2013 - A look back

So this year has been unique for a couple of reasons, getting a woodburning stove in the living room might be one of them. But since this is a blog related to my theatrical misadventures we won't talk too much about that . . . though the day we got it installed I performed Old Hickory at the Snowball Festival in New York.

In fact, in 2013 I performed three of my solo pieces, one of which wasn't even a gleam in my eye when the year began. The quirk of scheduling that made that happen was One Man Talking adding a fall session to the mix; typically they only go one time a year, but for a variety of reasons they decided to do it again . . . and since I had this new piece . . . well what the heck! So Old Hickory in January, Letter of Resignation in OMT for the spring and Preston's Spot in the fall.

Y'know: while I'd like more opportunities to get perform these pieces, it ain't too shabby any way you cut it. I'm proud of them all and am happy with the work I've done on them.

It was great that Bette was involved in the solo thing this fall too! Her show went very well, and working with her as director (which she has done with/for me several times) was a treat as well.

I guess it's only fitting that for the final session of the Woodstock Fringe for the fall I read the beginnings of my newest solo thing . . . as yet untitled, and I'm just figuring out what it is, but it was fun to put it out there.

The Fringe continues to be an inspiration. It feels like family and is a safe and supporting atmosphere to work in . . . what more can you ask?

This year also saw the final part of my miners trilogy, at last! I sent it to several contests and we'll see if it gets any traction, but I like it and we'll see what happens.

As to things we've seen: This fall we had a bit of a binge. First up was The Weir at Irish Rep. A good production of a wonderful play. Not outstanding but good.

Next was The Glass Menagerie, which was exquisite. Cherry Jones is a treasure, but the rest of the cast were equal to her in every way.

Then came our Shakespeare day: Richard III for a matinee followed by Twelfe Night in the evening, both with the same cast, both with Mark Rylance in the lead. Rylance is one of those actors that I will never miss . . . brilliant. It was great to see them back to back to see the actors stretch from one play to the next . . . quite an experience.

Last, and least, was Waiting for Godot. I'd say it was misguided. Ian McKellen was amazing, but everyone else was way off the mark. Too bad. Having seen the Gate Theatre's production, I'm waiting for the one to surpass it, but I never expect for that to happen . . . every element of the Gate production rang true . . . if you trust the play that can happen!

Summing up the year in theater wouldn't be complete without mentioning Chicago in the spring, which seems like years ago now! The hip hop Othello, the show at Steppenwolf and the readings at the Goodman made for quite a weekend of theater (which I wrote about in an earlier post).

All in all a wonderful year in so many ways. Some losses along the way; my father in May and my friend Micki Maley as well.

So onward. Keep writing and keep growing. The next great thing is right around the corner.

Trilogy finally a trilogy!

My 'Miners Trilogy' is finally a trilogy! After a false start or three, the third play is now in the can and I have submitted it to a couple of places, with more submissions in the offing. I'm not at this point submitting as three plays, just submitting play three to competitions.

The next step is to put together a nice letter of introduction and send it to any theater company I can think of and we'll see where it sticks . . . if anywhere.

At any rate, this didn't start out to be a trilogy; I just wrote a play about coal miners on the picket line during a strike, because it always seemed like a situation ripe with possibility. Even when I started to write the second play, it didn't seem like a trilogy to me, then, out of nowhere it hit me . . . why not . . . I even kind of had the idea for the basics of the third play ... it just took a while to get it right.

The plays are only linked because they are about coal miners and I wrote them; the only recurring character is Beulah who owns a miners-friendly bar (she is in the first and third play, and mentioned in the second). The other link is music . . . in the first two plays not only do the titles come from songs (That Lonesome Valley and Where the Rain Never Falls) but the songs are actually sung. So to round out the concept I had to come up with a third song and decided on Working Man Blues (by Merle Haggard - though in this case the song isn't sung in the play).

Each play takes a look at a different aspect of what these guys face: the hardships of a strike in TLV, the dangers inherent in mining in Rain, and what happens to these guys, who for generations have depended on the industry, when the jobs go away in Working Man Blues.

They also stand alone, you don't have to know TLV or Rain to enjoy Working Man Blues.

So it has been a long time since I wrote That Lonesome Valley in 2000, and Where the Rain Never Falls in 2004 . . . well . . . as Jerry says in The Zoo Story: Sometimes you have to go a long way out of you way to go a short way correctly (I paraphrase).

I was still working at The Village Voice when I started TLV!

July already?

So the year is half over. It has been kind of interesting in some ways, frustrating in others. I have performed Old Hickory at the Snowball Festival, Letter of Resignation at One Man Talking and read Preston's Spot at Voices of the Fringe so that's all good;and there have been many years when that much progress would have been enough . . . but also I've been rejected by the Fringe festival and All for One, so that kind of sucks, but I guess it's the nature of the beast . . .

