currently called "Temporary Everything."
I hope it's good. One never knows with these things.
I'm just so glad to have it done. It took way longer
than it should have.
1100 Playwright Interviews A Sean Abley Rob Ackerman E.E. Adams Johnna Adams Liz Duffy Adams Tony Adams David Adjmi Keith Josef Adkins Nicc...
I hope it's good. One never knows with these things.
I'm just so glad to have it done. It took way longer
than it should have.
http://www.newgeorges.org/frame_content/cev.html
I also saw Cymbeline over the weekend at BAM. I'm not
a big Shakespeare guy but I had a blast at this. I'm
glad K dragged me to it. They make the play extremely
clear and enjoyable to watch. I especially loved the
music number.
The men were here to get your Belgian things
They'll store them for you in an airplane hangar
There's guys in biohazard suits
Mud kicking on their rubber boots
They've come to keep your pretty things from danger
The men were here to get your Belgian things
They'll spend the whole day hauling them downstairs
I shot a roll of thirty-two exposures
My camera groans beneath the weight it bears
more here:
by Adam Szymkowicz
starring Ms. Susan Louise O'Connor
and Some Men.
Directed by a Young Genius Director (as long as he is
still available.)
Just found out today. This means I have to finish
writing the play now. I'm glad I got in this time.
Last time I applied, I did not get in. Although the
rejected play is now published by DPS so I guess it
worked out OK.
http://parabasis.typepad.com/blog/2007/05/the_rug_removed.html
"In the United States, the NEA has a budget of $139.4
million US dollars, none of which (by law) can go to
individual artists. What does this mean in terms of
per-person spending on the arts? The United States
spends $0.47 per person, while Denmark spends $12.27
per person, which means that Denmark spends 27 times
what the US does.*** (To make the point even starker,
if we were to raise the NEA's budget to keep up with
the Danish government's budget it would come out to
something around $3.6 billion dollars) . This is
despite the fact that the US's GDP is $13.22 trillion
dollars and Denmark's GDP is $256 billion dollars"
Please join me on May 13th at 7pm for a reading of
"The Melting Point." There are wonderful people
involved and it's very new and I'd
love for you to be there!
more sooner,
Kristen
May 13th, 7pm
SohoRep
46 Walker Street
a reading of:
The Melting Point by Kristen Palmer
developed in the SohoRep Writer/Director Lab
directed by Awoye Timpo
with the talents of...
Nicole Behaire
Stephen Bel Davies
Kate Benson
Chris Kipiniak
Alfredo Narciso
Heidi Schreck
Mary Schultz
"If watching a woman dressed as a man pretend to
masturbate to orgasm---TWICE! ---isn't revolting
enough for you, how about a coffee table made out of a
coffin in which the father of the family is slowly
and stinkily decomposing? And so is the play.
It's "Food for Fish" by Adam Szymkowicz, a thoroughly
stupid production in which most of the parts are
played by actors of the opposite sex. What it's about
I couldn't tell you. I left at intermission. But the
playwright has the nerve to claim that it's loosely
based on Chekhov's "Three Sisters". (You bet! Just
like
"Dumb and Dumber" is based on "Hamlet").
This is not a review, it's a heads-up. "Food for Fish"
will be performed at Theatre of Note, 1517 N. Cahuenga
Blvd. in Hollywood through June 2nd. Consider yourself
warned!"
I don't think she liked it. What do you think? Am I
crazy?
Although I bet we'll get some people in to see it from
this seemingly bad review. On the theatre company
myspace someone wrote "Masturbating men being played
by women? Where's my fucking ticket?"
LA Weekly
go see it
An unrelated question for a scene i'm writing. If you
wanted to fuck up a bunch of computers, how would you
do it? Erase the hard drives? mess up the network in
some way? Is there a physical way that is not too
complicated to take out a necessary part of a PC for
example? Like can someone just take out the hard
drive or the motherboard or something? What would you
knowledgeable computer people do to screw up a bunch
of computers if you were so inclined?
(I am not in any way endorsing destruction of any
computer, even a PC. It's just something my character
wants to do in this play.)
http://matthewfreeman.blogspot.com/2007/04/student-arrested-for-writing-essay.html
for this New Yorker article
http://www.newyorker.com/talk/comment/2007/04/30/070430taco_talk_gopnik
"Reducing the number of guns available to crazy people
will neither relieve them of their insanity nor stop
them from killing. Making it more difficult to buy
guns that kill people is, however, a rational way to
reduce the number of people killed by guns. Nations
with tight gun laws have, on the whole, less gun
violence; countries with somewhat restrictive gun laws
have some gun violence; countries with essentially no
gun laws have a lot of gun violence."
and
"Semi-automatic Glocks and Walthers, Cho's weapons,
are for killing people. They are not made for hunting,
and it's not easy to protect yourself with them. (If
having a loaded semi-automatic on hand kept you safe,
cops would not be shot as often as they are.)"
