Hi.
Our final two performances of A View from the Bridge were sold out. But we didn't get to put it on because our Beatrice was hospitalized with the Whooping Cough. She was released yesterday, thank goodness, and hopefully is doing better.
Not the most uplifting way to close a show to be sure. If we had known that Thursday night would be our last show, we certainly would have gone out with a bang. There was a brief talk about me going in for Nicolle with script in hand and reducing the audience's ticket price but we chose not to go that route because of the sickness I've been fighting and the fact that I'm pregnant and can't overdo it. I know myself and I probably would have overdone it because I would have lost myself in the excellent acting going on and ... that's not the best thing for me right now and I have to start thinking selfishly for the little creature that's developing. Creature trumps theatre. Theatre's been number one for many, many years ... but this new life wins.
Thank you to the cast and crew that came to help out Saturday night and Sunday morning. We really appreciated it and Strike flew by at record speeds. Thank you to Bob Fisher for coming by on Saturday night as well. We enjoyed seeing and talking with ye.
We have our first Ensemble rehearsal tonight for The Skriker and I'm looking forward to it. We had a brief moment of despair on Friday night, as you read, but fortunately perspective came knocking and I'm feeling ever so positive and excited to work with our collaborators on this show, which might be our last show for a while now that we've got another personal production on its way.
Have a great Monday.
RZ
Monday, February 04, 2008
Friday, February 01, 2008
A View from the Bridge - Important Update
Whooping cough is in our midst ... the show tonight will be canceled because one of the cast members was hospitalized with the Whooping cough. She wants to do the show tomorrow but we want her to doublecheck with her doc because, well ... it's the Whooping Cough.
It's been a wild and crappy day all around.
I'm sick with similar symptoms and have been for two weeks. For those of you who don't know ... I'm also 11 weeks pregnant. It's been tough going so far so I'm hoping I don't have the disease. I see the doctor tomorrow.
To my fellow theatre companies ... do you ever feel the world crashing around you, production wise, and you wonder how to find the motivation to keep going? We're closing tomorrow with View, but the today has been a doozy on all fronts in regards to the company - I'm not going to get into it here, but I seriously just want to curl up and hide away forever. I'm really feeling that today ... I'm supposed to dive into Skriker rehearsals on Monday and my creativity is nowhere to be seen. I know people are sympathetic towards the pregnancy and want to help with what they can, but there's only so much that can be done and only so much patience they can give ... has anybody out there been in a similar situation? Directing while pregnant? Directing while really sick? How do you do it? How do you strap it on and keep going like normal?
Sorry about such a whiny blog. (Note added at 9:30pm - I'm feeling much better after being able to eat a good supper, take care of patrons, touch base with some of our closest friends and talk with my dearest husband and coartistic director. All is currently well in my world and I can see clear our path of production. Thanks again for reading. RZ)
Girl power. By the power of GreySkull ...er GreyZelda. She-ra.
RZ
It's been a wild and crappy day all around.
I'm sick with similar symptoms and have been for two weeks. For those of you who don't know ... I'm also 11 weeks pregnant. It's been tough going so far so I'm hoping I don't have the disease. I see the doctor tomorrow.
To my fellow theatre companies ... do you ever feel the world crashing around you, production wise, and you wonder how to find the motivation to keep going? We're closing tomorrow with View, but the today has been a doozy on all fronts in regards to the company - I'm not going to get into it here, but I seriously just want to curl up and hide away forever. I'm really feeling that today ... I'm supposed to dive into Skriker rehearsals on Monday and my creativity is nowhere to be seen. I know people are sympathetic towards the pregnancy and want to help with what they can, but there's only so much that can be done and only so much patience they can give ... has anybody out there been in a similar situation? Directing while pregnant? Directing while really sick? How do you do it? How do you strap it on and keep going like normal?
Sorry about such a whiny blog. (Note added at 9:30pm - I'm feeling much better after being able to eat a good supper, take care of patrons, touch base with some of our closest friends and talk with my dearest husband and coartistic director. All is currently well in my world and I can see clear our path of production. Thanks again for reading. RZ)
Girl power. By the power of GreySkull ...er GreyZelda. She-ra.
RZ
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Closing Weekend!
A View from the Bridge closes this Saturday so make sure you make your reservations now! You can call 773-427-1935 or visit www.greyzelda.com to reserve them online. Friday and Saturday's tickets have been going fast!
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
A View from the Bridge - Only Two More Weeks!
We only have two weekends left for you to see Arthur Miller's A View from the Bridge! Please make your reservations now. We're mighty proud of this show and our cast rocks our world. Check it!
JEFF RECOMMENDED
“See this play. Support this company.” ~William Scott, New City
Tickets:
Call 773-427-1935.
OR
Visit http://www.greyzelda.com for online purchasing.
Ticket Specials:
Bloggers Deal- 2 for 1 ... if you have a blog, you can get in, with a friend, for half price. 10 buckaroos each.
Industry Nights- Sundays - also a 2 for 1 deal with a headshot / resume or a business card.
What the People Say:
"(Aris) Tompulis gives one of the best performances you’re likely to to see on a Chicago stage this winter. His mannerisms and delivery were so natural, I actually had to check my script afterwards to make sure he wasn’t ad libbing. Equally outstanding are Dave Goss’s Marco and Tom Gordon’s Rodolpho, both of whom have mastered an Italian accent and every task called for by the text. Finally, Kelly Breheny, playing niece Katherine for a second time, shows remarkable comfort with the role ... GreyZelda has established itself as a theater company to watch ... "
~Ethan Stanislawski, Chicago Maroon
"This young company is many exciting things. They are great actors and a tight ensemble in Miller's superbly crafted script .... Aris Tompulis’ Eddie is a big lug who you want to hug and punch alternately, but he is always human. Nicolle Van Dyke and Kelly Breheny, Beatrice and Catherine respectively, hold their own. They give hard, delicate and beautiful performances. See this play. Support this company. GreyZelda will be well served by continuing to take chances as long as they genuinely support the production."
~William Scott, New City
“The strong cast of GreyZelda Theatre Group's production--including Aris Tompulis as Eddie, Kelly Breheny as the niece, and Tom Gordon as her lover--give their characters gritty intensity.”
~Albert Williams, Chicago Reader
"The acting was excellent with Aris Tompulis’ Eddie, Kelly Breheny’s Catherine and Tom Gordon’s Rodolpho particularly wonderful. The fine Brooklyn accents and truthful emotional rage and genuine angst from Miller’s characters came across effectively in The Grey Zelda Group's production. We see Eddie’s pent-up sexual desire and his homophobia explode into tragedy. His journey unfolds as high drama. This is a worthy production."
~Tom Williams, chicagocritic.com
“The trio that anchors the GreyZelda cast couldn't be better. As Eddie, Aris Tompulis is all tightly coiled torment, a man without the capacity for redemptive self-reflection, a victim of his own obsessive, machismo posturing and bull-headed possessiveness. As Beatrice, Nicolle Van Dyke is endlessly sympathetic as a bitter, world-weary woman whose realization of the death of her marriage comes as a dagger to the heart. And as Catherine, Kelly Breheny is luminous, a young woman whose combination of innocence and sensuality could make a priest kick in a stained-glass window.”
~Catey Sullivan, News-Star
“Nicolle Van Dyke as the long-suffering wife Beatrice, Kelly Breheny as the wide-eyed Catherine, and Tom Gordon as the new-in-town Rodolfo fit perfectly into their roles. With spot-on accents, great sense of timing, and affecting performances.”
~Dennis Mahoney, Centerstage
“Tom Gordon’s dynamic performance as a passionate Italian singer and Kelly Brenehy’s fragile work as the object of his affection.”
~Christopher Piatt
JEFF RECOMMENDED
“See this play. Support this company.” ~William Scott, New City
Tickets:
Call 773-427-1935.
OR
Visit http://www.greyzelda.com for online purchasing.
Ticket Specials:
Bloggers Deal- 2 for 1 ... if you have a blog, you can get in, with a friend, for half price. 10 buckaroos each.
Industry Nights- Sundays - also a 2 for 1 deal with a headshot / resume or a business card.
What the People Say:
"(Aris) Tompulis gives one of the best performances you’re likely to to see on a Chicago stage this winter. His mannerisms and delivery were so natural, I actually had to check my script afterwards to make sure he wasn’t ad libbing. Equally outstanding are Dave Goss’s Marco and Tom Gordon’s Rodolpho, both of whom have mastered an Italian accent and every task called for by the text. Finally, Kelly Breheny, playing niece Katherine for a second time, shows remarkable comfort with the role ... GreyZelda has established itself as a theater company to watch ... "
~Ethan Stanislawski, Chicago Maroon
"This young company is many exciting things. They are great actors and a tight ensemble in Miller's superbly crafted script .... Aris Tompulis’ Eddie is a big lug who you want to hug and punch alternately, but he is always human. Nicolle Van Dyke and Kelly Breheny, Beatrice and Catherine respectively, hold their own. They give hard, delicate and beautiful performances. See this play. Support this company. GreyZelda will be well served by continuing to take chances as long as they genuinely support the production."
~William Scott, New City
“The strong cast of GreyZelda Theatre Group's production--including Aris Tompulis as Eddie, Kelly Breheny as the niece, and Tom Gordon as her lover--give their characters gritty intensity.”
~Albert Williams, Chicago Reader
"The acting was excellent with Aris Tompulis’ Eddie, Kelly Breheny’s Catherine and Tom Gordon’s Rodolpho particularly wonderful. The fine Brooklyn accents and truthful emotional rage and genuine angst from Miller’s characters came across effectively in The Grey Zelda Group's production. We see Eddie’s pent-up sexual desire and his homophobia explode into tragedy. His journey unfolds as high drama. This is a worthy production."
~Tom Williams, chicagocritic.com
“The trio that anchors the GreyZelda cast couldn't be better. As Eddie, Aris Tompulis is all tightly coiled torment, a man without the capacity for redemptive self-reflection, a victim of his own obsessive, machismo posturing and bull-headed possessiveness. As Beatrice, Nicolle Van Dyke is endlessly sympathetic as a bitter, world-weary woman whose realization of the death of her marriage comes as a dagger to the heart. And as Catherine, Kelly Breheny is luminous, a young woman whose combination of innocence and sensuality could make a priest kick in a stained-glass window.”
~Catey Sullivan, News-Star
“Nicolle Van Dyke as the long-suffering wife Beatrice, Kelly Breheny as the wide-eyed Catherine, and Tom Gordon as the new-in-town Rodolfo fit perfectly into their roles. With spot-on accents, great sense of timing, and affecting performances.”
~Dennis Mahoney, Centerstage
“Tom Gordon’s dynamic performance as a passionate Italian singer and Kelly Brenehy’s fragile work as the object of his affection.”
