After a long day of journeying out into the wilderness to visit my best friend from high school and kayaking on the marsh of Upper Klamath Lake, Daniel and I sat down in the Elizabethan for three hours and fifteen minutes of Othello. If that knowledge wasn't intimidating enough, we very quickly realized that this was going to be a completely straight version of Othello.
I wish I could say that I enjoyed it. The actors were all fine for their roles, I didn't have any quibbles with the way in which it was acted and they certainly told the story. But all they did was tell the story. And I already KNOW the story. I understand the idea of wanting us to understand that the story, in its original setting, has meaning today. But it was boring. Also, it seemed like the lighting, costume and set designers all had their very own ideas about what the show should be, and no-one talked to each other. The lighting and set were both very meta, the costumes were period but weren't sure whether to match the set (brown and bright white), the concept (black and bright white), the light box (off-white) or something more natural (brown and off white). What was seriously missing for me was the director's vision. Directing actors is all well and good, but I needed more than that to sit there for over three hours.
There were a couple of cues that were phenomenal, however. The first had the lightbox all lit up behind the set with no lights onstage, which happened right before our first visit to Desdemona's bedroom. The second was the final cue of the show, where Cassio hits Iago, who spins and stares hungrily at the audience as he falls/lunges towards us and the lights hit black before he lands. I clearly cannot describe how cool the effect was.
After nine hours of Shakespeare, I think I can safely say I will not be seeking out any Shakespeare plays until next summer, so if there's something you really think I should see, prepare your argument well.
That's all for Ashland until next year! Much Ado, Henry VIII, All's Well That Ends Well, an Octavio Solis adaptation of Don Quixote, the aforementioned Music Man, a couple of plays I've
never heard of but look cool- I'll definitely be back!
Sunday, August 10, 2008
OSF part 3: Comedy of Errors
At 5:30 on Thursday it thunderstormed, but the weather gods were on our side and it stopped before the show (which was outdoors in the Elizabethan).
This version of Comedy of Errors took place in the Wild West, which was a great setting for it. Saloon doors swinging and guns going off really add to the farce atmosphere. Oh yeah, and it was a musical. Now, I can see all of these things making a great Comedy of Errors, but they changed the text! Tons of it! Only the Dromios spoke the original Shakespeare. So I get that they told us the story, and it was certainly funny and successful, but I felt gypped of the text. It was like they were trying to tell their version of the original Plautus farce, but bowed their heads to the fact that Shakespeare added the Dromio twins, and therefore left their text alone... I don't know. It was bothersome.
Mike's cousin, Paul Tazewell, designed the costumes, so I feel it necessary to record that they were excellent. (He also designed costumes for In the Heights, Bring in da Noise Bring in da Funk, Caroline or Change and The Color Purple, all on Broadway).
It was very satisfying to see Emily Sophia Knapp turn from sharp, short, blonde Hermia into a beautiful pinned-up brunette Luciana. The cast was largely impeccable, actually. I loved John Tufts and Tasso Feldman playing the Dromios (although it would be impossible to ever mix the two up)- you would never have known it was John Tufts after seeing him as Puck without reading the program. Tasso Feldman was predictably both adorable and hilarious, seeing that he was essentially reprising his role as Christopher from On the Razzle last year. Oh yeah, and they can all sing. So that's kind of cool. I'm starting to predict casting for The Music Man next year.
What? Yes, that's right. They're doing The Music Man. Everyone wants to know why, well I haven't talked to Bill Rauch himself, but I am inferring from what I do know that he is trying to bring an essentially American piece of theatre to OSF. What's more American than musical theatre, and what musical is more American than one set in River City, Iowa?
We'll see.
This version of Comedy of Errors took place in the Wild West, which was a great setting for it. Saloon doors swinging and guns going off really add to the farce atmosphere. Oh yeah, and it was a musical. Now, I can see all of these things making a great Comedy of Errors, but they changed the text! Tons of it! Only the Dromios spoke the original Shakespeare. So I get that they told us the story, and it was certainly funny and successful, but I felt gypped of the text. It was like they were trying to tell their version of the original Plautus farce, but bowed their heads to the fact that Shakespeare added the Dromio twins, and therefore left their text alone... I don't know. It was bothersome.
Mike's cousin, Paul Tazewell, designed the costumes, so I feel it necessary to record that they were excellent. (He also designed costumes for In the Heights, Bring in da Noise Bring in da Funk, Caroline or Change and The Color Purple, all on Broadway).
It was very satisfying to see Emily Sophia Knapp turn from sharp, short, blonde Hermia into a beautiful pinned-up brunette Luciana. The cast was largely impeccable, actually. I loved John Tufts and Tasso Feldman playing the Dromios (although it would be impossible to ever mix the two up)- you would never have known it was John Tufts after seeing him as Puck without reading the program. Tasso Feldman was predictably both adorable and hilarious, seeing that he was essentially reprising his role as Christopher from On the Razzle last year. Oh yeah, and they can all sing. So that's kind of cool. I'm starting to predict casting for The Music Man next year.
What? Yes, that's right. They're doing The Music Man. Everyone wants to know why, well I haven't talked to Bill Rauch himself, but I am inferring from what I do know that he is trying to bring an essentially American piece of theatre to OSF. What's more American than musical theatre, and what musical is more American than one set in River City, Iowa?
We'll see.
OSF part 2: The Clay Cart
On Thursday afternoon we saw Bill Rauch's production of The Clay Cart. The set, designed by Christopher Acebo, was gorgeous. Beautiful Indian practicals hung over both the stage and the house, the set was a circular playing space with seating space for actors to watch, and then beyond that a raised level from which the cast would enter and exit, including a large foot, appearing to be made out of clay, and the attached leg that disappeared into the sky. The best part of this set-up was the scene changes, which happened in the circular playing space, in which a variety of pillows would set each scene- a bedchamber, a stone wall, a park... and the cast would place and take away these pillows in a choreographed manner that made the changes a [wonderful] part of the show.
The story was a fun, exciting and satisfying story that felt like a mixture between Aladdin and the Mikado (without the offensiveness). What was not satisfying about the production, however, was the presentational style. It felt like they were trying to perform it in an extremely presentational manner in which the actors share an awareness with the audience about who is good, who is bad, what is funny, etc, but also address the fact that the audience, particularly this highly sophisticated Ashland audience, is used to realism. I would much rather have seen them go all-out presentational, because the result of going only half-way gave the production a half-good feeling. NOT that the presentational parts were the best, they felt forced (which I also think is a reflection of the actors not being used to it), but if it had been entirely like that it would have been one of the rules of the play and the audience would have accepted it.
I'll take this moment to mention that one of my other favorite actors at OSF is Eileen DeSandre, who played Vasantaseyna's servant in Clay Cart, Francis Flute in Midsummer, and last year played Gertrud in On the Razzle. She is hilarious.
The story was a fun, exciting and satisfying story that felt like a mixture between Aladdin and the Mikado (without the offensiveness). What was not satisfying about the production, however, was the presentational style. It felt like they were trying to perform it in an extremely presentational manner in which the actors share an awareness with the audience about who is good, who is bad, what is funny, etc, but also address the fact that the audience, particularly this highly sophisticated Ashland audience, is used to realism. I would much rather have seen them go all-out presentational, because the result of going only half-way gave the production a half-good feeling. NOT that the presentational parts were the best, they felt forced (which I also think is a reflection of the actors not being used to it), but if it had been entirely like that it would have been one of the rules of the play and the audience would have accepted it.
I'll take this moment to mention that one of my other favorite actors at OSF is Eileen DeSandre, who played Vasantaseyna's servant in Clay Cart, Francis Flute in Midsummer, and last year played Gertrud in On the Razzle. She is hilarious.
