Herb Schapiro, 85

Herb Schapiro, Playwright Behind ‘The Me Nobody Knows,’ Dies at 85
by Bruce Weber, The New York Times, October 31, 2014

Getting uncomfortable with Young Jean Lee

I’ve found that the only way to make theatre that gets the audience thinking is when I feel uncomfortable making it.

--playwright Young Jean Lee

Read more:

Real Gone Girl
Young Jean Lee’s identity plays.
by Hilton Als, The New Yorker, November 4, 2014

New fellowship for women in theater announced by The Drama League

Drama League Fellowship to Support Female Writer-Directors
by Patrick Healy, The New York Times, February 4, 2014

Smith + Tinker writers group presents new plays at HERE

So, what do you want to do this weekend? Catch a Ladder to the Moon?

Smith + Tinker launched Ladder to the Moon on the eve of Halloween at HERE Arts Center, the fruit of a five-month process of collaboration within its group of playwrights. Wikipedia, in its entry on Smith & Tinker--the electronic game company, that is--cites "the fictional characters Smith & Tinker, an artist and an inventor who are briefly mentioned in the Land of Oz series of books as the creators of Tik-Tok the machine man."

And, actually, here's what the theater-oriented Smith + Tinker's Sarah Rose Leonard had to say about that in an interview with blogger Kippy Winston:

In the Land of Oz, Smith, an inventor, and Tinker, an artist, created many fantastical inventions. But they are only referenced in the books; these two characters don’t actually appear. That’s because, long before you, the reader, showed up Tinker painted a river so real he fell in and drowned and Smith created a ladder to the moon and never came back down.

Yes, that certainly is some serious artist juju.

With that thought in mind, the purveyors of Ladder to the Moon promised: "Amid the mystic revelry of Halloween week, two entrancing bills will feature pieces related to fear, reinvention, and how we tell stories."

Above and below:
cakeface in Harold, I Hate You
(photos by Trevor James Martin)

Amanda Szeglowski's Harold, I Hate You, created with her skillful all-female dance/theater troupe, cakeface, gets Program B off with a trio of tick-tock-machine-like scouts--the choreographer, Elle Chyun and Jeso O'Neill--heading off on a camping trip. These squeaky-clean automatons, crisp and uniform in gesture, distract and entertain themselves around the campfire with chatter about things that supposedly scare them--"I contracted flesh-eating bacteria once. I’m pretty sure," "I think I have Mad Cow disease"--in a firm but expressionless way that, perhaps, suggests how we rehearse and ritualize our fears until they truly rule us. And who is the hated Harold? Oh, that's a great story, and I will leave you to discover that one for yourself.

Program B also includes an excerpt from Ghost Stories, created by Tiny Little Band (Jerry Lieblich and Stefanie Abel Horowitz), and an excerpt from The Dinosaur Play by Ryann Weir, directed by Annie Tippe. In fairness, I can't say much about these works-in-progress, but I can tell you that the cozy environment of the first--and its eerie stories--took me back to childhood in a curiously pleasant way. (Caribbean folk love all kinds of ghost tales, and some of these types of stories are quite familiar to me from my early study of the paranormal.) Weir's nutty dialogue with co-star Dylan Lamb in The Dinosaur Play is hilarious and leads, near the end, to a marvelous and touching twist. Both of these projects show signs of something interesting cooking below the surface, and perhaps those elements will strengthen over time.

Ladder to the Moon's Program B repeats today at 4pm. For information and tickets, click here.

Program A--featuring works by Andrew Farmer and Francis Weiss Rabkin--will have its final performance tonight at 8:30pm; click here.