~Christopher Piatt
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Windy City Times Review by Mary Shen Barnidge
"Arthur Miller's play lends itself to a variety of interpretations: it can be viewed as drama verité, painting a picture of community life amid the Italian population of Red Hook, on the southwestern coast of Brooklyn. Or as a fable of dreams deferred, elders sacrificing so their young may flourish. One can find Freudian overtones in its exploration of blue-collar paternal affection subverted by incestuous impulses stemming from suppressed envy. ( Don't we, today, still see parents resentful of the privileges they shower upon their children? ) And how could the plight of “submarines”—illegal immigrants—seeking economic opportunities in America not resonate with audiences in 2008?
It should come as no surprise that this GreyZelda Theatre Group production does not fit easily into preconceived categories. Where some directors would instruct their actors to delve the possibility of sexual ambiguities in Eddie Carbone's possessive attitude toward his maturing niece and her effeminate ( by 1956 standards, remember ) suitor, Chris Riter never permits his subtext to wallow in sweaty speculation. Likewise, speeches that would, under other guidance, be delivered with operatic majesty are kept well within the vernacular idiom of their milieu.
Indeed, if this rendition of the familiar classroom classic has any prototype, it would be an early television play: the live-action scenes are almost wholly restricted to the Carbone family parlor, with only a suggestion of hall stairway and front stoop, all other exterior scenes being shown in video clips, courtesy of filmmaker Ed French. ( David Lykins' attorney Alfieri never addresses us except before the camera. ) Far from diminishing the story's impact, however, this multimedia approach further intensifies our acquaintance and, thus, our understanding of the social environment that turns fundamentally good men to violence and vengeance.
Opening on a frigid night only three days into the new year, the GreyZelda ensemble couldn't help but fall a bit short of its ambitious goals, emotions kindling too slowly before igniting. But Stage Left's intimate quarters permit the cinematic ambience of the prerecorded sequences to be carried over to the on-site performances—in particular, techniques associated with close-up shots that allow us to see thoughts cross characters' minds unspoken. Ironically, it is just this cozy brand of realism ( as contrasted with the glib repartee of extensively-drilled players confidant of their next words ) that invokes empathy without our being aware of its influence, so that when the inevitable strikes—and we, literally, see it coming—we experience the catharsis due all unnecessary destruction in an imperfect world."Doesn't Mary write beautifully? I always enjoy her reviews because she's able to spin journalism intelligently and poetically, while still remaining descriptive and accurate.
(*edited 1/17/2007 at 3:49pm* - I've been a long time fan of Mary Shen Barnidge's writing because I think it's good - regardless of whether or not she reviews our shows or not - my comment above was put because I feel the post is well-written and uses really good words and descriptions and quotes that are beautiful to read, to me, from the literary sense. She's got a huge talent and Chicago should be very proud to have such an eloquent writer coming to see their shows. Go read her other reviews - you'll see what I mean.)
RZ
Question about Previews
Why do theatre companies have them?
Rob Kozlowski posted a blog saying that he went to see a preview of Little Dog Laughed. He wrote a little bit about the show as did one of his commenters. Eric Rosen posted a comment in response where he gets on people's cases about criticizing a preview, comparing it to inviting dinner guests over when you're deciding on the menu.
No offense to someone I don't know, but ... that's kind of a dumb analogy. It's more like inviting people over an hour early while you're setting the table. Why would you? I certainly wouldn't, unless they were an out of town guest that was staying over and had nowhere else to go. Or maybe he was saying that he's the type to plan his menu out last minute ... I'm a couple weeks in advance girl, if I'm having a dinner party, but that's just me. Anyway ...
I don't really understand previews and inviting others to see a final dress/tech, especially if you're not ready and there's the chance of someone yelling "Hold!" during the show. If you're at the "Hold!" point, I don't think you're ready to have an audience.
Am I wrong? And, if you're going to invite people to come see the show before it's ready to open and those people have an opinion on the show, then ... why would you have a problem with that? You chose to let them in!!! Our friend, Bob, wanted to come see A View from the Bridge during one of our final dress rehearsals, but we just weren't ready to let the public in. We were figuring out the video stuff, making sure our light board and sound/video ops were good to go, making sure the actors were comfortable in the space, giving last minute notes, etc. Sometimes, we're completely set to go the night before we open, sometimes we just need the closed space. This time, we needed the privacy, even though Bob's a director, peer, friend, etc. We just weren't ready to pull back the curtain.
So ... why do people have previews exactly? How do they normally work? Do people pay to see glitches or are they normally free?
Rebecca
Rob Kozlowski posted a blog saying that he went to see a preview of Little Dog Laughed. He wrote a little bit about the show as did one of his commenters. Eric Rosen posted a comment in response where he gets on people's cases about criticizing a preview, comparing it to inviting dinner guests over when you're deciding on the menu.
No offense to someone I don't know, but ... that's kind of a dumb analogy. It's more like inviting people over an hour early while you're setting the table. Why would you? I certainly wouldn't, unless they were an out of town guest that was staying over and had nowhere else to go. Or maybe he was saying that he's the type to plan his menu out last minute ... I'm a couple weeks in advance girl, if I'm having a dinner party, but that's just me. Anyway ...
I don't really understand previews and inviting others to see a final dress/tech, especially if you're not ready and there's the chance of someone yelling "Hold!" during the show. If you're at the "Hold!" point, I don't think you're ready to have an audience.
Am I wrong? And, if you're going to invite people to come see the show before it's ready to open and those people have an opinion on the show, then ... why would you have a problem with that? You chose to let them in!!! Our friend, Bob, wanted to come see A View from the Bridge during one of our final dress rehearsals, but we just weren't ready to let the public in. We were figuring out the video stuff, making sure our light board and sound/video ops were good to go, making sure the actors were comfortable in the space, giving last minute notes, etc. Sometimes, we're completely set to go the night before we open, sometimes we just need the closed space. This time, we needed the privacy, even though Bob's a director, peer, friend, etc. We just weren't ready to pull back the curtain.
So ... why do people have previews exactly? How do they normally work? Do people pay to see glitches or are they normally free?
Rebecca
Thursday, January 10, 2008
What the People Are Saying ....
From Morgan Manasa, Babes with Blades Member and local
"Folks,
You must get over to Stage Left to see GreyZelda's production of A View from the Bridge.
This is one of my all time favorite plays and ... I had never seen it performed. It was lovely. Real, raw, charming and heartbreaking. Do yourselves a favor and see it before it's over! RUN. Don't walk."
From Tom Williams, chicagocritic.com:
"The acting was excellent with Aris Tompulis’ Eddie, Kelly Breheny’s Catherine and Tom Gordon’s Rodolpho particularly wonderful. The fine
From Lisa Wilson, GreyZelda company member and Chicago actor:
"The show is f@#*ing phenomenal.... I couldn't believe the tears I had in my eyes. I haven't cried in a theatrical piece as an audience member since I saw a studio workshop of
From William Scott,
"This young company is many exciting things. They are great actors and a tight ensemble in Miller's superbly crafted script .... Aris Tompulis’ Eddie is a big lug who you want to hug and punch alternately, but he is always human. Nicolle Van Dyke and Kelly Breheny, Beatrice and Catherine respectively, hold their own. They give hard, delicate and beautiful performances. See this play. Support this company. GreyZelda will be well served by continuing to take chances as long as they genuinely support the production."
From Dave Lykins, Alfieri in A View from the Bridge,
"The real treat is watching the live cast live this thing. It's probably the best cast I've ever worked with. Having a great cast means nothing without direction and Chris Riter has done a f#@*ing awesome job here. I'm really proud & lucky to be associated with these guys ... It's normal for an actor to pump up the show he's in but I am not really a self promoting type of guy. This is a great presentation of great play and it is only running until the 2nd of February. You'll be doing yourself a favor if caught this before it goes away."
I'll post more feedback as it come our way ... thank you to everyone who's seen the show so far!!!!
Industry Night for View
Hello, you crazy cats, you.
I just wanted to let you know that Industry Night for A View from the Bridge will be Sundays.
2 for 1. Which means 10 bucks. With a headshot/resume or business card.
It'll be great to see you!
RZ
A View from the Bridge by Arthur Miller
Stage Left Theatre - 3408 N. Sheffield
Thursdays - Sundays through Feb. 2, 2008
8 pm
www.greyzelda.com
I just wanted to let you know that Industry Night for A View from the Bridge will be Sundays.
2 for 1. Which means 10 bucks. With a headshot/resume or business card.
It'll be great to see you!
RZ
A View from the Bridge by Arthur Miller
Stage Left Theatre - 3408 N. Sheffield
Thursdays - Sundays through Feb. 2, 2008
8 pm
www.greyzelda.com
Monday, January 07, 2008
A View from the Bridge Opening and Tech
We finished our first week of A View from the Bridge and it went really well. Our audiences are responding positively and we are Jeff Recommended. (I secretly invited the Jeff Committee without telling Chris or the actors ... my thoughts on that were, "If we get recommended, cool. It'll be a nice surprise to share with everyone. If not, no one's the wiser, so nobody will feel bad about it and performances will continue as usual."
I didn't talk much about tech week because it was one of our craziest ... our set designer, Heath, almost killed himself by falling 4 feet flat on his back. It was really scary ... we heard him yell, then we heard a crash, then we heard nothing for a few seconds. He's fine, but he feels like he was in a serious car accident. We also had some trouble getting the film going, which was terrifying to our entire production, but thanks to Gene Van Dyke (Louis), Heath was able to download a universal program that allowed us to see the film perfectly with no glitches. It was one of those last minute saves that turned everything around and we're extremely thankful to the ingenuity of our cast and crew who helped us open the show up without a hitch.
We hope you can come see the show ... it runs Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays until Feb. 2nd. We've got the bloggers 2 for 1 deal. Sundays are also our official industry night, again with a 2 for 1 deal with a headshot or business card.
Have a great week, everyone! See you at Stage Left!
Rebecca
I didn't talk much about tech week because it was one of our craziest ... our set designer, Heath, almost killed himself by falling 4 feet flat on his back. It was really scary ... we heard him yell, then we heard a crash, then we heard nothing for a few seconds. He's fine, but he feels like he was in a serious car accident. We also had some trouble getting the film going, which was terrifying to our entire production, but thanks to Gene Van Dyke (Louis), Heath was able to download a universal program that allowed us to see the film perfectly with no glitches. It was one of those last minute saves that turned everything around and we're extremely thankful to the ingenuity of our cast and crew who helped us open the show up without a hitch.
We hope you can come see the show ... it runs Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays until Feb. 2nd. We've got the bloggers 2 for 1 deal. Sundays are also our official industry night, again with a 2 for 1 deal with a headshot or business card.
Have a great week, everyone! See you at Stage Left!
Rebecca
Wednesday, January 02, 2008
Bloggers Deal
Happy New Year, Chicago Theatre Blogosphere and its surrounding areas all over our fair country!
To bring in '08, we'd like to offer a 2 for 1 deal to people who have blogs. When you come to the box office, tell us your web address, bring a friend and you'll both be able to see the show for $10.00 each.
