Williamstown Theatre Festival Memories of Peter H. Hunt

30 years ago, I was working for Peter H. Hunt, first in New York City, then in Williamstown, Massachusetts, for the Williamstown Theatre Festival. It was one of the best six months of my life.

In March or so of 1990, I left Hartford Stage in Connecticut, where I had worked for two glorious seasons, to be publicity director at WTF (don't think for a second that the other meaning of that acronym was ever lost on any member of the company). I had been at Williamstown for the 1988 season, fresh out of Western Kentucky University and before Hartford Stage: that first season, I was the publicity assistant, in an unpaid internship, working for a publicity director who made my life hell, in a season that would turn out to be the last for Nikos Psacharopoulos (if he called the office for my boss and I said she wasn't there, he would hang up without another word). Were it not for some wonderful other interns and very kind and/or colorful celebrities, I would have quit mid-season. When that summer was over, I vowed I would never go back.

But you always go back to Williamstown. It's a joke among everyone that works there - one summer is never enough. And so I went back for the first season that Peter H. Hunt was the sole Artistic Director, first to New York City, for the annual benefit, and then to the Berkshires for the summer season.

Peter was best known for winning a Tony award for the Broadway musical 1776 back in 1970 or so. He directed the movie as well. I have no idea how many things he directed on stage and screens big and small - a lot. That first summer when I had been at WTF, Peter had directed Bertolt Brecht's The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui and it had knocked EVERYONE out of their shoes: one of the critics who regularly poo poo'd all things Williamstown asked me after she saw it, in all seriousness, "When is this moving to Broadway?" It remains one of the best productions of anything I have EVER seen. When I heard that Peter had been named sole artistic director for 1990, after sharing duties the summer before with two others, I thought, damn, if every production is half as good as Arturo Ui, my job as publicity director will be awesome.

It was awesome. But never easy.

Peter would walk into a room like a boisterous Hemingway, commanding everyone, dominating the space. I was terrified of him at first, but I quickly grew to adore him. I will never forget my first "moment" with him: the Williamstown season had just been announced with A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum opening the main stage and a very controversial play, No Orchards for Miss Blandish, opening what was then called The Other Stage. The latter had a rape scene and a LOT of other violence, and we were having a senior staff meeting to discuss whether or not we should put a warning in the lobby or in advertisements about the graphic nature of the play. I had a look on my face that, somehow, betrayed my thoughts, because Peter looked right at me and laughed and said, "Yeah, you're right, what we should have is a warning in the lobby of 'Forum' about the rampant dated sexism in it!"

Peter directed Death Takes a Holiday in August of that season. What a cast - it included Maria Tucci, Blythe Danner, Christopher Reeve, and a newcomer, Calista Flockhart. It was a gorgeous production of a play that, on paper, seemed like a silly and dated melodrama, but at Williamstown, under Peter's direction, it was magical, mysterious and otherworldly. I remember when the designer brought in a sketch of a concept for the poster for the play, and we loved it so much we chose the concept art over his "finished" product. And when I say "we", I mean WE - Peter and I. Because Peter included me, little oh-my-god-do-I-know-what-I'm-doing? me. He wanted to know my thoughts, and it was okay if I disagreed or tried to steer him in another direction when it came to publicity - he listened.

I still have the poster for Death Takes a Holiday in my home office. It is oh-so-precious to me.

Peter lost his voice just before we opened that first production, so I showed him how to say "Eat Shit and Die" in sign language. He was delighted.

At one point early in the season, a dog showed up, wandering around the festival grounds, and he became my dog, as well as the dog of the entire festival. His name was Buster. He followed me EVERYWHERE. I had to go to Peter's office about twice-a-week for a one-on-one. I went into the office, closed the door, and as Peter issued his orders for the week, Buster barked outside the door. And barked again. "Is that Buster?!" Peter almost roared. "Yes..." I said, meekly. "Let him in!" So I opened the door and let Buster in, and that little tramp pranced right by me and over to Peter's side, as though to say, "I know who is in charge." Peter sat there petting Buster and continued to issue orders. After that, when I went into the theater during rehearsals to ask Peter something, Buster would come right in too and prance down the aisle over to Peter, who would keep directing while leaning over to give Buster a pet on the head.