"A public-health researcher from Mars might
legitimately wonder why a nation faced with what its
surgeon general has called "an epidemic" of obesity
would at the same time be in the business of
subsidizing the production of high-fructose corn
syrup. But such is the perversity of the farm bill:
the nation's agricultural policies operate at
cross-purposes with its public-health objectives. "
FIFTEEN
(BRIAN is dressing in all black in his apartment.
TODD watches)
TODD
Brian. Brian. Brian. Brian. Brian. Can you hear
me? Brian. Brian. Brian. Brian.
BRIAN
Todd.
TODD
Oh, good.
BRIAN
What do you want?
TODD
Nothing. (Pause) Brian? Brian. Brian. Brian.
Brian.
BRIAN
What?
TODD
You told her about me didn't you?
BRIAN
Umm…
TODD
Didn't you?
BRIAN
Yes.
TODD
Well, did it get you laid?
BRIAN
No, Todd it's not like that.
TODD
What a waste.
BRIAN
I guess so. I didn't really think about it. She's
been having a lot of inappropriate sex. I don't want
to contribute to that or anything.
TODD
Oh. OK. Is sex with you automatically inappropriate
or do you do something particularly inappropriate like
during it.
BRIAN
Umm . . . neither . . . I just . . . what do you want?
TODD
Where are you going?
BRIAN
I have to go to work.
TODD
It's nighttime.
BRIAN
I need to help Miranda stop capitalism.
(He puts a ski mask on and then lifts it back up so
his face can be seen.)
TODD
Oh. Oh, well then. That explains it I guess. Oh,
OK. Well, good luck with that. I'll stay here if
that's OK.
BRIAN
That's fine.
TODD
Good.
(TODD stares at BRIAN.)
BRIAN
What?
TODD
She made you crazy.
BRIAN
No, she didn't.
TODD
That's what women do.
BRIAN
That's just not true.
TODD
Just tell me this. Should I be worried?
BRIAN
Should you be—
TODD
Should I be worried?
BRIAN
Look at me. You need to let me go.
TODD
What?
BRIAN
Release me. Release me.
(They stare at each other. BRIAN pulls down the
facemask and exits.)
First Weekend for Food For Fish in Los Angeles
and on monday reading of my play Incendiary
Act 1, Scene 1
(SEGISMUNDO in a spotlight wears heavy chains that
restrict his movement. He is shackled, weighed down,
and sad.)
SEGISMUNDO
Misery! Woe am I! Woe! I have seen from the jail
window the calm water, the laughing children, the
flowers in bloom, birds of many colors—I don't know
their names—if they see me with a book, they take it
away before I can learn the difference between a
sparrow and a hawk. They don't want me to know things
in case . . . in case I might do something. You don't
know what I could do. Misery! All I know is misery.
Woe. Woe. Woe-Woe. The day I was born they knew to
put me in shackles. Before they washed me off even,
I was in irons. Cleanliness don't come before public
safety. I'm a menace, you see. Look real close.
Can't you see I'm a menace? They could see it in my
eyes. They could hear it when they pressed their ears
up to the womb. They learned something then I guess.
Don't get too close. I'm not safe. I'm evil. They
tell me I'm evil.
(ROSAURA rides in on CLARIN's back, a riding crop in
one hand and reins in the other. She is dressed as a
man. CLARIN wears a clown nose and, besides ROSAURA,
carries two heavy suitcases. They do not see
SEGISMUNDO.)
ROSAURA
Whoa! Whoa! Hold up there, horsey!
CLARIN
I'm not a horse. I'm Clarin.
ROSAURA
I'll say you're not a horse. A horse is quick and
intelligent and brave and strong.
CLARIN
Right. I'm none of them things. I can't even neigh
proper.
ROSAURA
You should have thought of that before you shot our
horses.
CLARIN
They were moving too slow.
ROSAURA
They're moving much slower now.
CLARIN
I hate Poland. Remind me again why we came to Poland.
ROSAURA
I have business.
CLARIN
Right, what does that mean? And why are you dressed
like a man?
ROSAURA
It's better to dress like a man.
