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1100 Playwright Interviews A Sean Abley Rob Ackerman E.E. Adams Johnna Adams Liz Duffy Adams Tony Adams David Adjmi Keith Josef Adkins Nicc...

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Jun 29, 2007

Thirty-two ways to say I love you in your Christ year

Thirty two ways to say I love you in your Christ year

One
I left something in the bathroom
Two
I dropped something on the floor
Three
I'll be right back, I swear to you
Four
Don't walk out the door

Is that my shirt you're wearing?
Are you tired of this music?
Can I get you rum and soda?
Do you think you like this chorus?

Nine
I stole you this salt shaker
Ten
I want you to feel better
Eleven
I didn't wash the dishes
Twelve
Can you stand this weather?

Would you like a sandwich?
I can buy this for your mother.
Can you mix this in the mixer?
Would you like another?

Seventeen
I've get twenty things to say to you
Eighteen
Nineteen of them are the same
Nineteen
Please listen to each carefully
Twenty
I've made you a nickname

I love the way your neck sparkles
I love the way the sky glows
I love the space between your words
And the odd shape of your nose
I know you find this funny
I know you think I'm old
I know you know I know you know
I know you're always cold
Take two of these with some water
Take me away from here
Are you done with the bathroom
Do you want one more beer?

susan prepares for getting play

Check out this video: intro



Add to My Profile | More Videos Check out this video: J and Susan practice the DATE



Add to My Profile | More Videos

The Susan Gets Some Play Video Blog (vlog?)

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.myvideos

Climate Shift Tied to 150,000 Fatalities

Most Victims Are Poor, Study Says

By Juliet Eilperin
Washington Post Staff Writer

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/16/AR2005111602197.html

My friend Evan created this:

Paula Abdul And Winston Churchill's Personal
Philosophies Virtually Interchangeable

http://defamer.com/hollywood/gifted-orators/paula-abdul-and-winston-churchills-personal-philosophies-virtually-interchangeable-272938.php

Jun 28, 2007

vacation

Starting this weekend, K and I are taking a trip up to
artists housing in MA where we plan to write and read
and swim and jog for two weeks out in the wilderness.
I hope to start and finish a screenplay there.

I don't know if they get the internet in the woods of
MA so I may not post for a couple of weeks, or my
posting could increase tenfold. No way of knowing.
You will just have to stick it out and see.

From Mike Daisey

The on air reporter who refuses to have Paris Hilton
be her lead story. Good for her.

http://www.mikedaisey.com/2007/06/blog-post_28.sht

Jun 27, 2007

The night Bobby came back to town

The night Bobby came back to town We all dressed up and gathered round No one knew what was going down It would be a sight, there could be a fight Bobby stepped into the light Lisa said and we agreed It’d been ten years or so That Bobby left and we all stood Outside and watched him go Nina said he’d held her head And kissed her in the snow It would be a sight, there could be a fight Bobby stepped into the light He was unshaven, he was tired Some say retarded, some say inspired Dicky and Johnny both were wired It would be a sight, there could be a fight Bobby stepped into the light And he looked at us just standing there Needing his voice to cut the air He sat in silence in his chair This was the night, there could be a fight Bobby stepped into the light -- And then Bobby sung the song he sang the day he left: “This is a song for the lonely And the beautiful like you This is a song for the tired And for those who can’t break through This is a song if you’re the last one To stumble to your door A song for the unrequited A song if you want more” And we all joined in to sing along the song he sang the day he left “This is a song for the lonely And the beautiful like you This is a song for the tired And for those who can’t break through This is a song if you’re the last one To stumble to your door A song for the unrequited A song if you want more” Bobby left in the middle of the song We sang so loud ourselves We didn’t notice he was gone And if we sing that loud again Maybe he’ll be back along Someday “This is a song for the lonely And the beautiful like you This is a song for the tired And for those who can’t break through This is a song if you’re the last one To stumble to your door A song for the unrequited A song if you want more”

Jun 26, 2007

a clown song




CLOWNS UNDERCOVER!!

You know it! You saw it! The space in the basement
They hide in the cupboard. They hide in the floor.
You know it! Confront it! The place where the face went.
They’re in there! They’re out there! Board up the door!!!

