My Last Play

October 8, 2011 at 11:19 pm

“Do I really need that 20-volume collection of America’s lost plays?” he said in an interview. “I don’t. I haven’t looked at it in 15 years. It’s decoration at this point. But the other thing is that it’s self-definition. I am a guy with a lot of theater books, that’s who I am. And what I’m looking at is, well, maybe that’s not necessarily who I want to be.”

From this article about the playwright Ed Schmidt performing, in his home in Brooklyn, “My Last Play.” And, each night, giving each of the twelve audience members one of his more than 2,000 books. It’s from last year, but I came across it because the final performance just occurred on Monday.

He basically had an epiphany about the worthlessness of spending his life trying to create great theatre and decided to end his career. Ignore for a second the potential ludicrous emo-ness of that, and even whether it’s really true and not just a brilliant trope/tactic… It’s just so interesting. Personally, I’ve “quit” theatre more than once without success, and I figure, even if I did succeed one day – even if I gave all my books away (omgnever) – it would always be this enormous part of who I was. And I love books, too, and particularly the sharing of books is very meaningful to me… What’s it like to decide never to write again? Can you even do that? What about bringing strangers into your actual home and opening your falling-apart life to them? Here, come in, take a piece of who I am – way to capitalize on that whole “art is pain” thing. I know almost all of us write from life, and I know there’ve been tons of one-person shows and memoirs, but something about this particular premise… I’m fascinated.

Everyone go read and then come back and talk to me about it. Now. Pleeeeease?

By kmjiang | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (0)

Everybody’s a Critic?

October 8, 2011 at 3:41 pm

It's rare that I'll admit to experiencing schadenfreude at any given moment. Of course I'd like to think I don't experience it often anyhow. But, to be honest, I have one habit through which I find myself able to this joy-at-misfortune roam free: my extensive weekly reading of arts criticism. I read theatre reviews, film reviews, visual arts reviews and reviews of exhibitions, concert reviews - you name it, I know what all the critics think about it. Reviews like these are informative for me as a young artist, of course, but also surprisingly entertaining. I suppose there's something wildly exciting for me about reading the words of people whose job it is to say whatever they want. That's exaggeration, sure, but critics, for me, can tell the world how they truly feel about art. It's certainly not to say that I agree with every critique I read, of course, but still - it's either their brashness or their bravery that I admire most.

So with all this strange admiration, I read Charles Isherwood's Friday posting in the New York Times' Arts Beat blog and was left confounded. The article, "For One Critic, It's a Rapp" isn't really a review; rather, the critic takes a stand as if waiting for the artist to respond, rather than the other way around. Then again, the article is also part-critique of arts criticism. To explain the article simply: Isherwood says flat-out that he should no longer review the plays of Adam Rapp. Isherwood traces his history with the playwright, finding that he has "nothing but reservations" for "a lot of Mr. Rapp's writing," but has continued to review his work because it's so prolific and lauded in the current American theatre (New York City especially). Isherwood then openly admits that maybe he just doesn't respond organically to Rapp's work like others do, saying that "criticism is, after all, a subjective form of writing. There is no right answer."

As young theatre artists and dramaturgs, I STRONGLY RECOMMEND YOU ALL READ THE ARTICLE HERE! After my first read of it I almost felt as if Charles Isherwood had backed down. From what, though, I can't say I'm certain. Has he backed down from the bravery that he's always had because he's a critic? The bravery and damaging harshness he's possesed to share his opinions on art, at the risk of ruining a show? At the risk of ruining a career? Isherwood ends his article asking his readers "what do you think," but I'm not sure I can answer him just yet. Needless to say I'll have to find an answer before I read my next review.

By obarresi | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (1)

The Lone Storyteller Lives

October 4, 2011 at 7:25 am

In New York City, one of the commercial, material and political centers of the world, one would hardly expect there to be strong voices standing against corporations especially one that many would say has revolutionized the ways we communicate with each other . Mike Daisy, travels around the world performing extemporaneous monologues about controversial, current issues around the world, and he is now performing at the Public Theatre. "The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs" is Daisy's newest one-man-show and in it he both describes his adventures at an Apple  factory in China and profiles Steve Jobs, Apple's recently retired CEO. An Apple product owner himself, Daisy chose to create monologues for his most recent show around Apple after he started researching their supply chain and specifically a factory in Shenzhen, China. The conditions he found in the factory, while posing as a wealthy business man, appalled him and set him on the path to bring that experience to as many people as he could. One has to applaud Daisy's daring in bringing this performance to New York City, the city with the most Apple stores in America.  In a time when so many people are dependent on Apple products, many of us owning two or three at a time, there is no question that Mike Daisy's choice of performance material is daring, his voice passionate and his message valid. Are Americans, and world-wide Apple users ready to stand up and listen, ready to act? This remains to be seen...

