Donate!

Right now, without giving it a ton of thought, you should go the website of your favorite small theater company and give a donation of $25.

It will take you exactly 10 minutes. Just do that instead buying more stuff on Amazon today.

You'll feel good, they'll appreciate it and use it right away.

How about Nosedive?

Or Blue Coyote?

Dear President Bush

Hi. We're the US Department of Education. We've been following this Wall Street Crisis closely and we really hope you work it all out up there. Wow, ya know? It's scary. Instead of having no money and expansive regulations (like we have), they had tons of money and almost no regulations. Our heart goes out to them.

Anyway, we know it's off the subject, but we were reading through the proposed budget for the Department of Education for FY 2009. We have to admit, we were surprised to read this:

"For 2009, the President is requesting $59.2 billion in discretionary appropriations for the Department of Education, the same as the 2008 level, and an increase of $17.0 billion, or 40 percent, in discretionary appropriations for the Department since fiscal year 2001."

That's great. It really is. We're facing a serious crisis in education, though, and its our hope that the government will come up with a great bipartisan solution to solve our problems, and to go after the root cause of the issues we have.

We propose that the federal government reduce the risk posed by troubled schools and supply urgently needed money so teachers and students can avoid collapse and resume learning.

Would you mind borrowing $700 billion from China to help increase teacher salaries and save our failing system? It's important that our kids we remain competitive in the global market.

Thanks so much!

Holy. F*cking. Shit.

Stumping Palin appears to be like shooting fish in a barrel.

Onion-Worthy

Cover the masthead and imagine that this was written by The Onion.

Games

I have, of late, been consuming a whole lot of video games. I got myself a PS3 a few months ago, and now I've been challenging my girlfriend's patience as I use the Force, steal cars and try to overtake the Earth.

For those who like this sort of thing, a rundown of my latest video game consumption:

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots - This is why I bought my PS3 to begin with. For those who don't know, the Metal Gear series is primarily about stealth. It's also known for an impossible-to-follow storyline, grandiose set pieces, endless cinematic screens that you simply watch, and incredibly smart mission design.

This one was all I'd hoped for. Brilliant missions, heightened game mechanics, and its easily the best-looking game I've ever played. Octo-Camo is the coolest game device I've ever seen. The storyline, about a future driven by a military economy waged by private corporations, is quite engaging.

Still, Metal Gear Solid 3: Sneak Eater is the best of the series. This one is amazing, but it has no boss battles that match the ultimate battle with "The Boss" at the end of MGS3 or the two-hour Sniper Battle with "The End."

Grand Theft Auto IV - Yes, I'm working my way through it. I'm about 50% complete.

The game is famous for replicating NYC and the boroughs. It does an amazing job. I will say that actually living in NYC is an odd trick of scale: the game feels smaller than its predecessors, partially because I can see how much smaller it is than NYC. Nonetheless, it gets a whole lot right.

It's got the typically action packed mission design and an improved "cover" system that works beautifully. It's also got foul-mouthed stereotypes. What's new is an absolutely bleak tale, and a lead character that the game in no way glorifies. Niko Bellic (who you control in the game) is a nihilistic murderer who is deeply ashamed of his behavior. It's the oddest juxtaposition I've ever seen in an action game, and you can feel terrible things coming for the people he loves. It creates the oddest effect: every times you successfully complete a mission for some mob boss or drug dealer, there's a sense that you've just moved a little closer to sealing your fate.

Video games as tragedy? Why not?

Virtua Fighter 5 - Best fighting game ever made.

Soul Calibur 4 - Not the best fighting game ever made. It does, though, have online multiplayer, which Virtua Fighter sorely lacks. It's character design is famously insane, as well, and it features Darth Vader. So I certainly enjoy it. Plus, it's a game Pam happily plays with me.

Maybe she beat me once or twice.

Civilization Revolution - This is a version of Civilization made for consoles. It has a new cartoonish visual style and simplified gameplay. You can bang through a victory in an couple of hours. Those who are fans of the PC Civ games know that you can spend a few hours fiddling with the taxes in those versions.

I've played this game a fair amount. Once you get the mechanics down, its sort of repetitive, but so are board games. I do get a kick out of achieving cultural victory. It's my way.

The Force Unleashed - This is the newest Star Wars title, clearly fashioned after the God of War series. It's hero, Starkiller, is Darth Vader's "Secret Apprentice." The story line, which is not that bad so far, takes place between Episode III and the original Star Wars.

How is it? A lot of the basic ideas are fantastic and it's a blast to use the force to toss stuff around, tear open doors, kill Stormtroopers and battle the last of the Jedi. The problem is that the game mechanics are a little bit broken: there are plenty of times when simple things are made complicated by loose controls or a wonky camera. I'm not sure, but I think I've almost completed the game as well...and I've barely been playing it for 10 hours. That's not a LOT of game for $60.

Spore - I just picked this up yesterday for PC. It's the new Will Wright (The Sims) game, and it was much ballyhooed before its release. So far (and I've only gotten to the tip of the iceberg) the game is fantastic. Easy to play, but smartly constructed. You begin the game as a single celled organism, and slowly evolve legs, then tribal behavior, then a civilization, and finally space travel. There's free sharing of content among players, so the creatures, buildings and vehicles you create become a part of the larger Spore universe. All in all, I'm incredibly happy with it from the few hours I played yesterday.

There's been some contraversy about the DRM that EA is using for the game. Frankly, this argument would be more persuasive if so many people weren't stealing content as often as they are. I didn't have a big problem with it, and I don't love the software registration process, but its hard to take consumers seriously who take to the streets about the hoops they have to jump through, who clearly are happily using Bit Torrent in the next breath.

Below is an image of one of my first Spore Creations. It's called a Brox.



____

Now that I've gotten that off my chest, back to our regularly scheduled programming.

New Yorkers--looking for housing?

Hello, friends. Trumbull here, hijacking Freeman's blog again for my own evil schemes. I am looking for a roommate for October 1st, for my apartment in Astoria, Queens. If you know anyone who might be interested, send a note to that Freeman kid through this blog, and I will get in touch.
Here is the skinny:

Location: The apartment is on 37th Street, between 30th Ave and 28th Ave in Astoria.

Subway/Bus: The N train at 30th Ave is a 7 minute walk away. Also within walking distance--10 minutes--is the R/V/G stop at Steinway Street. 5 minutes away is the M60 bus on Astoria Blvd, which is handy for getting to LaGuardia Airport, Harlem, and Columbia University.

Your Rent: $840 a month, $840 security deposit. I'm on a lease through December 2009.

The apartment has two cats and is smoke-free, but it needs you.  Real, real soon.

And now, back to Matt Freeman.  

--Trumbull

antimetabole

On "On the Media" this week, they discuss the rhetorical device of Antimetabole.

Examples of this device include:

- Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.

- We wanted to change Washington, but Washington changed us.

- Some people use change to promote their careers, some people use their careers to promote change.

Quite effective and ubiquitous. I definitely recommend listening to the segment on OTM, which is my favorite show on WNYC.

Got me thinking about how this device might be utterly misused.

For example...

- Some offer hope and change; others offer change to the hopeless.

- Religion will not be your whipping boy; religion whips boys for you!

- Some say crime doesn't pay; I say: "Pay me for my crimes."

- My opponent claims to love America; but I love America's claims.

- Wall Street hasn't fallen apart; a part of the Wall has fallen on the Street.

This is a fun game. You can play too! My comments section is for thee. Misuse this rhetorical device! For fun! And profit! (Well, not profit...)

