April 10, 2011 at 9:32 am
Blackadder was one of the shows that I grew up on. Very funny and very British. Now they have adapted it for the stage. The adaptation apears to have all of the good british humer that the origonal had.
Should be a good time.
The original casts included Hugh Laurie, Rowan Atkinson, Tony Robinson, Stephen Fry, and Miranda Richardson, so you know it had to be good. You can check out the original TV show on Netflix wach insanely. Its worth checking out if you like shows like Monty Python.
Article from Boston.com
By jayz
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April 8, 2011 at 4:49 pm
I thought this was fun.
It is an article on Backstage.com on the thought process of an actor when portraying a zombie or other non-human.
In the article it talks about the one track mind/primal instinct that would be prevalent.
If you like you can reed more about acting like a zombie
By jayz
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April 8, 2011 at 12:20 pm
The Boston theater companies that make up the Small Theater Alliance of Boston are all busy.
This weekend, you can see:
Flat Earth Theatre is doing The Underpants!
Book of Days, produced by Bad Habit Productions is in its final week.
11:11 is doing The Great Heathersby Heist, and original script written by BPT alumnus and IRNE-nominated playwright Brian Tuttle.
Blackadder II opens this weekend by Theater on Fire.
The Crazy Locomotive by Imaginary Beasts.
By jgf
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April 8, 2011 at 5:46 am
http://www.cracked.com/blog/the-actual-live-action-akira-script-worse-than-you-think/
In our discussions in class, we've touched on the subject of losing one's culture when coming to America, either by force of by choice. In the upcoming live-action adaptation of the great Akira, we see that Hollywood is doing something similar. This article tells the story, in a humorous way.
By bashaw
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April 8, 2011 at 12:31 am
Ben Brantley's review of the Public Theater's 2009 production of the Brother/Sister Plays includes some sound bites from Tarell Alvin McCraney and a slideshow of photos from the show. I found the review and all of the bonus bits on the page to be break open some of the questions I struggled with after reading the plays. Check it out: http://theater.nytimes.com/2009/11/18/theater/reviews/18brother.html?pagewanted=2
By manders1
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April 7, 2011 at 11:08 pm
As some of you may already know, the theatre scene in L.A. is, well, not really so much of a "scene" as it is more, "a few big theatres and a lot of low-budget small ones scattered throughout the city". The successful theatres in L.A. survive off of big budgets and even bigger name actors cast in their productions. While quite a number of these productions typically produce non-traditional plays, they rarely delve into the theatre of the avant-garde. In fact, I grew up there--- and I wasn't aware that "avant-garde theatre" even existed before I came to the east coast. But experimental theatre company Chalk Repertory Theatre is looking to change that. They produce plays that are staged in unconventional spaces, such as their latest play, "Hell Money", which is set in a loft/apartment complex in downtown L.A.. The play explores the lives of four different characters, young, eager L.A. newbies. Reviewer Margaret Gray writes of the experience, "It’s like going to a speakeasy, except that instead of gin you’re expecting avant-garde theater". This makes me so excited! To even see an avant-garde theatre being reviewed in the L.A. times is HUGE. So great. Hopefully there will be more to come!
By sophie.simpson
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April 7, 2011 at 10:56 am
Not quite sure how this link thing works, I tried loading the video onto the post but I don't know how. This is a recent interview from Harball with Chris Matthews interviewing Kevin Spacey about the House Republicans goal for budget cuts, the easiest target being federal funding for the arts.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036697/#42441573
By nlindh
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April 7, 2011 at 8:51 am
WETA clip on Tarell McCraney's Marcus: The Secret of Sweet. Listen to what Trey Graham says at the end. Is it just me, or did he just . . .
By philschroeder
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April 7, 2011 at 12:36 am
Holy crap! Tarell Alvin McCraney, author of the Brother/Sister Plays, is absolutely incredible! I read his bio and thought, am I the last person to the table?? How come I've never heard of this guy until now?? In his artist statement about the Brother/Sister Plays, he talks about how he gives a voice to part of America that gets ignored and swept under the rug; so, why is he such a hit in London? Young Vic and Royal Court runs of his shows, London Evening Standard award for Most Promising Playwright, Royal Shakespeare Company international writer in residence?! Why is he such a hit there and not here?? Once again, the Brits are ahead of us.
By ahunt
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April 6, 2011 at 4:26 pm
Alex Kilgore takes to The Brooklyn Rail to talk about play development hell, and the responsibility we all have to make sure it doesn't happen. It's a great piece, and though the assessments and observations aren't new, they're important to talk about.
Excerpt:
"Development hell is the worst-case scenario of play fixing without production: the wearing down of plays through cycles of readings and workshops, the muting (or at least mutating) of many young voices. It’s stamping templates into plays and tempering plays to “potential audiences” where audiences remain potential. In short, it’s getting the math right at the cost of the voice."
