Pre-Order When is a Clock

While When is a Clock is in the midst of being proofed and all that jazz, it's live on Samuel French for pre-order.

Wouldn't you like to pre-order a copy?

It's good karma.

Clinton as Secretary of State

It seems as if Hillary Clinton will accept the role of Secretary of State for the Obama Administration (that still has a nice ring to it). My view on this appointment, should it be finalized, is that it's a bold choice, a brave choice, and a risky move. Obama may simply be following the lead of Abraham Lincoln in keeping his rivals close. But having Clinton in a role that's this visible, in the age of 24 hour cable news and YouTube, begs an almost constant stream of behind-the-scenes stories about personality struggles and Clinton-era triangulation.

That concern might add up to a hill of beans (no pun intended): Obama has proven adept at managing the media, and Clinton is certainly experienced enough and capable enough to do a good job. But her foreign policy stances are one of the things that soured me to her as a candidate. She's surprisingly hawkish; or at least made great efforts to appear so in the campaign.

As Secretary of State, she'll be a member of a team, and the manager of a State Department that is in desperate need of repair. I'm curious if she can be the manager to put the State Department back together, and if she can truly bring her own team in line with a vision that she is simply carrying out, not spearheading.

Charitable Contribution?

There was a recent podcast on nytheatre.com, hosted by Leonard Jacobs, about performance space from various perspectives. It's an insightful discussion. Near the end, the question of charitable contributions is floated.

The question is essentially: would the donation of a lease or space from a landlord to a theater company be viewed as a charitable contribution... and would the provide the landlord with a charitable deduction?

The discussion there asks the question in a wholesale way. I might wonder aloud, though, if there could be a financial mechanism created (or if one already exists) that wouldn't force landlords to relinquish their space entirely a single time to trigger a charitable event.

My day job is working with split interest agreements. Pooled Income Funds, Charitable Gift Annuities and Charitable Remainder Trusts. These are ways in which a donor can donate their money or securities, see some continuous income, a positive taxable event, and also be generous. So bear with me as I sort of generally muse.

If a donor created a gift annuity with, say, the organization I work with, they would get a fixed annuity rate for their life-time, based on their age, and the amount of the gift. If a single donor at age 65 created a CGA with $10,000, they'd receive a 5.7% annuity rate, or $570 annually. They would also be able to claim a deduction of around 50% of the value of the gift, as half of the value of the gift is charitable, and the other half is a benefit to them.

These mechanisms, often regulated like insurance, exist to create incentives to give. If theater, and the arts, is going to see a reduction in direct giving and corporate sponsorship, perhaps similar incentives could be created for landlords and/or renters.

For example, what if a theater owner or operator could donate half of the rental agreement to a producing theater company, effectively cutting the rental costs in half and then claiming the rest of the value of the rental as a tax deduction. That would mean landlords receive guaranteed write-offs, and companies have reduced bills. It would also reduce stress on landlords: even a deadbeat company that had trouble paying wouldn't be a serious problem, as half the value of the rental would be made up in a tax deduction regardless.

What's more, the value of the rental would not be the actual value the space at which the space was rented, but an appraised value of the rental space based on the market. Essentially, their are art appraisers and appraisers of home values: people whose job it is to assess the value of an asset. Rental space, in New York City, is an asset. So... what if a qualified outside appraiser would have to be employed to set a value on the rental space. That way, a company could write off the appraised value of half the rental, even if they discounted the other half for a theater company they believed in. It would work like this:

The appraised rental value of a space: $2000 a week
Donated amount: $1000
Rental price: $1000
Discounted price to the producer's favorite theater company: $800

Which means that even with a discount, the producer would be guaranteed the full other half of the appraised value. In effect, it would create an incentive to rent space inexpensively, effectively a backdoor donation to theater companies by the government, instead of direct grants and subsidies. It would be more useful, because it would affect everyone, instead of the lucky few with the capability to do extensive grantwriting.

Obviously, this doesn't exist. But at some point, neither did many charitable financial incentives.

Suffice to say, there are likely tons of problems with the wisp of smoke "what if" that I'm describing. But isn't it about time that theater caught up with the sophistication of other industries, when it comes to lobbying for tax incentives and its own economic health?

Wait...do we have lobbyists for theater as an industry at the state and federal level? Who can push for this kind of tax legislation? Who can argue for it?

If not...why not?

Over at Device

"11. Is There an Ethics of Comedy? In the Way That There Is an Ethics of Tragedy?

I had a dream last night in which I was giving a radio address on the ethics of comedy. What did I say? I cannot remember."

Find other similar bits of precious whimsy here.

OOB Venues Study Published

The New York Innovate Theater Foundation has completed a five-year study of Off Off Broadway venues. It's fantastic to see efforts being made to show the real, not anecdotal, behavior of Off-Off Broadway.

You can read the report here.

Some of the highlights:

• Over 25% of OOB venues in both the West Village and Midtown area have either been demolished or repurposed into non-performance spaces in the last 5 years
• 43% of all OOB venues are located in the West Side Midtown area of Manhattan
• There has been a sharp decline in the number of OOB productions presenting work in the Theatre District
• The East Village, which only accounts for 14% of the overall OOB venues, is currently presenting 30% of the OOB productions.

Quotes from the press release:

"The rate of the erosion of our stages is alarming. Over the last 5 years, we have lost 26% of the Off-Off-Broadway stages in the Midtown area. We have watched a steady decline in the number of productions that are taking place in the "theatre district." Even more disturbing is the fact that of the 30 Off-Off-Broadway houses in the Greenwich Village area, over 25% have already been lost and with the displacement of the theatres from the Archive Building, that percentage increases to 40%" said Shay Gines, Executive Director, New York Innovative Theatre Foundation.

"The research and information contained in this report not only substantiate the numbers needed to help effectively advocate for public policy change as it relates to small non-profit theatre in New York City, but it also creates a clear barometer of the passion and fiery commitment it takes to simply exist in the Off-Off-Broadway world." - David M. Pincus, Chairman, Theater Task Force, Community Board 4

__

A few things stick out to me.

The first is the localization of Off-Off Broadway around Midtown West. I think a shorthand that I use, and I've heard used, to describe Off-Off is "downtown" theater. Suffice to say, that's got to be revised.

The second is a list of now-defunct Off-Off Broadway spaces.

29th Street Theatre
78th Street Theatre Lab, 2nd floor (scheduled to close in 2009)
78th Street Theatre Lab, 3rd floor
Actors Playhouse
Bowerie Lane Theatre
Chelsea Repertory Company
Collective Unconscious
Creative Place Theatre
Culture Project
Douglas Fairbanks Theatre
Emerging Artists Theatre
Flatiron Theatre (where Blue Coyote Theater Group produced my play The Great Escape, on a personal note)
Greenwich Street Theatre
Grove Street Playhouse
Hinton Battle Dance Laboratory
Intar Theatre
John Houseman - Theatre 1 - OB space
John Houseman - Theatre 2
John Houseman - Theatre 3
Jose Quintero
Michael Weller Theatre
Nat Horne Theatre
New Perspectives Theatre
Oasis Theatre
Pelican Theatre
Perry Street Theatre
Provincetown Playhouse
Sanford Meisner Theatre
Show World Theatre
Studio Dante
The Tank on 42nd Street
Theatre 5
Trilogy Theatre
Village Gate Theatre
Vital Children's Theatre
Where Eagles Dare

And here are, according to the report, theatres currently in danger of eviction

Epiphany Theatre
Interborough Repertory Theater
The Wings Theatre
Theatre for a New Audience - OB space
13th Street Repertory Theatre

Quite a list. That's 36 closed Off Off Broadway venues.

It's also noteworthy to see that 84% of producing companies that responded to the survey note that they "Rent Various Locations" for their performances. 5% of producers responding claimed a permanent home. It shows how rental prices directly affect the community at large, and how the economics of rent are simply a central factor of what is produced Off-Off Broadway.

