Michael McQuilken (man in video) and I are going to Prague Theatre Festival later this month to perform our co-written show “A Day In Dig Nation”. We just re-staged the opening; Michael needed this for rehearsal purposes. Rehearsal space is my loft. Imagine an intricate projection sequence going on behind Michael, illustrating the sound & foley…

He does raise some interesting points in his piece.  From our perspective (the perspective of one of the many Off-Off-Broadway non-profits), the biggest issue is this: How do the Off-Off-Broadway non-profits retain their identities in light of their collaborations with the larger Off-Broadway non-profits?  Isherwood briefly mentions this when he quotes Dan Sullivan, who, regarding MTC’s collaboration with Ars Nova  on From Up Here, says that “[t]here could be some trepidation on the part of smaller organizations in sharing with the larger ones, the fear that the big dog eats the little dog…” Apparently, though, the concerns that Ars Nova may have had were addressed since Ars Nova was with MTC “for artistic decisions of all kind”.  That’s only half-the-story, though, in the big dog/little dog scenario.  How can/does an Off-Off-Broadway non-profit truly capitalize on this situation?  How does an Ars Nova, a Page 73 retain its brand in these situations?  And are these true collaborations?  Does each company have equal say in the marketing strategy of the play?  What about the artistic decisions?  What if Ars Nova and MTC disagreed about the casting of a particular actor?  Who has the last say? (In the From Up Here scenario probably MTC, given that Ars Nova is getting “in association with” billing.)  And do most MTC audiences even know that From Up Here is a collaboration with Ars Nova, given that Ars Nova’s billing is in such small font (a function of the financial contribution of each company, most likely)?   We just wonder how these arrangements are set up.  From the Off-Off-Broadway non-profit perspective, these collaborations are great because they help sell tickets; the larger Off-Broadway non-profits usually (always…) have a subscriber base, which Off-Off-Broadway sorely lack.  But after the show has closed - then what?  Do the smaller shops retain the mailing list?  Can they approach the subscribers of the larger non-profits?  And will the subscribers remember the small non-profits?  And how do you quantify the success of these collaborations?  Certainly, through the satisfaction felt by the artists - the co-mingling of the companies’ resources should increase the tools available to the artists and hopefully heighten the artistic quality (from a physical production perspective, at least) of the play that is co-produced.  But what about the smaller non-profit?  How does it protect itself?  Hire a good lawyer, I guess.

Reggie Watts and I curate a performance event “Occurrence” at Ars Nova. Our show last week featured a commissioned piece by the Neo-Futurists, a standing monologue by Mike Daisey, Lathrop Walker, Beth Hoyt, Havilah Brewster and more. We also shoot short films for the event, and we paired this one with “On Playwriting”. Reggie and I wrote and directed this. I don’t really know what it means.

The first in a series of web videos commissioned by The New York Council for Poets and Playwrights (NYCPP).

Regardless, I think this is a great trend.  The bottom line is that, because of these new initiatives, there will be additional theater spaces that are specifically dedicated to productions of new plays by emerging playwrights (I know.  People dislike that term - “emerging” - immensely and I apologize for using it.  Here at Page 73, we’ve replaced it with “early-career”.  Whatever that means.).   A stage for productions of work by new playwrights?  Honestly, I can’t think of anything better. 

“…Finally, at least for this go-round, I like what this play represents: a life-long association of a writer with a group of actors and a theater. This is why Shakespeare wrote so much, he had a whole gang of actors waiting to do his work. Go down the list — the writers who wrote a lot of wonderful plays were always associated with a community of actors they could write for: Shepard, Chekhov, Brian Friel, Alan Ackbourne [sic], David Mamet, Lanford Wilson, Caryl Churchill, Richard Foreman, Wendy Wasserstein. Playwrights who live apart from theaters and actors have a lot of trouble getting their work done. Playwrights need to be around actors, need to be a part of a theater’s life…”

We were recently thinking about this - a playwright’s association with “a group of actors”. It would be wonderful to structure the fellowship so that the same group of actors could work with our fellow on his/her play for the course of the fellowship year. Of course, we’d work around the actors’ schedules - but wouldn’t it be exciting to creating some type of acting company? (Obviously, we’d only set this up if the fellow wanted it.) I think about Elliot, A Soldier’s Fugue and how in the rehearsal room the roles in that play became so indelibly associated with those actors, their speech patterns, their postures.

We’re hosting a benefit at In The Heights this evening. We’re having a little soiree at Angus McIndoe prior to the show. Naturally, we’re stressed out. Are people going to show up? Will there be enough food, etc.? Will people like each other? Party-planning is always so stressful.

We’re working with Zoe again on a second reading of The Wife. The reading is going to be probably in the second week of March. Tommy and May (Adrales) have asked that the cast meet for a couple of hours of rehearsal in the morning; they’re then going to present a reading to a very small invited audience in the afternoon. Tommy wants to gauge initial audience reaction. The play is dark dark dark. It’s quiet and funny at first (after the first reading, one of the actors emailed us to tell us that she thought the play was “Pinter-esque”). But then it takes a turn and becomes fairly dark. (By the way, the blurry camera photo on the left shows Tommy’s back, May’s profile and Barrett in mid-reading.)

Of course, we’re still hoping that Renee Zellwegger agrees to star in it when it’s produced on Broadway.

By the way, this totally depressed us.  The first few paragraphs reminded us of that profile in the Arts & Leisure section of The New York Times about struggling artists in the New York City Off-Off-Broadway scene.  Nothing like a good cheer-me-up on a gloomy February afternoon.

I am a regular collaborator with Reggie Watts on experimental theatrical/filmic ventures. In this clip, Reggie plays for a fundraiser for New York Theatre Review 2008. I appear briefly at the start. This was in October 2007. (Oh yeah, and the 2008 NYTR comes out in Spring, edited by the unstoppable Brook Stowe, featuring a ton of great essays and plays, including my own WHITE HOT and an interview I did with Reggie about our UTR piece DISINFORMATION.)

I’ve been hearing that non-profit theater is entering another “New Play” craze. Theaters around the country are chomping at the bit to get in on the action (and limited funding). At least, that’s what we’ve been told. I don’t know if I believe it, though. But there do seem to be a lot of new play opportunities (e.g., lab development programs, playwriting fellowship, etc.). But, like in the business world, everything in the theater is cyclical. Let’s see how long this trend lasts. (I’m waiting for the largest non-profit in the country to get in on the game now. Won’t be long, I’m sure.)