OSF part 1: Midsummer
Came home from Ashland yesterday, where Daniel and I saw Midsummer, The Clay Cart, Comedy of Errors and Othello. So here is my first review:
Midsummer was fantastic. I never really liked the show, although enjoyed my high school's superbly cast and designed version senior year, but this show blew me out of the water- 2 hours and 41 minutes of pure enjoyment and hilarity. The director is listed as Mark Rucker, although it seems necessary to quote this blog entry which writes "rumor says he left town before he blocked and Festival Artistic Director Bill Rauch stepped in". So I'll credit Rucker for the concept and Rauch for the follow-through and focus on everyone else.
For photos of the production, go here.
Walt Spangler created a brilliant, versatile set that wove us in and around the forest full of climbing and perches and flower beds straight out of the 70s. He had lots of help from lighting designer Robert Peterson, who added stars made of blacklights and flourescent baubles to set the full atmosphere.
Costume designer Katherine Roth also had a clear design concept: the lovers, beginning in various shades of white, became progressively less clothed and more colorful as they became enveloped in the woods. The fairies were men in tutus, sparkles, fishnets and boots, who would steal clothing from all those who entered the woods and would break out into dance during the scene changes.
John Tufts, who I will mention in other reviews, is one of the most versatile, watchable actors I have seen in a while. I remember him as the fifteen year-old in Up from the 2006 season- and in the last four days I saw him play Puck, a stage-coach driver in the Clay Cart and Dromio from Syracuse in Comedy of Errors. I loved watching him as Puck, because he commanded our attention the entire show.
And while in general I find Hermia completely obnoxious, Emily Sophia Knapp has incredible comedic timing, and suddenly all of those old scenes and monologues I've grown to hate had new life to them. But she should never dye her hair blonde.
Overall, it was a sexy, funny romp and I sincerely recommend it to anyone who might be headed to Ashland in the near future.
Midsummer was fantastic. I never really liked the show, although enjoyed my high school's superbly cast and designed version senior year, but this show blew me out of the water- 2 hours and 41 minutes of pure enjoyment and hilarity. The director is listed as Mark Rucker, although it seems necessary to quote this blog entry which writes "rumor says he left town before he blocked and Festival Artistic Director Bill Rauch stepped in". So I'll credit Rucker for the concept and Rauch for the follow-through and focus on everyone else.
For photos of the production, go here.
Walt Spangler created a brilliant, versatile set that wove us in and around the forest full of climbing and perches and flower beds straight out of the 70s. He had lots of help from lighting designer Robert Peterson, who added stars made of blacklights and flourescent baubles to set the full atmosphere.
Costume designer Katherine Roth also had a clear design concept: the lovers, beginning in various shades of white, became progressively less clothed and more colorful as they became enveloped in the woods. The fairies were men in tutus, sparkles, fishnets and boots, who would steal clothing from all those who entered the woods and would break out into dance during the scene changes.
John Tufts, who I will mention in other reviews, is one of the most versatile, watchable actors I have seen in a while. I remember him as the fifteen year-old in Up from the 2006 season- and in the last four days I saw him play Puck, a stage-coach driver in the Clay Cart and Dromio from Syracuse in Comedy of Errors. I loved watching him as Puck, because he commanded our attention the entire show.
And while in general I find Hermia completely obnoxious, Emily Sophia Knapp has incredible comedic timing, and suddenly all of those old scenes and monologues I've grown to hate had new life to them. But she should never dye her hair blonde.
Overall, it was a sexy, funny romp and I sincerely recommend it to anyone who might be headed to Ashland in the near future.
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Bay Area Playwrights Festival
I spent the last two weeks of July at the Bay Area Playwrights Festival as a PA on Dominic Orlando's Danny Casolaro Died for You, directed by Kip Fagan. I got to direct two short pieces with half an hour of rehearsal each: Prom Queen by Erin Phillips and The Waiting Room by Elijah Guo, and I saw two readings: Safe House by Geetha Reddy and every tongue must confess by Marcus Gardley.
I met some wonderful people in the process. Kip Fagan is a wonderful director and really nice guy, and Dominic is wonderful. As is his girlfriend Julie, who is an incredible actress. She played the young girl in Safe House, this crazy play about an extremely paranoid family from Menlo Park, which I absolutely loved. Amy Mueller did a fantastic job of staging it as well- I didn't need any more than what she gave us in the reading for a full production. For The Waiting Room I got to work with Bex White, an actress from New York who comes home to the Bay Area for the summer, and I really hope I get to work with her again because she's ridiculously talented. I also got to see her in every tongue must confess.
I am also going to be reading scripts for Berkeley Rep! Need to make it up there sometime this week to pick them up. The literary intern just graduated from Brown and we talked for several hours at the party on Sunday night.
Danny Casolaro Died for You is a crazy play because all of the people and events in the play are real- all the conversations actually happened, and I've been convinced to accept all of this government conspiracy stuff that seems just ridiculous but at the same time is totally believable. So in that sense the experience and the play did their job... :-) The actors, particularly Kevin Karrick and Lance Gardner, were great. Six men... someone in the audience the first week brought up having an issue with it being all men, but it's such a male thing- the whole government conspiracy shebang, especially in the 80s... and Danny's relentless pursual of the story, it seemed necessary. Lance Gardner is playing the lead in Yellowjackets at Berkeley Rep, so I'm excited to see him there.
I might be stage managing Jonathan Spector's show, Current Nobody, from October-December. I just need to hear back from the Public first... tomorrow I'm going to e-mail or call them and see when they're looking to hire someone by.
And that was the Bay Area Playwrights Festival! Woohoo! On to Ashland...
I met some wonderful people in the process. Kip Fagan is a wonderful director and really nice guy, and Dominic is wonderful. As is his girlfriend Julie, who is an incredible actress. She played the young girl in Safe House, this crazy play about an extremely paranoid family from Menlo Park, which I absolutely loved. Amy Mueller did a fantastic job of staging it as well- I didn't need any more than what she gave us in the reading for a full production. For The Waiting Room I got to work with Bex White, an actress from New York who comes home to the Bay Area for the summer, and I really hope I get to work with her again because she's ridiculously talented. I also got to see her in every tongue must confess.
I am also going to be reading scripts for Berkeley Rep! Need to make it up there sometime this week to pick them up. The literary intern just graduated from Brown and we talked for several hours at the party on Sunday night.
Danny Casolaro Died for You is a crazy play because all of the people and events in the play are real- all the conversations actually happened, and I've been convinced to accept all of this government conspiracy stuff that seems just ridiculous but at the same time is totally believable. So in that sense the experience and the play did their job... :-) The actors, particularly Kevin Karrick and Lance Gardner, were great. Six men... someone in the audience the first week brought up having an issue with it being all men, but it's such a male thing- the whole government conspiracy shebang, especially in the 80s... and Danny's relentless pursual of the story, it seemed necessary. Lance Gardner is playing the lead in Yellowjackets at Berkeley Rep, so I'm excited to see him there.
I might be stage managing Jonathan Spector's show, Current Nobody, from October-December. I just need to hear back from the Public first... tomorrow I'm going to e-mail or call them and see when they're looking to hire someone by.
And that was the Bay Area Playwrights Festival! Woohoo! On to Ashland...
Monday, July 7, 2008
Kennedy Center Wrap-Up
I am currently sitting in the hotel lobby- the option was hang out outside at the Foggy Bottom Metro station for two hours... or walk a block and sit in the lobby of the hotel with power and wireless.
The week is over, which is kind of sad. I ended up running sound for Tigers Be Still yesterday, and there was a union crew there so I got to sit up at the sound board and it ran through the sound system which was just pretty awesome. Met John the sound guy who got out of the business several years ago and is now a realtor. And looks 17. The last week has proven to me like a dozen times that you cannot judge people's age by their appearance.