And then there was the aftermath of the July 4th Pittsfield Independence Day parade. The parade organizers had called Williamstown every summer, hoping for a celebrity to be in the parade, and every year, all the "stars" said no. I told Peter the organizers really, REALLY wanted someone this year, and that Williamstown really needed a "we love this community" moment. He said, "I bet Tony Edwards will do it. Want me to ask him?" He knew that if he asked Tony, rather than me, he'd probably do it. Anthony Edwards was in rehearsals for Harvey on the mainstage, and was super duper nice. He was also known to most folks as Goose in Top Gun. Tony said yes, and the stage manager of Harvey, Scott LaFeber, said he would find and dress up in a rabbit suit and sit next to Tony for the parade. I offered to go to the parade with them, to troubleshoot, but they assured me I wasn't needed. Well, parade-goers EXPLODED when "Goose" from Top Gun was announced by the MC, to the point that a crowd almost rushed the car as it went down the avenue. When they came back and told me about the madness, they were laughing, and I laughed right along. They went and told Peter the same story, and Peter thought I'd dropped the ball and not taken care of "my people", and he called to ball me out and let me know it. I hung up the phone and just sat there, horrified. Scott walked in and thought I'd just gotten news that someone had died. I told him about the reprimand and apologized for not being there. Scott marched out, grabbed Tony, told him what happened, and they went right to Peter to say he'd been unfair, that they had refused my offer to tag along, that there was nothing I could have done, and on and on. It was the first time, and one of the only times, someone has defended me professionally. Peter called me as soon as they left and apologized, sincerely. I have never forgotten that apology. Most people aren't big enough to do something like that - Peter was.

At one point that summer, someone in the company tried to blame me for a profound misstep with a member of the press. I walked over to Peter's office in the evening, knowing he would still be there, and told him exactly what had happened, and exactly how I had NOT been involved. And he believed me. And he stuck up for me. And that pretty much sealed the deal for how I felt about Peter Hunt.

When the festival was over, I took a job on the West Coast at a theater where I could work year-round. A few weeks after I took the job, Peter called the theater, looking for me, and when I got on the phone, demanded to know if I was going to come back the next season, saying he absolutely needed me. To this day, I regret not telling him yes. That job I had taken on the West Coast turned out to be a disaster, and in the spring of 1992, I reached out to the Williamstown Theater Festival and asked if they wanted me back. They did - but I backed out before I signed the contract, right after getting offered my first well-paid position ever, in the HR office of a hard drive company. I couldn't take the hit financially of moving again, just to be out of a job again at the end of the summer. It was my last chance to work with Peter, and it was gone. And I never worked in theatre again.

All these years later, I don't know if Peter H. Hunt would have remembered me. But I remember him. I know not everyone liked him. Not everyone likes me. He remains one of my favorite people that I have ever worked for. He trusted me, he recognized me, he valued me - and I would have gone through fire for him.

Peter has died. He was 81.

I have more stories... like when he tossed his Tony medallion to me (at me?), but I'll save those for friends. We'll get together, drink wine, and share war stories of working for Peter H. Hunt.

Rest in peace, sir.

Lessons learned from travelers stranded because of COVID19

Every time I've prepared to travel abroad, for work or for fun, something dire has happened somewhere: an epidemic somewhere, a civil war somewhere nearby, a terrorist act right where I'm going, the US invading some country far away in the name of its own national security, etc. Every time, at least one person will ask, "Are you worried? Should you still go?" And every time, I access the situation and, so far, I've still chosen to go. And it's been fine. Lucky me.

We crossed the border on our motorcycles into Baja, California, Mexico on Sunday, March 8. The New York Times reported on that day that the USA had counted at least 539 cases across 34 states. But there were no travel restrictions. Not one person said, "Don't go." No flights were canceled. Cruise ships were still booking trips and launching voyages. It didn't seem any different than other times (and if you are now smugly thinking I should have known, I challenge you to go read your own social media messages before March 8).

Things changed drastically in the two weeks we were in Baja. On March 20, I checked the US State Department social media account, as I did every day, and there it was: Travel Advisory Level 4: U.S. citizens who live in the United States should arrange for immediate return to the United States, unless they are prepared to remain abroad for an indefinite period.

We were already heading North and we could get back to the US-Mexico border in Tecate two days if we pushed it, but we decided to head back more slowly, taking one extra day, knowing that we could still get over the border to my country - the country where my husband has legal residency. And it worked out just fine for us.

