The Mayfair Affair opening

A fantastic opening night last night for The Mayfair Affair – a new farce by Joseph Frost.

Our production is the premiere workshop of this play, which will continue rewrites after the show closes – the Belhaven audience response will help to reshape the play!  Frost and director John Maxwell worked through several drafts of the play before the production and made adjustments to the scenes and dialogue through rehearsals – a challenge for the student actors, which they met admirably.

Mayfair Affair has 7 more performancesFeb 24, 25, 29, Mar 1 & 2 at 7:30 and Saturday matinees on Feb 25 and Mar 3 at 2 pm.

Artist-in-Residence… at a cathedral?

Award-winning actress and solo performer Anna Deavere Smith has taken on the task of being the first Artist-in-Residence at San Francisco’s Grace Cathedral.  Smith is known for creating powerful solo performances through doing extensive interviews in research, then assemble a performance of direct quotations from those interviews, taking on the character of the interviewees.

What a great opportunity for the church at large to look at another way that artists can interact with the life of a congregation.

NY Times Article

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Autism-friendly performance of Broadway shows

A couple of Broadway productions (Lion King, Mary Poppins) are being sponsored by the Theatre Development Fund (TDF, the organization that runs the discount TKTS booth for Broadway shows) to have performances specifically tailored to be more accessible to audience members with Autism – less harsh sound effects and strobe lighting.  Read more about it in this Backstage article.

Religious Art… made by the non-religious

Terry Teachout wrote an interesting article for the Wall Street Journal discussing the ability of non-believers to create some of the most significant religious art – specifically visual art and music (much of the 20th century literature, he noted, came from people of religious conviction).  Lots to consider.

Working relationships

An article/ blog post appeared in the New York Times about the upcoming Broadway production of “Clybourne Park,” a much-anticipated play that most people have assumed would likely be a nominee for this year’s Tony Award for Best Play.  Clybourne Park’s expected April 2012 opening has been put into question after the departure of well-known Broadway and Hollywood producer Scott Rudin from the production team, at an investment loss of over $2 million.  It appears, according to the article, that his departure is likely due to interpersonal difficulties between himself and playwright Bruce Norris after Norris dropped out of another Rudin-produced project.

We often talk about the importance of maintaining good working relationships with one’s collaborators – that being honest, upfront, a good worker, and a good person to be around can positively affect one’s career, often more than one’s level of talent.

We don’t know all of the details of what went on between the two parties, here.  Other producers are likely to jump onto this obviously worthy project, and the producer will certainly continue work with other writers on other projects – it’s unlikely that anyone’s career is at stake here.  But it’s important to note, that the interpersonal things that come between people in educational or community settings do not go away in the professional world.