Is it possible to write a play and not realize the theme until it's completed?
It'd say emphatically....yes.
Writing "Public Displays" was a unique process for me. Or I should say, it continues to be a unique process.
Until the first draft was done, I didn't recognize that so much of the play was about healing. Greta is a psychiatrist, Justine is a physical therapist. Greta and Isaac have accidents and physically heal over the course of the play. Many of the characters heal emotionally, some resist coming to terms with what they need to do to heal.
Becoming aware of this theme and wanting to expand upon it meant a scene was deleted and three new scenes were added in the second draft.
Almost all the scenes were trimmed, edited, re-shaped and now....I await the first read-thru tomorrow and see how I feel about it all then.
Friday, November 5, 2010
Friday, October 15, 2010
The Next Play
"Public Displays" will receive a staged reading as part of Cleveland Public Theatre's "Little Box" series on Saturday, November 20th at 7:30 pm.
The challenge I've set for myself with this play:
Every scene takes place in a public venue.
There are 8 characters, none of whom are the protagonist: they're all basically the protangonist.
The characters are divided into couples, but they all interact with each other. In fact, their relationships to each other are only made clear as the play progresses. However, there are 4 distinct story arcs that criss-cross, divide and merge.
The challenge I've set for myself with this play:
Every scene takes place in a public venue.
There are 8 characters, none of whom are the protagonist: they're all basically the protangonist.
The characters are divided into couples, but they all interact with each other. In fact, their relationships to each other are only made clear as the play progresses. However, there are 4 distinct story arcs that criss-cross, divide and merge.
Friday, July 23, 2010
An Extravagant Notion
At Cleveland Public Theatre's Annual Artists' Meeting last weekend, Artistic Director Raymond Bobgan commented that theatre is the only art form that requires all parties involved to continually grow and stretch themselves. In other words: no resting on your laurels.
Perhaps this is because in the intimate world of the theatre it is easier for the audience to detect the honesty and commitment of the performance. But there must also be honesty in the words the playwright selects and the artistic vision of the director.
The ulitimate mystery of theatre (all forms of storytelling, you could say) - is how through artifice, it reveals universal truth. Telling lies to uncover truth is antithetical, but sometimes it takes a heightened sense of reality - a theatrical bang to the head - for the audience to sit up, take notice and listen.
There is an unspoken contract between the audience and the play. The playwright and performers are saying, in effect, "I'm taking you on a journey." As in all journeys, there must be discovery: for both the characters and the viewer.
Must this discovery be revelatory? Yes. The revelation, however, doesn't need to be monumental in the scope of the world, But it must be of such extreme importance to the characters, that these are the moments the playwright has chosen to unveil.
Perhaps this is because in the intimate world of the theatre it is easier for the audience to detect the honesty and commitment of the performance. But there must also be honesty in the words the playwright selects and the artistic vision of the director.
The ulitimate mystery of theatre (all forms of storytelling, you could say) - is how through artifice, it reveals universal truth. Telling lies to uncover truth is antithetical, but sometimes it takes a heightened sense of reality - a theatrical bang to the head - for the audience to sit up, take notice and listen.
There is an unspoken contract between the audience and the play. The playwright and performers are saying, in effect, "I'm taking you on a journey." As in all journeys, there must be discovery: for both the characters and the viewer.
Must this discovery be revelatory? Yes. The revelation, however, doesn't need to be monumental in the scope of the world, But it must be of such extreme importance to the characters, that these are the moments the playwright has chosen to unveil.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
It's All About the Wig....and the Pants
This is the photo that captures it all. Alfred's romantic yearning...and George just wanting to get on with the business of writing.Val Kozlenko as Alfred & Jennifer Justice as George.
Photo credit: Antonio Feo
Lynna and Pam - not in character - at last evening's publicity photo shoot.Photo credit: Antonio Feo.
What a difference a wig makes...and a pair of period pants!
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
29 Days and Counting
We finally have a full cast, set in stone (fingers & toes all crossed):
The Landlady...........Lynna Snyder Metricin
Gertrude Stein.........Anne McEvoy
Alice B. Toklas..........Pam Matthews
George Sand.............Jen Justice
Alfred de Musset.....Val Kozlenko
Several weeks ago, we held a second reading at the Cleveland Heights Public Library. For that reading, Gilgamesh Taggett took the part of Alfred.
