tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-48509964924308129832024-03-13T20:34:10.096-07:00theatre KAPOWA behind the scenes peek at theatre KAPOW, developing ensemble productions of great dramatic literature to explore the human experience and inspire and challenge both artist and audience.theatre KAPOWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05106489035151126683noreply@blogger.comBlogger42125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4850996492430812983.post-32866541613680267512018-09-17T19:05:00.001-07:002018-09-17T19:05:25.971-07:00Technology and the Regression of CommunicationIt is well documented that the advancement of technology has ushered in a society that is more connected than it ever has been, yet (somehow) continues to regress in its ability to communicate truthfully.<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
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“Today” we are told “we have knowledge at our fingertips that we could only dream of in generations past.” It is true; in 2018 you are mere keystrokes away from the extended works of William Shakespeare, a live stream of Earth from the International Space Station, or an instructional YouTube video on how to best prepare salmon steaks. We can FaceTime, voice chat, text message, SnapChat (take your pick) with people on the other side of the planet with next to no effort.<br /><br />Objectively, these tools provided through technological advancement should only further enable us to communicate with our fellow human beings. Bring us closer together, not isolate us. The barriers of distance, time and language (thank you Rosetta stone!) have been torn down by iPhones and touch-screens, and yet YouTube comments and Twitter are inundated with hateful, poorly-spelled, half-baked excuses for thoughtful discourse. <br /><br />At what point do we stop blaming the tools and start holding ourselves accountable for our behavior? The reality is, barriers of language and trust are only brought down through vulnerability and honesty, behaviors that are not made easier through the newest gadget or social media. In fact, there is a very real case to be made that the interconnected modern society is actively detrimental to the idea of being truthful and vulnerable. <br /><br />By connecting society through cell phones and computer screens, people are more exposed than ever. An errant tweet from years past is now grounds for firing, not to mention the vicious witch-hunt that comes, fully enabled through social media. “Burn in hell, sinner!” is so much easier to tweet than it is to verbalize; to speak to someone’s face.<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig5s_N24LjjxDWoIDEPqc5fAVrUUMugqqayio7P9Vg6sX8XRKZLsWxh3gOh5bJMNuK_Q1eMx8zZV2jfh6cCiWPxOtKsFtMYwMMswNl0gVWB_SVNg_YDTKTTZPb6T6I0UHVtzUw-pJRmxM/s1600/Translations+Photo+Poster.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1575" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig5s_N24LjjxDWoIDEPqc5fAVrUUMugqqayio7P9Vg6sX8XRKZLsWxh3gOh5bJMNuK_Q1eMx8zZV2jfh6cCiWPxOtKsFtMYwMMswNl0gVWB_SVNg_YDTKTTZPb6T6I0UHVtzUw-pJRmxM/s320/Translations+Photo+Poster.png" width="242" /></a></div>
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Brian Friel so perfectly illustrates in his play Translations how difficult it is to truthfully communicate with one another. We are so eager to throw up walls (be they technological, cultural or linguistic) to avoid the effort and discomfort that comes with a real human connection. “Say anything at all; I love the sound of your speech” says English Lieutenant Yolland to the local Irish woman Maire Catach. She is speaking Latin (completely unintelligible to the Lieutenant); desperately trying to communicate with him despite this seemingly unassailable barrier. And yet this young, earnest pair connect in a very real way, speaking in the universal tongues of smiles, laughs and sighs. No computers, no Google Translate, no cell phones. Just two people and the warm, Irish air of a summer night in 1833. Intent is everything, and this highlights the exasperatingly simple solution to this age-old problem: <br /><br />Make an effort.<br /><br />Society, it seems, has come to the conclusion that technological advancement enables our problems to be solved for us. The average first-world citizen has been given a free pass to check-out; intellectually as well as socially. We, as a society must recognize that the advancement of technology must be accompanied by a commensurate advancement and evolution of our intellectual and civic responsibilities. The technological marvels at our disposal are not crutches. They’re ladders. Let’s start using them.</div>
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~Jimmy Stewart</div>
<br /><a href="http://tkapow.com/Translations.html" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;" target="_blank">tKAPOW's production of Brian Friel's <i>Translations</i></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> runs September 28 to October 6, 2018 .</span>theatre KAPOWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05106489035151126683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4850996492430812983.post-75103685540201608622018-09-03T18:38:00.000-07:002018-09-03T18:38:00.902-07:00Saying Goodbye to Thebes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOixBa6SBm3Acfg6CvpZAdTdoCCdlLp_D2AeLC-LZw95alMmBWu81s9LQOJa9Sz2-IGixhMK48ZiO5-XAlYY5RoJvimWF3JjVTpG1Y3hO_riIFzkxfLAvUn7GVsdsOPaL62O96zJLOuUA/s1600/Thebes_promo_Aug2013_by_Lomanno_0045.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOixBa6SBm3Acfg6CvpZAdTdoCCdlLp_D2AeLC-LZw95alMmBWu81s9LQOJa9Sz2-IGixhMK48ZiO5-XAlYY5RoJvimWF3JjVTpG1Y3hO_riIFzkxfLAvUn7GVsdsOPaL62O96zJLOuUA/s200/Thebes_promo_Aug2013_by_Lomanno_0045.jpg" width="200" /></a>My first main stage production with theatre KAPOW was in September of 2013 when we mounted our first run of <i>The Burial at Thebes</i>. It is a beautiful contemporary adaptation of the Antigone play by the famous Irish poet, Seamus Heaney. It is an uncommon privilege in the theater world to come back to a script and perform the same roles over several years, however, this was the experience for myself and a handful of other actors. For the past 5 years we have returned to Thebes each September to perform for the freshman class at St. Anselm College to coincide with the these new students’ reading of <i>Antigone</i>. We have also performed on a few other occasions for high school students.</div>
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This September will be our last run of the show and our 7th time re-mounting the show. Many actors have performed in various roles over the years and just the other day in rehearsal we were attempting to count up the total number of people who have contributed to the production. For the past 5 years I have marked the coming of fall with not only my return to teaching and my children’s return to school but also with the mid-August email from Matt Cahoon, usually entitled “Return to Thebes” or most recently, “The Very Last Thebes (We think)”. Facebook and Instagram have faithfully popped up pictures of the original show photos and many other rehearsal pictures from over the years.<br />
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As I reflect on this, it occurs to me how much I will miss receiving Matt’s email and how sad it will be when we actually do put this production to rest. Like many greek tragedies, <i>Antigone</i> deals with the flaws and strengths that make us human and is full of timeless themes such as love, pride, power, morality, betrayal, loyalty and fear. Each year as we’ve return to the play, we’ve found new relevance in its content. For me, the poetry and themes never get stale. We have found connections to 9/11, the Boston Marathon Bombings and other news stories and political climates throughout the 5 years.<br />
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I have played Ismeme, sister of Antigone, each year as well as a chorus member. Each year I’ve found a new lens to see Ismene through and different ways to analyze her relationship with Antigone and her decision not to follow her sister's plan to go against the “laws of the land” and bury her brother. In her I have found a fierce love of her family, but a true fear that perhaps we’d call her tragic flaw. Fear is certainly an emotion we can all connect with and one that so often decides our decisions in life. Was Ismene wrong to deny her sister her support and to not, as she states, “defy the laws of the land”? This question of who was right, Creon or Antigone, has been an ongoing conversation for the company and one that is always discussed in our talk backs after each show. There have been many different opinions and insights over the years, but as Tom Hanks as Forest Gump says so eloquently when describing what life might mean, “maybe it’s a little of both.”<br />
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Ismene is spared by King Creon and we never really find out what happens to her. Fear may have been her flaw, but it wasn’t a fatal one for her, unlike most of the other characters in the play, so maybe she’s wiser than we thought. Last year one of the college students asked me what I thought happened to Ismeme at the end of the play. Where did she go? I have thought about this a lot and my favorite imagining is that she fled far away to the seaside and lived out her days watching the tides in solitude. Perhaps never forgiving herself for living and her sister dying, but somehow finding peace in her escape from the tragedy at Thebes.<br />
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<i>~Rachael Longo</i></div>
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(photos by Matthew Lomanno)</div>
theatre KAPOWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05106489035151126683noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4850996492430812983.post-74389003733584309722018-04-18T11:14:00.000-07:002018-04-18T11:43:14.054-07:00A Cliff's Edge<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Then know this: where you are standing now</i>
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<i><i>Is a cliff edge, and there’s a cold wind blowing.</i></i></div>
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<i><i>~Tiresias, The Burial at Thebes</i></i></div>
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It is probably safe to assume that if you are reading this blog you are at least somewhat familiar with theatre KAPOW. It is probably equally as safe to assume that if you are somewhat familiar with theatre KAPOW you are aware of the company’s relationship with the <i>Antigone</i>. Every year for almost six years now, theatre KAPOW has produced <a href="http://tkapow.com/thebes.html"><i>The Burial at Thebes</i></a>, a version of the <i>Antigone</i>, at St. Anselm College. So, when I recently heard an interview with Lucas Hnath, playwright of our current project,<i> <a href="http://tkapow.com/TheChristians.html">The Christians</a></i>, in which he said, “the bones” of his play are the same as the <i>Antigone</i>, it definitely changed my perspective on the piece.<br />
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When we do <i>The Burial at Thebes</i>, we often discuss how much like a courtroom drama the show is. Creon and Antigone go back and forth and the chorus (and the audience) is swayed one way or the other. In <i>The Christians</i>, there is a similar courtroom dynamic. The tension from both pieces comes from the conviction of their characters. Characters on both sides are absolutely convinced they are right and are capable of articulating their sides really well. <br />
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While there are some similarities in the plots of the two plays, the real parallels between <i>The Christians</i> and <i>Antigone </i>are found in the relationships. The dynamics of the father/son relationship for example are very present in both pieces. As is the relationship between the leader and the elder. In <i>Antigone </i>the prophet Tiresias comes to Creon and warns him that that his actions will lead to disaster. Similarly in <i>The Christians</i> we see Elder Jay come to Pastor Paul and warn him about how his sermon may cause problems with the church community. <br />
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**As an aside, one of the greatest things about having a company of actors that work together frequently is that they bring every character and every relationship from previous shows to each new show. In this case, Peter Josephson who plays Creon in <i>The Burial at Thebes </i>and Elder Jay in <i>The Christians</i> has in those two roles played both the warned and the warner. It’s a detail that perhaps only the most diehard of tKAPOW fans will catch, but I think it adds a depth to the company’s work that wouldn’t exist if we worked with new actors for every show.**<br />
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While he may bristle at the comparison, but another similarity between the work of Lucas Hnath and Sophocles is an incredibly poetic efficiency in the use of language. At one point a musician friend of mine told me that in music the rests are just as important as the notes. That’s how it is with both <i>The Christians</i> and <i>Antigone</i>. Both plays are relatively short but so skillfully crafted that they land with more impact than most longer plays. The information communicated in a look or a breath is sometimes even more powerful than what is said aloud. In one scene of <i>The Christians</i> there is a page with only 17 words on it. It comes at a critical moment and the stakes are incredibly high. Many playwrights would overwrite this sequence, but Hnath lets it breathe. He lets the subtext dominate and allows the text to take a backseat. Like the composer using rests, Hnath expertly creates a piece where what he doesn’t write is as important as what he does. <br />
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I will be so curious to take part in conversations with audiences following <i>The Christians.</i> I recently had a conversation with Bryan Doerries, the Artistic Director of <a href="http://theaterofwar.com/">Theater of War Productions</a>, who said that the basic tenet of their work is that the audience knows more than they do. tKAPOW truly has the most intelligent audiences members I have ever met so I certainly understand what Bryan is saying. I just can’t wait to hear from you all about your experience with <i>The Christians.</i> I will be particularly interested to speak with those of you who have seen our version of <i>Antigone. The Christians</i> absolutely stands on its own as a brilliant piece of dramatic literature, but the theatre nerd in me relishes the opportunity to consider this piece in relation to some of our other work. I really look forward to seeing you there and learning from everything that you observe.<br />
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~Matt Cahoon</div>
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<i>The Christians</i> by Lucan Hnath runs April 27 through May 5, 2018. More info <a href="http://tkapow.com/TheChristians.html" target="_blank">here</a>.theatre KAPOWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05106489035151126683noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4850996492430812983.post-10857491135487885552018-02-21T07:27:00.001-08:002018-02-21T07:28:53.317-08:00Names Read Aloud<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">"</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Tigers die and leave their skins; people die and leave their names."</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">-Japanese Proverb</span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: white;"><img alt="Image result for 9/11 lists of names" height="172" src="https://www.911memorial.org/sites/default/files/styles/article_middle/public/articles/com_tribute_lights_7295_edited.jpg?itok=1uHEoeUR" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="" width="320" /></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The list of names on the 9/11 Memorial in New York City</td></tr>
