MORNING WALK

Manhattan this AM.

DOCUMENTATION

I finally got it together enough to start documenting my theater work.

in this post: A few photos from my production of TOPDOG/UNDERDOG at Dartmouth College.

The title page of the play, written by Suzan-Lori Parks, reads:

The Players

Lincoln, the topdog
Booth (aka 3-card), the underdog

PUSHING FORWARD

Write everyday.

Observe. A photo. A sketch. A clipping.
Write down where you've come from. Write down where you went, which will, in a few moments, be where you've come from.

Read. A passage. A script. A poem.
Write down what you've read. Write down what you are reading, because in a few moments, it will be what you've read.

On Directing: craft frees the artistic impulses.

Learn to shape moments. Have a gameplan based on 'succesful' forms/formulas.

Be eager to use and know the language of adaptation.

FRAME the action. This is your lens, your point-of-view. This says to the audience, "here we go. This is how we're going about this journey. Everything hencforth will be in reference to 'this'."

SUPER OBJECTIVE

400 Scripts sit on the floor between me and my new desk. I guess no one really thought about the mass of undiscovered young playwrights panting for a chance to have their plays produced. I guess no one really thought about where these plays would live as they continue their life's journey from computer screen to printer to mail bin to The Public Theater to await being entered into the company log and then to finally sit in the lap of an esteemed reader of plays. Apparently those thoughts, or lack of thoughts, directed these wayward scripts toward my desk, and to save myself from sounding too self-involved, toward the desks of the entire literary staff as well. So, 4 desks rest idly across the room, separated by a mass of young creative energy, from 4 humble employees who just want to sip their coffee, sit in their chair and read these scripts.

The Public must be doing something right, and Time Warner has certainly invested in a worthwhile artistic pursuit. The Emerging Writer's Group - to be home for 12 playwrights who have never had a professional production in New York - will indeed 'emerge' from a pile of 400 scripts on the floor of our offices. Thrilling!

New beginnings. New obstacles. New triumphs. How's that for some drama?

Today, Sept. 5, 2007, was my first day as the, awkwardly titled, Artistic Leadership Associate (ALA) at The Public Theater in New York.