Although we had only a few guests in attendance, the reading was very energetic and muscular.
Tomorrow I have a meeting with Curtis Young at CPT to look through their stock of set pieces and props. Curtis has already informed me that they do not have a bed, which is perhaps the most important part of the set.
I went to see Mark Goodman, who owns an Antique Emporium in Larchmere. He has a good option for the writing desk there and also has a roll-away bed that we can use. It may not be so dramatic as Alice dragging a day bed onto the stage, but it may have its own theatrical effect.
I had called Mindy Herman to inquire about the brochures...and lo and behold, there was an e-mail waiting for me when I returned home. A generic e-mail from Mindy telling all Big Box participants that the brochures were ready. I must have been on some psychic wavelength with her today.
The Landlady...........Lynna Snyder Metricin
Gertrude Stein.........Anne McEvoy
Alice B. Toklas..........Pam Matthews
George Sand.............Jen Justice
Alfred de Musset.....Val Kozlenko
Several weeks ago, we held a second reading at the Cleveland Heights Public Library. For that reading, Gilgamesh Taggett took the part of Alfred.
Although we had only a few guests in attendance, the reading was very energetic and muscular.
Tomorrow I have a meeting with Curtis Young at CPT to look through their stock of set pieces and props. Curtis has already informed me that they do not have a bed, which is perhaps the most important part of the set.
I went to see Mark Goodman, who owns an Antique Emporium in Larchmere. He has a good option for the writing desk there and also has a roll-away bed that we can use. It may not be so dramatic as Alice dragging a day bed onto the stage, but it may have its own theatrical effect.
I had called Mindy Herman to inquire about the brochures...and lo and behold, there was an e-mail waiting for me when I returned home. A generic e-mail from Mindy telling all Big Box participants that the brochures were ready. I must have been on some psychic wavelength with her today.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Filling Up The Empty Space
After the table read last night, I was struck by a line in the Landylady's speech at the start of Act Two: "A woman of my means couldn't leave an empty space; a space - if filled - that would turn a profit."
Every character in "G.S." is trying to fill up an empty space, literally and emotionally.
As writers, George, Gertrude and Alfred all fill the empty space of paper with words.
Alice fills up the empty space of the stage with the set-pieces and transforms it into a home.
The Landlady fills up the empty rooms in her apartment house with the individuals who "belong there."
These are all physical, metaphorical acts. It's filling the emotional empty spaces that are more problematic and challenging.
We all know the inevitable: people we love will leave us, either through an act of willful departure or because - no matter how hard they fight to survive - their lives end.
I feel strongly that the new ending of "G.S." works because it focuses on both these inevitabilities in the lives of the two couples.
As Doug said last night he loves a "fuck you" ending. The original end definitely falls into that catagory.
Now the focus is on both of the "two endings" discussed in the piece: the ending no one could have changed and the ending that could have been different through one's own actions. It softens George, gives her a transformational moment, and allows the audience to see that she has learned and changed. I think it will be just as powerful and will give the audience a sense of emotional satisfaction.
The actors were all uniformly strong and brought out - much to Jenna's surprise - the humor of the play. I knew the laughs were there - and they need to be there. Liz and Doug brought relish to the caustic repartee between George and Alfred. Cruel can be amusing - as long as it's not happening to you.
Everyone seemed to be rushing in reading Act One, so Jenna asked everyone to slow the pace during the second act. The piece seems short to me: the writer who always extrapolates and then has to pare and pare again. Now I want to keep adding things.
But I don't know if that's truly necessary. One thing a table read cannot tell us is the timing of all the physical business: Alice hauling all the furniture onstage, George and Alfred's know-down, drag-out fight, the transitions between scenes, etc. There is a great deal of physicality in the show (to balance all the overabundance of words, perhaps?) which will add to its playing length.
One thing that surprised me was the relative equality of all the parts. The character who seems to get the short shift is the one who demands the most attention: Gertrude. After the first long scene of Act One, she only appears twice (briefly) until Act Two. Although she's onstage for all but one scene of Act Two, there seems to be a lopsidedness. This may all be resolved in the playing of the piece: by Anne's physical presence and interaction with the other characters.
