SEPTEMBER 1998 ----------------------------In this issue------------------------------------------ Life in the Theatre Dealing with the creative dry-patch Letter from London New Correspondent Laurence Gibson visits the Reduced Shakespeare Company Voices in Contemporary Theatre Spirit Dance, Casting Twelfth Night, A Chat with Gary Izzo, Billie Thrash: A Non-Star's perspective on star-studded Follies The Play's the Thing Welcome to The Hamlet Family Feud Rubin's Corner Robert Rubin muses about New Music, and revisits the Long, Hot Summer. CyberTheatre Monthly This month: The International Center for Women Playwrights and The Oscar Wilde Quote Generator Enter Laughing Here's one creative solution to the stalled-manuscript dilemma. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Life in the Theatre I think we’ve all suffered through phases when it seems that any ounce of creativity we’ve ever had has simply dried up and gone away. When going into rehearsal seems like an impossible nightmare because you have no idea how to solve the end of the show. When sitting down to attack the last half of Act Two seems so distasteful that you’d even rather do the dishes than face that accusingly blank screen. When the umpteenth design change has not only blown the budget but the shops groan whenever they see you walk in. When you know that you’re only going to get three cues set in Act One because your director doesn’t know what he/she wants and you open in two days. When you cannot for the life of you remember the three-page speech you’ve been rehearsing for days. We’ve all been there, even the best of us. The real question is, how do we deal with it? Do we panic? Do we sulk? Do we stay in bed and pull the covers over our heads and pretend we have a high fever? Do we give everyone the day off? I’ve tried all of these remedies, plus a few more involving large quantities of alcohol, and none of them seem to work. The last show that I directed was one of those nightmare situations where the atmosphere in the rehearsal hall was so tense that my brain froze. All the prep work in the world didn’t prepare me for that desperate feeling that I was hanging on by my finger nails and I would gladly let go and plunge to my doom rather than face another day of it. It did me no good to remind myself that I’d been directing three shows a year for over twelve years so I should know what I was doing by now. It did me no good to remind myself that "this too shall pass". It did me no good to eat Tylenol and Rolaids (always a winning combination when under stress!) and pretend that I didn’t care. Because I did care, desperately and achingly care, that I was not performing well under these conditions and as the director I had no one to turn to for help with the situation. I wish I had a wise and witty solution to all this and could assure you that things finally got better….but I’m afraid they didn’t. I worked in a fog for four weeks and I think it must have been one of the worst shows I have ever done, at least from my perspective. Amazingly the show did get staged, the cast did perform well and the set, costume and lights did look lovely…but I don’t think I had much to do with any of it. I guess I did the wisest thing I could do in this situation, I stepped back and let everyone else get on with what they did extremely well…thank heavens I had chosen good people! And I did manage to drag up some courage from somewhere and ensure that the hostility in the rehearsal hall was all directed at me and didn’t spill over onto anyone else. It seemed about all I was capable of doing in the situation. I’m sure the actors amongst us have all experienced at least one show where you’ve been the "whipping boy" where it seems anything you do is torn to shreds by your director or your fellow cast members. And I’m sure you must feel totally inadequate and miserable and wish you could quit. And I’m sure that the designers amongst us have all experienced at least one show where your design is so consistently trashed or manipulated that you feel you might as well quit because it bears no resemblance to anything you care to see on a stage, let alone a design with your name attached to it. All I can say is…don’t quit! You would be amazed at the good that come out of a situation that seems like a personal disaster. I learned a couple of things about myself and my work-methods from my last disastrous show. I learned that although I am a director who prefers to work as part of a team, there are times when I must change my methods. There are times when I must put on those high, shiny boots and play Dictator. When my natural instinct to listen to all opinions and then make a decision must be put to one side and I must make definite statements up front about the way I want the show to be. When I must curb my instinct to let an actor show me what they think and then either accept or reject it, and instead I must bark orders and force the actor to do as I say whether it’s right or wrong. Because on reflection I realized that my method of "consensual directing" (if there is such a word) can be interpreted as weakness rather than strength and ignorance rather than flexibility. And for the sake of the show I must change if there is obviously no hope of changing the other person. So I learned something new from my personal disaster, and that’s a good thing. After the show closed I received many letters and cards from the company and they all thanked me for my patience and they all said that they had learned a lot from me during the rehearsal period. I was utterly astonished! It appeared that despite the frozen fog that inhabited my brain I had, through sheer instinct or blind habit, managed to do some directing after all. So I learned something else from my personal disaster, I learned that whatever you’re feeling on the inside isn’t necessarily what people see on the outside. And if you can force yourself to remain calm and plod through the days with your teeth clenched and your nails biting into the palms of your hands you may just manage to pull off a mini-miracle and get the job done…and that’s a good thing too. So the next time any of you are in a situation like this, just remember one thing…keep doing your very best and eventually "this too shall pass". After all it’s only a play, right? --- Gil Osborn has worked in theatre for over 30 years in many capacities, most recently as Artistic Director of English Theatre and the National Arts Centre in Ottawa, where she returned this winter to direct the Canadian Premiere of MASTER CLASS. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Voices in Contemporary Theatre Spirit Dance Spirit Dance, a new theatrical event that celebrates American Indian culture through contemporary and traditional dance, music and drumming, will begin a pre-Broadway US national tour in Los Angeles in September, 1999, hoping to do for Indian culture what Riverdance did for Celtic. Additional dates, including New York, will be announced shortly. Spirit Dance is an unprecedented collaboration between composer Peter Buffett, lyricist/vocalist/musical collaborator Chief Hawk Pope of the Shawnee remnant tribe, and Tony Award-winning Broadway director/choreographer Wayne Cilento. The creation of Spirit Dance began as a 1997 recording on Hollywood Records by Peter Buffett and Chief Hawk Pope which was made following their collaboration on the highly successful CBS television mini-series, "500 Nations." Milwaukee-based musician Peter Buffett has contributed music to the soundtracks of "Dances with Wolves" and "The Scarlet Letter." Chief Hawk Pope has served as an advisor on Disney's "Pocahontas" and Warner Brothers' "Tecumseh." The next step in the development of Spirit Dance is a television special recorded for PBS and home video this August in at a tryout run in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Taped at the 2,200 seat Weidner Center (August 7-9), Tony Award-winner Wayne Cilento will direct and choreograph the show which features a cast of more than 70, including over 20 contemporary and traditional dancers, percussionists, musicians, traditional vocalists and the Green Bay Oneida Nation Girls Choir. Cilento, an original cast member of "A Chorus Line", choreographed the hit Broadway productions of "Tommy" and "How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying", is one of Broadway's most in-demand directors and choreographers. Other members of the Spirit Dance team include renowned American Indian flautist Robert Mirabal, winner of a 1998 Native American Music Award (the ‘Nammies') and a Hanay Geigamah, playwright and artistic director of the American Indian Dance Theatre. At a press conference to announce the Spirit Dance performances in Wisconsin, members of the Oneida and Menominee nations demonstrated enthusiasm for the project. Artley Skenandore, general manager of the Oneida Nation, acknowledged the protocol that the producers observed by meeting with local tribes before going ahead with the performances in Green Bay: "They set the spiritual intent in front of them," Skenandore said, sometimes speaking in the Oneida language. Chief Hawk Pope stressed that he is eager to showcase American Indian talent in something new: "Spirit Dance lets us say something that's very important to me -- that native people didn't just used to be creative; they're still creative. I sing the songs that our people have made in this world for thousands and thousands of years. These sounds came from the ancestors and from the spirits of the whole people. [In Spirit Dance] I often think of myself as being someone to let them sing again. And for them to dance again means that they still live." Producer Peter Holmes a Court commented, "Spirit Dance is a truly joyous confluence of creative talent from around the world which I believe will create an emotional entertainment of great integrity and fun!. Inspired by the traditions of a great culture we will be presenting a performance of dance and music which will be both dazzling and truly original. I'm delighted that the artistic elements are meshing so stunningly, and excited by the PBS pledge special, Hollywood Records Release and the upcoming tour." Casting the Lincoln Center Twelfth Night NEW YORK (AP) -- In the black loose-leaf binders that fill the bookcase behind his desk, Daniel Swee keeps track of the actors he has placed on stage. Writing in scribble worthy of a harried physician, Swee records his comments about the hundreds of performers who have appeared over the years in such acclaimed Lincoln Center Theater productions as "The Heiress," "Carousel" and "Ah, Wilderness!" Matching the right actor with the right role is not an easy task, but as the theater's resident casting director, Swee helps directors, playwrights and the center's producing duo of Andre Bishop and Bernard Gersten make those difficult choices. It was Swee who had a hand in picking what seems like a dream cast for the theater's current production of "Twelfth Night," playing through August at the Vivian Beaumont Theater. The 22 actors in this revival of Shakespeare's most blissful comedy range from Academy Award winner and TV star Helen Hunt to stage veterans Philip Bosco, Brian Murray and Max Wright to up-and-coming actors like Paul Rudd and Kyra Sedgwick. "There are no rules to casting and they change with every show," Swee says. "It's based on what the show is, where the show is playing and, most importantly, who the director is and how he or she sees the show." The first thing Swee did when he learned "Twelfth Night" was set for production was reread the play. Then he sat down with director Nicholas Hytner. "Casting directors advise, cajole and negotiate," he says. "They help make the decision but the final say is about what the director is looking for." "Twelfth Night" is the fourth project Swee has cast for Hytner, so he is familiar with the way the British director works. Their collaborations have included "Carousel" and the recent film "The Object of My Affection." "The best way to begin is to start tossing out casting ideas to the director and having them respond -- whether it is 'yes' or 'no' to a certain actor and why. "Sometimes it is practical to start with a wish list of actors because you may get your wish list. Other times it serves as a jumping-off point in a search for other actors." Was Helen Hunt, winner of an Academy Award for "As Good as It Gets" on that list? "Not a lot of other actresses were under consideration," the casting director says vaguely. Swee is a model of diplomatic discretion when asked about a specific actor's audition or who auditioned for what role. For him, the audition process takes on the characteristics of patient-doctor or client-lawyer privilege. For "Twelfth Night," things came together quickly. Swee started working on the play in February. Rehearsals began the first week in May. Hunt always wanted to play the role of Viola, Swee says, and her agent contacted Lincoln Center when he learned they were planning a production. Swee sees a lot of shows; so does his assistant, Cindy Tolan. They usually meet the following morning to discuss what