Last week, we had the rare opportunity to rehearse on stage due to a slight break in Strawdog’s ever-busy rental space schedule. This opportunity was incredibly beneficial to all of us in the room, as the taped out set in our rehearsal space can’t really do justice to the unique challenges our little black box provides. If you haven’t been to our space before, you don’t know what I mean, for it is perhaps one of Chicago’s weirdest storefront spaces-especially from a lighting designer’s point of view. The playing area is roughly a 32’ wide by 26’ deep industrial room framed by cement, steel and brick covered in layers of paint spanning back at least twenty some odd years. On a good day, the ceiling is only 10’ tall which is supported by two giant concrete columns that obscure the views to audience banks seated on two adjacent sides in kind of a diamond shape. Did I mention the columns? They were once the bane of my existence, as well as the various scenic designers, but now half the fun of our shows is figuring out how to incorporate them into the production. A tree is a very popular disguise, but is a trick that unfortunately can’t work for every show. We have embraced these monsters as a company and use them without apology. We’ve even developed a blocking technique known as the Strawdog column lean. Once I became accustomed to actors leaning on them all the time, I came up with my own way of getting them lit by using multiple small fixtures from different angles. I’ll spare you the details…
Needless to say, the space can be tricky yet we continue to surprise ourselves with the worlds we can create, particularly when directors find interesting new ways to play within. Kimberly Senior has been an amazing pioneer in challenging us to use the space differently. She blocks in a way that seeks out every nook of playable space where no corner goes unused, regardless of terrible sight-line issues that make her plays fascinating to both work on and watch. After working with Kimberly for several years, and with her third shot at Chekhov, she’s managed to once again re-define how we view the space. For Vanya we are using a labyrinth of pivoting wall panels inspired by the box works of Joseph Cornell. Each act has its own configuration that moves the rooms around into the main playing space, with the actors having to navigate around them like the old Pacman video game. For a designer, walls (though not fully solid here) can prove to be difficult to light around, especially since here they are never in the same place. Kimberly adds to this challenge by staging constant action that takes place in hidden spots not meant to be public areas; a peepshow aspect that gives her Chekhov a rather interesting and vibrant, energy filled life. I love that Kimberly throws out these challenges, as it not only keeps me on my toes as a designer, but forces me to think about light differently in our space which makes each project a joy to envision then execute with the collaborative team.
I’ve never been much of a design “concept” person. I look at every show as having one problem I need to solve, in that the world of the play is dark and it’s my job to make it visible. As for the process on Uncle Vanya-,like all my designs, started with the needs of the script. Once I’ve mapped out those needs, and wants (a method I’ve been doing since college) I look for imagery/inspiration both on the interwebs, and the world around me. For example, part of last season’s Cherry Orchard was motivated by a hangover…It was about this time last year when I was at a friend’s house and wound up crashing on his couch after a bit of a long night. I had to get up early the next day to go to work, only to find a gorgeous winter sunrise filling his whole apartment through pale huge windows draped in white curtains. Immediately, I knew that it was what I wanted the first act to look like and took lousy pictures with my cell phone. Rumor has it, that one turned out ok…Not every inspiration comes so bluntly, but I do usually try to find a single image that speaks to my view of the production.
The image included here is called Russian Prisoner-a painting for a post card depicting a 19th century political prisoner. The image captures a natural window light quality that I like for our show, as well as being symbolic of Vanya’s own type of imprisonment in his home office that we see in Chekhov’s fourth act. Most of the design will be composed of this natural light effect by using window patterns, as well as shooting through the negative space in the set panels to suggest actual windows. In this production I hope for the lighting to be as realistic as possible. My goal is to avoid using a ton of theatrical conventions such as creating night by using blue. Instead I’d like to just subtly play with highlight levels and shadows to give each act a distinct time and place. I have a background in dance as well as video lighting, so my designs tend to be cinematic in nature with strong back and side light to help sculpt the people away from their surroundings. This tends to produce very high contrast shadows, while giving the actors a halo of light around them that I love, especially in our production photos. This is important to my aesthetic at Strawdog because it helps give depth and compensates for the diagonal blocking we do to allow both audience sections to see faces. As the frosting on this design, I plan on using some practical sconces as well as desk lamps and (fake) candles. These sources look great in our tiny space, so set practicals are my signature element whenever possible in all of my shows at Strawdog.
