How to turn the bloody truths of the Iraq war into mass entertainment is a problem that has repeatedly bedeviled Hollywood executives. Even “The Hurt Locker,” which won the Academy Award for best picture last year, earned only $17 million domestically. Now Broadway, where the price of a ticket can be 10 times as much as at the multiplex, is taking its first major look at Iraq eight years after the invasion, with a play that starts with a behanding, descends into brutality and murder, and features no less than Uday Hussein clutching the severed head of his brother, Qusay.
May
23
Blogging playwrights pile on
Posted by: Glover |Tagged in: Theater , Suzan-Lori Parks , scripts , postmodern , playwrighting , plays , play , Performance Art , performance , one-act , one acts , New York , musicals , linguistics , language , interdisciplinary , Equity , editing , drama , criticism , critic , artist , acting
Brouhaha of the week: Blogging playwrights pile on
Oh, how sharper than a serpent's tooth is a playwright incensed over varying gradations of privilege! Some seriously tart exchanges on ye olde Internet this week were touched off by this, Mat Smart's HowlRound post, in which the playwright brought the tough love to his fellow emerging playwrights. Smart challenged what he sees as the defeatism of emerging playwrights, asserting that: "In the end, our approach to our own work is the only thing we can control—and I believe that you have to love the doing. You also have to love the chase, love the absence of any resemblance of fairness, justice, or due course. And as long as it doesn’t make you too desperate or crazy—there is a nobility in this endurance, in this brand of foolishness. There must be a sense that 'I am going down with the ship.' And frankly, it is a commitment that I don’t see many emerging playwrights make."
This comes in the middle of a long essay on playwright laziness, which, despite its inflammatory wording, is written from the perspective of someone who wants to hammer home the importance of a work ethic. It should be a familiar refrain—we've heard it from every other writer who has ever told us ass-in-chair time is the secret to success.
May
23
Kill your facebook account
Posted by: Glover |Tagged in: postmodern , Performance Art , New York , Live Art , language , Interview , interdisciplinary , Facebook , criticism , critic , contemprary , community , audience , artist , art
Facebook is pretty inconsequential in the grand scheme of things. It has wormed it's little coding into our collective unconsciousness and made us feel that we are doing something proactive to be less lonely, miserable, depressed and isolated than we really are. Facebook is a digital simulation; mimesis of the Hyper-Real, faux communication which passes as "friendship," there is no "real" reason to maintain any presence on Facebook or any other digital social network. So I suppose I can't really give you any reason not to delete your account. It has certainly crossed my mind on a regular basis over the last few years. On the other hand you could jump in the car and come over to NYC where we could hang out and have a few "real" experiences which we can then promote on Facebook. Proving to others that we have "real" friends in the "real world."
Mar
31
Read More...
Robin William's Broadway War show.
Posted by: Glover |Tagged in: writing , war , theatrical allusion , theatre , Theater , story , Robin Williams , reviewing , playwrighting , plays , play , New York , ideology , broadway , audience , acting
Star Power Meets War’s Firepower
By PATRICK HEALY
Published: March 23, 2011
Richard Perry/The New York Times
Robin Williams in Rajiv Joseph's “Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo.” More Photos »
Mar
30
Read More...
Silent films recovered: These new releases are oldest in a long time
Posted by: Glover |Tagged in: visual , transmedia , story , scripts , script , screenwriting , reshoot , reality , postmodern , photography , marketing , filmmaker , film making , drama , documentary , camera work
Silent films recovered: These new releases are oldest in a long time
Rex Ingram's "The Arab" (1924) is among the "lost" movies recovered in Russia. (Library Of Congress)
By Peter Finn
Washington Post Staff Writer Wednesday, February 9, 2011
In a large mahogany box embellished with silk pockets and Cyrillic lettering, 10 lost pieces of America's cultural heritage recently landed in Culpeper, Va. - thanks, in a roundabout way, to the Soviet Union and a bureaucratic penchant for filing.
Mar
30
Read More...
