Capitalism and Art Anime

For freelance theater folk, this is a recognizable conversation... but perhaps it says even more about the way a consumer-based culture is blind to the desires of art. It's also a great example of the way in which animation is effectively alienating.

Civility rules (or at least tries)

I just got this announcement of our Pride week here... note the mixer for members of Pride Alliance and the campus Christian group!

A college review

For an example of a nicely descriptive college theater review, click here.

The King has exited

More pics later, but for now, this one, and a few more if you click...

Exit The King II

My students collaborated on this promo for our production of the (until recently) neglected Ionesco classic...



(pics by the cast & Michelle ; video by Josh; end sound by Greg)

Exit The King

AC Theater and Dance on Facebook

Follow Amherst College Theater and Dance Department on Facebook!

Click here!

Hero's Hubby...

Hero's hubby snapped some pics of Much Ado last week. Click on either pic to see more.

The best things in life... ISC in L.A.

This nifty website maps the locations of well over a hundred Shakespeare festivals and theaters across the country, far more than I'd thought. America is truly the land of Shakespeare performance, thriving far and wide, despite an overall lack of big media attention.

One relatively young addition to this panoply of Shakespearean summer theater-making is Independent Shakespeare Company (ISC) in Los Angeles. The company offers all of its performances for free in Griffith Park, and has a standing company of actors who have been working with one another for up to a decade or more. ISC is committed to an authentic and specific artistic mission, and the founders work deliberately to include all members of the company in the evolution of that mission's praxis.

One day while I was driving in L.A. with the company's producing director, David Melville, he shared his opinion that a "professional" company is one that serves its audience. I was struck by the simplicity and artistically healthy attitude of his definition. As we all know, fiscal and status concerns can unduly influence the sincere work of theater-making, no matter what size the organization, and during every part of the producing process.

You can read about ISC's mission at their website under About/Mission+History. Personally, I felt the company's shared sense of purpose most palpably toward the end of our rehearsal process. Once so much of the basic work of analysis, staging and practice were out of the way (the bulk of the rehearsal period), the ISC folks were especially eager and adept at applying a thorough-going sense of story-telling to our work together.

A moment came when I could more specifically state the story of our production, in terms of everyone's understanding up to that point -- call it "the definition of what was emerging," if you will. Within a couple of days the company members were identifying and exploiting multiple opportunities to adjust and deepen their performances to bring out that story -- and inspiring me to make complementary improvements to the staging. Of course, as a director, I always try to unify a group of actors around a goal once they are comfortable enough in their roles, but I rarely have had the experience of an entire cast so uniformly stepping up to the plate, providing their own inspiration sans individual ego.

The L.A. Times review of "Much Ado" felicitously mentions "the company’s mission to bring appreciation of classical theater to a broader public." In practice this means an open park, free admission, an accessible style that includes audience interaction -- and a post-performance plea for donations to be tossed in buckets, with a heart-felt caveat that attendance alone is the most important contribution an audience member makes to creating live theater. In a professional landscape of freelance "actor-for-hire" and "management vs. artist" practices, this spirit of generosity -- reciprocal giving, rather than paying-and-getting -- is a feature of the experience that inspires both actors and audience members to be in a community with one another. In this way ISC provides an example of a mission that inspires creativity among its members.

With only a minimal marketing budget, ISC's focus on the primary interaction between cast and audience has helped them build a large and loyal following, mostly by word-of-mouth. In a consumerist culture such as ours, where a living production is often sold like an inert product, it is so easy to forget that theater is meant to be a shared experience. It's great to know it can be a celebration, with a simple and sustained commitment to that goal.

Send These Kids to Scotland!

In the wine grape country of Northern California -- Santa Rosa to be precise -- an unusually comprehensive high school theater program that includes a special focus on student playwriting, has been invited to perform at the grand-daddy of all international theatre festivals, The Edinburgh International Festival in the summer of 2011.

This is a great accomplishment for a multi-cultural, urban high-school theater program, and a testament to the value of arts education (one of its most ardent participants was recently named a Presidential Scholar). For the students who go to Edinburgh, participation in an international festival of this scope will be a life-changing experience.

The catch? They have to pay their own way. Elsie Allen High School is not the high school in Santa Rosa where the kids from affluent families tend to go, so they will depend on raising the money through as many small (and some large) donations as they can. The goal is $60K. Check out this video and note the number to call to contribute!

