So much music, so little time!

I need to choose a song to walk to for the Theatre Senior Ceremony on Friday night, and it's NOT easy.

There are so many good songs to describe my five years in college, and the two and a half I spent as a theatre major. Not to mention my music tastes are so incredibly eclectic. I like almost everything.

I would offer up some "La Vie Boheme" from RENT, but I think it'd be a little too cliche for anyone's tastes right now.

I'm thinking "Swim" by Jack's Mannequin. Any suggestions?

The theatre major: switching it on and off?

Some days, I feel like being a theatre major. I feel like singing at the top of my lungs and not caring what anyone thinks of me and dressing weird and being crazy and doing random things and talking in accents.

And some days, I really, really don't.

Maybe it's a switch inside of me that I've learned to turn on and off because I have so many other interests outside of theatre (another major and a minor, even), but there are times when I don't feel like being the outrageous person that theatre majors typically are.

Yesterday when we were striking the lights for The Time of Your Life on the Mainstage, everyone was singing songs from the recent workshop production of Songs for A New World and I just wasn't into it. I don't know why, I just didn't feel like it.

It makes me feel like I have some sort of personality disorder. And it also makes me feel like a crappy theatre person. But I guess it's better than I'm honest with myself, eh?

--DQ

The powers of theatre, Part 2

Warning: I'm about to get all existential, and it's the inner Crossing Cultures student in me talking.

Theatre is more than rehearsals and performance. It extends outside of the script and off the stage.

Before you can attempt to cross into another culture, you have to understand your own. That's the underlying message I've taken away from Theatre of Crossing Cultures class.

We do a lot of exercises to help each other do this. The thing that makes the class unique and these exercises worthwhile is that it's a non-permit class, which means that non-majors can take it, as well. About half the class are theatre majors, so a lot of them aren't used to the open environment and activities that demand us to reach into the depths of our souls and share some of our innermost secrets with one another.

Sometimes it takes a lot to participate in these activities, especially ones that stir up unwanted or unrealized emotion from within us. But the class atmosphere grows so much from learning from each other that one never feels judged, everyone knows everyone else's name, and no one is opposed to sharing his or her opinion.

Who are all those people you've brought with you?

Have you even considered it before?

--DQ

Tony noms are announced!

I must digress from crossing cultures right now to address the recent Tony Award nominations.

The first and most important element of this entry is to extend a congratulations to Towson University's own John Glover, alum and visiting acting instructor, on his nomination for Best Featured Actor in a Play for Waiting for Godot. Those who aren't familiar with Glover may know him from television as Lex Luthor's father, Lionel, on Smallville, or most recently, as Sylar's father on the supernatural drama Heroes.

I've had the privilege of working with Glover in my Acting I and Directing I classes, and he frequently returns to Towson when he's not busy starring on Broadway or in top-rated TV shows. He prides himself on offering real-world advice to students.

As for the rest of the noms, the Dolly Parton musical 9 to 5 is up there, as well as Shrek: The Musical and Next to Normal, which opened at Arena Stage in DC before finding fame on the Great White Way. Hollywood actresses Jane Fonda, Marcia Gay Harden and Angela Lansbury are also in the running for an award.

Godot is also up for Best Revival of a Play and Best Costume Design.

For a full list of the nominations, check out the Tony Awards official site. Tune in to the Tonys on Sunday, June 7th at 8/7c on CBS.

--DQ

The powers of theatre, Part I

Theatre of Crossing Cultures is one of my two theatre classes this semester. It's a bit different than your typical classroom structure. No exams, no lectures, no note-taking. Instead, we play a ball game every day, sit in a circle, and laugh and cry over each other's innermost secrets.

Sounds more like a camp pow-wow than a 300-level college course, right? Well, Barry, our teacher, is respected within the Theatre Department, even if he is a little unconventional. He drives his motorcycle to work and pushes around a shopping cart from Linens 'N Things full of shiny objects, noisemakers, bells, whistles, and decorations. He reminds us of his credo every day: "I have nothing to give you," rejecting the structure of the American education system and instead encouraging us to learn from each other.

I have to say that I've never had a class quite like it before. Although theatre classes are generally a bit more movement- or action-oriented than typical lecture or lab classes, I've never initiated class every day with tossing a globe-sized ball at my classmates to learn their names, or had the chance to share some of my most life-altering moments with people I hardly know.

There's a lot I want to say about this class; I'm breaking it up into a series of posts so it doesn't get monotonous. But if you want to get into the crossing-cultures mindset, ponder the following and all of its possible meanings:

"Who are all those people you have brought with you?"
The disciple whirled around to look.
Nobody there. Panic!
Lao Tzu said: "Do you not understand?"

Welcome to Theatre of Crossing Cultures. It's a wild ride.

--DQ

Lighting jitters, again

I once again caught myself in that difficult situation of being uncomfortable doing lighting work because of the height factor involved. Only this time, it was in the catwalks of the Mainstage
Theatre, and there was no steel grid to save me.

Focus for TU's production of The Time of Your Life, which opens this weekend, took place last week, and I thought it wouldn't be a big deal because I got through the last lighting-way-above-the-stage adventure with flying colors. But this time, all of us were assigned to specific lights to focus as the lighting designer called up commands from the stage, and we were expected to know how to adjust a light properly.

Not to mention we were dealing with heavy, complicated units that cost thousands of dollars apiece and could kill an actor should one of them fall.

It was nervewracking. Leaning half of my body out over a flimsy metal rail to insert color into the end of a light is not my idea of a tea party. It was dark, dusty and hot, and further reaffirmed by suspicions that I am not meant to be a lighting designer, or even part of a lighting crew.

I'll keep my theatre career grounded, thank you very much, either on stage or behind it, and let the people who can't get enough of climbing around the rafters like monkeys do their jobs.

--DQ

Free theatre from Twitter!

Something cool happened to me today.

Last night, @EverymanTheatre ran a mini-contest on Twitter, giving away two tickets to their performance of Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard to the first person to identify three characters from the show. I was with some friends in the library working on a presentation and just happened to glance at it. I responded for the heck of it, not thinking I'd be the first person, because the tweet had been posted about three hours before I'd seen it.

Wouldn't you know it that this morning, I'd received a reply from Everyman congratulating me and asking for information so they could send me the tickets. Pretty cool, right? Along with that, they asked me to help spread the word about their company through Twitter and other social media sites.

So it looks like I'll be seeing the show on Saturday night. Thanks, Everyman! Don't underestimate the power of Twitter; it has its advantages!