Cause once they come in here there’s no way to stop them.
They don’t listen to reason, don’t listen to rhyme.
They are knocking you over. They are pushing you under.
This time they will get you. They’ll get you this time.

You know it! You saw it! The space in the basement
Why didn’t you listen? I told you the score.
You knew it! You saw it! The place where the face went.
The clowns are all coming. Right through the door.

1-2-3-4!!

CLOWNS UNDERCOVER!!!

Cause now that they’re in here there’s no way to stop them.
They are licking your girlfriend, they are drinking your wine.
They are knocking you over. They are pushing you under.
This time they’ll outdance you. They’ll outdance you this time.

And the clown says:
Dance Motherfucker Dance
And your girlfriend says:
Dance Motherfucker Dance
And your friends all say:
Dance Motherfucker Dance

CLOWNS UNDERCOVER!!!

The Supply Closet





I'm going down to the supply closet
Going to get a ream of paper
I'm going down to the supply closet
Going to get a ream of paper

And I'm going to print up all those reports and
photocopy them so you can read them

That's the kind of day it is
That's the kind of day it is

I'm going down to the supply closet
Going to get a box of staples
I'm going down to the supply closet
Going to get a box of staples

Then I'll staple those papers together –so close
together for you like you've never seen

That's the kind of day it is
That's the kind of day it is

I'm going down to the supply closet
Gonna get a new blue pen
I'm going down to the supply closet
Gonna get a new blue pen

And I'll stab you in the eye with it
Stab you with my new blue pen
I will stab you and stab you
And stab you

That's the kind of day it is
That's the kind of day it is

Jun 19, 2007

dreaming of a theatre movement

http://www.avltheatre.com/forte/2007/06/every_city_could_have_a_dead_c_1.html and the challenge A CHALLENGE, AN OFFER Let me close with this ... I run a very cool, small professional theatre company in the Heartland (Columbus, Ohio). We're in the process of figuring out the next year of work (guess whose play I'm angling for). I'm reading plays like a fiend right now. (Thanks again to everyone who suggested and sent plays.) I would be willing to try this National Opening (I don't even think the play has to be brand new) thing, even on a smaller scale with 4-8 small theatres. March 2008 would work well for us. If anyone's interested, email me (inbox at avltheatre dot com). I DARE YOU

book swap

I did this thing. I'm trying it out. I think it's a
good idea. Not sure. But if you want to try it out
their propoganda is below:

I thought you might be interested in this site I
found, www.PaperBackSwap.com. I joined and I am so
glad I did. It's an online book swapping club for book
lovers all over the country. If you want to find out
more, just click the link below and it takes you to an
interactive demo that explains how things work.

http://www.paperbackswap.com/help/how_to_swap_books.php

If you do join the club, please put my email in the
referral section because then I get another free book!

adamszymkowicz @yahoo.com

Hope to see you at PBS soon!
Adam Szymkowicz

congrats to my friend Beau

http://www.nypost.com/seven/06132007/entertainment/theater/jakes_hat_in_the_ring_theater_michael_riedel.htm

F train

sign this so i can get a better commute

http://www.petitiononline.com/bkln4fnv/petition.html

I hereby convene the International Week of Blog Gibberish

The great thing about having your own blog is that you
can do whatever you want. If you want to write
gibberish for a week, people will click on it and be
like "I don't know. he's writing gibberish." and
maybe they will return and maybe they won't. But you
can do it. The internet is the newest form of
freedom. It's necessary, especially as our freedoms
as a country have been diminishing during the course
of this administration.

And that is what TV still can't get to. You can put
any crazy ass film on you tube or your personal
website and if people don't watch it, it's no big deal
but it could just as easily get a billion hits. But
if it doesn't, there is no one to answer to. There
are no ratings. There is only liberation and complete
freedom to say anything or do anything.