Character Prep: Emotional Arc by marygrooves (at) gmail.com
Posted by: Glover |Tagged in: Untagged
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Character Prep: Emotional Arc
My next spec pilot is a drama with a female lead, a strong procedural element, and a strong personal element. The procedural part takes place in a world I'm not familiar with, so it'll require research. Writing the story outline, I could get hung up on the part of the story I don't know -- the procedural, or "business," as I think of it -- but instead I'm starting with something else: the emotional arc of the main character.
This is a more efficient approach for a couple of reasons. First, until I know the emotional arc of the character, I don't know what kind of story I'd be looking for in my research. Secondly, it's something I can develop on my own, so I don't risk getting sidetracked by the research and losing momentum.
When I know my main character's emotional arc, I can begin to build the plot. I'll know what I need the business to accomplish, even if I don't yet know the nuts and bolts of it.
And again for the character, I don't want to get sidetracked pondering an extensive backstory. Instead, I start with this basic model:
Mar
30
Naming Names by marygrooves (at) gmail.com
Posted by: Glover |Tagged in: writing , script , screenwriting , playwrighting , plays , marketing , linguistics , language , filmmaker , film making , film , experimental , editor , editing , drama
Working on a new spec pilot with a brand-spanking-new set of characters to play with, I remembered I wanted to write here about the tricks of character naming.
Naming can be challenging: you want names that are familiar but not overused; interesting but not impossible to pronounce and not trying too hard; age- and place-appropriate; suit the tone of your script -- not every script can pull off an Inigo Montoya -- and that fit alongside the names of the rest of your cast.
I had to rename a few characters partway through hockey because I'd inadvertently given two of them names that appear in the regular cast on Grey's Anatomy. During the search for replacement names, Story Editor gave me the following tips, and he's kindly agreed to let me pass them on to you:
Naming can be challenging: you want names that are familiar but not overused; interesting but not impossible to pronounce and not trying too hard; age- and place-appropriate; suit the tone of your script -- not every script can pull off an Inigo Montoya -- and that fit alongside the names of the rest of your cast.
I had to rename a few characters partway through hockey because I'd inadvertently given two of them names that appear in the regular cast on Grey's Anatomy. During the search for replacement names, Story Editor gave me the following tips, and he's kindly agreed to let me pass them on to you:
- None of the regulars can have a name starting with the same letter, for ease of writing in script documents and mnemonic ease. People associate with the first letter. So if you had a Trevor and a Tony, people would get them confused.
- Not more than two regular cast names ending with the same sound. For example, a Jamie and a Lacy maxes out your "eee" names.
- They can't all be two-syllable names.
- Pay attention to vowels. Avoid a preponderence of internal A's, for example. Martha, Barry, and Pam will start to sound too same-y.
- The name needs to work as a shorthand for the character-vibe. You'll know it when you see it.
Story Editor's last tip is important: you want to feel that click, because finding the right name can really help you get in the groove with your character -- and later for your audience to do the same.
Working on a new script with my co-writer, we started out naming our characters after the real people they were based on. This helped in the beginning because it gave us a clear sense of the type of person we were dealing with.
But a word of warning about naming your characters after friends and enemies: at some point, you'll need your character to diverge from the real-life person -- you want them working for the script, not being faithful to someone your audience doesn't know or care about. You may want to rename them at that point to give yourself mental freedom from the person who gave you the original inspiration.
Say the name out loud a few times, and don't forget to combine it with any titles your character might have to make sure it works in the ways it'll be spoken by other characters in the script.
Look at your cast names as a set and check them against the rules above. For extensive casts, I've started keeping an A-Z list on file for quick reference. I also keep a file to save names I haven't used yet but that I think might be useful in future. Here are a few of my go-to online naming resources:
Facebook.com - Go to the page of the biggest social butterfly you know and cruise through their extensive friend list as a quick way to find first and last names.
YeahBaby.com - This babynamer allows you to search by beginning and end letter as well as number of syllables and ethnic origin.
Popular Baby Names - The American Social Security site provides lists of most popular names going back for a hundred years. I find my character's birth year by adding a couple of years to today's date to adjust (optimistically) for development and production time and then subtract their age. Search the SSA site by year to find naming trends appropriate to your character's age.
Behind the Name - Surnames by ethnic origin and/or first letter. And for some of these, you may want to refer to this handy dictionary of surname pronunciation. Googling your setting name and "surnames" will also provide you with genealogy sites listing common names from where your characters live.