Oh, and Happy Birthday (and possibly Death-day) to the Bard himself, Mr. William Shakespeare.

--DQ

Get cultured this weekend!

Don't let schoolwork, boredom, or the many fascinations of the Twitterverse and the Facebook Nation prevent you from experiencing the multitude of theatre playing in Baltimore right now.

No money? No problem! Most professional theatre companies have a student rush program, which provides discounts to students an hour before the show on any tickets that didn't sell.

For all you locals, head on over to the Baltimore Theatre Alliance website to see what's playing and when, and go do something different with your Friday and Saturday night. And don't worry, most shows will be over around 10:30, which will leave you plenty of time to get your weekend party on.

--DQ

Acing the audition -- you can do it!

It's the absolutely inevitable, totally unpredictable, most nerve-wracking part of the business. And it can make or break a theatre artist's entire career.

The audition.

There's no way around it if you're a serious member of the industry. However, there are ways to ensure that you walk off that stage leaving the director with a smile on his face and a clear idea of who YOU are as an actor.

1. Dress appropriately. It is always acceptable to dress for the part, but it is never OK to do it in an unflattering way. The directors are looking for your personal character as an actor or actress above anything else. It's perfectly acceptable to add some edge to your outfit to portray a character trait, but do it tastefully.

2. Make eye contact. Especially during the deliverance of your monologue or song, it is essential to communicate to everyone else in the room that it should be you in this role and no one else.

3. Act professionally. Just as dressing professionally is essential, so is acting like everyone should take you seriously. Charm only goes so far in this business; overconfidence gets you nowhere. Your work and your professional attitude are all that matters.

4. Starting over is OK. We're all human, and therefore we all make mistakes. Losing your place is a natural side effect of your nerves; if you need to, ask to begin again or perform a different piece. The worst that can happen is the casting directors will say no. If so, politely thank them for their time and walk out of the room proudly. There will always be another audition.

5. Don't freak out when the audition is over. You did your best at the time. The directors have the final say, and nothing you do after your performance will change their minds. Do not seek them out or call to ask for an evaluation of your performance; just wait it out. Whatever happens, you'll learn from every audition and improve in all your future ones.

(Compiled from Essortment.com and Actingbiz.com.)

And here's my own little two-cents: Arrive early! Nothing screams that you don't take yourself or the project seriously more than arriving late for your audition. And although you may come prepared with a headshot and resume, there will often be forms for you to fill out before your audition, and if you're doing cold readings, there will be sides (small portions of the script) for you to quickly rehearse. In show business, early is on time, and on time is late.

Happy auditioning. Break a leg and all that jazz (and all that jazz...). I feel a jam session to the Chicago soundtrack coming on.

--DQ

Calling all theatre people or bloggers, or both!

Overheard on Twitter:

The Baltimore Theatre Alliance is accepting applications for bloggers, either to write reviews of BTA productions or to blog about personal Baltimore theatre experiences. Granted, the applications are due tomorrow, so I apologize for not posting it here sooner, but I just discovered this yesterday.

I followed the link from @balttheatre to the blog. Although the Baltimore Theatre Alliance is a prominent promoter of theatre in the region, the blog is a new endeavor for them. Upon viewing the ad, I contemplated sending in an application, but then decided against it, knowing that soon after graduation (just 41 days now!) I'm moving to Central Florida and will therefore a) not have time to blog much anymore due to the hours I'm going to be working and b) will no longer be living in Baltimore and therefore will not be seeing much of its theatre.

I do regret not having this opportunity sooner, especially with the recent development of All the World's A Stage. But if you or anyone you know is interested, they are still accepting applications until April 12th. It's a great way to promote yourself in online media and to break your way into the Baltimore theatre community.

I remain your Drama Queen.

Five questions for an aspiring playwright

Last month, I mentioned my friend Janet Jiacinto, who was in my Playwriting class and who will soon be staging her self-written play, Chapstick Smells Like Fish. She recently gave me some insight into the process of writing a play and having the opportunity to perform it.

How did your concept for the play evolve in your head, before, during and after Playwriting class?

I was taking an EMF class where we were required to keep a dream journal. That was when I first started thinking about the concept of unspoken dream logic. This is the way, in dreams, you can be in what looks just like your living room, but it's not actually your living room -- it's a swimming pool or something.

Dream sequences happen all the time in movies, but I'm not sure I've ever seen or read something where the entire thing is a dream. I thought it would be cool to try to find a way to stay true to the world of dreams without becoming so convoluted that no one understood the story.

When analyzing a play, one of the first questions you should ask is "Why is this day different from all other days?" because if it isn't, not much is at stake. It's the same with writing. So, I stole some characters I liked from another play I've written and picked a day in one of their lives that they could never forget.

The feedback in Playwriting class and Playwriting Laboratory was absolutely vital to Chapstick's development in that it helped me to shape the characters and shifts in logic so that they made as much sense as possible without perverting the nature of the world.

When did you know that you wanted to potentially produce it?

I sincerely doubt the existence of professional playwrights who work on plays with the idea that they'll never see a stage. I can't write a play without visualizing it in a certain space. I've been working on Chapstick for roughly a year, it's gone through three workshop readings, and I reached the point where I had a script and wasn't sure how else to make it better.

Since the setting is so minimalistic, it is an extremely easy play to produce. The challenge is in making the world something easy for the audience to understand. The production will be more like a workshop in that I want to stage it to find problems in the script that wouldn't be obvious for a reading.

Do you think that since it's a bit abstract to most people, students will respond positively to it?

I certainly hope so. The story walks this fine line between ludicrousness and realism and in doing so finds this place where we can believably say and do things we never would in reality.

Has any particular play, playwright or other person or thing inspired your work?

Every character in the play is based, however loosely, on someone I've really known -- even Ashu, the character who ranges from Sean Connery to a cartoon.

What do you hope to do by producing your play at TU?

By putting a play into the hands of actors and designers, new things will be found in the script. A lot of things the playwright didn't intend to put in the play suddenly become unspeakably important. Stage directions are a whole different world when they're no longer words on a page. Unless the story is completely antiquated, a play is not meant to be read but seen. That's why I believe every play should be forced through at least one workshop performance before it's declared to be a final draft.

Janet's play will be performed as part of Towson University's 2009 Fall Season. (Photo courtesy of Janet's facebook page.)

