http://matthewfreeman.blogspot.com/
http://www.commondreams.org/views07/0307-22.htm
Impeaching Bush--why couldn't this have happend years ago?
Mar 9, 2007
Mar 8, 2007
from early career dramaturgs
Only two days left to shop for early career
dramaturgs! Tell your
friends, your enemies, your colleagues, and especially
your really rich
connections to go to
http://www.missionfish.org/NPMMF/nphomepage.jsp?NP_ID=10372
or
search for seller "Literary_Managers_and_Dramaturgs"
on eBay!
dramaturgs! Tell your
friends, your enemies, your colleagues, and especially
your really rich
connections to go to
http://www.missionfish.org/NPMMF/nphomepage.jsp?NP_ID=10372
or
search for seller "Literary_Managers_and_Dramaturgs"
on eBay!
current play
These are notes and the outline of the play i am
currently writing. i have already deviated from the
outline in some parts and I'm sure will deviate again.
Also, don't think that some of that terrible dialogue
will actually be in the play. it's just a guide for
me.
currently writing. i have already deviated from the
outline in some parts and I'm sure will deviate again.
Also, don't think that some of that terrible dialogue
will actually be in the play. it's just a guide for
me.
This is a play that takes place in new york. It
starts when the rabbit comes out of the bathroom and
ends when the rabbit packs his bags and leaves.
The main character wants a friend but can't get over
the death of his friend. Strong need to connect.
1 the apt todd in bathroom, brian going to work.
Brian talking to todd. Neal enters brian tries to
talk to him but there is no connection. Neal exits
and then todd comes out of the bathroom. –how do I
look? --good.
2 at work John show ropes –job is ridiculous. Before
john arrives Miranda appears over cubicle wall and
says nothing? Says hello? And then john comes in and
starts telling him what to do. Todd sits and watches
and makes comments. His comments are perhaps what
brian is thinking. intro Miranda what she's all
about brian tells he he just moved here from a small
liberal arts college in new Hampshire? --why did you
come to new york? I don't know. –you don't know?
--I want to do something worthwhile. –oh. What? --I
don't know. and then john asks her to come to his
office and she says alright but talks to brian for a
while longer –I like to make him wait. after Miranda
leaves, todd talks about her
3tries to connect with roommate again. On arrival,
brian says hi neal –hi and then todd –hi neal. Neal
says nothing. Brian tries to talk to him and then
--ok I guess I'll go to my room.
4Miranda and boss in fighting match followed by
Miranda talking about the overthrow of capitalism and
how she will do her part does he want to get a drink.
Maybe opens with todd reading out loud from a book
about rabbits while brian tries to alphabetize.
5 the drink let's make out they do? Won't that be
weird at work? If you don't want to? No, let's do
it.
5b she takes him back to the office and they have
sex? On a copier? In the boss's office? What goes
wrong here? He does something wrong? He says I love
you maybe? He gets too close. Sex is offstage and
todd narrates the whole thing.
6 scene with Miranda and boss where we figure out
what's going on. She is difficult, young, he wants
her to have sex with him. Miranda ignores brian at
work.
Act 2
Phone messages where it becomes clear she is ignoring
him at work and ignoring his phone calls.
6b—what's with the getup. –oh I'm a bicycle
messenger. You are ? --now I am. –I didn't even
know you had a bike. –yeah. It was under the stairs.
–how did you become a bike messenger? --Apparently I
ran out of money. –how was it? --every muscle in my
body hurts and apparently I have to do it again
tomorrow. Brian and roommate bond a little over
brian's woman troubles. Neal gives advice tood also
gives advice. He says that brian should just forget
her. Brian ignores him.
6cFollowed by brian confronting Miranda? Brian takes
neal's advice –I'm not crazy. I'm not going to harass
you or anything. And I won't try to have sex with you
again. I just thought we could hang out. I like you.
you like me. Or I though you did. It's been a
really long time since I found someone that I truly
liked. I don't have very good friends but I fell like
you and I could be that—good friends. And I would be
really sad if that wasn't possible anymore. And I'm
sorry because I know I fucked it up because I always
fuck everything good up.
7They make up plan to overthrow the company in a bar.
Miranda tells brian about having sex with the boss—he
gets angry about the boss. Did he force you? We
could have him fired. maybe it's because of my father
she says. It is here that we learn about todd and
about miranda's father who is dying. Is she doing it
for anarchy or is she doing it to get back on the boss
cheating on her? And what are they doing exactly?
