102 stories from Extra Criticum
I had an absolute blast moderating this panel for the Dramatists Guild on Tuesday. Really smart and generous panelists include: August Schulenburg (Flux Theatre Ensemble), James Comtois (Nos…
There was no red carpet. There were no lights. Well, there were no lights outside. It would have been odd for there to have been lights outside since it was the middle of the day. It...
Note: The play I wrote for young audiences, Fake Flowers Don't Die, is going to be performed in schools, theatres, and community centers in the Cincinnati area throughout the month of Octobe…
Today in her keynote conversation with Gary Garrison, Theresa Rebeck offered her own version of a tune I've been singing ever since I began at the Guild and I felt validated. In a big way. E…
While researching actor and professional wrestler Andre the Giant, I came across this: "As a child, he {Andre the Giant} displayed symptoms of his gigantism very early, reaching a height of …
Today I wrote what may be the three most satisfying words a dramatist writes: END OF PLAY. They went on the bottom of page 103 in Scene 12 of a new full-length comedy. (One only hopes...
Producing events in New York City is always a challenge especially when I need to book performing talent of one kind or another week in and week out, 52 weeks a year. But, I love it....
Impoverishment is the default condition of most theatre artists, including playwrights, composers and lyricists. Very few make a living from their art and many struggle to make ends meet and…
Shortly after my father died, I had lunch with my friend John Yearley and I asked him if he wouldn't mind emailing me a copy of his one-act, HATING BECKETT. I thought re-reading the play mig…
A million years ago I was in a community theater production of 12th Night. Enter DUKE ORSINO, CURIO, and other Lords; Musicians attending. I was one of the attending musicians--the only one,…
Tammy Ryan has a fascinating and troubling piece up on Howlround. Here's a quote: I have never owned a gun, never touched a gun, never even ever seen a real gun. I don't share Khakpour's obs…
Preliminary applications are now open for NYTW's Fellowship program, which has been re-imagined as: The 2050 Fellowships. Here's the official announcement from our friends on E. 4th Street: …
How do you know there's a storm coming to New York City? A serious storm? Walk down 12th Street and look up at the Cinema Village marquee:
In between navigating the terrifying landscape that is Charlie Victor Romeo, actor Patrick Daniels was kind enough to field a few of our questions. Fasten your seatbelts, folks. It's FAA reg…
How much should playwrights worry about cast size when they write a script? This unsavory question is driven by the economic mess that has imperiled nonprofit theatres in recent decades. Wri…
File this one under: Street Theatre. So I'm walking in Times Square--well, trying to. I'm trying to make my way from the corner of 44th and Broadway to the corner of 41st and Broadway and yo…
Reading a friend's play today, as I reached the bottom of page 1, it occurred to me, this is how you know you're in the hands of a real playwright. What a pleasure! To read a...
The Washington State Lottery identifies the odds of winning its Lotto jackpot as one in 6.99 million. That's one of 6.99 reasons why I never buy a lottery ticket. The odds of writing a play …
There's been a lot written about the way in which America's regional big boy theatres have spent the past few decades building up their physical plants and thus taking on the heavy burden of…
This really cool thing put together by Micheline Auger. Check it out: WHAT IT IS: An installation of emerging and emerged playwrights writing new plays in the store front of the Drama Book S…
I have seen many productions of Chekhov's play Uncle Vanya over the years but am not likely to ever experience one with such intimacy as I did recently at Soho Rep in New York. It was...
In New York City it is now possible to purchase a ticket to The Gershwins' Porgy & Bess. You can also purchase a ticket to Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman. But not Bruce Norris' Clyb…
Every writer can tell a version of this story: For one reason or another, you are called upon to look at some of your old work. As you go through it, a disquieting feeling arises. Lines...
