2 out of Four

proposed: four plays:
-do it by David Myers
-What Where by Samuel Beckett
-Dollface and Stench by David Myers
-Krapp's Last Tape by Samuel Beckett

[[david myers-->> 1-900-my-myers]]

a production workshop proposal by david myers for the second slot - october 25th-28th, 02

images and quotes:

a man in an worn black suit, fedora, white face makeup with a purple nose and black eyelids---opening a box of memories and listening to tapes of his former self. celebrating his birthday alone.

a macho man wearing a fat suit of muscle and talking to his Dollface about hot sex.

a teenage boy standing on top of a table with his shirt over his head and his hands next to his nipples, zapping his girlfriend with his nipple guns, and using his "super-secret-amazing-double-scoop-death-defying nipple power."

someone saying, "time passes." over and over again into a microphone.

a boy shooting himself in the face, saying that he has heard too many Nickleback songs to continue living.

an old man sitting, drunk, listening to a tape of himself talking about making love with the single human being who has made him feel the greatest is his life and us, the audience, hearing collectively the phrase, "let me in." repeated.

spotlights, squares of light, and fully lighted performance spaces.

"I'ma be thuh man uh yr dreams."

"Good.
Time passes.
In the end I appear.
Reappear.
Good.
I am alone.
In the present as were I still.
It is winter.
Without journey.
Time passes.
That is all.
Make sense who may.
I switch off."

"Oh, my Stenchy Wenchy you always know how to get me hot."

"Perhaps my best years are gone. When there was a chance of happiness. But, I wouldn't want them back. Not with the fire in me now. No, I wouldn't want them back."

brief words on fragmentation: I attended one of those special fruity, artsy high schools, and in order to graduate, every student needed to present some type of senior showcase. My junior year, I went to one such showcase presentation of one of the Visual Art students, Tony Law. He was a photographer and his showcase was a gallery show of some of his photography. As part of his show, he needed to hang an artist's statement on the wall in the corner. In that statement, he had some very interesting things to say about photography and fragmentation.

He said that, in his opinion, life is a very quick moving thing and that it is only through photography that he can make any sense out of it. Photography allows him not only to "gain perspective" on his life, but more specifically allows him the time and detailed vision necessary to understand the perspective that he already has (seeing as how the pictures are, in fact, taken from his perspective.)

I thought that the statement was interesting because it suggests that life is too big and moves too quickly to actually understand it while you are living it. It is something that can only be understood in small fragments---i.e. stories, or constructed moments.

This means that, while the artistic representation of the picture is less full of "life" than life itself, it can appear to be a type of hyper-life, i.e. more full, because it is only through looking at the picture (analyzing the false representation) that Tony felt that he could gain understanding of his actual life.

I feel as though Tony's statement rings true for theater and its story telling aspects. I also think that the statement is particularly relevant for this proposal. Tony's pictures are large in their scope and apply to other peoples' lives because they are so specific. Samuel Beckett's plays have the same feel to me. He addresses a huge and very "full" subject and approaches it with glaring specificity.

Short plays do not have the long narrative arcs that the longer ones have. In some ways, however, they are much larger in their scope and impact on the audience member's life. It is a more specific look at the characters' lives (above all, the character's moments) and uses that specificity to give a grander perspective on something quite large: life, love, and death.

Therefore, through the production of play fragments, smaller plays, we can be taking a more specific look at large ideas.

In this particular production, we can have the opportunity to see three very large, very clichËd, and very important subjects attacked: life, death, and love. The subjects are approached through the specificity of the short play format and we have the chance to see the perspective of one of the greatest writers of the 20th Century, and that of a 21 year old college kid in the 21st.

order of the plays:

do it by David Myers.
What Where by Samuel Beckett
[break]
Dollface and Stench by David Myers
Krapp's Last Tape by Samuel Beckett.

this order is chosen because of the several somewhat narrative arcs that are connoted by this structure. the evening starts with people of our age. it ends with an old man. it starts very literal and realistic, then moves to the least literal and realistic. -at the end of do it, we break into the world of What Where.- then intermission. then we come back and talk about sex and love. then we watch an old man talk to his former self about sex and love and life.