Albatross!

Slacker Uprising

I downloaded and watched Michael Moore's free "movie" Slacker Uprising late last night. I'm a huge fan of his films, his voice, and I was excited to check this out.

My honest response is that it's a concert film dedicated to Moore and his fans. It's subject is Moore: his efforts to defeat Bush in 2004 and drive up voter registration among the, at the time, disengaged youth vote. We all know how well that turned out. There's not much presented that isn't either irrelevant in 2008, or a little unfortunately telling about the efforts being made. To combat the Rove smear campaign against Kerry, Democrats offered... Eddie Vedder? Rosanne Barr? Steve Earle?

If anything, it's a historical document that, yes, there were people fighting against Bush before his election in 2004. And that no, Kerry's loss to Bush was not a foregone conclusion. But the movie is more related to "The Big One" than "Bowling for Columbine," and its clear why it wasn't released theatrically.

I prefer Moore's ability to cut through the bullshit and make a salient and entertaining point about hot button issues. This film seems more like nostalgia.

Still, though, you should download it, if only to enjoy a little "preaching to the choir" and to encourage more releases of work this way.

Here's where to sign up for download.

In the Great Expanse of Space... Reaction

Before heading out for the weekend, Blue Coyote Theater Group was kind enough to host a reading of my new piece, entitled In the Great Expanse of Space there is nothing to see but More, More, More. Now that I've had a few days to sit with it, and process the responses I received, I thought it might be worthwhile to discuss it all a bit in this forum. It seems like there's some interest in hearing more, and maybe discussing it.

The play is in five parts, and features seven actresses. The first part features four voices (A-D) repeating several themes and occasionally breaking into monologue. The second part features another performer (E) onstage alone, listening to her own voice played over speakers, and occasionally echoing key phrases. The third portion features three voices (E-G), who repeat themes from the earlier pieces, this time primarily simultaneously, with various light accents or breaks. The fourth part features B, C, and F sitting alone onstage in silence for five minutes. The final and fifth part, features a reprise of the text from part one, with slight derivations, this time with all seven performers.

Some of the central text of the piece came from audio recordings I mixed with my own voice at home, a few years ago. I linked to those recordings on this blog at the time, for those with long memories. I'll see if I can do that again, if people are curious to hear them.

The themes of the piece linked to the phrase "I am ready to have cancer." Some of the links were loose, some very clear. The effect I'm after is essentially musical, but I'm doing this essentially by instinct... I've got very little in the way of formal musical training. I play a couple of musical instruments with mild proficiency, and that's the extent of it.

A typical pattern of the text would be:

A

She tells me I have cancer and in this way I start to count my blessings. Cancer is quiet. I am ready to have it. Cancer is something to do. I am ready to have cancer.

C

There is a hole in my body that makes noise.

B

She tells me I have cancer and I believe her.

D

I was full but now I’m empty.

A

I make a joke. What do you have for the plague? Everyone laughs.

B

The hollow

C

The husk

D

The hollow

A

The husk

B

The hollow. The hole. The hollow. The hollow. The hole. The hollow. The hole.

D

I am ready to have cancer.

This isn't a narrative piece and I spent far more time trying to create variations in the patterns presented than finding character. This makes the distinctiveness of each voice paramount. Not that each performer should treat themselves like a separate character, but to present their parts with a distinctive sound. Much in the way that a violin and cello might play the same theme to different effect.

The phrase,

A

The hole. The hole. The whole. The hole. The whole. The hole. The hole. The hollow. The hollow. The hole. The hollow.

Is spoken throughout the play. It's a repetition itself, and I believe this is repeated in excess of ten times. My hope was to allow an audience to move past their initial response to repetition and silence, and begin to listen for accents and differences. I hope that the difference between hearing "B" and "F" read the same monologue, for example, would pop out to an audience member. My hope would be that hearing "Someday, I will be looking into a bathroom mirror" at the beginning of the piece and later hearing "Someday, I will be looking into a bathroom mirror, eyes open" near the end would cause a tuned in listener to take note.

For example, late in the first piece, that same text becomes:

D

The hole. The hole. The hollow. The hole. The husk. The husk. The host. The host. The hollow. The host. The hole. The ghost.

The responses to the piece were pretty uniform in their either confusion towards or rejection of what I'd presented. Obviously, that's a risk you take when you try something new. I can't say it was personally very easy to hear the reactions, but I think at this point, there are a few things I've heard that will help to strengthen it.

What are some of the responses?

I was told that there was some effective writing in the piece that seemed muddied by the form.

I was told that it made people want to run out of the room.

I was told that I should focus more on plays that were more like my short pieces, which tend to be funny crowd pleasers, and that I shouldn't really waste my time with this sort of thing. That when I overthink, I move away from what I do well.

I was asked what if I had "heard what I wanted to hear."

I was told that the piece might be more effective with more to "see." That simply watching an extended poem that repeats itself needs some visual flair or actors engaged to make it tolerable or bring out the meaning. Or, well, impose some meaning.

I was told that hearing anything 10 - 15 times is simply not pleasant for the audience, no matter which way you slice it.

I was challenged on the subject matter: if I'd never personally had a cancer scare, and if it wasn't something I personally felt a deep connection to, why write about it? Now, my grandmother died of lung cancer, I've been an on-and-off smoker, etc. But it's fair to say that cancer is a theme that hits home with a lot of people and writing about it in terms of "turns of phrase" can seem cold. Replace cancer with AIDs and the whole piece could come off as sophomoric and/or insensitive.

I had a friend say he found the piece hateful and agressive, as if I was being cruel to the audience on purpose. Certainly not my intention!

So, as you can see, not the easiest responses to hear I can't say that I didn't take it too personally at times, or that I didn't feel angry in private moments. That's, I think, pretty natural.

There are other creative artists who may read this, here's how I'm essentially responding to this in a way I feel could be constructive. Nothing too carefully thought out, some some thoughts.

- I think it's worthwhile to accept that the play has flaws and that I certainly heard them too. And that trying something for the first time is an exercise in seeing what works and what doesn't work. That's obvious, but it always bears repeating. I had hopes that this would soar, and it crashed a bit. All that means is: back to work.

- If I want an audience to seek and enjoy the musicality of the language, I have to respond to the question of narrative. Because of the choice to present the play with women's voices, and because there is some cohesion in the themes, it's only human to seek out the thought processes and storyline within. The idea that this piece is a mediation on a woman discovering she has cancer is something that organically grew out of the themes I was presenting. I can either let that be true purposefully, or remove that if I don't want that to distract from other effects. I don't feel inclined to back away from what the text seems to make reference to, I just need to balance my other intentions against how seductive narrative can be.

- The final piece is too long and doesn't present anything distinct or revelatory. By presenting text that is essentially the same as the first piece, simply with more voices, I don't take advantage of the opportunity to reach a crescendo or use the many, many more sounds available to me.

- I think five minutes of silence was too little. I loved watching that. There are people that didn't. That's one place that I have to stick to what I love to watch, and hope others find a way to see what I do.

- The next edit has to more actively use repeated phrases as a tool to produce a specific effect, as opposed to just repetition as an end onto itself.

- Add a little more fresh text to the later pieces, instead of relying so much on the older text being heard in new ways. As of now, its hard to expect spoken voices to carry the burden of freshening the repeated phrases.

- Think about the presentation. It was suggested that I might want to put an audience in the center of a stage and put the actors in places surrounding them, so that when the text comes from a different place, it does some very actively. The reading had seven actresses lined up on stage, focused on their books. That creates a static experience, certainly, and there was ways to ease up on that without undermining the piece by adding unneccessary visuals that would lessen the impact of the words.

