London and Lucidity

It's 5:40 in the morning and I'm having trouble getting back to sleep. These new plot devices I put in are on my mind. In December when we tried some new stuff, it worked, but who's to say this time? As usual, I am finding music to be an important part of the telling of the story. I cut one character and moved a couple of plot lines but something still feels off. No doubt that and the new title will come to me very soon but I do wish it wasn't pounding on my cranium, so I could get a few winks.

Let's be honest: the main reason I can't sleep is because of Keira Knightley's debut in "The Children's Hour" tomorrow. I am seeing the very first show in the very first row and I'm shaking. This is one of my all time favorite plays with one of London's leading beauties. Though it hasn't been mentioned much, Ellen Burstyn is also co-starring. An amazing actress. Love her.

I wasn't going to go museum hopping until Sunday but I might just do that today. There isn't enough time in the day to do everything, especially when you're in London.

I still say London makes me feel more like an artist than New York. I feel safe here, like I do in rehearsal sometimes. I've rarely been in a foul mood since I've arrived (with the exception of the baby seated next to me onboard) and it's great to just relax and really experience relaxation, not eight hours of sleep then rushing to the subway.

"I think London is sexy because it's so full of eccentrics." ~Rachel Weisz

The Beginning Of "Lucidity"

And so the journey for a new play begins. This play is very exciting for me. It again deals with dreams and the absurdity in our everyday living. It's the last play in the "Katarina" trilogy, and has a fantastic female protagonist named Keira Kamp. I was lucky enough to have success with December's production of "The Girl With The Red Hair" to have Theater For The New City produce this current for me. I have a fantastic designer, Micaela Carolan on board, who is bringing amazing ideas to the table.

I am off to London for a week to finalize the script because, to me, London instills inspiration in me equal to New York.

Most of all, I'm excited to work with this cast. For starters, I have the super talented Ashley Spivak leading us as Keira. Not only does she have a wonderful heart to match her talent, but she has shown such passion for this project that it shines through whenever she speaks to me about it. I met Ashley in a Viewpoints class at Primary Stages and am thrilled we can collaborate on this particular project. She's fun, energetic and extremely artistic. What more could you ask for?

I have my residents coming back on board. The vivacious Danielle Carroll, the riveting Lisa Rosado, the phenomenal Lisa DiFiore and the entertaining Patricia Nicastro.

Michelle Silvani, who will play the much coveted role of Bailey, is another true magician. Just wait until she opens her mouth to sing, you'll be floored. I produced a work she was in a couple of years back and am excited to work directly with her.

Finally, there's the superman powers of John Wiggins. John and I have worked together many times and it's always fun and brilliant. This will be no exception.

The key to a successful production is to surround yourself with warm-hearted people who are passionate about the work, the specific work. Everyone of them embody this and it's just such a privilege to have the opportunity to work with them.

Getting excited. Flight leaving soon.

Gruseome Playground Injuries

A director who produces quality work. A Pulitzer Prize nominated (and snubbed) playwright. A chameleon of an actress. 2nd Stage Theater. Combining them together we get "Gruesome Playground Injuries." Rajiv Joseph's new wonderfully painful play about the dynamics of two people over the course of 30 years. The play is headlined by Jennifer Carpenter of TVs "Dexter" and Pablo Schreiber.


Going into this play is as much of a surprise as sitting through it as a thorough search of google only gives you fragments of the plot. An accident prone Doug (Mr. Schreiber) meets a cutting edge girl Kayleen (Ms. Carpenter) one day in the nurse's office at age eight. From this point on, the play goes back and forth in its narrative to Doug's accidents and his wounds. He insists she heals him when he touches her wounds, and she adamantly states there would be no wounds to heal if he wasn't "retarded." As the play progresses from comedic tone to dramatic, we are let in, though briefly, on the lives of these two through their injuries and how they effect the other. Mr. Joseph writes with passion about the human condition and the ways our emotions intersect. For once, Mr. Joseph stands alone. In that, I mean, he is incomparable to other playwrights out there. His stage directions are specific, his characters are real and there is clearly no message being pushed. He simply writes what it's like to live with scars.

Under Scott Ellis' fine-tuned directing, the play holds its own as a virtually unknown piece of work. Mr. Joseph's new play "Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo" opens in March starring Robin Williams and will sure to have a lasting run. (Bengal is what Mr. Joseph was nominated for the Pulitzer for.)

Mr. Schreiber has fantastic moments on stage, especially through his outbursts. It's a fine line in theater to show the soft versus the hard and he maintained a perfect balance. His chemistry with Ms. Carpenter steals the show and the two have wonderful trust in each other, even through all transitions that are done on stage in mid-light to establish time passing. Doug becomes a character we pity for his stupidity but love for the very same reason.

Ms. Carpenter, known as the hard Debra Morgan on "Dexter", turns in a magnificent portrayal of Kayleen here. From the first scene, where she is playing an eight year old version (I dare you to try and look away from her incredibly range at this opening scene) to a scene of lost innocence and buried truth later on, Ms. Carpenter shows us everything. A natural on the stage, a vision to admire and completely having exorcised Debra Morgan from any part of Kayleen proves Ms. Carpenter is on the rise, even more than she has been. It's in Ms. Carpenter's performance, we get to understand the difference between television/film and theater. For here, we hold our breath and know when it's released, it will be released in the same atmosphere as hers. We get to see the little nuances in which we might not be privy to during cutaways on television. For Kayleen, and for Ms. Carpenter, that is essential.