What do you see in this report? What alarms you? And, more than that, how can we use this information to make a positive change in Off-Off Broadway, and the New York Theater scene as a whole? If you're not from NYC, what here speaks to you from the perspective of your own locale? Are you seeing theater's close?

Let's also remember this: this report was done over the last 5 years. The economy is in dire straits right now. If this has been what's been happening for half a decade, what can we expect under far worse financial conditions?

Waxman!

This is good news.

Over at Phantasmaphile

My cooler-than-a-new-bike girlfriend Pam has a fantastic interview with artist Thomas Woodruff on her blog today.

Question

Would it be fair to call those who opposed Jim Crow laws "intolerant" of white racists?

It's a strange world where those who oppose the codifying of bigotry are called McCarthy-ists.

Is marriage a complex question? No, actually, it isn't. Those who try to parse civil unions and marriages are simply engaging in sleight of hand - the end result of that argument is always the same. The truth is, marriage is a right, same-sex couples should have it, and anything less is prejudicial.

If you disagree with that view...well, you're wrong, but you're welcome to disagree. If you publicly support the financing of a Proposition that would force your prejudicial views on others, you have opened yourself up for public scrutiny.

If you feel persecuted: good. Maybe that will teach you not to take the persecution of others so lightly.

Question for you

What's got into you today?

Yes, I mean you.

I think this

...is really cool.

Chicago Theater Database.

h/t Art

A dirty joke

WARNING: Childish, dirty humor and foul language to follow. For those bored at work, early, on a Wednesday.

A kid walks into a whorehouse dragging a dead frog on a string.

The guy at the front desk says: "Hey kid, what are you doing here?"

The kid looks up and says, "I want a whore."

The guy at the front desk looks at the kid, and his dead frog, and says, "You're, what, 8? No way."

The kid hands the guy a credit card and says, "I want a whore."

The guy at the front desk says, "I think we can arrange something" and takes the card. He turns to run the card through his makeshift credit card machine.

The kids says, "What a minute. I want a whore with syphilis."

The guy at the front desk stops, turns around, and says "We don't let professional woman like ours work if they're... sick. Only clean girls around here."

The kid takes his credit card back, and puts down a gold card. He smiles and says, "With syphilis."

"I'll get Wanda," says the guy at the front desk.

Not long after, the kid is led into a private room. He enters, dragging the dead frog on a string. Awaiting him is Wanda, syphilitic whore.

Ten minutes later, the kid walks out of the room, dragging the dead frog on a string, nods to the guy at the front desk, and heads for the door.

The guy at the front desk can't stand it anymore. "Hey, kid! I have to know. Why are you, at your age, in a whorehouse? Why did you want a whore with syphilis? And why, for fuck's sake, are you dragging that dead frog on a string?"

The kid says,"Ok, here's the deal. I've got syphilis now. I'm going to go home and do my babysitter. She'll get it. Then, my Dad'll drive her home, and he'll do her, and he'll get it. Then, he'll do my Mom, and she'll get it. And she'll do the milkman, and... that's the bastard who KILLED MY FROG!"

Perspective

To quote a recent article in the NY Times...

On a smaller stage and with a smaller budget, some nonprofit theaters face similar problems. “These are very challenging times, as difficult as we’ve faced in 40 or 50 years,” said Roche Schulfer, executive director of the Goodman Theater in Chicago. “I’m concerned about institutional funding from corporations and foundations. Over the next couple of years we’ll have to figure out ways to do as much with less, doing smaller productions, for example.”

Well... I guess the Goodman counts as smaller than, say, Radio City Music Hall. But the Goodman's balance sheet showed net assets of just under $52 million in their August 2007 annual report. Now, I'm sure that a fair amount of that is property, that their investments aren't performing very well right now, and that corporate sponsors (like American Airlines, Sarah Lee, Kraft Foods and Target) may cut back considerably on contributions. The Goodman, as with many other large non-profits, is about to go through a tough period.

But to speak of the Goodman as if its a relatively small house is bizarre. It's an institution that's been in existence since 1922. It's a minor quibble with the phrasing, maybe, but it belies blinders about how the majority of theater is made in the US, and under what conditions. Most companies margin of error, financially, is razor thin. I'm hoping we don't see a massive bloodletting as endowments die and corporate sponsors disappear.

To the Goodman, it'll mean fewer and smaller plays. To some companies, like Milwaukee Shakespeare, it will mean the end.

The article also notes that some producers see a possiblity of a creative boom. It's comforting to know that when there's less money to be made, and less security, the producers finally turn to risk. You'd think it would be the other way around. I, for one, am not holding my breath for a large scale festival of emerging works to appear on commerical stages once all the corporate sponsors disappear.

Tonight - Revamped

I'll have short piece in tonight's Vampire Cowboy's event Revamped. The theme is 70s Soul.

Should be a fine time. No plans on a Monday? Drop by.

Here are the details.

Tonight at 8:30pm / HERE Arts Center. Tickets are $25.

Non-religious arguments

Just a quick thought:

Isaac posted this provocative question:

What are the non-religious arguments against gay marriage?

It's a fair question, and one worth considering. Here's one you might not have asked yourself lately, though...

What are the religious arguments in favor of gay marriage?

How about a little wisdom from Bishop Gene Robinson:

"When I first started my ministry, divorced people were not welcome at Communion and, if they got remarried, they could not receive the church's blessing. Now, neither of these things is the case.

"Jesus, out of his own mouth, says remarriage is adultery and yet the Church has determined in its own wisdom and by the lead of the spirit that God's leading us to a new place.

"It raises what I think is the real issue here. Did God stop revealing himself at the end of the first century, when the scripture was closed, or did God, as Jesus said he would, send his holy spirit to lead us into truth?"

The fact is, we tend to treat religious arguments as either unwinnable or unworthy of engagement. (That's not what Isaac's doing, by the way, he's simply looking outside the traditional boundaries of the argument.) But I do think that religious thought is not monolithic, and religious thought that praises bigotry is fringe thought, and should be treated as such.

What I don't know

Tony's discussion made me think a bit about what I know, and what I don't, about content and writing.

___

I do not know if you should begin with a character, or if you should begin with a premise.

I do not know if you should write from a political point of view, or if you should work from a place of ambiguity.

I do not know if you should toss out structure, or if you should choose a structure and slavishly serve it.

I do not know if you should try to ape your heroes, or eradicate them.

I do not know if you should use intermissions, or if you should avoid them.

I do not know if you should write within the context of your peers, or focus on your audience, or imagine an audience, or write as if only you exist.

I do not know if you should create a collage, plan out your play ahead of time, or write off the top of your head.

I couldn't tell you if you should revise ruthlessly, or embrace your messes.

I can't tell if you should work within the frame of genre, or fight it.

I don't know if I would recommend swordfights, a kitchen table, or white robes.

I have no idea if it is harder to be funny or serious.

I don't know if fundamentalism is an absolute evil.

If there are only so many stories to tell, I can't imagine which ones you should be writing.

I don't know how to make a novel into a play, a play into a novel, or to pull a novel out of a play, or put a play into a novel.

I can't tell the difference between a poem and a "language play."

I have no recommendations to make about faith.

I can't tell the difference between David Mamet and David Mamet.

I don't know how to stage Ibsen anymore.

I can't tell you how much school is too much school.

I don't know your motivations; I don't know my motivations.

I don't know if epic plays are better than one-acts.

I don't have any beliefs about tragedy.

I cannot speak to my own experience, because I do not understand myself. And I don't understand your experiences either.

I don't know if you should tell the truth, or lie.

I do not know if I prefer Jung or Freud.

I cannot attest to the importance of songs.

I don't have a rule about sex and violence on-stage.

I don't know the monologue to scene ratio that makes a play work.

I don't have any idea how to achieve the theatrical experiences that I imagined existed when I first fell in love with the theater.

I don't know what you imagined, or what you do imagine.

