Today was technically day number three in NYC, which is crazy. The whole concept of time has become a bit of an illusion here in RV land. It is so hard for us to believe that it is still March, as our days are so packed and adventurous that we truly feel like we've been gone for months. NYC has been treating us a little poorly- ice cold weather, lots of rain and heavy winds. It's bad timing for such heavy schedules, (probably the busiest days so far) but nevertheless, we have been staying focused and optimistic!
New Dramatists was established in 1949 by Michaela O'Harra and in association with some of the greatest writers in American theatre history, including Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein II, Moss Hart and Howard Lindsay. We really connect on a fundamental basis with the principle of New Dramatists. Essentially, they take in writers for seven years and give them a wide range of resources and an artistic home in which to develop their work, collaborate with fellow writers and have the freedom to fail and grow. It was pretty inspiring talking to Todd, Emily and Ben while at the same time artists walked in and out, wrote fervently in their notebooks and rehearsed new songs all around us. What an inspiration!
We targeted Todd London at first because of a few archived articles we found in TCG's American Theatre Magazine and because of the buzz surrounding the publication of "Outrageous Fortune". When he replied to us, however, we learned that our meeting was destined for reasons even beyond just this. When responding to our invitation for an interview, Todd told Amy that our writing him was pretty "synch-y". (as in synchronistic- a word Amy loves by the way!) The reason, he wrote, was because back in the late 80's and early 90's, Todd had written one article, that later grew to four articles about how "unhealthy" the theatre world had become. Naturally we were all floored by this coincidence and we were outrageously anxious to get our hands on the archived articles. He forwarded all four and it was truly remarkable how "in sync" his writing really was with the fundamental core of our beliefs. In the articles, Todd focuses on four primary issues that he feels affect the overall health of theatre:
1. a need for great leaders ("On Loss and Mourning")
2. the tendency for the theatre to breed artists with an inherent empty and narcissistic ego ("How Empty is the Vessel")
3. the often-negative system of critics and critiques and the theatre's need to influence his or her opinion ("Critical Knot")
4. the tendency for theatre to breed artists with mental mindset and physical health imbalances ("Theatre on the Couch")
If you get a chance, check them out and you can see how some of them sound right out of an Amy Miller speech! Our time with Todd was really inspiring and we philosophized a great deal about what has changed between when he wrote those articles and now. We also talked about the institution of theatre, the concept and nature of a "sustainable" theatre and ensemble collaboration. Thanks Todd, Emily and Ben...so much fun!
Up until very recently, Irondale was also, as Terry puts it, "the oldest homeless theatre company in New York." They just recently got a space that they call the "Irondale Center" at the Lafayette Avenue Presbyterian Church in Fort Green Brooklyn. The incredible space is absolutely breathtaking and overwrought with history and personality. Terry gave us a thorough tour of the space, which was built in the late 1800s and contains a lot of the original architecture, plastering and stained glass windows. The layout is truly unique, with an upper balcony that has a bar/cafe, additional seating and a modest art gallery. There is also an upper dressing room and attic space at the very top of the building with all of the original and enormous wooden beams that make the space feel incredibly powerful.
Terry had shared with us how in their production of "alice...Alice...ALICE" (a version of "Alice in Wonderland") the company used the entire space to literally walk an audience through the story, traveling with Alice through all of her unique adventures. Seeing the space, we can only imagine how effective and stunning the experience must have been.
We talked with Terry about the history and formation of his ensemble, the challenges he sees in running ensembles and the unique educational program that Irondale has with local schools in Brooklyn. It was a great meeting and afterward we ran to the subway to get to an event we were hosting in midtown at Pearl Studios called "Words and Wine."
We didn't know who would show or what would happen, but we ended up bringing together about forty theatre artists! Gathered in a circle with wine and "light fare" (Brad's favorite expression) we documented the whole event on audio and video recordings. After we explained what we were doing, we opened the discussion up to the group, completely apprehensive about whether or not anyone would even open their mouths. Some of us thought that for sure the conversation would fade away to nothing well before the four hour end time of 11pm. But with almost no hesitation the conversation began and flew past 11pm until the Pearl Studio employees were literally escorting us out and down the elevators. Everyone had such incredible things to share and obviously there was a dire need for a setting that allowed people to voice their viewpoints on an industry that we all love deeply.
What an incredible day! Tomorrow has been declared a "snow day"- a term we coined back in Mexico. Nothing is scheduled and I think we all need the time to recover from our action-packed rendezvous in NYC!
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