spring theater TRaC schedule

Find us on the HIGH 5 REVIEW!

2010-09-16T10:02:00.001-07:00

heyo,

Quick update on this blog.... and where to go in the future for updates.....

As of today, this blog will remain here to redirect people and as an archive, but we won't be updating it anymore. We are happy to announce the building of our new online arts-paper --- The High 5 Review (www.high5review.org). There will be a TRaC section in the newspaper that will pick up where this blog left off. Expect weekly posts about TRaC ongoings, TRaC reviews, event announcements, and much much more!

Events like first friday Pizza and a Movie Nights will continue to be announced on Facebook (become a fan of High 5 here) and the High 5 Review. Both will have updates for free tickets to shows, news about special TRaC events, and random posts about random arts opportunities for teens.

And if you're not on High 5's e-mail newsletter, you're missing out on new shows, reviews and event announcements every week! Sign up here to get the inside beat on all things art in the city: www.high5tix.org/mailinglist

We'll see you out there at the shows!
(and on the High 5 Review)

Apply for spring Theater TRaC!

2010-02-16T12:38:00.000-08:00

Applications for spring Theater TRaC are now available for eligible high school students at www.high5tix.org/TRaC.

Come together with people from different backgrounds and schools who want to explore the arts and sharpen their critical eye. Imagine yourself and these 12 peers attending world-class performances, meeting professional artists and critics, and breaking it down in weekly two-hour workshops. All while improving your writing!

What else will you do in Theater TRaC?

Attend at least 5 performances
Experience the NYC arts world with behind-the-scenes access
Learn from high-profile professional artists and critics
Expand your critical writing and dialogue skills
Publish reviews read by thousands
Meet like-minded peers from all over NY and NJ
Master New York City’s public transportation system
Discover more about yourself!

ArtsConnection/High 5 partners with the Public Theater to bring you the best in theater from around the city. The Theater TRaC schedule is as follows* (subject to change):

TRaC Kickoff Party, 4:30 - 6:15, March 16

8 Classes on Wednesdays @ 520 Eighth Ave, 3rd Floor & 20th Floor, 4:30 - 6:30

March 17, March 24, (off March 31 for Winter Break)
April 7, April 14, April 21 (off April 28 for Spring Break)
May 5, May 12, May 19
+ the 5 or 6 performances TBD

The TRaC Finale, 2:00 - 4:00, May 22

Download a TRaC flier and application today at www.high5tix.org/TRaC. Or attend our Open House on February 25th to get more information. Applications are accepted on a first come, first served basis. (Yes, all former TRaC participants may take another TRaC class. Yes, you must resubmit an application).

Applications are due on March 4th.

C. West on Music

2010-02-03T12:04:00.000-08:00

http://colinresponse.wordpress.com/2009/11/02/cornel-west-on-music/

Music at its best…is the grand archeology into and transfiguration of our guttural cry, the great human effort to grasp in time our deepest passions and yearnings as prisoners of time. Profound music leads us–beyond language–to the dark roots of our scream and the celestial
heights of our silence.

-Cornel West

The Brothers Size - Sunday!

2009-12-02T11:37:00.000-08:00

I am SO HAPPY to tell you that we have snagged tix for Part 2 of Tarell McCraney's THE BROTHER/SISTER PLAYS.

SUNDAY DECEMBER 6 at the Public Theater. 425 Lafayette.

Meet there at 6:40 pm.

Clear your calendars and prep your parents. This is our final show of the session, and I could not be more thrilled that they made tix available to us!

Fela!

2009-11-16T12:05:00.001-08:00

His Passion Ignited a Generation.
His Music Fueled a Revolution.
His Legacy Inspires the World.

This Wednesday we're in for a treat! Immediately after class we'll be heading to the Eugene O'Neill Theatre for the brand new Broadway Musical FELA!

To prepare you for the experience of the show, a little bit about the show, the man, and more, all from the show's website.....

What is Fela! about, you ask?

FELA! is a new musical directed and choreographed by Tony Award winner Bill T. Jones, with a book by Jim Lewis and Bill T. Jones, in which audiences are welcomed into the extravagant, decadent and rebellious world of Afrobeat legend Fela Kuti. Using his pioneering music (a blend of jazz, funk and African rhythm and harmonies), FELA! explores Kuti's controversial life as artist, political activist and revolutionary musician. Featuring many of Fela Kuti's most captivating songs and Bill T. Jones's imaginative staging, this new show is a provocative hybrid of concert, dance and musical theater.

Who is Fela?

Fela Anikulapo-Kuti was a Nigerian multi-instrumentalist musician and composer, a pioneer of Afrobeat music, a human rights activist and a political maverick. He is ranked among the world’s most influential musicians. Read a full bio of the man here.

Where is the theater and how long's the show?

The Eugene O'Neill Theatre
230 West 49th Street (between 7th and 8th Ave)
New York, New York
8pm - 10:45pm

Learn more about the show on the website: www.felaonbroadway.com

Here's some real footage of Fela playing, his dancers dancing....

Article about Tarell

2009-11-14T17:43:00.001-08:00

From the New York Times:
Writer Digs Up Gods From the Bayou
by PATRICK HEALY

(To the right: the playwright Tarell Alvin McCraney at the Public Theater. Photo by Chester Higgins Jr./The New York Times.)

The article begins:

TARELL ALVIN McCRANEY enters. Miami, 1980s. He is a boy growing up in the Liberty City housing projects, among the nation’s worst. He stays with his father and grandparents on some nights. They feed him peanut butter and jelly, and he is content. They are devout Baptists and fill up the boy with God’s stories, and he is content.

On other nights the boy stays with his mother. She is a crack addict with an abusive lover, with unpaid bills. Now and then the electricity is cut off. Now and then the boy is picked on by other boys for being gentle, shy, quiet. Still the boy is content; he loves his mother. She moves them to another project to give the boy a fresh start. Three years later a hurricane named Andrew hits their home, destroys everything. They return to Liberty City. The mother checks herself into rehab. Some years later, when the boy is a man of 23 and his mother is 40, she dies of an AIDS-related illness.

This is Mr. McCraney’s own story, and this is the kind of language — terse and unsentimental — that has helped make him a playwright of uncommon acclaim. His prose is as raw as his subject matter: children growing up without parents, teenagers searching for their identities, adults holding on to hope. Most of his characters are poor and jobless, and some die suddenly. And their dialogue takes a distinct form: The actors often drop out of character to describe their stage directions aloud — “Ogun Size enters” — to make the theatergoers feel they are not so much watching a play as they are sharing in every banal and beautiful line of a story that the cast and the author are unfurling.

