A Play A Day.

boom

2011-12-10T00:55:00.001-05:00

by Peter Sinn Nachtrieb

2012 is exactly 19 days away. Are you prepared?

Okay, so, fine, the world is always "ending." And most of the time it just ends up being another day, no matter the build-up (Y2K anyone?) but in boom the world actually is ending, according to marine biologist Jules.

Nuah Ozryel and Molly Gray in boom

The play opens on Jules' lab/apartment where Jo, a journalism student, has joined Jules after answering his online ad for "intensely significant coupling." But things aren't quite what they seem..

Jules has stocked up on everything from bourbon to toilet paper, tampons to diapers, because this isn't just your average booty call via craigslist.. This is your "the world is ending and I need you to help me repopulate it" kind of booty call. I guess if he wrote that in the ad he might not get a response.

Naturally, Jo is a little skeptical. I mean, is this just the guy from those Rapture subway ads? (Why did they leave those up so long afterwards?) Jules explains that after studying the sleeping patterns of fish while on a desert island, he has come to the conclusion that the earth is going to be hit by a large meteorite. His lab, conveniently, was built to be a bomb shelter. Add some toiletries, food, a smokin hot chick, some little fish and voila - survival of mankind forevermore.

There's just the little problem of Jules being a homosexual.

Jo: You're a fag.
Jules: You shouldn't make assumptions based on that.
Jo: I'm assuming that you fuck men.
Jules: That doesn't mean I wouldn't be able to with a woman.
Jo: Have you ever?
Jules: No.

What follows is a pressure-cooker of desperation, fear, vulnerability, lust, and fish.

boom is a hilarious and thought-provoking glimpse into a potential not-so-distant future when man's only hope relies on two people who met via the internet.

Heather Meagher, Molly Gray, and Nuah Ozryel in boom

Sound like a play you might enjoy? You're in luck! boom is currently being produced by Blowout Theatre Company!

Algonquin Seaport Theater (Pier 17)

Performances are Dec 15-17 at 7:30pm.

Buy tickets now http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/214108 or pay at the door.

Starring:

Nuah Ozryel

Molly Gray

Heather Meagher

Direction: Kerry Kastin

Set Design: Chesapeake Westveer

Light Design: Liz Blessing

Costume Design: Katelin Lee

Sound Design: Peter André

Tomorrow's Play: Cymbeline by William Shakespeare

The Kentucky Cycle - Part 1 - Ties That Bind

2011-10-03T23:16:00.002-04:00

by Robert Schenkkan

From one land squabble to another. Less Princes in this story, though.

The year is 1819. Michael Rowen's son Patrick is now 43, with two sons of his own. On this particular day Patrick is paid a visit by the Circuit Court, who has come to collect his debts. Poor Patrick is bankrupt. I guess you can kill your father and inherit his land but you better watch out for that sneaky bugger - karma! He tries to explain to the Judge why he can't pay off his debts:

I tried! But them bastards changed the rules on me! Look here, I bought that land with paper money, Bank of Kentucky money - good as gold, they told me. Then two years later they won't take their own money! Told me to chink the logs in my house with it, light ceegars, or wipe my ass - all they wanted now was hard coin.

Basically, his money has been devalued and now he can't pay his debts. SO, this guy, Jeremiah BOUGHT his debt from the bank and now Patrick owes everything (literally) to him. Naturally, Patrick is frustrated:

When we was fightin' I was doin' fine - it's peace that's killin' me! Hell, I thought we won the war! Look to me like I'da been better off if we'da lost the damn thing!

He has done a lot to keep this land. Most of it illegal, but nevertheless he has worked it hard and, in his mind, increased its value. Jeremiah isn't a man "of the land" and, noticing this, Patrick strikes a deal that he and his sons will work the land for him to pay off the remainder of what he owes. It's the one thing about which he is truly passionate:

IT AIN'T JUST DIRT! It's land. It's a live thing. It's got moods and tricks and secrets like me or you or any other living thing. Man who farms and don't know that, he gonna bust out quick, 'cause the land, it don't tolerate no fools.

As I was reading this play, I decided that my dream casting of Patrick would be Terry O'Quinn..

On my land, don't nobody tell me what I can and cannot do! YOU HEAR ME! NOBODY!

Need I say more? Le sigh. I love me some John Locke. And strangely enough, it wouldn't be too much of a stretch from LOST to TKC. Revival, anyone?

Tomorrow's Play: boom by Peter Sinn Nachtrieb

King John

2011-09-26T02:59:00.001-04:00

by William Shakespeare

Okay, I have to take a break from The Kentucky Cycle to write about another play I've read recently, and actually saw live tonight -- Shakespeare's rarely done King John. I'm inspired to blog about this play because a wonderful young company that I worked with last year the New York Shakespeare Exchange is doing a fantastic production of the play RIGHT NOW and you should all rush over to see it!

Now, you may be thinking to yourself, "Lauren, maybe there's a reason that King John isn't done often. I'm gonna need you to convince me a little more." To which I say, Fair enough, dear reader, I will attempt to do just that.

King John may not have a fancy impediment like Richard or a habit of murdering exes like Henry, but he ain't no saint. Most of the conflict of the play revolves around the question of succession -- John is King, but Arthur, son of the late King Geoffrey has a rightful claim to the throne and his mother Constance is PISsed about the turn of events.

The first dispute of the play comes between two brothers over land (what else?) -- here we meet the Bastard, who is to become a loyal servant of King John. The Bastard, curious to know the identity of his real father asks his mother (staged refreshingly by NYSX as a phone conversation, thus eliminating the tiny role of Lady Falc.) The Bastard learns that Richard the Lionhearted was his true father, and he couldn't be happier. He consoles his mother, assuring her that her infidelity was understandable:

He that perforce robs lions of their hearts
May easily win a woman's.

The politics of King John may take place in the 13th century but, it seems, some things never change. John, in a beautiful yet disturbing image, warns a group of citizens:

And now instead of bullets wrapp'd in fire
They shoot but calm words folded up in smoke.

Words are sometimes the deadlier (and stealthier) weapon.

The Bastard provides much of the comic relief throughout the play (although, in general, I laughed a lot in seeing it live -- much more than I expected to) In a moment of direct address he reveals to us a logic that, today, seems to echo the unfortunate issue of polarity among the classes:

Well, whiles I am a beggar I will rail,
And say there is no sin but to be rich;
And being rich, my virtue then shall be
To say there is no vice but beggary.

So, by this time, King John's not doing so well. He's got issues with the French (momentarily patched up by a hasty marriage) and then he rails on the Pope, causing his legate to lay down the law thus:

Thou shalt stand cursed and excommunicate,
And blessed shall he be that doth revolt
From his allegiance to an heretic,
And meritorious shall that hand be called,
Canonised and worshipped as a saint,
That takes away by any secret course
Thy hateful life.

Wow, thanks a lot Cardinal. You sound real holy declaring that whoever kills a King, no matter how shady the deed, will be dubbed a Saint. Guess they're just giving those things away -- 'hey you! murderer! wanna be a saint? have I got a gig for you...'

Speaking of shady deeds, King John gets a little antsy having Arthur around, since he's a threat to the crown. So, in one of the best examples of a shared line ever, John enlists the help of Arthur's keeper to get rid of him:

King John Death.
Hubert My lord.
King John A grave.
Hubert He shall not live.
King John Enough.

Of course, not many things go right for John, and Hubert is won over by Arthur's innocence. He lies to the King, saying he got rid of the boy. Later, John regrets giving the order and realizes:

There is no sure foundation set on blood,
No certain life achieved by others' death.

This line could probably be dropped into any of Shakespeare's plays. If all of his tragic heroes realized this, there would have been a lot more comedies in the canon.

John, accuses Hubert, saying:

Hadst not thou been by,
A fellow by the hand of nature marked,
Quoted, and signed to do a deed of shame,
This murder had not come into my mind.

Ah, royalty, so fickle.

I won't ruin the ending for you.... even though the title of the play pretty much does that on its own. But, I will highly recommend you check out the production, playing at the Access Theatre through October 2nd! For more info, go here: http://www.shakespeareexchange.org/

Tomorrow's Play: The Kentucky Cycle - Part 1 - Ties That Bind by Robert Schenkkan

The Kentucky Cycle - Part 1 - The Homecoming

2011-09-18T22:16:00.004-04:00

by Robert Schenkkan

So, a few nights ago on the subway I finished the entire Kentucky Cycle. In the back there is this amazing Author's Note where Schenkkan talks about the process of writing the play. He says he didn't intend for the play to be quite so extensive but as he was doing research he just felt that so much of the story relied on past history and so he kept going back a little farther. What he created was an epic piece that spans multiple generations of three families and how they help and hurt each other. He says:

Without the past, what is there to connect us to the present?

He also quotes Einstein:

A human being is part of the whole, called by us, "Universe," a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest, a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.

A good argument for a vegetarian lifestyle as well, I think. :)

As I embark on the process of writing a play (shh, it's a secret), I am in awe of the talent and dedication Schenkkan brought to The Kentucky Cycle. SO, let's get back to it! Now, to focus on the third in the cycle -- The Homecoming:
NOT to be confused with Pinter's play of the same name.. although it is equally as dark.

It is sixteen years later, and husband-of-the-year Michael Rowen got that son he wanted so badly. His name is Patrick and he is sixteen years old. Receiving the best qualities of both his parents, he is one with the land and a natural hunter. He's also in love with the pretty thing next door, who, upon the opening of the play has snuck up behind him on the hill where he is looking out. We get a sense of Patrick's connection to the earth when he tells his lady love:

When I hunt, I don't "pretend" I'm a deer or nothin'. I just am. I'm out here in the woods and things just get real ... still ... or somethin' ... It ain't magic or nothin'. It's just ... When I reach that place, when I just am, there, with the forest, then it's like I can call the deer or something'. I call'em and they come. Like I was still waters and green pastures, 'stead of hunger and lead.

I was instantly drawn in by Patrick - here is a character that is kind, defensive of his mother, loving, strong.. someone you can root for! But, ah, how much can change in the course of a few pages. By the end of The Homecoming, Patrick basically becomes his father.

Michael returns from a business trip with a slave whom he intends to breed himself to produce sons who will work the land. Star and Patrick are horrified by this but play along because they know it is the safer option. Patrick wants to get married and asks his father for his blessing and a piece of the land. He so strongly believes that the land is his, and when denied by his father (he says he'd rather give his land to his slaves that to his son) Patrick ends up killing him. Oops. This murder is accidentally witnessed by Patrick's girlfriend and her father Joe.. BIG oops. Turns out Joe is secretly in love with Star (Michael's wife) and they were planning to run away together.. ooh the drama is getting juicy. Joe offers to help Star get a good lawyer for Patrick. She refuses, saying that the town will hang her son for sure because he's part Cherokee. Joe tries to tell her:

The law be full-time and you cain't be pickin' and choosin' with it.

For all his noble words, he ends up dead too. Patrick kills him and then shoves his sobbing girlfriend inside the house, claiming that they would get married tonight. Gee, like father, like son? Kill some men, get land, force a woman into marriage. The American dream?

Tomorrow's Play: The Kentucky Cycle - Part 1 - Ties That Bind by Robert Schenkkan

The Kentucky Cycle - Part 1 - The Courtship of Morning Star

2011-09-13T00:18:00.001-04:00

by Robert Schenkkan

The second play in this series of nine one-acts recycles only one character from the first - Michael Rowen, the ruthless Irishman. The play opens on a violent struggle between him and a young Cherokee girl called Knox Sanale, meaning 'Morning Star.' The girl he has chosen to become his wife.

Quite literally chosen, as he has physically dragged her from her home and tied her wrist to his with a piece of rawhide. Needless to say, she didn't have much of a say in this decision. Nothing will stop Rowen from getting what he wants. When she tries to escape, he chases her down and cuts the tendon in her ankle, assuring that she'll never be able to run away again.. because she'll never be able to run.

I cut the tendon cleanly. You'll always limp, but you'll walk soon enough just fine. no pain. But you'll never be able to run. Not fast enough. not far enough. (Beat. He raises his glass.) Here's to our firstborn. A son! (Beat.) Gimme a daughter, and I'll leave it on the mountain for the crows.

I recently read this eye-opening article about the practice of sex-specific abortion in countries like India and China. It spoke about the pressures of having a son and how women will abort girl after girl until they get their precious son, causing there to be an imbalance in the ratio of men to women in society, leading to higher levels of aggression in the population. This practice of aborting only female babies was so sad to me and I was reminded of it in reading this play. I understand the importance of having a son to carry on the name, and to work the land, etc, but to so easily throw away human life simply because it is female - as if there is no possible benefit from having a daughter, seems so barbaric. It seems like something from another time, and yet, it still happens. Back in Michael's day they had to wait til the child was born to know if it was male or female but now modern technology has made it so easy to do away with life - quicker and easier. As much as the human race learns and grows, it's not always for the better.

It's hard to feel anything for a man as merciless as Michael Rowen - who will steal and take whatever he needs to survive. And yet in a world where only the strong survive, he's doing what he has to do. In recalling the first man he ever killed, he says:

But there was no sport innit. See, I learned early, blood's just the coin of the realm, and it's important to keep strict accounts and pay your debts. That's all.

I wouldn't want to be on his bad side..

Cherokee alphabet

Tomorrow's Play: The Kentucky Cycle - Part 1 - The Homecoming by Robert Schenkkan

The Kentucky Cycle - Part 1 - Masters of the Trade

2011-09-01T00:05:00.001-04:00

by Robert Schenkkan

Welcome back readers! Here we begin a new school-year (well, not everyone, not even me, but I always liked school so let's pretend shall we?) Fall is in the air and Irene is behind us.. time to get back to reading plays! Though, I am currently devouring the last book of the Hunger Games trilogy - I will finish tonight! I digress...

Workshop location: The Old Stone House in Park Slope

In mid-August I participated in a workshop with the Artful Conspirators of a new play called The Journeyman of Breuckelen by playwright David A. Miller. The story, set in Dutch Breuckelen (Brooklyn) during the 1600's, follows a storyteller who comes to town and the influence he has on the village. During the workshop we got to talking about The Kentucky Cycle.. I think because of the tension between the settlers and the natives.. I can't remember exactly why, but our conversation piqued my interest. This epic play had been sitting on my bookshelf for a while, staring me down with its intimidating length, but I will read you yet Kentucky Cycle! You will not best me!

I should get more sleep.

SO. The cycle is broken into two parts with a total of nine plays. What a marathon for the cast and crew. And audience!

Part One

Masters of the Trade

Schenkkan opens the play by placing us right in the center of the conflict - a stand-off between two white men. Strangers. Tension is high because Indians recently slaughtered an entire village of men, women, and children, using guns that were provided for them. The two men we meet are an Irishman and a Scot - the earlier bent on revenging his village, the latter mysteriously waiting in the woods for someone to meet him. This sounds like it could be a scene from the Hunger Games. I digress.. After initial grandstanding, the two men begin to converse civilly.

We get the sense that maybe they haven't been settled here for long. Michael, the Irishman describes Kentucky:

It's a grand land of opportunity, it is, with plenty of scratch to be made for those with an itch! All that, and enough room for a man to stretch out and lose himself entirely. Become somethin' new. Somethin' different. A new man. That's what we're makin' here in Kentucky, Mr. Tod. New men.

Early map of Kentucky

Tod, the Scot, is revealed to be the man providing the Cherokee with their guns. A young man, Sam, who has accompanied Michael and was hidden in the trees shoots Tod dead upon learning he's the one responsible for the loss of their village.

Guess Schenkkan isn't shy about killing off characters. It's only page 8.

The gun shot attracts the Cherokee, who aren't happy about the fact that their friend and supplier is dead. Quick thinking by Michael allows him to set himself up as their new supplier. The Cherokee demand "an eye for an eye," essentially, for Tod's death. Without hesitation, Michael stabs Sam in the gut, killing him to settle the debt. Page 14. Body count: 2. Also sounds like the Hunger Games...

Michael sets up a meeting with the Cherokee and demands a piece of land for his trouble. He gives them some powder and blankets as a good will gesture, and they go on their way. Michael laughs, sharing:

Them blankets, Sam - they're poxed. Salvaged them from that Cutter family in Zion - them whose baby girl died of the pox three weeks ago. (Beat.) Indians has thin blood. Pox'll cut through them like a hot knife through butter. (Beat.) So you see, Sam, you can rest easy now. Zion's been revenged after all. (Beat.) Sam? (Beat.) Sun's comin' up, lad. (Beat.) New day for a new land. (Beat.)

I'll admit that I know next to nothing about the history of Kentucky. But if this first play is any indication, we're in for a wild ride..

Tomorrow's Play: The Kentucky Cycle - Part 1 - The Courtship of Morning Star by Robert Schenkkan

The start of a new school year...

2011-08-28T17:33:00.000-04:00

A Play a Day has been an incredibly rewarding experience.

I am blessed with loyal readers and endless support for what started out as a simple way to push myself to read more plays. As this project continues, I have decided to operate it on a school-year basis -- posting M-F from Sept-May. This will allow me time to read other things (I read novels this summer! Amazing!) as well as take a little time on the weekends for my brain to calm.

So, thank you to all who have been with me thus far, and to all the new readers - welcome! Feel free to comment, repost, follow, tweet, etc. Let's spread the joy of the written word!

With humble thanks,
Lauren

Inana

2011-05-31T23:38:00.000-04:00

by Michele Lowe

How fateful that today, as I'm about to embark on a trip to London with Old Vic New Voices' TS Eliot US/UK Exchange, I would read a play set in a hotel room in London. I just picked a play at random and Lowe's beautiful and suspenseful Inana was what the gods had in store!

Inana is a love story of sorts between Yasin, a successful Iraqi museum curator and Shali, the daughter of an art forger. Set in 2003, just before the US invasion of Baghdad, the pressure is on Yasin to safeguard his country's most precious cultural items from the threat of war. Of most concern to him is the valuable statue of Inana, the goddess of love and fertility. In order to keep her safe, however, he must place her in the hands of others. And that's just the problem. He doesn't trust anyone to give her back after things have calmed down. He ends up striking a deal with the British Museum to guard her, but can he trust them?

He whisks his new bride, Shali, away to London for what she thinks is a wedding trip. The two of them spend the play in a hotel room sharing secrets and vulnerabilities, all while waiting for an important phone call from the British Museum. Most of the play's reveals occur in flashback, with the scenes melting into one another.

We meet Yasin's friend Abdel-Hakim Taliq, an Iraqui bookseller who is attempting to smuggle his book collection to Tehran before the invasion.

We also meet Emad Al-Bayit, Shali's father, known for his works of forgery (what he calls "interpretations") Initially, Yasin goes to meet Emad with less than noble intentions. He wants Emad to create a replica of Inana that would fool even the curators at the museum. Emad is resistant at first - he's not a fan of museums. He says to Yasin:

Sumerian goddess of sexual love,
fertility, and warfare

You put their history behind glass and then you ask them to pay to see it.

Eventually Emad agrees, on the condition that Yasin will marry his daughter, who is "too smart for her own good" and is a threat to his family due to her desire to teach women to read. Yasin reluctantly agrees.

The relationship between Yasin and Shali is of interest to me. When I think of "arranged marriages" I think of generations past. We forget that this is still a common occurrence in certain parts of the world. Shali is sensitive and afraid to be left alone, but she tells Yasin:

I have opinions and ideas though no one's heard them. The tiger may be in a cage, but if you ask him if he's independent, he'll tell you yes.

I won't reveal what happens to Inana but let's just say that this one-armed goddess holds more meaning than she appears to and that Yasin does find a place for her. He hopes that he can keep her safe:

Yasin. Let the living find her there in calmer generations.

Shali. There will never be calmer generations. But she will be found again.

The play has an undertone of hope - not just for the love between two people, but hope for the legacy of culture that a nation leaves behind through its artwork.

Orange Flower Water

2011-05-01T01:55:00.001-04:00

by Craig Wright

It's been a while since a play made me cry.

This play isn't particularly sad. Unless you consider the destruction of two marriages sad. What I mean, I guess, is that the tone of the piece isn't sad.

Let's backtrack.

Orange Flower Water tells the tale of an affair between Cathy's husband David, and Brad's wife Beth. This affair begins as sneaking around, escalates, causing two divorces, and culminates in the birthing of a beautiful child, Lily. The play gets its name from a story that Beth tells David, one night (pre-divorce) when they're together.

Last night, I was thinking.. you and I and Lily.. That's her name, in my head. Lily. She was, like, four years old, with long dark hair and really serious eyes and smart? And we went to the store at Christmastime to get stuff to make cookies - and on the way home, she was in her car seat and she reached in the bag and pulled out a little plastic bottle of orange flower water? Which I've read about in Gourmet, you know, but never seen? And she ended up spilling this orange flower water stuff all over the back seat. And you and I had to roll down the windows, the scent was so strong... And the scent of the orangey air and the coolness rushing into the car and you and me happy and Lily in the back... giggling... we were so happy. We were so happy.

Ultimately, this play is about a child that results from adultery. It is about dreams that come true, but come with a price. It is about happiness that causes pain. It is about love.

It's a beautiful story that left me thinking - at what price? Do we have the right to true love if it means hurting others? Does a certain amount of fault get cancelled out? And what about the child's shame? When she asks the story of her parents' love - will she feel guilty? Basically, at what price love?

Tomorrow's Play: Inana by Michele Lowe

Elemeno Pea

2011-04-28T01:17:00.000-04:00

by Molly Smith Metzler

I really enjoyed this play.

I won't say too much about it, because the version I read is not the final draft, but Molly Smith Metzler is a playwright to watch out for. Elemeno Pea debuted at this season's Humana Festival and I so wish I could have seen it!

Basic story: Two sisters - one is working as a live-in exec. asst. to a rich lady who has marital problems, the other sister comes to visit - history comes up that causes drama in the present.

Metzler's voice feels fresh - she creates very modern characters who feel things deeply, and while this piece has incredibly dramatic scenes, the overall feel is comedic.

I am gonna go hunt for more of her plays now.

Here's a great interview with Metzler: Playwrights' Perspective
More info on the Humana Festival: Louisville

Tomorrow's Play: Orange Flower Water by Craig Wright

Laughter on the 23rd Floor

2011-04-17T03:09:00.000-04:00

by Neil Simon

Time for a comedy. Seriously.

Though, I gotta say. Not my favorite Neil Simon. I mean, it's funny... well, more appropriately, it's PUN-ny. And I'm not big on puns. The Great Divide dressing room knows that by now.

Annyway.. Laughter was fun to read because it takes you inside the writer's room (based on Simon's own experiences in such rooms) and inside the heads of scribes whose very worth depends on their ability to pen a funny line.

What makes the play enjoyable are the over-the-top quirks of the individual characters. The group is so ridiculous that you just have to love them. I've been in many a writer's meeting, having done sketch comedy since college, and let's just say.. things can get pretty crazy.

Something that struck me: Carol, the only female writer in this "man's world" of comedy, is asked for her female point of view on something. She tells her boss, "I don't want to be considered a woman. I want to be considered a writer." I think even today, women have to work much harder to be perceived as funny, and even then they face the dilemma of, 'should I go sexy-funny' (a la The House Bunny) or 'witty-funny' (a la Liz Lemon) (not that they are always mutually-exclusive. just, usually) .. I mean, it's rough for women in the comedy world. There's a great article in last week's New Yorker with Anna Faris on this very topic.

