Add the play Underneath the Lintel by Glen Berger to your Solo Show Reading List

Recently, a newly acquired friend and prominent actor/director/writer in the Pittsburgh area turned me on to a little solo show called UNDERNEATH THE LINTEL by Glen Berger.

Glen Berger also wrote a short play I directed years ago called "I WILL GO...I WILL GO..." about a man trying to cross the English Channel and going deaf by the end of it from the cold water.  I loved his writing and loved the theatricality and style of that play.  So I knew I would probably like UNDERNEATH THE LINTEL.

And I must say I'd put it on my required reading list for solo plays--right up there with KRAPP'S LAST TAPE or KICKING A DEAD HORSE or THOM PAINE (BASED ON NOTHING) as well as the others I mentioned in an earlier post.

Why do I love it?  One, it's not your usual confessional solo show of "Why I hate my father" or something god-awful like that.  It deals with existential questions about the existence of god, of faith, and tells a story of the everyday events and how they collide with the universe.  A character goes on a true journey, not just physically but mentally and spiritually and the audience can't help but be swept up in the magnitude of the story.  The writing is lyrical and at times quite funny. 

Actually, I was hooked even from the description of the set.  It takes place as a lecture in an auditorium or stage between shows, saying:

"props and other detritus from other shows can litter the back of the stage...Over the course of the evening the 'lecture' should imperceptibly turn into "theater".  The detritus, unnoticed and seemingly unimportant at first, can unexpectedly take on significance, alluding to scenes and history mentioned in the play.  The lighting can become warmer, more "theatrical", etc, and what seemed like a random strewing of objects, or a random water stain on the wall, for instance, can turn out to not be so random after all."

I knew just from reading this that this playwright was clear of his vision for the story and for the journey he wanted to take his audience on.  I knew I was in good hands. 


(And the writer side of me was envious of Berger's clarity and focus and his damned talent at his craft!)

What's also quite lovely is that Berger takes a small thing--an overdue library book--and explodes it into some with greater meaning.  We always talk about "high stakes' in the theater, but we forget what that can actually mean.  Sometimes even the smallest actions could lead to bigger consequences.  It all depends on how it affects the characters and disturbs their world.

Here's the plot summary from Alexis Soloski of the Village Voice:

On an inauspicious morning at a Dutch library, a librarian makes an unexpected find in the overnight return box. ...a much mistreated Baedeker's guidebook 123 years overdue. Even without compound interest, this tardiness merits a tidy fine, and in UNDERNEATH THE LINTEL, playwright Glen Berger's latest, our librarian hero determines to track down the miscreant. Berger's monologue, subtitled The Mystery of the Abandoned Trousers, hardly slacks. Mailing a fine to the long-lived scofflaw in question proves difficult, as the borrower listed his name only as `A'. In an effort to run him to earth, the librarian, who has never left his native town of Hoofddorp, zips to China, Australia, Germany, and America. He eats sweets, greases palms, sees Les Miserables in three languages, and fritters away all his accumulated vacation days. He has the time of his life, or perhaps for the first time actually has a life.

What I'm Reading: The War of Art by Steven Pressfield

Summer seems to have gotten away from me and this blog has been neglected.  For that, I apologize.

I have no excuses for not maintaining this blog, but I do have my reasons--first being a new house (yay, I feel so grown-up!) as well as a new job (yay, I have a regular paycheck!) and a new creative venture (Yay, I'm acting in a show again!).

I've also discovered the world of grilling in my back yard. 

But I digress.

I just finished reading Steven Pressfield's little book THE WAR OF ART.  If you are an artist/writer/poet/creative dreamer or just someone who wants to start a diet/exercise program or frankly anything that might be good for you in the long run, then you must read this book.  In fact, it should be required reading for everyone in college.  Any college, not just those studying the arts.

Without giving too much away, Pressfield delves into the idea of "Resistance".  What is Resistance and why does it always rear its ugly head when we desire to change, grow or create something good and unleash it into the world? 

