Form

Lewis Mumford

Let us be clear about this, the forms that people used in other civilizations or in other periods of our own country's history were intimately part of the whole structure of their life. There is no method of mechanically reproducing these forms or bringing them back to life; it is a piece of rank materialism to attempt to duplicate some earlier form, because of its delight for the eye without realizing how empty form is without the life that once supported it. There is no such thing as a modern colonial house any more than there is such a thing as a modern Tudor house. If one seeks to reproduce such a building in our own day, every mark on it will betray the fact that it is a fake, and the harder the architect works to conceal that fact, the more patent the fact will be. The great lesson of history - and this applies to all art - is that the past cannot be recaptured except in spirit. We cannot live another person's life; we cannot, except in the spirit of a costume ball. Our task is not to imitate the past, but to understand it, so that we may face the opportunity of our own day and deal with them in an equally creative spirit.

Can't Help Myself

I just have to say it. I told you so. Read Ben Brantley's review of The Times They Are A-Changin', Twyla Tharp's take on Dylan.

I'm not a Dylan purist or anything - I didn't really like Dylan until my late twenties. I knew his music first from those wretchedly shallow renditions done by Peter, Paul, and Mary. And I'm not saying that Dylan's work wouldn't make good theatre, but the question is why? Why was it necessary? Why did this need to be theater?

Source Material

Pain–has an Element of Blank–
It cannot recollect
When it begun–Or if there were
A time when it was not–
It has no Future–but itself–
It’s Infinite contain
It’s Past–enlightened to perceive
New Periods–Of Pain.
-Emily Dickinson

-aposiopesis here, here, and here.

Yep back with more about pain & death. Why am I so eager to go there? So juicy, baby. So juicy.

Musical sources:
Forget Me Nots - Patrice Rushen
Dancing Barefoot - Patti Smith
Push Upstairs - Underworld
There, There - Radiohead
Extraordinary - Liz Phair
Christmas Day- Jim White
When You Give Your Love To Me - Kevin Gilbert
In My Time of Dying - John Mellencamp
In the Pines - Nirvana
Something in the Way - Nirvana

While I'm on the subject of Nirvana. God I wish I could write like Kurt Cobain sings In the Pines, or Glenn Gould plays the Goldberg Variations (1981 video of Gould playing GV here) or Roland Kirk plays the flute and nose flute on One Ton (Volunteered Slavery), the way Nina Simone sings Do I Move You? You get the idea. The aim is to write with an extreme violence. To write performatively (literary devices are simply cues on how to alter the breath), to provide actors with a blueprint for performance. How to contain the words on the page? No answers- only things to point at to confirm it is possible. A few sign-posts:

in Japan, there have been collectives of actors who have been using their bodies and voices in very specialized ways to perform in distinct ways for hundreds of years through such forms as Noh and kabuki. Throughout history, watching these people perform and vocalize has been a valid form of entertainment. This led to a relationship between the language and our perception of the relationship between the words being spoken and the movement of the body that made it difficult to separate them into just “literary” and “performance.” - Tadashi Suzuki, Donald Keene Center, Columbia University, 2002

writing, the letter, the sensible inscription, has always been considered by Western tradition as the body and the matter external to the spirit, to breath, to speech, and to the logos. And the problem of soul and body is no doubt derived from the problem of writing from which it seems – conversely – to borrow its metaphors - Jacques Derrida

We must pursue further how the channel of the actor’s body influences the nature and rigor of the dramatic text that passes through it. There are really two questions here: the first pertains to the actor’s influence on the composition of the dramatic text – in a word, how the dramatist composes, as we say, for the actor as the inevitable carrier of his text; the second pertains to what the actor’s presence does to the text as it passes through him, transcending textuality and becoming a theatrical representation. - Bert O. States, Great Reckonings in Little Rooms

Attagirl!

It seems I've finally reached a tipping point on the thesis. After how many long months of complaining? Mind you, it's not the end or even the beginning of the end. Rather, it's the simple knowledge that all the disparate pieces of my research fit together, make something, and push forward with something new to say. For the longest time I've felt like I've been digging the biggest hole - honestly up until last Thursday, the whole thing seemed implausible - how did all the pieces fit together, what did they have to do with each other, why am I doing all this work when it doesn't relate? But I've found the missing links - which of course, means more reading, much more reading.

Here's a few of my favorite citations from this past week:

Critics judge the artwork and are not aware that the artwork judges them. – Jean Cocteau

…it [criticism] introduces space within the artwork, a distance between the show and the spectator, between our reception and our understanding. The critic analyzes the journey which begins with gut reaction (liking or not liking), and leads to greater insight into the work. He shows the way, establishes the connections. He registers the interval within the aesthetic experience. He asserts that all artistic work requires reflection, that it is not simply a product designed for immediate, inconsequential consumption, but part of a social and aesthetic ensemble and of the community at large...It is also an ‘art of dialogue,’ a dialogue with the artwork, with the artist, and with the public. It connects the individual to the collective. - Josette Féral