--DQ

Senior theatre thesis: been there, done that

Facebook, one of my many online social networks, is my number one friend-stalking tool. I constantly refresh my page when I don't have anything better to do to see who updated their statuses, simply because I want to know about the cool things going on in their lives, or lack thereof lately, as most of us find ourselves up to our ears in mid-semester schoolwork, projects and papers.

Sifting through statuses the other day, I had to laugh at what I saw.

Several theatre majors I know had things posted like "is in the library from now until the end of time" or "has 10 pages down, 10 more to go" or "needs some distraction from Stephen Sondheim for a while." Ohhh, yes, I thought, smiling to myself superiorly. It's THAT time of their college careers as theatre majors.

The dreaded senior theatre thesis. I can hear the dated horror movie screams now.

I'm not sure why Towson requires its theatre majors to write a 20-page thesis before they can earn their degree. I speculate about it all the time, wondering if the university administration thinks that as mischief-making, obnoxious theatre kids (come to a cast party and you'll see what I mean), we don't take ourselves seriously, or whether they believe because we have a number of courses that stray from the typical lecture-exam class structure that we're not retaining information as well as other students in other majors do.

Regardless, it's unavoidable. I mocked my research-laden friends, especially the ones who are preparing to graduate in 46 days like me (oh yes, the countdown began a while ago), and gave myself a pat on the back for deciding to write my thesis the semester before my last semester.

I thought I didn't have motivation then? Ha! I certainly don't have any motivation now, definitely not enough to even begin to think about writing a worthwhile thesis.

Well done, Dana. You made a good decision last semester, even though there were nights you felt like tearing your hair out as you labored over the computer screen writing about French translation in theatre.

Best of luck to my comrades, but I don't envy you.

--DQ

Audiences will swarm to "Bug"

I must admit something.

I committed the numero uno theatre etiquette no-no tonight upon my arrival at Towson University's Center for the Arts to see the much-anticipated Bug: I was late for the show. Only by a few minutes, due to a slow dinner waitress (*grumble*), but late nonetheless.

As I entered the theater, I heard a phone ringing from the stage, a clear indicator that, much against theatrical tradition, the show had started on time. I cursed under my breath and followed the usher up the stairs behind the seats in total darkness, trying not to miss one and consequently break my face. At the top, I was directed to an open seat. In the third row.

As I descended the center aisle of stairs, I could feel eyes from both sides watching me, scorning me for being an unnecessary distraction to the hardworking actors on the stage at floor level. As I spotted my seat, I cringed as I passed in front of everyone in the row, who were ironically enough some of my fellow theatre majors (and etiquette-followers). It's safe to say I was nothing short of mortified.

However, the actors didn't much seem to mind as they carried on with the production, which, I might add, was spectacular. Aside from a minor set malfunction, the acting was emotional and impressive, and the characters, raw and real. It's a high-energy dark comedy, much unlike the yawn-inducing Miss Julie, and its obsessive, neurotic themes (namely, a bug infestation which is possibly a schizophrenic delusion) create a multitude of tension and action-packed character interaction. Blood is spilled, hearts are broken, and there is even a hilarious scene where two of the characters waltz to Patsy Cline's "Crazy" in gas masks and lab coats.

Bug is highly enjoyable and different from much of the Mainstage work Towson produces, as Peters promised it would be. You could even say it was...infectious.

--DQ

Backstage at "Bug" - Part 2

It's opening night for Bug, which runs until Saturday in Towson University's Ruth Marder Theatre. Tickets are $2 for students and $5 for general admission.

Here are a few more behind-the-scenes tidbits from the production work this week.

First: deciding on colors for a door. It's a process, I kid you not.



Last: the set finally begins to take shape.



If the desire strikes you, enjoy the show; I'll be there Friday and will see you right back here afterward.

I remain your DQ.

Backstage at "Bug" - Part I

Tech week is in full effect for Towson's production of Bug. I spent some time there on Sunday doing production work and captured some of it to share with you here.

First: welcome to the Ruth Marder Theatre as you've probably never seen it.



Second: meet the director!



Third: experiments with blood capsules.



This is just a preliminary glimpse into what goes into putting together a production. Part 2 of behind-the-scenes footage to come!

--DQ

Chatting with John Freedman

John Freedman, an American-born translator who lives and works in Russia, spoke to my Russian Theatre and Politics class today about his experiences both in Russia and with translating some of the plays we're studying.

With regards to choosing the title for the play Frozen in Time, a modern day Russian Romeo and Juliet, Freedman noted that the original Russian title, Exhibits, didn't exactly do the piece justice.

"It's interesting, the power of choices," he said. "'Exhibits' doesn't really give you a feeling. It doesn't give you anything. A title should point you in a certain direction, make a suggestion. I thought 'Frozen in Time' sounded much more influential. It implies not moving on, losing something that is part of human experience."

After seeing one of the first performances of Frozen in Time in Moscow, Freedman left disappointed and confused.

"For me, it lost a lot of course," he said. "You didn't get the way little things kind of build up and lead to the explosion. It's a difficult play to do. If I were directing it, I'd come back to this: you cannot create characters of these people. The ambiguity is very strong. You're encouraged to take sides and make judgments. If you have done that, you've started losing touch with the play. Everybody's life has its right to be expressed fully. The difficulties and conflicts we experience are legitimate. I love that ambiguity; it makes me accept everyone and everything."

Freedman also clued the class in about certain aspects of Russian culture. Infidelity, he said, while frowned upon, is not such a moral problem as it is in the United States. Gender roles that used to exist in the United States are still prevalent there, where in the most general terms, the females typically are the nurturers and the males are the protectors.

"There's a certain understanding of life that Russians have," Freedman said. "There's a sense that life itself is sacred, not the morals attached to it."

Freedman's endeavors in the emerging Russian theatre world will be transformed from page to stage this fall in the premier of the TU Theatre Department's "Russian Season," featuring several of the plays he's translated over the span of his impressive career.

For more on Freedman's experiences and life in Russia, journalism and theatre, head here.

I remain your Drama Queen.

You'll find forever, you've got to follow your heart

When and how did you find your passion?

It's not such a little-known fact that my passion is for theatre and everything about it, and that extends not only to performing, which is always a blast, but also to being a part of a production on a more personal level by adding something to it that can't be seen, like a costume or a set piece, or even researching the show. That's the magic of theatre; every little bit each person does comes together in the end to create this grand final product.

From my love of drama in high school, I sort of knew I'd always wanted to do theatre in college, but I didn't know I wanted to do theatre in college full time. The thought kind of scared me, actually, knowing that I'd be working directly with people whose interests lay within the same area, people who were probably better than me and knew way more about the field than I did.