Upcoming: Will in L.A.

click on the sun above

Much Ado About Nothing
August 5 to August 29
Griffith Park, Los Angeles, California

Life is Still a Dream

It seems sometimes as though life turns in circles, like a dream... Earlier this year, I brought Sheila Callaghan's Fever/Dream to the students of Warren Wilson College. It is, of course, an adaptation of Calderon's classic, Life Is A Dream. Callaghan's brilliant take on the original was to mine its plot for contemporary themes related to the competing unrealities of corporate life and new electronic media.

Now, I've made plans to spend a night in New Mexico to see the premiere of the contemporary opera version by composer Lewis Spratlan. Spratlan won the Pulitzer Prize for the work, as presented in concert, but the upcoming Santa Fe Opera production is the premiere of the whole. Spratlan was my professor at Amherst College way back when, and I heard about the opera then. I've always wondered when it would find its way to the stage. So, it's oddly circular for me personally that I'll hear the work just before returning to Amherst myself.

A nifty NYTimes article about Spratlan and the opera is here. Could it be that the opera is finally having its debut (and Callaghan's play was so successful) because life today can seem so virtual, so dream-like?

Of course, I could be wrong, and mostly life is more circuitous than circular. It may be fitting that I'll be going to Santa Fe by way of Los Angeles, where I'll be directing Much Ado About Nothing for Independent Shakespeare Company. On second thought, that's a circle, too: I was in their inaugural production of Henry V on the lower east side more than a decade ago, before all this virtual nonsense was even dreamt of...

All that has nothing to do with this show, but it's refreshing to think that what is old can be new. And it's getting standing O's (yes I know how self-promotional that sounds! but hey, I'm packing and need a lift).

EXTENDED!

What the Butler Saw has been extended through June 6!

Read the rave here. If you are in the Asheville are, tix are available here.

Take a Peep

Amanda, the managing director for NC Stage, found this picture of a "What The Butler Saw" machine online. According to the source, these "tourist amusements used a set of flicking cards containing sequential photographs to simulate moving pictures; they were cheap attractions in the entrances to indoor amusement arcades on piers or on the seafront. They tended to contain quaint and voyeuristic flicks: a typical one still in use at Southend pier in 1963 had a butler peeping through a keyhole to see his lady employer showing her ankles and voluminous bloomers." The machine below may from the Edwardian era.

As an example of the inspiration for the title of Orton's last play, this photograph symbolizes Orton's was interest in the tension between exposure and voyeurism on a multiple levels.

In the well-known incident, Orton was arrested for withdrawing books from his local lending library, altering photos and captions, and returning the books -- a kind of vandalism, but one which turned unsuspecting library patrons into voyeurs and consumers of satire. To complete the picture, Orton sometimes spied on people as they looked at the altered books, to see their reaction...

When Joe Orton was jailed for defacing the books in his local library, the sentence (at least as described in retrospect) was considered harsh. Orton speculated the sentence for him and his boyfriend were stiff because of their sexuality. Orton credits his experience in prison with a revitalized conviction (no pun intended) that the power structure was thoroughly corrupt -- and with a new sense of freedom and courage in his writing.

Ironically, the books that Orton and his lover, Halliwell, creatively vandalized, are now preserved and on exhibit in the same library in Islington from which Orton first withdrew them.

You can see images of some of the altered book pages and dustjackets here, and the story of the incident here.

While some folks see What The Butler Saw as a mere farce, others see a more radical project behind Orton's work. I'm not sure that the play should feel like Pinter, but an interesting opinion about the playwright and current perceptions of him is here.

A review of our current production of Orton's What The Butler Saw has been published here.

pRiCk Up YoUr ReArS (e)

Have you seen the bio pic about Joe Orton, Prick Up Your Ears?

It's rentable (or Netflixable), but in the meantime, here's a link to a YouTube installment:



For info on the current Asheville production of Orton's What The Butler Saw, go here.

How would you define Ortonesque?

This is a nifty poster from 1975 Royal Court Theater revival of What The Butler Saw, recalling Orton's 'crime' of using creative cutouts to alter library books (and decorate his flat). The revival resurrected Orton's reputation, following the rather unsuccessful 1968 production of the play -- and Orton's grisly murder...

To find out more about Mr. Orton and his last, especially brilliant, play, go here.

Of course, the most direct way is to come to the theater!

Paint spoiler

I hate to give things away before opening, but this is already looking rather nice...

May 12-30, click here.