NY Times Interview with Mike Daisy

By lumiere1 | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (0)

Shakespeare, Signing, and Hip Hop

October 3, 2011 at 11:57 pm

At the 2012 Cultural Olympiad, something new is happening. They're introducing British Sign Language and hip hop as a means to communicate the show in a different way. The Globe Theatre is hosting the World Shakespeare Festival and trying something new. The festival will feature seventy different performances, in a variety of languages without the aid of surtitles as a part of Globe to Globe.

Love's Labour's Lost will be performed with British Sign Language. Othello will be adapted, allowing for the Q Brothers from Chicago to help tell the story through hip hop. Cymbeline is being performed by a theatre company emerging from the newly formed country of South Sudan. Serbia, Albania, and Macedonia have taken on the three Henry IV plays, adding their own flavor, as well as being the first time the three will be performed at London's Globe Theatre. New Zealand's addition of Troilus and Cressida focuses on Maori culture.

I find this idea of doing Shakespeare in a variety of languages and means intriguing. When most people think of Shakespeare, they think of the plays we all have had to read. Instead, the Globe is doing something new, something to showcase how these plays can be done all over the world. As Artistic Director of the Globe Dominic Dromgoole describes it, it will be "bizarre and exciting." I cannot think of two better words to describe what is happening at the end of April 2012. We are forced to change how we interpret Shakespeare, opening ourselves up to these interpretations.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-15058047

By jswolf | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (0)

the road less traveled by

October 3, 2011 at 11:25 pm

Milan Grygar The Kampa Museum is one of my favorite museums in the world.

One of my favorite artists featured in the museum was Milan Grygar.  My sister and I  explored the many facets of his work one afternoon in Prague which began with his  paintings.  Then we were introduced to his real magic, which were the videos of his  work.

His first video is just a big white piece of paper at first.  Then two arms poke through,  along with two legs, and a bowl of black paint.  The hands start working their magic  as they start dabbing away at the white sheet to create what almost looks like a  complete circle.  So we sat  there for what felt like fifteen minutes, watching him dab  away with his blackened fingertips, and  when he was finished he carefully retreated  from the  four paper holes and set the paint  down.  Then we watched as he torn the  paper  around the  work he had just painted until  it was just a huge hole in a huge  piece of  white paper.  And that was the end.

The Second video began with him playing around with a bunch of different wind up  toys, mostly birds.  He eventually wound them all up as he lighted a match that the  birds held in their beaks, or he would dip their beaks in ink and let them go!  They  danced around the paper, each one leaving a different trail behind them.  When they  stopped, or  when all the matches went out, he collected them all, brushed the extra ash off and his  work was finished.  It was amazing.

Grygar's work made me rethink how I examine art.  I remember going through the rest of the museum fascinated by how I imagined the artist would be creating their work.  Assuming that all of their processes wouldn't be the same or as unique as Grygar's, but also realizing that I usually just focus on the finished product, and that there was a journey before whatever I was standing in front of.  It also reenforced how important the process is and how often I forget that.  That maybe using a paintbrush won't get you the right strokes you want, or the perfect dots or lines you wished for, so you go exploring other options!  You go outside the box, you use wind-up birds or spend an hour creating a hole in a piece of paper.  You take the journey and you make it worthwhile because when its over, its over.  And yes, the product is important, it validates the existence of the process, but I know I can get caught up in the visions and grandeur of the final piece.  I need to slow down! Milan's work is simple, and beautiful, but the road he took was imaginative, exciting, and entirely his own.  I need to bring these ideas to my own work, and start developing my own road.

By ofine | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (0)

The Huntington Theatre Playbill

October 3, 2011 at 11:09 pm

So I saw Candide at the Huntington this weekend and I really really enjoyed it and I think everyone should try and see it. But I'm not going to blog about the show itself (although I could go on about how much I loved the music, the set , the story, the message and especially the innovative and imaginative direction by Mary Zimmerman --inspiring stuff that I have not seen at the Hunt since I've been here).

What I am blogging about is the Huntington's program. When I sat down, I decided to find the program notes since we have recently been focusing on their effectiveness and purpose in our viewing experience. I found a one page write up by Charles Haugland called "Absurd Optimism". Haugland, after googling his name because it did not appear anywhere else in the program (???), is a dramaturg at the Huntington. He writes a wonderfully succinct note about the history of Voltaire and his connection with the idea of Optimism (the show's subtitle). It gave great background and mentioned nothing about the adaptation or direction of the show I was about to watch. To be honest, I didn't think this was considered the "program notes" because the show was never mentioned! So, I unknowingly continued to search the program and found on the annoyingly large and yellow playbill insert that I should "Hear from our Artists (and tell us what YOU think!). They wanted me to call in to their "Cell Phone Playbill" ....huh?! I have never heard of anything like this. I don't know if this is a new strategy for the Hunt or not but I was immediately taken aback. They want me to get on my cell phone in a theatre to hear about the show? This feels almost forbidden in my understanding of the proper edict of being an audience member in a theatre! I was so disappointed that all these wonderful pieces of supplementary materials, from Peter DuBois, artistic director, to Mary Zimmerman, adapter and director, to Lauren Molina, an actress in the show, was not conveniently included in the reading material of the program in my hand.