I’ve gone on long enough for my fist stab at blogging. If you want to geek out on lighting with me further, come check out one of our shows-I tend to be around a lot working as a house manager, or e-mail me: seanmallary@strawdog.org. Feel free to let me know what you think-I’m always interested to see what people see in the hopes that the lighting wasn’t even noticed at all. While this is a reality that can be hard to take as a designer, when it comes to light, I’ve always been taught that no news is good news, and if they are paying too much attention to the lighting, you’ve not done your job.
Thanks for reading-Sean
tags: Uncategorized author: StrawBlog comments: 3 Comments
February 4th, 2010
Hi. We are Kyle Hamman and Shannon Hoag. We are both ensemble members of Strawdog. We met here in Strawdog’s 2002 production of ‘The Green Bird.’ We played two young lovers in love - Shannon wearing barely a napkin and Kyle wearing eyeliner and a bad attitude. We got married in 2004. We are now returning to the Strawdog Stage as Astrov and Yelena in Kimberly Senior’s ‘Uncle Vanya.’ We are playing two slightly older lovers in….something. Limbo? Here is our attempt to communicate:
5:57pmKyle
hey there.
5:57pmShannon
hi
how was rehearsal?
5:58pmKyle
Do you want to ask the questions or should i?
5:58pmShannon
whoa.
5:58pmKyle
rehearsal was good. you were there.
5:58pmShannon
thanks. I think we got a lot accomplished.
5:59pmKyle
yes. yes, we did.
5:59pmShannon
is that a question?
5:59pmKyle
um…no. here’s one. What is your problem?
6:00pmShannon
What is your problem.
That was kinda Buddhist.
6:00pmKyle
was that a statement in answer to my question?
6:00pmShannon
yes?
6:00pmKyle
did you hear that?
6:00pmShannon
no
6:02pmKyle
oh…nevermind. anyway, i’m not sure what the “problem” is (yours or mine for that matter) but i believe the solution has something to do with wood rodents.
6:02pmShannon
carnivorous weasel
it is also called a sable
6:02pmKyle
i think they hold the answer.
6:03pmShannon
to what?
6:03pmKyle
to life’s questions.
6:04pmShannon
okay, so….how are you adjusting to your life PLC - that’s Post Lip Curtain*?
6:05pmKyle
i find it amusing that people look at me differently. i think for a moment that there is something wrong and then i remember the lip curtain and it all makes sense.
6:06pmShannon
I must say you wear it well and I am glad that you don’t look like “regular kyle” for this show.
6:07pmKyle
and to clarify, i don’t think we are yet in PLC phase right now…we are smack dab in the middle of it.
the middle of the lip curtain, that is.
6:07pmShannon
yuck
6:07pmKyle
i know, right.
6:08pmShannon
it’s PLC because you can never not “un-have” a lip curtain. it is something that has been woven into the fabric of your life experience.
6:09pmKyle
do you really think people want to know about the lip curtain and how it’s affected our lives?
6:09pmShannon
what?
6:10pmKyle
you know this is all being recorded right?
6:10pmShannon
so?
this lip curtain has really made you a little swarthy.
6:11pmKyle
i’m just saying, i think people would be more interested in reading about your take on the character of Yelena than they would Astrov’s Lip Curtain.
6:12pmKyle
(pause)
6:13pmShannon
you think people want to know what a colossal mind warp it is to portray a woman stuck in a desperately hopeless marriage only to “attempt” to have an affair with a character that happens to played by my real life husband?
and his lip curtain?
6:14pmKyle
(pause)
or we could just talk about facial hair.
whatevs.