they saw. "I have a good memory," he says. "If someone is really good, you remember them. The harder ones are people who seem talented but are in a terrible production." Swee keeps lists of actors and programs of plays he and Tolan have seen. They go each year to the presentations many graduating classes at acting schools do. Plus he constantly consults dog-eared copies of Theater World, an invaluable annual reference book of New York, touring and regional productions. For "Twelfth Night," Swee's memory came in handy for several of the lesser roles. For example, he first noticed Rick Stear, who plays Sebastian, four years ago at the North Carolina School of the Arts in Winston-Salem where Swee gives workshops for the graduating classes on how to audition. Stear was brought in to read for three or four roles at Lincoln Center over the last few years and first worked there as an understudy on "The Little Foxes" in 1997. And Swee first saw Amy Hill, who plays the lusty and fun-loving Maria, some 10 years ago at casting conferences in San Francisco and then caught up with her again in a recent sitcom. "When I was starting out, there weren't people who came into the theater saying, 'I want to be a casting director.' Maybe that's changing," Swee says. "It seems to me casting is not something you know about until you start actually working in the theater. You need a knowledge of other parts of the business so you are looking at it as part of a whole. "You learn by doing it. You can't study casting. Part of it is getting to know as many actors as possible. Then being able to make the leap -- to be able to assess their strengths and weaknesses -- and if they would work in a particular play or not. A lot of the rest of it is then personality. "You can't do the job well if you don't have a point of view. But in the best of all possible worlds, we shouldn't be around. But the way the business has happened, we are a necessity." Swee describes himself as the go-between on a production -- dealing with directors and writers and producers. Under ideal circumstances, they get along with each other and always communicate well. Casting director is a very nebulous job. Everybody has an opinion about actors -- and the easiest criticism to make about performers is to say they are miscast. Swee fell into casting. "As a kid, I had been interested in acting, but eventually decided that I wanted to learn how theaters were run," he says. He started as an intern at a small off-Broadway theater, the Hudson Guild Theater in Chelsea, doing a little bit of everything -- free. At the Hudson Guild, he had the title of assistant to the managing director and then took over the job after his boss left and everyone realized Swee was the only one who knew the theater's arcane bookkeeping system. Eventually, he started assisting the producing director in casting. He then moved on to Theater Communications Group, where he did casting in New York for regional theaters such as the Alley Theater in Houston, Actors Theater of Louisville and Capital Rep in Albany, N.Y. He then went to Playwrights Horizons, another off-Broadway theater, where he met Andre Bishop. It was Bishop who brought him to Lincoln Center Theater. Swee has to have a good rapport with talent agents, and he is on the phone with them all the time. Some are trying to get their clients work; others are fending off offers. "For example, Kevin Kline's agent is not calling around to theaters trying to get his client jobs," he says. "That's very different from a 24-year-old actor who graduated from NYU a year ago and is looking to be noticed." Swee has to say "no" a lot. "But when I get to say 'yes,' it's really gratifying. And even if you are saying 'no,' you also are seeing people for whom an audition means a lot," he adds. A Chat with Improvisation Guru, Gary Izzo Gary Izzo, accomplished director and author of Acting Interactive Theatre: A Handbook and The Art of the Play: The New Genre of Interactive Theatre speaks about new kinds of theatrical performance: from traditional improvisation, Theme Parks and Renaissance Faires to semi-scripted "event" shows like Tony 'n' Tia's Wedding and Grandma Sylvia's Funeral. Marie: There's so much variety in your work - Theme Parks, Improv, RenFaires. Maybe we can start with what you're working on right now? GI: Right now I'm in upstate New York working in the Sterling Renaissance Festival. We're half-way through rehearsal and open in two weeks. It's been very handy having my book to hand to cast members. : ) The Festival is an outdoor recreation of an Elizabethan village. Interactive characters fill the lanes as townspeople. We have a cast of forty actors each with a town character. They do a combination of free improv in the lanes, rehearsed scenarios and stage plays. It's an eight hour performance. And we perform scenarioed events and Shakespeare plays, etc. This year Twelfth Night, As You Like It, Moliere's Scanarelle and an original Commedia del' Arte play in one-hour cuttings. We find that these shorter plays are more accessible to the Festival audiences as there is a lot going on at the same time. Marie: And I guess the audience recognizes some of the actors they met in the streets? GI: Yes, we use archetypal characters like a Mayor, Sherrif, etc. We don't do "Living History" like Colonial Williamsburg. We call it a dramatic recreation. It is authentic, but theatrical and comic (larger than life) - like Commedia del' Arte. Marie: Do you decide on a "theme" each year? GI: The premise is always Queen Elizabeth I on summer progress visiting the town of Warwick, England. There are early music troupes, jousters, period comedy and variety acts including Don Juan and Miguel, Theatre of Fools, Giacomo the Jester and others. Marie: Who puts all this together? Is it rehearsed? GI: Very much so. I and a staff of about ten directors and writers, over a course of ten months, put the show together. I am the Artistic Directors and conduct the workshops and direct the overall production. Staff changes somewhat from year-to-year. The festival runs 7 weekends, from 4th of July to mid august. That's not all. We have about 20 other performing groups performing on outdoor stages. Marie: What do your directors do in a production like this? And how do they prepare for the audience interaction? GI: The directors "write" the production by designing its subject, environment, characters, and themes to be dealt with. They then help the actors create characters that serve the production and also originate from the actor's self. Then performance elements (the