The show went extremely well, which was particularly surprising given how seemingly badly the rehearsal had gone the day before. I really think that the fact that they were performing on a real stage made the actors really shape up and get their shit together. So I actually think it benefited the show, even though Kim was worried about it. And it came off great. She is really a fantastic writer.
And after the show there was an award ceremony for Zelda Fichandler, the founder of Arena Stage and head of the acting program at NYU from 1984-now. What an inspiring person.
And now... I get to relax for a few days. See DC. Chill with Betsy. Good times. Probably won't update until I get back to Palo Alto, so until then!
The week is over, which is kind of sad. I ended up running sound for Tigers Be Still yesterday, and there was a union crew there so I got to sit up at the sound board and it ran through the sound system which was just pretty awesome. Met John the sound guy who got out of the business several years ago and is now a realtor. And looks 17. The last week has proven to me like a dozen times that you cannot judge people's age by their appearance.
The show went extremely well, which was particularly surprising given how seemingly badly the rehearsal had gone the day before. I really think that the fact that they were performing on a real stage made the actors really shape up and get their shit together. So I actually think it benefited the show, even though Kim was worried about it. And it came off great. She is really a fantastic writer.
And after the show there was an award ceremony for Zelda Fichandler, the founder of Arena Stage and head of the acting program at NYU from 1984-now. What an inspiring person.
And now... I get to relax for a few days. See DC. Chill with Betsy. Good times. Probably won't update until I get back to Palo Alto, so until then!
Friday, July 4, 2008
Kennedy Center Day 4
Spent the first half of the day in Picked, which is a dystopian fairytale play that I liked to begin with but has gone from being an interesting concept to something quite a bit cleaner and more poignant. I've also gotten to know Stephanie, the playwright, better over the course of the day and she is a sweetheart.
I also actually talked to Seth Rozin for half an hour, and he e-mailed me two of his plays to read- now I can't wait to have some time. Also he wants me to come out to Philadelphia sometime when Interact has a show.
Back in Toymaker's War for the 2nd half of the day... I seriously think this play is going somewhere. The director does too, and I made sure to tell Jennifer that when it's available I will be knocking down her door to get the rights.
Also had a great metro ride with Lori Fischer, the NYU playwright, who offered her flat for when I come to visit NYC in the future and said she'll come out and see anything I direct... what a sweet woman. She wrote the Astor Place Starbucks into her play- and an event that is an exaggeration of one she actually witnessed in the Starbucks... crazy.
Tonight went with Jeff and a bunch of the playwrights to see "This Storm is What we call Progress" by the Rorschach Theatre- a crazy play with a fantastic set... although the play needed to be slightly bigger to earn the fantasticness of the set. I was way more interested in the set than the play for the most part, which was unfortunate. The acting was great though and I felt that it was a pretty unique experience.
And suddenly it's 2:30 in the morning and I'm performing tomorrow...
Happy 4th of July! I will celebrate by rehearsing a war play, presenting said war play, and sitting in the audience for another war play. Neither of which are American, but nonetheless. Then hopefully I will find something fun and patriotic to do with my evening. I am, after all, in Washington D.C.
I also actually talked to Seth Rozin for half an hour, and he e-mailed me two of his plays to read- now I can't wait to have some time. Also he wants me to come out to Philadelphia sometime when Interact has a show.
Back in Toymaker's War for the 2nd half of the day... I seriously think this play is going somewhere. The director does too, and I made sure to tell Jennifer that when it's available I will be knocking down her door to get the rights.
Also had a great metro ride with Lori Fischer, the NYU playwright, who offered her flat for when I come to visit NYC in the future and said she'll come out and see anything I direct... what a sweet woman. She wrote the Astor Place Starbucks into her play- and an event that is an exaggeration of one she actually witnessed in the Starbucks... crazy.
Tonight went with Jeff and a bunch of the playwrights to see "This Storm is What we call Progress" by the Rorschach Theatre- a crazy play with a fantastic set... although the play needed to be slightly bigger to earn the fantasticness of the set. I was way more interested in the set than the play for the most part, which was unfortunate. The acting was great though and I felt that it was a pretty unique experience.
And suddenly it's 2:30 in the morning and I'm performing tomorrow...
Happy 4th of July! I will celebrate by rehearsing a war play, presenting said war play, and sitting in the audience for another war play. Neither of which are American, but nonetheless. Then hopefully I will find something fun and patriotic to do with my evening. I am, after all, in Washington D.C.
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
The Kennedy Center Day 3
I would regret that there is no Day 2 entry but I was quite busy schmoozing. After which I am now on a spend-as-little-as-possible budget until I hit New York.
But it was totally worth it to go out to a wonderful Vietnamese dinner with the director, playwright and dramaturg of Mother Mennie post-reading, and then go out to meet up with the latter two among others with one of the other directing fellows. We hit it off really well and I can see us keeping in touch down the line and seeing where we end up. It's really really nice to talk to someone in the same stage of their career as me.
I have endeared myself to practically the entire hotel with the ability to get them onto the internet. I'm planning a backup career in tech support.
I have also unintentionally connected with all the Bay Area folk, including two professional directors in the area to be in contact with... hurray!
But the real story, the real amazing story, is that I was sitting right in this chair two hours ago, after helping David Goldman's wife get the internet. And I thought to myself hey wait a second, I bet David Goldman knows Seth Rozin, the director of Lebensraum (see 5 directors entry). So I tell David Goldman about looking up Seth Rozin. David says (paraphrased) "I'm supposed to call him anyway, let me go call him and tell him about you". Twenty minutes later he comes downstairs and says "here's his number- his phone battery is about to die so call him now and set up a time to talk to him". That man is incredible. And knows everyone. And I'm going to be talking to Seth Rozin tomorrow.
One final note: there is a job opening for directing Arcadia at Johns Hopkins and a job opening directing Copenhagen at the Stevens Technical Institute in New Jersey. Time to jump on the ball.
But it was totally worth it to go out to a wonderful Vietnamese dinner with the director, playwright and dramaturg of Mother Mennie post-reading, and then go out to meet up with the latter two among others with one of the other directing fellows. We hit it off really well and I can see us keeping in touch down the line and seeing where we end up. It's really really nice to talk to someone in the same stage of their career as me.
I have endeared myself to practically the entire hotel with the ability to get them onto the internet. I'm planning a backup career in tech support.
I have also unintentionally connected with all the Bay Area folk, including two professional directors in the area to be in contact with... hurray!
But the real story, the real amazing story, is that I was sitting right in this chair two hours ago, after helping David Goldman's wife get the internet. And I thought to myself hey wait a second, I bet David Goldman knows Seth Rozin, the director of Lebensraum (see 5 directors entry). So I tell David Goldman about looking up Seth Rozin. David says (paraphrased) "I'm supposed to call him anyway, let me go call him and tell him about you". Twenty minutes later he comes downstairs and says "here's his number- his phone battery is about to die so call him now and set up a time to talk to him". That man is incredible. And knows everyone. And I'm going to be talking to Seth Rozin tomorrow.
One final note: there is a job opening for directing Arcadia at Johns Hopkins and a job opening directing Copenhagen at the Stevens Technical Institute in New Jersey. Time to jump on the ball.
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
The Kennedy Center Day 1
Today was my first full day in Washington D.C. where I am working as a Directing Fellow for the Kennedy Center MFA Playwrights Workshop. It's an exciting environment, with 8 directors, 8 playwrights and 8 dramaturgs from all over the country. And two other fellows, one of whom graduated from Columbia in 06, the other of whom is graduating from Clemson this summer.
