There are two great Pittsburgh premiere productions of new plays going on this month and I'm planning to see both of them, though I'm not sure when.
The first is Annie Baker's Circle Mirror Transformation at Pittsburgh Public Theatre. Aside from the fact that I love Jesse Berger's directing (from seeing his work with the Red Bull Theater in NY), the play is written by a young woman playwright who has been hailed by critics to be a voice of a new generation. The play is set in a small Vermont town's community center and we watch six characters go through acting exercises. This doesn't sound like the stuff of drama, but from what I hear Baker explores the minutiae of daily life in a quirky way.
Then there's Precious Little by Madeleine George (another exciting young female playwright) at City Theatre in the South Side. All I know about this play is its about motherhood, language and a talking gorilla. Sounds good to me.
And there's a "trailer" for it. See below.
It seems to me that video trailers of play productions are popping up more and more as a marketing tool. This one is actually the most interesting and cinematic I've seen of the bunch. I remember that Theatre Schmeater in Seattle used to do these types of trailers and I know I've seen them done by other companies as well.
As far as marketing goes, it's pretty savvy. We are a YouTube and Facebook generation.
And yet...I shudder when I see theater squeezed into that box frame. I don't know why.
Will the trailer phenomena go away or will we see more theaters do this kind of marketing?
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