One of the things I love most about theatre is that there is no right answer. There is no objectively correct way to design a lighting concept or choreograph a dance or create a set. But this is especially fascinating to witness when it comes to performance. We have 8 Cathies and 7 Jamies over just nine performances, and each of them is different.

Focusing on just our three Jamies from this past weekend of performance: there's Phillip who projects a more erudite arrogance on the character, Josh who makes his Jamie more emotionally earnest, and Alan who injects a certain breed of snarkiness into Jamie. Put here in my very simplistic terms that in no way do these performances justice, each of these choices makes Jamie not just some fictional being who can't get his love life together, but much more real. He becomes three-dimensional. He's not just "writer" or "a jerk" or "in love," but all of these things and much more at the same time. The script gives just the structure of a character, the outline. It's the performer's job to color in the lines. How they choose to accent certain aspects or downplay others contribute to the overall image. There's no "right" way to color a Jamie. Each version, as different as they are, can be a masterpiece.

Can't wait to see the next four...

It's really exciting to have all of these people coming back to New Stage, all here to work on the same beloved project. The Last Five Years has such wonderful music; it connects with both the performers and the audience in a way that I've seen few other shows do. We had so many people interested that we actually added more shows than we originally intended! Some I barely remember from when I was a lowly running crew member from our first season. Some are new to NSC just this year. Some are still students, and some are teaching others. But they all have a soft spot for NSC, and for this show.

More later- I have to go pick up a giant wedding cake. Come by the storefront next week and you'll see what I'm talking about.

NSC presents The Last Five Years by Jason Robert Brown

Be sure to see NSC's website for an announcement about our August production.

Check back for more details later...

Graffiti in the news

Did anyone else see the front page article in USA Today last week about graffiti artist Alain Mariduena? Known as KET, Mariduena made a name for himself in the 1980s by spray painting subway trains, though he claimed to have stopped this practice once his first child was born. In October, police raided his home and seized, among other things, 3000 cans of spray paint, suggesting that Mariduena hadn't quite been able to shake the habit, so to speak.

USA Today uses this story to explore the increasingly heightened measures taken by major cities to stamp out the presence of graffiti. They include "An Official History of Graffiti" which mentions Keith Haring as a major player in the development of graffiti. Keith Haring was the subject of NSC's recent production of Radiant Baby, which both studied and celebrated his art.

USA Today muses, "One person's unsightly, spray-painted scrawl is another's social art."

Is graffiti a dying art, a subversive commentary, or an unattractive nuisance?

Check out the article here...

NSC receives 9 CEA Nominations

CityBeat announced the nominees for the 2007 Cincinnati Entertainment Awards, granting New Stage Collective nine total nominations!

The Goat, or Who is Sylvia,
-Outstanding Play
-Local Premiere
-Ensemble Acting Performance
-Local Actor in a Leading Role- Play (Brian Isaac Philips)
-Local Actress in a Leading Role- Play (Amy Warner)

The Full Monty
-Local Actor in a Leading Role- Musical (Charlie Clark)
-Local Actor in a Supporting Role- Musical (Steven Milloy)

Songs From An Unmade Bed
-Alternative Show (Critical Acheivement)

iLove:
-Alternative Show (Critical Acheivement)

To vote for your favorite actors click here!

Stuart Ross flying in for Radiant Baby this Saturday!

Debra Barsha, composer and co-lyricist of Radiant Baby, has called in Stuart Ross, the show's bookwriter, to take a look at our production of Radiant Baby. He's flying in for this Saturday's performance. Come meet him at a reception after the show at Below Zero Lounge.

The buzz is hot for NSC's Radiant Baby to have a life after it closes on July 15, including a possible cast recording as well as remounting NSC's production in another major city! Stay tuned, and read about the buzz in The Enquirer.

Another Radiant Baby blogger

Thanks, Google Alerts! :)
Looks like somebody enjoyed Mikhail's performance...

Rick Baum liked the show so much he wrote about it in his blog!

Debra Barsha was here! She is such a wonderful woman. Sunday's was one of the most emotional performances we've had, both for the cast and the audience, I think in part because of her presence. This show was her baby and it must have been difficult to release it into someone else's hands, but she had nothing but endlessly gushing things to say about our production. The new orchestrations, the set, the performances, the ensemble work of the cast- her genuine warmth and enthusiasm about almost every aspect of the show was so welcome. We've all been working so hard and becoming consumed with ticket sales and publicity and reviews and, not that all that's not important, but really, when it comes down to why we do shows like this and put so much of ourselves into them, it's about the connections that are made. Between the director and the work, the actors and the audience, the music and the audience- everything becomes intertwined and everyone in that room shares a unique, inspiring experience. I say 'we' though I'm not speaking for anyone but myself and in no official capacity. Everyone's response is different, but it is such a shared venture that, at least for me, the 'I' melts into the 'we'. No part of this show could happen without every other person.