HERE Arts Center

145 Sixth Avenue, Manhattan

Enter on Dominick Street, one block south of Spring Street.

map/directions

Franca Rame, 83

Franca Rame, Italian Actress and Playwright, Dies at 83
by Margalit Fox, The New York Times, May 30, 2013

Gish Prize goes to Anna Deavere Smith

Anna Deavere Smith Wins Gish Prize
by Patricia Cohen, The New York Times, January 17, 2013

New York Public Radio to archive August Wilson plays

New York Public Radio to Record August Wilson’s Plays
by Felicia R. Lee, The New York Times, November 14, 2012

Nora Ephron, 71

Reading is everything. Reading makes me feel like I've accomplished something, learned something, become a better person. Reading makes me smarter. Reading gives me something to talk about later on. Reading is the unbelievably healthy way my attention deficit disorder medicates itself. Reading is escape, and the opposite of escape; it's a way to make contact with reality after a day of making things up, and it's a way of making contact with someone else's imagination after a day that's all too real. Reading is grist. Reading is bliss. ― Nora Ephron, I Feel Bad About My Neck: And Other Thoughts on Being a Woman

Above all, be the heroine of your life, not the victim. ― Nora Ephron

Nora Ephron, Essayist, Screenwriter and Director, Dies at 71
by Charles McGrath, The New York Times, June 26, 2012

Vaclav Havel, 75 [UPDATE]

Vaclav Havel, Dissident Playwright Who Led Czechoslovakia, Dead at 75
by The Associated Press, December 18, 2011

UPDATE:

Czechs’ Dissident Conscience, Turned President
by Dan Bilefsky and Jane Perlez, The New York Times, December 18, 2011

Speaking our truths: American Slavery Project

Here's a note of appreciation for The New Black Fest's American Slavery Project and last evening's presentation--a reading of Judy Tate's play Fast Blood--at CAP 21 with support from 651 Arts. Directed by Melissa Maxwell, this play deals with a perilous, potentially transformative moment in the lives of Black slaves and white slaveholders in the American South of 1845. Tate is blessed with a compelling eight-member cast--in particular, Godfrey L. Simmons, Jr., Messeret Stroman, Shane Taylor and William C. Sullivan--insightful and powerful performers all.

The American Slavery Project initiates "new conversations around theater’s role in counteracting the increasing revisionism in our political/social discourse about the Civil War and slavery" and "aims to promote a new generation of African-American voices who are telling the diverse and rich stories from an era that most adversely affected us."

Look for future presentations in this series of free readings and discussions. For program information click here. To make reservations, click here.

"The New Black" is now

The New Black Fest--guest curated by Judy Tate and Godfrey Simmons in association with 651 Arts--presents The American Slavery Project, a monthly series of readings and post-reading conversations in recognition of the Sesquicentennial of the Civil War. The series focuses on Black playwrights whose work deals with slavery and/or the Civil War in a bold and refreshing way.

The purpose behind the American Slavery Project is to initiate new conversations around theater’s role in counteracting the increasing revisionism in our political/social discourse about the Civil War and slavery. More importantly, the American Slavery Project aims to promote a new generation of African-American voices who are telling the diverse and rich stories from an era that most adversely affected us. The series runs from mid-March through Juneteenth.

Schedule of 2011 Events

Monday, March 7 (7pm)

Fast Blood by Judy Tate

Monday, April 4 (7pm)

Sweet Maladies by Zakiyyah Alexander 

Monday, May 2 (7pm)

Living in the Wind by Michael Bradford

Monday, June 6 (7pm)

Voices from Harpers Ferry by Dominic Taylor

Wednesday, June 15 (7pm)

Safe House by Keith Josef Adkins

All tickets are free with a reservation. For full program, schedule of readings and location information, click here.

For reservations, click here.

For general information, contact info@thenewblackfest.org

Live & Outspoken with 651 Arts

As part of 651 Arts's Live & Outspoken series, Ntozake Shange will interview Marc Bamuthi Joseph:

Tuesday, March 8 (7PM)

The James and Martha Duffy Performance Space
Mark Morris Dance Center
3 Lafayette Avenue, Brooklyn (directions)

Artist and performer Marc Bamuthi Joseph is one of America’s most vital voices in performance, arts education, and artistic curation. After appearing on Broadway as a young actor, Joseph developed several poetically based works for the stage that toured across the US, Europe, and Africa. He is the artistic director of the 7-part HBO documentary Russell Simmons Presents Brave New Voices; an inaugural recipient of the United States Artists Rockefeller Fellowship, which annually recognizes 50 of the country’s “greatest living artists;” and mentor to young writers with Oakland’s YOUTH SPEAKS. Joseph speaks with Shange, who he has called “one of my greatest influences," about the artistic process, activism and more. Bamuthi will perform excerpts from his works Word Becomes Flesh and red, black and GREEN: a blues. 