- Accept that, no matter how I adjust the piece, there are certain tastes that just won't enjoy this sort of thing.

- The piece runs one hour and twenty minutes. Personally, I think that's not too long. But if the piece were to remain in its current form, it would have to be cut down by at least twenty minutes, it seems. If I made adjustments where some fresh text and something more expansive closed out the piece, I could probably justify the extra time. I'm sure there are people who heard it that would argue that 45 minutes is probably about as long as it should be. I'm not sure about that, but I figure its worth trying ways to keep it at length and MAKE it effective, as opposed to simply cutting to make it digestible. Part of what I'm after is to create something that does demand an active listener with a lot of patience, and rewards that patience with something beautiful. To reduce the intensity level too much is to surrender my original intention entirely.

----

There are a few scattered thoughts for public consumption. Much more to say about it. If you have questions or comments, it'd be fun to have an open discussion about my creative process with this piece.

David and Erica are married

Hooray!

Going to the chapel

I'm heading upstate to attend David DelGrosso and Erica Staufenberg's wedding.

Don't wait up!

I can't help it...

Scott posts some thoughts about Ayn Rand today.

What do YOU think?

Suffice to say...

...I've had easier nights, as a playwright, than last night. Everyone involved worked hard, including the audience. I'm glad I did it, and we'll see what there is to draw from it in the long run. Feedback ranged from the polite, to the careful, to the particularly harsh.

Thanks for everyone who came last night, to Kyle for putting the reading together, and the actresses who did an amazing job working with the text.

Reading Tonight at 8pm

Tonight there's a reading of my new piece In the Great Expanse of Space there is nothing to see but More, More, More at 8pm. It's presented as a part of the Blue Coyote Reading Series.

Location:
Access Gallery
380 Broadway, 4th Floor
Corner of Broadway and White below Canal Street

Information is here. You should RSVP.

The actors are...

Christine Whitley
Laura Balmer
McKenna Kerrigan
Kina Bermudez
Jessi Gotta
Samantha Desz
Jennifer Bishop

I'm excited to hear it, and I hope you'll take a little time to come and hear it tonight.

Speed Racer

Speed Racer is out on DVD as of yesterday. Guess what? I think this movie was unfairly dismissed by critics and ignored by audiences. It's got a lot going on, its tone is the wackness, and its visually absolutely absurd.

You should check it out.

Burn After Reading

Checked out this new Coen Brother's flick after reading a few lukewarm responses (Isaac's for example.)

My take: Burn After Reading fits perfectly into this era of American political thought. We're in a time of real consequence, marked by deeply inconsequential thought. In the midst of massive American decline, we're obsessed with what the word "pig" means. In a time when foreign policy is at its most complex and challenging, we're watching a Vice Presidential candidate struggle to keep up with a news reporter. At at time when Wall Street is in turmoil, we're discussing whether or not Rachel Maddow can be the left's Rush Limbaugh.

So it is perfect that the entire plot of Burn After Reading is about a group of selfish, small-minded, nitwits who believe that their actions and behavior are of great importance. What makes it all the more wonderfully terrifying is that the actions of these semi-aware fools have very real, very violent consequences, due almost entirely to negligence.

At the center of the action is Linda Litzke (played by Frances McDormand) who works at Hardbodies Fitness Center. She trolls the internet for dates, and is flummoxed when she finds that her expensive tummy tucks and liposuction procedures aren't covered by her health insurance. What does she want? Money for cosmetic surgery. How will she get it? A combination blackmail, hit-and-runs, break-ins, threats and even going to the Russians. All the while, she demands a "can-do" spirit. People like her, want to make her happy...who cares if her plan makes absolutely no sense?

The movie exists in a world when a positive attitude and a desire to "get what you want" trumps all other important considerations, including logic. If that's not the Bush legacy in a nutshell, I don't know what is.

Tony Kushner receives $200,000 award for playwriting

Seems this prize was given to Kushner to establish the prize and make headlines, more than to award someone who is currently primarily writing plays. The article says as much and Kushner seems to say that as well. All the sentiment is right here, and the idea of an award of this size being out there is fantastic. But aren't there playwrights struggling to make ends meet that would make good use of these funds to immediately write plays?

The amount of the award itself is newsworthy, but the last theatrical output from Kushner that I'm aware of was an adaptation of Mother Courage two years ago. Before then it was a short piece in 2003. Angels in America is 16 years old. I've got nothing against Kushner, of course, who has made significant contributions to not only playwriting, but in bringing American playwrights into the national consciousness. Still, though, this seems as relevant as giving a major award to David Mamet.

Is this meant to encourage Kushner to come back to the stage?

What about Tracy Letts? Or Suzan Lori-Parks? Or Theresa Rebeck? Or Adam Bock? Or any number of writers that could use and deserve a major award to move past the 'emerging' moniker? The list of writers who have current output on major stages is substantial. The list of writers that could be established by this kind of award is even longer.

Palin: "I refuse to be held accountable [by Barack Obama]"

Sarah Palin is refusing to cooperate with an investigation into her activities as Governor.

Why is this happening? Barack Obama, of course. He must be MAKING her get investigated and FORCING her to refuse to act in a manner becoming a public official.

Yeah. That's it.

Laura Axelrod on Money and the Arts

Despite the unnecessarily exasperated tone of the post, I think this is an excellent point.

The fact of the matter is, some of the most untouchable financial institutions in the country are in serious jeopardy. Lehman is filing for bankruptcy. Merrill Lynch is being sold to Bank of America. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are being taken over by the government. AIG is seeking a loan from the Federal Reserve.

How is this going to affect the arts? Here's some potential problems I can see. But it's something we should all be talking about.

One quick example is your day job. If you've got one, you're probably wondering how this will affect you. I know mine has to do with planned giving and investments. Which means we're directly affected by the markets. I'm also vested in our retirement plan, and that's, of course, invested.

I've got friends employed by hedge funds and other financial institutions. I'm sure they're reading the papers.

But even if you don't work directly in a market driven field, the ripple affect will hit you. When the middle class has less free income, restaurants suffer, retail suffers, the prices at the pump and at the grocery store will go up. Thousands are going to lose their jobs.

All this is happening as arts organizations struggle for a tiny piece of a tinier pie.

If you're an artist in NYC, you know how carefully you need to live in order to keep afloat here. But artists outside of NYC are likely in the housing market and drive more often. I'm sure they're not having an easy time of it.

So... what are you fearing and seeing as the economic staggers? How will it affect the arts? And what can we do about it?

Palin's Performance on ABC

There's some debate in my household as to whether her not Palin's clearly weak performance during her interview with Charles Gibson will affect the race at all. Will moderates get swayed by her not knowing what the Bush Doctrine is, or is this all just going to go over the heads of people who tune into politics more casually?

I think the look on Gibson's face during the interview sort of does all the work.

What's up on the writing front?

For those who are keeping some sort of track of my output:

- Wrote a couple of one-page plays for the upcoming one-minute play festival. More details about all that when I have them. I initially thought that writing a one-page play would not be my cup of tea, but I'm actually sort of happy with both of them. They're called Last Words and Carbon Footprint.

- I've started working on a new comedy, which is called The Bull Crime, about a pharmaceutical company that discovers an incredibly beautiful fish that could be harvested for medical purposes.

- Of course there's the reading of In The Great Expanse of Space there is nothing to see but More, More, More, which is happening next Wednesday. Do come.