8 brian tells the roommate what happened. I think
we're going to just be friends. –is she not that
attractive? --she's very attractive. –then what's
the problem? --well, she's kind of fucked up. I mean
I want to hang out with her but I'm not sure I want to
be part of the drama, you know? Todd tries to
interject but brian is ignoring him –I know you can
hear me. Hey!
9 they carry out the plan. But john comes back while
they are fucking up a cublicle.
John yellsa t them threatens to call cops but she also
threatens to tell the boss and or his wife that he
likes to fuck the temps.
11 they are both out on their asses. They plot to
take down another company. We'll just call another
temp agency. And then we'll take down another
company. She brian and neal hang out and todd leaves.
Like the end of the station agent.
Mar 7, 2007
a hammer
I've been sort of freaking out lately. The normal stuff--what am I doing with my life?, how long can I stand being an administrative assistant?, should I continue to live in New York? etc. But also the fatigue is setting in. I've been working so hard--writing like it's going out of style (which it may be)--but also working so hard on getting my stuff out there, getting it read by strangers. I'm just really tired right now. Tired of all the work it takes to be a playwright. Tired of not seeing anything resembling a way to playwright for a living. And the other voice in my head is saying, "Really?" "Did you really think there was a way to make a living doing what you love?"
All this makes me want to quit, bow out, stop running the race. I'm in the middle of writing a new play. Literally at the intermission and I know I will finish it. Because that's what I do. And behind it I can visualize all the other plays I'm hoping to write in varying stages of clarity. And there is a novel there too, supposedly. And supposedly I'm going to go back to that novel after this play is written. Even though I hear other plays calling.
Even though I am so so tired. Of running on this track. And yet this track is also the only thing that keeps me sane some days. Try to talk to me sometime after I've gone a week without writing. It will not be a pleasant experience for you. You see, I need it to keep me sane but it’s also slowly driving me mad. So I'm not so sure what to do about that. And I keep beating my head against the wall and chips of the wall tumble down but this wall....how thick is this wall? Two feet? Three feet thick? And I need a fucking hammer, OK. My head is found to be insufficient.
But really I just want to stop, move to the country, somewhere where there are trees and I won’t be able to see plays every night. Because it’s not good for me anymore to see the amount of theatre I see. Theatre has taken my life away and I’m not fighting hard enough to get it back. But I love it too. I love the theatre and can’t understand why everyone else doesn’t love it too.
But this life isn’t working right now. I got to take a break. I got to . . . I got to finish this play. Dude, I am fucked.
to do list, NY Times
Thanks to Dam* Writer for this
http://damwriter.blogspot.com/2007/03/read-this-editorial.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/04/opinion/04sun1.html?_r=2&oref=slogin&oref=slogin
"The Bush administration's assault on some of the
founding principles of American democracy marches
onward despite the Democratic victory in the 2006
elections. The new Democratic majorities in Congress
can block the sort of noxious measures that the
Republican majority rubber-stamped. But preventing new
assaults on civil liberties is not nearly enough."
Mar 6, 2007
Mar 5, 2007
Dying City Bloggers Night
Dying City
by: Christopher Shinn
Directed by: James Macdonald
by: Christopher Shinn
Directed by: James Macdonald
You should go see this show. Although I think too
much of it is inactive, when it works, it works very
well. It feels like Chris Shinn is struggling with
something and I appreciate seeing plays by playwrights
that are working something out. Highlights for me
include the Law and Order realization and the
windshield monologue. I also enjoyed the subtle
movement of the stage. I don't know if it means
anything metaphorically but it's a cool thing to
watch.
I predict this play will win the Pulitzer next year.
http://www.lct.org/calendar/event_detail.cfm?ID_event=54624605 other blogger reviews Jaime James George Matt
Mar 2, 2007
from Jason Fitzgerald
Help Dramaturgs. Support Capitalism.
"It is with the greatest pleasure that I cut the
ribbon on the 2nd annual LMDA eBay auction to benefit
early career dramaturgs. As the sun rises on this
Friday morning, you can visit
http://www.missionfish.org/NPMMF/nphomepage.jsp?NP_ID=10372
Or search for the
seller "literary_managers_and_dramaturgs" to see the
exciting items we have for sale."
If you haven't switched yet, please do so now.
http://www.eere.energy.gov/greenpower/buying/buying_power.shtml
Green power, wind and solar--help slow global warming
so NYC won't become an underwater city.
Call up your utility company and switch to green please.