Continue reading the article at the New Times website....here.

In The Red & Brown Water

2009-11-03T19:13:00.000-08:00

Wednesday, November 4th - our 3rd show......

In the red & Brown Water

Meet at the Public Theater @ 7:40 pm

425 Lafayette Street

Playwright Tarell Alvin McCraney will speak with us!

Meet Tarell Tomorrow

2009-11-03T17:19:00.001-08:00

I have heard back from Tarell, the author of IN THE RED AND BROWN WATER, that he would love to meet you people. He doesn't know yet if it will be before or after the show. Mostly likely AFTER - so please get permission from your folks! We do not want to miss this! Show will come down around 10pm, talk should be over AROUND 10:30 pm.

Tarell is the most celebrated twenty-something playwright in America at this time, and an inspired, inspiring person. For one of MANY articles on the guy:

http://www.whatsonstage.com/index.php?pg=207&story=E8821194805596

Over and out,

Karen

2009-10-22T17:56:00.000-07:00

well, as some of you may know i work for an HIV/AIDS awareness non profit organization. this is jus a quick post and blog on an even; come check the talent and inspiration out!!!

here the info if the flyer is too confusing;
Date:Friday, October 23, 2009 Time:4:00pm - 6:35pm Location:BROOKLYN SOCIETY FOR ETHICAL CULTURE 53 Prospect Park West @ 2nd StreetDescription Spread Love its the BROOKLYN WAYYYYY : YO, IF YOU LIKE MUSIC, DANCING, AND LITTLE BIT OF POETRY HIT UP THE OPEN MIC WE GOT YOU COVERED!!!! "SPREAD LOVE ITS THE BROOKLYN WAY" THE CONDOM PACKAGING AND PROTECTION FROM HIV/AIDS *YES REFRESHMENTS WILL BE PROVIDED

CREATURE

2009-10-21T21:11:00.000-07:00

Your second performance is scheduled to follow your third class on October 28th!
Immediately following class you'll head downtown together to the OHIO THEATER to see the latest New Georges production....

CREATURE

a new play by Heidi Schreck
directed by Leigh Silverman

with Marylouise Burke, Darren Goldstein, Sofia Jean Gomez,
Will Rogers, Tricia Rodley and Jeremy Shamos

The OHIO THEATRE
66 Wooster Street, Soho
between Spring & Broome streets
N/R to Prince; C/E to Spring; any train to Canal

About the show: After being pestered by devils for more than half a year, Margery Kempe* – new mother, mayor’s daughter, and proprietress of a highly profitable beer business – is liberated from her torment by a vision of Jesus Christ in purple robes.

Visions are hard to come by, even in 1401. Should we trust the new Margery, with her fasting and her weeping and her chastity fixation, or burn her with the other heretics? Can a woman of insatiable appetites just up and audition for sainthood?

Playwright and OBIE-winning actor Heidi Schreck conjures a collision of contemporary and medieval imaginations: a very funny, a little bit scary new play about faith and its messengers.

County of Kings

2009-10-14T20:57:00.000-07:00

Immediately following your first class, you'll head down to The Public Theater together for your first show! The Public Theater is located at 425 Lafayette Avenue, just below Astor Place. The closest trains are the N, R, W and 6. The B, D, F, and V are also close by!

Half Puerto Rican.

Half Norwegian.
Two-time felon.
One Hell of a show.

Academy Award nominated director Spike Lee, Culture Project, Steve Colman, Jayson Jackson, and Tom Wirtshafter in association with The Public Theater present:

County of Kings Written and performed by Lemon Andersen, and developed and directed by Elise Thoron, County of Kings begins performances Tuesday, September 29 for a six week limited engagement at The Public Theater, 425 Lafayette Street.

Featured earlier this year as part of The Public Theater’s Under The Radar Festival, Lemon Andersen’s County of Kings gives a tough, yet poignant autobiographical account of a good kid growing up in an unforgiving environment. Lemon, whose parents met at a methadone clinic and passed away from AIDS, served two prison sentences before he was 21 and won a Tony before he turned 30. His on-stage memoir touches on young love, the birth of hip hop, slinging crack, ballet, stealing car parts, prison, and poetry as he takes the audience on an astonishing and surprising one-man journey toward self-discovery. Weaving hard-edged drama with urban poetry, the Brooklyn born and bred performer tells his coming-of-age story with profound honesty, compassion and humor. A true story of finding passion in the arts and finding one’s way, Lemon paints a vivid portrait of his own life and the lives of countless other Brooklynites during the 1980s and 1990s.

Born and raised in Brooklyn, Lemon Andersen has been featured as a regular on HBO’s “Def Poetry” presented by Russell Simmons and was also an original cast member and writer of Russell Simmons Tony Award winning Def Poetry Jam on Broadway. On screen Lemon has appeared opposite Denzel Washington in Spike Lee’s Inside Man and The Soloist starring Jamie Foxx and Robert Downey Jr.

Theater TRaC begins!

2009-10-13T11:36:00.000-07:00

And you begin with a bang. The first day of class you will meet Karen Hartman, your intrepid instructor for the fall (that's her over there on the right--->). Not only is she a fantastic teacher, she's also a professional playwright. Check out her bio here. You'll also be meeting one another and getting right into what we're here to do.... talk theater and art! And if that isn't enough, right away you'll be off to your first show called COUNTY OF KINGS at the Public Theater!

Action packed.

So, here's directions so you know where to go for your workshops every week.

DIRECTIONS to the Teachers & Writers Collaborative:
520 Eighth Avenue, Suite 2020
New York, NY 10018
map it here.

The easiest way is to take the A, C, or E train to 34th Street, then walk up 8th Ave to building #520. We're inbetween 36th and 37th Street. Look for the revolving door. Take the elevator to the 20th floor and head towards Suite 2020. Look for the glass doors and tables and chairs.

The building looks like this:

...but that's kind of what all old New York buildings look like, so just look for the number and the revolving door.

Happy first day!

Youth Venture's Blog :: Join the Movement!: Moments of Inspriation

2009-09-18T21:50:00.001-07:00

Youth Venture's Blog :: Join the Movement!: Moments of Inspriation

Shared via AddThis

2009-09-11T23:58:00.001-07:00

Re: Last class on Wednesday!