6:14pmShannon
no
6:14pmKyle
i’m kidding.
yes, what’s that like to cheat on your husband with your husband?
is it kinky?
6:16pmShannon
no!
it is hard
6:16pmKyle
whoa.
6:16pmShannon
swarthy, surly and weird
that’s like the best lawfirm
ever
6:17pmKyle
or the worst construction company
6:17pmShannon
HA!
6:18pmKyle
how much did your training in russia affect your portrayal of Checkov characters?
6:21pmShannon
it’s funny, I was there as a 19 year old college student and if I knew then that I would end up such an enormous crush on this dead, tubercular, visionary playwright 10 years later…I wish now that I knew how momentous it was to be there then and see what I saw
and it’s CHEKHOV!
6:23pmKyle
sorry but you married a man who misspelled committee in grade school by spelling it “comity”
looked good to me.
6:23pmShannon
awww….at least you can spell grade school
6:24pmKyle
yeah. well. what time do you want to go to dinner?
6:25pmShannon
any time. I want to make sure we get to Pillowman early for tickets though.
what’s the deal with Astrov?
6:25pmKyle
well we better head that way soon. we can grab a drink over by there and then wait it out.
6:25pmShannon
hippie
I mean Astrov’s a hippie
6:26pmKyle
just because he likes trees does not mean he’s a hippie.
he was a man ahead of his time.
6:26pmShannon
just like you
6:27pmKyle
he’s a strange fella and i’m trying to to not be offended that kimberly wants me to play him like myself. does that mean i’m strange?
see! you DO think i’m strange!
6:28pmShannon
no. but what does a bacon-fed, Dr. Pepper-drinking Southern boy have to bring to a vegetarian, Russian tree surgeon/ people surgeon?
6:28pmKyle
lip curtain?
6:29pmShannon
nice.
6:29pmShannon
ps:
you are my favorite actor to work with.
jerk.
6:30pmKyle
you’re beautiful. and backatcha…minus the jerk part.
tags: Company News, Ensemble News, Production author: StrawBlog comments: 5 Comments
January 18th, 2010
Come here. Yeah, you. Shhh. I have a confession to make. I’ve never posted on a blog before, or even commented. Do you think anyone will recognize me here?
I’ve actually never posted on the world wide web because it’s always held for me this odd confessional quality– in an incredibly public space! Strangely enough, it’s private behavior in public spaces that continues to draw me to directing plays by Chekhov. Masha stealing a wanton glance at Vershinin in the very same room as her husband and sisters in Three Sisters. Or how Lopakhin’s devastating blow that he purchased the estate at the auction would’ve been better divulged to Lovey behind closed doors, rather than at a party in Cherry Orchard. There’s an implied voyeurism that’s inherently dangerous. And sexy.
Uncle Vanya really takes this to a whole new level. We’ve, in fact, been using the verb “blog” in rehearsal to describe what certain characters are actually doing in some moments (minus the laptop.)
What better place to confess than on a blog? There are at least three moments in Uncle Vanya when characters reveal key secrets to no one on stage. I’m not sure how these were performed in Chekhov’s day. But, for us, now, we really get that. We call that blogging. Airing our laundry- which is sometimes dirty- is inherently dangerous. And sexy. And we, the audience, just love the juicy details.
At the heart of it, why do we blog? We don’t want to be alone. We throw our voices out into the void, hoping some like-minded soul might hear us, connect with us, forgive us, love us. And that’s what happens in Uncle Vanya– characters throw their ardor into the void hoping someone might listen.
Someone like us.
Kimberly Senior
tags: Company News, Ensemble News, Production author: StrawBlog comments: 4 Comments
January 13th, 2010
So, that last post was a lovely spin through time. Plenty of nostalgia for the past year – “Hey, remember John getting drenched in yellow plague paint every night during Red Noses?” and “That one time when the plate broke during Cherry Orchard – that was awesome, right?” Man, those were the days. Oh, 2009 we hardly knew ye. Alright, now that we have that out of the way, let’s put our eyes on the future. If you liked Strawdog in 2009, just wait until you see what we got coming up for you next.