action or routines of the show) are rehearsed much like Commedia is rehearsed from a scenario. It is very Commedia in its concept. Marie: Many directors I’ve talked to who’ve attempted interactive shows have found many people in the audience are terrified of being "singled out". How do you pull people into this type of participation? GI: Much of my technique revolves around creating a safe play space in which the audience feels comfortable, even inspired to interact. Many interactive productions miss this crucial first step and interactive theatre becomes a theatre of embarrassment instead of a theater of joyful, creative play. Marie: I assume you cover that in your book. The creation of "safe play space." GI: Yes, I do cover that. In fact a lot of the 2nd book gives a detailed process to follow to create and maintain that space. In simplest terms: a Temenous is created within the ensemble first. When actors begin to create in a space of non-judgement we then use techniques to turn that space outward to include the audience. It involves a lot of trust exercises, spontaneity and creativity work as well. It's awfully hard to capsulize it, but as actors work with each other in a state of trust, and regard the audience in a positive, approachable and non-threatening manner, that trust is established. We seek to capture interest rather than demand attention. We make invitations to play, not requirements. Marie: and if someone refuses to "play"? GI: Then that offer is accepted and they are released form playing. Often l feel that freedom leads to them joining in later. Marie: Do you find that the audience enjoys themselves more if they are a part of the experience, as opposed to watching something that has been finished and polished before they ever got there. GI: It's hard to compare the two experiences because they are fundamentally different but being a part of the production activates them more personally since they are invested in a role in that production. A role that isn't that of "audience" but that of performer - albeit in a limited sense. Marie: Do you find audience reaction to the "interaction" stratified by age or gender or..........?????? GI: No, no stratification at all. Everyone has a connection to playing. Marie: Is that what led you to this type of theatre? GI: Ooh, I've always been fascinated with the idea of audience intimacy. Being an actor I understand that place inside the illusion and wanted a way to bring the audience "onstage" as well. It is an experience they never have but is nonetheless the theatrical experience. Theatre should be fun and reflect needs in the society of which it is a part, today our info age is too fat, too impersonal and lacks human connection and ritual. Interactive theatre provides this and reconnects the audience member to their inner sense of creative play. A Conversation with Billie Thrash A Non-Star's view of the Star-Studded Revival of Follies MM: Let's begin at the beginning. How did you get hooked on theatre ? Billie: At the ripe old age of 5. With my first dancing lessons. They needed a child for a school play. After that I hounded my parents to take me to every play, musical, etc. in sight. MM: What kind of dancing was it then ? Billie: Well...I can't really remember for sure what all it was...but I do remember tap shoes. A few years later I began taking ballet, jazz and tap. At one point because we lived in the middle of nowhere, my grandmother would drive me 120 miles roundtrip three times a week to take class. She was very special, and I was lucky in that regard. MM: When did you start to think you might want to do this professionally? Billie: Strangely, I never wanted to dance professionally although I loved it. It was the acting and singing that really got me, but the dancing was a big help. When I first starting seeing professional productions, touring companies and the like, was when I really knew that theatre was a pretty special occupation. I was a drama major in college. MM: And your family continued to be supportive, when it went from afterschool classes to actual college major ? Billie: Yeah...sort of. They didn't fight me....but they kept saying things like "How about a business major"? Actually, I took secondary ed. courses as well. So the possibility of my teaching calmed them down. And I actually did teach one year, which eventually evolved into teaching theatre after a side venture into advertising. Strangely, I kept theatre as an avocation for quite some time. MM: Your pre-Follies bio is quite impressive - Woman of the Year, George M. No No Nannette...What are some of the high points for you in that period? Billie: Woman of the Year was definitely a high point. It was at a stock theatre and no one was sure how it was going to work. Candice Earley who was at the time on "All My Children" and had a Broadway background played the lead. I played Jan. (the Marilyn Cooper role) One scene, one song...never had so much fun in my life. MM: That's the "Grass is always Greener" song? Billie: Right. It is so well written....that if it doesn't work....it's YOUR fault. That's the only scary thing. But it worked. And strangely enough, it was a totally different kind of character than I usually played. I was usually the wisecracking friend. MM: What were some of the other roles/shows you were doing at that time ? Billie: Lottie in Mack and Mabel, Nickie in Sweet Charity, Cleo in Most Happy Fella. You know... All wisecracking friends. MM: How did Follies come about ? Billie: Well, as you know I am not a New Yorker and do most of my work from around my own area. But I have on occasion gone to NY for auditions. Over the course of the years I've met and worked with lots of terrific people. One of those contacted me and asked if I'd be interested in auditioning for this. It would require being away for a lengthy period of time....plus having a long haul from here to NY for auditions, but....I am such a fan of Sondheim shows...I couldn't imagine not at least trying. It worked. Plus I had done two previous productions of "Follies" and had hoped that would have been helpful. MM: Was one of those prior productions with the person who told you to audition? Billie: I had not done the show with that person, but he had seen me do it. I was cast as Dee Dee West, one of three characters in the show that are basically "adult ensemble" They are, however, roles. And are considered part of the Weismann Girls. MM: Was it intimidating going from local stock to such a major company, with such major stars ? Billie: Yes...at first. But I was made to feel so