Everyone was most kind and complimentary about the piece, which somehow I never find reassuring. I always want to hone and make things crisper, clearer and sharper.
All in all, though, I believe, we have a very auspicious beginning.
Every character in "G.S." is trying to fill up an empty space, literally and emotionally.
As writers, George, Gertrude and Alfred all fill the empty space of paper with words.
Alice fills up the empty space of the stage with the set-pieces and transforms it into a home.
The Landlady fills up the empty rooms in her apartment house with the individuals who "belong there."
These are all physical, metaphorical acts. It's filling the emotional empty spaces that are more problematic and challenging.
We all know the inevitable: people we love will leave us, either through an act of willful departure or because - no matter how hard they fight to survive - their lives end.
I feel strongly that the new ending of "G.S." works because it focuses on both these inevitabilities in the lives of the two couples.
As Doug said last night he loves a "fuck you" ending. The original end definitely falls into that catagory.
Now the focus is on both of the "two endings" discussed in the piece: the ending no one could have changed and the ending that could have been different through one's own actions. It softens George, gives her a transformational moment, and allows the audience to see that she has learned and changed. I think it will be just as powerful and will give the audience a sense of emotional satisfaction.
The actors were all uniformly strong and brought out - much to Jenna's surprise - the humor of the play. I knew the laughs were there - and they need to be there. Liz and Doug brought relish to the caustic repartee between George and Alfred. Cruel can be amusing - as long as it's not happening to you.
Everyone seemed to be rushing in reading Act One, so Jenna asked everyone to slow the pace during the second act. The piece seems short to me: the writer who always extrapolates and then has to pare and pare again. Now I want to keep adding things.
But I don't know if that's truly necessary. One thing a table read cannot tell us is the timing of all the physical business: Alice hauling all the furniture onstage, George and Alfred's know-down, drag-out fight, the transitions between scenes, etc. There is a great deal of physicality in the show (to balance all the overabundance of words, perhaps?) which will add to its playing length.
One thing that surprised me was the relative equality of all the parts. The character who seems to get the short shift is the one who demands the most attention: Gertrude. After the first long scene of Act One, she only appears twice (briefly) until Act Two. Although she's onstage for all but one scene of Act Two, there seems to be a lopsidedness. This may all be resolved in the playing of the piece: by Anne's physical presence and interaction with the other characters.
Everyone was most kind and complimentary about the piece, which somehow I never find reassuring. I always want to hone and make things crisper, clearer and sharper.
All in all, though, I believe, we have a very auspicious beginning.
Monday, October 19, 2009
First Read-Thru For Workshop
We have decided to have a workshop/staged reading of G.S. in November. An invited audience will come and hear the play performed and give feedback. This will give me some time to do rewrites and hopefully bring out the themes and shape the play into its best form before the production in Feburary.
The cast for the read-thru will be:
Alice...............Pam Mattthews
Gerturde.......Anne McEvoy
Alfred.............Douglas Collier
Landlandy.....Lynna Snyder
George...........Liz Conway
The first read-thru of the script (ever) will take place tonight. I'm looking forward to how the play sounds out loud with the actors interpreting the lines. Actors always bring out nuances that help me to discover things I didn't know about the play.
(I realize that sounds anti-thetical, because I wrote the play, but there it is.)
I have modified two small portions of the script prior to tonight's reading. One is the George/Gertrude argument about Jews and the other is the ending. That problematic ending!
We'll see what everyone thinks about that tonight, since the cast have been given scripts with the original ending.
I'll have an update after the read-thru.
The cast for the read-thru will be:
Alice...............Pam Mattthews
Gerturde.......Anne McEvoy
Alfred.............Douglas Collier
Landlandy.....Lynna Snyder
George...........Liz Conway
The first read-thru of the script (ever) will take place tonight. I'm looking forward to how the play sounds out loud with the actors interpreting the lines. Actors always bring out nuances that help me to discover things I didn't know about the play.
(I realize that sounds anti-thetical, because I wrote the play, but there it is.)
I have modified two small portions of the script prior to tonight's reading. One is the George/Gertrude argument about Jews and the other is the ending. That problematic ending!
We'll see what everyone thinks about that tonight, since the cast have been given scripts with the original ending.
I'll have an update after the read-thru.
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