Join us February 1st at 7pm for our Phone Book Benefit. Are there people who you would watch read the phone book, they’re just that good? Well, we have some of them coming to entertain you to benefit Strawdog Theatre Company. More news as it develops.
Hot on the heels of our one-of-a-kind freakshow benefit, we will be opening the second show of our season, Uncle Vanya. I spoke in the previous post about the “Chekhov + Curt Columbus + Kimberly Senior + Strawdog” equation, and all those same thoughts are at play again in 2010. It’s tricky, though - as we consider this project, we find ourselves jonesing for a similar satisfaction as we got with Cherry Orchard and Three Sisters, while at the same time looking for fresh challenges and new surprises. Vanya is a tough script – our other Chekhov explorations have been about restraints and unrequited-ness, but this is a story about what happens when all those restraints have been demolished and the gloves come off and these characters are just trying to figure out what they are are left with. It’s exponentially more bitter than his other plays, and there is just a shit-ton of spite pretty recklessly tossed about. So how do we really sink our teeth into this terrible behavior and still create empathetic characters? Well, I don’t exactly know, but Kimberly does, and that is all that matters. The woman is at the top of her game, and I like to think that she and the Strawdog ensemble bring out the best in each other… I can’t wait to see what we come up with this time.
This brings me to our third production of the season: The Good Soul of Szechuan by Brecht. Now, this ain’t your Grandma’s Brecht – actually, whose grandmother reads Brecht? – this is a hot off the presses version that was ferociously adapted by David Harrower for the Young Vic in 2008, and it’s the Brecht adaptation that I’ve been waiting for my entire life. Resident Director Shade Murray found this gem, and brought it to us with a gleam in his eye. Considering what we learned during Red Noses (remember when I mentioned “learning important things about truth and style in storytelling” in the previous post?) it got his juices flowing, and he quite rightly thought that Harrower’s playful and totally unacademic retelling of this story would provide him with a fertile field of storytelling. We are bringing in 20 talented performers to help us create this world and tell this story, and we have been promised another live-music heavy experience by Shade and his musical cohorts, ensemble members Misha Fiksel and Mike Pryzgoda. Oh, and for those of you who keep track of such things, the set for this show will be designed by a no-good hack of a bastard that I promised to the company would never design here again: yours truly. So, we know that at the very least everything but the scenery will be awesome!
This next part is pretty cool, but also highly uncertain. Let me just say that there have been preliminary talks with “Representatives” of the “Chicago Park District” about the very real possibility of remounting Red Noses at the Theatre on the Lake in June of ’10, which could set the stage for a summer jam 4 week homestand back at Strawdog! Now, calm down, it’s all about preliminary talks at the moment, but we are really hoping to get the Nosey band back together again, and things are looking pretty groovy at the moment. Keep your ears to the ground, and we will keep you posted.
As you can plainly see via my powerful prose, 2010 is stacking up to be just as thrilling for us as 2009 was, and we haven’t even told you what our plans for the fall are. Nothing is certain yet, but let me just throw out some words for you to free associate: Antarctic expeditions. Russian novels. A rabbit?
Alright, that’s really more than enough for me. Please allow me to say in closing - from our family to your family, we hope you have a happy and healthy holiday, and we can’t wait to see you at the theatre in 2010!
Nic Dimond
tags: Company News, Ensemble News author: StrawBlog comments: No Comments
December 18th, 2009
Yo, ho, ho - Happy Holidays, peoples! ‘Tis the season for frozen extremities, festive sweaters and year-end retrospective blog posts!
