EXTRA CRITICUM

Playwrights at the Helm (DG Academy)

I had an absolute blast moderating this panel for the Dramatists Guild on Tuesday. Really smart and generous panelists include: August Schulenburg (Flux Theatre Ensemble), James Comtois (Nosedive Productions), Susan Bernfield (New Georges), and J. Holtham (New Black Fest, EST, and Fell Swoop).

Good news for those who weren't able to join us. Here's the video:

Watch live streaming video from newplay at livestream.com

 

What do Bansky, Joni Mitchell and Joshua Bell all have in common?

So, have you heard about this thing that happened? The artist, Bansky, set up a table in central park to sell his work for $60 a canvass when they usually go for the thousands. This video is amazing to watch.

And, well, that got me thinking of the Joshua Bell stunt from a few years back.

Why'd I have so much fun at The MacDowell Fellows Party? 5 Possible Reasons.

Just got home from the MacDowell Fellows Reunion party held at Little Airplane in South Street Seaport. Now, I have to admit going in, I was just as apprehensive as I would be walking into any gathering of folks, particularly creative types in New York City. Let's face it, gatherings that pass as "parties" are often anything but fun. Even moreso on the West Coast. (sorry Hollywood pals, but you know what I mean)

Imagine my surprise when moments after reaching the top of the entry staricase, I was greeted by a warm familiar face and a big loving hug from my friends Quito and Honor. As much as I enjoyed reconnecting with some of the fellows who were at MacDowell last December when I was, I'm especially tickled by the odd conversations I found myself in with people I'd never met before. And it left me wondering why. Specifically what was it about this gathering that made it so friendly and inviting and the conversation flow so naturatlly? I honestly can't remember another time when I had such fun at a party populated largely by strangers.

Here are some theories off the top of my head. And I'm wondering if any of them make sense to any of you in the light of day (tomorrow) when I imagine most of you will be reading this.

The MacDowell Fellows Reunion Party was a blast because:

We Should Listen to Nobel Prize Winners Because They're Usually Smart

Popping up all over my Facebook feed last week was a three-year old interview with Thomas Sudhof, who won (with Randy Schekman and James Rothman) this year’s Nobel Prize for medicine and physiology. The reason? This question and answer:

Who was your most influential teacher, and why?

Sudhof: My bassoon teacher, Herbert Tauscher, who taught me that the only way to do something right is to practice and listen and practice and listen, hours, and hours, and hours.

My Favorite Opening

There was no red carpet. There were no lights. Well, there were no lights outside. It would have been odd for there to have been lights outside since it was the middle of the day.  It was one o’clock on Saturday afternoon at a storefront in suburban Cincinnati. It was the opening of my play for young audiences, Fake Flowers Don’t Die.

On this day, however, the audience would not be made up of young people. This production is touring all over the Cincinnati area, playing just about anywhere that will have them. Today we were at a center for adults with developmental disabilities. They were to be our first real audience.

I was a little concerned, but I shouldn’t have been.