note on do it :

do it is the story of someone who is joking around with life and death, toying with the idea of what any of that means. in the end the character kills himself and disappears from the stage, because, from my experience, that is what happens to dead people--- they just aren't around anymore. it's called do it because I am commending killing yourself. not in like a, yeah, go kill yourself for real kind of way, but in a David Bowie/Ziggy Stardust kind of way. in an Awakening by Kate Chopin kind of way. that meansÖ.who you are is who you say you are. when you have created a persona and personality for yourself to inhibit. there is a level of security that comes with that---you have become someone in your giving community. in do it, I'm suggesting that you should constantly be having an identity crisis. you shouldn't know who you are. and everytime that you think you do, you should kill whomever you are and start all over again. do it. die.
as the director of the piece, I will try to heighten the tension of having a gun around at all times. the gun is the only character that never leaves the stage. I like that idea of having the gun lying around the house, almost as if it weren't there. There is a pervasive tension when a gun is in the room, and I like the idea of heightening the actors seeming calmness with the consistent tension of having a gun in the room. furthermore, I plan to heighten the tension between reality and un-reality, life and death, life and anti-life. narrative arc-MALE wants to kill himself. He is confronted with the idea that killing yourself is not okay or justified. In the end, he triumphs and disappears.

rehearsal and actors:

-assumption number one: actors, in general, and specifically at Brown, are pretty damn smart.
-assumption number two: the above is true even when it does not seem this way.

I very much look forward to working on these plays with actors. I would say that there are two parts of the production that I am the most exited about: one is the exploration that actors can bring to this work, and the surprises that will followÖ two is the sting of watching them perform, because I plan on putting up plays that sting.

There will be rehearsals of all of the shows together, but that will not be the general scheduling plan. Probably a first meeting or two with everyone and then we will break up the schedule into smaller play sections. Actors will be encouraged to watch design runs of the other shows, and rehearsals during tech week will include all of the shows.

all rehearsals will begin with a warm up and check in. do it: right now my plan for beginning a rehearsal of do it, is to have the actor playing MALE scream as loud as he can and for the rest of us to watch him. [we'll see what comes out of that-if nothing good, we'll find something else] I would like to do table work and physical exploration of the actors' bodies for the first 3 or 4 rehearsals, depending on what we discover. I'm a big fan of movement excercises and plan on using the animal exercise for this show.

What Where: I will make sure that the rigidity of the text does not result in a tightening of creativity. Part of the way that I think this will manifest is by stopping actors occasionally, asking them how they feel right now, and having them continue by saying whatever they want. This technique has been used on me in the past and has been quite effective in terms of giving a sense of groundedness. I am also interested in using some Meisner repetition exercises because the power of this piece lies in its repetition.

Dollface and Stench: We will watch some movies for this one. I want the actors to see some of the classic couples of film and stage. Things like Higgins and Eliza Doolittle, George Burns and Gracy Allen, Mike Nichols and Elaine May singing back and forth and, footage of songs like, Anything you can do I can do better. I believe that this will communicate to the actors some of the tradition of archetypal men and women. I'm sure that the actors will as well come in with many of their own stories that speak to this. After that, when we get up on our feet, Lowry Marshall's good ole stolen, "All for love," "All for hate," exercise will be employed. My goal will be to stretch the actors and have them bring a sense of reality and performativity to the piece.

Krapp's Last Tape: Similar things will be done with this actor as with the actors for Dollface and Stench. He needs to see some classic examples of clowning, and clowning with meaning. I'm thinking mostly Charlie Chaplin movies at this point. Clowns who are trapped. Regular check ins will also be an important part of this rehearsal process. I will ask the actor for many stories from his personal life, and will share stories from mine, as I believe that to be a way to open up the story telling process.

note on What Where :

the rhythm of this play is soothing in the same way as is the song Big Poppa by Biggy Smalls. I am not saying that I want to base and/or relate this production in anyway to Biggy Smalls. I am, however, expressing a choice for the VOICE OF BAM character. I want him to be relaxed and "chill," not in a homeboy sort of way either, but in a Sam Beckett, "this is what I think life is" way. The play functions on its repetition and if the VOICE OF BAM is too mechanical the piece will be nearly unwatchable. Sam Beckett analyzes life as a separate being in this play. It seems to take the stance of some other person with whom a relationship must be established. I think of this play as working the same way that certain Indian and Scottish musics work, where there is a constant droan going on in the background, and then many different rhythmic or melodic elements playing on top. While I don't think a droan should be heard, [necessarily], I feel that this droan is something that the VOICE OF BAM is plugged into and the others are not. He will be the calm droan, and the others will be the rhythmic or melodic sections functioning on top. narrative arc---Voice of Bam wants to show us a demonstrative narrative. It is difficult to get it right. In the end, he triumphs, and switches off.

the context of Brown:

