Adam Szymkowicz

Mar 16, 2008

recession since '75

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/editorial/outlook/5622455.html

"But the most important step may be the first one: Recognizing that
the United States is mired in a 33-year-old quality-of-life recession
and that our continued national focus on growing GDP is blinding us to
the way out."

Mar 14, 2008

what I'm doing

rewriting a TV spec writing a novel planning a wedding taking Xyzal

Mar 12, 2008

the rise of the third theater

Jaime -- http://fishunderwater.blogspot.com/

points us to this:

http://www.mccarter.org/blog/?p=234

I recommend

U.S. Drag

Saw it last night. Smart, funny, substantial yet entertaining with an
all star cast and superb direction.

Go see it.

http://www.thestagefarm.org/shows-us-drag.htm

Mar 11, 2008

reading last night (LA)

Photos of the cast of Theater of Note's reading of Herbie: Poet of the Wild West

improv everywhere

Over 200 Improv Everywhere Agents froze in place at the exact same
second for five minutes in the Main Concourse of Grand Central
Station.

http://improveverywhere.com/2008/01/31/frozen-grand-central/

h/t daisey

http://www.mikedaisey.com/

new blog

The Producer's Perspective

http://www.theproducersperspective.com/

Mar 10, 2008

Why I'm poor

"Most American households are still not earning as much annually as
they did in 1999, once inflation is taken into account."

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/08/business/08recession.html?bl&ex=1205294400&en=23ba9f83b5ade3e6&ei=5087%0A

truth about British Petroleum from the Yesmen

http://beyond-petrol.com/index.html

On Friday, I had a great time at Qui's play. I don't know that I had ever seen a play like that before. It's basically a sci-fi comedy with lots of impressive fights in it. It's very funny but the thing that stuck with me most is the direction.

There is this thing directors do onstage that if you saw it in a film would be stupid but onstage looks amazing. I don't know how to explain it except to say it's a trick of imagination and feels like magic. This play is full of them. Not to mention a whole world of alien lifeforms created. Anyway, I recommend it. Check it out.

tonight

http://www.stu42.com/

Mar 9, 2008

one more

just finished writing a new play.

Mar 8, 2008

sunday

Rapid Response Performs tomorrow with special guests Obie-Award winner Kyle Jarrow and song writing wizards Aron Accurso & Steve Routman!

WHEN: 8PM

WHERE: The Bowery Poetry Club, 308 Bowery (between 1st and Bleecker)

HOW MUCH: $10 at the door

WEBSITE?: http://www.rapidresponseteam.org for show info, bios, past shows and more!

THE TEAM THIS TEAM: Isaac Butler, Dan Trujillo, Kelly Dupuis, Trish Alexandro, Daryl Lathon, Brian Silliman and Bill Barclay

The Rapid Response Team performs new short plays, sketches and songs based on the week's news. We blend this material into a live radio variety show for your viewing and listening pleasure!

Stories we're working on this time: ***Huckabee Hearts God*** Will Primary Season Ever End? *** Snow Can Kill You*** The Death of Gary Gygax*** Advice Columns*** Prince Harry in Afghanistan *** Robot Dogs *** Teen Pregnancy *** The Death of Netscape *** And More!

Mar 7, 2008

plays with city in the title

Dead City The Drunken City Dying City Shining City The Fall of the City Angel City See Rock City Karima's City Scarcity Maybe my next play should have the word "city" in it. or "world" Colorful World The Busy World is Hushed The Creation of the World and Other Business The Coming World Ghost World Wonder of the World Around the World in Eighty Days Playboy of the Western World, The Fight Girl Battle World