This isn't a book about writer's block.  It's a book about how even professionals face this Resistance, sometimes in the form of fear or procrastination, but they persevere.  Every day.  This is not a "how to" book.  This book doesn't give you tips and tricks for overcoming your daily dose of Resistance.  It does give guidance and wisdom from the guy who was written many books (including The Legend of Bagger Vance). 

The book was a nice reminder to me to get to work.  If you are an artist, you define yourself by creating art, not talking about it, not thinking about it, but doing it.

So, like that Nike ad says...just do it.

Wa(s)te Reading in LA at The Road Theater Next Sunday

There are plays that you write sometimes just for fun and you think, no one will ever probably want to do this play.  This is not really marketable in any way, shape, or form.  Or so you think. 

Such a play is Wa(s)te, which is really a play about two waste-oids in an apartment waiting to find out about a party (and maybe they're writing a screenplay in the process, but most likely they're surfing the net, playing videogames and watching TV). 

Here's the show synopsis:


With the promise of tomorrow lingering under the rain clouds of today, Doug and Val waste time playing word and power games with each other in a cluttered Seattle apartment, waiting to hear about a party.  They are joined by Paulie, a temp in a rumpled suit, who one day claims it’s his apartment and the next day is a silent slave to the enigmatic Lulu, a songstress turned corporate power-broker.  But is it Paulie’s apartment?  Will Doug and Val ever finish their screenplay about nothing commenting on nothing?  Or are they merely characters themselves?  And there’s the ultimate question: is God the Pizza Boy?

I've only really sent this play to friends who I like and might appreciate its references to Beckett or pop culture and only a handful of small theaters.  And yet, through a circuitous route (ie in the hands of a real-life clown), the play has found itself in a reading at The Road Theater in LA in their annual Summer Playwrights Festival.

See the details here.

Sadly, I won't be able to fly out to the west coast for the reading but after talking with Judy Weldon, I feel I'm in good hands.  I'm just disappointed that I'll miss this first public reading in front of an audience, especially seeing as how its a comedy and it might be nice to know when folks laugh and all.

Here's hoping this is a sign that more opportunities will arise for this little fun play of mine.

Next up: a reading of THE ALBATROSS

As part of the Underground Readings, my play THE ALBATROSS will be having a reading next Monday, June 20th at 7:00 pm at The Grey Box.

It was directed by long-time collaborator, Lisa Jackson-Schebetta, and features some pretty amazing Pittsburgh talent like Jeffrey Carpenter (Bricolage) and Mark Clayton Southers (Pittsburgh Playwrights Theater and The August Wilson Center) as well as up-and-coming talent like Laci Mosly and Fred Pelzer.

As those who know me and read this blog, I'm the guy always saying "self-produce, self-produce, self-produce".  So when Bill Cameron, the writer-director of Violet Sharp which is being produced by Terra Nova Theater, said to me and some other playwrights, "hey, we've got some dark nights at Violet Sharp, do you want to do something with them?" I jumped at the chance.  I hate seeing a dark theater.

So, I teamed up with playwrights Ginny Cunningham and Jeanne Drennan and we decided to do a series of readings and found some playwrights with some stuff to read--all of them of high calibre--and they got some great directors and celebrated local actors and next thing you know, we got us a great mini-festival of new works.

The first evening, Monday night, we heard Gab Cody's new play, The 2nd American Revolution and had wonderful turnout of about forty to fifty audience members.

On Monday, I'll be hearing THE ALBATROSS again.  It's been a few years since the last reading and I'm curious to dive into it.  It's the right amount of time to be away from the material, I think, in order to see it with an objective eye.  I hope I can see some new things or be proud of the things that I know are working.  Either way, I've got a fantastic director and talented actors to take care of the play.

For those of you wanting to know more about the play, or any of my plays, please click here.

What I'm Reading: Tell Me a Story by Roger Schank

To say that May was a busy month is an understatement.

