Archive for June, 2010
The warmer weather heralds the start of the baseball season, and also a slow time for theatre in NYC. (I’m talking in terms of the locals, not tourists.)
I stumbled upon this YouTube video today of the cast of the Fantasticks singing the national anthem at Citi Field recently. I thought it was sheer marketing genius — appealing to a broader audience when they are gathered en-mass at another (totally different) event. (Pop, country, and rock stars have been doing anthems and sporting events for ages, but I don’t recollect entire casts from Broadway or Off-Broadway filling that role too often.)
I’m not sure what it translated into at the box office, but it’s a great way of reminding locals of everything this city has to offer in terms of entertainment… and we all need those reminders every once in a while.
–Sue
June 16th, 2010
There’s something even tougher than getting a first production of a show, and that’s getting a second production. One theatre is doing something about it.
The Playwrights Realm is offering another production company $10,000 dollars, no strings attached, to do a second production of the show.
In an attempt to support playwrights (and be true to their mission), this theatre is looking to give a show they believe in another life, beyond their initial production.
Talk about putting your money where your mouth is!
–Sue
June 15th, 2010
I won’t lie, I’ve wondered what I’d say upon accepting awards or accolades for my work. I think lots of artists do.
Something we didn’t see on the telecast of the Tony Awards ceremony last night was the creative arts portion of the evening…
There was one speech in particular I won’t forget, and I’m sure many others won’t either (I believe Helen Mirren referred to it later in the telecast). Everyone was on their feet, clapping and rapt with attention — clamoring to know what the great lady Marian Seldes would say upon accepting her lifetime achievement award. Here’s a clip of her “speech” (scroll down to her name and click on the link).
Takes your breath away, doesn’t it?
–Sue
June 14th, 2010
Dina, (who is not only a lovely twin sister, a talented artist, and all wonderful around person, but is also one of my biggest fans, supporters, muses, and critics), gave me some wonderful feedback tonight on the piece I’m currently working on.
At the end of Act I, there’s potential for a strong (though jarring) climax. And I was about to let it happen, but I was scared to let my girl (the main character) go through it. And towards the end of reading this challenging scene, Dina started laughing at one of my stage directions. She stopped at the end of the scene and said, “That’s so Susan.”
She saw my little feathers all over that scene, the protective mother hen, and challenged me to let what I already started in motion happen, instead of chickening out.
As hard as it is for the character, it needs to happen.
Of course Dina is right. 100 percent, no — 1 million percent right… And I’m glad she told me (instead of chickening out herself).
It’s not always easy to challenge another, but it’s much better than watching her work fall flat on its face.
–Sue
June 11th, 2010
Watching my hubby play a video game is a pastime in itself. His breathing fluctuates. Noises escape his lips without his knowledge. He moves, his eyes dart. It’s really a site to see.
I know he’s not alone. The first time I tried the Wii in the Nintendo World Store in the city, I was playing tennis and was lobbing, jumping, and panting like I do when I play the real game. So much so, that a staffer working the floor came over to me and told me I didn’t need to hit so hard.
I’ve heard through the grapevine about a few projects that will incorporate some of the same features that make video games so real and so fun. And I’ve been talking about my own play in the works with a cinematic bent.
Purists might argue that this will diminish theatre… that it doesn’t follow the natural format. But neither did Oklahoma! when it premiered, since before that musicals were not as reliant on storytelling. (They were primarily a bunch of sketches loosely drawn together. The dream ballet was also a revelation in that piece.)
I’m by no means claiming these works in progress are going to become the classics that Oklahoma! is, but it’s nice to know that theatre is growing, stretching, and changing with the times.
–Sue
June 10th, 2010
Getting to know you.
Getting to know all about you.
Getting to like you,
getting to hope you like me.
–”Getting to Know You” from The King and I
Recently, a friend told me about an opportunity through a “new” theatre. (New to me, because I wasn’t familiar with them, but a playwright is always willing and happy to avail herself of new theatres.)
This opportunity was publicized in a public forum, and seemed to be open to anyone interested in pursuing the opportunity. It sounded interesting and relevant, and so I inquired about it.
It was only after my second inquiry that I finally got an email a few days later, apologizing for their mistake in not having made it clear in their posting, but essentially telling me that since this theatre doesn’t know me, they can’t let me partake in their offer.
