Rough Draft Manifesto

I realized on friday that there were some very specific things in theatre that I really care deeply about and I want to dedicate my life to the creation, improvement, proliferation, and the service of these things. A lot of hard work ahead of me.

The good news? I am not the only one interested in these things individually, but I am the only I know of that is passionate about putting all of them together.

The best news? I believe that I am also at my best as a director, a producer, and a leader when I am working on these achieving these things.

So what are these things, you ask?

First, let's stop here for just a second and ask ourselves a very big WHY?

WHY should people go to the theatre today?

People don't go to theatre anymore just to see a story unfold before their eyes.

They go because there is the thrilling chance of failure. We know all about out takes, special effects, and stunt doubles. But is live theatre then any better than watching broadcasts of live sports? Live concerts? Reality tv? We may be hungry for stories where the outcome and the execution is uncertain, but documentary films and reality tv are filling that void.

Higher quality stories? More intelligent, in depth, literate storytelling? Maybe once upon a time. There have been a whole spate of high quality TV dramas (and a few comedies) that have superb acting, writing, and direction. Some of them are on basic cable. Essentially free. Certainly cheaper then tickets to LEGALLY BLONDE. Meanwhile plays are getting shorter in general (90 minutes is the standard now), and, aside from AUGUST OSAGE COUNTY, what's the last grand ambitious three act drama you saw? The combination of the economy limiting what people will spend on entertainment and rising production costs are pressing producers and audiences to choose shows focused more on entertainment than substance. From Broadway's jukebox musicals, to cult movie remakes on Off Broadway, to the Off-Off Broadway Bad Play festival, there is a glut of silly, shocking, guilty pleasure theatre.

As a producer of fuckplays, I've certainly been a part of this. I don't mind it. I like this. There is something about live performance that helps both performers and audiences accept a broader range of silliness. Nothing wrong with that. But this new, altered form of vaudeville is not what I am passionate about. And these various variations on the variety show and sketch comedy maybe worthwhile but they are not exclusive to theater's capabilities. TV and film can do that too, and they are doing that more and more.

Spectacle? Don't get me started. Rare is the spectacle that truly moves people and resonates in them beyond the moment. Impressive does not necessarily equal great. It's how perfectly the "spectacle" communicates something to the audience. As simple as a single light on an object on stage or as grand as a giant moving set piece--how well does it help communicate that core idea? And again, how are you going to compete with the spectacle of Lawrence of Arabia, Fight Club, Saving Private Ryan, Lord of the Rings, The Godfather, The Dark Knight, Star Wars, The Life Aquatic, any movie made by the Cohen Brothers, or even with just a close up shot of a beautiful movie star?

I think people go to be a part of something.

And I think that a lot of the theatre we are doing today does not do enough to fulfill that need.

I want to fulfill it.

The things I believe in:

1) Immersive theatre.

That is, theatre in the round, thrust, runway, environmental, site specific, interactive, or any other type of theatre that creates an overall experience that the audience enters into. I am no longer confident in the ability of traditional proscenium theatre to consistently compete with film, television, and online media without burdening itself with bigger and bigger artistic design spectacles that crowds out the story, real creativity, and overwhelms budgets.

I'm not talking about throwing away straightforward stories and plays. But I want create a complete immersion in the play that begins as soon as possible--hopefully as soon as you enter the lobby. I've been apart of many productions that did this or some of this and I've seen plenty of productions that did some or all of this--but I want to strive for all of this--every single time. I'm tired of dipping a toe in or splashing my feet in the water--I want to dive all the way in every time. I want approach every aspect of every show with the goal of "How can this strengthen and complete the experience of this production?" Instead of adding in those moments that break the fourth wall or conventional staging as embellishments to a production--I want those moments, those ideas, to be the production.

And I do think the first step is throwing away the proscenium. Difficult? Yes. But the challenges that this creates require an innovative and kinetic approach that elevates the work to a special height.

Furthermore, there have been a lot of theatre artists and innovators that believed in Brecht's edict that conventional theatre lulled audiences into blithely accepting what they saw instead of questioning it and challenging it. They were not changed because they knew it was just a story. He wanted them to be forced to remember they were watching a play.

