How It Was

I started thinking about how to articulate this last night, when my friend Elizabeth (a loyal Dramahound reader!) and Jacob both mentioned the way that the installation worked with the play. Now in a way, that was our original intention- the night in July that Jacob, Tom and I were sitting at Cantina, and I was scribbling notes on a napkin. So I knew Jacob’s work, we talked about his favorite images, and the resonances that they have. And I lived with those images, and tied some other things both into them and relating to them, which is how I wrote the play.

What I first noticed on Thursday at the dress rehearsal, and saw again last night was how there is some kind of actual counterpoint between how the paint is used in the space and how the words are used in the play. I read Francis Ferguson’s “The Idea of a Theater: The Art of Drama in Changing Perspective” in college; I remember spending a lot of time thinking about Wagner and gesamtkunstwerk (total art work). That perhaps theatre in the last 40 years was trying to give birth to that. I can say that given Painted Space and given Brooklyn Lighthouse, it worked. I saw my work be part of gesamtkunstwerk in a way I haven’t before. Which if you‘ve being doing this for as long as I have, is pretty cool.

How It Looked- Brooklyn Lighthouse

Here are a series of photos that take you through some of the major moments in the play. It was directed by Ramona Pula. It begins with B (Jennifer Boehm) standing in the gallery, looking out the window. A (Andrew Rothkin) sees her, and stops to check her out. They insinuate, argue, laugh, sing and dance, and finally part.

How It Looked- The Space

This photo, taken by the co-owner of Open Source Gallery, Monika Wuhrer, gives you a good sense of physically being in the space. I’ve been trying to figure out how to write about this. So here is the space, next is the production, and finally how they worked together.

The Countdown Continues

We are one day away from dress rehearsal, two days away from performance. This is what the space looks like.

Open Source Update

Here are the latest photos of the Jacob Ouillette installation at the Open Source Gallery.

The Day the Dogs Come to Church

In the midst of my rehearsal excitement, I'd forgotten that this coming Sunday, October 5th, is the Feast of St. Francis at my church, the Church of the Holy Trinity. This is the day the animals and their humans come to be blessed, from all over the neighborhood. I have seen a lot of dogs, cats, birds, turtles and some water from the East River, all be blessed by the priests. This year, there will be animal blessings at the 8AM, 10:30AM and 6PM services. I'm always at the 10:30, and it fills up fast. Holy Trinity is the most dog-friendly church I've ever belonged to- it was written up in the New York Post in the past year. For the history of the church and dogs, click on the title above to see Dr. Stephen Hamilton's insightful essay on the church's website. The address is 316 East 88th Street, between First and Second Avenues in Manhattan.

More

Here is the Open Source Gallery as of this evening. The painting has begun!