The show opens tomorrow and we're almost sold out. We're also sold out for Saturday, January 19th as we have a high school from Cincinnati coming, so if you were planning on seeing it that night ... I'm very sorry. Please come back again on Sunday, January 20th. You can call 773-427-1935 or visit www.greyzelda.com to purchase your tickets online.
The show's running just under two hours. It's looking great. Everything is coming together.
Here are a few pictures I took from last night's dress rehearsal:
Aris Tompulis (Eddie) and Kelly Breheny (Catherine)
Dave Goss (Marco), Kelly Breheny (Catherine), Tom Gordon (Rodolpho) and Nicolle VanDyke (Beatrice)
Nicolle VanDyke (Beatrice)
Beatrice and Eddie
To bring in '08, we'd like to offer a 2 for 1 deal to people who have blogs. When you come to the box office, tell us your web address, bring a friend and you'll both be able to see the show for $10.00 each.
The show opens tomorrow and we're almost sold out. We're also sold out for Saturday, January 19th as we have a high school from Cincinnati coming, so if you were planning on seeing it that night ... I'm very sorry. Please come back again on Sunday, January 20th. You can call 773-427-1935 or visit www.greyzelda.com to purchase your tickets online.
The show's running just under two hours. It's looking great. Everything is coming together.
Here are a few pictures I took from last night's dress rehearsal:
Aris Tompulis (Eddie) and Kelly Breheny (Catherine)
Dave Goss (Marco), Kelly Breheny (Catherine), Tom Gordon (Rodolpho) and Nicolle VanDyke (Beatrice)
Nicolle VanDyke (Beatrice)
Beatrice and Eddie
Friday, December 28, 2007
Movin' Day
(Kelly Breheny as Catherine; Nicolle Van Dyke as Beatrice)Today's the day that we start moving the show into StageLeft .... Chris and Heath (scenic designer) will be meeting Kevin or John there tonight at 6pm and will start constructing the set. Meanwhile, Holly (assistant director) and I will conduct rehearsal at our place with the actors ... it may or may not be an annoying line through where we stop actors, correct their lines, make them write down what needs correcting and carry laboriously on through the end ... it may be a normal run-through ... it has yet to be decided.
Tomorrow, Holly and I will run around town collecting final props and costumes. Tom (Rodolpho) will get his hair dyed blond. Chris and Heath will continue building. Julie (lighting designer) will join the festivities around 3pm and will start hanging her lights. What's very cool this time around is that we're able to move into StageLeft a little bit earlier because of the holidays - no one's doing anything and the space is available for us to start making it our temporary home.
Sunday - more building, painting, adding the furniture. Julie will set her light design into the computer. We'll add the film in ... Heath works for a company that provided video conferencing capabilities and he has editing software on his computer that will help make Ed's HD look incredible on stage. The actors will join us in the evening and we'll figure out their exits, entrances, scenes with the film, etc.
Then ... Monday - Wednesday - Final Dress Rehearsals with added food, costumes, makeup, full lights, full furniture, the works.
Thursday night - we open. The opening night show is almost sold out, which is very cool. Our Saturday, January 19th show is also sold out, so reserve or buy your tickets now!
A View from the Bridge by Arthur Miller, presented by The GreyZelda Theatre Group
StageLeft Theatre - 3408 N. Sheffield Chicago, IL
January 3-February 2, 2008 (Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays)
8pm
Tickets - $20.00
Call 773-427-1935 or visit www.greyzelda.com to purchase tickets online.
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Marco Prays - Video scene from A View from the Bridge
Here's a video of Marco (Dave Goss) praying at the church in our upcoming production of Arthur Miller's A View from the Bridge.
The show opens January 3rd. For tickets and more information, please visit www.greyzelda.com or call 773-427-1935.
Director: Chris Riter
Filmmaker: Ed French
Original Music: Robert Filippo and Kristen Strezo
The show opens January 3rd. For tickets and more information, please visit www.greyzelda.com or call 773-427-1935.
Director: Chris Riter
Filmmaker: Ed French
Original Music: Robert Filippo and Kristen Strezo
Thursday, December 13, 2007
I Like ....
I Like ...
Current mood: 
excited
I like this time in the rehearsal process.
I like the time where the scenes start getting sewn together. Lines are learned and the word, "Line!" gets called more and more infrequently. I like getting costumes together and making prop lists and seeing what we have and what we need to get. Seeing if we can use our own resources or ask our actors and crews if they have things like phonographs or pencil skirts or hitting stores like Lost Eras or antique markets in Allen, MI. I like talking about having actors dye their hair but not their eyebrows. Please dye the hair first than we'll talk about the eyebrows. I like final rehearsals and knowing that things are getting done on the east coast. Knowing that soon the music will be added, the film will be added, the set will take shape and the light will give illumination.
I like inviting the press and other appropriate figures to the show. I like giving hundreds of the oversized posters to Meg from Streetflyers, knowing that she's going to paint several neighborhoods with them, saving us oodles of time. I like telling people about our progress. I like the process. I like this time.
RZ
Friday, December 07, 2007
The Moronic Child, Intuition - A Friday William Ball Lesson
Remember when I said that I was going to try to post a lesson from William Ball's A Sense of Direction every Friday back in October?
Yeah .... about that ....
Here's another one for you ... just say "yes" to Intuition. And Michigan.
INTUITION
"Intuition is the most important component of the creative process. Intuition is perfect. My intuition is perfect. Your intuition is perfect. All intuition is perfect. Spontaneous right thought and automatic right and appropriate action become manifest through the apparatus of intuition. The intuition is the uncluttered avenue by which perfection makes itself available to human perception. Intuition is the path by which perfect Universe travels into individual human experience. It is the most efficient mechanism by which 'absolute' becomes expressed in the 'relative.'
It is generally agreed that the work of the human brain falls into two major classifications. Under the term 'critical brain' we will include aspects of thought such as rationality, judgment, decision-making, analytical process, exactitude, self-discipline, value, standards, selection, memory, willpower, logic, and discretion. Some psychologists have postulated that these characteristics are housed in the 'left brain.'
Under the term 'intuitive brain' we will include characteristics such as emotion, hunches, flights of fancy, imagination, sensory experience, parapsychological experience, instinct, genius, inspired ideas, dreams, daydreams, aspirations, humor, caprice, playfulness, artistic sensitivity, and illogical responses. These are the aspects that some contemporary psychologists group together as representing the action of the 'right brain.' The intuitive brain is like an oversized retarded child playing with a bauble and mumbling incoherent phrases. It acts like a baby, it wants its own way in everything, it requires perpetual attention, it unreliable and completely unreasonable. But within that moronic child lives the brilliant composer of dreams. Dreams are arrangements of poetically perfect, preciously interlocking, self-referential symbols. There is a quality of perfect creation in a dream. That perfect poetic creativity is the work of the little genius, or the 'little professor,' sitting in the intuitive brain. In other words, the intuitive brain is the home of the amorphic moron who is selfish, moody, and irresponsible, but who, on certain occasions, is inspired with flashes of brilliance and unassailably right thought, flawlessly appropriate action, and sublime clarity of vision. Intuition is capable of inspiring one with instant truth, with absolute and perfect clarity. It is ironic that intuition, the source of inspiration and genius, should spend most of its time behaving 'like a slob.'
Now, critical brain usually attempts to discipline the intuitive brain. Critical brain decides to give up cigarettes and chocolates. Critical brain resolves to do the right thing. Being logical and decisive, it is always trying to persuade intuitive brain to 'behave'. Intuitive brain has bad manners. Intuitive brain laughs in church. It is a common misbelief in Western thought that left brain can achieve everything, especially when it is able to tyrannize right brain. But in the creative process, we seek to encourage the intuitive brain. We have to make friends with intuition. We have to let intuition know that it will be trusted at every moment, and that whenever intuition feeds us something, we are going to respect it and use it no matter what our critical faculties think.
Now, a director gives this message to the actor: 'I will use your creative thoughts no matter what they are. Any thoughts that you give me I will use.' Intuition, the moronic child, hears the message. The wayward right brain will send down some insolent and inappropriate idea just to test the director - to prove the director is a liar. The director patiently uses the idea no matter how clumsy and coarse it may seem. Now, when the actor's intuition realizes that his coarse suggestion has actually been put to use, the intuition mutters, 'I can't believe he used that moronic idea. I'll send him down a worse one and see what he makes of that!' The director unquestioningly uses the second idea that the actor's intuitive process delivers, thus sending the message back to intuition, 'You have suggested two ideas and both ideas have been used.' The intuition falls into careful reflection, mumbling, 'What is this? A game? A trick? Or could there be a pattern here?' When the director uses the third suggestion of the actor's intuition without modifying, questioning, or quibbling, the intuition locks into a very important realization. This realization will significantly affect the work of the director in relation to the actor's creative intuition."
Yeah .... about that ....
Here's another one for you ... just say "yes" to Intuition. And Michigan.
INTUITION
"Intuition is the most important component of the creative process. Intuition is perfect. My intuition is perfect. Your intuition is perfect. All intuition is perfect. Spontaneous right thought and automatic right and appropriate action become manifest through the apparatus of intuition. The intuition is the uncluttered avenue by which perfection makes itself available to human perception. Intuition is the path by which perfect Universe travels into individual human experience. It is the most efficient mechanism by which 'absolute' becomes expressed in the 'relative.'
It is generally agreed that the work of the human brain falls into two major classifications. Under the term 'critical brain' we will include aspects of thought such as rationality, judgment, decision-making, analytical process, exactitude, self-discipline, value, standards, selection, memory, willpower, logic, and discretion. Some psychologists have postulated that these characteristics are housed in the 'left brain.'
Under the term 'intuitive brain' we will include characteristics such as emotion, hunches, flights of fancy, imagination, sensory experience, parapsychological experience, instinct, genius, inspired ideas, dreams, daydreams, aspirations, humor, caprice, playfulness, artistic sensitivity, and illogical responses. These are the aspects that some contemporary psychologists group together as representing the action of the 'right brain.' The intuitive brain is like an oversized retarded child playing with a bauble and mumbling incoherent phrases. It acts like a baby, it wants its own way in everything, it requires perpetual attention, it unreliable and completely unreasonable. But within that moronic child lives the brilliant composer of dreams. Dreams are arrangements of poetically perfect, preciously interlocking, self-referential symbols. There is a quality of perfect creation in a dream. That perfect poetic creativity is the work of the little genius, or the 'little professor,' sitting in the intuitive brain. In other words, the intuitive brain is the home of the amorphic moron who is selfish, moody, and irresponsible, but who, on certain occasions, is inspired with flashes of brilliance and unassailably right thought, flawlessly appropriate action, and sublime clarity of vision. Intuition is capable of inspiring one with instant truth, with absolute and perfect clarity. It is ironic that intuition, the source of inspiration and genius, should spend most of its time behaving 'like a slob.'
