New Talent

You might remember that last fall I did a reading of Twin Towers to help me get an idea as to what the play sounded like out loud. It was there that I met a few new faces, and the reading was a huge success. For their efforts I promised them free head shots, and Rob took advantage of this. A good head shot costs just under $1,000, so this is not a casual event. I shot more than 300 pictures, built a gallery of the shoot and then edited and retouched the final 20 images he selected. Editing the photos takes quite a lot of time and talent, something that people not familiar with digital just can't understand. If it takes me all day to edit photos, that's a day of work that digital photographers expect to get paid for. I made a mock up comp card to give you all an idea as to what this might look like when put together. Overall the images came out great. I love portraits as you know from my website and blog. Faces are fascinating to me, and I love how people look completely different from one photo to the next on a contact sheet. I try to find the image that represents who I think that person really is. Rob has a great personality and I hope he launches a stellar acting career, thanks to my photos. He really helped me out with my play so I'm happy to help him. If anyone else is interested in head shots, please contact me to make an appointment.

Upgrade and Contract

I just had my first meeting with the Planet Connections Theater Festivity tonight, signed my contract, bought into the festival and looked at the space at the newly renovated theaters at 440 Theaters at Astor Place and Lafayette. The people are really wonderful to work with, the space is beautiful and their vision, to make an eco-friendly, non-profit friendly theater festival is a great fit for me, the eternal volunteer. Below is a floor plan of the space. I can't stress enough how beautiful the theater is. And large. That is because on Friday I got a phone call from Planet Connections saying that someone else had dropped out and they wanted to put me in the larger of the two spaces. If I was excited before about being accepted into the festival (see earlier post) now I'm even more excited.

Important note: Over the next few weeks I'll be looking for a director, production manager, sound technician, publicist, musician, dance coreographer and who knows who else. Please check this site often for updates on what I need. Thanks!

Letting Go

A few weeks ago I was asked to entertain the idea of removing one of my characters from my play Twin Towers. OK, not just entertain- it was a prerequisite for consideration by a producer. And not just any character but one who is central to the story and also my favorite character- the Devil. The potential producer and director of the play said that the character didn't fit, was too vulgarr (it IS the Devil) and should be removed altogether. I wrestled with this idea for many nights, not wanting to let go. In Amy's class on Tuesday, we discussed the work of our fellow classmates and suggested that they too cut certain features out of their work. And not just small, inconsequential features, but major ones. For example, we suggested that Judith stop shooting flowers, for which she is well known and established, and suggested to David that he remove his macro shots, which are his bread and butter. Asking Judith to stop shooting flowers is like 'now I have to think of a great metaphor' but you get the picture. We are pushing ourselves in this class. And in writing I have to do the same. So the Devil has to go. And I have to let go of those things that are easy, comfortable, effortless, and push the envelope.

Update on the Prodution

As well as sending my play to festivals I have also been showing it to directors and producers. Sending a script to a producer is very frustrating- you never know if they actually read your work. Without a personal reference, your work probably ends up in the garbage. I did however get my play to a director who liked the show, and he passed it on to a producer, who is considering producing my play in May provided I change the script. This is a major change and I have a lot of options in front of me. The options are,

• Change the script and produce a show in a larger venue in Midtown Manhattan.
• Keep the script as it is and self produce 6 shows in the festival in a small venue.
• Do both shows, changing the script for both shows, and paying a lot of money for the second run in the festival.

All these options have their benefits and drawbacks. Financially, I can't afford to produce the show in two different venues, the second run will probably loose money. But artistically I want to keep the show as close to my vision as possible. I am open to rewriting- there is a benefit to an experienced producer telling you what elements of your work will resonate with audiences and what will sink the show. But at the same time, I there are some fundamental parts of the play that just can't change. Or, to put it bluntly, I won't change them. I have a lot of decisions to make this week, so stay tuned to learn the fate of the production of Twin Towers!

New Show

I just got an e-mail from my friend James about a new show called Soul Samurai. James is my former roomate from college, an accomplished playwright and an avid theater blogger. Check out his blog, Jamespeak, for news about new plays that aren't boring (a category I've created).
Soul Samurai is sure to fit that description. If you haven't seen anything by Qui, run to see this show. His work is highly entertaining and insightful, hijacking popular genres to tell great stories. Soul Samurai starts this week. Get info and buy tickets here.

After catching my breath...

I've finally calmed down enough to write a coherent post. On Sunday I got an e-mail accepting me into the Planet Connections Theater Festivity. Twin Towers will get six shows in a theater on Astor Place and Lafayette in the East Village. The festival will run from June 11- June 28th. You can get more info here.
While a great deal of work was put into Twin Towers up to this point, the real work is just beginning. Although I stripped down the script considerably, it is still a large production- a comfortable cast of 9, a variety of recorded sounds, a fake gun, a few military uniforms, a tango, 2 fight scenes, several songs... and that's just the first act! Suddenly, for my dream to become a reality, I need a lot of help. And probably some rewriting. And a lot of people who are willing to put in long hard hours for little or no money. This is crazy. I can't wait!

