Last evening, we had the first reading of my new work, which will be presenting as Great Lakes Theater’s 2015 free, outreach touring play, visiting 27 sites in Cuyahoga, Summit and Lorain Counties.
Tim Keo, James Rankin and Arthur Chu were invited to read the piece, the company will consist of three men, playing a variety of characters from several points in history. I had requested they prepare to read in three different accents, and it was very satisfying to hear the lines spoken that way. We will be engaging a dialect coach, but their advance preparation was greatly, greatly appreciated.
The Playwrights’ Unit generally takes a break during the summer, so I was very to happy to have those who were in town and available attend and provide extremely valuable feedback. Many thanks to Deb, Margaret and Eric C., and to Lisa and Emily for their assistance and comments.
Working from the assumption that people 1) like to know how things work 2) dig insider information and 3) like to get teased, allow me to present ...
General notes on a play you don’t know nothing about yet:
- The players come and go. The Globe remains.
- It takes an American to get things done.
- The creation of plays always incorporates the story of those who created it.
- Art is inextricable from business and politics.
- The Globe Theatre moves through time and space.
- More than any other theater building in history, this theater has an inalterable connection to its playwright.
- In a weird way, theater has always been made by the same kind of people.
- What are the rules of interaction between people from the past to those in the present.
- What are the politics of the First Globe?
- What is the conflict in the Third Globe?
- This will be an exciting, humorous and enjoyable show to experience, but I personally don't describe what it's about very well.
- Cut the floating vial of poison (see rules of interaction.)
- Make it clear that the speech will bring controversy onto its speaker.
- “Am I going to destroy my reputation?” Make explicit.
- Revise the opening verses, add detailed stage directions.
- Expand the stage directions, in general, for the company to clearly understand what’s happening. You can cut them later.
- Abbreviate the Dr. Who business.
- All of David Hansen's plays are the same play. This is not the first time I have heard this.
No comments:
Post a Comment