Well, when you experience theatre in the round or in an environmental or site specific performance you are always aware of being part of an audience. When the performance happens all around you, you are intently aware of everything that is happening. Your fellow patron's reactions is part of the show. You are not watching something. You are part of something.

Designers are forced to only use what is absolutely necessary. Actors have no place to hide what is really happening. If their performance is not completely honest, the audience will know. Directors must be make sure the events are not just seen--not everyone will be able to see it--the events must be felt and realized by the whole audience, not just shown to them.

I don't want to compete with what film and television can do. I want to give theatergoers something that they can't get anywhere else. I don't just want to tell them a story, I want to give them an experience.

2) Brave New Voices.

I want to focus on new works and new takes on established works.

I want to help actors, directors, and designers grow and stretch and push themselves in new ways. I want to push them to create that immersive experience with me. It will require innovation, courageous honesty, and tremendous determination.

People are hungry for something more than jukebox musicals, cult movies onstage, formula musicals, and B-list TV/Film actors and celebrities in lackluster productions that have feel of an old rock band on a reunion tour--coasting to the bank on their previous reputations on not their current talents and present efforts.

There is renaissance of new playwrights happening in NYC and there is a wealth of new directors, actors, and designers that are hungry for the chance to excel. I want to be a part of helping them excel.

3) Accessibility.

I'm tired of theatre that costs too much.

I'm tired of art that costs too much.

I hate the fact that art and culture in this country are doled out like extra prizes to the rich and well connected. Art should be for everyone. Everyone needs it.

When pop music videos are your culture's most viewed and discussed popular art form--that's an imbalance that needs to be addressed.

As someone who didn't grow up with money and doesn't have money now--I'm tired of theatre being out of reach for me and those who would benefit the most with real access to it. Who needs their horizons broadened more? The Wall St. investment banker or the single mom living on Section 8? I say both.

I don't want to take theater away from people with money, but I want to take away the monopoly that people with money have on theater. I want a non-profit theatre that actually serves the entire community it belongs to.

4) Authentic.

I want to work on shows I believe in. Shows that are grounded in something true. Shows that have been properly developed, have a clear, focused experience to communicate to the audience. It does not have to be linear or even "finished" or even logical, but it has to be communicable and the focus of the entire theatrical experience has to be about making that communication as effective as possible.

It cannot be a lesson, a message, or agitprop. I work in theatre, not in the creation of after school specials, the church, and I am not a lobbyist for political/social action. I love politics and I am passionate about social issues. But I am an artist, not a politician, and I believe that is an important difference. While an audience should experience the author's intended point of view, great art should ask courageous, unsettling questions of the audience and themselves instead of just doling out easy answers or trading in shocks for honesty.

When a truth is revealed to us in or through a work of art, it is something self evident that the artist and the audience should discover together.

Discoveries, struggles, revelations--that's what I'm looking for. Not an allegory that teaches me how to live my life.

The communication of an idea, a feeling, or a state of mind that can be either understood or experienced emotionally by its audience. If it is truly great art then the full, specific understanding of the scope of the artist's idea/feeling/state of mind could only be communicated in this specific way. I know this isn't how everyone understands, defines, and critiques art. But it is how I see, understand, and judge art.

5) Courageous.

Not reckless or foolish, but unrestrained by fear. I believe that the main difference between an artist and an entertainer is courage. An entertainer prefers magic tricks and jokes to revealing troubling, difficult problems that do not have easy solutions. I believe in good taste and I believe that a scalpel is often more effective than a sledgehammer. But I will stake my life and my career on the vitalness of unrestrained free speech in the theatre. I believe that today there is no excuse for anything but absolute commitment and absolute courage in the choices we make in the theatre today. If you are going to say something do not mumble, undercut, edit, or soften it. Say it clearly and loudly. Besides, you're not going to say or do anything in the theatre that you can't watch every night on cable television. Our need for honesty has surpassed any need for prudish modesty.

Let's see film and television compete with that.

That's it. That's the rough draft of my manifesto.

Don't have all the details ironed out yet. Don't have the message finely honed yet. Don't even have a name for this new venture yet.

But I have a goal, a destination. I have my north star. And I know what I want, I have begun to ask where, when, why, how--soon I will begin to work on the where, when, why, and how. I am confident that I will discover the answers along the way.