sensational name dropping

Am knee deep in the first Sweet Thunder workshop, but first, a fun fact -

In this week's "The Sensatonal Spiderman", issue 28, written by Roberto, after he is un-masked one of his students (Jordan Harrison) becomes obsessed with him, we also meet Jordan's girlfriend - Madeleine Daniels - apparently we're all getting shout outs this week.

More on Sweet Thunder in a bit -

It worked! It worked!

So, the show went great – amazing even – it was quite a weekend of playwrights and theaters suddenly wanting to work with Jordan and me – which is nice - or at least saying they want to - which is nice to hear.

But as always happens, summer camp comes to an end – on Sunday we all got on planes, hugged each other and promised to stay in touch – we’re even planning a winter trip for the 6 of us that hung out – and David who did the sound design/composition for the punk rock Hamlet is set to do the sound designer/composition for me in November – so the group lives on – and we’re all trying to figure out how and when we can work together again – so perhaps…perhaps - but like summer camp, we can't really go back - well, at least not till next summer.

up until the last second....

We open tonight. Yesterday in the final hour of rehearsal, major plot points were re-written, a character was outed, and change was afoot. Tonight before opening we’re huddling up to quickly look at a new ending to the big climax of the show. Viva la new play process. Quite a rush. Still, Jordan’s work is BRILLIANT, and I’m excited to see what an audience thinks.

Then we’re going bowling.

Week One

So, we are at the end of week one.

The group of people that I keep finding myself hanging out with is either working on “Amazons” (our WW2 play) or “God Save Gertrude” (the punk rock hamlet) – so many of our conversations are either about Leni Riefenstahl or Patty Smith. That tickles me to no end. So far Jordan has rewritten about a 1/3 of the play, we’ve rearranged some scenes and others we totally tossed out – so it’s going to be a dash to the finish line to have it ready for our public reading. But what he has is AMAZING, and I’m super jazzed to be part of it.

On Friday night I helped to organize a dinner and drinks with the playwrights and directors (who knew directors would like to drink?)– it was great to be at the table with sooo many young (under 35 - that's young right? oh god.) and talented theater people, who had come to Minnesota to put their institutional worries aside for a few weeks and try to help to birth some new theater. As we were having dinner. Joy Meads kept sending me picture mail on my phone of the Shindig – people were so amazed and delighted that we were having a Bastille day party to bring in young people – the shindig is now legend around the theater.

It’s been good for me to be here. It’s helping me to remember what I love about theatre, what I’ve gotten away from, and what’s really important – that and it’s just great to meet some 10 other people who are working towards the same thing. That and the cost of living is SOOO low here, our Bay Area money is worth amazing amounts to these people – I keep picking up the tab because I’m so shocked that 6 drinks can be 18 dollars.

I’m off to try to find a kids baby pool – seriously – it’s for a birthday party on Tuesday for my new favorite playwright Deborah Stein – who needs a kiddie pool like no ones business.

JOY MEADS!

On each opening night we honor one of our staff members – for this past opening we honored Joy Meads – who is truly the heart of Cal Shakes – and also happens to love sea creatures and is a 3 drink girl. Cheers.

Leni and Cheap Beer

So, I’m at Day 3 of Playlabs – which is pretty great – imagine some 50 theater artists from all over the world (there’s a group here from Japan) locked up in university dorms in Minnesota working on theater (picture loud music and cheap beer)– but there’s also something odd in the air – most of the plays are about war, or about the artists responsibility during war – and not the war we’re currently in, but old wars – World War 1, WW2, etc. – interesting that war is the subject that everyone is struggling with.

I’m working on a controversial piece about Leni Riefenstahl, who is considered by many to be one of the great innovative directors of all time, by others to be a groundbreaking feminist, and by others to be a Nazi sympathizer and one of the reasons that Hitler’s propaganda was so successful. The play doesn’t mean to celebrate or judge her, but just to examine who she was – the playwright is re-writing every day, so we’ll see where this all lands.

Le Grand Shindig

Hey everybody, calendar/theater/baguette time!

Friday, July 14th is our next Shindig, but this just isnt any shindig, this one falls on Bastille Day so its Le Grande Shindig!!!

Check out the link at:

http://www.calshakes.org/v4/06shows/rc/rc_load_shin.html

So in addition to the usual drinks and djs, a brilliant show, there will be: mustaches, berets, chocolate fountains, guillotines, wine, champagne, and perhaps even enough deserts so that everyone can eat cake.

The show is Restoration Comedy which is a GIANT crowd favorite its hi-larious, - a laugh out loud funny show, thats also silly and sexy. I think youll all dig it a ton, and if youre under 30, tickets are only $15, Oh la, la.

See you at the theater.

Sean

So, two dramaturgs walk into a wedding

So, I attended a “theater wedding” this past weekend in Minneapolis – two dramaturges getting married to each other. (Insert obscure and referential comedy punch line here)

Liz Engleman who is the President of LMDA, and Michael Dixon, who is the Head of New Play Development at the Guthrie. Not only did they ask 9 of their friends to take a letter of “longevity” and give them a blessing (my special lady friends got the “v”) – but they commissioned 4 new short plays to be performed at their reception. I know what that sounds like, but it was actually rather fantastic – very them, very charming, and who doesn’t want Steven Dietz to write your reception speeches?

Since it was a new play marriage, the audience there was basically playwrights (Lee Blessing, Melanie Marneck, etc) Turgs with PhD’s, and me.

Lowlights: Accidentally leveling several glasses (oddly before I had had a single drink)

Highlights: Getting the news that Naomi Iizuka had given birth to a boy named Luke. Drinking something strong with Lee Blessing and comparing our worst reviews. Boating around Lake Minnetonka.

Fun point: Lee Blessing knew two things about Cal Shakes: 1) That we once did a show that actually had horses on stage, and 2) that we liked to hire Daniel Fish. He considered both things to be a sign that we must be a rather great theater.