---pw is, from my experience, the center of intellectual, artistic life on the Brown University campus. this puts a large responsibility on pw as a producing team, and certainly pw has stood up to that challenge in the past. however, I remember a certain pw meeting about a year ago in which it was collectively decided that while the theater that pw had been producing up to that point was great, the organization had an interest as a whole in producing more theater based in experimental forms. Certainly pw has produced some theater headed in that direction. I believe that it is time that we produce more. the brown public reflects that which is thrown at it. people see that the upstairs space is used effectively as a performance space, and pretty soon it's hard to find an open weekend in the upstairs space. a similar thing can happen with theater that pushes the envelope. this proposal gives pw the opportunity to present one of the classically experimental writers of the 20th century-and a man clearly in the collective unconscious of this campus, there is another Beckett proposal this round and was almost a Beckett proposal last yearÖ..hungry Brown students-and a Brown student (namely me) as he makes attempts at the experimental. we have the opportunity to show how a dead writer and a contemporary writer interact on the stage. I dare say-are you ready for this?-that we have the opportunity to present a palimpsest of writing for the theater.

generally this section is easier and more direct for some of the plays than for the others. I believe that these plays will be aided by the fact that they are presented at Brown. I want to see some plays that aren't well-made plays. I want to see some poorly made plays and that's why I'm trying to put up my own writing [laugh]. but seriously folksÖ.

do it: it's about college kids. in terms of the audience relating to the characters, I don't think that pw could find a better play to produce. killing yourself means re-inventing yourself when you are re-born. who am I going to be? should I be anybody anyway? -I feel like those are pretty college-y questions. Also, I feel like we spend a lot of time at this school talking about reality, contextualization and identity. Well, shit, that's what this play is about.

What Where: to me, this play is telling us to sit down at Ocean's, buy life a cup of coffee, and say, "you know life, I want to be friends with you. how the hell are ya?" It's a relaxing play. It is a play that has consistently made me feel good. I think that it will be received in the Brown Community as a free-ing play. First, in its style-it breaks down theatrical conventions and works outside of some of them (this = more freedom theatrically). Second-it is free-ing in its conception of life. VOICE OF BAM speaks calmly into the microphone while people are "given the works." And that's just what happens. People are given the works. And it happens to everyone. And in the end, we switch off.

Dollface and Stench: this play is about archetypal images of men and women and playing around with those images. both men and women go to Brown. how's that for continuity? not only that, but many of the men and women who go to Brown feel trapped and/or try to break free from these images. Gender is perceived as representation in this play. [the characters are not only conscious of how they are programmed by their gender, they are also conscious of the fact that they are actors representing characters. it will hopefull turn out to be a mimetic dream!] this is a play that will be strengthened by the fact that a large percentage of the people in the audience have read something having to do with Gender Theory. Not every school has a Gender Studies department.

Krapp's Last Tape: In some ways, it is always useful to see the other side of the mirror. Standardly speaking, Krapp sits in a moment of life almost completely opposite of where most Brown students find themselves right now. He talks about the life that has passed by. He listens to his former self. Most of us-my experience-are more in a place of getting pysched up for the big great life that we are about to go out there and live. This is, after all, Krapp's LAST tape. I doubt that many of us are beyond our first or second. There is a value to these projections of the future. There is a value in exploring the last tape when you are making the first one. The connection to one's grandparents is often stronger and more mystical than the connection to one's parents. Because kids and grandparents are in similar, opposite positions in life. At Brown, Krapp's Last Tape is conceptualized as a look onto the other side, the distant future, and therefore the present.

note on Dollface and Stench:

"(Dollface coos.)"
it's a play that talks about gender and sex and what that means and why that is so important. as a director, I would like this play to hit from all ends and not make its point in a single instant. there are many unexpected parts of this script. and I want the microphone exchange to feel like a battle of the sexes. the current idea is to have Stench in a fat suit that will serve not only to make the actor look larger and more muscular, but also serve effectively as a method of representing gender. Men have muscles. And women don't. That's what this play talks about. narrative arc--- the couple strives to understand itself. it is confronted with pre-programmed archetypal images. in the end, it fails, and is left in confusion.