I plan on writing a lot about the text of that piece after the reading. But I don't want to write too much about it beforehand, and color the opinions of those who do see it. Either way, it's a very different piece for me and I'm excited to see how it will be received.

I am...

...not feeling particularly well today. We took our good friend David DelGrosso out for a Bachelor Party and we plied him, and ourselves, with too much liquor.

It was wonderful.

I say hear, hear

To Josh Marshall's suggestion that Democrats own this symbol for the McCain-Palin ticket, I say "hear, hear."

The ad would be airing...

Take a look at the fine print of this article on CNN, and you'll see a real problem.

This ad was released to the press, apparently, but has yet to run in any markets and there have been no ad buys. Which means the way it is reaching the voting public as is a news story.

The news media is treating John McCain's attack ads as news.

Why not let McCain do his own work and spread his lies himself? They're not news. They're political advertisements.

Theresa Rebeck speaks to Gender Bias...

On this blog posting at the Guardian.

Sort of hard to deny that the numbers show that, at least in terms of which playwrights are being presented on major stages, New York is male dominated, but I'm not sure what the cure to this problem is other than raising awareness.

I would have to add that the idea that what goes on Broadway or even Off-Broadway is some sort of meritocracy is highly questionable anyhow. It's not really about who is writing good plays, its about whose plays are getting chosen and why. That's my assumption anyway. There may be an unconscious male bias in the decision making...but from where does that bias spring?

Any thoughts on this? I'd love to hear them.

Congratulations!

To Pam, for her great piece on MSN!

Remember when I said I thought John McCain was honorable?

I take it back. Case in point, the ad below. Anyone who would run this ad has no respect for his opponent, the truth, and the American public.

For those who need one, a fact check is here.

I dunno...

I sorta like a little contempt in my theater. Makes the heart grow fonder.

Update: A response to this post, and the referenced review, from Scott Walters.

McCain is "Like Jack Bauer"

Noted in this NY Times Blog, from an interview with Marie Claire.

Oh... dear.

He does duck the "torture" question, with his trademark lack of artfulness.

Palin's Gender Gap

Apparently, men like Palin more than women.

Men also like hockey more than women, I'd bet. Perhaps we should make hockey the Vice President and make hockey Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces.

Hendrik Hertzberg on the Convention Speeches

I love Hertzberg.

With the selection of Sarah Palin, McCain completes the job of defusing the enmity (and forgoing the honor) he earned in 2000, when he condemned Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell as “agents of intolerance.” His motives in choosing her were entirely tactical and mostly—the mot juste is that of Mike Murphy, once McCain’s top political aide, overheard by an errant microphone—cynical. Besides placating the right, those motives included the short-term goal of preëmpting the weekend news cycles that might otherwise have been devoted to reviewing Obama’s triumphant Democratic Convention. The price that McCain paid, and that could sooner or later be exacted from the nation, was the abandonment of what he had repeatedly called his overriding requirement for a Vice-President: someone who would be ready to take his place at a moment’s notice—“you know, immediately.”

Read it all at the New Yorker.

Must-Read from Amy Goodman

Read this. It's important.

via Mark.

McCain's speech

Complaining about the public schools and the teachers? Ouch. Demanding drilling? Awful. Saying "Fight with me! Fight with me!" seemed ill-timed after 5 years of a disastrous war.

I genuinely believe McCain is wrong-headed politically; but I also believe that he wants to do things right and believes in bipartisanship. History has passed him by and swallowed him up. He's finally become his party's nominee near the end of his life, at a time when cosmic justice is raining down hard on the Republicans, and he's facing a historically significant and phenomenally talented opponent to boot.

Positively Shakespearean how McCain's ambitions have been continually thwarted by the evils and failings of George W. Bush. Bush used Rovian tactics to dismantle McCain in 2000; and now McCain is having to run in opposition to his own party's record because of Bush's incompetence.

High taxes and government spending are no longer the major problems Americans face: instead, it's the climate crisis, the energy crisis, the cost of living, competition overseas, constitutional law, and restoring our moral authority. The idea that McCain is "stuck in the past" isn't just empty rhetoric...it's a fact. The man doesn't seem to have real solutions to the country's problems now.

Voting "Present"

Obama voted "present" in the Illinois State Senate nearly 130 times, according to the New York Times.

He cast more than 4,000 votes.

And to be a total jerk...

What's with the names of her kids?

...Track?

Some thoughts regarding last night's RNC speeches

- "Drill Baby Drill", as a populist chant, shows just how bizarre that the Republicans can be. They might as well have chanted "Kill Our Selves!" or "Big Oil Now!" That's how absurd it was.

- Sarah Palin was perfectly effective at portraying a regular, down-to-earth, don't mess with a Mom, kinda lady. The speech, especially with the expectations game, was solid in that the Republican base loved it. Problem is: she's running to be a heartbeat away being leader of the free world. That's the scary part. The Democrats are going to have to handle her carefully.

- As a person who has a brother with special needs in his family, I was unpersuaded by her dedication to the cause. I think "small government" politicians won't do much for my brother, who relies heavily of a disastrous health care/insurance system and underfunded social programs.

- Guiliani's speech: blah, blah, blah liberals! blah, blah, blah, terrorists! blah, blah, blah rinse and repeat.

- The Republicans attacked the work of community organizers this week. I found that revolting. Community organizers do work that actively involves bringing people together and getting them united behind their own self-interest. They do so on a small, person-to-person scale, often is communities that have real challenges. It's cynical to attack the validity of that kind of work.

On second thought, I can see why they'd attack this. Republicans bring people together in order to unite them against their own self interests. See: Drill Baby Drill.

- Last night, it was a character attack. Where were the attacks on real, substantive policy? To me, that's perfectly fair game: offer an alternative. I didn't hear any honest statements about Obama's tax policy (he would lower taxes on everyone but the wealthiest Americans); no detailed criticism of his health care plan; nothing.

- Where are the McCain PROPOSALS? Still, last night, there was not a word on what the McCain/Palin duo would do positively for Americans. They promised to drill and "win the War" and "lower taxes" (even though McCain's plan directly contradicts this) and build pipelines and "keep us safe." It was general and muddy. They're running on a platform of "not Obama."

- Palin said nothing about the social ideas she'd actually promote (abstinence education, anti-abortion, reduced funding to social programs) if she was in office. Because it would scare the shit out of people.

Thoughts on RNC speeches last night

To sum up:

John McCain will be President of the United States...in the past!

RSVP for In The Great Expanse Reading

Details are here to RSVP for the 9/17 reading of In The Great Expanse of Space there is nothing to see but More, More, More.

No Surprises

One thing that has characterized the campaign for President, from the hotly contested primaries to right now, is the utter predictability of it all. There have been a few small hiccups (the Palin pick, Gustav, Fred Thompson) but for the most part, what seemed likely to happen from early in the campaign has borne itself out. It makes it all the more frustrating as the press fumbles for false drama in an era of 24 hour news cycles.

During the race between Obama and Clinton, things became pretty obvious after Iowa. Obama's victory in Iowa was the longshot. After that, pundits quickly said "It's likely Obama will win these States and Clinton will win these States." It all came down precisely as it was laid out way back in February. By hanging in with Clinton on February 5th (remember Super Duper Tuesday?) Obama opened up a lead that most of the press predicted; and Clinton never recovered. Even as she ran hard towards the finish line, her chances of winning the nomination were based, mostly, on mistakes Obama never made. He won the nomination months and months ago.

