On Theatre and Politics - Matthew Freeman

What "bi-partisan" means to that prick Ben Nelson

2009-12-01T13:41:00.001-08:00

Sen. Ben Nelson is going to try to introduce an anti-abortion amendment into the Senate bill that is identical to the Stupak-Pitts amendment.

Uh-huh.

What is completely unreported in all this is that these three men are all members of the same wingnut conservative Christian cultish pro-wealth fringe group.

So I guess being bipartisan means essentially sabotaging your own party's social agenda you're all King David or some shit.

This stuff needs to be better reported as choreographed, so it doesn't take on the illusion of being a part of reasonable debate.

"Strange and Pointless"

2009-11-30T09:43:00.000-08:00

I must frame this amazing review on Amazon.com from Deborah W. Seigman of Killeen TX. She literally threw WHEN IS A CLOCK away to protect her friends and family.

I'm sure Tom Stoppard is relieved to have been spared her fury.

Why not just say it?

2009-11-30T08:08:00.000-08:00

The Women's Project sent out a press release billing itself as the NEA-Rejected Women's Project.

Fan-fucking-tastic.

All the Albee that's fit to print

2009-11-30T07:44:00.000-08:00

Who's Afraid of Edward Albee?, an article by Laura Parker, calls Edward Albee an old fogey. Leonard Jacobs and George Hunka discuss the matter here and here, respectively.

Then, as George points out, there's this. Which I sort of wanted to hug.

So what is there to say? It's not news that Albee personally feels this way, and as, is stated all over the place, there's a sort of personal preference at play here that simply can't be argued with or about.

Still, I think it's noteworthy to point out that plays are more and more often written with the assumption of a director. The director as a second, independent, creative force is now a part of DNA of many new plays. Playwrights should understand why we're making certain choices as we write, or we'll find that we're unconsciously styling plays to fit the needs of others. Instead of writing down a fully formed vision, we'll reduce our impact on our own productions by leaving room for our collaborators before they've even shown up.

Year-End Approaches

2009-11-30T05:14:00.001-08:00

Tomorrow it will be December. Year-End Wrap ups commence. People publish all those best-of lists and what have you. Best Kitchen I Saw In Brooklyn. Ten Best Horticulturalists of 2009. Top Ten Ways I Stopped Myself From Drinking Too Much in 2009. That sort of thing.

I wonder if I'll compile a list like that.

I wonder if you'll help me.

I wonder what it should ... be?

Thanksgiving is over

2009-11-30T05:12:00.000-08:00

Stop giving thanks and get on with it.

-the Management

The arbitrary choice?

2009-11-23T22:36:00.000-08:00

You're watching a traditional play about something like politics. A politician is meeting with a journalist off-the record. The journalist agrees to call the prominent politician a "well positioned source" and commits to anonymity otherwise. Then, slowly it becomes clear that there's more than just fund-raising shenanigans involved in this story. This political champion appears to have done some truly terrible things.

Throughout the fun little scene, the actor playing the journalist keeps clicking her pen. It's looks like a nervous gesture at first, but the longer you watch, the more you realize it seems almost like a...signal? Or even something deeper. The actor is making a point of the pen's importance in the scene perhaps. You notice, with the clicks, what is written down and what, pointedly, is not.

What you don't know is why this is actually happening. Is it because the director believes that the pen of a journalist is symbolic of something or other? Or, did the director just say... "You know what would look cool? Click the pen. I dunno. Click it after each third word that you say."

Is it possible that an arbitrary decision by the creative team and a decision with some complex thought behind it...can look exactly the same? And does it make a difference, really, to the audience member? Does how a decision is arrived at inform what we see?

Can we sense the arbitrary? Or do we just assume that everything we see onstage was put there with a rigorous sense of purpose?

Exposition closes

2009-11-23T10:12:00.001-08:00

Our three day run of Exposition went beautifully. (Here's a nice write up.) I'm proud of the production, and the great work by the cast. Also, this was my first collaboration with Michael Gardner, who worked quietly worked miracles.

Thanks to all who attended and to the Brick. More to come.

To Lieberman someone

2009-11-23T09:52:00.000-08:00

I believe that Lieberman should be a verb. To Lieberman someone. "He totally Liebermaned me!"

Help me define this.

Would it be cite facts that have been long discredited to defend one's position?

Or to stand next to a friend, and then do everything in your power to cause your friend to fail?

Women's Project - Call for Lab Applicants

2009-11-20T11:46:00.000-08:00

Hey there blog reading friends and pals and people who I do not know! Got this note and I wanted to pass it along. A great opportunity for you or maybe someone you know.
^{Women’s Project is pleased to}^{announce the c}^{all for applications to our 2010-2012}^{Lab for Producers, Directors and Playwrights.}^{The Lab is New York City based and begins in September 2010. The application deadline is January 18, 2010.}

Johnna Adams interview

2009-11-19T13:30:00.001-08:00

Lovely interview with her over at Zack's blog.

Opening night

2009-11-19T07:39:00.001-08:00

Exposition begins its brief appearance at the Brick (only three nights) this evening at 9pm. Be there or b squared.

"Here is where you should head this fall to warm your soul amid the diversions of that ever-great and ever-endangered American art form, musical comedy."