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’m not giving anything away when I tell you that names play a major role in Anne Washburn’s </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://www.tkapow.com/MrBurns.html">Mr. Burns, a post electric play</a></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">In act one we meet a band of travelers sitting around a campfire. We come to learn that these people are living in a world after a cataclysmic event that has destroyed the electrical grid. Before too long a stranger enters and, after a few tense moments trying to ascertain whether he is friend or foe, the group pulls out their notebooks and reads lists of names of people that have gone missing. It is clear early on that some of the names only remain on the lists as a way to remember them rather than out of any hope that they will be found. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">In act three, 75 years have passed and the notebooks have been replaced by a large tome from which the names are read aloud. For a contemporary audience, this moment is clearly reminiscent of the annual tradition of reading the names of people who died on 9/11. Washburn includes names that clearly indicate that their owners were from a variety of backgrounds. The apocalypse didn’t discriminate. </span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjns9iXdYxa5KfCy1ySZh_ZTR6mWdZg4Wpijid-GVvrBkHUmzZy4Xox2Bbf15d-QK3Fy8y0UbxN5gMfJZ80hiVwpwdHX4yrYG80Le4wiOfoYAOVM5UP_9kcGGDb9wOgccDLwUTBD1vc_jNK/s1600/Sandy+Hook+names.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="312" data-original-width="600" height="166" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjns9iXdYxa5KfCy1ySZh_ZTR6mWdZg4Wpijid-GVvrBkHUmzZy4Xox2Bbf15d-QK3Fy8y0UbxN5gMfJZ80hiVwpwdHX4yrYG80Le4wiOfoYAOVM5UP_9kcGGDb9wOgccDLwUTBD1vc_jNK/s320/Sandy+Hook+names.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Street artist writes out the list of the victims <br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Unfortunately these lists of names have become commonplace in our culture. On December 16th, 2012, Broadway composer Jason Robert Brown wrote a song in response to the Sandy Hook school shooting which had taken place just two days earlier. He entitled the song<a href="http://jasonrobertbrown.com/2012/12/16/twenty-six-names/"> “Twenty-Six Names”</a> and posted it along with the names and ages of everyone who died in that shooting on his website. At the top of the page he wrote, “I will remember their names and I will sing them to a safer place.” It’s a beautiful and haunting piece of music and I try to remember to listen to it every December 14th. I’m ashamed to say sometimes it’s hard to remember to remember. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Like many of us, last week I was glued to my TV watching the news about the horrific events at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. On Thursday afternoon, just about 24 hours after the shooting, Broward County Sherriff Scott Israel started his press conference by reading the names of the victims of that senseless and still inexplicable act. He was emphatic that their names be the focus and that their families be respected during this period of immense grief. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">The conversations that I had with my co-workers, my students, and my daughter following the Parkland shooting give me hope that this would not be an event that would fade so easily from our collective memory. This time, I swore to myself, would be different. This would be a call to action. While there is certainly more that can be done, my first instinct was to seek out way to make a financial contribution to help make a difference. That’s when I came across <a href="https://www.sandyhookpromise.org/">Sandy Hook Promise </a>and I encourage you all to check them out. Based in Newtown, Connecticut, Sandy Hook Promise’s intent is to honor all victims of gun violence by turning their tragedy into a moment of transformation by providing programs and practices that protect children from gun violence. Sandy Hook Promise is absolutely taking the lead in training students and adults to know the signs of gun violence. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I was walking across the Pinkerton Academy campus this afternoon plotting out this blog post and how I was going to discuss the listing of names in Mr. Burns in context of current events when my phone buzzed signaling an incoming email. The subject of the email was “Honoring Dylan” and it was writt</span></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">en by a woman named Nicole Hockley whose six year-old son died in the massacre at Sandy Hook. Even though I had made my donation last week, I knew that it was an automatically generated email sent from Sandy Hook Promise. It’s a heartbreaking but inspiring email filled with pictures of Dylan who was just the absolute cutest kid you have ever seen. Then I came to this </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">passage which I share here in its entirety:</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKYjAVbXV_5f4DUKxdA_s_Jb0saeXGbH_T3D8zI-yB_U31n7YTHplRksIty5egXwrje0zWclJQ0bZmiGRfofRvxVUQSlt0-5wvJBPuBXOmhRpyxN-j0OxSXMRRwX-3yZpigkR9I7Qq7eyg/s1600/o-DYLAN-HOCKLEY-570.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><i><img border="0" data-original-height="933" data-original-width="570" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKYjAVbXV_5f4DUKxdA_s_Jb0saeXGbH_T3D8zI-yB_U31n7YTHplRksIty5egXwrje0zWclJQ0bZmiGRfofRvxVUQSlt0-5wvJBPuBXOmhRpyxN-j0OxSXMRRwX-3yZpigkR9I7Qq7eyg/s200/o-DYLAN-HOCKLEY-570.jpg" width="121" /></i></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Dylan Hockley</i></td></tr>
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<i>After my precious Dylan was killed in the senseless violence at Sandy Hook Elementary, my other son Jake asked my husband and me not to say Dylan's name aloud. The reminder of how quickly and violently his best friend had been snatched away was too painful and raw.</i></div>
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<i><br />Now, I sometimes hear Jake talking to Dylan, just chatting to his brother quietly while he plays. I stop, steel myself, allow myself to feel the anger that Jake can no longer play with his brother, and then I remember that this is Jake's way of moving forward, of keeping Dylan's memory alive.</i></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">I hate that this woman had to write this, but I love this sentiment. Even after we are gone, our names will keep us alive in the memories of those we’ve left behind. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">These blog posts almost always end with some kind of pitch to come see our next show. While I certainly want you all to come take part in the craziness that is </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://tkapow.com/MrBurns.html" target="_blank">Mr. Burns, a post electric play</a></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, what I really hope is that, in light of current events, we will all take a moment to remember the names of those lost. Let’s write them down and read them aloud and, more importantly, let’s work everyday to make the world a better place. </span></span><br />
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Matt Cahoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17285169753774371320noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4850996492430812983.post-44654022101970430512018-01-07T16:50:00.000-08:002018-01-09T14:44:47.209-08:00A great thingFive years ago, our artistic director had an idea for a project. I thought, "Well, that could be a thing. Sure, lets try it." We put together a series of three plays to share staged readings of at the <a href="http://currier.org/" target="_blank">Currier Museum of Art</a> in Manchester. We wanted plays that were directly related to works in the Currier's collection or to special exhibitions at the museum. We invited <a href="https://www.anselm.edu/faculty-staff-directory/landis-magnuson" target="_blank">Dr. Landis K. Magnuson</a>, professor of theatre at Saint Anselm College, to lead a discussion with the audience after the play was read.<br />
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Sure, I like reading plays. That's what I have been doing all weekend. Reading plays that stimulate thought and conversation. I know it's a good play when I tell my husband he needs to read it when I am only at the end of the first act because I want to talk to someone about it. But who else likes reading plays as much as I do?<br />
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The <a href="http://tkapow.com/articulate2.html" target="_blank">first season</a> we read Donald Margulies' <i>Time Stands Still</i> because the Currier had mounted an exhibition of Vietnam War photography. We read Edward Albee's <i>The American Dream</i> because the Currier had acquired a screen print by Robert Indiana, so named after he saw the premiere of that play. We read John Logan's <i>Red</i> because a 1967 painting (<i>Untitled, Red Over Brown</i>) by Mark Rothko is a favorite in the Currier's permanent collection. Each play was followed by a discussion with the audience. We launched the program and thought, "Will anyone else come?"<br />
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We're in our <a href="http://tkapow.com/articulate.html" target="_blank">fifth season</a> now of the ARTiculate Playreading Series, and it is always an absolute joy to have as many as 75 people join us in the auditorium at the Currier on a Sunday afternoon to listen to a play, to talk about the ideas in it, and to look at art. Doing a script as a reading really harnesses our focus (and the audience's) on the words of the playwright, and on the stories and ideas in the plays. It's funny, because stripping away design and the visual element of theatre (sets, lights, costumes) seems antithetical in a setting which celebrates the visual. An audience member told me recently that the play readings have become her favorite program at the Currier, and provide her a new lens through which to look at the art.<br />
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We'll be back at the Currier again this month to read <i><a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/323596768114184/" target="_blank">Sight Unseen</a>, </i>another play by Donald Margulies. Among other things, the script raises questions about the value of art, the definition of art and who can be an artist, questions of cultural appropriation and gender politics, and truth/memory/ownership/identity. It is not uncommon to have to cut off the conversation after a reading because the galleries are about to close but folks are still talking. Now that's just a great thing, isn't it?<br />
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~ Carey Cahoontheatre KAPOWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05106489035151126683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4850996492430812983.post-1394106087265488922017-12-18T08:00:00.000-08:002017-12-18T08:00:05.124-08:00Exploring storyIn <i>The Winter’s Tale</i> Polixenes, King of Bohemia, muses on the relationship of art and nature:<br />
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“Nature is made better by no mean<br />
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But Nature makes that mean. So, over that art</div>
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Which you say adds to nature, is an art<br />
That nature makes. . . . <br />
The art itself is nature.”<br />
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For its tenth season, theatre KAPOW is developing an original piece of theatre rooted in the legends, archetypes and arts of the First Peoples. <br />
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The approach to making theater through the archetypes and legends of indigenous peoples offers an opportunity to make an art that integrates layers of experience – of nature, the human, and the divine – and that tells a story that treats the natural, the human, and the divine as fluid categories, always in contact with one another. <br />
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Our artistic aim is to uncover the “art that nature makes,” and to get back to the essential or archetypal image, gesture, sound, and story.<br />
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We began our work during KAPOW’s annual Artists’ Retreat at Chanticleer Gardens. That week we told stories and read poems of the Yupik, Inuit, Haida, and Tlingit, examined artifacts, and work-shopped approaches to devising (with Michael Chekhov practitioner Jason Lambert) and mask work (with award-winning actress and director Leslie Pasternack). The great lesson of that week is that this approach yields immediate results. The quality and depth of the images in these stories – their resonance – is immediately clear. By the end of the Retreat we knew that we already had more than enough material (so of course we sought more).<br />
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This winter we’ve returned to our exploration for six workshops. We expanded our library of stories, images, and characters (especially to add stories of Coyote the Trickster), and began to experiment with approaches to storytelling through the exploration of images. We’ve been experimenting with “moving images.” Beginning with a picture, we play with ways to put it into motion, and through that enactment we can discover the possibilities of meaning that will allow us to make choices in story-telling. We have now glimpsed how the moving image becomes an archetypal gesture or essential action. As we do that work, more images and ideas for staging come to us. We’ve found that this approach has helped us quickly shed preconceptions about storytelling and staging to open up some ancient and elemental possibilities.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidWtQwmuasw21_BnGdQGrOWM4Kwcm7D6oToMtDPQGBJk_U9cBsa237h6XlydjtAQK_0DPPRaOeXl2Q1Cca3EbmoajJZMeLiSvC_KO2YVeUpyegN9bUqPrBL-6kI5Rux6-lH1kNZCTU5qU/s1600/IMG_8790.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidWtQwmuasw21_BnGdQGrOWM4Kwcm7D6oToMtDPQGBJk_U9cBsa237h6XlydjtAQK_0DPPRaOeXl2Q1Cca3EbmoajJZMeLiSvC_KO2YVeUpyegN9bUqPrBL-6kI5Rux6-lH1kNZCTU5qU/s200/IMG_8790.JPG" width="150" /></a>At the conclusion of our winter sessions we’ll have a collection of images and archetypal characters that will form the spine of the piece that we will begin to script through further workshops in March. In May we will begin the final phase of the devising – rehearsing in preparation for performance. the weekend of June 29th.<br />
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<i>A Story That Cuts Like a Knife</i> promises spirits, sacrifices, foolery, quests, and transformations and opens at the Derry Opera House on June 29th.</div>
theatre KAPOWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05106489035151126683noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4850996492430812983.post-35800880889620189112017-04-24T09:35:00.003-07:002017-04-24T18:59:58.688-07:00Seeing and Being Seen<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i>I’m not particularly smart.<br />I’m not particularly beautiful. <br />But I suffer so well, and when<br />a stranger sees me cry-<br />they see a river they haven’t <br />swum in-<br />a river in a foreign country-<br />so they take off their trousers <br />and they jump in the water.<br />And they take pictures<br />with a water-proof camera<br />and then they dry themselves in the sun<br />but I’m still wet. </i><br />
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-Tilly’s Aria, Sarah Ruhl, <i>Melancholy Play: A Chamber Musical</i><br />
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There is so much to say about Sarah Ruhl. So much, in fact, that the prospect of writing anything about her, or her work, is extremely daunting. But on the eve of the first day of load-in for Theatre KAPOW’s production of <i><a href="http://tkapow.com/MelancholyPlay.html" target="_blank">Melancholy Play: A Chamber Musical</a></i>, I find myself thinking about what Ms. Ruhl has to say about seeing and being seen. Perception is integral to her work, both in terms of staging, and story. <br />
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On its surface, <i>Melancholy Play</i> pokes fun at human fascination with the tragic feminine. Its protagonist, Tilly, is so beautifully melancholic that everyone she meets falls in love with her. Chaos ensues when Tilly becomes happy and, far less alluring as a result.<i> Melancholy Play </i>mischievously confronts us with our societal fascination with, and objectification of, the melancholic female. But it also challenges us to ask why we are drawn to this trope. What is it about melancholy and sadness that we find attractive, and what happens when our expectations of melancholy do not line up with the far less romantic reality of sadness and depression? Tilly says it best when she asks, “Have you ever seen what sadness looks like on a person, once they take off their grey shoes and gloves? It looks different. Not like a movie. People wear sweatpants when they are sad in private. Not pearls.” <br />