Carol continues:

After five years in here, Max, you think I know what a woman's point of view is? I come home at night smelling from cigar smoke, I have to put my dress in a humidor... I never said a crude word in my life before I came here. But now I go home to my fucking house and talk to my fucking husband like a fucking sailor. It's okay. I don't mind. If you lived in France for five years, you'd speak French. But I'm not in France. I'm here so I speak fuck... I don't want to be called a woman writer. I want to be called a good writer, and if it means being one of the guys then I'll be one of the guys. I can handle it.

A perfectly valid pov, Carol, but what I think the female comedians of today are doing is attempting to bring the gap between "male-comedy" and "rom-com" just a liiitle closer together, to prove that life is funny and therefore, we're all funny, regardless of what parts we have.

Tomorrow's Play: Elemeno Pea by Molly Smith Metzler

Racing Demon

2011-04-17T01:50:00.001-04:00

by David Hare

Usually, when I read a play for the second time, I like it more. That didn't happen with Racing Demon. I first read this play during a wonderful course on British Drama at NYU. I adored it. It felt risky, and dangerous, pushing boundaries about what could be said (and shown) about religion onstage. As an ex-Catholic (ask me for the story over a drink), I can appreciate the ritualistic comfort that church provides. I can also understand, however, why the men of Racing Demon struggle to fulfill their mission.

The play is about a group of clergymen, struggling to do God's work. They are in a town that needs them but doesn't exactly turn out in droves on Sunday mornings. The men are a hodgepodge - ranging from committed to doubting. Lionel, arguably the conscience of the play, leans more towards the doubting end of the scale. He believes in the importance of their work, but he wants to talk straight to the people - show them that he has fears and doubts, too. Unfortunately, the townsfolk don't want their priest to be 'like everyone else' - they want him to be unshakable. Naturally, they complain. Lionel's superior, the Bishop of Southwark puts him in his place, telling him:

As a priest you have only one duty. That's to put on a show.

Lionel gets the point. He'll try harder to be what people want him to be. Meanwhile, a new, young recruit joins Lionel's group - his name is Tony. He's a radical. He believes that the clergy should be more active in recruiting people to find God. He believes Lionel is being complacent. Lionel tries to explain that while he may see things differently than Tony, they believe in the same thing, essentially:

In God everlasting. As I understand it. And in his Son, who came so that people might know God was close. And in the Holy Spirit. Who of the three always seems to me much the most mysterious. Much the shadiest, as you might say.

What Tony doesn't understand, being new to the parish, is that "bums on seats" on Sundays isn't the only way to judge a town's spirituality.

Re-reading the play this time, it felt less dangerous. Not as shocking. Does this mean I am just harder to shock? Perhaps. Granted, at this point, the play is over twenty years old. It was written in 1990 and first performed at the National in London. What has not changed since the first read is my belief that David Hare is an amazing writer. I have read many of his other plays - I highly recommend Stuff Happens and The Blue Room.

So, despite the fact, that I wasn't as blown away this go-around, I remain enamored of the characters that Hare has created.

There is a beautiful love story between Rev. Harry and his Scottish lover Ewan, an actor who never feels satisfied with Harry. He asks him:

Why don't you fight? Why don't you fight for me? That's all I want. To be loved enough so that someone will fight for me. So that I can start to exist.

Still a controversial topic today, a homosexual love affair in the British religious community within the world of the play was not easily accepted. Harry and Ewan keep their love a secret, even when a snooping reporter comes around, trying to get a rise out of the men. Ewan tells him off in a heartfelt monologue:

You'll never get me, you know? You won't get anyone. I'll tell you why. Because what people still have ... which is theirs... which belongs to them... which is precious... is what happens in private. That's right. And that's why you want it. That's why you want to slime all over it. Because it is private. And in private, there's still some decency.

Zing. Take that, media!

One of my favorite devices that Hare uses throughout the play is having the men speak their prayers out loud - in essence, through soliloquy. Each prayer ends with a question that will then become a point of dramatic action. For example, Lionel asks:

Why do the good always fight among themselves?

This comes about the time that we see the priests turning on each other. Politics exist in all organizations, no matter how pure the intention. Deep in prayer, Rev. Donald, aka Streaky, asks another question:

The whole thing's so clear. You're there. In people's happiness. Tonight, in the taste of that drink. Or the love of my friends. The whole thing's so simple. Infinitely loving. Why do people find it so hard?

If only it were that easy.

I would be interested to see this play and Doubt in rep.. that would spark some interesting conversations. Thoughts?

Tomorrow's Play: Laughter on the 23rd Floor by Neil Simon

Beyond the Horizon

2011-04-14T21:05:00.001-04:00

by Eugene O'Neill

Though written more than ten years later, Beyond the Horizon is often compared to The Great Divide. Strikingly different, yet with interesting similarities, O'Neill's first important full-length play shows influences of Moody and the tradition of melodrama from the late 19th century.

There have been few revivals of this play since about 1920, which surprises me because I absolutely loved it. Perhaps I am just a little enamored of early American plays as the moment. When Beyond the Horizon first came out, not everyone felt as I did. Apparently, O'Neill's own father asked him, upon seeing the play, if his intent was to drive everyone in the audience to suicide. I will grant that there are moments that are depressing, sure, but what I gathered from the play was the power of love.

Federal Theatre Project poster

The story centers on a love triangle of two brothers - Andrew, the elder brother, husky and suited well to the physical labor of farm-work, and Robert, younger, more intellectual, and not quite as strong - and Ruth, the girl-next-door they grew up with. Both brothers love Ruth, but Ruth's affections belong to Robert. She is won over by his penchant for spouting poetry and telling her of his dreams.

The brothers couldn't be more different. All Andrew wants to do is to stay at home and make a life for himself by running his father's farm, as he has done for as long as he was physically capable. All Robert wants to do is get away and see the undiscovered countries that inhabit his daydreams. At the top of the play, the boys' mother has enlisted Captain Dick Scott, her brother, to take Robert on a sea voyage with him. Finally, Robert has the opportunity to get what he's been looking for - a chance to escape the routine.

Everything changes when Ruth confesses her feelings to Robert. He is at once shocked and overjoyed, and immediately decides that he will stay home to be with her. Captain Scott is angry, since he was looking forward to having some company on the voyage. James, the boys' father tries to pacify Captain Scott, telling him:

You can't order the tides on the seas to suit you, and I ain't pretendin' I can reg'late love for young folks.

Andrew (heartbroken, having just realized his own feelings for Ruth) decides to take Robert's place and go on the journey.

What follows is many years of hardship - by switching places, the brothers have upset the natural order of things, and Robert is not suited to life on the farm. Things fall into ruin, both on the farm, and in their marriage. Ruth tells Robert that she made a mistake in marrying him. It's all very hurtful. And, I mean, hurtful.

I won't give away the ending, but what I enjoyed so much about this play was finding the similarities between O'Neill and Moody as writers. The language is so beautiful and important. That is not always the case these days where characters are always minimizing moments and saying one thing but meaning another. There's something refreshing about hearing someone bare their soul and mean it.

At one point, Robert says to Ruth:

All our suffering has been a test through which we had to pass to prove ourselves worthy of a finer realization.

Their's may not have been a perfect marriage, but there was real love there. Between all three of them, in fact. Hard-won love, but love just the same. Love that will change your course in life; Make you cross the globe; Allow you to better yourself. Love that may break you down, but will help you get up again.

Tomorrow's Play: Racing Demon by David Hare

Our Town

2011-04-07T00:27:00.001-04:00

by Thornton Wilder

Now that The Great Divide has closed, I can finally get around to blogging about the rising stack of plays that I have read recently. During the run, I was on a kick of classic American plays (hence, Crucible, Our Town, a little O'Neill for good measure) but I also had the chance to read some new works, and that was exciting. More on that, later.

When I was 12, I played Rebecca in a production of Our Town at the Fulton Opera House, starring James Waterston. Truly, I don't think I've read the play since then.. It's funny how I can remember so distinctly the way some lines were delivered and where I sat in the kitchen.. but for most of the meat of the play I was in the green room downstairs playing cards with some older, wiser actors.

Reading the play now, I was moved by how Wilder infused into the play his belief that the theatre is the most immediate way "in which a human being can share with another the sense of what it means to be human." I think Wilder and I would have been chums.

His radical use of the Stage Manager as a character in the play defied convention, taking all of the grandiosity out of the piece and focusing on the necessary - the heart; the connection between human beings. In his description at the beginning of the play, the Stage Manager says:

Paul Newman as the Stage Manager
There's some scenery for those who think they have to have scenery.

Brilliant.

I can see why Our Town has endured, when so many other plays have faded into obscurity. Though, critics at the time preferred the first two acts, and not the third - saying, "A good playwright when he deals with living people, [Wilder] is only a bad philosopher when he deals with the dead ones." Naturally, as any young female with a desire to play Emily, I enjoyed the third act, above all! How could you find fault with these beautiful lines?

I can't go on. It goes so fast. We don't have time to look at one another. ... Oh, earth, you're too wonderful for anybody to realize you. Do any human beings ever realize life while they live it? - every, every minute?

When I think about the way I live my life - rushing from work, to class, to auditions.. I think, how often do I take the time to really look at someone? Or share a moment of genuine connection? Am I letting my life rush by me in a blur of checks on my to-do list? Will I look back on my life, as Emily did, and feel that I didn't realize what I had when I had it? In honor of spring, let's all try to stop and smell the roses, as they say; appreciating the little moments in our day that remind us of the beauty of being alive.

Tomorrow's Play: Beyond the Horizon by Eugene O'Neill

The Crucible

2011-03-22T02:21:00.002-04:00

by Arthur Miller

Oh. Man. I forgot how good this play is. I actually had to go out and buy a copy, which means either my bookcase has begun eating plays or I never took high school English.

I am enchanted by the poetry in the text (shocker, I know.) The subject matter is far from beautiful but Miller just has a way with words.

Everyone knows the story of The Crucible, but for those of you who actually never did take high school English, here's what the back of the Dramatists copy says (best if read in "movie trailer voice" ie: In a world where..):

"This exciting drama about the Puritan purge of witchcraft in old Salem is both a gripping historical play and a timely parable of our contemporary society. The story focuses upon a young farmer, his wife, and a young servant-girl who maliciously causes the wife's arrest for witchcraft. The farmer bring the girl to court to admit the lie - and it is here that the monstrous course of bigotry and deceit is terrifyingly depicted. The farmer, instead of saving his wife, finds himself also accused of witchcraft and ultimately condemned with a host of others."

I find it interesting that John Proctor's name is not mentioned once in that blurb..
In truth, I never think of him as a farmer. His profession is almost irrelevant to the story. When I think of Proctor, I think of his amazing line,

Because it is my name! Because I cannot have another in my life! Because I lie and sign myself to lies! Because I am not worth the dust on the feet of them that hang! How may I live without my name? I have given you my soul, leave me my name!

I mean, come on! I want to play Proctor just so I can say that line! Now, he is not a perfect man. He has made mistakes, but he owns up to those mistakes, repents them, and attempts to live a better life having learned from them. His "downfall," if you see it that way, is his pride. To save his life, and see the birth of his child, all he must do is confess to witchcraft. Reverend Hale knows it is a lie, but in his mind it is a lie done for good. The life is more important. But Proctor cannot confess.

But whoa, I'm getting ahead of myself.

I was inspired to re-read The Crucible by my mom. And by my mom, I mean Wendy Merritt, who plays my mother in The Great Divide. She is directing a production of The Crucible this summer for Sink or Swim Rep, so naturally we've been talking about the play a lot in the dressing room. In fact, I've probably said "Because it is my name!" a good five or six times in different conversations. Sink or Swim is producing the play in its "Truth" season, along with Romeo & Juliet.

Truth in The Crucible is an ever-changing creature. Not only do we question 'what is the truth?' but we are left wondering does it even matter?

Things that struck me:

1. Corruption within the church/court. We find out at the beginning of the play that some of the local girls have been caught dancing in the woods, and as a result a few have taken to their beds with illness. Betty Parris, daughter to the local Reverend, is bedridden and thought to be possessed. Her father has sent for Reverend Hale to examine her, much to the chagrin of the townsfolk, who are afraid that Hale will suspect witchcraft. Parris is distraught over Betty, but comforted by Rebecca Nurse:

A child's spirit is like a child, you can never catch it by running after it; you must stand still, and for love it will soon itself come back.

He is even more afeared because he is a man of God. When Hale arrives to check Betty, Parris asks why his daughter should be taken, when she is so good. Hale responds:

What victory would the Devil have, to win a soul already had? It is the best the Devil wants, and who is better than the minister?

The heart of the play lies undoubtedly in Hale. His journey throughout is the most interesting to me - steadfast and strong in his beliefs at the top, he falls a long way before finding the strength to compromise for what he believes to be the greater good.

As good of a man as Hale is, his opposite is reflected in Judge Hathorne. I was shocked at how maniacal he seemed in his pursuit of the "truth." Bending things to fit your will is not justice. Proctor drives the point home when he asks, "Is the accuser always holy now?" Hathorne is happy to believe everything that Abigail and the girls confess, never questioning their motives or sincerity.

Replica voodoo doll. (KLAUS AARSLEFF/FORTEAN PICTURE LIBRARY)

2. Personal vendettas being acted out on a public stage. The entire trial starts because of one girl's lie. This lie gets away from her and snowballs into an outpouring of falsity - aimed at anyone who has ever upset the young girls of the town. What is Abigail's motive? Is it out of love for John that she acts? Perhaps that is her belief by the end, but at the beginning it seems to be vengeance that drives her. She has been rejected by the man she loves and sees an opportunity to hurt him. She takes it. And many people suffer for it. Could this have been avoided?

There is a scene in the play that is sometimes left out (unfortunately, in my opinion) where Proctor visits Abigail and asks her to stop the accusations against his wife. This brings me to my next two thoughts:

3. The thin line between fantasy and reality.

4. The madness of love.

My argument for the necessity of the scene is that we never see them alone together otherwise. The way that the two of them respond to each other when other people are around is very different than when they are alone. Public vs. Private. Up until this point, we have heard about the affair, we have seen the rift it caused between John and Elizabeth, but we haven't seen the energy between John and Abigail. The intimacy of that scene reveals much more than just their sexual connection. At this point in the play, Abigail has been lying for so long, that I think she is no longer aware of what is true and what is make-believe. She has worked herself into such a state that the lines have blurred. Her love for John is mixed with her jealousy, the high she gets when she accuses someone, the power of her position, and all the attention lavished on her - making one dangerous cocktail that has her teetering on the edge of madness.

John is horrified that she has accused so many people, and asks her, "Then there is no one good?" To which, she responds:

Why, you taught me goodness, therefore you are good. It were a fire you walked me through, and all my ignorance was burned away. It were a fire, John, we lay in fire. And from that night no woman dare call me wicked any more but I knew my answer. I used to weep for my sins when the wind lifted up my skirts; and blushed for shame because some old Rebecca called me loose. And then you burned my ignorance away. As bare as some December tree I saw them all - walking like saints to church, running to feed the sick, and hypocrites in their hearts! And God gave me strength to call them liars, and God made men to listen to me, and by God I will scrub the world clean for the love of Him!

Folks, this is what we call 'religious fervor.' As one of the characters in David Hare's Racing Demon says, "You've got the bug. I've seen it before. All you want is to carry the Cross."

John threatens Abigail with exposure in the court, but Abigail is unfazed. When it comes time, however, John is true to his word and tells of their sordid past, therefore criminalizing himself. In one of the best lines of the play he tells the court:

You are pulling heaven down and raising up a whore.

Oh. Snap. 'Lot of good it did though, Proctor ends up in jail, and Elizabeth is in jail, pregnant. Hell, the whole population is in jail. Apparently, the town is going to be run by a bunch of 15-year old girls, as they're the only ones left.

Hale comes back! Lovely man that he is. He comes back a changed man - the effect of the court proceedings is harsh and it is apparent that he has been beaten down by the world. In a last desperate attempt to save John's life, he begs Elizabeth to help her husband:

Life, woman, life is God's most precious gift; no principle however glorious may justify the taking of it. I beg you, woman - prevail upon your husband to confess. Let him give his lie. Quail not before God's judgment in this, for it may well be God damns a liar less than he that throws his life away for pride.

Ah yes, 5. Pride. The theme of the week for this week's plays.

When I read this line of Hale's, it made me cry. It struck a Ruth chord in me, and made me think of a moment in the first act of Great Divide where she chooses life over the alternative, saying "I love my life; I must live. In torment, in darkness - it doesn't matter. I want my life. I will have it!" For Ruth and Proctor, pride is a big issue. To come full circle in this post, ultimately John's pride will not allow him to sign his name to a lie. As much as he may want to save himself, he cannot do it. He's not an ordinary farmer, he is John Proctor, and if what he wants to save is his name, he has surely done it, for it has never been forgotten.

Tomorrow's Play: Our Town by Thornton Wilder

Edward II

2011-03-15T02:25:00.002-04:00

by Christopher Marlowe

In my second reading of Marlowe's tale of how personal choices influence the political arena, what struck me was the pure gall of King Edward's subjects. From the very beginning it seems that the lords of the court are questioning their ruler's every action.

Edward II

Edward II is often explored for its homosexual undertones, with regards to the title character and his relationship with his 'favorite' of the moment, most especially Gaveston. The intimacy that they share is a threat to some of the other men at court. The King is asked, with regards to Gaveston:

Why should you love him whom the world hates so?

His majesty quickly responds:

Because he loves me more than all the world.

To the lords of the court, Gaveston's station in life is offensive. To be the favorite of the King and to be of base birth is unacceptable in their eyes. To Edward, it is the man that makes the man, not to whom he was born. This is seen as a weakness in the eyes of those who disapprove of the company he keeps and it is not long before his own nobility are telling him:

Look for rebellion, look to be deposed:

This blows my mind. This is their KING. Placed on earth by GOD. And these arrogant, petty, men decide to kill him.

As a tribute to Marlowe's writing, I did go back and forth throughout the play with regards to whose side I was on. The nobles do have some slightly convincing points when it comes to Edward's behavior, and at times Edward gets a little whiny and "poor me." On the whole, however, I was on the side of the lawful King. When Spencer Junior entreats King Edward not to bear these base insults and to "Strike off their heads, and let them preach on poles;" I found myself saying, "Hear, hear!" and then promptly learning that little monologue because I liked it so much.

Truly, Spencer Junior gets the best lines in the play. During one of the fights, Lancaster warns the King not to trust those around him:

For they'll betray thee traitors as they are.

Spencer Junior responds:

Traitor on thy face, rebellious Lancaster.

Now, this is how I imagine this line should be played: "Traitor on thy FACE, rebellious Lancaster!" with some appropriately physical intimidation to accompany said line.

The moral center of the play seemed to me to lie in the King's brother, Kent. Even though he is swayed from side to side, I believe he was trying to act in the best interest of the country and not out of personal greed or gain. Eventually, King Edward is imprisoned and the gravity of the situation weighs heavily on Kent:

O, miserable is that commonweal, where lords
Keep courts and kings are locked in prison!

Mob mentality is a dangerous thing.

The villain of the piece (well, one of them) is certainly Mortimer. [In case you weren't sure, just refer to the much longer original title: The troublesome reign and lamentable death of Edward the second, King of England: with the tragical fall of proud Mortimer. Guess they didn't worry about spoiler alerts in those days.] Though I was generally unimpressed by Mortimer (I mean, how hard is it to woo a Queen, really), his method of disposing of the King was pretty brilliant. After hiring an assassin, he sends the man to the people holding the King with a letter that reads thus: "Edwardum occidere nolite timere bonum est." He purposefully leaves out punctuation because in the tricky language of Latin, depending on where you place the comma, this sentence can be interpreted two different ways. He explains:

'Edwardum occidere nolite timere, bonum est;
Fear not to kill the King, 'tis good he die.'
But read it thus, and that's another sense:
'Edwardum occidere nolite, timere bonum est;
Kill not the King, 'tis good to fear the worst.'

Thanks to the title, you already know that King Edward dies. Reading the play to see how it comes to pass is something I would highly recommend.

ATTENTION MARLOWE FANS!

Fairly soon, you will have the rare opportunity to see a production of this play. Details below:

Edward II

An all-female cast performs Christopher Marlowe's play with proceeds benefiting the Ali Forney Center, a shelter for queer homeless youth.

Written by Christopher Marlowe
Directed by Nicolette Dixon and Ben Prusiner

WOW Theatre Cafe
59-61 E 4th St. New York City, New York
April 21, 22, 23 at 8 pm
April 28, 29, 30 at 8 pm

Gay King and Conqueror's Son: how do sexuality and gender meet & what can we learn from the past?

WOW Cafe Theatre, a women and transperson's theatre collective, is proud to present an all- female production of Christopher Marlowe's Edward II with all proceeds to benefit the Ali Forney Center, a shelter for queer youth. A fictionalized account of real events, Edward II is a gay king who fails to live up to the prevailing ideas of masculinity and loses everything because of it. Through masks, movement, and heightened theatricality, Edward II takes the audience on a journey of power, privilege, and forbidden desires. Marlowe's play asks direct questions about sexuality and gender, the price of freedom in love, and the oppressive and destructive power of hatred. By combining the heightened language of classical theatre with an expressive experimental movement vocabulary, the production magnifies the story's emotional power and critical context.

Co-director Ben Prusiner says, "It's incredible how many of the issues that Marlowe was struggling with - sexuality, gender, class - are the same ones we are dealing with today. My goal is always to ask the open-ended question: what can we learn from another point of view?" Co-director Nicolette Dixon makes this statement about why she was drawn to the play, "Edward II is about sexuality and gay rights, and it powerfully situates that struggle within history. At the same time, this play is about the universal struggle to be accepted and loved for who we truly are, and we tell this story in honor of those whose voices have been stifled."

Edward II is written by Christopher Marlowe and directed by Nicolette Dixon and Ben Prusiner.

WOW Cafe Theatre

WOW Café Theater is a women's theater collective in NYC's East Village, which promotes the empowerment of women through the performing arts.

Historically, WOW has been a majority lesbian woman's space. WOW welcomes the full participation of all women and transpeople in solidarity with women. WOW especially welcomes women and transpeople of color, and women and trans people who identify as lesbians, bisexual and queer.

What:
Christopher Marlowe's Edward II performed by an all-female cast with all proceeds benefiting the Ali Forney Center, a shelter for homeless LGBT youth.

When and Where:
WOW Cafe Theatre
59-61 E 4th St. New York City, New York

Thursday, April 21, 8pm
Friday, April 22, 8pm
Saturday, April 23, 8pm
Thursday, April 28, 8pm
Friday, April 29, 8pm
Saturday, April 30, 8pm

Tickets:
Tickets are $20 at the door, $15 pre-sale online at www.fabnyc.org, student and senior and discount available at the door.

For more information please visit: http://edward-ii.tumblr.com/

Tomorrow's Play: The Crucible by Arthur Miller

The Great Divide - Tech!

2011-02-28T23:46:00.000-05:00

Well, tech has come and gone. We survived. I am thankful to this cast and crew of wonderful people for making a long day thoroughly enjoyable.

I have to say though, our cast is pun-ny. By that, I mean we make bad jokes. Often. And laugh at them. Perhaps it's due to the weightiness of the material that every time Ed calls, "10!" we end up giggling and rolling our eyes at each other. Whatever the reason, it makes for a welcome breath of lightness for me.

Having just read Moody's Faith Healer, I've been thinking about Ruth's faith. She carries her faith heavy on her back (and around her neck) for two acts, allowing it to hurt every time she feels a speck of happiness. When her mother tells her she should have died rather than marry Ghent it confirms a deeply-seeded fear in Ruth - the fact that she made the wrong choice. At least in society's eyes. I recently saw a production of Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus and in the famous banquet scene Titus asks the emperor:

Was it well done of rash Virginius
To slay his daughter with his own right hand,
Because she was enforced, stained and deflowered?

