get the guests

Hey Playwrights and Playlovers!

http://gettheguests.blogspot.com/2008/01/everything-scrubbed-clean.html

quote of the day

From the Chester Theater Company website: "My primary goal is to make CTC a fully integrated part of the Hilltown and Pioneer Valley community. The function of a theatre is to provide a forum in which artists engage the community in the lasting questions of life. If a theatre fails in the honest attempt to pursue that end, it has no function at all." The full quote, Byam tells me is this: "My primary goal is to make The Miniature Theatre of Chester a fully integrated part of the Hilltown and Pioneer Valley community. Not to educate, nurture, or enlighten, but to serve. People are rightly wary of artists who pretend to have answers. That function (pretending to have answers) is best left to schools and churches. All a theatre can claim to do is provide a forum in which artists engage the community in the lasting questions of life. If a theatre fails in the honest attempt to pursue that end, it has no function at all... The theatre is here to provoke, stimulate, excite, horrify. Actors, like shamans, enact the mysteries so that the audience may, by the leap of faith, take the hero's beautiful and terrifying journey. That is how we may serve the community." And here is another: "It is not unusual, these days, for arts organizations to serve notice about the great good they perform in a given community. As if the community was an under-served, undeveloped country lucky enough to have somehow attracted the artist's beneficent presence. Artists can, and do, make contributions to the quality of life. But is it truly greater than the shoemaker, plumber or grocer? As confirmed a theatre-lover as I am, I have often gone longer playless than shoeless or hungry. One doesn't even want to consider a world without plumbing... The fact is we would make plays even if we didn't believe they somehow improved the quality of life. We would make plays because, like all creators, we love the making."

us and them

This is taken from a description of an undergraduate theater program. I don't understand exactly what it means but I think it's safe to assume this particular college will not be producing my play Deflowering Waldo this year. "Christians are called to use their creative abilities to the glory of God. For those whose talent lies in theater, this calling can pose a difficult challenge, given Jesus' admonition to live in the world but not be of the world. Unfortunately, today's entertainment industry often promotes values that run counter to a Christian lifestyle. For this reason, any Christian young person considering a future in theater - whether as a performer, teacher, or graduate student - needs a positive Christian environment in which to nurture both creative ability and spiritual growth. Lipscomb University offers the opportunity to study under professors who are concerned about values: the value of imagination and creativity, the value of discipline, the value of excellence in the classroom and on stage, and most important of all, the value of a life lived for God and for others. If you share these values, if you want to grow as a theater artist and as a Christian, Lipscomb may be the place for you. A Christian education can help put talent, career, and spiritual life in the proper perspective, so that Christian faith and involvement in theater need not conflict." What I find most interesting about it is all the unspoken and half spoken but assumed "values" that supposedly go with being a Christian. I was raised Catholic but this is not that. And I'm not from this community so I'm not certain what they mean when they say Christian or if it indeed means anything at all. Perhaps it's just a theater program that is presented to parents this way. I don't know. But I am curious to hear your thoughts.

It takes courage to be an artist. Or stupidity

fascinating story on sleep and schools

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/14/opinion/14kalish.html?em&ex=1200632400&en=546e61aa52ea3027&ei=5087%0A

In 2002, high schools in Jessamine County in Kentucky pushed back the first bell to 8:40 a.m., from 7:30 a.m. Attendance immediately went up, as did scores on standardized tests, which have continued to rise each year.

Huckabee Wants A “Faith-based” Constitution

http://www.crooksandliars.com/2008/01/15/huckabee-wants-a-faith-based-constitution/

h/t Joshua

http://writerjoshuajames.com/dailydojo/

the News

I signed a contract today so I think it's safe to say that the amazing people at South Coast Rep have in fact commissioned a play from me. I'm very excited!

Reduced price on Brooke Berman play

As we gear up for our next production, Hunting and Gathering, we are searching for a new audience. The vital theater audience that everyone is searching for – younger people! In honor of this dubious task, we created $20 tickets for all preview performances, available to anyone 35 and under. And, these tickets can be purchased in advance! We see no reason to make you stand in line just because you’re physically able to. Purchase online by clicking here, by phone (212.279.4200) or at the 59E59 Street box office on 59th Street . All you need is the code (PS35), a valid ID, and you’re in.