The official blog of the Dramaturgy Department at Baltimore's CENTERSTAGE. For posts related to our current and upcoming shows, click the links to the right. Alternatively, you could begin at the beginning, and explore our posts in chronological order.
potent & provocative excerpts posted from the convo
Half-a-dozen plays by writers 1st - 12th grade get professional staging at CENTERSTAGE (7pm April 30). How can you go wrong?
Full slate of pre- and post-show events for Whipping Man. Yes, you can enjoy these even without tickets to the show. Join the conversation!
“The Jewish Rebel” By TERRY L. JONES recalls Judah Benjamin in NYTimes Disunion series.
11 Early Scathing Reviews of Works Now Considered Masterpieces - Mental Floss
by Jon Seder - April 20, 2012
Questioningly: Eliminate a Word from the English Language
Today, we’re trying out something we’re calling “Questioningly.” We’ll pose a question, and then ask you to answer it, either via Facebook or Twitter. The question will challenge you to provide an funny answer, though we will also accept answers that are witty, sharp, amusing, ingenious, or whimsical. When you respond, please use the hashtag #quesTioNinglY—that way we’ll know that you’re participating in the competition. Actually, we’re kidding. That’s way too hard. Just use #tnyquestion. Questioningly runs Fridays until Monday morning, when we’ll retweet the winning entry, along with some runners-up.
This week’s question is as follows:
If you could eliminate a single word from the English language, what would it be? Reasons can vary—overuse, etymological confusion, aesthetic ugliness—and need not be explained. Simply propose a word and append the #tnyquestion hashtag. We’ll consider them all, pick one, and then consult with the people who are in charge of the language to see what we can do.
Now, enjoy our unofficial theme song, courtesy of the Ramones.
The “Milky” has landed! Milky White arrives at Westport Country Playhouse for 2nd round of her (“his”) engagement in the CENTERSTAGE/WCP co-pro ofInto the Woods. (Love that the arrival includes a tour of the admin offices.)
In response to our current production of The Whipping Man, we got this lovely, unsolicited email from a patron. Couldn’t ask for more:
Dear Everyone!
The play, the actors, the direction, the set, lighting were ever so much better than the review led me to expect. …the subplots and subsidiary detail enhanced our experience of the intricacies of relationships under the slave system.
The follow-up discussion engaged all of us in opening up the characters and plot lines as we talked about religion, politics, and race. I was so impressed that [the actor] stayed to hear and interact with the audience - and describe some of the directorial process. …I have to disagree on one point: We do talk about race in America - not frequently, not enough, but at Center Stage on a spring Sunday following a shared experience of artistic genius.
After the general discussion, three of us , a middle-aged black woman, an older white woman, and a Jewish man, continued to talk about our experience of race, shared history and the handing down of tradition. Where else in this wonderfully diverse city do such conversations occur? Thanks to all at Center Stage for a most memorable evening!
Who new there could still be “new” work from Mr. Poe! With a Poe-related play coming next fall, we’re excited to read this tidbit:
Exhibit to include short-story and poem manuscripts, as well as four of the famed author’s letters….
From Arena Stage comes this can’t-miss insider offer: The Neo-Futurists are back in town as part of the Eugene O’Neill Festival! Catch their production of The Complete & Condensed Stage Directions of Eugene O’Neill, Volume 1: Early Plays/Lost Plays Thursday, April 19th – Sunday, April 22nd. Arena’s offering a special 2 for 1 deal when you use the promo code NYNFbogo for any of the performances (that’s only $10.00 per ticket!). More information about the show appears below.
The Complete & Condensed Stage Directions of Eugene O’Neill,
Volume 1: Early Plays/Lost Plays
April 19-22 in the Arlene and Robert Kogod Cradle at the Mead Center (times vary)
To purchase, visit arenastage.org or call 202-488-3300.Approx. 90 min with no intermission
The New York Neo-Futurists release Eugene O’Neill’s stage directions from their dissertation prison and transform them into rip-roaring physical comedy – in under 90 minutes. Now a Broadway mainstay, O’Neill was considered an experimental playwright when he defied the melodramatic conventions of his day. The Neo-Futurists return O’Neill to his roots in this chronicle described by the New York Times as “an impish illustration of how lively entertainment can be created from theatrical spare parts,” which includes selections from two “sea plays,” the one-act A Wife for a Life (O’Neill’s first play) and the satire Now I Ask You.
Pub Events: CENTERSTAGE and Baltimore Open Theatre are joining forces and creating a platform for Baltimore performing artists to showcase, workshop, and explore new artistic ideas—beer in hand.
These events will be hosted at Liam Flynn’s Ale House, 22 W. North Avenue, and are free and open to the public. No tickets are necessary, but please arrive a bit early to buy a beverage and snag a primo seat.
On April 22, at 7 pm, UnSaddest Factory presents a reading of A Day By Yourself by Lola Pierson, which follows two women as they formulate the often arbitrary boundaries between secrets, sentimentality, and intimacy. Based on actual events in the lives of the actors in the show, A Day By Yourself explores what it means to be present in one’s own life. Probably you will cry, but only if you’ve ever made a terrible decision. This exciting new play features Sophie Hinderberger, Naomi Kline, Cricket Arrison, Sarah Lloyd, and Jessie Hughes.
Cleftomaniacs! Lobby full of folks stop after Into the Woods to enjoy a little a capella showcase.
Including this vivid recommendation at #8:
Give your readers as much information as possible as soon as possible. To hell with suspense. Readers should have such complete understanding of what is going on, where and why, that they could finish the story themselves, should cockroaches eat the last few pages.
Kurt Vonnegut’s 8 Tips on How to Write a Great Story - Entertainment - The Atlantic
