Lightbulb Over Head Blog

On Sunday evening I had the opportunity to see the Euripides’ The Bacchae at Shakespeare in the Park. As I entered the open-air theater, I was reminded of the amphitheaters of ancient Greece. The air was sweet and warm and the play-space vast and mysterious, a single plume of mist sprouting from a large crack in the stage, leaving me with a sense of foreboding and mystery.

As I took my seat, I recognized a familiar face. Jonathan Groff (familiar to musical theater fans for his turn in Spring Awakening) was roaming the stage and ritualistically preparing it in the role of Dionysus. He pulled various articles from a large case and placed them about the stage. He also washed an animal’s severed head and mucked about in the shallow pool of water that ringed the front of the stage. Lastly, he dressed himself in jeans, a white shirt and a leather jacket, taking on a sort of a James Dean quality, simultaneously winning and dangerous. His portrayal successfully evoked those facets of the god and was only set off course at times by Philip Glass’ disjointed vocal compositions.

James Conklin’s set was both abstract and reminiscent of ancient Greek theatrical architecture. I felt the history behind his choices, while at the same time the streamlined modern lines of the silver play-space gave the impression that I would see something fresh. I loved the fact that the whole production was set on the top of Semele’s grave, placing importance on the fact that the very godhead of Dionysus was at stake in the telling of this story. There was also a fantastic visual moment where the grave burst into flames at the back of the stage. I wondered if this was necessary, but it did make for a very unusual stage picture.

The most exciting part of the piece for me was David Neumann’s choreography as executed by the chorus of Bacchan women. They traversed the stage in rhythmic punctuation that had the curious ability to seem organic while invoking the original performances of ancient plays wherein the chorus stomped across the stage in large shoes to emphasize the rhythm of the verse lines. Conversely, Neumann punctuated the rhythm of the verse with shapes and changes in tempo of movement rather than relying on the drudgery of stomping. Neumann’s choreography was the heart and soul of this piece and was no less than magical when it came together seamlessly with the design and the text, as in the moment where the women washed themselves in the pool, lit only by dim lights shown through the shallow water.

The costumes, by Kaye Voyce, were at times unexpected, as in the choice of glittering pants for the prophet Teiresias, but always worked with the style of the piece. Her color choices brightened the stage and brought a wild vivacity to the chorus that is not always present in Greek drama.

JoAnne Akalaitis’ direction was hit or miss for me. There were moments where I wasn’t exactly sure what I should be looking at which can be a challenge when it comes to shows with a lot of ensemble members in a large space. Rocco Sisto’s turn as the Messenger at the climax of the production was heart rending and dynamic, but I felt the presence of the women on stage almost overshadowed his brilliant performance. In addition, there were some strange homo-erotic moments framed very prominently between Jonathan Groff as Dionysus and Pentheus, played by Anthony Mackie. I wasn’t sure that these were supported by the script which is why they stuck out to me as an imposed choice made by the director. Perhaps it was an attempt at showing that Dionysus’ enchantment was taking hold of the King of Thebes? In any case, I wasn’t clear as to the purpose of these moments.

This brings me to a problem I have always had with this play. How are the Bacchan women both there in the palace of Thebes and out in the hills with Dionysus simultaneously? It just doesn’t make sense, especially when used so loosely in the case of this production. Akalaitis often placed them in beautiful shapes around the stage, but I sometimes wished that the principle actors could have had more focus. I admit that some of these issues stem from the script itself rather than the direction of the piece, but I almost felt that the director ignored them rather than contending with them, leaving her audience at a loss.

People don’t go to a Greek drama for a wild ride, so to complain about the pace of the show would be poor form. However, I felt that the end of the show was a bit lackluster. I enjoyed the performance of George Bartenieff as Cadmus in his charmingly befuddled scene with Teiresias, played expressively by Andre de Shields, but the end of the play took a leaden pace and dragged his work down. Joan Macintosh’s Agave was a bit wooden for my tastes. Agave is a character that has to win over the audience in seconds with the tragedy of her mad plight. Not a moment can be spared with a lack of specificity. With this portrayal of Agave, I found I didn’t feel anything, despite the fact that she was dripping with gore and holding a semi-life like rendition of her son’s severed head.

