postponed due to inside rain

Hour Earth, an evening of performance, originally scheduled for this Friday and Saturday at Warren Wilson College, has been postponed to May 10 & 11. The evening will include Butoh-influenced dance works by Julie Gillum and performance pieces by poet/playwright John Crutchfield. I have helped Julie and John with their pieces, and together we have created a brand new one entitled Out There Out Here, based on one of John's poems. We are all very excited about this evening of new theatre/performance art.

The postponement (as the post title suggests) is due to "inside rain". That is, Kittredge Theater's sprinkler system was inadvertently activated by a maintenance person today, resulting in a flooding of the stage floor and partial (though significant) flooding of the costume and prop storage area underneath. The condition of the stage is in question (possible warping and splintering issues) and so we decided to postpone rather than hurriedly find a new venue with less adequate lighting and sound capabilities. The theater crew must also now focus on the issue. We want to present our work as best we can, albeit at a later date. So May 10 & 11 it now will be.

It was a fun afternoon in some ways: dozens of costumes hung out to dry in the trees next to the art building and rows and rows of women's shoes laid out carefully along the sidewalk, along with a swan, a clown on a stick, a giant martini glass, rugs, half a library and colorful bolts of fabric unexpectedly decorating the normally bucolic campus.

My acting students and I are a little disappointed that the deluge did not wait just a few more minutes to occur, since, if it had, it would have coincided with a rendition of the storm speech from King Lear. As it happened, Brutus was rained out addressing the Romans in front of Caesar's coffin, which is not what happens in the script!

Paul Scofield, one of the very best

Paul Scofield died. It is said that he refused a knighthood because he didn't want his fellow actors to treat him differently. Simon Callow says everyone always treated him like a knight anyway.

The New York Times obituary is here.

Lincoln Center Theatre Directors Lab

I am happy to announce that I have been offered a place in this year's Lincoln Center Theatre Director's Lab. This what it is:

"The LCT Directors Lab is a developmental program for nurturing stage directors from around the country and around the world. It is geared toward professional directors in early career stages, is free of charge, and takes place over three weeks in early to mid summer."

You can find a history of the LCT Lab here...

...and I've decided to share one of my application essays here.

Many thanks to my colleagues of the past few years: you have all influenced my work and my ability to put myself forward.

macbeth's witches have a backstory!

Who knew? The American Shakespeare Center has produced a not-so-well-known play of Thomas Middleton called "The Witch". Hecate's companions have actual names.

no one can resist a Flipper story

Dolphin rescues beached whales. Read it to believe it.

Earth Hour (After the Dark)

Julie Gillum, a dancer and choreographer of original and Butoh inspired work, and John Crutchfield, a poet and playwright and performer, will present their work at Kittredge Theatre at Warren Wilson College.

On March 21, the show is at 8 p.m. On March 22, it's at 9 p.m. in observance of Earth Hour. Kittredge theatre will be open one hour earlier so you can come and observe the darkness...

The evening will conclude with a new collaboration between the two artists, created under my direction.

Info from Warren Wilson Theatre

my friend the composer

My friend, Harold Meltzer, composed a piano concerto called "Privacy".
It is being premiered by the Los Angeles Philharmonic on March 25.

He also runs a group called Sequitur.

big shakespeare leadership contrasts

This happens in one place, and this happens in another.

This article is old, but Michael Boyd's comments are worth reading.

construction versus companies / albee's eightieth

Two recent items caught my attention.

The first is an article from the March 9, 2008 New York Times about several high-profile non-profit theatre construction projects. The article contains observations about audience developement, the history of non-profit theatre and the continuing lack of resident companies.

The NYTimes article can be found here.

Edward Albee turned 80 on March 12. National Public Radio has an article and an in-depth radio piece on him that you can listen to on their website here. In it Albee talks about the audience experience and the purpose of art, and says, among other things, "The whole notion that that which is entertaining must be empty, is preposterous."

For those interested in Albee, a production of his first play, "The Zoo Story", will be presented in early May at Warren Wilson College -- along with an early Terrance McNally play, "Noon". The two plays are being directed by students in the Directing II class. A rumor is spreading that I may direct a third piece on the program, but I'm not sure if I believe it. Warren Wilson Theatre contact info is here.

Betcha didn't know

My mom is a photographer. Pat is her name and this is her website.

My sister-in-law is a classical Cambodian dancer and choreographer. Her name is Charya Burt.