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.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
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)!
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