I came into college as a Mass Comm major, and I don't regret that decision, because it's definitely one of my strengths and I've learned a lot about the field. But something was missing. Halfway through my sophomore year, I decided to give theatre a try. After hours of action-packed classes and invaluable experiences with some of the best faculty I've ever worked with, I haven't looked back.

When did you know that what you're doing now is your passion? How did you know, and did you sacrifice anything for it?

--Drama Queen

There's one more star in the sky

Film and Broadway actress Natasha Richardson, 45, passed away tonight from head injuries after a skiing accident.

Ms. Richardson's impressive career consisted of numerous Hollywood roles including a remake of The Parent Trap and Maid in Manhattan. She was most well known for being a gifted stage actress, having performed in Hamlet, A Streetcar Named Desire, and A Midsummer Night's Dream. In 1998, she earned a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her portrayal of struggling singer Sally Bowles in Cabaret.

The theatre world grows a little quieter for you today, Ms. Richardson.

What's the story, morning glory? What's the word, hummingbird?

Overheard on Twitter:

Single Carrot Theatre, one of Baltimore's newest theatre companies, has found recent success with a play by none other than Tracy Letts, author of Bug and August: Osage County.

"Last performance of Killer Joe is on right now," @SingleCarrot tweeted yesterday afternoon. "A sell out weekend, standing room only--our most attended show ever. Thanks to all who came!"

For a company trying to gain its ground and compete with Baltimore's already-thriving theatre community, Single Carrot is well on its way! They were voted the Best New Theatre Company by City Paper's Best of Baltimore 2008 issue. According to their website, they strive to produce socially relevant shows to educate the community through a variety of diverse works, a feat which I'd say they are accomplishing at an astonishing rate right now.

I suppose, then, that their motto is true:

"The day is coming when a single carrot, freshly observed, will set off a revolution." --Paul Cezanne

Now there's some food for thought.

--DQ

She made a scandal and a start

Last semester, I took a class called Playwriting. It's not too hard to discern what the class was about. It was an absolute blast because I love love love to write, and our teacher, David White, is one of the most interesting, knowledgeable people I've ever met in my entire life. But, I digress.

The coursework consisted of us writing a 10-minute play and a one-act play, which we would then cast and read within the class and revise and read again. We also had the opportunity to submit them to young playwriting festivals in the area.

My friend, classmate and fellow theatre major, Janet, wrote an abstract play that is now being produced in the department during next fall's jam-packed season. She will direct it herself.

I've requested an interview with Janet, and hopefully can get in contact with her within the next few days and share her ideas with you. Stay tuned.

--DQ

We sat there sighing, groaning and crying

DISCLAIMER: As a member of the TU Theatre Department, I have only the utmost respect for my peers, the faculty and all of the productions that take place within the department itself.

But I must be honest here. I expected much more of Miss Julie.

While it is a play comprised of compassionate dialogue and deep, emotional characters, it was all a bit much for me. The play functions in one hour-and-45-minute scene without an intermission, over half of which follows the title character's yearns for affection from her lover and servant, Jean. All Miss Julie does throughout the entire play is beg him to love her, and I've never seen a more desperate, pathetic character in all my life. She winds up killing herself at the end of the play, and I wish I could have been the one to drag Jean's razor across her throat instead of her dying by her own hand, just so I wouldn't have to hear her whine anymore.

Easily, the most interesting part of the show was a ten-minute interval where, after Jean, Miss Julie and the other servant, Kristine, have gone to bed, the estate's farmers romp about the room, destroying things, throwing flowers everywhere, making love, shouting, laughing, and stomping around in a drunken display of joy and carefree life.

I don't think it was anyone's fault that the production didn't turn out the way I expected; the acting itself was decent and everything worked well as far as the production as a whole is concerned. I just think the play itself was not all that intriguing.

Here's to Time of Your Life being more enjoyable when it opens in May.

--DQ

There's a moment when fear and dream must collide

It was a cruel realization when I signed up for the required theatre course, Lighting Crew, this semester: I'd have to face the one thing that theatre majors of all people should get over REAL fast.

My fear of heights.

In a field which incorporates hanging lights, pulling curtains, dropping in microphones, acrobatics, and the like, a fear of heights can seriously hold a theatre person like myself back from experiencing the finer elements of the technical work that goes on behind the scenes.

It was never a big deal for me riding roller coasters in theme parks or even climbing the 990-foot-tall Eiffel Tower. But get me on a lighting catwalk and my legs turn to jelly as I gaze down into the expanse of the theatre house below me, which wouldn't be such a comfy landing.

Alas, the day came when my fears came around to face me. On the first day of Lighting Crew, we were set to hang lights for August Strindberg's Miss Julie. I entered the Studio Theatre in Towson University's Center for the Arts with my head held high, even though deep down I was ashamed that someone involved in an art where anything is possible could possess such a fear.

As it turned out, I wasn't the only one. Some of the other crew members requested other tasks that didn't involve being so far above the stage. I opted to face my fear and do what I came there to do: hang lights. The cool thing about the Studio Theatre is that the entire lighting area functions on a giant steel grid directly over the performance area, so if the lights (or a person) should fall, they would be caught by the steel grid. The springy grid was actually quite fun to walk on, and after a while, I started having conversations with some fellow theatre majors on the stage below who were painting the set, and I forgot all about my apprehensions from earlier that day.

My light circuiting handiwork, which took several hours but was fun all the same, can be seen in Miss Julie, which runs until Thursday at TU. Tomorrow I'm seeing the show; see you after right here.

I remain your fear-conquering Drama Queen.

What's the buzz? Tell me what's happenin'

As I now have two blogs, a thriving Facebook page and a neglected and pretty-much-useless LiveJournal, I'm in the process of expanding my online social media network. Good thing, too. I stumbled upon one of Ryan Goff's Twitter updates today, telling me that Baltimore professional theater company CENTERSTAGE now has a Twitter handle: @CENTERSTAGE_MD. Through CENTERSTAGE's list of handles it's following, I found the handle for another favorite of mine, Arena Stage in Washington, D.C.: @arenastage.

I think I'm starting to understand Twitter's usefulness a little bit more these days.

Through Twitter and some contacts I know, I'm going to check out some things happening at these local professional theaters and get back to you.

--DQ

The cast is great, the script is swell, but this we're telling you, sirs...

A couple of entries ago, I mentioned that each theatrical season at TU involves not only the larger Mainstage productions, but also student-directed shows, where theatre majors have the chance to cast and direct a show of their choice rather than perform in it.

