Theatre is one of the toughest industries to break into, for playwrights, actors, and even audiences. Not everyone takes the time to enjoy it, even here in New York City, one of the theatre capitals of the world. While we don’t feel this way, we’re aware that some people consider it to be too expensive, esoteric, and tedious. Especially if they’re under the age of 50.
So when we heard about The Serious Theatre Collective, their inaugural show, One Allotted Hour of Entertainment and its inventive concept, we were intrigued. The group writes plays collaboratively by passing scenes among each member to contribute to, one after the other, until the scene and dialogue are completed. The last performance of the show is tonight at the Knitting Factory. Hear from the company’s Artistic Director, Terry Selucky, after the jump.
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When we read the New York Times review of Slava’s Snowshow, we weren’t surprised it was pigeonholed as another family show for kids — something that brings out the kid in every adult, but more importantly, a distraction over the holidays. While it may be the perfect choice for a holiday show (as opposed to this one), not once did it occur to us that it was but a “handmade diversion” to keep transfixed kids at bay. It’s easy to peg it as such, but one shouldn’t underestimate the artistic and theatrical value of the production.
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Ronan Noone’s The Atheist, co-produced by Culture Project and Circle in the Square Theatre, is a one-man show starring Campbell Scott as Augustine Early, an unscrupulous Kansas journalist determined to snag himself a full-time position at a newspaper. When the perfect story falls in his lap, Augustine uses any means necessary to expose it for his own gain. Means of choice: blackmailing, leaking pornography on the internet, and seducing widows. He recounts the methods behind his conniving stride to success; the enabler being his lack of belief in anything.
Of course, there’s much more to it than that — see for yourself at the Barrow Street Theatre until January 4th. It plays every other week, so there are only three weeks left! After the jump, Flavorwire snagged a quick Q&A with Scott to entice you further.
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“Often enough, the three boys sharing the role will have only recently received the news themselves, as the schedule is constantly being rejiggered based on their health and readiness. However nervous this makes them — and just before curtain they are sometimes nearly hyperventilating — onstage they give startlingly confident, and different, performances: one suave and beamish; one brooding and heartbroken; one blisteringly angry, dancing as if his limbs were bats cracking baseballs out of the park.” [NYM]
According to a group of 0ff Broadway playwrights headed up by SARAH SCHULMAN (aka, the writer RENT ripped off) and JULIA JORDAN, it’s harder to get work produced in New York when you’re a woman — that’s why they convened for a town hall meeting last night to discuss gender bias.
This article in the New York Times has the numbers to back up their claims. When you look at what’s being staged at the 14 largest Off Broadway theaters, shows by men are mounted at four times the rate of those by women.
Also important to note: There are currently no plays on Broadway by female playwrights.
Lincoln Center Theater artistic director Andre Bishop told the Times that the gender divide might be due to the fact that “most artistic directors are men and they don’t relate to or connect with women as much as men.”
We’re not going to even touch that.
After the jump read what downtown playwright SHEILA CALLAGHAN, whose show CRAWL, FADE TO WHITE is currently playing at IDEAL GLASS GALLERY, has to say regarding the great gender divide.
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SPRING AWAKENING to sleep: After nearly 900 performances, the award-winning pop musical is set to close January 18th, cast members learned yesterday. The production won eight Tony awards last year, including ones for BILL T. JONES’s choreography, DUNCAN SHEIK and STEVEN SATER’s original score, best musical and best direction of a musical. The announcement comes close on the heels of news that Tony-winning HAIRSPRAY and MONTY PYTHON’S SPAMALOT will also close early next year. [NYT]
MARTHA GRAHAM’s CLYTEMNESTRA celebrating 50-year revival: The Martha Graham Dance Company is reviving Clytemnestra after letting the production lay dormant for 50 years. The world premiere launched yesterday at the Athens Concert Hall in Greece and will run through Saturday before reopening in Washington D.C. The original 1958 production starred Martha Graham herself, and her company’s revival uses her costumes and the music of Egyptian composer HALIM EL-DABHH. The Clytemnestra world tour will include Berlin, Paris, London, Sydney, Melbourne, Beijing and Tokyo. [Xpat Athens]
What is that dance world queen TWYLA THARP up to now?
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