Three Sisters

I have acquired three sisters in Moscow. I did not expect this to happen; and, my parents will be most surprised. Still, I have acquired three sisters in Moscow.

Tonight we toasted each other, we toasted life, we toasted Moscow. Over beers in the beautiful gardens of the Hermitage Theatre / New Opera, we ate lovely food and sipped small beers. It was what we could afford. Who knows if one day we will be able to be more extravagant, but on that "one day," I suspect memories -- if not people -- from this Hermitage/New Opera evening will be there.

We have fought with each other, we have consoled each other. We have rejoiced over each other's successes, and we have competed for attention. We have behaved like a family, when you think about it. And why shouldn't we? We've spent three months in bedrooms across the hall from one another.

Growing up, Mary - my sister - had the big bedroom and I had the small bedroom. Mary won hers because it had Holly Hobby wallpaper in it when we moved into the house, so why not put the girl in there?

I was in the smaller room next door, painted yellow. It became my terrain, my kingdom. I would invade my sister's dominion and she would assault mine. I would make her cry, she would make me rage. We eventually learned that this only got us both into trouble with our parents - so we became very adept at mediation (when we wanted to mediate); we learned that, as a force united, we could topple our parents.

And then my little brother was born, and everything changed.

Mary got my yellow room - which I decided to change to seafoam green - and painted it pink. I tore down the Holly Hobby wallpaper and painted the room powder blue. My brother and I shared it - his crib next to my bed, his changing table opposite my desk. It was close quarters, and our duet became a trio. New treaties had to be drawn-up, new alliances - and, most important: new sympathies. Ours was not a child-friendly house: you were expected to mature quickly.

The past three months have been close quarters for me and my classmates. For us dramaturgs, we had our moments of tension - but we overcame them. Like any filial relationship, there are territorial lines that are crossed and then respected. I hope that in the coming months our "diplomatic skills with one another" will become even more finely tuned, making us a united front to be dealt with.

Because, why not? Our "family" is an academic one, and families function best (in my experience) when the boat is rocking. So, in the coming months: let's rock the boat.