Don't Mess With Dionysus

What makes a super production of a Greek tragedy? Strong speaking, smart and passionate acting, physical dynamism... a little Butoh, hip sound, elegant costumes, an outdoor mini-Greek amphitheatre... and one head of cabbage.

Plus, four most awesome seniors!! (...doing Senior Projects in directing, acting, costume design and sound design!)

This weekend, through Tuesday! For more info, go here.

Ringing through the 25th

Sarah Ruhl's Dead Man's Cell Phone is open at NC Stage! It was a really fun show to work on, with a great and generous group of folks all 'round. I'm especially proud of all the help (and serious design & art work) provided by Warren Wilson students!

A quote from John Crutchfield in The Mountain Express:

Under the skillful direction of Ron Bashford, Dead Man’s Cell Phone is all that Ruhl could hope it would be, and perhaps a bit more. The acting is solid, the design elements well-integrated (especially Jason Waggoner’s superb soundscape), and the overarching “concept” reaches to the heart of this fanciful play and expresses it in a beautiful and coherent dramatic world.

If you're in the Asheville area, you can snag tix here.

Next up: What The Butler Saw by Joe Orton! But before that, there is the project by the glorious quartet of seniors at Warren Wilson: The Bacchae, playing outdoors in the amphitheatre April 23-27.

Next Up: playing phone tag with the dead (sort of)

Dead Man's Cell Phone by Sarah Ruhl, NC Stage, April 7-18 (with possible extension).

F/D Slideshow

Fever/Dream by Sheila Callaghan, March 4-7, 2010, Warren Wilson College

Unsolicited praise for Fever/Dream

A sweet, and somewhat unusual article, was published overnight in the Mountain Express.

Here's the sweet quote:

“I thought you might want to alert Mountain Xpress readers who love good theatre that they should not miss the opportunity to see the Warren Wilson Theatre production of a new play called Fever/Dream by Sheila Callaghan, which plays through this weekend.

The play is a witty send-up of contemporary corporate life with a most unlikely derivation, Life is Dream by the Renaissance playwright Calderon de la Barca.

Now, Warren Wilson Theatre is always doing adventurous, unusual new material and always does old material in adventurous, unusual new ways. But what really makes Fever / Dream a standout is the level of polish, professionalism and punch that director Ron Bashford (in his farewell production at Warren Wilson) elicits from his actors, his designers and his entire team.

I’ve seen a lot of theatre in Asheville in my 40 years here, and this was one of the best. One of the occupational hazards of having been a theatre director myself is that I can rarely turn off my critical antennae. But I was so charmed by Fever/Dream that I stopped looking for flaws and was totally lost in the play and the performance. A rare occurrence for me, as Fever/Dream is a rare theatre occasion for Asheville.”

The full article is here.

And my last post gives some more info about the WWC production of Fever/Dream.

32 WW Theatre students are awesome!

Fever/Dream

An Adaptation of Calderon’s Life is a Dream
Sheila Callaghan’s Fever/Dream is fresh from its debut and appearing on Warren Wilson’s stage. This new production is a regional premiere!

March 4-7
Thursday-Saturday at 8pm, Sunday at 2pm
Kittredge Theatre on the Warren Wilson College Campus

STUDENTS OF ANY SORT ARE FREE with ID.
Seniors, alumni, staff and faculty only $5, all others just $10.

CALL (828) 771-3040 for reservations, or write to theatre@warren-wilson.edu

For ticket reservations info & directions, click here.

Segis Basil is the lone resident of a dungeon-like basement in a corporate skyscraper: the customer service center of Basil Enterprises. Segis, by the orders of his father, Bill Basil, has been chained to a desk since childhood performing the banal tasks of the company’s worst job. When Rose, a masquerading bike-messenger-on-a-mission, discovers Segis in his basement prison, the seeds of a revolution begin to grow...

Fever/Dream is Sheila Callaghan's comic adaptation of Calderón’s 17th century masterwork, Life is a Dream. This imaginative new play--first produced last year in Washington, D.C.--emulates the existential spirit of Calderón's original, which evokes questions of appearance versus reality, and alludes to the political turmoil occurring in Renaissance Spain. Fever/Dream transposes Calderón's original to the present. Is life in corporate America a dream? A nightmare? And can we awake from it?

Sheila Callaghan has written numerous critically acclaimed plays such as Crumble (Lay Me Down, Justin Timberlake), We are Not These Hands, Lascivious Something, and That Pretty Pretty; or, The Rape Play. She is the recipient of the Princess grace Award for emerging artists, a Jerome Fellowship from the Playwright's Center in Minneapolis, a MacDowell Residency, a 2005 Cherry Lane Mentorship Fellowship, and the prestigious Whiting Award. Callaghan is also a writer for the Showtime TV series The United States of Tara.

