Stage Banter: The Arena Stage Blog

Arena Restaged: The Little Festival That Could

by David Dower

This weekend HBO will air the film of Carrie Fisher's Wishful Drinking for the first time. Reading this news, I thought "Wow. The Arena Restaged Festival just keeps on giving..."

First of all, the Festival, which spanned the 28-month period of our "diaspora" while the building was being built, gave us the time and opportunity to create, test, and develop the new artistic strategy that has debuted to smashing success with the opening of that building. One DC critic called this season at Arena Stage "the most complete and exciting season of theater I have ever seen in the region." Cool! We think it's pretty exciting as well-- nearly 50 titles under our soaring new roof. It bought us the time build a program based on four distinct pillars: production, presentation, development, and study. It created a new theater space for area companies over in Crystal City. And it introduced us, and our audiences, to the wonderful U Street corridor and the historic Lincoln Theater.

And of course it introduced audiences to the amazing star power of John and Leo Manzari. (Next month they are on stage at the Kennedy Center with the likes of Brian Stokes Mitchell, Julie Andrews, and Paul Simon! Paul Simon? Wasn't he married to Carrie Fisher?)

It's also introduced our audiences to works that just keep on going! Wishful Drinking moved to Broadway (one of three projects in the Festival that did that!), was published as an autobiography, and now begins life as a film this weekend. At the same time, Next to Normal (which picked up the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Awards after it's stay with us in Crystal City) is in the middle of its national tour and winding up its 20-month run on Broadway.  R. Buckminster Fuller: THE HISTORY [and mystery] OF THE UNIVERSE is in production at American Repertory Theater. Daniel Beaty's Resurrection, which launched the Festival, became Through the Night, a solo tour de force performed by Daniel, moved to a commercial run at Union Square Theater in New York and will resurrect a third time next month at Westside Theater. Kathleen Chalfant and Ellen MacLaughlin recently returned to their roles in A Delicate Balance at Yale Repertory Theater to great acclaim-- again! Josh Kornbluth's Citizen Josh returns to the area this Spring (and has been in India in between!), Maureen McGovern's Long and Winding Road has been making its way around the country, now called Carry it On. Resident playwright Karen Zacarias' Legacy of Light is in performance at a variety of theaters around the country this seasonn, following it's premiere as part of the Festival. All told, ten of the sixteen titles in the Arena Restaged Festival went on to additional opportunities around the country. From Broadway to Santa Fe, from U Street to YouTube, this little two-year adventure we took y'all on made a splash and introduced the new Arena Stage as a center for American work in ways we didn't even imagine when we set out on the journey! The experts are betting there's still more to come but we'll stop here. It does leave one in a sentimental mood, though, to recall all of these performances...

 

Great Minds Think Together

By Laura Henry, Summer Dramaturgy Fellow

On Monday night, great minds gathered to discuss our favorite great mind: Bucky. The R. Buckminster Fuller: THE HISTORY (and Mystery) OF THE UNIVERSE Salon generated a session of ideas and exploration worthy of the man himself. We were joined by panelists Stephen Ezell, Dr. Margarita Cereijido, and Dr. Michael R. Nelson, each of whom provided their own unique insight into Bucky's ideas and how they (should) affect our world today. It takes a compelling show - and a compelling man - to start such a great discussion.

Dr. Cereijido, a teaching psychoanalyst at the Washington Center for Psychoanalysis, presented a psychological profile of Bucky - a hard assignment, to say the least, for such a quirky and complicated man.

When the discussion turned to Bucky's call to arms in a "design science revolution", someone finally asked what perhaps many are wondering: what IS design science?!

Ezell, a Senior Analyst with the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), provided one answer. Design, he said, is "the transformation of existing conditions into preferred ones." Wow. Chew on that one for a while. Design science, according to Bucky, is meant to make the world a better place, using all of our knowledge and scientific ability.

And how exactly do we do that? Dr. Nelson, Georgetown professor and former Special Assistant for Information Technology under Vice President Al Gore, proposed an overhaul of the education system. Just like Bucky, Dr. Nelson believes that students should have an integrated education. Instead of isolated specialists, people should be trained in economics, technology, and biology all at once, so that they can more effectively share theories and generate ideas. Who knows? Maybe it's those ideas that will someday save Spaceship Earth.

Bringing the Art Outside

by Travis LeMont Ballenger

Here at Arena, we've been experimenting with how much we can engross the audience into the art. I think this is clear from the work we do with Sub/Text and our Audience Enrichment programs. With R. Buckminster Fuller: THE HISTORY (and Mystery) OF THE UNIVERSE, we wanted to try something new.

We asked visual artists to contribute work that is inspired by Bucky Fuller's ideas. Just like with the Bucky Art that is currently scattered around Crystal City, we were hoping that this lobby instillation would be a useful tool to help the audience further explore the ideas of the space. 

The work is incredibly diverse. Celia Hodges contributed her work using geometric shapes in her exploration of music. John Higlii contributed three pieces using Fuller's geometry. James Mallos provided an interactive computer-based piece that captures an image through an embedded camera. The image is then broken into many geometric shapes and projected on the wall. It's quite an experience. You control the art.