But so many travelers had left weeks or months before on even longer trips, and were FAR from the border of their own countries when things changed so quickly. Many had sold their homes, or rented them, or given up their apartments:

• We have friends who had embarked on a Round the World cruise in January. No COVID-19 cases ever occurred on their ship, thank goodness - but the cruise ended months prematurely, in Australia, and they had to get back to San Francisco. It was not easy. Plus, they had rented out their home - they can't kick their tenants out. They are lucky: they have a second, simple home up in the mountains (that didn't burn down in a recent fire).
   
• "Itchy Boots", a motorcycle traveler from the Netherlands who was riding from the Southern tip of South America to Alaska, got stuck in Peru. She started her trips months before COVID-19. Her situation turned dire suddenly, within 24 hours, with guesthouses being ordered to turn out all foreigners, and foreigners told they were not allowed on the roads - but her being in a town that was a two-day drive from the capital city (and airport). She made YouTube videos of what happened.
   
• Jeremy Kroeker and his riding partner, Elle, motorcycle travelers from Canada, are stuck Uruguay for the foreseeable future.
   
• As of March 20, there were US citizens stranded in Ecuador, including Eve Largent. “Yesterday, I heard that nobody’s really getting out of here.” Largent told KIRO-7 she and several other travelers from the US paid an extreme price for their only chance to leave by air: a charter flight, offering seats starting at $6,000 each.
   
• This March 20th story from Deseret News tells of various US citizens from Utah trying to get out of Ecuador - and how the US State Department and various embassies and consulates did not help. "They boarded a van at 4:30 am on Thursday with four other Americans, flouting emergency laws that made it illegal to travel in groups of more than 5. When they arrived, the border gates were closed, but the guards let them walk across to Mexico where they caught a taxi to the Tapachula airport."
   
• Marcus, a retired banker from Cologne, Germany, has been traveling in South America for the last two and a half years. He was in Argentina in March 2020. “Within hours, foreigners became enemies here [in Cafayate, Argentina,] as a lot of people are afraid that we are bringing death,” reads his (@slowtravel4x4) Instagram post. “It started with…some vendors refusing to sell food and water to foreigners…the police started hunting foreigners to tell us we are not allowed to stay, but we haven’t been allowed to travel.” What ensued was 48 hours of confrontations with frightened locals and police, who insisted on escorting Marcus and his group of travelers outside city limits, but offering no long-term solution for where they should go. More about Marcus' ordeal here, as well as profiles of other travelers living full time in RVs who are stranded in Europe.
   
• This March 27 story from El Universal talks about Mexicans stranded in different nations, many of whom who have taken to social media to denounce the indifference of the Mexican government to help them return. A group of 22 Mexicans shared a video through social networks noting they are estranged in Peru and the Mexican embassy in Peru has not helped - and even questioned their Mexican nationality.

I saw motorcycle travelers in Mexico posting to Facebook saying everything was fine in whatever city they were in, but then, in ONE day, highways and local roads were closed, curfews were instituted, consulates closed, the populace started not being very friendly, and guest houses and hotels closed to foreigners.

It's not just foreign travelers: in the USA, all those people that live in their RVs year-round, that go from campground to campground, that have no homes otherwise, got screwed when city, state and national campgrounds closed because of COVID19 - hundreds, maybe thousands of people, stranded with few options (though I want to give a shoutout to KOA, whose campgrounds, as a tent camper, I loathe and avoid - but some KOAs, while shuttering cabins, yurts and tepees have kept campgrounds open for RVs).

We ourselves had a big problem in the USA, as we traveled over three days on our motorcycles from the Mexican border to our home in Oregon; hotels were still open, but all restaurants were closed, and the freezing rain and snow took it's toll on my fingers and hands to the point that riding, at times, was unsafe. My travelogue about the trip talks about how we handled that (yes, someone ended up threatening to call the police).

What I've learned as I've read all these and other accounts, and what we experienced, is:

You have to stay up-to-date on what's going on. If you hear of a political situation (strike, armed conflict, a dispute between world leaders), a natural disaster or a health situation that relates in any way to your own country, the country you are in or the country you might go to, stay up-to-date daily on developments via reliable news sources, NOT friends on Facebook. Read not only news sources from your own country about the country you are in, but also local news sources (Google Translate can help). In fact, check twice a day.

