Here’s a little preview article from the Yale Daily News.

I also completed an exciting week of teaching Richard III at high schools across Queens, the Bronx and Manhattan this week.  I’m excited to see how the students react to the production.  We talked a lot about prophesy; what is the quickest student access point to the idea of prophesy?  Harry Potter.

Enjoy the Translations rehearsal photo below and check out the details on the Yale Arts Calendar!

We run Feb 22nd – Feb 25th at The University Theater.

Ticketing info and rehearsal photos to come!  In the meantime, I’ll leave you with an engrossing (and short) Stephen Fry documentary on the history of the Irish language and a Friel quote prominently displayed in our rehearsal room:

All art is a diary of evolution…Map-makings.

11’11
Titus — I’ve never had a harder time making it through a show, nor been so convinced that I really might throw up.  But, it wasn’t because of the amount of blood used in the staging.  It was that this production took it’s time.  It forced us to really look at the effects the violence had on the characters, and the ways in which we continue to perpetuate and justify violence.

Cymbeline — Such a joy!  Fiasco’s production, with six actors, lots of music and minimalistic staging was like a breath of fresh air.  They were able to justify the more complex moments of the play while fully investing in surprise, fun and delight.

Christmas Carol — Canal Park Playhouse’s one man Christmas Carol, where Dickens tells the story himself, much like his actual reading tours, was more theatrical, ingenious and engrossing than any big cast, extensively costumed and tricked out production I’ve seen– and I’ve seen a lot.

69′S — This puppet show meets modern dance piece explores the Shackleton Expedition.  Rather than attempt anything close to a history lesson, the sonic and visual elements combined to create the experience of what these adventurers endured.  The inter-play between puppet and puppeteer, the idea of a unseen hand guiding us home, resonated powerfully.

Nightlands — This New George’s production created a wonderful inter-play between the different worlds of the play, where the actors shift gender and identity in a moment, creating a playful and haunting experience.

Chinglish — Shifting worlds, shifting identities and the impossibility of translation; a tight, well-made, smart play.

All’s Well That Ends Well  — After teaching this play for a year, I still couldn’t find a character to like in it.  They all seemed to self-important or self-hating, that I was glad when we moved on to Measure for Measure.  BUT, this breathtakingly gorgeous production Shakespeare in the Park production showed textured characters, aware of their actions and aware that the outcome isn’t actually the fairy tale ending we might have thought it to be.

Macbeth — Cheek by Jowl’s stark production completely sucked me in.  With an open space, they created a terrifying darkness, where the line be earthly and spiritual was constantly shifting.

Being Harold Pinter — The simple and intense theatricality that Belarus Free Theater brings to their work is immediate, effecting and engrossing.

John Gabriel Borkman — BORKMAN!  Well, first I just love saying it in a bastardized Slavic accent.  But, the performances and energy that this Abbey Theater production brought to what could have been a stale and dated play were absolutely invigorating.

The Normal Heart — Ouff.  Raw, honest, tragic, inspiring.

THE MONDAY TO FRIDAY PLAYS

Nov 29th, 8pm

ONE NIGHT ONLY!

Writers Bekah Brunstetter, Laura Jacqmin, Josh Koenigsberg, Mike Lew and Harrison Rivers lead you from Monday to Friday in this night of hilarious and heartbreaking short plays about getting through the week

Had a blast with SOC in Austin, check out some photos below.  And, will be heading up to Yale soon to direct Translations.  More on that soon!

Standing on Ceremony is the brain child of Tectonic Theater Project, who you may know as the company that created The Laramie Project.   They’ve rallied 25 theaters and 19 universities (and counting) to stage Standing on Ceremony on November 7th to raise funds and awareness for Federal Marriage Equality.  Check out if there’s a SOC near you!

Wishing all this year’s ANT Fest-ers lots of broken legs!