I spent today at two rehearsals, the Many Means of Mother Mennie, by Dan LeFranc, and the Toymaker's War by Jennifer Fawcett. I think both plays are fantastic, although in completely different stages of life. One of them is 240 pages of ideas and Brecht and David Lynch and sex and gender and class and an abstract concept of war and Southern California in the mid-90s, the other is a powerful two act play about Bosnia and a young journalist's experience and effect there. I don't like that description at all, because when I hear "play about a journalist in x war zone" i immediately flinch. However, this play deals with the issues so well- we neither make the journalist the hero nor the villain, and she's not impossible to sympathize with like Maryka. We also see the real world, 13 years later, which allows us to step out of the Bosnian world, something that I think is really important (alienation, anyone?) And the doll world... I think it's the surreal/magical elements of both plays that endears me to them, far more even than their subject matter, even though that is what initially draws me to them.
The director of Mother Mennie, Chris Smith is a fascinating Bay Area director that I really hope to keep in touch with beyond this week. I will also be working with Madeleine Oldham (the literary manager at Berkeley Rep) at the Bay Area Playwrights Festival in a couple weeks, as well as on Mother Mennie.
They were just read-throughs today, but the discussions were fascinating, and I'm sad that I can't be a part of the entirety of all of them, although I will see Mother Mennie through to the end, since its last day is tomorrow. And I'll be back with Toymaker's War on Wednesday.
I met Adrienne Thompson, one of the associate directors at the festival who saw Goliath and loved it- I need to make sure I keep in touch with her. Also the dramaturg on Peacock Men, Faedra Chatard Carpenter, got her Phd from Stanford only a couple years before I left. :-) And Kim Rosenstock, one of the playwrights, produced the Ars Nova Wikipedia Plays (one of which I was in/organized interns for) last summer. The world only gets smaller...
Play to look up: The Monument by Colleen Wagner.
On that note I need to crash because I have coffee at 8, but I would also like to mention that I have become the expert at getting the internet to work on macs. I can explain it in theory to people with PCs... It was definitely worth the hassle of figuring it out, besides just getting it to work, to have people appreciate my help. :-)
Goodnight!
I spent today at two rehearsals, the Many Means of Mother Mennie, by Dan LeFranc, and the Toymaker's War by Jennifer Fawcett. I think both plays are fantastic, although in completely different stages of life. One of them is 240 pages of ideas and Brecht and David Lynch and sex and gender and class and an abstract concept of war and Southern California in the mid-90s, the other is a powerful two act play about Bosnia and a young journalist's experience and effect there. I don't like that description at all, because when I hear "play about a journalist in x war zone" i immediately flinch. However, this play deals with the issues so well- we neither make the journalist the hero nor the villain, and she's not impossible to sympathize with like Maryka. We also see the real world, 13 years later, which allows us to step out of the Bosnian world, something that I think is really important (alienation, anyone?) And the doll world... I think it's the surreal/magical elements of both plays that endears me to them, far more even than their subject matter, even though that is what initially draws me to them.
The director of Mother Mennie, Chris Smith is a fascinating Bay Area director that I really hope to keep in touch with beyond this week. I will also be working with Madeleine Oldham (the literary manager at Berkeley Rep) at the Bay Area Playwrights Festival in a couple weeks, as well as on Mother Mennie.
They were just read-throughs today, but the discussions were fascinating, and I'm sad that I can't be a part of the entirety of all of them, although I will see Mother Mennie through to the end, since its last day is tomorrow. And I'll be back with Toymaker's War on Wednesday.
I met Adrienne Thompson, one of the associate directors at the festival who saw Goliath and loved it- I need to make sure I keep in touch with her. Also the dramaturg on Peacock Men, Faedra Chatard Carpenter, got her Phd from Stanford only a couple years before I left. :-) And Kim Rosenstock, one of the playwrights, produced the Ars Nova Wikipedia Plays (one of which I was in/organized interns for) last summer. The world only gets smaller...
Play to look up: The Monument by Colleen Wagner.
On that note I need to crash because I have coffee at 8, but I would also like to mention that I have become the expert at getting the internet to work on macs. I can explain it in theory to people with PCs... It was definitely worth the hassle of figuring it out, besides just getting it to work, to have people appreciate my help. :-)
Goodnight!
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
5 Directors
I have a task ahead of me. "List 5 directors and/or choreographers who exemplify the kind of work in which you are most interested."
The first thing I did was go through my drawer of playbills and find my favorites.
Lebensraum, directed by Seth Rozin- I don't have the playbill but this production changed my life forever- I actually just looked up the production to find the director, and he is the artistic director of the Interact theatre company in Philadelphia. I'll have to send him an e-mail because this man changed my life, and the theatre company looks super cool. Maybe I can find a connection through the festival in DC.
Rent, directed by Michael Greif
Spring Awakening, directed by Michael Mayer
Copenhagen, directed by Michael Blakemore
Ragtime, directed by Robert Kelley
Big River (the Deaf West production), directed by Jeff Calhoun
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, directed by Jack O'Brien
I Am My Own Wife, directed by Moises Kaufman
Pillowman, directed by John Crowley
Caroline or Change, directed by George C Wolfe
Jersey Boys, directed by Des McAnuff
I did not include any of my favorite shows that I have not seen a production of since I can't judge directing based on that.
Although not on the above list, the first name for my five is Tony Taccone, since while I haven't seen much of his work he does the kind of work that I really want to do. Plus he epitomizes incredible achievement as a director of regional theatre.
Of the above list, Moises Kaufman and George C Wolfe definitely make the list for, in addition to the above, directing the Laramie Project and Angels in America, respectively.
Which leaves me two spots. I am thinking of putting Seth Rozin on there because he changed my life. The other name on this list that I think of is Michael Blakemore because I followed Michael Frayn for so long. Although Jack O'Brien also directed Stoppard in addition to Dirty Rotten. Definitely need a Broadway name.
Those are all men. Jane Wagner could be one for Search for Signs of Intelligent Life, which I love, but she wrote it so I'm a bit skeptical, also since its a solo show so Lily Tomlin had a big part in it as well. Susan Stroman is amazing. But does her work epitomize what I want to do? Same goes for the other female broadway directors. That's frustrating. I am incredibly in awe of Anna D Shapiro. So maybe I'll put her down.
After thinking about it, I think I'm going with the men. Unfortunately they exemplify the kind of work I want to emulate.
1. Moises Kaufman
2. Tony Taccone
3. George C. Wolfe
4. Seth Rozin
5. Jack O'Brien.
The first thing I did was go through my drawer of playbills and find my favorites.
Lebensraum, directed by Seth Rozin- I don't have the playbill but this production changed my life forever- I actually just looked up the production to find the director, and he is the artistic director of the Interact theatre company in Philadelphia. I'll have to send him an e-mail because this man changed my life, and the theatre company looks super cool. Maybe I can find a connection through the festival in DC.
Rent, directed by Michael Greif
Spring Awakening, directed by Michael Mayer
Copenhagen, directed by Michael Blakemore
Ragtime, directed by Robert Kelley
Big River (the Deaf West production), directed by Jeff Calhoun
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, directed by Jack O'Brien
I Am My Own Wife, directed by Moises Kaufman
Pillowman, directed by John Crowley
Caroline or Change, directed by George C Wolfe
Jersey Boys, directed by Des McAnuff
I did not include any of my favorite shows that I have not seen a production of since I can't judge directing based on that.
Although not on the above list, the first name for my five is Tony Taccone, since while I haven't seen much of his work he does the kind of work that I really want to do. Plus he epitomizes incredible achievement as a director of regional theatre.
Of the above list, Moises Kaufman and George C Wolfe definitely make the list for, in addition to the above, directing the Laramie Project and Angels in America, respectively.