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I do not think it is melancholy that makes Tilly attractive. Every character in <i>Melancholy Play </i>projects what he or she wants onto Tilly, because she sees them. Tilly looks carefully at each person she encounters; she strives to make connections. She feels things deeply. Tilly’s tragedy is that she knows she will never live up to the dream people impose on her. Dream Tilly wears pearls. Perhaps this is why she becomes melancholic and has to “lie down on the couch.” True connection is difficult when you feel people are looking at a version of you that doesn’t exist, when your name sounds wrong on their lips. <br />
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When Tilly becomes happy, when her focus is directed inward on her own sense of joy, she becomes less attractive. Frank, the man Tilly falls in love with and the catalyst for her happiness, tells her, “Your eyes aren’t looking at me. They’re looking at a great big storm of happiness. On the horizon. Can you see me?” It isn’t until one of Tilly’s friends becomes so depressed she essentially disappears into a shell, that everyone realizes how important it is to look at the people you care about and see them for who they truly are, not who you want them to be. When you see someone and they see you, it is easy to fall in love. <br />
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Z<br />
~ Emily Karel<br />
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Photos by Matthew Lomannptheatre KAPOWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05106489035151126683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4850996492430812983.post-25588693207231327672017-02-12T18:20:00.001-08:002017-02-12T18:20:35.656-08:00What the hell is going on?This was the over-riding thought I had when I finished reading <a href="http://tkapow.com/ExitTheKing.html" target="_blank">Exit the King</a>. Ionesco's writing, I knew, like Beckett, like Sartre, can be esoteric and difficult to decipher. "Avant-Garde." "Absurd." "Didactic." In other words: inaccessible. I would be lying if I said I did not agree with some of these labels, especially during my reading of the play. For every insightful notion, there was a confusing one. At one moment I would be inspired by the eloquence of his language, at another irritated by his apparent pretentiousness. This is most certainly a play meant to be seen, not read, I thought to myself. It needs to be on its feet! We need our read through!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-ONZQBJQbs1hbyKeyFovpA-1npd7LO_B0lkzvUVf4YPA28bZPYfbHOa1WoYo1gnakuTuIVhq8zH5pOjjgFr_PMRIFHQ8dpe4bjjNiDoXbkZXiIW7m_yfs3TgWTKPWDhjGO1nOvPmFw0M/s1600/Read-through.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="115" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-ONZQBJQbs1hbyKeyFovpA-1npd7LO_B0lkzvUVf4YPA28bZPYfbHOa1WoYo1gnakuTuIVhq8zH5pOjjgFr_PMRIFHQ8dpe4bjjNiDoXbkZXiIW7m_yfs3TgWTKPWDhjGO1nOvPmFw0M/s200/Read-through.jpg" width="200" /></a>
What the hell is going on??<br />
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Boy was I wrong. Upon completing our cast read through, I not only was left feeling similar to how I felt after reading the play, but if anything, I had more questions! I had suspected Ionesco would be daunting, and yet here I was feeling like years of performing theatre had left me utterly and singularly unprepared to turn these words into something resembling a coherent performance. Luckily, it appeared to me that I was not on an island in my thinking. Here were artists I respect and admire, and we all seemed equally humbled by how truly massive this text is.<br />
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If you had asked me what I thought our rehearsals held in store, I likely would have responded: Frustration. Confusion. Doubt. Or perhaps some combination of the three.<br />
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Fast forward four weeks.<br />
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What do I find dominate my memories of rehearsal thus far?<br />
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Tears of laughter. Barely concealed grins. Countless (failed) attempts to remain in character. These have been found in abundance through our rehearsal process. I believe this is due to a critical discovery made early in the process. <br />
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We discovered, that buried underneath a masterfully written political commentary, Ionesco has written a very funny play. This is our password. Our Rosetta stone. Because at the end of the day, Ionesco's wonderfully relevant text is useless if the audience does not connect with it. But because he was really, really smart; he wrote the key into the play.<br />
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Find the silly. Find it, and embrace it. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh60k2fRduLON-kh84TK7WEvQMcNG336xDRj1r1LDsUZQ_0I_Y1tqFxuRLwywcQTmJ5S_OUUYZwxu36MRn8WpuLRVZcS0o4qoQbeEx6aZb0LvAYDNrE020lLkNl0CGPOmFGOi3f4e7SXDY/s640/blogger-image-1757540267.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh60k2fRduLON-kh84TK7WEvQMcNG336xDRj1r1LDsUZQ_0I_Y1tqFxuRLwywcQTmJ5S_OUUYZwxu36MRn8WpuLRVZcS0o4qoQbeEx6aZb0LvAYDNrE020lLkNl0CGPOmFGOi3f4e7SXDY/s320/blogger-image-1757540267.jpg" width="320" /></a>Laughter has the wonderful power to bring people from all walks of life together in a shared experience. This is intensely needed, in a time where people live in digital echoing chambers and spend their time dehumanizing "the other team." That is to say, anyone with different opinions.<br />
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One does not grow by hearing their own preconceived notions repeated back to them covered in sugar. One grows by honestly listening to someone who thinks differently. Who believes differently. One grows when one sincerely tries to step into their shoes. One grows when one realizes that "the other team" are human beings. Human beings that breathe oxygen, human beings that cry when they get hurt, human beings that just want to be happy.<br />
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Human beings that laugh.<br />
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That is what this play needs to do. It needs to invite the audience in. Reach out a hand, a genuine offer of inclusion. The production should invest and respect the audience as fellow human beings capable of rational thought. <br />
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This connection is made by showing them the silly, absurd things human beings do. But then show them the worst and best in all of us. <br />
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That inside every human being lives a great leader, with the power to inspire millions with a word. But inside every human being also lives a tyrant, who cultivates fear and dissent through propaganda and manipulation. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglSbsW-u7ZLHmrOJ7Sc6MhjD5A7C3tVvfuKU6d8qmOwQJ0X_B38Ix3ZPUPCua9lCi8xtz7mkK7OjeKPVAbPPAOcju2s1L4N0EK7QGQsm2B9wIvgWHY-kwYPMD2nA-Op2rZomNwavOB5jU/s640/blogger-image-424097821.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglSbsW-u7ZLHmrOJ7Sc6MhjD5A7C3tVvfuKU6d8qmOwQJ0X_B38Ix3ZPUPCua9lCi8xtz7mkK7OjeKPVAbPPAOcju2s1L4N0EK7QGQsm2B9wIvgWHY-kwYPMD2nA-Op2rZomNwavOB5jU/s320/blogger-image-424097821.jpg" width="198" /></a>Inside every soldier lives a hero, who saves lives without regard for their own and stands up to injustice. But inside every soldier also lives a pawn, who only follows orders, and lets fear rob them of their spirit. <br />
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Inside every heart lives a lover, who puts their heart in the hands of another human being, risking shame, humiliation and pain for the chance at true happiness; who lets the one they love inspire them to be better, stronger, kinder. But inside every heart also lives a skeptic, who distrusts the world and lashes out with insecurity and fear. Fear of shame. Humiliation, Pain.<br />
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Inspiration. Fear. Heroism. Impotence. Happiness. Pain. In other words, being alive. This play shows what it is like to be alive. That we are all capable of greatness. That we need to strive for it. That we need to be better. <br />
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Be better.<br />
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~ Jimmy Stewart<br />
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theatre KAPOW presents <a href="http://tkapow.com/ExitTheKing.html" target="_blank">Exit the King</a> by Eugene Ionesco March 3 - 5, 2017</div>
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theatre KAPOWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05106489035151126683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4850996492430812983.post-1182848507033965332017-01-31T09:08:00.000-08:002017-01-31T09:12:49.164-08:00Reflecting on the Past, Looking to the Future<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4LmQMmyBCmo2NfoX7Lab1_J48NFJ-_9pV94SxtOt_eR5n2rPAeULf6vwnamPn-hWXdq9RyW7-KHdNf4TCcK7LjTp9aJFCimJE1EGuk9VGLOh0DTuMrsHnLapkDCzdHsy_sjgY0jPwEW0/s1600/RainingAluminum_tkapow_July2016_by_Lomanno_143_web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4LmQMmyBCmo2NfoX7Lab1_J48NFJ-_9pV94SxtOt_eR5n2rPAeULf6vwnamPn-hWXdq9RyW7-KHdNf4TCcK7LjTp9aJFCimJE1EGuk9VGLOh0DTuMrsHnLapkDCzdHsy_sjgY0jPwEW0/s320/RainingAluminum_tkapow_July2016_by_Lomanno_143_web.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
As we all adjusted to writing the new year on checks and other documents this January, I was reminded of its significance in terms of one of our recent projects. 2017 marks the 100th anniversary of the explosion in Halifax harbor, an event that inspired the June 2016 tKAPOW production, <a href="http://tkapow.com/pastshows/raining-aluminum.html" target="_blank"><i>Raining Aluminum</i></a>. As the date of the anniversary approaches, we look forward to new opportunities to share the amazing stories we discovered as part of the devising process. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMTWKQW9cCTrplx3ZRqZphtxJJINdlFb-4cFo4tgX-fEL3588ljHyuOA1dl8PL8wtCjwAPMar2gexGmeoIHzy3y5IbAM3cpCYuA80lLmgaOsq668aZv_75fhbv2l90NSjYKa8cBBSzwGo/s1600/retreat1025.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMTWKQW9cCTrplx3ZRqZphtxJJINdlFb-4cFo4tgX-fEL3588ljHyuOA1dl8PL8wtCjwAPMar2gexGmeoIHzy3y5IbAM3cpCYuA80lLmgaOsq668aZv_75fhbv2l90NSjYKa8cBBSzwGo/s200/retreat1025.jpg" width="150" /></a>On January 21st, at a ceremony in Concord, theatre KAPOW was awarded the <a href="http://tkapow.com/NHTA2016.html" target="_blank">NH Theatre Award</a> for Best Scenic Design for <i>Raining Aluminum</i>. While the show was up for many awards, we are really proud of being recognized in that category because the scenic elements were such an important part of our storytelling process, and a result of the collaboration of the company or artists. In fact, the early work on the set dates all the way back to our 2015 Artist Retreat when we hung various props from somewhat precariously attached bungee cords in the barn at Chanticleer Gardens. The set and the production evolved considerably from there and really took shape at the Charlestown Working Theatre where the show really felt most at home. It was nice to see that all of the work that went into developing the aesthetic for that show was recognized. <br />
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This spring, I have been offered the opportunity to revisit some of the stories of Raining Aluminum when I will lead a class at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at Granite State College. I really look forward to sharing what I have learned with people who are so committed to continuing their own education. <br />
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The process of creating <i>Raining Aluminum</i> introduced us to some amazing people (past and present) and brought us together as a company. As December 6th gets closer, I look forward to the opportunity to find more ways introduce these people to more audiences. <br />
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~ Matt Cahoon<br />
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Montage by Wax Idiotical Films</div>
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theatre KAPOWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05106489035151126683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4850996492430812983.post-18303359773549108882017-01-26T18:50:00.000-08:002017-01-27T06:14:46.425-08:00Hunting Absurd<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqrQZvqVo_oTBwyFofjsbDDI9bSSNMRG3NfShpplq0xvoB_Bx5endjS0wP8yl-vPAjISJRoeWNUzVKIZy6pWbjvdgkXJOa2LMMTgFW1Bytp9ru_mDO3W_3wYXUeEEWkJX1aTS5ksnnBR8/s640/blogger-image-1359391790.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqrQZvqVo_oTBwyFofjsbDDI9bSSNMRG3NfShpplq0xvoB_Bx5endjS0wP8yl-vPAjISJRoeWNUzVKIZy6pWbjvdgkXJOa2LMMTgFW1Bytp9ru_mDO3W_3wYXUeEEWkJX1aTS5ksnnBR8/s320/blogger-image-1359391790.jpg" width="320" /></a>I don’t really know how I got into acting and theater when I grew up in a home that really did not promote the arts. My first “acting role” was in chorus in elementary school- I got to hold a doll and fight with a little boy while the chorus sang “William Wants a Doll”. I got my first laugh; my first applause; my first bow; I was hooked. I guess you can say that’s when I started hunting for art and theater in my life. I followed the regular channels. I went to college. I acted in plays. I read plays. I took classes. I wrote papers. I never really saw a lot of theater. I was simply a pliable puppet being told where to go and how to act, which I did with gusto. However as I learned more about art and history I started to feel like something was missing from my tool box as an actor, artist, and human. I was searching for more. I wanted to become an artist- whatever that meant. I was hunting for meaning.</div>
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I traveled to Europe with a study abroad program my final semester. I had never done anything like this before in my life. It felt like something I had to do. I loved my time in Europe. I travelled. I saw Shakespeare’s birthplace. I went to The Globe. I was alive with art and theater. I became an audience member: Gobbling up other people’s talent. I realized I had never really seen a lot of theater; certainly not outside academia. All I knew was good safe theater: Pretty and pleasing to an audience. That all shattered for me one day in London. Strolling down a side street with 7 pounds in my pocket (Yes, this was before the Euro). I saw a sign for a play: <i>Rhinoceros</i> by Eugene Ionesco. I knew the name. I had studied him in college. I went in. Tickets were exactly 7 pounds. <br />
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I sat down happy and safe. <br />
I left feeling weird: Ugly, Uncomfortable and Challenged.<br />
The show was transformative. <br />
In fact I still lay awake at night thinking about that play. How it changed my life and my hunt for artistic meaning. What was it about this play? I don’t know. <br />
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I can tell you what I recall: A simple stage: 6 actors; 3 men; 3 women; A set that was a brightly painted (a slightly messy city landscape); A few desks, black office chairs with wheels and a light design that was proficient at best; costumes were black pants and shirts with little flashes of colored layers and wigs that the actors used to help them portray character- Nothing truly outstanding; certainly it had a modest budget to say the least. But what it had was actors and direction that meant something more then the need to sell tickets. The acting catapulted this little show into my brain forever. Ionesco’s world was vibrant and his words were bold and bizarre. I had never seen theater like this: Edgy and Messy and Passionate. The actors used their human face to transform- their bodies were the costumes, and their faces, the mask. It was like I could see their inner halo shine as they embodied the roles-they changed in front of my eyes. They were not themselves- It was ugly, and scary, and brilliant. The actors were not the pretty actors I was used to seeing and studying. They were animal-humanity, scared, real, angry and full of a fierce life passion and energy that made me squirm in my seat. And, more then all that they were funny- Terribly, awkwardly, uncomfortably funny. I left the play in a haze. I lost the playbill. I don’t even know where I was or who produced it. All I have is the memory. I had found “absurd” theater. It was not going to sell tickets or make anyone famous- but it was art- It was history and politics and challenging. <br />