The artists were all wonderful to work with. It has been a pleasure to learn from them. I hope you get the chance to see the work. It'll be up throughout the run of the show until July 4th.

Revisiting Bucky with the Synergetics Collaborative

By Jamie Gahlon, American Voices New Play Institute Coordinator

In R. Buckminster Fuller: THE HISTORY (and Mystery) OF THE UNIVERSE, Bucky speaks about synergy as the behavior of whole systems unpredicted by the behavior of their parts taken separately.  It was this kind of whole-systems thinking that made Bucky the comprehensivist, design scientist the world knows today. The Synergetics Collaborative is a group that continues in this tradition of thought and seeks to to educate and support research and understanding of the many facets of Synergetics, its methods and principles. Last weekend I had the pleasure of attending the Synergetics Collaborative's three day symposium, hosted at American University.  The programming was a combination of lectures, hands on workshops (I got to build a jitterbug! and a dome!), show-and-tell, and of course, seeing the play!  It was a delight to see how Bucky's work and legacy continues to live on in today through the work and innovative thinking of so many. 

Synergetics is the system of comprehensive thinking which R. Buckminster Fuller introduced and began to formulate. Synergetics is multi-faceted: it involves geometric modeling, exploring inter-relationships in the facts of experience and the process of thinking. Synergetics endeavors to identify and understand the methods that Nature actually employs in coordinating Universe (both physically and metaphysically). Synergetics provides a comprehensive method and a philosophy for problem-solving and design and therefore has applications in all areas of human endeavor.

Check out some photos from the fun below:

 

Bucky's Costume Designer Darla Cash enjoying some of the Bucky literature offerings.

 

Tensegrity structures and models.

 

More tensegrity models, tetrahedrons, and the dome that was built in one of the workshops.

 

Who would have thought you could build this with straws?

Bucky, Bucky Everywhere!

By Jamie Gahlon, American Voices New Play Institute Coordinator

 

I went to Union Station on Monday and what did I find?  A massive white geodesic dome!! Talk about synergy!  The Wireless Association has constructed the Wireless Freedom Dome which is on display through June 18th.  Walk inside and you will see projections of photos and messages all responding to the prompt, "What does freedom mean to you?"  If you want to add your own message, just send a text to “70491” and photos may be emailed to freedom@vibes.com.  And for your entertainment, here is a quick clip that features the dome!

 

2010 Buckminster Fuller Challenge!

By Jamie Gahlon, American Voices New Play Institute Coordinator

"You never change something by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete."

- R. Buckminster Fuller

Wow.  Where to begin?  The last two weeks have been filled with an incredible convergence of all things Bucky in DC.  First off, the Buckminster Fuller Institute held their 2010 Buckminster Fuller Challenge Grant Conferring Ceremony on June 2nd and selected an amazing project called Operation Hope as the recipient of the $100,000 prize.  Operation Hope is a project of the Africa Centre for Holistic Management in Zimbabwe in concert with the Savory Institute, which is based in Albuquerque, NM.  They are essentially using livestock in a strategic way to un-desertify land that has become barren and regenerate biodiversity, thereby increasing the livelihood of not only the land itself, but for the communities that live there.  This method is currently being employed to reclaim 31 million acres of land across Africa and around the world!  Along with the winner, BFI has a fantastic film that details all of the finalist's projects which are equally inspiring and innovative and address a myriad of solutions to complex problems facing humanity.  In addition, BFI also hosted a day of programming surrounding the Ceremony at American University's new School of International Service Building, which features one of Bucky's dymaxion maps!  Check out photos from the day at AU below:

Inside this inflatable geodome, there was a fantastic 360 degree projection of the comsos!

 

Dymaxion Map!

 
 

New Bucky video!

by Janine Sobeck

Our newest Bucky video has been created, featuring scenes from our production of R. Buckminster Fuller: THE HISTORY (and Mystery) OF THE UNIVERSE, interviews with Bucky's grandson Jaime Synder and playwright/director D.W. Jacobs, and thoughts and comments from our audiences.  We hope you enjoy it!

Talking Bucky

by Janine Sobeck

One of the things we've noticed about our current production of R. Buckminster Fuller: THE HISTORY (and Mystery) OF THE UNIVERSE, is that the audience can't stop talking about it afterwards.  They love to compare their experiences with the play, their personal stories with Bucky, and learn about which mind-blowing idea(s) affected the people around them. 

Yesterday at our first post-show conversation, I was delighted to be joined on stage not only by our actor Rick Foucheux, but by playwright/director D.W. Jacobs....and in the audience by Bucky's daughter Allegra Fuller Synder and grandson Jaime Synder.  As we talked about Bucky's ideas and his inventions, as well as how D.W. Jacob's came to write this fascinating piece, I loved watching people's faces.  You could see the moments where they were passionately agreeing with what was being said and when they were wrestling with an idea that, though somewhat foreign, also made complete sense. And I will never forget the looks when Allegra talked about the relationship between her father and mother.  While this play is a tribute to Bucky, the love and support that his wife Anne gave him, is underneath every single moment - and the fact that they died within 36 hours of each other....well...it's just a powerful and breathtaking story. Even after we were forced to conclude, people kept gathering in groups to delve a little bit more into what they had experienced.