Now, critical brain usually attempts to discipline the intuitive brain. Critical brain decides to give up cigarettes and chocolates. Critical brain resolves to do the right thing. Being logical and decisive, it is always trying to persuade intuitive brain to 'behave'. Intuitive brain has bad manners. Intuitive brain laughs in church. It is a common misbelief in Western thought that left brain can achieve everything, especially when it is able to tyrannize right brain. But in the creative process, we seek to encourage the intuitive brain. We have to make friends with intuition. We have to let intuition know that it will be trusted at every moment, and that whenever intuition feeds us something, we are going to respect it and use it no matter what our critical faculties think.
Now, a director gives this message to the actor: 'I will use your creative thoughts no matter what they are. Any thoughts that you give me I will use.' Intuition, the moronic child, hears the message. The wayward right brain will send down some insolent and inappropriate idea just to test the director - to prove the director is a liar. The director patiently uses the idea no matter how clumsy and coarse it may seem. Now, when the actor's intuition realizes that his coarse suggestion has actually been put to use, the intuition mutters, 'I can't believe he used that moronic idea. I'll send him down a worse one and see what he makes of that!' The director unquestioningly uses the second idea that the actor's intuitive process delivers, thus sending the message back to intuition, 'You have suggested two ideas and both ideas have been used.' The intuition falls into careful reflection, mumbling, 'What is this? A game? A trick? Or could there be a pattern here?' When the director uses the third suggestion of the actor's intuition without modifying, questioning, or quibbling, the intuition locks into a very important realization. This realization will significantly affect the work of the director in relation to the actor's creative intuition."
Monday, November 26, 2007
Passion and Stubborn Belief
"If you build it, they may not come, but shouldn't you build it anyway? I mean - a baseball field in the middle of a corn field? That's passion and stubborn belief, baby. That's just badass." - Don Hall
He wrote one of those blogs today that just makes me want to cheer, run around my apartment like a spazz one or two times screaming "Fuck All!" and, well, quote him on our blog. Whenever it comes down to the homegrown, DIY mentality ... I get very excited because I feel that brand of theatre makes very fascinating stuff. You can watch your ginormos like "Phantom of the Opera" until the cows come home (which I'm seeing on Friday for the umpteenth time, I must admit - it's my early birthday present from Chris ... I'm like a pig to slaughter sometimes for the big musicals, but POTO was the show that made me want to do theatre in the first place) or you can sit and watch something a little more dangerous, a little more fresh, a little more fleeting and feel just as energized if not more because you're watching something that is being put on for very little, but the heart size and the commitment is so much more .... I love our storefront Chicago scene, as you well know ... I know that we might rehearse in our apartment, our basement, our backyard, what have you (and I really hope our actors don't mind - we have a very spacious and comfortable apartment which we decided to use because of those very reasons when we were considering whether or not to keep our rehearsal space) ... but I know that our actors' talent and everyone's professionalism are just as great as any other show ... we just don't have the bottom dollar sometimes, but .... we'll try to prove to you otherwise to the best of our ability. Anyway ....
Good stuff, Don.
Here are some more pictures from our filming of A View from the Bridge for those who might not want to join myspace just to see pictures (ahem, ahem Tom Gordon, ahem ahem.)
Chris Riter (Director) and Ed French preparing for a shot.
Holly Micelli (Asst. Director and DePaul Intern) and Ed French in the back of our jeep. Who needs a dollie, yo?
He wrote one of those blogs today that just makes me want to cheer, run around my apartment like a spazz one or two times screaming "Fuck All!" and, well, quote him on our blog. Whenever it comes down to the homegrown, DIY mentality ... I get very excited because I feel that brand of theatre makes very fascinating stuff. You can watch your ginormos like "Phantom of the Opera" until the cows come home (which I'm seeing on Friday for the umpteenth time, I must admit - it's my early birthday present from Chris ... I'm like a pig to slaughter sometimes for the big musicals, but POTO was the show that made me want to do theatre in the first place) or you can sit and watch something a little more dangerous, a little more fresh, a little more fleeting and feel just as energized if not more because you're watching something that is being put on for very little, but the heart size and the commitment is so much more .... I love our storefront Chicago scene, as you well know ... I know that we might rehearse in our apartment, our basement, our backyard, what have you (and I really hope our actors don't mind - we have a very spacious and comfortable apartment which we decided to use because of those very reasons when we were considering whether or not to keep our rehearsal space) ... but I know that our actors' talent and everyone's professionalism are just as great as any other show ... we just don't have the bottom dollar sometimes, but .... we'll try to prove to you otherwise to the best of our ability. Anyway ....
Good stuff, Don.
Here are some more pictures from our filming of A View from the Bridge for those who might not want to join myspace just to see pictures (ahem, ahem Tom Gordon, ahem ahem.)
Chris Riter (Director) and Ed French preparing for a shot.
Dave Goss (Marco)
Holly Micelli (Asst. Director and DePaul Intern) and Ed French in the back of our jeep. Who needs a dollie, yo?
Monday, November 12, 2007
Saturday, November 10, 2007
Filming
Ed French is in town to do the filming for A View from the Bridge.
Lots of creativity is floating through these walls. Lots of inspired ideas. Lots of calculated experimentation. Our actors have been amazing. They've been able to do take after take. Their lines are completely and strongly memorized which makes shooting a joy (they haven't had much rehearsal time, so they really had to get those words down quickly). Their focus has been extraordinary. Dave Lykins, who is playing Alfieri, has been filmed the most and he's put in a lot of hours with us this week. He's been great and looks wonderful on film.
Aris Tompulis (Eddie) has done a couple scenes with him, as well, and has been intensely stewing his juices subtly enough for the camera.
Ed said that it's been a pleasure working with everyone so far ... Chicago is full of incredibly talented actors and we're so happy to work with these chaps. Everyone has been gracious, professional, calm and helpful. It's been awesome.
Dave Goss (Marco) joined us yesterday to film additional scenes at a Catholic church in the Pilson area. It was beautiful and I think the scenes will look great. I wasn't able to take any pictures in the church, unfortunately, but everything has been captured on film, so we'll have that to chronicle our efforts.
Dave Goss (Marco) joined us yesterday to film additional scenes at a Catholic church in the Pilson area. It was beautiful and I think the scenes will look great. I wasn't able to take any pictures in the church, unfortunately, but everything has been captured on film, so we'll have that to chronicle our efforts.
We have a few outdoor shots to take today, some exit shots, Alfieri scenes and anything else we may have put aside for a rainy day. Chris finds this all really exciting and could keep going and going and ... he's a film junky so this has been like Christmas for him. Ed is an old friend, as well, so they've been able to catch up and work with each other gracefully and intuitively.
I think you'll enjoy the end results, my friends. I'm so proud of the work that's been accomplished thus far ... after we finish up today, Ed will fly back to Brooklyn, start the editing process and we'll go from there. Hopefully, we can give you a sneak preview online.
I'll try to post some pictures of the work that will be done today, if I get a chance. (Edited 11/12/07 - Added Pictures - Please check out www.myspace.com/greyzelda for more pictures.)
RZ
I think you'll enjoy the end results, my friends. I'm so proud of the work that's been accomplished thus far ... after we finish up today, Ed will fly back to Brooklyn, start the editing process and we'll go from there. Hopefully, we can give you a sneak preview online.
I'll try to post some pictures of the work that will be done today, if I get a chance. (Edited 11/12/07 - Added Pictures - Please check out www.myspace.com/greyzelda for more pictures.)
RZ
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Halloween Bobbings
Thank you to everyone who came to the GreyZelda Halloween Fundraiser! Here's a partial showing of the characters who made an appearance:
We also saw Magda, the Vampiric Barmaid, The Silver Lining, Gay-des (instead of Hades - heh heh heh!), a Mardi Gras party guest from Eyes Wide Shut, Disco Stu/Indiana Jones/Levon, Crazy Cat Lady and many more.
Brian Vander Ark played. Pryce played. Dave Lykins played. Dave McCaul's band-that-I-can't-quite-remember-the-name-of played and, between you and me and that tree over there, they're going to be really sumthin'. When they get their confirmed name, watch out!!!!
Apples were bobbed for. Kegs were tapped. Wine and Jim Beam were guzzled. Photographs and artwork were silently bidded on. Costumes were judged by a highly secret panel. Money was made for our upcoming season.
Thank you, everyone. We'll do it again.
*****************************************
We also saw Magda, the Vampiric Barmaid, The Silver Lining, Gay-des (instead of Hades - heh heh heh!), a Mardi Gras party guest from Eyes Wide Shut, Disco Stu/Indiana Jones/Levon, Crazy Cat Lady and many more.
Brian Vander Ark played. Pryce played. Dave Lykins played. Dave McCaul's band-that-I-can't-quite-remember-the-name-of played and, between you and me and that tree over there, they're going to be really sumthin'. When they get their confirmed name, watch out!!!!
Apples were bobbed for. Kegs were tapped. Wine and Jim Beam were guzzled. Photographs and artwork were silently bidded on. Costumes were judged by a highly secret panel. Money was made for our upcoming season.
Thank you, everyone. We'll do it again.
*****************************************
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
So vast is art, so narrow human wit. - Alexander Pope
On Art ... A Few Words ... But Not From Me
Without freedom, no art; art lives only on the restraints it imposes on itself, and dies of all others.
Albert Camus
Art is magic delivered from the lie of being truth.
Theodor Adorno
The task of art today is to bring chaos into order.
Theodor Adorno
Every work of art is an uncommitted crime.
Theodor Adorno
Be daring, be different, be impractical, be anything that will assert integrity of purpose and imaginative vision against the play-it-safers, the creatures of the commonplace, the slaves of the ordinary.
Cecil Beaton
Great art picks up where nature ends.
Marc Chagall
The artist one day falls through a hole in the brambles, and from that moment he is following the dark rapids of an underground river which may sometimes flow so near to the surface that the laughing picnic parties are heard above.
Cyril Connolly
Progressive art can assist people to learn not only about the objective forces at work in the society in which they live, but also about the intensely social character of their interior lives. Ultimately, it can propel people toward social emancipation.
Salvador Dali
The artist who aims at perfection in everything achieves it in nothing.
Eugene Delacroix
True art is characterized by an irresistible urge in the creative artist.
Albert Einstein
Love of beauty is taste. The creation of beauty is art.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Rationalism is the enemy of art, though necessary as a basis for architecture.
Arthur Erickson
Only those who attempt the absurd will achieve the impossible. I think it's in my basement... let me go upstairs and check.
M. C. Escher
To make us feel small in the right way is a function of art; men can only make us feel small in the wrong way.
E. M. Forster
Art is a step from what is obvious and well-known toward what is arcane and concealed.
Kahlil Gibran
The artist alone sees spirits. But after he has told of their appearing to him, everybody sees them.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
If you hear a voice within you say "you cannot paint," then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced.
Vincent Van Gogh
The highest art is always the most religious, and the greatest artist is always a devout person.
Abraham Lincoln
You study, you learn, but you guard the original naivete. It has to be within you, as desire for drink is within the drunkard or love is within the lover.
Henri Matisse
I have been no more than a medium, as it were.