After a successful run of Shining City at Off the Wall Theater--which critics called "provocative, well-acted and the "perfect cast" by the way...) I’m ready to do a little relaxing and actually read something that I'm not trying to memorize as part of a performance.  

 

I just finished reading Sherry Turkle’s collection of essays The Inner History of Devices.  This book is part memoir, part clinical textbook about how we related to objects and technology—how it literally changes our lives or affects us, in some ways we don’t even notice.  It looks at the obvious like addictions to online fantasy games or chat rooms, but also looks at people who are living with internal cardiac defibrillators or prosthetic eyes or being hooked up to a dialysis machine.  Written before the rise of Facebook, its startling to think about how we relate to the cyber world and technology, in general.

Why am I reading this book?  For robot research, of course.  As prosthetics get better and better, how will we related to our artificial limbs or tehnologically advanced companions?  Like our robot nanny?

For instance, imagine if Facebook wasn't just a two dimensional interface on a screen, but an actual robot and you could ask it, "So what are my friends up to today?" and it could tell you instead of you having to read it.  How would you start to relate to that robot?  Even if it didn't have a personality?

Now I’m reading Robert Schanks’ Tell Me a Story: Narrative and Intelligence.  (Yes, another book about artificial intelligence for my robot research.)  In a nutshell, this book basically says “Humans are intelligent, as opposed to computers or animals, because we relate and store information in the forms of stories.   Our stories are linked to our memories and its how we communicate and relate to each other.  Stories are who we are.  It’s the best argument for art and culture I’ve ever heard.  Why else do we go to the theatre and movies and read books?  It’s not just a form of entertainment.

What I'm Reading: Plays, plays, plays and some more plays...

It may be a compulsive habit, but I seem to be unable to walk out of a library empty-handed.  

Recently I grabbed a bunch of play scripts that I were not on my reading list but were just too tempting to pass up.  

In between studying my part for the upcoming production of Shining City at Off the Wall and filming this cowboy short film, I’m not actually sure when I’ll have time to read them, but rest assured, I will get around to them at some point.. 

I grabbed Julie Jensen’s The Harvey Girls, a brand-new play she wrote last year.  I met Julie at UNLV when I was doing my undergrad and sat in on all the MFA playwriting workshops, acting in them or just watching them.  She’s not just a brilliant playwright, but a brilliant teacher, as well. I was introduced to her work by acting in The Lost Vegas Series and have since become a big fan of her quirky and intelligent wit.  If you’ve never read her stuff, go do it now.

I also grabbed David Mamet’s Race, a recent play of his which is being down at the Pittsburgh Irish & Classical Theater.  

(No, David Mamet is not Irish and no, a play done on Broadway a year or so ago does not make it “classical” so I’m just as befuddled as you as to why PICT is doing it…)

The other exciting gem I grabbed is a collection of plays from the Royal Court Theater.  This is full of playwrights I’ve never heard of but have been doing tons of stuff across the pond.  Playwrights include David Eldridge, Roy Williams, Mike Bartlett, and Lucy Prebble.  There was one play in the collection that piqued my interest by Simon Stephens called Motortown, about a Iraqi vet returning to London.  One critic hailed it as a modern day Woyzcheck, which is high praise.

Know thy enemy

As I’ve posted before, I submitted a short script for the Film Factory competition, hosted by Steeltown Entertainment.  

They announced the finalists and unfortunately I didn't make the cut (hey, them's the breaks but there's always next year).

True to the Film Factory's aim of education, they've posted the scripts that were selected as finalists online.  This is great to learn about what others are writing but also to see what kinds of scripts the judges liked or didn't like.  They do range in style and story but the southwestern Pennsylvania and Pittsburgh region is central to all of them in some way.  

Read the competition here

On March 26, next Saturday, the semi-finalists selected out of this group will pitch their scripts (now rewritten based on feedback) to three Hollywood producers, right here in Pittsburgh at Point Park University downtown.  

Read more about that event here.

