Stage Banter: The Arena Stage Blog

"Looped" is going to Broadway!

by Janine Sobeck

For all you Tallulah Bankhead and Valerie Harper fans, the news is official.  Looped, which played at Arena this past summer, is going up to Broadway!  Playing at the Lyceum, previews begin February 19th and the show officially opens on March 14th.

For all of you who are searching for some more info on the show, Tallulah and Valerie, check out all the behind-the-scenes info on Sub/text.  Let me tell you...Valerie Harper takes you on a wild ride! 

 

 

Mixing Colors

by Janine Sobeck

The Sub/text pages for Stick Fly are now live!  While the articles around the show feature a lot of our traditional content, I also wanted to take the opportunity to pull our audience into the discussion.  Since part of our upcoming production of Stick Fly deals with the issue of interracial relationships, we wanted people to have the chance to tell their own stories - what have been your own experiences (both good and bad)?  Check out the Sub/text page and then come back here and tell us how interracial relationships have been a part of your lives.

Striking 12 Sub/text is now live!

by Janine Sobeck

   
The groovin' musical Striking 12 is fast approaching!  To get some more info on the show, including some background info on the band GrooveLily, insights into the story that inspired them, and even the great Christmas duo of Bing Crosby and David Bowie (and so much more!) check out Sub/text.  It will definitely get you in the mood...

A note by the bed

by Janine Sobeck

In the middle of pulling together information for the Sub/text page for Striking 12 we stumbled across a piece of information that I just had to share.

As previously mentioned, part of the Striking 12 story is based on the Hans Christian Andersen tale The Little Match Girl.  While looking into Andersen's life story (a VERY interesting read - I highly recommend it), some of Andersen's...shall we say oddities?...have been popping up.  This one is definitely my favorite.

Andersen, who had a nervous temperament, had a perpetual fear a being buried alive.  This fear was so consuming that every night before he went to bed he would place a piece of paper on the nightstand that read "I am only apparently dead" so that no one would take him and bury him while he was sleeping.

With stories like this, I'm beginning to understand more and more the unconventional themes of his tales...

More to come!

Fantastick's Sub/text is live!

by Janine Sobeck

Are you trying to remember all that you need to know about the Fantasticks in order to gear up for Arena's production?  Well, Sub/text is now live to help you out.  Complete with background info on the fantastic Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt, a peek into director Amanda Denhert's magical vision of the show, some great clips of our favorite renditions of "Try to Remember", as well as some insight into one of the show's biggest controversies, this Sub/text page will definitely get you ready for the show.  So go ahead and check it out!

Laramie Epilogue Sub/Text Goes Live!

by Amrita Mangus, Dramaturg for The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later, An Epilogue

Before you see the reading on Monday, check out the The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later, An Epilogue Sub/Text page! You can follow the timeline of events leading up to and following Matthew Shepard's murder, read an excerpt from Judy Shepard's new memoir, and learn more about the Tectonic Theater Project. Here's a sneak peek of one of my favorite features on the Laramie Sub/Text, a collage of video snippets from the epilogue interviews:

By the way, we start rehearsals tomorrow! You'll definitely hear much more from the Laramie team (and maybe view a picture or two) in the next couple of days.

Discussion update! and more from the rehearsal room...

by Janine Sobeck

So a few days ago I officially announced the first names for the special discussions that we are having around The Quality of Life.  We've been getting some great additions since then, and all the names and dates are now posted on Sub/text.  Check it out and see which nights might be of interest to you.  All the discussions will immediately follow the performance and should prove to be a great companion to the experience the audience is going to have with the show.

And what an experience it's going to be.  Wednesday I was able to see a run through that the actors did for some of the designers and I couldn't help but be impressed by the amount of progress that this cast is making.  You can tell the excitement and love that they each have for the production and it's pretty infectious.  We're moving out of the rehearsal room and onto the stage today - a move that has been eagerly anticipated, especially considering the physical quality of the show (I can't wait for you all to see the set!). Our tech week is going to be full of discoveries.

And I just have to say it...isn't the new image cool?

"Quality of Life" Sub/text is live!

by Janine Sobeck

As promised, The Quality of Life Sub/text page is now live.  You can find everything from an interview with playwright Jane Anderson to an exclusive look at a cut scene to information on the belief systems of Neil and Jeannette and Bill and Dinah...and much more.  Feel free to take a look around and let us know what you think!

Women in Charge

by David Dower

With all the talk of late in the theater press about the gender gap in American plays and productions, I thought this short clip from the Making of The Quality of Life made a pretty succinct statement about where Arena Stage sits on the issue. Meet Jane, the playwright, Molly, Arena's Artistic Director, and Lisa, the play's director. The Quality of Life follows on the heels of The Legacy of Light, our world premiere of Karen Zacarias' new play. Oh, and no coincidence that Karen Z. is the first Resident Playwright in Arena's new Mellon-sponsored initiative The American Voices New Play Institute. For more on the play and the people behind it, you can now visit the Sub/Text site.

One last sneak peak

by Janine Sobeck

Alright...even though the Sub/text for The Quality of Life is in its final stages of editing, and I'm going to be able to announce really soon that it's gone live, I just couldn't resist having one last sneak peak available on the blog.  Though it could also be resulting from my recent trip to the local farmer's market...

This is an excerpt from the article entitled Dinah's DIY Projects.  And yes, the recipe is real...

Strawberry Preserves

Dinah’s garden in Ohio thrives with delicious fruits, and by preserving them, she can enjoy them year-round. The key to keeping them fresh is in the sealing. When you’re done, you can add a colorful gingham cap just like Dinah does. This recipe from ehow.com > will be enough for seven jars.

1. First, pour boiling water over 8-fluid-ounce empty jars and lids, dry them, and place them in the oven at 200 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. To prepare the strawberries, dip 4 pints of them in a sink full of cold water and then use a colander to drain the excess water.
3. Remove the hull (the stem part) of each strawberry.
4. Put the strawberries into a food processor for 15 seconds (so that they’re still in chunks).
5. Add the strawberries into a pot with 7 cups of sugar. Bring the pot to a boil and add 3 ounces of liquid fruit pectin. Make sure that you’re stirring constantly so that the strawberries don’t burn.
6. After 1 minute, take the pot off the stove and remove any foam that has formed on top.
7. Take out the jars from the oven and ladle the strawberry mix into them.
8. Screw the lids onto the jars as tight as you can. Then turn over the jars for 5 minutes before putting them right-side up. After an hour, the lids should be sucked down, letting you know that your strawberries will be preserved!