Notes from Justine: Winter 2011 Writer/Director Forum

Notes from Justine Winter 2011 Writer/Director Forum Rehearsals

WEEK 1 – DECEMBER 1-4: A Time and Place for Everything

What a great time I had on Monday, November 14 observing Forum Week 1 rehearsals!  Each of these shows is about a very specific and very different place and time.  It’s a rare treat to see inspiration coming from these unusual settings.  Each setting (detailed below) creates a world that has its own rules and imperatives.  The clarity of these backdrops helps each story being told to hold us captive and keep us questioning as the plot points are revealed

THE GOLDEN TICKET

Written by Jennifer Barclay, Directed by Anais Koivisto

Featuring: Kati Rae Cowardin, Joey Lozada & Thami Moscovici

Set in the not too distant future, The Golden Ticket is about a contest to receive an experience once common but now rare and precious, an uncertain daughter with a mom desperate to give something of her own youth to her child, and a daughter seemingly uncertain of the value of anything…as teens tend to be.

GARDEN OF ASHES

Written by Jan O’Connor, Directed by Estefania Fadul                  

Featuring: Cindy de la Cruz & David Harrell

Oscar, a record keeper for the "cremains" of thousands of unclaimed dead in a large city, is visited by a young woman looking for her long lost love.  An office filled with records, books, organization and…remains- lost remains, unclaimed humanity.  Who could be so uncared for they were not even claimed?  Or was it the lost who choose not to care?

Pedestrian Casualty: Bronx, USA

By Nina Mansfield, Directed by Christina Neubrand     

Featuring: Manny De La Cruz, Shannon Harris, Alexandra Hiotakis, Keenen Jones, Darla Juniper, Josh Mahaffey, Norma Perez-Hernandez & Austin Young

A school teacher.  A student.  A car crash.  The Bronx; high school, teachers who care, students who don’t, or is it the other way around?  Does anyone care?  In fact it’s possible they all care.  Sometimes caring isn’t enough and what’s broken doesn’t get fixed, just more broken.

This is a very strong threesome of plays.  Original ideas told clearly and with sympathy to the human problems at the center of complicated situations.  The three formidable ladies at the helm of these plays have ideas and a clear understanding of the material they are working with.  I am excited to see these plays blossom into full production.

Extra thanks go to this week’s Assistant Directors/Stage Managers Francesca Galbo and Taylor Reynolds for being such a great part of our discussions and helping create smooth transitions throughout the night!  Also what a great treat to have Lighting Designer Ryan Metzler attend the same rehearsals as I did.  Why didn’t we think of that earlier…? Perhaps this could be the beginning of a beautiful policy…

WEEK 2 – DECEMBER 8-11: Strange and Stranger

Watching Week Two’s rehearsals on Monday 11/21 I was struck by all the many many ways humans can be strange, weird, unusual, odd.  There’s flat-out insanity of course, there’s awkwardness that just might be normal but might be quite quirky and there’s the inherent strangeness of lying.  People are so bizarre when they know they aren’t telling the truth aren’t they?  Most of the time we don’t know what is making them act so odd but as an audience we are let into their internal machinations and can enjoy the weirdness.  Of course these three plays also have stories and situations to go along with their odd inhabitants.

‘FRAILTY THY NAME IS WOMAN’

Based on the works of William Shakespeare,

Adapted & Directed by Katherine Sommer

Featuring: James Bascomb, Samantha Cains, Kevin Hoffman,

Lilli Stein & Nick Zappetti

This is an exciting mash-up of two great plays by the Bard.  When you put together Ophelia and Lady Macbeth clearly the theme is madness.  It’s fun to see these two ladies take their journeys through sanity and out the other side together.  What do they have in common?  More important in my mind was the question what do these two women need from each other?  Wouldn’t it be a different world if Lady M. could advise Ophelia?  Could the Lady learn to keep herself together if she had the presence of the fair Ophelia to shore her up?  Although it’s a pair of tragedies the result is surprisingly fun.

THURSDAY MORNING

Written by Elizabeth Swearingen, Directed by Jessy Grossman                     

Featuring: Daniel Blatman, Olivia Boyle & Lesley Noyes

Sweet young love is here.  Or is it?  Um, that’s always the problem at the beginning isn’t it?  Is this real?  Are these feelings going to last?  Does he/she REALLY LIKE ME???  Some of the most eternal questions of life are present in this slice of life.  They may not be the meaning of life or even the answer to why the sky is blue but we’ve all been there and we feel the urgency and importance of that sweet moment keenly with the two young people breaking their fast together for the first time.