When reading we synthesize different aspects of the work – thematic, referential, historical, etc. – forming an intentional object which we take to be substantially indentical with the ‘real’ object, somehow defined (for present purposes, the nature of this object is unimportant). Our aesthetical response to a given work is, then, a response to our intentional object – or, less phenomenologically, to the work of art as we understand it. Our judgment is aimed at the object itself, but our responsive basis for the judgment is in the intentional object, which is to say our construal or understanding of the real object. - Patrick Hogan Colm

Our task is not to find the maximum amount of content in a work of art, much less to squeeze more content out of the work of than is already there. Our task is to cut back content so that we can see the thing at all...The aim of all commentary on art now should be to make works of art – and, by analogy our own experience – more, rather than less, real to us. The function of criticism should be to show how it is what it is, even that it is what it is, rather than to show what it means. - Susan Sontag

No artist needs criticism, he only needs appreciation. If he needs criticism he is no artist. - Gertrude Stein

The critic who is alive is the one who has already determined for himself what theatre could be and who dares to question this formula each time he takes part in an event. - Peter Brook.

Note to self: remember when you dropped your laptop last Thursday? What was that hideous sound? That was you realizing you hadn't back up your thesis, you bonehead.

Other good news.

1. My screenplay finally won a little contest. Which means a little validation and a little remuneration. Always nice to get the ticket punched.
   
2. I'm going away to Glen Ellen (home to M.F.K. Fisher & Jack London) this weekend. A friend has a house up there and has invited a few of us writer-types up for a weekend of writing, food, and drink (no wine for me, alas). I'm bringing the abused laptop and laying down some text. Three days of writing (not working on the thesis). I can hardly contain myself.

When I return I promise a blog entry on the following - my evening listening to Christiane Amanpour speak (I was four rows back from her!), my reaction to God of Hell and Gadget.

The Punch

What will it be?
A poem for that blanket?
An umbrella for that bike?
Self-esteem for that 30 lbs?
Companionship for that tv dinner?
A 17th century jewel-encrusted chamber pot for that juicy peach?
Sunscreen for that gas mask?
A loaf of bread for that bullet?
Right now it's just madness.
Everyone wanting to be catered to.
Fighting for their little piece of cake.
The reality is that our bon appetit has come to an end.
So much of life is lucky or circumstantial.
The world is all so changed;
Things happen abruptly
Or come from behind –
To live within the madness that is-
If I felt as little control then as I do now-
If I had seen these things before-
When you bring children into it-
How can you make rational decisions?
In retrospect I should have drowned them in the fountains behind the palace.
The thing is to think of nothing.
I have nothing to confess,
Nothing to be afraid of,
Nothing to lose.
(a work-in-progress)

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Big List of Theater

More shows than I'm sure to make given money and time, but still worthy of a mention.

God Of Hell
Magic Theatre
Why? A new play by Sam Shepard. Directed by Amy Glazer. It closes on Sunday, Oct 22. I'm seeing it Friday night. There still may be a few tickets left @ www.magictheatre.org or 415.441.8822.

It never occurred to me that patriotism had to be advertised. Patriotism is something you deeply felt. You didn’t have to wear it on your lapel or show it in your window or on a bumper sticker. That kind of patriotism does not appeal to me at all...The sides are being divided now. It’s very obvious. So if you’re on the other side of the fence, you’re suddenly anti-American. Its breeding fear of being on the wrong side. Democracy’s a very fragile thing. You have to take care of democracy. As soon as you stop being responsible to it and allow it to turn into scare tactics, it’s no longer democracy, is it? It’s something else. It may be an inch away from totalitarianism. - Sam Shepard

Gadget
Z Plays & David Szlasa
Why? Multi-media interactive performance based on a series of interviews conducted with the people who built the first atomic bomb. Poof! Poof! Boom! Oct 13 - 29 @ 8pm. Thick House, 1695 18th St, San Francisco, CA. Tickets @ www.zspace.org or 415.821.4849.

Far Away
Just Theater
Why? My friend is in the parade!
Oct 13 - Nov 4 @ 8pm Exit Theater, 156 Eddy Street, San Francisco,CA.
Tickets @ www.brownpapertickets.com/event/6903 or 510.421.1458.

Hamlet: Blood in the Brain
Intersection for the Arts + Campo Santo
Why? Campo Santo collaborates with Naomi Iizuka again. One of my favorite companies and one of my favorite playwrights.
Oct 26 - Nov 20, 2006 @ 8pm
Intersection for the Arts 446 Valencia St. San Francisco,CA.
Tickets @ www.theintersection.org or 415.626.3311. Get them now. This show is selling out.

Waiting for Godot
Gate Theatre of Dublin
Why? Birth astride the grave, baby!
Nov 1- Nov 5, 2006 @ 8pm Wed-Fri, 2pm & 8pm Sat 2, 3pm Sun.
Roda Theatre, 2015 Addison St., Berkeley, CA.
Tickets @ www.calperfs.berkeley.edu or 510.642.9988.

