"The Seagull" on Broadway

Last Wednesday, I had the opportunity to see Anton Chekhov's The Seagull with Kristin Scott Thomas and Peter Sarsgaard, directed by Ian Rickson. The Seagull has always been one of my favorite Chekhov plays and to have the opportunity to see it performed by a talented group of actors and an amazing direction was something I had to witness.

Close to the finale of the play, the character of Nina tells Treplev (also referred to as Kostya) that she finally understands what it is to be an actress. 

Nina: I know now, I understand Kostya, that in our work - and it's all the same, whether we're acting or writing - the main thing is not fame, not glory, the things I dreamed about, but the ability to endure. To endure whatever trials fate has in store for you without losing faith in yourself. I have that faith now, I don't feel as much pain, and when I remember my vocation, I'm not even afraid of life.          (Chekhov, Act IV)  

To endure . . .  that's what life is about. I'm glad that I was reminded of that while watching The Seagull. "To endure whatever trials fate has in store for you without losing faith in yourself." This is something that as artists we need to remind ourselves constantly.  

A Crossroad

Robert Frost once wrote, "Two roads diverged in a wood / And I took the one less traveled by / And that has made the difference." Sometimes in life we chose to go down roads that we think are the right ones. We see down that path and everything looks clear and bright, but then as time goes on, we come to the realization that we should've taken the other road, the road that was traveled by the rest. I've come to the conclusion that the road less traveled, the one I've been on, isn't as wonderful as Frost has painted it.

I'm currently at a crossroad in my life. Recently moved to New York. Recently graduated from graduate school. Currently looking for a job. When people ask me what I do, I like to sat that I'm a freelance writer; it makes me sound less pathetic and more independent. The crossroad that I'm currently on is leading me to reevaluate my life and the choices that I have made up to this point. I no longer have the safety net that school provided and that's frightening. It's something we all face when we graduate school, that uncertainty if things are going to be all right. While being in school I missed out on life experiences that everyone else was getting. And just today it dawned on me that having life experience is better than having two degrees. Who knew? No one told me; apparently my e-mail was lost somewhere in cyber land. I've been applying for numerous jobs and when I get to the skill section of the application, I have to pause, take a deep breath, and I ponder what skills do I really have? There's no box provided to check that I know how to write a well-structured play. Even the theatre jobs that I've been applying for don't want me, I'm not an ideal candidate because I'm lacking the LIFE EXPERIENCE!

My friend Adam gave me the best advice the other day, "anything you want in this city you have to find for yourself." That's exactly what I'm going to do now. I'm going to have to just put myself out there one-hundred-percent. I think people in New York forget what it's like to struggle when one first arrives to the city. When someone is clearly asking for help they don't want to extend a hand, they figure they should also struggle like they once did.

On a chipper note, I really do love living in New York. Last Friday night, I was walking by Columbus Circle and I looked up at the Time-Warner building and I got chills. I live here. I really do live here. And it's incredible! One of my dreams has come true - I always yearned to live in New York and now it's finally happened.

I'm not going to lie and say that it's been an easy transition because it's been rough. But there has been some amazing days though; like sitting in Central Park with Adam collaborating on a new project, to drinking sangria with Lauren and Elizabeth at Odessa Cafe in the Lower East Side, to witnessing an amazing play like August: Osage County, or my favorite passing out KY lube to all the gays for gay pride (yeah that was actually my first job - and yeah I got paid for it). Some days have been lonelier than others, but I know that I'm not alone because I have a strong group of friends who are there when I need them.

Overall, this road that I'm currently striding along is something that I'm never going to regret. This is home. This is where I belong. And this is where I'm going to make it. Hope is the last thing that dies, according to my grandma. I've always been a hopeful person; even when things get dark, there always seems to be a light at the end of the tunnel and that's where the hope lies.

Family Walk-Out

From my previous post some of you know that the Ten-Minute Play Festival just opened at the Paul Harris Theatre at UNLV. Well, we had a pretty good house today. I was helping with taking the tickets and passing out the programs and there was this family with three small kids, I would say they were all around 6 or 7 years old. They asked if the shows were kid appropriate and the House Manager (who happens to be my roommate and the director of my ten-minute) informed them that most of the shows are intended for a mature audience. Well, they still decided to walk in and see the shows. I thought, 'let's see which show they walk out on.'

The first show starts and right at the beginning two characters have guns pointing at each other, they shoot and collapse to the floor. The whole play is about trying to figure out how they killed each other. The main point is that there's violence on stage and the parents (who were sitting in front of me) were okay with letting their kids see the violence.

The second show, is a fun play about two unconventional people finding romance at the Hoover Damn. The only adult content in this show is when the two characters have a passionate kiss on stage, which is not really adult content, but let's go with that. But the parents didn't seem to mind the passionate kiss.

So now the third show begins, which just happens to be mine, everything is going fine until one of the characters says, "That's right you just like to have sex with men and not call yourself a-" The character gets cut off before he can say the word fag or queer. This is when the dad turns to the mom and within a minute, they gather their three children and leave. 

I wasn't surprised by this, I was just waiting to see how long they were going to last. But what I don't understand is how they can let their kids sit and watch two guys shoot at each other, not once, not twice, but three times and be okay with it. And when one male actor says to another male actor, have sex with men, they go running to the door. I just don't understand in what kind of society we live in that this is okay. I mean granted everyone is allowed to raise their children how they please, but if I was them and the House Manager tells me there is adult content in the shows, you better believe that my kids will not be entering that theatre, especially when they're only 6 or 7 years old. It's not "Charlie Brown" for crying out loud.

I don't really know why this bothers me, I just thought that we're getting passed all of this, but clearly people's actions are showing that we're not passed this. And who knows when we will. I just have to remind myself that the rest of the audience did stay and they seemed to enjoy the show. And I shouldn't let some ignorant people rain on my parade, but it's still annoying.

10 to 15-Minute Play Festival at UNLV

The UNLV Department of Theatre opens the 10 to 15-Minute Play Festival April 23rd in the Paul Harris Theatre. This evening of six original short plays continues to be popular with Las Vegas audiences and features new plays from MFA Playwrights in the program.

What happens when six playwrights take Las Vegas as a backdrop and write plays around that location? Six completely different and exciting plays.

My ten-minute, Remains of December, is a play about what happens when the past comes back for closure and let's out the horrible truth. The cast features Spenser Dewess, Rob Bartusch, and Chelsea Brim. Direction by Stephen Crandall.

Performances are April 23, 24, 25, 26 at 8 p.m. with matinees at 2 p.m. on April 26 and 27. Tickets are FREE for UNLV Students. Tickets are $7.50 and on sale at the UNLV Performing Arts Center Box Office. Box Office hours are Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Box Office may be reached by calling 702-895-2787

I recommend that if you live in Las Vegas and want to see some original theatre, come check out these six plays. You won't regret it!

Remains of December Cast and Production Team. (from L-R) Oscar Limon (playwright), Spenser Dewess, Chelsea Brim, Rob Bartusch, and Stephen Crandall (director).