2009 Tony Awards: My Recap

Okay, so I came a little late to the 2009 Tony's...I didn't see Bret Michaels get creamed by the set in the opening number because I've been battling a nifty bit of insomnia. Here's my rundown on how I thought the evening went (from the perspective of a home viewer in Georgia).

First off, I didn't expect Liza at the Palace to beat Will Ferrell's You're Welcome America for the Award in Best Limited Engagement. I expected the liberal leanings of the theatre voting lobby to easily shoo this performance to victory. However, when I said that I didn't expect Liza at the Palace to win, my friend Kate immediately responded with the accusation, "You didn't expect Liza Minelli to win a Tony Award?" Well, when you put it like that, it does sound a little foolish.

As was to be expected, Billy Elliot: The Musical walked with practically every award that it touched, coming to a grand total of ten for the evening. I couldn't watch the kids accept their awards because it made me uncomfortable not being able to know if they won for being the best performers the year, for their novelty, because they were little kids, or some bastardization of these reasons. They are impressive dancers, but are they the "Best Actor" of the year? Not in my opinion. Further, I find the music to the show forgettable, so I'm glad it shared the award for Orchestration with Next to Normal. Also, I didn't think they're performance was that great. I thought that the staging was awkward and compressed and that, out of context, this number lacked any of the emotional heaviness that usually makes it a compelling end of the first act.

Also, whoever presented the award for Best Featured Actress in a Play was an ass. He starred in A Man for All Seasons (I think it was Frank Langella). The category he would have been nominated in had occured immediately before his presentation. However, he hadn't been nominated. He spent about five minutes talking about not being nominated, took out his Oscar acceptance speech, and a press clipping that was a full page ad for the show in a major newspaper. Deprecating jokes can have their place, but this just seemed bitter and churlish.

Further, the sound for the Guys and Dolls revival performance of "Sit Down, You're Rocking the Boat" had sound issues (as did the beginning of the song from Next to Normal, it seemed). So, Benny sang the song with a handheld. Frankly, if Guys and Dolls continues to be revived and the show continues to be nominated for Tony Awards, can it please choose a different song to portray. Perhaps one that features the leads (Lauren Graham, we love you!). Or any of the leads.

My last complaint goes to the strange acceptance speech given by Alice Ripley. Congrats on the win, but this was just strange:



I loved the performance by Next to Normal. Congrats to Angela Lansberry for tying the most Tony Awards (excluding special awards) ever won at 5 last night for her Blithe Spirit win. I thought Neil Patrick Harris was great as a host (and if you like B'way showtune spoofs, listen to his closing song here.) And congratulations to Hair for an appropriately sexy and rocking performance and win for Best Revival. I leave you with their performance.

Billy Elliot Wins Tony...Did I See the Same Show?

Maybe I'm going to get shot for this, and I'm going to do a more complete rundown tomorrow morning, but am I the only person who has ever seen Billy Elliot: The Musical that didn't like it? I liked the movie and I think that the show works well with what it's got, but I think it's both overly-sentimental and ultimately forgettable. Although, I will have to say that the boys who play Billy are amazing.

Congratulations to all the winners at the 63rd Tony Awards, and look for an update on what I liked (Angela Lansberry, Next to Normal) and what I didn't (the road pieces, the presentation for "Best Featured Actress")

Stories from the Past: Coming Out Cow

My senior year of high school, the theatre director a TCHS declared that we would do a one-act version of the three-hour Sondheim monster Into the Woods.  Because I didn't sing, I would be the Narrator for  the play, and she had planned to enlist all of the pretty, preppy, show choir kids to play most of the parts.  The traditional corps of the department would serve as back-up artists and crew...which, while crappy, was better than an earlier idea to dress them all up as trees and have them dance around as different parts of the scenery.

Just like this...but made of dancing high school theatre kids.  Image via Wikipedia

Anyway, I had decided months ago that I was going to come out before my senior year started because I was tired of living the lie.  So, on Sunday, August 8th, 2004, I told my parents, which is another story for another day.  It intersects with Into the Woods because I was working on that show at the time.  In fact, I was the theatre intern with my friend Alisabeth.  Between us and Mandy, we were given the job of doing the cow.

For those of you who aren't very familiar with Into the Woods, it's a musical mash-up of the stories of Jack, Cinderella, Rapunzel, and Little Red Riding Hood all going into the woods to get their dreams.  Okay, well, Jack obviously has to have a cow because he's going to the market to sell his cow for food for him and his mother.  Now, there are two ways that you can do this.  You can either hire an actor to play the part of the cow or you can build a cow prop.