Which leaves me two spots. I am thinking of putting Seth Rozin on there because he changed my life. The other name on this list that I think of is Michael Blakemore because I followed Michael Frayn for so long. Although Jack O'Brien also directed Stoppard in addition to Dirty Rotten. Definitely need a Broadway name.
Those are all men. Jane Wagner could be one for Search for Signs of Intelligent Life, which I love, but she wrote it so I'm a bit skeptical, also since its a solo show so Lily Tomlin had a big part in it as well. Susan Stroman is amazing. But does her work epitomize what I want to do? Same goes for the other female broadway directors. That's frustrating. I am incredibly in awe of Anna D Shapiro. So maybe I'll put her down.
After thinking about it, I think I'm going with the men. Unfortunately they exemplify the kind of work I want to emulate.
1. Moises Kaufman
2. Tony Taccone
3. George C. Wolfe
4. Seth Rozin
5. Jack O'Brien.
Monday, June 16, 2008
The 2008 Tonys
A few thoughts from the Tonys.
Jim Norton is the most adorable old Irish man. I want him to be my grandfather.
Lin Manuel Miranda's freestyle speech was AMAZING. I really hope I can find that on youtube.
It's really too bad this Tony day had to be the day I woke up at 5:45 and sat in the sun for 5 hours. Because the number of performances is wonderful, including the silly Whoopi Goldberg bits- it makes it a really fun experience. I just with I wasn't so exhausted, because now that I've started I can't stop watching them.
Oooh just saw a bit from The Seafarer, which I read the other day. It sounds so much better with real men and real Irish accents instead of the voices I make up in my head. Although the set looked too clean. When I read it it was much dingier. And much smaller. But I suppose it's pretty hard to put a cramped Dublin apartment on Broadway.
Anna D. Shapiro is so young. And reminds me of how lucky I am and that my dream is not impossible. And I'm not even trying to get to Broadway. But it makes me think about luck. She talked so much about how lucky she was. And she certainly seems lucky. But I feel like that's a very female thing. Men don't usually talk about how lucky they were, that the stars happened to align. The men always act like they deserve it. It was just wonderful to hear from someone from something like my own generation- I think I can just understand the way she sees theatre better than other people. Someone worth looking for an opportunity to meet.
Oh Mary Louise Parker. You're onstage! Perform!
How many has Boeing-Boeing won now? Best revival and best leading actor? I remember reading about this year's Tony noms being sexist. It's unfortunate but kind of true... although Whoopi negates that a little bit. It's frustrating that all the winners seem so white, as well. I think the only winner of color so far is Lin-Manuel Miranda for In the Heights. ALL OF THE DESIGNERS ARE WHITE. I suppose that's normal, but when I KNOW there's a black costume designer it makes me sad (ok so he might be my best friend's cousin but I'm allowed to be biased).
Edit: Passing Strange did win best book. So make that 2 winners of color. It just seems conspicuous when there are so many shows created by and starring people of color.
Finally the In the Heights performance! Oh my gosh I want to see this so badly. I thought I did but now I know I do. It totally speaks to our generation- just the multi-facetedness of this song is so modern, subject matter (and even hip-hop itself) aside.
Showing the Mamma Mia commercial during the Tonys is a BAD idea! You're going to turn away the few theatre-lovers who might have been fooled into seeing it!
People always talk about Stephen Sondheim. But I don't think he ever shows up. When was the last time he attended the Tonys? The 70s?
Hurrah Lily Tomlin! I love how she looks to check with the people that LMAO is ok to say on TV. (Literally, not the words).
Today I (officially) graduated from Stanford with a Bachelors Degree in Drama. I received the Louis Sudler Prize in Creative Arts, but also the Sherifa Omada Edoga Prize for work involving social issues, which was a surprise. I remember three years ago when I saw the title of that award for the first time and hoped I would get it one day. Who knew that dream would come true.
Tomorrow I head back up to Berkeley Rep for an interview. Hard to go from graduating to job hunting, although I suppose it shouldn't be. I have had weeks to recover from school work, its time to actually go out and land a job. If only the Tony's would end and I could get a good night's sleep... this is great though because it makes me think about theatre. And how much I love it.
And the moment so many people have waited this long for: the original cast of Rent. (I really dislike the current Mark from the 30 second La Vie Boheme bit which is unfortunate). Here we go!
Oh more white people are winning. Borrring. I'm actually kind of impatiently anticipating best actress in a musical. It's funny that this is the only one they presented actor before actress because clearly Patti LuPone vs. Kelli O'Hara and whoever else is WAY more deserving of the top actor billing. YAY PATTI LUPONE! Oh I am so happy for her. 28 years since the last time she won a Tony. Wow. And she thanked the ghosts!
Alright the Chorus Line Whoopi gimmick went over the edge for me. You'd think they'd start with the more gimmicky ones so we wouldn't get tired as the entertainment slows.
At least we get to end on a positive note. Shoot I should have bought my tickets BEFORE it won the Tony. Oh well. Hurray In the Heights!
And the closing music is from... Legally Blonde. Seriously?
The end has finally arrived, and I am off to the depths of musicals in my sleep. Have a wonderful night.
Jim Norton is the most adorable old Irish man. I want him to be my grandfather.
Lin Manuel Miranda's freestyle speech was AMAZING. I really hope I can find that on youtube.
It's really too bad this Tony day had to be the day I woke up at 5:45 and sat in the sun for 5 hours. Because the number of performances is wonderful, including the silly Whoopi Goldberg bits- it makes it a really fun experience. I just with I wasn't so exhausted, because now that I've started I can't stop watching them.
Oooh just saw a bit from The Seafarer, which I read the other day. It sounds so much better with real men and real Irish accents instead of the voices I make up in my head. Although the set looked too clean. When I read it it was much dingier. And much smaller. But I suppose it's pretty hard to put a cramped Dublin apartment on Broadway.
Anna D. Shapiro is so young. And reminds me of how lucky I am and that my dream is not impossible. And I'm not even trying to get to Broadway. But it makes me think about luck. She talked so much about how lucky she was. And she certainly seems lucky. But I feel like that's a very female thing. Men don't usually talk about how lucky they were, that the stars happened to align. The men always act like they deserve it. It was just wonderful to hear from someone from something like my own generation- I think I can just understand the way she sees theatre better than other people. Someone worth looking for an opportunity to meet.
Oh Mary Louise Parker. You're onstage! Perform!
How many has Boeing-Boeing won now? Best revival and best leading actor? I remember reading about this year's Tony noms being sexist. It's unfortunate but kind of true... although Whoopi negates that a little bit. It's frustrating that all the winners seem so white, as well. I think the only winner of color so far is Lin-Manuel Miranda for In the Heights. ALL OF THE DESIGNERS ARE WHITE. I suppose that's normal, but when I KNOW there's a black costume designer it makes me sad (ok so he might be my best friend's cousin but I'm allowed to be biased).
Edit: Passing Strange did win best book. So make that 2 winners of color. It just seems conspicuous when there are so many shows created by and starring people of color.
Finally the In the Heights performance! Oh my gosh I want to see this so badly. I thought I did but now I know I do. It totally speaks to our generation- just the multi-facetedness of this song is so modern, subject matter (and even hip-hop itself) aside.
Showing the Mamma Mia commercial during the Tonys is a BAD idea! You're going to turn away the few theatre-lovers who might have been fooled into seeing it!
People always talk about Stephen Sondheim. But I don't think he ever shows up. When was the last time he attended the Tonys? The 70s?
Hurrah Lily Tomlin! I love how she looks to check with the people that LMAO is ok to say on TV. (Literally, not the words).