I cannot interpret dreams accurately.

I don't know how long a play should be.

I don't know how not to repeat myself; but I can't write the same play twice.

I cannot endorse autobiography.

I write what I don't know. I don't know if you should write what you don't know, or do know, or make things up that no one knows.

We won this frickin' thing

I would like to direct your attention to this essay at the Huffington Post, written just after the Republican National Convention, by Adam McKay. Just because it makes me feel smug.

Great post over at Storefront Rebellion

Taking up Tony Adam's charge about content.

"Tonight, for the second year in a row, I took in the WTA's Actors' Scene Showcase, in which a bunch of actors, most fresh out of undergrad or grad school and new to the city, perform scenes for casting directors and theater nerds like myself in hopes of getting noticed. Because they're mostly just out of school, they perform stuff by playwrights whose work is currently getting noticed in schools, the ones who are regularly written about in American Theatre and taught in scene study classes: Neil LaBute, Sarah Ruhl, Martin McDonagh. My friend Brooke, a director and playwright herself, pointed out a double-whammy of my favorites: a LaBute scene from Autobahn ("That Neil LaBute just loves women so much") followed by Ruhl's Melancholy Play ("Okay, I get your whimsy thing now.")

Kids out of school, apeing what they learned in school that was written by playwrights writing what they were encouraged to write in theater school. Content what?"

Content with Tony Adams

Discussion going on over here.

Where you buy and what you buy

Just something I'm curious about...

Do you, dear reader, buy a lot of theater books and published editions of plays? If so, in what way?

Do you primarily buy online, through Amazon or a publisher's website, do you prefer to go to a favorite bookstore? Or some combination of the two?

Also, what prompts you to purchase a play? Have you ever bought a play you weren't very familiar with, simply out of curiosity? Or do you more than likely buy scripts you know to be exceptional and well-regarded plays, like Coast of Utopia or August: Osage County?

I ask this because I've been under the impression that most people buy well-regarded plays, but do so, in keeping with the cheerfully anachronistic lifestyle of most theater practitioners and audiences, at bookstores.

A Letter from Martin Denton

I received this e-mail from Martin Denton at NYTHEATRE.COM this afternoon. I'd encourage everyone to give a little, if they can, to this fantastic place for growth, outreach and advocacy within the New York theatre community. ____ On Election Night last week, on the Facebook pages of theatre colleagues, I saw a phrase echoed over and over again: "Yes we did. The great work begins." That second sentence--a quote from Tony Kushner's Angels in America: Millennium Approaches--feels especially resonant to me as I look ahead to 2009. I don't need to enumerate the challenges that the current economic situation is causing for the arts in America in general and for the New York theatre community in particular. Many theatre companies will be struggling to survive as audiences' discretionary income tightens and sources of funding for nonprofit organizations diminish. And cutbacks in arts coverage by mainstream media outlets will make it tougher for theatres to get the word out about the important work they are doing.

Nonetheless, I am honestly optimistic about next year. Last May, our website nytheatre.com was honored by Manhattan Media's OTTY Awards for its significant contribution to the community. In September, NYTE received the Stewardship Award from the New York innovative Theatre Awards, in recognition of our service, support, and leadership to off-off-Broadway. These accolades affirm the value of our mission and the effectiveness of our new media programs (nytheatre.com, indietheater.org, nytheatrecast, mobile.nytheatre.com), NYTE Small Press (which will publish the tenth annual Plays and Playwrights anthology next February), and our outreach within the indie theatre world (for example, the 2nd Annual Indie Theater Convocation, which energized our community this past summer). We are grateful for this recognition, and humbled by it as we look ahead to 2009.

It is going to be a year of remarkable challenges and opportunities. To help fill the holes left by decreasing media coverage of all theatre (but especially indie theatre, the vital laboratory for new work that has always been our central focus), NYTE will continue to expand our corps of volunteer reviewers and contributors--the theatre artists who generously give of their time to provide much of the content for our websites and podcasts. We want to enhance their experience by reimbursing them for their travel during this theatre season, and by providing them with more ways to develop as theatre artists and to let audiences and readers know more about the work they're doing. To help theatre companies reach new audiences, we will continue to expand our coverage of the indie theater scene. A variety of new features that we think will help readers more readily find the kinds of theatre they're most interested in will be popping up on nytheatre.com in upcoming months. And an expanded set of features on mobile.nytheatre.com is expected to be rolled out by mid-2009. As always, none of our coverage will cost theatre companies or audience members a penny--all of our content is free. I'm also excited to announce two brand-new NYTE initiatives that are kicking off right now. To increase awareness of and respect for the contributions that indie theater makes to American drama, we're about to launch The Indie Theater Companion, a wiki-based resource that we hope will become a living online history of this important cultural movement. In 2009 we plan to move our popular Indie Theater Now podcast series to television. We will start working with Manhattan Neighborhood Network on development of a monthly cable access program next month. You will be hearing more about all of these initiatives soon!

Right now, though, I want to ask for your support. If you read and use nytheatre.com, if you value the Plays and Playwrights anthologies that we publish, if you enjoy our nytheatrecast podcasts--then please make a contribution to keep these programs operational in 2009. Give what you can: Your $10 donation pays for round-trip subway or bus fare for two show reviews. Your $25 donation pays for a month of web hosting for the Indie Theater Companion wiki. Of course, larger amounts are appreciated as well! You can make your donation using your credit card on our secure online website, http://shop.nyte.org/becomeadonor.aspx. If you prefer to pay by check, please make the check out to: The New York Theatre Experience, Inc. P.O. Box 1606 Murray Hill Station New York, NY 10156 Thanks for reading this and thank you in advance for your support--monetary and otherwise. The great work really is about to begin. Best regards, Martin Denton Executive Director, The New York Theatre Experience, Inc.

NYTE is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation, and your deduction is tax deductible in accordance with federal and state laws.

News Flash!

Bullies are assholes who like to hit people!

The Most Damaging Wound

The Most Damaging Wound opens tonight. It's a new play by Blair Singer, directed by our pal Mark Armstrong.

Definitely check it out!

Mark posted a series of videos to illuminate us about the show. Take a look.

#1
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#4

Quote

"I can picture in my mind a world without war, a world without hate. And I can picture us attacking that world, because they'd never expect it."

Jack Handey, Deep Thoughts

Mark My Words

Next up: Cory Booker.

He rocks.

A good, concise piece of prose

...from David Cote.

The Heroic Imagination

A few months ago, I was listening to a TEDtalks podcast by Philip Zimbardo, psychologist an author of The Lucifer Effect: How Good People Turn Evil. He spoke at length about the worst parts of our human nature, but offered a caveat: the heroic imagination. He spoke of, and speaks of, the central role of the "the heroic imagination" is fostering the best in us. If we see our lives in the context of heroism, if we look for those opportunities to play the role of hero in our own lives, when those opportunities arise, however rarely they may, we seize on them.

Politics can feel decidedly cynical. It can feel systemically broken. It can even feel in the best moments, like a fool's errand. What, we ask ourselves, can we really change? We work our way down into miserable details. We ask what Democrats can do without a "filibuster proof" majority. We look at the overwhelming problems Obama faces in his first term, and raise our eyebrows. It's wonderful that he won, we say to ourselves, but what will he really do?

The truth is...what he's done is win. In doing so, he has created, and lived, the sort of narrative that can change lives. Make no mistake: we all live in a world of storytelling. We tell ourselves the story of our own lives each day; we watch fiction and we watch reality; but we process it all the same way. We see ourselves in the context of something larger, and we connect ourselves to that context.

The story of the last eight years, and even further back, has been one of deep cynicism. We have seen even our favorite politicians sign DOMA and humiliate themselves before the public. We have seen a worst case scenario in the last eight years: a perfect storm of nepotism, cronyism, fundamentalism, authoritarianism and criminality. We have seen our country torture. We have seen our country wage illegal wars. We have allowed our own civil liberties to be fundamentally altered and attacked. We have seen leadership that is beholden to no one. George Bush's only rebuke will be his legacy; he will not be prosecuted, he will not serve jail time. He will, for all he's done, receive far less punishment for his crimes than a young man might for selling pot.