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I moved to New York City soon after seeing that play. I hunted for more of what I saw in that play. I got into grad school but did not go. I guess you can say I wanted to hunt solo. I have never really fit into any one slot or felt comfortable doing what others tell me to do. I wanted my own program: For me art was about life and making my life richer. Someone else can’t do that for you. I took many classes: Meisner, Shakespeare, Suzuki, Grotowski, Modern Dance, Improv, Stand-Up, Dell-Arte, Physical Theater, Clowning, you name it. Somewhere in there I took a “mask” class. I remember an entire hour of staring at myself in a dance mirror-using our face as a mask. I remember thinking of that play I saw in London while I stared at my flared nostrils and ugly squished mouth that made me red in the face for so long it felt like time had stopped. It was a good absurd theater moment. I discovered something about myself in that class. About the power and shapes of my face. A successful hunt if you will. I lived in New York for a decade. I studied hard, I produced, I directed, I acted; I saw a lot of theater- good, bad and amazing. I loved every minute of my NYC artist safari. My hunt for art is not over – It is evolving with me.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-KtNuKnNMZTeKW2yZZIh0V0Wxsw2Y__0ZbVqATOT7w-NNll-MRLpn9rW9KA2pkBRW0mW2RL515txYOoaMte9O_n5UdykGDoBImm9aYGZcE-fKmfxWUUg_QEU5LjqX4JtLcZ1ca7X-wQI/s640/blogger-image--161172558.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-KtNuKnNMZTeKW2yZZIh0V0Wxsw2Y__0ZbVqATOT7w-NNll-MRLpn9rW9KA2pkBRW0mW2RL515txYOoaMte9O_n5UdykGDoBImm9aYGZcE-fKmfxWUUg_QEU5LjqX4JtLcZ1ca7X-wQI/s320/blogger-image--161172558.jpg" width="240" /></a>I left New York. I moved back to a quiet corner of the earth. A snow covered sleepy gray state. But I am still hunting… I have a bucket list: Producers, Parts, Plays and Playwrights I am searching for – to help me discover more of me. I have wanted to embody Ionesco in my own way - even if messy and not good enough- since I saw that play in London. I know I will never live up to the memory I have placed on a pedestal. However, I am eager to try. I hope we the cast, of Ionesco’s <i>Exit The King </i>come together and challenge someone in the audience in a weird way to go home and think about art and life and the world we live in…I hope it starts others hunting …Because, once you start you never really stop hunting…<br />
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~Paige Lussier Johnson</div>
theatre KAPOWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05106489035151126683noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4850996492430812983.post-81174682509762284722017-01-06T07:10:00.000-08:002017-01-06T07:10:00.526-08:00Making Art?<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
In 1934 – back when socialism
still seemed possible, before Mrs. Thatcher closed the mines, and before Labour
turned itself into a pale imitation of Bill Clinton’s Democratic Party – a
group of miners in Ashington, England picked up paintbrushes and began making
pictures of their lives.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQBxTbu6bPh6ZYmqM_JpwhRGvjWXspN-U0E-r6fnxmw2IZTujdp8sPuAPznwWs6FjKzuwQ37la_3Lbv2gE7W1gMjcGFc3z8Yu186IaPcnKOGHzEzP0mI1SwLBcMu1ITdA0r18SUJPx6h4/s1600/AshingtonArtGroup.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQBxTbu6bPh6ZYmqM_JpwhRGvjWXspN-U0E-r6fnxmw2IZTujdp8sPuAPznwWs6FjKzuwQ37la_3Lbv2gE7W1gMjcGFc3z8Yu186IaPcnKOGHzEzP0mI1SwLBcMu1ITdA0r18SUJPx6h4/s320/AshingtonArtGroup.png" width="320" /></a>Over the next several years,
these untutored working men emerged as a significant force in British Art. Known as the Ashington Group, these miners –
pitmen, they’d call themselves – turned out hundreds of works chronicling daily
life in the coal country. Their paintings, though, went beyond simple
representational chronicles – the best of them have powerful political and
spiritual dimensions; and the very best of them can be – to say it simply
– stunningly beautiful. In other words,
the “pitmen painters” produced some powerful, enduring works of art.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Lee Hall’s <i><a href="http://tkapow.com/articulate.html" target="_blank">The Pitmen Painters</a></i> dramatizes the journeys of the individual
Ashington Group members as they grope their ways toward creating their
particular works of art. In doing so,
the playwright raises a number of difficult questions. Some are aesthetic: what is art, anyways; do
works of art have meanings; does a painting “mean” what its painter intended? Or
do the meaning, value and beauty of a painting exist only in the person looking
at it? Some are political: what’s the
implication of a bunch of working stiffs producing artworks to the class
structure of pre-War and Wartime England?
Some are downright spiritual: what is an artist? What does it take to create something that
lasts, that is beautiful, that “means” something to the world? And one is completely unanswerable: what do
you do when it turns out that the most beautiful art in the world isn’t enough
to redeem disappointment, failure, mortality?
<o:p></o:p></div>
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Needless to say, <i>The Pitmen Painters </i>is a comedy.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br />Really. For all the intense
issues addressed in this play, one enduring fact is that it is continually,
sometimes wryly and sometimes uproariously, funny. Frankly, if it’s about
pitmen, it has to be. Men who live in
the mines, whose lives are dust-filled and always dangerous, tend to wield
humor as a weapon against the constant darkness. It’s an acerbic humor, a humor of jabs and
insults, that I recognize from my Irish grandparents who were contemporaries
with the Ashington Group painters, and shared with them, if not the mines (my
grandparents were shoe workers), then the same irascible attitudes born of
poverty and the daily struggle not just make do, but to make their lives
enjoyable and occasionally beautiful and – every once in a while – filled with
meaning. Their bruising jokes were the
only kind that death would understand.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9kuaaimkC4iQ4-faZkWiCTPxqzwNBYUUqWDgzOrJd7LoVcrr3_T9ABqOZUuF-72CxXmztrbzWe0G80lV84xMfcRh89Xzio_sGJrajjshtYdenpo4RJQX9iOVfp2GRXtGF9tjRVE9muVY/s1600/Terrier.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9kuaaimkC4iQ4-faZkWiCTPxqzwNBYUUqWDgzOrJd7LoVcrr3_T9ABqOZUuF-72CxXmztrbzWe0G80lV84xMfcRh89Xzio_sGJrajjshtYdenpo4RJQX9iOVfp2GRXtGF9tjRVE9muVY/s320/Terrier.png" width="320" /></a>You’ll recognize both the humor
and the soul of this play if you’ve ever seen <i>Billy Elliot – </i>which </div>
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Lee Hall also wrote. Like that movie, <i>The Pitmen Painters </i>looks at<i> </i>the
way that art – painting here, the ballet in <i>Billy
Elliot</i> – can reach in and transform the harshest lives. In <i>Billy Elliot</i>, of course, the boy escapes
– he makes it to the Royal Academy. <i>The
Pitmen Painters</i>, on the other hand, don’t, won’t or can’t all leave Ashington.
Or the mines. So the transformation for
them – if you can call it that – is more constrained, more centered in the
small facts of daily life. They have to
find the beauty in the depiction of a union hall at night, men fighting against
a wind, a boy in a soldier’s uniform getting married, the simple truth of a
Bedlington Terrier.<o:p></o:p></div>
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And it’s not a tragedy if all
these things don’t in the end transform their lives; it’s a triumph that
putting these things on canvas – making them into art – so very nearly does. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>~ Walter Maroney</i></div>
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<i>tKAPOW presents a reading of The Pitmen Painters on Sunday, January 8, 2017 at 2 pm at the <a href="http://www.currier.org/" target="_blank">Currier Museum of Art</a> in Manchester, NH.</i></div>
theatre KAPOWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05106489035151126683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4850996492430812983.post-14138613639287352092016-12-14T09:20:00.005-08:002016-12-14T09:20:48.607-08:00Reinforcing Time<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: white; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This past weekend, I attended Shakespeare & Company’s Boston <a href="http://www.shakespeare.org/actor-training/weekend-intensive" target="_blank">Weekend Intensive</a>. I highly recommend these weekends. They are affordable, and can fit into the crazy schedule of theatre/work/life/family without requiring too much of a sacrifice from any one of those areas.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmA3N89tuQ6XMcDhVFcIbLFCxWrA5dx6CSZFkOeQV2sZNewpY2j1SRYkinwpvY7mV4ayxc8W2leNdK7Jn1MShZCCC4bxcCOwXYY0mjZFdASbU6EZfRUhnZpO5R_Lce4ixFDdOFyc6JB-c/s640/blogger-image--1005395501.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: white;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmA3N89tuQ6XMcDhVFcIbLFCxWrA5dx6CSZFkOeQV2sZNewpY2j1SRYkinwpvY7mV4ayxc8W2leNdK7Jn1MShZCCC4bxcCOwXYY0mjZFdASbU6EZfRUhnZpO5R_Lce4ixFDdOFyc6JB-c/s320/blogger-image--1005395501.jpg" width="320" /></span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: white; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Each meeting of this intensive begins with 13 chairs in a circle for each of the twelve participants and the teacher, Dennis Krausnick. The first night, we check in with four things: our name, the landscape of our childhood, our heart’s desire for the weekend, and something we would not normally tell a group of strangers. My heart’s desire for this weekend was to focus on myself. I am always providing opportunities for others, and I rarely get to focus on myself as an artist and restock my well. I wanted to leave my phone and all it represents in the greenroom for the weekend and be selfish. That was my heart’s desire.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: white; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">After the check-in and a short break, we did an exercise focusing on becoming present in the space, starting to connect with our own breath, and making eye contact with the other participants. This shifting into an exercise inviting our past selves a chance to be present with us: 5 years old, 9 years old, and 13 years old. Each of these ages informed a delivery of our monologue (we had each memorized 14 - 25 lines of Shakespeare to work with over the weekend.) At the end of the night, we gathered the 13 chairs in a circle again to name a discovery or idea we wanted to reinforce over the rest of the weekend. I want to reinforce permission: the permission to be free to explore the present and play again.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiZXDOrNDfR8Z-UulcxaGrTj2D0t9HT9mIBsQhX2U2no246CxQ62ac9_YW01KjabfdpnhKd6f9b-yJOq3O0fM96V4OgIopCNN5cT1gGdetw72Szzxel6QXSX6sFZz2X3tza4vhXbaRV2E/s640/blogger-image--1618316479.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="color: white;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiZXDOrNDfR8Z-UulcxaGrTj2D0t9HT9mIBsQhX2U2no246CxQ62ac9_YW01KjabfdpnhKd6f9b-yJOq3O0fM96V4OgIopCNN5cT1gGdetw72Szzxel6QXSX6sFZz2X3tza4vhXbaRV2E/s200/blogger-image--1618316479.jpg" width="150" /></span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: white; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">On day 2 after a check-in of what stuck with us from yesterday and what we discovered from our homework (yes, there is homework for an intensive even when you get out at 9.40 at night!), we spent the morning on delicious voice work. What a truly lovely way to spend the morning. Breath, body, vibration: all things I work on in my daily practice but I had been rushing over. Practicing just to check it off the list of things done for the day. How wonderful to return to those very basic things and to really tune in to discovering my own habits and whether they truly serve me or not.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: white; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: white; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The afternoon and evening were spent observing and working individually with Dennis on the text we had prepared. Such wonderful text and characters: Cressida, Hermione, Paulina, Imogen, Edward, Helena. As each person connected the monologue to their own personal life experience, and as he worked patiently with each person to find their breath and release the words using that breath, the true power and beauty of this weekend and these actors came forward. We gathered our chairs in a circle to check-out at the end of the night, and we again said out loud a discovery or idea to reinforce for the weekend. I want to reinforce working without judgement: judgement of myself and assumptions/judgements of others.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXCl94JGwpbfROfhr5X-7hNNAtOosX7BLU0ZumN3RhFJ_OKKwJBkfPxHsZLrkKxuKZz2Ah_JW_3JfyX240LxzfQReCjAiZ3ExwZdGzC3G3wAQPPPsoJLzqpMrSaNassw_1cw8f0TeF5eA/s640/blogger-image--1744347166.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: white;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXCl94JGwpbfROfhr5X-7hNNAtOosX7BLU0ZumN3RhFJ_OKKwJBkfPxHsZLrkKxuKZz2Ah_JW_3JfyX240LxzfQReCjAiZ3ExwZdGzC3G3wAQPPPsoJLzqpMrSaNassw_1cw8f0TeF5eA/s320/blogger-image--1744347166.jpg" width="320" /></span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: white; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Day 3 began with the usual check-in, with the added item of the question “did we have any remorse about anything we had shared yesterday?” This led to a wonderful discussion of drama therapy vs. personal connection, what are professional boundaries, and is personal tragedy required for one to be an actor? An important discussion indeed, which led to a great deal personal thinking on these questions. After a morning of voice work bringing breath, vibration, and presence to our chosen text, the focus for the afternoon shifted to setting Shakespeare in the context of his place and time, and looking at why the First Folio is important and what actors can learn from it. I was reminded of the words of another artist I greatly admire, <a href="http://siti.org/content/ellen-lauren" target="_blank">Ellen Lauren</a>: “The teachers of this work are leaving this world,” and I was so grateful to be learning from 79-year-old Dennis Krausnick. My notes on punctuation, capitalization, long spellings and two universes are so poignant and helpful, and I am grateful for his generosity in sharing his ideas and the fruits of his lifetime of experiences and learning.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: white; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">After each person shared more discoveries from their chosen text, we gathered our chairs in a circle one last time for a final check-out. What were we going to take away from this weekend intensive? I want to reinforce Time, taking my time. Why am I already learning my lines for my next project: I will take time to fully explore my connections to the text, and take time in rehearsal to be present for true connections with my ensemble. I will take the time to breathe and to make eye contact: what is each person bringing to this story and how do I respond to that?</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: white; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Theatre is important because we gather together there to hear and to tell stories. I will take my time and be a better listener and a better storyteller. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: white; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Thank you to Kirsten, Caitlin, Srin, Deborah, Nancy, Laura, Peter, Meg, Britney, Lei, and Julia for sharing so much this past weekend. And thank you especially to Dennis Krausnick for your generosity as a teacher, an artist, and as a human.</span></div>
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<br />theatre KAPOWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05106489035151126683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4850996492430812983.post-70694817130601966442016-11-27T09:40:00.000-08:002016-11-27T09:40:29.652-08:00Supporting the Arts: A Circus Act<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivlDp31sWNMSMuuyMdPB9QtKg7eIGqvRGCAYrJMtUmDbcFAVIO14DTqWfrWRHl_cJ2zDqFOTMlCYtWd8Xa7SLP8m1oAMfr0QJWp-v8-AlYvmV7OLqYXH35Cb378_XGM4rZ-dYHqymUbYQ/s1600/TGM-OFF-CINARS-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="123" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivlDp31sWNMSMuuyMdPB9QtKg7eIGqvRGCAYrJMtUmDbcFAVIO14DTqWfrWRHl_cJ2zDqFOTMlCYtWd8Xa7SLP8m1oAMfr0QJWp-v8-AlYvmV7OLqYXH35Cb378_XGM4rZ-dYHqymUbYQ/s200/TGM-OFF-CINARS-2.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjClIzKWWmijv1m5t0_nol8ZHPBDtYsluTC3yGsJD_onJaKwB8xiChShAY15kUWB02Aae-04_FCZwvX_qiFx5-8WIfOG-4YIukRkXqZhSXsAVPpRv7sqqv-iW8TRR3-qw_65fWutO2jITo/s1600/Simple_Space.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="153" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjClIzKWWmijv1m5t0_nol8ZHPBDtYsluTC3yGsJD_onJaKwB8xiChShAY15kUWB02Aae-04_FCZwvX_qiFx5-8WIfOG-4YIukRkXqZhSXsAVPpRv7sqqv-iW8TRR3-qw_65fWutO2jITo/s200/Simple_Space.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A couple of weeks ago Carey and I went to Montreal to take part in the <a href="http://cinars.org/fr/biennale-2016/programmation/accueil.html" target="_blank">CINARS Biennale</a>,</span><span style="color: #4d4d4d; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">one of the most important international showcase and networking events in the performing arts industry. The weeklong Biennale gathers around 1,500 participants from over 40 countries and presents more than 170 shows from Québec, Canada, and abroad. There were so many wonderful artists sharing work. While the language difference made it difficult to see a lot of theatre, we did see a bunch of circus shows. Montreal is pretty much the epicenter of contemporary circus with the headquarters of Cirque du Soleil, <a href="http://tohu.ca/en/" target="_blank">TOHU</a> (a major circus venue), and the national circus school all located in one city block. There was some absolutely incredible work that <a href="http://stockbridgetheatre.blogspot.com/2016/11/bonjour-montreal.html" target="_blank">I’ll remember</a> for a long time. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When not attending performances, I took part in some meetings with other artists and presenters from New England and some presenters and government officials from Quebec. I was there as part of a delegation assembled by the New England Foundation for the Arts (<a href="http://www.nefa.org/" target="_blank">NEFA</a>). NEFA is the primary regional funder for the arts in New England. Their budget is made up of funding from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), from the 6 New England state arts agencies, and from individual donations. At one meeting that I attended we heard about the arts funding structure in Canada. Suffice to say, government funding for arts and culture is much more significant in Canada than it is here. The current budget for the <a href="http://canadacouncil.ca/" target="_blank">Canada Council for the Arts</a> is $40 million per year, but it is scheduled to increase to $180 million per year by 2020. Conversely, the NEA’s budget is currently at just under $148 million per year which is down almost $20 million since 2010. Frankly, it is difficult to anticipate what will happen with federal funding for the arts in the US under the new administration, but I don’t believe we will see the budget quadruple in four years as it will in Canada. In addition to federal funding, the Canadian provinces also support the arts at very high levels. In 2014-2015, the Province of Quebec allocated just over $94 million in support for the arts. <a href="https://www.calq.gouv.qc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/pub_rag20142015.pdf" target="_blank">$88 million</a> of that was paid out in grants to artists. There are an estimated 8.5 million people living in the Province in Quebec. By contrast, NEFA paid out <a href="http://www.nefa.org/sites/default/files/NEFA_2015_annualreport_final_web.pdf" target="_blank">$3.2 million</a> in grants in 2015</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. New England has an estimated population of 14 million people. It’s truly a testament to the work of the NEFA staff how much impact they have on the cultural landscape of the region given the relatively modest size of their budget. A feat no less difficult than many of the circus acts we saw in Montreal.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It’s not all super depressing, however. Where the U.S. does do significantly better than our neighbors to the north is in private philanthropy. On account of the high levels of government support for the arts, private philanthropy is virtually nonexistent in Canada. Artists and arts organizations in the U.S. are dependent upon significant support from private donors. As I’m sure many of you are aware, tKAPOW is currently in the midst of our annual fundraising appeal. We consider ourselves tremendously blessed that so many people continue to believe in the work that we do and choose to <a href="http://tkapow.com/donate.html" target="_blank">support our work</a> financially. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This coming Tuesday (November 29th), nonprofits across the country will celebrate Giving Tuesday. Started in 2012, Giving Tuesday is a global day of giving fueled by the power of social media and collaboration. While perhaps we can’t hope to ever achieve government funding levels similar to our Canadian counterparts, we do have amazingly generous people in our community who continue to make what we do possible. So, if you have anything left after the craziness of Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday, please consider supporting your favorite non-profits on Giving Tuesday. We truly can’t do this without you.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">~ Matt Cahoon</span></div>
theatre KAPOWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05106489035151126683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4850996492430812983.post-73895362428946690452016-10-13T17:48:00.002-07:002016-10-16T10:42:12.288-07:00Down Time?“You must love that you have a bit of a break now.” That is the most common thing we hear when a show closes.<br>
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Yep, I do love it. I’ll be going to a beach, putting my feet up and having drinks with tiny umbrellas in them.<br>
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Or, I’ll be catching up on all the "administrivia" that fell by the wayside or got put on hold in the weeks leading up to a production. There is an art to arts administration, I know that. Strong administration is absolutely essential to any successful arts organization. We see the result of the hard work that artists out into a show. But the work that happens in the offices, or the storage rooms, or late at night on the laptop is supposed to be invisible, right? That’s what makes it good work.<br>
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We often only realize that this important work isn't being done well or done right when it is too late. We see another headline about a theatre closing its doors, or an orchestra going under, or a museum having to sell off part of its collection.<br>
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There is, indeed, an art to arts administration. And like the arts it supports, it can be messy, confusing, and full of doubt. Here are just some of the ways that manifests itself (this week anyway):<br>
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<li>Enter receipts and update budgets. We were over in some areas, under in others. What’s the bottom line on this show?</li>
<li>Return some canvas storage bins that we didn’t ending up using on the set because they were the wrong size. That helps the bottom line (every little bit helps, right?)</li>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRdnpGdbGL4fpNQCujZZkxPS9wBoQy1T-wsFnJVmv8SSYPenG66eMJ9QtiiBITe48uPbjZS3DvV2nCCAMCzh9HPSUle8jGW-MXARvODNSNVODLp1bwCszVykQrczn7JfKvk7zCqKkd2O0/s640/blogger-image-1052194567.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="161" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRdnpGdbGL4fpNQCujZZkxPS9wBoQy1T-wsFnJVmv8SSYPenG66eMJ9QtiiBITe48uPbjZS3DvV2nCCAMCzh9HPSUle8jGW-MXARvODNSNVODLp1bwCszVykQrczn7JfKvk7zCqKkd2O0/s200/blogger-image-1052194567.jpg" width="200"></a>
<li>Wash the costumes from the show and return them to storage. Do we have enough hangers for the things that we bought for this show? Should we bother saving this orange t-shirt?</li>
<li>When will we finally organize the costumes in storage? We always say we are going to do that and then just stick them on the first available space on the costume racks and can't find them again. Is that why we spend so much at Goodwill?</li>
<li>Update the email list. When does the next e-newsletter need to go out? How much growth has there been from this show? What is the open rate/click rate?</li>
<li>Update our database with all the people who attended the last show. How should these people be coded? Do we get enough data about ticket buyers from the ticketing system?</li>
<li>Check in on the marketing plan. What gets posted to Facebook now that the show is done?<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
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</li>
<li>Schedule rehearsals for the next play reading. When will we get the cd of images of works of art we are supposed to use with this show? Where is the copy of our license agreement? When are the royalties due on that?</li>
<li>Segment lists of lybunts, sybunts, and prospects for the fundraising appeal. Do we need envelopes? What is the goal for this year? Where’s that budget?</li>
<li>We’ll need to get these appeal letters signed. When is our next board meeting?</li>
<li>Update the website. Do we need to add more photos?</li>
<li>We got that grant award last week. What paperwork do we need to send back?</li>
<li>What are we forgetting?</li>
</ul>
Hug your arts administrator, your managing director, your stage manager, your wardrobe tech. They deserve it. Artists could not thrive at arts organizations without them.</div>
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<div style="text-align: right;">
~ Carey Cahoon</div>
theatre KAPOWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05106489035151126683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4850996492430812983.post-21744678005626411472016-10-01T13:22:00.000-07:002016-10-01T13:22:19.654-07:00Anton Chekhov, Aaron Posner, Cameron Crowe? <span id="docs-internal-guid-a195e18d-81dc-3f07-d97c-8f12f0d05fbe"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Last night theatre KAPOW opened Stupid F%cking Bird by Aaron Posner. Posner’s “sort of” adaptation of Anton Chekhov’s The Seagull poses questions about the nature and purpose of art. Why do we make art? Who is our art for? What does it mean to be an artist? Does art reflect life, or do we try, often in vain, to make our lives reflect our favorite works of art? These questions are enormous; it is up to each individual to find the answers for her or himself. <br /><br />Stupid F%cking Bird is my first show with theatre KAPOW and I have loved every moment of playing Nina and working with this dedicated and talented group of artists. However as any artist knows, it is one thing to be invested in the art you are making, the question is, will others connect with your art? My parents saw the show last night and when I was able to talk with them about it, my father said something I found very interesting. “Your relationship with Trigorin was just like one between Pennylane and Russell in Almost Famous. It was the same story.” He went on to say that he wondered if Cameron Crowe had read The Seagull and was inspired by the Nina/Trigorin dynamic when he was writing the screenplay for his early twenty-first century rock n’ roll masterpiece.<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
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Of course, I have no idea if Cameron Crowe has read The Seagull, or if the doomed romance between a teenage groupie and a famous rock star was in any way inspired by Nina’s adoration of the brilliant, narcissistic writer. Still, there are certainly recurring themes here. There are other parallels to be drawn as well. Both stories deal with the struggle between “art” and “fame,” persona and reality, our desire to connect and our desires.<br /><br />If we go back far enough in dramatic history, we can find many other parallels. (The similarities between Chekhov’s Konstantin and Shakespeare’s Hamlet have inspired dissertations.) But the takeaway for me is that the very questions and struggles that plague artists also inspire art. My dad loves rock n’ roll and has never read The Seagull. But he was able to see similarities between the characters and story of Almost Famous and the Chekhovian-inspired characters in Aaron Posner’s modern adaptation. He found something he could connect with there. Maybe he’ll read The Seagull one day, or maybe he’ll be content with what he got out of Bird last night. Either way, those works of art inspired discussion, thought, and ultimately, connection. Not earth-shattering, but perhaps just enough.<br /><div style="text-align: right;">
~Emily Karel</div>
</span>theatre KAPOWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05106489035151126683noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4850996492430812983.post-54618308477245519512016-09-13T09:49:00.002-07:002016-09-13T09:49:34.028-07:00The O'Neill Dilemma<div class="MsoNormal">
Eugene O'Neill's father James was a famous actor. He played
Macduff opposite Edwin Booth in <i>Macbeth</i>,
and was a renowned Romeo (onstage and off). But he was best known for his role
in <i>The Count of Monte Cristo</i>, a part he played regularly over more than
forty years. It wasn't long before his popularity in the role became a trap.
The San Francisco News Letter complained that his performance had
"degenerated" from art to mere commerce. O'Neill tried to turn to other
works - notably <i>Julius Caesar</i> - but when those flopped financially he
found himself back in <i>The Count</i> to recoup his lost money. Thanks in
large part to his son's retelling of the story, O'Neill's dilemma has become a
warning trope to actors who repeat a role: This way lies artistic peril.<o:p></o:p></div>
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theatre KAPOW just completed its fifth production (in four
years) of <i>The Burial at Thebes</i>, Seamus Heaney's adaptation of Sophocles'
<i>Antigone</i>. Each year we remount our production for <a href="http://www.anselm.edu/">Saint Anselm College</a>, as part of the
College's <a href="http://www.anselm.edu/Academics/Academic-Core/The-Humanities-Conversatio.htm">Conversatio</a> course
for first-year students. The production helps us pay the bills for the rest of
the season. Four of our company have appeared in the same roles in all five
productions. Yet with some effort on all our parts, we have avoided the
artistic peril.<o:p></o:p></div>
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This summer during our annual retreat at Chanticleer Gardens
we dedicated five class sessions in what we called the Michael Chekhov
Practicum to rehearsing just the first scene of Antigone, each day from a
different starting point in the actor's art: psycho-physical center, quality of
movement, atmosphere of place, expansion and contraction, rising and falling.
Apart from the pure joy of exploring a great story, we learned that the first
scene alone remains full of new possibilities for us. We haven't come close to
plumbing the depths of the Antigone story.<o:p></o:p></div>
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A month later we began formal rehearsals for this latest
production. The design and staging elements remain largely the same. But the
four actors who were returning for the fifth time each found a newness in the
work. Each of us had the experience of hearing or seeing something in a new
way, and thus each of us could realize new relationships and possibilities. For
me that was the result of a new starting point. If last year was all about what
Chekhov called psychological gesture, this year began with the atmosphere of
corruption, and the corruption of flesh and morals that runs through the play.