Reading and watching to see what others do well or not well is an education you shouldn't pass up.  It's a competitive market out there and although, its not accurate to think of your fellow writers as "enemies", you should know who is writing the same kind of stuff you are and then make your work even more unique.

What I'm Reading: Michael Chabon's Wonder Boys

I decided to take a break from robots and Descartes over the holiday break and give Wonder Boys by Michael Chabon another read.

 Wonder Boys was the first book of his I read.  I picked it up shortly after seeing the movie when it came out in the theaters.  (I also refer back to Steve Kloves' screenplay adaptation many times, which is a really fine piece of work, as well.)

I followed that by reading his collection of short stories and bought The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay when it first came out (and still think it’s one of the best books I’ve ever read, ever, and yes that puts him up there with other folks I admire like Paul Auster, Milan Kundera, Michael Ondaatje, Ernest Hemingway, and Samuel Beckett).

Now that I live in Pittsburgh, Wonder Boys resonates with me in entirely new ways and not because I live a mere few miles from where most of the action of the story takes place.  

It’s also the culture and the people.  When Chabon mentions that Sara Gaskell grew up in Greenfield, got a PhD and married a guy from Harvard, I know why that might be a big deal (and cause some friction in her marriage).  I have a better understanding of the different neighborhoods (as well as Grady’s in-laws which are in the book, but not the movie).

 

Of course, Chabon’s excellent story is universal—it doesn’t matter what city you are in. His world is filled with interesting characters that seem so specific and genuine (and lovable) that you’d swear they were your neighbors.  His prose is never superfluous, always graceful and illuminating, with a poetic everyman quality. 

On reading his novel, I think, this is why I don’t write books.  I tried once.  No one will ever find that lousy manuscript, I swear.  I’ll stick to the dramatic form, thank you very much.  No way I’m going to compete with Chabon.


Now that I've finished Wonder Boys, it's time to join Kavalier & Clay and their amazing adventures of the Escapist.  

Where do you find scripts to read?

Okay, you read that last post on reading, and you think, that’s all well and good, sir, but you worked in a theater company in New York so you had to read a ton of bad and good plays.  

I’m a [blank] and I live in the middle of nowhere in [blank] and I don’t have access to a bunch of plays and screenplays.

Ah, but you do…

First of all, we live in this wonderful country with free access to libraries, either public libraries or the one in your closest university.  They have plays there, good and bad (yes, even bad plays get published and produced).  They have screenplays there, as well.  Of course, they also have a ton of novels, magazines, etc. 

Also, we live in the wonderful age of the internet.  There are many, many, many websites which host access to screenplays.  If you look hard enough, you can even find screenplays  in production or pre-production (I read an earlier draft of Mel Gibson’s new movie THE BEAVER a year ago when it was on the black list).

Another great resource—join a writer’s group or find another writer and read his/her stuff.  You can learn a lot by being involved in your colleagues’ growth as a writer (and they can definitely help you). 

If you are near a theater and this theater takes submissions, ask if they need readers.  They may get back to you and say yes, or they may not.  Or they may not get back to you at all because most literary departments are swamped, overworked and underpaid.  But they will appreciate the offer (usually).

Go to Poets.org.  You can sign up to receive a poem a day.  Reading Robert Frost or some new poet I’d never heard of at the start of my day reminds me of the beauty of language all around us.

Do your research.  

Read.  

It’s part of your job as a writer.

(Of course, there is no substitute for actual performances--one must also go to the theatre, go to readings, be involved with your local theaters as much as possible--but that's for another post).

Read. Read. Read. Then read some more...

 You might’ve noticed that every once in awhile I post about what I’m reading, which you might think odd for a blog about writing and making theatre.

I’m a big believer that in order to write well, one must read.  

A lot. 

If you want to write scripts, then you must read scripts.  Read the bad.  Read the good.  Read everything in between.  Read novels.  Read short stories.  Read poetry.  Read magazine articles and the New York Times.  Read for content (story).  Read for interesting characters.  Read for language.  Read.  Read. Read.

Last week I was at a holiday party chatting with another playwriting teacher and we got to talking about this phenomenon of wannabe writers, usually screenwriters, who’ve never even seen what a screenplay looks like on the page, much less read one, and yet, they boldly dive into writing a screenplay.  Because they’ve seen a lot of movies and how hard could it be, right?

This is crazy.

This is like thinking since you've seen surgery on T.V., you think you can pick up a scalpel and do a heart transplant, right?  How hard could it be?

Of course, picking up a pen or writing on your computer isn’t as bloody as surgery.  No one dies when people write a bad screenplay (but wouldn’t that be an interesting way to prevent bad writers from ever getting started?).

Why is it so important to read scripts while trying to write your own?

When I worked at Ensemble Studio Theater in New York city, my job was to read the unsolicited manuscripts.  There was always a pile of scripts that literally went up to the ceiling.  In fact, there might have been two or three piles.  We’re talking thousands of scripts a year.  I read a lot and I read quickly.  Some of them were from agents.  Some from students.  Some from retirees.  Most were really bad, with an occasional gem.  What I learned from reading those scripts, though, I instantly started to apply to my writing. 

I also learned how important those first ten to fifteen pages are in any script.  But that’s another post.

If you’re a writer, you love a good story.  But you should also love words.  If a good story is the foundation of your house, words are the bricks. 

Maybe commas are the mortar…

(Nope, went too far with that analogy…sigh…)

This photo is from the Andre Kertesz exhibit at the Carnegie "On Reading".

What I'm Reading: After Dark by Haruki Murakami

Several years ago I saw this amazing production of The Elephant Vanishes, an adaptation of Haruki Murakami’s short short stories by the innovative and experimental theatre company, Theatre de Complicite. Ever since then I’ve been meaning to read this writer’s work and finally, I checked out some of his books at the library.

Unfortunately, they didn't have any of his short stories, so I grabbed two of his novels.

The first one I read was After Dark, and frankly, I was not as impressed as I’d like to be, especially since the librarian who checked out the book told me how amazing he was and how she’s read everything he’d ever written.

 Perhaps something is lost in the translation, or maybe this just isn't his best book.

 The story follows several characters in the course of an early evening in Tokyo, settings and locales ranging from an all night diner to a “love hotel” to an office. Characters ask each other a lot of questions and give a lot of exposition and somewhere Murakami sneaks in some post-modern critique of civilization (I think) which reminded me of Paul Auster’s work, only not as stimulating.

 I’ve now begun reading the other book I got, The Wind Up Bird Chronicle and so far its slightly more interesting, but still not grabbing me by the shirt collars or anything.

Maybe Murakami just isn't my cup of tea.

I’ve also been reading the radio scripts of the BBC broadcasts of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. This was part fun, part research for the radio scripts I’m writing right now. It’s exactly the kind of cynical and witty scenarios you’d expect from the series—and none of it really adds up to any logical sense. Just like life.

Next up are a few plays like Paula Vogel’s A Long Christmas Ride Home and Brecht’s Galileo, as well as my continued robot research and a biography of Descartes.

Nothing like some nice light reading 'round the old Christmas tree!

What I'm Reading: The Woman Who Walked Into Walls by Roddy Doyle

I should’ve paid more attention to the title of Roddy Doyle’s book when I picked it up in a used bookstore months ago. The author of The Commitments and A Star Called Henry, has written one of the most moving portraits of a woman enduring hardships, yet its not for the faint of heart.

A Star Called Henry is one of the best books he’s ever written, and one of the best books I’ve ever read (although that list is quite long).

The Woman Who Walking Into Walls is a far more intimate look at an abusive and long-term relationship, though the ending does have an uplifting and upbeat feel (as upbeat as one gets for an Irish tale of woe, that is). It begins with the death of her ex-husband and then precedes to enlighten you about the main characters relationship in flashbacks. It’s not really summer reading and not the kind of reading that will take your mind off your troubles, but if you’re looking for a great character study, pick it up. You won’t be disappointed, but the images and words will stay with you for awhile.