It's the sort of story that makes a person dead, acquiescent.

Barack Obama offers more than policies (although we can hope, as adults, that he'll fulfill his practical promises). He offers a new American story; the sort we had always imagined to be true. He's created a new paradigm of what's possible; not just what's imaginable. And in doing so, he's offered food to the hunger in all all to be heroic. It will, it's my belief, make our children better, our workplaces better, our churches better, our citizenry more trusting of one another, our families stronger, and the world around us a little brighter. Not because in every instance human beings have changed, or because government has suddenly transformed; but because we can tell ourselves a true story and let it inspire us. On a grander scale than was available to us before.

Often, in the arts, we become so embroiled in evidences of human failing, and telling cautionary tales, that we lose the thread of the reason we do this. We don't serve the public by reminding them that they are weak; we serve them by reminding them that they can be strong. We help to define the parameters of human nature outside our immediate experience. We should remember to tell stories about blindness so that we can help people see. It's how we contribute to the public good. We know that has value. That's why the election of Obama has value: it is the sort of story that, in the telling, in the living, makes all of us a little more of who we are, and helps us see who we can be. As individuals, and as a people.

There is no use in denying that people can be bloodthirsty, prejudiced, manipulative, and cruel. There is no denying the proof in history that we can be fooled, torn apart, and made animals. There is now, also, no denying that we can take individual faiths in goodness and turn that into something real. Something that matches the worst of us; and can even suppress or destroy it. There is no denying that we can do right, be good, and change.

It's a good day to be one of the good guys.

A new website

BarackObama.com will be moving.

We DID it!

Thank God!

We did it! WE DID IT!

Next time I post

History, for good or ill, will have been made.

See you on the flip side.

Seven Strange Things

I was copied on a meme by Joshua James. Simply put: tell everyone seven strange things about yourself.

Since I'm biting my nails a bit, I'm happy for the distraction. Here goes:

1. I saw Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace in the theater 16 times.

Don't ask about Episodes II and III. Lose respect for me if you want to. It's my life, and it serves me fine.

2. I attended Wrestlemanias X, XIX and XX in person.

Two of them were at Madison Square Garden (X and XX) and XIX was in Seattle. I also attended King of the Ring 1997, for those who give a damn. That was a really terrible show.

3. I played Romeo in a hoopskirt.

Straight out of college, and about 50 lbs ago, I was cast as Romeo with the New Hampshire Shakespeare Festival (now the New England Shakespeare Festival...). This was...1998? The director decided that during the Masquerade, it would be funny if Romeo, Mercutio and Benvolio were ALL in dresses and wigs. So when Juliet and Romeo see each other for the first time...I'm in a dress and wig. During the balcony scene, I had to take my fake boobs out.

It was not the finest hour of the American theater. It was a fun summer though.

4. I went to high school with Steve from Blue's Clues.

Which has forever made children's television strange for me.

5. When I lost my virginity, her mother walked in on us, refused to leave, and made quite a scene about the whole thing.

It was not the finest hour of the American theater. I began to laugh quite a bit.

6. I once had a surprise birthday party where I walked in on all my friends pretending to be dead.

I have a running gag with a few friends about dying in public, being found comically dead, and making sure you get a picture of yourself dead in appropriate places. I have a photo of myself dead on Beckett's grave, for example.

I walked into my home and found all my friends dead in my apartment. It was...fantastic.

7. I was the State Reporter for the Technology Student Association in high school.

No idea how that happened. Just something to do. I was not good at it. Everyone around me could build a motor from a rake. I just made competitive speeches about plastics and won awards.

It's what they mean by "ringer."

Happy Election Day everyone. Chew on this.

I tag... David, Zack, RVCBard, Mike and Johnna.

John McCain announces that he will continue his campaign until Christmas

"Never give up!" he told supporters.

Attention Equity Actors - Showcase Code Reform

Reform of the NY-Showcase Code is an important issue for me, and for the health of NY's theater scene.

Actor Michael Bell is a member of the subcommittee that is reevaluating the New York Showcase Code. This is a moment for you to have your say. Leave a comment there, or e-mail him at showcase - at - michaelbell.net.

The issue of reform of the Showcase Code has been a hot topic on the blogosphere and in NYC. You should check out the League of Independent Theater Producers, and also the ART/NY White Paper on the subject.

Short version: if we want to change the restrictive Showcase Code, we need members of Actor's Equity to make a little noise. We need members of the union to speak on their own behalf to the union, and ask for changes in the code that will allow smaller theaters to grow, provide better opportunities for actors. Playwrights, producers and directors may have opinions, but only the voices of actors count to the union.

So contact Michael and give him some real fuel, real stories, and real appeals. It's an opportunity to make very real change in NYC's theater scene. Positive and exciting change for all of us.

Again...go here and leave a comment, or e-mail.

Here are some articles about the subject:

Village Voice
Backstage.

Don't know the Code? Read it here.

A little piece of comfort about polling error

Here is a little something about the margin of error that showed Kerry ahead of Bush going into the 2004 election. I'm sure you'll hear someone say "We thought Kerry was ahead too..."

Right. But the polls were incredibly close, and the largest underestimation of Bush's final tally was 55 votes.

The polls would have to be massively inaccurate in favor of McCain this time out. They would have to be around 100 electoral votes off, in favor of McCain, for him to beat current trends. And it's estimated that about a third of the votes in this election are already cast.

Half Price Sale on Plays and Playwrights 2002

NYTE is celebrating 10 years of publishing the Plays and Playwrights series. The book in which I am published, the 2002 edition, is being offered half-price through November as a part of that celebration.

Plays include:

THE DEATH OF KING ARTHUR by Matthew Freeman
MATCH by Marc Chun
WOMAN KILLER by Chiori Miyagawa
THE WILD ASS'S SKIN by J. Scott Reynolds
HALO by Ken Urban
SHYNESS IS NICE by Marc Spitz
REALITY by Curtiss I' Cook
THE RESURRECTIONIST by Kate Chell
BUNNY'S LAST NIGHT IN LIMBO by Peter S. Petralia
SUMMERLAND by Brian Thorstenson

Tomorrow

We often say this is the biggest election in our lifetimes. That's true enough. But it could also be one of the defining moments in our history.

I'm exhausted from a very long weekend. I'm don't know if I have a ton of energy to write about politics today. But let me tell you why I'm optimistic.

1. The numbers give it to Obama. Early voting, new registrations, polling, money, air time, responses to the debates; you name it. There's not a numbers game that the Obama team isn't winning.

2. Even the Obama team is trying to scare you. Here's the logic: if we think he's got it won, we won't work for it. So every e-mail I get from MoveOn.org and Barack Obama says "Nervous? Phone bank for Obama!" At this point, Obama's people are promoting doubt in order to keep people active. McCain's people are the one's going "We've still got a chance." Obama's team is saying "Don't be so sure." It's the argument of a confident campaign.

3. The Bradley Effect is bullshit.

4. Sarah Palin is an albatross.

5. The only story the news media has left is "McCain could pull out an upset."

6. Obama has more than double the number of major newspaper endorsements.

That's just a few.

Hope you're spending today with your head on straight and feeling good. Let's hope Obama closes the deal and gets to spend the afternoon on Thursday with his kids.

David Lindsey-Abaire to write Spider Man 4?

I mean...really? Really?

The Pulitzer is a stepping stone to writing superhero movies. At last.

Punished for growth

Before the market became particularly volatile, theaters were already in challenging economic model. Accepting poverty isn't a problem. In fact, small theaters in New York City exist in a state of constant poverty, through a combination of the restrictive Showcase Code and union tiers, a lack of adequate arts funding at the federal level, high rental prices, and the difficulty of finding and exciting new audiences.

