Fencerow workshop anticipation

Tomorrow Son of Semele Ensemble is starting a two week workshop of FENCEROW TO FENCEROW, the play we've been developing for the past 14 months.  (Workshop number three over the past year.)  As I sit here thinking about what may or may not be in store for us for the next two weeks, I feel so fortunate to have this time and support from so many people.  You know who you are!

 

My mantra for the next two weeks.... do not settle.  Keep the bar high, search for "better," make the tough choice,.... yada yada yada.

 

Thanks to the 20+ people over the past year who have helped in the creation of this play.  It's still going.  I can't believe it's still going....

 

Oh--- and I just saw the documentary KING CORN, which is very similar in topic to the play I'm writing.  What a wonderful documentary.  See it if you can.

 

Matt

Study of off-off Broadway budgets is encouraging for LA!

I just found this pretty interesting study on Off-Off Broadway Production Budgets. 

 

I found it encouraging for the small theatre scene in Los Angeles when comparing these statistics to some of the productions we've produced at Son of Semele Ensemble.  Not everything is eye-to-eye... but many areas are not far off.

 

Yes... like anywhere, I imagine, 99-seat theatre productions in LA can be both "well produced" or "poorly produced," however the majority I've seen are somewhere in the middle.  I imagine the same holds true for the Off-Off Broadway scene in NYC.  

 

If anyone knows of a study like this for Los Angeles 99-seat theatre, I'd be interested in taking a look at it.

 

Go here for the link to the file about Off-Off-Broadway production budgets.

 

Enjoy.

 

SOSE member Aaron Henne wins LA WEEKLY AWARD!

On Monday, April 7th, SOSE playwright-member Aaron Henne took home the LA Weekly Award for "Playwriting" for his play "Sliding Into Hades."   Congrats to Aaron Henne.  You can view more info about Aaron and his work at his website.

Congrats to "Boughton" SOSE members

SOSE members Sarah Boughton and Don Boughton (father/daughter) opened the West Coast premiere of "A Beautiful View" this month at the Son of Semele Theatre. The production is receiving great reviews and a wonderful response from audiences. It plays Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm until April 26th.

Information about the production can be found in the Back Stage West review at:
http://www.backstage.com/bso/news_reviews/other_news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003787792

You can view the trailer below.  Tickets available at the door or by going to Brown Paper Tickets.

Save the date -- 7/13/08. Workshop presentation of new play!

Son of Semele Ensemble is scheduled to perform at the Autry Museum on July 13 (time, TBA). We will be presenting the first public workshop performance of a new play devised by the company and written by Aaron Henne called RECORD STORM SPREADS RUIN!

RECORD STORM... uses the Los Angeles Flood of 1938 as a backdrop for the exploration of the the political climate of the age. Central to the piece is the Los Angeles Mayor, Frank Shaw, who later became the first Mayor of a major American city to be recalled.

Stay tuned to the SOSE website and join our eblast for email notification about the time of our presentation. There is only one workshop performance and it is followed by a brief discussion of the material. To see the production webpage, click here.

I have so many emotions running through my veins based on this article. My roots are in LA. I want to shout, "Fuck you NYC!" Because I lived in NYC for 4 years and while I loved acting there, I hated living there. And I did a lot of bad shows in NYC. A lot! People act like the work is so much better there. But that isn't true. There are still lazy actors who don't want to do the work and don't want to act professional and have drama etc. etc. etc. They just have fancy schools listed on their bios like NYU or Yale or Julliard etc. But they are all the same!

I found this article to be very discouraging. Especially for us trying to get grants. But like the article said, "artists find a way".

The weather here is amazing and the people here are so much happier because the weather is better. And well.... the weather is better!

Fantastic article about NYC perceptions of LA theatre

I just read this wonderful article about the perception of Los Angeles theatre from New Yorkers. It was published in the LA Weekly recently. For those like me, who haven't spent a lot of time in New York working and talking shop, it is a fascinating spin into the mind-set of a few New Yorker theatre-makers and critics.

You can find the article here:

http://www.laweekly.com/stage/theater/continental-divisiveness-new-york-and-la-theater/18624/

Matt