Just how suddenly things can change. You can be told by officials that there are no plans for a lockdown and, the next morning, be told by those same officials there is a lockdown. The lesson I've learned in all this: if you are fearing a lockdown, start planning for what you are going to do if there is a lockdown, no matter what others around you are saying.

Don't count on your own government to help. This was a lesson I already knew because I work internationally. The US State Department will NOT help you leave a country except in the most dire of circumstances, and even then, only if you can be at a particular airport at the time designated - and they will NOT help you get to that airport. While I register any foreign travel with the US State Department, I also don't ever assume consulate staff will be of any help at all. In fact, it was because of outcry from US Senators, who were hearing from their constituents abroad, that the US State Department did anything to help citizens stranded abroad.

Know local rules. If there is a curfew, adhere to that curfew, no matter what locals might be doing - but also be prepared to board a van at 4:30 am with a larger number of people than emergency laws allow in order to get to a border that you will then walk across.

Locals may turn on foreigners. This is something that happens frequently during local epidemics - I talk about it here. With COVID-19, it was often people from the USA who were bringing the illness to Mexico, and I've seen some really angry posts by Mexicans about this on various social media. One person said, "There is an undercurrent of feeling that this all coming from the US." Even state-to-state travel can turn ugly: The governor of Nayarit in Mexico, inflamed local hostilities when he said in video published on Facebook that people from another Mexican state, Jalisco, had brought COVID-19 in his state and he asked people in his municipality not to interact nor serve them.

Build local relationships if you are going to be in a town for more than a couple of nights. Motorcycle travelers: go visit a local motorcycle store or shop. Just walk by, start a conversation, say hi. The people in that shop may end up saving your butt. I will reference Itchy Boots again: she got to Lima within hours of the government completely locking foreigners down because of a connection through a local motorcycle shop, who helped her find a driver and truck, and the paperwork the little town's local police commandant gave her - you see her driver use this paperwork at one point in a military checkpoint, and it absolutely made a difference in getting her to Lima.

Cash is king. The moment you think things MIGHT change for you, however remote the chance feels, get to an ATM and get plenty of cash. You will need to pay guest houses, you may need to pay someone to trailer your motorcycle and YOU to another place, you may even need to pay bribes. Carry your cash hidden in a money belt or in something under your shirt, along with your passport, and have it with you at ALL times.

Can you stay where you are right now for 90 days? You need to ask yourself this question the moment you think things MIGHT change. In fact, I've read some advice that says you need to be prepared to stay for six months if you decide not to do everything possible to get back to your home country. Remember: most hotels will close, at least to foreigners, most campground will close, and an invitation to stay with someone "as long as you need" could be rescinded as fears rise.

Is there a better place to hunker down? Small towns might feel safer, but they are also farther from key government officials, airports, hospitals, medicine, and other foreigners who might be able to help you, and Internet access may not be great - and Internet access is EVERYTHING when you are abroad. If you are going to stay abroad, consider your options for the best place to stay for six months in one spot.

Think about storing your motorcycle and flying back to your home country. You might be able to store your motorcycle at a shipping company, at a motorcycle shop or a motorcycle mechanic's shop. You will need to be prepared to pay storage fees. You also need to check about how to extend your carnet (temporary import document).

You may be better off abroad. This article from Foreign Policy explains why.

I have no idea what to advise if you've sold your house or rented it out, or if you gave up your apartment back home. I hope you have family you can move in with indefinitely - after your 14-day quarantine in a local hotel in your own community. If you have ideas, please leave them in the comments.

There are already many people who say, "You shouldn't travel internationally," who have said it long before COVID-19. Some say it because they believe it's dangerous - they think crime in any country other than their own. Some say it because they are racists about people in other countries or about people from elsewhere visiting their country. Some say it because of the negative effects fossil fuels have on climate change. Some say it because international travelers have harmed natural resources. Now all of those folks will have another reason to add to list. And I'm sorry about that, because I believe passionately in the importance and benefits of travel - for both travelers and those that host them.

Demanding "unity" is a HUGE turnoff

I will vote for whoever gets the Democratic nomination for President in 2020. And it looks like that's going to be Joe Biden.

Am I disappointed that that's who I have to vote for? Hugely. Even more than I was when Hillary Clinton was the nominee.