welcome by cast and staff, it passed very quickly. MM: I can't quite fathom what it must be like to have all that talent on stage with you - this production's cast – Tony Roberts, Kaye Ballard, Anne Miller, must be an extraordinary experience seeing a cast like that come together. It was very exciting, not just because of who they were but because of what they could do. Please note, I did not say what they HAD done. These people were still consummate performers. Tony Roberts is Very personable. I didn't get to be around him all that much because the only time we shared the stage was in a crowd. But, when I'd watch him work, it was wonderful. This is a man who likes to do things right. Still, it was great fun during the rehearsal breaks to hear some of the old stories. Just listening to a pro like Donald Saddler who had won two Tony's for his choreography talk about working with such people as Merman, Martin, Channing, etc.etc. Or to hear Ann Miller talk about actually working with Cole Porter, Irving Berlin...etc. When you have loved musical theatre as much as I do. This was pretty much heaven. You were speaking earlier of possible intimidation. Well, imagine how I felt the first day we began working on the "Who's That Woman" number. With Donna McKechnie by my side. Once again though it quickly passed because of the great attitudes by everyone. MM: Sounds like it was a happy company. Billie: It really was at least from my point of observation. Everyone was a pro. Everyone knew we had something special and were just enjoying the heck out of it. MM: Vincent Canby and others frequently mentioned the show going to Broadway after Papermill. Was that possibility something the cast was mindful of, or is there too much else to think about in the rush of performance? Billie: It would have been impossible not to know, the buzz was so loud. The cast, however, as a group, pretty much low keyed it. Most of those people had been there, done that and knew it wasn't so until the contracts were signed. It certainly did add to the excitement. MM: It would have to, I expect. All New York had to make the pilgrimage. Billie: Everyone really seemed liked it. One fun thing for us were Sunday nights when many Broadway shows were dark. We of course were performing. So some of the casts of the Broadway shows would trek out to see us. MM: Which brings up the Tony Awards - just a one week extension would have left you in the city long enough to catch them, and more to the point - all those out-of-town showbiz people who came to NY for the Tonys could have caught it. Why didn't they extend? Billie: Well, I can't speak for Paper Mill but I would assume it was because they had another show "Will Rogers Follies" to open. Because they are a subscription house, It would be very difficult to change things. We did add one extra performance. MM: I see. On a personal note - what did you get to see while you were so close to the city ? Billie: As much as I had time to, which unfortunately wasn't as much as I would have liked. Ragtime, The Lion King, High Society, Chicago, Cabaret, Smokey Joe's Cafe. I'm leaving something out. It'll come to me. MM: Not too shabby Billie: No, it was great to see all that. It was such a great season....wanted to get to the plays as well. But when you're working it's hard to go all the time. MM: Now there's a cast album on the way - it's release date is pretty soon, isn't it ? Billie: Yes. Playbill Online said September 22. However can't find official confirmation of that as yet. But it will definitely be this fall. MM: What's it like to know you’ll be part of the definitive recording? Billie: Well, we may have to wait until the reviews are in to make that assumption. Seriously, It is a very special recording. The most complete recording of material for the show ever. I think almost more than any composer's audience, the Sondheim audience wants to have it all. MM: Your family must be happy to have you back home. Billie: It was a 7 week run with a little over three weeks rehearsal. I was gone 2 and a half months. But it's no different than the New Yorkers who tour out of the city for much longer periods. MM: You've a theatre-hubby then, who takes it in stride Billie: Yes, he does. He's in television and a former professional musician...so he gets it. Plus he loves those field trips to wherever I am. I'm lucky. MM: Was Follies a personal best - or is there some other project you're particularly proud of ? Billie: That's a hard one, Marie. Let me think. "Follies" was certainly the "biggest" production I've ever done and an extraordinary experience. I have had over the years found satisfaction and reward in various types of theatre work. Certainly there are many things in which I have taken much pride both as performer and as a director, but this one certainly was the most visible. MM: What's next for you ? Billie: More directing. Productions of "Ruthless" and "I Hate Hamlet". "Ruthless" is this Fall. Opens November 27 at Carpenter Square Theatre in Oklahoma City. We're getting ready for auditions now. MM: Busy, Busy Don't know what I'd do without it. I enjoy time off occasionally...but then I start getting restive. I really miss those dark, dusty theatres. --- From the Mailbox: Just saw Book of Days, world premiere of Lanford Wilson's newest. Really liked the whole evening. Had a few friends in the cast, and the director is an old friend.....they had Wilson up for the entire rehearsal process, there every day, cutting, changing. Very nice evening ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ CyberTheatre Monthly International Centre for Women Playwrights The ICWP site began in September 1997 with a single webpage page and has grown to a thriving network of over 50 sites covering 6 genres, a widely-read newsletter, numerous online resources (including our own 1501Broadway.com). The Center is dedicated to promoting the achievements of women playwrights, encouraging production of their plays, translation, publication, and international distributions of their works, providing a means for communication and contact among the sister community of the world's women dramatists, assisting them in developing the tools of their craft, in determining their own artistic forms, and in setting their own critical standards, encouraging scholarly and critical examination and study of the history and the contemporary work and concerns of women playwrights, and supporting their efforts to gain professional equality, and "to express their own personal, artistic, social, and political vision without censorship, harassment, or personal danger." Oscar Wilde Quotation Generator Oscariana celebrates the life and times of Oscar Wilde, and will produce any number of quotations far more intriguing than the Magic 8-Ball sites. To suggest a theatre, dance, or music-related website for CyberTheatre Monthly, write to Theatre@1501broadway.