I'd like to start with this quotation from Ian W. Hill's Collisionworks blog. It comes from the midst of a discussion about the director's role in realtion to the playwright and the text.
In the end, the text, to me, is a chair. I've been given a drawing of a chair and told to make it real. The rules in making this chair real are:Great stuff. Click the link above or to the left or here to read the quotation in context.A. The chair must function (people should be able to sit in it without it falling apart)
B. The chair should be comfortable (it should not be unpleasant to sit in)
C. It would be nice if the chair looked good and was well designed aethestically.The most beautifully designed chair in the world is still a BAD CHAIR if you can't sit in it without it falling apart.
Okay, here's what we're onto now. We go back into rehearsal tonight for Poetry. We've also been busy putting together a smallish workshop of Jenn Fawcett's still-untitled play (which used to be called The Hurricane Project and needs a new title for obvious reasons). Hopefully, we'll end up with two small, public readings of the play, with time for extensive talkbacks afterwards. The next step after that will be to schedule our production of the piece. (Well, not the NEXT step, but one of the next few.)
We're getting together a great group of actors for the readings. If you're reading this, you'll probably be invivted to see these "performances" and discuss the play with us, so watch this space for more info.
I've been thinking a lot about the immigration issues that have, for the moment, captured the nation's attention. Today is "A Day Without Immigrants." I was really excited, and it sounds like there are probably some great things going on in Chicago, NYC, L.A., Miami, and other bigger cities. I know that a couple of big events in Columbus were cancelled, and that's disappointing. Anyway ... it's an issue I've had on my mind for awhile, and I've spent a lot of time reading, and thinking about how to deal with it in a theatrical context. It'd be hard and scary and would require a lot of new skills. So, it's probably a really good idea. But, I haven't quite figured it out yet. I'm going to keep trying, though. Hopefully you'll be hearing more about this in the future.
Comments (1)
I was moved by the day of no immigrants, too. Couple of thoughts I had were conflicting and I am still not sure how to feel. 1)Immigrants do the jobs that Americans (refuse?) won't do, right, or else we wouldn't need immigrant labor OR 2)If these companies paid a living wage then Americans would take these jobs - but would they? And who is THEY? I really liked the documentary Morgan Spurlock did here in Columbus - he and his wife tried to live on minimum wage for 30 days - just 30 days and it was nearly impossible. A similar report on NPR by a journalist who eventually wrote "Nicke and Dimed" was startling. I felt spoiled and selfish. I drink a $3 cup of coffee with chocolate in it everyday, just about and I get upset that I can't get to the gym or buy a new dishwasher (yet). I don't have any answers. Just more questions.
Posted by Mich | May 9, 2006 8:05 PM
Posted on May 9, 2006 20:05