What I haven't been doing is writing much . . . which translates into: at all. Ideas are always burbling around in there, but so far sitting my butt down and committing anything to paper or computer hasn't happened. I need to just get started . . . get a rhythm going and do it . . . instead of thinking about it do it spontaneously .. . sit down, write the first thing that pops into my head, and see who answers and what they say.

There are so many potential directions to go in, from submitting to competitions or companies, writing or rewriting, that it seems kind of overwhelming sometimes . . . I guess that's when you have to get out the machete and start clearing out the underbrush . . .

Poking around . . .

I'm sort of poking around the ice as far as writing goes, to see where it's thickest. I'm writing down things as they come to me, a word, a phrase, anything that might set off the alarm that sets off a new piece. I did some scribbling last weekend and thought I'd try to do some every day, but just doing it for the sake of doing it without a real idea behind it, seems like washing your feet with your socks on . . . but the wheels are always turning and something will happen and hopefully it'll be wonderful and fun. No point in stressing about it in any event . . . life's too short for the pressure and everything else seems to be running smoothly so no complaints.

Should hear within the next week or so about the All For One Festival . . . I'm hoping that will happen, it's a legit festival in the city with 3 performances in the city I think so it would be nice to sharpen the knife of Old Hickory again(last year it was the Cherry Lane Theatre - that would be cool!).

All quiet on the theater front . . . after a burst of activity in the spring we haven't been to see anything in a while . . . don't feel too compelled by what's on B'way just now . . . while the Christopher Durang thing might be fun, we'll see . . . haven't checked TDF on line for a while, if we can get cheap seats for something . . . in the fall Patrick Stewart and Ian Mckellen are doing Pinter and Beckett in rep, now THAT I might just go see. They're doing Godot, and I sort of thought I'd seen the ultimate production of Godot by the Gate Theater (certainly sets the bar very very high) but these two guys might not screw it up . . .

Anyway, I'll write again when I get the thumbs up or down from All for One.

A transitional period

I'm feeling kind of transitional right now, as if I'm between things ... at least from an artistic perspective. Don't know what I'll work on next and don't have any performances/readings on the horizon (unless you count One Man Talking next spring, which we can't assume will go my way) so thought it would be a good time to think about recent events a bit.

Not only that, but if you only post on a blog once a month, then what's that?

At any rate, a very nice spring in many ways. I've seen some interesting theater, most of it good. The Chicago trip was drenched in theater, and all of it interesting and provacative: Head of Passes at Steppenwolf may not have been a perfect play but the performances were, and the technical achievement that ends Act One was a marvel! Othello the Remix I've mentioned in FB postings and such so I won't go on, but it was fun and dazzeling . . . kind of what I expected from Chicago Shakespeare, which brought Rose Rage to NYC some years ago and blew my mind!

Also excellent were Kafka's Monkey and Fragments (short Beckett pieces) both at the Baryshnikov Arts Center, the other connecting tissue to these pieces was Katherine Hunter, who was the title character in the Kafka piece and she did Rockabye in Fragments . . . she is truly worth seeing if you get the chance.

The less said about Jeffrey Sweet's Kunstler the better. It flaunted several of the landmines inherent in biographical pieces, this happened then this then this . . . if you have to choose between Jeffrey's play and the documentary that Kunstler's daughters did, go with the documentary . . . pretty much covered the same territory.

My own performances were successful in their way. Letter of Resignation totally rocked at One Man Talking. I felt like I nailed it and would love more performances of the piece to really dig deeper. The reading of Preston's Spot went well enough; the piece could use a tad of tweaking but overall it is pretty compelling I think (and Bette who also directed both pieces thinks so as well). I'm gonna miss having Woodstock Fringe as a next step for Preston's Spot, that was a nice two step process going from reading in the city to a bit more staged reading up there, and the opportunity to fine tune between the two helped both of the pieces I did that with.

What's next? Who knows. I'm also having ideas float to the surface so one of those will catch fire some day. I've submitted for some things and want to get a better handle on marketing myself . . . got a taste of doing that at the Goodman in Chicago but that ended up being a bust, but ... if you don't put it out there who will?

So. Onward.

Next up

So my reading date is set for the Woodstock Fringe Voices of the Fringe series. Thursday May 16 is the date. I had some uncertainty about which piece to do then, I originally wanted to do this piece I started on about posing for a portrait and what goes on in your head while you're posing, but I couldn't seem to crack it. I did a couple of drafts, but it seemed kind of rote, so I put it aside and decided to go with a more straight narrative piece that I banged out a few months ago. It's not perfect, but I'll work on it between now and then and hopefully it'll be closer to where it needs to be by that time. The reading is a 7pm (there are four pieces total the whole thing is 90 minutes or so) and it's in the Community Room at Westbeth 155 Bank Street Greenwhich Village, NYC. Oh and it's free.

