.
Yep, it’s true.
Her fault.
(Okay, not totally her fault, but she was the inspiration.)
I had just moved here, was at a performance of an area musician,
had met her, was quite impressed,
and was told that she wrote a blog under ‘AirplaneJayne’…
Being somewhat sleuthy, I found it, began to write a blog of my own, just to meet her…
…we even had a lovely dinner, and I’ve adored her ever since… (yep.)
Jayne’s freakin’ excellent.
Airplane Jayne does to me what Terri Garr did to me back in HighSchool.

Why did I tell you that?
Just like Jayne, it’s a mix of reasons:

-First off,
I know what it’s like to see APJ in her most charming resplendant and bewitching self, when she’s a little nervous and downright… um, well, cuddly.
(She is a real sweetheart, her eyes are dazzling, and her smile could melt cement.)

—I’ve seen her in other states as well.
APJ the financial wizard
APJ the horsewoman
APJ the Sunday School Teacher
APJ the gracious host of a BBQ, who provided the banter over home-fireworks… (real fireworks, not a euphamism…)
I’ve never been with APJ to the store, (euphamism, not actual shopping…)
-and To the fella who does get to push the cart?
Hats off, you lucky bastard…

So, Now?
Jayne talks about her life.
She’s had a very unusual life.
She’s had hysterical things happen,
she’s had really terrifying things happen,
she’s done stuff most people could never get the courage to do, (including jumping out of airplanes AND this show (not both at once, mind-you),)
-and she holds no punches.

To me this is the essence of the Rogue
(And yes, if Rogue goes into the fragrance business, there will most definitely be ‘AirplaneJayne Cologne…’)

Why?’
Well, it’s honest.
It’s not sterile, distant and overly polished.
It’s real.
It’s one woman standing up in front of friends and strangers telling us all about the time she nearly tore her toe off bicycling
(a kid ran into her, she was twelve at the time, (he liked her.)

It’s same woman talking about buying parts for her sprinkler (literally,) not realizing that the guy in front of her digs her and wants to make her lunch, (and fix his garage.)

It’s one double entendre after another, (sometimes actually planned…)
It’s AirplaneJayne,
sometimes getting ahead of herself,
sometimes laughing along,
sometimes wiping a tear away,
bawdy as ever.
As she simply tells you what has happened,
you sit captivated, falling in love.

This is an adult show.
(Well, sorta due to some of the language and subject matter, yeah, helLO?!…)

But more?, it’s an adult show
in that,
just like adult life,
it’s hilarious one moment,
requires close attention the next,
hits the mark dead on at one moment,
wanders a tad,
hit’s dead on (accidently)the next,
-breaks your heart,
-cracks you up?
and then results in triumph,
-(all the while couched in the quest: being in your mid forties, surviving cruel divorce, to even dare THINKING about dating, or being close to somebody ever again.)
This real person is standing in front of you,
you just paid three bucks to hear her story.
She’s nervous, she’s funny, she’s touching, and you’re sitting there, half saying ‘…okay, so entertain me,’
-and then
you want to just hold her so the lights don’t sting her eyes, realizing that she’s priceless
-and she’s only three feet away.
This is adult stuff here, only other adults are going to understand.
And that’s okay.

In fact, to really experience APJ,
you need to read her blogs,
you need to be around her when she’s just sitting there in a lawnchair,
you need to be on the cel with her, riding along the two of you doing a wee bit over the speedlimit,
drinking in the rare occurance, where you actually get her, (not her voicemail,)
and loose what you were going to say, because she’s just so much fun to listen and talk to…

All of that,
the stories, all of the tremendous writing, (yes, she’s a natural,) was up there on stage,
taking a dare and deciding that this would be the year she was finally going to ‘do a show.’

Did she talk about the time the parachute didn’t open, and she lived?
No.
Did she talk about the time almost died of other complications?
No.
Did she talk about the time she and Kowboi were a wee bit past tipsy and went into celtic verse, and had us nearly peeing ourselves with the dialogue of ‘the verge,’?
No.
Did she talk about her desires and fears and, well, her, um, desires?
Yes.
(She didn’t talk about hearing something in the kitchen late one night and accidently shooting the refridgerator, either…)

But that’s okay.
That will come.

Unless, next time she just decides to talk about something else.
And another packed house will sit,
shake their heads in disbelief, laugh, bellow,
nod and agree, while this woman smiles gestures and tells her tails,
er,
tales.

She’s a schoolteacher by trade, (Rogue is crawling with schoolteachers, btw, Fresno’s theatre cadre is chock full of them, poor things are as loonie as they are talented, which is very much of both…)

Which means something good.

If APJ is your kids teacher, your kid is going to be okay, there is a real honest, funny, and passionate person teaching them such droll things as math, and helping them to survive Jr. High.

If APJ is your entertainment?, -you’re going to blush, your date is going to laugh hysterically in agreement, -and you’re both going to be okay.

and
If APJ is your friend, AND all of the above?

You’re going to sit there, like the lot of us,
love the show, egg her on,
cringe,
cheer,
And be extremely proud.

And the good part?
(Ready?)

She may be adding another show this weekend,
(keep an eye peeled, they asked her tonight and she said ‘YES.’)

Go,
and you’ll never look at Costco quite the same ever again, Trust me.

You don’t stand a fighting chance with Jayne. She came out and owned the room, leading with some naughty talk to make us all laugh and climaxing (nudge!) with what was almost a liturgical dirge (that’s a good thing by the way - I like medieaval music). Don’t know whether I was entertained or beaten up. Go see Jayne! She got an extra show!