EXTRA CRITICUM

What I Think About When I Think I’m Dying

Sometime during the fourth year of production of A Life's Work I recognized how long this film was going to take to complete and a joke was born: I'm making a film about people who may not complete their work in their lifetimes. Could I be a subject in my own film? (When I tell people about the film and how long I've been working on it, the joke often comes to them as well. "Will you finish the film in your lifetime?") At the start, I didn't want to be in the film in any way. I figured my fingerprints were all over it so why should I stick my mug and voice in it, too? (I've softened on this stance, and my voice may be heard asking a question at a key moment, my figure may be somewhere in the shadows.) There was a night, though, when I thought I would not only put myself in the film, but would star in it.

CARRIE closes (again) demonstrating the power of conventional wisdom -- always conventional, seldom wise

The New York Times attempts to explain the recent closing of CARRIE by interviewing producers not connected to the show. That's sort of like asking executives at Sprint, Verizon and T-Mobile what the devil's wrong with AT&T. Here's a sampling of the imaginative conjecture that now qualifies for Arts-related news on the pages of the Times.

Several theater producers contacted recently said that “Carrie,” no matter how well acted and sung, presented far more than the usual share of difficulties, the most insurmountable being that nearly every character is dead at the end.

Two Entrepreneurial Models: Are you an Expander or a Hoarder?

I have two guys in mind. Let's call them Sam and Joe. Sam started a theatre company. So did Joe. Both were in a big city on the east coast of a big and powerful nation. The city was considered a hub of financial and cultural activity for much of the century during which these two began.

Cartoon: 3D Dramaturgy

The Campaign Trail

"Let me just say, I don't think you're pandering enough."

I looked up to see a fellow actor half-smiling at me, mouth screwed to one side, eyebrow cocked. He had a half dozen scripts in his hand. I had one.

We were both volunteers for the Young Storytellers Foundation's Big Night performance of short scripts written by 4th and 5th graders at a local LA grade school. After weeks of mentoring, pint-sized writers got to see their work acted out by professional adult actors in a public performance in their school auditorium, in front of an audience of their parents and classmates.

Quotables: Morgan Jenness

From time to time, Extra Criticum authors will post a quote from someone we admire, something that has stuck with us over the years and is, as they say, quotable.

The following from Morgan Jenness:

The End of the Story

As a writer, I've always had a hard time writing long works.

I love short works - poetry, short stories, essays, anecdotes - because they represent a slice of life. They're not meant to be the whole story, just a part of it.

I've never been able to tackle longer works - plays, screenplays, novels, or any kind of full-length book - because although I usually can identify where a story begins, I have no clue where it ends.

When is a story over?

The "1,000 True Fans" Theory

In a world of ever-shrinking increasingly-segmented market pools, there's an interesting theory about what it will take for an artist to actually make a living through his or her creative output in the 21st Century. The answer? 1,000 true fans.

New Straight Plays Bleed Red Ink on Broadway

Commercial theatre in New York is a financial long shot at the best of times.  Only twenty to twenty-five percent of Broadway shows turn a profit.  Those odds get a lot longer for straight plays (as opposed to musicals) and they are longest of all for new straight plays. 

A Sauvignon Blanc Ear for Working Class Dialogue

Tried watching The Killing on AMC. Gave it a few episodes but having trouble getting past the dialogue pried into the mouths of all the working-class characters. Now, I can't honestly claim to be working-class myself (although thanks to Republican minority rule, I'm getting closer every day, thank you.) but I have hung with my share of honest hard working men and women who actually sweat for their paychecks. And I am here to tell you I find it offensive and sad when privileged college-educated writers who take great pains to know the difference between Rousseau and Rameau don't bother to stop and listen to the way working folks actually talk in this country. Here are just a few lines that caught my ear. (For those who aren't familiar with this show, it's set in Seattle, not Appalachia.)

Coming Out (Again)

For a long time, I would not admit to it. Sure, I budgeted, talked directors into signing on, arranged for rehearsal space, built websites, ordered postcards, bought snacks to sell during intermission, handed actors an envelope with a stipend. That’s part of being a playwright, isn’t it? There would be a point, I thought, when I passed all that off to other people, and just went to rehearsals, did rewrites, and read the program, rather than handing it out, on opening night.