Planet Connections Festivity

Twin Towers is going to happen!! In the fall of last year and in January of this year I applied to pretty much every festival I could, and I just got offered to be a part of the Planet Connections Festivity, which runs for three weeks in June. Twin Towers will get six shows! Yeaaaaaah.

Now that that's over with. Wait... yeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah.

Wow. Let me post later when I catch my breath. Oh, one more thing.

Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Slideshow

Here is a slideshow of my best portrait work from 2001 - 2008. Enjoy!

Mailings

Today Ting and I spent 5 hours finding theaters that were looking for works, and finding festivals looking for scripts. We printed, copied and packed up about 20 copies of Twin Towers, thanks to a great website. http://www.playwritingopportunities.com/ is a wonderful resource for playwrights. I've had no luck when I responded to ads on Craig's List or even on theater or production company websites, even when I was referred by someone. Hopefully someone will feel my play worthy of a reading or production. Dance, music, kung-fu, a catchy title, how could this not work???

Festivals!

Producing a play is no easy task. As a playwright with no funds of my own, I've got one of two choices: Send my play to production companies and hope they read it, think it is wonderful and marketable and produce the play, or 2) submit my play to festivals and competitions. While the second option seems ideal, I'm finding that most theater festivals are more marketing umbrellas that anything else. Meaning, these festivals have branded themselves as a special time to see theater, and audiences will make it a point to go see plays during the festival when they would otherwise be doing something else. Maybe it is the guarantee that the shows will be good, maybe it is just a brand name that people have come to be familiar with, but for whatever reason, festivals draw crowds. When you send a play to a production company you never know if they actually read it- they probably get hundreds of plays a year, or month! With a festival, you know that at least your work is getting read (that's what that $30 fee is for, right? Right?...)
The downside is that in a festival, I, the playwright, still have to find a producer. And a cast, and a director and a ton of other things. In fact, most festivals give you a space to perform and the ability to but their logo on your advertisement. OK, a theater festival's name recognition make it invaluable, but as a playwright I am still back to square one even if my work is accepted into a festival- I still have to produce a full length play or find a producer.

Face TIme

I've been hard at work printing my first show, Face Time, which will be at the SVA gallery starting today! Here is the info: Face Time

Many of you have seen parts of my work, but you can see the entire homeless gallery HERE

My book

http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/520019

News

I just made my second T-shirt sale and I've sent my script to 3 competitions and three or four producers. I can't say what will happen to Twin Towers but at least I'm moving forward. Thanks to all those who support my play with Spread Shirt. You know who you are!

Work

Wow, I'm swamped with work. Luckily I'm doing things I love- taking pictures, editing pictures, taking more pictures.

What about writing? I've sent my script to one producer and tomorrow I'll mail it to a play writing competition. The photocopies and submission fees are starting to add up- don't they know we are starving artists?

Just to prove that I've been doing something (and not updating my blog) here's a recent pic.

On the Move

A few updates for everyone.

First, I just bought some property on the internet so I'll be moving my blog there over the next few days. I'll need the cyber u-haul to come get my stuff.

Moving? To a permanent home? That's right, I'll be at www.twintowersplay.com from now on. Of course blogger will automatically direct you there, so unless you still type in your url's by hand you'll be fine.

What's the occasion? I finished copy editing my play (actually my mom did) and this is a little reward. As soon as I get my act together (aka do my SVA homework) I'll be mailing this thing to producers, contests and festivals. Yahooo!

Sex Addiction

I just saw two movies in a row where one of the characters was a sex addict, or perhaps a love addict- someone who can't seem to spend a night alone without a woman. In Woody Allen's Vicky, Christina Barcelona, Javier Bardem's Character moves from one partner to the next, unable to be alone, unable to say no, unable to resit seducing any woman he feels is vulnerable. In the Choen Brothers' Burn After Reading, George Clooney's character finds another woman the moment his wife or lover is out the door. He constructs elaborate sex toys in his basement and carries his 'wedge' around with him like a baby's blanket.

Clinton was a cheater. Edwards is too. And in my play, Trevor is a sex addict. He can't go two seconds without female attention. When he's rejected or ignored (or doesn't get what he wants) he runs to another. And while he appears to be oversexed, he can never get enough. What is this pehnomena? Why is it so pervasive? Why do we ignore sexual helath for men? And how have out our cultural and political aversion to discussions about sex make it almost impossible for boys and men to understand their own bodies.

For Trevor, his sexuality is the devil. It comes to him, distorts him, demonozes him and ultimately destroys him as he uses sex to get what he really wants- love. Sex is a magnet for so many emotions. It draws in all our fears, anxiety, frustration, pain and desire and rolls it into one. Sorting it all out can be difficult- without reflection and self knowledge, impossible. Any emotion we repress will find a way out somehow, and during sex and intimacy these emotions have a chance to escape.

