Stage Banter: The Arena Stage Blog

Dashing Through the Snow. . . .With a Group of SPP Plays!

by Amrita Mangus, Institute Fellow

As many of you know by now, I lived on the West Coast for the majority of my life and thoroughly enjoyed the temperate, 70-degree winters. So naturally, when the snow and rain descended upon DC during the last few weeks, I spent a total of ten minutes outside and retreated to the comfort of my warm apartment or the equally warm office. What a perfect time to grab a cup of hot cocoa, curl up in a chair, and peruse through my large stack of SPP plays!

Ever since our community engagement team announced a call for submissions for the Student Playwrights Project (SPP), hundreds upon hundreds of plays have arrived at the office, eagerly awaiting a reader from the Arena team to pick them up. As I sat in my chair reading these plays, I encountered a plethora of fascinating concepts and characters. I journeyed through a world where four leftover hamburgers were desperately trying to escape the fridge and find their mecca in a trash can, away from the ravenous claws of the Burgerama employees who planned to eat them the next day. I met princes, princesses, 17th century colonists, superheroes, dancers, actresses and aliens. I read some beautiful dialogue, filled with metaphors, imagery, rhythm and lyricism. It was time well spent, and made me proud of all the aspiring playwrights who participated.

Stay tuned for an announcement of the winners in January. Till then, as the snowflakes fall, you know where I'll be!

Choose Your Own Adventure… A Fantasticks Voyage

by Christin Siems. 09/10 Dramaturgy Fellow

It’s a cloudy, November Saturday… You’ve already escaped an afternoon on your couch with your cats and re-runs of Hannah Montana.

Good for you.

You’ve now made it, out of breath but full of hope, to L’Enfant Plaza metro where a sinister man hands you a spool of thread.  “What kind of clue is this???” you wonder as you peer inside it… Ah!  A note!  What luck.  It reads:

 “Head to the thread between the needle and thimble, then go west to ride the ponies. The girl with the sapphire necklace has your ticket.”

Do you:

A.  Sit around and think about it for hours

B.  Give up and go cry to your cats

C.  Head to the Carousel on the National Mall

 If you said A or B, you’ve FAILED.  Sorry.  Other teams have passed you.  Your cats ran away while you were gone.

 If you said C… You’re in the lead!  And you’ve just been handed a blue necklace with another clue that will eventually lead you to grand prizes from Arena Stage!  Restaurant gift certificates and opening night tickets to see The Fantasticks!!!

It may sound like the stuff of fiction, but ya’ll, the Scavenger Hunt this past Saturday was epic.  EPIC. While I wanted so badly to traipse around the city with everyone and collect the whimsical Fantasticks clues, I had to WORK.  And by “work,” I mean dress-up as “the girl with the sapphire necklace” (Fantasticks character Luisa) and wait at the Carousel for teams to pass through.  Not really “work” in my book… The real Luisa was making magic in rehearsal along with the rest of the cast, and so the administrative staff at Arena had to shed our administrative skin and get down and out… fun.  We might have looked silly, but we had a great time.

I didn’t get much of a chance to talk to the participants because they came blazing through, grabbed their clue, and tore off like tornadoes.  But I did enjoy dishing out hope.  “You’re not far behind!” I told everyone, including the two people on scooters who came at the end.  “Yeah RIGHT” retorted two other participants who said they had looked for me for hours.

Some people are really intense about their scavenger hunts.

But hey, I would be too.  The prizes were great, the weather was only a little bit freezing (I’m a native Texan, so I almost died in my requisite sundress… “all for the art”), and many fliers about Striking 12 and the rest of the fabulous Arena season went out to people all over the city.  You could smell the adventure in the air.  And, mmm, the Carousel’s hotdogs.

Sorry you missed it?  It’s okay. Come see The Fantasticks, take your kids or take a date, opening the day after Thanksgiving. The choice is yours…

Do you:

A:  Stay at home and cry about your missing cats

B:  Dig a hole and hibernate till May

C:  See The Fantasticks at Arena Stage 

Only one of these leads to… adventure….