You know I still pinch myself when I think about doing my stuff in the city. I think about all the time I spent wishing and hoping before I actually made the move . . . it really has worked out well. It is a rich and rewarding place to be in life to be creating and having people respond so well to the work. Yes, it would be great to be able to support myself with my writing, but it's nice to have the kind of job that doesn't get in the way so one thing doesn't get in the way of the other too much. Not only that but I was thinking the other day about the hustle of working in the arts . . . the jobs are fleeting and there aren't that many people who can make a sustainable living doing it, certainly not with mortgages and kids in college and eating something other than cans of beans. At any rate, I like where I am right now. But I digress.

I basically need to have more fun with the posing piece . . . I'll get it right one of these days. The wonderful thing about doing these solo pieces that I write for myself, is that most of them I'll never get too old to do!

Still waiting to hear from the NY Fringe people. I think they said they announce in late April. Then in June the All For One Festival makes their announcement. All very exciting. Both of those are in the city and they would both be multiple performances. Since they aren't at the same time it would not be inconceivable to do both if they both chose me . . . but let's not put the cart before the horse here! For the Fringe I submitted as a two piece evening under the title 'Hillbilly Gothic'(Old Hickory and Like a Sack of Potatoes) and for AFO I just submitted Old Hickory.

I'll miss the Woodstock Fringe Festival this summer. I am happy and proud to be part of that family and to have contributed in the last four of the ten years that it existed. There are many wonderful magical memories.

Going to see Kafka's Ape on Wednesday, which is a solo piece in which a woman plays an ape who learned to adapt to survive by taking on the speech and habits of men. It got a rave in the Times this week, but happily we had already gotten our tix before that. There was a profile of the actress in the Times the week before and it sounds very interesting. The running time is 50 minutes so it avoids the pitfall that Ann didn't which is trying to make it a full 2 hour evening . . . as my friend Norman Marshall says: 'I've never seen a play that was too short'.

Ann + some random stuff

We went to see the not-quite-solo-show Ann the other night at Lincoln Center (first time at the Beaumont, beautiful space). It is about Ann Richards and was written by and stars Holland Taylor. Bette and I were both interested in seeing this what with all the solo pieces we've been working on in the last few years. I have to agree with both of the Times critics that it could stand some trimming. I suppose they want a full two hour evening, but it did tend to ramble a bit in the second act. It seemed to me like they didn't quite know how to end it . . . at any rate, other than the script issues I'd say it's worth seeing. Holland Taylor was Ann Richards. I don't know her work that well but she really knocked this one out of the park. It was much more than I expected it to be. Very funny and powerful. The reason I called it a not-quite-solo piece is that she did use a voice on an intercom to interact with some . . . so that was kind of cheating, but it worked. The voice on the phone was Julie White who killed in The Little Dog Laughed a few years ago.

The sad thing was that on a Saturday night the place was only about two thirds full. A person I know who invests some in shows, said solo pieces are a tough sell . . . I guess this is a prime example. Charlie Rose was there Sat night, maybe he'll talk it up!

As to my own stuff . . . I've been working on my newest piece in advance of a reading in May. Going through the first draft line by line and deciding what stays and what goes and trying to make something of it. It's a challenge because it's the piece I wrote about a guy posing for a portrait . . . so a lot of internalized stuff . . . kind of stream of conscious . . . but it has to build to something . . . so we'll see what happens . . . speaking of which . . . I have to get at it!

One more thing . . . I got my rejection letter from New Dramatists, but waiting to hear from the NYC Fringe and All For One Festival, also in the city . . . the Fringe announces in late April and AFO in June.

Letter at OMT

I can't believe I got through all the work on learning the piece and rehearsing it without one post! At any rate, the rehearsal period was great. We worked hard on it for a couple of weeks and the work certainly paid off . . . I thought the performance went very well, nice crowd, and receptive . . . the comments were favorable and people identified with the character and his plight. It was an exceptional way to get it out there, but then, One Man Talking usually is. They make it so easy. They ask nothing other than that you come in and do the piece ... no cost no expectation other than that you get to do your thing.

Next year I'm going for five in a row!

It is wonderful to work with Bette. Last year we got act together in Wallace's piece up in Woodstock but for the last three years she has directed my solo pieces for OMT ... she is demanding in all the right ways, the only expectation is that I live up to the promise of the piece . . . we should be excellent or else why bother? It's a high standard to be held to but I have always expected nothing less of myself . . . we make an exceptional team.

Next up? A day or two to reflect and then I'll look at my newer pieces with fresh eyes, finishing Damage Control at the workshop next week and in a few weeks we'll hear about the NY Fringe Festival . . . fingers crossed for that.

For now though basking in the glow of Letter of Resignation.

