Archive for July, 2010
A Milwaukee couple will exchange vows over two acts this Saturday. The couple wrote and will star in a play telling the story of their courtship. In lieu of wedding gifts, they are selling tickets to cover the cost of the production.
Some are calling it tacky, others are calling it genius. It reminds me of the last scene in The Muppets Take Manhattan. No matter where they got their inspiration, it is novel, and illustrates how compelling and larger than life theatre can be — just by telling the stories of every day people doing every day things, like falling in love and getting married!
I married my co-producer and creative partner, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. We both wish the happy couple all the best!
–Sue
July 30th, 2010
Today was a day for taking care of and getting things out the door. Not the most glamorous or creative — but very necessary all the same. It just made me realize how administrative this is, or how administrative any small business is… which is part of what being an artist is, being a small business owner.
It’s not something most people think about or realize when they think about what an artist does, but in many ways, I have to be my own assistant and office manager.
I spent a few years doing that in the “real world” and at the time, I thought I was so far away from this path I’m currently on. Now I realize how vital that training was to my development now.
It’s amazing when we take the long view what we see. Every step is important, and each step is “right”… right where we need to be.
–Sue
July 29th, 2010
I’ve written about the importance of education and arts education in this blog before. I wanted to pick up that mantle once again, and share a letter I just sent today to our elected officials, urging them to support $53 million in funding for arts education for fiscal year 2011.
You’ll find my letter below. The first paragraph, along with paragraphs three, four, and five, were all provided for me here. I added the second, third, and closing paragraphs. If you want to send your own letter (you can do it through email, it takes less than five minutes), you can simply cut and paste using the talking points provided and sign your name.
The more we get behind these kinds of initiatives, the more responsibility we assume for the future of our children… and if we aren’t responsible for them, who will be?
–Sue
_________________________________________________________________
Dear Congressperson :
I am writing to urge you to continue support for arts education by supporting $53 million in funding for the FY11 Arts in Education program at the Department of Education.
As a former educator in New York public schools, I found many ways to integrate the arts into everyday lessons — whether that meant playing a musical selection, drawing an image on the board or using collage to help stimulate the imaginations of my students and help them visualize what I was saying, role playing and theatre exercises were also critical, especially when reading major works of literature and for public speaking exercises.
Unfortunately, not every teacher takes the time, energy, and effort to weave these aspects into lesson plans (especially with so much pressure to teach to the standardized tests). Therefore, a designated arts curriculum is the only way to insure that most students will be exposed to a well rounded education that actually helps them be creative problem solvers in school and beyond.
The No Child Left Behind Act recognizes the arts as a core academic subject, making them eligible for inclusion in broad categories such as teacher training, school reform, and technology. However, recent studies have shown that some schools are neglecting arts education in favor of other core subjects such as math and science.
The arts are proven to help close the achievement gap. The collection of research described in Critical Links: Learning in the Arts and Student Academic and Social Development finds that learning in the arts may be uniquely able to boost learning and achievement for young children, students from economically disadvantaged circumstances, and students needing remedial instruction.
Arts Education helps prepare a creative workforce. A 2006 report from the New Commission on the Skills of the American Workforce said in its executive summary, “The best employers the world over will be looking for the most competent, most creative, and most innovative people on the face of the earth and will be willing to pay them top dollar for their services.” The report includes the arts as an essential skill for the future workforce.
Thank you for your time and attention to this pressing matter. Together we can insure a brighter future for our students.
Sincerely,
Susan Hodara
July 28th, 2010
So, I mentioned yesterday that I had some amazing revelations about this current play this weekend. And it seems I still have a lot more of this race to run than I realized…
But, I’m just letting it steep for now, like a tea bag in a cup of hot water… and I’m taking care of other things, like getting some of my other work out into the world.
And once I figure out where to go from here, I’ll get there. A quote from Elanor Roosevelt comes to mind:
A woman is like a tea bag — you never know how strong she is until she gets in hot water.
–Sue
July 27th, 2010
This weekend I heard two scenes from the second act of the play I’m currently working on. It was a “cold read”, meaning they were reading it on the spot, for the first time. And though this doesn’t always give a full indication of what a piece would sound like, it does give me a clear indication of whether my intentions for the scenes, characters, story are coming through.
Unfortunately, they are not — at present.