Blog gibberish for freedom!

sdg; sadg kk

Jun 17, 2007

It's over, but

Jordon Harrison's play at Clubbed Thumb was pretty
great. If you missed it, there is always the hope
Clubbed Thumb or someone else will pick it up again.
In the meantime, perhaps now is a good time to buy tix
for his upcoming show at Playwrights Horizons.

monologue cut from Susan Gets Some Play

Susan. They said she had the face that launched one
hundred thousand battleships to the galaxy Thendore.
Her name was Lieutenant Susan Louise O'Connor and the
first time I saw her I knew why this war had been
raging through the galaxy for a thousand years. You
see, when Kinglores see something beautiful, they have
to have it and when they first saw Susan, anyone could
have predicted that it would tear their race apart and
destroy countless planets, disrupt the universal
balance and kill many a young hotshot fresh-faced from
the Star Hopper Academy for Advanced Life. There was
just no other way it could have played out. Also
there was no way to avoid the fact that I too would
fall under her charms, like it or not, I was hooked.
It was the face she had. The face that tore the
universe apart and had grown men armwrestling and
partaking in fluevogeling contests.

Jun 14, 2007

enrique's new pimped out blog

http://backdatassupenrique.blogspot.com/

a book

http://books.google.com/books?q=%22adam+szymkowicz%22&btnG=Search+Books

tomorrow at 5--hope to see you there

http://www.dramabookshop.com/NASApp/store/IndexJsp?s=storeevents&eventId=348208

Friday, June 15, 2007 at 5:00 p.m.
Free Reading and Book Signing
New York Theater Review 2007

Special guests to include: Quiara Alegria Hudes (2007
Pulitzer Prize finalist for ELLIOT, A SOLDIER'S
FUGUE); Adam Szymkowicz (FOOD FOR FISH); Anne Washburn
(I HAVE LOVED STRANGERS);

and

George Hunka (Superfluities theater blog); Garrett
Eisler (Playgoer theater blog); Alan Lockwood (Beckett
centenary) and Caridad Svich (playwright and
founder/maestra of NoPassport)

Jun 13, 2007

post of note from Grote

http://jasongrote.blogspot.com/2007/06/whither-theatre.html

"Of course, part of the paradox here is that critics
lament the lack of originality among playwrights, but
producers, ever risk-averse, push playwrights to
follow the "rules" more closely, making otherwise
original writers into something more familiar - that,
or they pick up a writer anyway because s/he is "hot,"
and and then screw up somewhere along the line - they
don't prepare their audiences enough, or the fire the
good, smart original casts and replace them with
slumming stars who can't handle the material, then
it's a self-fulfilling flop so they go with something
more traditional, and the cycle continues."

Jun 12, 2007

from an email I received from Enrique

So I'm not one for sending mass emails out for
fundraising, but playwright Marisela Orta made me
aware of this teacher in Queens who is trying to build
a theatre library for her students. She teaches in a
low income public school where the arts are severely
neglected and is trying very hard to teach the
importance and relevance of theatre to these kids. I
went online and donated $10. Now, you don't have to
donate anything, but I just did the math:

If every playwright I sent this to donated $3, this
school would meet their funding request for a theatre
library. Many of us piddle $3 on a coffee any given
day. Why not help me help these kids. We're always
complaining that there's no young people in the
theatre. This is a great way to help change that in
such a small way. And how cool would it be for this
school to have a brand new play library because of a
bunch of scrappy playwrights?!

Here's the info:

http://www.donorschoose.org/donors/proposal.html?id=92400&sindex=0

Here's to teachers who care about theatre!

--
Enrique Urueta
Playwright/Dramaturg/Private Dancer
(a dancer for money)

Jun 11, 2007

slog

http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/06/re_this_mornings_nyt_headline

h/t daisey

http://www.mikedaisey.com/

"Now, as the article notes, the U.S. is looking to
Saddam's old crew to "bring stability" and perhaps
"consolidate the minority Sunni power" against Shiites
(Iran) … JUST LIKE SADDAM WAS DOING!

I apologize for the krazy all-caps, but oy vey, man.

Indeed, not only was there zero connection between
Sadaam and al Qaeda, but Sadamm was a bulwark against
radical Islamists.