Mar 6, 2008

an email I received

Dear Friend of Culture Project, Culture Project has experienced the urban office equivalent of a flash flood and we urgently need your support for our recovery efforts! On Wednesday, February 13, Culture Project staff arrived at 55 Mercer Street to find that a pipe on an upper floor had burst during the night unleashing a torrent of water throughout our theater and offices. All our computers were destroyed, as well as the floors in our office and backstage, and phone, lighting, sound, projection and production equipment. Culture Project staff have rallied to respond this crisis and to challenges that could never have been anticipated. As a result, we missed only one performance of our current production of BETRAYED, and our offices have been returned to a nearly workable space. Our unexpected, out-of-pocket costs are over $100,000. I ask you to please consider making a special gift to Culture Project at this time. Your gift, in any amount, will help to ensure smooth operations during this time, but a gift of $50, $100 or even $500 will make a significant impact. An insurance settlement is forthcoming, but it will take some time and there are some very real costs that cannot be quantified on a claim form. At the time of this crisis, we were fully engaged in our efforts to capitalize on the extraordinary reviews and audience response to BETRAYED, and to build the momentum necessary to sustain its success. Funds that were budgeted for advertising and promotion had to be spent on the replacement and repair of necessary equipment, and staff time that would have been devoted to creative development has been diverted to focus on insurance claims, equipment research and general efforts to restore order. Your support at this time would help us to regain the majority of our momentum and to refocus our efforts on BETRAYED. We cannot lose any more time in our campaign to create awareness of the difficult questions this play raises about the war in Iraq, the interactions and relationships between Iraqi citizens and U.S. Military personnel, and what is being left in the wake of an occupation that is entering its fifth year. Please go to www.cultureproject.org or call 212-925-1806 to make a special credit card gift to Culture Project to help mitigate the effects of the flood. You can also mail a check to: Culture Project 55 Mercer Street New York, NY 10013 Attention: Development With your support, Culture Project will continue to thrive as a theater and gathering place, bringing together acclaimed artists, writers and influencers, and actively engaging with our local community. All the best, Allan Buchman Founding Artistic Director

Mar 4, 2008

guess the film

Joshua tagged me with this. Who wants to play? Look up 15 of your favorite films on IMDb and take a quote from each. List them below. When someone guesses the quote correctly, cross it off the list. (I'm not sure I know how to cross off, but I'll change the color or something. red have been guessed correctly. they are now all red. ) 1 Pier Angeli, 1971 or '72, also pills. Donald "Red" Barry, shot himself in 1980. Charles Boyer, 1978, pills again. Charles Butterworth, 1946, I think. In a car. Supposedly, it was an accident, but, you know, he was distraught. Dorothy Dandridge, pills, 1965. Albert Dekker, 1968. He hung himself. He wrote his suicide note in lipstick on his stomach. William Inge, carbon monoxide, 1973. Carole Landis, pills again. I forget when. George Reeves, "Superman" on TV, shot himself. Jean Seberg, pills, of course, 1979. Everett Sloane - he was good - pills. Margaret Sullivan, pills. Lupe Velez, a lot of pills. Gig Young, he shot himself and his wife in 1978. There are tons more. 2 What if I send it in and they don't like it? What if they say I'm no good? What if they say "Get out of here, kid. You got no future."? I mean, I just don't think I can take that kind of rejection. Jesus, I'm starting to sound like my old man! 3 I'd be unworthy of the high trust that's been placed in me if I didn't do everything in my power to keep our beloved Freedonia in peace with the world. I'd be only too happy to meet with Ambassador Trentino, and offer him on behalf of my country the right hand of good fellowship. And I feel sure he will accept this gesture in the spirit of which it is offered. But suppose he doesn't. A fine thing that'll be. I hold out my hand and he refuses to accept. That'll add a lot to my prestige, won't it? Me, the head of a country, snubbed by a forgein ambassador. Who does he think he is, that he can come here, and make a sap of me in front of all my people? Think of it - I hold out my hand and that hyena refuses to accept. Why, the cheap ball-pushing swine, he'll never get away with it I tell you, he'll never get away with it. 4 We don't have none of this stuff in the boy's room! Wait a minute! We don't got none of this... we don't got doors on the stalls in the boy's room, we don't have, what is this? What's this? We don't have a candy machine in the boy's room! 5 What's the Czech for "Do you love him"? 6 --Which of these two letters comes first, this one or this one? --The symbol on the left is not a letter, sir? --Damn, you're good. I was trying to trick you. 7 "My job consists of basically masking my contempt for the assholes in charge, and, at least once a day, retiring to the men's room so I can jerk off while I fantasize about a life that doesn't so closely resemble Hell." Well, you have absolutely no interest in saving yourself. 8 --Trains are really cool. --They are. --So are horses. --What? -- I was just thinking that. --Give me the joint, man. 9 --Okay, let's handle this thing logically. What exactly have you sworn? --I have sworn with my life's blood, none shall pass this way without *my* permission! --Well... May we have your permission? --Well I, uh... I... that is, uh... hm... Yes? 10 All right, but apart from the sanitation, medicine, education, wine, public order, irrigation, roads, the fresh water system and public health, what have the Romans ever done for us? 11 I never saw her in the daytime. We seemed to live by night. What was left of the day went away like a pack of cigarettes you smoked. I didn't know where she lived. I never followed her. All I ever had to go on was a place and time to see her again. I don't know what we were waiting for. Maybe we thought the world would end. 12 Don't underestimate the mentally ill. We know how to count. 13 Ladies and gentlemen, you are such a wonderful crowd, we'd like to play a little tune for you. It's one of my personal favorites and I'd like to dedicate it to a young man who doesn't think he's seen anything good today - Cameron Frye, this one's for you. 14 --Mr. Murphy, what attracts you to the leisure industry? --In a word: pleasure. It's like, my pleasure in other people's leisure. 15 Waiter, there is too much pepper on my paprikash. I tag Marisa, Michael, Johnna, Tdawg, and anyone else who wants to do it.