2009 was a stunningly successful year for Strawdog. It started off with our Cherry Orchard – a production that almost never happened. We had designs on, ahem, another play which, um, did not work out. For more details please check out TimeOut’s extensive “While-you’re-at-it-would-you-like-to-give-me-a-paper-cut-and-pour-some-lemon-juice-in-it?” coverage of the fictional knife fight between me and PJ Powers… So, we turned to a recipe we had enjoyed before: Chekhov + Curt Columbus + Kimberly Senior + Strawdog = Delicious! Our earlier production of Three Sisters had left such a great taste in our mouths that this was actually a pretty easy decision. I could also say “Look how relevant it was – we were starting a recession incited by toxic assets in the form of bad mortgages, and look at these Russians losing the family farm!” But the more I think about it, the more I know that the great stories – like the ones told by our man Anton – will always be relevant, no matter what our world is going through. That’s part of what makes them great.
And then we stumbled across this little ditty called Red Noses. It’s a script that I’d been excited by for years, and I had been searching for the right director. And then we stumbled across this little hit-maker named Matt Hawkins. And the rest is medieval plague comedy infused with 1980’s pop tunes history! What an unlikely success. That script is out-of-control bloated, and while I knew for a fact that Matt was an accomplished, formidable artist, a couple of years ago he was still a relatively unproven young director. Through our immersion in that world, we ended up learning important things about truth and style in storytelling, and we added a significant new voice to our company by asking Matt to join Kimberly Senior and Shade Murray as our resident directors.
These shows both logged more sell-outs than any other productions in Strawdog history, and shattered box office records for attendance and income. I mean, consider the extremes that these plays represent – Russian naturalism in February and theological slapstick with a Whitesnake cover in April? Back to back sold-out runs? Seriously? But the coolest thing is that I CAN SEE THE THREADS THAT CONNECT THESE SUCCESSES. When we are at our best we are equal parts playful and cruel, with no bullshit, no gimmicks, no tricks up our sleeves, and it doesn’t matter if we are telling a story about an aristocratic family in decline or a French pope – we are the most interested in depth of exploration: stripped down, then fleshed out. Really keeping our eyes on the prize and getting to the bottom of it, that’s the most satisfying for us.
We carried that momentum into the fall with our production of St Crispin’s Day. We immersed ourselves in a feudal French swamp as we explored low comedy with high stakes, and the results were impressive. That kind of show requires a “one half science, and the other half soul” type approach, and we loved that challenge. “How do I execute this Bugs Bunny bit while making sure it comes from a true place of terror?” The answer? Precision. Clarity of intent, precision of execution.
Speaking of precision (righteous segue, reason #138 that I’m a star in the blogosphere!) have you checked out our Late Night offerings lately? Over the past 5 years, our Hugen Hall has grown from a half dozen people with PBRs and guitars doing open mics into a legitimate subculture destination. Where else can you get an evening of original radio-style plays on Friday and the insane debauchery of Theatre Wars on Saturday? Not to brag, but we are really one of the only theaters our size with a bar, and we take more advantage of it than anyone else I know. There’s something that happens in that room sometimes, y’all – I mean, these days I’m a crotchety old bastard, and even I have experienced a fistful of ephemeral “you-had-to-be-there” moments. The Hit Factory. The Game Show Show and Stuff. Live music every Sunday night. Our closing night puppet shows. While there’s always room to grow, I’m proud as hell of what we’ve done with that line of programming, and I hope that you’ve had a chance to break some off for yourself over the past year. If not, no worries – we’ll make more.
tags: Company News, Ensemble News, Production, Uncategorized author: StrawBlog comments: 1 Comment
December 11th, 2009
Like you, I’ve been reading about playwright and former Czechoslovakia president Vaclav Havel today.
This story has all the drama of a great play. Vaclav Havel, son of wealth and privilege, whose work was banned by a totalitarian regime, gets nominated for president by an upstart party. Pictures of him were kept out of circulation by authorities, he was so feared. Two journalists sneak into his official nomination event and take one of the earliest pictures of him. Then, a group of rebellious printers reproduce and distribute 200,000 copies of the picture under the cover of night. Just think of all the cool music we could use in the sound design.