The Next 'A Man Walked Into a Bar'

by Amrita Mangus, Institute Fellow

It's that time of year that I love. The leaves are changing color. Au Bon Pain offers their delicious pumpkin soup on a daily basis. And, most importantly, the annual Student Playwrights Project (SPP) is back and accepting submissions for this year's contest!

So, here's the scoop. SPP is a great way for us to hear the unique and talented voices of the aspiring playwrights of tomorrow (specifically 5th through 12th grade students) in the DC metro-area.  Students submit their ten-minute plays for a chance for the winning students to receive playwriting master classes and participate in further script development with professional playwrights, directors and dramaturgs before seeing them performed by professional actors. Last year, I served as a script reader for SPP and came across A Man Walked Into a Bar by Samantha Cameron. Reminiscent of a David Ives piece, the play told the story of a young man in a bar who witnesses a series of bar jokes and tries to determine which joke he might be involved with. The play was incredibly funny and eventually selected as one of the winners of the project! I couldn't stop smiling after watching Samantha's enthusiasm and excitement for her work during the SPP performance.

If you're reading this the future Tennessee Williams or Chris Durang, get out your laptop and start typing! The deadline for submission is Friday, December 4, 2009!  All information and guidelines can be found HERE.

Speaking from the perspective of one script reader, I can't wait to read your play.

A Call for Bucky-Art!

 

y Jamie Gahlon, American Voices New Play Institute Coordinator

Remember all of the airplane statues lining the streets of Crystal City last year?! Well, this Spring get ready because the Crystal City BID is at it again, and this time the call is for art inspired by none other than Bucky Fuller!  Read on for the full press release and help spread the word!

Crystal City (Arlington, VA)- The Crystal City Business Improvement District (BID) in partnership with Arena Stage is introducing a temporary, outdoor art exhibit that pays homage to the great scientific mind of R. Buckminster Fuller and his creation of the geodesic dome. “Bucky-Art” celebrates Arena Stage’s spring production of R. Buckminster Fuller: THE HISTORY (and Mystery) OF THE UNIVERSE which runs May 28 – July 4, 2010. The exhibition will open April 1, 2010, and will last throughout the summer.

“We foresee ’Bucky-Art’ generating a buzz, not only about Arena’s show, but also about the environmental aspects associated with Bucky’s Design Science Principles, especially since Crystal City has such a strong connection to sustainability and green efforts,” said Angela Fox, President/CEO of the Crystal City BID. “This exhibition is a bold example of arts and culture in Crystal City that visitors, workers and residents of the area have come to expect and love.”

Mother/Daughter Contest Stories begin

As promised, here are our first to entries for the Legacy of Light Mother/Daughter Story Contest.  The contest goes until Monday June 8th, so don't miss your chance to send in your story.  Details here.

A Legacy of Spring Rolls - by Kim O.

Few aromas evoke my childhood as strongly as the oniony odor of my Vietnamese mother's spring rolls, frying on her spattered stove.  Brown, cruncy, and hot, dipped in fish sauce, her spring rolls were intensely satisfying.  I couldn't know then how those rolls would sustain me as an adult, when my family had become fractured and estranged.

To an American-born girl like me, my mother was an exotic creature, offering me treats that I could get nowhere else in my suburban town. When I was old enough, we made spring rolls together—chopping, mixing, rolling, and frying. 

By the time I reached high school, however, I was more interested in pizza with my friends than spring rolls. My parents had divorced, and my mother and I argued frequently. I was too American, she said, and not deferential enough. She was too Vietnamese, I thought, and didn't understand me. We became estranged.

Yet I made her rolls. Doing so, I felt her presence at my shoulder, guiding my hands. I came to view the rolls as an essential part of my family legacy. When my son was born, I envisioned a day when I could pass the recipe on to him.

Not too long ago, my mother called me, expressing her wish to heal the breach and know her grandchild. “Let's get together,” she said. “We'll make spring rolls.” Later, in my kitchen, thick with the pungency of fish sauce and regret, we did just that.

 

by Sherri S.