That atmosphere generates an odor, an imagined sensation on the skin, and a
visceral experience of corruption. That experience of the atmosphere led me to
an enhanced understanding of Creon's action through the play. He's not only
"saving the city;" this year he's purging the corruption, and again
that action carries him from the beginning of the play to the very end. The
experience of atmosphere led also to a new quality of movement - less flying
this year, and more molding. And then to a new experience of psychological
gesture that develops from expanding and contracting in the atmosphere. Purging
is a kind of expansion; the defense against or retreat from corruption is a
kind of contraction. And those new or refined gestures led further, to a new
consideration of archetype. This year, Creon is not so much a king as he is a
priest (who else has the work of saving the people or purging the corruption?).
Antigone, in my mind, becomes a priestess, or nun, or sacrificial virgin. And
thus we arrive - in fairly rapid fashion - at a deeper layering of the relationship between the two characters.<br />
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Of course we still encounter the usual troubles that plague almost every production in almost every company - too little time to rehearse, uncertainty about the receptivity of the young audience (which this year was superb), and so on. But the lesson of this year's remounting, and of all great plays, is that we never really "close" a production, or "put to bed" a great role. We've discovered that there's a lot of work left for us to explore in this story, and that as we continue to incorporate trainings with rehearsals we can avoid "the O'Neill Dilemma." Next year's <i>Thebes</i> won't be a mere repeating of the old chestnut for us, but the opportunity for our deepest artistic growth.</div>
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~Peter Josephson</div>
theatre KAPOWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05106489035151126683noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4850996492430812983.post-91948278352963855332016-08-30T19:54:00.001-07:002016-08-30T20:04:46.012-07:00Through with Read-throughs<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"Usually, a first day of rehearsal goes something more like this. The actors arrive. The entire theater staff arrives, occasionally along with some board members. We eat stale donuts and mill around nervously. The artistic director says a few words. The director does a presentation. The designers do a presentation. The playwright says some awkward heartfelt things. It’s something like an ad campaign, but for who? We’re still trying to convince the theater to do our play, but they’re already doing it! We tell the actors how the play will look and sound, proud of our work, but because we’ve done the work already, the actors’ very particular imaginations won’t influence any of our big plans!</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Then we sit down nervously, surrounded by a ring of about fifty people (depending on how big the theater is), and we read the play out loud at a table. The pencils are sharp, and the actors do a strange dance of auditioning for each other. The day ends, we are all relieved, and the next day we actually begin rehearsal. What if the first day of rehearsal could contain more joy? More costumes and fewer packets of information? What if it were as secretive and intimate as children building a fort, covering themselves with blankets, sitting in the dark, saying to the outside world: keep out, keep out, for now…"</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Sarah Ruhl, “On the First Day of Rehearsal,” <i>100 Essays I Don’t Have Time to Write on Umbrellas and Sword Fights, Parades and Dogs, Fire Alarms, Children, and Theater</i></blockquote>
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If you haven’t figured it out by now, I love Sarah Ruhl. Her plays are genius, but this little <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Essays-Dont-Have-Time-Write-ebook/dp/B00IW3MPU0/ref=dp_kinw_strp_1">book of 100 essays</a> has become my guidebook for theatre and life. I’m sure many of us have, on a number of occasions, experienced a read through just like what Sarah Ruhl describes above. It feels much more like ritual than rehearsal and without question there is a sense in the room that it is just something we need to do before we can start actually rehearsing. Lost in the ritual is any sense of purpose. Why do we do this? What is the point? <br />
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On Saturday morning, we had our first rehearsal for <i>Stupid Fucking Bird</i>. Before heading to the theatre, I re-read Sarah’s essay and was determined to avoid the typical read-through. We only allowed ourselves a 2 hour block for our first meeting because we were also scheduled to rehearse The Burial at Thebes that day. This is a cast in which some people have worked together a number of times and some people are completely new to tKAPOW so, yes, we spent a few minutes on introductions. And, yes, we spent just a few minutes explaining what we had in mind for the physical playing area. But, when it came time to dive into the script, I wanted to approach things a little differently. Stupid Fucking Bird is an amazing script and one of the things that makes it so great is that it very deliberately blurs the line between actor and audience. So, for the first rehearsal I set up 8 chairs in two rows of four. The two rows faced each other with about 15’ between them. Then we read the script, but rather than remaining seated, the actors moved into the open space between the chairs and walked through the whole show. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgntitCx4bOv1o49F9xRmKOEeT8Cq3K_GsiNWJssTghuSmOdu6Uc3SfrY56NIQSD8ghNlzVs2EiOZq18LMav8D2nN-8ThY2dGVZr5kJ-1qQdlVzZf5qvQAJD-84TXB8ZGqJbDvTuBVhxf0/s1600/IMG_6411.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgntitCx4bOv1o49F9xRmKOEeT8Cq3K_GsiNWJssTghuSmOdu6Uc3SfrY56NIQSD8ghNlzVs2EiOZq18LMav8D2nN-8ThY2dGVZr5kJ-1qQdlVzZf5qvQAJD-84TXB8ZGqJbDvTuBVhxf0/s200/IMG_6411.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
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It was fascinating to watch the cast make decisions about where and how to enter, where to play the scene, and how to exit. If they felt chairs were needed they would drag them into the space and then take them with them when they exited. I was fortunate that so many of the cast members were off or almost off book so there wasn’t much of the awkwardness of having to balance your script while moving through space.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSUlLztEoNYQHJ9JLGKSAYVzECCDwXGw2-3kZsp0OdIb-vY2btn5RxGpQowPYAQBh5uMMAP7fcuoYID660ubOTPoKfGQU8tVwiICTaere1XCSVHqsqclFCEDoss9jSlTloMjkVLGHk7ac/s1600/IMG_6416.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSUlLztEoNYQHJ9JLGKSAYVzECCDwXGw2-3kZsp0OdIb-vY2btn5RxGpQowPYAQBh5uMMAP7fcuoYID660ubOTPoKfGQU8tVwiICTaere1XCSVHqsqclFCEDoss9jSlTloMjkVLGHk7ac/s200/IMG_6416.JPG" width="200" /></a>In this way, the first rehearsal was just that. A rehearsal. But, a rehearsal virtually free of rules. The actors went where they wanted to go and got to be in complete control. And, you know what? There were some moments, some real moments, created during that two hour rehearsal. Moments that I can guarantee we would not have found sitting around a table. Is it performance ready? No, but I truly believe that the cast learned more about the show, their characters, and their ensemble than they would have in a typical read through. Most importantly, I think this rehearsal set a tone for the rest of our work. It will be a process where the actors will be empowered to take risks, to explore, to play. I’m not trying to claim that there is anything really revolutionary here. I know that many theatres have long since abandoned the read through, but for us it was a new approach and I am really encouraged by the results. I’ll be very curious to see how many of the little discoveries from the first rehearsal end up in the finished product. Until then, we’ll have a lot of fun building blanket forts.<br />
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~ Matt Cahoon</div>
theatre KAPOWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05106489035151126683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4850996492430812983.post-35253691172488481022016-08-22T07:42:00.002-07:002016-08-22T12:58:31.965-07:00Theatre as a Universal LanguageSome of my favorite theatrical experiences as an audience member have been shows performed in languages other than English. As I've discussed in a <a href="http://tkapow.blogspot.com/2014/09/a-shrinking-and-growing-world.html">previous blog</a>, Teatr Zar, a Polish company that performed at Charlestown Working Theater a few years ago, put on one of the best pieces I've ever seen. I've been fortunate enough to see shows in Italian, French, Farsi, and ASL (which I'll grant included lots of English). In all of these cases, the power of the performances have had the ability to transcend the language barrier. It takes a special performer to bridge the gap of understanding, but when they are able to do so the results are profound. I suppose this is a reality with which opera fans are quite familiar.<br />
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As I write this, I'm on a plane back from Italy where I have spent the last 9 days in residence at <a href="http://lamama.org/programs/la-mama-umbria/">LaMaMa Umbria International</a>. I was last in Italy in 2013 for LaMaMa's Directors' Symposium. This time I was in Italy directing an original, one-woman piece entitled Bea and Me. The piece was written and performed by Marybeth Berry, a friend I met during the 2013 symposium. The show explores Marybeth's personal life story dealing with domestic abuse at the hands of her husband who died of cancer. As a means of unlocking this story, Marybeth wrote the piece as a conversation with Beatrice Herford an early 20th century monologist widely recognized as a pioneer of solo performance. The play deals with complex themes and features an equally complex format. We spent most of our time in Italy refining the script so as to improve flow, timing, and message. The piece was performed twice at Cantiere Oberdan, the host venue for the LaMaMa Spoleto Open.<br />
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About mid-week, one of the organizers of the LaMaMa program asked us how we were going to address the language issue for Italian audiences. Honestly we were so heavily involved in script edits and staging rehearsals that we hadn't really considered that at all. I reached out to an Italian friend of mine for help, but with time so short, the decision was made to just present the piece in English. We figured that if nothing else, the playwrights currently working at LaMaMa (a group of about 12) would come to the show and the language would not be a problem for them.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq7ai23kTDJvbBl53gdvJe5tXukwO1tvigo9yy2PUYSR4yg66b4sFwJ8UT-Xpc0zp7g7l9Rr4PLoRX2Fqw9hGMxwxS55-0YN63QmmjvS_oNd4qNVkbDKEVww2DmiZHeQ4Wa5CAQoXHPPk/s1600/Focus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; float: right; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq7ai23kTDJvbBl53gdvJe5tXukwO1tvigo9yy2PUYSR4yg66b4sFwJ8UT-Xpc0zp7g7l9Rr4PLoRX2Fqw9hGMxwxS55-0YN63QmmjvS_oNd4qNVkbDKEVww2DmiZHeQ4Wa5CAQoXHPPk/s200/Focus.jpg" width="149" /></a>Friday night, the night of the first performance, came and we only had four people in the audiences, all Italians (some with very limited English). I gave my curtain speech and had the first in my lifetime experience of having to pause while it was translated for the audience. Marybeth pressed forward with her piece and the audience was absolutely enthralled. As a side note, I've never seen an actress embrace having an audience to play for as much as Marybeth did that night. Her story burst forth from her as if it just needed to be released. The performance reached its end, the lights dimmed, and our little Italian audience absolutely went nuts. They clapped and clapped and then clapped some more. It was clear that while they may not have understood all of the language (or Marybeth's crazy accent which is two parts South Carolina drawl with one part Rhode Island speed), but they were moved. They were moved because Marybeth was moved. The emotional tension in the room was evident and it needed no translation.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVRTbYUsVxDvn7cIqUV8_FXWYa6sI-p6pFAc23usNbeyHe45RUssF9Xwxu341kW1eGWGeFoihyxr2GLxi070Ew9i3It61e-Go-_F3j-owWioGSCsXBknp7NkpqMH6ny4Q_dtKLrqF-xW8/s1600/France.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; float: left; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVRTbYUsVxDvn7cIqUV8_FXWYa6sI-p6pFAc23usNbeyHe45RUssF9Xwxu341kW1eGWGeFoihyxr2GLxi070Ew9i3It61e-Go-_F3j-owWioGSCsXBknp7NkpqMH6ny4Q_dtKLrqF-xW8/s200/France.jpg" width="200" /></a>Here I am,somewhere over southern France and I find myself contemplating what lessons from this experience I can take with me to my work at home. tKAPOW has always been committed to producing the very best of dramatic literature and that commitment will not change any time soon. What I believe I will continue to explore as a director, however, is performance that is highly expressive and storytelling propelled by strong imagery. I will challenge my actors to consider those audiences members who may not be able to rely on understanding of the language alone. I hope that this approach will help us create productions capable of transcending language all together.</div>
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~ Matt Cahoon</div>
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theatre KAPOWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05106489035151126683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4850996492430812983.post-16484997282394471222016-08-05T06:32:00.001-07:002016-08-05T06:32:30.039-07:00HEAR, HERE!<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: white; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Season 9 is here! It's actually hear, here. (See what we did there?)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Here are some fun facts about season 9:</span></span><br />
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; font-family: arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: white; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">All three of our “mainstage” shows are comedies which means season 9 will be the funniest season to date. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: white; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">With a combined 17 roles in the three shows, season 9 will be one of the largest seasons we’ve ever produced (by comparison, season 8 was the smallest season to date with only 5 combined roles). </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: white; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">All three shows feature musical instruments (more on that later).</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: white; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">For the first time ever, tKAPOW will be doing a musical!</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: white; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The season 9 theme is HEAR, HERE! The shows in the season will all have a musical element (HEAR) and will all feature a meta-theatricality that sheds light on the shared experience of the artists and audiences when they are present together (HERE). It’s going to be an amazing season with multiple NH premiere productions. </span></div>
