Posted on 09/14/2019 8:25:44 PM PDT by Silly
Dear Diary:
My friend Leslie, a retired teacher, invited me to the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts one Saturday to watch a film of a Broadway musical.
I told her if it was being shown at the Theater on Film and Tape Archive, it was restricted to researchers and professionals.
I found the title in the online catalog, and verified that “all viewers must have a valid reason for viewing and a library card.” But Leslie insisted, and I agreed to meet.
Before entering the screening room, I stopped to quietly caution her.
“Volunteer no information,” I said. “Just make the request.”
--snip--
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
One week ago tonight, I ran to Hudson News in Grand Central Station to pick up the Sunday edition of the New York Times and sort through the many sections to find my new piece.
It is near the bottom of this page; scroll to the headline “Doing Research”.
This one is my longest piece to appear in that column, a 300-word, three-belly-laugh story that I hope brings a smile to your face.
Enjoy! And thank you in advance for reading the un-excerpted version at NYTimes.com; I know it is not a favorite site for many people, but I am glad to do my part in providing content anyone can enjoy.
Still being,
Silly
Ping.
If you have a problem with the local amish and write about it, do you think they will publish it?
Before entering the screening room, I stopped to quietly caution her.
“Volunteer no information,” I said. “Just make the request.”
Inside, she walked up to the desk.
“We want to check out ‘70, Girls, 70,’” she bellowed.
The librarian was taken aback. So was I. I had forgotten about Leslie’s hearing impairment.
The librarian asked her to keep her voice down. Researchers were viewing films over headphones just feet away.
“What is your purpose?” he asked.
“Recreational,” she said, just as loudly.
The librarian shook his head.
“Oh, no, no,” he said. “You must have a legitimate purpose.”
“I’m doing research,” Leslie said.
“What are you researching?”
“I’m writing a paper on the works of Kander and Webb.”
“I think you mean Kander and Ebb,” the librarian said.
We had no credentials. The librarian gave us a form and waived some of the formalities, as it was our first visit. He told us to bring them next time.
I had to shush Leslie during Olympia Dukakis’s performance as Ida Dobbs. She claims that I nodded off.
We ran out of time, so the librarian gave us a voucher for another viewing. It is still in my wallet. I am not sure I have the nerve to return.
She didn’t even have a library card.
— Paul Klenk
(A note about excerpting: As the author of this work, I have received an official release from The New York Times to reprint this piece in its entirely: “You may reprint your story elsewhere after it appears in The Times.”)
Since 1976, Metropolitan Diary has been a place for New Yorkers of all ages and eras, regardless of where they live now — as well as for visitors to the city — to share anecdotes, memories, quirky encounters and overheard snippets that surprise, delight and inspire.
Late night ping for the late FReepers...
Your posts are delightful!
Your posts are delightful!
Of course, I should have realized that you do light stuff. With a nic like “Silly”, haha.
It actually has changed my life, or at least bolstered my confidence in pitching myself as a writer. A lot of my life is hidden between the lines of the stories.
I'm writing a book about this experience (with reprints of all my published items, and some unpublished one) titled, "Diary of a Gothamite: How I Leaked My Autobiography to The New York Times."
Very glad you enjoyed it! Thank you!
Why would a lying berry require a “legitimate purpose” for viewing a recording of a Broadway musical?
What a delight! Thank you.
That’s a very good question, dsc, and I realize it wouldn’t be obvious with the lack of context in my story. I will explain:
The Theatre on Film and Tape Archive is founded as a repository of film and video of live Broadway shows, for historical and research purposes. It is funded by benefactors for research purposes.
As you might guess, theatre producers do not let just anyone into the theatre to film shows, and they certainly do not allow such films to be distributed widely. The content is original, highly valuable, and highly sought after.
So the Archive has (wisely) worked out a way to preserve these shows. They get permission from the producers to make these motion picture recordings and preserve them for posterity, and research, with the agreement they will not be marketed and sold all over creation, but made available on a need to know basis. That means students, historians, writers, biographers — people who would need to actually see scenes performed, sets, music, everything in a show in order to properly do their research.
Without these agreements, these archives would simply not exist, anywhere. Producers, directors and performers would never allow tapings if they knew all their artistic content could be ripped off. The shows would be lost forever, performances would be lost forever.
This archive truly is a treasure. I hope that puts this little caper into perspective and explains why the demand to see a film for “recreational” purposes, and the claim one is doing research on “Kander and Webb”, was astonishing, preposterous, mortifying and very funny all at the same time.
Thank you for your question!
Glad you liked it, AM!
Thank you for the thorough explanation.
Also, dsc, since many of these recordings are on celluloid and outdated formats like ¾” U-matic videotape, and other older formats that are sensitive, delicate, and easily destroyed, there is no way to show them without archivists and preservationists and qualified personnel on staff to pull recordings off shelves and run projectors and viewers. It is quite a feat.
The Archive is gradually transferring these recordings to DVD to preserve them. This will make it easier and eventually cheaper to show them; I would think in the future one could sit down at a viewer, type in a show title, and bring up a recording like you would on Amazon Video.
But even then, the content is still protected by the agreements that were signed in order to obtain it. I don’t see them changing the requirement that those requesting to see it have a legitimate purpose.
My pleasure — thank you for the reminder that without the background, the humor in this story might be quite so sharp!
My friend told me later that when she bellowed, “Recreational,” my eyes popped out of my head like they were on cartoon springs! We broke out laughing in tears after we left the archive. It was quite an experience, and every detail of the story is true, I just cannot imagine what the librarian would say if I returned with that voucher. And now it is likely the staff has read that story, and he would easily remember us.
Only in New York. That is usually a cliche, but in this case, right on the money.
I will treasure getting this particular story published for many, many years.
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