The emperor responds without hesitation:

It was, Andronicus.
Because the girl should not survive her shame,
And by her presence still renew his sorrows.

Titus then kills his daughter Lavinia, who has been raped by two men. What is worse? To live with the shame, or to be killed for it? I know Ruth's answer.

At least Mrs. Jordan doesn't stab Ruth with that paper knife. Her words cut just as deeply, though.

Side note: I found this amazing map of Arizona from the year 1906.

I still have my fingers crossed for a cast field trip out West.. with four days until previews start, we totally have time.. right?

Tomorrow's Play: Edward II by Christopher Marlowe

The Faith Healer

2011-02-28T02:46:00.001-05:00

by William Vaughn Moody

Oh, Moody, you just speak to my heart. I'm a little biased at the moment, since I have the joy of speaking his poetic text every night, but I loved this play. Granted, it's no Great Divide, but it's captivating all the same.

Faith seems to be the theme of the month. It's an interesting topic for me to explore since I do not consider myself to be religious. Faith, however, is not strictly a religious concept. What struck me about Moody's Faith Healer (not to be confused with Brian Friel's three-hander) was the importance of faith in and between those we love.

Knowing Great Divide so intimately, it's easy to see archetypal characters that show up in both plays. The patriarch of Faith Healer, Beeler, is like an older, more-fleshed out Phil. Rhoda is a Ruth/Polly blend, and Dr. Littlefield is as if Dutch went to medical school. Seriously, Moody has something against doctors. Not only do they not get the girl (oops, *spoiler alert*) but they are either too finished and boring, or downright evil. A few of Littlefield's lines actually made me gasp.

Photo: Metropolitan Playhouse 2002

Metropolitan produced Faith Healer in 2002 to some pretty nice reviews. I think it's wonderful that they are now offering Moody's other, more famous play, The Great Divide. What a rare opportunity for audiences to step back in time to see what was hailed as, "The Great American Drama...[capturing] the indomitable spirit characteristic of the people of our great Western country." (Lafayette, LA Advertiser.) Shamless plug ;)

The Faith Healer tells the story of a faith healer, Ulrich Michaelis who has taken up board in the Beeler home. Word gets out that there is a healer in town and hundreds, if not thousands of people form lines outside the house waiting to be healed. Michaelis is anxious because he is not sure it is "his time" to perform miracles, but when the matriarch of the home, Mrs. Beeler, who has been confined to a wheelchair for five years, walks with his help, he begins to believe. His distraction comes in the form of the young and beautiful Rhoda, a "wicked woman" who doesn't believe she is worthy of love. Michaelis fears he has lost his ability to heal because all of his love and focus has been on Rhoda. He tells her:

Before creation, beyond time, God not yet risen from His sleep, you stand and call to me, and I listen in a dream that I dreamed before Eden.

A more "finished" Ghent. Le sigh, romantic.

Rhoda is scared to let him love her because when she was younger she was wooed by the evil moustache-twirling Dr. Littlefield who conveniently shows up the very day Michaelis comes to stay. Okay, he doesn't really have a moustache. At least not in the script. Rhoda believes that she must do penance for her sinful past but Michaelis believes:

What is pain but a kind of selfishness?

Rhoda finds redemption in Michaelis' love and all ends well as love saves the day. A good way to end a long day of Great Divide tech and a super awkward Oscars 2011.

Goodnight, moon.

Tomorrow's Play: The Great Divide - Tech!

Sganerelle, or the Imaginary Cuckold

2011-02-26T23:00:00.003-05:00

by Moliere

This was a quick, fun read. A verse comedy in rhyming couplets, it tells the tale of Sganerelle who mistakenly believes that his wife is cheating on him. The play comments on love and fidelity (or lack thereof). At the beginning of the play we encounter Sganerelle's neighbor and his daughter, Celie having an argument. Celie is engaged to Lelie (yes, really) but her father wants her to marry another man. "Alas!" she cries, to which her father responds:

Alas? What's that supposed to mean?
I hate alases. Don't you make a scene,
My girl, and rouse my blood, or very soon
You'll sing alas to quite a different tune.
No wonder you're obsessed by stupid fancies
When day and night you read these cheap romances,
Which fill your head with love, instead of higher
And holier matter - fling them in the fire
Before they wreck your morals.

Women throughout the history of literature are always losing themselves in novels. Maybe if guys took the hint and learned something about the men we are escaping to, women wouldn't have to dive into books to fulfill their dreams.

Through a series of misunderstandings that eventually turn out alright Sganerelle accuses his wife of adultery and then begs her forgiveness. He asks:

What man ever looked more of a cuckold than I did?
Yes, looked, for this example proves it's vain
To trust appearances, however plain.
When all the evidence as you receive it
Adds up to one conclusion: don't believe it.

Not everything is as it seems.

I would recommend this play for people who want a laugh and anyone looking for classical comedic monologues.

Tomorrow's Play: The Faith Healer by William Vaughn Moody

Dr. Faustus

2011-02-26T02:39:00.001-05:00

by Christopher Marlowe

I recently participated in a workshop of this play with the Theater Reconstruction Ensemble, which consisted of a weekend of exploring the text, and basically, playing in a room with fun, talented people. Not a bad way to spend a weekend. This occurred smack dab in the middle of rehearsals for Great Divide so I was drawing parallels the whole time, since both plays deal so much with the threat of damnation. During the workshop, I had the ridiculous realization that I've never worked on Marlowe. I felt slightly guilty, cheating on my man Will Shakes, but I got over it when I remembered how awesome Kit is. ALSO, this play has one of the best stage directions I've ever read. More on that later.

We all know the story of foolish Doctor Faustus, who sells his soul to the devil in exchange for power. Damn Yankees, anyone? Great musical. I digress. Faustus is a smart man, so smart that he's bored, and looking for something to challenge him. When we first meet him, he is alone in his study, debating the inevitability of sin.

[He reads.] "Stipendium peccati mors est." Ha!
Stipendium, etc. The reward of sin is death. That's hard.
...
If we say that we have no sin
We deceive ourselves, and there's no truth in us.
Why, then, belike we must sin and so consequently die.
Ay, we must die an everlasting death.
Why doctrine call you this? Che sera, sera?
What will be, shall be? Divinity adieu!

Interesting to note here that Faustus takes into account only the first part of the Bible verse, "the wages of sin are death" and not the latter half "but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Had he taken that into consideration he might not have been so easily swayed to the dark side. Of course, then we'd have no play. So, yeah.

After being visited by a good and bad angel, Faustus conjures the devil Mephistopheles, who ended up being my favorite character. In my opinion Mephistopheles, or Stoph as he was lovingly referred to in our workshop, has some of the most beautiful language in the play. When asked how it is possible that Stoph is out of hell, he responds:

Why, this is hell, nor am I out of it.
Think'st thou that I, who saw the face of God,
And tasted the eternal joys of heaven,
Am not tormented with ten thousand hells
In being deprived of everlasting bliss?

Mephistopheles is a complex character. It made me wonder about the man before the devil. He warns Faustus about the danger of his actions. There is nothing he won't do to get Faustus' soul, but he also has moments of near vulnerability that show he is more than just an evil entity. Stoph's description of hell left me feeling pity for the creature - the somber note with which he recounts the vast emptiness of his eternity is somehow lovely. Faustus asks him, "Tell me, where is the place that men call hell?" Stoph answers:

Within the bowels of these elements,
Where we are tortured and remain for ever.
Hell hath no limits, nor is circumscribed
In one self place, for where we are is hell,
And where hell is, there must we ever be.
And, to conclude, when all the world dissolves
And every creature shall be purified
All places shall be hell that is not heaven.

I imagine that Ruth has read Dr. Faustus. Or better yet, Polly follows her around the house while she's doing chores reading passages out loud. I have to run that by Polly, the beautiful and talented Elizabeth Inghram. Anyway, now, I leave you with the stage direction!

[MEPHISTOPHELES and FAUSTUS] beat the FRIARS and fling fire-works among them, and so exeunt.

I mean, it's no Exeunt, pursued by a bear. but it's pretty good. I'm sure it's not hard to stage at all.

Tomorrow's Play: Sganerelle, or the Imaginary Cuckold by Moliere

The Great Divide - Day 22

2011-02-25T00:57:00.002-05:00

Forgive me if this entry begins to read like a history lesson.

I am just caught up in so many fascinating things about the time period and culture surrounding Ruth and her family in The Great Divide. And who knows, you may learn something!

The Great Divide was originally titled The Sabine Woman, referencing the historical rape of the Sabine Women. In my opinion, this places the emphasis on the event that occurs early in Act 1 that brings Ruth and Ghent together.. but it suggests that the focus of the play is Ruth and how she deals with that painful event. Changing the title to The Great Divide shifts the focus ever so slightly onto the relationship between the two lovers and their mutual struggle to find happiness despite their obstacles. So, bravo Moody! Good change!

In doing some research into the lifestyle of the early 1900's, I came across a wonderful encyclopedia full of useful information.

A ranch woman's life, or the life of a farmer's wife, differs from that of her city-slicker counterpart. But if asked to trade the country life for that of the town, most would answer that living an unconventional life in a day filled with conventionalities makes for a life that is never dull. --Kristi A. Young; Ronda Walker Weaver, The Greenwood Encyclopedia of American Regional Cultures: The Rocky Mountain Region

Ruth would absolutely choose ranch-life over stuffy New England society. Pre-Ghent, she is "just drunk with happiness the whole time," so much so that her brother, Phil is weirded out, "What's the matter with you tonight?" he asks her as she comments on the beauty of the desert. She is happy to be out west, working, and useful to her family. She embraces the difficulties and is hopeful about the future.

Americans have always been goal-oriented, but moving West was not a goal in the traditional manner, not one of working communally for the highest good but being independent, taking care of oneself, conquering the rock-hard ground of the West. Tackling an obstacle and conquering it—this lure was often called “end in view.” Those hoping to carve a place where the old way of life could be retained quickly learned that moving West also meant moving on. Old ways were soon transcended as a new land called for a new plan. Adapting the ways of the old world to fit the landscape and the livestock of the West kept many old traditions alive. In addition, adopting the ways of other immigrants and then melding them with traditions of one's own culture meant that westerners were always ready to be innovative. --Kristi A. Young; Ronda Walker Weaver, The Greenwood Encyclopedia of American Regional Cultures: The Rocky Mountain Region

Ruth takes her independence to the extreme when she encourages Phil and Polly to go off and leave her alone at the ranch. "It only takes a moment," as the song says, and that moment is one she will regret until she comes to embrace her fate.

Something I did not know very much about before beginning work on this play was the culture of the Navajo Indians in the early 1900s. They are very much present in the play, even though we never encounter them onstage. For Ruth especially, they are woven into her life, as she learns their rug-making and basket-weaving skills.

Navajo of New Mexico and Arizona

The Navajo, a nomadic people, came from Canada and migrated southward into the Southwest region between the twelfth and sixteenth centuries. They remained nomadic hunter-gatherers until the mid-sixteenth century. The Navajo acquired sheep from the Spaniards, marking their transition from cultivating cotton for their textiles to using wool. They sheared the wool from their flocks, washed, carded, and spun it, and then dyed it using native plants such as wild walnut, lichen, and rabbitbrush. They traded chief's blankets to other Native Americans throughout the Southwest and Great Plains regions. But by the twentieth century, on the advice of their reservation trading post merchants, many Navajo switched to weaving rugs to sell to tourists. Although the Navajo adopted some agricultural practices learned from their neighbors, their economy primarily revolved around sheep.

The Navajo were slow to relinquish their warrior ways. The warriors ranged far and wide to resist Spanish, Mexican, and then Anglo-American domination. When the Anglo-Americans acquired Southwest lands from Mexico, violence broke out between the Navajo and the U.S. Army that had been sent into the frontier to protect settlers. Finally, in 1864, the Navajo were defeated and forcibly imprisoned at Fort Sumner (Bosque Redondo) in New Mexico. This left the Navajo decimated by disease and starvation, and in 1868 the U.S. government relented and returned them to their territorial lands on a reservation that straddles northwestern New Mexico and northeastern Arizona, created for the Navajo. They reestablished their flocks of sheep and regenerated their economy by weaving wool blankets and learning to create silver jewelry from a former artisan of the Spanish mission system. Thus, art provided a means for the Navajo's economic survival. --Jeremy Bonner, The Greenwood Encyclopedia of American Regional Cultures: The Southwest

Just as the Navajo Indians found a means of survival through their art, Ruth does the same. She earns her freedom (whether granted or no) through selling her handiwork to the "tourist mob."

Many Native Americans saw the physical geography of the land where they lived as being animated with a life force that suffused everything. Therefore, any object made from natural materials of the earth was imbued with spiritual qualities. The process of creating such an object was viewed as part of religious ritual, like saying a prayer. --Jeremy Bonner, The Greenwood Encyclopedia of American Regional Cultures: The Southwest

I love this idea and believe that Ruth would absolutely think of each completed rug as a little prayer sent up to God. Penance for the wrongs she has committed. Though she has her own spiritual beliefs, learning the ways of the Navajo might influence her connection to the earth and the ritualistic nature of her handiwork.

Tickets are now on sale for The Great Divide!

Purchase here

Tomorrow's Play: Dr. Faustus by Christopher Marlowe

That Pretty Pretty; or, The Rape Play

2011-02-24T21:33:00.000-05:00

by Sheila Callaghan

Callaghan, Photo: Helayne Seidman
That Pretty Pretty; or, The Rape Play started out as a reaction to the kind of nasty, misogynistic plays that have been adored by the masses for the past decade. But then it turned into an investigation of why we - meaning I - find this work compelling and repulsive at the same time. It attempts to critique the images while simultaneously trafficking in them. -Sheila Callaghan

After reading Lascivious Something, my expectations were pretty high for Callaghan's That Pretty Pretty. I am sad to say that I didn't like it very much. Not only did I find it confusing, but I didn't buy Callaghan's intention that it was women taking these misogynistic images and reclaiming them. Perhaps my opinion of the play would improve upon seeing a production.

There is no doubt that Callaghan is an extremely talented writer. This particular play is just not my cup o' tea. Though, considering rape has been on my mind lately (see: posts on The Great Divide), it was interesting to see the gender reversals and how that changed my experience of the scene in the hotel room.

Despite the title, this play is a comedy. There are graphic, even scary scenes, but the heart of the piece is light. Owen is a writer, creating a piece based on an experience he and his friend had with two girls, though he is taking artistic liberties with what actually happened. We are left thinking, what is real? Who is telling the truth? Callaghan creates a dynamic play that pushes boundaries and buttons. As Owen says in the final scene:

Some people don't want to see the truth. But my question to them is, why is "truth" so controversial?

Tomorrow's Play: The Great Divide - Day 22

The Great Divide - Day 18

2011-02-20T02:40:00.004-05:00

"For the wages of sin in death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ Our Lord." -Romans

Continental "Great" Divide

Ruth says to Ghent near the end of the play, "If you could have said, "The wages of sin is death!" and suffered the anguish of death, and risen again purified! But instead of that, what you had done fell off from you like any daily trifle." At this point in the play, she has been trying to teach him her way of life for so long that it's killing her. She is emotionally and physically drained, and Ghent simply cannot see it her way. He says, "What have we got to do with suffering and sacrifice? ... Our law is joy, and selfishness." What we have here are two hard-headed people with opposing points of view who are terribly in love and just can't seem to make it work.

Will they ever close the great.. divide.. between them?? You'll just have to come check it out and find out for yourself!

On my mind:

Stages of Grief: Briefly in rehearsal the other day we talked about acceptance with regards to Ghent towards the end of our relationship. When I looked up the stages to remind myself of what they are (Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, Acceptance) it struck me when I read that a person might not necessarily feel all of the stages nor necessarily in that order. This made me think, what exactly am I grieving in this play? *That* night, in a moment of weakness I made a promise. Almost immediately, I try to get out of it, then accept my fate. I spend the rest of the play punishing myself for choosing life over death (silly? perhaps, but true nonetheless). I think some of the stages are shown in scenes - depression, denial, acceptance, and anger for sure.. many of them I can pinpoint all in one scene.. some may be experienced off-stage. Ruth and Ghent certainly experience their grief differently, just as they experience their love differently.

Ruth: What's in a name? Ruth, meaning "friend, companion" is probably best known from the book of Ruth in the Bible. When I was down at ASF, I was fortunate enough to work on a new play by the talented John Walch called In the Book Of, which is based on the story of Ruth in the Bible, so I had some familiarity. In the story, Ruth says to her mother-in-law,

Don't urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me.

This is not exactly how my Ruth begins with Ghent, but it is certainly where she ends up. She has left her home and the life she knows to make a new life with this man. She tries to show him her way of life, to save him, but in the end she says, "Teach me to live as you do." She spends most of the play trying to change Ghent, and in doing so, ends up changing herself.

Tomorrow's Play: That Pretty Pretty; or, The Rape Play by Sheila Callaghan

Doubt

2011-02-20T01:34:00.001-05:00

by John Patrick Shanley

This play is un-DOUBT-ably amazing. *groan* I remember when it was playing on Broadway there were many discussions of "Who did you side with?" I only saw it once, but my friends who went more than once said they sided differently depending on the performances that night. I love that - it's truly an experience you can only have in the theatre. The film is brilliant, as well, but it's static. The beauty of live performance is that one actor may be slightly more convincing than the other that night.

Shanley has crafted a piece that is so subtle and just the right amount of ambiguous. As a culture, we always want to know who is right in any given argument, because it tells us who we should side with. The brilliance of Doubt is that we don't know who is right and therefore are left to question our own judgements and suspicions. If you were quick to assume that Father Flynn is guilty, what might that say about your point of view towards priests? As Flynn says:

The most innocent actions can appear sinister to the poisoned mind.

News story after news story reveals corruption in the Catholic church, so it is an easy thing to believe that Father Flynn would take advantage of one of his altar boys. Sister Aloysius is vigilant in her pursuit of the truth, instructing that:

Every easy choice today will have its consequence tomorrow.

And yet, even she, a woman who believes that "Innocence is a form of laziness," has doubts by the end of the play. It is the scarier choice to believe that Flynn is innocent, because there is a boy's well-being at stake, but it is what we want to believe.

Much of this play is about faith. I don't just mean religious faith, but faith in people.
Faith is a buzzword these days and brings up different images for different people, but at its root it is about trusting. Trusting yourself, trusting others, trusting that we, as humans, are essentially good.

So, who did you side with?

Tomorrow's Play: The Great Divide - Day 18

The Great Divide - Day 8

2011-02-11T00:43:00.005-05:00

A petticoat and a corset - two things that will completely change everything.

I found this poem by O'Neill that I wanted to share:

Warm lips against which mine have kissed and sighed
Grey, gold-flecked eyes which fear to see the goal,
Cold pulse? I hear the breathing of your soul.
A passionate sob of heart unsatisfied.
Awake, O sleeping Princess! Side by side
Onward with me to win the highest dream!
On where the watch fires of the Future gleam
Where life is real—beyond The Great Divide!

(Eugene O’Neill, “Beyond the Great Divide” 1915)

My favorite line - "Cold pulse? I hear the breathing of your soul." .. perhaps this poem is about death and the afterlife, but I am going to bend its meaning for my own purpose to the circumstances of this play. I think even though Ruth is cold towards Ghent, there is something in her soul that he senses.. else, why would he fight so hard for her love?

When telling friends about this play, I say, "It's a love story, albeit, an untraditional one." .. I believe that. I am in the process now of tracking that love.. and how present it is for Ruth in any given moment. When is the first moment of realization? How does my love manifest itself in each scene? It's a tricky balance.

On my mind:

Pride: Polly says of me, "You know when it comes to pride, Ruth would make Lucifer look like a charity-boy asking for more soup." Pride is a sin. And for a woman who tries so hard to be good, to be so guilty of this one thing is interesting. It is her tragic flaw. On Lucifer:

How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!

For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:

I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.

Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit. Isaiah 14:12-15

Can we talk for a minute about how Ghent and I have literally risen high above - we live on top of a mountain. And we make our living from a hole far down in the ground that belches "its stream of gold." Never thought I would be quoting the Bible, but when you're playing a very religious woman, there's a lot to be learned.

Philip and Ruth: This relationship is very emotional for me, this week. When they are reunited in Act II and Ruth says to him, "This is the finding of the prodigal, and she expects a robe and a ring," it is heartbreaking to me. I knew the story of the Prodigal son, but I looked up the exact wording to see if it would inform the moment at all. Upon returning to his father, the younger son says:

Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.

I feel that, in her own way, this is exactly what she is saying to Philip. He cannot understand why she has hidden herself away and not contacted anyone, but she feels so much shame and guilt that she no longer feels worthy of him. However masked and playful she is upon greeting him, the defenses eventually slip away and there is one truthful moment of repentance in, "I'm sorry."

Time to learn lines. More soon.

Tomorrow's Play: Doubt by John Patrick Shanley

As Bees in Honey Drown

2011-02-10T23:54:00.000-05:00

by Douglas Carter Beane

This play really could not be more different from The Great Divide, stylistically, plot-wise.. it's almost unfair to compare them because they are at two ends of the spectrum. I can't help but compare, however, since my head is so wrapped up in early 20th century language and behavior..

As Bees in Honey Drown is a decent play. I much preferred Beane's The Little Dog Laughed, but I did enjoy reading this piece. It's basically about a scam artist and how her victims take their revenge. The main thing I took away from this play:

In New York, anyone can create a new identity.

Alexa Vere de Vere was once a normal girl with a normal, boring upbringing, who then decided she wanted to be someone of import and so she adopted a larger than life personality and irresistible charm. Once she believed she was important, the rest of New York followed suit. The thing with disguises though, is that when the line begins to blur, it's easy to forget who you really are.

The scam runs like this: Alexa and her latest discovery (read: victim) are buying something, ie: dinner, new clothes, etc. She only has cash so she asks victim to pay with his or her credit card so that Alexa can have the receipt for her accountant. Alexa pays victim back in cash. Eventually, this continues and Alexa stops paying back, then victim is left screwed out of lots of money. My main issue with this play lies entirely with this scam. Since when can you not get a receipt when you pay with cash?! This does NOT make any sense to me. Therefore, as I read the play I just thought that all of her victims were stupid because they fell for this, and probably deserved to get scammed. Also, I saw it coming from the beginning so it wasn't much of a reveal.

Issues aside, I really like Beane as a writer. There were some lines that resonated with me.. There is a moment when Alexa is having a heart-to-heart with her latest discovery, Evan Wyler, writer. She tells him a story about a woman she knows who was discovered to be a masochist:

I asked her what it was that inspired her to be treated poorly. She told me that the line between pain and pleasure was very thin indeed. I smiled to her ruefully and told her not to fret because the line between pain and love was virtually indistinguishable. But we're not like that, are we? We're not the ones people hurt. We are the creative people. We have art to protect us, even if our greatest creation gets to be ourselves.

I agree that art can be a comfort, but I think because we are creative people we feel things intensely in life as well, and so I think we are the ones that people hurt. Sometimes my expectations are so high that my disappointments run so deep. And then, when people meet or surpass my desires, my heart bursts.

What she says about the line between pain and love being very thin is speaking to me regarding my relationship in TGD... why do we punish ourselves for feeling pleasure? (Actually, that's Ghent's argument at the end, I punish myself because of my Puritanical upbringing).. but in modern life, what is it that scares us about happiness? About success? Alexa says:

It is every time you create that you run the risk of proving or chiseling at your reputation.

It is easier, and perhaps safer for peace of mind, to say, "I am an actor," but never act. It is riskier to slip into someone else's skin and try them on for size - To risk your own reputation, publicly, to attempt to express yourself with someone else's words.

