The Sky With Eyes

 

The Sky With Eyes - sketch by douglas brent smith

"Did you know that Harry X. Tudas wrote a book?"

"Of course. I always assumed that he's written several books."

"Not as far as we know. But there are hints that he did write this one, although no copies have yet been discovered."

"Well, there's a picture of one."

"..."

"It looks like a big book. Harry had a lot to say, I would guess that he had a lot to write."

"We'd better look for the book."

"I wouldn't know where to look...Chicago, Trenton, Bridgeton, Warminster, who knows?"

"Paris...London...Berlin...Miami...Los Angeles..."

"You're saying that Harry got around?"

"Harry X. Tudas got around."

Notes:

Harry X. Tudas is a character from a play. I borrowed the name from an expression that my great grandmother Denges would say, "What in the name of Harry X. Tudas is going on?"

Not sure where she got it from. 

Peter Hoff, also known as Zeke Peterhoff, portrayed Harry X. Today in the original production of "Cheap / Kong." He created a fabulous character.

clown show

do you think the hoops'll play?

no, we'd better go with fire

they just eat it up when i swallow

the flame bit

but it's too windy we might

set each other on fire (how's that

for a big finish?) no,

the balls, we'll do the juggling steals

maybe some magic (slight of 

hand) hey!

did you bring the accordion?

the guitars will never carry in this wind

and yes it's cold but

we're down to our last dollar and

Quick! here comes some kids

put on the big red shoes

we are on!

-- douglas brent smith

NOTES:

1. When Peter and I did these types of shows (not sure if this one was sponsored or if we were busking) our hair (yes, we once had hair!) was so long that catching on fire was a legitimate concern. At times, we could smell hair burning. 
2. The hoops that we used were hand-made by Peter and covered in cloth tape. They were not completely round.
3. If we had more money in our pockets then maybe we could have put fresh strings on our guitars so that they would resonate louder, even in the wind.

 

Mustard Seed Truck

 

Sketch: Mustard Seed Truck, douglas brent smith, 1978

Notes:

Peter bought a used mail truck which had the steering apparatus on the right side instead of the traditional left side on American vehicles so that the drive could place mail into resident's mail boxes without getting out of the truck. Because of that oddity, Peter said that his truck had a sex change -- it used to be a female truck but was turned into a MAIL truck -- and now was stuck as a male.

Those trucks are surprising small inside and of course, only have one seat. Nena and I sat in the back on boxes or folding chairs -- no seatbelts --  on route to our Mustard Seed Theatre gigs. I think that Bob and Harry travelled separately, probably in Harry's car.

We didn't get nearly as many gigs as we'd hoped for (after all, we'd hoped to make it our career) but it was fun while it lasted. 

dbs

Mustard Seed Theatre Company Logos

Notes:

Peter, Harry, and I started a little touring theatre company we called the Mustard Seed Theatre Company. We had very limited success for an all too brief amount of time. I later revived the name at churches in Chicago, and I'm sure that any search would uncover other theatre companies bearing that name, but we loved it while we proudly wore it on our t-shirts. 

These sketches are modest attempts at logos. circa 1977-1978