file under: masks of beattie (like shocks of mighty)

it's been on several times, and even i can't believe that i often stop to watch it, but those homespun one-man teleplays performed by actor rod beattie (aired on the bravo channel) fascinate me.

to watch an aging, slightly bug-eyed yet undeniably sonorous man dressed in overalls slog through what often feels like a community theater project borders on that "unwatchable" flavor of pathos at times, but the solo performance aspect of it adds something just surreal enough to hook me eventually.

he plays old men! women! himself, even! sometimes he throws in a few vocalizations for the various animals down on the farm - cows, chickens, sheep. it's entrancing, and i don't even like rural tales! [a later thought: maybe it's another one of those minor forms of possession i like so much.]

i can't explain it. it basically makes me reconsider my dislike for hee-haw after all these years....

anyway, there's something vaguely cultish about watching wingfield, like it's mere presence on the screen opens doors that shouldn't really be opened by people who dwell in the daylight world.