So, for the next two months, I will be taking that risk to try and tell Ruth's story of struggle and strength. Hope you'll join me.

Tomorrow's Play: The Great Divide - Day 8

The Great Divide - Day 7

2011-02-09T02:51:00.000-05:00

One week into rehearsal, and I feel as if I've lived with this play for months. Tonight, er, last night? It's late. Anyway, tonight I was talking with some friends after The Shakespeare Forum (which you should come to, btw) about how much I love this play and how much it scares me at the same time. I am drawn to this role and this play because it is challenging.. that risk and complexity is exciting. I do a lot of classical theatre but The Great Divide is an interesting piece because it toes the line between classical and contemporary. As Moody was a contemporary of O'Neill's, the language is certainly heightened, but the cadence is modern. Moody was also a poet so there's no denying that the text is beautiful. The Shakespeare nerd in me finds immense pleasure in words, so I'm pleased as punch to speak these lines.

The Great Divide is structured as a three-act play. Each act is set in one location and there are a few french scenes in each, but the show is not longer than two hours, give or take ten minutes. We are structuring it with only one intermission for performance purposes, with Acts I and II creating our first act and Act III, our second act. Today we ran Act I only and it never fails to amaze me how liberating the first day of script-lessness feels. I have two hands! I can get close to people! I know what I'm saying! It also reveals gaping holes and awkward moments, which are fun learning experiences as well.

Scene from "The Great Divide"

Things on my mind: (I = Ruth)

The Great Arizona Desert - the vastness of the terrain vs. the claustrophobia of Massachusetts society. My excitement at the beginning of the play is due, in part, to the freedom I feel out here .. the limitless possibilities.. the new adventures. Image of a bird being released from a cage comes to mind. Vulnerable.

"Youthful Optimism" - I am 19, in a time when people only lived to be about 50. .. but I am young enough to still be of the mind that life holds so many opportunities. I am excited about the ranch and our business prospects.. at the same time I am yearning for the man of my dreams. This mentality at the top is so important for the overall journey.

In a letter to his wife, Harriet, Moody wrote, "There is no such thing as absolute truth, but that truth depends entirely upon the actual working values or 'fruits of life', of any given proposition." There is no quote that is more appropriate for the relationship between myself and Ghent. I fear society's judgement of our relationship and that stunts the growth of our love for so long. But no one knows the truth of our hearts but us. This is scary. Scary, scary, scary.

Suggested reading, by my dear friend Marianna Caldwell: Double Falsehood by Shakespeare (?)

Tomorrow's Play: As Bees in Honey Drown by Douglas Carter Beane

The Great Divide

2011-02-07T01:34:00.001-05:00

by William Vaughn Moody

Exciting news! I have been cast in the Metropolitan Playhouse's upcoming production of The Great Divide, running March 5th - April 3rd!

Much of my time will be devoted to this wonderfully complicated play so I have deemed February a month of deep exploration here at Play A Day! I still have a few plays from January to post about, but I'm thinking it could be fun to go into more depth and keep an open rehearsal journal of sorts. For those of you who are interested in reading it, a free download is available here. I would love to get a dialogue going about the issues present in the play!

About the playwright:

Moody, William Vaughn (1869–1910), playwright. The son of a Mississippi riverboat captain, he was born in Spencer, Indiana, and educated at Harvard, where he became the class poet. He later taught both at Harvard and at the University of Chicago before retiring to devote himself to writing poetry and plays. His earliest theatrical works were blank‐verse dramas, The Masque of Judgment (1900) and The Fire Bringer (1904). Neither was produced during his lifetime, although scholars have found merit in both, and only two others were enacted on stage while he was alive. The Great Divide (1906), one of the milestones in the history of American theatre, was seen as an examination of a fundamental native conflict and was an early instance of what Quinn has called the “Drama of Revolt.” The Faith Healer(1909), which centered on a man's attempt to regain divine curative powers, failed, possibly because Moody was too ill to make the requisite revisions. His early death is believed by many scholars to have deprived the theatre of a major voice and to have left it for Eugene O'Neill to bring American drama to maturity a decade later. -Oxford Companion to American Theatre

The Great Divide is a love story. Well, kinda. Written in 1906, the play focuses on the Jordan family's excursion from Massachusetts out to the wild west of the Arizona desert. Like many families, they set out to make their fortune in an untamed land. Ruth Jordan, a dreamer, who has spent most of her days working with her brother Philip to make their enterprise go, ends up marrying a rough, unpolished westerner named Stephen Ghent, much to her family's dismay. The conflict of East v. West is huge, as personalities clash and upbringings differ.

I will not reveal all that happens in the play, for those who wish to be surprised. I am so thankful to have the opportunity to play Ruth.. her story is full of spirit and struggle, like so many women of that time.

*Spoiler alert!* My thoughts below reveal some secrets of the play so STOP here if you want to read the play first!

Things on my mind: (I = Ruth)

Destiny - It is mentioned so much in this play. For better or worse, these lovers are brought together and their meeting is not a traditional one. If they are "pre-destined" as Polly says, what kind of sense of humor does their puritanical God have? Even I feel that we have known each other forever. When I say to Win that I've known Ghent "all my life. And for aeons before" I am speaking truthfully. Perhaps, I believe there must be some good in our relationship if God saw fit to bring us together. That may be part of why I fight so hard.

Marriage - Marriages in 1906 were still, to some extent, business contracts. I will not settle for an arranged marriage, a passionless love. Winthrop, though lovely and sweet, is not enough for me. He doesn't challenge me. Ghent is nothing BUT a challenge. The struggle is to make this ending real and truthful and believable. Thinking about the Polly/Phil marriage vs. Ghent/I.. what was the marriage of my parents like?

Puritanical Life - I am such a God-fearing woman that it almost destroys me. Find that passion from a contemporary POV.. Also, domestic differences between living in MA and farming in AZ - hard, physical labor, climate, danger, DIRT.. completely different way of life. Freeing.

So much more, but that's all for now.

Tomorrow's Play: more on The Great Divide..

3x3, or 9 After 9

2011-02-06T23:50:00.000-05:00

by Kevin Brewer and Shane Breaux

I won't talk too much about this play because it's still being workshopped and I don't want to give away all of the awesomeness before you all have a chance to experience it for yourselves... but, what I WILL say is that this collaboration produced some hilarity as well as some truly touching moments.

This play was co-written by two awesome playwrights, whom I met while working on Brewer's Island with the New York Shakespeare Exchange. I just realized that I never blogged about Island ... that will be remedied in the near future.

3x3, or 9 after 9 takes place in a 3-floor apartment building. Each floor has three apartments, creating a cube of people living on top and underneath and in between each other. So, the question is, how well do you know your neighbors?

More info to come about upcoming readings of this play. Stay tuned!

Tomorrow's Play: The Great Divide by William Vaughn Moody

Two Precious Maidens Ridiculed

2011-01-31T02:26:00.000-05:00

by Molière

One of my very best friends, the hilarious and talented Amanda Smith, told me she used to do a monologue from this play. I knew it must be funny if she was drawn to it, so I went to my second home, the Strand, and picked up a copy.

It's very funny - in that way only french comedies are.. The title suggests it all - it is the story of two women who think more highly of themselves than their positions warrant. After snubbing two suitors who didn't measure up to their standards ("A fine sense of chivalry they have - to begin a relationship by treating us like wives!" mourns Magdelon, one of the girls), their father/uncle expresses his disappointment:

I tell you that marriage is a simple and holy thing, and if you're honest, you'll talk about it right from the beginning.

This is not what Magdelon wanted to hear:

Good Gothic, if everybody thought that, a novel would end as soon as it started.

I will now use 'Good gothic' as much as possible in normal conversation.

What we have here is a classic case of girls-who-read-too-many-books-and-consequently-romanticize-love-to-the-point-of-unrealistic-expectation. I have been accused of this. I cannot imagine why.

The suitors are pissed and decide to enact revenge on the two girls. They send their lackeys into the drawing room to pose as society men. The lackeys play their parts well and the girls think the cream of society is coming to their doorstep. One of the servants goes so far as to recite an "impromptu" for the ladies, claiming that their beauty and charm is so overwhelming that he is driven to recite:

Oh, oh, I could not have been on guard,
For when I innocently stared at you too hard,
Your sly little eye stole my heart. O grief!
Stop thief, stop thief, stop thief, stop thief!

Now, this should have tipped the ladies off. But, because they are not really so great themselves, and probably don't have very much education in the forms of poetry, they are none the wiser. .. OR they are just so blinded by potential popularity they IGNORE the poor excuse for a verse. Regardless, it's very funny to watch the men parade around the room and make fools of the women.

Mascarille, one of the lackeys, pretends that he has written a play, and when asked which company he will give it to, he responds:

What a question! Naturally, to the Bourgogne Players. They are the only ones who know how to play for effect. The others are ignorant fellows who talk like people. They don't know how to snort out their lines or pause at a strategic point. And how can we recognize a fine line if the actor doesn't pause to warn us that it is time to show our appreciation?

The Bourgogne Players were Molière's rivals, so not only does he get a dig in at them, but he has the opportunity to create a bit of a "Hamlet's advice to the players" moment.

As the title suggests, the women are punished for their folly. I really loved imagining this play in my mind and it's a quick and easy read if you're looking for something to put a smile on your face!

Tomorrow's Play: 3x3, or 9 after 9 by Shane Breaux and Kevin Brewer

Essential Self-Defense

2011-01-31T01:48:00.000-05:00

by Adam Rapp

This play is weird. I mean, it's funny, but it's about very strange people. It reminded me of something Christopher Moore might write (he was on my brain, as I was recommending A Dirty Job and Fool to friends at Forum Tuesday night). Anyway, who says plays should only be written about princes and counties? There are weird people out there and they deserve to have plays about them, too.

The story centers on an unlikely couple who meet in self-defense class: Sadie, a student, and Yul, the guy she beats up week after week.

Yul's weird sense of humor gave me the most pleasure while reading this play. When Sadie comes to visit him at his place, she notices that he has a lot of eggs lying around. He's a little strange about them, telling her:

They're more like color-coded containers. But that subject needs to end forever.

Clearly, he has evil intentions for those innocent-looking eggs. The story has just the right amount of ambiguity, which allows you to draw your own conclusions as to what type of guy Yul really is. Is he just a misunderstood loner or is he, well, a terrorist?

You'll have to read to find out... ;)

For all his eccentricities, Yul is a very smart guy. While at a super awkward dinner party, he cautions the group:

I think books are more dangerous than anything. Because they get at your thoughts in the most personal way. The author's voice is like a whisper that finds you at midnight.

Love that image.

All in all, not my favorite of Rapp's work, but an entertaining read and good for a chuckle. Also, a good piece to look at for off-beat, quirky character work and monologues.

Tomorrow's Play: Two Precious Maidens Ridiculed by Moliere

The Pillowman

2011-01-27T01:05:00.001-05:00

Sara Krulwich/The New York Times

by Martin McDonagh

I got an email suggesting that I read some of McDonagh's work and I realized that for all his many brilliant plays, I hadn't blogged one. SO.. It's been a while since I picked up a McDonagh play. I was fortunate enough to see The Pillowman on Broadway, twice. It was amazing. It was the best play I'd seen on stage until I saw the most recent La Bete.

It was a joy to pick up The Pillowman after a few years away from it. The performances were still in my mind but not so fresh that I couldn't create new images as I read. One thing that definitely stuck with me was Jeff Goldblum's voice. His inflections are hard to forget.

I think McDonagh's work is hard to categorize. This is a drama. But it's hilarious. But the comedy is so dark you find yourself wondering, was it okay that I just laughed at that?

The Pillowman is, appropriately, about the power of stories. The power of the written word. The purest form of entertainment, because it gets into your brain and grabs your imagination. The play begins in an interrogation room where the writer Katurian Katurian Katurian (his parents were cruel. no, really.) is being accused of a crime. Jeff Goldblum asks him to stand and read aloud one of his short stories. Katurian is confused by this, but agrees, stating, "This feels like school somehow." Jeff Goldblum responds:

Mm. Except at school they didn't execute you at the end. (Pause.) Unless you went to a really fucking tough school.

So, now Katurian is scared and confused. On top of this, his brother is being tortured in the room next door. All he can think is that perhaps he has angered someone with the tone of his stories, which range from gruesome to horrifying. Jeff Goldblum carries on the role of not necessarily 'good' cop but 'better of the two' cops with his sardonic humor. He tells Katurian:

We like executing writers. Dimwits we can execute any day. And we do. But, you execute a writer, it sends out a signal, y'know?

After some more scare tactics, Katurian learns that he's under investigation for the murder of a series of young children. He is the prime suspect because the murders were carried out in ways that mirror the action of a few of his short stories. He claims innocence but the cops are not convinced.

Fast forward to the top of act two: both brothers are now in one room and we have the opportunity to learn about their dark upbringing that turned Katurian into the writer he is now. Through the character of Katurian, McDonagh emphasizes the importance of the writer's work outlasting the life of the writer:

It isn't about being or not being dead. It's about what you leave behind. Right at this moment, I don't care if they kill me. I don't care. But they're not going to kill my stories. They're not going to kill my stories. They're all I've got.

*SPOILER ALERT* If you haven't read the play, you may want to skip the end of this post.

So, it turns out that Katurian's innocent-seeming, mentally-challenged brother decided to act out some of his big brother's stories, which, in turn, killed two children. Katurian is dumbfounded and asks him why he couldn't have acted out some of his nicer stories? Michael tells him he didn't write any.

Michal: So, what, I could've done ones that wouldn't've been so horrible? Like what? Like 'The Face Basement'? Slice off their face, keep it in a jar on top of a dummy, downstairs? Or 'The Shakespeare Room'? Old Shakespeare with the little black pygmy lady in the box, gives her a stab with a stick every time he wants a new play wrote?
Katurian: He didn't do all those plays himself.

Bahaha. The more plays I read, the more I realize that nearly every one has either a Shakespeare joke or reference of some sort. I cannot imagine having such a profound effect on society that your influence is still present EVERYWHERE after hundreds and hundreds of years. Amazing.

I respect McDonagh so much for his limitless imagination. Within The Pillowman, he has created multiple stories, most of them horrific, but so creative. His dark macabre sense of humor is a welcome change from the fluffy Moliere I was reading earlier this week (posts to come).

Reading the cast list from the original British version led to an interesting exercise for me. Having only seen the Broadway production, I tried to read through this time with the British casting in mind. It's a very different play. For example, imagine Jeff Goldblum saying:

I'm just tired of everybody round here using their shitty childhoods to justify their own shitty behavious. My dad was a violent alcoholic. Am I a violent alcoholic? Yes I am, but that was my personal choice. I freely admit it.

Now, re-read the line with Jim Broadbent in mind.

Totally different, right?

Tomorrow's Play: Essential Self-Defense by Adam Rapp

Red Light Winter

2011-01-20T00:16:00.000-05:00

by Adam Rapp

Okay, admit it, you clicked on this one for the picture.

Does it ever happen to you where you've read a play a few times and as you're re-reading you still forget what happens? That happened to me reading Red Light Winter. I've probably read this play three times, at least, and I could not remember what happened at the end (I mean, I remembered the big thing, but not how they got there.) It made for a very enjoyable reading experience, but caused some alarm with regard to my long term memory..

Oh well.

I love reading introductions. I feel like they are a glimpse of the day-to-day life of the playwright. The voice is different - oftentimes honest and straightforward, even humorous. Rapp's introduction to Red Light Winter was beautiful to read on its own. He mentions his inspiration for the play, and what drew him to write this complicated love triangle. He found himself interested in:

how we hold on to the tiniest details when we encounter someone we're bewitched by, and how the other person might not remember the most obvious things from that meeting; the cruelty and pain of being disremembered versus the alchemy of selective memory and how we twist and distort it to rationalize and justify what we want to believe about the object of our affection.

So sad. Even sadder that it happens every day. To wonderful people.

The first time I read this play I was shocked. In the best of ways. I enjoyed the dark humor and twists and turns. This time, I was less shocked, but more appreciative of the complexities within the characters. I recently read Rapp's Essential Self-Defense (post to come soon) and feel that I'm beginning to understand Rapp's sense of humor a little better.

There were some lines in this play that made me laugh out loud. For example, once Christine/a lets down her walls and starts to tell Matt some of her truths, it's revealed that she used to be an actress. Matt asks her, "What was the last play you did?" She responds:

Fucking Oklahoma. But it was pretty experimental. It was set in a small engine-repair shop and all the townspeople were part machine.

I mean, come ON. That is brilliant. We kind of all have a story like that. Also, I would pay to see that version. Well, not a lot. But, like 5 bucks? Definitely.

This time around, Matt was the most interesting character for me. His artistic and personal struggles seem totally believable and my heart went out to him. He was dealt a rough hand by having Davis as a friend and a career that results in enormous pressure. Through Matt's voice, Rapp tells us what every playwright must feel at some point:

Yeah, with playwriting there's lots of false starts. Ill-fated first acts, etcetera. I blame it all on Shakespeare. He stole all my ideas like three hundred years before I was even born. He futuristically ruined my career.

That's why he's a badass.

Tomorrow's Play: The Pillowman by Martin McDonagh

Mary Stuart

2011-01-13T14:47:00.001-05:00

by Friedrich Schiller, in a new version by Peter Oswald

Hurrah for two amazing female roles! This is a play ripe with intrigue, plotting, suspicion.. you know, politics. The most anticipated moment, however, is the meeting of Mary Stuart and Queen Elizabeth. When it arrives, it proves well worth waiting for.

Mary Stuart is a modern verse play. Yes, it is poetic, but the poetry enhances the world of the play and heightens the drama. We see the world through the eyes of the prisoner, Mary, and the ruler, Elizabeth. Surprisingly, they don't differ much. Both are full of fear, as was the norm of the time. Both women are Queens and testing the waters to see where loyalties lie. Unfortunately for them, the men surrounding them have shifting loyalties and their own advancement to think of. This leaves very shaky ground for our main characters to walk upon.

Much of the play is setting up the fateful meeting of the two crowns. Those on Mary's side encourage the encounter, sure that upon sight of her, Elizabeth will sympathize with Mary. Those on the side of Queen Elizabeth are less in favor. Elizabeth, knowing it will look badly for her if she puts Mary to death publicly, would rather something be done with the prisoner in quiet. She attempts to give unspoken signals to her servants and finds one responsive - Mortimer... or so she thinks. He tells her not to worry about how things look, to which she responds:

The world
Thinks through its eyes, do you not know that, knight?
Everyone judges by appearance, no one
Bothers to fathom the realities.

She departs their meeting believing that she finally found the man to take out Mary. Grateful, she instructs him:

Tell yourself
That silence is a sign of satisfaction,
And that the truest and the best connections
Are often those that must remain most hidden.

Little does she know, Mortimer has other plans. In fact, his dream is to free Mary, whom he loves. Mortimer's father, seeing the way the Queen spoke to him, fears for his son. He urges him:

Don't pay for anything with everything. Hold onto your conscience!

Such is the world at court - in a word, dangerous.

Without revealing the end action, I will assure that the two women, strong-headed and passionate, fight for what they believe and don't back down easily. This play is brilliant and I hope you'll take the time to check it out. I trust it will be performed often now and in about five or so years when I can play the roles!

Tomorrow's Play: Red Light Winter by Adam Rapp

The Tragedy of Macbeth Part II: The Seed of Banquo

2011-01-13T13:38:00.001-05:00

by Noah Lukeman

Okay. So about a week ago I wrote an excellent blog post about this play and then went to post it and BAM! Error message. Lost entire post. Curse of Macbeth perhaps? OOOOOOooooooOOOOooooo. It's taken me a while but let's try again.

I first saw this play on the shelves of the Drama Bookshop and, needless to say, I was skeptical. Someone tried to write a sequel to one of the greatest English tragedies ever? In blank verse nonetheless?!?! Bold. BUT recently, someone that I respect a great deal recommended it to me. So, for his sake, I gave it a read.

I loved it.

Is it the sequel that Shakespeare would have written? Probably not. But that's exactly why I liked it so much. I feel like Lukeman was able to take risks with characters and situations that the culture surrounding Shakespeare wouldn't have allowed. Granted, I did find some of the scenes to be bordering on the cheesy, but with the right actors and direction? No problem.

SO, It's been ten years since the Macbeths died and the land is at peace under Malcolm's rule. Malcolm, however, has had ten years to think about the prophecy that Banquo's issue, sooner or later, would be King. He fears Fleance, who has been gathering soldiers, and tells his men to watch the young threat, but not to strike, because:

   Graver the danger that I
become the likeness of Macbeth than that
a boy-man dream of breaching Dunsinane.

Malcolm's men (who are almost all driven by their own desires) plant seeds of doubt in his head about not only Fleance, but also Donalbain, his own brother who fled to Ireland. Malcolm refuses to think poorly of his brother but Seyton warns him:

   The truest
villain does not reveal himself until
the moment meet for his desire -

I don't want to reveal all of the awesome things that happen because I want you to read it for yourself. So I may be a little vague from here on.. Malcolm is frightened and the peace makes him uneasy so he goes to visit everyone's favorite villains, the witches. They prophesy a few things that confuse both Malcolm and us.. but are later revealed as they come true.

Later on, Malcolm falls in love with a girl, who is sort of a mix of Isabella and Imogen, with a dash of Caesar's Portia. This heroin is actually my favorite character in the piece. She has some beautiful speeches. When Malcolm confesses his feelings, she responds:

It is not requited. And if it were,
I would have no extravagant way
to frame the words, have no device to gild
my syllables, but only say, I love you.

While Malcolm is busy falling in love, Fleance (who, grown up, reminds me of Florizel) is far away planning for battle. We first see him trying to convince his lover, Fiona, to come away with him. This pastoral scene is a sharp contrast from the tension of Malcolm's court. Alas, Fiona is killed, forcing Fleance to a harsher state of mind. He vows:

I who gave my life to love shall learn
the ways of war; I who worshipped Venus
will turn my face to Mars.

Fleance is shown as a fair man. Upon meeting the son of the old Cawdor, all of his men are wary but Fleance says:

   I shall
trust you, for it takes equal courage
to trust as to live, and in these times
we must learn to live again.

A kingly sentiment, I think.

Lukeman is clearly very smart, and has let his imagination run wild with these already-famous characters. The Seed of Banquo is a treat. Whether you're familiar with Macbeth or not, I promise you'll be entertained!

Tomorrow's Play: Mary Stuart by Friedrich Schiller, new version by Peter Oswald

Wonderful Time

2011-01-06T00:43:00.000-05:00

by Jonathan Marc Sherman

Wonderful Time is a boy-meets-girl-and-immediately-takes-her-to-his-best-friend's-wedding kind of story. Not, you'd think, the best way to begin a relationship. But what's nice about Sherman's tale is that this is a gradual coming together of two slightly wounded people - it's not gimmicky or trite. It's simple. And real.

When I read a play I look for many things. Not the least of which is a universality - to be able to find something within the play that rises above the action. One of Sherman's characters sums it up nicely:

The point is there are important messages in unexpected places, and it's our duty to search for them.

I think it's in all humans to question. To be curious about people and the world around us. I'm always searching for the next thing - be it an answer, a path, a question, a person.. and artists of all mediums seek truth and love.

Linus, the hero/underdog of the story loses his girlfriend at the top of the play, after he admits that he cheated. He is about to head to his best friend's wedding and doesn't want to go alone, so when he meets Betsy on the street, he invites her along. Would this happen in real life? Are people really that spontaneous? I'd like to think so. I probably wouldn't go, but that depends on the sort of day I was having, I suppose.

On the airplane, Betsy tries to explain why she decided to come with him. Her complaint is that people are too boring and that nobody does interesting things. She wanted to break that pattern.

In her, I see the playwright's desire to wake up his readers.. to encourage them to live life to the fullest. In this modern age of planning every thing down to the minute (something I'm pretty guilty of), watching two people fall in love through a whimsical journey across the country is refreshing.

Linus and Betsy begin as near strangers, and through witty banter and inherent chemistry come to find something special. Yet, the ending of the plays leaves us wondering if Linus is still searching for something more. This is not your typical happy ending. Earlier, to Betsy, he says:

You shouldn't have to say actions speak louder than words. You should act actions speak louder than words.

His words are saying one thing to her and his actions, something totally different. As he stares off into the ocean at the end, it left me thinking that our generation is crippled by endless choices. Our ability to see the future a million different ways makes it difficult to make decisions. The choice of who you spend your time with may just be the most important, and ultimately, the hardest. It's not like the old days when you knew the only single guy in town roughly your age would end up being your husband. Online dating and cosmopolitan cities have expanded the waters where the fish live..

Ideally, love is a simple thing. And when you kiss, you feel like a kid again. Butterflies, excitement, uncertainty.. a flood of emotion.. As Linus says:

No matter how many times I do that, I'll always feel like I'm twelve. Let's kiss for hours. Let's kiss till our lips hurt.

Tomorrow's Play: The Tragedy of Macbeth, Part II: The Seed of Banquo

Iphigenia

2011-01-02T01:20:00.002-05:00

by P. Seth Bauer

HAPPY 2011!

To start things off right, let's make a sacrifice in honor of Dionysus. May this year be filled with lots of love, creativity, and happiness! .. Alas, I have no daughter to give to the gods, so I will write about a man who does!

If you're usually turned off by Greek plays because the drama is so intense that it turns comical, then THIS play is for you. If you love all things Greek and appreciate a nice modern spin on a classic, then this play is for you! Basically I'm saying - this play is for you. And you.

Bauer has created a modern, funny, fast-paced, surprisingly refreshing version of the tragic sacrifice of Iphigenia.

Now, Agamemnon gets a bad rap for his decision to give up his daughter.. he's in an impossible situation. Something that struck me reading this play was the important difference between personal and political. Take this exchange:

   Menelaos: These are not the words of a general.
   Agamemnon: Just a father.
   Menelaos: But you are greater than that. Anyone can be a father. The
   army's full of fathers. But who can inspire these men and lead them on to
   victory? You.

Remember that season of West Wing when Jed's daughter got kidnapped and he invoked the 25th amendment because he didn't feel fit to serve? He was so focused on his personal life that he couldn't do the country justice. I feel like Agamemnon is in a similar situation - but instead of doing the humane thing, as wonderful-perfect-wishyouwerereal-Jed Bartlet does, Agamemnon gives up his daughter.

One could argue that Agamemnon is not the real bad guy of the story, however, Menelaos is. He is the one who is so laser-focused on war, but with the Greek mentality of the time, who can blame him?

We're Greeks. We don't ask ourselves why we go to war. We ask ourselves why not.

The hero of this story is Iphigenia herself. She is a fitting testament to her name, which means "strong-born" or "born to strength," and, I think, an appropriate model to start off the year - a strong woman, secure in her beliefs, unafraid of what's to come.

Here's to a fantastic 2011!

Tomorrow's Play: Wonderful Time by Jonathan Marc Sherman

Holiday Hiatus!

2010-12-18T18:09:00.000-05:00

Happy Holidays to one and all!

Play a Day will be back in 2011!

Reading suggestions? Send to: aplayadayblog@gmail.com

Spinning into Butter

2010-11-28T01:27:00.000-05:00

by Rebecca Gilman

Has anyone seen the movie they made of this play? I checked out the trailer on IMDB - not impressed. I would be interested to hear people's thoughts on the stage-to-film adaptation..

I like Rebecca Gilman as a playwright but this is not my favorite of her plays. A while back I mentioned that mysteriously, I end up reading plays that have similar themes (or perhaps I just find things in common about the pieces I choose) .. apparently this week the theme is unsympathetic characters!

Sarah is the newest Dean at a small college campus in Vermont. She is brought on specifically to deal with issues of diversity and when a student begins to get threatening notes because he is black, Sarah is quick to defend. Gilman sets us up to fall in love with Sarah - her empathy for the students, her open mind, her ability to stand up to the other Deans.. and then we find out that it's sort of all an act and that Sarah, the voice of the minority student, the champion of diversity, is actually a secret racist. It's a big letdown. And yet, somehow realistic and human in a sad way. I think this play raises important questions and certainly reminds us that racism is still a hot-button issue and not a thing of the past.

When Sarah reveals her struggle to Ross, her ex-lover, he tells her that she is being a coward and that, "Even if you can't find the perfect solution, you should find the best you can and at least give it a try." She acknowledges that what she is feeling is wrong, she even tries to talk herself out of judging people unfairly but she just can't stop. When Ross tells her to open up a dialogue, she responds:

Public dialogue is never real dialogue. Nobody will admit to anything in a crowd. I mean, I can't believe that I'm the only person that feels this way.

She brings up a good point here - it's easy to say the right thing in public, when you're under pressure to do and be good. To tell the truth, as Sarah has, no matter how ugly, is the more difficult thing. They say the first step in solving your problem is admitting you have one. At least Sarah can admit that she is wrong, rather than saying one thing to a person's face and another behind their back.

There is a Yeats quote that is brought up during this conversation that rings so true to our political climate at the moment:

"The best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity."

In my opinion, the best have conviction, the question is whether they can be heard over the screaming ignorance of the worst.

Enough of that.

Gilman blends nice moments of lighter fare throughout so that the piece is not bogged down by the weight of its subject matter. When speaking of a student's home, Meyers, Sarah's only friend on campus, comments:

The bathroom was nice. I guess it was a guest bathroom. They had the liquid soap in the dispenser, though, so you could really wash your hands. Sometimes people put little special soaps in the guest bathroom. Little soaps shaped like roses or something. I never know if I'm supposed to use them or just look at them.

Yeah, but they're so pretty!

Tomorrow's Play: Iphigenia by P. Seth Bauer

Blood Wedding

2010-11-27T01:03:00.000-05:00

by Federico Garcia Lorca in a version by Ted Hughes

All poets are not alike. Not all poets impregnate every woman they come into contact with.. (if confused, see my previous post). Thank you Ted Hughes for your beautiful version of Lorca's shocking Blood Wedding. This piece is so effective - it spoke to my soul and to my heart in a heightened way that felt both classical and modern.

It's a story of tortured love - a bride is set to marry.. but Leonardo, the man she truly loves, is married to another. They try to contain their passion for each other but Leonardo tells the young bride:

We cannot punish ourselves worse than to burn and stay silent. What good did my pride do me - not seeing you, and knowing you were lying awake night after night. None! It only poured blazing coals over me. You think time heals and that walls shut away but it's not true, it's not true. When things have pierced to the centre nobody can pull them out.

With such deep passions and such heavy words we know this can't end well...

Their love is so strong and so secret that naturally, everyone in town knows about it. The day of the wedding comes but Leonardo and the bride ride away together on horseback. Happy ending, right? Too easy. The lovers (who aren't lovers, as the bride remains chaste) escape into the woods and share a few moments together, all the time knowing that they will be caught. Three woodcutters discuss their flight, saying that "the blood cannot be denied."

   First: When the blood chooses a path it has to be followed.
   Second: But blood that sees the light is swallowed by the dust.
   First: So? Better be a bloodless carcass than alive with the blood rotting in your body.

Better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all? ..I believe this to be true. Though it hurts, I'd rather feel the extremes than live a life of numbness.

The groom is furiously searching for his runaway bride (unintentional endorsement) and when he finds her with Leonardo, the two men fight and are both killed. The mother of the groom is heartbroken but instructs her neighbor:

Will you be quiet. I want no weeping in this house. Your tears are just tears, they come from your eyes. My tears will be different. When I'm alone my tears will come from the soles of my feet. From my very roots. And they'll burn hotter than blood.

The bride comes to her, alone and desperate, having witnessed the death of the two men in her life, wanting only one thing. She asks the old woman:

Stop talking. Take your revenge. Here I am. Here's my throat. You see how soft it is. Easier than cutting a dahlia in your garden.

The bride is alone with her grief and sees no release from it other than death. She insists that she is pure and has never betrayed the old woman's son. The woman will not draw blood and the bride is left alone to sob in the corner.

Admittedly, this play could be a bit of a downer. Unless you're drawn to the grand, dramatic stories, as I am. I relish in the language and the elevated emotions. Hughes' poetic tendencies ebb and flow throughout, adding beauty to a gruesome story based on a true event.

Tomorrow's Play: Spinning into Butter by Rebecca Gilman

All This Intimacy

2010-11-26T03:21:00.000-05:00

by Rajiv Joseph

I've been putting off writing this post. I thought a LOT about how I feel about this play. I liked it. And I didn't. In a nutshell, the play is about a man who gets three women pregnant in one week - his girlfriend, his next door neighbor, and his student. Now, this man is not a stud. He is just vulnerable. That doesn't make him less of an asshole, however. I struggle with the play because I don't sympathize with the main character - Ty, who is a poet (of course). And before you say that I just hate him cause I'm a woman and what girl wouldn't think he's awful, let me go on to say that I also do not side with any one of the women. From the text, I don't feel emotionally connected to any of them. So, I'm left with lots of feelings and none of them good. But it's Thanksgiving and I'd like to feel happy things today so I'll mention some moments in the play that I did connect to.

Jen is Ty's girlfriend who, when we first meet her, is breaking up with him. She tells him:

When it comes to figuring out what to do with my life, I've been seriously claustrophobic. Because choosing things narrows down your life, it limits you and it freaks me out. I'm not kidding. Every time you make a decision, you narrow your life more and more...

I responded to this moment because it reminded me of a conversation I had with an agent a little while ago about how sometimes you have to limit yourself temporarily in order to expand your options in the future (for more on that conversation, buy me a drink). It can be hard to make those big decisions. For Jen, her path was pretty much revealed when she found out she was pregnant. It's funny how life will hand you something wonderful just when you need it. Or just when you can't have it. Or just when you least expect it. Or, or, or...

Becca is Ty's student who won him with her wistful words.. When speaking of his new book of poetry, she encourages him:

It doesn't matter how many you sell. If your poetry affects one person, then that's all that matters. That's how you change the world. You're changing the world with your poetry.

This could easily come off as cheesy, but the romantic in me believes that art can and does change the world. Poems speak right to the heart, just as songs change minds, and theatre drives you to action.

The other mother of his child is his neighbor, Maureen. Ty decides to host the most awkward of all dinner parties - including his three baby mommas, his ex's sister and her fiance, who also happens to be his best friend. At this "party" all of the women find out about each other and.. well, it's dramatic. Ty tells the audience:

I wanted this. I wanted everyone to converge. I needed it to happen. I mean, breaking this kind of news to a girl... THREE TIMES... and having to deal with the fallout three times and I'm telling you: I just couldn't handle that. I'm weak. So... Dinner. Everyone at once. Three birds with one stone.

And herein lies my main issue. I think that he should have to go through that three times. Each woman is unique and deserves to hear the truth from him individually. I don't think it was weak of him, I think it was cowardly (ultimately more dramatic for play purposes? yes, but still). I just can't feel bad for a guy who takes the easy route. And don't think you'll win me over with your heartfelt soliloquies.. that didn't work for Richard III and it won't work for you, Ty.

I should note that this play is very funny. If the female characters were expanded a bit more, it would grow in my esteem.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Tomorrow's Play: Blood Wedding by Federico Garcia Lorca, in a version by Ted Hughes

Henry IV, part 1

2010-11-10T03:20:00.001-05:00

by William Shakespeare

Firstly I must say that this is the 100th play that I have blogged about. Yes, I'm a little behind, but hey, sometimes life interrupts. Regardless, I'm pretty proud that I've kept it up this long. So thanks for being a part of the journey.

Second, it's no mere accident that my 100th play is a Shakespeare play. If I'm gonna celebrate, I want Will with me.

Thirdly, I'd like to take a sec to plug the Globe's travelling production of Merry Wives of Windsor that I saw this past weekend. Hilarious. So fun. If you missed them this year, be sure to catch them next year when they're back in town!

And now. Back to our regularly scheduled program.

Where to start? Well, after seeing Merry Wives I have Falstaff on the brain. And all through reading this play I kept picturing the actor from the Globe's production (the brilliant Christopher Benjamin) playing Falstaff in 1HenryIV. There are so many brilliant Falstaff moments - mostly jokes made of his behalf but certainly he has plenty of his own. The very first time we see Falstaff, Hal is making fun of him. Falstaff merely asks Hal the time, and this is the response he gets:

Thou art so fat-witted with drinking of old sack, and unbuttoning thee after supper, and sleeping upon benches after noon, that thou hast forgotten to demand that truly which thou wouldst know. What a devil hast thou to do with the time of the day? Unless hours were cups of sack, and minutes capons, and clocks the tongues of bawds, and dials the signs of leaping-houses, and the blessed sun himself a fair hot wench in flame-coloured taffeta, I see no reason why thou shouldst be so superfluous to demand the time of the day.

A simple 'ten o'clock' would have sufficed. This sets up Falstaff's role in the community and also lays the ground for many a fat-joke throughout the rest of the play. This is also the first scene where we meet Hal, the prince and heir to the throne. His 'loose behaviour' is set up here, showing him drinking and carousing with his friends -- not very princely. In the previous scene his father, the King, was telling us how he wished that his son had been switched at birth with the noble warrior Percy. Ouch. That's rough. But then comes this brilliant speech by Hal (and one of my favorite male monologues in Shakespeare.)

I know you all, and will awhile uphold
The unyoked humour of your idleness.
Yet herein will I imitate the sun,
Who doth permit the base contagious clouds
To smother up his beauty from the world,
That, when he please again to be himself,
Being wanted, he may be more wondered at
By breaking through the foul and ugly mists
Of vapours that did seem to strangle him.
If all the year were playing holidays,
To sport would be a tedious as to work;
But when they seldom come, they wished-for come,
And nothing pleaseth but rare accidents.
So when this loose behaviour I throw off
And pay the debt I never promised,
By how much better than my word I am,
By so much shall I falsify men's hopes;
And, like bright metal on a sullen ground,
My reformation, glittering o'er my fault,
Shall show more goodly and attract more eyes
Than that which hath no foil to set it off.
I'll so offend to make offence a skill,
Redeeming time when men think least I will.

And in about two hours, that's exactly what he'll do.

This next quote comes from the pompous Own Glendower as he's speaking to the hot-headed Percy, aka Hotspur. He tells him:

Give me leave
To tell you once again that at my birth
The front of heaven was full of fiery shapes,
The goats ran from the mountains, and the herds
Were strangely clamorous to the frighted fields.
These signs have marked me extraordinary,
And all the courses of my life do show
I am not in the roll of common men.

Okay, so put away the measuring sticks boys. I like this speech because he gets to say ex-tra-or-di-na-ry with all of it's syllables and that's not the way we hear that word very often. It makes me smile. Also, it's funny to hear a guy talking about what happened on the day he was born, as if he would know. Also, was he born in a field? Why were the goats so scared? Anyway.

In this play Falstaff gets caught in many a lie and more than one sticky situation. You'd think he would learn, but no. Earlier, he fell asleep behind an arras and is now accusing his hostess of picking his pocket. This infuriates Hal and Falstaff is quick to make good:

Dost thou hear, Hal? Thou knowest in the state of innocency Adam fell, and what should poor Jack Falstaff do in the days of villainy? Thou seest I have more flesh than another man and therefore more frailty. You confess, then, you picked my pocket?

Oh, is Falstaff overweight? I hadn't realized. I'm glad he told us. Seriously though, how many Falstaff=fat jokes do we think are in the play? 100? More?

Falstaff makes for many a merry scene but the driving action of the latter half of the play is the epic battle of the rebels versus those in power. Both sides are hurting for men, rest, and strategy, but Hotspur and his noblemen are down a few major players. He gets the news that his father will not be joining him, as he's in poor health. Needless to say, Hotspur isn't happy:

Zounds, how has he the leisure to be sick

In such a jostling time?

It seemed to me slightly suspicious that he was sick at this critical moment. That may just be the cynic in me, but perhaps we'll learn more about that in 2HenryIV.

I cannot honestly imagine Falstaff fighting in a war. I just feel like he would hide behind a tree and get out his flask and make up insults for the soldiers passing by. Perhaps he would narrate the fights - the world's first commentator. Apparently, he will fight, and he's not happy about it:

Well, 'tis no matter; honour pricks me on. Yea, but how if honour prick me off when I come on? How then? Can honour set to a leg? No. Or an arm? No. Or take away the grief of a wound? No. Honour hath no skill in surgery, then? No. What is honour? A word. What is in that word 'honour'? What is that 'honour'? Air. A trim reckoning. Who hath it? He that died o'Wednesday. Doth he feel it? No. Doth he hear it? No. 'Tis insensible then? Yea, to the dead. But will it not live with the living? No. Why? Detraction will not suffer it. Therefore I'll none of it. Honour is a mere scutcheon. And so ends my catechism.

Wise words. When he uses his wit, he sometimes says things worth hearing. And yet, his honor does lead him on to fight, and he must not be half bad either, because he lives to see another day. Though, not without some trickery. More on that later.

I was cheering for Hotspur all the way through. That may just be because I'm partial to that scene between he and his wife, but I sorta fell in love with him. He's damaged but he's only human and he know what he's good at. Yes, he has a temper, but he's a WARRIOR. Hello. As he rouses his men to fight what will end up being a losing battle he tells them:

An if we live, we live to tread on kings;
If die, brave death when princes die with us.

To tread on kings. What an image. Whether he is speaking metaphorically or literally, the idea is a strong one and his men fight bravely. Alas, Hotspur is killed by Prince Hal in a moment where Hal reveals his true colors. We see the man who may be King and he has earned the honor. He is even gracious in his win, complimenting Percy after death:

When that this body did contain a spirit
A kingdom for it was too small a bound,
But now two paces of the vilest earth
Is room enough.

That certainly puts things in perspective. Hotspur was a man that was feared; the very mention of his name brought with it an air of honor, courage, fierceness, and yet all men must die. As Hal says, "thou owest God a death." He died in battle, as he would have wanted. And the stories of his conquests will always live on....

Perhaps my very favorite moment of the play was when Hal mourns the loss of Falstaff, exits, and then Falstaff pops up, alive as ever. Of course he would fake his own death in order to escape death. Brilliant. Lucky for him, Douglas didn't give him an extra stab in the gut after he fell to the ground. That would have thrown a wrench in his plan. Thank you Shakespeare for not killing off so brilliant a character.

The best part about finishing a history play is knowing that there are more to come..

Here's to the next 100 ... *cheers*

Tomorrow's Play: All This Intimacy by Rajiv Joseph

The Four of Us

2010-11-08T22:10:00.001-05:00

by Itamar Moses

In my most recent trip to the Strand (seriously, I should get an endorsement deal), I found this gem. After my love of Moses' Bach at Leipzig, I was eager to read more of his work.

The story centers on best friends and writers, Benjamin - a novelist, and David - a playwright. Though the driving motivation throughout the play is David's jealousy of Benjamin's recent success (in the form of a two million dollar book deal), the most interesting moments to me came out of the guys' less heated exchanges. The love/hate friendship between the guys reminded me of Adam Rapp's characters in Red Light Winter.

The scenes jump around in time, showing the writers from ages 17 to 27 "though not in that order." We are first given a glimpse into the 'present' - Benjamin, having received his book deal is treated to a congratulatory lunch by David, and it is here that the green-eyed monster begins to show his head.

A few scenes later we jump back in time, when the guys were in Prague, where Benjamin began his book that would become his meal ticket and David spent most of his time at the bar, picking up ladies. Here the roles are slightly reversed, in that we see Benjamin's slight jealousy at David's ability to take a girl home whom he barely knows. His jealousy is masked in friendly concern (well, more like judgement), as he argues with David about the benefits of a relationship vs. random hook-up. He prefers to come home early and read letters from his girlfriend. "Love letters," David mocks. Benjamin responds:

Well: all letters are love letters.

In a way, I suppose they are. Especially these days, if someone is going to take the time to hand write you a letter or a card, there is more than likely some love behind it. There is a certain intimacy in seeing someone's handwriting.

David is not convinced as to the merits of relationships. He struggles with them, finding only the beginning to be satisfying, and the rest somewhat trying. He suggests:

..why not just have a series of very very beginnings, and if that isn't better, then why does it feel so much better?

The trick is finding someone who makes you feel like every day is better than the last. I think.

A big topic in the play is the public nature of writing. The difference between writing something just for yourself and writing something for the public... and potentially, writing something just for yourself that then becomes something for the public. Benjamin and David have differing points of view on this, even though both mediums - fiction and drama - are intended to be widely experienced. Benjamin, in a moment of frustration caused by speaking about the merits of graduate school, tells David:

Look, all I'm saying is: I think the thing to be afraid of is not that you will never publish, or whatever, but that you will never write anything good. And I think if I did write something good, if I knew that I had done that, I would be satisfied to let it just sit in a drawer forever. And I think that if that's not true, then the things I write probably won't be any good anyway.

That's easy to say, but if you wrote a masterpiece, no matter how humble you may be, I'm pretty sure you'd want to share it with someone. Probably lots of people. Preferably who give you money.

Here's where things get crazy. We learn that David has written a play, a successful play about his friendship with Benjamin, who has come to see the play and is upset about it. In their confrontation we learn that David has exaggerated moments that were in scenes that we saw, causing us to wonder if all of the previous scenes were the "show" or what really happened? It's a fun twist that makes the ending more poignant. The guys come to a point of reconciliation as David expresses the challenges of the workshop/preview process:

   David: People keep telling me to change it.
   Benjamin: Well, don't.
   David: Cool. Thank you.
   Benjamin: It's just what I think. (Beat.) People?
   David: Yeah, random people who insist on terrible ideas. It's called "collaboration."

I still prefer Bach at Leipzig, though apparently Charles Isherwood prefers The Four of Us, so there's that. Whichever you prefer, you won't be disappointed. I can't wait to see what Moses does next.

Tomorrow's Play: Henry IV, part 1 by William Shakespeare

Crave

2010-11-08T01:19:00.001-05:00

by Sarah Kane

Okay. I'm not going to presume to know what Kane intended for this play to be. I think she left certain things purposely vague, which is incredibly trusting and creative. So I will simply speak to my own interpretation of the play.

For me, this is the style of play that is difficult to read. Because most of the dialogue could be directed to any of the characters, it becomes a kind of nonsense without any sort of direction placed upon it. In performance, the actors and director must make choices about the relationships, but the text itself has no stage directions to clue the reader in to what's going on. That being said, I started to imagine what I would do with this play. In articles I've read it's been suggested that the four characters - C M B and A - represent four different parts of humanity, or that they are two pairs of lovers.

I imagined that this play took place inside the mind of someone who is dreaming. Each character could morph into different beings and take on different roles within the dream. I often have dreams that are difficult to put into words because they don't make logical sense. This is the world of the play, in my creation. It can be argued that in dreams, your subconscious raises issues and ideas that your conscious mind may not be able to handle. More than once I have woken myself up out of fear or grief in order to stop myself from living the dream I'm having. This dream-like world is attractive to me as a setting for Crave because truly anything can happen.