- New York Times, Charles Isherwood, about a different play.

Time Out's Upstaged Interview with Me!

2009-11-17T10:14:00.001-08:00

Isn't this a nice kettle of wax? Or a ball of yarn?

Or both?

Which reminds me...buy tickets today for Exposition. Only three nights!

Exposition Tickets are available

2009-11-12T13:02:00.001-08:00

Tickets for Exposition are now on sale. Go here for details.

Three nights only!

Thursday Nov. 19th 9pm
Friday Nov. 20th 8pm
Saturday Nov. 21st 8pm

From Exposition

2009-11-12T10:32:00.000-08:00

A bit of text from EXPOSITION.

I woke up and it occurred to me immediately that I was covered in blood. My blood. I thought “Did I lose my dick?” Then I thought if I was going to become a hermaphrodite like one of those frogs. Then I realized “No, no. That’s not what a hermaphrodite is.” Then I thought I must be in shock. Then I went into shock.

Fan-tastic

2009-11-11T12:48:00.001-08:00

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c

Sean Hannity Uses Glenn Beck's Protest Footage

www.thedailyshow.com

Daily Show
Full Episodes

Political Humor

Health Care Crisis

Exposition

2009-11-06T10:32:00.000-08:00

We're entering into crunch time for Exposition. There will be three performances, November 19th - 21st. When tickets are up for sale, I'll let you know first!

If you're interested in seeing this, make sure you get tickets in advance. Three performances and a cast of seven means seats will go fast.

Might I recommend...

2009-11-05T20:26:00.000-08:00

That you DVR 30 Rock? That show is terrific. Tonight's episode featured some lovely Seagull jokes.

Look out!

2009-11-04T08:35:00.000-08:00

The GOP won two gubernatorial races in states where the incumbent was weak or already deeply unpopular! Democrats are doomed, clearly.

Maine, though, just decided it prefers living in 1955.

Question

2009-11-02T05:22:00.000-08:00

Would your work be any different if selling tickets wasn't a factor?

Let's assume that whatever you did would have a full house. The audience is not guaranteed to enjoy or understand the production, but they're guaranteed to attend.

Would your choice of production be different? Would your choices as a writer or director be different? As an actor, would you have a different relationship with the audience?

Coburn: Portrait of a Total Dick

2009-10-30T06:33:00.001-07:00

“My mission is to frame this health care debate in terms of the fiscal ruin of this country,” said the 61-year-old Mr. Coburn, who recently railed on the Senate floor that the federal debt was “waterboarding ” his five grandchildren. “I have instructed my staff to clear my schedule for every minute that bill is on the floor.”

Observatory

2009-10-29T09:16:00.000-07:00

This young woman (who I spent a lot of personal time with) is one of the people that runs this space. You should check that space out, come to events, and generally fall in love with it. Since it is so very cool.

Blood Brothers

2009-10-28T07:47:00.000-07:00

As annual as Saw and twice as live! Blood Brothers returns tonight!

Remember when

2009-10-27T08:03:00.000-07:00

Fred Thompson was going to be President?

On the other hand...Box Office Numbers

2009-10-26T12:23:00.000-07:00

I know that much of the theater going on in NYC is under a 501(c)3 banner, and that mission-driven grants and fund-raising are a bigger part of our world than are ticket sales... but ticket sales do matter. Obviously, Off-Off or Indie Theater is hard to keep track of that way: there are too many companies to expect buy-in, the record keeping can be spotty, a lot depends on the venue. Still, wouldn't it be interesting to see a website much like Box Office Mojo for Indie Theatre?

Here's why it would useful.

First of all, there's a horse racing element to this type of thing that draws interest. Period. Half of the interest people have in politics is about numbers. Same is true of baseball. People like statistics, they like to see records broken, they like to know when something is successful and why.

Beyond this, it's educational. How many seats are actually sold to any given production? How many of those seats were given away? How many Equity cards were used to get in the door? How profitable are most shows? How much did they cost? How much did the producers make?

Part of this just helps the community discuss what is fair price. They can also get a better sense of which companies are actually getting butts in the seats. It also can be an indicator of price as a part of the decision making process for theatergoers. Or, better yet, an indicator of how people are making decisions at all. If most of the highest grossing Off-Off Broadway shows are in one venue, for example, that becomes something to think about. Does a venue have fans? Does a particular playwright sell tickets? A particular actor?

It might also be (and is likely to be) sobering. I'd count that as a good. Many companies complain that their costs outpace their actual take at the door. I'd like to see that. I'd love to wake people up to the actual cost of doing business in the more intimate venues in town, and see if that sparks some discussion in the wider community.

I think really the only way to make it work feasibly is to ask venues to report their numbers, and have those venues get agreements from individual shows that are being run to report those numbers as well. Then, a website could publish the top 10 of the weekend on a Monday. Perhaps you could say the name of the show, the reported cost of the production, number of tickets sold and at what price, number of performances, the gross box office up to the current date, etc. Instead of starting with all the venues in town (hard to pull off) you'd just pick a few well-trod stages like The Access, The Brick, Under St. Marks, The Kraine, The Metropolitan Playhouse, etc. Then theaters that want to report can self-select.

So...I offer this idea up. What do you think?