I spoke with graduating senior Andrew Peters, an Acting student who is directing a play called Bug this spring, set to open next month. As a young theatre artist, he gave me some insight into the directing experience.

What drew you to Bug and why did you have an interest in directing it?

I first read Bug a few years ago and I've always been drawn to how visceral and gritty it is. It's a love story, a thriller, a piece of science fiction, a dark comedy...all of these different genres all wrapped into one. As a student director, I wanted to direct something challenging and gritty, but something that would allow me to also flex a creative muscle so to speak. It also came down to what I thought would not only interest theatre artists, but the Towson student body as well. With most of its Mainstage repertoire, the Towson theatre department puts on shows that I feel are good learning experiences, but I don't always feel that they are chosen due to what students our age actually want to see. So I wanted to do something very raw, provocative, and fun, but still doable in a college environment.

Author Tracy Letts is also responsible for the Tony Award-winning play August: Osage County. Did this success have any effect on your decision to direct Bug?

The fact that Letts is becoming a huge name in the theatre world definitely influenced my decision. In general, I wanted to do this to get his name out there to a younger audience because I think he's going to be someone who continues doing work for years, and if I can spread his work around to as many people as possible, I'd do it in a heartbeat.

As a theatre student, how valuable is it to have this kind of behind-the-scenes, hands-on experience with a show?

You learn a lot about the process that certain things like classes and such won't teach you. I've been in a good amount of shows here at Towson, but directing a show has taught me so much more than I could've gotten from actually being on stage. You learn about the process and the ways to adapt to it.

What have been your favorite moments so far?

Sometimes, we've stumbled into territory I never expected. For instance, I love it when the actors take a risk with a way they deliver a line or an action they perform, and it completely makes me rethink my original ideas. Also, seeing the show on its feet as it progresses is incredibly exciting each step of the way. The first time we put together Act 1 in one night, I really got a sense that we were well on our way.

Do you have any advice for future student directors?

One, don't be afraid to take risks. Jump in head first! Second, think around the box. With Bug, there are a lot of technical things that I am working around now that I've been able to brainstorm solutions for, and I'm really excited to see how those choices will pay off when the performances start. It's a thrill to be able to see how you can play with a concept and adapt a piece of text to it.

Bug runs April 2 - 4, 2009, in the Ruth Marder Theatre at Towson University.

--DQ

Take off that gloomy mask of tragedy, it's not your style

My Russian Theatre and Politics class went downtown last night to the Hyatt hotel near the World Trade Center, where the Ambassador of the Russian Federation to the United States, Sergey Kislyak, spoke briefly about Russian-American relations. It didn't remotely have to do with theatre, but it gave us some perspective into foreign policy, and how current economic and political conditions in Russia can affect the types of artwork produced there and consequently those we may see here in the near future.

I won't bore you with gritty details, but essentially he indicated that Russia is a young nation that is still learning how to embrace its independence and govern itself. He himself does not agree with certain ways the United States has handled certain instances in the past, or with the ways in which the American media has portrayed Russian political action, namely recent conflicts with Georgia, which struck a particular chord in me as a Mass Communication major. But he does acknowledge that Russia has also had considerable failures. He also says relations are improving and he is optimistic that we will come to terms on several issues such as gas prices and our relations within NATO.

(Update: Today (March 5th), NATO resumes ties with Russia! Thanks, Twitter!)

Overall I'd say he's quite optimistic about the future of Russian-American relations, and when it comes down to it, even the fact that we were permitted to have this class to examine new Russian drama (which is still not universally accepted in Russia) and function as intellectuals in this fascinating new element of their culture is still mind-blowing to me. Hopefully these improving relations will allow for improved support of the evolving arts in Russia so that we may enjoy them here.

Here's the class with the Ambassador, courtesy of Dr. Robyn Quick.


And here's Dr. McCartney approaching him, also courtesy of Robyn.


As always, I am your Drama Queen.

There's a fine, fine line...or is there?

Recently in my blogroll I stumbled upon this post by Carrie Dunn which discusses the roles of popular musicals in high schools, and addresses the problems some schools are having staging shows with less-than-appropriate content for parents to be watching their children portraying on stage. It got me thinking.

Here's an example. A new edited version of RENT was approved by show creator Jonathan Larson's estate this year so that high schools now have rights to perform it, but the new version still addresses the same hard-hitting themes of homosexuality, drug addiction, and coping with H.I.V. that the original does, probably because these elements are such integral components of the characters, and to remove them would dehumanize the show and frankly leave you with nothing more than a sad plot and empty, emotionless songs.

Now, let's be logical. As much as I've already confessed my undying love for this in-your-face rock musical, I can't quite say I'd want my mom watching me shoot heroin at age 17 on a high school stage. I'm not sure a show containing such strong coming-of-age, finding-your-identity issues can ever really be edited well enough to be appropriate for a high school to perform.

Consequently, three schools have already canceled performances of RENT: School Edition, and debates about the show's provocative content have sparked up all over the country.

As someone who's performed in some not-so-PG shows in the past, I sympathize with Dunn's point of view and with parents who are concerned about the messages these shows are broadcasting. Take a popular high school favorite, Guys and Dolls. Um, gambling and alcoholism, anyone?

Or for that matter, try Grease, everyone's favorite day-in-the-life-at-Rydell-High movie: "The stage show might not have all the explicit back-seat fumbling," Dunn writes, "but it's certainly innuendo-laden: Summer Nights, where Danny brags about his sexual prowess, is pretty unequivocal, and Rizzo still confesses that she might be pregnant – and Kenickie isn't the only one who could be the father. As for the show's overriding messages – that you must smoke, drink and abandon all your principles to get a boyfriend and thus be happy – it's hardly life-affirming stuff."

Should high schools have the freedom to perform such promiscuous shows, or should we demand something more appropriate? Perhaps this is the reason Disney found immediate success in its cleverly-named High School Musical.

Since HSM has taken off as one of the most popular productions being done in high schools these days, I'm almost positive there are schools in the Baltimore area who are performing it. If not, there are most likely schools staging West Side Story or its other provocative counterparts mentioned above. I'm going to see what I can find and try to get a perspective on it from people involved in the productions. I'll report back here when I do.

I remain your Drama Queen.

There may be something there that wasn't there before

The Fall 2009 Season for the TU Theatre Department has just been announced. Every semester, we typically put on two large Mainstage shows, and then undergraduate students in the department direct their own shows and graduate students stage their works, usually self-written. So ideally there are four or five shows running per semester.