2009-05-15T11:18:00.001-07:00

Thanks, Julia! This looks amazing.
Karen

On Fri, May 15, 2009 at 10:57 AM, Julia McGill <jools_@hotmail.com> wrote:
> http://www.publictheater.org/content/view/131/226/
>
> For anyone that's interested! It's a lot of fun.
>
> "Are you a creative-minded teenager attending a PUBLIC SCHOOL in one of New
> York City's five boroughs? Are you interested in the arts, theater,
> performing, and poetry? Do you enjoy meeting new people and making life-long
> friends? Are you looking for something rewarding and fun to do during your
> summer break that's FREE?
>
> Students who complete this program will have the opportunity to:
>
> PERFORM onstage for family and friends;
> JOIN Summer ShakeUp on July 10, a special one-day event at the famous
> Delacorte Theater in Central Park, home of the world renowned Shakespeare in
> the Park. Summer ShakeUp includes an exclusive backstage tour of the
> theater, workshop with Public Theater Artists, and lunch - ALL for free;
> Get two FREE tickets to see a Public Theater summer production without
> having to wait in line! *Subject to avail."
>
>
>> Date: Mon, 11 May 2009 20:29:17 -0400
>> Subject: Last class on Wednesday!
>> From: khartman@aya.yale.edu
>> To: achiilee@tmail.com; karenheart.trac@blogger.com
>> CC: arielkay@gmail.com; daniel.kadyrov@gmail.com;
>> dramaprincess777@yahoo.com; ichilds5@gmail.com; jennigirl1024@aol.com;
>> jodie54@live.com; jools_@hotmail.com; Lilbri1six5@aim.com;
>> nikkizdodd@gmail.com; roxygurl4193@yahoo.com; Tamarpaoli@gmail.com;
>> aliciacproto@gmail.com; eost@high5tix.org
>>
>> Sob - I will miss you all!
>>
>> But we have one more gathering (before the TRaC Finale, that is) -
>> Wednesday at 4:30 pm.
>>
>> Reminder, your last assignment is another Explode-a-Moment - but this
>> time write about a moment in these last two months of TRaC. A moment
>> that has stayed with you (in class, or at a performance, or in
>> conversation with a guest or even with each other).
>>
>> Send to me in advance if you can (up to 2pm on Wednesday is ok).
>>
>> See you Wednesday!
>>
>> Karen
>
> ________________________________
> check out the rest of the Windows Live™. More than mail–Windows Live™ goes
> way beyond your inbox. More than messages

RE: Last class on Wednesday!

2009-05-15T07:57:00.001-07:00

http://www.publictheater.org/content/view/131/226/

For anyone that's interested! It's a lot of fun.

"Are you a creative-minded teenager attending a PUBLIC SCHOOL in one of New York City's five boroughs? Are you interested in the arts, theater, performing, and poetry? Do you enjoy meeting new people and making life-long friends? Are you looking for something rewarding and fun to do during your summer break that's FREE?

Students who complete this program will have the opportunity to:

PERFORM onstage for family and friends;
JOIN Summer ShakeUp on July 10, a special one-day event at the famous Delacorte Theater in Central Park, home of the world renowned Shakespeare in the Park. Summer ShakeUp includes an exclusive backstage tour of the theater, workshop with Public Theater Artists, and lunch - ALL for free;
Get two FREE tickets to see a Public Theater summer production without having to wait in line! *Subject to avail."

> Date: Mon, 11 May 2009 20:29:17 -0400
> Subject: Last class on Wednesday!
> From: khartman@aya.yale.edu
> To: achiilee@tmail.com; karenheart.trac@blogger.com
> CC: arielkay@gmail.com; daniel.kadyrov@gmail.com; dramaprincess777@yahoo.com; ichilds5@gmail.com; jennigirl1024@aol.com; jodie54@live.com; jools_@hotmail.com; Lilbri1six5@aim.com; nikkizdodd@gmail.com; roxygurl4193@yahoo.com; Tamarpaoli@gmail.com; aliciacproto@gmail.com; eost@high5tix.org
>
> Sob - I will miss you all!
>
> But we have one more gathering (before the TRaC Finale, that is) -
> Wednesday at 4:30 pm.
>
> Reminder, your last assignment is another Explode-a-Moment - but this
> time write about a moment in these last two months of TRaC. A moment
> that has stayed with you (in class, or at a performance, or in
> conversation with a guest or even with each other).
>
> Send to me in advance if you can (up to 2pm on Wednesday is ok).
>
> See you Wednesday!
>
> Karen

check out the rest of the Windows Live™. More than mail–Windows Live™ goes way beyond your inbox. More than messages

Talking with Eisa Davis

2009-05-12T14:04:00.001-07:00

I couldn't have been happier to have you guys over at Multi TRaC two weeks ago....

Way to take what you deserve! Never settle! Stand up against injustice! Demand equal speaking time with the playwrights you wish to talk to!

Really, that was just fantastic. :)

Here is the proof of your iron will: http://multitrac.blogspot.com/2009/05/talking-with-eisa-davis.html

Last class on Wednesday!

2009-05-11T17:29:00.001-07:00

Sob - I will miss you all!

But we have one more gathering (before the TRaC Finale, that is) -
Wednesday at 4:30 pm.

Reminder, your last assignment is another Explode-a-Moment - but this
time write about a moment in these last two months of TRaC. A moment
that has stayed with you (in class, or at a performance, or in
conversation with a guest or even with each other).

Send to me in advance if you can (up to 2pm on Wednesday is ok).

See you Wednesday!

Karen

Re: Wednesday - Deb Laufer and ANGELA'S MIXTAPE

2009-05-05T19:57:00.001-07:00

Hello all,

Our fifth and final show will be a musical work!

Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson

at the Public Theatre Wednesday May 6. We'll meet at the Public, 425
Lafayette, at 7:40 pm, so there will be time for a quick dinner break
after class.

The show will be over around 9:30 pm.

See you there!

If you will be absent, please e-mail me asap so I can release your ticket.

Tomorrow in class we will be working on REVISION - so bring a piece
you'd like to work on further. 4 copies if you can.

See you all at 4:30.

Karen

Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson

2009-05-05T19:50:00.000-07:00

Hello All,

Our fifth and final show will be a musical work!

Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson

at the Public Theatre Wednesday May 6. We'll meet at the Public, 425 Lafayette, at 7:40 pm, so there will be time for a quick dinner break after class.

The show will be over around 9:30 pm.

See you there!

2009-04-26T21:28:00.000-07:00

Wednesday - Deb Laufer and ANGELA'S MIXTAPE

2009-04-21T05:13:00.001-07:00

Welcome back all,

Tomorrow we have End Days playwright Deb Laufer in class right at 4:30, so please be on time, with a question for Deb!

And we'll gather at the Ohio Theater at 7:40 to see Eisa Davis's

Angela's Mixtape

66 Wooster Street, Between Spring and Broome (C or E to Spring)

AND Eisa will talk with us afterwards. The show's gonna be grand.