We love each other dearly.  I can't wait till she comes home from college. The first week, it is like a romance.  She wants to go out to lunch with me, talk, walk in a park, and go shopping together.  She even tells her friends, "I can't do that now, I'm with my mom."  The second week, it wears off and mostly she tells me where she is going and what time she'll be back.  I sigh and love her energy and busyness and fade into the background until I'm needed.
 
The good thing is she listens to my opinion on the big things and takes my suggestions sometimes (but definitely never on fashion).  She saw the close relationship I had with my mom and I hope that lets her know that we will always be close also.  I love her and
admire her and learn from her too (especially about fashion).

Win tickets to Legacy - the blog contest returns

Share your mother/daughter story with us for the chance to win tickets to Legacy of Light!

Close? Fun? Supportive? Bittersweet? What best describes your mother/daughter relationship? In Arena Stage's critically acclaimed production of Legacy of Light, the characters Émilie, Pauline, Olivia and Millie find both challenge and comfort in their mother/daughter bonds. So what's your story...and what's your legacy?

Please submit your entry to contest@arenastage.org. Entries will be posted on Stage Banter.

 

Deadline: June 8

Limit: 250 words

Show us your Hattitude!

The contest is back, and this time we are embracing the fabulous and creative tradition of Crowns. We want to give you the chance to show off your most lavish and unforgettable hats, and just to spice things up a bit, though the show is based on traditional church hats, any style will do. Yes, that does mean that your sombrero is eligible.

So what are the rules?
Take a picture of yourself in your most extravagant hat and email it to crownscontest@arenastage.org.  Your picture will be posted on the website and judging will happen by a panel of Arena staff members.

How long do you have?
Deadline for entry is March 25th.

What's the prize?
The grand prize winner will receive four orchestra level tickets to the opening night performance of Crowns on Thursday, April 2 at 8:00pm and one Crowns poster signed by the cast. Two runner ups will receive a signed poster.  Winners will be announced on March 27th.

Need some inspiration?
The Arena staff is always happy to help...so check out some of our pictures HERE

Go ahead...show us what you got.

And the winner is....

Last week's A-List marked the return of the blog contest. For the grand prize of two tickets to A Delicate Balance, contestants were asked to search through blog postings to find the answers to three specific questions.  A big thanks to all who competed, and a special congratulations to our winner: Natka Bianchini.  We hope you enjoy the show!

If you don't already receive the A-List, click HERE - and stay tuned for more contests!

 

Last Chance for Holiday Stories

by Janine Sobeck

The deadline for submitting your crazy/funny/moving holiday stories (and a chance to win 4 tickets to the opening night of I Love A Piano) is FRIDAY.  So take a few minutes and send your favorite tales to holidaystories@arenastage.org.  Here's just one example....

"Two weeks before Christmas my mother, father, German exchange sister and I were winding through the backroads of Western New York.  The sun was just starting to set when, there -- on the right, behind a split rail fence, was a field of reindeer.  In the dusky quiet, the reindeer grazed on grass that poked out from underneath the snow. 
We watched in awe for a few moments, when one of us realized - the Santa suit was in the trunk of the station wagon!  This was not a surprising state of affairs - my father plays Santa for my mom's preschool and the suit had just been cleaned.  Ducking behind the car, he pulled the suit on over his clothes and then walked over toward the reindeer for a few pictures.
Suddenly, a long line of traffic crested the hill on this once-deserted country road.  Children's faces pressed against van windows, truck drivers honked their horns, families waved at Santa - who, naturally, waved back.
I imagine that later that night many children were telling how, on a country road, they caught Santa inspecting his secret reindeer farm just before Christmas." – Becca

Click HERE for more information

Blog Contest Winner: Vernon Stoltz

Congratulations! There were many of you who correctly answered the blog contest questions so we randomly chose Vernon Stoltz among the winning entries. Vernon wins a pair of tickets to Christmas Carol 1941.

Here are the questions and their answers:

1) There are three famous D.C. statues representing the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future in Christmas Carol 1941. Which statues are they?

Winged Victory, Freedom, Grief

2) Two Citizen Reviewers have logged their reports on The Women of Brewster Place. Name them.

Alexis Vaughn, Susan Williams