The fall season is introducing a foreign influence. I know I'm getting a bit ahead of myself here, but my last entry mentioned England's excellence in the art and the Russian project I'm involved in. Well, fancy that. William Shakespeare's classic love story, Romeo and Juliet, will be staged here in the fall. Usually the department does put on historical plays of some sort, like last fall's The Crucible (set in Puritan Salem) and The Piano Lesson (set in 1930s Pittsburgh). Performing Shakespeare is something Towson hasn't embraced in several years and it will take this department one step further into our historical endeavors as we bring Elizabethan Italy to the stage.

The second Mainstage show will be the Russian play Tanya, Tanya, translated by American translator John Freedman (seen on the left) and directed by Russian guest director Yury Urnov, both of whom have been actively involved in TU theatre for some time now. The show is still being adapted for performance, but the department is excited to debut this work on Towson's stage.

Another new Russian play called The Polar Truth will be staged in the structure of a performance workshop by one of the department's graduate students.

These relations with Russian theatre artists has had remarkable impact in the past few weeks and it's already spread like wildfire into the department, and hopefully it will continue to delve further into crossing cultural boundaries in the future.

--DQ

But I know the answers lie far from this world

When American theatre goes international, things can get quite exciting. It's no secret that other countries like England, home of the Bard himself, are truly cultured in the art. Thus, I am quite excited to share this news with you.

The theatre department here at Towson University has been involved with Russian directors and translators for a few years now, and these relations have been steadily improving. With that came the idea for a new interdisciplinary project in the structure of a class. It's called Russian Theatre and Politics, and I am currently enrolled.

Russia has had considerable political turmoil until only recently, and so they are entering a new era of freedom in the theatre. With that in mind, the premise of the class is that students from both the theatre department and the political science department (as well as a few international studies majors) have the chance to take this class together, each to learn about the discipline they know least about. It's taught by two instructors, Dr. Robyn Quick from the theatre department and Dr. Alison McCartney from the political science department. The coursework involves reading Russian plays and examining them in their contexts as part of Russian political culture. It's both a history lesson and a look into an art that is emerging as an important cultural aspect in the largest country in the world.

This also means that, as students in this experiment, we are going to be the first Americans to read new and still-in-the-works translations of some of these plays. How exciting it is that we are part of Russian theatrical history!

Because of the groundbreaking work we're doing in the class, we have been invited to attend a Russian Ambassador's speech next week at the World Trade Center in downtown Baltimore. I'll be sure to report back here after it's over. I hope to make this experiment part of a series of posts here.

Fine arts have such power to open doors and to cross cultures, and that's true now more than ever before.

I remain your Drama Queen.

Give 'em an act with lots of flash in it, and the reaction will be passionate.

The concept of theatre as a cultural icon is not lost on most people. It's obviously a large part of the American art industry, as it is in other countries across the globe. But why has it become ingrained in these cultures as such a significant aspect of how we live? I suppose the bigger question is, why do we care about it so much?

Andy Field, a British blogger and theatre nerd like myself, argues that theatre is not only meaningful because of what it does, but also because of the ways it influences us.

"In less than a fortnight, I have seen...shows that, taken together, were a brilliant exploration of how we watch theatre and why we watch it," he writes. "I've seen a stage littered with unsettling, almost unwatchable little scenes of contorted figures twitching while a beautiful, haunting voice sings out from among them. I've watched six people stand agonizingly still for over an hour and, with words alone, skip through a parade of places and scenarios and thoughts."

As a performing art, theatre is meant to be experienced by the individual, and therefore we will all, with our own life experiences and ideas about the world, indubitably take something different from it. Despite this, there are shows that create their own messages. Some shows like the 15th-century English play Everyman depict stock characters meant to represent specific stereotypes in society (such as Knowledge and Beauty), which usually causes audiences to reflect on those elements of human nature. The pro-Soviet Russia play An Optimistic Tragedy was written during the Russian Civil War in a time of heavy governement theatre censorship, but was allowed to be performed because of its positive representation of Soviet ideals. As the heroine dies in the last scene, her last words mirror the play's message: the Communists will prevail.

Theatre is much like the mainstream media: it presents predetermined information with some element of bias, and what we take from it is what we get. We can't see into the playwright's mind, just like we can't see into the minds of media moguls who determine which information is divulged to the public. It may offend, it may make us want to change the world, it may break our hearts and evoke unhappy memories of fear and struggle. The sheer diversity of it and the potential it has to evoke emotion renders it a cultural aspect that cannot be ignored.

--DQ

Think of the prestige. Think of the respect. Think of...the Tony!

The Tony Awards are to Broadway what the Oscars are to Hollywood, and anyone involved in the art will tell you that even if they aren't entirely devoted to the Great White Way as the best representation of good theatre, they're still curious about which shows are catching the eyes of the biggest critics in the industry.

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't one of those people.

An ongoing series of future posts will feature shows receiving Tony buzz and any other Tony news that happens to pass my ears. While the nominees won't be officially announced until May 5th (the awards take place on June 7th), it's never too soon to start considering the top shows of the year.

I remain your Drama Queen.

It's a struggle, it's a war, and there's nothing that anyone's giving.

Going to the theatre has often been viewed as a high-society aspect of the American culture, much like going to an opera or orchestra concert. As more and more young people have become involved in the industry and with the influx of new companies being formed across the nation, the notion that theatre is only for uppity folks has diminished.

Unfortunately, the upper-class values of attending a show have gone with it. While theatre now is flourishing with new works and greater diversity than it's ever had, theatre-goers are not so keen on what is and isn't appropriate when one is a member of an audience.

I ushered Towson University's productions of Arthur Miller's The Crucible and August Wilson's The Piano Lesson last fall, and part of the requirements of an usher are to help seat audience members and to sit in during the performance to make sure nothing in the audience will distract the actors.

What I saw was appalling.

Despite the announcements before the performance began urging everyone to please silence all cell phones and refrain from sending text messages during the show, I saw numerous faces lit up by tiny screens and had to repeatedly ask the perpetrators to put their phones away. By the end of the shows' runs (having seen each four or five times, and consequently witnessed much audience misbehavior) I was frustrated and insulted as someone who takes this art very seriously.

So, for anyone who doesn't often attend the theatre, here is a simple guide to theatre etiquette.

