In my mom’s home office, she has three knock-offs in the style of Al Hirschfeld… One of Barbara Streisand, with a marquis surrounded by lights that says “Broadway” behind her. Another is of the Marx Brothers, and I can’t remember the third… I stare at the Barbara drawing every time I’m in her office. Even though they are knock-offs, the style is so evocative. They are elegant and say so much with a few “simple” lines. It’s amazing, and captivating to see what can be done with so little to achieve so much.
Apparently, the art form has not be lost with the death of the great man… The NY Times highlights the styles of four artists actively creating illustrations today. To view them, click here.
More than a way of visually recording a season, these drawings capture the energy and vitality of the theatre.
–Sue
August 20th, 2010
I was reading through an article published on a very prestigious blog. A lot of big names were quoted and they had a lot of salient things to say. I wanted to share the article with my readers here.
But, I found myself reading it again, and was almost tempted to reread it a third time. For some reason, it didn’t make sense the first time around, or even the second. And then I realized why, there was no clearly defined thesis at the outset. I wasn’t sure what the author was trying to say, question, or prove.
And so I passed on sharing the article… and I think that’s what audiences do with any art form… if they don’t have a clear idea from the outset of why they should tune in, they are going to tune out. Even if the work in question has a lot of wonderful pieces to it, if the structure isn’t there to support it, then it doesn’t reach across that great divide to actually touch the audience.
Structure doesn’t have to confine, it can actually liberate. It is the job of the artist to clearly define and work within the structure so well that the audience doesn’t even notice it’s there. Once an audience feels like they are in good hands, they’re willing to go as far as you’re willing to take them.
–Sue
August 19th, 2010
I wasn’t able to catch The Capeman, the Public Theater’s production in Central Park of the infamous Broadway show.
Ben Brantley did get a chance to see it, this past Monday night, in the rain… and apparently that rain, and the park itself set the stage for a comeback.
Definitely worth keeping an eye on.
–Sue
August 18th, 2010
During the retreat this past weekend, some of the most interesting feedback I got, and some of the most valuable, was to trust myself and my instincts and just go for it!
As an artist, alone in a room creating, one of the biggest challenges is doubt: wondering if you’re heading in the right direction, or straight for disaster.
Hearing the play at this stage was great for so many reasons, but the most important was to hear for myself that my instincts are right, and that what I’ve already started is something others are interested in seeing and exploring with me.
–Sue
August 17th, 2010
I’ve thought about the word “feedback” many times throughout my academic and professional careers… what that word means. It was this weekend, during the Playwrights’ Retreat at the Abingdon Theatre (of which I’m a proud member), that I understood exactly what that word can mean. During the weekend, I was literally (they were kind enough to provide food and snacks throughout the two days I was in attendance) and figuratively fed.
My peers and colleagues were genuine in their applause of my efforts and the ways I worked my craft , and were diplomatic yet forthright in the ways I need to continue refining my piece.
It nourished me… my soul, my intellect, my heart — every part of me… to give and receive valuable feedback. For the first time, I really understood what “feedback” can mean. For this, I thank everyone for their input, diligence, and willingness to share their gifts and talents while allowing me to share mine.
–Sue
P(lease).S(upport).– To support great theatre and the creation of new American plays for the stage, consider making a donation to Abingdon. Click here for more info.
August 16th, 2010
Though writing went very well yesterday, I found that I wrote myself into a corner. I went back to the scene I was working on after dinner, but I couldn’t see any other way out of it.
Hours later, I went to bed. Before I fell asleep, I asked for “an answer” to the dilemma. This morning, I awoke with one.
Sound like I fell asleep on the job? Well, kinda… But it enabled me get that bit of distance I needed to see a new possibility for the story and these characters.
–Sue
August 13th, 2010
Before I dive into the rest of this post, I want to applaud how fun, wonderfully creative, and awesome this park bench is! Is that thinking or what? Okay, down to business…
Well, actually, no, the point of this blog today is to tell you about the wonderfully productive day I had… Just like learning this week how beneficial it is to take something off your plate, I learned today that frequent breaks can help clear up so much… literally freeing oneself to open the creative floodgates, as it were.
Those breaks made a day that could have been slow going into bite sized pieces that were so much more manageable.
I used to just try and push through, push through… and now I’m learning to move in and around… and it’s amazingly liberating!
–Sue
August 12th, 2010
I’ve written before about the themes that I’ve seen time and time again in my work. And I’ve also briefly touched on my mission of giving those without a voice, a voice.
But it was while reading something today, and thinking about it further that I realized another part of my mission: To help people, characters in the plays and the audience, find their inner butterflies.
It sounds funny, and new-agey, I know… But it occurred to me as I was looking at my own butterfly… a huge painting I did for our production of Chrysalis last year.
The canvas is huge, and the butterfly’s wings span the entire canvas, edge to edge. (To make the butterfly on the painting big enough for audience members sitting in the back of the theatre, I painted her sideways, so her wingspan is even bigger than just going width or lengthwise.)
The canvas is huge, and if you’ve ever bought art supplies before, you can imagine how expensive it is. (This canvas is a few feet by a few feet.) I was so scared of painting it, scared of making a mistake… but my sister urged me to do it. I may have mentioned this story before… but what struck me today is that close to a year later, I finally realized the significance of it for me… in my work as an artist and person.
We are so often scared to share our greatness, and to give that part of ourselves a voice. Part of my mission in writing the plays I write is not only to give a voice, but to have a voice…and give others the opportunity to express themselves in their reactions and life-based experiences and recollections. (It sounds so elementary… but I was just so struck by how deeply I felt it, and how much a part of me it really is.)
In being so moved by this understanding, I wanted to share it with you… and invite you to express yourself and your gifts, and find strength in those expressions.
What will you share with the world today? (You can start by sharing here.)
–Sue
August 11th, 2010
I’m under two big deadlines this week, and my weekend is booked… Plus I had an appointment that was scheduled to take up most of my morning and afternoon on Friday. By 5 o’clock today, I felt like I was drowning.
I didn’t know how to make it all happen, and then something hit me, I could take something off my plate. I changed my appointment, and guess what? I suddenly got a second wind and was able to plow through one of my projects with triple the energy I had been running on all afternoon.
All I needed was a little space and some more time… and to give myself that space and time, I needed to take something off my plate. Once I did that, the result was instant.
This is one of those times where doing less is yielding more.
–Sue
August 10th, 2010
Many of my female readers might be familiar with the hairstyling term, but for my readers who aren’t familiar with it, when a stylist “layers” a client’s hair, the stylist is adding shape, volume, and style. Pieces of hair are cut on an angle, usually framing the face, in different lengths.
Any artist uses a similar technique when creating… adding layer by layer to a work to give it definition and texture.
A lot of my work during the last few days has involved layering… listening for those spaces where more needs to be said or defined. It’s not an involved process… since there’s no road map, or even a way to “see” it on its feet yet… at this point, I’m relying purely on my ear and my intuition. I’m reading passages and I usually intuitively stop when it feels like something is missing.Then I go in and try and fill it in.
This piece is still taking shape, word by word, strand by strand… and I can’t wait to see how it’ll turn out.
–Sue
August 9th, 2010
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