The question of why our show was called Macbeth of the Oppressed has come up several times, from several different quarters. There was no evident reference to the work of Augusto Boal, and the idea of a near-future setting/forces of political correctness that showed up in some of the initial advertising flavor/promotion materials had fairly well evaporated by the time we got to rehearsals.
Now, I was simply an actor in this show, and the question was not addressed at length in the rehearsal room, at least not in my presence, but my thoughts on our arguably oblique title boil down to race, gender, and sexuality as they are presented/performed in civic and military life.
We live in a time and place where there is at least some kind of appetite for diversity in the world of creating theater. And while this impulse does intersect with the population in general, there is a decided lag in the public sphere. We are still waiting for a female head of state in this country, and there are precious few out queer leaders of governments or military branches anywhere in the world.
Note that those links refer to positions held within the last single-digit number of years. Note at the same time that some of the forms of oppression inherent in that fact would seem to have been absent, in some important ways, in the ancient world. I contend that the title of our show asks what that might tell us about the concepts of 'progress,' 'power,' and, not least, 'oppression.'
And that's what I have to say about that.
Also, since we're on the subject of witches, Happy Halloween!
What can you say? By all accounts a kind and generous person, thoughtful, caring, devoted to the arts and helping humanity and the environment, with a great sense of humor, he created one of the most iconic characters of the 20th Century (and beyond). He'll be missed by entire generations of fans and fellow travelers.
Did a reading at MASS MoCA (which venue, in the larger sense, I've mentioned here many, many times) a couple Thursdays ago. The American Premiere of The Interview, by Guillaume Leblon and Thomas Boutoux, to go along with Leblon's exhibition at the museum.
Article in the Times about a drop in Arts Attendance in America.
Theater takes the brunt and "straight plays" (also known as "plays") are worst of all, attendance having dropped 33% in the last 10 years.
"At the end of the day, I’m not troubled by it."
No no, of course not, executive director of the American Theater Wing. Everything's fine; nothing to see here; move along...
It was a big week.
A big project at the dayjob took a lot of my time and energy in January (along with one or the other of us being sick for what felt like the whole month). When that project/event ended, I was able with a short transition period to get back into my normal rhythm. Last week sort of took that to another level.
Mike Daisey at Joe's Pub on Monday night. Mike's taken some stupid amounts of heat over the last year or so. I've written about him here before and probably will again, but I haven't devoted any real space to the NPR/This American Life controversy. You probably know all about that, and if you don't there is plenty to read and listen to out there about it. What I'll say on the subject is that Mike did a hell of a job drawing attention to what's going on in tech manufacturing (and tech reporting) and created a brilliant show in the process. Or vice versa. And while I'm not going to get behind the whole "it's all true" thing, I do maintain that a playwright is not the same thing as a journalist, even a playwright whose stock in trade is distant travel, immersive research, and real world goings-on with real world stakes.
I've already gone on more about this than I wanted to, but I'll wrap up today's discussion of this subject by asking straight out something Daisey touched on obliquely last Monday: how closely have you looked at the workings of the tech industry, and what have you done to affect labor conditions in China? [Oh, and take a few minutes to imagine turning off all your 'connected' devices one day a week. What would that take? How much prep would you need to do? Just asking.]
More to come...
The Stranger to Kindness has closed. One of the more intense experiences of my recent life.
I'm doing a production of The Cherry Orchard at the Theater at Schapiro Hall at Columbia U. this weekend. I have not been very vocal about it (or anything else, lately) in this forum, but it's been taking up quite a bit of my time. Here's a little promo viddy from the director, Katie Naka.
Email mydogluvsnuts@gmail.com for your free tix!
All right.
Taking a break from working on a voiceover project (mostly involving putting together emails, demos and letters to send to agents - send good mojo to the casting gods!) to have lunch and bang out a post for your reading and listening pleasure.
First of all, Happy Birthday Chris Knox! I've written about him before here, and on the occasion of this, his not-quite-60th birthday, feel free to take a look at this article from Pitchfork which looks back at some music Chris enjoyed at 5-year intervals in his life.
And not only that, here's a pre-stroke video from a show that I don't remember existing called Recovery (I guess) that seems to have had The Fauves as its house band. (it did? shouldn't they have told us about this?) Chris' performance is superfab, and shows how much fun can happen when things go wrong.
Perhaps you've heard of Go the F#*k to Sleep, the new Not-Really-a-Children's-Book by Adam Mansbach & Ricardo Cortes. It's been getting more than a little media attention these days, and its press run has already crept up toward the half-million copies mark. Why? Because it's f*^king brilliant is why:
Mansbach, according to the official version of the story, was frustrated for the umpteenth time by the time and effort involved in getting his 2-year-old to go to sleep for the night, and posted on Fbook a joke to the effect of: "Be on the lookout for my forthcoming children's book, GO THE F%&K TO SLEEP." The reaction from his friends and fans (he was already an award-winning grown-up fiction writer) was so fiercely positive that he decided to write the book for real. He got himself an illustrator and, well, here we are: smash hit children's book that is utterly inappropriate for children, but all kinds of fantastic for adults.
And now, plug in your headphones and take a look at this little slice of amazingness - Werner Herzog (yes, the Werner Herzog) reading along with America's new favorite book.
After the bizarre media events of the last couple weeks (will there come a time when people look back and ask if we really spent all that time talking about a congressman's kinks when there was a war on? Sorry - three wars?) this just about made me weep tears of joy.
I guess that this viddy has been sweeping the internets in a wildfire-like rage. Have a view:
You don't help sick African Children? That sounds like bad business practice. You should contact Gatorade.
C: So what hospital do you work at?
Me: Grey's
B: (Supressing a laugh) Grey's??
C: Nice hospital...
Me: I mean Grace. Seattle Grace.
C: Oh yes, I've heard of that one.
B: You had some trouble there recently.
Me: Umm...
C: A pretty bad shoot up, I heard.
Me: Uhhhhh...
C: I guess you weren't there for that.
B: (supresses another laugh)
Me: Oh right. That. Yes. No. I wasn't there when that happened. They called me in to help with the aftermath.
C: I heard there's a fiery lady there who really stirs things up.
Me: ??
C: A black doctor, I think.
Me: Oh, yes. Chandra... something.
B: (cracks up)
C: (looks at me like I fell off the short bus for remedial
improvisers)
"You screwed up our marriage with your booze, and pills... and those sleazy hookers."
"Well your skirts weren't exactly pristine, honey!"
Time is kind of whizzing along. Not necessarily a bad thing - it's just the way life is, especially when I'm in a show (Two more weeks! I am steadfast in my attempt to prove that there is no such thing as a small part...) and the dayjob is off-the-hook busy.
On the other hand, I get more than a little miffed at myself when I realize that I have missed pretty amazing things like the Undead Jazzfest without even registering that it was happening until it already happened. Many slaps on my wrist! Much mortification of my flesh with a barbed lash!
Sigh...
In other news, here's an article about Charlie Sheen's work release program. While I'm the first to assert that theater does in fact serve the community, it strikes me as rather odd that a celebrity can beat his wife and be sentenced to... regional theater. There is humor in this, of a bleak sort. It has been mentioned that this simply reflects his individual skill set; it certainly can be interpreted as adding value to the theater company and its education program (though by the same token there are those whose eyebrows are raised at the notion of being assigned to teach children as part of release for domestic abuse); and the case has been made that it's not all that different from, say, a lawyer doing pro-bono work as a condition of a plea agreement. Discuss.
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