I just want to say quickly how happy I am to see that Scott Shepherd won an Obie for his performance in Gatz! (narrating and reading the role of Nick Carraway), and that Punchdrunk Theater Company got a special citation for the design and choreography of Sleep No More.
These are two projects I've been cheerleading for a while, but because they're both so unusual, they're not eligible for the same kind of accolades. It's nice to see some recognition for this kind of innovation and originality.
Showing posts with label Punchdrunk Theater Company. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Punchdrunk Theater Company. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Monday, November 8, 2010
Shows that knock you on your a$$
When I was about 11 years old, my town's high school put on its first musical in several years. My sister is a bassist and was playing in the orchestra, and a couple of her friends who I knew were in the cast. I think someone may have told me that Into the Woods was about fairytales before I went, but that's all I knew.
I laughed hysterically through the playful first act that shows Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, Rapunzel, and Jack and the Beanstalk intersecting in various amusing ways. But then in the second act, something terrible happened. Actions began having consequences, characters started having disagreements; mistakes were made, impasses were reached, and everything did not work out the best for everyone in the end.
I remember clapping through the curtain call, trying to dry my tears and wondering, "What just happened to me?"
I had never done something like this before, but the next night I gathered up my allowance, came back to the theater on my own (sans parents), and I saw the show again.
This will come as no surprise to those who know me, but even as a kid I was drawn to stories that had an element of darkness to them; a twinge of complicated, adult emotions. Especially as an adult, I'm bored by stories about moustache-twirling villians who get their comeuppance, and innocent lovers who end up together in the end because, well, that's how things are supposed to work out.
While working on this article I realized that my other two favorite Sondheim musicals, Company and Sweeney Todd had the same effect on me. I hate when writers play it safe--do you ever get the feeling that they're afraid to see their characters get hurt?--and in Sweeney Todd the characters pay a HUGE price for their actions. Company very intentionally takes the problems that middle class, middle age Americans attend the theatre to run away from, and throw them back in their (our?) faces.
There's a DVD available of the recent Broadway revivial of Company starring Raul Esparza. The plot largely deals with his character's 35th birthday, and I think it really affected me because most of my friends are in their mid-twenties to late thirties, so it really reflects where we are in our lives right now. And similar to my reaction to Into the Woods, after finishing the DVD, I had to go back and start it again...
I laughed hysterically through the playful first act that shows Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, Rapunzel, and Jack and the Beanstalk intersecting in various amusing ways. But then in the second act, something terrible happened. Actions began having consequences, characters started having disagreements; mistakes were made, impasses were reached, and everything did not work out the best for everyone in the end.
I remember clapping through the curtain call, trying to dry my tears and wondering, "What just happened to me?"
I had never done something like this before, but the next night I gathered up my allowance, came back to the theater on my own (sans parents), and I saw the show again.
This will come as no surprise to those who know me, but even as a kid I was drawn to stories that had an element of darkness to them; a twinge of complicated, adult emotions. Especially as an adult, I'm bored by stories about moustache-twirling villians who get their comeuppance, and innocent lovers who end up together in the end because, well, that's how things are supposed to work out.
While working on this article I realized that my other two favorite Sondheim musicals, Company and Sweeney Todd had the same effect on me. I hate when writers play it safe--do you ever get the feeling that they're afraid to see their characters get hurt?--and in Sweeney Todd the characters pay a HUGE price for their actions. Company very intentionally takes the problems that middle class, middle age Americans attend the theatre to run away from, and throw them back in their (our?) faces.
There's a DVD available of the recent Broadway revivial of Company starring Raul Esparza. The plot largely deals with his character's 35th birthday, and I think it really affected me because most of my friends are in their mid-twenties to late thirties, so it really reflects where we are in our lives right now. And similar to my reaction to Into the Woods, after finishing the DVD, I had to go back and start it again...
Sunday, October 31, 2010
The Haunted House As Theatre
Happy Halloween, everyone!
I don't think you'll be surprised to hear that I love Halloween. It's one of the few days a year where us designers actually get to wear the costumes ourselves. Although I do act as well I tend to do more contemporary shows, because on the fancy, high-concept shows, I'm of more use to my company behind the scenes (we have tons of talented actors to pick from).