It's the more successful institutions that get the funding love and get the strings attached. Generous new grants seems to rain down primarily on companies like the Public; companies that are adding power to an already powerful brand. Nonetheless, they all depend on the liquidity and goodwill of private institutions. The more a non-profit theater grows, the more it relies on a smaller and smaller list of larger and larger funding sources. Ticket sales are a small part of the math, especially as you become a larger company.

The market has gone south. The economy has been "maybe in a recession" for a year. In New York, the state provides more arts funding than the NEA does. New York State just declared that it was in a financial hole. Off-Off / "Indie" companies may feel the heat and their company member's respective day jobs; but it's the larger institutions that are being punished for growth. We all want small theaters to become flush with cash; but the cash is tied to the invested endowments of families and foundations. When the market tanks, the first to go are organizations that are mid-sized, growing, and successful.

Essentially, you can't move, in our current economic model, from a successful small theater with a solid audience and few paychecks to a larger, more stable institution where the actors get $400 a week without a steady infusion of cash from private funders. In this way, instead of theaters becoming successful on the merits of their work, or the priorities of the society, their survival is about not only courting private funds, but the health of those institutions - something theaters have no control over.

This is the free market for theater producers and actors alike: want to get paid? Pray for the health and safety of Phillip Morris.

Happy Halloween

Going to see Blood Brothers: The Master of Horror tonight!

naplwrimo!

naplwrimo!

National Playwrighting Month starts in three days. Sign up at their brand spankin' new and shiny website here.

A Kick-Ass Production of Woyzeck

Inspired by Isaac's half-posting about Woyzeck.

My Concept for a Kick-Ass Production of Woyzeck

by Matthew Freeman

Woyzeck is about German Peas. The seeds, one might say, of Germany.

Which seeds did Buchner lay in Germany in 1837? His own. He died and fertilized Germany, long before the play was ever finished or performed. Peas are brought forth from the soil. Hence: Buchner's own body is a part of the great soilmother from which the peas of early productions of Woyzeck must have been birthed. The peas are the issue of Buchner's own deathwomb.

So... when we see Woyzeck eating peas, we can see him as eating from the loam of Dead Buchner. Why not cut out the bullshit though? Why not have him eat a life-sized replica of Buchner ON-STAGE and have the body labeled "PEAS!?"

Christ, am I not the only one that sees the post-modernist metatheatrical possiblities of this?

I see, as I sculpt this in my own mind, a bare stage and a man dressed in a loin cloth. He is eating his own author, and behind him, his love sings "Inch by Inch/Row by Row/Gonna make this garden grow" over and over, as the lights change and the music becomes more and more foreboding. Then, when she gets to the part of the song that goes "Old Crow a-Sittin' on a tree / got his hungry eyes on ME" ... WE KNOW SHE MEANS THAT HE'S BEEN DRIVEN MAD!!!

Other characters will be performed with puppets. tm

A sign of the times - Milwaukee Shakespeare Closing Its Doors

See the Milwaukee Shakespeare website. To quote:

MILWAUKEE SHAKESPEARE CLOSING ITS DOORS

October 28, 2008 - Milwaukee Shakespeare is closing its doors due to lack of available funding.

Despite generous support from private and public local, state and national foundations and granting organizations such as UPAF and the NEA, the company’s primary source of operating funds is the Argosy Foundation. Due to the current financial climate, the Argosy Foundation has eliminated support from Milwaukee Shakespeare in order to put itself in the best position to continue to grow and support the community in the future. For this reason, Milwaukee Shakespeare cannot continue its season as planned. While ticket sales have been at a record level so far this season, ticket income only provides a fraction of what it costs to keep a non-profit theatre company running. Milwaukee Shakespeare has been actively seeking and achieving outside support, but the growth has not been sufficient to withstand this loss in its primary source of funding.

____

A sign of things to come? Unfortunately, you can count on it.

Any other similar activity you're seeing out there?

Sorry for the light posting

I've been sort of under the weather and busy. Quick thoughts.

- Bluebeard's new draft is done and I've sent it around a bit.

- I was, unfortunately, denied a grant by the NEA this year. My genius is once again overlooked! They won't laugh at me once I've completed the ultimate superweapon, however.

- One of the reasons I'm looking forward to November 4th is that I am finally tired of reading political blogs and articles and all that stuff. It's gotten to be overload. I've been watching these people run for office forever. It's enough already. I want to listen to NPR and hear them talk to a painter, and not a pollster or former CIA operative for once.

- Speaking of which, did anyone else hear this episode of Fresh Air? Robert Baer says that he believes the Osama Bin Laden is dead. He says it really plainly. It's totally under reported.

- I'm contributing a short piece to ReVamped this year.

- The One-Minute Play festival was a fine time. Thanks to everyone who worked on it.

- Is it really warm in here, or is it just me?

For all you wrestling fans out there...

Rest in Peace S.D. "Special Delivery" Jones, who died yesterday at 63.

I am battling the sniffles

Sniff.

What say you, oh blogosphere? About sniffling playwriters and their complaints?

Want to feel very, very old?

MST3K just released a 20th anniversary DVD collection.

2nd Annual One-Minute Play Festival

This weekend is the 2nd Annual One-Minute Play Festival. My work will represent two minutes therein, plays called Carbon Footprint and Last Words.

I have it on good authority that Saturday is sold out. Sunday is selling fast. Should be a madcap affair and lots of fun. I hope to see you there.

Tickets can be boughten in this imaginary "place."

Details:

Shstrng Prdctns (producers Dominic D'Andrea, Toby Knops, Ashlin Halfnight) presents the 2nd Annual One-Minute Play Festival.

The 2008 One-Minute Play Festival writers are (in no particular order):

Ed Napier, Liz Meriwether , Brian Dykstra, Rachel Axler , Caridad Svich , Bixby Elliot, Chiori Miyagawa, Robert Askins, Justin Deabler, Jeff Lewonczyk, Alex Beech, David Zellnik, Matthew Freeman, Jihan Crowther, Ross Maxwell, Sam Forman, Kobun Kaluza , Carla Ching, Graham Gordy, Cassandra Medley , Anna Fields , Ken Urban , Kristoffer Diaz, Susan Bernfield, Leslie Kramer , Michael Sendrow , Victor Lodato, Meghan Mostyn-Brown, Courtney Brooke Lauria , Anton Dudley , Saviana Stanescu, & Rob Urbinati

And Alumni Writers:

Kyle Jarrow, Clay McLeod Chapman , James Comtois, Emily Conbere , Bathsheba Doran , Ashlin Halfnight, Michael John Garces, Sibyl Kempson, Rajiv Joseph, & Anna Ziegler

PLUS special surprise guests!

Directed by:

Carlos Armesto, Dylan McCullough, Kim Weild, Claire Lundberg, Dominic D'Andrea, Lou Moreno, Shelley Butler, Jacob Krueger, & Michael Gardner.

Tickets are $18 dollars online pre-sale, and will be available for $20 at the door.

For the record

This three-term thing is Bullshit. I like Bloomberg just fine. He's a good mayor. But term-limits are fucking sacred. Period. You get your time at the wheel, and then move on, like it or not. It's a part of the fabric of our system.

If you see something, say something

Last night, Pam and I caught a preview of Mike Daisey's new monologue If you see something say something at Joe's Pub.

We loved it. As much as I enjoyed and was engaged by How Theater Failed America, I think I this piece is stronger. Daisey's interlocking narratives of his own visit to Los Alamos, Sam Cohen's work on the Neutron Bomb (particularly harrowing and bizarre) and the history of "Homeland Security" psychological portait of our most destructive impulses.

The piece is puncuated perfectly by his writerly style and appealing performance. It's topical, certainly liberal, but never detached or sophmorically infuriated. Daisey has more than an instinct for a good story: he has a curiousity that augments the entire proceedings.

You should certainly pick up a ticket or two.