Even the "scandals" were predictable. The Rezko thing never really became news to anyone but insiders. The Jeremiah Wright thing was predicted to come up as early as Iowa. Clinton's attacks (and McCain's) were predictable, and the only reasonable arguments to make against Obama. Obama won the old fashioned way; by the numbers. It's been historic; but the results of the race up to now were not in real question. They were reported dramatically. There's a big difference.

Watching the DNC was another example. The false drama of the Clinton's hijacking Obama was never a real possibility and the mock-surprise that the way the Clintons handled themselves was pure fabrication. The Clintons both gave conventionally excellent speeches that sounded remarkably like all their other speeches. Obama knocked it out the of the park because that's what the man does at a podium. He's done it time and time again.

Now there's a false drama about the outcome. Progressives, gun shy from years of getting kicked around, are being hornswoggled by reports that the polls are close. In reality, Obama has been leading McCain in the polls for a long time, and the electoral map favors him in no uncertain terms. That's not to say surprises do not appear...anything is possible. But what's probable? Not a McCain victory.

McCain won because his competitors in the Republican field were weak or idiotic. Guiliani committed political suicide by campaigning only in Florida. Mitt Romney ran an awful self-funded race. Thompson was a flash-in-the-pan. Huckabee didn't have the political machinery to seal the deal. Ron Paul was never in the running.

Now, a shadow of the man McCain used to be is running uphill against a phenomenal candidate who has, let's face it, made almost no major mistakes.

Obama ran against and beat the Clintons. No small feat. He's made reasonable appeals to the middle without seeming too politically opportunistic. He addressed questions of race in a mature manner befitting a President. He made a smart VP choice. He's gracefully handled sticky nuanced issues. He's run against charges of being too inexperienced, too black, not black enough, and too popular. Again and again, he's come through. When the press was ready to write him off as unable to attack, he walked out in front of a crowd of 75,000 people and eviscerated McCain. He's performed under pressure, and still come off seeming (at the very least) like a loving father and good husband.

Despite all this, because of what happened to John Kerry and Al Gore, and because we're terrified that racism will beat Obama in the end; Democrats that I listen to are always saying "But the polls are close!" They're not. We're in the lead. I know it's hard to take or believe; but we are.

I'm not advocating resting our our laurels or not working hard to seal the deal. And I could still be disappointed. But let's face the facts, not the media generated fears. This has played out predictably from the start. If McCain wins, it will be a surprise. If anything, with the Palin choice, he's made it that much harder for himself and probably alienated Clinton voters more than he had before.

Let's turn our attention to winning, not staving off defeat, for once.

Obama's Response to the Palin's Daughter Dust-Up

John McCain chooses a right-wing, barely known Governor as his running mate and it appears to all sane human beings he did so because this Governor is a woman. Then, she has like 53 scandals appear at once, one of which being this oddly personal story about her 17 year old daughter being pregnant.

How does Barack Obama respond? Like some Aaron Sorkin fantasy Presidential candidate, that's how:

"Let me be a clear as possible: I have said before and I will repeat again, I think people's families are off limits, and people's children are especially off limits. This shouldn't be part of our politics. It has no relevance to Gov. Palin's performance as governor, or her potential performance as a vice president.

"And so I would strongly urge people to back off these kinds of stories. You know my mother had me when she was 18, and how a family deals with issues and, you know, teenage children, that shouldn't be the topic of our politics and I hope that anybody who is supporting me understands that's off limits."

via Salon.

David is Looking for Wedding Reading Suggestions

Hello, a David D. Guest Post here, as I reach out to you fine people on the Internets for help.

I am looking for suggestions of secular wedding readings from poetry, prose or drama. Something beyond Sonnet 116 (and, hey, nothing wrong with that one, I just worry many of our guests will have heard it at a few too many true-minded weddings already).

Thanks in advance for any help or leads you can provide.

- David D.

Barack Obama's Acceptance Speech

The man said "abortion" aloud in a major speech, in front of millions, without suddenly bursting into flames, proving it can be done. That's just one of the 2 million things that speech did right. 

On a side note: McCain makes yet another play for Clinton voters with his VP pick, proving he does not have voters of his own to which he might appeal. 

First African-American Major Party Nominee for US President

Lucky to be alive at this time moment.

Theatre related post?

Well, I've posted a lot of generic thoughts about politics and a few tidbits about movies lately. So what gives, Freeman? Where are the theatre-related posts?

I've had my head down most of the summer. When is a Clock closed in May, and I proceeded to mail the script all over the place and work on my new play. My day job got busier due to a rate change (very uninteresting) and then there were a few jaunts out of town. I reviewed a show at the Fringe (which is the moral obligation of all of us it seems) and this weekend I'm off to Minnesota to see family and also catch up with the newly exported Adam and Kristen.

But, as with all cycles, I'm feeling rested and getting my groove back. Next month In the Great Expanse of Space there is nothing to see but More, More, More will have a public reading, and we'll see how it is received. It might be one of the least burdened moments of my writing career: I don't feel the weight of expectations or the desire for this play to accomplish anything. I just want it to exist and it does.

I'm wondering if that means I've wandered into a complicated trap, or if I've figured something out. Maybe there's a fine line between those two things.

Maybe I'm driving the car, maybe I'm tied up in the trunk.

Either way, more to come. And soon.

James Comtois meets Stephen King

This is going to be a lot of fun! Blood Brothers: The Master of Horror!

For anyone who hasn't seen it

via TPM

The AP versus Obama-Biden

Obama has chosen Joe Biden as his running mate.

Obama's biggest criticism is that he's inexperienced. He goes with a man who has boatloads of foreign policy experience as his VP choice. What happens? The AP calls it a "lack of confidence."

I don't know, but if there's anything we've seen from Obama, it's confidence. To me, the Biden choice shows that he understands the importance of a more robust ticket than simply that of "change." Change is inherent in Obama; foreign policy experience isn't.

If there's anything I hear from Obama's detractors (not his supporters) its that he is inspiring, has soaring rhetoric, but they're afraid his lack of experience will mean he can't close the deal on his promises. The choice of Biden should relax some of those doubts: he's been in public life for years, he understands the ins-and-outs of the Senate, he's got credentials, and he's going to make an excellent attack dog. (See his Guiliani withering performances in the debates.)

The willingness of Obama to add a voice that augments his own, as opposed to mirrors his own, is a sign of an intelligent executive.

Let's be honest: people who already like Obama are going to vote for him. Heck, even Democrats, liberals and progressives who are so-so on him are unlikely to vote for McCain. People who are legitimately on the fence, though, need to see people like Biden near Obama in order to feel more comfortable with him, especially as rhetoric against Russia heats up. If Obama has an "Appalachia problem," Biden will help there too, as a native Pennsylvanian and Senator from Delaware.

Ron Fournier is in the tank for McCain.

For example:

Obama Walks Arrogance Line
Obama Presidency a "stretch" for voters
Obama a Courageous Leader?

Of course, Fournier isn't just some reporter. He's the AP Washington Bureau Chief.

One who thinks Karl Rove should "keep up the fight."

Mark Your Calendars

We are going to have a public reading of my new play In the Great Expanse of Space there is nothing to see but More, More, More next month: Wednesday September 17th.

More details as I have them. Excited about it. Keep the night free.

Polling

So apparently in various polls, McCain is pulling ahead or closer to Obama.

In conversation with a friend yesterday, I was reminded that polling is done primarily by telephone and primarily to listed numbers. Meaning landlines. Meaning those who primarily use cell phones are not polled. Which means, of course, that Obama supporters are unlikely to be polled and that the results are going to lean towards an older set.

