A Thousand Ways – Part 2: An Encounter
Written/Directed by 600 Highwaymen
Public Theatre
June 14, 2021
Production website
💉💉💉 out of 5

Now the action of Part 1 shifts gears sharply. Now this next $15 dollar ticket gets you to the actual THEATRE and gets you sitting directly across from an actual person. Still an audience is lacking but at least we are getting a live event! That’s big! There were about a dozen or so waiting in the lobby and one by one the usher would lead into one of the many theatre spaces of the Public Theatre where we would find ourself on-stage (not in the audience) and facing a simple, well lit table, 2 chairs, one social distancing screen, a stack of typed cards, a pencil, a blank card, and a tape dispenser. Rather spooky to be sitting there all alone. Eventually another person from the lobby that you do know know at all is led into your space and sits in the opposite chair.

Without saying a word that cards direct you to have an experience with them.  This 4″ stack of cards is clearly marked which person is to pick it up.  The card either indicates that you state something, ask a question, imagine something, or do some simple physical action with your hands.  At the beginning it felt like a very odd, stuttering blind date where neither party could think of anything to say to move the enounter further.  Many of the questions were similar to the phone conversation but placing them right in front of a person and now seeing their reaction to your words and deeds felt entirely different.  The other thing that the cards did was have you really listen to the other person because you never know what you were going to be asked to do  . . . your mind was not be busy planning the next move.  It was ultimately a very spontaneous event.

After imagining my partner in all kinds of scenarios I was really beginning to piece together a picture of them.  The most shocking moment of the event happens when there are only a handful left.  The card that I drew at that moment said to pack your bags, leave your cards on the table, leave the space, leave the theatre and head home ALL WITHOUT MAKING ANY CONTACT with the person you had been sitting with for over an hour.  I had to read the card a couple of times to make sure it was asking me to do what it said, but I followed the card blindly, I picked up my bag and left and got on the subway home.  Man, did I feel lonely and disconnected for a few days.  But as the title of the night read – it was an Encounter and NOT a relationship.