We are now fighting Saddam's war. Hey, George Bush,
Bite me. "

I hope this was cleared with my agent

In any case, go to the Netherlands and see my play

http://www.denhaag.com/default.asp?id=6727&ep=

Ken Levine reviews the Tonys and Sopranos in the same review

http://kenlevine.blogspot.com/2007/06/tonys-sopranos.html

I didn't see either of these.

linking to mike linking to sheila

http://www.mikedaisey.com/2007/06/sheila-callaghan-blog.sht

thoughtful post from Mr. Walsh

http://litdept.blogspot.com/2007/06/relevance-and-innovation-in-theatre.html

tomorrow

hope to see you there!

http://www.broadwayworld.tv/viewcolumn.cfm?colid=18969

The Dream Chain
An adaptation of La Vida es Sueño written by multiple
authors, each writing only one scene from the play.
Contributing playwrights include: Sheila Callaghan,
Marcus Gardley, Amlin Gray, Carmen Rivera, Adam
Szymkowicz and Candido Tirado Director TBD
8pm, Tuesday, June 12, 2007 at the Michael Weller
Theater, 311 W 43rd St, 6th Floor

is this new?

Is this something we haven't heard before?

http://www.salon.com/ent/feature/2007/06/08/theater/index_np.html

Theatre gets overdeveloped. There are fewer slots.
the NEA is not around. A lot of playwrights go write
for TV where they can make a living. TV is better and
more adventurous than ever before, especially HBO.

I don't know about you, but I never have watched the
Tonys. It is so irrelevant, as are all awards, but
also to what I think of as theatre. The exciting
stuff right now in theatre is not on broadway. This
is not news. The exciting stuff for me is the stuff
that cannot be done on TV like Eurydice at 2nd stage.
And countless other plays written for the stage in the
vocabulary of theatricality.

I for one am tired of the endless articles about what
is wrong with the theatre. We know this. Tell me
what's right with it. Or if you don't know what's
right with it, stop seeing broadway and start seeing
the shows that matter.

Sorry to be picking on this article, partially because
I agree with much of what the writer says.

Did your parents get a divorce?

Go See Matt Freeman's very funny "Interview with the
Author"

Only one more performance.

http://matthewfreeman.blogspot.com/2007/06/pretentious-festival-shill-for-friday.html

Jun 8, 2007

Friday

I have begun writing lyrics to songs during my commute
or in the mornings. I don't know if this will
continue but at the moment I'm enjoying the freedom of
it. Also, I like to rhyme.

Jun 7, 2007

event 1 for next week

http://www.fluxtheatre.homestead.com/page04.html

The Dream Chain: an adaptation of the play written by
multiple authors, each writing only one scene of the
play. Contributing playwrights include: Sheila
Callaghan, Marcus Gardley, Amlin Gray, Jason Grote,
Carmen Rivera, Adam Szymkowicz and Candido Tirado

Directed by August Schulenburg

Tuesday, June 12, 8pm

Michael Weller Theater, 311 W 43rd St, 6 Floor

event 2 I will attend next week

http://www.dramabookshop.com/NASApp/store/IndexJsp?s=storeevents&eventId=348208

Time: Friday, June 15, 2007 5:00 PM
Title of Event: New York Theater Review: Reading and
Book Signing
Friday, June 15, 2007 at 5:00 p.m.
Free Reading and Book Signing
New York Theater Review 2007

Special guests to include: Quiara Alegria Hudes (2007
Pulitzer Prize finalist for ELLIOT, A SOLDIER'S
FUGUE); Adam Szymkowicz (FOOD FOR FISH); Anne Washburn
(I HAVE LOVED STRANGERS);

and

George Hunka (Superfluities theater blog); Garrett
Eisler (Playgoer theater blog); Alan Lockwood (Beckett
centenary) and Caridad Svich (playwright and
founder/maestra of NoPassport)