I'm about to run off to the West Hollywood Parade, but I've spent the last two evenings working on an interactive Pirate Adventure for kids. It's pretty cool; it's a safe, fun thing they can do with their parents that isn't too scary. We have a guide that walks them through the various stations, at which they either complete a challenge, puzzle, or have to defeat the pirates. We're really happy with how it went, and will definitely be doing it again next year.
I mention this because I read the New York Times theatre pages every day to get the latest news, and it's always interesting to see how things are trending, and I'm seeing a lot of interactive walk-through theatre experiences lately.
Here's an articles from the Times on Hotel Savoy, which was a guided Hitchcockian theatre event: http://theater.nytimes.com/2010/10/07/theater/reviews/07hotel.html?scp=1&sq=hotel%20savoy&st=cse
The Times then posted a more comprehensive article on the haunted house/theatre crossover (this one has some darker imagery, and may not be good for young readers: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/22/arts/22haunt.html?ref=theater
These both reminded me of an article I saw in the Boston Globe about an event put on by the Punchdrunk Theater company and produced the the excellent American Repertory Company of Cambridge, MA. They used an abandoned school in Brookline, MA, gave the audience members masks, and let them loose on a production of Macbeth. Rather than being a linear walk-through, the audience could move from room to room at their leisure. I can't imagine the planning and timing involved to make sure that everyone was in the right place at the right time, so that there was no lag, and everyone saw the whole show.
Here's the Globe's review: http://www.boston.com/ae/theater_arts/articles/2009/10/04/sleep_no_more_allows_audience_members_to_pick_their_own_show/
Well it's getting late here, so I'd better run out (otherwise this would be a more comprehensive post, but hopefully the links will make up for my lack of commentary). But I'm going to leave you with this rad video clip I found on another site of the Steampunk Haunted House. Enjoy!
Steampunk Haunted House 2010 from Third Rail Projects on Vimeo.
I don't think you'll be surprised to hear that I love Halloween. It's one of the few days a year where us designers actually get to wear the costumes ourselves. Although I do act as well I tend to do more contemporary shows, because on the fancy, high-concept shows, I'm of more use to my company behind the scenes (we have tons of talented actors to pick from).
I'm about to run off to the West Hollywood Parade, but I've spent the last two evenings working on an interactive Pirate Adventure for kids. It's pretty cool; it's a safe, fun thing they can do with their parents that isn't too scary. We have a guide that walks them through the various stations, at which they either complete a challenge, puzzle, or have to defeat the pirates. We're really happy with how it went, and will definitely be doing it again next year.
I mention this because I read the New York Times theatre pages every day to get the latest news, and it's always interesting to see how things are trending, and I'm seeing a lot of interactive walk-through theatre experiences lately.
Here's an articles from the Times on Hotel Savoy, which was a guided Hitchcockian theatre event: http://theater.nytimes.com/2010/10/07/theater/reviews/07hotel.html?scp=1&sq=hotel%20savoy&st=cse
The Times then posted a more comprehensive article on the haunted house/theatre crossover (this one has some darker imagery, and may not be good for young readers: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/22/arts/22haunt.html?ref=theater
These both reminded me of an article I saw in the Boston Globe about an event put on by the Punchdrunk Theater company and produced the the excellent American Repertory Company of Cambridge, MA. They used an abandoned school in Brookline, MA, gave the audience members masks, and let them loose on a production of Macbeth. Rather than being a linear walk-through, the audience could move from room to room at their leisure. I can't imagine the planning and timing involved to make sure that everyone was in the right place at the right time, so that there was no lag, and everyone saw the whole show.
Here's the Globe's review: http://www.boston.com/ae/theater_arts/articles/2009/10/04/sleep_no_more_allows_audience_members_to_pick_their_own_show/
Well it's getting late here, so I'd better run out (otherwise this would be a more comprehensive post, but hopefully the links will make up for my lack of commentary). But I'm going to leave you with this rad video clip I found on another site of the Steampunk Haunted House. Enjoy!
Steampunk Haunted House 2010 from Third Rail Projects on Vimeo.
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