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.