Back to the drawing board…
–Sue
July 26th, 2010
In most cases, “stewing” isn’t construed too favorably. For an artist, it’s essential. It’s a gestation period, a time to really sit with a piece and just listen — with your heart, head, voice, body, being…
I’ve been stewing a lot today about one scene in particular and as I sit with it, I’m hearing stronger emotions registering. The pot is being stirred and emotions are bubbling to the surface… and I couldn’t be happier!
I’m going to let this continue to simmer, and hopefully it will turn into something delicious!
–Sue
July 23rd, 2010
I decided to try something new yesterday to help me move past where I am in this piece. I read act II of my current play into a microphone attached to my computer and recorded the session. I waited a while and played it back once yesterday.
Then I played it back again a short while ago. And though after the first listening I couldn’t hear it, this time around I heard a moment — a moment for a character to assert herself, a moment for her to direct the way things would go from that point on, a moment for her to be strong and take her stand.
It amounted to about three lines of dialogue, but it’s a moment that makes all the moments following it that much stronger, and that much clearer.
Though the audience won’t have the advantage of stopping and starting the play as they are watching and listening to it, I’m glad I can use it to my advantage at this stage of writing.
–Sue
July 22nd, 2010
President Obama
Last week I wrote a post about the White House hosting an evening dedicated to celebrating the Broadway musical. I’d like to share the President’s remarks about the power of Broadway here:
Now, as we’re about to see this evening, there’s nothing quite like the power and the passion of Broadway music. At its heart, it’s the power of a story -– of love and of heartbreak; of joy and sorrow; singing witches, dancing ogres. Musicals carry us to a different time and place, but in the end, they also teach us a little bit of something about ourselves. It’s one of the few genres of music that can inspire the same passion in an eight-year-old that it can an 80-year-old –- and make them both want to get up and dance. It transcends musical tastes, from opera and classical to rock and hip-hop. And whether we want to admit it or not, we all have the lyrics to a few Broadway songs stuck in our heads. (Laughter.)
In many ways, the story of Broadway is also intertwined with the story if America. Some of the greatest singers and songwriters Broadway has ever known came to this country on a boat with nothing more than an idea in their head and a song in their heart. And they succeeded the same way that so many immigrants have succeeded -– through talent and hard work and sheer determination.
Over the years, musicals have also been at the forefront of our social consciousness, challenging stereotypes, shaping our opinions about race and religion, death and disease, power and politics.
But perhaps the most American part of this truly American art form is its optimism. Broadway music calls us to see the best in ourselves and in the world around us -– to believe that no matter how hopeless things may seem, the nice guy can still get the girl, the hero can still triumph over evil, and a brighter day can be waiting just around the bend.
As the great Mel Brooks once said, musicals “blow the dust off your soul.” So to everyone watching, both here and at home, here’s a taste of Broadway to help us do just that.
Thank you very much, everybody. (Applause.)
July 21st, 2010
Many of my readers know I’m a vegetarian… but sometimes when it comes to my writing, I can be a butcher! I have no qualms about cutting whole chunks of text, and letting the guts fly where they may.
This merciless trend started in college, in a writing class my last semester. My instructor had some doubts about my writing, until I took a piece and put it through the grinder. When she’d read the new draft, she said, “Now you’re ready for graduate school!” That was two days before graduation… It’s more than ten years ago now, and yet, I still remember and cherish that moment as one of the stepping stones on my journey as a writer.
As protective as I can sometimes be with my characters, I know it’s not a good idea to be so protective of the words on the page. I’d rather “sacrifice” a few words now than find the actors and director spinning their wheels later.
Hacking a monologue (or two) to bits gives a whole new meaning to blood, sweat, and tears.
–Sue
July 20th, 2010
Archaeologists work on an excavation site of London's first theater,Thursday July 15, 2010 . (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)
There’s an exciting excavation going on in old London town. Beneath the site where an abandoned warehouse once stood, the ruins of The Theatre — the theatre where Romeo and Juliet was believed to have its premiere, and where Shakespeare himself may have even recited the prologue.
The Tower Theatre Company bought the site with the intention of building a permanent home there, and on a hunch, asked the Museum of London to have a look and see what they could find. The New Theatre will incorporate a new design that will respect the former theatre’s hallowed space, and allow today’s artistic community to work in a modern space, complete with a 130 seat theatre.
It’s a wonderful way of exploring England’s rich theatrical heritage, while beckoning modern audiences to partake in an ever changing theatre landscape.
–Sue
July 19th, 2010
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