Saturday, November 15, 2008

The Motherf**ker with the Hat

Saturday, November 15, 2008
THE MOTHERF**KER WITH THE HAT
Written & Directed by Stephen Adly Guirgis
Featuring Elizabeth Canavan*, John Ortiz*, Elizabeth Rodriguez*, Yul Vázquez* & David Zayas*

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Face Cream

Wednesday Nov 12 & Thursday Nov 13, 2008
FACE CREAM
By Maggie Bofill
Directed by Mimi O'Donnell
Choreographed by Sid Grant
Dance Captain Joselin Reyes
Featuring Richard Petrocelli* & Paula Pizzi*

Sunday, November 9, 2008

Thinner Than Water

Sunday Nov 9 & Monday Nov 10, 2008
THINNER THAN WATER
By Melissa Ross
Directed by Mimi O'Donnell
Featuring Raúl Castillo*, Alexis Croucher*, Laura Heisler*, Greg Keller*, Megan Mostyn-Brown*, Deirdre O'Connell*, Justin Reinsilber* & Sidney Williams*

Saturday, November 8, 2008

Burning, Burning, Burning, Burning

Saturday Nov 8 & Tuesday Nov 11, 2008
BURNING, BURNING, BURNING, BURNING
By David Bar Katz
Directed by John Gould Rubin
Featuring Brian Avers*, Katie Barrett*, Eric Bogosian*, David Deblinger*, Charles Goforth*, Gillian Jacobs*, Michael Stuhlbarg* & Yul Vázquez*

Friday, November 7, 2008

The Transparency of Val

Friday Nov 7 & Friday Nov 14, 2008
THE TRANSPARENCY OF VAL
By Stephen Belber
Directed by John Ortiz
Featuring Carlo Alban* (11/7), Liza Colón-Zayas*, J. Eric Cook, John Doman*, Sarah Nina Hayon*, Sandie Luna*, Nyambi Nyambi* & Michael Stuhlbarg* (11/14)

Sunday, November 2, 2008

a few thoughts...

In response to Belinda - thank you for coming to the play and thanks for taking the time to add your thoughts to the blog. it means a great deal.

I understand being turned off by the language and attitude towards God. I'm not a faithless person. I want to respond to you directly, because I think the issue of blaspheming and Jesus is an interesting one.

As you know, out here in the real world there is - of course - nothing wrong with having faith. Many people have it and work on it - and it is an important, daily part of their lives.

There are also people who struggle with the idea of God and faith - and perhaps mourn their loss of belief and react to it violently when confronted by it. The conflict is within themselves. I'm writing about those people.

In my play - the characters are in a great deal of unidentified, unspoken pain - they abuse each other and they are in despair that is generational. The way they talk, think, feel and act whenever God comes up is absolutely accurate to their experience. I'm not trying to proselytize the audience with my personal belief system - I'm simply writing what I know to be true for these people living in the world of this play which includes accurately portraying behavior and speech. They are saying things and doing things purposefully to other characters.

The family in 7 CAPTIVA ROAD has lost their faith and are estranged from each other and God. Even the one character who makes a big show of her religious devotion really has a brittle shell of belief - it is evidenced by her actions in the play. They are all consumed with ineloquent resentment and anger towards everyone and everything - including God. To me - that is an undeniable truth about the human condition.

The unsaid aspect of my play is that there is no room for God in that house. The characters cannot allow it. And so whenever the subject comes up - it is going to be attacked. Imagine if these characters actually challenged themselves with faith? Or allowed themselves to love anyone or God? If God had a chance to be present in their lives - the ramifications would be revolutionary. They would be compelled to honestly confront their pain and their actions and take responsibility for them. I know there are some people who have the strength of character to withstand an undertaking of that magnitude - but these people aren't them. This play is about the 1000 little ways they avoid and deny the truth about themselves, each other and God (in an understated way).

My job as a writer is to reflect what I see as honestly as possible regardless of its potential to offend. I work hard to keep my writing from becoming a stump speech or politically correct. Life and the people living it are often unseemly, uncomfortable and rough. The characters in my play most certainly are. As a result - their speech must reflect their internal emotional/ psychological/ spiritual weather. It's my job to accurately capture it with any and all words.

Thanks again for coming to the reading and supporting LAB and the Barn Series - I hope I've offered a little bit of context.

Saturday, November 1, 2008

Bus Accident Play

Saturday 1 & Sunday 2 Nov, 2008
BUS ACCIDENT PLAY
By Raúl Castillo
Directed by John Ortiz
Featuring Carlo Alban*, Florencia Lozano*, Gina Maria Paoli*, Richard Petrocelli*, Elizabeth Rodriguez* & Felix Solis*