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.