My friends Sarah Edmondson and Mark Vicente: Moving the world

http://www.sarahedmondson.com/inspiration/why-i%E2%80%99m-so-proud-of-my-friend-mark-vicente/

It’s All About The Ending

I have a theory. It’s all about the ending.  And delivering on your promise.

Fans were irate after AMC’s The Killing closed out its first season with a cliffhanger and many unanswered questions.  The show sprinted out of the gate.  Artistically, that is.  Critics and viewers fawned over the series, its lush cinematography, rain-drenched locale (Seattle), and mesmerizing characters — the people affected by the murder of a 16-year-old girl, Rosie Larsen.  For 13 episodes, The Killing followed  the detectives — Sarah Linden and Stephen Holder — hunting for Rosie’s killer, the young woman’s grieving family and the political staffers whose car was used as her tomb.

The posters promoting the show in every subway stop in New York featured the prominent scrawl, “Who Killed Rosie Larsen?” As a viewer, you might reasonably expect to find out who the killer was by the end of season one.  Especially given the marketing tagline.  This show was built on the premise of finding Rosie’s killer, and the audience traveled through terrorist cells, call girl services, beatings, a funeral, political maneuvers and the local Seattle mob.  And, still, with just a few minutes to go, a major reveal about one of the characters called into question everything that had been revealed about him (say, what? Holder is going rogue?), and there is no definite answer about Rosie’s killer.

Imagine going to see Bridesmaids this spring and the film being just about the bake shop.  Or plunking down $120 dollars for The Book of Mormon on stage in New York and instead getting a musical about Revelation with the promise of a sequel about The Book of Mormon.

Art sometimes is most entertaining when it plays with the audience’s expectations, but the fine line is tipped when promises aren’t met.  It’s a wise lesson to learn.  If you are going to ask the question, “Who Killed Rosie Larsen?,” please be prepared to answer it.

The Future

On Monday night, I joined hundreds of people, including lots of screaming teenagers, at the Skirball Center in downtown Manhattan for one of the most raucous nights of theater I’ve experienced in a long time. Fidelity FutureStage, a program that supports the arts, particularly playwriting, in New York City schools as well as other cities across the nation, hosted a performance of six plays created by high school and middle school students.  The six plays ranged from dramas about peer pressure and death to a comedy about the love of money.  They were selected from more than 480 plays written during the 2010-2011 school year through the program.

It was inspiring to see these young, promising voices have their work produced on stage and to hear from the students about the impact the Fidelity FutureStage program has had on their lives.  And, also thrilling to hear the students’ friends, parents and schoolmates cheer wildly whenever they entered the stage.  Tony-nominated actor Judith Light hosted the festivities and made for a very memorable evening.

A big thank you to Fidelity for creating and supporting this program.

The Reflex

Last night, I had an enjoyable dinner with one of my favorite friends, Khe, at Angelica Kitchen.  The food, as always, lived up to the restaurant’s longstanding high standards.  The conversation was even better, if that’s possible.  Khe and I met as volunteers years ago through New York Cares, the largest volunteer organization in New York City.  Our worlds — finance (him) and theatre (mine) — at times feel light years apart, yet we know how interrelated they are.  What I cherish most about our relationship is that I always learn something from Khe.

He’s bright, motivated and inspiring…always willing to travel a new avenue or turn an unknown corner.  We are often in sync.  So, it wasn’t too surprising when we found out that we are both into reflexology now.  For the past month or so, I’ve gone to regular appointments to deal with the lingering effects of a concussion and a torn hamstring muscle.  Khe loves reflexology because it helps him relax.  And, let’s face it, foot reflexology feels good.

Now, what does reflexology have to do with theatre and AMZ Creative, LLC?  Metaphorically speaking, the premise of reflexology is that by rubbing and pushing on certain parts of one’s feet results in healing corresponding internal organs and muscles.  In other words, everything is related.  Just like in theatre.  Everything is related there too.

In literal terms, self care is very important.  The best way to be creative and productive is to take care of yourself — enjoy time with friends and family and find time to relax and think.

I’m looking forward to next week’s appointment already.  I’m sure Khe is too.

Thank you

On Monday, May 23rd, AMZ Creative, LLC teamed with Theaterlab to present Northpoint: Voices from a Kentucky Prison, a benefit reading of plays created by prisoner-playwrights at Northpoint, a medium security prison in Burgin, Kentucky.  The event was held at Baruch Performing Arts Center.  What a fabulous night to celebrate the program, created by Robby Henson and Curt L. Tofteland, and to seed this year’s two-week playwright residency.  In late July, Brooklyn-based Mac Rogers will travel to Kentucky to work with the prisoner-playwrights.  He will lead workshops and talk to them about his process.