Yes, Joe Biden, as President, will be a massive improvement over Trump. He will, I think, put together an amazing team in the White House. But I worry about Biden's regular confusion when giving public speeches, his insults when anyone asks him a tough question, his attitudes about women, and most of all, his dismissal that there are millions of people who need a LOT more than the Affordable Care Act - the ACA, Obamacare - in order to get the healthcare they need AND to avoid bankruptcy. I worry that, like Pete Buttigieg, he's more focused on "reaching out" to Trump supporters than to millions of Democrats like me, or reaching out to young people. He's so focused on appearing non-threatening that I doubt he'll champion any of the critical - CRITICAL - reforms this country DESPERATELY needs.

He keeps referring to his primary results as a "movement." Nope - it's millions of scared people who are so desperate to get rid of an aspiring despot, they've been convinced that the only person who can attract more votes is "the moderate."

I have gone to public meetings by US Senators and my US representative, as well as those by my state representative. I've gone to city council meetings and local election debates. I've worked some voter registration events. I've written my representatives about issues I think are important. I've gone to public events at the local cultural center for Latinos and the mosque a few towns over. I'll keep doing that, once the COVID19 drama abates - but honestly, I've scaled back quite a bit, long before any lockdown. Because I just feel so incredibly alone - I don't see you posting on social media about what YOU are doing. And I can't do this alone.

I went to three meetings of the local Democratic Party. It was horrifying: Clinton supporters spend most of the meetings trying to oppose anything the Bernie supporters are asking for, Bernie supporters want to hear that you are one too or they won't talk to you, and nothing gets done except a lot of shouting. I gave up.

Yes, I'll vote for Joe Biden. Yes, Biden as president will be an improvement over what we have now. But I am going to continue to criticize and push. I'm going to continue to try to amplify what Elizabeth Warren has been calling for in particular. Don't ask me for more unity than that.

We toured Baja, California, Mexico by Motorcycle!

My travelogue about our March 2020 Mexico motorcycle adventure. It featured rain, roads in great condition, rain, very helpful PEMEX employees, rain, great food, rain, a motorcycle breakdown, rain, wonderful experiences, rain and lots of signs & consequences related to Coronavirus (2019-nCoV, or COVID19).

I reviewed all but two of the Mexico hotels on Trip Advisor.

The photos of our trip are here.

And here are some videos from our trip:

• The loading of the motorcycles.
• Departure from Los Angeles, heading for Tecate.
• Parking the bikes on the last night in Mexico.
• Goodbye, Mexico.
• Snow and puppies in Weed, California.

Friendships aren't forever and pettiness is silly

Friendships end. It's sad when they do, no matter the reason and I wish they didn't have to, but sometimes, they have to. Sometimes, they need to.

When a friendship ends, for me, it means I do not want to hear from that person anymore, in any way, and that person does not want to hear from me. There are various reasons friendships end, and I'm not going to get into those. But when the friendship is over, I might go through a mourning period, and that mourning of what was may always be there, even a little bit. I might need to take time to heal from a hurt. There might be anger. But what there never is, is retribution.

When a friendship ends, all I want to do is to get away from that person and the memories. Vengence requires keeping a person in your life, in thoughts and maybe even in actions. I don't want anyone I am no longer friends with to take up any space in my life, and seeking retribution would require that.

Plus, most retribution seems petty.

I always assume the person on the other end of this former friendship would feel the same. And often, I'm stunned that they aren't, even when they are the ones that ended the friendship: they're revisiting our time together in conversations and repainting it as something contemptuous, or something to show how others shouldn't trust me. My capabilities and even my ethics suddenly get called into question. And, worst of all, my confidences are shared.

I don't violate the confidences of friends - and that includes former friends. Secrets end with me. While a friendship may end, my values regarding what a friendship is haven't, and if someone I now loathed shared something confidential with me during our friendship, I won't share it - I just can't do that.

This is all one big vague post, I know. I'm just stunned today to find a former friend, a former work colleague, is going out of her way, months after our relationship is over, to undermine me. I cannot imagine spending time and energy to do that, I really can't.

I'll leave you with this: that really good friend of yours who runs down a mutual friend or colleague when that person isn't around? That same person does that to you when YOU are not around, you can count on it. Think about that VERY carefully when that person is sharing their "true" feelings about that mutual friend, and reconsider having that person in your life any more than you have to.

Lesson learned. Again.