We, sadly, attempted the latter.  It was maybe the most dangerous weapon that I've ever seen on wheels.  Made of two-by-four, chicken wire, plaster, paper-mache, and white paint, more people bled on this cow than I would have thought possible.  It was a hot disaster.  The casters wouldn't stay straight, the back of the cow buckled, and it needed so much plaster to make it look like a cow verses a box covered in chicken wire that that was what I was assigned to do with Alisabeth for the second week of school.

Friday, we were sitting out in the courtyard outside the drama room.  This was right after the outdoor furniture that had been used at the previous year's prom had been donated to the school but before they screwed on that brass nameplate that dedicated it to that kid that died.  Alisabeth and I are slathering plaster on the cow and talking about the election.  She had proven to be mostly conservative, and this being 2004, my senior class could vote for the first time, and it was shaping up to be an important decision:  you could either vote for President Bush or you could vote against him (Kerry not actually counting as a canditate because he stood for nothing).  Although we could agree on the upcoming pro-liquor referendum for Tift County (which was dry at that time), we eventually ended up on thornier subjects.  Like gay marriage.

Obviously, I defended gay marriage against her arguments, but at the same time, I had to admit to myself that it looked like it was going to be an uphill battle, even for civil unions.  I mean, two of the four states to have same sex marriage have happened in 2009, and this was five years ago.  If I'm not mistaken, Massachusettes was the only state to have anything like this going on.  My fervent support made Alisabeth ask me if I was gay.  To which I immediately replied "no."

I started to kick myself and got really quiet. I guess Alisabeth was either embarassed that she had asked and I wasn't or didn't know what to say because she knew I was closetted.  I actually surprised most people when I came out.  And I had promised myself that although I wasn't going to throw myself a "coming out" party like a debutante, I also wasn't going to deny it any longer if anyone asked me.  And this was my first test, and I had already screwed it up.  After another couple of minutes of silence, I back-tracked:

"Wait, scratch that."
"Scratch what?"
"I am gay.  Not many people know.  Don't spread it around."
"Okay..."

We talked about my coming out for a little bit.  I didn't want the news to get around because I was afraid, this being the deep South, that I'd be harrassed.  But, I didn't trust this girl, and the circle of people who knew was getting big.  Soon, it was going to explode.  But for now, I was just another guy covered in plaster, trying to make a cow for the musical theatre.  And the future was a story for another day.

By the way, the cow never did become satisfactory.  Instead, we dressed up a short girl like a cow.  She did a much better job than a plaster representation.

In Defense of Community Theatre

First off, I want to say that I know I haven't updated in a hot forever, but that's going to change because I'm spending today building up an archive of things that I've wanted to write about but that I just haven't had the time or the energy or whatever to work on. Thus, check back, because I should be going back to a nearly-daily posting schedule.

Tonight, submitted for the approval of the Midnight Society, I give you

The Tift Theatre Proudly Presents--In Defense of Community Theatres

Having just graduated from Shorter College with my degrees in Theatre and English, I've spent a fair amount of the last month trying to figure out if it was indeed worth it to study in these fields. I mean, neither of them really do any concrete "good" in the world, and my talents might better have been used in the fields of medicine, law, or business. However, this isn't where my passions lay, so instead, I amassed student debt so that I could learn about what I love to do. I easily know twice the amount of things now that I did when I started college, and I met fantastic people, so I consider the experience well worth it. But that's not what I want to talk about. Instead, I want to pose the question: Is theatre here to stay?

I know that I'm going to come back to this topic a lot over the course of this summer, but I feel like there's a lot to be said on this subject. With the average cost of producing a Broadway level musical in the millions of dollars, at what point does theatre go from being an art form into being a business? If it costs so much start-up money to produce a show, then won't art necessarily be strangled by the need for (in the words of Salman Rushdie) a "surefire smasharoonie?" I don't know. There are groups that are subsidized by the government and private firms that allow them the chance for more artistic experimentation. Further, educational theatre is alive and well (and not just living in Paris), and thus, at least that venue is still open to trying things that might prove to be colossal failures.

But, regardless of the artistic or business future of theatre, I don't think that community theatres will ever completely go away. And that's not because I see them as integral parts of the local community arts scene or that they will always be supported. Neither of those statements is always necessarily true. Instead, I think community theatre will stick around because it has the weird knack of saving lives.