When she wrote Crave, Kane regarded it as the "most despairing" of her plays, created at a time when she had lost "faith in love." Each character is distressed and vocal about the reasons why. Some of the lines stood out to me more than others - what they say about my current state of mind would be revealing, I'm sure. Feel free to imagine:

Because love by its nature desires a future.

I have a black black side I know. I have a side so green you will never know.

You look reasonably happy for someone who's not.

You get mixed messages because I have mixed feelings.

I won't settle for a life in the dark.

What I sometimes mistake for ecstasy is simply the absence of grief.

Reading Sarah Kane makes me feel that I have things easy. Even my darkest moments cannot compare to the despair in her writing. I hope she has found peace.

Tomorrow's Play: The Four of Us by Itamar Moses

The Zig-Zag Woman

2010-11-07T21:51:00.001-05:00

by Steve Martin

In the beginning of something, its ending is foretold.

What would we not do for love? This is the tale of a young woman who wants to catch a certain beau's eye so she places herself in a magician's box that allows her middle to be separated from her head and feet - thus, the zig-zag woman. "Maybe now he'll notice me," she says.

Before we meet the object of her affection, we meet an older man, who tells her, "It's really nice the way your head is separated from your body like that." He imparts wisdom to the Zig-Zag Woman about his dearly departed wife, declaring that "love is a promise delivered already broken."

Next, we meet a middle-aged man, who brings his own sort of wisdom:

Tough debate. Married or single. Single brings a sadness, but sadness has its own perfection. Marriage brings a misery of a rare kind, the kind that loves company.

Finally, we meet the object of the Zig-Zag Woman's affection. He is a young man who has had a "brilliant flash of insight." He doesn't notice the Zig-Zag Woman but he tells the other men:

Every emotion is consumed by its opposite. Every ounce of pleasure is balanced by an equal amount of disaster. Generosity breeds contempt; power breeds weakness. Agony leads to a greater appreciation of bliss. You love your friends, they start dying; when your friends start dying, you take more chances with your own life. Every ache you feel makes its inverse more possible. And that is the ecology of joy and pain.

Why do we constantly fall for the Hamlets of the world? I suppose there's something beautiful about pain.

With a little help from the aptly named "middle man," the young man does finally notice the Zig-Zag Woman. "How do you think they will end?" the middle man asks.

I hope the older man is right when he says, "Just when you think love is dead, it is waiting for you like a crouching panther."

Tomorrow's Play: Crave by Sarah Kane

Patter for the Floating Lady

2010-11-01T22:51:00.000-04:00

by Steve Martin

Do not be fooled by the length of this play. Martin has packed it full of emotional depth and despair.

This play shows that even in the most magical of worlds love is never simple, never easy. A magician is in love with his assistant, Angie who, though mean on the surface, does actually love him in return. The magician plans to levitate Angie, and by doing so, give her something in return for all that she has given him. He thinks she will appreciate it, even if it's done by trickery because:

She understands, as I do, that with the exception of a few profound and fleeting moments in our lives, everything we say is a lie.

I could not love a man who felt this way. Or, rather, lived this way.

The magician's plan backfires, for once under the trance Angie has the power or freedom to say how she truly feels about him. Essentially, she leaves him because he is not strong enough. He is needy and jealous and read her diary:

Magician: A moment of weakness.
Assistant: More like a lifetime of weakness revealed in a moment.

There is always a darkness living in the best comedians. I like seeing this other side of Martin.

Tomorrow's Play: The Zig-Zag Woman by Steve Martin

The Farnsworth Invention

2010-11-01T19:42:00.000-04:00

by Aaron Sorkin

I heart Aaron Sorkin. The quality of his writing is such that I know I will never be disappointed. I was super excited to read this play, since I didn't get the chance to see it when it was on Broadway a few years back. As expected, I was not disappointed. Sorkin's quick-witted dialogue is right up my alley. Admittedly, this could just as easily be on the big screen, and perhaps should be, but that doesn't make the story any less entertaining.

The Farnsworth Invention is television. This title leads you to think that there is no doubt about who actually invented it but the action of the play revolves around the competition between two men - Philo Farnsworth and David Sarnoff - to be the first to put TV on the map. Sarnoff is mostly in the radio business but he has men who are working on TV, albeit slowly. Farnsworth is a guy from rural Idaho who just happened to be a genius.

It's not just about two men battling it out. The play also touches on media ethics. In reference to the surge in advertising on the radio, Sarnoff argues that time on the air shouldn't be sold. He feels that radio should be a platform for education and reforming cultural taste. He is asked:

Who gets the final call on what public taste should be, to say nothing of education and information?

These sorts of questions should still be asked. We take for granted that what we see and hear around us - on TV, in advertising, on the radio - is informative and beneficial. We know in the back of our heads that regulations are in place and that people follow rules and therefore all that we see is fair, and true. UH. We also know that this is NOT true. One only has to watch certain entire networks to know that bias is out there. It is up to us to educate ourselves from multiple media outlets and then determine what is the truth.

By the end of the play it almost doesn't matter who invented television, what matters is that it exists. Sarnoff explains to his wife:

It's gonna change everything. It's gonna end ignorance and misunderstanding. It's gonna end illiteracy. It's gonna end war. By pointing a camera at it.

If only.

For the West Wing fans in the house, Sorkin recycles (well, slightly changes) a quote from an episode about travelling to the moon. On WW it was Sam Seaborn, here it is Sarnoff who tells us:

I don't understand people who say what business do we have going to the moon when people around the world are starving. First of all, people aren't starving because we went to the moon, one doesn't have much to do with the other. But you go to the moon 'cause it's next. We came out of the cave, went over the hill, crossed the ocean, pioneered a continent and took to the heavens. We were meant to be explorers. Explorers, builders and protectors.

Just thinking about West Wing makes me feel patriotic. So, remember to go out and VOTE!

Tomorrow's Play: Patter for the Floating Lady by Steve Martin

Dutchman

2010-11-01T18:57:00.000-04:00

by LeRoi Jones, aka Amiri Baraka

I cannot even begin to imagine the impact this had when it hit the stage in '64. I was shocked reading it now, over forty years later!

The play is set on a subway car in NY and consists of an entire relationship, beginning to end, of two strangers - a young black man and a slightly older white woman. What starts as an innocent flirtation quickly progresses to a violent encounter..

Lula enters the car and spies Clay. She is not shy about coming on to him. Hers is a cruel provocation and I couldn't help but wonder if Jones' divorce from his first wife had influenced this play at all. Lula says to Clay:

I lie a lot. [smiling] It helps me control the world.

She certainly attempts to control Clay, publicly dancing and asking him to "rub bellies" with her. Clay has maintained his cool but Lula's harsh words become too much for him and he snaps:

Don't you tell me anything! If I'm a middle-class fake white man ... let me be. And let me be in the way I want. [Through his teeth] I'll rip your lousy breasts off! Let me be who I feel like being.

I won't reveal what happens at the end because I hate when things are ruined for me, but I will say that Lula came on that train looking for trouble.

What I took away from this play is that history repeats itself. Race conflicts may not be quite so prevalent in 2010 but people are still judged and hurt for being "different." When Clay says, "Let me be who I feel like being," he could easily speaking for his generation. I could find a million people who would ask the same thing today. The best gift we can give others is our acceptance. We should all feel free to be true to ourselves.

I received this suggestion from a friend who runs a great organization here in NY called The Shakespeare Forum. It's a great, affordable place for actors with a passion for the Bard (or not) to get together and PLAY. Check it out - we're having a workshop tomorrow night from 8-10! I'll be there. Will you?

Here are the details:

The Forum on Tuesday, November 2nd will be at SPACE ON WHITE at 81 White Street.

Once a week, actors, directors, producers and artists from all walks of life come together to work and play with the words of Shakespeare. Okay, so sometimes it’s not Shakespeare, but the spirit of exploration is ever-present as we delve into the text, challenging ourselves and each other to grow and change.

This is a donation-based class. It’s not about the money, it’s about resurrecting the true artist spirit- an open heart, a sense of humor and a belief that we are stronger when we are together.

The closest subways are Canal Street (J,M,Z,N,Q,R,W,6), Canal-Church Sts (A,C,E)

Hope to see you there! Check us out on Facebook!

Tomorrow's Play: The Farnsworth Invention by Aaron Sorkin

Lascivious Something

2010-10-30T02:21:00.002-04:00

by Sheila Callaghan

Someone wonderful gave me this play and I am so happy that I read it - I was not familiar with Callaghan's work before now and I can't wait to read more of her stuff. This play is beautiful and sexy, creative and smart. The best thing I've read in weeks. Did anyone see it when it was at the Women's Project?

The story focuses on a pair of ex-lovers: August, a one-time radical activist who ran away from the US and now spends his days radicalizing wine-making and living with his new Greek wife, and Liza, who has searched and finally found him, but who comes bearing a secret.

They meet again.
They discover some things have changed. Others have not.
August is now making wine. He'd like to teach Liza.
They reminisce:

   August: Are you as self-absorbed?
   Liza: You can't tell?
   August: Then you will learn a lot, for fear of being made a fool.

The relationship between the two is ripe (wine pun intended) with sexual tension. Daphne, August's wife, can sense this. It makes her uncomfortable, and yet she tries to be supportive of her husband. She deals with the threat by raising her game:

Old love makes the ground beneath you slick. I understand this. I could sparkle for you now, if you like. I will become a holiday. I will decorate myself with twinkle lights and sing a song about a man who buries his heart in the dirt and later eats the dirt to remember how the heart tasted.

Image: Broadwayworld.com

One thing that I love about this play is the way the stories are told. Callaghan employs a device where some of the scenes "rewind"... we see the scene played out one way, which more often than not ends up being the way things would have gone if people told the truth, no matter how harsh. Then we "rewind" and see how the scene really played out. I loved this device because it kept me on my toes but I found myself wishing that things happened the first, and often, more harsh way.. it would have created some seeeeerious problems - for August especially.

Callaghan has passed on her gift of storytelling to her characters. At one point August and Daphne reward Liza with a legend.

   Daphne: Legend one. Young Dionysus, son of Zeus and of Semele, traveled one day to the island of Naxos---
   August: --where he saw a plant so beautiful and frail he wanted it all for himself. He teased it from the earth and laid it gently inside the bone of a bird to keep it alive--
   Daphne: --but the plant grew so fast its roots shot from both ends of the bone. So--
   August: --Dionysus found a lion's bone, and stuck the plant and the bird's bone inside that. But--
   Daphne: --the plant continued to grow, so Dionysus found an ass's bone, into which he placed the roots and the bird's bone and the lion's bone. He--
   August: --went home, dug a big hole, and buried the whole tangled mess into the earth. The plant--
   Daphne: --grew into a grand vine and yielded magnificent grapes, and Dionysus made wine from those grapes. He gave--
   August: --the wine to his men to drink. At first, they sang like birds. They drank more and they became as strong as lions. And then--
   Daphne: --they drank too much and their heads drooped and they became as stupid as asses.

Tee-hee.

This whole play feels gritty, like you can taste the earth, smell the wine, feel the stones beneath your feet. It's a play full of texture and depth. Though August is talking of wine, I feel the same could be applied to reading this play:

   August: See how clear the moon is through the wine?
   Liza: Yeah.
   August: That's a very very good sign.
   Liza: Of what?
   August: That your mind is about to be blown.

Tomorrow's Play: Dutchman by LeRoi Jones, aka Amiri Baraka

Weekend Comedy

2010-10-26T14:19:00.000-04:00

by Jeanne and Sam Bobrick

This is the tale of two couples. One day, an old couple rented a cabin for vacation. Soon, they met a new couple.... who had rented the same cabin. Neither wanted to leave ... much hilarity ensued.

Truth be told, I found most of the comedy in this play predictable. Entertaining? Yes, that too.

Each couple learns something about their relationship through watching the other couple. There are heartwarming moments, but mostly it's wise-cracks from the crotchety older husband, Frank. He initially invites the younger couple to stay for the weekend after a night of drinking.

That damn champagne! I'm not used to that stuff. It makes me too friendly.

On his website, Sam Bobrick says:

For the most part, my plays are comedies. There is nothing more satisfying to me than to sit in an audience and listen to people laugh. Although I feel there are moments of insight and enlightenment in my plays, I've never really had a depressing message I felt necessary to share with the public. My main goal has always been to entertain, to have people leaving the theatre feeling good. Life is tough enough. Why send an audience home suicidal. It only cuts into future ticket sales.

Fair enough. He also wrote a play called Hamlet II - Better than the original. The summary reads:

"Hamlet, but with a happier ending. Guildenstern and Rosencrantz are Groucho and Harpo, Ophelia is a slut and Hamlet is a pest. If you've had trouble grasping the intent of Shakespeare's classic endeavor, this should clear it up once and for all. The text remains very true to good old Will's basic fundamentals. The play is frequently performed in high schools and colleges as well as by professional theatre groups."

THAT I want to read. Anyone have a copy?

Tomorrow's Play: Lascivious Something by Sheila Callaghan

The Agony and the Agony

2010-10-26T13:23:00.000-04:00

by Nicky Silver

Boy, after reading God and this play, some pieces just feel like intellectual exercises that are meant more for the author. The Agony and the Agony is about Richard - a failing playwright who is always working on something but never successful. His wife Lela, a struggling actress who sleeps with everyone in town, doesn't support him and he feels defeated all the time. In fact, now that I think about it, Richard kind of speaks like Woody Allen:

I hate the movies. All that air conditioning - a person could catch pneumonia.

Apparently this week's theme is neurotic writers who aren't satisfied with their work.

Anyway, there are some laughs to be found in this play, as in all of Silver's work. When Lela finally lands an acting gig (through flirting with a producer at Bergdorf's) she says:

I GOT A JOB! Law and Order!!! It's just the corpse in the cold opening - but you know Law and Order. This week's corpse is next week's killer!

How long can we keep making L&O jokes?

I was pleasantly surprised to find that there were also moments that delved deeper under the surface, into the tortured soul of the artist. Richard addresses the audience:

It's times like these I ask myself, "Why are we so cruel? Why do we hurt each other with such reckless abandon?" Is it because we're all so desperate to create? Because we're artists trying to live in a world that devalues art, that places no importance on our work, on our lives. So we fight, urgently, for a piece, a tiny piece of a pie that's so small it couldn't possibly nourish all the thousands of actors and artists, musicians and human being starving, decaying in the wilderness? Or are we just pricks?

There is some truth to the "dog eat dog" nature of our business, but it is my belief that to find happiness and fulfillment in this career path, we must rise above the petty judgements and competition and reach out a helping hand to our fellow artists. This business will be what we make of it - if we choose to move things forward in a more positive manner - one that focuses on the emotional and physical well-being of people on both sides of the table - perhaps we will find more day-to-day joy. Pay it forward, friends. It'll come back to you.

Tomorrow's Play: Weekend Comedy by Jeanne and Sam Bobrick

God

2010-10-26T00:31:00.000-04:00

by Woody Allen

The last time I read this play was for my high school acting class when we did a production of it. I don't remember it being so strange. And I seem to have a vivid memory of a very real Deus ex machina Zeus flying down from the ceiling of our auditorium, which I know can't possibly be true.

It's funnier than I remember too. Or perhaps I just better understand all the New York humor now.

   Woman: They had a knife, they wanted my money.
   Diabetes: You should have given it to them.
   Woman: I did. They still stabbed me.
   Chorus: That's New York. You give 'em the money and they still stab you.

What an interesting man. This play is not his best, by far, but I am amazed at how all of his work is so deeply personal. Perhaps because he acts in his films and writes and directs it is impossible for things not to get personal, but I think it takes true talent to define your voice as an artist and he has certainly done that. I feel that he has lived his life in a transparent way - putting everything on the stage or screen. To be that bold, that giving of oneself, take guts.

For that, I tip my hat to you Mr. Allen. *tip*

Tomorrow's Play: The Agony and the Agony by Nicky Silver

How I Learned to Drive

2010-10-26T00:01:00.000-04:00

by Paula Vogel

Re-reading this play made me so happy. It is even better than I remember. I used to do a monologue from it that I really enjoyed, but turns out people don't really like to hear about sexual abuse when they first meet you, fictional or otherwise. Weird, huh?

Hands down my favorite monologue in the show belongs to the "mother" chorus member (my additions in red):

A Mother's Guide to Social Drinking:

A lady never gets sloppy - she may, however, get tipsy and a little gay.

Never drink on an empty stomach. Avail yourself of the bread basket and generous portions of butter. Slather the butter on your bread.

Sip your drink, slowly, let the beverage linger in your mouth - interspersed with interesting, fascinating conversation. Sip, never ... slurp or gulp. Your glass should always be three-quarters full when his glass is empty. (sounds about right for me)

Stay away from ladies' drinks: drinks like pink ladies, slow gin fizzes, daiquiris, gold cadillacs, Long Island iced teas, margaritas, pina coladas, mai tais, planters punch, white Russians, black Russians, red russians, melon balls, blue balls (?), hummingbirds, hemorrhages and hurricanes. In short, avoid anything with sugar, or anything with an umbrella. Get your vitamin C from fruit (yeah!). Don't order anything with Voodoo or Vixen in the title or sexual positions in the name like Dead Man Screw or the Missionary.

...

Drink, instead, like a man: straight up or on the rocks, with plenty of water in between.

Oh, yes. And never mix your drinks. Stay with one all night long, like the man you came in with (:)): bourbon, gin, or tequila till dawn, damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!

She sounds like a pretty cool mom. Or maybe a drunk.

This play made me think a lot about how vulnerable we are as we are growing up. How the idea of "normal" is so relative and so much of who we become as adults is due to sheer chance - where you're raised, who your family is, the country into which you were born. It's not until Lil Bit goes away to college that she realizes there's anything wrong with the relationship she has with her uncle. Once she experiences life outside her bubble, the views of others change her. The love is deeply rooted and not easily forgotten, but that outside influence shifts her thinking. It allows her to come to peace with her past and move towards to a happier, healthier future.

My heart goes out to all those for whom this play hits a little too close.

Tomorrow's Play: God by Woody Allen

House of Blue Leaves

2010-10-18T23:28:00.000-04:00

by John Guare

This is coming back to Broadway? I wonder why. I mean, it's a funny play and I enjoyed reading it but I can't imagine what will be new about it - or so relevant to today - that it has to be produced NOW. I guess we'll find out... Ben Stiller is set to star. Click title above for article.

Reading Guare's introduction to the play was almost more entertaining than the piece itself. He says that growing up a 14-minute train ride from New York felt just as far away as if you lived in another state. All he wanted to do was get there. Get to New York. He asks:

Why do my dreams, which should be the best part of me, why do my dreams, my wants, constantly humiliate me?

This idea of humiliation, or rather - the avoidance of it, becomes the focus of the play. Each character's best qualities seem to be their downfall.

Artie, the main character, writes songs, and claims to be "too old to be a young talent." He hasn't been discovered and is living miserably with his wife Bananas who has gone, you guessed it - bananas. He is awfully cruel to her and tells her of a dream he had where their son was the Pope and only loved Artie.

What a dream... it's awful to have to wake up. For my dreams, I need a passport and shots. I travel the whole world.

His dreams are his strength and his weakness. He wants desperately for his songs to be in the movies but he can't seem to make it happen. As it turns out, the actual Pope is coming to New York and has caused quite a stir. Artie's lover, Bunny, wants Artie to brings his songs to the Pope to be blessed. My favorite part of the show was when Artie's wife asks him to play one of his songs and then she shows him that it has the exact same melody as "White Christmas." Revenge is sweet.

Many ridiculous things occur - three nuns chase the Pope around as if he were a Beatle, Bananas tries to scald Bunny with hot water, Artie's son Ronnie blows up part of the apartment building, Bananas swallows some hearing aids.. Artie's friend Billy, a big movie director comes to the apartment and Bunny is overjoyed! She senses the sweet smell of success and in a moment of passion, proclaims to Artie:

All my life I been treated like an old shoe. You turned me into a glass slipper.

That's love, I guess :) ... though it doesn't take long for her to leave him for Billy and fly off to California. Before he goes, Billy tells his friend:

Do you know what the greatest talent in the world is? To be an audience. Anybody can create. But to be an audience ... be an audience ...

I don't really agree. Anybody could create, but not everyone has the courage to. Or the desire. Likewise, anyone could be an audience. To be a good audience, that is, a real listener - someone who can listen selflessly and respond from the heart.. that does indeed take talent.

Tomorrow's Play: How I Learned to Drive by Paula Vogel

Four Dogs and a Bone

2010-10-13T13:30:00.000-04:00

by John Patrick Shanley

Before we talk Shanley, I must say - I've not been very good about keeping to my advance play list. I get inspired in the moment and want to switch it up! Some days I just need to read a comedy. Sometimes I can't get through a play. I have tried like four times to read Dublin Carol, I swear I just can't get through it. I will eventually, maybe when it's colder outside. Anyway, this week consists of a bunch of plays that you had no warning about and I hope you'll enjoy them just as much.

And now.......

A failing movie! A young up-and-coming starlet cat-fighting with an almost-washed-up actress! A writer with a drinking problem! A producer in need of money! Lying! Backstabbing! Sex as bait! Sounds like just another day in the Entertainment business. I mean... just kidding, Mom.

It's a funny play. There are witty one-liners like:

Hacks go into rehab. Good writers drink.

It'll make you laugh and/or groan, whether you're in the Business or not. As for the title - there are four main characters all fighting tooth and nail to "make it." Fame as a bone, in this case, makes perfect sense. It reveals the characters at their most animalistic .. their most pathetic, and shows us what the limelight can do when you stop working for the love of it and start chasing your name in lights.

There are even in-jokes for the Shakespeare nerds (she says, proudly)!

Hear me when I say, there's beauty to staying in the background. Remember Brutus. He did very well. Till he wanted to direct.

Will this play change your life? Probably not. Will it entertain you? Absolutely.

Tomorrow's Play: House of Blue Leaves by John Guare

Eurydice

2010-10-12T14:22:00.001-04:00

by Sarah Ruhl

This play is so beautiful and simple and sad. I am drawn to it from deep inside. I want to do this play, now. I keep saying that, but I really mean it this time.

While this play has classical characters, it is modern in tone. Eurydice and Orpheus are young and in love. They are idealistic and at the top we see them having the sort of deep conversations that those young and in love tend to have:

It can be interesting to see if other people - like dead people who wrote books - agree with what you think.

Eurydice's father is dead and on the occasion of her wedding to Orpheus he sends her a letter from the Underworld with his advice for a happy life:

Cultivate the arts of dancing and small talk.

Everything in moderation.

Court the companionship and respect of dogs.

Grilling a fish or toasting bread without burning requires singleness of purpose, vigilance and steadfast watching.

Keep quiet about politics, but vote for the right man.

Take care to change the light bulbs.

Continue to give yourself to others because that's the ultimate satisfaction in life - to love, accept, honor and help others.

Knowing the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice allows us to see how Ruhl has expanded upon it - the changes she makes and the things that she elevates. It is a heartbreaking tale of love and loss, but what I like about Ruhl's version is the innocence that seems to permeate throughout.. When speaking of her love, Eurydice says:

This is what it is to love an artist: The moon is always rising above your house. The houses of your neighbors look dull and lacking in moonlight. But he is always going away from you. Inside his head there is always something more beautiful.

There is a chorus in the play, in the form of stones. They act as guides, they give warnings, they speak truths. The little stone thinks:

Love is a big, funny word.

I think love is a small word for something so big.

Tomorrow's Play: Four Dogs and a Bone by John Patrick Shanley

Mauritius

2010-10-11T20:49:00.001-04:00

by Theresa Rebeck

This play was super fun to read. But Lauren, it's about stamps. How can that be fun? Well, it's about the greed and intrigue caused by two very rare stamps. And as with all rare things - they cause people to do things.. bad things.