Azaleas

Written by Erin Leigh Steiner, Directed by Laura Hirschberg            

Featuring: Rory Kulz & Chanel Thomas

What happens when the one you love is no longer the one you trust?  This is about murder!  Whodunnit?  He said/she said. She says she doesn’t remember and he says it was her… but why? And they love each other so they are going to stick together whatever may come.  But, still, why?  Why would they kill him?  What is the real reason for the tension in this moment?  How could it not be the dead body!?  People can be weird and sometimes the dead body is not the real skeleton in the closet.  What are they really upset about?  Could it be their relationship?  And what are they going to tell the police?

I loved Assistant Director/Stage Manager Caroline Angell’s summation of the evening; An evening of Love and Murder!  Perfect.  I really enjoyed getting to know her through our discussions after each play!

WEEK 3 – DECEMBER 15-18: Brief but Not Slight

This Monday, November 28, I observed the final week of this December Forum.  There are four plays in this one yet the evening stays well below two hours.  Clearly they are short.  Yet while not lengthy these plays are not insubstantial, they address issues of guilt (lots of guilt), loss, betrayal, and the human need for contact.

THE STAKEOUT

Written by K. Alexa Mavromatis, Directed by Sarah Simmons

Featuring: Kiley Rothweiler & Anna Drezen

In this piece we see two young girls watching someone.  Over the course of the play we will discover who he is.  We also see the girls’ relationship develop as they learn things about each other they may or may not have known but are only now coming to understand.  Will they find the courage to approach this mystery man?  Should they?

FRIENDS

Written by Karin Diann Williams, Directed by Karyn DeYoung    

Featuring: Nathalie Frederick & Kea Trevett

Here again we have two young girls but these two are not friends.  It’s even hard to understand why they are together.  They are different.  One of them is a bit strange but then what teenager isn’t a bit strange?  In the end they are reaching for something.  It might be human connection.  It might be a bit of magic in their lives.  Whatever it is I think they need it.  I hope they find it.

He Says His Name Is John

By Laura Rohrman, Directed by Ashley Scoles

Featuring: Hazen Cuyler, Josiah Laubenstein & Caitlin Morris

A dream apartment seems to be the central issue in this play.  What is wrong with this amazing apartment??  But there may be other things wrong here.  Is this couple as happy as they seem?  What has happened to her job?  And then there’s this guy John, their real estate agent.  But the new neighbor looks just like him…

SIDEWALK CRACKS

By Brit Hawkins, Directed by Gretchen Ferris 

Featuring: Kate Dickinson, Billy Roberts and Jodi Savitz

Sometimes you know the difference between right and wrong.  And then you do it anyway.  A classic love triangle.  He is cheating on her, with her.  It’s simple and so is the play but then it’s complicated.  Real human situations are always complicated and so is the play.  On the verge of a stereotype the play sidesteps that completely by being real and making us care.  These people are trying.  They are imperfect and needy and it leads to a mess that can’t be easily swept under the rug.  I particularly enjoy the depiction of a mistress who is not the obvious other woman.  She is her own woman, not an extension of anyone else.

There is a lot of exciting work here.  It doesn’t hang together in any obvious way but when I spoke with the Assistant Directors/Stage Managers Gina Femia and Kitty Lindsey about how they viewed the evening as a whole they had enlightening viewpoints to share.  Gina said that these plays are all in some way about people wanting to be seen and accepted for who they are and Kitty added that in these plays we see people confronting their insecurities and facing the qualities in themselves they are least proud of.  I thank them both for their wonderful insights throughout the evening!

This Forum is going to be an exciting and enlightening trio of evenings!

Justine Lambert
Artistic Director
Looking Glass Theatre - http://www.lookingglasstheatrenyc.com/

Read my recent director to director interview - http://www.2amtheatre.com/2011/08/24/spotlight-meet-justine-lambert-director/

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THE GOLDEN TICKET

Written byJennifer Barclay, Directed by Anais Koivisto

Featuring: Kati Rae Cowardin, Joey Lozada & Thami Moscovici 

Notes From Justine- Spring 2011 Writer/Director Forum, Week 1

Notes from Justine
Forum Rehearsal 5/16/11

And they’re off! My first observation for the Spring 2011 Writer/Director Forum last night was an exciting start to the process that will culminate in the Forum Awards on Monday June 27th. Three very different plays; (although two have a suicide theme…) these are extremely strong offerings with experienced Forum artists represented in each and every project.