Today I (officially) graduated from Stanford with a Bachelors Degree in Drama. I received the Louis Sudler Prize in Creative Arts, but also the Sherifa Omada Edoga Prize for work involving social issues, which was a surprise. I remember three years ago when I saw the title of that award for the first time and hoped I would get it one day. Who knew that dream would come true.
Tomorrow I head back up to Berkeley Rep for an interview. Hard to go from graduating to job hunting, although I suppose it shouldn't be. I have had weeks to recover from school work, its time to actually go out and land a job. If only the Tony's would end and I could get a good night's sleep... this is great though because it makes me think about theatre. And how much I love it.
And the moment so many people have waited this long for: the original cast of Rent. (I really dislike the current Mark from the 30 second La Vie Boheme bit which is unfortunate). Here we go!
Oh more white people are winning. Borrring. I'm actually kind of impatiently anticipating best actress in a musical. It's funny that this is the only one they presented actor before actress because clearly Patti LuPone vs. Kelli O'Hara and whoever else is WAY more deserving of the top actor billing. YAY PATTI LUPONE! Oh I am so happy for her. 28 years since the last time she won a Tony. Wow. And she thanked the ghosts!
Alright the Chorus Line Whoopi gimmick went over the edge for me. You'd think they'd start with the more gimmicky ones so we wouldn't get tired as the entertainment slows.
At least we get to end on a positive note. Shoot I should have bought my tickets BEFORE it won the Tony. Oh well. Hurray In the Heights!
And the closing music is from... Legally Blonde. Seriously?
The end has finally arrived, and I am off to the depths of musicals in my sleep. Have a wonderful night.
Monday, June 2, 2008
Political theatre
From a friend:
Yes, you do have to go see Tings.
In my head, political theater, more than most other theater, is harder to read into being from a script.
Most, uh, whatthefuckdoyoucallit, literary theater is mostly separated from most literature by the physical embodiment of the characters, which it's easy to make up in your head.
But political theater is a lot more explicitly about ideas. And the only thing political theater has to set it apart from everything else political (essays, etc) is theater's ability to slit open all your filters and hit you in the lower Dantian. The New York Times can talk at you about how shitty it is in Darfur as much as it likes, but there's something about smelling the big men with guns as they saunter into the medical tent that excises, for an instant, the ability to be complacent about it. So it seems almost a disservice to read political theater. Watering down.
(I say all this because you've studied political theater more than I have, and I want you to tell me why I'm wrong).
My response:
See I think political theatre still needs a story. Because if there's not a story than there's nothing for the audience to commit to, and nothing for them to realize. For instance, there's the sniper who wants to go to college, and the first time you see him he's doing jobs, and then you find out that actually one of the people responsible for ravaging the town of other people you met, but at the same time you feel for him because he just needs money to go to college, and the next time you see him he's gonna sell his guns so he can go to college, and the final time you see him he threw his guns away without selling them because he didn't want them to end up in the hands of some kid, so he's not going to college and he's back to doing jobs killing people and he doesn't even have guns. Powerful story, right? But the audience doesn't have to commit to him, all they are being asked to do is realize that not all snipers are bad people.
Mother Courage is amazing because it makes you journey with these people and suffer with them and in the end there is no catharsis. You just have to go on. And you walk out of the theatre completely frustrated at the business of war, not at the play. Note: I have never seen a production of Mother Courage.
Lebensraum is amazing because not only do you delve briefly into 50 people's lives, seeing the mini-tragedies and the mini-celebrations but also following families and falling in love. By the time she dies, you have grown so committed to them that it breaks your heart. Because you've seen the web woven, but could not anticipate the trap.
Angels in America is successful because it is not sensationalist in structure, it is in fact very realist, embodying magical realism, it takes its time, it's almost shakespearean in the size of material and interwoven and yet separate paths it follows. It makes no proclamations and yet is inherently political. But it makes you think it's not.
The storytelling is what is lacking. Not that there aren't stories, there certainly are. But if you asked me what Taking Over was about (and I saw it), I would say gentrification. If you asked me what Tings was about, I would say privitization (and that's me actually reading into it a little bit farther than it asks for- because it struck a realistic chord pulled from watching the overly satirical movie War, Inc last week). Both try to give you a glimpse of a world that is not your own, they ask you to commit for an hour, maybe 75 minutes, but that's it. That's enough. I disagree. I don't think it's enough. I want to walk out of the theatre upset because of its implications, or with a sense of championing something I did not think to champion before. When I finished reading In Darfur for the first time I got chills. I want that from every show I read, and yes that means I am incredibly jaded and find it hard to get through many plays, but I also know when it happens that it's really incredible theatre. Cabaret, Goliath and A Crooked Line all did that for me.
And all of that happens before there are live performers.
Yes, you do have to go see Tings.
In my head, political theater, more than most other theater, is harder to read into being from a script.
Most, uh, whatthefuckdoyoucallit, literary theater is mostly separated from most literature by the physical embodiment of the characters, which it's easy to make up in your head.
But political theater is a lot more explicitly about ideas. And the only thing political theater has to set it apart from everything else political (essays, etc) is theater's ability to slit open all your filters and hit you in the lower Dantian. The New York Times can talk at you about how shitty it is in Darfur as much as it likes, but there's something about smelling the big men with guns as they saunter into the medical tent that excises, for an instant, the ability to be complacent about it. So it seems almost a disservice to read political theater. Watering down.
(I say all this because you've studied political theater more than I have, and I want you to tell me why I'm wrong).
My response:
See I think political theatre still needs a story. Because if there's not a story than there's nothing for the audience to commit to, and nothing for them to realize. For instance, there's the sniper who wants to go to college, and the first time you see him he's doing jobs, and then you find out that actually one of the people responsible for ravaging the town of other people you met, but at the same time you feel for him because he just needs money to go to college, and the next time you see him he's gonna sell his guns so he can go to college, and the final time you see him he threw his guns away without selling them because he didn't want them to end up in the hands of some kid, so he's not going to college and he's back to doing jobs killing people and he doesn't even have guns. Powerful story, right? But the audience doesn't have to commit to him, all they are being asked to do is realize that not all snipers are bad people.
Mother Courage is amazing because it makes you journey with these people and suffer with them and in the end there is no catharsis. You just have to go on. And you walk out of the theatre completely frustrated at the business of war, not at the play. Note: I have never seen a production of Mother Courage.
Lebensraum is amazing because not only do you delve briefly into 50 people's lives, seeing the mini-tragedies and the mini-celebrations but also following families and falling in love. By the time she dies, you have grown so committed to them that it breaks your heart. Because you've seen the web woven, but could not anticipate the trap.
Angels in America is successful because it is not sensationalist in structure, it is in fact very realist, embodying magical realism, it takes its time, it's almost shakespearean in the size of material and interwoven and yet separate paths it follows. It makes no proclamations and yet is inherently political. But it makes you think it's not.
The storytelling is what is lacking. Not that there aren't stories, there certainly are. But if you asked me what Taking Over was about (and I saw it), I would say gentrification. If you asked me what Tings was about, I would say privitization (and that's me actually reading into it a little bit farther than it asks for- because it struck a realistic chord pulled from watching the overly satirical movie War, Inc last week). Both try to give you a glimpse of a world that is not your own, they ask you to commit for an hour, maybe 75 minutes, but that's it. That's enough. I disagree. I don't think it's enough. I want to walk out of the theatre upset because of its implications, or with a sense of championing something I did not think to champion before. When I finished reading In Darfur for the first time I got chills. I want that from every show I read, and yes that means I am incredibly jaded and find it hard to get through many plays, but I also know when it happens that it's really incredible theatre. Cabaret, Goliath and A Crooked Line all did that for me.
And all of that happens before there are live performers.
