Posting on Inkwell Theatre's site

Hello again! Please take a look at my guest post over at Inkwell Theatre's site and see some of the work I've been up to since my last post.  Click here! Enjoy, and feel free to comment here or on the Inkwell site.

Revamping

Hi friends. I'm taking a break to revamp and redirect the blog. Stay tuned!

Book Covers

CNN contributor Bob Greene suggests that book jackets are a dying art. In this article, he spotlights nine great covers. Which ones are your favorites?

I am a sucker for great packaging. Although I try to never judge books by their cover, I admit that there have been a few I've picked up simply because the jacket caught my eye. Two recent attractions yielded drastically different results.

The woven blue notebook of Paul Auster's Oracle Night lured me in much the same way that the possibly supernatural journal ensnares the protagonist. Oracle Night was my first foray into Auster's work. I loved the mysteries and complexities on every page and now I can't get enough Auster. I scour the library and bookstore shelves for his books and since I discovered we are almost neighbors, keep my eyes peeled for him when I'm walking around Brooklyn.

I expected to read something fascinating or scientific after opening the cover of Galt Niederhoffer's A Taxonomy of Barnacles. I find this book polarizing. Some critics call it a contrived vanity project and others find its zaniness charming. I agree with with the former. I will steer clear of the author's future endeavors, but I must admit a desire to talk to her agent or editor about how structuring the novel more like the science project-like cover could have improved the writing and, ultimately, sales.





images found here, here

Daily Consumption 4-20-10

Song of the day - NYC, Interpol

Still reading unpublished work, so no passage of the day.

Literary inspiration

Want to show off your favorite book? There are so many great t-shirts here! In addition to the Streetcar shirt, I love the 1984 and Hester Prynne shirts.

image found here

Daily Consumption 4-19-10

Song of the day - Hurt, Johnny Cash

Just a song for now. I'm reading unpublished plays today.

Daily Consumption 4-15-10

Song of the day - Lazy Eye, Silversun Pickups

Passage of the day - Do you know the feeling when you start reading a new book before the membrane of the last one has had time to close behind you? You leave the previous book with ideas and themes--characters even--caught in the fibers of your clothes, and when you open the new book, they are still with you. - The Thirteenth Tale, Diane Setterfield

Sorry for the delay! It's been a busy week.

Pulitzer Prizes

The Pulitzer Prizes were announced at Columbia University yesterday. Congratulations to all of the winners and finalists!

The press release for the prize in Drama is as follows (from the Pulitzer Prize site): Awarded to “Next to Normal,” music by Tom Kitt, book and lyrics by Brian Yorkey, a powerful rock musical that grapples with mental illness in a suburban family and expands the scope of subject matter for musicals. (Moved into contention by the Board within the Drama category.)

Nominated as finalists in this category were: “The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity,” by Kristoffer Diaz, a play invoking the exaggerated role-playing of professional wrestling to explore themes from globalization to ethnic stereotyping, as the audience becomes both intimate insider and ringside spectator; “Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo,” by Rajiv Joseph, a play about the chaotic Iraq war that uses a network of characters, including a caged tiger, to ponder violent, senseless death, blending social commentary with tragicomic mayhem, and “In the Next Room or the vibrator play,” by Sarah Ruhl, an inventive work that mixes comedy and drama as it examines the medical practice of a 19th century American doctor and confronts questions of female sexuality and emancipation.


The Prizes are never without controversy. According to Charles McNulty, member of the Pulitzer Prize drama jury, critic for the LA Times, and my former professor, the board disregarded the recommendation of the jury and awarded a visible and commercially viable piece of theatre rather than a riskier play by an emerging playwright. McNulty's insightful article can be found here.

I have questions about the awards process. How subjective are these awards? How much weight does the board give the jury? How long do they deliberate about the finalists before adding their sentimental favorites?

(image found here)

Daily Consumption 4-8-10

Song of the day - Letters From the Sky, Civil Twilight

Passage of the day - When I walk into town, I see a shriveled, pasty man who, clearly, is dying. He has been propped in the doorway with the sun fully on him, his last chance for revival. He spreads out his fingers on his chest, warming everything he can. - Under the Tuscan Sun, Frances Mayes

Daily Consumption 4-7-10

Song of the day - Anywhere I Lay My Head, Tom Waits

Passage of the day - Standing in the dim crypt in a country church where a handful of dust has been venerated for several hundred years, I see that even today, toward the end of the the century, the case is remembered with fresh carnations. I uncover my second realization: This is where they put their memories and wants. Besides functioning as vast cultural repositories, these churches map intimate human needs. - Under the Tuscan Sun, Frances Mayes

Daily Consumption 4-6-10

Song of the day - Maps, Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Passage of the day - Means of life ... In certain times and places, we find it. We can run full out, if not fly. - Under the Tuscan Sun, Frances Mayes

Daily Consumption 4-5-10

Song of the day - To All of You, Syd Matters

Passage of the day - This three-story house rooted to the ground restores some levels in my waking and sleeping hours. Or is it the house? A glimmer: Choice is restorative when it reaches toward an instinctive recognition of the earliest self. As Dante recognized at the beginning of The Inferno: What must we do in order to grow? - Under the Tuscan Sun, Frances Mayes

Daily Consumption 4-2-10

Song of the day - Phantom Limb, The Shins

Passage of the day - Think: What if the sky doesn't fall? What if it's glorious? - Under the Tuscan Sun, Frances Mayes

What is a dramaturg? - an ongoing discussion

When I meet new friends, one of the first things they ask me concerns my profession. Most people struggle even pronouncing the word dramaturg*, much less understanding what the job entails. Most dramaturgs I know cultivate a quick "cocktail party" answer in addition to a longer explanation.

My cocktail party answer changes according to what aspect of the work I'm focused on at the time and what projects are on the horizon. Right now, I like to call what I do "theatre anthropology." Sometimes I say that I work with playwrights to develop new work, other times I talk more about research, program notes, and lobby displays. It is difficult to narrow what a dramaturg does into a soundbite because the job changes due to the particular demands and challenges of the play, project, theatre, or organization.

Defining what a dramaturg is and does is an ongoing project for many. Since the performing arts are alive and constantly changing, the role of the dramaturg will continue to grow and change along with its supporting institutions.

A couple of supporting institutions worth mentioning:

CENTERSTAGE: CENTERSTAGE in Baltimore received a $2 million challenge grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to establish the nation's first dramaturgy endowment. CENTERSTAGE currently boasts one of the larger dramaturgy departments in the nation. They do incredible work.

LMDA: A conversation about defining dramaturgy would be incomplete without mentioning Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas. When I initially discovered the existence of dramaturgy, my search led me to LMDA and their unbelievably selfless members. On their site, they list numerous "acts of dramaturgy." Scroll down!

What is Dramaturgy?
(a few possibilities)

RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
Help develop the mission
Help plan the season
Help look for scripts

NEW PLAYS
Solicit scripts from writers and agents
Read and evaluate new scripts
Track and file those scripts
Write kindly letters to writers whose script
we won’t be producing
Negotiate with agents
Prepare adaptations and translations
Commission new work
Organize the in-house play reading program
Organize the new play reading program
for subscribers
Help bring new plays into full production
Support those writers whose vision captures our minds and hearts

PRODUCTION DRAMATURGY
Locate drafts and versions
Collate, cut, track, edit, rewrite, construct,
and arrange
Secure permissions to use
copyrighted material
Find songs, pictures, stories, videos
Help the designer do the research
Help the director do casting
Help the marketeers and developers
Seek and present pathways into
the world of the play
Gather and arrange images, sounds, and ideas for rehearsal
Explore and present: the world of the play
the author of the play,
the script’s production history,
the relevant criticism
Conceive the forms of the script as a script
Conceive the forms of the play as it grows
Stay on course when all goes well
Maintain the calm when all goes ill
(as it will)
Create the lobby display
Love the work

ARTS IN EDUCATION
Establish relationships with local educators
Help them use theatre to support their curricula
Prepare study guides
Develop production web sites
Write and edit program materials
Organize and lead pre- and post-show discussions
Plan and lead seminars and symposia

ADVOCACY
Affirm the function,
Explore the practice, and
Promote the profession of
dramaturgy and literary management.
Nourish the arts wherever we find them:
in schools,
in communities,
and around the world.

(all information can be found at www.lmda.org)


Any questions about dramaturgy so far? Please ask!


*Dramaturgy is pronounced with a soft g, like the g in the word gel. Dramaturg has a hard g, like the word hamburger. It is sometimes spelled with an e on the end, but since dramaturge means playwright in French, most U.S.-based dramaturgs try to discourage that spelling to avoid further confusion.

image found here

Daily Consumption 3-31-10

Song of the day - Dice, Finley Quaye & William Orbit

Passage of the day - ... I favor the judgment that Elizabeth and Darcy scarcely change, and learn rather that they complement each other's not wholly illegitimate pride. - Novels and Novelists, Bloom's Literary Criticism 20th Anniversary Collection, Harold Bloom on Jane Austen

Daily Consumption 3-30-10

Song of the day - Lucky Man, The Verve

Passage of the day - "In vain I have struggled. It will not do. My feelings will not be repressed. you must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you." - Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen

Heroes of Children's Literature

The Guardian names ten of the best heroes of children's literature. I miss Harry Potter, Scout and Jem of To Kill a Mockingbird, Fern and Charlotte of Charlotte's Web, and the many children in the Chronicles of Narnia. Do you agree with this list? Who are your favorites?

Daily Consumption 3-29-10

Song of the day - Walking With a Ghost, Tegan & Sara

Passage of the day - The novel's long suit has always been emotional identification. ... Long suit, but not only suit. The novel has always proved itself capable of multiple uses, one of which is analysis or intellection. It can be a vehicle for sympathy or dread, but also for rational understanding. - How to Read Novels Like a Professor, Thomas C. Foster

Daily Consumption 3-26-10

Song of the day - Swim Until You Can't See Land, Frightened Rabbit

Passage of the day - "...no one can be really esteemed accomplished who does not greatly surpass what is usually met with. A woman must have a thorough knowledge of music, singing, drawing, dancing, and the modern languages, to deserve the word; and besides all this, she must posses a certain something in her air and manner of walking, the tone of her voice, her address and expressions, or the word will be but half-deserved."

"All this she must possess,"added Darcy, "and to all this she must yet add something moresubstantial, in the improvement of her mind by extensive reading."

"I am no longer surprised at your knowing ONLY six accomplished women. I rather wonder now at your knowing ANY." - Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen

Daily Consumption 3-25-10

Song of the day - Mykonos, Fleet Foxes

Passage of the day - "When I am in the country," he replied, "I never wish to leave it; and when I am in town it is pretty much the same. They have each their advantages, and I can be equally happy in either." - Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen

Daily Consumption 3-24-10

Song of the day - Sweet Disposition, The Temper Trap

Passage of the day - Austen's ultimate irony is that Elizabeth Bennet is inwardly so free that convention performs for her the ideal function it cannot perform for us: it liberates her will without tending to stifle her high individuality. - Novels and Novelists, Bloom's Literary Criticism 20th Anniversary Collection, Harold Bloom on Jane Austen

Daily Consumption 3-23-10

Song of the day - Hounds of Love, The Futureheads

Passage of the day - Gatsby is great, not just in Carraway's vision, but in ours, because Fitzgerald brilliantly represents in Gatsby both the failure of the American Dream and its perpetual refusal to die. - Novels and Novelists, Bloom's Literary Criticism 20th Anniversary Collection, Harold Bloom on F. Scott Fitzgerald

Daily Consumption 3-22-10

Song of the day - Samson, Regina Spektor

Passage of the day - ... if you want to deal with the slippery business of reality, truth, perception, and delusion, let a character tell your story. That would seem to describe every novel in the world, wouldn't it? But I think not. They are enough, however, to give you the general idea about character-narrators and the mischief they can create. And what do all these have in common? In every case, the innate drama of the situation would be compromised by an objective view. - How to Read Novels Like a Professor, Thomas C. Foster

Daily Consumption 3-18-10

Song of the day - Alex Chilton, The Replacements

Passage of the day - ... Perhaps it was the very weight of being home again. He'd been gone so long. Years, it seemed. And now he was back, and he was different. Would his mother recognize him? Would Claire? In some ways he felt too big for this house. But he also felt newly able to fit within it. - The Wild Things, Dave Eggers

Daily Consumption 3-17-10

Song of the day - First Day of My Life, Bright Eyes

Passage of the day - "Hey Max! You were wrong about the sun dying. Look, it's right here."

Max didn't know how to explain.

"Don't scare me like that again, okay buddy?" Carol said. He spoke cheerfully, as if the distant, rigid Carol of moments before had been illusory, that here was the real Carol, the one who loved Max's brain and who knew how things were supposed to feel, who wanted only the right things to happen. - The Wild Things, Dave Eggers

Daily Consumption 3-16-10

Song of the day - Elenore, Ebenezer and the Hymnasters

Passage of the day - Look, everything overlaps doesn't it?