Monday night’s reading was a huge success, and we have many people to thank for the night.  Lieb Family Cellars and John Morales were our wine angels.  Lush donated lovely smelling items to our gift bags for the actors and directors.  Our fabulous directors — Carlo Altomare, Jeremy Dobrish, Erma Duricko, Padraic Lillis, Synge Maher and Melanie Sutherland — and our talented actors —  Ashlie Atkinson, Kwaku Driskell, Peter Jay Fernandez, Kyle Knauf, Michael Markham, Eric T. Miller, David Sedgwick, and Rick Zahn — were absolutely lovely to work with and brought the material to life so beautifully. Our volunteers — Mary Bailey, Alexandra Cremer, Stacey Raymond, Evan Scott Schweitzer and Aimee Todoroff — were awesome.  They made the night run so smoothly.  Our production team — Synge Maher, Montserrat Mendez, Destiny Lilly (casting director), Orietta Crispino and Chris Kateff (graphic design) — brought everything together.  So a big thank you to everyone involved.  And, John Malatesta and the crew at Baruch Performing Arts Center were a dream to work with.

the not popular pov

Some people will read this article, and react, some will agree, and some will shrug.  Regardless of whether you lean toward the left or the right in the political spectrum, it is pretty evident to me that neither side is doing a good job, and neither side has forward moving solutions.  After all, no matter what opinion you fight for, you are still fighting.  And, ultimately, that is the struggle we must evolve to truly move forward.  And, if our “left and right” factions have proved anything, neither side seems willing to put away childish barbs making me proud of neither group.

With that said, I prefer the person (not their party) who inspires me to think, and this weeks winner is Noam Chomsky.  He even manages a laugh or two.

http://www.guernicamag.com/blog/2652/noam_chomsky_my_reaction_to_os/

Photograph 51 Returns June 3 & 4 at World Science Festival

Anna Ziegler‘s brilliant play — Photograph 51 — ranked number three on my Favorite Things of 2010.  It returns for two encore performances as part of the World Science Festival at 3LD in downtown Manhattan June 3rd and 4th.  Run, don’t walk, to see this incredibly moving play about scientific discovery.  When I saw it last fall, I sat next to two women who professed they weren’t very keen on science, but by the end of the play, they were serious converts, if not to science, then to great plays about science.  Friday night’s performance is already sold out, but there are still tickets for Saturday, the 4th.  Purchase yours here.

23 Feet in 12 Minutes on its way to New Orleans

Last year, my business partner Mozz Mendez saw a one-woman show 23 Feet in 12 Minutes at the New York International Fringe Festival and raved about it in his review for NYTheatre.com. He wrote, “This play should be sent to every school, seen by as many people as possible, it should be performed on street corners. It should be presented to anyone who dares to watch the news, and say, well, there’s nothing I can do.”

23 Feet in 12 Minutes is a tour de force drama about eight New Orleanians as they deal with Hurricane Katrina and its after effects.  Playwright Mari Brown and actor Deanna Pacelli interviewed more than 60 people and culled the play from eight people’s haunting stories.  Deanna’s amazing performance as the eight New Orleanians wowed audiences and critics alike.  She was even awarded a Fringe Excellence Award for Performance.

Now, the play is on its way to New Orleans.  For four nights, it will be performed at St. Anna’s Episcopal Church (1313 Esplanade).  Tickets are only $5 at www.brownpapertickets.com.

For more information, visit www.wordonthestreetplays.org.

‘born bad’ is so good

Earlier this month, I saw debbie tucker green’s born bad at Soho Rep.  I had no idea what was in store for me and the audience.  Thank goodness.  The surprise of the evening was how compelling, how riveting, how utterly heartbreaking this piece of theater is.  And in the hands of director Leah C. Gardiner and a first-rate cast, the play rocks your soul and shakes you to the core.

born bad has received rapturous reviews from the most esteemed critics and won the Laurence Olivier Award for Most Promising Newcomer in an Affiliate Theatre 2004.  And for good reason.  Green’s use of language is extraordinary, see-sawing back and forth between English and Jamaican patois, to a precise, cunning effect.  It reveals the history of the family we see, how rooted and deep their issues run. I don’t want to give away too much, but if you have 55 minutes, run to see born bad.

What’s on the Horizon

Last week, the theater division of AMZ Creative, LLC set two projects — Northpoint: Voices from a Kentucky Prison and Marq as Unread — in motion.  We’re gearing up for the May 23rd benefit reading of six plays written by prisoners at Northpoint, a medium security prison in Kentucky.  On Wednesday, we met with our fabulous casting director, Destiny Lilly of Destiny Casting, to set the wheels in motion and put a fabulous production team together.  Tickets go on sale April 16th, and we’re launching the event’s web site that day as well.

We followed up our Northpoint planning with auditions for Mozz’s upcoming play Marq as Unread, a sexy new adaptation of Dangerous Liaisons, set in Fire Island.  Before heading into production, we’re hosting  a workshop of the play with a reading in late April at the Barrow Group.

We’re excited to have two projects up in the next seven weeks, and hope you’ll join us for both.