Click here for tickets or call 212-868-4444.

Suzan-Lori Parks: She better werrrk!

SUZAN-LORI PARKS: WATCH ME WORK

Under The Radar Festival at The Public Theater

This performance piece, a meditation on the artistic process and an actual work session, features Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Suzan-Lori Parks working on her newest writing project in the main lobby of The Public Theater. The audience is invited to come and watch her work and/or to share the space and get some of their own writing work done. During the last fifteen minutes of the performance Parks will answer any questions the audience might have regarding their own work and their creative process.

Watch Me Work will take place on select weekdays for 75 minutes each day in the Main Lobby of The Public Theater. As the schedule and start times will vary, please check our website daily for the latest schedule. The performances are free and open to the public.

Suzan-Lori Parks is the Master Writer Chair at the Public Theater. Her work includes Topdog/Underdog, 365Days/365Plays and the novel Getting Mother's Body.

Wednesday, January 5 at 4pm
Friday, January 7 at 4pm
Saturday, January 8 at 2:30pm
Friday, January 14 at 4pm
Saturday, January 15 at 2pm
Sunday, January 16 at 4pm

Wasserstein Prize protest works

A Do-Over for the Wasserstein Playwriting Prize
by Patrick Healy, The New York Times, November 15, 2010

Theater/dance fest seeks submissions

The Midtown International Theatre Festival (MITF) seeks submissions for its twelfth season, running from July 11-31, 2011.  The deadline for submissions is February 21, 2011.

The Festival accepts submissions in all genres--any sort of stage play, musical or otherwise, new or classic, mainstream or specifically focused on an ethnic or cultural niche.  To be eligible, each show must have a producer and production team attached to the project.   

For the first time, this year, the Festival will introduce a dance division.  In addition, the MITF will include a Short Subjects division.

Application forms for the Midtown International Theatre Festival are available online at www.midtownfestival.org.  All submissions must be postmarked by February 21, 2011 to guarantee consideration for the 2011 Festival.  Full details and further information about the MITF can be found at www.midtownfestival.org.

Joseph Stein, playwright, 98

Joseph Stein, Author of ‘Fiddler on the Roof,’ Dies at 98

by Anita Gates, The New York Times, October 25, 2010

Playwright Lynn Nottage wins Steinberg Prize

Lynn Nottage Awarded Steinberg Prize
by Patrick Healy, The New York Times, September 20, 2010

Playwright Ira Jeffries passes

The Passing of Ira Jeffries - July 16th 2010

from Ronald Lonesome

Friends, after six weeks in a coma brought on by a massive stroke, Ira Jeffries expired yesterday, July 16th at 3 p.m. She was a patient on the Hospice Unit at the Bronx Lebanon Hospital. Following her wishes, she will be cremated, and the cre-mains will be placed in the columbarium at The Riverside Church. She did not want a funeral or memorial service. However, Maranatha would like to host a program at Riverside Church honoring the life and legacy of Ira. We're asking members of GRIOT, SAGE, Theater Groups, Playwrights, Artists, and other friends of Ira to participate in the planning of this event. Please email us at MaranathaTRC@hotmail.com. Thanks to all of you for your support. Ira was a talented, spirited artist and a loving human being. 

~ Ronald Lonesome

From her Bio from WOW's GRIOT festival

Ira Jeffries has been a playwright for over twenty years and a member of the WOW collective for over ten years. She is a graduate of City College with a B.A. in communications. She has written over twenty plays, most of which have been produced at WOW. She founded Kaleidoscope Theatre to produce her own plays and deal with issues of the lesbian community. In 1985 she received an Audelco Theatre Award for Excellence in Playwriting.

***

Griot Circle: A Gathering of Elders

SAGE

Imagining Madoff...without Wiesel

Deborah Margolin’s Madoff Play, Now Without Wiesel

by Patrick Healy, The New York Times, July 19, 2010

Nottage initiates a festival for Black playwrights

Forging a Festival for Black Playwrights
by Felicia R. Lee, The New York Times, June 30, 2010