Henri Matisse
An artist is always alone - if he is an artist. No, what the artist needs is loneliness.
Henry Miller
We have art in order not to die of the truth.
Friedrich Nietzsche
If you do not breathe through writing, if you do not cry out in writing, or sing in writing, then don't write, because our culture has no use for it.
Anais Nin
You've gotta be original, because if you're like someone else, what do they need you for?
Bernadette Peters
The purpose of art is washing the dust of daily life off our souls.
Pablo Picasso
Art is the only way to run away without leaving home.
Twyla Tharp
Art is parasitic on life, just as criticism is parasitic on art.
Harry S. Truman
An artist is someone who produces things that people don't need to have but that he - for some reason - thinks it would be a good idea to give them.
Andy Warhol
I'm afraid that if you look at a thing long enough, it loses all of its meaning.
Andy Warhol
No great artist ever sees things as they really are. If he did, he would cease to be an artist.
Oscar Wilde
All art is quite useless.
Oscar Wilde
A work of art is the unique result of a unique temperament.
Oscar Wilde
Art is the most intense mode of individualism that the world has known.
Oscar Wilde
I am an artist... I am here to live out loud.
Emile Zola
Without freedom, no art; art lives only on the restraints it imposes on itself, and dies of all others.
Albert Camus
Art is magic delivered from the lie of being truth.
Theodor Adorno
The task of art today is to bring chaos into order.
Theodor Adorno
Every work of art is an uncommitted crime.
Theodor Adorno
Be daring, be different, be impractical, be anything that will assert integrity of purpose and imaginative vision against the play-it-safers, the creatures of the commonplace, the slaves of the ordinary.
Cecil Beaton
Great art picks up where nature ends.
Marc Chagall
The artist one day falls through a hole in the brambles, and from that moment he is following the dark rapids of an underground river which may sometimes flow so near to the surface that the laughing picnic parties are heard above.
Cyril Connolly
Progressive art can assist people to learn not only about the objective forces at work in the society in which they live, but also about the intensely social character of their interior lives. Ultimately, it can propel people toward social emancipation.
Salvador Dali
The artist who aims at perfection in everything achieves it in nothing.
Eugene Delacroix
True art is characterized by an irresistible urge in the creative artist.
Albert Einstein
Love of beauty is taste. The creation of beauty is art.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Rationalism is the enemy of art, though necessary as a basis for architecture.
Arthur Erickson
Only those who attempt the absurd will achieve the impossible. I think it's in my basement... let me go upstairs and check.
M. C. Escher
To make us feel small in the right way is a function of art; men can only make us feel small in the wrong way.
E. M. Forster
Art is a step from what is obvious and well-known toward what is arcane and concealed.
Kahlil Gibran
The artist alone sees spirits. But after he has told of their appearing to him, everybody sees them.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
If you hear a voice within you say "you cannot paint," then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced.
Vincent Van Gogh
The highest art is always the most religious, and the greatest artist is always a devout person.
Abraham Lincoln
You study, you learn, but you guard the original naivete. It has to be within you, as desire for drink is within the drunkard or love is within the lover.
Henri Matisse
I have been no more than a medium, as it were.
Henri Matisse
An artist is always alone - if he is an artist. No, what the artist needs is loneliness.
Henry Miller
We have art in order not to die of the truth.
Friedrich Nietzsche
If you do not breathe through writing, if you do not cry out in writing, or sing in writing, then don't write, because our culture has no use for it.
Anais Nin
You've gotta be original, because if you're like someone else, what do they need you for?
Bernadette Peters
The purpose of art is washing the dust of daily life off our souls.
Pablo Picasso
Art is the only way to run away without leaving home.
Twyla Tharp
Art is parasitic on life, just as criticism is parasitic on art.
Harry S. Truman
An artist is someone who produces things that people don't need to have but that he - for some reason - thinks it would be a good idea to give them.
Andy Warhol
I'm afraid that if you look at a thing long enough, it loses all of its meaning.
Andy Warhol
No great artist ever sees things as they really are. If he did, he would cease to be an artist.
Oscar Wilde
All art is quite useless.
Oscar Wilde
A work of art is the unique result of a unique temperament.
Oscar Wilde
Art is the most intense mode of individualism that the world has known.
Oscar Wilde
I am an artist... I am here to live out loud.
Emile Zola
GreyZelda's Halloween Party and Fundraiser with Brian Vander Ark!
Come celebrate Halloween GreyZelda style - costumes strongly encouraged! You might even win an amazing prize for your duds!!!! We'll be doing it up ooky and kooky, just the way we like it and we're hoping to raise money for our 2008 season with music, good friends and our favorite holiday of the year!
Brian Vander Ark, lead singer of the Verve Pipe, will be playing at our abode starting at 7pm which we're incredibly excited about! He's going to donate $2.00 of every cd he sells to GreyZelda. He's a hell of a guy. Excellent performer. You're going to love his set. He's playing for an hour and I got to suggest a couple of my favorite tunes. Rock.
Pryce and Dave Lykins, two excellent local performers and friends of GreyZelda (Dave's going to be playing Alfieri in a View from the Bridge), will be playing later in the evening followed by the debut of Dave McCaul's (as in Lisa Wilson and Dave McCaul - both wild and crazy cats) new glam band - well, maybe it isn't a debut, but it'll be a first time at our house.
We'll have silent auctions for artwork donated by our graphic designer Sarah Stec and Steven T. Wirth. Photography donated by Michigander Chris Williams. A kick ass t-shirt designed by Morgan Manasa of Babes with Blades.
There will be apples that will need to be bobbed for, candy, creepies and crawlies. Games. Dance parties. Fog machines. And, of course, booze. Booze of many colors. It'll be grand and we can't wait to see you dressed in your death-defying best!
And .... there's going to be a full moon ... perfect for a Howlin' Hallowin' Halloween party!
Suggested donation is $20.00 or donate what you can.
GreyZelda's a-hostin -
Our season we're toastin'
Location: The GreyZelda Abode - 4725 N. Kilpatrick Ave. First Floor Chicago
When: October 26th, 2007 - 6:30pm until whenever the last ghoul howls.
And, if you don't come, you might have this guy knockin' on your door:
Brian Vander Ark, lead singer of the Verve Pipe, will be playing at our abode starting at 7pm which we're incredibly excited about! He's going to donate $2.00 of every cd he sells to GreyZelda. He's a hell of a guy. Excellent performer. You're going to love his set. He's playing for an hour and I got to suggest a couple of my favorite tunes. Rock.
Pryce and Dave Lykins, two excellent local performers and friends of GreyZelda (Dave's going to be playing Alfieri in a View from the Bridge), will be playing later in the evening followed by the debut of Dave McCaul's (as in Lisa Wilson and Dave McCaul - both wild and crazy cats) new glam band - well, maybe it isn't a debut, but it'll be a first time at our house.
We'll have silent auctions for artwork donated by our graphic designer Sarah Stec and Steven T. Wirth. Photography donated by Michigander Chris Williams. A kick ass t-shirt designed by Morgan Manasa of Babes with Blades.
There will be apples that will need to be bobbed for, candy, creepies and crawlies. Games. Dance parties. Fog machines. And, of course, booze. Booze of many colors. It'll be grand and we can't wait to see you dressed in your death-defying best!
And .... there's going to be a full moon ... perfect for a Howlin' Hallowin' Halloween party!
Suggested donation is $20.00 or donate what you can.
GreyZelda's a-hostin -
Our season we're toastin'
Location: The GreyZelda Abode - 4725 N. Kilpatrick Ave. First Floor Chicago
When: October 26th, 2007 - 6:30pm until whenever the last ghoul howls.
And, if you don't come, you might have this guy knockin' on your door:
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Theatre's Erotic
I'm always coming back to Elvis singing "A little less conversation, a little more action, please."
To quote Anne Bogart:
To quote Anne Bogart:
"Art, like life, is understood through experience, not explanations. As theatre artists, we cannot create an experience for an audience; rather, our job is to set up the circumstances in which an experience might occur."
I'm currently reading her essay on Eroticism and its relation to theatre. My heart is pounding.
One of the main reasons I'm attracted to the world of theatre is the mystery ... the feeling of what's next. I'm in a relationship with the art form that I don't want to leave because it's always exciting me, it keeps answers from me, it flirts with me, it delights me, it destroys me ... it has an energy and a power that can not be trifled with. It doesn't talk too much and when it's getting too heady, I often shut it out because I'm finding it's becoming dull and tedious. I choose to go too shows that keep me quiet afterwards because the experience was so personal, I feel it will cheapen my memory if I burden it down with words.
Here's another quote from the essay that I really like:
One of the main reasons I'm attracted to the world of theatre is the mystery ... the feeling of what's next. I'm in a relationship with the art form that I don't want to leave because it's always exciting me, it keeps answers from me, it flirts with me, it delights me, it destroys me ... it has an energy and a power that can not be trifled with. It doesn't talk too much and when it's getting too heady, I often shut it out because I'm finding it's becoming dull and tedious. I choose to go too shows that keep me quiet afterwards because the experience was so personal, I feel it will cheapen my memory if I burden it down with words.
Here's another quote from the essay that I really like:
"A theatre critic once suggested that the American fear of art is actually a puritanical fear of the sexual encounter. But erotic tension between the stage and the beholder is part of what makes the theatre experience so attractive. The theatre is a place where it is possible to meet one another in an energetic space unmediated by technology. The sensory stimulation allowed in theatre, authorized by its very form, allows the corporeal imagination to exercise itself."
What stops you in your tracks? What makes you gasp in anticipation? What consistently turns you on? What changes you forever? You don't need to answer on your own blog, if you don't want to, nor do you need to answer it here ... again, your words might cheapen your feelings and dull theatre's energy down. For the sake of all things erotic, please don't do that.
As I mentioned a couple of blogs ago, sometimes I need to shut the computer off and reestablish my relationship with my favorite subject, theatre. I don't like the distractions of long-winded blogs trying to pick apart what I like to consider mysterious and exotic. If I wanted to be a scientist where I just had to prove hypotheses over and over again, I would have gone into that field ... but I like the in-between places, the moments that quicken my heart, the moments that warm my brain with images and sensory experiences.
Over analyzing is a major drag and turnoff sometimes.
Keep me in suspense. Keep me in the dark. Keep me asking what's next. Surprise me.
As I mentioned a couple of blogs ago, sometimes I need to shut the computer off and reestablish my relationship with my favorite subject, theatre. I don't like the distractions of long-winded blogs trying to pick apart what I like to consider mysterious and exotic. If I wanted to be a scientist where I just had to prove hypotheses over and over again, I would have gone into that field ... but I like the in-between places, the moments that quicken my heart, the moments that warm my brain with images and sensory experiences.
Over analyzing is a major drag and turnoff sometimes.
Keep me in suspense. Keep me in the dark. Keep me asking what's next. Surprise me.
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Today is National Dictionary Day
So, look some stuff up already will you?
Just crack that book up ... and read.
