Heather and Eli sat down to talk Page 73 on our first podcast.  It’s pretty great.  Check it out!

Page 73 Podcast No. 1

Wow, what a show! We were so excited to finally see EDGEWISE on its feet at Walkerspace. Congrats to Eli, Trip, and the cast and crew for all of their hard work – it definitely paid off! We’re looking forward to celebrating at our benefit tomorrow night.

EDGEWISE continues previews through November 16th, and officially opens on November 17th and runs through December 4th. Buy your tickets today!

I can’t believe that we’ve been incommunicado for over two months now.  It’s really kind of obscene.  Between everything that’s going on (and when you’re a tiny staff), there just hasn’t been much time to blog.

But there’s a lot that’s going on.   Here’s what’s up:

1) EDGEWISE – rehearsals started today.  It’s Eli’s play.  The meet-and-greet was great (“greet great”).   We start performances in less than month.  We love this play.  You will too.

2) THERE ARE NO MORE BIG SECRETS – this is Heidi’s play that we worked on during her fellowship year.  It’s premiering at Rattlestick.  Kip Fagan (of JACK’S PRECIOUS MOMENT) is directing.  Heidi is tremendous.  We miss her.

3) THE WIFE – this is Tommy’s play that we worked on during his fellowship year.  It’s premiering in November/December.  May Adrales is directing.  Tommy is insane.  The other play of his (SEXTET) that we worked on premiered in Seattle this past week.  If you’re there, please check it out.

4) 1001 – it just closed in Chicago.  We heard it was great.  We thought about going this past week, but then realized that, uhm, we didn’t have enough miles.  We wish Chicago were closer to New York.

Anyone out there who wants to blog for us?  Mom?

It’s still raining.  But the exterminator came and our friends are gone.

It sounds like rehearsal was very productive for Froggy.  Matt Morrow and Jen said that they’re working in projections and figuring out foley sound.  Everyone’s jumped enthusiastically into getting the piece on its feet.   Laura has two scenes for Act II of January Joiner – and May and Laura informed us that during today’s rehearsal Andrew (who is playing a fitness instructor in January Joiner) came up with a character-appropriate fitness regime.  We wish we had been there — it would have been nice to have gotten some exercise.  Laura’s a Writing Machine.  She’s cranking out those new pages.  We’ve told her that we want January Joiner to be four acts.

2010 playwriting fellow Eli Clark joined us.  She’ll be working on her play Dead Children in preparation for a private closed reading that we’re doing of Dead Children next Monday (the amazing Annie Kauffman is directing the reading).

Off to dinner at Bru Bar, where we all shared a truly tasty concoction — pizza with mashed potatoes.  I know: It doesn’t really sound appealing.  Trust us, though.  It is.

I suppose that all young theater folk grow up forcing plays on other children who live in their neighborhood.  At least I did.  I wrote various plays, and sometimes musicals, that I would force other children (cousins, neighbors, kids I babysat) to star in.  I got especially angry with children who took a really long time to learn their music (“I don’t really understand why it’s hard for you to just repeat this melody back to me.  No, it isn’t changing every time I sing it!”).

The first play I wrote as a teenager was called TALK OF PLEASANT THINGS and I directed it at my high school, much to the detriment of my willingness and enthusiasm to show my face at reunions.  It was about, among other things, AIDS, alcoholism, and abandonment.

When I got to college, I wrote a play with parts for twelve actors.  Eight of these parts had about six lines apiece.  This is when I got my first lesson in “unproducability.” Rolin Jones, a phenomenal writer who mentored me through the process of writing this play, mentioned the possibility of one or two actors playing multiple roles.  I was like, “What?” and he was like, “Yeah.”

And so eight parts became two.  And the play got a lot stronger and better because of it (not that anyone will ever get to read it, see it, or even touch it).

Somehow, though, I’ve forgotten that lesson in writing this new play.  I find myself with nine characters and counting.  I’m hoping there will come a time somewhere down the line where I can whittle some of these people away, but it’s hard to write about a family without including everybody.

At least I’ve lightened up a little when picking subjects to write about.

Back to writing DEAD CHILDREN now.