1. Turn off your cell phone, and don't check it or text message during the show when the lights are off. Even though you may be covering the screen with your hand and you think no one can see it, the house (where the audience sits) is very dark during a performance and the actors are under bright lights, so they can see the light reflecting off your face. Texting also becomes loud when the theatre is silent. The actors rely on what other actors are saying during the performance, and the sound of the keys is very distracting and can cause them not to hear a line correctly.

2. Do not bring an infant to the theatre. If you absolutely must bring your child, make sure you sit near the door. One night we had an incident where a woman's baby would not stop crying, and she didn't seem very concerned about the audience (or the actors) around her. Shows often run around two hours long, and that's quite a lot of time for a child to sit still. If you can't find a babysitter, sit near an exit so that if your child becomes fussy, you can leave quietly without distracting the actors or the audience, all of whom are trying to pay attention to the show.

3. Do not consume alcoholic beverages or illegal substances before the show. In another instance, three guys walked past me as I tore their tickets and they absolutely REEKED of alcohol. The show will be over by 10, and that's definitely not too late to start having your fun. Show respect for everyone involved in the production by attending sober.

4. Do not open candy with loud wrappers during the performance. This one speaks for itself.

5. Be attentive. You may be at the show because your Acting 101 teacher required you to see it for your class and write a reaction paper. Hooray. Watching a boring play from the 1930s is the LAST thing you feel like doing tonight. Here's a hint: you can sacrifice two hours of your life to sit through a performance, and you owe it to the people on stage who do this as their job or simply for the love of the art.

I could go on and on about what NOT to do in the theatre, but please keep these in mind the next time you attend a show, whether it's at Towson or downtown or anywhere else.

A little theatre etiquette goes a long way.

--DQ

Ya got trouble, my friends, right here in New York City.

As most of you are aware, the United States economy is in a time of crisis. No matter where we are in the country or what our professions or interests involve, in some way this recession is affecting all of us.

Thus, it saddens me to the core to admit that even Broadway is experiencing economic hardship.

While it's true that there have been a significant lack of new shows appearing on the Great White Way for quite some time, Broadway has elegantly survived over recent years through revivals of popular musicals like Grease and Gypsy and by bringing in larger audiences by casting superstars from the film industry in new shows it DOES manage to import, such as Daniel Radcliffe of Harry Potter fame, who plays a young man with a sexual fascination to horses in Peter Shaffer's Equus.

Even so, the reality of the economy's current devastation hit the New York theatre scene heavily this past January, when 13 shows closed, including the new Tony Award-winning sensation The New Mel Brooks Musical Young Frankenstein and the classic French farce Boeing-Boeing. Other popular favorites like Spamalot, Hairspray, and Spring Awakening also watched the final curtain fall.

The Curator and I agree that audiences are dying for new subject matter in the theatrical realm, which isn't exactly easily accomplished when one considers that the cost of putting up a production, especially one as high-scale as a Broadway show, goes much beyond what you see on the stage in performance. The production staff demands a hefty salary, as does the cost of equipment needed for the set and lighting. There are numerous other fees that must be accounted for, and consideration must first and foremost go to the performers whose talents you employ to make your show a success.

It's a cruel contradiction to that old stage adage, "the show must go on," but if you can't pay your actors, you don't have a show.

Through the good and bad, I remain your Drama Queen.

Nothing lasts, nothing holds all of me.

OK, so I realize this is a bit out of the norm for a blog, but as this interview relates to my topic of discussion, I have to take a personal route here and do it. And you get to learn a little more about me in the process. Plus, theatre people generally like to talk about themselves a lot.

FAVORITE MUSICAL(s):
There are so many of these! My all-time favorites are RENT, Les Miserables, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Godspell, Damn Yankees, Guys & Dolls, You're A Good Man Charlie Brown, Beauty and the Beast, Avenue Q, The Phantom of the Opera, and Me and My Girl.

FAVORITE PLAY(s):
There are lots of these too, but if I have to pick a few, I suppose Anton Chekhov's Uncle Vanya would be near the top of the list. Marisol is also dear to my heart; I directed a scene from it in Directing I a year and a half ago.

FAVORITE ROLE OVERALL THAT I WOULD LOVE TO PLAY:
Belle from Beauty and the Beast!

YOUR GOAL IN SHOW BUSINESS:
There's no business like it! It's all about taking your performance seriously, of course, but it's also about having a good time and enjoying every minute.

FAVORITE DIRECTOR YOU HAVE EVER WORKED WITH:
After working for so many years with Mr. Trowbridge in high school, I can't say I really have a favorite other than him. But Naoko Maeshiba oversaw our directing scenes in Directing I, and she's so knowledgeable and interesting.

WHAT WAS YOUR VERY FIRST SHOW?:
Damn Yankees when I was a freshman in high school!

HAVE YOU EVER BEEN THE LAST PERSON TO TAKE A BOW?
One of them, but not the very last.

HAVE YOU BEEN TO NEW YORK?
What kind of theatre major would I be if I hadn't?

HAVE YOU BEEN TO L.A.?:
Now that I will admit to never having done. But I hear it smells, anyway.

WHAT'S THE SCARIEST PART OF AN AUDITION?:
I hate doing monologues in general....I don't really think they tell you anything about an actor except that they can play one specific character semi-well. The scariest part, then, is performing your monologue, although the wait for the cast list is never fun, either.

WHAT'S THE BEST PART OF AN AUDITION?
Usually no one knows you, so you walk in with a clean slate. Then you get one shot to razzle dazzle 'em.

NAME A SHOW YOU WOULD NEVER DO AGAIN:
All of the shows I've been in have been spectacular, but if I have to choose one, I'd say How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, only because it's close to three hours long. That's asking a lot of an audience.

NAME A SHOW YOU COULD DO FOR YEARS:
You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown! I would reprise my role of Lucy van Pelt in an instant!

DO YOU KEEP IN TOUCH WITH PAST CAST MEMBERS?:
Oh, heck yes. I've made some dear friends from being in shows with them.

ON A SCALE OF 1-10, HOW IMPORTANT IS GETTING PAID?:
It never hurts, but it wouldn't really matter to me. I've never been paid for a show before and I've always had an amazing time.

EVER BEEN NAKED ONSTAGE?:
I only left this question in because I actually HAVE been "naked" on stage. Well, a naked simulation. I was in Verdi's AIDA with the Baltimore Opera Company last fall, and I played Amneris' body double as she rises out of the bath. So my costume was a nude-colored bodysuit, basically, and it really looked legit from a distance. It was definitely the most daring thing I've ever done in my life!