Huge day everyone!

If you cannot attend PLEASE let me know asap so we can release your tickets.

Karen

Singing Forest 2pm Saturday

2009-04-16T20:56:00.000-07:00

Next Outing: The Singing Forest by Craig Lucas at the Public Theater, 425 Lafayette Avenue,

This Saturday at 2pm! Not 3pm!

It's a long show - 3hrs. AND we get to talk to Craig afterwards, we think.

So lots a culture for your non-buck this weekend.

Enjoy the rest of spring break, and I will see you there!

hey Theater TRaC!

2009-04-14T13:02:00.000-07:00

What's up y'all?

Just wanted to hip you to a post on the Multi TRaC Blog I just put up. I link some of the recent coverage of Neil LaBute's reasons to be pretty in the New York Times.

In addition to a review and a profile of LaBute, there is a very cool (and short) slideshow with the guy who designed the ad campaign for the show. He talks about how they came up with the posters, briefly discusses the process of designing a marketing campaign, and how they finally put together those posters we've all seen all over the city asking, Doesthisplaymakemelookfat?

Check it out here: http://multitrac.blogspot.com/2009/04/new-york-times-coverage-of-reasons.html

End Days Reviews

2009-04-06T10:59:00.000-07:00

Very positive, yet very different!

Read reviews here in Variety, Curtain Up, Theatermania, and the New York Times.

And let's talk about the differences tomorrow!

Karen

We are ON for Tuesday 4:30 pm - NEW DRAMATISTS

2009-04-06T10:51:00.001-07:00

Hello folks,

It sounds like we have enough to meet on Tuesday April 7, so we will have class.

We will meet NOT at our usual space BUT at New Dramatists, 424 West 44th Street between 9th and 10th Avenue. Ring the doorbell and someone will let you in, please tell them you are here for Karen Hartman's class.

I will be there right at 4:30, but if you arrive early you can wait (quiet-ish) in the "library," a nice cozy room with couches where you can read scripts.

We will be meeting with John Steber, a casting director at New Dramatists. You've now seen two plays with two different amazing casts - a casting director knows lots of actors, and helps choose the right people for each show (at New Dramatists, John frequently chooses himself for readings and workshops).

Be ready with questions for John - he is also a warm, wonderful person who knows lots about theater.

You'll learn more about New Dramatists right in the building that day.

See you Tuesday, and keep looking for those END DAYS reviews!

Take care,

Karen

PS We'll have our discussion of END DAYS reviews at New Dramatists, and finish around 6pm, when the building closes. Makes more sense than hauling back to our usual space.

2009-04-02T19:50:00.000-07:00

Wednesday April 1st, 2009

Our special guest Martin Denton of NYTheatre.com talking to Theater TRaC students and Karen during our class.

That same night we saw a FANTASTIC play called End Days at the Ensemble Studio Theater

SHOW #2 -- END DAYS

2009-03-31T15:18:00.000-07:00

End Days
by Deborah Zoe Laufer
directed by Lisa Peterson

Wednesday, 4/1, 7 p.m.
549 West 52nd Street
New York, NY 10019

STARRING:
Dane DeHaan, Molly Ephraim, Peter Friedman, Deirdre O'Connell, and Paco Tolson

Sixteen year old Rachel Stein is having a bad year. Her father hasn't changed out of his pajamas since 9/11. Her mother has begun a close, personal relationship with Jesus. Her new neighbor, a sixteen-year-old Elvis impersonator, has fallen for her, hard. And the Apocalypse is coming Wednesday. Her only hope is that Stephen Hawking will save them all.

The germ of End Days began when playwright Deb Laufer heard an NPR report that 40% of Americans are Evangelical Christians. "I wanted to learn more about Evangelicals," she says, "and also to probe how the yearning for faith relates to the thirst for scientific knowledge." How better to get at that than in a play where the same actor plays both Jesus and Stephen Hawking? In creating End Days Laufer consulted with a physicist friend; for the EST production, science advisor and physicist Gabriel Cwilich worked with her to validate and deepen the scientific content. "Scientific themes run through all my plays," says Laufer. "Yet I've always felt that the best way to get people to listen is to be funny."

Broadwayworld.com has some more info about it here.

schedule change

2009-03-24T13:23:00.000-07:00

A few quick updates:

#1 Remember - no class tomorrow, March 25.

#2 We (that is Eric and Theater TRaC) will likely be going to a performance this Thursday or Friday! We're still awaiting confirmation. Stay tuned.

#3 The Public Theater canceled the preview of The Singing Forest you were going to see next Tuesday after class. We have rescheduled it for Saturday, April 18th at 2pm. Mark your calendars!

Great night at REASONS TO BE PRETTY!

2009-03-19T10:03:00.001-07:00

Here you all are (minus Jodie and Sandy - sorry!) outside Neil LaBute's REASONS TO BE PRETTY on B-Way, after a special Q and A with not one, not two, but all four of the show's stars: Marin Ireland, Steven Pasquale, Piper Perabo, and Tommy Sadoski. Great questions, all!

Remember to send me your 400-600 word description of the show by one week from today, March 25. This is a detailed description of one or more moments from or aspects of the show, and a couple of sentences about your personal response.

And we meet next TWO WEEKS from today, April 1, with guest critic Martin Denton.

Good night, all!

Look forward to Alicia's post!

-Karen

important TRaC announcement

2009-03-18T09:37:00.001-07:00

Important safety video up on the Main TRaC Blog! Make sure to check it out....

www.High5TRaC.blogspot.com

Have a safe day.

~eric

killing rage

2009-03-11T16:42:00.000-07:00

I never wanted to kill man so bad until that day
You may think that you've seen hate but you know not of hate
I wanted to kill him with more than a killing rage
Manslaughter (pause) in the first degree
Slice his throat
Cut out his tongue
I never wanted to kill a man so bad until that day
You may think that you've seen hate but you know not of hate
Swartz sticker eyes painted pictures on my pupils
So I winked baQ with an ankh
Cause through life my words will strive
His ignorance screams "fuQ the black aesthetics"
I always knew that he wanted to thrust his white skin against my beautiful black body
But this time it wasn’t an inny
Black body hits white air
Shackles bound to breast
He must have forgotten that he needed me
Forgotten I was a commodity
Without me he wouldn’t breathe
Without me he couldn’t breathe
I was the sacrifice of his resurrection
White body needed black body
Black hands
Black feet
Hell yea I wanted to kill him
But instead I imperialized his mind
Like how he dug me for all my resources and left me malnourished
Isolated him
Turned deaf ears inside out
Wax turned bars creating concentration camps inside mind
I made him suffer
I didn’t need sticks or stones to break his bones
My words would hurt him

Theater TRaC 2009 has begun!