The 2007 edition of the New York Theater Review
features essays from Playgoer's Garrett Eisler, Alan
Lockwood, Brook Stowe and Caridad Svich, and the
complete texts of new, full-length plays by Quiara
Alegria Hudes, a 2007 Pulitzer Prize finalist for
Elliot, A Soldier's Fugue (introduced by P73's Liz
Jones & Asher Richelli); Adam Szymkowicz' Food for
Fish (introduced by fellow playwright Crystal
Skillman) and Anne Washburn's I Have Loved Strangers
(introduced by fellow playwright Jeffrey M. Jones).
Plus a great big, juicy group interview with some of
the top movers and shakers in contemporary alternative
New York theater and a photo recap of last Fall's
fundraiser at the Brick Theater that helped make this
issue possible. Introduction by Superfluities' George
Hunka. Cover design by Savage Candy.


http://www.nytr.org

Jun 5, 2007

thoughts on "Conservative Theatre"

This is in response to laura's recent post

http://lauraaxelrod.typepad.com/

I'm generalizing here but I think there are many
reasons there is not a lot of conservative theatre.
First of all, the best places for theatres are cities
and cities are the most liberal part of every state.
Wherever the most people congregate, you will have the
most theatre and also the most liberals. So in almost
every community, theatre is set in a place where your
audience and your practitioners are liberal.

Artists by a large majority are liberal if you take
that word to mean generally inclusive. (theatre is
pretty inclusive in terms of different types of
artists and different types of people, but also
oddballs end up in theatre for various reasons and
stick around because they find acceptance.)

In some ways conservative theatre is an oxymoron...
which is not to say it doesn't exist, just that the
word conservative doesn't go with the idea of theatre.
When I think of the word conservative, I think of
certain constricting values that exclude instead of
including which I think is why there isn't a lot of
conservative theatre. Even the work required to sit
and watch a theatrical piece involves a certain
openess and going to the theatre is about putting
yourself in front of something unpredictable that has
not been vetted by any rating system or governing
board and being open to the effect it may have on you.

Jun 4, 2007

SGSP

coming soon

Susan Gets Some Play

Stage Fright Productions
Writer: Adam Szymkowicz
Director: Moritz von Stuelpnagel
FringeNYC favorite, Susan Louise O'Connor, and her
best friend Jay try to find Susan a boyfriend by
holding auditions for an imaginary production in hopes
of finding Mr. Right. Or at least a date. Or even just
a freakin' kiss.

http://www.fringenyc.org/basic_page.asp?ltr=s

Torture Nazis/Bush Administration

h/t Daisey

http://www.mikedaisey.com/

http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2007/05/verschfte_verne.html

"Critics will no doubt say I am accusing the Bush
administration of being Hitler. I'm not. There is no
comparison between the political system in Germany in
1937 and the U.S. in 2007. What I am reporting is a
simple empirical fact: the interrogation methods
approved and defended by this president are not new.
Many have been used in the past. The very phrase used
by the president to describe
torture-that-isn't-somehow-torture - "enhanced
interrogation techniques" - is a term originally
coined by the Nazis. The techniques are
indistinguishable. The methods were clearly understood
in 1948 as war-crimes. The punishment for them was death."

Jun 3, 2007

posting, crossposting

Eurydice at 2nd stage is amazing. Beautiful, magical
wonderful, outstanding. go see it.

Also read this tom foolery.

http://bloggingevent.blogspot.com/

plug for flux

Flux Theatre Ensemble presents:

Life is a Dream

by Pedro Calderón de la Barca, translated by John
Clifford
Directed by Kelly O'Donnell

Previews June 7
Opens June 8
Runs June 8 - 24
Wednesdays - Saturdays at 8:00pm, Sundays at 3:00pm

All tickets $18
To purchase tickets, visit this link:
http://www.theatermania.com/content/show.cfm/show/132738
OR call (212) 352-3101 or toll free (866) 811-4111

A jilted lover locked in her disguise as a man
A forgotten prince chained to his life as a prisoner
An influential father caught between love and honor
A classic play about the dream of life

Location: The Michael Weller Theatre
311 West 43rd St, 6th Floor (between 8th and 9th Aves)

Cast
Jake Alexander, David Crommett*, Michael Davis, Scout
Durwood, Tatiana Gomberg*, Katie Hartke*, Joe Medina,
Lawrence Merritt*, Christina Shipp and Isaiah
Tanenbaum

*These actors appear courtesy of Actors' Equity
Association
Production Team
Tiffany Clementi, Heather Cohn, Ryan Dowd, Jessica
Felix, Joseph Mathers, Kelly O'Donnell, Jason Paradine
and Hannah Rose

For more information visit www.fluxtheatre.org
postcard design: Isaiah Tanenbaum

FREE
Life is a Dream is the culmination of The Dream
Project, an exploration of La Vida es Sueño through a
series of free staged readings of adaptations of
Calderón's masterpiece. For reservations to the
readings, email gus@fluxtheatre.org.

