Stage Banter: The Arena Stage Blog

Mapping the Seven Selected Projects

There's a lot of interesting stuff going on over at the NEA New Play Development Program blog.  Vijay's got live broadcasts of parts of the development process and interviews, videos of workshops, and this interactive map that he's going to continue to build upon to map the new play development activities featured in the program.  If you're not following this Arena Stage initiative, you might want to sign up for the RSS feed so you can watch what develops. 

Meanwhile, here's the map.  Click on any of the seven placemarks on the map for information about that particular project.  For better viewing click here: MAP
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Happy Hour with Arena

By Travis Ballenger

You heard the rumors and they are true! Happy Hour with Arena was a success!!!! Arena Stage and some of the most delightful "Young Professionals" from around the city met at Ulah Bistro on U Street (P.S. go there, the food is amazing) to celebrate...well...ourselves! We had a wonderful time listening to music, drinking amazing cocktails, and networking with our peers. Peruse the pictures below, see for yourself, then e-mail internnight@arenastage.org to join the fun.

 

2nd Annual Career Fair for the Arts TOMORROW!

Come one, come all to the 2^nd Annual Career Fair for the Arts TOMORROW, Saturday, January 31^st from 10am-1pm at Sidney Harmon Hall.  I will be there recruiting for full-time positions, as well as for 2009/2010 Interns & Fellows, for which we are currently accepting applications. 

 

Here’s a list of some of the other arts organizations coming out tomorrow:  Choral Arts Society, Folger Shakespeare Library, Imagination Stage, Smithsonian Institution, Shakespeare Theatre Company, Strathmore Performing Arts Center, Washington National Opera, Wolf Trap Foundation,Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, and more! 

 

I attended this career fair last year, and it was awesome to be in the same room with other arts organizations, working together to find the best people out there.  This year, the number of participating organizations has grown considerably, and I can’t wait to be a part of the action.  Hooray for a common cause and goal!  Arts organizations unite!

Digging Deeper with "A Delicate Balance"

By Amrita Mangus, Allen Lee Hughes Dramaturgy Fellow

Eager to learn more about A Delicate Balance? Check out A Delicate Balance Sub/Text, filled with information about Edward Albee's playwriting process, the history of Alcoholics Anonymous, trivia questions about Albee's plays, and much more!

A Delicate Balance begins previews on February 6th. See you at the theater!

 

Insights from Albee

By Amrita Mangus, Allen Lee Hughes Dramaturgy Fellow

The Arena Stage Interns and Allen Lee Hughes Fellows experienced another “Pinch me, I’m dreaming” moment last Sunday when we conversed with Edward Albee over brunch.

Mr. Albee candidly shared his opinions about American Theatre and his thoughts about its future, stressing the importance of theatre that educates, affects, and engages its audience, while provoking critical thinking. Here are some of the reactions from the other Arena interns and fellows who participated in this amazing event:  

It was absolutely wonderful to be able to sit and hear Edward Albee's quick witted wisdom on the nature of the theater world.

-          Genna Davidson, Development Intern

One of the many lasting quotes in my mind from our meeting with Mr. Albee is "If you only give what you think audiences can handle, you'll never give." 

I'm a major proponent of theatre that challenges people and really puts issues out there for discussion.  I think that's one of the largest gifts we have as artists-to engage people in conversation that needs to happen in a way that doesn't make people quite as uncomfortable as other situations can be.  In our role of serving as a reflection of society, the argument could be made that it is our duty to challenge viewers - this hallenge is summed up in Albee's argument that we should not place a limit on what we think an audience should see.  Rather, it is our duty to present the things we most think audiences should be thinking about.

Again, in Albee's words, "Arts shouldn't be an escape--it should be an engagement."  Unfortunately, I don't think we hit this target as often as we could/should in theatre today.  Perhaps this is one of the fundamental changes that will be forced to occur with the current financial struggles we are facing - or perhaps we're just setting ourselves up to slide further away from this intention.