Imdb - Use the drop-down menu search at the top of the page to select "Characters" and enter the names you're thinking of using to see where they've already shown up in film and TV. If the name you want has been used for an iconic character already, or is in circulation on a popular current show, you might want to avoid the association.
Working on a new script with my co-writer, we started out naming our characters after the real people they were based on. This helped in the beginning because it gave us a clear sense of the type of person we were dealing with.
But a word of warning about naming your characters after friends and enemies: at some point, you'll need your character to diverge from the real-life person -- you want them working for the script, not being faithful to someone your audience doesn't know or care about. You may want to rename them at that point to give yourself mental freedom from the person who gave you the original inspiration.
Say the name out loud a few times, and don't forget to combine it with any titles your character might have to make sure it works in the ways it'll be spoken by other characters in the script.
Look at your cast names as a set and check them against the rules above. For extensive casts, I've started keeping an A-Z list on file for quick reference. I also keep a file to save names I haven't used yet but that I think might be useful in future. Here are a few of my go-to online naming resources:
Facebook.com - Go to the page of the biggest social butterfly you know and cruise through their extensive friend list as a quick way to find first and last names.
YeahBaby.com - This babynamer allows you to search by beginning and end letter as well as number of syllables and ethnic origin.
Popular Baby Names - The American Social Security site provides lists of most popular names going back for a hundred years. I find my character's birth year by adding a couple of years to today's date to adjust (optimistically) for development and production time and then subtract their age. Search the SSA site by year to find naming trends appropriate to your character's age.
Behind the Name - Surnames by ethnic origin and/or first letter. And for some of these, you may want to refer to this handy dictionary of surname pronunciation. Googling your setting name and "surnames" will also provide you with genealogy sites listing common names from where your characters live.
Imdb - Use the drop-down menu search at the top of the page to select "Characters" and enter the names you're thinking of using to see where they've already shown up in film and TV. If the name you want has been used for an iconic character already, or is in circulation on a popular current show, you might want to avoid the association.
Mar
09
Read More...
Grant money allows arts to thrive in the county
Posted by: Glover |Tagged in: theatre , Theater , Rockland County , postmodern , playwrighting , performance , interdisciplinary , grant , Arts Council , ACOR , 24 hour project
Grant money allows arts to thrive in the county
Written byEmily Kratzer
A 24-hour playwriting and performance event at Elmwood Playhouse, plus cutting-edge dance and art exhibits, will be offered to the public because of funds from the New York State Council on the Arts' Decentralization Regrant Program.
The Arts Council of Rockland announced that 18 organizations and two individuals have received a total of $25,424 in Community Arts grants. The Rockland council administers the grants locally. During 2010, 30 organizations and six individuals applied for the 2011 grants.
Mar
09
Read More...
Julie Taymor Out As 'Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark' Director - Huffington Post.
Posted by: Glover |Julie Taymor Out As 'Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark' Director
Feb
10
Read More...
Spider-Man is a wild, sexed-up, Greek mythologized train wreck.
Posted by: Glover |http://www.slate.com/id/2284320/
Feb
08
Read More...
Famous World Ideologies, as explained by references to Cows
Posted by: Glover |Famous World Ideologies, as explained by references to Cows
25/08/2010
- Feudalism: You have two cows. Your lord takes some of the milk.
- Pure Socialism: You have two cows. The government takes them and puts them in a barn with everyone else’s cows. You have to take care of all the cows. The government gives you all the milk you need.
- Bureaucratic Socialism: Your cows are cared for by ex-chicken farmers. You have to take care of the chickens the government took from the chicken farmers. The government gives you as much milk and eggs the regulations say you should need.
- Fascism: You have two cows. The government takes both, hires you to take care of them, and sells you the milk.
- Pure Communism: You have two cows. Your neighbors help you take care of them, and you all share the milk.
- Real World Communism: You share two cows with your neighbors. You and your neighbors bicker about who has the most “ability” and who has the most “need”. Meanwhile, no one works, no one gets any milk, and the cows drop dead of starvation.
First Posted: 03/ 9/11 10:05 AM Updated: 03/ 9/11 11:18 AM
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/09/julie-taymor-spiderman-director_n_833378.html