Is this how it works?
I take things into my own hands and then all sorts of things come to fruition. Everyone always said it's all about being proactive. I feel like I have to learn that lesson time and time again. Maybe one of these days it'll actually stick and I won't be surprised when artistic endeavors seem to come together.
A laundry list of what's going on (just to catch up on the last month without a blog):
1) I'm putting on a showcase of my work. Well, actually it's a "we're"; we're putting on a showcase of my work. I have some very dear friends (Emily Kight, Anna Townes, Amanda Woodard and Shannon Erickson) who are both extremely talented and have been champions of my work basically since I really started playwriting. They have been kind enough to sit through and participate in numerous readings, workshops, drafts, doubts, and so on. And now, I've rented and space and we're going to put on a public reading/workshop. I'm calling it a workshop because I do want feedback. The whole goal of this thing is to see if the work is ready for a full production. If it is, that'll hopefully be coming by the fall.
Necessary info:
Related Strangers: A workshop of new work
April 2 at 7pm
Seattle Center House Blackbox
2) I have been working with a Seattle area group of college chums called Blood Ensemble to help them devise a work based on a concept album by a local band called Smooth Sailing. And actually, during whatever show they create, the band will be part of the performance, on-stage with the performers.They are still working on casting the actual production (which I hope I get to be involved in) but for now I'm really enjoying collaborating with these individuals and working to create a piece that will hopefully fill a void in the theatrical marketplace and draw in some new audiences.
Blood Ensemble is also putting on a Theatre Prom in Seattle to help finance their show. You'll want to be there. It's drinking, dancing, dressing up with cool theatre people in only the best way. For more info go here: http://theatreprom.blogspot.com OR even better, buy tickets here: https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/233163.
3) I have signed on to write for the Double Shot Festival again in September of this year. I will blog through my writing as I did (sort of) last time. I'm excited but nervous. My first play went over so well that when I agreed to do it again, I told my mentor/friend Bryan Willis "Yes. I'll do it. Of course I'll do it. But under the stipulation that I cannot be expected to achieve the same caliber this time around. I'm worried I made myself look TOO good. How do I come back from that?!"
...wish me luck.
4) I may be directing a 10 minute play for NPA next month. More info to come upon confirmation.
Whew! I'm glad to be busy. Although, the biggest thing weighing on my mind right now is the impending grad school application process. I need a full weekend to hole up and get a full-length play up to snuff to apply with. I need another full week or two to do the research and figure out where I'd like to apply to. I want so badly to go to grad school, to be back in school. I know I need to go to grad school because I still have so much to learn about...well, everything. Why does real life get in the way?
Is this what it's like to be 25? Because if so, I'm ALL for it. Here's to a great year!
2.06.2012
Battle of the Bards or "The Best Money Making Scheme Ever?"
At the end of January, I was lucky enough to be asked to participate in Ghost Light Theatricals Battle of the Bards VI. I think Ghost Light does the best job of explaining exactly what Battle of the Bards is so I'm just copying and pasting the description from their website:
"In BATTLE OF THE BARDS VI, three ensembles have 20 minutes each to perform scenes of adaptations of classic works. The audience votes which play should be produced in full in Ghost Light’s 2012-13 Season. Admission includes one vote - additional votes are only $1 each. All proceeds support the work of Ghost Light Theatricals."
In all honesty, this may be one of the best developmental and money-making schemes I have ever seen/heard about for the theatre. My friend from college, Emily Harvey, asked me to be in her directorial submission to Battle of the Bards: Paper Bullets (written by John E. Allis). Synopsis: "In Paper Bullets two media powerhouses tamper with the personal and professional affairs of four budding Hollywood icons. Scandalized sweethearts fumble with love and illusion in this modernization of Much Ado, a farce replete with sex, glitter and deception."