With a cast of twelve, the ambitious Warren Wilson Theatre production features student work in sound, video and projection design by Elizabeth Dacy, Hannah Jacobs, William Cumming and Robin Dhakal. The show is directed by Ron Bashford, with set and lighting design by Don Baker, choreography by Julie Gillum, and costume design by Bev Ohler. The production's stage manager is Hale Williams. The Theatre Crew--part of Warren Wilson's unique work program--builds the sets and costumes, and provides running crew, publicity, design, and box office support.

For ticket reservations info & directions, click here.

A real star

I think this is stunning. It's a real photo of a supernova (lower left). I'd like to see more things of this ilk on stage -- somehow.

I got this pic here.

Auditioning for the dead guy...

Pretty funny promos for the upcoming Dead Man's Cell Phone produced by Immediate Theater Project. My YouTube debut (as none other than myself)! I'll embed one here soon (as soon as I get permission).

Click here to see the videos.

Spring Links!

I've added some links to a previous post about my spring plans. Check them out here.

Premiere in the Mountains

Where else can students get such a practical education in all aspects of theater production and a first-class liberal arts education? Warren Wilson College, of course. Here's the most recent press release written by a student in our "Theatre Office Crew". What it doesn't mention is that student designers are in charge of sound, props and video projection!

Regional Premiere of Sheila Callaghan’s Gut-busting New Play

“'Fever/Dream' is a pizzazz-filled concoction that skewers corporatism with a generous supply side of laughs... a fast-paced fable on corporate culture run amok.” -Kate Wingfield, Metro Weekly

Swannanoa gets a taste of surreal corporate intrigue with Warren Wilson Theatre’s production of Sheila Callaghan’s wise and witty new play, Fever/Dream. Fever/Dream is an updated, hip and darkly comic version of the classic Life is a Dream by the Spanish Renaissance playwright Calderón. Callaghan’s play had its world premiere just this year at the Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company in Washington, DC, attracting the national attention of playgoers and critics alike.

The play follows the story of the imprisoned Segis Basil, the son of big business executive Bill Basil. Segis, by the orders of his father, has been chained to a desk and forced to work in customer service in the basement of the Basil Enterprises skyscraper. Life is monotonous and inhumane for Segis until a disillusioned bike courier and her nerdy friend discover him. Together, the trio rattle the whole office building, shaking-up ennui-stricken video-blogging corporate associates and uncovering executive plots on their way up the management chain. Released from his prison, will Segis succeed in transforming corporate culture in the age of new media, or will he be returned to his customer service dungeon and believe it’s all been a dream?

Sheila Callaghan is a working playwright who creates relevant and meaningful plays for the blogging and tweeting Echo Boomer generation. She has written numerous critically acclaimed plays such as Scab, Crawl Fade to White, Crumble (Lay Me Down, Justin Timberlake), We Are Not These Hands, Dead City, Lascivious Something, Kate Crackernuts, and That Pretty Pretty; or, The Rape Play. She is the recipient of the Princess Grace Award for emerging artists, a Jerome Fellowship from the Playwright's Center in Minneapolis, a MacDowell Residency, a 2005 Cherry Lane Mentorship Fellowship, the Susan Smith Blackburn Award, and the prestigious Whiting Award. Callaghan is also a writer for the television series The United States of Tara, starring Toni Collette and created by Juno screenwriter Diablo Cody.

Director and Theatre Department Co-Chair Ron Bashford chose Fever/Dream to showcase the best new American playwriting at Warren Wilson and to provide students with the opportunity to work on a play that reflects contemporary issues with a fresh perspective.

Fever/Dream performs at Kittredge Theatre on the Warren Wilson College Campus on March 4, 5 and 6 at 8 p.m. and March 7 at 2 p.m. Tickets are free for all students, $5 for senior citizens and Warren Wilson alums, and $10 general admission.

As collaborators, the students and staff of Warren Wilson Theatre strive to create some of the most exciting and interesting theatre in the Asheville area at exceptionally affordable prices. All performances are open to the public. For ticket information, please call (828) 771-3040 or e-mail us at theatre@warren-wilson.edu. Interested theatergoers and prospective students may visit our website and sign up for our new e-newsletter at get.wwtheatre.info.