Has anyone else heard this?

Now, obviously older voters are considered more "likely" voters anyhow. And the idea that Obama (being a man named Obama, young and black) could ever really be considered a 'frontrunner' in America is a bit of a fantasy. But with so much in his favor, and a new wave of voters coming his way, I think any panic about the polling is a bit overstated.

Maybe, just maybe, it'll be good for Obama to be seen as fighting for it.

Kudos to nytheatre.com

Once again to nytheatre.com for another year of posting reviews of all the shows in the Fringe Festival. As of this writing, they are only 14 shows away from reviewing every single show for yet another year.

It's something that deserves a round of applause every year. And yes, I did review a show this year. See if you can find mine!

How to Handle a Playwright (Director's Edition)

After reading Isaac posting about Horton Foote and how to handle the text; it behooves me to bemuse you by ruminating on the nature of the handling of wordplay. Or words in plays. Or a play on words. Horton Foote need not be heeded. The man wrote the screenplay for To Kill A Mockingbird. It was nothing like the book.

Here are excerpts from my upcoming tome...

HOW TO HANDLE A PLAYWRIGHT (Director's Edition)

You've poured over hundreds off scripts. You've read each sentence with a care that you do not give to your own lover's body. You understand the interlocking structure of each narrative. You have fed on the imagination of other artists. You are a director, and after years of intensive and careful search, you have finally found a new, wonderful, but inevitably flawed script. The writer of this script is alive, which causes you consternation. How to speak to this misanthropic bull? How to draw out the best impulses of a charlatan who stumbled upon an acceptable narrative purely by chance?

A few simple rules.

REFER ONLY THE "TEXT"

When a playwright is sitting across from you, cross-eyed and drooling, grateful to be even spoken to by a competent professional who actually uses three-ring binders, it is important to frame the discussion in advantageous terms. Do not refer to the play. Refer to the "text." The playwright should not be given the false assumption that they have created anything more than the words. Words are nothing. They are just the bones on which to hang the glorious meat of blocking and sound effects. Worse, they have given the actors reason to speak. For this, if nothing else, they should be struck with copies of The Empty Space.

Someday, at last, we will be able to call them "textwrights."

REMEMBER THAT THE THEATRE IS A COLLABORATIVE PROCESS FOR THE PLAYWRIGHT

The playwright should be often reminded, sometimes with subliminal suggestions placed in iPods, that the theater is 'collaborative.' By spending hours alone in front of a computer, or with a legal pad, or at a bar with a fucking quill, they have missed the point entirely. A play is not a "text" but a serious of often circular conversations from a variety of points of view. The text must be passed through several hands, given careful consideration, a fresh look, an outside perspective. The playwright hands over this warm, fresh "text." It is best served cold, like vichyssoise.

This does not apply when you, as the director, stand in front of the room and speak on the meaning of the play; and the design; and the precious, beautiful, handcrafted, organic blocking. That is law, you whores! Law. You actually went to school for this! After you're done filling their heads with wisdom, the animals can collaborate in the confines of their cages!

THE PLAYWRIGHT IS LUCKY TO HAVE YOU

Really, you could have chosen any play. They should be washing your car just for giving them notes. If you wanted five playwrights to form a couch with their bodies so you could watch a DVD, goddamn it, they'd better get to it. Otherwise, how are they ever going to know how to fix the second act?


COMPLIMENT PARTS OF, BUT NOT THE ENTIRE, PLAY

At times, a well-meaning textwriter may show up, hair mussed, clothes on backwards, and want to speak to you about the 'merits' of what they have bothered to cook up from leftovers. To make this simper heartworm leave your sight, compliment some small part of what he or she has written. Do not speak well of the script in general, because it will make this lucky jerk feel entitled. Acceptable phrases include:

"I like this speech. It really tells us what the character wants."
"This whole section really works."
"At least it ends on a high note."
"One thing I like about your writing is that you know where to put an Act Break."
"I noticed how they repeat themselves. Good work."

WHEN A LINE NEEDS TO BE CHANGED...

Do not ask the playwright what the line means. He or she will babble forth some self-justifying nonsense you already don't agree with.

Do not ask a rhetorical question. You will receive a blank stare.

Do not firmly say that the line must be changed for the integrity of the piece. Integrity is a word like "unquestionably;" it means its exact opposite immediately.

Do not ask the playwright to think up something new if they'd like or to maybe reconsider the line. Playwrights are lazy and some don't even have both legs. They will forget and then where will you be? Nowhere, that's where.

Do not challenge the playwright's understanding of his or her own work. That is like challenging an orange to juice itself.

Do...change it yourself. Simple. The playwright not notice unless you call attention to it. Playwrights are all high, drunk or blind.

_____

I am grateful that listened to me. God knows I don't deserve it.

Looking for an apartment on September 1st in Queens?

This blog's friend Matthew Trumbull is seeking a roommate. $900 a month, huge room, in Astoria near the 30th Ave N Train and Steinway. September 1st. E-mail me if you want more info. mattfr - at - gmail.com

Clone Wars

Well.

I saw it.

I look forward to seeing it on TV. Which is clearly where it was meant to be.

I liked the art direction. I liked a couple of moments. I think the love story between Anakin and Padme has so far worked far better in the original Clone Wars cartoon and its small reference in this film. I like the idea of the clones as individual characters with different jobs a whole lot. I liked the vertical battle. I think that it's possible they could tease out a good serialized cartoon episodic TV show out of it.

There are, though, some pretty big problems with the plot they chose to hang the fight scenes on (Jabba the Hutt's son?). And there's no "new" information here. It's just "the further adventures of characters whose fate you already know and have known since 1983." It's also animated in a way that would be fine on TV, but with things like Wall-E out there, it looks a little inexpensive and rushed. Plus the lightsaber duels, once the highlight of the movies, seem really shoehorned in here and they never seem to have much at stake.

So.

The movie is an ad for the series. Hopefully, the series will create an identity all its own.

Back from Maine

I would like to tell the Comtois family that I love Blueberry Beer now.

Gone Fishin'

It's August. I've been pretty inconsistently blogging. Inconsistently doing most things.

Pam and I saw Bob Dylan in Prospect Park this week. We had lawn seats, but a friend of hers from work just happens to be a famous Dylan archivist, and he walked up to us online and handed us center right reserve seats. One of the luckiest things that ever happened to me. Hell yes it was great.

For the next few days, I'll be camping in Maine. I will be seeing The Clone Wars when I get back.

Until then...go! Fight! WIN!

Dear Russia

We never really got to invade you during the 80s. We don't want to miss another opportunity. Plus, you are attacking white people and not Africans, so it's easy to commit troops.

World War III or bust!

- W.

Congratulations to Tony Simotes!

For this review!

Tony directed me in Richard III (along with Matt Trumbull and David DelGrosso, in the Murderers Scene) and The Resistable Rise of Arturo Ui when I was at Emerson. Wonderful to see his direction (and all of Shakespeare & Company!) receiving such high praise.

How depressing is...

This?

Question

I would assume that the RSC's Hamlet, featuring too rather large stars, has benefited in every way from the publicity. I'm sure the fans are also a nuisance. But is this ban too much, or a necessary evil?

Did I mention...?

That I DID see the X-Files movie?

It was as if someone from 1996 sent a movie to the future.

What once mattered...

I would like to list a few things you actually might have cared about five minutes ago.

1. Fred Thompson
2. The Sex and the City Movie
3. Hillary Clinton versus Barack Obama
4. Valerie Plame
5. The Final Episode of the Sopranos

Now...what do you give a shit about right now?

