When last heard from (August 20), I had opened Lesbo Solo at the San Francisco Fringe Festival and received some delightful audience reviews. Since then, I performed two more times (sold-out houses) & received MORE delightful audience reviews! Click here to read any and all of the reviews.
My favorite short review is: - "Terry Baum — as always charming, goofy and artful — tells her personal tale and the story of a movement. Funny and surprisingly touching."
Wow. Can you go any higher than "charming, goofy and artful"? Not to mention ALWAYS manifesting these qualities! I have never aspired to be goofy, but only because I never thought I could possibly achieve such an exalted state as goofyhood. I'm STILL not sure it happened, but I'm thrilled that one fan saw it in me.
I will certainly be performing My Gay History Play (the new title of Lesbo Solo) as soon as possible. I am determined to do it during the first week of 2025 somewhere, possibly in my own living room, possibly my girlfriend's living room.
WAIT A MINUTE.
Did I use the word "girlfriend"?????? Have I ever before used words like "girlfriend" or "lover" or "love relationship" or "partner" in BAUMblog when referring to my own current life??
No, I have not. I have been single for more than ten years. I was always hoping somebody would ask me how I felt about being single, so that I could say "I hate it."
I will now reveal the reason that -- even though the whole world has been busy falling apart -- your hyper-opinionated BlogMistress couldn't be bothered to weigh in on any of it. Yes, I admit I have deserted my Bloggellinis in your hour of desperate need. I have not supplied the analysis, the outrage, the links to activism, that you might rightly have expected of me.
And it is all because:
I have met someone. I have fallen in love.
Falling in love can be very time-consuming. Perhaps it is even more time-consuming when one is 77. After all, everything takes more time to do when you're 77. Walking up a hill, making the bed. Why not falling in love?!?
And not only does falling in love take an inordinate amount of time, reducing the amount left over for blogging -- it has the effect of making me less interested in, not only blogging, but EVERYTHING ELSE. For example, I have learned to my chagrin that I simply CANNOT begin a sexual relationship when I'm opening a new show.
When this did happen in 2007, the new relationship caused me to lose my intense focus on my work. Unfortunately, there was a serious problem: Opening Night was nigh, and Baum for Peace wasn't ready to open. There were many songs and dances, which always demand far more rehearsal than mere words. My co-star, Scrumbly Koldewyn, urged me to face the problem. It was indeed my responsibility, since I was not only playwright and star but also producer. But I ignored his wise warning. I didn't care enough about the show because I was focussed on my new girlfriend. And on opening night, all the critics showed up. And every single review they wrote used the word "amateurish" to describe the performance. Every. Single. Review. The simple truth was that we weren't ready to open on opening night, and it was my fault. And that is the ONLY TIME in my very long theatrical career that the word "amateurish" was EVER used in a review to describe my work.
So this time, with Lesbo Solo, I waited to get horizontal with my new love until after my last performance, so I could maintain my work focus.
Actually, I had always planned to devote myself to the ELECTION as soon as Lesbo Solo was over. NOTHING is more important to me than being a good citizen! Absolutely nothing! I have been a full-time volunteer, for campaigns I believed in, many times. If theater kept me busy through August, I was very clear that September and October would be devoted to POLITICS ONLY! I told all my friends that, as a way to encourage them to make the same commitment.
But although I do truly believe that it is my job (along with a few billion other people) to save the world, and the main way I try to do it is by: - Volunteering long hours on election campaigns and...
- Writing BAUMblog...
I seem to have temporarily lost my interest in saving the world.
I do understand that this is the most crucial Presidential election in my lifetime. There is also a very important election for Mayor of San Francisco. But I have not done a damn thing about either of these races.
This is how it is:
I was walking home one evening after attending a fascinating interview with the Chronicle's classical music critic at Manny's, a cafe and civic event space. I met a woman on the corner of 18th and Castro. She had seen me perform six weeks earlier. She is a very wonderful person, and eventually, we fell in love. My beloved is the center of my life. Being with her, loving and being loved by her, examining in detail every little bump on the road we are taking together -- these are my priorities right now.
So If the world is going to be saved at this perilous moment, it will have to be without my participation. All my energy, my passion and compassion, are directed toward this one human being.
And after all these years of theater and activism, this feels so very right to me.
I've introduced my girlfriend to all my friends, so she's no secret. But she's a very private person, the opposite of the exhibitionist she fell for. She doesn't want her name and picture sent out to all my Bloggellinis. But I'd like to share a photo of her that I took on the day I told her I was falling in love. | 