2009-03-10T16:58:00.000-07:00

Your Theater TRaC class begins tomorrow, Wednesday, March 11, at the Teachers and Writers Collaborative. Teachers and Writers Collaborative is located in Suite 2020 at 520 Eighth Avenue between 36th and 37th Street in Manhattan. Take the A, C, E, 1, 2, or 3 trains to 34th Street and walk north on 8th Ave. You will need a photo ID of some kind to get into the building.

It is imperative that you get to class by 4:30. Karen Hartman, your instructor, will meet you in the lobby, then you will go up to the room you’ll be meeting in on the 20th floor.

Any problems you can contact your instructor Karen Hartman at khartman@aya.yale.edu.

Your first show is next week!
Details to come.....

What's up Theater TRaC?!

2008-11-16T13:43:00.000-08:00

Alrighty, to sum up this week... lets just say us theater trac-ers had a great one :) On tuesday, the 11th we were able to see In Conflict at the Barrow Street Theater. We can all agree that it was a great show. Our wednesday, class was led by Eric! (though we definitely missed Karen) We wrote about the moment the made the most impact on us from the show and then had one big discussion about In Conflict.

During these wonderful discussions, all of us had the opportunity to see Mike Daisey from If You See Something Say Something, in his robe, getting ready for his show. We managed to sneak in a little conversation in too! Good stuff :)

Remember the ledes we did in class for In Conflict and don't forget to either email them to me, or post them on the blog :) Our next class is on the 19th, followed by Taking Over at the Public Theater at 8:00. Bring money for food! Looking forward to seeing everyone on Wednesday :)

In Conflict Ledes!

2008-11-15T15:01:00.000-08:00

An Iraqi mother sheathed in black clutches a white blanket with what seems to be a baby crying from within. She lets the sheet drop and blood red rose petals slowly drift down to the floor of the Barrow Street Theater stage.

Ben and Monica

"In Conflict" is the show that brings the war home. It takes the stories from veterans of the Iraqi war and exposes the hard, raw and cold truth to its audiences.

Phoenix and Amy

Hey Guys :)

2008-11-07T16:01:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone of Theater TRac! :)

So basically this is just an update for the upcoming week of 11/10

On tuesday, November 11th, we have an outing; we are seeing In Conflict :

Make sure you're there a little bit before 7:40 @ The Barrow Street Theater.

And on Wednesday, we have a special class lead by Eric. Should be fun.

As far as homework, make sure all your letters, from the Dia de los Muetros show, are sent to Karen.

For this week, work on developing your 'Statement for the Arts'.

Looking forward to seeing everyone on tuesday! :)

Statement on the Arts by Michael Chabon

2008-11-07T12:16:00.000-08:00

Every grand American accomplishment, every innovation that has benefited and enriched our lives, every lasting social transformation, every moment of profound insight any American visionary ever had into a way out of despair, loneliness, fear and violence—everything that has from the start made America the world capital of hope, has been the fruit of the creative imagination, of the ability to reach beyond received ideas and ready-made answers to some new place, some new way of seeing or hearing or moving through the world. Breathtaking solutions, revolutionary inventions, the road through to freedom, reform and change: never in the history of this country have these emerged as pat answers given to us by our institutions, by our government, by our leaders. We have been obliged — to employ Dr. King’s powerful verb — to dream them up for ourselves.

America’s artists are the guardians of the spirit of questioning, of innovation, of reaching across the barriers that fence us off from our neighbors, from our allies and adversaries, from the six billion other people with whom we share this dark and dazzling world. Art increases the sense of our common humanity. The imagination of the artist is, therefore, a profoundly moral imagination: the easier it is for you to imagine walking in someone else’s shoes, the more diffcult it then becomes to do that person harm. If you want to make a torturer, first kill his imagination. If you want to create a nation that will stand by and allow torture to be practiced in its name, then go ahead and kill its imagination, too. You could start by cutting school funding for art, music, creative writing and the performing arts.

Our children need training and encouragement and support—they need rehearsal space and tempera paint and bass violins, teachers and tap-shoes; they need constant, passionate exposure to the great artistic heritage of their people, so that even if they don’t grow up to be artists themselves, they will still have been blessed, as Americans have always been blessed, with the artist’s gift for seeing the possible in the impossible, the fellow soul on the other side of the fence. Our artists need freedom to pursue the solitary investigations into which their art inevitably leads them. America needs that untrammeled flow of creativity, of the willingness and ability to innovate, to skylark, to tinker, to daydream out loud: over the course of two and a half centuries now, our creative flow has filled the world’s libraries, museums, theaters and recital halls, its academies, movie houses and marketplaces, with works of genius to break the heart and boggle the mind. And the people of the world–our world–need an America that remains in full, confident possession of its mighty gift of imagination, not merely to meet the global demand for our entertainment and art and literature, but so that they–and we–need never fear the brutality, the arrogance and the inhumanity to which a nation in want of imagination must, inevitably, descend.

***

Michael Chabon is the Pulitzer-Prize winning author of THE YIDDISH POLICEMEN’S UNION and THE AMAZING ADVENTURES OF KAVALIER AND CLAY. His other books include THE MYSTERIES OF PITTSBURGH and WONDER BOYS. His work has appeared in the New Yorker, Harper’s, and in a number of anthologies, among them Best American Short Stories 2001 and Prize Stories 1999: The O. Henry Awards. He lives in Berkeley, California, with his wife, Ayelet Waldman, also a novelist, and their four children.

An Afro Latin Halloween

2008-10-28T13:57:00.001-07:00

We'll see you on Saturday, November 1st for Arturo O'Farrill and the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra's Dia de los Muertos!

On Saturday, Nov. 1st, the whole Teen Reviewers and Critics program will come together along with over 100 other High 5ers to celebrate la Dia de los Muertos with Arturo O’Farrill's Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra, a Grammy-nominated ensemble, melding rhythms from African and Latin American countries with jazz harmonies from the United States. The concert features the world premiere of the Day of the Dead Suite, the extraordinary Aztec Suite and special guest performers including Folkloric Dancers.

Before the concert, Arturo O'Farrell is holding a High 5 exclusive workshop on Afro-Latin Jazz, so we'll be heading over to the show by 6:30 p.m. Come prepared to jump on stage and learn first-hand what it takes to be a Afro-Latin Jazz All-Star....