Take a breath.

Bluebeard, Privacy and Politics

I've been working, for a year or so now, on a play adaptation of Bluebeard. It works in fits and starts, and I'm buckling down lately to try to complete a second draft. The first was, shall we say, unsuccessful.

For those unfamiliar with the basics of the story:

A young woman is married to Bluebeard. He is mysterious, ugly, wealthy. Upon her arrival, she is told that he will be going away on business. He gives her the run of the house, and tells her that she may go anywhere except beyond a single room in his house. This room is locked behind a red door. Then, he gives her the key to the room, and leaves. Her curiosity gets the better of her, and she opens it, to find the murdered bodies of his seven previous wives.

There are varied versions of how she escapes.

The images in the story are dreamlike and potent. It's cautionary. Or a story to scare children. Or a lesson about marriage. Or a way to discuss sexuality and violence. Or all of the above.

Privacy is clearly an important question here. Certainly, she discovers that he is a monster. As, its implied, they all did. But what was the transgression of the first wife? Should we think of curiosity as a transgression? Is he testing? Or simply psychopathic? But, if you step back from the literal translation of the events, you find simply that he asked her not to look in one place, and it is there that she discovers the very worst of him. Isn't that her right? Or is it a way to say: "Leave certain things alone?"

Privacy, in the age of social networking, blogging, and search engines that maintain profiles of your e-mail content and search habits, has come under serious attack. Even using blogspot (a Google product) as I am now, I also use gmail. Which means that, essentially, Google has easy access to all sort of information about me. That which I share publicly, and that which I don't. Then there's myspace, Facebook. We increasingly surrender our privacy, and live in a world where we expect to be monitored. And we are. And we monitor each other.

It bleeds into our own behavior, and into the behavior of our public servants. Think about Barack Obama and John McCain. As they are increasingly in the public eye, they are doing so in an era where public access to them is unprecedented. The result is they become less and less human, more stage managed. Where is the place for a politician to publicly muse? To ask a rhetorical question? To speak extemporaneously? It would be foolhardy for them to do so, of course. They would be crucified by our increasing propensity for and acceptance of 24 hour a day coverage.

It seems worthy to ask: how precious is your privacy? Are we too quick to surrender it? And if we cannot remove the technology that permits the 24 hour a day monitoring of citizens of all types...do we not have an obligation to act with our own privacy in mind? And with a careful eye on the privacy of others? Just because an employer can find out all about you with a single keystroke, does not make it ethical behavior. Do we need new laws to control this type of thing? Or is it, simply, too late in the game?

So...how is your relationship with privacy these days? I'd love to hear some thoughts on that issue, as its become a bit of a theme in the new play.

Plays you have never read or seen

There's been a meme going around the internet about famous books you have never read. It's supposed to be catharsis for all of us that never got to the end of Moby Dick or just looked at Gravity's Rainbow and said "Yeah, right."

So...theater mavens... which famous or oft-discussed plays have you never seen? Never read? Someone more industrious than me will type up a list. But heck, I'm not industrious. Never have been. I'm just a guitar player.

I'll say that I did not see and did not read any of The Coast of Utopia. I have also never read A View from a Bridge. Or Speed-the-Plow. To name a few.

The shame.

And you?

Apartment?

If anyone's looking for a Brooklyn apartment, there's a room for rent in Kensington (Church Ave F Train Stop) for $740 I've got the news on. Drop me a line if you want some details for yourself or a friend.

Great post at Mirror Up To Nature

About morality and its place in arts criticism. Definitely give it a read.

Scott has linked to it as well.

I think Art certainly is right to note the whiff of sulfur when powerful critics allow their own umbrage to affect a review. Then again, shouldn't we admit that we're all human. Is there such a thing at leaving your soul at the door when you review a play? Should you ever WANT that sort of critic to show up? Who wears a thin mask of pure objectivity? Like art is an equation with a single solution?

Today

My job fails to entertain me. It is the last week in July. Center of the summer. Quiet. Lazy.

I'm working on a grant. I should be done with it by now, but I am not.

Question for you: Is there a well-known play that you really, really don't like? That you think is either overrated, offensive or dull? For example: I don't like Ah, Wilderness! It blows.

Boomerang's As You Like It--Pick of the Week!

Trumbull, here.  Just wanted to share that my little gig got nytheatre.com's Pick Of The Week.   Shakespeare's As You Like It, presented by the Boomerang Theatre Company in Central Park.

Free.

Less than two hours.  

2 PM showtimes Saturday and Sunday, through August 10th.  That's four more chances to see, for those of you keeping score at home.

Directions.

Bring a chair or blanket.  Make it a lovely day in park.  It's got a great cast.  

--Matthew Trumbull

Politico grabs important interview

What's Up Doc?

Can't get a ticket to the Dark Knight?

Go see Hellboy II. It's just beautiful to look at and is a ton of fun.

del Toro is making "The Hobbit." After seeing Hellboy II...I'm signed up. Perfect.

Boomerang's As You Like It

Great review of Boomerang's outdoor As You Like It, directed by Matt Johnston and featuring our good friend Matt Trumbull.

The Fringe Approaches

Know of a Fringe Festival show that you are excited about? One that you would like to recommend? One that you would like to pitch?

My comments section is your playground.

The League of Independent Theater goes online

The League of Independent Theater's website is up, listing core membership, goals, linking to their articles of incorporations, and offering a membership application.

This is exciting stuff, evolving out of the Art NY white paper on AEA Showcase Reform and the movement to rebrand Off-Off Broadway the "Indie Theatre" scene.

Take a look at this Playgoer post from 2006 (whoa, has it been that long) about some of the roots of this project.

I also love that the Showcase Code is a small part of their overall focus, which is primarily about presenting 99 seat and below theater as an economic force in the city, worthy of advocacy and institutional support.

I certainly encourage everyone to check it out, check out the membership application, and think about ways you can support these efforts. This sort of project always works best when those being advocated for, being advocates themselves.

Dear Ron Paul Supporters...

This was not an attempt to assassinate your leader.

Please do not call in to every radio talk show on the planet earth about it.

That is all.

Important Topic!

How are you feeling about the X-Files movie?

I mean, seriously... there's an X-Files movie. Coming out. On Friday.

The Associated Press versus Obama

Just after the very big news (despite its massive underreporting) that al-Maliki endorses Obama's plan for withdrawal, the AP publishes this non-story more prominently.

Obviously, the AP has been McCain's base (his words) for some time...but this is an odd play. This is stuff of international importance. To seek out an opposing quote before adequately reporting the topic at hand can only been seen as an editorial decision to undercut Obama.

UPDATE:

Another example of a take on Obama (this time from McClatchy) that reaches desperately to show dissension in generally closing ranks. I've heard little but admiration from progressives for Obama's statements and smart outflanking of McCain during his Mideast trip. But if you were to read this, you'd think the left is split down the middle on him, up in arms.

The Dark Knight

Just got home from a midnight showing of The Dark Knight.

Yes, it is that good.

The Wire not nominated for an Emmy Award

Which shows us...that the awards...mean...nothing.

Yes? Yes.

Question: Economic Issues

How do you think the current economic climate is affecting/will affect your work as an artist or your work in the arts? How do you think it might affect theaters nationally?

Summer Theater Article on MSN

I've written a brief (and assuredly incomplete) general interest piece for MSN about Summer Theater Festivals. Take a look.

