Road Map

At last year's LA Improv Fest, we were given paper programs detailing the events of the week. That became my sacred guide and record. I marked every show I wanted to see, and then marked what I actually did see. When I was done, I had a pile of ticket stubs and a worn, heavily marked-up program. It meant so much to me. I honestly don't know where it is now, but I'm certain I didn't throw it away. It's definitely around the apartment somewhere.

Unfortunately, this year they failed to make a program available. I was advised, on picking up my pass, to simply keep up with things via the schedule as it appears on the website, and I nodded as if that was good enough, but of course it was not. The paper map was a tactile experience. It satisfied as no digital map could, just as skyping with someone you love cannot satisfy as being present with them could. Is that oddly sentimental? Maybe.

In a practical sense, I preferred to have a paper program since that is so easy to consult and so much more reliable. I can write directly on it. It can get beaten up. It has no battery that can get drained, no light that can distract others, no noises that likewise could be a bother. That they should not make a paper program available is very upsetting to me, and while I expect to have a good time and still wind up with plenty of mementos, this diminishes the fun ever so slightly.

I could make alternate arrangements. I could print out the program, but I have no ink in my own printer and would have to take it to the print shop. I could do that. I think what I may prefer to do is to just transfer the schedule to paper by hand every day. Sheets of paper from my legal pad could serve for that. I'll just write the initial program in pen and my own notes in pencil in order to ensure that they remain visually distinct. It should work.