The Dream Chain - Multiple authors each writing a
scene of the play. Contributing playwrights include:
Sheila Callaghan, Marcus Gardley, Amlin Gray, Jason
Grote, Carmen Rivera, Adam Szymkowicz and Candido
Tirado. Directed by August Schulenburg.
Tuesday, June 12, 8:00pm at The Michael Weller
Theatre.

La Vida es Sueño - a reading of the original Spanish
text. Directed by Jerry Ruiz.
Tuesday, June 19, 8:00pm at The Michael Weller
Theatre.

Jun 2, 2007

meme from Laura, I'm it

http://lauraaxelrod.typepad.com/

Here are the rules of the house: Bloggers must post
these rules and provide eight random facts about
themselves. In the post, the tagged blogger tags eight
other bloggers and notify them that they have been
tagged.

This is a little rough because I did one of these a
while back. What did I not tell you that is of
interest?


1. I am not one of those people who watches movies
over and over with the exception of Wonder Boys which
I have watched many many times.

2. I am putting off finishing my novel yet again,
this time to write a screenplay.

3. I had intended to become an engineer, not a
playwright but then I liked English more than
calculus.

4. I was an actor first. I was in 30 something plays
from kindergarten to college. I stopped because it
was terrifying and not as fun as playwriting. I
played Pozzo, Paris, Puck, Picasso, and others.

5. I played soccer.

6. Most of my notebooks are covered with these
complicated collages that I spend hours creating and
adding to.

7. I have a cat named Skeezer

8. I am a middle child, and the only boy.

I tag no one and everyone. If you want to do it it
and you read this, consider yourself tagged. If you
didn't get this far I tag thee not.

Jun 1, 2007

coming soon

NEW YORK THEATER REVIEW
Brook Stowe, Editor
------
Book Release and Signing

Reception Follows

Friday, June15
5-7pm
at
THE DRAMA BOOK SHOP
250 W. 40th St.
Manhattan

FREE!!!
However ... we would be remiss if we didn't stress
that seating is LIMITED to this FREE event.
Don't delay and get left out! Make your rezzie NOW at:


info at dramabookshop.com
or
212.944.0595, ext. 417


The Evening will Include Playwrights & Readings from
the 2007 Edition Plays:
Quiara Alegria Hudes (2007 Pulitzer Prize finalist for
ELLIOT, A SOLDIER'S FUGUE); Adam Szymkowicz (FOOD FOR
FISH); Anne Washburn (I HAVE LOVED STRANGERS).

PLUS

Conversations with 2007 Edition Contributors :
Garrett ( The Playgoer) Eisler, Alan Lockwood &
Caridad Svich

*******
The New York Theater Review was launched to help
increase recognition of downtown New York theater
artists and productions. The 2007 edition also
includes a great, big juicy group interview with
downtown movers and shakers Susan Bernfield, Kelly
Copper, Cynthia Croot, Mike Daisey, Lear deBessonet,
Alec Duffy, Zhenesse Staniec Heinemann, Pavol Liska,
Davis McCallum, Polybe + Seats & Kenneth Schlesinger.

Can't wait for the 15th? The 2007 Edition is available
now at the Drama Book Shop.

Our debut release features new plays from Sheila
Callaghan (the critically-acclaimed New Georges hit
Dead City), August Schulenburg (Riding the Bull) and
Ken Urban ( The Female Terrorist Project ) plus essays
and reviews ranging from Julian Beck's Living Theatre
to SoHo's own legendary Wooster Group.

Also available from Drama Book Shop .

www.nytr.org
www.dramabookshop.com

I <3 Judd Apatow