moment:

it's from Krapp's Last Tape- there is a table/desk on stage, surrounded by chairs, with a reel to reel sitting on it, and boxes and boxes of audio tape around. things are a-clutter and organized in the way that old men who used to be very organized, and now only feel as though they are organized organize things. there is light shining from above the table/desk, which is surrounded by darkness. Krapp sits. he is an old man, has a white face, black eyelids, and a slightly purple nose. we have seen him exit the stage and return drunker than when he left. we have been listening with him to his former self. we have watched him laugh with his former self, and we have watched his former self laugh at him. Krapp sits. he rewinds the tape to hear his favorite part that we have already heard once. Krapp listens. "Sun blazing down, bit of a breeze, water nice an lively. I noticed a scratch on her thigh and asked her how she came by it. Picking gooseberries, she said. I said again I thought it was hopeless and no good going on and she agreed, without opening her eyes. [pause] I asked her to look at me and after a few moments-[pause]-after a few moments she did, but the eyes just slits, because of the glare." --- Krapp's face glares, tight eyes, and stares down his memory. --- "I bent over her to get them in the shadow and they opened. [pause. low.] Let me in. [pause.]" --- we see Krapp's clown like face swell with emotion --- "We drifted in among the flags and stuck. The way they went down, sighing, before the stem! [pause]" --- Krapp expands. --- "I lay down across her with my face in her breasts and my hand on her. We lay there without moving. But under us all moved, and moved us, gently, up and down, and from side to side." --- Krapp loses himself for a minute. He begins to rock slightly. He is making love. --- "[pause] Past midnight. Never knew" --- Krapp abruptly turns off the tape and (metaphorically) (realistically) throws his memory away. He says that he doesn't want it anymore. He's done. And then we move onto the next moment.

note on Krapp's Last Tape:

a large part of this play deal with perspective. the perspective that Krapp now has on his former self, and the different perspectives that he has had on different subject matters throughout his life. in terms of design, I would like to have his table/desk surrounded with many different chairs that he can sit and rise from. this will put into literal form the idea of multiple perspectives. narrative arc--- Krapp tries to justify his past decisions by confronting his memory. In the end he failes and is overrun by the past.

some words from the set designer:

2 out of 4 rolled into 1--------‡ 4 plays, two acts, one set. A simple, square stage, raised just below a foot, 16'x 16'. An exaggerated herringbone floor, evoking the microcosm on the macro scale. This is a slice of built life standing in for the whole , a house described by its hardwoods. Surrounding the deck, at floor level: grass. Live grass. Homegrown, along three sides. A slightly surreal border to set off the stage, and place it apart [but still familiar] to the audience. Rising from each corner, a thin post marking the exterior lines of unrealized walls.

essentially, an exposed box surrounded by grass.

Act I, do it: Simple, sparse furniture to create the kitchen [two chairs, one table] and the bedroom [one futon, placed luxuriously on the floor]. Not much else. Some kitchen things, a meal at dinner, a candle or three: collegiate living outside the dorm. Act I, What Where: no scenery, just light. Actors enter and exit, the voice of Bam speaking from the grass. The stage plays out his instructions.

Break: A shift [literal]. The stage, exposed box, flat fro an act, tilts to a rake. Our box proffers Act II to the audience, tilted forward for your viewing pleasure.

Act II. Dollface and Stench: Same scene as do it. A table, two chairs, and the luxurious futon. A microphonic repartee on the lawn. Return to table.

Act II. Krapp's Last Tape: A desk, a reel-to-reel, a considerable collection of spools. A variety of chairs, three, spaced around the square. A step down the back to access the booze.

The aim? A simple but evocative visual display to function for four very separate yet interconnected plays.

--NMR

It problematizes the idea of reality. This is accomplished by having the real grass next to the stage. Of course, the grass isn't really real. Well, it's real, but is has the frame around it, but it is the frame. [Ah-mazing!] This is supported by the text of everyone of the shows. do it is about entering another reality. What Where takes place in an abstract reality. Dollface and Stench is about representation. Krapp's Last Tape is about perspective. All of this is exemplified in the set design.

--mars.

budget:

set: $350 publicity: $75
costumes: $150 props: $75
total: $650

peeps:

Production Manager-----) Adam Immerwahr
Set Designer--------------) Nick Risteen
Lighting Designer-------) Adam Griska
Sound Designer----------) Sam Posner
Stage Manager------) Briel Steinberg
Master Electrician------) Henry Ben Clarendon
Technical Director--------------) Carter Somerset Romansky
TD mentor-----) Dov-y.
Painter/Stainer-------------)Anne Martin
Costume Designer----) Olivia Rasini
Props Designer------------) Lindsey Albertson

directors help david committee:

this committee exists because I am presenting two plays that I have written and will likely need some outside feedback on these processes-more so than just plain ole directors would need, even though, in general, I'm a fan of this kind of help anyway.
Nicholas Rosenblum
Rebecca Melsky
Michael Linden
Judson Merrill
Mac (Pat) Vaughey.
Maria Goyannes