Now I'm off to read some research on robotics and brush up my Isaac Asimov and Philip K. Dick for an exciting new project which I'll write more about at a later date.

What I'm Reading: Juliet, Naked by Nick Hornby and some August Wilson

After the dense reading of Pittsburgh in Stages by Lynn Conner, I picked up Nick Hornby’s Juliet, Naked.  A fun, witty story well-told by one of my favorite writers (author of About a Boy and High Fidelity) was well needed.  

This is the kind of book you want to bring with you on vacation so you can spend an hour or two basking in the sun of Mexico and be entertained.  The last book of his I read, A Long Way Down, was over four years ago, and while I enjoyed that book, I think this was was more my speed.  

The main storyline is about a reclusive American singer-songwriter named Tucker who created one of the greatest breakup albums of all time (or at least comparable to Tangled Up in Blue).  After a believed epiphany in a Minneapolis bathroom, he disappeared for 29 years.  There is much heated internet discussion on his whereabouts, especially by one of the other main characters who lives in a northern town in the U.K. with his girlfriend of 15 years.  He gives a review of a new album, a release of raw acoustic versions of Tucker's songs, which causes his girlfriend to openly disagree with him and she ends up in contact with the real Tucker.

What I love about Hornby's characters, other than the sense of humor that is woven throughout all his scenarios and the funny dialogue, is that his characters are so human.  They have flaws.  And not just pick-your-nose flaws.  They're just trying to get by and finding hope in even the smallest things of life.  Like us.  Even the singer-songwriter who is seen as a music "god" by his fans is really just an ordinary dad who is getting old and constantly fails at relationships.  

Next up on my reading list are some more August Wilson plays.  I just finished reading Seven Guitars again (love that play) and am now going to read Radio Golf, King Hedley II and Jitney.  I’m hoping to just work my way through the cycle.  These plays inform each other in such wonderful ways (and now I get their Pittsburgh references since all but one are set in the Hill District).

What I'm reading: Out of this Furnace & Pittsburgh in Stages

This past couple of weeks has been like “History Month” for me as far as reading goes. 

As some of you might already know, I moved to Pittsburgh from Seattle just over a month ago.  While it was sad to say goodbye to some of the amazing and talented people we met in the pacific northwest, it is nice to be back on the east coast, and a little bit closer to family.

(I've never lived in Pittsburgh before, or any place like it so now I'm going to chronicle that newcomer experience in a new blog called “I Speak Yinz Now”.  Check it out).

Having no knowledge or lay of the land is quite disorienting and so I’ve started reading some books that might help me get my bearing.  

First up, I read Thomas Bell’s book Out of this Furnace, which chronicles three different generations of immigrants who come to Braddock and end up working in the steel mills.  (Braddock is only a couple of miles from Pittsburgh proper and literally only a few miles from where I'm living now). Although the prose isn’t poetic and at times the reading can be dry and slow-going, this book does give you a feel for what it was like to come to this area a hundred years ago and try to survive.

What's also interesting is that some of the characters live in Homestead, just across the river, where there used to be a ton of steel mills.  Now there is the Waterfront, home to a huge shopping center which has all your standard stores like the Gap, Target, etc.  Some of the towering smoke stacks are still there, casting their shadows over the parking lots.

By the way, Braddock is now the focus of some infamous, and inspiring Levi’s commercials—check it out.

The other educational and helpful book I’ve read lately is Pittsburgh in Stages by Lynn Conner.  This takes the past hundred years and looks at theater and performances from the early days of Fort Pitt, to the burlesque shows of the 1920s on up to the more legit stages like the birth of the Pittsburgh Playhouse and the Pittsburgh Public Theater.  

Although at some points it definitely reads like a history book, it's chock full of great stories about theatre luminaries like Eleanora Duse and Lilly Langtry, as well as focusing on some of the well-known Pittsburghers, like renowned playwright August Wilson.

It’s essential reading for anyone wanting to know the theatrical context of this region.  

