*** FREE THEATER ONLINE ***
MYTH
Arlene Phillips directs a reworked version of smash-hit new rock musical ‘27’, which ran for nine performances at London’s The Other Palace. Originally premiering in summer 2016 at the Cockpit Theatre, the musical returned to the stage in a workshop version under the new title Myth: The Rise and Fall of Orpheus.
A modern retelling of the well-known Ancient Greek tale of Orpheus and the underworld, the musical is a brand-new genre that is guaranteed to resonate with every generation. Examining the link between mental illness and an inescapable addiction to the music industry, Myth examines a growing cultural problem that has stolen the lives of stars such as Kurt Cobain, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison and Amy Winehouse.
*** OPPORTUNITIES FOR PLAYWRIGHTS ***
Theatre Suburbia, Northwest Houston's longest running all volunteer playhouse, is always looking for new works to produce. Our theatre has a rich and long history of bringing new works to the stage for Houston audiences.
***
Cincinnati LAB Theatre is planning its eighth producing season and is now accepting submissions to fill staged reading slots for its New Works Festival in the summer of 2021. It is our hope that we will be able to produce theatre in-person in July of 2021, but if we are still unable to do so due to COVID-19 we will hold our New Works Festival completely remote again to protect the health and safety of our artists as well as our patrons.
***
The Virtual Residency looks to serve finished (but not final) drafts through several monthly meetings, culminating in a public virtual presentation of the play. Selected playwrights will receive personalized dramaturgical feedback on drafts; an intimate community space of playwrights; the opportunity to hear their work read aloud by local actors; and the possibility of further development beyond the Residency’s timeline with The Strides Collective.
*** FOR MORE INFORMATION about these and other opportunities see the web site at https://www.nycplaywrights.org ***
*** THEATER CLICHÉS ***
The unique nature of this play lies in the fact that it’s a play about plays, and, often, a play within a play. This raises a question: To what extent can theatre really imitate life? Even in Stage Kiss, an irreverent send-up of some of the biggest of theatre clichés, some things are just not cliché. The entire plot is bizarre, convoluted, and hilarious, but in the end, it’s still a play, and the audience expects conclusion and reconciliation, which, of course, is not guaranteed in life. This is not a limitation; on the contrary, by writing a play about plays and drawing our attention to the fact that the characters’ reality is only a performance for the audience, Ruhl has caused us to question and ponder the very nature of theatre in a profound way.
More...
***
In Time Out London, Andrew Haydon has made a list of cliches of visual theatre that should be banned (The article has since disappeared from their website). He posits that these metaphorical objects and devices are so overused, that they’ve lost their impact. Here is the list with my commentary as it relates to props.
Battered brown leather suitcases – Just in the last two days, we’ve had 4 of our battered brown suitcases returned from shows that closed. Obviously it’s a popular item and your prop stock will benefit from having several. Just remember to do your research; the battered brown leather suitcase is not appropriate for every period and location. You certainly don’t find them in common use today.
More...
***
One of the interesting things about theater is the differences in terms and tropes than that of real life. The fourth wall is a part of theater and literature where an imagined wall separates the audience from the actors. In literature it can be considered a glass ceiling. Readers are asked to join the story when a character breaks the glass ceiling or fourth wall.
A.R. Gurney’s production “The Fourth Wall” takes this idea and plays upon how much people feel unconsciously that we are being watched by some unseen person or force. Gurney has done many plays as a comedy of manners and melancholy undertones. His production of “The Fourth Wall” takes a look at theater cliches and the supposed fourth wall in which all action is directed in a play and begs the question, “If these characters were acutely aware of this wall, how would they react?” The play was exactly that.
More...
***
The musical, which won three Tony Awards including best musical, is adapted — or, to use the official terminology, “lovingly ripped off” — from the 1975 film “Monty Python and the Holy Grail,” which gave the British sketch comedy troupe Monty Python’s Flying Circus the chance to inflict its inspired silliness on a grand scale.
The stage version features much of what made the movie one of the most popular film comedies of the 20th century — the taunting French knights, the “Trojan rabbit,” the battle with the Black Knight, the shrubbery demands of the Knights Who Say “Ni!” — but also wields satirical broadswords at the conventions and cliches of musical theater.
More...
***
On Friday, the students performed “The Absolute Most Cliched Elevator Play in the History of the Entire Universe,” by Werner Trieschman, to community members and the whole school. The audience experienced a group of cliched characters–a quick-tempered biker, a spaced-out New Age woman, and an agitated pregnant woman–getting stuck on an elevator. One of the other passengers, a playwriting instructor, thinks everyone is stuck in a cliched play by an amateur playwright. As the instructor tries to identify the playwright, the elevator expands and draws in more stereotypes–over-eager cheerleaders, a goth kid who writes bad poetry, and a clown.
More...
***
This is one of the many reasons Sam Shepard has long been both idol and inspiration, as a writer and person. Off the top of my head, I'm not certain I can pinpoint anyone from the 20th Century who more fully realized his potential, as individual and artist. Like Wilde, he was blessed with talent and charm (not to mince words, he was a beautiful man), and he somehow managed to incorporate virtually every cliché of Americana, distilling it into his own, unique persona.
Semi-tortured artist, channeling our pathologies via works that were, on arrival, sui generis? Yes. Prototypical rugged individual, who mostly shunned the hackneyed trappings of fame, preserving both his integrity and his soul? Yes.
More...
***
I confess: I love a good cliche or trope.
A cliche is a phrase or expression that has been used so often that it is no longer original or interesting.
A trope is a common or overused theme or device, as in the usual horror movie tropes.
I’m in the middle of plotting a massive 3-book story and I need all the help I can get. Here’s the problem: what happens next?
No, let me rephrase: what could possibly happen next?
Sometimes, I just need to know possibilities, or what a story typically does at a particular stage. What are the possibilities? Is this a place for a murder, a confession, a love scene, or a time to gather information?
Literary folk say that there are only a limited number of stories in the world. Depending on who you talk with, there might be just two stories: a character leaves town, or a stranger comes to town. Others say there are up to 32 plots. I’ve written about 29 plot templates before. And it helps immensely to narrow down the choices.
But that’s on the level of an outline. Now that I’m deep into deciding on scenes, my imagination comes up short.
Enter tropes. A trope is a common theme, something that’s been done before. That doesn’t scare me away, because it’s the same as the variety of themes. Every story is a cliche, trope or template in many ways. It’s all in how you TELL that story. The beauty is in the particulars.
More...
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "NYCPlaywrights" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to nycplaywrights_group+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/nycplaywrights_group/5914e125-aa90-4c15-ac7d-c3a3f720722fn%40googlegroups.com.