Design for Living
by Noel Coward
directed by Michael Kahn at the Shakespeare Theatre Company
I had a love affair with Noel Coward this year, first with having directed HAY FEVER in February at GMU. For many months I submerged myself in his words, world, and life. And there's so much more to him that I look forward to learning throughout my life. I want to direct more of his works and I want to act in his works. Two very big dreams of mine. I took a trip up to NYC over the summer to see his BLITHE SPIRIT on Broadway (starring Rupert Everett and Angela Lansbury- she won a Tony for her role in this production as the medium). It was alright-- pretty basic, really, and done on a large scale for Broadway audiences.
It was this production at the STC that I absolutley fell in love with. I saw it three times. I've always been drawn to triangle relationships, and this play has a very complex, ridiculous, and beautiful one. I found the journey of the characters, all three of them artists, very fascinating. And by the end, they all decided to reject the accepted, social conventions of society and form a different design for living that really suited their particular situation the best. It's a courageous play and I love it to pieces; it resonnates for me on many levels. So many hilarious and vulnerable and beautiful passages in the text. As for the production itself, it was flawlessly done-- the acting, the sets, the costumes, everything. Having the luxary of seeing it three times at different moments during it's run, it was a joy to see how the actors were growing into the roles. They were having so much fun. And I remember laughing so hard, guffawing till my body was literally weak, at certain moments. The scene at the end of Act II, when the boys start drinking, was brillantly and hysterically staged. So many beautiful moments, tucked away in this piece. I'll carry it with me forever.
I saw this production 3 times, first with Michael Deveney, 2nd with my sister Leslie (after the show Colleen the ASM I knew from TFA First Light took us on a backstage tour of the Lansburg), and 3rd with Kathleen Mason, on the day news broke that Michael Jackson died. With Leslie it was free since Colleen comped us in, but for the 1st and 3rd time it was only a $10 ticket!!
Flattery doesn't enter into it. We are different. Our lives are diametrically opposed to ordinary social conventions; and it's no use grabbing at those conventions to hold us up when we find we're in deep water. We've jilted them and eliminated them, and we've got to find our own solutions for our own peculiar moral problems.There's no sense in stamping about and saying how degrading it all is. Of course it's degrading; according to a certain code, the whole situation's degrading and always has been. The Methodists wouldn't approve of us, and the Catholics wouldn't either; and the Evangelists and the Episcopalians and the Angelicans and the Christian Scientists-- I don't suppose even the Polynesian Islanders would thin very highly of us, but they wouldn't mind quite so much, being so far away. They could all club together--the whole lot of them--and say with perfect truth, according to their lights, that we were loose-living, irreligious, unmoral degenerates, couldn't they?
But the whole point is, it's none of their business. We're not doing any harm to anyone else. We're not peppering the world with illegitimate children. The only people we could possibly mess up are ourselves, and that's our lookout. It's no use you trying to decide which you love best, Leo or me, because you don't know! At the moment, it's me, because you've been living with Leo for a long time and I've been away. A gay, ironic chance threw the three of us together and tied our lives into a tight knot at the outset. To deny it would be ridiculous, and to unravel it impossible. Therefore, the only thing left is to enjoy it thoroughly, every rich moment of it, every thrilling second!
--
King Lear
by William Shakespeare
directed by Bob Falls at the Shakespeare Theatre Company
I have never seen Shakespeare done like this before. Never. Mr. Falls had his concept for this piece so sharply concieved, I never second-guessed it. Whenever I see Shakespeare that has a 'concept' attached to it (which is basically all the time now), watching the piece seems to become more about "how did that concept work with the play?" rather than "how was the play?" I suppose with all of Shakespeare's plays the question "how was the play?" is tired and old, seeing how they're all good and been done so many times. But focusing solely on concept concept concept takes away from my experience from enjoying and following the play itself. No, I'm not tired of these characters or these stories yet, thank you very much. And if you're going to be one of those directors that likes to take Shakespeare and masturbate with some smartass concept, then please don't invite me.
Mr. Falls's concept was brillantly concieved and never for a second did it take me out or distract me from Shakespeare's piece. It actually hightened it and brought it to life in a way that I never could imagine. The theatricality was raw, it was intense, it was grim, it was arresting, it was an incredible experience. I have never seen such fireceness in an actor as I have with Stacey Keach. He was an animal, and he completley disappeared into the character. My mentor, friend and teacher Ed Gero was completley heartbreaking and stirring to watch. These four men (Shakespeare too) inspired me a great deal that night in July. They showed me the caliber of artistry I intend to aspire to. If you're going to do this business, do it right. Do it like this!
I saw this show on a hot Tuesday in July with Amy! I remember I went to the Harman right after work at Special Counsel and Amy met me there-- she parked at CUA and took the metro from there. She brought snacks, god love her, and I tried unCrustables for the first time, LOVED THEM!! After the show Ed gave us a quick tour backstage- I was speechless, I remember. He comp'd us in too. Such a great night.
Come not between the dragon and his wrath.
--
A Streetcar Named Desire
by Tenneesee Williams
directed by Liv Ullman at The Kennedy Center
A true love affair with Tenn Williams began this year. Reading CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF in college in the spring, going on a Williams literary tour in the French Quarter in New Oreleans with Marisa over the summer, which took us to all the various apartments he lived in, and this production, has catapulted an obsession with this man. I'm very excited to read many of his major works early next year when I'm in Europe and to see the all-black production of CAT in the West End.