-          Marissa LaRose, Production Intern

"I Love a Piano" Salon features long-time company member

by Janine Sobeck

The I Love a Piano Salon is coming up this Monday night (7pm) at the Lincoln Theatre.  I will be joined on stage by actor and assistant director Jason Weitkamp.  Jason has been with the tour for over two years (working in every capacity possible) and has lots of stories to tell!  Come and get an insider's look at the production - and have a chance to test your Irving Berlin trivia.

Props for Student Playwrights

by Amrita Mangus, Allen Lee Hughes Dramaturgy Fellow

Some of my most delightful script reading experiences occurred last month when I paged through a slew of creative submissions for Arena Stage’s 10^th annual Student Playwright’s Project. Over 500 plays were entered to the project from elementary, middle, and high schools throughout the DC-metro area. After months of reading and re-reading the submissions, Arena's Community Engagement team recently announced the 8 plays that were selected as winners! Each winning play will receive an Arena Stage production and cash prize of $500.00. For a complete list of the winners, click here.

Inside the Development Process: Maureen McGovern's A Long and Winding Road

by David Dower

I often say I have the best job in the world.  This is one of those times I remember why.

I'm at White Oak in Florida with director Philip Himberg, musical director Jeff Harris, and the wonderful Maureen McGovern.  People of a certain age will have priceless, silly memories of belting out her "disaster hits" Can You Read My Mind and A Morning After back in the 1970's.  She's got one of the great voices of a generation.  If you don't believe me, take a listen to the samples from A Long and Winding Road on Amazon.com.  (The album was just named one of the Top Ten Vocal Albums of 2008 by TalkinBroadway.com)

So we're here at this eccentric and beautiful retreat, a mix of animal sanctuary (there are Rhinos on the road in and Antelope outside my bedroom window) and artists' retreat (this is where Baryishnikov launched his White Oak Dance Project).  Philip is the Artistic Director of the Sundance Theater Lab, which also uses this place for developing ensemble and musical projects.  The Women of Brewster Place had a residency here two years ago.

And what I'm doing is listening to Maureen sing.  In this gorgeous setting.  Just me and Philip and her outstanding musical director, Jeff, on the piano.  And we're talking about the structure of the evening that she'll be bringing to Arena Stage this spring.  The evening is based on a very successful cabaret performance she did last year, built from the songs on this album.  (As we reported earlier, it earned her a citation as one of the Top Ten Diva performances of the year...)

A heads up for anyone thinking about seeing her here at Arena.  She's only here for 14 performances.  So, time to stop thinking about it and make a plan...

James Earl Jones receives SAG Award on Sunday

by Janine Sobeck

This Sunday the Screen Actors Guild will recognize the work of James Earl Jones with the 45th Life Achievement Award.  Long time Arena Stage attenders will remember Jones' role in the break-through drama The Great White Hope, a fictionalized account of the career of boxer Jack Johnson.  That production made history as Arena became the first regional theatre to transfer a show to Broadway, and as Variety said, "opened doors" for both Jones and the way race was being discussed on stage. Below are the two features in Variety talking about Jones and his career.

Role in "White Hope" opened doors

James Earl Jones built multifaceted career

We're proud to have James Earl Jones as part of the Arena Stage family and history.  Congratulations!

The SAG awards premieres live on TNT and TBS Sunday Jan 25th at 8pm EST

Into the day

by Janine Sobeck, A Delicate Balance Production Dramaturg

Most directors that I have worked with follow the standard practice of working methodically through the whole script, getting down the basic blocking (movement) and then going back and focusing on specific chunks/sections.  For A Delicate Balance, Director Pam MacKinnon followed a slightly different technique.  First, it was a separation of who "belonged at the house" from those who were "intruding."  Time was spent with Agnes, Tobias and Claire, finding the chemistry, "normalcy," and (do I dare say it?) the "balance" that existed in the house on a day to day basis.  The stasis that they had settled into needed to be established and comfortable before any one else could be brought through the door.  Then, it was the separation of night and day.  The action of the first two acts always occurs at night, and it is only in act three that daylight is brought onto stage (oh the many implications...but again, no spoilers here).  Pam also felt that it was important for the characters to stay in the night, explore all the lurking corners, before they were ready to move into the day.  The result of these separations have been intriguing to watch - especially now as everything is being put back together - and the dynamics that it has created among the characters is fascinating.