BTAd - Baltimore Theatre Advocates

Okay, so I'm still fired up about the article. Which I guess is good in that artistic, inspiring me to change things kind of a way; but I'm still pissy and bitter about it.

So as a way to "rally the troops" I created a Facebook Group called Baltimore Theatre Advocates (BTAd). The mission is to create a clear and concise viewpoint from the Baltimore Theatre Community on issues that affect the work that we do. I hope that people will help me speak out and gain back the respect that the Baltimore Theatre Community deserves.

Baltimore Theatre Advocates (BTAd) Facebook Group

If you have a facebook account I encourage you to join. I'm hoping that as a community of artists we can create a clear and collective voice that Baltimore will be proud of.

More importantly though... If you have read "the" article, comment about how you feel, whether you agree with me or not. I just think the focus of nudity is absurd and disrespectful. If you disagree with me, please say so.

I want the community at large to have a voice as a collective. What I don't want is to have everyone just rally behind what I say, I want the voice to be that of the community, spawned from the community.

I'm a little insulted.

I almost don't want to write on this topic because I don't want to bring anymore attention (or website hits) to her article, but I feel I have something to say.

"A diamond in the buff" By Mary Carole McCauley (I have not been given official permission to link to the article yet)
Baltimore Sun, 8/24/08

A clever title for an article that really isn't smart enough to go beyond the superficial, 5th grade health class mentality of "oh my god, that a boy has a penis." I hate to break it to her, but that is basic anatomy that my boyfriend's 7-year old son has known for years.

26 direct references to nudity in an article that is smaller than the picture printed.

Is it just me or is this a little immature of the Sun's writer? As a director newer to Baltimore, is this the kind of press I can look forward to reading about the shows I direct? (if it gets any coverage at all)

Why is there such a focus on nudity? Is that really what's important to this story? It barely mentions the themes of homophobia and racial bigotry that are rife throughout. It is a critique of American Democracy and how our hatred runs through it. Or are those topics just too intense for Sun readers? (I don't think so, but hey, in theatre we believe that are audiences are smarter than that. We trust them.)

Are men changing in a locker room and baring all really more important than the purpose of theatre?

You may ask what I mean by that... I fully believe the purpose of theatre is to hold up a mirror to society and reflect the ugliness and hatred that runs so rampant in our world. We kill, we rape, we maim. The theatre gives us a chance to sit in a quiet place and reflect on what we do. How we harm others and ourselves. It gives us the chance to say I'm sorry. It gives us the chance for redemption.

Ms. McCauley's article does nothing but play against the puritanical roots that still infect the way people think today to grab the reader's attention and trivialize the commitment that actors, directors and designers make to the local Baltimore theatre scene. Let me remind her, that not all actors that pound the boards of theaters other than Centerstage and Everyman are "average joes with day jobs", some are working actors that choose to stay non-union and volunteer their time and their skill because of their pure love for the craft. Not to say that being an average joe with a day job isn't just as admirable, because it is. Baltimore theatre can't survive without the commitment that the entire community makes.

Working in the local theatres, I feel trivialized; like what I do doesn't matter because I don't do it on a Equity stage. But I shouldn't feel that way because the community/fringe world does things that equity would never do. We take risks, we take chances. You don't have to be established or a known quantity to work in B-more theatre. You just have to have a passion for what you do and the talent to back it up. In a town with 2 Equity stages and (at last I heard) about 75 local theatre companies, you'd think the Baltimore Sun and Ms. McCauley would respect the passion that our community has for what we do. We dedicate our lives to the art we make and we want to be respected for that. At a time when movies and TV are killing theatre audiences, the theatre community in Baltimore gives the masses at large an alternative to the mind-numbing b.s. we see everyday on TV and like I said before, it gives people the chance for redemption.

I'm severely disappointed that the Baltimore press treats the community that I have quickly come to embrace as my own in such a disgraceful way. Next time they finally decide to do an article on a "community" theatre in Baltimore, I hope the actually discuss the plays themes and don't get blinded by basic human anatomy.