My part was very little commitment but, as always, I'm all too happy to oblige if I can be on stage at all. I definitely had fun but found I became much more committed to the success of the show because of the competition aspect. All twenty actors and band members seemed entirely dedicated and excited to see what would happen in this theatrical arena. We had two formidable foes so it became a game of how many people we could get to the show, how many others we could convince to support us even if they couldn't make it to the show, and finally, how much money we could contribute ourselves. For most of the voting period, we lagged behind. But in the end, WE WON. And I think it says a lot about our piece (our writer and our director) that we came from behind after our audiences had seen all three shows.
So now, Paper Bullets will be in the 2012-2013 Ghost Light Season which means Ghost Light has twenty actors now interested in participating in their theatre. Furthermore, Battle of the Bards sold-out two weeks before the show and raised $5000 for the theatre, over half of that on closing night of the shows.
My theory on why this formula raises so much money? People are much more willing to donate to the arts if they know there is going to be a tangible outcome. A show that will definitely be in the season next year, one that an audience can come and see and helped put on stage, is much more tangible than donating to an organization and not knowing exactly where your money is going.
I applaud you Ghost Light. Battle of the Bards is a very good idea.
"In BATTLE OF THE BARDS VI, three ensembles have 20 minutes each to perform scenes of adaptations of classic works. The audience votes which play should be produced in full in Ghost Light’s 2012-13 Season. Admission includes one vote - additional votes are only $1 each. All proceeds support the work of Ghost Light Theatricals."
In all honesty, this may be one of the best developmental and money-making schemes I have ever seen/heard about for the theatre. My friend from college, Emily Harvey, asked me to be in her directorial submission to Battle of the Bards: Paper Bullets (written by John E. Allis). Synopsis: "In Paper Bullets two media powerhouses tamper with the personal and professional affairs of four budding Hollywood icons. Scandalized sweethearts fumble with love and illusion in this modernization of Much Ado, a farce replete with sex, glitter and deception."
My part was very little commitment but, as always, I'm all too happy to oblige if I can be on stage at all. I definitely had fun but found I became much more committed to the success of the show because of the competition aspect. All twenty actors and band members seemed entirely dedicated and excited to see what would happen in this theatrical arena. We had two formidable foes so it became a game of how many people we could get to the show, how many others we could convince to support us even if they couldn't make it to the show, and finally, how much money we could contribute ourselves. For most of the voting period, we lagged behind. But in the end, WE WON. And I think it says a lot about our piece (our writer and our director) that we came from behind after our audiences had seen all three shows.
So now, Paper Bullets will be in the 2012-2013 Ghost Light Season which means Ghost Light has twenty actors now interested in participating in their theatre. Furthermore, Battle of the Bards sold-out two weeks before the show and raised $5000 for the theatre, over half of that on closing night of the shows.
My theory on why this formula raises so much money? People are much more willing to donate to the arts if they know there is going to be a tangible outcome. A show that will definitely be in the season next year, one that an audience can come and see and helped put on stage, is much more tangible than donating to an organization and not knowing exactly where your money is going.
I applaud you Ghost Light. Battle of the Bards is a very good idea.
1.18.2012
The Novel Workshop Series or "My brief time spent with the UW School of Drama and a British accent."
Right before the new year, I walked into the office to get some end of the year work done. The first person I saw as our Director of Touring, Annie Lareau. She greeted me with "Did you get my email?" That phrase usually stops me in my tracks because it makes me think I forgot to do something that I should have done. I fumbled out an answer that was something like "I haven't checked my email yet." Turns out, she was asking me to be a reader for Book-It's Third Annual Novel Workshop Series.
Okay, let me explain what the Novel Workshop Series is:
Book-It produces only world premiere theatre. Their trademark style takes novels and adapt them from the page to the stage. To act in the Book-It style can be tricky for some actors but when done seamlessly, watching a play at Book-It is like reading a book: all of your sense are stimulated. (Okay okay, I've drank the Book-It kool-aide. But c'mon, literacy and theatre? How can that not be amazing?!) In order for them to produce all these world premieres there has to be a lot of workshopping. That is exactly what the Novel Workshop Series is. It is two weeks of workshopping roughly four new scripts with staged readings at the end. If they go well, the scripts presented as part of the Novel Workshop Series have the potential to be added to an upcoming season. Border Songs and the upcoming Prairie Nocturne are two examples of that.
To say I was excited is a bit of an understatement. It's the first acting I get to do for a Book-It and it worked out just right (mostly just right) with my work schedule. Well, it made my last two weeks hectic but I like this sort of hectic. I'm busy and being artistic and happy.
This year the Novel Workshop Series launched into a partnership with the University of Washington PATP. So I spent the week at UW with acting grad students. It was definitely a good experience but even after one hour on the first day reminded me that when I go to grad school, I want it to be for dramatic writing, not acting. I was discouraged when I couldn't feel the joy in the room, the excitement at getting to do this work...any work really. To me, it seemed that some of the grad students felt like this was a chore. I don't ever want to lose the joy I have when I am lucky enough to be on stage as an actor. As a writer, I always feel lucky to have my work workshopped or performed, but it is such a different feeling the adrenaline I experience as an actor. They are two different and equally delightful feelings. I can't imagine wanting to continue a career in theatre when it feels like a chore. When I lose this feeling, it may be time to throw in the towel.
So in the end I learned two things from this experience:
1. The place I happily spend my work week still has so much to teach me.
2. My fake British accent isn't too bad.
Yes, the second thing was going to be horribly mushy but I figured I had enough of that in the previous paragraph so...yeah.
Okay, let me explain what the Novel Workshop Series is:
Book-It produces only world premiere theatre. Their trademark style takes novels and adapt them from the page to the stage. To act in the Book-It style can be tricky for some actors but when done seamlessly, watching a play at Book-It is like reading a book: all of your sense are stimulated. (Okay okay, I've drank the Book-It kool-aide. But c'mon, literacy and theatre? How can that not be amazing?!) In order for them to produce all these world premieres there has to be a lot of workshopping. That is exactly what the Novel Workshop Series is. It is two weeks of workshopping roughly four new scripts with staged readings at the end. If they go well, the scripts presented as part of the Novel Workshop Series have the potential to be added to an upcoming season. Border Songs and the upcoming Prairie Nocturne are two examples of that.
To say I was excited is a bit of an understatement. It's the first acting I get to do for a Book-It and it worked out just right (mostly just right) with my work schedule. Well, it made my last two weeks hectic but I like this sort of hectic. I'm busy and being artistic and happy.
This year the Novel Workshop Series launched into a partnership with the University of Washington PATP. So I spent the week at UW with acting grad students. It was definitely a good experience but even after one hour on the first day reminded me that when I go to grad school, I want it to be for dramatic writing, not acting. I was discouraged when I couldn't feel the joy in the room, the excitement at getting to do this work...any work really. To me, it seemed that some of the grad students felt like this was a chore. I don't ever want to lose the joy I have when I am lucky enough to be on stage as an actor. As a writer, I always feel lucky to have my work workshopped or performed, but it is such a different feeling the adrenaline I experience as an actor. They are two different and equally delightful feelings. I can't imagine wanting to continue a career in theatre when it feels like a chore. When I lose this feeling, it may be time to throw in the towel.
So in the end I learned two things from this experience:
1. The place I happily spend my work week still has so much to teach me.
2. My fake British accent isn't too bad.
Yes, the second thing was going to be horribly mushy but I figured I had enough of that in the previous paragraph so...yeah.
12.23.2011
2012: Apocalypse Plays Redux?
The end of the year is approaching. And a faction of people think the Mayan's predicted 2012 to be the end of the world. While I don't personally believe that (I have far too much stuff to do) this idea overall may provide an interesting opportunity. And opportunity to bring back the Apocalypse Plays cycle.
Now, if you've been following my blog from the beginning (although that seems unlikely) you'll know this blog actually started out as an account of my senior project: Apocalypse Plays. Apocalypse Plays consists of three pieces that make up one evening of theatre: Bathtub Safety (a ten-minute play), The Button (a fifteen to twenty minute solo piece), and Regarding Eden (a one-act). While none of them connect fully, they all center around what happens during/after the end of the world and/or in the rebuilding of the world.
Recently, the thought hit me. What if I bring them back? Sure, my senior project wasn't that long ago (2010 to be exact [boy I like parenthesis today]) but the world is different now. I'm different now. My aesthetic as a writer and a performer is different now. Not only does the cosmic moment seem right but the personal moment seems right.
The idea is in no-way solidified but I'm certainly considering it. I should work harder on getting my other cycle off the ground.
Yet, the thought continues to linger in my brain.
Now, if you've been following my blog from the beginning (although that seems unlikely) you'll know this blog actually started out as an account of my senior project: Apocalypse Plays. Apocalypse Plays consists of three pieces that make up one evening of theatre: Bathtub Safety (a ten-minute play), The Button (a fifteen to twenty minute solo piece), and Regarding Eden (a one-act). While none of them connect fully, they all center around what happens during/after the end of the world and/or in the rebuilding of the world.
Recently, the thought hit me. What if I bring them back? Sure, my senior project wasn't that long ago (2010 to be exact [boy I like parenthesis today]) but the world is different now. I'm different now. My aesthetic as a writer and a performer is different now. Not only does the cosmic moment seem right but the personal moment seems right.
The idea is in no-way solidified but I'm certainly considering it. I should work harder on getting my other cycle off the ground.
Yet, the thought continues to linger in my brain.
11.24.2011
A Holiday.
Happy Thanksgiving arts community.
Today, I am especially thankful for the theatrical and artistic community that is Seattle. I'm learning so much and meeting so many amazing and talented people. Thank you.
Enjoy the day.
Today, I am especially thankful for the theatrical and artistic community that is Seattle. I'm learning so much and meeting so many amazing and talented people. Thank you.
Enjoy the day.
11.21.2011
For the Love
It's over.
I can't believe it. The show has concluded. I'm so ridiculously proud of the show and my fellow collaborators. An experience like c. 1993 (you never step in the same river twice) just reaffirms my love of collaboratively created/devised/generative work (or whatever you want to call it). With some time and distance I'll be able to be more articulate about the ins-and-outs of the experience and the reasons why I think collaborative theatre is exactly what the modern theatrical world needs. But for now, I can only muster sappy thoughts.
Out of everything that was great about this particular show and is great about generative theatre in general is the people the art form draws to it. You tend to get an eclectic, unconventional, ridiculously talented group of people who all have something unique to bring to the table. This group:
is no exception.
I love you guys.
I can't believe it. The show has concluded. I'm so ridiculously proud of the show and my fellow collaborators. An experience like c. 1993 (you never step in the same river twice) just reaffirms my love of collaboratively created/devised/generative work (or whatever you want to call it). With some time and distance I'll be able to be more articulate about the ins-and-outs of the experience and the reasons why I think collaborative theatre is exactly what the modern theatrical world needs. But for now, I can only muster sappy thoughts.
Out of everything that was great about this particular show and is great about generative theatre in general is the people the art form draws to it. You tend to get an eclectic, unconventional, ridiculously talented group of people who all have something unique to bring to the table. This group:
 |
| Photo by Ian Johnston |
I love you guys.
11.14.2011
50/50
Just in time for our closing weekend, we get one more review on the City Arts blog.
It's a pretty good one if you ask me. So far, this makes our reviews half in the positive direction and half in the more negative direction.
Doesn't matter to me though. I'm in love with this show.
It's a pretty good one if you ask me. So far, this makes our reviews half in the positive direction and half in the more negative direction.
Doesn't matter to me though. I'm in love with this show.
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