I've decided to relaunch my blog with a slightly snappier title.
As my late friend Betsy Carpenter once noted, Stanislavski wrote books titled Building a Character and Creating a Role. She thought he should have followed them up with one titled Making a Scene. So, I modify her suggestion slightly and arrive at Making Scenes. My expectation is talk about not only literally making scenes -- dramatic writing -- but also being on the scene and observing and commenting on it.
I am a sympathetic though not uncritical observer. Even when I see theatre that I think doesn't come off, I am on the side of those who put time and effort into the attempts. I've been involved in more productions than I can count. Some were considerable critical and box office successes, some stumbled and expired, but I embarked on them all with the intention of making something worth the audience's time and attention. I assume the same of others. Cynicism is too easily ascribed by some to many efforts, particularly in the commercial theatre. In my experience, most people are trying to contribute.
Being a Tony voter, these weeks I'm running to the theatre a lot -- either seeing some things for the first time or revisiting shows in light of nominations. It's been an odd season. I generally have been disappointed by the new plays. I think there has been a lot of interesting work in musical theatre, though not many clear successes. On the other hand, this has been a season of extraordinary revivals -- productions that remind us what theatre can achieve -- Raisin in the Sun, No Man's Land, Betrayal, Twelfth Night, I Remember Mama, Middle of the Night, London Wall, Dead End, St. Joan, Hamlet, Measure for Measure and the marvelous concert versions of The Most Happy Fella and Little Me.
Well, I'll go on at greater length about some of these and some of the new stuff as I grab time and as stuff worth writing occurs to me.
Jeff