The only experience I have ever had with STREETCAR before this production was reading it once in Acting II class with Kaiulani Lee freshman year, horribly portraying Stanley in a random in-class exercise, and the iconic film version with Marlon Brando and Vivien Leigh. The film is great, but I have to admit a little distant for me. Amazing actors the both of them, but it never really made Williams palpable for me. After reading STREETCAR, along with GLASS MENAGERIE and NIGHT OF THE IGUANA later in college, I became obsessed with his master lyricism and fantasy and the characters and world that he created are so complex and theatrical and honest. Cate Blanchett's portrayal of Blanche, though, was exactly what I needed to bring him to life, give me the Williams that I started trying to invision in my head. Reading a play is so fucking different than seeing a production. It's only a sliver of it all. A play is just paper, a skeleton for a performance. Not really meant for reading, more of a manuel. Seeing this production-- the first production of Williams I've ever seen-- sealed the deal.
It overwhelmed me. I was blown away by the production, the direction, the performances-- both Stella and Stanley were excellent too. So many things were going through my mind as I watched Blanchett's Blanche--- here, right in front of me, is my Goddess Actress, one of my favorites in all the world, and I am watching her fucking NAIL this part. She disappeared into the role, this was not the Cate show. It was Williams's show. And that's what I loved.
I spent almost an hour online buying these tickets in August. It was so frustrating, but it ended up being the best birthday presents ever (thanks dad). Saw this show the day before my 23rd with some of the best ladies in my life: Amy Jacobs, Emilie Fagot, Kathleen Mason, Sarah Hart and Emilie's mom Miz Liz. Kathleen drove Em, Sarah and I, we met Miz Liz there and Amy took the metro in since she had to go to work immediately after the show. My ticket was almost $80!
I don't want realism, I want magic!!
--
August: Osage County
by Tracy Letts
directed by Anna Shapiro at The Kennedy Center
Wow. This production fucking blew my mind. Both times I saw it. I love family dramas, you know the ones where shit his the fan. Yeah, those. I can relate to those. I have a lot of fun with those. This was my kind of play.
Such a well-written machine. Fabulously acted. Estelle Parsons, who I loved in the show ROSEANNE, was absolutely ridiculous. Played this part with such ferocious honesty and hilarity. There was nothing frou-frou or ultra-conceptual with this show-- it's language and it's issues were raw and gripping and so close to real life. And all the interwoven storylines corkscrew around and around which left me literally on the edge of my seat, gasping loudly in shock, awe and surprise and blurting out enormous guffaws. The experience of this show was what got my goats going. A really REALLY good soap opera!!
The actress who played Barbara had some serious pipes. Fat aunt Mae was great, too. There were certain points when, upon reflection, I wondered why Mr. Letts didn't go deeper and there were certain, very brief, moments in Shapiro's staging that confused me. But regardless I thought his use of TS Eliot was a brillant metaphor and her execution of this family meltdown completely fabulous. This play, along with STREETCAR, inspires more and more of my playwright side. I know I've got quite a family drama play in my system just waiting to come out. I can't wait to write it one day and contriubte to this canon. Saying it now: 5 years tops, we'll see a movie version hit theatres. I hope they get the casting right. HA! Just checked IMDb and there's one already in development. 2011 they're saying.... i knew it!!
Saw this show twice! First was exactly one week after STREETCAR and on their opening at the Kennedy Center. We joined the Attend program and got great ticket deals. I went with Patrick Magill, Aaron Fisher and Ariana Hodes. The second time was much later in mid December with Leslie. I had to bring Leslie on the 2nd go of this show because I just knew she would understand the dynamics of this play like I did-- and we could laugh and experience it together. Both times my ticket was under $25!
Ivy: HIS NAME IS CHARLES! SHUT UP! (slams plate on the floor)
Barbara: (quick beat) Oh, so we're breaking stuff now are we? (breaks plate, breaks plate)
Violet smashes her plate too.
--
Too Much Light Makes The Baby Go Blind: 30 Plays in 60 Minutes
by the Neo-Futurists
at the Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company 
Completley inventive. I've never seen anything like it before. 30 short plays done in 60 minutes-- some very short, some longer, some movement-based, some beautiful poetry, some invovled audience interaction, some singing, some painting, some was clown/mime based, some were hilarious and some were sad. This was just one of the most exciting 60 minutes of theatre I've ever experienced. So much laughter and heart rolled up within the hour, it left my creative soul feeling very lifted.
Less is more, truly, with this production. Seeing this show grounded me a bit. My four other top productions of the year were very, very big theatrical experiences. Amazing, but huge. This was intimate, vulnerable and yet probably the most theatrical. It grounded me in the sense that smaller techniques of storytelling shouldn't be neglected, ever. They are just as powerful. And it got me thinking outside the box, as a storyteller/aspiring theatre creator/artist.
And the group of Neo-Futurtists, 5 of them at Woolly, all write and direct and perform their own pieces. I love this ensemble-based work. Each of them were reallly engaged with the audience at Woolly. I got to meet one of them after the show and they bought the entire audience a pizza! I'm going to be watching out for their work, and others like it. I really want to incorporate some of their techinques somewhere somehow into my aesthetic.
Saw this show once, on their PWYC night at Woolly-- their first performance of the run. Saw it with Kelly Hennessy and Patrick Magill. I remember Kelly and I had a great day. Met her at the mall, bought her a new coat at Macys. Taco Bell, McDonalds. Drove to Woolly via 66 messed us up, took forever to get there, but we talked up a storm on the way there. Met Patrick, waited in line forever, but ended up with the best seats. Patrick and other peeps saw it again a few nights later but I couldn't go cause I was having a fab happy hour with some ladies from Special Counsel. Ticket was free!!
JT: And when he takes my hand. He is a bouquet of balloons on a string in the woods floating untangled through each tree limb. There is no soundtrack playing, only breath. No bread crumbs leading back home. Only breath. And when I say “he” I mean “us”. Because he makes me feel like I’m the one that is floating. Like I’m the miracle.
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