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Showing posts with label Anna's Perfect Party. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Anna's Perfect Party. Show all posts
Friday, March 6, 2009
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Notes from the Playwright: Karin Williams
Why I wrote this play...
When you're a parent, you end up going to a lot of birthday parties. After a while, you realize birthday parties for children are not all that different from the parties adults throw for themselves. Yeah, it's fun to run around laughing and screaming on a cake-and-ice cream high.
But, for many kids, attending a birthday party is kind of like attending the inaugural ball. It's monumentally exciting, but it's also full of anxiety. What are you going to wear? Will everybody like your dress, or will your picture end up all over the tabloids with a big red "don't" banner splashed over it? If the band plays a tango, will you know how to do the steps right? Will everybody laugh at you if you trip? Will anybody talk to you, or will you end up sitting in a corner all by yourself? Kids worry about all these issues the same way adults do, and the kids with the most anxiety are usually the ones trying hardest to get everything right.
In this play, I wanted to tell the story of a little girl who's worried about being good enough. She's afraid she won't be good enough at the games, or at the crafts. She's worried her present won't be good enough. And because she's so worried about what everyone else will think of her, she ends up becoming her own harshest critic. Anna's Perfect Party is a story about perfectionism, but really it's a story about self-esteem - which starts with accepting your own strengths and weaknesses - and how you can build self-confidence, one party at a time.
- Karin Williams
But, for many kids, attending a birthday party is kind of like attending the inaugural ball. It's monumentally exciting, but it's also full of anxiety. What are you going to wear? Will everybody like your dress, or will your picture end up all over the tabloids with a big red "don't" banner splashed over it? If the band plays a tango, will you know how to do the steps right? Will everybody laugh at you if you trip? Will anybody talk to you, or will you end up sitting in a corner all by yourself? Kids worry about all these issues the same way adults do, and the kids with the most anxiety are usually the ones trying hardest to get everything right.
In this play, I wanted to tell the story of a little girl who's worried about being good enough. She's afraid she won't be good enough at the games, or at the crafts. She's worried her present won't be good enough. And because she's so worried about what everyone else will think of her, she ends up becoming her own harshest critic. Anna's Perfect Party is a story about perfectionism, but really it's a story about self-esteem - which starts with accepting your own strengths and weaknesses - and how you can build self-confidence, one party at a time.
- Karin Williams
Friday, January 30, 2009
Notes From Justine...
"ANNA” REHEARSAL OBSERVATION 2/27/09
Dreamers dream, and rhymers rhyme whisk the party back in time...
“I’m not quite sure how this time reversal thing goes,” says Alex, the actor who plays the Magician in Anna’s Perfect Party and The Amazing Magician’s Marvelous Mistake.
“Well who is?” I think from my seat, watching the character discussion unfold regarding this magician. Is he sure of his magic? Does he enter the world of this play knowing that everything he sets into motion will work out just fine or are there insecurities about how he can help these kids best? I wonder how it will all unfold in the coming rehearsals.
It's very early in the process, with two of 6 actors missing and the Playwright and the Artistic Director both observing for the first time. Some directors would quake in their boots. Not Nikki Rothenberg. She cheerfully puts her 4 out of 6 through their paces, quickly establishing that much work has already been done.
Already well on its way to full blocking, with real character work emerging through the generic kid-ness the play is just beginning to speak. When Anna is told strenuously “nobody’s perfect!” her plaintive “WHY NOT?” rings clearly. Children don’t seem to come into this world accepting this fact. Anna thinks it’s reasonable to expect perfection of herself and, come to think of it, so do I.
It’s not an easy lesson this play has at its heart: Mistakes are the mother of invention (excuse the misquote); love yourself, and embrace the uniqueness of fallibility. Quite a message for a play about a super fun, wacky birthday party with a magician who’s REALLY Magic, I think…can’t wait for next Tuesday.
Justine Lambert
Artistic Director
TheLooking Glass Theatre
www.lookingglasstheatrenyc.com
Dreamers dream, and rhymers rhyme whisk the party back in time...
“I’m not quite sure how this time reversal thing goes,” says Alex, the actor who plays the Magician in Anna’s Perfect Party and The Amazing Magician’s Marvelous Mistake.
“Well who is?” I think from my seat, watching the character discussion unfold regarding this magician. Is he sure of his magic? Does he enter the world of this play knowing that everything he sets into motion will work out just fine or are there insecurities about how he can help these kids best? I wonder how it will all unfold in the coming rehearsals.
