Forum Rehearsal 5/31/11 -More Relationships and So Much More
I ended last week talking about how Assistant Director/Stage Manager Karyn DeYoung saw both of the Week Two plays as relationship plays…behold this week starts off with every artist in the room referring to the first two of these wonderfully diverse offerings as “relationship plays!”
THE TRACKS ARE ELECTRIFIED
Written by Jane Miller, directed by Abigail Strange
Featuring Tyler Gattoni & Bethany McNamara
How long are you willing to wait?
This show is about a young couple on a subway platform. First there’s banter. They seem happy, cute, if quirky. Then Rosy wants to play a game to pass the time, Max is reluctant. Why, we wonder? Does he dislike games, silliness? Is he easily embarrassed? There doesn’t seem to be anyone else waiting for the train at this time of night. Why not indulge her? When he finally gives in to her wheedling it turns out the game is a little scary. It also turns out her motives weren’t so simple. She knows her boyfriend’s issues and has chosen this moment to bring them up. This seemingly happy relationship may be in peril just as the train finally begins to pull into the station…
BACK IN THE BOX
Written by Mary Flanagan, directed by Gretchen Ferris
Featuring Rob Getz, Elyssa Mersdorf & Emilio Paul Tirado
When you arrive at a fork in the road, take it. ~ Yogi Berra 
Back In the Box starts with a couple and a complication. This play takes us farther into the workings of a dysfunctional relationship. Helen is clearly unhappy. We don’t always know why as we watch her journey towards escape. What is she escaping from? Is it spousal abuse or cruelty of some kind? Not precisely. The issues here are subtle. There is indeed something wrong- too much of a good thing, perhaps. Love turned to need, dependence turned to obsession. I find myself hoping Helen’s journey will be a smooth one after the blackout.
FIRE THIEF
Written and directed by Laura Hirschberg
Featuring Emily Daly, Arielle Hader, Timothy Mele & Kevin Russo.
Prometheus brings the spark of inspiration to man. Is it worth it? Come play with fire.
I am inspired and delighted to discover that our talented director Laura Hirschberg is also an impressive talent as a playwright! Fire Thief is full of complex ideas that unfold with wit and clarity.
What a difference. And yet I’d be lying if I didn’t acknowledge the importance of relationships here too. Of course in Fire Thief they are relationships between gods. The fire Prometheus steals is the fire of inspiration. He steals it to bestow it upon his own favorite creation: mankind. Of course in doing so he incurs the wrath of the Gods but more importantly be betrays two people (well, gods) he loves. His journey of self discovery includes allowing an unusual relationship to grow; the one between himself and his creation. If he can love us mere mortals for more than just our finer traits (such as theatre I’d venture) perhaps he can survive what’s coming to him.
Big thanks to Assistant Directors/Stage Managers Jessy Grossman and Sarah Outhwaite. They were a delight to work with. Full of insight and ideas, they were an integral part of our discussion throughout the evening.
Week Three of the Spring 2011 Writer/Director Forum opens on June 16. I’m excited to see this thought provoking, wit filled grouping of three with all the finishing touches!
Justine Lambert
Founding Artistic Director
This is practically a dance piece and yet it tells its story through dialogue seamlessly interwoven with the movement. The characters almost never sit still. It’s a simple story of a girl at a dance waiting to be asked. Why do women still feel we have to wait to be asked? I guess that’s a discussion for another time… This woman clearly feels she must wait for a man to request her company. She’s here to dance and so are the men who do indeed ask her. But are they looking for something else? Are they looking for more? She herself seems to be looking for more but it’s not necessarily the same more. She’s seeking depth, human connection, someone like herself, interested in more. We are rooting for her. I want her to find that something…or maybe even someone more.
Twelfth Night is a favorite of the gender-bending comedies penned by the Bard, and it’s clear why; this play has all the tricks! A woman in love with a woman she thinks is a man, a man in love with a woman he thinks is a man, mistaken identity, drunkenness, debauchery and Beyonce. What? Yup Beyonce is making an appearance. It’s a modern setting and pop music abounds. You know the story right? Viola is shipwrecked and thinks her twin brother is dead (he’s not). She dresses as a guy and goes to work for Orsino (Why? Dunno, I’ve only seen it twelve times so c’mon.) Orsino sends Viola to court Olivia for him. Olivia falls for Viola (dressed as a boy, remember). Sebastian the missing brother shows up, gets mistaken for Viola, gets in a fight then marries (!?!) Olivia who thinks he is Viola. Immediately upon discovery that his male servant is a female Orsino proposes to Viola who has been pining for him the whole time. Meanwhile Olivia’s relatives are cavorting with and playing pranks on the help. And then there’s the fool. Forget Lucy, I love Will!