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We’ll kick off season 9 (after a quick stop in Thebes and a reading at the Currier) in early October with Aaron Posner’s </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i><a href="http://tkapow.com/StupidFingBird.html" target="_blank">Stupid Fucking Bird</a></i></span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">. Posner describes the piece as “sort of adapted from The Seagull.” The show was written in 2013 and this will be its first production in NH. It’s a very smart and funny script that roughly follows the same story as Chekhov’s classic p</span><span style="color: white;">lay. tKAPOW has produced plays by European masters including Strindberg and Ibsen and have always wanted to explore one of Chekhov’s full-length pieces (we did several of his one-acts in 2015). It just turns out that in this case we’ll be looking at Chekhov through the words of one of America’s great contemporary dramatic voices. As you can probably guess by the title this is something of an irreverent adaptation. I promise that this will be a fun night of theatre as the lines between actor and audience are blurred and someone plays a ukelele!</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In March, we’ll explore another piece that comes to us from a European master when we tackle Eugene Ionesco’s absurdist play </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i><a href="http://tkapow.com/ExitTheKing.html" target="_blank">Exit the King</a></i></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. My father once told me that it was the funniest play he had ever seen. Okay, he told me more than once. In fact, basically every time that tKAPOW has done a comedy my father has told me that </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Exit the King</i></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> is the funniest show he has ever seen. So, you know it was only a matter of time before tKAPOW dove into this one. The show is pure madcap fun as poor old King Berenger refuses to believe that his time on earth has come to an end. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And, yes, in April, after years of saying that we’d never do it, tKAPOW will be jazz squaring our way into the world of musical theatre. Kind of. For this show we’ll be returning to the work of Sarah Ruhl, a tKAPOW favorite whose </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Eurydice</i></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> we produced way back in season 4. I truly cannot express how much Sarah Ruhl’s work has inspired me. Her grasp of the English language is amazing and while she is a very efficient writer she manages to develop moments of such profound depth. So it is with her piece </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i><a href="http://tkapow.com/MelancholyPlay.html" target="_blank">Melancholy Play: A Chamber Musical</a></i></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. The reason that I say it is kind of a musical is that Ruhl originally published the piece as a play with a cello. Approximately 10 years after its original production, she, along with composer Todd Almond, reenvisioned the piece as a musical complete with a string quartet and piano. It’s beautiful. Don’t let the name fool you, this is a very funny play. We’re especially excited about this project because we will be collaborating with the NH Philharmonic. We last worked with the NH Phil on their concert showcasing music inspired by the works of Shakespeare. This collaboration will be more substantial and, we hope, will help both organizations reach new audiences. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: white; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As the summer all too quickly fades towards fall, I look at the work ahead with a great deal of eager anticipation. In just a couple of days we will be holding auditions for Stupid Fucking Bird and Exit the King and that process is always an exciting one. Soon after we cast the show we’ll be heading into rehearsal. It’s amazing how quickly each season comes and goes. I hope that you will continue to check back HERE to HEAR what we are up to. Before we know it, we’ll be headed to season 10.</span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">~ Matt Cahoon</span><br />
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<br />theatre KAPOWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05106489035151126683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4850996492430812983.post-15156913799042541092016-07-04T20:07:00.003-07:002016-07-04T20:07:52.333-07:00The Courtship of Season Planning<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: white;">Okay, so I’ll admit up front that in the last nine years I’ve done a lot more season planning than dating, but it strikes me they are pretty much the same thing. Hear me out. Imagine, that a play is the boy/girl of your dreams. You’re totally into this play, you do all your research so that you know as much as you possibly can about him/her. Are you compatible? Is he/she up to your standards? Is he/she worth the time and energy necessary to make the relationship a successful one? Can you afford him/her? (Okay, so maybe the metaphor doesn’t work so well there, but you get the point and besides, I warned you that it had been awhile since I’ve done this). So you’ve found him/her, the one you really want to be with. You know that a relationship with him/her will be so good for the both of you. You decide that now is the time to make your move so you work up the nerve and pick up the phone or send an email (or submit answers to a bunch of questions on a website form). You say, “Listen, I know that we’d be good for each other, I really like you and I’d love to spend a rehearsal process getting to know you better.” Admittedly, my suave talk probably isn’t what it used to be, see above. If you are lucky, the response is, “Absolutely, I’d love to go out with you, I just need to check my calendar and see when I am available.” In the best case scenario, you hear back almost instantly. You are both available to meet at a mutually agreed upon date (or weekend) and all is good. Sometimes though, sometimes it doesn’t go so well. You work up the nerve to ask and the response is “Gee, I’d really like to, but I’m already going on a date that weekend with someone else in your area,” or “Sorry, but I only date professionals,” or “I haven’t started dating Americans yet.” Sure, the initial letdown can be harsh. After all, you had done your research and out of all the boys/girls you really thought you had found the one for you. Sometimes you know that if you are patient they will come around eventually. And, sometimes you let out a huge sigh of relief because you were scared shitless at the prospect of dating this particular person anyway. Often though, and this is key, the process of getting rejected makes you look a little harder and dig a little deeper and, I think more often than not, you find someone else so much better. Okay, I think I’ve played out this metaphor. <br /><br />In just a few days, theatre KAPOW will announce the shows that will make up the schedule for season nine (yikes, nine, wow). I’ll be honest, we’ve courted a lot of plays over the past few months. I’ll also tell you that some of the plays we wanted weren’t available for one reason or another. Some of them remain on a short list of what I refer to as “tries.” We can’t do the show now, but we will try again in the future. This list gets longer and longer each year, but it means that there are some really great shows coming in future seasons. But, and as I said before in that horrible metaphor that started this perhaps disastrous blog post (yay for you if you’ve stuck through it thus far), I think the plays we’ve chosen are better than the ones that we originally pursued. We have a really strong season with wonderful stories and even more wonderful characters. Oh, and trust me, there is one major surprise. And now, dear reader, is my opportunity to play coy with you. I turn my best sultry look towards you and say, “if you want to learn more about what we’re doing next season, let’s hang out on Saturday night (or perhaps at the Sunday matinee) at the performance of <i>Raining Aluminum</i>.” Yeah, I admit, my game has some holes in it, but you get the point. We are thrilled with season nine and we know that you will love what we have in store. <br /><br /><div style="text-align: right;">
~ Matt Cahoon</div>
<br />P.S. Anyone looking for relationship advice can hit me up on facebook.</span>theatre KAPOWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05106489035151126683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4850996492430812983.post-68537808649177607942016-05-23T18:43:00.000-07:002016-05-23T18:43:11.597-07:00Exquisite PressurePressure is a central ingredient: pressure of collaboration, of time, of putting all this stuff together...I cannot possibly control it, therefore I start to work on a more intuitive level, rather than on a logical level, which is what you are trying to get to because all creation is intuitive.<br />
-Anne Bogart<br />
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tKAPOW spent last week in residence at Charlestown Working Theatre developing our new piece Raining Aluminum. This process was simultaneously thrilling, terrifying, inspiring and exhausting. While we have been doing pretty heavy research on the piece for about 15 months, we walked into CWT with little more than a collection of stories we’d like to explore and a few movement sequences. <br />
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The day before we set out for Charlestown, Carey and I assembled ten brand new 4’ x 4’ platforms to act as the set (with the side benefit of being small enough to fit in the Opera House elevator for future shows) and loaded a truck full of various objects that we thought would help with the storytelling. With Cynthia MacLeod, our musical collaborator, set to arrive that day, I spent Sunday loading in all of our odds and ends. Just before I left CWT, I arranged the platforms and objects into what I proposed would be their starting position for the show. <br />
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Monday morning, we stopped at Cynthia’s hotel and Carey got to meet her for the first time (they became pretty close by the end of the week). We drove down to Charlestown and discussed the plan for the day. <br />
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While Tayva and I worked on hanging a light plot (difficult to do when you don’t even have a script yet), Peter and Carey worked with Cynthia on learning a seated step dance that we planned to incorporate into the piece (it turns out that it was a remarkably effective way to start the show). That evening we had our first rehearsal in space. The daily schedule for the rest of the week was similar with intensive work during the day with our visiting artists on music, puppetry or text and then we’d rehearse in the evenings. Now you probably understand the use of the word “exhausting” in the first line above. <br />
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The week culminated in three work-in-progress showings. On Thursday, Cynthia and the music was featured; on Friday, Vit Horejs and the object work was the focus; and, on Saturday, we were able to share a full first draft of the piece that included a lot of the text developed by our dramaturg Kelly Smith (including a monologue that was re-written about 10 minutes prior to the start of the showing). An important part of the process was the audience feedback session that we conducted each night. It was fascinating (and occasionally surprising) to hear which elements of the piece really resonated with the audience and equally as helpful to hear what wasn’t working. This is all feedback that we will consider as we continue to develop the piece. <br />
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By far the best part of this opportunity was that it gave us a concentrated stretch of time to experiment, work, and play. What Anne Bogart refers to as “exquisite pressure” was definitely a major contributing factor to our work last week. Charles Mee describes Bogart’s “exquisite pressure” in the following way:<br />
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“[it’s] one which promotes creativity by overwhelming collaborators with a lot to do in a short amount of time so that they do not have the chance to think too much.”</div>
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We often said last week that when creating original work you might work for an hour and only find 30 seconds of useable material. Last week we certainly did create a bunch of stuff that ended up on the proverbial “cutting room floor,” but I think the pressure of having to have something ready to share with an audience resulted in the discovery of a few pearls. In the coming weeks, we’ll work on stringing those pearls together to create a complete piece. The new piece will premiere at the Stockbridge the weekend of July 8-10 and then we hope it will have the opportunity to tour around a bit. If you are interested in seeing new and non-traditional theatre, I hope that you will come check it out.<br />
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~ Matt Cahoon<br />
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theatre KAPOWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05106489035151126683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4850996492430812983.post-55835036565821827492016-05-02T09:51:00.001-07:002016-05-02T09:51:21.942-07:00How am I doing today?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Breathe.</div>
<br /><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpRGj5qMQEM">Grounded</a> closed yesterday, its initial run anyway. We got home after a 4-hour strike, I put the flight suit and boots away, shirt and socks into the laundry. I slept very, very soundly last night, which hasn’t been the case for the last two weeks. This morning I got up, and went through my full morning routine.<br /><br />Read a chapter of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Zen-Art-Archery-Eugen-Herrigel/dp/0375705090">Zen in the Art of Archery</a>. Since the new year, I have started my day each day by reading 15 - 20 minutes of eastern philosophy, which has been incredibly calming and strength-building.<br /><br />I spend a few minutes seeing off my husband and daughter as they head to work and school. 6 minutes of balance exercises. This six minutes every day is a great opportunity for me to check in with my body and my mind. How am I doing today? Am I steady? Am I grounded? I unroll my yoga mat, and stretch for 10 - 12 minutes. Breathe into those muscles, those joints, those hard-working tendons that need breath. Today was a return to planking in the morning. How am I doing? Do I feel strength and can I balance the tension and find relaxation?<br /><br />I roll up my yoga mat, and bring up a guided vocal warm-up on my i-phone. I have been doing this <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Make-Your-Voice-Heard-Increased/dp/0823083705">vocal warm-up</a> for almost six years now. In 2010, my husband pushed me to go to an actor training program. He researched summer programs and sent me the information on the <a href="https://atlanticactingschool.org/about/">Atlantic Acting School</a> and said, “this is the one you need to go to.” He was right. I come back to the vocal work I learned there almost every day. I spend 10 minutes, 20 minutes or more if I have the time, breathing and generating sound. How I am doing today? Where am I feeling vibration? The warm up is different every day because I am different every day. Sometimes I spend my vocal time in the morning focused only on the breath, with very little sound. I am grateful for this time to breathe and nourish this very basic starting point for everything.<br /><br />Make sure the water is heating up for my cup of tea.<br /><br />I turn to another practice: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Speak-Distinction-Classic-Skinner-Method/dp/1557830479">speech</a>. Working the muscles of my mouth. Tuning in to vibration and sound waking up the full range of my voice. Articulation, clear pronunciation, strength and freedom of movement to shape breath and sound to clearly communicate. How am I doing today? Am I here in this moment or just going through the motions? I spend about 16 or 17 minutes on this speech practice.<br /><br />Brew a cup of green tea and let it steep.<br /><br />Meditate 10 - 12 minutes. Breathe. How am I doing today? Am I here in this moment? Am I grounded?<br /><br />Drink my green tea. Eat breakfast, face the day. Carry the work from the morning into the day.<br /><br />I was terrified when theatre KAPOW chose to put Grounded into the season. There was a time I said, “Find someone else to do it. I won’t be able to do it.” 100 minutes on stage, just me. Lean into the uncomfortable, face the fear. I know that the only way I was able to do it was because of those daily practices. My voice did not give out, my body did not give out. Voice, speech, and most importantly breath.<br /><br />I am grateful for those practices. I am grateful.<br /><br />Breathe.</span><div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">~Carey Cahoon</span></div>
theatre KAPOWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05106489035151126683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4850996492430812983.post-60176276670420263462016-04-26T19:07:00.001-07:002016-04-26T19:07:52.887-07:00The Evolution of a Season - Our Relationship with Technology<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">It’s no secret, by now, that I’m really into season planning. At this time of year, several of us read dozens of plays and have long conversations about themes we are interested in exploring moving forward. While I’m certain some future post will be all about planning season 9, that’s not what I’m thinking about today. Rather than spending this time planning for future seasons, I find myself reflecting on season 8. No, it’s not done, there is still a lot of work to do, but as I sat to work on Grounded this morning, I found myself thinking of the show in context of the season as a whole.</span></span></div>