When is a Clock publication

When is a Clock is going to be published and represented by Samuel French. I'll let everyone know when it's actually out and further along. Won't be for a while, I'd guess. But I'm certainly happy about it.

Chinese Democracy

Apparently Guns 'N Roses actually released a SINGLE from Chinese Democracy.

Also, Duke Nukem Forever just got released.

A PA Native speaks about the electorate

There's been a lot of chatter about Pennsylvania and it's racism or lackthereof. John Murtha recently referred to Western PA as a "racist area."

I'm from Eastern Pennsylvania. Born in Bryn Mawr, lived in Collegeville and then lived in Boyertown, PA from the 6th Grade until I went off to college. I'm went to Pennsylvania Governor School for the Arts. My mother still teaches at a public high school there and lives in Oley, near Reading.

Guess what? That's a racist area. There are public KKK gatherings in Boyertown, for the love of God.

There are lots of reasonable, good people from my home state. Great universities, great theater, wonderful culture and folk art; it's not a terrible place. But there's a boatload of bigots there, no doubt about it. Anyone who claims to be offended for hearing that either doesn't like being called out for their own attitude, or doesn't actually live there.

Can't hurt

Be cautious when voting.

Anybody else...

Watching The Shield besides me and Dave?

Flux Presents the Angel Eaters Trilogy

There's an upcoming production that I'm looking forward to checking out. Flux Theatre Ensemble is presenting The Angel Eaters Trilogy by Johnna Adams in November. They're performing all three plays in rep. It's ambitious project and one I think should be rewarded with a lot of attention and eyeballs. The trilogy is about "generations of a family cursed with the ability to raise the dead and wrestle with angels" so I'm told.

Sounds like the Kentucky Cycle meets Pushing Daisies. Or something like that.

Either way, I'm there. And you should give it a go too. Here's where you can grab some tickets.

Here's where you can read more about the production.

And here's Johnna Adams blog.

Bluebeard

Just finished a new draft of a new version. Happy about it.

Device

Thanks to Jason Grote for the head's up to this odd contraption: Device.

It's like Paula Vogel powered by Wordpress.

Oooh. Not cool Freeman.

Final Debate Response

Obama handled himself perfectly. I think the high point of the debate was where they opened up the floor to McCain's distractions/talking points about the Weather Underground and voter sign-ups. First, Obama politely tried to take the high road and refer to a tough campaign and "hurt feelings" being nothing compared to real issues. In a sense, he let McCain off the hook here.

The, when McCain had the chutzpah to ask Obama for an apology because others took exception to the racist undertones of the McCain rallies, Obama shed some explicit light on the subject.

It was classy, and smart, and he made it look effortless. It made McCain seem trapped in making a small argument in times with big problems.

The less said about the hackneyed "Joe the Plumber" nonsense the better.

I'd also like to add that autism and Down Syndrome are very different things.

Quantum of Solace

Terribly excited about this picture. I thought "Casino Royale" was just about perfect as far as an entertainment goes. It was well-acted, complex, suspenseful, the action sequences were top-notch, and it was tone perfect to the James Bond universe without feeling retrograde.

Just about done with

Yet another draft of Bluebeard. We shall see if this one comes to an ending I find satisfying.

The debate tonight conflicts with Project Runway.

Just sayin'.

Coolest Candidate?

Running ads on Xbox 360. That's right, baby!

New Bob Dylan Today

I didn't listen to the streaming NPR version, because I wanted to hear it for the first time in my own way. A little ritual goes a long way. I associate a few Dylan songs with my late Uncle Bruce in Virigina, who excited introduced me to Bringin' It All Back Home and Highway 61 Revisited and Dylan at Budokhan.

Looking forward to picking it up today.

Monday

Today I feel nothing of note. But it's Monday, so here's a blog post.

[Blog post text here.]

Philly Fans

Kyle's Plan for the Economy

David, actor and friend, asked Kyle, director and friend, as "the only one of our group the reads The Economist" for his plan to save us all during the financial melt down. Kyle provided his answer over e-mail. I wanted to share his wisdom with you, as we head into the weekend.

____

Here's my nine-point plan for the global economy:

1. The credit crisis is fundamentally about a lack of confidence in the banking system. We desperately need the Fed and the Treasury to create an emergency fund to supply bankers with unlimited lap dances in the Champagne Room in order to boost their confidence.
2. Don't sell out your stocks or mutual funds. Try smoking them instead.
3. Buy shares in the Internet. It's too big to fail.
4. Start hoarding leather scraps. Can be boiled for broth.
5. Pull out your member (if so equipped) and slap Sarah Palin across the face with it. Is that sexist? Okay, McCain then.
6. Keep tabs on the market indexes by reloading your browser every few minutes. Seriously, it helps.
7. Stockpile intoxicating spirits. (Obvious.)
8. Consider retiring later. Like 85.
9. Grab your ass with both hands and hold on.

As for my own personal plan, I'm going to:

1. Reduce unnecessary monthly expenses, i.e. pants.
2. Start sleeping in my car down on the Brooklyn waterfront.
3. Acquire cheaper vices, i.e. sexing the homeless.
4. Back-up job plan: assembling people's IKEA shit in exchange for gold and silver jewelry.
5. Back-up retirement plan: wandering, naked and raving, in wilderness.

Like Paul Krugman, I'm going to permit you lunatics to comment on my ideas. Go for it.

My Languid, Oh-So-Callow, Deadpan Best as the Villain, Selfishness

   Pictured are Michael Hardart and Amanda Jones

   Picture taken by Lily Alt

Trumbull here, and actually, I play somebody named Sam, but "selfishness" is just as much a villian in my show as he, and Martin Denton at nytheatre.com thinks NOWADAYS is a "real treat".

So does Backstage.  They made us a Pick.

Check us out:)   It is a bully little comedy.

--Matthew Trumbull, who is...

UPDATE:

Wormy and pale!!

Pictured are Matthew Trumbull, Jamie Dunn

Picture taken by Josie Robertson

Ten Things

A fun read.

via Adam.

Am I the only one...

That thinks Religulous looks idiotic? I don't plan on seeing it. The trailer made me tired.

Listen, I know I'm not unbiased. I was raised by an Episcopal priest. But I find the dull bashing of religion by smug pricks to be a dead end, self-congratulatory exercise.

I don't begrudge atheists their perspective and I'm at the very least agnostic. I also think that religion and religious tradition is an important part of the national conversation, a part of history as well as culture. I believe that religion has driven a lot of positive social change and created a framework for a fair amount of charitable behavior. It's been a force of harm and silliness, but its also been an organizing principle for community and kindness.

The fastest way to move yourself away from the center of American life is to treat religious faith as an enemy. Even within the world of religion, there's a struggle between those who take the lessons of faith and use them for good, or those who use those same lessons to do harm and justify their own selfishness. I live in the politics of that every day working in the Episcopal church.

I'm sure there are plenty of artists and liberals that are a member of a longstanding religious or spiritual tradition. I wonder how often they don't mention that, because they'd rather not defend themselves in this climate. The culture war cuts both ways.

"V"

Apparently, a remake of "V" is in the works.

I'd be excited if Ron Moore was making it.

Scary

Superfluities turned 5

With all my personal business (weddings abound, good news on the writing front, work, politics, etc, etc) this went entirely un-noticed on my blog and I hereby correct it.

George Hunka's Superfluities turned 5 years old on September 30th. He takes note of it here.

George and I, especially when I was still getting my sea legs as a blogger, had our arguments, but off-line we've always gotten along well. He's got a serious mind and a good heart and great convictions. He's always been pure in his priorities and if you click over to his blog, you'll never find a post that's less than adult, considered, and passionate.

Who knows? Maybe an editor will take his Organum and quite properly publish it, and we can all say "We knew him when."

Until then, congratulation to George on 5 years of investigation, instigation and information.

My Fellow Prisoners

Whoops.




For the record, this makes me wince more than chuckle.

