My Pandemic Obsession: Only Connect

Join us when and where and however you like.
Just please do not go this alone.

If you wanted to, you could probably meet me in a Zoom room at least 3 times a week. And I would be pleased to see you. And you might be pleased to have been seen.

I thought, for a change of pace, I'd just take a stroll through some of the Zoom rooms I'll be logging into in the coming weeks as a means of inviting you to see me there. 

Because we are living life in our sweats, the importance of finding ways to connect grows (I believe) more urgent.

For example, tonight (and any Wednesday) at 6:30PM, this is where I'll be:

Wednesday Gathering

It's been fun. And intimate. Rarely more than 12 of us gather. Up to 9 people are invited to share up to 5 min. of new work each. Come with something to read or sing or screen. Or, if you prefer, just come along for the ride. Sip your drink or finish dinner while you encounter the work of up to 9 fellow artists. 

This is a safe casual space for sharing. And we're done in 60 minutes. Make it part of your Wednesday ritual. 

Linda & Lola at La Mama - Saturday at 3PM

Saturday afternoon, I'll be working on my audient skills, soaking in tales of the early days of the storied downtown theatrical life of partners-in-all-things-monumental-and-loving Lola Pashalinski and Linda Chapman. Ann Bogart moderates a panel comprised of these fancy and very smart people: Melanie Joseph, JoAnne Akalaitis, and Clove Galilee. 

If you're all about making theatre on your own terms, there will be much food for thought here. Join me as we drink in a healthy portion of our shared theatrical inheritance. 

We Pedal Uphill (Stories from the States)
Monday March 15 at 6:30PM

We'll be screening the film on Zoom one more time for anyone who missed the February screening and for those of you who asked to see it again. 

And ih case you've never seen it and are wondering, why not just take David Heath''s word for it. I think he makes a pretty compelling case. Don't you?

Living While Asian 

written & performed by Christine Toy Johnson

one of 5 new monologues performed by 5 writer-performers at our next Some1Speaking April 5th. 

Some1Speaking Welcomes Director Suzanne Bachner

The time has come. We're putting on our big boy pants now. Some1Speaking, the monthly monologue showcase, now has a resident director. The performances of monologues at all Some1Speaking events will be directed by Suzanne Bachner.

Suzanne Bachner is an award-winning playwright and director. She is the director and developer of Bob Brader’s trio of internationally acclaimed, award-winning solo shows including Spitting In The Face Of The Devil. A frequent solo show director, her other credits include: Gloria Rosen’s celebrated Listen…Can You Hear Me Now? Sarah Elizabeth Greer’s Bio-Hazard: A Relative Comedy (United Solo Europe), Canadian Burlesque star Rosie Bitts’ Stories of Love and Passion (U.S. and Canadian tour) and her own award-winning solo show, The Good Adoptee (Best Autobiographical Script and Best Actress, United Solo) which has toured to the London International Fringe Festival and all over the U.S., most recently, to the SJCC in Seattle. Suzanne has brought virtual versions of several solo shows to global audiences during this time. Suzanne studied playwriting with Romulus Linney and Adrienne Kennedy and holds an MFA from the Actors Studio Drama School at the New School University. She is a member of the United Solo Academy and the Dramatists Guild.

Artistic New Directions Seeking Short Scripts
Deadline March 22

It was not long after my move to New York, if I remember correctly. I walked into a tech rehearsal for my short play IF THERE'S A CURE FOR THIS I DON'T WANT IT I DON'T WANT IT at Artistic New Directions and they were just finishing up the tech for STORM ON STORM by Gary Garrison. We both had short plays in their festival called BOXERS and BRIEFS. Gary and I had never met. But we sat in the dark, waiting for something, anything to happen (as is usually the case at tech) and became fast friends. We were both, I think, equally relieved to find that after having liked each other we also very much liked each other's work.

Cut to a couple years later when Gary was heading up the Dramatists Guild and he hired me to be Director of Membership and eventually the two of us returned to Artistic New Directions with a play we co-wrote via emails sent back and forth over a period of about 6 weeks. That play was THE RUBBER ROOM and it was a hit and a hoot and I'll never be the same. (I feel the need to insert some sort of disclaimer a la "Don't try this at home" re: co-writing a play via emails. I think we were only able to do it cause we both really loved and admired the other's unique gifts and so were willing to quickly defer on stuff. I don't think we had one single argument really about any of it. I knew what he did better than me and vice versa.)

So all of this is to say, good things come from having short work done by good people on solid ground. Seize this opportunity. They're the real deal. 

click for details.

Some handy links: