I am a Theater Snob

not theater necessarily...

2005-06-15T11:12:00.000-04:00

So...tonight I saw "Mad Hot Ballroom", the new documentary following three New York City children's ballroom dance teams. It was one of the most phenomenal film experiences I have ever had. First of all, it was reminiscent of the "Spellbound" of a few years ago, where the viewer becomes incredibly involved in the outcome of a competition. Secondly, the incredible results these teachers were able to get out of these kids, and the wonderful work the kids do for a championship was so moving. Finally, it was so incredible to see how ballroom dance could completely turn around a child's world.

I cannot wait to get going on this summer's job...I will be working in Mission Hill with high school students, teaching theater and working together to hopefully put together a performance.

More on that as the summer progresses!

Too Much Light Makes the Baby go Blind

2005-05-05T01:43:00.000-04:00

The Neo-Futurists is a theater group that began in Chicago, performing their 30 plays in 60 minutes, entitled, “Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind”. The premise is most of the fun—when the audience enters the theater, they roll a dice. Whatever number comes up is the amount they pay above the $6 base charge for admission. In New York, “TML” is in the Belt Theater, a small black box theater attached to a bar in Hell’s Kitchen. Once you’re seated, you notice the numbers 1-30 on a clothesline over the stage, and a menu on the table in front of you. The “menu” has numbers 1-30 with titles of 2-minute plays that have been written by the actors.
On any given night the actors are different. There are about fifteen members of the group and eight perform every weekend. The short 2-minute plays are comedies, dramas, absurdist, simplistic—every single snippet is beautiful and whole in only 120 seconds. The plays vary from personal pieces about hibernating in the winter, love, and sex to political discussions about the election, George Bush, racism, classism.
The audience is heavily involved in “TML”. Some audience members are randomly given scripts and asked to come on stage for certain scenes; others are used as props or scenery. The most interactive part of the play is that the audience picks the order that the evening goes in. Audience members shout out numbers, and whoever is the loudest or heard first, that number is taken off the clothesline and that play is performed.
The simplicity of the space makes the plays themselves stand out much more than a loud, bright backdrop would. It is a true black box theater, with nothing on the walls but black paint, and some tables and chairs. A cat who “lives” in the adjacent bar wanders around, sitting on tables and interacting with the actors. It’s such a homey place, a great feeling.
What is so meaningful about “TML” is the personality of it all. The actors write the plays from their own experience, they are trying to create an experience that gives audiences a glimpse not only into their lives but into our own and how we relate to each other.

Twelve Angry (and Amazing) Men

2005-04-27T00:04:00.000-04:00

I just had one of the most phenomenal theater experiences of my entire life.

I've been itching to see something on Broadway, but for some reason I haven't gotten off my ass to do it just yet. Lots of work, lots of working, lots of class and student government, all that and more. But today, after receiving a President's Service Award :), I hopped in a cab and went uptown to try and rush a show.

First I ran over to "The Glass Menagerie", but was told that the rush option was closed. So I walked down a few blocks (angry with the situation at the Barrymore) to the American Airlines Theater, to try and get tickets to "Twelve Angry Men". I'd heard few, but only good things about it. So I got my ticket (40 bucks for 3rd row center...wow its good to be a student) and sat down.

First of all, the set was stunning. Simple, but complicated. Every little detail had an important place in the larger scheme of things--the fan, the windows, the water cooler. The chairs and table were daunting and huge, especially from my seat so close to the stage. I was impressed by the movement of the stage to the bathroom, which became another important part of the set.

The actors were....for lack of a better word...incredible. I have never seen such an incredible spectrum of acting in twelve men on one stage, so full of depth and humor and everything in between. Some of my favorite performances were the amazing Tom Aldredge, the hilarious John Panko, and many new up and comers that we should all watch out for.

Its incredible what a good actor can do. Throughout this short, hour and forty minute play, I was laughing, crying, clutching my chest, gasping, applauding, at one point I stopped breathing for a minute or so I was so enthralled with the performances.

It was truly one of the greatest theater experiences of my life. I hung back afterwards and got some autographs, met Tom Aldredge (which did, yes, I am a dork, make me cry a bit) and talked with some of the younger actors.

I love New York.

Laurie Anderson at the BAM

2005-03-23T23:41:00.000-05:00

Last month, with my "Transcultural Dialogue through Performance" class, I went to see performance artist Laurie Anderson at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. After a little warning from my mother that "oh...she's kinda weird" andlearning that she had just been at NASA for severl years, I was intruiged and nervous for what lay in store.

Well, my fears...my worst fears...were realized. I am an advocate for performance art, sure, no matter how avant garde it is. But this piece, well, it made no sense. Laurie was on stage alone, surrounded by candles, a chair, her keyboard, her script on a music stand, and a screen displaying the moon. I was hoping that she would discuss her experiences at NASA, because she was called and asked to be the first Artist-in-Residence for them. Unfortunately, she did not do this. She spent the hour and a half discussing a few projects she saw with NASA, but frequently digressing into stories about her dog Lolabelle and gay penguins (I wish I was joking). Honestly, I was frustrated. What does an Artist-in-Residence at NASA do? WE NEVER FOUND OUT.

Not only was her script weak and lacked cohesion, but she didn't use her space well. This huge, beautiful space went to waste. Once she sat in the chair, and a couple of times moved forward, but overall this incredible stage was sitting there, useless, alone and sad in the light of the flickering, also useless candles.

The one thing Laurie did well was play that violin. Although it was electric, which I have a personal objection to as a violin purist, she played that thing fiercely! She is a musician first, absolutely, and NOT a public speaker. Her predictable tone of voice, her lack of presence, made the entire presentation dull and lifeless.

Sorry, Laurie...maybe next time?

My first Andrew Lloyd Webber Experience

2005-03-07T00:26:00.000-05:00

Friday night, March 4, 2005.

I went to see...gulp..."The Phantom of the Opera".

Those of you who know me well know that this is a big step for me. I have always, along with my family, resisted the temptation of the bright flashy scenery and overdramatized dramatics of the Lloyd Webber movement, what with the musical being such a sensation...and now a movie! So, I went (for free, mind you, with student government paying my way) and tried to let myself be taken over by the wonderful world of Webber.

My friend Myles loves Phantom, and since we met last year we've always been saying how wonderful it would be to go together to the show. We sat together in the very very very rear mezzanine, squinting down at the scene below.

Overall? Disappointing. I guess it had been so hyped up...for ages I've heard about "the spectacle, the spectacle" of the show itself, so the actual stagecraft was wonderful but I think I had extremely high expectations. Lots of fire, lots of moving pieces and "magic". There was one trick, though, that really got me...I won't give it away for the five people who haven't seen it yet.

What fascinated me about the show was listening to the music paired with the action, was the stylistic choices Webber made. It truly sounds like an opera, a popera if you will, but its NOT what I expected at all. This worldwide phenomenon is something that most of the world (the younger and/or American generations, at least) tends to reject. Why is the opera so appealing? I know its not just the special effects, because people love love love the music, they listen to it over and over again, often forcing me to listen with them. Some of the songs are quite nice, as a matter of fact, and to some degree I like the motifs running through the show...but, we are beaten over the head with the melodies, until there is no way we can get it out of our head. I wonder if that's part of Webber's strategy, seeing as most of his (excuse me) crap is that catchy stuff you'll never be able to forget, no matter how hard you try.

I was impressed by a couple of performances, the Phantom in particular. But...in short, the characters are poorly devleoped, the music is shallow, and the plot relies too heavily upon the effects to hold up on its own. I was unimpressed, but glad to have seen it...it was my first, and probably last, Andrew Lloyd Webber theater experience.

That is just enough for me, thankyouverymuch.

Feel free to disagree.

Background

2005-03-05T17:42:00.000-05:00

Before I begin to be a bitch, I figured I should give some background about myself, give my credentials for being a self-dubbed "theater snob".

I grew up with a father (and a mother, to some degree) who worshipped at the altar of musical theater. Together, as I came of age, my father and I discovered who we consider to be the God of musical theater, Stephen Sondheim. Sondheim's innovative lyrics and incredibly complicated composing make him, in my humble opinion, the greatest man to ever grace Broadway with his work. My father, Jim and I have spent years delving deep into Stephen's work, learning about his life and dissecting every note. It is due to this and some other training--both on and off stage that I feel I can call myself a theater snob. I have acted, designed costumes, stage managed up the wazoo, choreographed, and been an assistant director...all in high school, but nonetheless, a high school with a fabulous theater program.

Anyway, I've decided to start a blog wherein I can complain/vent about theater I'm experiencing in the theater capital of the world, New York. So, take it or leave it...and, please, by all means, argue with me, I enjoy a good debate!