Posts from — October 2010

What Happens When Artists Keep Collaborating?

By MARK BLANKENSHIP

In some ways, Lisa Kron’s political comedy In the Wake, now playing at the Public Theater, is a major departure. After all, this is the first time that the writer-performer, perhaps best known for her autobiographical dramedy Well, has written a play that doesn’t include a role for herself. But this production, which probes liberal frustration during W’s presidency, also boasts something familiar. It reunites Kron and director Leigh Silverman, who worked together for over ten years.

What happens when artists collaborate time and again? What does a project gain, and what stumbling blocks need to be avoided? Those questions are particularly apt this month, since several Off Broadway productions feature long-standing teams.

Below, three team members reflect on getting the gang back together.
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Dancer Richard Winsor puts his stamp on Matthew Bourne’s production

Matthew Bourne’s celebrated reimagining of Swan Lake has swooped into New York City Center through November 7. Much of the story follows the original ballet (a prince becomes enchanted with a mysterious swan) and the music is as vibrant as ever. But Bourne’s production adds a tumultuous relationship between the sensitive prince and an aloof queen mother, questions about repressed identity, pop references, and huge doses of humor.

Moreover, it transforms the ballet’s gaggle of delicate swan ballerinas into a fierce male ensemble. Odette (the ballet’s lead) is now the most gorgeously macho Swan of the bunch, also appearing as the sexy Stranger at a royal ball.

Flying into the role of the Swan/Stranger is U.K. native Richard Winsor. His skills as a dancer are vital, of course, but his background in film and theatre has helped him put a distinctive stamp on a role that has been played many times. “Some dancers don’t always integrate acting into their work, and I think that’s really important,” he says. “I try to always be present, open and deliver the story in an emotionally accessible way. I use the movement as a means to this end instead of the other way around.”

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On October 23, Victoria Bailey, TDF’s Executive Director, gave the keynote speech at the National Alliance for Musical Theatre’s (NAMT) fall conference. Under the title “Outrageous Fortune — the Musical!”, the conference investigated the state of new play and musical development in the United States. Below, we are please to present the full text of Bailey’s address.

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So why Outrageous Fortune? Why did Theatre Development Fund, an organization that if you know us at all, you for our TKTS booths,and maybe our
membership program, why did TDF commission Outrageous Fortune?

The idea came from a founder, our first Board President, John Booth. TDF was started in 1968 in response to a concern on the part of some folks at the Twentieth Century Fund that it
was getting more and more difficult for Broadway to sustain serious plays, plays that were meritorious. TDF was started to help stimulate the production of those plays. We did it with our ticketing programs, which have gone on to bring millions of people to theatre who wouldn’t otherwise have gone. We did it with our subsidy program, and we did it with the TKTS booths.

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The four-time Tony winner plays a frustrated son in Driving Miss Daisy.

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Welcome to Building Character, TDF Stages’ ongoing series about actors and how they create their roles.

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There’s a particular challenge in playing Boolie Werthan, the concerned son who hires an African-American chauffeur for his elderly white mother in Driving Miss Daisy. Just ask Boyd Gaines, who’s tackling the role in the current Broadway production of the Pulitzer Prize-winning play.

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Enter the diverse, vibrant world of Cedar Lake Ballet

Though only in its seventh season, Cedar Lake Ballet has already become one of New York City’s preeminent contemporary ballet companies.

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