Last weekend we had a benefit to help raise money for the space costs for Militant Language. It was kind of a disaster.
Turnout was pretty low. We made the mistake of having it in Wrigleyville on a summer Saturday. Years ago in my early twenties I loved it. Now I totally get why so many folks would rather be on any other street in the city than on the corner of Clark and Addison at 11:30 on a Saturday night.
But that was not the main problem. It was the entertainment that really went sour. We had three acts booked.
A solo singer/guitarist, who lost a string.
A hip-hop trio who lost a rapper. They've played for us before and were good. This time, not so much. Without the whole of the group they phoned it in. Instead of their set they played music and grunted into the mic, like a drunken off-key karaoke singer. It was brutal.
The final planned act lost their bassist two days earlier. So they couldn't play, but one of their guys dj'd for the rest of the night-which was pretty cool of him.
We've had pretty good acts at all of our fundraisers prior to that, but apparently the stars were not aligned this time. We're grateful to those who swing by and it looked like most had a good time in spite of the un-tertainment. I guess you can't win them all.
Special event fundraisers are always a little dicey, and we learn from each thing we do. We made the mistake of making the night less about the event and more about the fundraising. We should know better, but it's easy to rest on laurels. Everyone is having fundraisers. I get half-a-dozen flyers each week. They tend to cancel each other out. The event which needs to be the main factor for people, otherwise it's no different than any other organizations fundraisers.
But there were some huge pluses. We raised more money than we have at many of our fundraisers. A lot of folks who couldn't make it donated online. Most of the donations were $5 (what the cover charge was for the fundraiser). It doesn't take a hundred bucks to help. Some gave more if they could, but smaller donations add(ed) up quickly.
It is heartening that so many took the time to help even though they couldn't make it that night. And we know how to make it better each time we go forward. All in all, it turned out much better than we had thought the next morning.
Play reading at Halcyon house is in full swing. We've received ninety-eight submissions in the month of August (so far). We don't produce new-work exclusively, so we're reading published works as well. We read scripts year round, but as the end of the year approaches, it always picks up. I went back and revisited an old post and I think it's still pretty true of how I evaluate scripts. I try to remember that as I'm going along.
We're a small company that can only afford to produce three plays and a festival each year. So, that means there are at least ninety-five submissions from this month alone that we aren't going to produce. We're getting ready to enter our third season, and while I'd like to think that everyone knows us, in reality most theatre audiences or artists probably have not.
While we don't have the resources or pay-scale of a large institutional theatre, one thing I work very hard to do is be thankful that people want to work with us. At the end of the day we're just story tellers. There's two parts: the story, and how you tell it. A great production requires both. So any theatre is only as good as the scripts they're producing/creating. Any theatre is only as good as the people working with them.
Almost a hundred plays were sent to us in a month. Now expand that to bigger places with wider reach and the sheer number of playwrights submitting can be scary. One small part of development hell is simply numbers. If a company gets one-thousand scripts for a 10 show season, and they do exclusively new work, that's 990 plays being rejected each year. That's a lot of jilted partners.
So to some extent, yes, writers should be grateful if someone chooses to produce their script. That should not mean turning into a door mat and being walked over. As with any relationship honesty and communication are pretty necessary parts of the equation. It's a partnership, and that breaks down when one partner treats the other like shit. It breaks down if one side is a stalker, or one side simply ignores the other.
One of the reasons for the animosity between many writers and directors/theatres is that one side treats the other like shit. And then there's the retaliation and we get a cycle of mistrust.
Theatres that don't want to read scripts, or don't have the time too could simply not accept submissions. But many don't, they create hoops to jump through query packets and agent submissions etc.
Writers who don't like a companies work, or whose script doesn't fit well with that company don't have to send it in.
Funding for developing new work could go to companies that actually produce new works. That would change the landscape significantly.
Long before a director can even think of changing a line without a writers consent, or a writer can claim the right to approve all personnel, or people can argue over copyright, or any budgetary concerns--there's usually been a breakdown in the relationship.
One partner cannot be bothered with the other's needs. They're to busy to notice their partner. Lack of resources; I'm so busy at work right now; it's not you, it's me.
I've gotten a lot of grateful messages from writers this month--not for accepting their submissions; not for producing their work. Grateful for me taking a minute to send an email acknowledging we've received their submission. In essence, writers are grateful just for a receipt. Many don't even bother with that.
Not every play is great, many won't even be good, but a handful might be spectacular. On the off chance, shouldn't more theatres be grateful enough to give a receipt?
Last weekend I had callbacks for The Other Shore... it was SUCH a fun experience for me... there were 3 groups of 5-8 actors, for roughly an hour and a half... we warmed up with some theatre games to get the actors to know each other a little bit, then we worked with two different scenes from the show.
I had really been looking forward to it. By this time in my pregnancy with Tony, Jr., I was directing The Visit already, and I feel like I had a lot more energy and passion. This pregnancy has been great too, but I haven't felt the “fire” that I did before. I think a lot of it was the adrenaline, and having something else just as exciting as the baby to focus on! I work really well when I have 2 simultaneously large projects... more than that and I get a bit crazy!