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Tings Dey Happen and Secrets of the Forest
Yesterday was a solo-show double header, as I read Dan Hoyle's Tings Dey Happen while waiting for the house to open for George Wyhinny's solo show, Secrets of the Forest.
Tings had fantastic, vibrant characters set in the middle of what is pretty much a privatized sector of the country- privatized by oil companies. I loved the imagery it provoked and I would really like to see it onstage. Up to debate is the character of the Nigerian stage manager, who commented on the play but also seemed to force it along, at one point saying [paraphrased] "do the ending now". If it weren't for those moments, I really liked the fact that the sort of narrator-character was not only not Dan Hoyle, but a Nigerian commenting on the writings and performance of an American talking about Nigeria. Because one of the things I am personally so critical of is the honesty of the playwright to the work, the stage manager pulled it together for me, giving it a sense of (if not in fact) honesty. However, similar to Danny Hoch's Taking Over, which I saw at Berkeley Rep a few months ago, it seemed almost too short. Both plays are definitely aimed at the short attention span of today's teenagers, but I do think they both lack a cohesive plot with a beginning middle and end. I'm not sure what I really took away from Tings, other than these images of and snippets of feelings about Nigeria. In his essay preceding the play, he says he's trying to challenge the audience to a new political theatre experience. I'm not sure he did that. Maybe I just have very high expectations, but I did not feel that as a reader I was asked to take any big steps- the play never drew me in that far. Perhaps I have to see it.
On the other hand, George's senior project (at Stanford), Secrets of the Forest, was absolutely gorgeous. And extremely well done, both on the artistic staff's side and on George's side as playwright and sole actor. The show is about George's Ukrainian family during WWII, torn between Russia and Germany with little way out. It was a truly beautiful story that I was extremely touched by, which is why I hope George will continue to work on it and perhaps get it produced in another venue. However, there were two things that I really didn't like, and I intend to write George an e-mail about them because I otherwise really do believe this show could go somewhere.
1. The character of George- as himself, a 22 year old interviewing his grandmother and telling us about Ukraine, took me right out of the show. Every time he showed up. I would be getting chills one minute and the next the momentum would be gone because he would show up as the show's narrator. Young George was great, and I think it could actually work really well if we learned about Ukraine in Ukrainian school, like he did... or something. I'm not sure. But that character needs to go.
2. The show starts off with a song, and ends with lyrics. I wanted music at the end, either by switching and putting the lyrics at the beginning and the song at the end, or keeping the beginning and end the way they are but adding music, either sung or recorded, at the end, to say this is the end of the show. As mentioned in my last post I am really working on endings- and in this case I knew exactly what it needed.
I am off to take apart Caryl Churchill's Drunk Enough to Say I Love You?
Until tomorrow (I hope)!
Tings had fantastic, vibrant characters set in the middle of what is pretty much a privatized sector of the country- privatized by oil companies. I loved the imagery it provoked and I would really like to see it onstage. Up to debate is the character of the Nigerian stage manager, who commented on the play but also seemed to force it along, at one point saying [paraphrased] "do the ending now". If it weren't for those moments, I really liked the fact that the sort of narrator-character was not only not Dan Hoyle, but a Nigerian commenting on the writings and performance of an American talking about Nigeria. Because one of the things I am personally so critical of is the honesty of the playwright to the work, the stage manager pulled it together for me, giving it a sense of (if not in fact) honesty. However, similar to Danny Hoch's Taking Over, which I saw at Berkeley Rep a few months ago, it seemed almost too short. Both plays are definitely aimed at the short attention span of today's teenagers, but I do think they both lack a cohesive plot with a beginning middle and end. I'm not sure what I really took away from Tings, other than these images of and snippets of feelings about Nigeria. In his essay preceding the play, he says he's trying to challenge the audience to a new political theatre experience. I'm not sure he did that. Maybe I just have very high expectations, but I did not feel that as a reader I was asked to take any big steps- the play never drew me in that far. Perhaps I have to see it.
On the other hand, George's senior project (at Stanford), Secrets of the Forest, was absolutely gorgeous. And extremely well done, both on the artistic staff's side and on George's side as playwright and sole actor. The show is about George's Ukrainian family during WWII, torn between Russia and Germany with little way out. It was a truly beautiful story that I was extremely touched by, which is why I hope George will continue to work on it and perhaps get it produced in another venue. However, there were two things that I really didn't like, and I intend to write George an e-mail about them because I otherwise really do believe this show could go somewhere.
1. The character of George- as himself, a 22 year old interviewing his grandmother and telling us about Ukraine, took me right out of the show. Every time he showed up. I would be getting chills one minute and the next the momentum would be gone because he would show up as the show's narrator. Young George was great, and I think it could actually work really well if we learned about Ukraine in Ukrainian school, like he did... or something. I'm not sure. But that character needs to go.
2. The show starts off with a song, and ends with lyrics. I wanted music at the end, either by switching and putting the lyrics at the beginning and the song at the end, or keeping the beginning and end the way they are but adding music, either sung or recorded, at the end, to say this is the end of the show. As mentioned in my last post I am really working on endings- and in this case I knew exactly what it needed.
I am off to take apart Caryl Churchill's Drunk Enough to Say I Love You?
Until tomorrow (I hope)!
Saturday, May 31, 2008
HAIR at Stanford
Last night I went to see STAMP's first full show that I had absolutely nothing to do with. So many new, wonderful people- hurrah for STAMP.
The show itself was interesting. Having it on the lawn of Stanford's hippie co-op, Synergy, definitely worked. The residents of the house sitting on the balcony watching added to the communal feeling of the show. However... it has next to no plot. Or at least, not that I was able to pick up on. I got the story of Claude, but were any of the other characters actually important? Did they change at all? The songs and dances were fun, and there was a large assortment of talent- Amanda Gelender was wonderful, as usual, that part was basically written for her. I also really liked watching Lyn and Liesl, although I wish that Lauren Hayes had a bigger part. The set was great, and the cast definitely gelled very well. I think walking away my biggest compliment would be for the ensemble, and the feeling that they really believed in the production. :-)
A bit unrelated, but I just watched the HBO movie Recount with Kevin Spacey and Tom Wilkinson (who are both great). Just thinking about it makes me want to cry, though. It's hard to believe it's been eight whole years. Can we have a democratic president come November? Please???
Both this movie and the new Indiana Jones end with the image of aisles of boxes. Granted Area 51 and boxes of 2000 Florida votes are not exactly the same, but its certainly that feeling of here is the end. I need to figure out how to end shows. It was one of the few really important things that Christopher Jenkins said in my directing class two weeks ago, which rang with me because I had issues with that both on Goliath and In Darfur. But I like the image of boxes. Damn movies for being able to do things like that.
Today I am going to pull out Drunk Enough to Say I Love You (by Caryl Churchill) and see if I can determine a 10 minute scene because that would be fantastic to direct. I wonder what I did with it.
My directing library currently includes:
A Sense of Direction by William Ball (founding artistic director of ACT), a book that I have already read and really enjoyed
On Directing by Harold Clurman, which so far I have read the introduction to
The Stage Director's Handbook from SSDC, which I have thoroughly perused and read all the essays for. Now if I only knew which path I wanted to pursue.
In Contact with the Gods? A collection of interviews with famous directors
The Empty Space by Peter Brook, which one day I will just sit down and read, I promise...
The Creative Habit by Twyla Tharp, which is really interesting and I've read about a third of
and a couple others that I am forgetting.
The hard part about books on directing is that I don't actually think I can learn from them, but I read them in hope of being inspired. So I have to keep reading. I am resolved today to read more of the reader from my directing class, so that I can go in and sound smart tomorrow. :-) Or at least committed. And tonight I go to see Secrets of the Forest, a solo show by Stanford senior George Wyhinny. I've heard good things.