Food Chatter

I need to get a few utterly unreasonable things off my chest:

I want to be put to death when I read some foodstuff referred called "kissed." As in "Sugar Kissed Butterscotch Cookies" or "Orange Kissed Fillet of Sole" or "Nutmeg Kissed Cream Tart."

I despise such dainty idiocy. Nutmeg kisses nothing. Is there nutmeg on the damn cream tart? How about calling it a nutmeg cream tart. Or just stop talking and give me the cream tart. The discussion is pointless.

I also find it infuriating when the word "fresh" is used with an upturned nose. "We only use fresh basil." This word too often betrays a sort of snobbery, i.e. "Perhaps those tomatoes are good enough for the peasants, but we only eat fresh tomatoes here." Asking if the pie is "fresh" is bullshit. It's pie. You like pie? Eat the pie.

That is not to say one cannot enjoy fresh fish. Just don't make a goddamn issue of your refined taste and freshness radar in public. Eating an orange should not be an re-enactment of The Princess and the Pea. A day old orange didn't kill your grandmother.

And finally, when you call wine "jammy" you are a tool. Everyone around you thinks so. Unless they, too, are tools. I have called wine "jammy" in weak moments. In those moments, I was a tool. Complete and utter.

That is all.

In the Great Expanse of Space there is nothing to see but More, More, More

Working on a new play called In the Great Expanse of Space there is nothing to see but More, More, More. It's right now, in five parts.

Here's a tiny bit of it:

"Osteoporosis. Brain hemorrhage. Nausea. Kleptomania. Trichotillomania. Psychosomatic. Sonar. Shrapnel just behind the eye. Kidney stones. Choking hazard. Still life. “It” girl. Bulimia. Crusty morning eyes. Acid Reflux. Wasting disease. Malaria. Athlete’s Foot. Freckles. Forgone Conclusions. Contusions. Lesions. Wetworks. Carpet cleaners. Carcinogens. Iron. Lead. Lycanthrope. Consumption. Tuberculosis. Platelets. Hemoglobin. Hobgoblin. Everlasting Gobstoppers. Heart Attack. Barbed wire. Knuckle sandwich. Off-kilter. Cypress. Eye jelly. Cortex. Corporate standards. Miscellanea. Inkwell. Bottoms up. Blood work. Stiff joints. Gelatin. Deafness. Barbiturates. Melatonin. Marrow."

Grow up

I definitely appreciate the sentiment of this essay on TPM.

For those that are feeling blue

Perk up!

Freeman Family Reunion

Went up to Old Saybrook this weekend to a family reunion at my second cousin Nancy Smith's home. Met a large Scottish contingency, another cousin whose husband teaches at Cambridge, all sorts of amazing types...including my musician cousin Chris Freeman, whose stuff can be heard on his Myspace page.

His latest CD is called "The Robins Eat Like Me Now." Which is what makes us, truly, family.

Unicorn vs. Narwhal

With Magical Battle Horns!

Phantasmaphile and Mr. Freeman presented me with gifts last night at Metrocafe, where they treated me to a "flight" sampling of French white wine.  Phantasmaphile presented me with the above...we actually had a unicorn vs. narwhal Gchat debate before she discovered this item in a store.  Mr. Freeman presented a gift, on behalf of himself and David D., that also went straight to my heart--a renewal of my Wildlife Conservation Society membership, allowing me +1 free admission to The Bronx, Queens, Central Park, and Prospect Park zoos, and the New York Aquarium.

Let it be known that this blog is run by thoughtful and treasurable fellows who made my birthday fantastic. My army of narwhals is at their command.  Whales of danger--Salute!

Matthew Trumbull

Actor/Gadfly Matthew Trumbull is 32 Today.

I am glad that we live in modern times, ones in which he would not already be "dead of a draft" or something like that at his age.

Also, I would like to note that, as he is 32, you could fit the lives of 4 8-year olds in him.

In fact, their names are Wendy, Tyler, John and Jon.

-- David D.

Wait! Stop the war!

The missiles are fake! The missiles are fake!

Or one of them is fake.

The Escalation is Fake!

Dear David H. Koch

Dear Mr. David H. Koch:

Thank you for giving $100 million to The New York State Theater.

Blue Coyote Theater Group would gladly accept a mere $100,000.00.

We'll even make it easy. You can donate here.

Then, we'll send you a T-Shirt for Free!

Thank you in advance. We're huge fans!

Links updated

Just a quick note that I've updated my links to nytheatrecast podcasts (including an interview with Matthew Trumbull from earlier this year) and they're working now. I've also added (h/t Superfluities) a link to American Theater Web.

The AP finds a poll that McCain WINS!

People with PETS will make McCain the PRESIDENT!

What the fuck is this horseshit?

How Theater Failed to Fail Failure

Or something like that. Good reading to be found below.

American Theatre and Mike Daisey hash it out in public.

h/t Leonard and Adam.

Soho Rep's US Premiere of Blasted by Sarah Kane

You know this was coming...

Kris Vire in Chicago has asked if the Soho Rep's production of "Blasted" can be honestly called the US Premiere.

The NY Times has reported it as such. As has the Soho Rep's website.

I'm inclined to give everyone the benefit of the doubt. Could this be its first "professional, equity, full-scale, open-ended" US production? Could this be a version of the play previously unperformed? Did Soho Rep not nail down a proper Google search?

We'll see. Won't we.

Anyone have any thoughts to contribute?

UPDATE: Kris Vire's done some more digging and found that there have been amendments all around. The New York Premiere of Blasted is what Soho Rep is now, accurately, promoting. As with all things, seems like this was just crossed wires and miscommunication. Move along. Nothing to see here.

Wait... what's..."YouTube?"

Martin Denton is helping New York's Independent Theatre scene catch up with the rest of the world again, this time by providing a hub for Indie Theatre Media.

The Road

I am the last of your friends to have read "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy. I finished it last night, just before I fell asleep, after a rainy night of fireworks.

Before I finished it, a few days before, I said to my father on the phone: "Have you read 'The Road'?" He said "Yes. Are you reading it?" And I said "Yes." And it seemed that we were both excited to discuss it when I was finished with it.

My father is 65 and has six children, the youngest of which is 14. I don't know if I can talk to him about this book without crying a whole lot.

Recommended: The Flat Earth

This show was recommended to me by a colleague and I pass that recommendation along to you, dear readers and friends.

Collective: Unconscious to Close Its Doors for Good?

In a press release, I just received this information:

"When the lease on its Tribeca home expires on July 31, 2008, Collective: Unconscious will close its doors for good. This decision comes on the heels of a massive plumbing problem that has rendered its lower level "lobby" and backstage storage area unusable and has forced much of its previously announced UNDERGROUNDZERO FESTIVAL to seek new venues."

Anyone out there have more info about this?

Daydream - Children's Shakespeare in Prospect Park

If you're a parent with a love of Shakespeare (or a non-parent who babysits, or works as a Nanny) or just a Shakespeare fan who likes being outside...might I recommend Daydream? This adaptation of A Midsummer Night's Dream is for children preschool and up, and it plays in Prospect Park through July 20th (Saturdays at 11 am and Sundays at 3pm.)

Directed by Rohana Elias-Reyes and featuring a fantastic cast (including two Gorilla Rep veterans), singing, a welcoming atmosphere and puppets, Daydream is pretty much perfect for parents whose eyes are on good summer activities and meeting other families with similar cultural interests. It's also, for non-parents, a pretty good way to go out and play in the Park on a Saturday morning or Sunday afternoon.

Details are here!

Inside the Actor's Studio with...Hellboy

Congratulations to Adam and Kristen!

Love to you both! Congratulations!