Stage Banter: The Arena Stage Blog

Arena on eBay goes live today, May 5th!

Arena Stage’s online auction, Arena on eBay, runs May 5th to 19th, offering items for a variety of budgets and occasions. Get to know more about Arena Stage programs with exclusive backstage opportunities, explore Washington’s restaurant scene, or get away from it all with exciting travel packages! One lucky winner will get drinks and a goodnight kiss with Tony-nominated actor Brad Oscar, while another will have lunch with Project Runway’s Tim Gunn at the Bryant Park Grill!

The best part? As you admire your autographed poster, enjoy the breeze on the deck of a Potomac River cruise, or watch an outdoor concert, your contribution will help share your love of theater with some of D.C.’s youngest citizens.

Every year, Arena Stage’s Community Engagement programming reaches thousands of youth in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area – including many from the most underserved areas of the city - with theater tickets, enrichment activities, and customized workshops. All proceeds from Arena on eBay benefit the theater’s Community Engagement programs.

Visit the Arena Stage auction site at http://www.ebay.com/arenastage to check out all the fabulous items up for bid! Items will be added throughout the auction – be sure to keep checking back for more!

Citizen Review: The Arthur Miller Festival

posted by Susan Williams

In this election year, we hear so much rhetoric about the economy, immigration and the middle class, that the issues are much on our minds. It's not surprising, then, that I saw much about these subjects in both of these plays. And I thought, as I always do when viewing or reading the classics, that some things never change...certainly, human beings don't change very much. We see in both plays the plight of working class Americans, the struggle to move up in society, and in A View from the Bridge the hardships of illegal but hard working immigrants.

In addition, both families are dysfunctional and composed of highly complex characters. I was impressed with all of the acting, but particularly Rick Foucheux as Willy Loman and Delaney Williams as Eddie Carbone. They each manage to express the nuances of their characters, which is not easy. Particularly so for Eddie, since he remains firmly in denial about his illicit feelings of love/lust for his niece. And of course, Willy Loman is over 60 and over the hill...not a modern concept, but it was certainly acceptable in the 1940's. 

The evening I attended A View from the Bridge I sat near a group of high school students and their teachers who were visiting DC from North Carolina. I could tell from their comments that they were quite taken with the play, and they definitely "got it". It occurred to me that when this play was first produced, it would not have been considered an appropriate play to take high school kids to. I think it's a good thing that kids in 2008 are a lot more savvy,and are able to discuss even the darkest motives of such characters as Eddie Carbone.

Next Season's New Musical: NEXT TO NORMAL

Next to Normal just received three Outer Critics Circle Award nominations: Outstanding New Off-Broadway Musical, Outstanding New Score and Outstanding Actress in a Musical (ALICE RIPLEY). Click here for more information about the show.

Camper Extraordinaire on Camp Arena Stage

posted by Moses, Camper Extraordinaire, Age 14

Camp Arena Stage will be entering its fourth year of artistic service to today’s youth. I have been a camper all three previous years and was asked to share my thoughts.

I started thinking about how amazing the counselors and counselors-in-training were, how they taught me so much every year I attended camp. I remembered the sometimes scenic and always beautiful campus on which Camp Arena Stage is held. Then I remembered my friends - campers and counselors. I realized that the one thing that makes this camp so much fun is that it isn’t one thing that makes camp enjoyable. It is everything! The teachers are actual people with actual arts experience that can’t be beat. Everyone is friendly, artistic, and intelligent, not to mention thoughtful and downright cool. The classes are innovative and exciting and have helped me expand myself as a person as well as an artist. Campers are bombarded with good vibes from the very beginning.

I have seen small children overcome stage fright and perform for the entire camp at the noontime show. I have seen counselors and campers work together to put on a show for the noontime audience. I’ve seen entire classes get up and execute a series of moves which will later help them create a stage combat routine. The greatest thing that I have seen, however, is the joy in every camper when they walk to their next class, knowing full well they will never forget their summer at Camp Arena Stage.

Arena Stage nominated for 16 Helen Hayes Awards

Outstanding Director, Resident Musical
Molly Smith, The Women of Brewster Place

The Charles MacArthur Award for Outstanding New Play or Musical
Moises Kaufman, 33 Variations

Outstanding Resident Musical
The Women of Brewster Place

Outstanding Non-Resident Production
Emergence-See!

Outstanding Lead Actor, Non-Resident Production
Daniel Beaty, Emergence-See!