From an article in WSJ New Europe Blog:
“On Dec. 8th, twenty-one days after the brutal police crackdown of the peaceful student demonstration that sparked the Velvet Revolution, Czechoslovakia was still officially called the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic and ruled by totalitarian President Gustáv Husák.”
Also, from the article:
“But the ban of Havel’s photos ended late at night on Dec. 8th, 1989 when an entire night shift crew at the state-run printing plant, called Svoboda (freedom in English), rebelled by volunteering to print some 200,000 posters sized 50 cm by 72 cm of the man who would later become the first non-Communist president of Czechoslovakia since 1948.”
Read the article here
tags: Uncategorized author: StrawBlog comments: No Comments
November 11th, 2009
The article from the Wall Street Journal about the number of hidden microphones used on Broadway got me thinking about a discussion I participated in at Strawdog. Not long ago, as we updated our mission and values, a discussion about the word ‘intimate’ (as an apt description of our work) arose. It wasn’t a big debate or anything but I think some of us shied away from that word because so many spaces in Chicago are retro-fitted storefronts and intimate by default. We didn’t feel that it distinguished us from other companies. If a house seats 70 people, like Strawdog, the intimacy is built in; like a love seat sofa is intimate. But then, what about a bus? It offers an an even smaller kind of proximity to our neighbor than a theater. Is that an intimate experience? Yes but one that you may not care for so most of us disengage as we read or listen to music or get lost in our own thoughts. You don’t want that kind of proximity. But in the theatre it’s good. I think proximity to the audience is what makes something intimate. I think that actors need only speak their lines(with a moderate amount of projecting and enunciating) to get their meaning across in most storefront spaces. The proximity to the audience allows for less labored speech from actors and no synthetic volume enhancement from microphones. So, thank you storefronts!
Anita Deely
PS-And you’re welcome New York for A Steady Rain, Our Town, and David Cromer which were all developed in the intimate storefront theaters of Chicago.
tags: Company News, Ensemble News author: StrawBlog comments: No Comments
November 4th, 2009
Click to Listen!
In the world of ensemble member Sean Mallary, no good intention goes unpunished. Listen as Sean recounts his family’s effort to create a Halloween costume, and the problems that follow, in his personal essay ‘How I Became a Robot’. Recorded live at Strawdog Theatre’s Hugen Hall in May of 2009.
tags: Podcast Episode author: StrawBlog comments: 2 Comments
October 29th, 2009
About 3 or so months ago Anderson Lawfer told me he wanted me to host a game show. I then did not hear from him for 2 months and 3 weeks, and as it was the monsoon season I didn’t think much of it. He then called me at 3 in the morning last Monday and said “Hey, man, you ready to host Musical Chairs???” and I replied “I told you not to call me here,” and he said “Wait is this Jesus? Am I dead?” and I said “Oh, Andy…go back to whatever it is you do when normal people sleep.”
Me and Andy
So far it’s been a great process. We’ve narrowed it down to myself and the lovely Ann Sonneville hosting a show that will last anywhere between 10 minutes and 4 days. The lovely Ryan Palmer will be DJing, and the lovely Kevin Alves will be our utility player. To be honest, I have no idea what I just said. There seems to be a consensus that there will be “musical chairs,” “people going out,” and “challenges.” Contestants (people just like you!) will be playing for amazing prizes like fast food, and tickets to shows that most theater companies give away for free anyway if you use code words on the internet because no one sees theater unless it’s advertised on a bus.
Watch Ann and I try to control a drunken crowd! Watch Anderson Lawfer giggle his way through another evening of chaos! Watch the bartenders at Hugen Hall wonder why they work there instead of Holiday Club!