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<span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">If you’ve been following tKAPOW this season, you know that our theme is BREATHE. I think it’s a great theme and really touches upon both our interest in the importance of those things that make us human and the practical use of breath as a part of our training and storytelling processes. But, as I reflect on this season now that Grounded is nearly up on it’s feet, I find a different theme emerging. What I think we’ve really been exploring this season is humankind’s relationship with technology. It wasn’t planned that way and since it wasn’t planned somehow it feels more sincere. Here’s a reminder of what season 8 has looked like so far.</span><span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">In December, we produced Duncan Macmillan’s Lungs. The play centers around a young couple making deciding whether or not to have a baby. The relationship between M and W in that play is in the foreground, but one of the clear factors contributing to the couple’s (especially W’s) reluctance to have a baby is how much of an impact the child will have on the environment. Ultimately, I think everyone would agree that having the child was for the best and that M and W were able to live much happier lives as a result. At the end of the play, however, the world is literally covered in ash.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZAXQTe1p33Df_0f3fjN2Kn_zrk4GX25DOa48J3KBFBYvfG-2sqoqy-TH6wAYgTKTbXxm8JfmviPrHjVU8tOfzWw42F136briBrjzgGBt-aU0WrjmM_cMfwtDdeJ4wGZYHyFhSi2o6LAE/s1600/Stones_production_Feb2016_by_Lomanno_0028_web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZAXQTe1p33Df_0f3fjN2Kn_zrk4GX25DOa48J3KBFBYvfG-2sqoqy-TH6wAYgTKTbXxm8JfmviPrHjVU8tOfzWw42F136briBrjzgGBt-aU0WrjmM_cMfwtDdeJ4wGZYHyFhSi2o6LAE/s320/Stones_production_Feb2016_by_Lomanno_0028_web.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">This year’s February comedy was Marie Jones’ Stones in His Pockets. Rich and Peter had a great time playing a whole bunch of different characters including members of both the local, rural Irish village a Hollywood film crew. As is fairly typical of a tKAPOW comedy, the show was funny on the surface but had some very serious undertones. At its roots, Stones explores the impact of outside modern influence on a traditional community. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivN9Q6kZ_2fR9nTnKRDAvb4CBl0RRY7_uyObfpv-vzrOabduJcB37laRCD7dsWAVKP3tmnjrGekvQRdeUayKFM05lx6CXpgEZeuiZQ6R-kJT9nJCJgFkgehKiOaMLhHi6ce-o1NO9vJOc/s1600/Grounded_by_Lomanno-12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivN9Q6kZ_2fR9nTnKRDAvb4CBl0RRY7_uyObfpv-vzrOabduJcB37laRCD7dsWAVKP3tmnjrGekvQRdeUayKFM05lx6CXpgEZeuiZQ6R-kJT9nJCJgFkgehKiOaMLhHi6ce-o1NO9vJOc/s320/Grounded_by_Lomanno-12.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />With Grounded (opening this weekend at the Derry Opera House), the relationship between humans and technology is forefront. As the technology of warfare has shifted away from fighter jets and towards unmanned aerial vehicles (drones), the way we conduct war has changed considerably. So much of this show is about the guilt associated with inflicting harm without ever putting yourself in danger. The show also asks serious questions about how technology can desensitize even those in the most critical of fields. When our world is reduced to what can be seen on a small screen, what are the implications of our actions? <br /><br />Looking back I’m really proud of the season aesthetically and think that a lot of the design elements also speak to our relationship with technology. Lungs was just two actors (wearing their own clothes), an 8’x10’ area rug, and a few Ikea light fixtures (oh and a grand total of 6 light cues). The world reduced to the minimal. The set for Stones was a physical representation of the influence of man (the rectangular platform) on nature (the circular grassy hill). David Brown provided beautiful traditional fiddle music which was contrasted by Tayva’s visible movie lighting equipment. Grounded, as you will see in just a few days, is a mess of technology. It’s as technologically complex a show we have ever done with 5 flat screens, multiple cameras, two laptops, and dozens of video clips. All of that technology is juxtaposed, however, by a single actress, in a single costume, standing in an 8’x8’ room with one very plain looking chair. <br /><br />It’s fascinating to me that without really meaning to, we’ve been exploring this idea of our relationship with technology all season long. I think this speaks to the fact that amazing things can (and will) happen if you make a priority of producing well written shows and purposefully stringing together pieces that complement each other. <br /><br />As we plan season nine (it’s still amazing to me that it’s already been eight years), we know that we have a responsibility to ourselves as artists, to the playwrights whose work we produce, and most of all to our audience, to continue to make deliberate choices when constructing the season. I’m excited to explore new themes in season nine and to see what conversations result.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">~Matt Cahoon</span></div>
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theatre KAPOWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05106489035151126683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4850996492430812983.post-31940051422363701512016-04-07T09:22:00.002-07:002016-04-07T10:41:31.037-07:00The Rock Star Power of a Book<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: white; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A few weeks ago, I attended a meeting of the Arts Presenters of Northern New England, a consortium of approximately 40 arts organizations from NH, VT, and ME. The meeting was held at Middlebury College and there were almost 30 people in attendance (a larger than usual crowd for one of these meetings especially since many had a long drive). So, what was on the agenda that day that had the membership so excited? Well it happens that the meeting was scheduled at the same time that Shakespeare’s First Folio was on display at the museum on campus. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: white; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Following a bit of business during which many an arts presenter sat fidgeting in his or her seat awaiting an encounter with the Bard, we were ushered down to the museum. We met with the Chief Curator, Emmie Donadio, who spoke with us in the lobby for a few minutes about the museum’s mission and its collection. About 5 minutes into her remarks, however, she stopped and said, “but that’s not why you are all here.” We all knew that about 100 feet from where we stood, but just out of sight, sat one of the most important books we’d ever lay eyes on in person. Emmie released us like a group of school kids on the last day of school and we, distinguished professionals that we are, all practiced our best fast walk/almost run/you’re in a museum so be respectful.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhniQ_7B6cxzPybjBud7IUgi9GLIHurUybDnS3ITls2FVq1IlBlHmdIp65ZYUuKW77RWo2h0fAqjNKJDAyJhjHlySM1jgunyad4SJw-WxXLUmIp8aIDaXFdVckd5Gk8Nt2C4fXhJFehrhs/s640/blogger-image-753763952.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhniQ_7B6cxzPybjBud7IUgi9GLIHurUybDnS3ITls2FVq1IlBlHmdIp65ZYUuKW77RWo2h0fAqjNKJDAyJhjHlySM1jgunyad4SJw-WxXLUmIp8aIDaXFdVckd5Gk8Nt2C4fXhJFehrhs/s320/blogger-image-753763952.jpg" width="240" /></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></div>
<span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">At the end of the main hall was a huge sign in the shape of an open book and to its right, sat the First Folio propped up on a pedestal and under glass. Like so many people observe when they see the Mona Lisa, the folio is smaller than the reputation that preceeds it so we, very gently but very eagerly, encircled the book in such a way that we could all get a look at it. The book sat open to </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hamlet</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, Act 3 Scene 1 and there on the right page almost at the very bottom of the page and just an inch or so from the fold in the spine were printed the words “To be, or not to be, that is the Question.” Reading those words was a moment that quickened the pulse for sure. Emmie felt that, having relieved our craving to be in the presence of the book, it was safe to spend a few minutes speaking about it and about its importance not only as storehouse of some of the most important English literature, but also as an object that represents an important period in printing. Her expertise is in rare books and it was fascinating to see how excited she was about it as a book while many of us seemed more excited about the book’s contents. If you have never done so and ever get the opportunity, I strongly encourage you to take part in a curator lead tour of an exhibition. You’ll learn more about art than you ever thought you could know.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: white; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What I found most exciting about the day, however, was the enthusiasm that all of these arts presenters had for this book under glass. I’m a theatre guy so to me it represents so much of the past, present, and future of the field about which I am most passionate. To music people, this was the book that inspired Mendelssohn and Tchaikovsky. To fine art people this book provides context for appreciating Sargent’s Lady M and Millais’ Ophelia. Opera aficionados find in the book the muse of Verdi and Wagner. It’s a great unifier. Mostly, I was so thrilled to see how giddy this book made my colleagues. </span></div>
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So, by now, you’ve probably figured out why I share this story. This morning, two days earlier than the scheduled open date; the exhibition <a href="http://www.currier.org/exhibitions/first-folio-book-gave-us-shakespeare/">First Folio</a></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 20.24px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://www.currier.org/exhibitions/first-folio-book-gave-us-shakespeare/">: The Book the Gave us Shakespeare</a></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;"> became available for public viewing at the Currier Museum of Art. theatre KAPOW is thrilled to have been a part of bringing the folio to NH and we are really looking forward to taking part in many of the events scheduled around its visit. Our involvement with this project dates back over a year now. tKAPOW took part in the application process to bring the folio to NH and took a lead role in organizing programming to accompany the visit. Now, here we are and over the course of the next few weeks you will have the chance to not only see this amazing book in person, but also geek out with us in a month long celebration of the bard. </span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZQc6F-FP-ITsvHIXMPjZFYmsBTQg8kaMxv6pmtDNn397vlXN0xl-O6tMwi_-WWlb5wcQ2Sne7XB-EY_OPB6JlxcLz7mY1zJ4RF6RUCTxj4zLVzsoAqYAewM8-lGB_wQNuppebvoMIzuU/s640/blogger-image--1272361635.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZQc6F-FP-ITsvHIXMPjZFYmsBTQg8kaMxv6pmtDNn397vlXN0xl-O6tMwi_-WWlb5wcQ2Sne7XB-EY_OPB6JlxcLz7mY1zJ4RF6RUCTxj4zLVzsoAqYAewM8-lGB_wQNuppebvoMIzuU/s200/blogger-image--1272361635.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">tKAPOW’s first public event in conjunction with the folio’s visit will take place Monday, April 11</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 8.799999999999999px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: super; white-space: pre-wrap;">th</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> at 7:30pm at the <a href="http://derrypl.org/">Derry Public Library</a>. Carey has put together a special presentation entitled “Women and Love in Shakespeare.” This intimate evening will feature readings from several of Shakespeare’s most famous heroines. Carey will reprise two roles near and dear to her heart with passages from Beatrice and Lady Macbeth. It is perhaps a little known fact that Carey and I started dating while playing opposite each other in </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Much Ado About Nothing</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> in college. My Benedict was passable but her Beatrice totally stole the show. On <a href="http://www.currier.org/calendar/first-folio-late-night/">April 21</a></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 8.799999999999999px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: super; white-space: pre-wrap;">st</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> at the Currier, tKAPOW will present staged readings of two scenes from Shakespeare’s plays-within-the play. First we’ll tackle the murder of Gonzago from </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hamlet </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">followed by Pyramus and Thisbe from </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Midsummer’s Night Dream</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. We look forward to taking over the Currier’s Winter Garden with this fun and high-spirited selection. On April 23</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 8.799999999999999px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: super; white-space: pre-wrap;">rd</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, tKAPOW is taking part in a daylong conference of teacher workshops revolving around teaching Shakespeare in the classroom. And, pay close attention because </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">w</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">hen you go to the museum, you will hear the familiar voices of some tKAPOW regulars leading the audio tour of the exhibition. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: white; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It’s going to be a great month with Shakespeare themed events taking place throughout the state. I hope that you’ll take part in as much of this celebration as you can. This book that has moved the hearts and minds of artists throughout history is now sitting here in our state and still working its magic on us.</span></div>
<span id="docs-internal-guid-18794395-f17d-2590-1877-01e3d57b7b77"><span style="color: white; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">~ Matt Cahoon</span></span><br />
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theatre KAPOWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05106489035151126683noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4850996492430812983.post-61231315440489054692016-02-12T07:08:00.001-08:002016-02-14T07:25:53.709-08:00When did you first fall in love with theatre?<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: white; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A few years ago (and undoubtedly this year) on Valentine’s day I saw a post online asking, “When did you first fall in love with theatre?” For me, this is both a simple and a complicated question. When did I first fall in love with “doing” theatre? As a child, I put on puppet shows, made tape recording of “radio plays” I wrote, and all kinds of make-believe happened. These are all forms of making theatre. I often think that I would love to climb under a table and have it be a secret entrance to another world like it was in Kindergarten.Once the awkwardness and tension of late elementary and middle school set in, I didn’t do any kind of theatre. Not until late in high school, on the other side of the work did I start. And since then I have not stopped.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: white; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When did I first fall in love with seeing theatre? I have three memories of seeing theatre as a young person. I was enthralled by the full transformation of space and the human form at a production of CATS when I was in 5th grade. (I know, a musical, and of all things, CATS.) It was magical. in 8th grade, I remember attending A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Arena Stage. Again: magical, but a different kind of magic this time. I remember so clearly that the part of Puck was played by a woman, and she wore black and white striped knee-highs below here cut-off pantaloons. The magic of this world was created simply, by the complete engagement of the body and voice of this actor, and by the clean lines and simplicity of the costumes.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd8eOefCBY6H6eEc8i6_1HPcJAHhZhX1Swwgrq6jdx6zojWyRNQasqJIGNs-EdUEwR2gwH2cLNSmlz8IcMnOq2aMEi2ir-JlhJWh1db6uJb2un47ea_VnBoPhWNQDqQ4E6BYr7_k6EqMw/s1600/treeguy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="color: white;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd8eOefCBY6H6eEc8i6_1HPcJAHhZhX1Swwgrq6jdx6zojWyRNQasqJIGNs-EdUEwR2gwH2cLNSmlz8IcMnOq2aMEi2ir-JlhJWh1db6uJb2un47ea_VnBoPhWNQDqQ4E6BYr7_k6EqMw/s200/treeguy.jpg" width="143" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Just as you develop and grow to learn what a loving relationship is, these early experiences weren’t really love, simply crushes. As a senior in college, I saw a production of Peer Gynt by the National Theater of the Deaf. I paid $5. (Oh, student prices!) I had studied the play in class, but there is no substitute for seeing/hearing/feeling a play. And this production used light and sound in ways that I had never experienced before. It wove puppets, mask and costume into the experience in ways that I had never experienced before. (</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 20.24px; white-space: pre-wrap;">I now know this production was a collaboration with Pilobolus.) </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;">A story of searching for one’s identity that is heart-wrenching and funny, and told/shown in such a compelling way. I sat in my chair when the show ended, not wanting it to be over, not wanting to move and break the spell. Again: a kind of magic. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: white; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My love of seeing theatre is refreshed anytime I see a show that moves me, that takes my breath away and makes me lean forward in my seat. I don’t always have that experience sitting in a theatre. But these are the experiences I want to have: to have my ideas and assumptions challenged, to question what it means to be human and to see characters, or cities, or worlds, struggle with what it means to be a community. And my love of making theatre is closely tied to those same questions and challenges. I know a show is really good when I simultaneously think, “I can never do that and I should stop doing theatre altogether” AND “I want to do that and I must keep working.”</span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I fell in love with theatre and I stay in love with theatre when I see good work. It inspires me to do good work. So, when did you first fall in love with theatre?</span><br />
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<span style="color: white; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; text-align: right; white-space: pre-wrap;">~Carey Cahoon</span>theatre KAPOWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05106489035151126683noreply@blogger.com0