Authors: David Crabb
Bad Kid (28 page)
R
andy Sharp, Brian Barnhart, Marc Palmieri, and everyone at Axis Theatre Company, where the solo show this book is based on was first produced. Your support and friendship made this possible. You're like a family to me and our adventures together are some of my favorite memories. The term “lifesaver” gets thrown around a lot, but when I say you saved my life, I literally mean it. Thank you so much.
My agent, Alex Glass, who opened a door I never even knew I wanted to step through. As often as you've made me feel proud of my work, it bears noting how constantly impressed I am by
you
. You are my literary superhero. Here is
not
where the story ends.
My editor, Laura Brown, who's encouraged and enriched my work with thoughtful feedback, kind words, and delicious cookies. Now that this is done, can we smear on black mascara and go dancing somewhere in a fog machine together?
The indispensable Michael Ferrante, whose constructive notes and advice-filled emails kept me trucking through parts of this process I wasn't sure I could finish. I'm so happy to call you my friend, free lunches or not.
My copy editor, Julie Hersh, who has come to love Erasure & the Pet Shop Boys entirely through my copyedit replies. Thanks for your thoughtful comments and much-needed LOLs.
Everyone at Harper Perennial, who have been so supportive and genuinely interested in this project. I'm a lucky guy to have you all in my corner.
To my friends who've taken the time to read my writing, especially Diana Spechler, Julia Weideman, and Kerri Doherty. I'm honored to have friends as talented as you, let alone ones that return my needy emails and phone calls with such thoughtful feedback.
Thanks to Britt Genelin, Kelly Cox, Lucas Longacre, and Jacob Cox, not only for your amazing friendship, but for all your assistance in helping me launch
Bad Kid The Show
. I am consistently amazed by your wit, vision, and ability to cope with my mood swings.
I'm fortunate to have been one-half of some pretty amazing duos in my time. So much love to the abundantly talented Abby Savage, Seth DeCroce, Margo Passalaqua, and Cammi Climaco. “I learned by watching YOU!”
Every storyteller I've ever heard, taught, booked, hosted, interviewed, or received pointers from. I'm lucky to be a part such an amazing community. Thanks for constantly reminding me what a better place the world could be if everyone shared their stories.
To all my wonderful teachers: Kevin Allison, Michelle Walson, Julie Brister, Sara Barron, Jeanie Massie, Carl Toth, and
especially Eric Weller, who reminded me that there was another world out there, and then pushed me into it.
The Moth
, who provide me and so many others a platform to tell our stories. The world would be a darker place without your work in it. Thanks for giving me and so many others a microphone and a stage. I doubt this book would exist without your support and kindness.
My Jackie, who's my best friend and favorite scene partner. You're my sunshine when there isn't any. I would be a paler, sadder, even
more
agitated version of myself without you. Thanks for loving me when I felt unlovable.
To Charlie, even though you can't read and have paws for hands, I want to thank you for laying in my lap during significant portions of this writing process. I think you'll enjoy laying on this book as well.
The Perry's, thanking you after a pet seems ridiculous. (Then again, you know more than anyone how insane we are about that dog.) I'm so lucky to be a part of your family. Thanks for all your love, warmth, and apple cake. Now forget you read
any
of this.
My step-siblings. A lot of kids wouldn't have been so cool with a sisteen-year-old weirdo suddenly living in their home. Thanks for gracefully accepting me into your lives and letting me blast spooky music at all hours.
To Josh Matthews. What can I say? Who knew when we started building a little solo show that it would connect with so many people? Without your direction I would've never had the drive and focus to make it happen. Thanks for fifteen years of laughter, insight, friendship, and dialect practice. Like, seriously? Do we EVER speak to each other in our actual voices? Halal, buddy.
Thanks to all the great musicians whose inspirational tunes have indelibly colored the prose in this book. The Smiths, Morrissey, The Cure, Depeche Mode, Joy Division, New Order, NIN, Erasure, Yaz, Siouxsie, The The, The Sundays, The Drums, and Pet Shop Boys. Thanks for holding the torch in the corner of my room and making sure I was never alone.
To “Greg” and all the other bad kids, especially Scott, Steve, Jim, and Molly. I love you even more than I did when we were sixteen. There aren't words to express how overjoyed it makes me to see you all so happy. Then again, to quote my father, “I'm just glad they're alive at all!”
To my father, mother, and stepfather: I'm sorry for putting you through all that mess, but so thankful you put the lockdown on me when the time came. I probably yelled a lot of stuff to the contrary at seventenn, but I only meant a small fraction of it. And yes, I should call more. I know. I love you and am thankful every day to have been raised by such incredibly funny, complex, thoughtful people.
DAVID CRABB
is a writer, performer, teacher, and storyteller. He lives in Brooklyn with his partner and their Jack Russell/Chihuahua mix Charlie, the most Instagrammed dog in the tristate area. David is a
Moth
StorySLAM host and teaches storytelling across the country. His solo show
Bad Kid
was named a
New York Times Critics
' Pick. He probably loves Morrissey more than you do.
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Cover design by Joanne O'Neill
Cover photographs: © Lucas Longacre and Britt Genelin (author); © Beau Lark/Corbis
BAD KID
. Copyright © 2015 by David Crabb. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
FIRST EDITION
ISBN 978-0-06-237128-7
EPub Edition May 2015 ISBN 9780062371294
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