WHEN: Saturday, November 1st. 6:30 - 10:15 p.m. (with two intermissions)

WHERE: SYMPHONY SPACE at 2537 Broadway and 95th Street in Manhattan

DIRECTIONS: Take the 1, 2 or 3 subway to the 96th Street stop. Exit train and walk south on Broadway. Symphony Space will be on your right-hand side. OR Take the B or C subway to the 96th Street stop and walk west until you hit Broadway.

Costumes
are
optional.....

:)

see ya'll on Saturday, muertos!

~eric

Fall 2008 Theater TRaC begins!

2008-10-10T11:08:00.001-07:00

Make sure to think outside the box....and the lines.... and rules.... and pre-conceptions.
Open your mind!

and enjoy.

~eric

(for more BANSKY - the graffiti artist who painted the above - click here.)

New Video Review!

2008-06-03T10:15:00.000-07:00

Brinica
on Passing Strange....

Candide and Jailbait

2008-05-12T19:28:00.000-07:00

On April 23th Theater Trac went to the New York City Opera House to see Candide. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to go see the opera, but it seemed to have felt a great impression of the Trac students who did go to see it. The one thing everybody seemed to relatively agree on is that the music was great.

On May 7th, Theater Trac went to see Mentor Project 3: Jailbait. Jailbait is the story of two teenage girls adventuring into adulthood by going clubbing and hanging out with two men in their thirties. In the small theater, the story going on the stage seemed so close yet, yet so far away that one Trac student said, "they felt like they were watching TV." I personally thought the show was great it made me laugh, and it almost even made tear up. It reminded me of a classic Degrassi episode; "it goes there." Jailbait is a classic story of what can happen when a teen attempts to live beyond her years.

Little Flower Reviews published!

2008-05-05T15:27:00.000-07:00

Check out your reviews of The Little Flower of East Orange at the Public Theater on the Reviews page of the High 5 website.
These are the ones I got. If you'd like to submit yours, send it to Eric. If you'd like to edit anything or submit a revision, feel free!

Eric's review
Hannah's review
Jasmin's review
Jessica's review
Tiffani's review
Yana's review
Zach's review

Meeting Eisa Davis

2008-04-14T17:37:00.000-07:00

Sometimes TRaC instructor, playwright, and actress Eisa Davis honored Theater TRaC with a visit on April 19th. After seeing Eisa Davis' great performance in Passing Strange the previous week, we all had questions to ask her. Eisa shared her insightful experiences in the world of theater with us, informing us about the good and bad side of being a jack of all trades.

Passing Strange

2008-04-06T12:55:00.000-07:00

On April 2nd Theater TRaC and Multi TRaC went to see Passing Strange on Broadway. When I got home at twelve in the morning, I was still humming "Amsterdam." Though I didn't get to stay after the show I heard that TRaC got to do a Q&A with the cast and to say the least, I'm jealous. Considering how ridiculously amazing the show was sleep deprivation would have totally been worth the Q&A.

Even if you're not somebody who's a fan of musicals, like myself, I'd still recommend seeing this show.

I know this post is filled with my opinion. So feel free to beg the differ.

- Tiffani

Special Guests

2008-03-30T12:27:00.000-07:00

Last Wednesday we had phenomenal guest speakers at Theater TRaC. Political playwright, Kia Corthron graced us with her presence and answer our questions about her play The Frontier, her career, and anything else we could think of.

The playwright and director of the play we saw Wednesday night Little Flower of East Orange, took time out of their busy schedules to pay us a visit. The playwright, Stephen Adly Guirgis and the director, Philip Seymour Hoffman answered our question about the roles of the director, playwright, and actor. They also told us what it was like to make the transition from one role to the next.

Seeing the hilarious play Little Flower of East Orange was a great way to top off the already fabulous day, we had a Theater TRaC.

-Tiffani

Assignment Reminder

2008-03-20T17:14:00.000-07:00

The assignments due to Karen khartman@aya.yale.edu by 7 p.m. March 25th is, a 200-500 word free response to the play, Drunk Enough to Say I Love You.

Also don't forget the playwright of Frontier, Kia Corthron will be visiting us next week, March 26! Be ready with a question to ask her.

-Tiffani

Drunk Enough to Say I Love You Feedback

2008-03-20T17:01:00.000-07:00

Hey Theater TRaC,

It was so nice to get to meet you all yesterday and get to know you a little better. I'm really excited about this program.

What did you think of the play, Drunk Enough to Say I Love You? Did you understand the play's message or intended statement? Do you feel that without enough background information, that the play can be totally misunderstood or too hard to understand? What stood out the most to you during the show; the acting? the setting? the message?

Can't wait to hear your thoughts.

-Tiffani

Happy First Class

2008-03-19T19:15:00.000-07:00

Hello and thank you for an inspiring first class, all. I hope you are cooking with Caryl's thoughts on the US of A.
Meanwhile, here is a little information on Kia Corthron. This can help you come up with a question for her visit next week (if Frontier wasn't provocative enough...!).
And for Hannah and other Arthur Miller worshippers, as promised here's a link to my Miller obituary essay.
I look forward to your response pieces.
Have a wonderful week,
Karen

1st class and show this Wednesday!

2008-03-14T14:48:00.000-07:00

Guy would do anything for Sam. Sam would do anything. Drunk Enough To Say I Love You? is a modern day love story with consequences far greater than any foreign affair.

Drunk Enough to Say I Love You this Wednesday after class at the Public Theater! Bring a little money for a quick dinner inbetween class and the show.

When and where to meet on Wednesday....
You'll be meeting tomorrow in the lobby of The PUBLIC THEATER at 425 Lafayette Street at 4:20 sharp! The workshop will be from 4:30 pm until 6:30 pm. (That’s your Wednesday schedule).

The best way to get to The Public Theater is to take the 6 train to Astor Place and walk South on Lafayette Street. You’ll see the flags on the front of the theater on your left that say “The Public Theater.” Can’t miss’em. You could also take the N,Q,R or W train to 8th Street/ New York University and walk East to Lafayette Street and then South. OR you could take the B,D,F or V train to Broadway/Lafayette Street and walk North up Lafayette. Their website is here: http://www.publictheater.org/tickets/index.php

Try your best to be there at 4:20, as you are going to meet Karen in the lobby then head up as a group to the conference room.

Enjoy the show!

Spring TRaC Application now available!

2008-01-08T09:10:00.001-08:00

Another season of Theater TRaC is around the corner!

Go the TRaC Homepage at www.high5tix.org and download the Spring 2008 TRaC Application. Also available are a flier for the new TRaC season and an invitation to the Open House on February 13th (4:30 - 5:30). Please download those and distribute to any friends or teachers or mentors who you think would be interested.