monday

New York: Mon, Mar 10 at 7:00PM: Studio 42 presents a reading of Adam Szymkowicz's DEFLOWERING WALDO. A wine and cheese reception follows. At Playwrights Horizons Rehearsal Studio, 416 W. 42nd St., 5th floor. $5. http://stu42.com/ Los Angeles: Monday March 10 5PM - HERBIE, POET OF THE WILD WEST (Adam Szymkowicz), curated by Jeffrey Emerson at Theatre of Note 1517 N. Cahuenga Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90028 323.856.8611 http://www.myspace.com/notewood

Mar 2, 2008

what to do

Don Hall's call to action

http://donhall.blogspot.com/2008/03/off-loop-freedom-charter.html

Feb 28, 2008

How to start a theater company

An article about a young theater company I was recently introduced to.

http://westend.broadwayworld.com/viewcolumn.cfm?colid=23932

plug for blue coyote

YOU ARE INVITED!!!
to Blue Coyote Theater Group's
AFTERGLOW PARTY

Sunday, March 2nd, 7pm

@Access Theater
380 Broadway, 4th Floor
(Broadway and White St.)

Join us on the Happy Endings set to celebrate our latest hit and our upcoming new work!

Hors d'ouvres by celebrated chef Ed Cotton and pastry chef Mina Pizarro of Veritas, prepared by the staff
Open bar
Live entertainment
prizes and raffles

ALL FOR ONLY $25!

Top shelf hooch and delicious food and surprise performances and tons of your friends dancing on stripper cubes and backstage antics and spinning lights and giveaways and you KNOW it always ends with someone kissin' on someone and sheepish phone calls the next day... All This Action for $25.00 are you KIDDING ME?!!

Feb 27, 2008

Guide to Hiring Women, 1943

http://home.tiac.net/~cri_d/cri/2000/women1943.html

snopes says it's real

http://www.snopes.com/language/document/hiringwomen.asp

nice post from Joshua on character and writing and emotional content

http://writerjoshuajames.com/dailydojo/?p=665

Feb 26, 2008

I read the Golden Compass and the two books that follow and I have to say I was blown away. I've been struggling with trying to figure out how to write about god in a non-annoying way while not really knowing what I actually think about god including whether or not he exists. And Pullman just does it. He manages to write about the Christian god many of us know while at the same time taking us into a different world and letting different facets of spirituality and our selves and the good and bad things surrounding religion while telling a highly engaging adventure story.

The greatest thing about it however, is the love story that really only develops in the last book. I don't want to say too much about it because I don't want to give it away and I'm hoping you'll read it. As a lover of love stories, I have to say, this is one of the best I've seen and the way he connects god and love and sin at the end is simply elegant. But these are books that broke my heart and I highly recommend them.

coming soon

March 10 A reading in LA of Herbie A reading in NYC of Waldo

March 26-29 F4F at a college in Michigan

April 17-27 F4F at a college in ND

April 18-27 Waldo in a theater in Wisconsin

updates

I discovered saturday I am very allergic to aspirin which means I am also probably allergic to all these things. If you recall the doctor already told me I'm allergic to all these things: clams, corn, soybeans, wheat, peanuts, walnuts, scallops, shrimp, codfish, eggwhites, and milk. I already knew I was allergic to chicken and turkey. So what am I eating? good question. I'll have to go back to the allergist soon and it also might be helpful to find a dietician. I finished the first act of my tv spec and hope to finish it this weekend.

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