That may seem weird, and I don't really have anything to go on except anecdotal evidence, but here we go:

-In high school, I knew a girl who wanted to kill herself. She was the scenic charge artist for her local theatre group, though. She didn't kill herself because there were people counting on her to finish the backdrop. By the time she got done with it, her dark moment had passed.

-All of the theatre groups I've ever been a part of have adopted the mentality that everyone belongs. Granted, not everyone belongs on stage, but there is a job in theatre that you can do well if you want to hang around. If you're around, we will put you to work.

-There are no losers in theatre. Scratch that. There are a lot of losers in theatre. And a lot of freaks. And a lot of weirdos. And we all hate that pretty girl who only sings okay but somehow gets all the leads. We're all shooting daggers at her. And that binds us together.

-Community theatre proves that you don't have to have money or be a professional to attempt greatness. Sure, money makes it easier. But, to put it together with a budget of beg/borrow/steal...that takes creativity.

-People who work community theatre care a lot more than some people I know who want to be professionals. Sure, some people are paid to manage community theatres, but the majority of the people you see hanging around are volunteers. They're there because they love it. They're there because they don't belong anywhere else. They're there because someone has to be. They have jobs and lives and families completely removed from theatre. But they're there because they love it and they want to keep doing it. And I think that that passion is really cool.

So, yeah, community theatres need to turn a profit. And yeah, they can't do the edgiest stuff out there. So what? I'll sit through the millionth revival of Grease and yet another play that was turned into a movie to see some passion. It may not be the best thing in the world, but its done by people care.

I don't know if that's enough, though. And I'll tackle quality in my next installment on Theatre.

I'm Back

Sorry for the ten day hiatus, it has been a relative shit storm around Shorter Theatre for the moment. Here's basically how life is going:

-APO Induction-We had a good time, in spite of the fact that is was way too formal for a Theatre ceremony at Shorter. We're low-key people; so, we posed on a pedestal to match our personality while they read our achievements. Oh, and I'm the President, which reminds me that I have got to have an officer's meeting tomorrow.

-English Capstone-Passed with flying colors. Reportedly, the words "graduate-level" were used to describe my performance. Yes, you can imagine me nonchalantly blowing on my fingers if you want. I completely fucked up the "Prufrock" question (sorry Kate), but I more than made up for it with my Oedipus Rex and Othelle responses.

-Love's Call-Amazing performance last Monday night. My mother was unable to come, but it was a remarkable night regardless. My cast was amazing, Davis stole the show as the Nurse (apparently, she thrives on an audience), and I simply couldn't have been prouder. That happened six days ago. It feels like an eon.

-Millie auditions-Lord, save me. Auditions Tuesday, Callbacks were Wednesday, and the cast list finally went up Saturday afternoon. In the middle of all this, I have been caught in a shitstorm of controversy that I won't go into here. But, suffice it to say, multiple people have lost my trust for this process and I will proceed warily. The show is double-cast, and I'm refraining from an opinion until I see how it works out. It is certainly...different.

-Justin and Asha's Senior Show-Really good performance. I'm proud of both of them. Justin's dad grabbed me and yelled at me because I was the house manager. Then he apologized with a zero-distance of personal bubble. Twice. Which was all fine, except that I really like my personal bubble.

-Personal Life-I haven't seen any of my friends for any length of time in days. K'Fain is busy this weekend, and I have been too 90-to-nothing to call. I should call Kate ASAP to fill her in on stuff. I spent all of yesterday in bed watching movies on Netflix. At dinner, I stumbled into the living room to watch movies in there. I love having the apartment to myself.

I hope this week turns out better.

Quick Update

So, today's just going to be a quick update on my life.

-After much consternation that the portal was down and that my resume kept doing screwy things, I have finally started applying to AmeriCorps programs. Cross your fingers and wish me luck. Hopefully, I'll be one of the Denver, CO staff of the NCCC program.

-My friends are in better places. No one is breaking up right now, and all the other women are leaving their lives. It's strange how parallels come up like that.

-I've got to start hardcore studying for my capstone in English. The goal for tonight: Finish Rape of the Locke, Sir Gawain, and start reading Midsummer. McFry showed us the rubric last night, so I know that how I'm studying is how I should be going about it. I'd just like to take one more opportunity to say how much I hate Spatan for literally not teaching me a single thing about the first half of English literature. I'm hoping to not get ass-raped on that portion of the test.

-I'm really tired all the time and my back hurts. I think I most be sleeping poorly.

-I started writing a new play last night. It's going to be a one-act with two male characters, loosely based thematically on an experience that I had in the seventh grade. I'll probably talk more about it then, but this play is stretching the religious bones in my body.

