First Chad Deity Rehearsal Pics!

I’ve been a little behind in my posting of these, but my excuse is that I’ve been up at Norm’s Fish Camp, getting shredded by mosquitoes. But now, without further ado, here are pictures from the first day of rehearsal at Victory Gardens’ Biograph Theater:

This poster is in the window at The Biograph. There's an even larger one, more than life-size one that I'll shoot soon.

The two shows that make up the Ignition Festival. You're expected to see both.

Like any show, we start with table work and a first read. Here, Kamal and Christian talk about all the bone-crunching things they're going to get to do to Desmin.

Some people say this is a show about penises. I, on the other hand, think it's a show about falling. Right after the first read, fight choreographer David Woolley started teaching the boys how not to break their necks when they get thrown to the ground.

One of the first moves we learned was the armbar. The important thing here is the sell, not the move itself. You've got to make it *look* like it hurts. You can't kick a guy's ass in wrestling with the help of the guy whose ass you're kicking.

And this is how the whole process feels. A wonderful blur.

Next time, I’ll post from our first off-site rehearsals, with lots of pics of squats and fight choreography, and even some video. Of powerbombs.  For real.

If you’ve got Flickr, you can see more right now.

Victory Gardens’ Elaborate Entrance.

Victory Gardens has announced its 2009-10 season.

I’d do like I usually do, talking about the relative diversity of the season, the representation of writers of color, of women, of new voices, and all that is important and all, but I’m a little distracted by this paragraph:

The new season kicks off in the fall with “Year Zero,” a play about a 16-year-old Cambodian-American, penned by Michael Golamco. That studio production will play simultaneously with “The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity, ” a mainstage play about a professional wrestler penned by Kristoffer Diaz and directed by Eddie Torres.

We’ll be talking about this more later. A lot.

(EDIT: here’s the actual press release, as reprinted by Newcity Stage.)

Chicago: AMERICAN ETHNIC.

My boy Usman Ally and company are kicking this show off tonight.  As usual, I’m bummed not to be in the Chi for it.  (What does it say about the state of New York theater when everything I want to see lately is in Chicago?  Step your game up, NYC.)  You should definitely check it out:

This spring, join us for American Ethnic – the third annual production of Remy Bumppo thinkTank. This year’s presentation features three nationally recognized spoken word artists – Usman Ally, Idris Goodwin, and Kelly Zen-Yie Tsai – who will collaborate on an original work combining hip-hop, spoken word and theater aesthetics to examine the mass media’s role in perpetuating cultural norms surrounding race and gender.

Chicago: Our Lady of the Underpass

Tanya Saracho’s latest.  And Teatro Vista’s latest at that.  If you’re in Chicago (and I know some of you are), go see it.

My Text Message Inbox From Last Night.

5:04 — “I just left a packed laundromat.  EVERY person there was watching the TV, even the young teenagers.  This is amazing.” — Barry The Republican (BTR)

5:34 — “I’m here now.  Walked past Brokaw. He looks good.”  — Barry Bonds (BB), from the NBC floor

6:04 — “Okay, people.  Be ready.  I should know stuff in the next hour or so…NBC has good food, btw…” — BB

7:17 — “Keep an eye on Indiana…might get projected soon.”

8:54 — “It sucks to be in Texas right now” — Hello My Name is Shai (HMNS), from Houston

9:07 — “Fox News electoral count: 163-81 obama” — BB

9:20 — “foxnews projects ohio for obama…” — BB

9:23 — “OHIO!!!!!” — Rachelle (RM)

9:24 — “Watch for Florida. If that goes Obama, it’s game over for McCain.” — BB

9:26 — “Big money” — RM

9:31 — “NM!” — RM (shouting out New Mexico)

9:37 — “It’s done!  Go Ohio.” — HMNS

9:48 — “FNC EV: 200 – 90 Obama” — BB

10:02 — “You know…with Joe downtown right now!”  — Des (DB), live from The Chi

10:16 — “Yeehah!” — The Fabulous DK, from Chicago/Indiana

10:21 — “I voted 5000 TIMES” — HMNS (who isn’t a citizen, for the record)

10:24 — “Us too bro!”  — DB, probably in response to me writing “we’re going crazy here”

10:24 — “Well, we’re pretty Fucking awesome.  And I guess my vote counted.” — Northern Iowa (NI), in response to my cheers for Iowa

10:32 — “Whatchu expect? We rule!” — Southern Iowa (SI)

10:42 — “fox news is giving Virginia to Obama…” — BB

10:49 — “FNC EV: 220-138″ — BB

11:03 — “OBAMA WINS” — BB

11:06 — “YEAH DUDE!!!!” — Yogi Marisa (YM)

11:22 — “It is a new day.” — SI

11:23 — “Shots.  Now.  Come home.” — Harpo Marxist (HM), after I ran down to Telephone Bar to celebrate with a host of Latinos for Obama

11:38 — “Oh shit! Can you believe it?  Time to celebrate!” — NI

11:41 — “Si se we did it” — C. Denby (CD), possibly mixing a couple of thoughts there

