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As many of you know, I have been part of the producing team of The Cure, and we open tonight.
And we're sold out.
Vampires are everywhere and it's showing in the public's enthusiasm. We just had a nice feature in playbill today, and tonight's opening is looking to be very exciting.
I'm happy to be one of the bitten and I hope you'll become one of the bitten as well.
You can still get tickets for the remaining performances here
See you at the show!
Excelsior!
As a producer, it is really great seeing the progress of a show, a group of people, or a theatre company. I had the good fortune of seeing that growth over the past 8 years of some really fantastic NYU students.
When I first started out, I helped produce shows for NYU playwrights, actors, and directors. My first producing credit was Proof by Disproof, and the stage manager on that show was a guy named Turner Smith who later ended up directing a production of The Line that's picked up a thousand babes. Turner went on to do a lot of fight choreography and I ran into him again when I was at a Fringe show called The Office and the Metal Blob, which I considered to be extraordinary. This was a mix of Blue man Group, The Office, and 2001 that used soundscape so well, that I was very engaged throughout the entire show. I later found out that the company that produced this show was known as The Centrifuge, and that one of the producers of their newest show was our stage manager for our show Lovehandles, a few years back.
I of course had to see their latest offering: Our Farm
Much in the style of Brecht, this show reimagines the concept of Orwell's classic and treats us to an exploration of what might have happened if a certain pig who was run off the farm, assembled a troop of animals to act out the "Real" story. What comes out of this is an extremely visceral production that creates a very clever conceit regarding the relationship between how actors are treated in a production and the role of a dictator. I won't ruin anything for anyone, because you have to go and see the show, but I will say that all of your old friends make an appearance even while some arrive a bit late in the action. As an English teacher, I was very impressed with the detail that went into this production and the constant challenging of established forms of theatrical expression. These guys really know how to tell a story and they are a company to watch.
They are certainly on my radar.
Grab your tickets today because they will fill their houses.
And congrats to all those who worked for Small Pond in the past. You're doing great things. Keep it up!
Excelsior!
One year ago today, this post went up, and now we're looking at the One year anniversary of Hold for the Laughs. It's been a bang up year. We've supported a ton of companies, met a lot of people, and got a lot of great comedians exposure.
Tonight we'll be supporting Red Elevator Productions
Hope to see you there!
Info is below!
Excelsior!
| Host: | |
| Type: | |
| Network: | Global |
| Date: | Wednesday, September 23, 2009 |
| Time: | 9:30pm - 11:30pm |
| Location: | The Sage Theatre |
| Street: | 711 7th Ave |
| City/Town: | New York, NY |
| Email: |
This is something I see all too often.
People put a great event together.
They offer all sorts of cool prizes and perks.
And nobody comes.
The question then becomes:
"What do I do next?"
I think that it's very easy to get discouraged when this happens, but I always look at it the same way I look at my classes. If something does not go the way I planned, I ask why. I try and figure out what I can do next time to make it work better.
Every empty party is the industry telling the event planner something.
Our job is to figure out what it is.
What's your best empty party story?
Post it here.
Excelsior!
Well the Purple Contest ended up being a lot of fun and after much deliberating we finally chose a winner.
Tom Atkins idea about doing theatre testing the way that films do screen testing really resonated with our judges so he was the judges pick!
Tom, be sure to send me your address so I can send your book and gift card your way.
An honorable mention also goes out to Will Segal for his Rap musical concept.
Thanks to all who participated and let me know if you'd like me to run more contests in the future.
Excelsior!
Last night I made my way down to the Soho Playhouse to see Complete in the Fringe Encore series. This was one show I had heard about, but had not gotten to see.
I am so glad it got a well deserved encore and that I got a chance to see it.
The best way I can describe what it is like to experience this show, (and you really don't just watch it, you experience it) is to imagine what it must be like watching an artist paint on a blank canvas. You sit looking for the clues and slowly each element of the picture comes into focus. Once the focus is there and you see the whole picture, you want the whole process to happen again, so you can figure out how it was all possible.This is a carefully crafted story that releases it's information so methodically, it leaves the audience hungry for more.
And with that I'll leave you.
I'm not giving away any of the plot or the twists, because it would rob you of the experience.
Experience this show.
Make your week complete by going here.
Excelsior!
I'm often asked how it's possible to be doing so many things and the answer is quite simple:
I have clones.
They are everywhere and they take care of a lot of the things I can't do.
Ok, ok. Before you start calling the truck to come and take me away, hear me out.
I am a teacher, so it's natural for me to teach others how to do the things I do. I spend a lot of time teaching others the exact job that I have done myself for years. Once they learn how to do that job effectively, I can stop doing that job and work on another and they now have a new skill that they can take with them to any new job that they'd be interested in.
I do this for everything I work on, so it ends up seeming to many that I am everywhere, when really everyone I taught is everywhere.
Cloning.
Try it.
Excelsior!
So no doubt by now most of you have seen a facebook status update or a tweet about Avenue Q's next move
So for producers this opens up a whole host of new possibilities and I thought it might be fun to pose some questions. Feel free to comment with thoughts on any of these.
1. How will this impact Off-Broadway? Will it help with the branding?
2. Will we see Kevin and Jeffrey at the next meeting of the Off-Broadway Alliance?
3. Will this be a threat to any of the current shows at NWS or will it be a blessing?
4. If this works, could it help in raising money for shows by making the claim that if the show doesn't make it on Broadway it may have a shot at Off before touring?
What does everybody think of this?
Would love to hear thoughts!
Also, if you haven't gotten on board yet for The Small Pond Musical Theatre Writing lab, there's still time to get your info to us at [email protected]
Excelsior!
And everyone of those stories is important.
Last night I was fortunate enough to see Clear Blue Tuesday. This was a movie musical that told a series of stories in an incredibly creative way. It was evident that everyone poured their heart and soul into this incredibly ambitious project and it really paid off. What resulted from all of their work was an intricate narrative that had me thinking about my story, and that, (in my opinion) is what great work does. I would highly suggest checking out the website, trailer etc and if there are more screenings, go. It will remind you of your story and it will take you on a journey you may not expect to go on. It left me thinking about my story which I'll share with all of you. Coincidentally, this also became a monologue in an ethnodrama I did with my students.
Well. I was still in
No one came into our class
room to tell us what was going on. They must have thought the classroom we were
in was empty or something. I mean the door was shut, but still it bothers me to
think about the fact that we weren’t told what was going on. I walked out of class
completely oblivious and was on my way to work when my friend Nicole stopped me
and said,
“Hey did you hear about the twin towers?”
and I had no idea what she was talking about.
Then this girl walked by me and without even looking at me she said,
“They’re gone dude”
and just kept walking.
I got to work and found that everyone was
just sitting around watching the television and I was in this haze all day
wondering what happened and how it could happen. I remember waking up the next
morning to the television which was still showing footage on every channel
feeling like I was in this void.
When I eventually came out of the haze, it was obvious that I had to move on and teach.
I had no idea however, that just one year later, I'd be in a classroom with students who had watched this happen from the 5th floor of our school on the lower east side.
We all have a story.
Today, think about yours.
Instead of the traditional Excelsior, today I just say...
Remember your story..
