Lincoln Center Day 1

So I just got back from my first day at Lincoln Center. I'm participating in the Directing Lab they have going on this year. The subject this year is New Play development. I won't go into to many details here I just want to get the questions out to explore (I'm basically just tired and want to go to bed and am making myself blog becasue i said I would and I'm trying to make it a habit so excuse grammatical errors and short snippets)

The best theatres were all started by friends, and with a few exceptions are run by institutions now.

Theatre was an apprentice craft. Why did that stop? University training. Can we bring back apprenticeships?

Write down 5 things that you need to take your work to the next level. Circle the ones you can do yourself, you'll be surprised how much you can do on your own

Have we reached the end of new play development? ( yes hopefully)

If the dream was an american Professional theatre, haven't we reached our dream? What's next then? Does it need to change? Be completely re-invented?

Those who made theatre companies did it in theatre's not schools. Now Young people aren't in established companies- they're in undergrad or Grad ( myself included)

IS there a divide between the best young actors and the best young directors? If so then who are we working with?

Why are actors still feeling marginalized? Do they fear reprisals for stepping forward? Is it a vicious circle?

Could a theatre give $ to a playwright to create a work completely on their own ie: Find the actors, run a reading, find a space etc.

Up ending the roles Playwright in charge of the room, director at the disposal, designer not designing

Institutional development = dead. If it is still going on we are beating a dead horse

If Artistic Directors were more courageous they would do more plays

Equity is a problem ( I would say it is THE problem in most cases)

Development= Backers Audition

Theatres need to lead an audience, not the other way around

Actors need to meet with the designers ( and they should be in the room from day one)

Hours of rehearsal aren't important. Days of rehearsal are

Do we have to have an entrepeneurial spirit to support our theatre habit?

Speeding up rehearsals to get to Previews are not about getting an audience faster. It is about selling tickets faster.

Objective actors vs. Subjective actors Objective wants to be part of the collaboration subjective want to be plugged in ( I want objective actors)

Notes about myself and my style:

I am not built for speed. I am built for durability. I am built to last. I take the long view.

I provide the actors a crayola box and a canvass. A flashlight or maybe a compass.

Ultimately I provide an opportunity for something to happen

Theatre is today what Opera was ten, twenty years ago. Snooty, High Falootin', for conoisseur's (sp). Opera is the fast selling art form out there today. It is huge right now. Why? Because it recognized that it can not compete with multimedia, so instead it uses it ( snippets on youtube, Met in HD in movie theatres, Blogs, etc.) Why can't theatre do something similar? Equity won't allow it. So instead people in theatre are trying to compete with film and tv by incorporating it. STUPID!

If you are still reading then bless you, you are a good friend. It is disjointed and all over the place, but like I said, I'm tired. Please feel free to respond to anything. Or nothing, as it usually seems to be.

Here's to hope and better things.