I have always been of the midset that our new technological advances tend to make us more lazy but certaintly allows us to read/see/experience a plethora of things much easier and stress-free. This seemed to do the opposite for me. I didn't want to deal with getting out my phone and struggling to listen to a recording in a loud theatre minutes before the curtain rises. I wonder how many people in attendance that night utilized this option. Is this marketing aimed to get people to listen to these materials on their way home? Or after they've gotten up the next morning? I wonder how many people actually read the flimsy inset to even know about these interviews. I'm not sure how I feel about this form of information. I'm a person who values their theatre playbills. I do my best to make sure I always bring a fresh copy of the playbill home with me, if ever I want to re-read the details of the show. My Candide playbill seems incomplete and distant. I feel oddly separated through my phone from these wonderful additions. I just quickly dialed the number for the Cell Phone Playbill and got to sneak a short listen to Mary Zimmerman and her adaptation process --such great material to listen to! I would never have called up if I wasn't blogging about it right now.

It seems theatres, especially my high school's, have been in a constant battle with the issue of cell phones, pagers and "anything else that beeps." This new "Cell Phone Playbill," which irks me in a weird way, seems to be reversing this struggle and is enforcing the use of electronics within the theatre.

By dkeohane | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (0)

Oh my God, RYAN GOSLING!

October 3, 2011 at 9:57 pm

So this is less about him and more about Drive, but I just had to give him a shout out because he's so dreamy...

Anyhow, I saw Drive tonight and let me just say that everyone should go see it. Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant. But outside of the great acting, the good looking peeps, and the awesome plot, it made me think about our project in Dramaturgy.

We're all well aware that in classical Greek tragedies, the gore was not seen on stage, but just described.  For as long as I can remember (or since I started taking theatre classes) this has been justified by saying "by not seeing the violence, we imagine something even more gruesome."  But now I'm second guessing this assumption...

I am not faint of heart when it comes to blood and guts.  I love it and it doesn't startle me easily.  There is a lot of very vivid violence and gore in Drive, but I was horrified.  Not because it's any more vivid or disgusting than The Walking Dead or any Tarantino movie, but because the rest of the movie was so intimate.  There is hardly any dialogue and the acting is so heartfelt and sincere.  It's because of this stark contrast between the genuine love and the horrific violence that makes the gore valuable.

This made me think of our project and I wonder which adaptations choose to show the violence.  For instance in Caridad Svich's adaptation, Historical Antigone and Digital Antigone hang themselves on stage.

Furthermore, it got me even more excited for Keyword: Violence Project.  Blood, guts and violence can be entertaining on it's own.  However, when it's not there to serve itself but to serve the story, it can be an invaluable tool.

By cofuller | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (0)

Prison Theatre: Directly changing lives through art!

October 3, 2011 at 9:38 pm

Over the summer I went on a road trip of the northwest, starting in California and ending up in Seattle. As I would do on any road trip, I brought music and new stumpers for the ever popular “20 questions” game. However, my friend that I was with came much better prepared. He brought over 100 episodes of This American Life, a radio show based out of Chicago that tells stories from all over America. What a great discovery!! My favorite show by far was that entitled Act V documenting a 2002 performance of Hamlet done by Prison Performing Arts. This Missouri based theatre company, goes to prisons (both female and male wards) and creates performances with the inmates acting, and sometimes even re-writing the pieces. The documentary of the prisoner’s production of Hamlet was incredibly moving, and made it clear to me why we need theatre in the larger community by seeing why it is important in this micro-community. It is evident that theatre provides these prisoners with much needed community, pride, self-respect, and a vehicle for their voices to be heard. Theatre gives these prisoners something to be proud of. It makes them productive and creative human beings, as opposed to cattle herded through the prison system. Theatre connects them with the human experience, and with their prison-mates in the audience.
Many of these men had never read Shakespeare and yet they immediately connected to the text because of their familiarity with its themes. What average actor has personal experience with such high stakes of murder, betrayal, and haunting guilt? These prisoners are more personally connected with the text, which makes their performance vibrant, emotional, and fascinating.
Art can change lives, and this episode of This American Life refueled my belief in this statement. After doing some more research, I found out about The Medea Project, a prison theatre company that works solely with women. They founded their company because they recognized, “issues that were specific to female inmates, such as guilt, depression, and self-loathing, which arose in response to feelings of failure in the face of community. These issues directly contribute to recidivism among female offenders. Based on this observation, Jones founded THE MEDEA PROJECT: THEATER FOR INCARCERATED WOMEN to explore whether an arts-based approach could help reduce the numbers of women returning to jail.” (from their website, linked above, in the about us section) I don’t know that these feelings are specific to women, as it seemed many of the men interviewed from the Prison Performing arts Project had similar feelings, however, there is no doubt in my mind that theatre is profoundly changing the lives of all involved in these projects; the inmate actors, inmate audiences, and those non-inmates facilitating the process. This idea reminds me of theatre in ancient Greece, when the majority of the community were present at each show, and the play dealt with immediately relevant political, moral, and spiritual issues. I urge you all to do more research on Prison Theatre!! This looks like an interesting book for some more reading: Performing new lives: prison theatre
By Jonathan Shailor, Evelyn Ploumis-Devick