Outstanding Lead Actress, Non-Resident Production
Karen Kandel, Mabou Mines' Peter and Wendy

Outstanding Lead Actress, Resident Musical
Tina Fabrique, Ella
Harriett D. Foy, The Women of Brewster Place
Marva Hicks, The Women of Brewster Place

Outstanding Lead Actress, Resident Play
Mary Beth Peil, 33 Variations

Outstanding Lighting Design, Resident Production
David Lander, 33 Variations

Outstanding Musical Direction, Resident Production
William Foster McDaniel, The Women of Brewster Place

Outstanding Set Design, Resident Production
Derek McLane, 33 Variations

Outstanding Supporting Actor, Resident Musical
Christopher Bloch, Christmas Carol 1941

Outstanding Supporting Actress, Resident Musical
Monique L. Midgette, The Women of Brewster Place

Outstanding Supporting Actress, Resident Play
Susan Kellermann, 33 Variations

Join Arena Stage in our celebration and enjoy the rare opportunity to schmooze with your favorite stars at the post-show gala by purchasing tickets to the Helen Hayes Awards.  Tickets to the ceremony and gala are on sale to the general public here.

Audio & Video Previews: Arthur Miller Festival

If you'd like a preview of A View from the Bridge, don't miss this audio slide show from The New York Times. It features production shots and readings from Delaney Williams (from HBO's "The Wire") and Virginia Kull.

Check out our video trailer for both Death of a Salesman and A View from the Bridge below.

Register now for an unforgettable summer at Camp Arena Stage!

Just ask any returning camper and they’ll tell you that a summer at Camp Arena Stage is truly unforgettable. Held on the beautiful gated campus of Georgetown Visitation Preparatory School, Camp Arena Stage provides every camper a chance to explore and create art on their terms. According to one CAS camper, “At Camp Arena Stage, you can be who you want to be and you’re inspired.”

The multi-arts format allows campers to both dabble in new art forms and plunge into more advanced arts training—and they choose their own schedules! Campers choose and attend five activities each day called Dailies. The long list of arts activities includes options like Rock Band, On Broadway, Hip Hop Dance, Improvisation and many more. All activities are taught by professional artists, educators and students in arts training programs.

Every day, after lunch, campers attend and take part in a Noontime Show, featuring the talents of campers, staff and guest artists.

Notes from John: An Evening Arena Stage Theater Experience

John Layman is a co-sponsor of Death of a Salesman and as a benefit of sponsorship he was able to attend the rehearsal process for both productions in the Miller Repertory.

posted by John Layman

Dear Theaterophiles,
Last evening I attended the first preview week presentation of A View from the Bridge, a wonderful evening of seeing for the first time the whole play after seeing non-sequential excerpts in rehearsal. It was a powerful performance with the same actors that I have gotten to know from Death of a Salesman. To top it off, when I got to the Metro platform after the performance for my train to College Park, Jeremy Holm who plays Biff, Tim Getman who plays Hap, and Louis Cancelmi who plays Bernard, all in Death of a Salesman arrived and we had plenty of time to discuss all things theater. I told Jeremy that I had seen him in the Shakespeare Theatre production of Cyrano. He said that he had done Cyrano on additional occasions since then. He went on to talk of his wife’s involvement in the arts and her present contracts and Jeremy indicated that he was seeking a summer play so they could sublet their New York apartment to control living costs. This little aside is not to brag, but to indicate how lucky I am to have made friends among this fine group of actors and to gain insights few have had access to. Nancy Robinette came into the lobby with her son from New York. She plays a wonderful Linda in Death but only a small part in View. Her son and I had a couple of chats as our paths crossed in the lobby. He was there to celebrate his mother’s birthday.

Join us! Free open rehearsal of Arthur Miller's "A View from the Bridge"

Arena Stage invites you to be part of the audience for the final dress rehearsal of Miller's A View from the Bridge directed by Daniel Aukin. This is your chance to get a sneak preview of the show that is playing in repertory with Miller's Death of a Salesman—for free! 

Theater is never more “live” than at the final dress rehearsal—the first time the actors run through the full show with an audience. The audience is “the last actor cast” in any production, and we hope you’ll take on that role for us throughout the season.

Details:
A View from the Bridge by Arthur Miller
Arena Stage in Crystal City
Thursday, March 20
8:00 p.m.
Free, no reservations necessary
First Come/First Served
Click here for Directions to Crystal City

Death of a Salesman: Biff's Blog - Days 11-20

posted by Jeremy Holm

March 9, 2008
On stage today for the first time. It feels great to be in our new home here in Crystal City. The set gives a real sense of period and of time wearing down on this family. There is more space here, or at least we feel freer to use the space we have, space which was taped out in the room, but which we did not use because of the closeness of the tables and chairs in the rehearsal space. The acoustics are completely unknown since no plays have been performed here as yet. So this is a great deal of new ground for all of us. The sound and lights were beginning to be added today, a very exciting time for us. Many of our entrances have different timing of course and most of our positions in the space needed to be adjusted. We ran out of time towards the end of the day and could not finish the play. In this rep situation it is very important to go through all of the adjustments in the imagination, or on paper in order that during the few days away from the work one remembers all of the changes. The first scene was much better today and is starting to get clear. I'm starting to think inside the character.