Join in on the fun at Musical Chairs! What the hell else are you doing…raising your children poorly?
tags: Uncategorized author: StrawBlog comments: 2 Comments
October 28th, 2009
Five short-ish years ago I found myself wrapped up in a little show called WRLS 4 with the one and only Strawdog Theatre Company. This show was begun by a group of ensemble members wanting to create original material, using the platform of a live radio show, with wacky characters playing the parts within the pieces, as well as in the show as a whole. Show within show within show… It was fantastic madness. However, it began to detour from its original intention and format. With the ambition of aiding and abetting the future of this ensemble driven expo, a writing workshop was created for interested ensemble members, actors and designers alike. As luck would have it, Strawdog made the acquaintance of Hank Boland, who penned our first musical. Hank is a playwright and writing teacher at Columbia. Focusing on the medium of live radio, this workshop became a sound board for experienced writers and newbies to set loose their hair-brained schemes… I mean, ideas. Thus, The Hit Factory was born, though WRLS went the way of the dodo.
(moment of silence)
Hit Factory still retains a lot of the foundation that was laid by WRLS.
(moment of silence)
A live radio show complete with a foley artist, a band (if we can wrangle one together) and a group of versatile actors with nothing but their voices, a mike and a music stand for their script (if we can wrangle some together). There’s no smoke and mirrors here. What makes Hit Factory different from it’s predecessor is the performers and their relationships with the stories they are telling. WRLS used the device of characters performing as other characters. Follow me? Hit Factory uses actors. Period. There is no extra veil of performance. So, instead of layering the delivery, you simply have an actor sharing an experience. What’s even greater is the fact that the actors know the owner of the brain from which these stories were born. Pretty slick, right? Right.
In the first round of Hit Factory pieces, I contributed as an actor. Lending my voice to breathe life into the characters created by these wordsmiths for the very first time. Next, I was given the opportunity to direct. Just recently, I was able to contribute all of myself as a personal essayist. Having donned so many skins, I feel like I’ve grown up with Hit Factory. From adorable and utterly forgivable infancy, through the messy brat phase, eking over awkward adolescence, and finally emerging into a decently scarred adulthood; the stories shared and explored were consistently genuine and infinitely entertaining. However, what I’ve gleaned as a participant, and ultimately a Word Jammer (I have a certificate…), is that the end result is less than half the aim of what Hit Factory is about.
Everyone in this business has a talent that they’re good at, or at least recognized for, but living within a creative community you begin to breathe your fellow artists’ air and like the taste. Maybe it’s the grass is greener mind-job we pull on ourselves but I like to think it’s admiration for your peers and wanting to tap into other facets to fine tune your own artistry. The Hit Factory has provided a safe forum for that desire to stretch and re-form ourselves amidst family. That being said, we don’t handle each other with kid gloves. We are, after all, a family. There have been no brawls (to date…) only criticisms to further the progress of the individual and challenges to make sure it’s a grand slam success.
For example, the last Hit Factory was centered on personal essays. Being someone who likes to tell a story (though in the past I’ve been accused of being long winded and divulging insignificant details i.e. <---) I was interested in sharpening this quality. My first story was an absolute mess. If at one point it wasn't scattered, it was cluttered. In other segments, I was using someone else's voice, not my own, making it impersonal and false. Best part? I didn't finish it. I couldn't. It wasn't until I read it out loud that I was clear on why my tale went nowhere. Simply... I started telling a story I wasn't ready to tell. My peers understood and after some pointers to help dig me out of the trap I'd laid for myself, I tried again. For the record, the story still isn't finished. It's progressed but...
What Hit Factory has actually done is extend our family's reach into outer space with Stella Stargirl (by Aly Greaves), into a gritty crime world fantastically with John Henry Robert’s Dr. Night and hilariously with Michael Dailey’s drunk lady detective, Nelly Quinn. Hit Factory made us shudder in the alternate realities of Shelf 13(Hank Boland) and quenched our thirst with a cool pint in the company of the the patrons of Anita Deely’s Dooley’s Public House in Galway, Ireland. The people in these stories are other versions of ourselves and we want to share them with you. If you’re willing to listen but in our experience we’ve learned people like being told stories.
It’s just that simple.
Come see it this Saturday. I’ll be performing.
Michaela Petro
tags: Uncategorized author: StrawBlog comments: 2 Comments
October 21st, 2009