First I observed IN THE CHANGELING,written by Maiya Pendleton, directed by Melody Erfani, featuring Heather Burgher, Lash Dooley, Andrew Dunn, Andrew Gelles, Sarah Miles, Kathleen O'Neal, Alzie Rejouis, Marianne Riera & Adam Tyrer. The tagline for this show is “In high school it is all about the drama...a reimagining of the classic by Thomas Middleton and William Rowley.”

Another classic translated to a High School setting. So different from Forum Producer Aliza Shane’s Misanthrope (Forum Winter ’06) yet similar. Why do artists want to set universal stories in High School? Because it’s a universal experience here in the US and one that brought out the worst in many of our lives. High School was miserable…so it’s the perfect place for drama! This compelling script follows the “It girl” and her machinations to get what she wants. She doesn’t mean to hurt anyone but then she doesn’t really mind when she does either. Will she get what’s coming to her? What is coming to her anyway? We sympathize, even while feeling appalled at the effects of her plotting. After all, who doesn’t “want it all”… but at what cost?

Next up was RISK,written by Yasmine Rana, directed by Ashley Scoles, featuring Brooke Hills & Jonny Schroeder. This plays description is (like the play) poetic and intriguing “Two lovers must decide whether to take the risk to love or become engulfed in the flames of hate.”

Spoiler alert; below I will give away a major surprise that comes out in the first 3rd of the play. Yasmine’s intense drama is about something none of us can imagine. What if you were about to go blow yourself up, with others…? How would you or anyone handle it? We understand that the emotional questions usually left unasked would not sit quiet at such a moment. But would you get the answer desired? Can the questioned party possibly know how to answer under such circumstances? Beautiful language examines an ugly situation in this challenging and powerful drama.

Finally I observed DOUBLE CROSS written by Annie Berke, directed by Katherine Sommer, featuring Benjamin K. Glaser, George Hutchinson, Stacy Ann Strang & Hannah Tamminen. The witty description of this play is: “Charles and Samantha are a happily married couple until the daily crossword drives a 5-letter word for "triangular tool" between them.”
Here we have a comedy of character. This married couple fights. They’re not even nice to each other. They seem to be trying to improve their behavior but they end up hurting each other. Even their innocent bystander friends get hit by the emotional shrapnel flying around. Clearly they shouldn’t be married to each other. Or should they? The surprises lie in the people and what they truly need from one another. The result? Comedy!

The charming and ever helpful Assistant Directors/Stage Managers, Anais Koivisto and Mary Trotter were both engaged and engaging in our discussions. I thank them for their work and insight all night long!

Week One of the Spring 2011 Writer/Director Forum opens on June 2. I can’t wait to see these plays in performance. It’s going to be a thought provoking and highly entertaining night!

Justine Lambert
Founding Artistic Director

Winter Forum 2010- Notes from Justine – Week 3

Notes from Justine

Forum Rehearsal 11/22/10

As I was leaving my Week Three observations last night, Assistant Director/Stage Managers Ashley Scoles and Elizabeth Swearingen and I all noted how this week is the most diverse group of plays this Forum. Two of the pieces are realistic tales with similar subject matter but one of the directors is not content with realism and has made embellishments of her own. The third play (that will be sandwiched in between them) is a light comedy based on the Adam and Eve story.

The first piece I saw was Clean by Nina Mansfield, directed by Laura Hirschberg, featuring Jake Miller, Taylor Miller & Erin Neufer*.

This slice of life in real time takes place in.....a church basement. So establishing location shouldn't be too difficult! Two people run into each other in the middle of the night; one has a desperate reason for being there, the other a casual one but they are connected through the addiction they share. This uneasy subject gives them a basis for a relationship. When the Pastor arrives it becomes clear that he may indeed share this painful secret with them as well. Our talented acting intern Erin Neufer and her co-stars are exploring different aspects of their characters while working together to form relationships in this uncomfortable, hopeful depiction of the struggle with alcoholism.