À bientôt!
The show itself was interesting. Having it on the lawn of Stanford's hippie co-op, Synergy, definitely worked. The residents of the house sitting on the balcony watching added to the communal feeling of the show. However... it has next to no plot. Or at least, not that I was able to pick up on. I got the story of Claude, but were any of the other characters actually important? Did they change at all? The songs and dances were fun, and there was a large assortment of talent- Amanda Gelender was wonderful, as usual, that part was basically written for her. I also really liked watching Lyn and Liesl, although I wish that Lauren Hayes had a bigger part. The set was great, and the cast definitely gelled very well. I think walking away my biggest compliment would be for the ensemble, and the feeling that they really believed in the production. :-)
A bit unrelated, but I just watched the HBO movie Recount with Kevin Spacey and Tom Wilkinson (who are both great). Just thinking about it makes me want to cry, though. It's hard to believe it's been eight whole years. Can we have a democratic president come November? Please???
Both this movie and the new Indiana Jones end with the image of aisles of boxes. Granted Area 51 and boxes of 2000 Florida votes are not exactly the same, but its certainly that feeling of here is the end. I need to figure out how to end shows. It was one of the few really important things that Christopher Jenkins said in my directing class two weeks ago, which rang with me because I had issues with that both on Goliath and In Darfur. But I like the image of boxes. Damn movies for being able to do things like that.
Today I am going to pull out Drunk Enough to Say I Love You (by Caryl Churchill) and see if I can determine a 10 minute scene because that would be fantastic to direct. I wonder what I did with it.
My directing library currently includes:
A Sense of Direction by William Ball (founding artistic director of ACT), a book that I have already read and really enjoyed
On Directing by Harold Clurman, which so far I have read the introduction to
The Stage Director's Handbook from SSDC, which I have thoroughly perused and read all the essays for. Now if I only knew which path I wanted to pursue.
In Contact with the Gods? A collection of interviews with famous directors
The Empty Space by Peter Brook, which one day I will just sit down and read, I promise...
The Creative Habit by Twyla Tharp, which is really interesting and I've read about a third of
and a couple others that I am forgetting.
The hard part about books on directing is that I don't actually think I can learn from them, but I read them in hope of being inspired. So I have to keep reading. I am resolved today to read more of the reader from my directing class, so that I can go in and sound smart tomorrow. :-) Or at least committed. And tonight I go to see Secrets of the Forest, a solo show by Stanford senior George Wyhinny. I've heard good things.
À bientôt!
Thursday, May 29, 2008
In that phase again
I like piecing together my thoughts, but take no time to do it. My journals end up full of lists and random feelings. So here we are, one more blog for the road. A place to collect my thoughts and hopefully learn something about how I feel about theatre.
So here's entry number one.
Last night I saw the first two-thirds of a preview dress for Theatre Q's Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde. Held at the tiny Dragon Theatre in downtown Palo Alto, I thought director George Quick did a fantastic job with as many as (and often) nine actors onstage at once. I loved the muddled line between the characters in the past and the people in the present (or timeless) watching and making judgements, as if questioning whether they too would have drawn the same verdicts. The intimacy of the space lent itself to having the driving action often the most upstage, and onlookers watching from chairs in the downstage corners, almost a part of the audience, but not quite, given their frequent breaks to read from newspapers and other memoirs of the trials. The set was entirely Ikea furniture- 11 chairs and 2 tables. I suppose if you want 11 matching, nondescript chairs, why not?
I loved the portrayal of Oscar Wilde by John Aney, and Kevin Copps (Sir Edward Clarke).
Thomas Azar was my favorite to watch onstage- I would love to meet and/or work with him.
And apparently George Quick is off to Chattanooga, TN- here's the link to his blog!
The play has sat on my shelf partly-read for years, and now I might just have the momentum to pick it up and finish it.
Today I recieved the June/July issue of Theatre Bay Area, which includes Dan Hoyle's Tings Dey Happen and an essay by Dan Hoyle on stretching political theatre. The article is fantastic and really makes me want to go out and explore somewhere exciting and get inspired to do political theatre. And/or just meet director Charlie Varon. I haven't read the show yet, but I have high hopes. I also really enjoyed Brad Erickson (TBA Executive Director)'s note responding to Mike Daisey's show, "How Theater Failed America". Mike Daisey is a good friend of Liz Frankel, who was my supervisor during my literary internship at The Public Theater last summer, so I have met him, and hope to see his show if it's still running when I make it out to New York. For someone who's future is most likely in regional theatre, and having already read the sort of shocked negativism from the critics, I would like to experience first hand what he has to say.
My other goals for said New York trip thusfar are to see In The Heights and Title Of Show. I am to this day not sure where I first stumbled upon TOS; I think my mother may have given it to me for Christmas a couple years ago. If so, she really hit the jackpot, because discovering this wonderful show before it went much of anywhere made an undying fan out of me. You should absolutely check out their [newly updated] website, www.titleofshow.com. And if you're a musical theatre nerd like I am, check out the [tos]words on the page [for fans of show]. I spent many happy hours with them. And if you're in NY after July 5th (when previews start) GO SEE IT ON BROADWAY!!!
That's all for today. Let's see if I can come up with half as much to say tomorrow.
So here's entry number one.
Last night I saw the first two-thirds of a preview dress for Theatre Q's Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde. Held at the tiny Dragon Theatre in downtown Palo Alto, I thought director George Quick did a fantastic job with as many as (and often) nine actors onstage at once. I loved the muddled line between the characters in the past and the people in the present (or timeless) watching and making judgements, as if questioning whether they too would have drawn the same verdicts. The intimacy of the space lent itself to having the driving action often the most upstage, and onlookers watching from chairs in the downstage corners, almost a part of the audience, but not quite, given their frequent breaks to read from newspapers and other memoirs of the trials. The set was entirely Ikea furniture- 11 chairs and 2 tables. I suppose if you want 11 matching, nondescript chairs, why not?
I loved the portrayal of Oscar Wilde by John Aney, and Kevin Copps (Sir Edward Clarke).
Thomas Azar was my favorite to watch onstage- I would love to meet and/or work with him.
And apparently George Quick is off to Chattanooga, TN- here's the link to his blog!
The play has sat on my shelf partly-read for years, and now I might just have the momentum to pick it up and finish it.
Today I recieved the June/July issue of Theatre Bay Area, which includes Dan Hoyle's Tings Dey Happen and an essay by Dan Hoyle on stretching political theatre. The article is fantastic and really makes me want to go out and explore somewhere exciting and get inspired to do political theatre. And/or just meet director Charlie Varon. I haven't read the show yet, but I have high hopes. I also really enjoyed Brad Erickson (TBA Executive Director)'s note responding to Mike Daisey's show, "How Theater Failed America". Mike Daisey is a good friend of Liz Frankel, who was my supervisor during my literary internship at The Public Theater last summer, so I have met him, and hope to see his show if it's still running when I make it out to New York. For someone who's future is most likely in regional theatre, and having already read the sort of shocked negativism from the critics, I would like to experience first hand what he has to say.
My other goals for said New York trip thusfar are to see In The Heights and Title Of Show. I am to this day not sure where I first stumbled upon TOS; I think my mother may have given it to me for Christmas a couple years ago. If so, she really hit the jackpot, because discovering this wonderful show before it went much of anywhere made an undying fan out of me. You should absolutely check out their [newly updated] website, www.titleofshow.com. And if you're a musical theatre nerd like I am, check out the [tos]words on the page [for fans of show]. I spent many happy hours with them. And if you're in NY after July 5th (when previews start) GO SEE IT ON BROADWAY!!!
That's all for today. Let's see if I can come up with half as much to say tomorrow.
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