What I’m Reading: Michael Ondaatje’s IN THE SKIN OF A LION

If you’ve only seen the movie version of THE ENGLISH PATIENT and have not read that book, or any of the wonderful books by Michael Ondaatje, then run, don’t walk, to your library (or bookstore) and pick up some of his work.  His book about Buddy Bolden in New Orleans in the early 1900s, COMING THROUGH SLAUGHTER, was a major influence on the devised piece I worked as a dramaturg on, IN THE BELLY OF THE BEAST WITH TWO BACKS.

I just recently finished his book IN THE SKIN OF A LION.  Maybe it’s because I’m now living in Pittsburgh, but this story about immigrants forging a new city’s tunnels and waterworks was inspiring and uplifting.  Or maybe it’s the way he weaves disparate narratives together…a Macedonian bridge builder, a farm boy making it big in Toronto, a thief, an actress, a millionaire recluse on the run…

The beauty of his writing is that you feel like your mind is eating a steak, every word a juicy morsel.  His prose is elegant, poetic and stark like a poem.  For example, this moment when Temelcoff reflects on his work on a bridge, after being a baker so long:

“He came to this country like a torch on fire and he swallowed air as he walked forward and he gave out light.  Energy poured through him.  That was all he had time for in those years.  Language, customs, family, salaries.  Patrick’s gift, that arrow in the past, shows him the wealth in himself, how he has been sewn into history.  Now he will begin to tell stories…”

What I'm reading--The Element by Ken Robinson

My last post I talked about how I’ve taken a break from writing in order to re-evaluate and refresh.  I didn’t stop reading, though.  Truth is, I never stop reading.

One of the first conversations my wife had with my brother was about how I keep three or four books on the nightstand by my bed.  I'm usually reading all these books at various stages and my mood dictates which one I read that particular evening before I go to sleep.

The book I've been reading almost every night is Dr. Ken Robinson’s THE ELEMENT: How finding your passion changes everything. 

 

This book reexamines what we think of when we think of intelligence and creativity.  It has inspiring stories about how many creative and intelligent people found their passion and their “element” in their chosen fields, people like Matt Groening (Created or The Simpsons), Gillian Lynne (choreographer), Alan Ball (writer of American Beauty and Six Feet Under) and Richard Feynman (renowned physicist).  

It also examines the education system and the way we use outdated aptitude tests to gauge intelligence, like IQ tests or college entry exams like the SATs.  The issue with these tests is that they only test for certain aptitudes, not for all. 

I’m not knocking education because I do believe in good education (and have a mountain of college debt to prove it!).  But many of our bad habits and ingrained fears began early in school, when we're told what is “right” and what is “wrong” in order to promote conformity.  Thus begins our childhood desire to “fit in” and not be different.

Only later when we grow up do we realize that what makes us special, talented an unique are those very differences that teachers were trying to stamp out of us.

NYC Recap

Just got back from New York City last week and have not had much time to process the trip. Part of that was because of family being in town but another part was just that the five days I was there were a blur of activity and excitement.


I love New York City.

Always have. Always will.

Every time I get off the plane and hit the streets I feel that energy and it revs me up. The city is always moving, even if you’re not. Maybe I love it because its such a contrast to the desert where I grew up, where nothing is moving, I don’t know.

Here’s a quick recap:

Saturday night
Got off the plane, took the Airtran then subway into the hotel on Lex. Then rushed off to eat some quick crab cakes and then saw friends in Henry V at The American Globe Theater, just off of Broadway & 46th. Good acting, great fights, and fun cast party at O’Lunney’s afterwards

Sunday
Brunch at Pietrasanta on W. 49th and 9th ave, nearby where I lived for a summer. Yummy Eggs Benedict and mimosas and then turned to my right only to realize that I was sitting next to Mo Rocca from The Daily Show.

Saw Exit the King on Broadway. Everyone said Susan Sarandon was miscast or not that great. I thought she was decent, if not charismatic. Yet, she pales in comparison to Geoffrey Rush. He is superb! Comic and tragic. Briliant! I love seeing an Ionesco play done well!