It actually felt like I was watching a movie. The dialogue was crisp and the action was ever-moving. The story follows the struggle of a pair of estranged half-sisters, Jackie and Mary, as they argue over a book of valuable? stamps that once belonged to Mary's grandfather.

At the top of the play Jackie has brought the book of stamps in to a shop to determine their value, if any. The guy behind the counter, Philip, won't give her the time of day because he is basically a dick. Some guy lurking in the corner, Dennis, says he'll check them out and Jackie allows him to flip through the book. He immediately spots two of the most valuable stamps ever (because of their flaws) but tells Jackie that the book isn't worth much. He then jets off to tell his shady boss? employer? guy, Sterling, about them so they can form an offer to bring to Jackie. Naturally, they want to make as much money as possible from the resale and they are counting on the fact that Jackie knows nothing about stamps, so they want to low-ball her while still offering more money than she could ever have thought possible from a stamp.

The struggle comes when Mary discovers that Jackie wants to sell the stamps - for Mary, they hold a lot of sentimental value and as she points out to Jackie, "He was my grandfather. He wasn't your grandfather. Those are - my stamps." Jackie attempts to tell her that there are a lot of debts to pay off and it would be much easier to sell the stamps and take care of it, but Mary wants no part of that responsibility and grabs the stamps back. Everyone is pretty selfish in this play actually.

Dennis visits the house and expresses interest in purchasing the stamps from the sisters. Meanwhile, Philip has caught on to the value of the stamps and, rightly, feels like an idiot. Other stuff happens. CUT TO: Very dramatic stand-off between Sterling and Jackie, arranged by Dennis. At this point, Jackie's done her homework and knows how much the stamps are worth. Sterling is nowhere to be found and Jackie is sick of waiting. Dennis stalls by trying to assure her that this is the best and easiest deal she will get. He says:

I mean, you know what they say about the stamps. It's the errors that make them valuable. That's kind of my theory on people.

She is wary, as she knows that they will probably insult her intelligence with their offer. And, they do. She starts to leave, Dennis tries to make her stay and also reassure Sterling, he calls her crazy and Jackie doesn't take that too well:

I don't like you saying I'm crazy because the fact is I am the least crazy person you have ever met. Logic that you don't see is private for a reason, and that reason is potentially the smartest, least crazy thing possible in any given situation.

That is certainly not the end, but I'll let you read that for yourself. I loved the play, and my only issue was actually with the ending. *SPOILER ALERT* I wish that Jackie had burned those stamps when she threatened to. Sure, it's nice to imagine her and Dennis sipping margaritas on the beach, but if she had let that page burn she would have taught Mary a lesson she should have learned in kindergarden - how to share.

Speaking of learning to share - come see the show I'm working on! Details below...

WTE Theatre presents Stinky Flowers and the Bad Banana An Original, Multi-Media Fairytale Show by Croft Vaughn directed by David A. Miller October 7 through October 24 Thursdays at 8pm Fridays at 8pm Saturdays at 8pm Sundays at 3pm Sam, Stu, and Sinclair discover an audience in their attic. Clearly these quiet strangers are going to eat them, so they distract their guests with their grandfathers' stories. They find the courage to create their own tale, and discover the answer to, "Are we still loved after the person who loves us is gone? Under St. Marks, 94 St. Marks Place (1st Ave & Ave A) / Show me a map! $18 General, $15 Students & Seniors, $10 Children 1 hr 20 mins, No intermission Tickets are available through Smarttix.
	Featuring: Michael J. Connolly, Lauren Sowa, Robert James Grimm III, Dorothy Abrahams, Chuck Blasius Stage Management: Barbara Dente*. Assistant Director: Lauren Heirigs. Scenic Design: Jennifer Varbalow, Costume Design: Bradley Erickson, Lighting Design: Kate Ashton & Sam Gordon. Music: Alana McNair, Animation: Matt Burnett & Double Blind, Video Design: Jeff Heyman. WTE Theatre Press Representation by Emily Owens PR
Robert James Grimm, Michael J. Connolly and Lauren Sowa in Stinky Flowers and the Bad Banana	*Denotes Actor Appearing courtesy of Actors’ Equity Association
Check out an interview with playwright Croft Vaughn ("Stinky Flowers, Sweet Thoughts") onwww.happiestmedium.com.	Proclaim your love for Stinky Flowers by RSVP'ing to the event that is Stinky Flowers on Facebook.

Tomorrow's Play: Eurydice by Sarah Ruhl

Dancing at Lughnasa

2010-10-11T15:04:00.000-04:00

by Brian Friel

I love revisiting plays that I haven't read for years. The last time I read this play was in college when NYU did it as a Mainstage production. I was called back for Chris then and she is the character that still intrigues me now (and I'm much closer to her real age now.)

Dancing at Lughnasa is the story of five Irish sisters, all unmarried, all struggling to live day-to-day. The youngest, Chris, has a child named Michael out of wedlock with her on-again-off-again sweetheart Gerry. Michael is seven but only seen on stage in the form of a grown-up narrator, as it is Michael's memories that we are revisiting in the play. The 7-yr. old version is never seen but often interacted with, while narrator Michael voices him from the side of the stage. The other male member of the family - Jack, the girls' brother - has returned from a long trip in Africa and has seen better days.

The title refers to a Festival in honor of the Celtic God of the Harvest, Lugh, at which there is much dancing and cavorting. The sisters haven't been to the festival in years and can't really afford to go, but Agnes, the middle sister, has saved some money from her knitting and wants to treat everyone to an evening of fun! Kate, who at 40 is the oldest and strictest, responds:

Just look at yourselves! Dancing at our time of day? That's for young people with no duties and no responsibilities and nothing in their heads but pleasure.

Why should those qualities should be limited to young people? Everyone deserves a break from the weight of the world (why do you think weekends exist?) Course, for us theatre people the weekend is still the workweek, but even then it's full of pleasure! I digress.

Poor Chris. I feel for her - loving a man that came in and out of her life like a whirlwind, waiting to know if he'll come again, believing his promises even when it's foolish to do so. She has received a certain amount of shame by having Michael without getting married and the shame has cast a shadow over the family. Gerry is not exactly the sisters' favorite person but during the play he comes to visit and sweeps Chris right back up off her feet. They spend the afternoon dancing and talking and Gerry sees his son for the first time in a while. Chris gets her hopes up and then Gerry tells her that he's going off to fight for the Popular Front, a Spanish government. He's a man who is looking for a cause and explains to Chris:

And there's bound to be something right about the cause, isn't there? And it's somewhere to go - isn't it? Maybe that's the important thing for a man: a named destination - democracy, Ballybeg, heaven. Women's illusions aren't so easily satisfied - they make better drifters.

What he really needs is some order, a sense of structure in his life. No doubt he'll find that in a war.

Many more things happen to the sisters over the course of the play that are subtle and moving. I love what Friel has done with the narrator - grown up Michael. He speaks with a beautifully poetic tone that is of course Friel's .. in his closing speech he speaks about dancing in a way that spoke right to my soul.

Dancing with eyes half closed because to open them would break the spell. Dancing as if language had surrendered to movement - as if this ritual, this wordless ceremony, was now the way to speak, to whisper private and sacred things, to be in touch with some otherness. Dancing as if the very heart of life and all its hopes might be found in those assuaging notes and those hushed rhythms and in those silent and hypnotic movements. Dancing as if language no longer existed because words were no longer necessary ...

That's exactly how it feels to me when I dance. It's a fuller form of expression. So often I feel that words alone cannot fully convey the meaning in my heart or in my head. It's a shame that if I broke out into choreography on the street or in a bar people would think I was loony.. because I'm really just feeling on a different level.

Tomorrow's Play: Mauritius by Theresa Rebeck

Ps. Um, what? There's a movie with Meryl Streep? Netflix!

The Rainmaker

2010-09-29T16:53:00.002-04:00

by N. Richard Nash

What a beautiful story! If anyone is confused, this is not the John Grisham story of a corrupt insurance company. No Matt Damon here. What we do have is a story of drought - a lack of rain and a lack of love.

The Curry men are concerned that plain Lizzie will never get married. They do everything in their limited power to marry her off to, well, anyone. How humiliating. Lizzie knows that her father and brothers are shopping her around and this throws her into wildly contrasting emotions - excitement, despair, anxiety, and depression. She knows she is not pretty but Jim, her brother, tries to convince her that she's just going about it the wrong way.

You don't talk to a man the way you oughta! You talk too serious! And if there's anything scares the hell out of a fella it's a serious-talkin' girl!

On a side note, I'm not convinced that Jim is the one she should be taking romantic advice from. After all, he's going with a girl named Snookie. Of whom, the other brother Noah says, "If you wanta get mixed up with poison, you go right ahead! But I wash my hands!" Anyone sense a Broadway revival starring our current media sensation? The audiences would flock! (but the jokes on them, Snookie never makes an on-stage appearance)

Jim is perhaps the most innocent member of the family and through his eyes we see that Noah's warnings are perhaps harsh cynical judgements. Jim asks him:

People want to get together - they oughta get together. It don't matter how, does it?

Love is love. Everyone is deserves it and we are all worthy of it. If the play tells us anything, it tells us this.

Lizzie is most properly matched with File, the local Sheriff Deputy. He is a man closed-off to love but he begins to see the value in having a woman around and comes to visit Lizzie at her home. They get into an argument and File is frustrated with expressing his emotions:

Look here! There's one thing I've learned! Be independent! If you don't ask for things - if you don't let on you need things - pretty soon you don't need 'em!

I have certainly felt this way at times in my life. It can be hard to ask someone for something, it shows a weakness. File is a proud man and cannot bring himself to admit that he needs Lizzie. They part. Lizzie is convinced that she will end up a spinster until a strange travelling con man who calls himself Starbuck comes to town promising to bring rain to the town for a fee of $100.

Noah is the most skeptical of Starbuck and the most cynical towards Lizzie (though, he'd consider it being realistic). Starbuck is struck by Lizzie from his first entrance and does everything he can to convince her that she is worthy of love.

Don't let Noah be your lookin' glass! It's gotta be inside you! And then one day the lookin' glass will be the man who loves you! It'll be his eyes maybe! And you'll look in that mirror and you'll be more than pretty! - you'll be beautiful!

He and Lizzie share a moment of true connection and Lizzie is happier than she's ever been in her life.

You look up at the sky and you cry for a star! You know you'll never get it! And then one night you look down - and there it is - shining in your hand!

But word has gotten out that a con man is in town and File and the Sheriff come looking for Starbuck. I won't reveal the ending, but I'll just say that it should not come as a surprise that this play was turned into 110 in the Shade. The magical elements and heightened emotions lend themselves very well to musical theatre.

The list of plays I want to do NOW is getting longer and longer.... ;)

Tomorrow's Play: Dancing at Lughnasa by Brian Friel

Notes on Directing

2010-09-28T16:45:00.000-04:00

by Frank Hauser and Russell Reich

Okay, this is not a play. It is, however, a very good read and a useful tool as an actor.

I received this book as a gift from a very thoughtful friend and devoured the whole thing in a few hours. It is a quick read, full of funny and smart lessons. Below, some of my favorites.

79. Reverse the material.
Stanislavski says somewhere, "If you are playing a good man, look for the bad in him; if you are playing a bad man, look for the good in him." Obvious, but easy to forget.
An actor floating along on the surface of a character is cozy and boring.

88. Humor falls mostly into one of two categories.
British actor Edward Petherbridge aptly described the first category of humor when he said, "No one ever got a laugh out of something that wasn't someone else's tragedy."
But audiences also laugh at statements or actions they recognize as implicitly true. "When a thing is funny," wrote George Bernard Shaw, "search it for a hidden truth."
Part of your job as a director is to help the audience make connections that delight the mind. When an audience thinks, Ah! That suggests this, the accompanying reaction will often be simple laughter, a sure sign that their synapses are firing and that you, the playwright, and the actors have done something right.

97. Love triangles.
Two actors on stage establish a single visual relationship. Add just one more actor and you have up to seven relationships: one relationship between any two of the individuals (that's three relationships), one for each of the possible pairings of two individuals in opposition to the third (that's three more), plus the unique relationship that exists between all three.
Look for threes. When you have a triangular situation - and therefore rich dramatic possibilities - make clear choices as to who is in opposition to whom and how alliances and allegiances shift moment by moment.

104. An audience's interest in the action is only as high as the actors' interest in it.
Keep an eye out for disinterested responses such as yawning or an actor's gazing upon anything other than what the audience should be looking at.
Watch extras in large groups, especially. They frequently steal vital focus by being negative listeners, hating everything they hear.
Here's the rule: Listener reactions that are positive and interested focus audience attention on the speaker. Listener reactions that are negative and disinterested steal attention away from the speaker and toward the listener.

114. Beware the naked truth.
Yes, nudity might bring in a crowd, but at what cost? Earnest nudity imposed by sincere directors is rarely the reliable conveyer of inner emotional nakedness and vulnerability they suppose it is.
More typically, when the skin makes its appearance, the audience is ripped from the world of the play along with the clothing. The audience is deposited in a prurient inner world far from the plot. Their eyes no longer watch the eyes, mouths, and hands of the performers, but are diverted, no, riveted to other body parts. The audience and the story often become lost to each other.

These are just some of the wise words from these two accomplished men. I laughed, I recognized truths, I learned. If you have any interest in directing, or in getting inside a director's head - check this book out. You won't regret it.

Tomorrow's play: The Rainmaker by N. Richard Nash

Plenty

2010-09-28T16:22:00.000-04:00

by David Hare

Plenty was rather confusing to me. In reading some reviews of the piece I gather that it was very moving upon watching, however solely in reading it I think something was lost. The play jumps around in time quite a bit and can be rather mysterious as to what's going on. Part of that is due to the fact that our main character, Susan is employed secretly by the French Resistance behind German lines during the war, so the nature of her work was clandestine.

I wasn't crazy about this play but I do love David Hare. The first play of his that I read was Racing Demon, in college, and I loved it. I would highly recommend it. His writing, as always, is beautiful and there were some lines that grabbed me.

Did you know... did you know sound waves never die? So every noise we make goes into the sky. And there is a place somewhere in the corner of the universe where all the babble of the world is kept.

I love the thought that somewhere are stored all the stolen moments and secret gossip and heartfelt fights. A reminder that words are powerful and you should choose them carefully and stand by them if in fact you were forced to hear them again.

Susan's friend, Alice is a bohemian spirit, unafraid of new things. She explains her lifestyle to Susan:

The writer must experience everything, every kind of degradation. Nothing is closed to him. It's really the degradation that attracted me to the job.

A little wink from Hare to other writers?

Lastly, I appreciated this little jab from another character in the play:

Say no more. We have eaten. We did not wait. In Burma we say if you cannot be on time do not come at all.

Well said, sir. Well said.

Tomorrow's "Play": Notes on Directing by Frank Hauser and Russell Reich

All My Sons

2010-09-28T16:07:00.000-04:00

by Arthur Miller

This was a welcome entertainment after the depression brought on by Death of a Salesman. That's not to say that this is a simple, happy play. By no means, friend. It is dramatic and the stakes are very high throughout.. there are moments of lightness, however, and characters filled with joy.

Even though it was written in the '40s, history repeats itself and the themes are relevant again. There are men and women all over the world who are waiting for their lover to return from the war, just as Ann did. There are parents who are in denial of their child's disappearance. There are people who will profit from our current wars and there are those who will suffer. These people are as real today as they were during Miller's time.

The Keller family bears many burdens, not the least of which is the criminal decision that Joe made to send off defective airplane parts to the soldiers fighting for their country. He managed to place blame elsewhere and avoid jail but his reputation was sorely damaged, as the whole town knows he's guilty. Perhaps only Chris, his son, believes him to be innocent. My heart goes out to Chris - an optimistic man, left in the shadow of his missing brother, Larry. Chris is in love with "Larry's girl" Ann but feels he cannot act on it:

I don't know why it is, but every time I reach out for something I want, I have to pull back because other people will suffer.

Chris is a good man, but he wants to be happy and he invites Ann to his home to propose to her. His mother is completely against the idea - she believes that Larry is still alive. Ann is overjoyed and seems to have been waiting for Chris to ask her for a long while. Do we get a happy ending? *SPOILER ALERT* Well.... yes and no. Chris' world is shattered when he realizes that his father is guilty. He is destroyed and doesn't know what to do:

What? Do I raise the dead when I put him behind bars? Then what'll I do it for? We used to shoot a man who acted like a dog, but honor was real there, you were protecting something. But here? This is the land of the great big dogs, you don't love a man here, you eat him! That's the principle; the only one we live by - it just happened to kill a few people this time, that's all. The world's that way, how can I take it out on him? What sense does that make? This is a zoo, a zoo!

The most heartbreaking line was when Chris confronts his father:

I know you're no worse than most men but I thought you were better. I never saw you as a man. I saw you as my father.

The moment when a child sees his parent as a person is a true loss of innocence. In a way it is a bridge we must all cross into adulthood but it can be difficult. Chris wants to believe the best in people and he tells his mother:

You can be better! Once and for all you can know there's a universe of people outside and you're responsible to it.

I take this line away with me as something we should all remember. Whatever you believe in, our world will only be as good as we make it - the energy you put in will be the energy you get out. I choose to live today with love and a positive spirit.

Tomorrow's Play: Plenty by David Hare

The 39 Steps

2010-09-24T16:12:00.000-04:00

adapted by Patrick Barlow

My only experience with The 39 Steps prior to reading it was watching the PBS version starring my British crush Rupert Penry-Jones ---->

Some of the scenes from the film stuck with me as I was reading, but mostly the play created a whole new world in my mind.

I loved how inventive the piece was - making huge spectacles with very little. I just saw Brief Encounter at Roundabout the other night and the elements are very similar. (Highly recommended, btw, if you have a free night definitely check it out.)

Like all good farces, there are moments that rise above the comedy and speak to you at a deeper level. Hannay, in a moment of desperation, is forced to give a public address. He's not sure of what or who he is supposed to be but he delivers a rousing speech:

Let's all just set ourselves resolutely to make this world a happier place! A decent world! A good world! A world where no nation plots against nation! Where no neighbour plots against neighbour, where there's no persecution or hunting down, where everybody gets a square deal and a sporting chance and where people try to help and not to hinder! A world where suspicion and cruelty and fear have been forever banished! That's the sort of world I want! Is that the sort of world you want?

Here here!

Tomorrow's Play: All My Sons by Arthur Miller

Rabbit Hole

2010-09-19T02:09:00.000-04:00

by David Lindsay-Abaire

The more I read this play, the more I like it. This was my third time and I found it funnier than ever. "But Lauren, isn't Rabbit Hole that play about the child who died? What kind of sick sense of humor do you have?" Now now, faithful reader, it is true that this is also a very sad play. There are, however, many moments of humor and joy.

If you have been living in a rabbit hole and are not familiar with this play, it is the story of a family dealing with the grief of losing a small child when he runs into the street and gets hit by a car. I emphasize that the family is dealing with the grief, not wallowing in it. In an effectively written author's note, Lindsay-Abaire tells us, "Yes Rabbit Hole is a play about a bereaved family, but that does not mean they go through the day glazed over, on the verge of tears, morose or inconsolable. That would be a torturous and very uninteresting play to sit through. The characters are, instead, highly functional, unsentimental, spirited, and often funny people who are trying to maneuver their way through their grief and around each other as best they can. ... It's a sad play. Don't make it any sadder than it needs to be."

It's hard to imagine how the parents can ever move on from something like that. Knowing that if one thing had been different that day perhaps it wouldn't have happened - as the characters mention in the story - if the dog hadn't chased the squirrel, if Izzy hadn't phoned the house, if Becca hadn't answered that call, if Jason had driven down a different street.. if, if, if. Ultimately, none of those ifs matter because no one can change what happened. The family has to come to terms with their grief and learn not to place blame. It was truly an accident. Towards the end of the play Becca asks her mom, who has also lost a son, if the pain ever goes away. She responds:

No. I don't think it does. .. It changes though. .. At some point it becomes bearable. It turns into something you can crawl out from under. And carry around - like a brick in your pocket. And you forget it every one in a while, but then you reach in for whatever reason and there is it: "Oh right. That." Which can be awful. But not all the time. Sometimes it's kinda ... Not that you like it exactly, but it's what you have instead of your son, so you don't wanna let go of it either. So you carry it around. And it doesn't go away, which is .. Fine ... actually.

At the end we see Becca and Howie, beginning to take steps forward into a happier future. It is by no means tied up with a bow, however. Lindsay-Abaire says, "Rabbit Hole is not a tidy play. Resist smoothing out its edges." This is the very reason that I loved it. The ending is as complicated as all that has come before - nothing is easy. Mourning is a process unique to the individual, and while time heals all wounds, some scars of the heart are always with us.

Apparently, Lionsgate has picked up the film after Toronto and we'll soon be able to see Nicole Kidman's version on the big screen. I hope she does it justice.

Tomorrow's Play: The 39 Steps adapted by Patrick Barlow

The Actor's Nightmare

2010-09-18T01:28:00.000-04:00

by Christopher Durang

I feel like this is one of those chicken or the egg things. Did the actor's nightmare exist before Durang named it? I'm sure it did, but how lovely to read someone else's version. In my own nightmare it's often a blend of having to go on for Hamlet and being part of Dance Theatre (a large dance-show I did for years) without ever having learned the choreography. I'm often running backstage, hearing lines on stage and freaking out about not knowing where my next entrance is or how Hamlet and dance go together! Sometimes the theatre changes from dream to dream, or the people - one time there were Cirque-like performers in face-paint and running around on stilts. Too much yoga that day, perhaps.

Poor George. In Durang's play George isn't even an actor. He's an accountant. That must be REALLY frightening, thinking you're all safe, in your office, with your briefcase, and then BAM you're shoved on stage in doublet and hose in the middle of the first scene of Private Lives. Uh, good luck!

So what's your actor's nightmare? I know you have a good one. Care to share?

Tomorrow's Play: Rabbit Hole by David Lindsay-Abaire

Golden Boy

2010-09-17T23:01:00.000-04:00

by Clifford Odets

I was kinda dreading reading this play, cause it seemed long and dated and I wasn't sure how much I would enjoy it. However... within the first few pages one of the characters calls another a phonus bolonus and I knew I was in for a fun ride.

Golden Boy is an underdog story of a young "cock-eyed wonder" who quickly rises in the fighting world. Written in the late '30s, this play is definitely reflective of the time. When a guy says, "I'm super-disgusted with you!" and it's not meant to be funny you know you're dealing with language of a different generation. I think I may start using that line in fights and see what happens - I'm willing to bet it would diffuse the situation rather quickly into a fit of giggles.

The '30s feels like a long time ago to me but apparently not much has changed with regards to society's perception of the arts. Before our "hero" Joe becomes a fighter he played the violin. His father would much prefer that his son continue along his musical path but Joe's manager-of-sorts feels otherwise.

Could a boy make a living playing this instrument in our competitive civilization today? Nowadays is it possible for a young man to give himself to the Muses? Could the Muses put bread and butter on the table?

I like that idea of giving oneself over to the Muses. I think I'll do that today and see what happens. "Don't blame me, officer, it was the Muses!" "Sure lady, it's off to the dungeon with you." Apparently in my head jail = a dungeon. It's early, don't judge me.