11:44 — “tears” — RM

11:58 — “Firecrackers on Vandy and peeps stopping traffic while singing star bangled banner” — YM, reporting from the street in Brooklyn (I like “bangled”)

12:03 — “Never in my life have I been prouder to be an American.” — Raunchy (RK), from Miami

12:04 — “OBAMA’S GETTING A PUPPY?!” — Carey (CO’B), focusing on what matters

12:05 — “Let it flow.  Ran in the street w champagne and friends and now we wait.  wow” — RM, pre-speech

12:06 — “Stuff is going to the White House–via HOLOGRAM!” — CO’B, referring to our imaginary puppy stuff and, of course, Will.I.(Hologr)Am

12:10 — “unreal” — RM

12:15 — “Wow.  This speech is incredible.” — CO’B

12:18 — “Michelle Obama.  Hot.” — CO’B (at this same time, everyone in our bar was predicting a new Obama baby in nine months)

12:31 — “Is it weird that I am still in shock?  I’m watching TV and I’m like, why are there regular commercials playing?  Do they know what just happened here?  I just can’t believe he won!  His speech was incredible.”  — CO’B

(Note…my inbox was full by now.  I might have missed a bunch of incoming messages while I deleted some old ones. My apologies.)

12:36 — “best moment for being american.  The democratic campaign has made me proud to be american many this, but this is the best.” — Lala Vega (LV)

12:57 — “People are setting off fireworks in my neighborhood” — CO’B, live from BK

1:14 — “:-)” — Diane (DA), in response to my semi-mass “Best night of my life” text (as are the next chunk of messages)

1:14 — “Yes we can!” — Jason (JG), live from the front in The Chi

1:20 — “Yes we can!  This is so wonderful!” — Buck Fifty (B5), from New Orleans

1:20 — “So true” — Big Joe (JM) from The Chi

1:20 — “i’m a sloppy tear streaked mess & yes me 2″ — CD

1:20 — “I have a latinos for obama poster.  Lots of people wanted to take pics.  We tried getting into the victory party, but it was full.  I danced in the streets.” — Cindylu (LU), live from LA

1:20 — “Yo, I was there.  the sight of an old black couple crying here was the most powerful thing i’ve ever seen.” — duD (duD), live from The Chi

1:21 — “We did it!  It’s a new day!”  — Heather (HM), from OH! IO!  CLEVELANDWHAT!

(And then my bag got stolen from the bar, which sucks, so then there’s some texts related to that.  And then this morning…)

9:23 — “YES YES YES HOLY SHIT GOOD MORNING!!!!! WE DID” — Rock Star Lila (RSL), live from Louisville

And this is all I’ll say about that.

Go here for some good Alaska insight on the Sarah Palin experience — I’ve obviously got nothing I can add on any substantial front about who she is or why she’s been selected.  That post does a pretty good job of explaining it all, I think.  While you’re at it, check out what the very smart Miss Erica (fellow Liam Tancock hater) has to say too.

But here’s all I’ll say about it: the big story of the last few days was, and still is, that speech.  In fact, it was the whole convention.  Democrats–and a lot of them–are excited about our candidate in a huge way.  In fact, Democrats–and a lot of them–are excited about the entire party in a huge way that I wouldn’t have imagined possible four years ago.  80+ grand packed into that stadium and heard Obama clearly delineate his agenda, speak powerfully and eloquently, and call for the kind of common ground decision-making that is mandatory for effectively running any kind of organization that calls for consensus.  It was a historic moment, and it deserves to be remembered and built upon.

This is not a time to be reactive, folks.

If you’re excited about what you saw at the convention, be excited.  If you believe in Obama, support him.  If you believe in Biden, support him.  If you believe in any of the folks who believe in Obama/Biden and have implored you to stand behind them, support them.  Don’t hedge your bets out of fear of what could go wrong.  Don’t complain about the timing of the GOP VP announcement–that’s politics.  Don’t let the small details and difficulties and fears make this decision for you.

Yes, Obama is a politician.  So is everyone else involved in all this.  The fact that he’s good at the politics aspect of this biz shouldn’t work against him.  Nor should his popularity.  If you’re excited about what you’ve seen, be excited.

Don’t be reactive.  Don’t get bogged down in what you might perceive as pandering to the female vote.  Don’t get hung up what you dislike; rock with what you like.  And if you like what you’ve seen, like it.  Love it.  Embrace it.  The rest is distraction.  In ‘04, the work was all anti-Bush, not pro-Kerry.  But folks: we can be pro-Obama here.

And look.  If you dislike stuff about what you see, dislike it.  Question it.  Hold his feet to the flames.  The promises are large and perhaps unrealistic.  But, for me at least, they are infinitely better than the alternative, which means…I’m not concerned with the alternative at all.  I’m excited.

I feel like I might be a little rambly and unclear here, but I’m sure I’ll revisit this a ton.  The basic premise is pretty straightforward though: welcome to the race, Ms. Palin.  It’ll be interesting to see what you’ve got to say.

But I’ve already got something about which to be excited.

Air Broadway

That’s a dumb title for this post.  I was thinking of making some kind of “Defying Gravity” reference in this post, mainly so I could mention the name Idina Menzel and get a ton of hits as a result, but I’m way such cheap ploys.