CLARIN
Yeah but no one will believe you.
ROSAURA
Everyone will believe me.
CLARIN
No one will believe you.
ROSAURA
Clarin!
CLARIN
I mean you're not very manly.
ROSAURA
Is it because I'm so beautiful?
CLARIN
No, that's not it.
ROSAURA
You don't think I'm beautiful?
CLARIN
Are you propositioning the help?
ROSAURA
Clarin!
CLARIN
Because I heard rumors, sure, but I never thought--
ROSAURA
Let's look for a place to stay.
CLARIN
I guess I could sleep here and you could sleep over
there. Or I could sleep over there and you here. Or
I guess if you wanted me to sleep with you I guess I
could make an exception because it's only you and me
here alone and I'm lonely and you're lonely and I'm a
man and you're a woman and your hair looks quite nice
in this light if I squint, like this.
(The rustling of chains.)
ROSAURA
Shh! What's that?
CLARIN
I don't know. Don't let it ruin the mood.
ROSAURA
Is this a building?
SEGISMUNDO
Woe! Woe is me! Misery! Sadness! Oh-Woe!
ROSAURA
Did you hear that?
CLARIN
No. Take off your pants.
(ROSAURA enters the building and CLARIN follows,
undoing his belt. They stop when they see
SEGISMUNDO.)
SEGISMUNDO
Why was I built like this? Why? I was born this way,
don't you see? My heart they say is the largest heart
ever found in a person's chest. When it beats, it
shakes the walls. They are terrified of it, which is
why I'm here. Or it is my eyes. My eyes they say are
more destructive than any hammer ever made. Birds
fall from the sky if they chance to look at me
head-on. Or my voice. The wild beasts I the
forest, in the ground, in the ocean all tremble when
they hear the sound that can come from the back of my
throat. Or it was these fingers.
ROSAURA
Fingers.
SEGISMUNDO
Or this skin.
ROSAURA
Skin.
SEGISMUNDO
Or this tongue.
ROSAURA
Oh!
SEGISMUNDO
What was that?!
ROSAURA
He's so beautiful.
CLARIN
He's OK.
SEGISMUNDO
What's that? Who's that? A spy? Who sent you? Have
you come here to beat me?
ROSAURA
(stepping forward)
No.
(SEGISMUNDO grabs her in his large arms.)
SEGISMUNDO
I can't let you live.
ROSAURA
No!
CLARIN
Let her live!
SEGISMUNDO
What, another one?
CLARIN
No.
ROSAURA
Please, sir.
SEGISMUNDO
You shouldn't have heard me.
ROSAURA
But, your voice. It made me feel—
(Romantic music begins to play. ROSAURA touches his
face.)
SEGISMUNDO
I've never been touched like this.
ROSAURA
Your skin is so rough.
SEGISMUNDO
I've never felt like this.
ROSAURA
Your body is so warm.
SEGISMUNDO
I don't understand what's happening.
ROSAURA
Your eyes are so strong.
SEGISMUNDO
I feel a rising in my chest, a swelling of my throat.
It's like the first moment of something unexpected.
ROSAURA
I feel it too.
SEGISMUNDO
It's like something I can't explain.
ROSAURA
I can't explain it either.
SEGISMUNDO
Stay here with me.
CLOTALDO
(Offstage)
Intruders! Intruders!
(The music stops)
CLARIN
Oh, shit!
ROSAURA
What's going on?
SEGISMUNDO
You're not supposed to be here. No one is supposed to
see me.
ROSAURA
Not ever?
SEGISMUNDO
They will kill you.
CLARIN
They will what?!!
(CLOTALDO enters shouting followed by armed GUARDS.)
CLOTALDO
Intruders! Seize them
Apr 30 at 7:00PM
at Ars Nova
511 West 54th Street, just west of 10th Avenue
The event is free but rsvp's are a must. Rsvp at
rsvp @ arsnovanyc.com
Incendiary is the comic tale of a combustible group of
people. Elise is a pyromaniac fire chief. Jake is the
police detective investigating her fires. Carrie is a
therapist who's trying to get a client to quit some
truly destructive behavior, and Gary is leading the
life of a somewhat ineffective corporate spy. As the
smoke begins to billow and the sparks begin to fly,
they're all about to find out that love is the most
incendiary thing.
----------------
SEATTLE, one more week of Pretty Theft
LA, Food For Fish starts next week
If you'd like the full story, it's at the top of my
site:
md
Pretty much all the theatre blogs around organized by
location (although they believe Travis is writing from
Texas)