Joe has a major crush on his boss' girl, Lorna. She has been sent to convince him that he should fight. Joe thinks it's more of a date sort of thing and begins to open up to her about why he likes the violin. He says:

With music I'm never alone when I'm alone - Playing music ... that's like saying, "I am man. I belong here. How do you do, World - good evening!" When I play music nothing is closed to me. I'm not afraid of people and what they say. There's no war in music. It's not like the streets. Does this sound funny? But when you leave your room ... down in the street ... it's war! Music can't help me there. Understand? People have hurt my feelings for years. I never forget. You can't get even with people by playing the fiddle. If music shot bullets I'd like it better - artists and people like that are freaks today. The world moves fast and they sit around like forgotten dopes.

So beautiful and so sad. "There's no war in music." I love that. And then Odets takes that lovely idea and darkens it by putting the image of music shooting bullets into our heads. This was my favorite speech in the play. Joe starts off young and tender and gets progressively fiercer in his fighting and harder in his emotions. He is now a "success" and yet he has alienated himself from all the people he loves. That's not my definition of success.

Word that I learned from reading this play - bellicosity: a natural disposition to fight; Warlike or hostile in manner or temperament.

The best insult goes to Eddie - the new manager who "buys" Joe. At the big, final fight, angry that Lorna has thrown Joe off his game by refusing his love, Eddie tells her:

That's right ... if he lost ... the trees are ready for your coffin.

Ouch.

Tomorrow's Play: The Actor's Nightmare by Christopher Durang

Words, Words, Words!

2010-09-15T02:10:00.001-04:00

This week's plays:

1) All My Sons by Arthur Miller
2) Rabbit Hole by David Lindsay-Abaire
3) Dublin Carol by Conor McPherson
4) The 39 Steps adapted by Patrick Barlow, from the novel by John Buchan
5) Eurydice by Sarah Ruhl
6) The Rainmaker by N. Richard Nash
7) Plenty by David Hare

Plays for the week of 9/20:

1) The Duchess of Malfi by John Webster

2) The Tempest by William Shakespeare

3) After Miss Julie by Patrick Marber after Strindberg

4) Mauritius by Theresa Rebeck

5) Cymbeline by William Shakespeare

6) Hapgood by Tom Stoppard

7) God by Woody Allen

On a non Play-a-day related note, I'm currently working on a production of Shakespeare's As You Like It, playing Audrey & Le Beau! Go here for all the info - come support live theatre!

Loose Knit

2010-09-15T01:54:00.000-04:00

by Theresa Rebeck

When I can predict where a story is going I 1) feel a small feeling of satisfaction and 2) feel a larger feeling of disappointment. I enjoy being surprised and outsmarted by the play or movie I'm reading or seeing. This is the main reason I don't see horror films, I figure them out too quickly and spend the next two hours pissed off. That being said, reading Loose Knit I had a few moments where I knew what was going to happen (called the affair with the sister by the husband's second line) and there were some things that surprised me (the complicated relationship between Liz and creepster Miles seemed to ring true).. Overall I found the play tamer than I would have liked. I wanted more of the repercussions of the affair and I wanted more of the Lily/Miles relationship. Miles in general was super creepy and I was interested in his point of view, I wanted his character to be more fleshed out. I didn't quite understand why Lily wouldn't just go for Miles since she had kicked her husband out? My favorite scene was when Paula went on her date with Miles. I thought it was risky and the conversation turned towards the controversial... and that's more of what I wanted from the rest of the play.

I have always wanted to learn how to knit, though I don't think I'll be joining a knitting group anytime soon. Too much drama!

Tomorrow's Play: Golden Boy by Clifford Odets

Coastal Disturbances

2010-09-10T00:24:00.000-04:00

by Tina Howe

It was recommended to me in college that I read plays written by Tina Howe. I am now realizing why.

Coastal Disturbances is essentially a love story. What I enjoyed about this particular love story was the fact that I didn't realize the play was about love until near the end. Nor was this your traditional romantic comedy. Holly is not easily won. Holly is charming and clumsy and downright lovable. The object of her affection, Leo, is a kind and decent guy. There was an innocence to both of them that I found refreshing and watching the push/pull of their relationship kept me hooked. It reminded me of all the best kinds of summer love, and how the beach with the ocean and the sand and those perfect nights can really allow you to let down your guard and potentially fall in love. I absolutely adored the scene where Holly couldn't walk away from Leo because her legs weren't working correctly.. gives a whole new meaning to "sea legs!"

Some of the supporting characters did not interest me as much. I found humor in the "fish out of water" image of Holly's European lover trying to walk in the sand in his designer shoes. I enjoyed the playfulness of the children, but I did not understand the purpose of the aggressive relationship between Ariel and her son. When she kept shaking him I had a physical response and then couldn't understand why none of the other characters were commenting on how rough she was being. It didn't seem in keeping with the rest of the tone of the play. Perhaps I've dramatized it more in my mind than it would be on stage, but it irked me!

Fall is my favorite season, but this play actually made me wish for summer nights..

Tomorrow's Play: Loose Knit by Theresa Rebeck

The House of Yes

2010-09-09T01:36:00.000-04:00

by Wendy MacLeod

What a delightful little play. Except for the whole incest thing.

I loved the quirky, dark humor that MacLeod brought to this piece - the characters are all crazy in their own way, but that's why we love them. Reading this, I got the sense that this family was existing in its own little world, much like the women of Grey Gardens.. this old house, with so much history and class, and yet if you sit in the wrong chair you'll get sucked into a black hole and never escape.

Love is a powerful motivator. Crimes are committed out of passion and Jackie-O has more than enough passion for one individual. I was perturbed when I read the play summary on the back jacket of the acting edition and they REVEALED THE ENDING. Way to ruin the surprise! I felt like someone had told me the end of The Sixth Sense and I spent the whole time knowing that he could see dead people. I still enjoyed the play but I didn't have that *gasp* moment in that final scene. Bummer. (note how I strategically didn't tell you in case you haven't read it yet. yes, I am kind.)

The most interesting character to me was the mother. Yes, all the incest is interesting and effed up and made me think about British monarchies of the olden days, but when Mrs. Pascal watches Anthony and Lesly get down and then tells Lesly to leave because Marty "[has] belonged to Jackie for 20-odd years" there was something so twisted about her motivations. If she truly did care about Jackie's well-being she would encourage Marty to be happy and normal and marry Lesly for god's sake because when he and Jackie are around each other there's no escape from their desires. Instead, she seems to encourage their behavior. What's the deal there?

My favorite line in the play goes to Jackie-O when she first meets Lesly. Being from Pennsylvania myself, I laughed when Lesly tells Jackie-O that's where she grew up. Jackie responds:

I've never been to Pennsylvania, I've never even met anybody who's been to Pennsylvania, much less been from Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania is just this state that gets in your way when you have to go someplace else!

For the record, this does not reflect my true feelings about PA. It's a great place to be from! However, my heart belongs to New York.

Tomorrow's Play: Coastal Disturbances by Tina Howe

Split

2010-09-06T19:43:00.001-04:00

by Michael Weller

This play, consisting of two different one-acts, is the story of, you guessed it! one couples' separation. At times funny, sad, hauntingly true, and charming, Split reminds you that when a relationship ends it affects more than just the two lovers.

Carol and Paul are the lovers in question. They seem great for each other and all the way until the end I kept thinking, what went wrong? Carol is jealous of Paul's female friends and one day she does something completely out of character. She cheats. She tries to explain to Paul:

I wanted to sleep with someone else, that's all. I thought about you when I was with him. I thought maybe now I'll be more interesting. Because I'm not very interesting am I. We go out with friends and we have a great time and you get into a good mood and you joke around and then when we get home you're never like that. You get quiet. You don't joke around with me because I'm just not very interesting and I thought maybe if I did something I'd never do, then I'd be ... instead of being the kind of person who'd never do certain things I'd become ... I'd be different than you thought I was.

But in the end, very little changed. It didn't get any better. The main thing this play made me consider is how two people can be perfect for each other but something - timing, location, situations beyond their control, their own insecurities - prevent them from being happy. If Carol weren't quite so jealous of Jean.. if Jean didn't try so hard to befriend Carol.. if Paul were better at reassuring Carol.. if people in general stopped worrying so much about the little things and were more thankful. Granted, these are all "ifs" ("much virtue in if" according to Touchstone.. "Your if is your only peace-maker.") [shameless plug for the "As You Like It" I'm working on -->]
but what IF we turned them into WHENs -- would we be happier? Or would more IFs pop up to replace them?

Tomorrow's Play: The House of Yes by Wendy MacLeod

Becky's New Car

2010-09-05T01:32:00.000-04:00

by Steven Dietz

Mr. Dietz, you've done it again! I am once again thrilled with seeing another side of this playwright! Before I blog about a play I always do a Google search to find an interview or an interesting review to be the click-thru link when you click on the title (above). For Becky's New Car, I found a wonderful story about how a man commissioned this play for his wife as a birthday present. What a lovely idea! Who would think that you could still do that? We all know that this was a very common thing back in Shakespeare's day but I've never heard of anyone doing it today.. Until now.

Becky's New Car is about a woman's flirtation (and eventual romance) with change. The title character addresses the audience in the beginning, saying:

When a woman says she needs new shoes, what she really wants is a new job. When she says she needs a new house, she wants a new husband. And when she says she wants a new car, she wants a new life.

And so begins Becky's search for a new life. It is not necessarily something she set out to do. It was something that stumbled upon her in the form of the dashing and sweet Walter. They meet at Becky's work as Walter comes to buy cars for all of his employees. He is grieving the death of his wife and somehow gets it in his head that Becky has also lost a spouse. In fact, her husband, Joe, is very much alive and in love with her. Joe likes to give her a hard time about her job, saying "it's just cars." Their son Chris has this to say about his mother's attention to her work:

This phenomenon is known as "normative social influence" - the desire to gain approval through situational behavior, despite not believing in the value of what one is doing.

He studies psychology.

Without revealing everything about the play, Becky ends up visiting Walter's home where he confesses his feelings for her. He is a bit embarrassed and covers:

It's that hour, you know. That late hour on a summer night when words come out easily.

What is it about a certain hour of the night where all one's defenses seem to disappear? I always feel my most creative at night. When I'm just a little bit tired, I stop judging myself and the creative energies start to flow.

I loved reading this play. I think the characters are wonderfully human and likeable, even when they do bad things. I also enjoyed the brief correspondence that I shared with Charles, the man who commissioned this play for his wife. He told me that their motto is "you don't have to be a Vanderbilt or d'Medici to commission a new work of art." :)

Towards the end of the play there is a wonderful scene between Joe and Walter ("what? the two men meet!" you say? oh that's right. it's lots of fun). Joe has my favorite line in the play:

I learned something a long time ago, Walter: No one - and I mean no one on earth - wants to hear how busy you are, how tired you are, or what happened to you at the airport.

We all have that airport story. Might make an interesting book. Short stories of people's airport nightmares -- something to read the next time you have a five-hour layover in Tennessee.

Tomorrow's Play: Split by Michael Weller (apparently the theme of the week is infidelity!)

This Week's Plays

2010-09-04T04:09:00.000-04:00

It has been requested that I post the plays farther in advance to give people the opportunity to get and read the plays along with me. I happily oblige! I will attempt to post them two weeks in advance, leaving the option open to make substitutions if the mood strikes me!

Without further ado. This week's plays are (in this order):

1) Becky's New Car by Steven Dietz
2) Split by Michael Weller
3) The House of Yes by Wendy MacLeod
4) Coastal Disturbances by Tina Howe
5) Loose Knit by Theresa Rebeck
6) Golden Boy by Clifford Odets
7) The Actor's Nightmare by Christopher Durang

NEXT week's plays:

1) All My Sons by Arthur Miller
2) Rabbit Hole by David Lindsay-Abaire
3) Dublin Carol by Conor McPherson
4) The 39 Steps adapted by Patrick Barlow, from the novel by John Buchan
5) Eurydice by Sarah Ruhl
6) The Rainmaker by N. Richard Nash
7) Plenty by David Hare

I would be remiss not to mention that if you're in the NY area, the Strand is by far your best stop to search for plays. I have found many gems there over the years, including many in the $1.00 bins outside the store!

Happy Reading! :)

Ridiculous Fraud

2010-08-26T01:45:00.000-04:00

by Beth Henley

In college I played Babe in Crimes of the Heart and it was the most wonderful experience - rehearsals and performances were so rewarding and the ensemble was near and dear to my heart. So, naturally, I was super excited to read Henley's Ridiculous Fraud, which is similar in a few ways to Crimes except that this go-around we have three brothers who are getting themselves into trouble.

I wasn't nearly as moved by this play as I was with Crimes and more than a few times I was confused. For the Times review (which actually agrees with me.. or I .. with it.. ), click the title link above. BUT, for the most part, it is a very entertaining play. The brothers are so very different - Andrew, the oldest, is a small-time politician who envisions himself as a king. Kap is in the middle and is somewhat lost in the world. He's happiest when he's duck hunting. Lafcad, the youngest who changed his name from Laurence in order to honor a somewhat macabre 19-century journalist, calls off his own wedding at the beginning of the play and hides for the better part of the first scene.

Andrew is clearly the organized one. He says at the beginning:

I have a new theory. Everyone should sleep less. I go to bed fifteen minutes later and set my clock fifteen minutes earlier. You cannot imagine what can be done with three and a half extra hours in the week. That's fourteen hours a month. A whole day's worth of work on "things you don't have time for."

Yes, but then you're tired. I love sleep. I try not to love it as much as I do, but I just happen to need a lot of sleep. I always have, so I see your point character-in-play-but-also-voice-of-author, but I am gonna hit my snooze button and you can't make me stop!

Perhaps my favorite line, comes from the boys' uncle. He seems like a lost little man, one who bought a diamond ring for a street performer twenty+ years his junior. To his nephew he says:

I can't bear to talk to a sales person. They only want to sell you things and it's so upsetting. This buzzing comes into my ears and I pay whatever they want. Whatever they require I let them have it.

Okay. I can relate to this. I'm gonna tell a story. So, my freshman year at NYU, being new to the city, I fell for this marketing trick where a guy or gal comes up to you and says, "Where do you get your hair done?" and he or she is dressed nicely and coiffed and you think, oh this person isn't homeless or asking me for money, they want to make me look good. WRONG. They DO want your money. And while it's not a scam, you basically buy an appointment at a salon and they throw in a free makeup session or a manicure, it still feels dirty because you're giving this stranger your credit card number on the street (or sitting on a bench in Washington Square Park after the salesman asks if he can take you to dinner). SO fast-forward six years! and what happens to me the other day? That's right, this guy says, "Hey yoga-girl, where do you get your hair done?" and basically cuts me off from crossing the street. And I said, "Oh, no thanks, I fell for this before." and I should have just kept walking but I said that and he JUMPED on it like all good salesmen and said, "Oh, well how was your experience? Who was it with? etc etc." and ten minutes later I've bought another one of these gd things with no desire to attend his salon! What is wrong with me?! Bottom line - he was one smooth talker and I better have a fierce haircut in the very near future.

Wednesday Play-a-day: Becky's New Car by Steven Dietz

Five Women Wearing the Same Dress

2010-08-26T01:32:00.000-04:00

by Alan Ball

Ah, the dreaded bridesmaid dress. Not being a bride myself, I can only assume that all brides strive to pick something classy that everyone will like, but when you have women of varying tastes it's very nearly impossible. By placing his five main characters in the same dress, Ball allows us to see the differences among these women. Their individual personalities are even more pronounced.

All five women, for different reasons, are avoiding the reception. They take refuge in one room where they discuss life, love, jealousy, past, future.. all those good, juicy things.

Surprisingly, I didn't find myself really relating to one character. I laughed at some of them, I agreed with some of them, but I didn't think, oh that one's me. I did like one of Mindy's speeches - she is the most sheltered of the women and is shy at first, but once she does speak up she is quick to share her opinions about the world. She says to the other women:

These women who are willing to have their lips poofed up and their tits inflated and their ribs removed? I mean, come on. That sounds like a Nazi war experiment. Those ribs are there for a reason. And that fat sucking thing? I'm sorry. There is something desperately wrong with a culture which encourages people to go to such extremes. We think we are so civilized. But we're just as barbaric as those Aztec guys who played soccer with human heads.

Ooh, topical, topical. I loved that in this play we never met the bride. We hear about her but we never actually meet her character. I think that's great. Because for once, it's all about the bridesmaids.

Tuesday Play-a-day: Ridiculous Fraud by Beth Henley

Quills

2010-08-19T19:37:00.000-04:00

by Doug Wright

This seems to me to be the perfect play to perform for Halloween.

Is it a bad sign that many, many quotes from this play spoke to me?

Quills is about the Marquis de Sade - the foulest man in France. It takes place mostly in the prison (asylum) where the Marquis resides. It is the story of the slow destruction of a man, or more specifically a man's art. The people in charge of the asylum disapprove of the nature of the Marquis' stories and attempt to silence him in many ways. The Marquis' wife, who is shunned by society, yet still hopelessly in love with her husband visits the doctor to discuss her husband's care. She is informed that they feel that if he writes his stories down then he will be cured of his evil nature, purging his thoughts on to paper. She is surprised by this method:

I had no idea that art offered salvation from madness. I was of the opinion that most artists are, themselves, quite deranged.

Har. Har. Alas, how wrong the doctors were. The Marquis' prose does not become more and more reserved, as his jailers had hoped. Instead, they become bawdier. He writes tales of religious men turned depraved, saying:

What evils a man can commit when reason demurs to lust!

The only ounce of purity in his devilish life comes in the form of his seamstress, Madeleine. He loves her, not with brute force as he has no doubt in the past, but from the heart. She tells him:

Some things belong on paper, others in life. It's a blessed fool who can't tell the difference.

That being said, she and her mother heartily enjoy his tales of debauchery. Even taking it upon themselves to act them out in their free time. Eventually the Abbe of the asylum has had enough. He comes to confiscate the Marquis' paper and books, realizing that what he thought would cure this man has only made things worse. The Marquis is outraged and makes a convincing argument:

Must we record only those phenomena that ennoble us as creatures? What unites us, my precious? Common language? A universal God? Shared codes of law and conduct? No. These vary from one population to the next. Fads and habits, nothing more! Did you know, heavenly man, that in France a husband with six wives would be executed, while in darkest Borneo that same man would be crowned king? ... Primal desire - that's unchanging!

The Abbe is not swayed from his mission, however. He instructs the Marquis to read to pass the time, jibing:

A writer who produces more than he reads - the sure mark of an amateur.

The Marquis, being without paper, pen or ink, resorts to writing on the bed linens in wine. Outraged, the Abbe and head doctor decide that more drastic measures must be taken to silence his wit. The Abbe, being a religious man, is hesitant to use violence but ultimately accepts:

And so he learns to fear punishment, rather than to pursue virtue for its own reward.

You'd think that they would realize that the Marquis is exactly the kind of guy who'd totally dig his own torture. I mean, sure it hurts, but to him it hurts so good. His motto:

In conditions of adversity, the artist thrives.

They strip his room of all linens and curtains, cut him off of wine, and de-bone his meat so that he will have nothing to fashion into a writing utensil. This doesn't stop the Marquis! He pricks his fingers and writes his stories on his clothes in his own blood. Madeleine, who does the laundry, discovers the chapters and when questioned by the Abbe about them, says:

Some men aren't mad at all. We only think them so, because their genius so far exceeds our own.

The Abbe then strips the Marquis of all his clothing, angered more and more at his continual failure to prevent the Marquis from writing. The Marquis is delighted at how effective his writing is. He thrills at the rise that it provokes in the Abbe. When the Abbe thunders at him that he will no longer write even his own name he responds:

Tsk, tsk, tsk. Are your convictions so fragile that mine cannot stand in opposition to them? is your God so illusory that the presence of my Devil reveals His insufficiency? Oh, for shame!

Now, with truly nothing left with to write, the Marquis resort to whispering his stories through the cells from one lunatic to another in the hopes that Madeleine will hear them and put them down on paper. His idea has catastrophic results when one madman, inspired by the Marquis' tale, kills Madeleine. This hits the Marquis deeply and it is the one vulnerable moment in the show.

The Abbe realizes that the time has come to do what he dreads. He cuts out the Marquis' tongue. Then he cuts off his fingers and toes. The doctor is concerned that the one thing they haven't cut off is his brain activity. The Marquis can still create, even if he has no way to express it, and therefore is not cured. The Abbe says:

I dare say, Doctor, we can't control his thoughts. We can only mute their expression.

Then he catches on that the doctor wants to kill the Marquis. The Abbe refuses, saying:

Violence in pursuit of pleasure is one thing. In pursuit of Justice it's another.

But ultimately he succumbs and cuts off the Marquis' head. And to his own terror he discovers that he felt pleasure when committing these acts of violence. With the death of the Marquis, the men feel they are safe, and society is safe. But not even death can stop the devilish writer. His fingers, toes, and head, all in separate boxes, wriggle to life in the final image of the play, and we hear the Marquis' voice as he constructs his next tale.

It is a wonderfully horrific tale of murder, depravity, and love, which borders on the absurd. I saw the movie a few years ago and remember loving it, but I think I like the stage version even better. There are some moments that are just more powerful when seen in live performance. Those almost magical elements that make the hair on the back of your neck stand up. Then there are the moments where you think, how the hell are they gonna stage that?

Monday Play-a-day: Five Women Wearing the Same Dress by Alan Ball

A Play A Day.

boom

The Kentucky Cycle - Part 1 - Ties That Bind

King John

The Kentucky Cycle - Part 1 - The Homecoming

The Kentucky Cycle - Part 1 - The Courtship of Morning Star

The Kentucky Cycle - Part 1 - Masters of the Trade

The start of a new school year...

Inana

Orange Flower Water

Elemeno Pea

Laughter on the 23rd Floor

Racing Demon

Beyond the Horizon

Our Town

The Crucible

Edward II

The Great Divide - Tech!

The Faith Healer

Sganerelle, or the Imaginary Cuckold

Dr. Faustus

The Great Divide - Day 22

That Pretty Pretty; or, The Rape Play

The Great Divide - Day 18

Doubt

The Great Divide - Day 8

As Bees in Honey Drown

The Great Divide - Day 7

The Great Divide

3x3, or 9 After 9

Two Precious Maidens Ridiculed

Essential Self-Defense

The Pillowman

Red Light Winter

Mary Stuart

The Tragedy of Macbeth Part II: The Seed of Banquo

Wonderful Time

Iphigenia

Holiday Hiatus!

Spinning into Butter

Blood Wedding

All This Intimacy

Henry IV, part 1

The Four of Us

Crave

The Zig-Zag Woman

Patter for the Floating Lady

The Farnsworth Invention

Dutchman

Lascivious Something

Weekend Comedy

The Agony and the Agony

God

How I Learned to Drive

House of Blue Leaves

Four Dogs and a Bone

Eurydice

Mauritius

Dancing at Lughnasa

The Rainmaker

Notes on Directing

Plenty

All My Sons

The 39 Steps

Rabbit Hole

The Actor's Nightmare

Golden Boy

Words, Words, Words!

1) All My Sons by Arthur Miller2) Rabbit Hole by David Lindsay-Abaire3) Dublin Carol by Conor McPherson4) The 39 Steps adapted by Patrick Barlow, from the novel by John Buchan5) Eurydice by Sarah Ruhl6) The Rainmaker by N. Richard Nash7) Plenty by David Hare

Loose Knit

Coastal Disturbances

The House of Yes

Split

Becky's New Car

This Week's Plays

Ridiculous Fraud

Five Women Wearing the Same Dress

Quills

1) All My Sons by Arthur Miller
2) Rabbit Hole by David Lindsay-Abaire
3) Dublin Carol by Conor McPherson
4) The 39 Steps adapted by Patrick Barlow, from the novel by John Buchan
5) Eurydice by Sarah Ruhl
6) The Rainmaker by N. Richard Nash
7) Plenty by David Hare