Then down to the Village to eat some great Italian food then catch some music at The Bitter End. Saw some kid, must’ve been 16 years old shred guitar like he was Eddie Van Halen. Seriously.

Monday
In rehearsal most of the day (there was a fly-by?! Wtf?! I missed it!). Great actors, great director, talked about the play. Then the panel with Ellen Mclaughlin and Leslie Lee. I spent most of the time trying not to think about who I was sitting next to and hoping that my thoughts on playwriting and dramaturgy sounded coherent and not juvenile. I think the most insightful thing I said about talkbacks; “they should be called conversations and they are always too long”.

The reading of my play THE ALBATROSS was smashing. Got some laughs, maybe a few teary eyes at the end, and the “conversation” was quite helpful and supportive. Honestly, I don’t know what is going on with the universe but I have so far been having great experiences with the development of this play. It’s not always like that.

Tuesday
Went out to visit Stony Brook campus on Long Island. Fun train ride. Had lunch with a gaggle of dramaturgs talking about how to fix American Theater. Good times.

That night saw a experimental show by Alec Duffy, produced by Hoi Polloi called “The Less We Talk”. Very similar to an earlier show I’ve seen. More elaborate in scope but just as heartbreaking at times. Great use of singing to tell stories without it being a straight up musical.

Wednesday
Some meetings, a visit to the Drama Book Shop (again) and then off to the airport.

Phew!

More on the reading later!

THE ALBATROSS Reading in NYC

THE ALBATROSS, recent winner of the John Gassner competition, will be having a reading on Monday, April 27th, at 7 pm in NYC.

In addition, there will be a special panel on "Creating New Works" with myself, fellow playwrights Ellen McLaughlin and Leslie Lee.

Ellen McLaughlin is a playwright and actress, author of Iphiginia and Tongue of a Bird but is also an actress, originating the role of the Angel in Angels in America by Tony Kushner.

Leslie Lee is a founding artist of La Mama and his play Breeze of Summer was just done at the Signature.

It's easy to say I'm honored to be in the room with these two.

Also on the panel will be the director of the reading, Julia Gibson (who has been completely amazing and wonderful and I'm looking forward to rehearsals with her on Monday) and dramaturg Maxine Kern.

For more information, go to the website.

The Albatross is flying high!

Please check out the Stonybrook website for the news and more information about the John Gassner New Play Competition.

There will be a staged reading of THE ALBATROSS in Manhattan on April 27th and April 28th.

(FYI--The rumors that Ellen Page will be playing Sofia are completely absurd.)

If you are around, check it out!

The Albatross at NPA reading in Tacoma

This Monday night I'll be heading down to Tacoma for a reading of my newest full-length play THE ALBATROSS, presented by the Northwest Playwrights Alliance. It will be directed by Darian Lindle (she who directed the bachelorette party play in 14/48) and will feature the acting talent of Erin Kraft, Chris Bell and Malcolm Womack.

Plus, there is wine for a small suggested donation and a cheerful discussion of the play afterwards.

http://www.northwestplaywrights.org/upcomingevents.html

It will be at 7 pm at Theater on the Square rehearsal hall, Broadway Center for the Performing Arts (905 Broadway).

Yes, I know its Tacoma but really its not that far...yes, traffic does suck so leave early, but it'll be fun. Come hang out and tell me what you think of the play. I really do want to know.

This is the same play that was read last month down in Portland. Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on how you look at it, I have yet to get cracking on the rewrites, of which there may be some substantial and some minor changes. But this reading will be slightly more rehearsed and directed (though the cold reading in Portland was pretty darn impressive, I must say--thank you Andrew!). And I'm curious to see if the feedback and discussion of this draft might garner different results.

Then, in the month of June and July, I will get to work on those rewrites. In addition to working on 7 Minutes to Midnight.

I'm going to be a busy boy. But then, aren't I always...?