I hope to see you all at the Open House - if not before! It's only a month away already. As many of you know, having been to a TRaC Open House before, I'll need some volunteers for speaking on the alumni panel. Volunteers? Contact me if you're interested. The rest of you can just hang out, snack, and mingle with any teachers or students who are interested in learning more about the program.

And of course you should bring a friend or two! Maybe they're interested in signing up for Spring TRaC and don't even know it yet....

Looking forward to the new season!

~eric

our final class

2007-12-10T21:49:00.000-08:00

Dear, dear students,

It's been real! But we've still got one more class to go. Instead of Thursday the 13th, which not all of you can make, our final class will be at the Public on our usual day and time of Friday the 14th at 430pm. We will meet in the downstairs lobby then head into another space because our conference room is being used for another event.

Here are your final assignments for Friday:

1. PLEASE, PLEASE, BE ON TIME. We have to begin promptly at 430 to get through our evaluations and presentations before heading uptown to the TRaC Finale.

2. Make sure you have EMAILED ME all of your assignments, and any revisions.

3. BRING ALL OF YOUR WRITING from the session, including your exercises, and all the hard copies of your reviews with my comments.

4. PREPARE YOUR FINAL PIECE to present with your group. If you'd like, there will be an opportunity to share it with the other TRaC students at the Finale.

And for your edification, I've provided links to the truly stirring Nobel Prize addresses from the literature winner, Doris Lessing, and the peace winner, Al Gore. Do find the time to read them when you can. They are not only remarkable calls to action, but beautiful pieces of writing.

See you Friday!

Eisa

a bunch of things

2007-12-05T22:31:00.000-08:00

Ladies and gentleman!

Friday we'll have the guest speakers Leigh Silverman (the director of Yellow Face) and David Korins (its set designer, as well as that of The Receptionist, and Passing Strange [pictured], the musical I'll be in on Broadway beginning this February) in to talk with us. I tried to get Tarell Alvin McCraney, the author of The Brothers Size, to come in, but he's in London. Oh well. But he'd love to read your responses to his play.

Here is the New York Times article about the thrilling version of Lulu I recently saw at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM).

I also wanted to point you to the deep extent to which critics' influences are felt, even by highly successful playwrights like Jon Robin Baitz. Here's an honest article by him.

Once you've written your reviews, feel free to check out all the press on the plays we've been seeing. One of the best quotes I've seen about Yellow Face is from the author David Henry Hwang himself:

"To what extent do we perform race, either onstage or in life?"

Looking forward to your polished reviews and your creative pieces on Friday.

2 questions to always consider....

2007-12-04T17:35:00.001-08:00

#1
What is the art trying to accomplish?

#2
Does it succeed?

Keeping the art in mind, you can never go wrong in your reviews. You will avoid the pitfalls: "i didn't like it. it was good. i liked it. it was bad..." blah, blah. The interesting stuff is in the WHYs and the WHATs! Why did it succeed in parts, but not as a whole? What was it (the dance, the play, the painting, the song) trying to accomplish? Did it do more or less? Are you cool with where it went?

And tell us what you think! A little interpretation/a little context (do some research!) is always nice for your readers. Remember to keep them - US, your readers - in mind.... Or, just write for you. I carry a small notebook with me everywhere I go. Writers write. You are all writers because you write. That's the only requirement. :)

Open hearts, open minds.
The most important thing I want you to take away from TRaC is to be open to things foreign to you. Crane your neck, your ears, your brain to understand. Get excited, and bring people along!

Art is communication and communion.
That's what makes this fun....

happy december.
~eric

The Brothers Size

2007-11-28T15:31:00.000-08:00

EDITED POST

On November 28th and 30th, we will see Tarell Alvin McCraney's The Brothers Size. It's in the Shiva Theatre at the Public, where we meet for classes, so I guess you all know by now how to get there.

McCraney is a young writer who has meteorically shot out of Yale and into some very high profile workshops and productions. The Brothers Size is a part of a cycle of plays he's working on, and as you may notice from his character names, derives inspiration from the Yoruba tradition. Yoruba is a West African spiritual practice (and people) which, thanks to its enslaved practitioners, has traveled in various forms with its gods and goddesses all over the Americas. The play also has a live, percussive musical score.

Because my mom told me to

2007-11-18T06:30:00.000-08:00

Hey everybody:

My mom said that I should pass on this article about my alma mater. Since the fall of 2006, Harvard has offered free tuition to students with families in lower income brackets. My single mom and I didn't get to take advantage of this when I was in school there, so she thought I should pass on this information to you all, as some of you are applying to college now or in the near future...

Good luck!

Yellow Face

2007-11-11T17:15:00.000-08:00

EDITED POST

So, change of plans. Our actual next show is the eagerly anticipated new play by David Henry Hwang, Yellow Face. We are going to be in the audience for the invited dress, meaning we will see it before anyone else in New York does! Sunday November 18th is the date, and it looks like we're on for 7pm. If that changes, I'll let you know as soon as I know.

Hwang is a well known and celebrated playwright, author of M. Butterfly, Golden Child, and Flower Drum Song. Yellow Face delves comically into the rich territory of identity politics, as the play is a fictional account of his protest of the Welsh actor Jonathan Pryce playing an Eurasian character, the Engineer, in the original cast of Miss Saigon. After a protracted battle between producers and the Actors' Equity Association, Pryce ended up on stage as the Engineer and won a Tony for it. Asian actors have since played the role, but the debate lingers on. Like white minstrels performing in blackface, yellowface has a long history. Click on this article for more.

Think about the ways in which systematic discrimination and privilege play out on stage and behind the scenes.

See you on Friday with your objects for show and tell! And I added the Overheard In New York link on the right sidebar.

What Eisa Did Last Week

2007-11-01T21:41:00.000-07:00

I saw my play Bulrusher in Berkeley.
I wrote for the 24 Hour Plays on Broadway.
And I workshopped a new play at the Geva Theatre in Rochester.
In case you wanted to know.

1001

2007-10-31T11:23:00.001-07:00

Welcome back to our show and class schedule, everyone. Our next show is tomorrow, Thursday November 1 at 8pm. We'll be seeing P73's production of 1001 at the Baruch Performing Arts Center. Afterward, we'll have a brief discussion with the playwright, Jason Grote.

What do you know about the book One Thousand and One Arabian Nights? Who are the main characters in the narrative frame? What are some of the oft-told stories in it? How can a free adaptation of this classic speak to the present as it examines the Palestinian/Israeli conflict, gender inequality, the way we exoticize and criminalize the other, the way we use stories and the way stories use us?

Grote has set up several web interfaces that allow audiences to keep expanding their experience of the play. I've included a few myself. Here are some to start you off:

An overview of One Thousand and One Arabian Nights by A.S. Byatt
Enter The Story: the alternate reality of the play with links to character blogs and the 1001 Wiki
Grote's website

The Nagelberg Theatre at the Baruch Performing Arts Center is located at 55 Lexington Avenue (between Lexington Avenue and 3rd Avenue, with the entrance on 25th Street). To get there, you can take the 6 train to 23rd St, walk north on Lexington, and then take a right on 25th. The theatre is on your right.

On Friday, we'll discuss The Receptionist and hear from guest speaker Adam Feldman. Click on his name to read more of his reviews in Time Out. Your assignment due the subsequent class, November 9th, is a 500 word review of either 1001 or The Receptionist.

See you all tomorrow and Friday!

beyond the comics

2007-10-21T21:04:00.000-07:00

Great to see you all on Friday!
I mentioned two graphic novels that touched on similar themes as The Overwhelming. Just wanted to drop them on here, in case you were interested in checking them out....

NOTES FOR A WAR STORY (2007)
by GIPI

War changes everything.

When war comes, it doesn’t just change your food, your clothes, and your home. It changes your beliefs, your dreams, and your understanding of the world. Swept up in a war he never thought would happen, Giuliano begins to question what he’s fighting for—if he’s even fighting for anything.

Gipi’s pencil and watercolor art is forceful, realistic, and evocative—the ideal medium for this important and honest graphic novel.

MAUS (written from 1973 t0 final publication in 1991)
by art spiegelman

Winner of the Pulitzer Prize and acclaimed as "the most affecting and successful narrative ever done about the Holocaust "(The Wall Street Journal). The first volume introduces readers to Vladek Spiegelman, a Jewish survivor of Hitler's Europe, and his son, a cartoonist trying to come to terms with his father, his father's terrifying story, and history itself. Its form, the cartoon (the Nazis are cats, the Jews mice), succeeds perfectly in shocking us out of any lingering sense of familiarity with the events described, approaching, as it does, the unspeakable through the diminutive. Tragic and comic by turns, it attains a new complexity of theme and a precision of thought new to comics and rare in any medium.

~eric

The Receptionist

2007-10-13T08:11:00.000-07:00

Our next outing is the Manhattan Theatre Club production of The Receptionist. By Adam Bock, the play is a comedy--with implications. Bock's writing style is intentionally inarticulate, leaving more space for actors (and audience) to determine a line's meaning. However, this technique also creates a challenge for actors as the short lines remove the opportunity to think once they have begun speaking. The play runs an hour and ten minutes.

See what you can find out about Bock's work before we attend the show.

9 students will be seeing the play on Friday October 19th at 8pm after class. 5 students will see it on Sunday October 21st at 7pm with Eric Ost. MTC's City Center is on West 55th St between 6th and 7th Aves.

You can take the N/R/Q to 57th St to get there (exit at the back of the station at 55th and walk east a half block), or the E/V to Fifth Avenue/53rd St (walk north on Fifth and west a block and a half on 55th), or the F to 57th (walk south on 6th two blocks then west on 55th), or the B/D to 7th Ave (you can figure that one out).

See you on Friday! Don't forget to email your review of The Overwhelming to me at eisadavis@hotmail.com by the morning of the 19th, and bring in a hard copy to class. And for those of you who didn't see The Overwhelming, please write a review of Scarcity or of a play you have seen in the past.

1st Class Details!

2007-10-11T16:57:00.000-07:00

When and where to meet tomorrow....
You'll be meeting tomorrow in the lobby of The PUBLIC THEATER at 425 Lafayette Street at 4:20 sharp! The workshop will be from 4:30 pm until 6:30 pm. (That’s your Friday schedule).

The best way to get to The Public Theater is to take the 6 train to Astor Place and walk South on Lafayette Street. You’ll see the flags on the front of the theater on your left that say “The Public Theater.” Can’t miss’em. You could also take the N,Q,R or W train to 8th Street/ New York University and walk East to Lafayette Street and then South. OR you could take the B,D,F or V train to Broadway/Lafayette Street and walk North up Lafayette. Their website is here: http://www.publictheater.org/tickets/index.php

Try your best to be there at 4:20, as you are going to meet Eisa in the lobby then head up as a group to the conference room.

The first show is immediately following class! (And it's going to be a late one, ending around 9:30pm)
Scroll down to see Eisa's post about the show. It will be at the Harold and Miriam Steinberg Center for Theatre Laura Pels Theatre at 111 West 46th Street (between 6th & 7th Aves). You will all head up to the theater immediately following class.

Eisa Davis is your instructor. She will give you her contact information when you arrive. Call if you have trouble finding the Public Theater. Text if, for whatever reason, you are going to be late. And don't forget to include your name!

Make sure to bring a few dollar$ to grab something on the way over to the show after class. And don’t forget to bring a pen and a notebook!

Enjoy
~eric

The Overwhelming

2007-10-06T09:44:00.000-07:00

The first Theatre TRaC outing is on Friday October 12th at 730pm, immediately after our first class at the Public. We will be attending the Roundabout's production of The Overwhelming by JT Rogers, directed by Max Stafford-Clark. The writer and one of the actors will be joining us for a brief discussion after the performance.

The play takes place in 1994, at the outset of the Rwandan genocide. For background information on the conflict that killed an estimated 800,000 people in 100 days, read this summary article from the BBC.

Today, the genocide in Darfur, as well as the documented deaths of at least 75,000 Iraqi civilians, beg us to revisit the conditions that give way to mass murder. For more information on genocide intervention, click here.

As you think about the play, you may wish to consider the difficulty of representing the causes of genocide on stage and the ways the production approaches that challenge. Also, you may wish to think about point of view and from which perspectives the play delivers its information.

Write a 500 word response to / review of the play, due October 19th. Please email your response to eisadavis@hotmail.com by the morning of the 19th, and bring a hard copy in to class.

Welcome

2007-10-01T13:33:00.000-07:00

Welcome to TheatreTRaC, and our class blog. By checking in here frequently, you can stay up to date on all outings, assignments, in class exercises, handouts, and supplemental materials. You'll also be able to continue and deepen conversations from class, as well as start entirely new ones. Please feel free to share information or ideas from your experience, research, or imagination as they pertain to issues covered in our class or evoked by performances. Also, let this forum spark one on one conversations with your classmates and me, as virtual interaction is never a substitute for actual dialogue.

I'll edit this post to include our syllabus and a handout covering the basics of reviewing plays.