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Letter from London Reduced Shakespeare Company Criterion Theatre, London, U.K. Comedies come, comedies go. Seldom do they bask under the spotlight. Rarely do they receive more than an inch or two in column space. In fact, scarcely does anything witty run for more than a couple of weeks at any of the major theatres that configure the West End. Then there’s Shakespeare. Hardly mainstream material. Naturally, there are the die-hard, antique theatregoers - those that can resist the pull of the ultra-trendy contemporary crowd pleasers that currently reign in London - who traipse to and fro Stratford and the Barbican Centre to pay homage to the Royal Shakespeareans. This antediluvian audience aside, the venerable Bard no longer has the weight to hold down a major stage. Maybe that is why England’s most distinguished export has been put through so much in recent years. If Verona’s most famous lovers can be teen heart-throb material and spend their time messing around in fish pools, and Hamlet reproduced in its full glory on the silver screen by peroxide upstarts, is there any boundary that cannot be crossed? That question should be put to the Reduced Shakespeare Company, whose irreverent assault on the writings of the Bard produce 97 minutes of slapstick hilarity as they skid through every one of his 37 plays at break-neck speed. Some plays are credited with rather more time than others and Hamlet, for example, gets a positively thorough text. Nevertheless, Shakespeare was allegedly so repetitive that "all the 16 comedies could have just been one" and are , therefore, are given a rather short shrift. The R.S.C make the editorial decision to clump them together into one ridiculous monologue titled, for brevity’s sake, Four Weddings and a Transvestite and claim that "basically, the comedies aren’t nearly as funny as the tragedies." Naturally. Most of the jokes are older than the theatre itself, and about as subtle as a brick. The crew dish out a wholesome supply of puking, howling, groin-thrusting and cross-dressing. Then there’s the audience degradation - slapstick is never complete without plenty of that. Curiously few children were present in the audience and, in reality, it was the adults (those that should know better, by now) who guffaw most at the jokes. Probably because the humour comes not just from the chaos and buffoonery, but also from the literary recognition. The Reduced Shakespeare Company is now in its third year in the West End, making it the longest running comedy currently playing in London, as was nominated for an Olivier Award for Best Comedy in 1997. But they don’t stop there. Oh no. The R.S.C has two other troops of barbarians, one based in the U.S, proving they have appeal on both sides of the Atlantic. So why such a success? If, as we have already established, comedies are typically short-lived and Shakespeare usually has his own niche audience, why have this group received such acclaim from critics and audiences alike? Perhaps it is their breezy, brash American confidence; perhaps it is their flamboyant physical exertions, so clearly a derivative of the company’s early days as street entertainment; perhaps it is their universal appeal or, dare I suggest, perhaps it is simply about time that someone poked fun at one of Britain’s dustier establishments. Furthermore, the company, unhappy to just ridicule the great literary works of our time, have two other works currently "in repertory." The same team of cultural guerrillas that bring us The Complete Works of Shakespeare (abridged) also turn their sights to The Complete History of America (abridged) and even to The Bible: The Complete Word of God (abridged). God help us. So keep your eyes peeled. This group of ‘Bard-busting’ showmen, who justifiably claim to put the rattle ‘n’ roll between the Shake ‘n’ speare, are touring the globe - with a mission to prove that there is no abridgement too far. Be warned, blink and you will miss them. Letter from London is a new feature by Laurence Gibson. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The Play's the Thing Hello TRE readers! By the time you read this, I will have completely the arduous task of moving from the San Francisco Bay area to San Diego. I should also be safely tucked into some cozy theatre class at San Diego State University, or else numb from going through the audition process for their season of shows (more on that in a later article, but they have a great season ahead!). I am, at this very moment, up to my eyeballs in packing boxes. You should see the sadness in my eyes at not being able to reach my plays...ok, I admit it, I kept my softback edition of the Complete Works of William Shakespeare unpacked for the trip! It took nearly three banker boxes to pack my plays. Definitely sounds like someone needs to start reading something else besides plays all the time, but I wonder who (and quite pointing at me, haha). With everything packed and unreachable, it is going to be hard for me to come up with a new article for this month. So, (to make a short article longer I keep going on and on, haha) I have decided to offer up something humorous that I wrote for a Shakespeare class I had last year. The class had to write response papers to each of the plays we read. By the time we got to Hamlet, I was so tired of the melancholy mood of the play, that my response turned into a funny twist on the play. With apologies to William Shakespeare, I offer this irreverent view of his classic play. Welcome to The Hamlet Family Feud Let’s say you have read Hamlet a dozen times before and have grown tired of the whole "melancholy Dane" routine. You are bored with the endless questions of Hamlet and Ophelia’s madness. You are worn out trying to follow the subterfuge. And there is that hint of incest which has worn out the entire world of Shakespeare scholars. How could you approach the play with a breath of freshness? What trail could you follow that might lead you to new insights into the characters and the plot, subplots, twists and turns? Might I suggest you sit down this time and read it like the old game show The Family Feud. "Tonight’s contestants are Hamlet, Gertrude, Claudius and the Ghost of Hamlet Sr, the Hamlet