from overheard in NYC
--Sephora, 5th Ave
Jun 17, 2008
Jun 15, 2008
THTGTSOTA
I saw Isaac and Dan's show on Thurs. It's innovative, a bit meta, a lot of fun (My favorite part is the mole people who sing to us with haunting green lights on their heads.) There are a surprising amount of songs in the play although I wouldn't necessarily call it a musical. I like Dan's description: "an unfair vaudeville" We're constantly being reminded that we're being told a story. Despite this, I was engaged by the story being told. I'm not sure what that says about my own religious beliefs. Something perhaps. Or perhaps it's a credit to Dan's storytelling and the talent of the actors and their director. It's a 90 min play that feels like a 60 minute play which is quite a compliment, in my opinion. I was hooked the whole time. Go if you can.
NE
Today I watched this. I recently went back to rewatch the old Northern Exposure episodes because I remember how much I enjoyed them but wasn't sure whether they would stand up still. Now that I'm on the second season the exciting things about the show are starting to kick in--that inexplicable stuff. In the episode I just saw, Chris, the radio dj loses his voice when a beautiful woman stops by the station to ask for directions. His voice was taken by beauty. Sounds like a Sarah Ruhl play, no? He eventually gets his voice back after Maggie, the most beautiful woman in town kisses him. The B story is that Ed is trying to find out who his parents are and a spirit guide arrives and tries to help him. Th fun thing about it is the clash of cultures--the New York Jewish doctor who is rational and scientific and the small town and american indian cultures who have different belief systems. Joel thinks both Ed is delusional and Chris can't have lost his voice for the reason he thinks he did. This is the episode for me when the characters finally became clear. Earlier, it felt like we (and the writers) were still figuring out who these people are but now, we have strong and clearly drawn characters. One of my favorite parts is Joel's increasing jealousy about Maggie who the town thinks is having sex with Chris to give him his voice back. The entire town waits outside her cabin to see if he will emerge with his voice.
Jun 13, 2008
Jun 12, 2008
F4F
I became aware yesterday of two upcoming productions of Food For Fish, the sixth and seventh productions. That is by far more productions than any of my other plays and it's a play that never really went through a development process. I brought it into class a couple times, got advice from friends, but as for Development with a capital D, it had none. And if you read it or see it, you can see it's a play that still contains ambiguities. It's messy in a lot of ways but at the same time it hasn't lost that spark. And it's a play I'm very proud of at times and also at the same time, it seems to have been written by a crazy person. Anyway, I'm glad it is having a life and I hope the same thing happens to the rest of my plays, or at least more of them. The ones I don't show people can die I suppose, at the bottom of the hard drive.
Jun 10, 2008
Jun 9, 2008
moving slowly. down the track. chugging along, blowing steam.working on a pilot.
headed towards our wedding at the end of the month.
after the wedding, a short honeymoonlet.
after that, back to work, then a theater retreat in Vermont.
then
packing up my belongings for a move end of July.
so much to do. every day a little closer to running out of time.
Jun 6, 2008
out of date processes
Thoughts about Electoral College:
http://earlpomerantz.blogspot.com/2008/06/i-dont-understand.html
Jun 4, 2008
Jun 3, 2008
not sure how long it's still running, but
I have to reccommend Liz Flahive's beautiful, touching yet funny show From Up Here. Got to see it Sunday. It's pretty great. She's one to watch. Are you watching her?
http://www.mtc-nyc.org/current-season/From-Up-Here-site/index.htm
Isherwood says things I agree with
on large cast size:
A true artist, some might argue, can never let canny considerations of production influence his vision. Art must be its own imperative. A high-minded thought, but artists also hunger for their work to be known. A play that is never staged may be a work of genius, sure, but its genius is likely to leave no footprint on the world unless it is produced.
and
I’m not suggesting that size alone matters, obviously. But if the American theater is to remain an aesthetically robust enterprise, a vital step may be removing the invisible shackles from the imaginations of playwrights, making it natural — making it possible — for them to dream huge once again.
Jun 2, 2008
May 29, 2008
what I did today
Attended the Pulitzer Prize luncheon (this year Letts/August and per
usual a lot of journalists.)
usual a lot of journalists.)
Performed in a short play I wrote satirizing my boss for his going away party.
I wore a bald cap.
I'm a little tipsy on cheap red wine.
Now I'm off to a rehearsal for a short film.
May 28, 2008
May 27, 2008
1001 novels to read before dying
How many of these have you read? I've read 55. I noticed that I often read the minor works by the same author but not the major work listed. I wonder why. I do that with plays too. I think it comes from buying used books. There should be a comparable list of plays. Anyone have time to make one? I have read many more of those. http://1morechapter.com/projects/1001-list/ h/t John August
May 25, 2008
30 percent blog discount
Horse Trade & elsewhere present:
The Honest-to-god- true Story Of The Atheist
Thursday, June 12, 2008 through Saturday, June 21, 2008
written by Dan Trujillo directed by Isaac Butler
Featuring: Abe Goldfarb, Daryl Lathon, Jennifer Gordon Thomas
Lighting Design: Sabrina Braswell
Costume Design: Sydney Maresca
Original Music By: David Hanlon
Filled with twists and turns, mole people, black market Viagra, speaking in tongues, caricatures, songs, soft-shoes and three maybe-miracles, The Honest-To-God- True Story of the Atheist tells the remarkable story of an atheist trying to disprove God's existence by defacing a local nativity scene. But did any of this really happen? And do the actors believe the story they're telling?
TWO WEEKENDS ONLY!
Thursday-Saturday, June 12-14th and 19th-21st
All shows at 8PM. Tickets are $18.00
Or, if you order them through smarttix and use the code AVBLOG you get $12.00 tickets! That's a whopping 33.3% savings!
from an email i recieved
I read this book. It's great. Head over there if you can.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
12:30 p.m. – 1:45 p.m.
Theresa Rebeck author of Three Girls and Their Brother: A Novel
Hosted by: Marsha Norman, Pulitzer Prize Winning Playwright
In her highly anticipated first novel, award-winning playwright Theresa Rebeck satirizes the publicity-driven world of instant celebrity. Rebeck will discuss her plays, including the Broadway hit Mauritius, and talk about the transition from playwriting to books.
Theresa Rebeck’s plays include ‘Bad Dates’, ‘Omnium Gatherum’ (a Pulitzer finalist), ‘The Scene’, and ‘Mauritius’, which won Boston’s prestigious IRNE and Elliot Norton Award and premiered on Broadway in 2007.
The event is FREE and open to the public. For updates and additional information, please visit the website at www.bryantpark..org. The Bryant Park Reading Room located on the 42nd Street side of the park - under the trees - between the back of the NYPL & 6th Avenue. Look for the burgundy and white umbrellas.
Rain Venue: Library of the General Society of Mechanics and Tradesmen
20 West 44th Street (between 5th & 6th Avenue).
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)