By sdecker | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (0)

The Resistance

October 3, 2011 at 9:27 pm

I stumbled upon (for shame!) this article about becoming a better writer...and frankly, having just come from playwriting, it was a pretty timely coincident. The entire thing is pretty cool and I agree with some and not with others and I know some of them bug me because they're things I'm bad at and wish I was better at, etc. etc., but I really liked number 2,by Steven Pressfield. Pressfield is a novelist, screenwriter, etc. mostly of historical fiction. Most notably to me, though, he wrote a book called, "The War of Art: Break Through The Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles." *Logs into Amazon and searches furtively: two-day one-click*

Pressfield says, "Resistance knows that the longer we noodle around "getting ready," the more time and opportunity we'll have to sabotage ourselves. Resistance loves it when we hesitate, when we over-prepare. The answer: plunge in."

This guy knows me a little too well already.

I think I suffer from a severe want to, as Pressfield puts it, "noodle around getting ready." I always think I need something outside of myself to set me right and put me in the right place to work: a director, a cup of tea, a clean kitchen, a new pair of shoes, a workout, a mint, a shower, a talk with mom...the list goes on and on. (Cory Doctorow addresses this in number 22: "Write even when the world is chaotic. You don’t need a cigarette, silence, music, a comfortable chair, or inner peace to write. You just need ten minutes and a writing implement." INFURIATING, BUT TRUE!)

Anyway, I don't think these tips are just for writers, I think they're for everyone. We (I) spend so much valuable time thinking about and planning for the brilliant work I'm going to do when I could just be... doing it.

By ccleary7 | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (1)

Why It’s Bad That A Show Pleased Me

October 3, 2011 at 3:40 pm

*SPOILER ALERT* to anyone who hasn’t seen Candide at the Huntington yet.

My thought process during the first scene of Candide at The Huntington Theatre Company: “Well, it’s another Hunt show.” “I wonder how long it will be till intermission.” “Will I leave at intermission? Well I did last time I saw a show of the Hunt’s so I’ve got no reason not to this time around.”

And then the sky fell and I was intrigued.

I want to examine these first few moments a bit more in depth though because there’s something interesting in comparing that first scene of Candide and my thought that it was a usual Hunt show. First, in the action of the scene we’ve got the aristocracy learning that all bad things are present for good reason. They’re being pacified to the world around them, not challenged to question it. And while yes, we learn through the process of the show that we need to work in order to survive life, I want to look at this scene solely as this scene.

This is the first time that I’ve ever been even vaguely challenged by a Hunt show. Here is a summation of what I’ve walked away with from Hunt shows before:

Becky Shaw: Don’t be the awkward chick.

All My Sons: Morality. Ethics.

A Civil War Christmas: Uhm…Christmas was a lot less fun back in the 1800s?

Fences: I mean…it’s Fences. Race. Class. Gender. Family Matters.

Vengeance Is the Lords: Would you want someone who killed someone killed?

Educating Rita: Everyone deserves equal opportunity regardless of their social/economic status.

I’ll admit, this is oversimplified, well in some cases, but my point is, it’s all been issues I either don’t care about, already agree with or are frivolous. So when Candide surprised me…I was well…surprised. But in terms of content and being challenged, my experience with The Hunt is about the same as what Candide, Cunegonde and Maximilian are learning from Pangloss. The Huntington’s website even says that, “The Huntington Theatre Company engages, inspires, entertains and challenges audiences with theatrical productions.” Isn’t a mission statement about a goal, not what’s already being achieved? Also, how do they measure these things and what audience are they speaking about? I’ve yet to experience most of those things at the Huntington except maybe entertainment now and again.

So great, point one, the action of the scene matches with my experience of the theatre company.

Now the set. In context, brilliant, at the moment…flat, tiny, boring, expected. Literally, in the box.