family from Elsinore Castle. Over here we have Polonius, Laertes, and Ophelia, the Polonius Family also of Elsinore. And waiting in the wings we have Fortibras, his Uncle Norway, the Fortinbras family of Norway. These families will compete for the coveted Kingdom of Denmark, the very crown itself. The answers to tonight’s questions come from a survey of our studio audience. The contestant family who answers the most questions correctly will win the crown." "Hamlet, Laertes, the first to ring in gets control of the question. Here is the question: Name the top 5 reasons for Hamlet’s depression. Hamlet, you rang in first." "Um, let me see, oh I have it! My father’s death!" "And the answer is, yes that is correct, your answer is number two on the list. Now Laertes you rejoin your family as the Hamlet family plays the question. Gertrude the question falls to you. Name another reason for Hamlet’s depression." "Well I think it is because of his jealousy of my marriage to Claudius." "Are you sure that is the answer you want to give?" "Of course I am, I am the Queen. It is my hasty marriage to his Uncle Claudius!" (Hamlet glares at the Queen and snarls) "Yes Queen Gertrude, that is the top answer of the day." "Now Claudius, there are three answers left on the board. Your answer?" "I believe it is because I have the throne and he does not." (Hamlet snarls again) "The answer Claudius gave was number five. There are still two answers remaining. How about it Hamlet Sr.? What is your answer?" "Well Hamlet took my answer, about my death, but how about this. He is depressed when he finds out I have been murdered!" (Hamlet snarls again while he looks at Claudius) "Let’s check the board." (A loud buzzer sound, and a giant X appears) I am sorry Hamlet Sr. That answer does not appear. The judges have ruled that answer is more connected to Hamlet’s inaction rather than his depression. The question now goes over to the Polonius family. All you have to do is give one of the two remaining answers to win this question. Who will answer for the family?" "I will, Ophelia here. I say that the reason for Hamlet’s depression is that my father demanded that I stop dating Hamlet." (casts a glance Polonius’ way) "And the answer is correct. The Polonius family takes the lead. Oh wait a fight has broken out among the families. Hamlet Sr. disappears into the background. Ophelia dives off the stage and into the audience, drowning in the wave that the audience was attempting to complete. Hamlet throws an X across the stage killing Polonius. Laertes throws a poisoned X at Hamlet and Hamlet throws one back. Gertrude gets thirsty and drinks from a soda Claudius set out for Hamlet. Ooops, Gertrude did not know that Claudius poisoned that soda and she dies. Laertes dies. Hamlet is fading fast. Before he dies, Hamlet makes Claudius drink from the soda too. The stage is covered with bodies. What shall we do? Oh wait, waiting offstage is Fortinbras and his army. Will Fortinbras come on out?" "What happened here? So much carnage? Is this how game shows are supposed to be?" "Well not exactly Fortinbras, but since you are the only one left standing, we declare you the winner on Family Feud!" "What do I win?" "Why the entire kingdom of Denmark!" "Wow, really? Well that is a lot better than that little piece of Poland I just got! Thanks!" " Ladies and Gentlemen, I hope you have enjoyed tonight’s show. Although most of our feuds don’t get this carried away, I must say this evening was more fun than we have had in weeks. Join us next week when we have the Montagues and the Capulets on The Family Feud!" (Cheesy game show music is heard as the show fades) Shakespeare’s Hamlet may not read quite like I depicted it. Be assured that all the elements mentioned are present in the script. Think of Hamlet like a game (or a gameshow) and play along. Find out the clues along the way that lead to the winner and the end of the game. Enjoy it for the dysfunctional family values. BUT, please don’t think of it as just a play about a brooding Dane. --- Caprice Woosley is currently pursuing her BFA in theater (directing and playwriting), after 25 years working in and around the theater. She is a produced playwright, actress, and amateur dramaturg who enjoys researching plays. She is a host in the Writing Forum where she co-hosts a Writing Discussion Group. She also hosted "Shakespeare Unplugged" and "Murder and Mayhem" in the Theatre Forum. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Rubin's Corner New Music One of the questions that the fans of the musical stage always seem to ask is where did that show start. At any given moment, American musical theater is working on a project. Let's take a look at some productions that will be coming to Broadway and some that are just starting on the road to Broadway. The first several original musicals are on their way to Broadway. Dean Pitchford is adopting Footloose, the 1984 film, for Broadway. Walter Bobbie is going to direct. The show is set to begin previews in early October. Two of the songwriters are Sammy Hagar and Kenny Loggins. It has already opened at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. Captains Courageous, the MGM/Kipling classic, has been adopted by Frederick Freyer and Patrick Cook. Its has taken several years to bring it to the Manhattan Theatre Club in January. If you enjoyed Jekyll and Hyde and The Scarlet Pimpernel your in for another "treat." Frank Wildhorn is taking on The Civil War with Jack Murphy and Greg Boyd doing the book. It opens on September 16 at the Alley in Houston and will open on Broadway in April. Remember the Charlotte Bronte’s novel Jane Eyre, which was done as a musical by John Caird and Paul Gordon. It was in limbo for the last two years, but now is expected to come to Broadway after opening in Toronto in late 1996. I am sure that you have read about the trouble in the Livent family . It has put several shows into the hold mode. Parade, a co-production of Lincoln Center Theater and Livent will begin at the Vivian Beaumont Theatre in November. The book is by Alfred Uhry and the music and lyrics by Jason Robert Brown. Harold Prince will direct the production. However, several other Livent productions have been put on hold. The Sweet Smell of Success, a Livent project of the 1997 film with music by Marvin Hamlisch, lyrics by Craign Carnelia, and book by John Guare might never see the lights of a theater. Still other productions have moved to workshops for additional development. Zorro, A Dodger Production, is still in the pre-workshop phase. Wise Guys, Stephen