To the editor:
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I know Kelly Anchors and Mike McKune well, and have worked with Sweetback from its inception. Along the way I have also worked with Steve Hickson, David Cerda, Pauline Pang, and Richard Lambert. From Sweetback’s first show, through Plan 9 From Outer Space and Female Trouble, and most recently The Birds (after a too-long hiatus), I have collaborated closely with Sweetback as a lighting designer and technical director. Unpaid and utterly free of expectations, I always jump at the chance to work with Kelly and Mike–they remain two of the most steadfast and visionary people I have met.
Aimless accusations never portray reality. The fact is, when Kelly recently approached five actors from the cast of The Birds about the upcoming Sweetback show, four of them responded enthusiastically–script unseen. This is likewise true for the seven Plan 9 cast members who immediately accepted the opportunity to work with Kelly and Mike again. If, as Cerda charges, the cast of The Birds was “unified by our disgust,” how is it that so many people wish to return to “hell” and “a nightmare” and screaming and constant crises?
Kelly Anchors is brilliant, and I love her too. She’s difficult, and so am I, and so is anyone who ever gave a lonesome shit about anything they do. And that makes me love her even more. And, above all, want to work with her again and again.
