Monday, May 09, 2011

Rest in Peace, Doric Wilson.




TOSOS had a reading of my new play, I Wanna Destroy You on Saturday night. The reading was going really, really well but I could tell something was up. Doric Wilson, the Artistic Director of TOSOS, was a no show- which is totally unlike him. Then, at a certain point in the reading, some company members were coming in and out of the room, checking their phones etc.

Doric Wilson, it seems, passed away during the night and people were finding out one by one all around me.

I'd only known Doric for a little under a year. He came to see MilkMilkLemonade and asked me to join TOSOS, New York's oldest professional LGBT theater company. I was proud to. During this time Doric had become a kind of mentor to me. His accomplishments were many, of course. He was one of the pioneers of downtown, DIY theater. One of the infamous Cafe Chino writers. He was at Stonewall. He amazed me. We wrote to each other via email about music and politics and the way New York used to be- something I've been obsessed with, having moved here post 9/11.

Doric might hate me saying this, because one of the things we had a long, friendly email debate over was his distaste for rock and roll music, but to me- Doric was punk as hell. The image of what a gay New Yorker should be. He did everything on his own terms, did it himself, and didn't sell out or compromise his values.

He was a visionary and a true original. His legacy will be carried on through his work, his fans and all of us who remember him.

Bye, Doric. I miss you already.

3 comments:

Monica said...

I'm so sorry, Josh.

Robert Patrick said...

DORIC WILSON's last interview (in 2 parts) may be seen at [FOURTEEN] on this page: http://robertpatrickpersonal.wordpress.com/2011/03/21/videos-of-interviews/

joshcon80 said...

Thanks for the link, Robert.