This is Bill. ACTing.
84. john cusack ruined a lot of things (for my generation): quickie with an actor
Usually, our conversation is long, sensual, and languorous, lasting between two and three hours, and when I release it as horizontal with lila, I divide it into two parts- the first half is available in all the podcast places, and the second is available exclusively to my patrons of the horizontal arts.
Bill: You asked me for the name of the story. And I told you it was “You Don’t Have to Go To Poland For This One.” Which actually became a thing that my friends would say to me in— if I was reaching too much, for something, after this happened they’re like, “Bill, you don’t have to go to Poland… for this one.” So, like many people of my approximate age, John Cusack has ruined a lot of things. I mean, I love him! I don’t know him; but, I enjoy his films, but I think that he’s— and, and John Hughes, and all that, and Molly Ringwald has sort of, skewed perception of what love and romance, should be.
Other titles considered for this episode:
i’m still a late bloomer
there’s a little boy in this grown-up suit
doing a very bad impression of a grownup
the king of the big gesture
Welcome to horizontal, the podcast of intimacies recorded while the opposite of vertical. It’s Slow Radio. We’re wearing robes, lying down, and sharing secrets in your ears.
Usually, our conversation is long, sensual, and languorous, lasting between two and three hours, and when I release it as horizontal with lila, I divide it into two parts— the first half is available in all the podcast places, and the second is available exclusively to my patrons of the horizontal arts.
You can become a patron for access to the Full Horizontal, plus a monthly video of Intimacy Tips, and an invitation to the secret patrons group:
My part two episodes always conclude like this: At the end of each conversation, I ask my guest to tell me a story. It can be any story under the broad umbrella of intimacy — in other words, a tale that is related to sex, love, or relationships of any kind. I ask that my guest choose a story they feel deeply compelled to tell me, and trust that it will be the right one: a narrative that others need to hear.
I’ve had stories of myriad types and tones — stories about the first time ejaculating (episode 2. stuff came out), about friendship and suicide (episode 15. friend death), about having a relationship with a couple (episode 10. his fingers are always hard), about a big freaky wedding (episode 49. bawdy storytelling), etc. As I said. All kinds.
My live event horizontal storytelling, is just these stories, told back-to-back by six different pajama-clad, reclining storytellers. And on this coming Sunday, June 30th, two days from the release of this episode, I’m hosting another one. This time it will the horizontal storytelling pajama party: summer pride edition, and all tales told will be from the lips of LGBTQPIAD storytellers.
horizontal with Daniel Saynt, telling the story of his former thrupple, at the last horizontal storytelling. February 2018. Image by Valerie Zimmer Photography
LGBTQPIAD stands for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Pansexual, Intersex, Asexual, and Demisexual. If you’re unfamiliar with any of those terms, check the glossary on horizontalwithlila.com, and while you’re there, sign up for the mailing list, so that you’ll know about all the events.
This weekend’s horizontal storytelling will include tales from folx across the gender and sexuality rainbow, and tickets are sliding scale for anybody in the community — just message me for a personalized discount code. If you are an ally, use the code LILALOVE in all caps, for $5 off.
So… I am broadcasting this quickie episode in honor of Sunday’s upcoming event.
This is one of the never-before-released tales from the last horizontal storytelling, held in February 2018!
Bill… in character?
In this quickie, I lie down with Bill Demeritt.
Bill is a thespian, which means that he spends a large portion of his life pretending to be someone else. Most of the people who do that exceptionally, are gifted with a formidable sense of compassion, and I believe that Bill is no different in that regard.
He performs on stage and screen (you can see him in the Emmy-winning The Normal Heart and Season Two of the acclaimed Vimeo series The Outs). He narrates audiobooks and longform journalism. He studied acting at Marymount Manhattan and the Yale School of Drama. He’s currently at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival working on Paula Vogel’s play “Indecent.”
Bill is charming and game and playful and handsome and nebbishy and a leetle bit nervous, all at the same time.
You can find all things Bill on WilliamDemeritt.com
I first met Bill while doing a live recording of Carol A. Jantsen’s Help: a podcast for those who need it, in which an agoraphobe character with self-help aspirations begins to get out in the world.
In Season 2 Episode 1: Lila Donnolo and the Double Date, Carol & I, Bill & Celeste go on a fictional double date in a very real Chinese food restaurant. Bill was cast as my “date,” and on the day we recorded, Bill brought me a dozen roses, that’s how committed he was to the scene. (I somehow ended up with 11 and they were sort of a consolation prize, but it’s fine.)
He’s getting married in November, after pulling off one of the most theatrical stage proposals I have ever seen captured on video. Congratulations, Bill. And thank you for showing me how it’s done.
In our quickie, Bill tells me a story about pierogis in New York, a callipygous behind, going to Poland for sex (and love), kohana, the word for sweetheart, a romantic trip to Nice, and the grand gesture.
And now, join us on Sunday for the next horizontal storytelling…
And come lie down with us at Hacienda Studio in Bushwick, Brooklyn.
horizontal with Bill during the recording of this quickie! The second horizontal storytelling pajama party was held at Hacienda Studio in Bushwick, Brooklyn. Image by Valerie Zimmer Photography. February 2018
84. john cusack ruined a lot of things (for my generation): quickie with an actor
Usually, our conversation is long, sensual, and languorous, lasting between two and three hours, and when I release it as horizontal with lila, I divide it into two parts- the first half is available in all the podcast places, and the second is available exclusively to my patrons of the horizontal arts.