By Ilana Brownstein
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April 6, 2011 at 12:09 pm
Here is a review and a wealth of information and links to leads on the world of Brother/Sister Plays from the NYT, a couple of years old.
Listen to the interview excerpts with McCraney, left hand margin, about halfway down the page. What an insightful man.
By philschroeder
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April 6, 2011 at 9:22 am
Because Charlie Sheen is coming to my hometown, Columbus, OH. After his first show bombed and he was booed of stage, Charlie has made his way to Chicagi where he fared a little better. How will he fare in the mecca of culture and the dircerning eye, Columbus? Stay tuned....
http://www.thelantern.com/arts/charlie-sheen-to-torpedo-into-columbus-palace-theatre-1.2143228
By purdumse
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April 6, 2011 at 9:15 am
http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/03/31/theater-talkback-too-much-information/#more-189369
Here a theatre critic talks about how much information should be devulged in a review, and whether or not it really ruins a show to know the ending or key plot points. Her argument is that the predictability of a show doesn't make it any less awesome. Any thoughts? A review less about theatre but more about review-making, and there's a shout-out to Ms. Rothenbergs play as well! Give it a look-see.
By purdumse
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April 5, 2011 at 11:03 pm
Here is a fun, ironic little article about a group of law (of all things) students at Duke University who wrote a musical about former president Richard Nixon, an alum of Duke's Law School, who apparently was disowned after the Watergate Scandal.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/04/us/04nixon.html?_r=2&ref=theater
By lmr25
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April 5, 2011 at 10:32 pm
I remember talking in an earlier post about how theaters need to use social media tools, like Twitter, more effectively to reach a larger audience. Stage Troupe has a production of Amadeus that's coming up next weekend that I believe is using Twitter in an interesting way to attract attention. As a college theater group, they use humor on Twitter as a powerful tool to reach out to their community. BUSalieri and BUMozart are the Twitter accounts they created to get some attention. The actors playing Mozart and Salieri in the play use these accounts to tweet as their characters:
Mozart:
- -Just googled myself. 73 million results. Googled @BUSalieri: 6 million results. Bene, signore.
- -@saoBU I hope LOL stands for lacrimoso out loud.
- -Should I write a piano concerto A major or catch up on Jersey Shore? I think we all know the answer.
Salieri:
- Do u ever put on ur coat, wastecoat, breeches, banyan, stockings, & socks b4 realizing "I need to go to the bathroom"?#18thcenturyproblems
- The world is one beautiful symphony! Except for the folks over in Canada. They're coming in a little flat.
I'd suggest following these guys just because they're pretty funny, but in an internet centric world, this type of outreach may soon prove to be more commonplace.
By smarois
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April 4, 2011 at 7:53 pm
I was reading this article about Zach Anner, the winner of Oprah's "Your Own Show" on her new OWN TV network. This story seems totally in line with our discussion together regarding John Belluso's Pyretown and our debate over the importance of casting a wheelchair-using actor in the role. This article shows that spirit and talent isn't something that can be held back by physical limitations, and we as consumers of art and culture need to open ourselves to people whose bodies differ from the main stream.
By pberman
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April 4, 2011 at 1:18 pm
Article in the Boston Globe that addresses SO MANY of the plays and playwrights we've discussed in class (Wilson, Parks, Jacobs-Jenkins, Lee -- PLUS a little Lydia Diamond action -- PLUS a shout-out to Ti-Jean) and how more black voices are proliferating both the fringe and mainstream theater of Boston.
By pberman
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April 4, 2011 at 5:45 am
The book credits "Alan Arenas" as the actor playing Oya in Steppenwolf's Chicago production, which I thought sounded strange. It is Alana, and she's lovely:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-jq3qVplSw
This link will also lead you to a wealth of other YouTube videos on the production, well worth the small investment in time. Here is Scene 1 from Red and Brown Water.
By philschroeder
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April 1, 2011 at 1:34 pm
A great Op-Ed piece from the Guardian by playwright Christopher Shinn (Dying City, Now or Later) about public and professional reactions to new work on both sides of the pond. I've never been to London and don't have a clear sense of what the theater scene there is like . . . but it sounds pretty cool. Thanks to Megan Sandberg-Zakian for posting it on FB.
By pberman
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April 1, 2011 at 11:51 am
If anyone is interested in seeing a staging of The Pillowman, I think it's certainly the kind of show that has a very different visual impact than one can really imagine when reading words on a page. Sorry about the late notice, but I just found out, it's this weekend only at BC:
The Pillowman
By Martin McDonugh
Directed by Evan Cole '11
March 30- April 2 at 7:30 P.M.
Bonn Studio Theater
http://www.bc.edu/offices/robsham/currentseason.html
Tickets available at (617) 552-4002.
For all shows in the Bonn (workshops, CT & DS):
Ticket price: $10 General Admission
For all Theatre Department shows on the Mainstage:
Ticket price: $15 Adult
$10 Students/Seniors/BC Faculty & Staff
(Reserved seating)
By agossett
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