I chase cliches with a baseball bat.
I also stare bemusedly at Judy while she pitches her hare-brained schemes. Last night, I dreamed that our auditions were reduced to some sort of shady dance-off competition and no one did a monologue...man was I pissed. Too many gyrating bodies. But where was the content? This is the painful panic of my life.
I also think about various shoes. How can I acquire a pair of Louboutins? What about the mary jane Manolos? Do I love or hate espadrilles?
In a Hostile Takeover situation, we collaborate. We're open to devising, so we've constructed the script to act as a framework. The ensemble we choose will fill in the gaps. We've been exceedingly lucky to gather the work of so many talented and undiscovered writers--everything from spoken word poetry to narrative storytelling. It's a bit of an experiment, but a welcome leap of faith in a theater space that doesn't often fulfill our creative desires.
The word dramaturg is an ugly thing (nowhere near as lovely and endearing as 'choreographer'. Damn you, Beth). But in this case, I also get to act--a scary proposition, since I haven't been onstage in about 2 years. Someone will probably try to make me dance at some point in the rehearsal process, in which case I will pretend to be busy 'reading' or 'editing' or 'workshopping a text'.
Monday, July 9, 2007
Communication Breakdown- Kick Off.
First entry, big responsibility. This blog is to chronicle the process of our shows for your viewing pleasure and our reference. I, Judy, am the Artistic Director of the company, and will be directing "Communication Breakdown". Ann, our Resident Dramaturg, and an actor in the current piece, along with Beth, our Choreographer, will be adding their experiences with the shows as we go. Well, let's get started.
I just returned from Chicago where I met with Michelle, one of our writers, for contract stuff and karaoke. It's very important to combine the two for a good balance. Right now we're negotiating with the writers, and I've already received half of the contracts back, which is great.
We're paying the writers, as well as everyone else, on a profit sharing plan, which is a bit ancient and Elizabethan, but I think it's a good fit for our company. We're acting as a venue to showcase various writers, artists, actors, and musicians, so what the contract does is make them shareholders in the show. The better the show does, the more money you make individually. This reflects the quality of the work that each of us puts into it, gives us more reason to talk it up everywhere we go, and keeps a young company from going broke immediately.
I'm also in the process of finding a stagemanager. Finding a trustworthy stagemanager is the equivalent of finding the Holy Grail. Precious beyond compare, and sometimes, just as hard to locate.
The next step is going to be auditions for actors. I'm looking for two males, any ethnicity 18-35, one african american male 18-30, and two females, any ethnicity, 18-30. The tricky part is that I need two actors that are willing to be at least mostly nude, in a completely non-sexual context, for one of the pieces, called, "The Naked People Play".
Our auditions are Tuesday, July 10th at the Pittsburgh Playhouse, 222 Craft Avenue, in Oakland. Time slots are not needed, but we ask that everyone be ready to go at 5:00pm sharp with a two minute contemporary monologue, bring clothes to move in, and be prepared to stay as late as 7:00pm. Any questions on auditions, shows, or anything Hostile, email us at hostiletakeovertheatre@hotmail.com
Judy
I just returned from Chicago where I met with Michelle, one of our writers, for contract stuff and karaoke. It's very important to combine the two for a good balance. Right now we're negotiating with the writers, and I've already received half of the contracts back, which is great.
We're paying the writers, as well as everyone else, on a profit sharing plan, which is a bit ancient and Elizabethan, but I think it's a good fit for our company. We're acting as a venue to showcase various writers, artists, actors, and musicians, so what the contract does is make them shareholders in the show. The better the show does, the more money you make individually. This reflects the quality of the work that each of us puts into it, gives us more reason to talk it up everywhere we go, and keeps a young company from going broke immediately.
I'm also in the process of finding a stagemanager. Finding a trustworthy stagemanager is the equivalent of finding the Holy Grail. Precious beyond compare, and sometimes, just as hard to locate.
The next step is going to be auditions for actors. I'm looking for two males, any ethnicity 18-35, one african american male 18-30, and two females, any ethnicity, 18-30. The tricky part is that I need two actors that are willing to be at least mostly nude, in a completely non-sexual context, for one of the pieces, called, "The Naked People Play".
Our auditions are Tuesday, July 10th at the Pittsburgh Playhouse, 222 Craft Avenue, in Oakland. Time slots are not needed, but we ask that everyone be ready to go at 5:00pm sharp with a two minute contemporary monologue, bring clothes to move in, and be prepared to stay as late as 7:00pm. Any questions on auditions, shows, or anything Hostile, email us at hostiletakeovertheatre@hotmail.com
Judy
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