Engage + Enjoy
REID #272
I just landed in Denver, and normally I’d stay up really late at my partner’s mom’s house trying to churn out some Substack magic while a 2000 year old golden retriever stares at me, but, in the spirit of winter break/ being kinder to myself, I’m just gunna drop some stuff here for you to engage with and go to sleep instead! Hope that’s okay!
Thing I read this week that I liked:
Thing I just saw that made me lol: Man waiting for his ride at the airport with big green light-up stick on his head
Also gotta give a special shoutout to 1. the woman we saw at JFK wearing reindeer ears and yelling “I’m off the clock!” + 2. the lady in Christmas tree hat with a big light-up star on top. Tis the season to express yourself!
Thing I captured earlier this week that was perfect:
^My friend Kate… who hosted the holiday party of all holiday parties last week… loads freshly-cooked meat onto a plate in the backyard… alone… the meat’s way-too-hot… clearly burning their fingers… but Kate pushes through… and THAT’S hosting.
Thing(s) I’d love for you to peruse: I spent some time on the plane thinking about where I put my creative energy this year. This was spurred by a friend posting a “writing roundup” of all his drafts, rewrites, and page counts since January. I workshopped a new play in June, which required some rewriting, but most of my time was spent editing, generating, punching up, rearranging, prepping, and locking scripts for Going Down. We made twelve 30+-minute episodes of the show, each of which is linked below. It would mean the world to me if you watched them. Comment with your favorite lines from each episode1!
Ep 1
Ep 2
Ep 3
Ep 4
Ep 5
Ep 6
Ep 7
Ep 8
Ep 9
Ep 10
Ep 11
Ep 12
^ For real, leave a comment2. This thing has taken years off my life3.
Additionally, as the year comes to a close, let me know what you’ve enjoyed reading about here on REID and anything you’d like to hear more about in 20264. Can’t believe I’ve done 272 of these...
Oh! And Thing I’d love you to get tickets to: https://publictheater.org/performances-jp/2026/c/comedians-earnestly-singing-musical-theatre/
Okay bye.
Thank you for subscribing to this newsletter. Sometimes it’s funny, sometimes it’s not (like when ppl slip on ice). If you want, you can also check out the archives.
Sincerely,
Reid Pope
It seems so easy to make a show like this, but it is actually so hard. We are completely volunteer-run (all money from Patreon goes back into the show/ toward feeding our crew on the day etc). Speaking of… patreon.com/goingdownshow — c’mon… giving season… <3
(and smash the like button on the YT videos if that feels truthful)
Not good or bad, just spiritually and physically, the truth (probably)
New or building off previous stacks— for example, should I talk to the guy with the eyepatch at my gym who runs around telling ppl he “can’t get into [what happened]”?