That's all I've got to report.

Looking Theatre

I'm going to say something that's not very popular in the school I go to. Receiving my college degree in Theatre and English, I believe that I have a unique perspective on the way academia and these fields work, because I sit inside and outside both of these departments. And I see that a lot of their problems are the same. I'm probably going to do a series of articles on this, so stay tuned.

Today, though, the cardinal sin I'm going to talk about is not looking the type.

In theatre, type is thegroup of parts that one would presumably play. However, that's not always true. You can also cast against type. And, despite my searching around the internet for a little while now, I can find no really definitive list or consensus of how many types there are or even what they are (this site is one of the few that I've reviewed that has a list of any kind).

However, from talking to my friends here and in other schools, they are constantly told to go for things in their type and to educate themselves in their type and to live, breathe, and die their type because the almighty type is the only thing that matters. It's like breathing. It's like bathing. It's like my roommate Raven cleaning the apartment. It's just one of those constants of the universe.

I guess that this lack of identifiable types has always bothered me. I mean, I know about the ingeneu and the leading man and the hotshot rebel and the old man, but then you come to the minefield of "character actor." What the hell does that mean? What are the requirements? Or is it just everybody that couldn't play one of the leads?

The fact that these thigns are so perilously non-defined strikes me as a problem. I'm looking for a list. Any help?

Sorry for the Downtime

I put this blog on private for a while for a few reasons:

A. I wasn't writing. But I wanted it to look like I was. (by the way, one of those sentences is a lie.)

B. I was using a few of the posts for another project. But I'm done with that.

C. I was lazy and busy with other projects and I forgot to do so.

But, this is back open to the general world. So, an update in the life of me.

My play, Love's Call, is in AHA production right now with the following cast:

Martin--Jamel Booth
Leslie--Mareal Villareal
Daniel--Nick Mason
Glendon--Greige Lott
Travis--Michael Lindsey
Andrea--Elizabeth MacDonell
Nurse--Kathleen Hoyt

I am directing and the performance is Monday, November 3rd, time TBA. I wish I could invite all of you to come, but AHA is closed to the department. Like, my mother isn't even able to come. Sucktastic. However, I did get a rewrite done in the last hour on the play...some scenes were playing way too serious so I lightened them a little bit. That's the joy of directing your own work: if something isn't working, you can change it, no problem.

In other news, I may have found a dude. And by that, I mean I found him, but I don't know if we are to the point where I can blog about him. So stay tuned. Or call me if you want more info.

I was without a phone all of last week because I lost it Applebee's. But I have it back. But I have very few people's phone numbers. So, that's probably where I'm going after this: to plug everyone's number back into my phone.

I'll try to think of something witty to write later, but until then, be safe.

Why My Kids Won't Be Special

This may sound like a rip-off of Disney's The Incredibles, but when everyone is special, no one is. This has come to my attention in sharp contrast in the last twenty-four hours.

At my school, (good ol' S****** College) I am a third-year BA English and Theatre double major with an emphasis in Creative Writing and Stage Management. I attend an average of 23 hours of class a week and I spend my evenings cut between stage managing our current production of Guys and Dolls and hanging out with my friends that have quickly become my family.

So, when people try to make my life difficult, I don't take kindly to it.

I am trying to be more positive, though, so in my intro meeting last night at the first rehearsal, I cussed very little verses the sailor on steroids that I usually am. I nicely said that I wanted this to a process of very little negativity and that I would appreciate it if people could leave their jadededness at home.

No. Such. Luck.

First rehearsal, three people hanged themselves. I have to talk to three people after one rehearsal; pretty much all of them have a horrible attitude. If you want to quit the show and if doing theatre means so little to you, then leave. Don't get a degree. Why would you waste your money or, more importantly, your time on a program and a training that you don't believe will aid you? Two of them, Anna and Barbara, decided to have a self-titled comedy hour while learning a song. Another, Tim, decided that he would murmur to himself in a near chant that the acting exercises were "the stupidest thing [he'd] ever done."

Thank you so much for being a bastion of hope and light. I appreciate it, as do the 27 other members of the cast and the 15 member design team. We really appreciate it. I really do enjoy having people spit in my face.

But why won't my kids be special? Because I'm not. I go to class, I do my job, I love my families, and I go to sleep. And these people pretend to be the shit because they are "special" and have nothing more to learn. Great. Groovy. Wonderful for them, but I'm not that good at life, so I think that I'll keep my plebian status for a bit longer...

At least until I pull in a steady paycheck.