See where I’m going with this? I don’t think there’s really much more that I need to say.

So why is it a bad thing that Candide finally pleased me? Because it wasn’t a Huntington show. It started at the Goodman, went to Shakespeare Theatre Company, then came to The Hunt. This isn’t something they did, it may as well have been a touring production. Complete and total  props to everyone involved in the production, and to the Hunt for bringing the show to town but now start doing work like this of your own! I don’t mean production value, I mean in purpose and artistry. Be the rest of Candide, not the first scene.

By Danny Park | Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , | Comments (0)

“Ignazio…let loose a startlingly full and mature high note. A girl literally screamed with delight…”

October 3, 2011 at 1:43 pm

Il Volo's Gianluca Ginoble, far left, Piero Barone and Ignazio Boschetto.

Il Volo's Gianluca Ginoble, far left, Piero Barone and Ignazio Boschetto.

This past July, I had to take a JetBlue flight from Boston to get to a family wedding. I hadn’t been on a plane in years, so I was genuinely surprised by the miniature television glued into the back of the seat in front of me. I left it off for the entire flight, deciding against watching a movie or music video, but it turned by itself as the plane landed and docked itself at the airport. A muted music video promotion was playing, featuring three boys I had never seen before - all with dark hair, on the shorter side, definitely younger than me. They were singing something, but what, I wasn’t sure. Pop music? It looked dramatic, whatever it was: wide-angle slow motion footage of them singing was accompanied by tracking shots of beautiful European vistas and vast spotlighted stages. Such earnest attempts at sweeping and romantic feeling all felt decidedly Andrea Bocelli-esque. And as it happened, my Italian connection was spot-on: these three boys made up an Italian singing group named “Il Volo.” By the time I had figured out the name of their group – and the fact that they were all 18 or younger – I had to grab my carry-on and leave the plane. I did so, and with that, my random encounter with Il Volo was forgotten.

Forgotten until this morning, that is. Browsing the New York Times’ online Arts page, I came across a headline that read “They’re, Like, Awesome Opera Singers.” Placed with the headline was a picture of the three of them – those same boys that I had seen on that plane! Those same boys that I had thought I had forgotten about! Those same boys that sang like Andrea Bocelli but looked like they were characters on “Glee.” Zarachy Woolfe’s accompanying article on Il Volo, a lengthy profile of group members Gianluca, Piero and Ignazio on tour, even appeared in print in yesterdays’ Sunday Times. The three teenagers, aged between 16 and 18, are apparently poised to become popular music’s next teen heartthrob supergroup, but plan on doing it with a traditional operatic sound. Indeed, their first singles are “O Sole Mio” and the strangely mature “Un Amore Cosi Grande.” You can read more about the three of them in Woolfe’s article here, and check out their very own website here.

Needless to say, after reading their Times profile, looking at their website, and listening to more of their singles, I was a little bit surprised. Surprised that these boys sound like they do, being and looking like babies to me. But surprised isn’t quite all of what I feel about Il Volo. How about off-put? Skeeved out? Those unsettling adjectives more accurately describe my reaction, especially given the way their Times profile admitted they were seen by their managers and handlers: which is to say, cash cows. Adorably dimpled cash cows, but cash cows nonetheless. The adults that are with them on tour speak of the boys as if they are caricatures with voices and little more. Several parts of Woolfe’s article record this money-focused mindset of the adults behind Il Volo. These include (but aren’t limited to) the origins of the group in a reality show singing competition, managers buying Dolce & Gabbana suits for the boys tailored to the stage image each one is meant to represent to the world, and this excerpt that closes the entire profile: “Earlier in the day Ignazio was sound-checking onstage with the band as [manager] Steve Leber watched from the seats…Mr. Leber smiled. ‘Our game plan is working,’ he said.”

It isn’t as if these boys are the first child stars ever to break into the entertainment industry – so why do I feel so unsettled by their story? And by the way their handlers look at them? I can’t help but feel they’re being taken advantage of, as if starting the struggle for fame at such a sensitive age as theirs can lead to nothing but disaster. Given what we know about American arts and culture alone, this statement unfortunately doesn’t feel like hyperbole. So, is this disturbing fixation on youth in modern art and entertainment, of which Il Volo is clearly a new example, a given in our culture? Is it something we should continue to question and protect those younger than us from? And should this even disturbing at all? Based on their talent alone, Ignazio, Gianluca and Piero deserve to be stars – but, for the sake of their future sanity, I can’t help but feel they should spend a few more years in school.

