A theater season can say a lot about a theater.
One of my FAVORITE things to do is look at random theaters across the country and see what season they've put together.
To me, a season isn't just five or six good shows, but a collective group of work that defines what your theater and you are about.
A few years ago, I put together my ideal theater season, and now I want to see yours.
Give me your ideal theater season.
I want seven shows.
But there are rules, because, well, rules are fun.
Seven Slots:
The Mainstage
1) A New Work Commissioned by a (Living) Author--and you can pick the author, but tell me what they're writing about.
My Pick: I would want a Tom Stoppard play about Studio 54.
2) A Non-Shakespearean, Non-Greek, Non-Chekhov Classical Play. No disrespect to these authors, but let's try thinking outside the box.
My Pick: Women Beware Women by Thomas Middleton
3) An Adaptation. Pick a work that's not a stage play that you would like to see adapted, and tell me who you want adapting it.
My Pick: Moonstruck the Musical--Let John Patrick Shanley adapt his own script, and have Adam Guettel have a go at it. That's a man who knows how to handle operatic characters.
4) For the Girls. Pick a show that has at least THREE great girl characters.
My Pick: Crimes of the Heart by Beth Henley
5) If Nobody Shows Up. Pick a show that you would do if audience weren't a consideration. Often times when you're picking a show, you say to yourself "Oh, but who would see that?" What if it didn't matter? Tell me a show that you would do if nobody was going to show--and that was just fine.
My Pick: The Busy World is Hushed by Keith Bunin
Smaller Stage
6) The Two-Hander. Give me a great two-person show, and I'm throwing out Frankie and Johnny, because that's an easy one.
My Pick: Fifty Words by Michael Weller
7) The Not-So-Solo Show. Give me a solo show that would work just as well if you spread it out over five people. In other words, if you took away the spectacle of solo performance, could the play still hold up?
My Pick: Sonnets from an Old Century by Jose Rivera
Those are my picks.
Now let's hear yours.
One of my FAVORITE things to do is look at random theaters across the country and see what season they've put together.
To me, a season isn't just five or six good shows, but a collective group of work that defines what your theater and you are about.
A few years ago, I put together my ideal theater season, and now I want to see yours.
Give me your ideal theater season.
I want seven shows.
But there are rules, because, well, rules are fun.
Seven Slots:
The Mainstage
1) A New Work Commissioned by a (Living) Author--and you can pick the author, but tell me what they're writing about.
My Pick: I would want a Tom Stoppard play about Studio 54.
2) A Non-Shakespearean, Non-Greek, Non-Chekhov Classical Play. No disrespect to these authors, but let's try thinking outside the box.
My Pick: Women Beware Women by Thomas Middleton
3) An Adaptation. Pick a work that's not a stage play that you would like to see adapted, and tell me who you want adapting it.
My Pick: Moonstruck the Musical--Let John Patrick Shanley adapt his own script, and have Adam Guettel have a go at it. That's a man who knows how to handle operatic characters.
4) For the Girls. Pick a show that has at least THREE great girl characters.
My Pick: Crimes of the Heart by Beth Henley
5) If Nobody Shows Up. Pick a show that you would do if audience weren't a consideration. Often times when you're picking a show, you say to yourself "Oh, but who would see that?" What if it didn't matter? Tell me a show that you would do if nobody was going to show--and that was just fine.
My Pick: The Busy World is Hushed by Keith Bunin
Smaller Stage
6) The Two-Hander. Give me a great two-person show, and I'm throwing out Frankie and Johnny, because that's an easy one.
My Pick: Fifty Words by Michael Weller
7) The Not-So-Solo Show. Give me a solo show that would work just as well if you spread it out over five people. In other words, if you took away the spectacle of solo performance, could the play still hold up?
My Pick: Sonnets from an Old Century by Jose Rivera
Those are my picks.
Now let's hear yours.
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