It's very early in the process, with two of 6 actors missing and the Playwright and the Artistic Director both observing for the first time. Some directors would quake in their boots. Not Nikki Rothenberg. She cheerfully puts her 4 out of 6 through their paces, quickly establishing that much work has already been done.
Already well on its way to full blocking, with real character work emerging through the generic kid-ness the play is just beginning to speak. When Anna is told strenuously “nobody’s perfect!” her plaintive “WHY NOT?” rings clearly. Children don’t seem to come into this world accepting this fact. Anna thinks it’s reasonable to expect perfection of herself and, come to think of it, so do I.
It’s not an easy lesson this play has at its heart: Mistakes are the mother of invention (excuse the misquote); love yourself, and embrace the uniqueness of fallibility. Quite a message for a play about a super fun, wacky birthday party with a magician who’s REALLY Magic, I think…can’t wait for next Tuesday.
Justine Lambert
Artistic Director
TheLooking Glass Theatre
www.lookingglasstheatrenyc.com
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Coming soon to The Looking Glass Theatre!
ANNA' S PERFECT PARTY & THE AMAZING MAGICIAN'S MARVELOUS MISTAKE
Written by Karin Diann Williams
Directed by Nikki Rothenberg
February 21 - April 5
Nobody’s perfect.
But Anna is a girl who won’t take no for an answer.
Can an Amazing Magician’s spell turn her into the perfect girl?
The Looking Glass Theatre proudly announces its production of Anna's Perfect Party and the Amazing Magician's Marvelous Mistake, a new children’s play written by Karin Diann Williamsand directed by Nikki Rothenberg, which opens at The Looking Glass Theatre on Saturday, February 21. Performances are scheduled every Saturday at 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. and every Sunday at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. through March 29.
About The Show…
Anna has the perfect present for Betsy Bailey’s birthday. Now if only she could tie the perfect bow… Come to think of it, Anna wants to do everything perfectly! And although nobody’s perfect, she isn’t one to take no for an answer. Her best friend Marley thinks trying to be perfect takes too long, and isn’t much fun. But when Anna meets a magician known as the Amazing M, she convinces him to cast a perfect spell, unleashing an afternoon of unexpected mayhem at Betsy’s party, where Anna and her friends discover the pitfalls of perfection, learn how to value differences, and find the courage to try new things – even if that means making a mistake.
About the Playwright Karin Diann Williams…
Karin Diann Williams is a playwright and screenwriter whose work has been produced and published internationally. San Diego's Fritz Theatre – where she was Playwright-In-Residence from 1992-2001 – staged her plays Australia, Room, Susan Katrina and Jill, The Hatchet, Quiz, and The Third Voice of the Nightjar. She is currently an Artistic Associate at Looking Glass, where audiences have seen her plays Head, Time Troll, and Spirits!, among others. As a Partner in the motion media company CulpepperWilliams, she wrote and produced The Prisoner (winner – Best Web Series, NYTVF) and the independent feature film "Jordan" (currently in post production).
About the Director Nikki Rothenberg…
Nikki Rothenberg has been working with The Looking Glass Theatre since the summer of 2005 when she assistant directed the children's show, Not Enough Princesses. Since then, she has directed several pieces for the Looking Glass, including Out Of My Head: A Musical Review, and The Untitled Pregnancy. Other outside favorite directing credits include Into The Woods and Cradle Will Rock. Her most recent project at the Looking Glass was teaching the intern acting class. Nikki is a graduate from Emerson College and currently works at Don Buchwald & Associates.
About The Looking Glass Theatre…
The Looking Glass Theatre’s mission is to explore and expand the feminine aesthetic, producing works by historic female playwrights, new works by women, and productions of the classics re-imagined by contemporary women directors. In June 2006, The Looking Glass Theatre and Artistic Director Justine Lambert received The Lucille Lortel Award from The League of Professional Theatre Women.
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ANNA'S PERFECT PARTY & THE AMAZING MAGICIAN'S MARVELOUS MISTAKE
February 21 - April 5, 2009
SCHEDULE: Saturdays @ 12 p.m. and 2 p.m.; Sundays @ 2 p.m. @ 4 p.m.
TICKET PRICE: $15 Adults, $12 children 12 and under
ADDRESS: 422 West 57th Street, between 9th and 10th Avenues
PHONE: (212) 307-9467
TICKETS: (212) 352-3101 or go to http://www.lookingglasstheatrenyc.com/
TDF Vouchers Accepted!
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