And honestly, at that point, I wasn’t even offended. I’ve been around the block enough to know what a tight knit community theatre is. So I offered to get to know this theatre, and have them get to know me and my work. As I saw it, it was a clear win-win… broadening their network and my own.
What offended me was the dead silence on the other end. My response had three different website links listed… The effort it would have taken would have been minimal and would have easily shown good faith, and the fact that they really did feel bad for their mistake. If they took the time to read my work and felt it wasn’t a match, okay… but at least have the courtesy to be professional about it.
Missed opportunities are always unfortunate.
–Sue
June 9th, 2010
Yesterday, I was working on possibly the toughest scene in this piece. It was really charged and emotionally challenging. It got to a point where I had to get up and walk away from it… As hard as it was to pull myself away, I could feel the fatigue setting in.
It sounds a little crazy, right? I mean I was sitting in front of a computer typing… Or at least that’s what some would think. The reality is, I feel every scene I write. I can’t write something that isn’t true. Whereas I may not experience the same things my characters do, I plumb the depths of my own emotions to feel what they feel.
Though it’s a lot of heavy lifting on the front end, it’s more than worth it watching an audience being touched, moved, or inspired by the work. And at the end of the day, that’s what we’re all doing this for.
–Sue
June 8th, 2010
I’ve recently mentioned my current project on the blog… essentially a marriage between theatre and cinema. It’s a project that’s very near and dear to my heart, one I’ve been working on for many years now.
It seems I’m not the only one who realizes some potential here, and a possible link, as evidenced by the National Theatre’s outreach efforts. Having lived in London, and having seen many shows at the National (the government subsidized theatre of England), I can personally attest to the fact that they are always ahead of the curve and finding new ways to get the public to become patrons.
Realizing that expectations, attention spans, and media are changing, the National decided to film a play, Jean Racine’s Phedre, starring Dame Helen Mirren. The live screening was broadcast to more 300 cinemas around the world on 25 June 2009.
The National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts (Nesta) monitored the reactions of the audience closely and released their findings recently. According to the BBC, the findings were indeed encouraging:
The report said that audience for Phedre over its whole theatrical run was doubled through the screening of the single performance at the end of June.
“One of the most intriguing results from the National’s NT Live screenings is that, despite lower expectations, cinema audiences reported higher levels of emotional engagement with the production than theatre audiences,” the report said.
Theatre and film are two different animals. For so long, theatre has been quaking in its boots at the reality that they’ve lost so many of their audience to cinema. Instead of pushing the medium away, I say we embrace it!
I’m not saying I’ll ever stop writing “traditional” plays. Not every play I write will have a cinematic element, but if it lends itself to the story, it’s a wonderful way to draw a broader, younger audience. And isn’t that what we need to keep theatre relevant?
–Sue
June 7th, 2010
I spent much of yesterday wondering how I was going to finish a scene. I even wrote a post about it.
Lucky me, I not only married a wonderful man, he happens to be my partner and one of my biggest cheerleaders. He gave me a few words of encouragement, and while I was brewing a cup of tea, it came to me in an instant.
I was trying to go from “light” to “dark”… and I just couldn’t find the way to not only justify that in the play, but to also make that transition physically.
With a clear head, I realized the answer was to go in the OPPOSITE direction that what is conventionally expected. I went from “light” to “brighter”. And I think it’s going to work just fine.
–Sue
June 4th, 2010
In the play I’m currently working on, the first scene of the second act has no dialogue. A lot happens in the scene, A LOT, but it’s all sound and lighting, as well as some action.
It ends beautifully, with an image that I’m hoping informs the rest of the play. But, I find myself looking to “cap it off” with a “button.” A button is a borrowed TV term (how appropriate for this play, where TV is essentially a character), and it refers to the last line of a scene, usually a comic line (not appropriate here).
Part of me worries that it’s “not enough” to have all this action and no dialogue. (The next scene that follows has a single line of dialogue (which is compounding my worry); it’s very similar in how active this scene is.)
In both scenes, as well as in many other parts of this theatre piece, I’m fusing cinema with live theatre…
Realistically speaking, there are site lines in a theatre, as well as the fact that everyone might not be looking in the same place at the same time, but usually patrons will catch the lines being said, even if they look elsewhere.
So, I’m turning to you, dear readers, what do you think? How would you react watching a play that’s cinematically stylized with minimal dialogue for two (quick) scenes?
Thanks in advance!
–Sue
June 3rd, 2010
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