Next up: One Man Talking

So Letter of Resignation is accepted for One Man Talking. The performance is March 5th at 5 pm! Not too far off, but I ought to be able to get it together. Bette is directing, as she did last year for Like a Sack of Potatoes. Should be fun. The challenge is to get people out for it . . . here's hoping!

I'm also seriously considering the NY Fringe Festival this year . . . might be an ideal time since the Woodstock Fringe ain't happening this time around . . . so all in all should/could be a rocking year.

We shall see.

My morning pages

Maybe I should make this blog a morning ritual, like the morning pages in An Artist's Way. Maybe if I did that it would do two things: get me writing consistently again and be more regular with the old blogging!

Of course the blog started to track Old Hickory and I was very religious in keeping it updated as Wallace and I adventured with the piece . . . not so much recently. So let's play catchup!

The Snowball Festival was . . . let's say . . . interesting. I'm certainly glad I didn't put a lot of energy into the tech end of things because I was in a small gallery space (smaller than many of the rehearsal rooms you see around town) with no lights to speak of and no sound equipment. I had done the piece for some friends in their dining room the weekend before and it was good practise for the minimalist approach as it was just me and my knives basically.

That has it's charms for sure. People have nothing to be distracted by and listen to the words more? Maybe. At any rate, seven people showed for the Snowball Fest and they all seemed pretty enthusiastic about it . . . I don't think I'll do it again next year however . . . but hey, it was a chance to act on a Saturday! And to keep Old Hickory warmed up.

Which leads me to my next topic - the possibility of doing it in the city as part of SoloNova Festival in May. I should be hearing from them in the next week or so . . . they said 'on or about Jan. 31' . . . so fingers crossed. It would be three or four performances so it would be a sweet thing to do. I figure I've done OH 13 times for paying audiences . . . a few more would be awesome.

I heard from One Man Talking . . . and to my shock they made me an alternate this year! That really surprised me. Letter of Resignation is as good as any of the others really and I was looking forward to the opportunity, but it it is what it is I suppose . . . I sure can't make them do it! And it is a lot of work for one performance. Still and all . . . the fourth consecutive year would have been nice.

I need to get back to working on a couple of things . . . the solo piece about posing has a lot of potential . . . I'm going to try to whip it into some kind of shape for the Voices From the Fringe this year.

So . . . that's about it for now . . . a tad more consistency in posting is another goal!

2012 a tad of reflection

I think it all together appropriate to look back at the year past and take stock. A good year in just about every way:

First and foremost: our daughter returned safely from her semester in Peru, which was a relief. What an experience for her in so many ways . . . I couldn't be more proud of her.

Theater:

1) I got to perform three of my solo pieces; Old Hickory in Nyack, Like a Sack of Potatoes at One Man Talking, and Letter of Resignation as both a reading (in NYC) and a staged reading (in Woodstock). Though the pace was intense for the first couple of months of the year, with about two weeks between OH and Sack of Potatoes, it still was very rewarding.

2)I got to perform in someone else's play with other actors! What a treat that was. When all you focus on is the solo stuff there are elements of the experience that you forget, and one of those is other people being involved and working with and off them and using that energy to feed off of . . . it was a wonderful time and getting to work closely with Bette and Wallace (the writer/director/visionary) made it that much more rewarding.

3) Other plays in the hopper: two solo pieces in various stages of construction and the third and final piece of the miners trilogy, which I have been working on since taking into the Fringe workshop this fall.

I didn't see nearly enough theater this year, but what can you do. Saw the wonderful Clybourne Park and the disappointing Other Desert Cities in one day, which was a new experience! Also managed to get in the amazing One Man Two Guv'nors . . . I hope to laugh that hard again some day. Outside of B'way we did see Tribes, which was well directed and acted, but I wouldn't call it one of those essential theater memories (a nice topic for a future post).

On a personal level: my job is going about as well as it could go. I don't talk about it much, if at all, here, because this is about the theater side of me, but without the means to pay the bills, there would be a very limited theater side of me. Bette's career is also doing very well, she has as many patients as she can handle and more call for services all the time.

So as we put 2012 in a box and shlepp it to the attic, there is much to look forward to in the coming year . . . and I look forward to surprises as well! This time last year, I knew I was doing OH in Nyack and Potatoes at OMT, but I had no idea about Wallace's play or what the final form of Letter of Resignation would be. Much to look forward to . . . and to be at an age when many or most are calling it a day, having long since forgotten or set aside their dreams . . . to be at that age and still excited about what happens next, what opportunities will arise or what I will create in the coming year . . . to still be pursuing all this that I longed so much for before I moved to the city nearly 26 years ago (Jan 11 1987). . . I don't take one second of that for granted and I hope for many more years to come with that same level of anticipation and excitement! The Great Work does indeed continue!