Time to Go

Having kicked around theaters for a while, I always brace myself for bad news. “Sorry, Brett. We liked your play, but it’s not right for us at this time,” one will say. Another: “We’ve finally decided which play we’re doing and, after an agonizing process, we’ve chosen The Life of a Chitterling.” (I’ve never written such a play.) Some will just say: “Oh, it’s you.”

Imagine my delight when Bob Arnold said that he was eager to record Time to Go and proceeded to make it both technically and logistically possible. When it came time for us to do it, all I and the other two actors were obliged to do was show up. From that time forward, we all became immersed in an experience that was never less than pleasurable — mostly, because Bob and his unflappable colleague David Barton were so abundantly receptive that all we had to do was make a few minor adjustments in terms of where we stood and how we projected our voices. I have no idea how the thing turned out, but, if it isn’t absolutely captivating, I will take complete responsibility. My estimable collaborators, Ann Sharp and Ron Gephart, jumped into their parts and had them dead to rights after a few readings. When it came time for us to do the thing, we were primed and ready. Well, at least they were. I never ceased to struggle with my headphones and found that, when the stridency of my performance became impossible to breach, I just went with it.

Thanks also to Chatterbox Audio Theater for maintaining artistic standards that, from one recording to the next, seem well-nigh stratospheric. And with the possible exception of Time to Go, listeners aren’t likely to expect anything else. Thanks also to the urban renaissance that is taking place on Marshall Street, where Chatterbox is located. When I knew of the area, it was intriguingly down-at-heel. And almost completely devoid of the vitality that characterizes it today.

—Brett Busang