P.S. Ms. McCauley should take a hint from some other reviewers around the country...

NY Times, a classy way to handle the subject of nudity on Broadway.
The Pittsburgh Tribune did it right as well.
The Seattle PI saw the nudity as normal to the story and therefore didn't even mention it.

And a big break a leg to the Eight Men Out cast! I applaud you for your courage to take on such vulnerable roles and do it with grace and maturity.

After show rituals...

So last night was the beginning of the second week of Helena Troy by Rich Espey at Spotlighters Theatre. The cast will normally go out after the show for a few drinks, but I don't drink so I don't normally go with them. Though last night I felt like getting out for a little bit before heading home.

Honestly, I missed going out with theatre people after rehearsal. It's almost like a ritualistic bonding that happens between casts where we talk and converse, being ourselves, instead of focusing on what character choices we are making. It can actually be about us, it doesn't have to be about the work. Though as when any group that has something in common, the talk eventually came around to the show and which Wizard of Oz character their Helena Troy character was most like. Being the stage manager I was dubbed the wizard, and of course the lead was Dorothy.

It reminded me of when I always used to go out with my friends from school when we were done with rehearsal. I've always seemed to have separate groups of friends that never really crossed over at all. My theatre friends were spectacular, but unless I was working on a show, I didn't see them.

What actors do after shows is crucial in the ensemble building. We read the only review on the show to date over cocktails, soda and appetizers. We laughed, commented and shared how we felt about the review. What we thought the reviewer got right, what he didn't and what we felt we wished he had covered.

It was a good night and though the cast and I are close, I feel that brought us together even more. I appreciate those times where you can really just connect with a group of people you respect.

P.S. Even though I have an amazing job, I applied for the Marketing Director position at Everyman. Wish me luck!

Casting Woes

So this is the inaugural season at The Strand Theater in Baltimore and I was chosen to direct the 2nd show in the season, Watch, A Haunting by Molly Rice. It is the very interesting and innovative script. Here is the description from The Strand's website:

Watch, A Haunting, centers around a young girl named VI living with her neurotic mother and elderly grandmother. Never fitting in, VI spends most of her time in her room or supplementing her lack of friends with food. VI does have a special talent, a talent of seeing people that others cannot. When she befriends a girl that no one else can see, her mother quickly makes an appointment with a PHD who may be after a Pulitzer, rather than providing any real help. Is VI crazy? Or is she simply able to “see dead people…?”

So we held auditions this past Sunday. There was a pretty good turn out, we even had a 10-year old show up (which I really wasn't expecting). I found my lead and found a bunch of talented actresses and one actor that I think would round out the cast nicely.

On a side note - when auditioning, please remove your purse, especially if it has keys that jingle during the entire audition. It does nothing for you or the person you are auditioning with.

Well the Artistic Director sent out notices asking the people I cast if they would like to do the show, sent them a script, etc. I believe pretty much everyone accepted, except there are a few scheduling conflicts which made people have to drop out. Well with the age ranges I have in the show, I have now had to skew all the casting younger. Luckily the woman I cast as the 10-year old girl can look super super young, so I think I can get away with having a 30-year old mom. Then there is the issue of the grandmother. I have someone that is in the next age bracket up from the woman I cast as the mom, but 1. I don't want to insult her by casting her as the grandmother (she really is more of a mom age) and 2. I'm going to have to age her a bit to help make the age gap look wider than it is.

We'll see what happens, if everyone accepts and what not. If not, back to the drawing board...

P.S. I also signed up for the Actor's Center conference in D.C. in mid-late September. I'm kind of excited to get back on my feet and awaken some of those skills that are collecting dust on the shelf. I start the day with a yoga session (always a must have for me), then an improv class (much needed), voice-over, stage combat and then finally a chekov class. I'll let you know how it goes.