By obarresi | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (0)

Antigone Now and Theater of War

October 3, 2011 at 1:05 pm

For my program notes assignment I chose to do Antigone Now by Melissa Cooper. Beginning my image search for the production, I found that all the images I was gravitating towards were of past and current wars, natural disasters, or political crises. Reading the translation of Sophocles' Antigone, the nature of the war is explained by the chorus in relation to the greek Gods. It is epic in nature, metaphorical, and figurative. I am still disturbed by this imagery and get a clear picture of how desperate the city is. However, There's a certain modern sensibility about brutality and the desolation of war that the translated  language doesn't inspire in me. When the majority of the play happens within the Theban palace, it's easy for me to forget that Thebes has been leveled by war, and what it must be like for Antigone to be in what once was her home, now destroyed.

Melissa Cooper's adaptation Antigone Now, gives me a visceral picture of the world of this play through her language. Some quotes I thought were particularly effective include:

"CHORUS. I heard she was out again last night. After curfew. Running through the forbidden zones. Digging through bodies. Crazy girl....City's been starving and burning so long, we don't care who wins. We just want to be able to sleep at night."

"ANTIGONE. I saw our brothers, dead in the street. Their arms and legs were all tangled together, like when they were little and they used to wrestle. Except the blood is real, and they don't get up...Poor body, poor brother. Holes in his chest, Ismene, and the birds are so hungry. After the soldier's left, I threw stones at the buzzards, but they wouldn't leave. On my way home, I passed starving dogs, rooting for food. They'll find him soon-"

"ANTIGONE. I hear people wailing. They're rooting through the bodies piled high in the streets. This one is mine: see the mole on his cheek?...This is my cousin. This is my friend. This is my lover. This is my son. This is my brother."

"ANTIGONE. I know I will die, of course I'll die. So what if you make me die a little sooner? You think death is a threat? Everyone I love is dead, and I burn all the time. Why should I be scared to die? No, what scared me was seeing my brother rot naked in the sun. I saw him. The dogs pulled the skin off his stomach. Of course, I buried him. You think I'm a fool for doing it, fine. Maybe that's the opinion of a fool."

I'm gravitated towards this version of Antigone because it asks me to see what is outside the palace, it is universal to wars across the world, it could happen anywhere. It felt right to me to focus on the reality of the world in which this story takes place, rather than the metaphorical, philosophical world of Ancient Greece. Melissa Cooper turns Antigone into a modern story of a war torn city, and it hits me in my gut because I understand it through her characters.

By lehuggin | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (0)

Antigone and Amanda

October 3, 2011 at 12:45 pm

Sophocles' Antigone and Amanda Knox in court.

Sophocles' Antigone and Amanda Knox in court.

We spoke in class about coming to terms with Antigone's decision to give her life in order to uphold her brother's honor- which is right? To die for a cause, or to live and fight for it covertly?

Today while perusing CNN news, I clicked on the update of the now infamous Amanda Knox Murder trial, and was stunned to see, in print, Knox's final appeal for freedom, her claim to innocence. In a sense, her final battle cry. The farther I read, the more I thought of Antigone.

Although Knox pleads for exactly the opposite of Antigone -- her life (freedom)-- her public supplication is a reminder to me as a theatre artist that these tragedian speeches of such import are not so far fetched, even in a time when it seems our voices have become so mundane.

Without further ado, here is a side by side juxtaposition of Antigone and Knox's speeches that appeal for their interpretations of justice:

Antigone (speech taken from the Jean Cocteau adaptation):

Jupiter did not issue that decree. Nor does justice impose such laws. I was not aware that your decree could make the caprice of man prevail over the rule of the immortals, over Unwritten Laws which nothing can efface. Such laws do not date from today or yesterday. They are for all time. No one knows when they were made. Ought I, then, for fear of a man's opinion, to disobey my gods? I knew death would follow my act. I shall die young; so much the better. The real misfortune was to have left my brother without a tomb. The rest is all the same to me.

Amanda:

"I am not what they say I am. I did not kill. I did not rape. I did not steal...People always ask 'who is Amanda Knox?' I am the same person that I was four years ago, exactly the same person. The only thing that now separates me from four years ago is my suffering...In four years, I've lost my friends in the most terrible and unexplainable way. My trust in the authorities and the police has been damaged. I had to face charges that were totally unfair, without any basis. And I am paying with my life for something I haven't done...I am innocent."

By geawill | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (1)

Dancing Girls of the Swat Valley

October 3, 2011 at 12:42 pm

I stumbled upon an article about the dancing girls of the swat valley in Pakistan. The article explains the artistic history of swat valley and the terror that occurred during the reign of the Taliban. In Pashtun areas, a singer or dancer is known as damor beghairat (a person without a sense of honor). They are generally considered not morally good people. They used to be considered smarter and more fashionable than traditional woman. In the past five years these girls have been tormented and killed for relationship with the arts. By 2009 the Taliban had completely taken over the artistic valley of swat. Now they are struggling towards a cultural revival but there is still great fear of a Taliban concern and this time it will be even more devastating. This article struck me because I always forget how lucky we are to live in a society where we don’t have to live in complete fear of our lives on a day-to-day basis in a very real way. I wanted to post this article as a reminder to become more aware global citizens. I was also very intrigued by the fact that dancing used to be praised and respected years ago in Pakistan and woman were not always deemed inferior. It even says “You may think it unimaginable, but during the time of Swat State, girls even enjoyed swimming in a tributary of River Swat.” Reading this article I had the realization that in order to become a more aware global citizen I need to not only focus what is happening in the moment but also in the past.

see link here

By nmednick | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (0)

The Saga Continues!!!

