The Black Book of Arson, you say?

• Theater Alliance
• January 31, 2012
• News
• 0 Comments

Last night we at Theater Alliance began rehearsals for our next production, the Area Premiere of British playwright Fin Kennedy’s How to Disappear Completely and Never Be Found.

Quite a title.

Turns out, Kennedy got the title AND the inspiration for the piece from a self-help book published in 1986.  The book contains detailed accounts of people who have successfully reinvented their identities, as well as tips and how-tos for anyone who might be considering this path.

No joke. The great thing about the book is how incredibly sincere it is.

As you might have gathered, (and if not, SPOILER ALERT) the play is about a man who has been hitting rock bottom just about his whole life and decides to take the drastic measures of reinventing himself. 

In preparation for rehearsals, Artistic Director Colin Hovde and I decided that we HAD to get a hold of the original book.  Happily, we discovered it is still in print and is being published by Desert Publications, based in El Dorado, AR.

Here’s a photo of the awesomely ’80’s cover:

Before delving into the text, I decided to scan the titles of the entire Desert Publications canon, as listed in the back of the book.  A few of the more disconcerting winners that jumped out at me:

How to Open A Swiss Bank Account
Poor Man’s James Bond Vol 2
Canteen Cup Cookery
The Anarchist Handbook Vol 1
Vigelante Handbook
The Poor Man’s Ray Gun
Black Book of Arson

…

I think we’re are in for an exciting ride here on H Street.

“Identities become dirty, my friend.  Names acquire baggage…

What makes you who you are? A name? An address? A random collection of experiences, a few memories?

You are who you can prove you are.  You are what people think.  And that’s the easiest thing in the world to change.”

-Mike, How to Disappear Completely and Never Be Found by Fin Kennedy

Post by Lee Daugherty, Theater Alliance Managing Director