Soundheims latest, based on the live of two brothers, is back in the reading stage. The next production will not be done until Summer, 1999. Don Juan Demarco, the John Depp movie, will have a musical workshop production in May. Mirette, an adoption of "Mirette on the High Wire", will get a workshop production by Harvey Schmidt and Tom Jones of The Fantasticks. Faust, a much-troubled vehicle with a score by Randy Newman may still make it to Broadway. A new version of Thoroughly Modern Millie by Jeanine Tesori may make it to Broadway by the year 2000. You never certain what is going to be happening next in the musical theater. Perhaps a new version of the Scarlet Pimpernel or Martin Guerre could be on the boards by January, 1999. THOUGHT SFROM THE LONG HOT SUMMER If This Is July Can The September Theater Season Be Near? Since we are now well into July its time to ask ourselves about the new theater season on Broadway. First lets take a look at what is happening in London so that we can get a idea of what on its way to Broadway and then let us see what Broadway has decided to present in the Fall Season. London, unlike New York, keeps producing new shows during the summer season. Of special interest to a certain segment of the Broadway audience is Whistle Down the Wind. This production opened at the Aldwych Theatre after an extensive rewrite by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Jim Steinman. This latest is still set in Louisiana and derived from Richard Attenborough’s film. Set to open the same week is a new musical based on the book Doctor Dolittle staring Philip Schofield and the voice of Julie Andrews. Leslie Bricusse wrote the book, music, and lyrics. This promises to be a puppet-laden musical extravaganza. Broadway producers are looking at moving the London hit musical version of Saturday Night Fever to Broadway. This dance show is currently doing sold out business at London’s Palladium. There are several dramas that could make the Broadway before the end of the 1998-99 Broadway season. Things We Do For Love which is written and directed by Alan Aychkbourn, Closer a new comedy which was written and directed by Patrick Marber, and the Almeida Theatre Production of The Iceman Cometh may all make the move to Broadway. All three shows have been doing excellent business in the West End. The first thing to open on Broadway will be in early July. An Evening With Jerry Herman will open on July 29 at the Booth Theatre. This review stars Lee Roy Reems, Florence Lacey and Jerry Herman. It has been rumored that Carol Channing will be doing certain selected performances. August will bring us our first British import of the season, Alan Aychkbourn’s Communicating Doors. This supernatural story was a hit in London two years ago. The Public Theater will finally bring their production of On The Town to Broadway early in the season. This played last summer at the open air theater in Central Park and received some good notices. Previews will begin on October 2nd for a new musical, which will be directed by Walter Bobbie. This dance musical, Footloose, is based on the movie of the same name. The Richard Rodgers Theatre will host this production which will have a cast of unknown performers. Lincoln Center and Livent will present the debut of a new musical called Parade. The book is by Alfred Uhry and the music and lyrics are by Jason Robert Brown. Patricia Birch will do the choreography. The entire production will be directed by Harold Prince and will begin previews on November 12, 1998. This is the first time that a theater company and a private production company will team to produce a new show. Still to be announced are the details for the new Disney show based on Aida. Don’t forget the late season opening of the production of Art and the Beauty Queen of Leemane as will as the Roundabout Production of Side Man, which will all continue on Broadway into the Fall. It should be another busy season in the West End and on Broadway. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Enter Laughing Writers' Dilemma Let's be honesty, for every minute a playwright agonizes over using an "and" or an "or", they'll spend an hour trying to figure out a way to ask Theatre X the status of their manuscript without being labeled impatient or push. Consider the following, based (loosely) on a letter actually sent by a colleague to a major regional reading his latest opus: Dear ________________, Please check the appropriate boxes and return. I have received your play entitled: "______________________" __ It remains unread on the corner of my desk, but I fully intend to get to it before the sun grows cold and the solar system becomes too dark to read. __ I have read it and found it engrossing. It is only the thousand and one headaches that constitute the hell that is my job that prevented my telling you before now. __ Unfortunately, it is too costly to stage. __ There are too many characters and our under our agreement with Equity would it is mathematically impossible to make the play profitable. __ There are too many scene changes and we fear this would result in many SM suicides. __ I despised the play and could not read beyond the first act. It is a closet drama. __ The characters are stiff and unnatural. My assistant had nightmares about Disneyworld Animatronic Characters storming our theatre and enslaving our audiences. He is convinced this is a reaction to your exposition. __ Your speeches are too long and too much in the classical mode for our audiences. Perhaps if you viewed the audience more as we do, a many-headed ferret buzzed on mochachino. __ You have no future as a playwright and I have no interest in reading anymore of your work. I enclose a pamphlet on the many opportunities of network marketing. __ In addition to the literary considerations of plot, character, dialogue, theme and structure, this office evaluates the marketability of the subject matter for all scripts sent to us. You ranked right below the invention of the self-cleaning oven and right above receiving an MRI. __ I elect to pass. __ I loved it and would like to stage it, provided you agree to work with the director on rewrites. Love and kisses, __ Artistic Director __ Literary Manager __ Producer __ Agent The above is a humorous variation on an actual letter. In the real-world version, the recipient checked the first box ("still on the corner of my desk") and jotted a friendly note on the bottom thanking the playwright for the good laugh. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 1998, Mersinger Theatrical Services