This brings me to another pet peeve of mine. When you cannot actually show something on stage in an extremely realistic light, as in sex, murder, or death, it is best to abstract it. I found myself assessing the poorly rendered dead body of Pentheus instead of paying attention to the acting. If it had been abstracted, I would have at least been thinking about the artistry of the actor’s relationship to a choreographed and designed moment rather than the fact that I didn’t believe the realism of the fake body on stage.

As for Phillip Glass’ score and vocal compositions, I found them well performed with little substance. The performers blended well and shifted dynamically as one but to what purpose? I found it strange to be at such odds with Glass’ music because I love his movie scores. The Hours and The Truman Show would not be the same without his pulsing, persistent musical scores. Here, Glass was so amelodic that I sometimes lost the direction of the spoken lines and became a bit confused as to what was being said by the chorus. If it hadn’t been for Neumann’s choreography, I might have been lost altogether.

Although it had it’s problems, Shakespeare in the Park’s The Bacchae was a very visually gripping rendition of a difficult Greek drama. The show runs until August 30th. For more information on this production see: http://www.publictheater.org/

Recently, I was inducted into the company of “Box Full of Wasps Theater Collective” to be a part of the creation and performance of a piece based on the book Mike and the Magic Cookies, by Jon Buller. I’m very excited to be reconnecting with Jenna Freed, the Creative Director of The Collective and the Director/Conceiver of the show, and Emily Floyd, the Co-Creative Director who is also performing with me. I spent my first year at the Playwrights Horizons Theater School with Jenna in the much beloved Purple Group of 2004-2005 and spent my time in the Acting Practicum at Playwrights with Emily. Both are creative minds I trust and admire and I am extremely thrilled and honored to be working with them.

O-Cast© is blasting ahead at full throttle. The pilot trilogy (Episodes 1, 2, and 3) have been completed and the cast assembled to read through it last Thursday. I simply couldn’t stop beaming. We are so blessed to have so many phenomenal performers on this project and they all make me laugh, which assailed my biggest fear of the script not being funny. Let’s just say I don’t think we have to worry about that. It was such a treat to watch them bring Bryan’s and my work to life before our very eyes. [For a cast list see the O-Cast© tab at the top of the site]

We are also humbled by a fabulous group of designers, including another Purple Group 2004-2005 favorite, Ellie Famutimi who will be doing our costume design. I knew she was the woman for the job as soon as we started writing. She’s no stranger to bringing archetypes to life and and her work is always stunning. I’m so excited to see how she realizes these characters. Mary Catherine Moore, our set designer/dresser, led the group through a discussion of what would be on their “dilapidated Olympian thrones” which left us all intrigued and in stitches.

To top everything off, Rachel Mann, our Director of Development, walked us through the plans for “The Olympian Orgy” at Sin Sin Leopard Lounge. All proceeds from the event will benefit our production and are considered tax deductible donations. The event will be fabulous and will not only showcase our promotional photos of the cast in costume, but will also premiere some video of the characters as well as our opening animation sequence. We’ll be hosting artists who will be painting and drawing live during the event and raffling off the fruits of their labors after midnight. We also have several other raffle donations in the works including mounted photo-poetry pieces by Leah Johnston and some tickets to various theatrical events around the city. The owner of Sin Sin is ecstatic to host our party and secured sponsors who created our very own “Shots of Immortality” which will be passed out for free at the event as long as supplies last. There will also be other half priced drink specials. We’ll also be having our very own all-$1-bake-sale featuring a cake by The Neon Squirrel Cake that promises to be a hit! The party is on September 10th, 2009 and starts at 8 PM. Here is our teaser promo art and party blurb:

Attention mortals! Come party like a God at the Olympian Orgy at Sin Sin Leopard Lounge on Thursday, September 10th at 8PM! Dionysus will be serving ambrosia as Apollo’s DJ’s, artists and photographers rule the night. Dance with Aphrodite and win great prizes at Hermes’ raffle at one of the hottest spots in the East Village to benefit the upcoming web series O-Cast!

It is really incredible to think that this whole thing started about a month and a half ago. Bryan and I were restless and sitting in his room in Bushwick wishing we had a way to express ourselves. Now we are heading up an army of incredibly talented artists who all deserve a platform to showcase their talents. I’m so proud and so humbled by all of it and the best part is that there is so much more left to come. My brain feels like a million sparks are going of at once, and it’s a great feeling. I’m learning so much about the production side of things which is very new for me. I think we’re all learning a lot from the project and it promises to be a very fulfilling project.

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