IF YOU COULD CHANGE ONE THING ABOUT YOUR THEATRE EXPERIENCE, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
I wish I took chances more when it comes to auditioning for shows I really want to be a part of. I don't like auditioning, period, but unfortunately for me, that's how this business functions and how actors get their starts. You have to prove to the director that you fit what they already see in the character, and you only have a couple minutes to do it if it's a big production. It's a very unforgiving industry, so if you don't make an immediate impression, you're forgotten.

Congratulations. You now know more about me and my theatrical experience than you did two minutes ago. I think I even learned something about myself.

Always,
DQ

Measure your life in love, seasons of love.

Last night, I had the immense privilege to see the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical (and one of my favorite shows of all time, up there with Les Miserables), RENT, for the umpteenth time. But what made this night better than any others was that the roles of Mark and Roger were played by none other than the original cast members, Anthony Rapp and Adam Pascal, respectively.


Now, let me preface this by saying that I'm not one of those saw-the-movie-and-jumped-on-the-bandwagon-omg-RENT-is-awesome people. No, indeed.

I am a RENThead.

A RENThead is a person who has been a supporter of the show from when it got its start in 1996 and has loved everything about it ever since, who saw the trailer for the movie and nearly screamed in the movie theater, who saw the movie the night it opened and sang along to every word, who could pick out which songs were left out of the movie but went back to see it again anyway, who has seen it performed on stage several times and never gets tired of it. You get the idea.

Anyway, so yes. I'm a hardcore RENT fan. I sing it in my apartment, I sing it in my car, I sing it with my friends, I sing it everywhere.

But this post is hardly about me. As I mentioned, two of the original cast members reprised their roles for a short run in Philadelphia at the Academy of Music.


Both Anthony and Adam were in the movie, and they both were in it on Broadway for much of its run before it closed in September of 2008 (a travesty, but an issue that will be saved for another day).

I'd seen the show performed at the Academy last year around this time, and it dazzled me as it always does as I sit there in my seat, singing along under my breath.

This time, the original cast members, knowing it like the back of their hands, completely stole the show. From the cheers that greeted them as they ran on stage to the shouts of approval they garnered after such powerful Mark-and-Roger anthems as "Rent" and "What You Own," the experience was totally surreal to me. I sat in my seat wondering how many people were seeing the show for the first time ever, and how many have seen it 20 times and are still coming back.

Regardless, usually shouting appraisal at the actors before the end of the show is not considered the best theatre etiquette (again, a topic for another day). For any other show, it wouldn't be appropriate to cheer and clap in the middle of the song after a heartfelt solo. But what I've found over the years of loving this show in all its pieces and as a whole is that RENT creates this unbelievable community the moment the show starts. And this goes back to the basic idea of theatre, that it is meant to be an art that unites a spattering of diverse people in one moment in time. During the song most people (RENT fans and non-RENT fans alike) associate with the musical, "Seasons of Love," the entire audience clapped with the cast. This usually happens in every performance (it has at every one I've been to). Something like that just gives me this incredible affection for my passion, and I'm amazed that one musical by one talented man who didn't even live to see the first performance of his worldwide sensation could have that kind of power over an audience that can fill four balconies and a ground level.


I may as well admit one more thing here, in case you haven't already realized how crazy I am about this show. During "Without You," the song that pulls on heartstrings as Angel dies (if you don't know by now, shame on you!), I was bawling.

It's things like this that make my passion worth pursuing, no matter how small they are.

Until next time, I am ever your Drama Queen.

I can shoot a sparrow with a bow and arrow.

There's something to be said about small theatre companies putting on grand productions, especially in old theaters that have been around for a hundred years. It gives you a very rustic feeling that you're a part of the history of the building, and makes you wonder what the first productions were that ever took place there and how the company has evolved since then.

Tonight I saw Annie, Get Your Gun, a classic American musical by Irving Berlin starring the beloved Annie Oakley as she gives the local sharpshooter a run for his money and consequently winds up falling in love with him. I went to support my friend Kate, who was in the cast, but wound up having a better time than expected.

First, for a small company like the Broadway Theatre of Pitman, the overall strength of the production (singing ability, dancing ability, humor, ability to engage the audience, etc.) was quite good. I was captured from the opening number (the ever-popular stage tune, "There's No Business Like Show Business"). Well-casted characters and a chorus of talented singers allowed for an enjoyable production throughout. While the choreographer's introduction was a bit goofy, as were Frank's "missed" shots in the second shootout, which playfully "took out" members of the pit orchestra, the production overall was very professional.

Second, the theater itself is its own experience. As I mentioned before, walking into a theater that's been standing since the roads were made of dirt is an incredibly nostalgic feeling, especially when popcorn is served at the concession stand (a standard of the American film industry, not typically the theatre nowadays). My mother, who accompanied me to the show, admitted that she prefers theaters of that size compared to larger professional venues like the Walnut Street Theatre in Philadelphia, because of the intimacy of the atmosphere and just simply the old-fashioned feeling that overcomes you when you enter. You begin to wonder how many actors and actresses and dancers have graced that very stage, and whose careers were started there.

My AGYG experience was much more than I was expecting, which just goes to show that in the theatre, there's always more than meets the eye and hardly anything is ever what it seems.

--DQ

Wilkommen, bienvenue, welcome...

My name is Dana, and I'm a double major at Towson University in Theatre Studies and Journalism & New Media. What a perfect way to fuse my two passions here on a blog about all things theatrical.

As the title of this blog (and the subject line from 'Cabaret') suggests, this is theatre people central! By that, I mean not people who are simply interested in theatre or who attend plays frequently or have been to Broadway, although you are certainly welcome. But the term 'theatre people' implies a community with a more significant connection to the art, one where members are are actively involved in the discipline, whether it's performing, designing sets, hanging lights, sewing costumes, directing, casting, running a theatre, teaching drama, whatever. We're all theatre people because this passion has taken a forefront in our lives to the point that we've become immersed in this world somehow. And often our passion for this art allows us to share that experience with the rest of the world in the form of a production or the first reading of a new translation of a play or young playwriting festivals.

Much work and detail goes into this art, and this is a space to experience all of it, comment on it, and perfect it through respectful sharing of opinion. Several theatre enthusiasts, like Blogway Baby, are already out there blogging about the Great White Way and beyond. But this is the theatre world from my eyes, created for people in theatre about theatre and without limitations, and I hope it's useful and entertaining to all who decide to become a part of it.

Until next time, I remain your faithful Drama Queen.