I was particularly pleased that our production embraced change from the original show at the Public Theatre a couple years ago. Quite honestly, the original left some things to be desired, which is why it didn't have a very long run, though the potential was certainly there. While I love some of the old classic musicals, in production they also tend to bother me. By example, I adore Les Miserables; I have held many one-person concerts of the show in my car and my shower, and it is one of very few musicals that has actually gotten me sobbing in a public theater. But it's always the same. No one ever comes up with a revolutionary new take on a character, or a different way of staging. Les Mis has become a color-by-numbers musical. By contrast, Radiant Baby is constantly developing, with new artists adding their own contributions. It was so refreshing to see a composer who embraces this evolution. Far from a coloring book, Radiant Baby gives you a blank piece of paper, a box of crayons, and a burning inspiration.

Only two more weekends left- get your tickets now!

Check out this great interview with Adam and Alan on CET

Featuring insights into the creative process, the mission of NSC, Adam's acting process as he prepared to play Keith Haring, and Alan talking really fast!

Talkin' Broadway review

Launch of Collective Perspectives

Radiant Baby composer/co-lyricist Debra Barsha is coming in from New York to chat with us about 80s music and, of course, Radiant Baby! The talkback, moderated by Ink Tank board president Jeff Syroney, will feature a discussion with Debra, director Alan Kenny, and Adam Standley, who plays the fabulous 80s pop artist Keith Haring in the show.

This is the first in a new series we are launching called Collective Perspectives, which is designed to allow audience members and fellow artists to get a closer look at how shows are developed and to further explore the issues raised in the provocative pieces we choose to perform. It's also a great opportunity to hear from the artists themselves and ask any questions.

The talkback will follow the 3:00 performance this Sunday, July 1.
Come check it out!

Cincinnati Enquirer: 'Radiant Baby shines!

I'm terribly sorry that we have fallen so far behind in our blog posts! Everyone is working busily to make sure that Radiant Baby is absolutely as amazing as possible. As if that was enough to look forward to, we start rehearsals for our next show, Hello Again (another musical), on Monday!

Did everyone else know that they don't make mail slots anymore? Not the large mailboxes that can be mounted on a door, but the little slits that push the mail right through the door onto the floor on the other side. Apparently this method of delivering mail, tried and true through many generations, is no longer cool enough. Mailmen (Mail people? What's the gender neutral of that term?) don't want to walk all the way up to your front door anymore, possibly running the risk of having to socialize with the person who lives there, no chance to chat, sit down with a cup of coffee, or have scandalous affairs with the bored housewife with perfect hair who dreams of being ravished by a man wearing shorts and knee socks. What is the world coming to?

Okay, I don't really care that much about how mail is delivered. But we did need a mail slot for the set of Hello Again and they're really hard to find! I drove all the way out to Sharonville and got hopelessly lost trying to find the one tiny hardware store that had one. And then I got back and now they might not even use it.

Sigh. The life of a theatrical underling.

Becoming Keith Haring

Radiant chalk mural

Radiant Baby was out in full colorful force at Second Sunday on Main this weekend. We created a huge chalk mural on the street, drawn mainly by NSC designer Caitlin Kane, with a lot of inspiration from Keith Haring! (I helped color in the lines- about the most help I can be in an artistic endeavor.) For anyone who missed it, here are some pictures, though they hardly do it justice:

iLove was an innovating experience- I've never hated something so much that i eventually loved. Great work to all involved.

Music Rehearsal and Birthin' Babies

Hello all...the production team of Radiant Baby have threatened the cast with bodily harm if we didn't start posting on this blog so here goes...Last night (Thur)all of the actors who play instruments in the show had a music rehearsal with Steve our musical director. Usually directors just throw in the occasional guitar playing actor to add a little ambience, but the RB cast is going all out. We have three violinists, a guitarist, a bass player and yours truly on flute/saxophone. I must say i was impressed. Most singers usually play some instrument a little, but we've got some serious musicians in the cast. If they hadn't been cast in the show, they could've been hired for the orchestra. So when you come see the show (which everyone reading this blog better do) you should know those actors really are playing those instruments. No air guitar at NSC.

On a completely unrelated note I'm including a picture of the lovely and talented Julie Wacksman giving birth to the Radiant Baby on a sidewalk on Main Street. It was a completely natural childbirth.

Sneak peek at Radiant Baby

Sneak peeks from last night's rehearsal for Radiant Baby, which opens in just two weeks!