When I moved to the East Village in the late seventies, I wanted to be a street performer, so I practiced daily. I never did work up the skills or the courage to perform on the street, though.
I never know what I'm going to get. A 'Sopranos' fan is very different from a 'Big Lebowski' fan.
The thrill of performing - that's something that hasn't changed for me. That simultaneous joy of creating something and sharing it with an audience - it's the same now as it was then, when it was just my cousins' birthday party.
I was really young, just playing with puppets a lot and doing all the voices and acting it out - normal kid stuff. But then I'd hear my mother talking about it to her relatives, marveling at it as if it was something unique. And it made me realize, 'Oh, maybe I do have a talent for something.'
I never had any master plan about directing, and I don't really write.
Trees Lounge is based on my own life. Both my parents like the movie. My father, of course, thinks it's a masterpiece.
