I'm working on this thing for indietheaternow.com and I'm reading some plays that I've heard about for years but never got a chance to see.
All too common in my parish; a show rockets out of nowhere, everyone's talking about it and three weeks later it's gone. And the company can't afford to move it to a larger space, the union won't let you transfer it to another 99 seat theater, you have to wait a year for a re-mount and by that time your creative team has moved on.
Which is why I missed The Adventures of Nervous-Boy back when.
And I count that now as one of my great regrets.
James Comtois, you well and truly rock. This is one of the best plays I've read in recent memory.
If my word is not enough for everyone reading this to click on the link up there and buy a copy of the play, here's a stage direction from about halfway through it:
(She collapses. GUY makes noise of dismissive disgust and exits. She's dead. As NERVOUS-BOY talks two...vampires? Demons? Whatever the fuck they are, they slither to GIRL's body and slide her offstage as they drink her blood.)
It's funny as hell and deeply disturbing and very, very true about what it says about living in Rat City and just being alive and young and getting older and not quite knowing why things don't seem to make sense to you like they seem to make sense to all the people you find yourself in the middle of all the time.
Just a great, great play.
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5 comments:
Man that part about The Mob...I mean Equity...er That Darn Union Workshop Rule is the thing that's slowly draining the blood.
Any idea if there is a website or might you be able to suggest, places in the Lower Manhattan/Off Off that are still good places to produce theatre? Reasonably priced to ? (what's reasonable when in a sentence about price...hmmm).
Humbleman
There are still plenty of good cheap places to perform, you humble man, you.
The guys I know well and are absolute pros are the Horse Trade crew, operating out of the Kraine on E. 4th Street. They've got three venues, all very reasonable
Thank you sir. But I need to borrow a soapbox.
I just read this.
Tax breaks for Broadway shows in new Illinois legislation
http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/theater/theaterloop/chi-tax-breaks-for-broadway-shows-in-new-legislation-20111213,0,4954771.column
Isn't this helping the cancer spread? Isn't this, providing cigarettes to the kiddies? Does this mean all future creations will begin leaning toward 70 million dollar juggernauts, but they'll try it because of tax breaks?
Who wins? Antique Equity and Poor Imagination Rich Money Producers?
Humbleman
I don't know. A lot of the stuff that goes on in that strata of American show biz concerns me about as much as electoral politics in Belgium.
Big-ass Broadway-bound shows will have more reason to use Chicago for try-outs. Why not?
And producers will get some kind of tax credit for sticking Wicked in a 1200 seat house in Illinois, I guess.
"that strata of American show biz concerns me about as much as electoral politics in Belgium."
You're right sir. My apologies for going down that dark and twisty lane of wasted energy. Sometimes it's a big ole machine and I'd like to find the plug and pull it. My soapbox has returned itself to the laundry mat.
Humbleman
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