Mar 1, 2007
from the Dramatists Guild Newsletter--reprinted with permission
For a long time I've been railing against fees--especially submission fees for 10 minute plays or where the award is a reading or no-royalty production. The Guild stepped up yesterday to publicly denounce said fees. Needless to say, this makes me very happy.
From the Desk of Gary Garrison
PEOPLE… PEOPLE WHO NEED PEOPLE
(Portion excised)
As of today, the Guild will no longer publicize calls for submissions that have a fee attached unless that fee is transparent (where does the money go and to whom) in the description to the reader. The subtext: it is not okay to charge a dramatist a fee to supplement a theatre or producer’s production opportunity. YOUR ART IS FEE ENOUGH!
I know all the arguments of why some theatres and producers position that they must charge fees: “We couldn’t afford to produce the event if we didn’t charge a fee. We have to hire readers. We have to publicize the event. We have to pay the actors and directors. We have to offer prize money . . .” I understand that, but theatres and producers are doing that on the backs of people that are more poor than they are! What?! On average, dramatists spend ten dollars to submit a play or musical anywhere in this country: printing, copying, postage, return postage, binders, envelopes. If a theatre or producer tacks on an additional $10, $15 or $30 fee, one submission now costs anywhere from $20-50, with no guarantees that anything will come of it. And yes, I know: there are no guarantees for anyone in the theatre. But all too often this feels like, “we’re not going to guarantee you anything, AND we’re going to charge you for the privilege of that, AND you’ll probably never hear from us, AND don’t expect any kind of critical reaction to your material, AND don’t expect notification of who, in fact, was chosen.” And if it’s not a money issue then it’s a spirit issue: it’s demeaning enough to submit your work to theatres and producers that you never hear from. To pay someone for their silence is too much to ask anyone.
Of course, the easiest thing (at least to me) is to make all fees transparent in the listings (Fee: $25; $10 for readers, $15 for prize money). At least then we can all start holding people accountable on some level. And you can decide if you like what you read. To be clear: we’ll publish a call for submission that explains how submission money is used (some producers do that now). And we’ll continue to publish the big four: the O’Neill, Sundance, Susan Blackburn Prize, Actors Theatre of Louisville with date reminders. But we will no longer list an opportunity that requires you pay a fee to be considered for inclusion.
Enough is enough.
Gary
ggarrison at dramatistsguild dot com
From the Desk of Gary Garrison
PEOPLE… PEOPLE WHO NEED PEOPLE
(Portion excised)
As of today, the Guild will no longer publicize calls for submissions that have a fee attached unless that fee is transparent (where does the money go and to whom) in the description to the reader. The subtext: it is not okay to charge a dramatist a fee to supplement a theatre or producer’s production opportunity. YOUR ART IS FEE ENOUGH!
I know all the arguments of why some theatres and producers position that they must charge fees: “We couldn’t afford to produce the event if we didn’t charge a fee. We have to hire readers. We have to publicize the event. We have to pay the actors and directors. We have to offer prize money . . .” I understand that, but theatres and producers are doing that on the backs of people that are more poor than they are! What?! On average, dramatists spend ten dollars to submit a play or musical anywhere in this country: printing, copying, postage, return postage, binders, envelopes. If a theatre or producer tacks on an additional $10, $15 or $30 fee, one submission now costs anywhere from $20-50, with no guarantees that anything will come of it. And yes, I know: there are no guarantees for anyone in the theatre. But all too often this feels like, “we’re not going to guarantee you anything, AND we’re going to charge you for the privilege of that, AND you’ll probably never hear from us, AND don’t expect any kind of critical reaction to your material, AND don’t expect notification of who, in fact, was chosen.” And if it’s not a money issue then it’s a spirit issue: it’s demeaning enough to submit your work to theatres and producers that you never hear from. To pay someone for their silence is too much to ask anyone.
Of course, the easiest thing (at least to me) is to make all fees transparent in the listings (Fee: $25; $10 for readers, $15 for prize money). At least then we can all start holding people accountable on some level. And you can decide if you like what you read. To be clear: we’ll publish a call for submission that explains how submission money is used (some producers do that now). And we’ll continue to publish the big four: the O’Neill, Sundance, Susan Blackburn Prize, Actors Theatre of Louisville with date reminders. But we will no longer list an opportunity that requires you pay a fee to be considered for inclusion.
Enough is enough.
Gary
ggarrison at dramatistsguild dot com
Feb 28, 2007
edward albee via Freeman
http://www.laweekly.com/stage/theater/is-edward-albee-softening-with-success/15646/
http://matthewfreeman.blogspot.com/
"We have no paucity of good young playwrights, and
good older playwrights; we don't have the happiest
environment for them to work in. Like in the art world
and in literature, the theater's just as trendy, as
dangerous and corrupt. The big problem is the
assumption that writing a play is a collaborative act.