All that adrenaline came rushing back with callbacks. I REALLY love this script, but it is a very specific type of show, and could be disaster if not handled correctly... It was great to hear it out loud, to hear how the poetry of the lines flow, and to see the physicality of the play come to life. Especially after working on it for callbacks, I really feel like this could be a fascinating play that challenges the artists, and challenges the audience as well.
One of the interesting dilemmas is that Gao Xingjian has stated very clearly that The Other Shore was not written as a political play, and was not written as a religious play. In fact, it was after this play was banned in China that he left the country; he realized that if even his non-political or religious plays were banned, he would never be able to write what he wanted in China without it being censored. However, the play has such beautiful undercurrents of Xingjian's life in China, with hints to Communism and Buddhism (some hints not so subtle, like the character of the Zen Master!) that maybe even HE didn't realize how strong they were when he wrote it. I want to be able to do justice to those moments without turning the play into something different then what Xingjian intended.
Also, Halcyon's mission encourages the incorporation of more cultural elements from the world of the play then just what's written. So I am beginning to listen to Chinese music, learning more about Buddhist chants and meditation, and looking at Chinese artwork and dance to see how that can enhance the story. I'm really excited to bring those elements into rehearsal and production!
And if the callbacks are any indication, I will also spend a lot of time being very sore!
So, I’ve decided to step back from being Co-Artistic Director… it just seems like the right thing to do, since I rarely have time to do all the administrative work as it is, and our 2nd child is due in November… (15 weeks left! Where did the time go??? Remember when I wrote that captivating post about Tony, Jr. and his love of curry?)
It took a while to make the decision, mostly because of ego… it’s hard to let go, and feel like the company won’t be mine any more. What if this thing that my husband and I started together leaves me behind? What if it turns into a company I don’t recognize? Then I remind myself that I’m not going anywhere… I’m just being realistic about what I’m already doing for the company, and taking a little pressure off so that we can make sure that our marriage and our children have equal time… It’s Win-Win!
So, my new title is “Associate Artistic Director.” What does THAT mean? It’s basically what I am already doing… Growing the company, giving FABULOUS advice, having a say in everything, directing, and heading up special projects.
So, let me take this opportunity to tell you about my Number One, Top Priority, Special Project… getting Halcyon Theatre our own space… and we are THIIIIS close! (put your thumb and pointy finger about one… Well, maybe two inches… apart and speak in a high-pitched voice when you say THIIIIS and that’s how close we are.)
We have a location we love, and it seems to be in the correct Zoning…it has great square footage, ADA bathrooms, no bars next door! The landlords are very enthusiastic for us to sign, and with the right amount of money (not much, in comparison to a LOT of spaces we’ve looked at) we could move in tomorrow! (A bit of an exaggeration; we could move in October 1st)
So now what? Well, it’s a very interesting challenge… we have to be able to get the right answers without being able to say we have signed a lease… we need people to give us money so we can tell the potential landlords we have money. We need to sign the lease to get the approval and licenses, and we need money before we sign the lease, with the knowledge that it might take a while to get the approval and the licenses!
So I’ve been focusing on using Tony’s knowledge of licenses and city ordinances and my ability to “Open Doors” to meet with the Alderman, the Executive Director of the Chamber of Commerce, Real Estate Agents and Landlords, to not mess up our chances of getting a really great space in a perfect neighborhood for us. I’ve surprised myself at how much I enjoy sharing the Mission of this company, doing “Development” and working to make people passionate about what we’re doing. It used to be, with other groups I worked with, that I felt embarrassed to talk about the mission or the work we were doing… That NEVER happens with Halcyon, and it makes me twice as proud to be a member…
We REALLY want to be able to do more than just produce plays… We have HUGE dreams of starting an After School Matters program, of using theatre to help immigrants acclimate to a new life, of telling stories and inviting the audience to tell stories from different cultures to show us all how alike we are and to love our differences… NONE of these things are possible until we have a place to call home, a place that we can invite our neighbors to. It is CRUCIAL to our growth… no pressure!
If every person who reads this message or hears about our news donates $15 (the price of a ticket to one of our shows) our Security Deposit is paid. That means we could conceivably debut Militant Language in our new home on October 17th.
I recently did some visual research for Militant Language and I've got to say that it is one of my favorite aspects of doing dramaturgy. I find that visual research is one of the easiest, most inspirational ways to start work on a project. With even just a few images, ideas can come a-floodin' to a theatre artist. Suddenly that moment in a text where an actor is unsure of what to do is illuminated. Or the moment in a scene that needs some lighting effect is suddenly easy to find. For Militant, I really wanted get pictures taken by soldiers as opposed to media shots in an attempt to get a first hand, unedited, raw perspective of war and combat. I found a fabulous website that does just this and most of the pictures from my research I took from this site.
I've sampled a few of my favorites below taken from undermars.com.