I can spend hours with that darn red, worn dictionary book of mine.
Words that you always thought you knew the meaning of, you don't.
Words you didn't know exist, do.
And then there are the dirty words you run into accidentally ... gotta love those. Takes you back to sixth grade. One of my friends, Avery Scoville, read the whole thing in fifth grade. It was the talk of the school yard. If you always had a nose in books. Which I did.
Go crack something up and look up a word you've always wondered about ... go on.
Just crack that book up ... and read.
I can spend hours with that darn red, worn dictionary book of mine.
Words that you always thought you knew the meaning of, you don't.
Words you didn't know exist, do.
And then there are the dirty words you run into accidentally ... gotta love those. Takes you back to sixth grade. One of my friends, Avery Scoville, read the whole thing in fifth grade. It was the talk of the school yard. If you always had a nose in books. Which I did.
Go crack something up and look up a word you've always wondered about ... go on.
Friday, October 12, 2007
A Friday Lesson from William Ball
William Ball is one of my heroes.
From Wikipedia:
William Ball on Art:
"The most important characteristic of a work of art is unity ... If it lacks unity, it does not qualify as a work of art. Unity means harmony among the component parts; and the greater the harmony among the component parts, the greater the unity and the greater the art. ...
The second characteristic of a work of art is that it reveals Universe. Show business does not have to reveal Universe. It is not required and not expected. Night club entertainment is not expected to reveal Universe. Vaudeville is not expected to reveal Universe. Theatre or drama is expected to reveal Universe.
A third thing that art does is awaken the Spirit. Commerce is not expected to awaken Spirit and neither is show business. By awakening the Spirit, we mean that somewhere during the course of the performance, the spectator experiences "The Great Aha!" A light goes on within him and the self is illuminated, awakened, enlightened, elevated, and changed. Usually the moment of awakening is very short, and it is an unconscious moment. One is sometimes aware that it took place after it has happened, but while it is happening, one is unaware.
There is something else that the work of art in the theatre is expected to have that show business and television entertainment are not necessarily expected tot have. That has to do with the revelation of the beauty of humankind. That beauty, concealed somewhere within the drama, takes many forms, and the revelation takes many forms, but one may witness and share the author's vision - his admiration, awe, and wonder at the beauty - through a work of art. When it is not art, it lacks a sense of beauty of humankind. These are generalizations, but I do want to separate the discussion of art from show business and entertainment so that no one is misled."
People in the blog world go round and round on the subject of what makes good theatre and what audiences are looking for. I certainly think William Ball had a major clue and while I love reading the active thinking and conversations of my peers, sometimes I like to just switch of the computer, sit in silence and read the book that always seems to get me through most of my questions. Then, I switch that computer back on, read what my friends and fellow theatre creators have to say, and it reaffirms what I've just read most of the time.
Rebecca
From Wikipedia:
William Ball (29 April 1931 – 30 July 1991) was a stage director and founder of the American Conservatory Theatre (ACT).
He was awarded the Drama Desk Vernon Rice Award in 1959 for his production of Chekhov's Ivanov and was nominated for a Tony Award in 1965 for his production of Molière's Tartuffe, starring Michael O'Sullivan and Rene Auberjonois. He was also a noted director of operas.
Ball founded the American Conservatory Theatre in Pittsburgh in 1965. This was a company of up to 30 full-time paid actors who studied all disciplines of the theatre arts during the day and performed at night. Ball had a falling out with ACT's financial benefactors in Pittsburgh and took the company on the road. His 1966 productions of Albee's Tiny Alice, Pirandello's Six Characters in Search of an Author, and others at the Stanford University Summer Festival led a group of financiers to offer his company a home in San Francisco, which had recently lost The Actor's Workshop to New York's Lincoln Center.
In its first season, Ball's ACT produced twenty-seven full length plays in two theatres over the course of seven months. Some actors would do one role in the early part of a play at the Geary Theatre then run two blocks up the hill to the Marines Memorial to appear in the last part of another. Ball's 1972 production of Cyrano de Bergerac and his 1976 production of The Taming of the Shrew were televised nationally on PBS. In 1979, ACT received the Tony Award for excellence in regional theatre.
Ball was often provocative. His interpretation of Albee's Tiny Alice brought threat of a lawsuit from the playwright, who tried to withhold the performance rights only to discover that they had never been granted in the first place. Some observers thought that Ball's operatic production (with an added aside condemning the Vietnam war) may have solved some problems inherent in the text.
Ball was the author of the 1984 book, A Sense of Direction: Some Observations on the Art of Directing.
William Ball left ACT in 1986 under a cloud of suspicious financial transactions. He appeared in a forgettable Hollywood B-movie, Suburban Commando, and committed suicide in Los Angeles in 1991.
I'm going to start sharing excerpts from A Sense of Direction. If you're a director and haven't read this book ... get thee to a bookstore or amazon.com immediately. It's GreyZelda's Bible and Chris and I swear by it. All directing scenarios are different and you gotta be able to adjust in the moment with your actors, crew and production, but it's an amazing centering tool to touch upon if you're looking for a little guidance.William Ball on Art:
"The most important characteristic of a work of art is unity ... If it lacks unity, it does not qualify as a work of art. Unity means harmony among the component parts; and the greater the harmony among the component parts, the greater the unity and the greater the art. ...
The second characteristic of a work of art is that it reveals Universe. Show business does not have to reveal Universe. It is not required and not expected. Night club entertainment is not expected to reveal Universe. Vaudeville is not expected to reveal Universe. Theatre or drama is expected to reveal Universe.
A third thing that art does is awaken the Spirit. Commerce is not expected to awaken Spirit and neither is show business. By awakening the Spirit, we mean that somewhere during the course of the performance, the spectator experiences "The Great Aha!" A light goes on within him and the self is illuminated, awakened, enlightened, elevated, and changed. Usually the moment of awakening is very short, and it is an unconscious moment. One is sometimes aware that it took place after it has happened, but while it is happening, one is unaware.
There is something else that the work of art in the theatre is expected to have that show business and television entertainment are not necessarily expected tot have. That has to do with the revelation of the beauty of humankind. That beauty, concealed somewhere within the drama, takes many forms, and the revelation takes many forms, but one may witness and share the author's vision - his admiration, awe, and wonder at the beauty - through a work of art. When it is not art, it lacks a sense of beauty of humankind. These are generalizations, but I do want to separate the discussion of art from show business and entertainment so that no one is misled."
People in the blog world go round and round on the subject of what makes good theatre and what audiences are looking for. I certainly think William Ball had a major clue and while I love reading the active thinking and conversations of my peers, sometimes I like to just switch of the computer, sit in silence and read the book that always seems to get me through most of my questions. Then, I switch that computer back on, read what my friends and fellow theatre creators have to say, and it reaffirms what I've just read most of the time.
Rebecca
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
A Totally Lame-o Game-o
Paul Rekk tagged me with the following meme:
List 5 things that certain people (who are not deserving of being your friend anyway) may consider to be "totally lame," but you are, despite the possible stigma, totally proud of. Own it. Tag 5 others:
1. I can't smile without Barry Manilow. I can't laugh and I can't sing. I've been listening to Barry since I was five and know 3/4 of his repertoire. He puts out albums like a madman and, what with his covers of great hits from the 60's and 70's and his Labor Day albums, I can't keep up. I have had dreams of creating "Manilow! The Musical!" for quite some time now and dream of wearing yellow feathers in my hair.
2. I have a purple glow in the dark retainer with sparkles that I still wear. Got it in eighth grade.
3. I love and can tell you the back histories of most ABC soaps minus Passions.
4. I can sing to you the entirety of Phantom of the Opera and Les Miserables, so if you've got six hours or so, you've got a date with destiny!
5. Even if you're my husband ... if you fall down unexpectedly or get hit in the face with something unexpected or trip or fall off your bike or anything that could get yourself on America's Funniest Home Videos, I will laugh at you so hard that I, too, will fall down and weep with joy at your situation. I'm sorry, but there's nothing to be done.
I now tag: The Olde Gentleman, Lisa Wilson, Pryce, Jay Raskolnikov and Kristen Strezo.
Friday, September 21, 2007
Five Strengths
Rob Kozlowski (thanks, Rob!) tagged me with the following meme so here I go.
"Make a list of five strengths that you possess as a writer/artist. It's not really bragging, it's an honest assessment (forced upon you by this darn meme). Please resist the urge to enumerate your weaknesses, or even mention them in contrast to each strong point you list. Tag four other writers or artists whom you'd like to see share their strengths."
1. I motivate my team and do my damndest to make everyone feel involved and a major part of the creation process.
2. I'm a Dynamo worker, according to monster.com. So, in a quick nutshell, that work mentality means I've got a lot of energy, I'm adventurous, I like to take risks. I like to lead and I don't expect others to keep up with me. I like to push the envelope. What's nice is ... Chris took this same test and he came out as a Dynamo, as well, so double the energy means double the fun. Which keeps us going and going and going and ...
3. I consider myself a life-long learner. Sometimes I'm right and sometimes I'm wrong, but I always want to learn from my experiences either way. I tend to shed my skin every six months and am constantly evolving ... I hope to continue my metamorphosis until I drop dead and then I'd like to start again, please. I like to ask questions and look at the world with a sense of wonder which helps me find the beauty in a lot of different types of things.
4. I believe in GreyZelda and the people who have worked with us. I'm loyal to a fault and will fight like a Mama Bear for what we're trying to do, if need be. It might leave me with sand in my eyes or egg on my face (and I always learn from my actions - see above), but if I feel that our beliefs (and that often means our fellow artists and their beliefs as well) are being fucked with, it makes me none too happy and I'll be a warrior for my theatre company and those in it.
5. I'm multifaceted and will help where I'm needed. I'm happy pulling curtains open and doing box office. I'm happy doing a walk on role. I'm happy directing. I'm happy putting up flyers. I'm happy to market and make the squeaky wheel phone calls and emails. I'm just happy to help in the world of theatre.
So, here's who I'm tagging: Lisa Wilson, Kristen Strezo, Dave Goss and Paula Pryce.
"Make a list of five strengths that you possess as a writer/artist. It's not really bragging, it's an honest assessment (forced upon you by this darn meme). Please resist the urge to enumerate your weaknesses, or even mention them in contrast to each strong point you list. Tag four other writers or artists whom you'd like to see share their strengths."
1. I motivate my team and do my damndest to make everyone feel involved and a major part of the creation process.
2. I'm a Dynamo worker, according to monster.com. So, in a quick nutshell, that work mentality means I've got a lot of energy, I'm adventurous, I like to take risks. I like to lead and I don't expect others to keep up with me. I like to push the envelope. What's nice is ... Chris took this same test and he came out as a Dynamo, as well, so double the energy means double the fun. Which keeps us going and going and going and ...
3. I consider myself a life-long learner. Sometimes I'm right and sometimes I'm wrong, but I always want to learn from my experiences either way. I tend to shed my skin every six months and am constantly evolving ... I hope to continue my metamorphosis until I drop dead and then I'd like to start again, please. I like to ask questions and look at the world with a sense of wonder which helps me find the beauty in a lot of different types of things.