It isn't. It's a creative act, and then other people
come in. The interpretation should be for the accuracy
of what the playwright wrote. Playwrights are expected
to have their text changed by actors they never
wanted. Directors seem to feel they are as creative as
the playwright. Most of these changes are for
commercial reasons. I know a lot about it because I'm
on the council of the Dramatists Guild, but of course
the pressures are on all of us. I'm in the lucky
position where I just say, 'Go fuck yourself; if you
don't want to do the play I wrote, do another play.'
The forces of darkness would back down if everybody
said that."
go here please
stop global warming.
http://algore.com/cards.html it will take you less than 30 seconds.
Feb 27, 2007
Feb 26, 2007
Feb 25, 2007
tomorrow--monday
LITTLE THEATRE: Vol VII, No. 5 - February 26, 2007
JUDGE MENTALS
a performance by Aki Sasamoto
BRIAN DEWAN
a musical performance
THE ENTREPRENEUR
a play by Adam Szymkowicz, with
Travis York, directed by Kip Fagan
PATRICK BORELLI
monologs and videos
THROUGH GLASS
a film by Kelly Stuart
Monday, February 26, 2007 - 8:00 PM @ Tonic
107 Norfolk btw. Delancey & Rivington (F Delancey; JMZ
Essex)
Tickets $8.00 @ the door, 1st come, 1st served, no
reservations
Feb 22, 2007
first draft of a new scene from a new play--it might not be good yet so don't judge.
(MIRANDA returns carrying garden shears. She quickly
hides them under BRIAN's desk.)
hides them under BRIAN's desk.)
BRIAN
What are those?
MIRANDA
Shh! You said you wanted to go home early, didn't
you?
BRIAN
So?
MIRANDA
So I need to hide this under your desk.
BRIAN
What's going on?
MIRANDA
The network connections are down, right?
BRIAN
Yeah.
MIRANDA
You have any internet on your computer?
BRIAN
No.
MIRANDA
Right, so we can't do any work and we'll have to go
home until they can fix it.
BRIAN
I could do more filing.
MIRANDA
No! John will be by soon and he'll tell us we can go
home.
BRIAN
Really?
MIRANDA
Yes, really.
BRIAN
OK.
MIRANDA
OK?!! OK?!!! How about thank you, Miranda? How
about thanks for getting us out early?
BRIAN
Um . . . but that means I won't get paid for the
whole day today.
MIRANDA
Yeah you will. Just mark it down like a normal day.
The guys that sign those aren't even in this office.
No one will remember.
BRIAN
Oh.
MIRANDA
The good thing is that we slowed capitalism just a
little today. We made it stall. We made it stumble.
We take small step, Brian sometimes. We have to take
small steps to get where we're going until we take big
steps.
BRIAN
Or then we can take a cab or something.
MIRANDA
What?
BRIAN
Nothing.
(Enter JOHN.)
JOHN
Hello, Miranda. Brian, right?
BRIAN
Right, Brian.
JOHN
You probably noticed the network is down again.
MIRANDA
I know. What's going on with this place? I have so
much work.
JOHN
I know. I know. They're working on it but they don't
think it'll be up anytime soon.
MIRANDA
That's a shame.
JOHN
Yeah. So, we're going to send everyone home.
BRIAN
Oh.
JOHN
Sorry about that. I'm sure they'll have it up again
by tomorrow.
MIRANDA
I hope so.
(JOHN tries to pull MIRANDA out of BRIAN's earshot.
He talks quieter. MIRANDA does not. If anything, she
speaks louder.)
JOHN
Miranda.
MIRANDA
What?
JOHN
Come here.
MIRANDA
What?
JOHN
You want to . . . I don't know . . . get a drink or
something?
MIRANDA
I can't, John. I have—
JOHN
Oh, you have—
MIRANDA
I promised Brian that we would get a drink.
BRIAN
Oh—uh—
MIRANDA
You know, kind of give him an orientation.
JOHN
What do you mean?
MIRANDA
How things work, you know.
JOHN
You don't mean—
MIRANDA
(aggressive)
What?
JOHN
Nothing.
MIRANDA
OK, well, see you later.
JOHN
Right, yeah.
(exit JOHN)
MIRANDA
Alright, so let's go.
BRIAN
Where?
MIRANDA
To get some drinks.
BRIAN
Oh, really?
MIRANDA
Yeah.
BRIAN
It's kind of early.
MIRANDA
It'll be late when we're done. Come on.
BRIAN
OK, cool.
(BRIAN and MIRANDA exit.)
(BRIAN's phone rings.)
(TODD alone in the apartment on the couch, on the
phone.)
TODD
Hey! Hey! Brian! Pick up the phone.
Feb 20, 2007
on jealousy
Malachy wrote a post about jealousy and used me as an
example so I feel like I have to say something about
it. Maybe I don't.
example so I feel like I have to say something about
it. Maybe I don't.
http://litdept.blogspot.com/2007/02/jealousy.html
It puts me in mind of Jason's post a while back.
http://jasongrote.blogspot.com/2006/04/why-am-i-so-freakin-jealous.html
It's hard to be working in a field where there are so
few opportunities and not feel this at one time or
another. The trick is not letting it take over. But
we're all struggling with this. There is always
someone doing better. There are even people who make
a living at this I hear (not really). But yeah, It
would be nice to get a comission or two or a
two-picture deal (as a friend of mine recently got).
It would be nice to not have to work a full time job.
It would be nice to see my work produced regularly all
over the country.
And I have to admit I feel the jealousy less
frequently these days but then I'll feel that twinge
when my friend gets into something I wanted to get
into or gets the attention of someone whose attention
I want. And I have to remind myself again that we all
have our own journeys in this and that comparing my
journey to your journey doesn't make sense. We didn't
come from the same place. We're not making the same
art. Sometimes things work out and sometimes they
don't and when it comes down to it no one really knows
why.
I hope that wasn't annoying.
Feb 19, 2007
love and science
thanks to Daisey for this.
http://www.youramazingbrain.org/lovesex/sciencelove.htm
It's not what you say...
Psychologists have shown it takes between 90 seconds
and 4 minutes to decide if you fancy someone.
Research has shown this has little to do with what is
said, rather
55% is through body language
38% is the tone and speed of their voice
Only 7% is through what they say
coming next monday
LITTLE THEATRE: Vol VII, No. 5 - February 26, 2007
JUDGE MENTALS
a performance by Aki Sasamoto
BRIAN DEWAN
a musical performance
THE ENTREPRENEUR
a play by Adam Szymkowicz, with
Travis York, directed by Kip Fagan
PATRICK BORELLI
monologs and videos
THROUGH GLASS
a film by Kelly Stuart
Monday, February 26, 2007 - 8:00 PM @ Tonic
107 Norfolk btw. Delancey & Rivington (F Delancey; JMZ
Essex)
Tickets $8.00 @ the door, 1st come, 1st served, no
reservations
Feb 14, 2007
South Coast Rep was a Dream . . .and now I'm back and reality looks a lot like sleet.
We had the reading in here. It went well, i think.
So much sun. Such beautiful theatres. They do great shows there. And I can say they treat visiting artists very very well. the whole trip made me optimistic about theatre again.
And now I'm going to go outside and get sleeted on. But then I will go see the Juilliard kids and that will make me optimistic too even thought the literal sun is gone gone gone.
Feb 13, 2007
next
This week at Juilliard
INCENDIARY
Directed by Kip Fagan
Starring Jessica Love, Adam Driver, Stacey Scott, Sena
Rich, Alex Rodriguez, Sean Parker, Geoffrey Murphy
Wednesday, February 14th @1:30pm
Thursday, February 15th @ 7:00pm
Friday, February 16th @ 7:00pm
Saturday, February 17th @ 2:00pm
Sunday, February 18th @ 7:00pm
INCENDIARY
Directed by Kip Fagan
Starring Jessica Love, Adam Driver, Stacey Scott, Sena
Rich, Alex Rodriguez, Sean Parker, Geoffrey Murphy
Wednesday, February 14th @1:30pm
Thursday, February 15th @ 7:00pm
Friday, February 16th @ 7:00pm
Saturday, February 17th @ 2:00pm
Sunday, February 18th @ 7:00pm
then
at Outsiders Inn Collective in Seattle
http://www.outsiders-inn.com/season_prettytheft.shtml
PRETTY THEFT
April 19-21 @ 8pm and April 22 @ 5:30pm
April 26-28 @ 8pm and April 29 @ 5:30 pm
at Studio-Current Seattle, Washington
then
at Theatre of Note in Los Angeles
http://www.theatreofnote.com/
FOOD FOR FISH
directed by Heather Holloway
April 27 - June 2.
Feb 8, 2007
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