Is connected some kind of way.
Once you put it all together, it's just obvious.
I mean, tie a string to something, and
see where it takes you.
The biggest thing is
don't worry about it.
You're always gonna be moving somewhere so
don't worry about it.
See?
Start working when it's almost too late at night,
when your sense of efficiency is exhausted
and then just,
let it come on...

- bobrauschenbergamerica, Charles Mee

Daily Consumption 3-15-10

Song of the day - The Predatory Wasp of the Palisades is Out to Get Us!, Sufjan Stevens

Passage of the day - ... the relationship between book, readers, and author should always be clear, and always be pure: For me, such has been the case from the start. - The Alienist, Caleb Carr

Daily Consumption 3-12-10

Song of the day - Worn Me Down, Rachael Yamagata

Passage of the day - At some point in the evening, one of the other fathers made an offhand comment that my father took exception to; a heated discussion ensued, and my father ended up stabbing the guy with a dessert fork, breaking the skin. What the guy said was unimportant; actually, what he said was, he was reminiscing about where he had grown up as a kid and he remarked that "It used to be a good neighborhood, you know, white, now, forget it. I went back there last month, it's half white, the rest: blacks and Italians." My mom's Italian. EMS was called, and the dance? Well, let's just say the stabbing concluded the dancing portion of the evening ... My father's justification for the assault, after explaining how he didn't immediately attack him, and how he had given the "rich jerk" ample opportunity to apologize, and how he won't tolerate a bigot no matter where he is, and "What if your mom or 'Rasheed from the deli' had been there, and how he still doesn't understand why I need to go to that stuck-up school anyway. In the end, what he finally said was "It was just a fork." - Jesus Hopped the A Train, Stephen Adly Guirgis

Daily Consumption 3-11-10

Song of the day - Bohemian Rhapsody, Queen (as interpreted by the Muppets!)

Passage of the day - "If all cold things were wet and all wet things cold, if all hard things pricked our skin, and no other things did so; is it likely that we should discriminate between coldness and wetness and hardness and pungency respectively?" - The Alienist, Caleb Carr

Daily Consumption 3-10-10

Song of the day - Death, White Lies

Passage of the day - " '... even if ... those habits become counterproductive in adulthood ... Habit dooms us all to fight out the battle of life upon the lines of our nurture or our early choice, and to make the best of a pursuit that disagrees, because there is no other for which we are fitted, and it is too late to begin again.' " - The Alienist, Caleb Carr

Daily Consumption 3-9-10

Song of the day - Audience, Cold War Kids

Passage of the day - Looking to the west, I saw that the reflective expanse of the Hudson River was quickly turning from bright red to black. I turned fully around twice in the near-darkness, seeing the entire area in a new way. "Control," I mumbled. Marcus stayed right with me:"Yes," he said. "This is his world, up here. Whatever mental turmoil Dr. Kreizler sees in the bodies, this is very different. On these rooftops he's acting with complete confidence." - The Alienist, Caleb Carr

Daily Consumption 3-8-10

Song of the day - Home, Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros

Passage of the day - ... "I have made it my business since taking this job to acquaint myself with the underworld of this city, and I have seen many things. No one needs to tell me that depravity and inhumanity have taken on dimensions in New York unheard of anywhere in the world. But what unnameable nightmare, even here, could drive a man to this?"
"Do not, "Kreizler answered slowly, trying very hard to be clear,"look for causes in this city. Nor in recent circumstances, nor in recent events. The creature you seek was created long ago. Perhaps in his infancy--certainly in childhood. And not necessarily here." - The Alienist, Caleb Carr

Daily Consumption 3-4-10

Song of the day - Dog Days are Over, Florence + the Machine

Passage of the day - At that the train of reaction was propelled into high speed: Kreizler's name spread down the corridor from cell to cell, inmate to inmate, through the walls and iron doors of the women's ward and on into the men's. I'd seen this happen several times before, in different institutions, but it was no less remarkable on each occasion: the words were like the flow of water over coals, taking away crackling heat and leaving only a steaming whisper, a perhaps momentary but nonetheless effective remission from deep-burning fire. - The Alienist, Caleb Carr

Daily Consumption 3-3-10

Song of the day - House of Cards, Radiohead

Passage of the day - The book fell open somewhere in the middle, and I saw that one of the sentences had been underlined faintly in pencil. Les moments de crise produisent un redoublement de vie chez les hommes. Moments of crisis produce a redoubled vitality in men. Or, more succinctly perhaps: Men don't begin to live fully until their backs are against the wall. - The Book of Illusions, Paul Auster