October 3, 2011 at 11:30 am

This week, Julie Taymor is set to square off against the producers of "Spider Man: Turn off the Dark," claiming that they owe her more than $500,000 is royalties for the production. If you didn't already know, Taymor was fired from the production back in March for artistic "clashes" with the producers; which basically means she wasn't willing to change things that they wanted changed. The arbitration claim was actually filed by the Stage Director's and Choreographer's Union, because Taymor hasn't been paid anything since the show began its previews. So really, the only money she has received was a $125,000 payment five years ago. Now I really don't know anything about what's right or protocol when it comes to directors being paid, but I just found this dispute super super interesting. What is right in the theatre today -- that a director be paid only on the basis of a show's success, or that they be compensated for ALL of their time, and for their commitment, no matter how successful the production ends up being. It's a tricky situation, for although Taymor did spend endless amounts of time collaborating on the production, the production DID cost a hefty $75 million - the most expensive Broadway show EVAHH!!!

Here's the article: http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/09/29/its-spider-man-turn-on-the-lawyers-with-taymor-arbitration-hearing-set-for-next-week/

By bsands91 | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (0)

KAIROS Dance Theater

September 29, 2011 at 4:52 pm

KAI•ROS [kahy-rohs] -noun:

The ancient Greeks believed in two types of time:
"chronos" - referring to chronological, sequential or ordinary time;
and "kairos" - meaning unique time, time in between.

A LIMINAL SPACE, IF YOU WILL.

But seriously. Remember when we read the Wellman? If you'd like to see some dance theater right here on campus, KAIROS was co-founded by DeAnna Pellecchia and Ingrid Schatz (both of whom teach part-time at FitRec) and they will be premiering their works "Fodder" and "Reprieve" (pictured above) at the BU Dance Showcase this weekend!

Friday, September 30, 2011 - 8:00 PM
Saturday, October 1, 2011 - 8:00 PM
Boston University Dance Theater
915 Commonwealth Avenue (entrance on Buick Street)

This is unfortunately quite soon, and I know most of us are in rehearsal Friday, but it does sound interesting (besides KAIROS and other guests, the Showcase will feature BU dance faculty and alumni). If anyone's thinking about going, I have it on good authority that it's only about an hour and a half long.

Click here for more information or to see more pictures!

By kmjiang | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (0)

Peer Gynt Sculpture Park

September 28, 2011 at 10:16 am

In advance of the BU production of Peer Gynt next quarter, I offer this wonderful and strange little thing: a Peer Gynt Sculpture Park, located at Løren in Oslo (Norway).  As their press blurb states,

"...Famous sculptors from many countries each has interpreted a piece of a play. Henrik Ibsen is Norway's most famous playwright, and Peer Gynt is one of his most known works. The sculptures in the Peer Gynt park let you follow the play from start to finish."

I've pasted below an example of the work included, but check out the whole variety of sculptures by clicking here.

The Thin Priest with a Fowling Net by Eamonn O’Doherty, Ireland

The Thin Priest with a Fowling Net by Eamonn O’Doherty, Ireland

By Ilana Brownstein | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (0)

Angels in America, 20 Years Later

September 27, 2011 at 8:23 am

I stumbled upon an article on NPR where Tony Kushner was interviewed about his play, Angels in America, his motivation at the time, and the lasting impact it has had. When Angels in America premiered in San Francisco in 1991, it was a shock for the time. AIDS during the Reagan years, sex, homosexuality - they were all things that theatre didn't show. Kushner changed that. He wrote about things that were beginning to greatly affect the world. As Kushner describes it, his time thinking and writing were right on the cusp of changing politics and society, making this a play for its time. It is still incredibly resonant now, and probably will be for decades to come. It's all about change and adapting and being slightly ahead of your time. As Kushner keeps looking back, I'm sure he will find more and more things that are relevant and before their time as our world continues to adapt and change.

http://www.npr.org/2011/09/13/140438370/angels-in-america-twenty-years-later

By jswolf | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (0)

Why I regret the fact I can’t speak German…

September 27, 2011 at 7:06 am

hamlet

hamlet_berlin2008
hamlet

A friend of mine was studying experimental theatre in Berlin for part of the Summer and one day, when I was casually perusing her blog, this picture struck me.  Her caption was, "I'm so amped for this production of Hamlet."  (WHAT? A sexy dirt covered Hamlet in his undies?) Since then I've become increasingly obsessed with the direction and innovation of Thomas Ostermeier.