Juice by Nancy Gall-Clayton, directed by Yoleidy Rosario, featuring Tessa Reynolds, Delnaaz Irani and Joshua Mahaffey is a drama about…an alcoholic.

Thematically related to Clean, this play goes at the issue from a different place. This is about family and fear. Additionally Yoleidy has added a framing device that explores the inner psyche of the main character in the play. This exciting theatricality makes the piece’s tone completely different and yet they grapple with the same weakness in humanity. Theme nights are not our usual choice in the Forum but the illumination of both how multifaceted this issue is and how multifaceted our theatrical art form is in addressing it is an excellent argument in favor of choosing plays connected by subject matter.

Adam's Angels by Jacquelyn Priskorn, directed by Katherine Sommer, featuring Leigh Adel-Arnold, Scott Andrews, Jacob Lasser, Josh Martin, Caroline Ritchie & Elizabeth Wessa will be performed between the two plays described above giving us a touch of comic relief that may help us absorb the heavier content of the others.

Seeing Clean and Juice back to back made for a specific experience. Not a bad one at all. It had definite advantages but I’m guessing putting Adam’s Angels in the center, like a creamy filling, will be even better. This stylized comedy about Adam and Eve takes a modern approach, telling the bible story in a tongue in cheek manner. Gently poking fun at the concept of Woman as mere companion for Man the play has all of the Angels depicting aspects of humanity. If they are stereotypical they are nonetheless accurate in their comic representations of just a few of the possible types of companions Adam might have had. The team is clearly having a blast and will continue to explore the comic potential in this confection.

Assistant Director/Stage Managers Ashley Scoles and Elizabeth Swearingen were with me the whole way and are certainly enjoying a theatrical workout by participating in these three unique processes! I thank them for their work and insight all night long.

Week Three of the Winter 2010 Writer/Director Forum opens on December 16. I’m excited to re-experience this combination. It should be quite a ride!

Justine Lambert

Founding Artistic Director

SPRING FORUM 2009- PRODUCTION BLOGS

FORUM BLOGSSPRING 2009 WRITER/DIRECTOR FORUM
A semi-annual festival of new works featuring women playwrights and directors
JUNE 4 -28

Another set of blogs about our upcoming Forum:

NOTES FROM WEEK THREE, June 18-21

Please Remove this Stuffed Animal From My Head by Crystal Jackson, directed by Rebecca Lewis-Whitson
Featuring Andrew Hargrove, Sergio LoDolce, Jack Payne and Rosanna Plasencia

Casina by Plautus, adapted & directed by Jacquelyn Honeybourne
Featuring Katherine Booze-Mooney, Lindy Flowers, Laura Harrison, Sarah Pullman, Hanlon Smith-Dorsey and Audrey Yeoman

WEEK THREE AD: Elizabeth Carlson

Casina rehearsals have been going splendidly! The actors are well off book, with some paraphrasing/ad-libbing exceptions that actually work better than some of the true lines (thank you Lysidamus). The show has been a collaboration between myself and our actors, so when these ad-libs work, we're all more than willing to make them permanent. Looking Glass acting intern Katie Booze-Mooney, who plays Olympio, has come up with several good moments of improv herself which are now integrated into the script. We're now in the home stretch and making smaller, perfectionist adjustments most of which have to do with cranking that “character amp” up to 11. We're finding slight and specific ways to hone in and fine tune. Chalinus has developed a habitual manly scratch which is hilarious and Pardalisca is developing an inappropriate laugh that's cracking everyone up. Also, together with the actress playing Cleostrata, we've perfected the quick switch from jealous /harpy/mad woman to loving/hurt wife. All in all it's wonderful and we laugh until it hurts. I hope we get an audience, or as our Player calls them "Good spectators, men and women," ready to chuckle.

