Last night out in cyberspace I came across video of the 1995 Annex Theatre production of The Yellow Kid. Seeing it again… an amazing production–so ambitious in scope for a Seattle fringe theatre company– has me revisiting what is important in my life and how I respect or disrespect my own art.
In a September 21, 1995 Seattle Times interview, Brian Faker told Misha Berson:
“The thrust of our play is the decisions an artist makes – what do you do just for the bucks, and what do you do for your heart’s inspiration? In the end Outcault actually murders the Kid, symbolically destroying something in himself.”
Low-budget production
The struggle to earn a living while maintaining one’s artistic integrity is one that Faker, 35, a versatile stage actor with credits in many Seattle theaters, knows intimately. Currently living on unemployment benefits, he scrambled together $1,100 to finance this shoestring fringe production.
“We’re doing `Miss Saigon’ at the Annex,” he laughs. “We’ve got 27 actors, a cat, a goat, two dogs, 200 slide projections, film, rolling scenery. It’s just a monster.
“We’re funding this completely out of pocket – and out of favors. My wife (actress Peggy Poage) is probably our biggest contributor. And a lot of other people just decided to go insane with me on this.”
I was in that production and The Husband was in the booth as stage manager. We began dating during the run. A framed poster from the production hangs in our living room, next to photos of My Kid as a toddler in long yellow shirt.