Thomas Ostermeier (and I guess he's über famous, so many of you might know about him already) is the Artistic Director of the Schaubuehne theatre in Berlin.  The theatre's programming is dedicated to political and social causes and they often premiere new work by contemporary playwrights. But perhaps what they and Thomas Ostermeier are most famous for is their radical revisions of the classics. Their repertoire is extensive and intimidating.  In the past they have produced plays by Gorki, Brecht, Strinberg, Moliere, Ibsen, and most prominently Shakespeare.  Ostermeier is known to take canonical work, strip it down and make it as visceral an experience as possible.

The Schaubuehne's Hamlet is only two and a half hours long and calls for an ensemble of only six actors who play 20 different characters.  The stage is covered in a very thick layer of mud.  The actors do not only bury themselves and each other in it, they consume it.  Ostermeier is also extremely interested in the collaboration of film.  Video of the actors faces and other clips are projected behind the action on a huge screen made from gold chain.  In one article I read, the observer recounted that during one of Hamlet's monologues or soliloquies, a close up of his face was being projected on the enormous screen, but his face kept being interrupted by images of a skull, (which the author of the article suspected was in place of Yorick, whose scene was cut).  Another great example of the radical revision is the Mousetrap scene.  Hamlet and Horatio put on the play for Claudius and Gertrude and Hamlet is dressed in his mother's black lace panties and thigh high stockings...

I don't know if I would like this production (hell, I probably would) but I KNOW I have to see it.  It premiered a few years ago, but from what I can extract from various theatres' websites is that it may or may not be going to London soon and it's definitely in Berlin right now. I'ma include a short trailer for this Hamlet that I encourage y'all to watch. It's pretty cool.

Also, a quick shoutout to ANTIGONE! (and Danny Park who lamented with me over the fact that we couldn't find an all male version or a version with drag.) The Schaubuhne is doing an ALL MALE version with DRAG, GLITTER, and weird German rock!!! Another trailer. (Look at all that fucking glitter!)

So, well done Thomas Ostermeier. You have singlehandedly made me regret choosing Spanish over German in high school.

By cofuller | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (0)

Invisible in Public

September 27, 2011 at 2:12 am

Liu Bolin, painted in a New York grocery store

I stumbled across this article and was instantly intrigued. An artist, Liu Bolin, strategically places himself against backgrounds in the real world, then stands for hours on end as his assistants paint him into the background. The result is the stunningly invisible shape of a man just distinguishable in the picture above.

The article states that Bolin's body-painting began a few years out of college as a visualization of a sense he had of loneliness, without love or family. This early idea has led to a career of these paintings, recently earning him an exhibition of photos in New York.

Something about this man's work compels me incredibly. I thought first of the idea of the "invisible" actor, a phrase used by Yoshi Oida in his work (and occasionally mentioned in Elaine Vaan Hogue's acting class). The idea of the invisible actor is that instead of showing the audience his performance, he shows them the image of the object they should see. For example, the first kind of actor would talk about the moon and you would see him talking about the moon. The second actor would talk about the moon and you would see the moon. As I looked through Bolin's work online, I become struck that due to his invisibility he assumes Bolin actually casts light on the space behind him. Literally, he allows the image to be shown through him. And in his pictures I find myself looking more closely at what the world itself is. I hope that as I make my art I can keep this idea in mind -- to let go of ego and focus instead and allowing the world to show through me.

It also reminds me of Viewpoints, a method of thinking about movement that breaks it down into nine categories. One of those categories is architecture. Bolin's pictures, so much about blending in and the vague shape of the human body, capture the idea of Viewpoints perfectly for me. By placing his own body alongside the images, the backgrounds he paints, he allows for a deeper awareness of both the architecture of the world and the architecture of the human body itself.

Though I am not a painter, and probably never will be, Bolin's work reminds me that we can always rethink our art, create new forms. There is something strikingly modern and almost disturbing about some of Bolin's pictures, especially the ones done in grocery stores. My eye is immediately struck by the rows of space-age soda bottles, and only second does it discover the outline of the man against it. A wall of soda, and a man invisible in the middle of it. What better metaphor for crushing rise of consumerism, the dominance of corporations, the diminishing of individual importance? And best of all, Bolin captures all these themes without ever saying a word, without any headlines or banners. His work is cutting, yet subtle. I hope that in my theatrical work I will be able to achieve such levels of artistry, subtlety, and creativity as this man.

Even if it means becoming a bit invisible.

By Joseph | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (1)