Florida Ducks (but Not Really)

It was when Matthew and I pulled up to Mary Poppins' AirBnb that I first suspected the Muscovy ducks were going to be major characters in my five-week Fort Lauderdale chapter. These massive, dark, goose/turkey gremlins were roosting in the front yard on the corner of something and something street, their reject eggs strewn about in neighboring flower beds. They were so comfortable here that I could tell this was considered regular in this part of the United States of America. Muscovy ducks are not native to this area, but they have become a part of the community. Throughout my stay I watched these ducks run to greet familiar human neighbors, chase people, sit and spectate children playing basketball in the street, and poop at me. As you read on, assume that the Muscovy ducks are in the corner of every sentence, watching, always watching.

Some other wildlife included invasive iguanas who, unlike the Muscovy ducks, are not welcome and apparently locals are encouraged to kill them, and tillandsia (air plants.) I had never seen either of these in nature before, only in pet store tanks or on my friend Mel's windowsill in Philadelphia, respectively. I would pass organisms like these on my way to Las Olas Beach. The three mile run along New River in Sailboat Bend and the shops on Las Olas was flanked by two drawbridges and dappled with ducks the worst drivers I've ever encountered in cars with tinted windows--amazing. My favorite car was this dead one outside of my AirBnb. 

"Thrive" by Daniel Popper

My days were fueled by lattes from the local Wells Coffee. I was up early and in bed late working three jobs in addition to Mary Poppins, so my leisure time was limited mostly to wine, movie, and snack nights in actor housing. I was not too adventurous with food in Fort Lauderdale, but I did go to a sushi buffet (risky!) and one evening got an enormous warm cookie from Blueprint Cookies (their window is open until 11:00PM.) 

My cast was mainly comprised of South Florida locals, many of whom hop from show to show, theatre to theatre together as a pack of entertainers and friends. Each of them had different passions outside of theatre: hockey, circus tricks, drag, foreign languages which I think fed into their supercalifragilisticexpialidocious unique ensemble character tracks. This cohort of performers had their favorite spots in and around town. One of the cast's favorite hangout spots is Original Phat Cats, just minutes from the Broward Center. I went twice for beer (who is he?) in the modern-dive atmosphere and then one night made my way to line-dancing with that group at Round Up Night Club. I have been to many corners of this nation, but this was the first time I felt like I had stepped into a different America. The last time I saw anything remotely close to this kind of dancing in person was at my forth grade square dancing evening. This seems like a good time to mention that April and I were craving corn hole so we went to Tarpon River Brewing. I ordered the Big Ass Pretzel off of the Foreplay section of the menu, and after devouring the beer cheese it was time for corn hole with April's family, Adam, and Michael. My team won. Twice!

I spent an afternoon kayaking through the winding, an occasionally very shallow, channels of Whiskey Creek Hideout with April and Adam, an evening in the hot tub ducksstaring up at the miles-high light beams of the local Hard Rock Café. There is night life, and I did go. 

"Oh! You're taking him to The Drive?" To my surprise, there is a large gay neighborhood in this part of South Florida. Heather Jane and I arrived at Rosie's Bar and Grill fresh off of a 10:00AM student matinee and enjoyed several banana hammocks (a cocktail) outside in a rainbow sanctuary. Rick, Larry, and I made our way down the drive, daddies turning their heads as we passed, and we walked into Wilton Collective. I was on a mission to find a key for my collection, and Rick and Larry were on the ride. I met a volunteer, Mike, and the manager, Ralph, at the counter and asked about keys. There weren't any, but we had story time. I mentioned I was from Delaware Country, and Mike sang the Mamas & the Papas line "When Cass was a sophomore, planned to go to Swarthmore" which somehow segued to a story about the time he saw The Beetles in their first US concert. This caught the attention of two teenagers dressed as Janis Joplin on the other side of the counter, "You saw The Beetles Live?!" My search for a key had to continue elsewhere, but before leaving the store I learned that a locksmith is able to make a key for any old lock you bring in. Good to know for later. We were off in search of the next drink, which would be at Drynk Bar & Lounge. It was snowing back home in New York, so I committed to my summery escape via frozé. Some amount of time later I began to wander around by myself. I ended up in To the Moon looking for sweets to bring home for my family. 85% of the chocolate is made in house, the favorite behind the chocolate covered preserved orange peels which I purchased in addition to chocolate covered pretzels and espresso beans. In speaking with the clerk I received another strong reaction to the mention of my hometown, "Oh, you must have heard about the fire!" I had not heard that the West Reading chocolate factory exploded several days prior. ducks. I crashed Jennifer's Cast Party at Tropics lounge with Rick and Heather Jane one Monday night. Jennifer's Cast Party is technically a cabaret and piano bar type of evening, but the title of the weekly event captures the spirit of what I walked into--lifelong friends with inside jokes singing show tune and drinking age-appropriate beverages. And like every cast party, someone's mom was there chillin'. 

In an outline for this post I wrote "Seeing a 'mates forever' shirt in a store sad," and I do not know what that means, but I am including it in this blog because it must have been an important part of my day. I returned to the drive a few times in search of a key (which I found on my second to last day in Florida!) and dancing. Benjamin and I had drinks on the patio of Drynk, we danced, we antiqued, there were drink tokens.

Benjamin

Sailboat Bend 

I migrated back north with community on my mind. After ten years working as a traveling actor my sense of community is a little different. My family of ducks is spread all over the country, and while I will never get them in a row I know I have corner lawns from shore to shore where I can roost. My favorite haunts of contracts past are now vacation spots, and as New York has opened up this year I've begun to discover bars and pockets that I love in my new hometown. My Monday cast party is a weekly trip to my Times Square office, a wonderful space for stories, chocolate, and ideas sandwiched between floors of tomorrow's Broadway shows. Leave NYC corn hole spots in the comments. Quack quack.