Lascivious Something, Paris Syndrome, In the Works: Experimentation and Play

11 06 2010

What a crazy week. So crazy.

It started off well enough with a weekend of really good theater. You’ve got to see Paris Syndrome at HERE.

It’s a movement meditation on Paris Syndrome, the psychological phenomena afflicting Japanese women who go to Paris and whose romantic perceptions of the place are dashed. It’s surprising and indescribably delightful.

Lascivious Something was the sexiest thing I have seen in a very long time, so I was sorry to see it at closing, so I couldn’t make everyone I know go see it. It’s some of the strongest, textured performances I’ve seen in awhile too. It makes me remember what to reach for, what to cultivate and build with the actors I work with.

2g’s In the Works: Experimentation and Play has been going on this week too. Rehana’s Lonely Leela was a wonderful madcap Alice in Wonderland trip into the internet…with puppets. And Nandita pulled together her charming Lyme Park despite her director having to jump in at the last minute when one of the actors got sick. We’ve got three more to go, and it should be fun.

New Vic had its final meeting of the year yesterday, and the thing that became clear is what a truly incredible community of artists they have. And it is just that–a true, true ensemble. It is what is so difficult to create in theater, because we often flit from project to project. But I realized this:

-We all need a creative home.
-When you are encouraged to take risks and the bar is raised high, you will exceed everyone’s expectations.
-We must remember to play. Theater is play.





Email

11 12 2009

Okay, here’s a question.  How are all of you out there dealing with the larger influx of email communication that we are getting these days?  Is it me, or is picking up the phone more uncommon and in-person meetings too hard to schedule because people are too busy?

I think I am getting upwards of 100 emails a day.  I wish that I were joking.  My gmail is bursting with emails, and that’s after I unsubscribed to a bunch of junkmail.  So, this is really all work-related and personal correspondence.

Who has a good system of filing and responding to all this stuff?  I’m drowning.  As a freelance worker and a writer, those emails are always flowing in faster than I can deal with ‘em.  And they’re coming like a river of hot volcano and they’re threatening to burn my house down.

Anybody?





Devoted and Disgruntled

25 11 2009

See yesterday’s post.

Then, see what somebody sent me in the mail today.

Could Devoted and Disgruntled be one of many answers to prayers chucked like an Eli Manning Hail-Mary pass?





Fall

27 10 2009





September is here…

3 09 2009

As such, the school year has booted up again and I’m about to get mad busy.  Started curriculum building at the New Vic yesterday and am very excited to be working on The Enchanted Pig from the Young Vic in the UK.  It is nice to be thinking about how to excite young people for a show before they even get there.  And this one’s a stunner.  Full-blown, mad-cap opera.  Gorgeous.

Also getting ready to train and build curriculum at some of my other TA gigs.  People laugh when I say I have 6 jobs.  But I do.  It’s going to be an interesting year.

And there’s that little matter of the play that I have to get done for Labfest.  I have a month.  No problem.