4. I believe in GreyZelda and the people who have worked with us. I'm loyal to a fault and will fight like a Mama Bear for what we're trying to do, if need be. It might leave me with sand in my eyes or egg on my face (and I always learn from my actions - see above), but if I feel that our beliefs (and that often means our fellow artists and their beliefs as well) are being fucked with, it makes me none too happy and I'll be a warrior for my theatre company and those in it.
5. I'm multifaceted and will help where I'm needed. I'm happy pulling curtains open and doing box office. I'm happy doing a walk on role. I'm happy directing. I'm happy putting up flyers. I'm happy to market and make the squeaky wheel phone calls and emails. I'm just happy to help in the world of theatre.
So, here's who I'm tagging: Lisa Wilson, Kristen Strezo, Dave Goss and Paula Pryce.
Saturday, September 15, 2007
Dada Is ...
We saw Soiree Dada: Blinde Esel Hopse, put on by WNEP Theater last night, starring lots of Dadas I know and Dadas I didn't know, but now do. The show was directed by Don Hall, the blog king of Chicago.
From WNEP's site, written by DH:
"The big question asked by interested parties is "What can we expect?"
Expect theater-in-the-round stirred up to resemble both the midway of Coney Island and The Island of Dr. Moreau. Expect to be a participant in the action. Expect that six people get wine. Expect that ten people get snacks. Six people get baby food. No one will get messy and your clothes are safe. Expect to dance and sing.
Expect an unexpectedly fun and erratic evening of anti-Art, nonsense poetry with a dash of vaudeville, some clowning, a bit of improvisation, a teaspoon of chaos, and served on a plate of Old Tyme Meeting Hall Politicking.
If you've seen Soireé DADAs in the past, this is like that on steroids and floating in the Macy's Christmas Parade. If you've never seen a Soireé DADA, it's time.
TICKETS CAN BE PURCHASED AT www.dcatheater.org "So, knowing what I could expect ... did all that happen?
When we entered the Dadas were milling around inviting the audience to games to determine where we would sit ... barking and selling their environments to us a la Coney Island. Chris is a hard sell and wanted to go to all the different stations ... I'm easy and got taken in by DADA Nip (see photo above - I sat in the seat that Dada Grizzle is firmly held in to) and got to experience baby food for the first time since being a wee thing - green beans and apple sauce. I preferred the apple sauce. The green beans needed salt. I think it would be funny to hear a tot say, "Hey, Ma - could ya pass the salt? These beans ain't cuttin' it for me." Anyway - Chris ended up with rowdy, randy DADA Rusty Cluster.
Photos by Michael BrownleeThere was a French Side and a German side. I liked those Frenchies. Chris enjoyed those Germans.
I shan't ruin your future experience of seeing the show by telling you this, that and the other thing, but do know this ....
We didn't get anything on our clothes. We felt safe. We felt engaged. We felt amused. We didn't feel bored (there you go, Don). We felt mischievous. We felt like cackling. We felt enchanted. We felt like we were a part of the action. We felt appreciated. We felt allegiance towards the Dada we sat with. We felt French. We felt German. We felt American. We felt encouraged. Mon Dieu, there was something almost familial in the atmosphere!
I danced and sang with Nip. I almost got wine, but then the show started, so c'est la vie. I even oinked.
If you haven't seen a Dada show, it is most definitely your time. Run! Skip! Roll, if you have to! But, for the love of bees, get to this show.
Friday, September 07, 2007
Storefront in Chicago (from Chicagoist.com)
September 6, 2007
By Justin Sondak
*I added the bold to the article. Storefront theatre rocks and it's encouraging to see such a nice write up about the interesting discoveries a theatregoer can find at some of the smaller, eclectic locales. I'm happy that we were included with Stage Left, a theatre that we've loved renting from. They produce great, thought-provoking theatre and they've been super cool cats to work with.
Fall Theater Preview: The Storefront Next Door
The “Chicago theater season” is as anachronistic as our Columbia House Record Club membership. August was simply a lull before the crush of Fall openings coming to major institutions and their well-funded houses, who'll receive sufficient ink and column inches in the daily and weekly papers. We’re turning an eye to those less heralded venues doubling as rental space, educational resource, and meeting locale. None of these theaters are named after deep-pocketed donors, but that shouldn’t diminish their interesting work.
Storefront Theater
66 E Randolph Street
Through Gallery 37’s Storefront Theater, DCA brings smaller, off-Loop companies (and their reasonably priced tickets) to a prime Loop location. The Storefront’s season is already underway with War, a pub comedy by Roddy Doyle (he of The Commitments and A Star Named Henry fame) presented by Seanachi Theatre Company. That Anglophilic feeling resumes over the holidays with Lord Butterscotch and the Curse of the Darkwater Phantom, a world premiere penned by three acclaimed locals, Lisa Dillman, Rebecca Gilman and Brett Neveu.
eta Creative Arts
7558 S South Chicago Avenue
Artistic Director Abena Joan Brown first introduced us to eta at a downtown event where she presented the organization’s impressive community engagement and slate of productions and implored us to “get your ass down to the south side.” Looks like we’ll be bringing our skinny rear to either or both of eta’s most intriguing shows, each with a familiar sounding premise. The Trial of One Short-Sighted Black Woman vs. Mammy Louise and Safreeta Mae reads a little like that Woody Allen film where the actor leaps out of the movie screen. Only this time, two TV caricatures are pulled out of the screen and onto the witness stand. Playwright Karani Marcia Leslie, who has written for Cosby and is the only black female editor at CBS, has a uniquely qualified perspective on this issue. This Far By Faith, a gospel musical “about a minister, his job and his R & B artist son” sounds like a more sincere Trapped in the Closet.
Stage Left
3408 N Sheffield Ave
Lakeviewers, you’ve probably passed this unassuming rail front storefront a thousand times without realizing it houses a company tackling issues larger than Zambrano’s latest contract, including war, abusive relationships, and government surveillance. Two multimedia shows commandeer the modest space next year: Arthur Miller’s A View From the Bridge, a Grey Zelda production, and the U.S. premiere of Tim Carlson’s Omniscience, produced by Stage Left.*
Cornservatory
4210 N Lincoln Ave
Corn Productions doesn’t produce the best or most sophisticated work in town. In fact, we are eager to forget their long-running late night show and try not to discuss it in polite company. But production quality aside, Corn-sters (Cornheads?) always seem to be having fun on that oddly configured stage… even when we’re not. Their 16th season includes two intriguing, and rather adult, world premieres: The Horror (October 5 – November 3), a meta-examination of what makes us scream and The Lesser Assassins (April 18 – May 17), a musical comedy riff on a Sondheim classic. Also renting the space is Chemically Imbalanced Comedy, currently presenting the Sedaris sibs’ The Book of Liz through September 30 and bringing back Snubfest, a haven for rejected comics, in January.
*I added the bold to the article. Storefront theatre rocks and it's encouraging to see such a nice write up about the interesting discoveries a theatregoer can find at some of the smaller, eclectic locales. I'm happy that we were included with Stage Left, a theatre that we've loved renting from. They produce great, thought-provoking theatre and they've been super cool cats to work with.
Monday, September 03, 2007
GreyZelda Halloween Fundraiser Extravaganza!!!!
Hi, friends!
Mark your calendars ... GreyZelda's having a Halloween fund-raiser on Friday, October 26th. Costumes are highly recommended as you'll be entering an abode of eeriness.
We'll be having an extremely special guest join us ... Brian Vander Ark, the lead singer of the Verve Pipe will be performing for an hour and it will totally be way too cool. He's an incredible singer/songwriter who has been very successful with his solo career since the Verve Pipe slowed down ... for more info on Brian please check out www.brianvanderark.com. (I've been a fan of Brian's and the Verve Pipe's for years now and am elated that he'll be performing in our house. Way too stinkin' cool.)
The party/fundraiser will officially begin at 6:30pm and Brian will start playing an hour set at 7pm, so please make sure you get here earlier instead of later.
We're hoping to have some more musical guests as well as silent auctions of artwork, photography and other fabulous pieces of art.
Please check back here or www.greyzelda.com for further information. You can also contact me with any questions about location details, Brian, Halloween ... whatev.
Rock and roll.
Rebecca
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
The Summer Winds Down: GreyZelda Update
(Edited 11/10/2007 - Kelly Breheny is playing the role of Catherine and Gene Van Dyke is playing the role of Mike/First Officer)
Hi, GreyZelda readers -
It's almost September. Sheesh. I'm feeling a sadness that I can put several fingers on but I won't get into that here ... I normally do those types of writings over at my Lady Crow myspace site and keep this blog for GreyZelda goings ons or thoughts on theatre and sech. If you want to visit me over in myspace land, please feel free. The link is right over there on the left. Rock it.
So ... updating, updating, updating.
We're heading over to Angel Island tomorrow night to sign the contract and put money down for The Skriker which will open in Thursday, April 17th and will run until Saturday, May 10th of 2008. We're looking forward to working with the Mary-Arrchie folks!
On Friday, Chris, me and his parents will be driving to West Virginia and we'll return on Sunday. We'll visit his grandma's grave and see his uncle as well as one of our dearest friends of all time, Matt Hedrick and his family.
Robert has been submitting music ideas to Chris and they're lovely. Robert and Kristen are located in Atlanta, GA, but working long distance really hasn't turned into an issue. The music is lovely. Ed's doing his thing in New York. I'm going to be talking to Sarah Stec soon about brochures and sech.
We have the majority of the cast for A View from the Bridge which is opening in January. Drum roll please!!!!
Eddie - Aris Tompulis
Beatrice - Nicolle Van Dyke
Catherine - Jenny Myers
Alfieria - Dave Lykins
Marco - Dave Goss
Rodolpho - Tom Gordon
Thank you to everyone who helped us during the readings! We're really looking forward to working with this cast and think that the process will be lots o' fun.
We still need to ask some peeps if they would be interested in the parts of Louis, Mike, and the other neighborhood characters. If you or someone you know would like to hang with us at GreyZelda and fill those roles ... primarily male ... please let us know. There'll be some serious "hangin' out" to be done with good people. Just email us at greyzeldatheatre@yahoo.com if you'd be interested.
What else, what else ... we need to get some fund raisers organized, so, again, if that's something you'd like to help with, do let us know!
Rock and roll. Enjoy the rest of your summer ... fall's knocking at the door..... this little crow girl loves fall, don't get me wrong, but ... I always miss summer.
Yours,
RZ
Hi, GreyZelda readers -
It's almost September. Sheesh. I'm feeling a sadness that I can put several fingers on but I won't get into that here ... I normally do those types of writings over at my Lady Crow myspace site and keep this blog for GreyZelda goings ons or thoughts on theatre and sech. If you want to visit me over in myspace land, please feel free. The link is right over there on the left. Rock it.
So ... updating, updating, updating.