Something else I've been up to

Reading issues of DC's comic book minseries Final Crisis whenever they come out. One comes out today I think. Very entertaining.

I'm sort of a DC fan only when Crisis stuff rolls around. I have fond memories of Crisis on Infinite Earths as a kid blowing my mind; then I read Identity Crisis (on loan, which I thought was ok, but not really a Crisis story). I loved Infinite Crisis because it seemed like a natural extension of the original.

This one... is odd. It's growing on me. It's being written by Grant Morrison, who is notoriously apeshit and is going hardcore for this Jack Kirby oddball New Gods stuff and using it to make an incredibly screwed up story. I've never really seen a superhero story exactly like it, so I'm enjoying it. But I will say it's...creepy. Really creepy. It's got weird stuff like Vandal Savage becoming Biblical Cain and the "Anti-Life Equation" and long forgotten characters like Libra taking center stage. Characters you'd only know if you had a copy of Who's Who in the DC Universe back in the day.

I wrote this post for David DelGrosso and Jason Grote, I think.

I think I've filled up my geek meter for the day.

Weird Review

This review of The Force Unleashed is very strange.

I've played the game all the way through on the PS3.

The picture chosen is not from the game I played. It might be from the PS2 version, which apparently features different scenes than the Next-Gen version, but it's hardly representative of the game.

The review itself is weirdly unspecific. It doesn't name the central character in the game, or the actor that plays him. It talks about digital lighting effects, but the main draw of the game is the physics engine. It doesn't mention the game's main set piece (the Star Destroyer scene). It doesn't talk about what's annoying about the gameplay, doesn't name any of the planets (says "natural landscapes"), etc. etc. I mean, there are tons of games where you jump around on platforms. This one has loose controls and a bad camera.

It just seems like the sort of generic review that would never pass muster if it was about a film.

That's not to say I don't respect Mr. Schiesel's clear reference to the Clone Wars cartoons.

I know it's really not a big deal, but it was bugging me.

Debate # 2

Yawn. It was the debate they had two weeks ago, only on their feet. All the little moments ("that one!") seem to add up to so much nothing. McCain was, to my eyes, at the beginning, more comfortable with the format, but Obama gained his sea legs and owned him on health care. Still though, it was all talking points, canned answers and talking around the questions.

Do I think Obama won? I do. But mostly because he's simply more coherent. It wasn't a thrilling debate performance; he's just solid and sharp in the setting.

McCain has moments where he appeared on top of the format, but his awkward jokes and oddball answers didn't do him credit. He says that Americans have to sacrifice their...earmarks? They'll have to be cool with him decimating Medicare? He thinks the solution to the health care crisis and the dominance of insurance companies is a tax credit to help you get into a sellers market? You think the solution to the climate crisis is...nuclear power plants? It's not ALL about style. McCain's actual answers to these questions are preposterous and out of touch.

The media tends to go straight for a debate about style. Was McCain agressive enough? Was Obama 'professorial?' It's all to fill air time so they can avoid coming down on any particular side on the issues and appear objective. The public doesn't have that burden: we're subjective viewers. It's our job to determine who makes sense. Right now, that's not McCain.

On the lighter side

Although SNL had some great Palin mockery last Saturday, they also had two sketches that Pam and I thought were a hoot.

Here you go.




and

Indie Fave? Guess so!

Today on the front page of nytheatre.com, they highlight the upcoming One-Minute Play festival and list me as an "indie fave."

I am held in high esteem by my colleagues. That's why they invite me to all the best parties.

They reference this fun listing of all the plays in the festival, with single word descriptions, all starting with the letter "S."

Bullsh*t Balance

This typifies what's wrong with the question of "balance" in the mainstream media.

McCain announces that he's going to bring up the sleaze factor because without it, he can't win. Then he and his running mate start doing the worst kind of race-baiting and fear-mongering ("Who is he?" says McCain. "A terrorist!" screams one of his supporters). The Washington Post actually reported that someone at a Palin rally said "Kill him!" about Obama.

This is simply dangerous stuff.

Obama puts out a website about something McCain was ACTUALLY involved in, and it's the equivalent? Hell no. It might not be kid gloves, but it's not veiled hate speech.

Blasted at SoHo Rep

Who's seen it and what did you think? I haven't procured tickets myself, but I'm curious what others thoughts are.

George Hunka noted his response here.

Theatreforte worked out some seats and saw the show here.

Staying on offense

Keating Economics.

Congratulations

To Tom Staggs and Lynda Kennedy! Married!

Clone Wars premieres Tonight!

I am terribly excited!

In the spirit of this, if you have a Star Wars related question for me, I am prepared to answer it. I am in the mood. I am your one-stop shop for too-much-interest in Star Wars.

Update: I am a happy guy. Short, compact, well-constructed, and a good mix in tone between the prequels visuals and the more zippy tone of the originals. They play like the best Saturday Morning Cartoon Star Wars fans could ask for.

Am I dating myself? Do they still show "Saturday Morning Cartoons?"

"Exceeded expectations"

Seems to be the verdict. Isn't it ironic that George Bush used hit the talking point about the "soft bigotry of low expectations?"

This is a job interview, not an expectations game. Who is more qualified and who is right on the issues? That's the question. The only one that matters.

According to the first snap poll I saw, that question comes clearly down on Biden's side.

Palin-Biden Debate response

For starters, Biden won the debate on all counts. If you read a lot of the immediate punditry, you're hearing a whole lot of "she got through it unscathed and therefore won." This just shows me how out of touch the media can be, and how they become so tied to the theatrics of politics, the fail to see the forest for the trees. I've read that Palin's "fans" probably saw this and liked it. Considering her low approval ratings, it sounds like those fans are about 10 guys in Georgia. Biden wiped the floor with her. And he did it without appearing condescending, without falling into any traps, and without committing any major gaffes. In fact, he appeared not only experienced and intelligent, but human.

Palin came off as a joke. Americans are in a serious mood, and have the sense that we are in a serious crisis. Watching Palin wink, make cute jokes, barely hold it together, repeat talking points doesn't put them at ease. I don't care if you're a hardcore Christian conservative or a hockey mom, you can't see this as a credible performance by a major candidate for office. It's amazing that her performances on CBS and ABC were so stunningly awful that THIS debate performance appeared to be an improvement.

What I found most terrifying (and I'm sure I'm not the only one) is the way in which she said "blunders." "Sure," she said, "there have been blunders." With an eye roll. Blunders? George Bush didn't drop a paperweight on his foot. He lied to the country and to congress in order to start an illegal and senseless war that is still going on; he sanctioned the torture of prisoners; endorsed extraordinary rendition to black sites; he left of thousands dead and billions wasted.

I think most people understand this. Palin, clearly, doesn't.

NOWADAYS at the Metropolitan Playhouse

Pictured are Frank Anderson, Lisa Riegel

photo by Josie Robertson

Trumbull, here, sticking up Freeman's blog again and taking my share of riches.  Just wanted to say that I'm in this play over at the Metropolitan Playhouse in the East Village, called NOWADAYS.  Written by George Middleton in 1913, it is a comedy that, beyond its suffragist sentiments that seemed quite shocking 7 years before women got the vote, examines the rigidity of social expectations, parental support, and the power of the lender over the borrower.  It's very funny and tender.  I play a dapper cad.  Such a stretch.  Whew.

There are two more preview shows, tonight and Friday night at 8 pm.  Official opening is Saturday at 8. 

Oh, and if you DVR the VP debate tonight and join us for theatrical delights, we'll show our appreciation with a 2-for-1 deal at the box office.  

If you haven't been to the Metropolitan Playhouse, it's really quite a lovely and intimate theatre.  Anywhere you sit, you will practically be in the living room with us.  The cast is excellent...Freemanphiles will recognize Frank Anderson (pictured above) from "The Most Wonderful Love".  

Cast:

Frank Anderson

Linda Blackstock

Jamie Dunn

Michael Hardart

Amanda Jones

Lisa Riegel

George Taylor

Matthew Trumbull

Shows are Thursday-Sunday through the month of October.  Click on the link above for the full schedule. And see you there!

--Matthew Trumbull

Palin-Biden predictions for tonight

Mostly, I'm curious what any of you predict will be tonight's outcome. Everyone has played the expectations game expertly. At this point, it seems like Biden is incapable of speaking in complete sentences and Palin's ability to reach subject-verb agreement should win her the debate.

In truth: Did anyone watch Biden during the Democratic Primary Debates? He was direct, punchy, not as long-winded. Right now, as long as he can avoid the obvious traps (and I'm sure they're obvious to everyone around him as well) he should do better than fine. All he needs to do is bring to bear his actual knowledge.

Palin...who knows? As of now, she's humiliated herself over and over again. She's given the same speech at about 17 rallies over the last month, and she's barely seen the press. When she has, she's been slaughtered. The question is really whether she's been coached enough to pass in this debate. She was coached for her interviews as well, I'm sure.

My concern is that Biden will be so handcuffed by those concerned about gaffes that he's going to be extremely restrained. It'll make for a dull debate, and likely it'll come off as a draw on TV.

What's so odd is that we're repeatedly told not to underestimate Palin, even though all the evidence says she's in over her head. It's feeling a bit like the "We're going to lose this thing" meme that went around when McCain had a blip in the polls. It seems like a lot of smoke and not enough fire. Logic says Biden wipes the floor with her because he simply has far more knowledge. Fear of being too confident says it's a draw.

What do you think?

Re-Runs

As this week is a busy week, and there is so much in the News that is Fuck-It-All worthy, I am sticking my head in the sand. Or punting after failing to convert on a 3rd Down. Pick your metaphor.

Instead of fresh content, I am linking to older, lighthearted material for those who need a laugh chuckle or like to stroll down memory lane.

Rules for the Writing of Plays

Rules of the Naming of Plays

You're welcome.

2nd Annual One-Minute Play Festival

I'll be a part of this...

Dominic D'Andrea presents

The Second Annual One-Minute Play Festival
Saturday, October 25, 2008 through Sunday, October 26, 2008
TBG Arts Center (36th and 8th Ave.)
90 new plays. 40 writers. 9 directors. 1 Minute.

Shoestrng Productions (producers Dominic D'Andrea, Toby Knops, Ashlin Halfnight) presents the 2nd Annual One-Minute Play Festival.

The 2008 One-Minute Play Festival writers are (in no particular order):

Ed Napier, Liz Meriwether , Brian Dykstra, Rachel Axler , Caridad Svich , Bixby Elliot, Chiori Miyagawa, Justin Deabler, Jeff Lewonczyk, Alex Beech, David Zellnik, Matthew Freeman, Jihan Crowther, Ross Maxwell, Sam Forman, Kobun Kaluza , Carla Ching, Graham Gordy, Cassandra Medley , Anna Fields , Ken Urban , Kristoffer Diaz, Susan Bernfield, Leslie Kramer , Michael Sendrow , Victor Lodato, Meghan Mostyn-Brown, Courtney Brooke Lauria , Anton Dudley , Saviana Stanescu, & Rob Urbinati

And Alumni Writers: Kyle Jarrow, Clay McLeod Chapman , James Comtois, Emily Conbere , Bathsheba Doran , Ashlin Halfnight, Michael John Garces, Sibyl Kempson, Rajiv Joseph, & Anna Ziegler

PLUS special surprise guests!

Directed by:Carlos Armesto, Dylan McCullough, Kim Weild, Claire Lundberg, Dominic D'Andrea, Lou Moreno, Shelley Butler, Jacob Krueger, & Michael Gardner.

Tickets can be purchased here.

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I've got two plays in the evening, entitled Last Words and Carbon Footprint. If you don't enjoy them, you won't have to endure them for long.

Thoughts on the first debate

- McCain's insistence on earmarks as a major issue just cannot possibly resonate with voters. McCain is a long-term Senator who sees how this inside-baseball issue is a bad thing. All it does is show how terribly out of touch he is. when's the last time you sat around the table with your family and discussed how important fixing the earmark process is?

Obama basically murdered him in the beginning of the debate, the economics issues. I'd bet you any money that after a 45 minutes in, half of the country tuned out.

- Damned if you do; damned if you don't. There have been plenty of substance-free debates over the course of the last year or so. This debate was full of substance, and light on theatrics. Two very serious men showed their differences of opinion. What does the national press say? A bit too dull?

I'd rather a dull, detailed debate than a bunch of gotcha moments. That's because I don't make my money from gotcha moments.

- The foreign policy part was a draw. McCain was absolutely wrong about how he wants to go about things, but he was able to make arguments based on a coherent philosophy. It's just wrong headed. Obama held his own by being confidently in the right about these issues.

I was glad to see that Obama refused to engage on the "surge" question. McCain kept bringing it up, and Obama just steped around it. Perfect way to handle it.

- All in all, I'm not surprised more people thought Obama won, even if I think he could have done better. He's more telegenic, he held his ground easily, and he seemed interested in the needs of regular Americans. This isn't a debate where you win on points; it's about the voters. Obama cares about human beings, McCain cares about his legacy and his "life's work."

- I think McCain's anger with and contempt for Obama comes through all over the place, and its working in Obama's favor. It just classless and it shows a man who takes disagreement personally. That's not the sort of President people want to spend the next four years with.

The Great Schlep

The wonders of smug comedy: when it has a sincere point, it works better.


The Great Schlep from The Great Schlep on Vimeo.

Might I recommend...

NO APPLAUSE, JUST THROW MONEY:
THE SHOW THAT MADE VAUDEVILLE FAMOUS!

Trav S.D., superhero of downtown theater and historian of all things wondrous, presents this original variety revue. Note the amazing language of the press release:

"Based on Trav S.D. ‘s popular book No Applause, Just Throw Money: the Book That Made Vaudeville Famous (Faber & Faber, 2005), No Applause…The Show is an original variety revue with sketches and songs by Trav S.D., a core cast that includes Maggie Cino, Leela Corman, Gyda Arber, Danny Bowes, Michael Criscuolo, Roger Nasser, Mike Rutkoski, Scott Stiffler, Art Wallace, and special guest stars from the cream of New York’s variety scene, including Todd Robbins (Carnival Knowledge), Raven Snook, Goddess Pearlman (Nice Jewish Girls Gone Bad), the Maestrocities, the Main Squeeze Pigtail Orchestra, and Mark Mitton. In addition, the production will feature fight choreography by Qui Nyugen of the Vampire Cowboys. Set and costume design is by Julianne Kroboth. "

It's running through October 5th at Theater for the New City. I'm sure it is a blast. It is full of wonderfully talented people, and led by a real expert on the subject and material.

If you do not see it, your tongue will fall out and eyes will turn into caramel.

Just sayin'.

Tickets are here!

Spent the morning

At City Hall.

Tired. So tired.

Equus Potter

Ben Brantley's review of Equus makes much ado of Harry Potter and of the performers. He does, though, dismiss this play (not the production, but the play itself) as "hokum."

The idea that a play as good as Equus can be so summarily dismissed by the Times, thirty years after its original production, gives me pause.

Ok, Ok, I'll stop

But this is the saddest thing I've ever seen. It would be funny, if she wasn't in the running to be VICE FUCKING PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.


Watch CBS Videos Online

Palin answers more questions

From the NY Times.

“Do you think that our continued military presences in Iraq and Afghanistan have inflamed Islamic extremists?” another reporter asked.

“I think our presence in Iraq and Afghanistan will lead to further security of our nation, again, because the mission is to take the fight over there. Do not let them come over here and attempt again what they accomplished here, and that was some destruction. Terrible destruction on that day. But since Sept. 11, Americans uniting and rebuilding and committing to never letting that happen again.”

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?