Sex, and its appropriateness, is constructed according to a great number of norms. When and where we live determine what is appropriate and what is wrong, making it difficult to understand what is acceptable sexually. If it was not OK 50 years ago, is it OK now? If they do it Latin America, can we do it here? The main point of Twin Towers though is that sorting this out is easier that it seems. The answer to all our questions is written on our own hearts. Not in the laws or the doctrine of any church but in the cathedral of our our own soul, the judge and jury of our own constitution. Sex or no sex, gay sex, gay marriage- if it's done out of love it can't be wrong. Period.

Thoughts

As you may know, I'm a full time photography student at the School of Visual Arts studying digital photography. What drew me to the program was the potential for images to draw in a large audience, regardless of their language skill or education level. With internet technology, images with emotional impact can circle the globe in seconds.

Photography is a means, not an end. In one of our readings, Sebastian Salgado says, "Photography can change absolutely nothing; the most that it can hope for is to show that some things ought to be changed." Is that not true of any art? Do we not face this in our every day lives? How often do we want our friends to not make that really bad choice, to have our parents act differently, for our government to be moral and proactive. And what can we do about it, except express ourselves any way we can, maybe provide an alternative, a few words that offer hope or an alternative way of living. We, as Epictitus stressed in his Manual for Living, must know what we can change and what we can not. We must change what we can, and not worry about that which is out of our reach.

The only conflict lies in that we never know what is truly beyond our reach. If we determine that something is out of our control, we may simply write it off and never try to bring about change. And that writing off may limit ourselves to a narrow, pedestrian existence. And at this point we return to art, or perhaps simply expression, a targeted one, takig into account that which we would like to change and providing an alternative through a kind word, some advice, an image, a story, a song, a play, a film. However you can bring your vision of a better life into this world, you must do so, never knowing what impact it may have on others. Like a stone thrown into a pond, we will never know how far the ripples extend. So, to Salgado, photography can change absolutely nothing, but a vision of the way things ought to be can change absolutely everything.

Spreadshirt

Yes, it is still bothering me- who bought a shirt on Spreadshirt last week? I e-mailed the nice folks at Spreadshirt (when you work someplace you immediately become 'folk') and they told me that for security purposes they couldn't disclose th#@%what? Security purposes? I'm not selling weapons. Anyway, whoever bought it got an old version of the shirt. Please check out the LATEST VERSION of each shirt based on your comments. Plus, I have a new logo, above, and a spiffy background.

Regardless of who bought a shirt, THANK YOU! The more people who buy shirts, the faster this think hits broadway. And a true production note, the play is being copyedited for errors and should be ready to show producers next week. And I actually have the names and addresses of two producers. We are moving forward!

Freedom

I was talking to James about my play, and mixed in between the subtle criticism and the overt hatred of a very weak second draft came a statement: make sure you know what your play is really about. And that remains the question: what is Twin Towers really about? Two childhood friends meeting up? Life in the Bronx? The psychology of an Iraq war veteran?

Today I'll have to say that Twin Towers is about freedom, and about what freedom does to one who is balanced and one who is not. Freedom can release one man and ruin another. Bondage can suffocate one man and keep another from falling to pieces. I'd like to explore freedom as a concept, and about different types of boundaries and bondage. Leave a comment if you have an experience to share. The philosophy of freedom is vast, and so is the depth of human experience about this topic. Please, join in!

The Airport

I went to the airport on Monday, and for the first time in ages I wasn't the one leaving. Instead I saw seeing a good friend off to her native Indonesia. And while saying goodbye was sad, the place itself, the endless desks, huffy guards, clicking of high heels and squeals of luggage rollers, the smell of bad airport food and duty free perfume, the pushing and shoving and finally that last hug, it churned up a host of other memories, other airports, other times, other lifetimes. If I hadn't gone out there to JFK I probably wouldn't have reflected on my own departures and arrivals in this journey.

It reminded me that life is a continium of burying and rediscovering, rejecting and reclaiming, loss and gain. These cycles take place in the human heart, and can not be accessed on purpose. Try as you might to meditate on that which is most important to you every evening, if you didn't do anything during the day you'll find your soul is as empty as your cubicle- your inner you is a reflection of your outer expereince. I found that you have to go out and experience life, wherever it may take you, in order to have roughage to chew on when you do get down to meditate. You can't search an empty room. You have to fill it first, fill it with experiences. And in that sense you have to let life take you, and make opportunities of the randomness.

At the same time, your outer life is a reflection of your inner you. If your inner self is tarnished or tainted, so is your world, no matter where you are. Purifying yourself helps to clean the world you live in and move forward. When your soul is clear you'll find that although life does indeed take you places, the places you go will be nicer and nicer. So in a sense, when I went to the airport, I didn't have to go anywhere, because the moment took me to a dozen other airports- Bishkek, Istanbul, Vienna, Tashkent, Madison, Logan, and back to JFK. Reflecting on those airports will take several days, if not months. But it will insure that my next real flight is in the right direction.