Did You Hear the One About the Carp Who Hailed the Taxi? Part Two

So we teched the play last night in the gallery itself. Since I last wrote, through the efforts of Mr. Grigolia-Rosenbaum, we have acquired a costume designer. And not just any costume designer, but the lovely and talented Sidney Shannon, who I assisted at the Milk Can Theatre six or seven years ago.
The opposite photo is by Tom Bovo, which captures Jacob in Sidney's giant carp head, Cotton in her NY taxi driver costume, and the photo of Tom's that the play is based on hung on the wall behind them. Melanie thought that was the best place to situate the actors in the space, and it looks really great.
The above photo is mine (the blurry one), but it does grab the actors' faces.
So, come to 440 Gallery (440 Sixth Ave., near 9th Street, Park Slope, Brooklyn) tomorrow for shows at 7:30 and 8:30, as part of Tom Bovo's My New York. Of course the R train isn't running this weekend, but you can take the N to 4th Avenue/Ninth Street. There will be wine and snacks and admission is free. Link to the gallery above.

Did You Hear the One About the Carp Who Hailed the Taxi?

My boyfriend is a photographer. For years, I have been staring at this photograph of his, trying to figure out what these fish are up to with the taxi. He is having his first solo show since college, which opens Thursday night at 440 Gallery, 440 Sixth Avenue near 9th Street in Brooklyn. There's an opening party, 6-9 and it's free.
Take the R to 4th Avenue/9th Street, or the F to 7th Avenue.
When Tom got the dates for his show, he told me he wanted to commission me to write a play about a photograph in the show. I actually did have a difficult time deciding. I was all set to write about mannequins in a window (440 Gallery has some lovely bowed windows to put actors in), but I decided on the fish. The photograph is untitled, which kind of makes me crazy- playwrights don't do that).
I started writing in October, and last week we assembled our merry band for the first rehearsal: Melanie Sutherland is directing, Jacob Grigolia-Rosenbaum plays Karl Carp and the lovely Cotton Wright is Mo Avakian the taxi driver. Jacob and Cotton and I have worked together a lot; Melanie and I worked on "7 Sins in 60 Minutes." I was trying to count how many plays of mine Jacob had worked on- I think he's acted in six, directed one and then been in a bunch of readings. Cotton was in "Kansas Faust" and "Deconstruction," and many readings.
We froze the script yesterday, so now I just have to worry about props and the program. More photos to come.

7 Sins in 60 Minutes

So a couple of months ago my friend Cheryl Davis tells me she's been chosen to work on this project with six other playwrights: 7 Sins in 60 Minutes. She's one of my closest friends, but I admit to being envious of her opportunity. I've written a play about avarice (It's Called Development) and I spent years of my life working on an adaptation of Goethe's Faust (a lot of pride). In March, Cheryl told me that they were short a playwright, and would I be interested in working on it? I said sure, and after meeting with director Melanie Sutherland, I was in. So that as I was working on Our Dolls, I was simultaneously writing and rewriting my scene (anger) for 7 Sins (link above).
We had our first reading last Wednesday. It's always interesting to hear the play for the first time, but seven different writers writing the same characters made it really interesting. And despite my worst fears, it really all hangs together. In addition to Cheryl, the writers are Paula Cizmar, Olga de la Fuente, Chisa Hutchinson (who just won the first Lilly Award), Natalia Naman, and Melisa Tien. Great writers and wonderful people.
7 Sins' first incarnation will be at HERE in July, part of their Summer Sublet series. In September, we go to the Philly Fringe Festival, and in August '11 (it looks funny to type that), to Edinburgh.