We're heading over to Angel Island tomorrow night to sign the contract and put money down for The Skriker which will open in Thursday, April 17th and will run until Saturday, May 10th of 2008. We're looking forward to working with the Mary-Arrchie folks!
On Friday, Chris, me and his parents will be driving to West Virginia and we'll return on Sunday. We'll visit his grandma's grave and see his uncle as well as one of our dearest friends of all time, Matt Hedrick and his family.
Robert has been submitting music ideas to Chris and they're lovely. Robert and Kristen are located in Atlanta, GA, but working long distance really hasn't turned into an issue. The music is lovely. Ed's doing his thing in New York. I'm going to be talking to Sarah Stec soon about brochures and sech.
We have the majority of the cast for A View from the Bridge which is opening in January. Drum roll please!!!!
Eddie - Aris Tompulis
Beatrice - Nicolle Van Dyke
Catherine - Jenny Myers
Alfieria - Dave Lykins
Marco - Dave Goss
Rodolpho - Tom Gordon
Thank you to everyone who helped us during the readings! We're really looking forward to working with this cast and think that the process will be lots o' fun.
We still need to ask some peeps if they would be interested in the parts of Louis, Mike, and the other neighborhood characters. If you or someone you know would like to hang with us at GreyZelda and fill those roles ... primarily male ... please let us know. There'll be some serious "hangin' out" to be done with good people. Just email us at greyzeldatheatre@yahoo.com if you'd be interested.
What else, what else ... we need to get some fund raisers organized, so, again, if that's something you'd like to help with, do let us know!
Rock and roll. Enjoy the rest of your summer ... fall's knocking at the door..... this little crow girl loves fall, don't get me wrong, but ... I always miss summer.
Yours,
RZ
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Rawheadbloodybones
Lisa and I have been continuing our Skriker conversations and it's been great researching and obsessing on the Faerie lands. Did you know that Oaks are considered faerie trees? Yes, indeed. So, imagine the power of a Live Oak draped with moss in Louisiana .... mmmmm. The faeries and the dead abound.We picked up where we left off last time and continued through The Skriker's opening monologue. I'm giving brief descriptions of what we discussed, but it's by no means complete ... just a little taste.
"Put my hand to the baby and scissors seizures
seize you sizzle. Metal cross cross me out cross
my heartburn sunburn sunbeam in my eyelash your
back. Or garlic lickety split me in two with the
stink bombastic. Or pin prick cockadoodle do you
feel it? But if the baby has no name better nick a
name, better Old Nick than no name, because then
we can have the snap crackle poppet to bake and
brew and broody more babies and leave them an
impossible, a gobbling, a no."
So, amongst other things we discussed how umbilical cords get cut, how faeries HATE iron, rituals to get rid of vampires, pretentious shit, goblins and changelings.
"I've been a hairy here he is changeling changing
chainsaw massacre missive a sieve to carry water
from the well well what's to be done? Brother
brewed beer in an eggshell. I said I'm old old
every so olden dazed but I never see saw marjory
before three two one blast off!"
King Arthur was Queen Maeve's half-brother, by the by. The changeling stock isn't doing too well. The Skriker's too old for this shit, in a nut - or egg - shell.
"Put me on a red hot shovel pushel bushel and a
peck peck peck. Gave me red hot metal in a piping
hot metal in a pie ping pong what a stink. Call the
vicar to exorcise exercise regular sex a size larger
six or seventh heaven and hellcat."
Cooking, creatures, cauldrons. Energy. More changeling rituals.
"Chopped up the hag whole hog higgledy pig in the
middle. Kelpie gallops them into the loch stock
and barrel of fun fair enough and eats them, falls
out of the water into love with a ladylike, his head
in her lap lap lap, her hand in his hairy, there is
sand in it there is and there is sand and shells
shock. Bloody Bones hides in the dark dark dark
we all go into the dark cupboard love all. See
through the slit where he sits on piles of bloody
boney was a warrior and chews whom he likes.
Dollop gollop fullup."
Maybe I'll start making entries about the Underworld creatures featured in the Skriker because they're all very fascinating ... this paragraph starts the introductions and talks about the Hag, the Kelpie and Rawheadbloodybones with a nod to Jenny Greenteeth and the other green women beings. Warriors, soldiers, sacrifices, oral sex, child murderers and cannibals.
"But they're so fair fairy fair enough's as good as a
feast day. Take them by the handle and dance in
the fairy ring a ring ding sweet for a year and a
day date data dated her and never finished the first
reel first real dance in the fairy ring on your finger
and bluebell would wouldn't it. Their friends drag
'em out dragon laying the country waste of time
gentlemen. Listless and pale beyond the pale
moonlight of hear sore her with spirits with spirit
dancing the night away in a mangy no no no come
back again."
The Fair Fairy. She's not doing so well. I'll tell you lots more about her later because she's really haunting and fascinating.
Lisa and I meeting again this evening to discuss the next page.
On the View from the Bridge front ... the cast is almost set. We're having people come over on Sunday to read certain scenes. Chris is getting film ideas together to send over to Ed who's located in New York and is helping us on the video end. Heath has some initial set ideas and we're waiting to get the complete presentation. Robert has put some music themes together that are pretty awesome ... we'll announce the cast list as soon as it's complete. Rehearsals will probably begin mid-October, but we're taking care of business behind the scenes as much as possible because adding the film element is a new idea for us.
Oh! and Skriker will be performed in April at Angel Island (Mary-Arrchie's theatre). Exact dates will be announced soon when the contract is completed and signed.
Rock and roll.
RZ
Monday, August 06, 2007
Rose Tint My World
http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/critics.html
I posted the link for quotes about critics because a lot of the quotes made me smile and feel a little bit better about a situation that occured this weekend ... sometimes an artist needs to realize that, yes, the critics are apart of your audience, but you can't allow them to completely reflect your audience. GreyZelda has a couple of critics that seem to wish we would curl up and die (yes, I'm being a bit melodramatic here) ... but, to quote Tori Amos, "Let's not give that one a try." We can't create shows wondering what the critics will say ... we have to create shows that we believe in and, through that belief, hopefully our audiences, including critics, will believe, too.
There are a lot of critics that I've had the pleasure to meet here in Chicago that I really admire: Jack Helbig, Mary Shen Barnidge and Kris Vire and the Timeout Chicago gang and most of the Reader's critics top my list of reviews that I always enjoy reading. My favorite experiences have been when a critic will come before or after the show and talk with us about what they just saw, for good and for bad .... it creates a two-sided conversation that has really been informative and helpful to our endeavours. And, I like meeting people in our audience, point blank. We like it when critics come just because ... we know they're extremely busy but like seeing them when they're not there for their respective publications. It's nice to see them. Unfortunately, I've run into some negative situations with reviewers because, for example, they've come to see our shows, came and left without a word, published their review (either through a respected publication or their own blog) and then got really mad when I either responded to them via email about their review (yeah, I've got a mouth - I sure as heck won't deny it) or went through their review online with the Lady Crow tongue-in-cheek. I believe in what I say and what I put my (or Lady Crow's) name to - and I'm not saying I'm the sweetest corn on the cob, by any means. The situation this weekend involved the fact that I was accused of writing someting I didn't (and I was so not looking for something like this, but what can a girl do sometimes?). I'm looking at the whole thing with a positive spin and believe that it's as resolved as it's going to be. On the learning front, it exposed a fact that I was unaware of ... there are people who read everything you write online even if it's no longer available on the internet and was taken care of through private correspondence and a reached understanding. Never forget this fact, fellow bloggers and artists. You must stand by your word and art. By all means, don't hush up your voice in fear of having it used against you. For God's sake, please don't do that. Just know ... if that's something that bothers you, be careful what you say.
Big Brother or Sister may come and get you someday.
In the meantime, I'm really looking to focus on our upcoming season and hope that there won't be any further skermishes that I can or can't take credit for on public forums. I like to join the discussions on the other theatre blogs, but please know, readers, that if the comment's not from GreyZelda, RebeccaZ, RZ, Lady Crow, or bz then it ain't my stink. I don't like being anonymous nor do I like being falsely accused of being an anonymous coward. It's the theatre person in me, I guess. And, to all you, to quote Don Hall, "anonymous fuckwads" out there ... put your name to what you write, please. You're making other people look bad.
Rebecca
I posted the link for quotes about critics because a lot of the quotes made me smile and feel a little bit better about a situation that occured this weekend ... sometimes an artist needs to realize that, yes, the critics are apart of your audience, but you can't allow them to completely reflect your audience. GreyZelda has a couple of critics that seem to wish we would curl up and die (yes, I'm being a bit melodramatic here) ... but, to quote Tori Amos, "Let's not give that one a try." We can't create shows wondering what the critics will say ... we have to create shows that we believe in and, through that belief, hopefully our audiences, including critics, will believe, too.
There are a lot of critics that I've had the pleasure to meet here in Chicago that I really admire: Jack Helbig, Mary Shen Barnidge and Kris Vire and the Timeout Chicago gang and most of the Reader's critics top my list of reviews that I always enjoy reading. My favorite experiences have been when a critic will come before or after the show and talk with us about what they just saw, for good and for bad .... it creates a two-sided conversation that has really been informative and helpful to our endeavours. And, I like meeting people in our audience, point blank. We like it when critics come just because ... we know they're extremely busy but like seeing them when they're not there for their respective publications. It's nice to see them. Unfortunately, I've run into some negative situations with reviewers because, for example, they've come to see our shows, came and left without a word, published their review (either through a respected publication or their own blog) and then got really mad when I either responded to them via email about their review (yeah, I've got a mouth - I sure as heck won't deny it) or went through their review online with the Lady Crow tongue-in-cheek. I believe in what I say and what I put my (or Lady Crow's) name to - and I'm not saying I'm the sweetest corn on the cob, by any means. The situation this weekend involved the fact that I was accused of writing someting I didn't (and I was so not looking for something like this, but what can a girl do sometimes?). I'm looking at the whole thing with a positive spin and believe that it's as resolved as it's going to be. On the learning front, it exposed a fact that I was unaware of ... there are people who read everything you write online even if it's no longer available on the internet and was taken care of through private correspondence and a reached understanding. Never forget this fact, fellow bloggers and artists. You must stand by your word and art. By all means, don't hush up your voice in fear of having it used against you. For God's sake, please don't do that. Just know ... if that's something that bothers you, be careful what you say.
Big Brother or Sister may come and get you someday.
In the meantime, I'm really looking to focus on our upcoming season and hope that there won't be any further skermishes that I can or can't take credit for on public forums. I like to join the discussions on the other theatre blogs, but please know, readers, that if the comment's not from GreyZelda, RebeccaZ, RZ, Lady Crow, or bz then it ain't my stink. I don't like being anonymous nor do I like being falsely accused of being an anonymous coward. It's the theatre person in me, I guess. And, to all you, to quote Don Hall, "anonymous fuckwads" out there ... put your name to what you write, please. You're making other people look bad.
Rebecca
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