Ahem.

So the real thing we’re talking about today (only took 47 words to get to it this time around) is this news article from playbill.com. If you’re too lazy to skip over to the link, here’s the nutshell version: Starting as soon as next month, passengers on American Airlines flights to New York City will be able to buy Broadway tickets right there on the flight.  Only four shows are involved in the pilot (ha!) program so far, and they’re big shows–Chicago, Phantom, Mamma Mia!, and Spamalot–the kind of shows that out-of-towners are certainly going to see as events.  And I guess that people must like to spend money in the air, as evidenced by Skymall’s continued success selling stuff like this that travelers seem to feel urgent needs for while en route.  So there is certainly potential for some sales there.

I think the greater (and ultimately unmeasurable) impact of something like this is that it’s yet another chance for these shows to get in front of the eyes of the target Broadway consumer: the out-of-towner with disposable income and an as-yet-unformed itinerary.  And it’s obviously a way for the airline to wring a few extra bucks out a passenger here and there (they’ll take a fee for each ticket purchased).  But is there really a value for the consumer?  They could get the same seats (probably better seats) for the same cost (probably cheaper) if they wait until they hit the ground.

It’ll be interesting to follow this one.

(In other news…I am back in NYC.  School starts Wednesday.  I’ve got lots to do before then.  I do anticipate being back at the blog full-time though.  Lots of socks to post, draft to finish, Chicago recap stuff…and of course, that Obama guy.)

Lonely Socks, Chicago Edition! (with bonus pics)

So yesterday afternoon I walk out of the apartment where Victory Gardens is housing us writers (we decided last night to call it the Treehouse–with apologies to Bonds and Kittredge, of course), and I’m late for rehearsal, but I have to stop and take a picture, because the first thing I see is this:

Different, but the same.

On some level, this is the exact opposite of Lonely Socks — gloves in a satisfied pair, with a matching hat thrown in for good measure. But somehow, this arrangement feels lonelier to me, especially when viewed in context:

Kicked to the curb?

I can’t help thinking of the last line of Ludacris’s verse on Nas’s Made You Look (remix): “I’m just a victim of society/it’s Chris the menace/with more shit out on the streets/than evicted tenants.” And that’s how I see this trio: evicted, tossed out and tossed out together, left behind as a unit because someone made an active decision to dismiss them from his or her life. When you’ve got a solitary sock, it feels like a mistake. This feels purposeful. Poor, sad work gear.

BONUS MATERIAL!!! — Not far from the door to The Treehouse, one can find this graffiti:

Clearly, Snoop Dogg does not live in Chicago.

And here’s the Treehouse itself:

That's our deck.

And finally, this is where I sleep:

I = manly.

Expect a proper update on rehearsals and all that…eventually.

A Brief Update on Me.

For those of you who care to know what I’m working on/doing for the rest of the summer:

1. For the past week I’ve been in NYC, finishing up a first draft of the adaptation of Lorca’s Blood Wedding that I’ve been working on for the past year with director Jaime Castaneda. I’m also starting a new play called VORP (Value Over Replacement Player) – an absurd comedy about baseball sabermetrics (expect a more detailed post on this within the next week or so). After a year of school where I’ve studied nothing but the business of show business, it feels good to devote some time to the show.

2. Tonight I head off to Houston for a mini-vacation (one that undoubtedly will result in a great many stories that will not be related on this or any other blog ever), then over to Nebraska, where I’ll be dramaturging and teaching as part of the International Thespian Festival (which I feel like I’ve already blogged about, but whatever–most of you are just getting here for the first time now anyway). I’ll be working on a one-act play (written by a high school student) about a small community whose government forces all personal interaction to take place through a Facebook-like application. It’s exciting. Last year, I worked on a play about Ireland and the IRA and hunger strikes–I guess I’m the go-to ‘turg for plays with some sort of issue-mindedness. Can’t imagine why that is.

Also, I will be eating lots of soft-serve ice cream.

3. July is a bit up in the air, so if you’ve got some gigs for me, let me know. I’ll be turning 31 at the end of the month, and since I spent my 30th birthday in Cleveland (no offense to Cleveland), I might just treat this year like the big 3-0. i’ll also be looking for full-time employment for the fall, so if you know of any good artistic associate/manager type gigs, keep me in mind.

4. In August, I’ll be in Chicago twice (or possibly for one long trip), working on two different plays. First up, I’ll be working on The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity at Victory Gardens from August 5th to 10th. Then, Jaime and I will be back at American Theater Company, working with Teatro Vista on a large-scale workshop of our Blood Wedding. That runs until the 24th or 25th–I’ll update when I know more.

Then it’s back home to Brooklyn, jumping back into school and (hopefully) some kind of awesome new job.

So there you go.

(EDIT: So with my trip out of town, posts will be somewhat non-existant for the next few days, unless I can figure out how to auto-post the one bad boy I’ve got left.  Take the chance to read through the old posts [there are some good ones in there, I promise], leave some comments, suggest some things you want me to write about, and I’ll deal with it all from Nebraska.)