- Jacquelyn Honeybourne, Director of CASINA


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SPRING FORUM 2009- PRODUCTION BLOGS

FORUM BLOGS
SPRING 2009 WRITER/DIRECTOR FORUM
A semi-annual festival of new works featuring women playwrights and directorsJUNE 4 -28

Another set of blogs about our upcoming Forum:

NOTES FROM WEEK TWO, June 11-14

Canned Deux by Siobhan Antonioli, directed by Sara Moncivais
Featuring Cristina Lombardi and Laura Sorensen

The Reason Why I Lie by Chelsea Sutton, directed by Cristina Knustson
Featuring Ramesh Ganeshran, James Luster, Michelle Silvani and Kate Weinberg

Chasing Pavement written & directed by Krystal Osborne
Featuring Max Feist, Karen Green, Jeffery Howson, Lucia Mazzola, Victoria Scott and Brandon Wood

WEEK TWO AD: Alicia Mangelsdorf

I am a part of the upcoming production of Chasing Pavement. Up to this point, the rehearsal process has been very invigorating for me. The director is very encouraging of each actor making his/her own choices. In return, this experience has made me grow as an artist. It has taught me to trust my own instincts and those of my ensemble. I'm havinga wonderful time and am already dreading the close of the play. Not to mention; it has been one of the most welcoming cast of actors I've had the pleasure of working with!

-Victoria Scott, Ann in Chasing Pavement

For more info and tickets go to our website; www.lookingglasstheatrenyc.com
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Call for Submissions- Female Playwrights Needed!

Yes, it's that time again!
The Looking Glass Forum in NYC needs new short plays by women (guidelines below). The Forum is a one-act festival showcasing new works written by women and directed by women. Submission is free- get involved now!


Submission Guidelines -2009

THE LOOKING GLASS FORUM, a twice-yearly festival in which emerging female directors present their interpretations of new and classic short works, is now seeking new short plays (running time 10-35 minutes) by women.

The Forum is an established festival which has been in regular production at the same location since 2001. We charge no fee of any kind for the submission of scripts. We are dedicated to providing an expressive avenue for women's voices.

There is no restriction as to style or subject matter, but we are particularly interested in pieces that explore the possibilities of the theatrical medium, a place where the dead and the living, the real and the imaginary, the rational and the fantastic can all interact on a level field.

We require plays to include at least two good roles (no monologues, please), of which at least one should be female. The characters should relate to one another in some way, not just tell a story and make way for the next person.

Bear in mind that it is easier for us to cast roles in the 17-35 year old age range.

THE LOOKING GLASS THEATRE is also looking for late-night plays by women and plays for children by women to include in our season. These plays should run between 40 and 60 minutes and provide at least five solid roles, of which at least two should be female. Large casts are encouraged. In order to succeed a late night show should either be extremely silly comedy or very sexy/scary/shocking. Children's shows must be appropriate for VERY YOUNG children as they are a big part of our audience. Musicals will only be considered if the playwright or composer can provide the accompaniment on CD.

We do not accept unsolicited full-length scripts.
We do not accept unsolicited works by male authors.

Send complete scripts, by mail, to:

THE LOOKING GLASS THEATRE
422 West 57th Street
New York, NY 10019
Attn. Erica Nilson

Scripts may also be dropped off in person at the address above during office hours: Mon-Wed 8-noon, Tues 8-5, Fri 8am-3pm. Hours Subject to change. Call 212.307.9467 to confirm.

Enclose a cover letter (to Erica Nilson, Literary Manager) with your contact information on it. Production history and biographical info are also useful. In addition, please submit a digital version of your script via email. We now request that work be submitted both in hard copy by mail AND digitally by email. Work submitted without an e-version will be at a great disadvantage because it is difficult to disseminate to directors. E-versions should be sent to lgtlit@yahoo.com. Please send only one script per email and put the title of the play in the subject line. In the TEXT of the email, provide a brief synopsis, character breakdown, and approximate running time. You should also mention whether you have had a play produced at Looking Glass before, and if not, how you heard about us. Please do NOT use Final Draft or WordPerfect formats, as we do not own this software.

Please do not submit work via email only, however; we need the hard copy for our files. Unfortunately, because of the new postal restrictions, it is no longer practical for us to return these manuscripts, so please do NOT send a SASE. We apologize for the additional expense to you.

Always put your name and address on your script. We will consider up to 3 submissions per author at a time. The deadline for the June Forum is March 1st and for the December Forum is September 1st, but later submissions may be considered for subsequent Forums.

The Forum is not a union production. There is no pay available for authors or anyone involved. It is a labor of love! To find out more about The Looking Glass Forum and The Looking Glass Theatre, visit our website at: www.lookingglasstheatrenyc.com
You can also reach us by phone at 212-307-9467.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,
Erica Nilson
Literary Manager
Looking Glass Theatre and Forum

422 W. 57th St.
New York, NY 10019