We want to give you plenty of opportunities to talk Bucky.  Along with the normal schedule of post shows (you can find the calendar HERE), we've also created a series of panels where we're bringing in special guests who are engaged with Bucky's ideas to talk about their work as well as have a Q&A with the audience.  They're all free and we hope that they will really open up an opportunity for you to take a leaping dive down the Bucky rabbit hole. You can find the whole schedule HERE.  

So come talk Bucky with us....we'd love to hear what you have to say.

Summer, Summer, Time . . with Arena Stage

by Amrita Mangus, Senior Producing Fellow

Those of you who have read my blogs in the past know that I am a proud native of the West Coast, so when summertime rolls around, I'm truly in my element. Sun, ice cream, picnics on the lawn, beer festivals, and a boost in my serotonin level: what’s not to love? Luckily, I can add theater to my exciting list of summer plans since we have two awesome shows in production at Arena Stage: R. Buckminster Fuller: The History (and Mystery) of the Universe and Duke Ellington’s Sophisticated Ladies. Does the thought of being indoors on a temperate summer day make your smile turn upside down? Follow my summer guide to fun below and you’ll have the perfect combination of invigorating artistic enjoyment and memorable time in the summer heat.

A Date with the Duke - When you’re   headed down to U-Street for Duke Ellington’s Sophisticated Ladies, partake in some summer fun by stopping by Bus Boys and Poets or Eatonville first. Both restaurants offer an array of delectable nosh and perfect summer drinks, such as pomegranate, lavender, and ginger lemonade. In addition, Eatonville has a great patio seating area, so you can enjoy the weather while filling your belly. Take some time after your meal to explore the neighborhood and catch a glimpse of the history behind the show, such as the True Reformers building and Duke Ellington’s childhood home. Need a little more guidance for your historical stroll? Kim Roberts and Washington Walks offer amazing walking tours of the area. For ambitious walkers, consider trekking down to Meridian Park. The park features beautiful fountains, walking trails, and drum circles every Sunday night.

After the show, head over to Ulah Bistro or Nellie’s for a drink (and more patio seating) to dish about the show and your favorite dance number. You might even catch a glimpse of the cast walking by!

A Day of Synergy with Bucky- As you   venture down to Crystal City for R. Buckminster Fuller: The History (and Mystery) of the Universe, indulge in a summer treat at Cold Stone Creamery or Larry’s cookies while checking out the awesome Bucky Art exhibit throughout the city. You’ll witness over 11 pieces of inspired by the work of R. Buckminster Fuller and his design science principles. Can we say isotopic vector matrix? Enjoy a relaxing lunch or dinner at McCormick and Schmicks, Jaleo, or Kora with just enough time to walk down to the theater. 

If indoor art is more of your thing, visit the lobby of the theater a bit early to enjoy the exciting and diverse art displays. There’s even a piece that’s interactive. I’ll leave the rest up as a surprise.

After a stimulating night of theater followed by a post-show lecture, wind down with a drink and appetizer at Bailey’s Pub or the Crystal City Sports Pub before heading home.

Like the season of summer, these shows are running for a limited time, so enjoy both while you can.

The Final Opening

by Janine Sobeck

As I sat in the theatre last night, marveling at Rick Foucheux's tour de force performance in R. Buckminster Fuller: THE HISTORY (and Mystery) OF THE UNIVERSE, (it really is amazing to watch him embrace this character) it suddenly hit me:

This is it.

Last night we opened our final show in Crystal City - and the final show of the Arena ReStaged Festival.  When we moved here 2 1/2 years ago, this moment seemed so far away.  And now that it's here...well, its kind of stunning.

The ReStaged Festival has been a trimtab moment for Arena - a time when we've been able to throw those low pressure points that have started to create some big changes in every facet of the organization.  With less than two months until we start moving physically back to the new Mead Center for American Theater and only 143 days left (not that we're counting...) until we open our first show, it just seems so right that we're concluding this eventful, sometimes frustrating, yet always exciting period in Arena history with the Bucky show.  As a champion of being both a "thinker" and a "doer" - that "the things to do are things that need doing, that you see need to be done, and that no one else seems to see need to be done" - I couldn't help thinking how so many of Bucky's ideas and philosophies tie into what we've been trying to do over the past two years: questions that have led to a re-thinking of the way that we plan and program our season (with things like the Visiting Companies, the Edward Albee Festival and the NPDP festival) and the creation of programs like the American Voices New Play Institute and the Playwright Residencies.  

We still have lots of questions and lots of ideas, but like Bucky "the mystery gets ever more, ever more entrancing, and really just incredibly beautiful."  So we're going to keep going...and like Bucky, we "think we are going to make it."