Brilliant Traces
Dragon Productions
Why? Pragmatic reasons. A theatre space that's close to home. What's it like? Is it available to rent?
Nov. 2 – Nov. 19 @ 8PM or 2PM Sundays.
Dragon Theatre, 539 Alma St. Palo Alto,CA.
Tickets @ 650.493.2006

Mr. Fujiyama's Electric Beach
Cutting Ball Theater
Why? A staged-reading of a script that sounds interesting. It receives a full production in 2007.

Description: Sci-fi murder mystery set in a futuristic, media-swamped San Francisco, a small counter-culture emerges: people who desire a non-mediated animalistic connection with each other. Underground clubs spring up where people can take medications to turn off the human part of their brains and relate to each other in the primal state of their animal of choice.

Nov 19 @ 7pm. Note: that's 7pm.
Traveling Jewish Theatre, 470 Florida St., San Francisco,CA.
Tickets @ www.cuttingball.com or 415.419.3584.

Doubt
Why? Cherry Jones.
Golden Gate Theatre
Nov 7 - Dec 3, 2006.
Tickets @ www.bestofbroadway-sf.com or 415. 512.7770.

Ghostlight Recommends

Mother Courage
Berkeley Repertory Theatre I know the reviews have been mixed on this one, but go see it - they got it right. It closes this Sunday, October 22. Probably the best show I've seen at Berkeley Rep and one of the top five shows I've seen all year (that list includes Nakamura Ganjiro III performing the role of O-Hatsu in the Love Sucides with the Grand Kabuki Theatre of Japan, The Sewers - Banana Bag & Bodice, Orbit - Erika Shuch Performance Project, and Death & the Ploughman - SITI Company). Berkeley Repertory. Roda Theatre, 2015 Addison Street, Berkeley, CA. Tickets www.berkeleyrep.org or 510.647.2949. Read Jean Schiffman's review here.

Big Love
Fool's Fury
The first 10 seconds of this show made me want to run from the theatre, but since I had an out of town guest I had to set a good example. And I'm glad I stayed. In spite of its overblown beginning, the show found its bearings and got down to business. I would liked to have seen more variety in tempo and pitch both vocally and physically especially during the moments when the cast literally throw themselves around the stage. The effect became predictable - a few moments of landing silently would challenge the ensemble's considerable physical capabilities and throw the audience off guard to boot. I agree with Frank Wortham's review, the company aims high in its approach to Mee's text and when it hits the target - the effect is sublime. Extended through October 28, Thursdays - Saturdays, 8pm. Traveling Jewish Theatre, 470 Florida Street, San Francisco. Tickets @ www.foolsfury.org or call (800) 838-3006.

Five Things to Consider

1. Richard Foreman joins the blogosphere.
   
2. Laura Axelrod makes some Observations & Assumptions about why people create theatre.
3. Lucas Krech on Lighting the Body - here, and here, and here. As a writer/director, I confess, one of my most integral relationships is with the lighting designer. For me, these essays articulate why that relationship is so important.
4. Children hold your soul hostage in impossible, unforseen ways (or why I've laid off of posts for the past week).
   
5. A Memo From Rummy.
   

Very Random Thoughts

I ran into a fellow grad student in the library a couple of weeks ago and we comiserated about the fact that grad school has gotten in the way of getting any real work done. Oddly enough. I've written one script in the past three years which is a serious backslide for me. I've rewritten that script several times under pressure (From one of my professors. I guess I should really call it support instead of pressure). I probably wouldn't have put myself that far out there if it hadn't been for his insistence that I keep submitting. The commercial route is not my focus. At least, I'm not bothered by the rejections. It's clear that people want to take a pass on the subject matter (given the political climate) and not the writing - if that makes any sense. I've been encouraged to write a more palatable script. Not a top priority for me.

I produce and create theater. Grad school has reinforced that for me. My work makes people uncomfortable. Hell, it scares me. I write to disturb myself, to upset my balance, and most of all because I'm compelled. Deeply compelled to write.

Which is why writing my thesis is so frustrating. I broke my self-enforced playwrighting seal of chasity after talking with my friend. I started three scripts. I'm on a bender here. I've been posting some of the source work for one of the plays. I shouldn't have allowed myself to start on this one because I've become obsessed with it and I knew I would. I've been itching to work on this script for three years and diving into the source material these past few weeks has been liberating. I really want to go where I'm going and where life is leading me.

Our family has been on a death watch for the past week. Watching the physical rhythm of death has been affirming and horrorifying. The longer she holds on, the more horrorifying. The more pointless. She's completly unresponsive at this point, so the question is why? What is she waiting for?

It happens that way. I work on a script and life takes a turn imitating the action of the play. It gives me a deeper understanding of what I'm writing and what direction to go, where I'm sticking in the shallows and where I am entirely ignorant of the subject. So I'm grateful for this glimpse into life winding down. It's made me more appreciative of taking a breath and holding my kids and feeling the life welling up inside them. Of feeling the new life growing inside me and wondering about that rhythm because it carries the seeds of death. The jo ha kyu of life, if you will.

When does it shift? The conceit of writing is that we can determine the transitions, we can control the situation. The conceit of my script is aiming to capture the abrupt changes in life, of trying to create a situation where it's impossible to determine whether one is alive or dead. Consciousness and will continue, refuse to let go.