The Review (Or How to Eat Your Opposition)

The Review (Or How to Eat Your Opposition)
By Donnetta Lavinia Grays
Directed by Isaac Byrne

Monday May 23rd 7pm
Ripley-Grier Studios
520 8th Avenue, 16th Floor Studio 16D
(Between 36th and 37th Streets)
New York, New York 10018
($5 suggested donation)
RSVP at info@coyoterep.org

PERFORMANCE

I did a show some time ago, one I shall not mention to protect the innocent (myself included), that was somewhat challenging for me character wise. It was a demanding little piece of work, but fun and I found myself growing in the part as time and the rehearsal process went on. I was, you know, processing. We went into previews and I had still not quite gotten a handle on my role fully, but felt confident that once the audience was there I would navigate that delicate dance that performers and audiences do in the theater and it would, in fact, help me fill those gaps in my performance.

After the second preview I was growing in confidence and finding a rhythm. In the meantime I had a deadline to make in order to update my professional acting website and so I searched the internet for past reviews, quotes, images etc, to post. BIG MISTAKE. Because, of course, I came across a blog that actually had a full on review of our show! While we were still in preview performances! The reviewer dragged me through it, illuminating the same holes that I knew I was struggling with, going so far as to suggest alternate casting for the part I was playing. I was furious, felt as though the trust between critic, performer and audience had been severely violated. And I was embarrassed. But, the worst of it was that I let his words get to me. I allowed him to fill that space of joy that I needed to continue my creative process and turn it toxic.

Eventually...I got over it. Did an assessment of the situation and found myself vindicated by having reached the personal goals that I set for myself with that specific production.

And then, after the show closed and the noise died down, I thought to myself...what was that?!? That was an interesting journey. Let's delve into that relationship a little more. Criticism and its effect on the artist. For better or for worse. I began thinking about the Ben Brantley's of the world and their sway over million dollar investments, star making roles, scripts that (after years of development or, on the flip-side, was some one’s get rich quick scheme) have finally made it to the light of day. One good review from the likes of a Brantley or an Isherwood can mean the difference between an extension or the extinction of some one's life work.

But, here's the thing...we in the theater, if we can afford it, are used to taking notes and making changes. We really are. Actors, Directors and Playwrights negotiate feedback every day, it's our job. Do we change the work we create on stage completely based on some review? Not necessarily but...we could. (take the three week hiatus to improve Spiderman for example) I have seen good reviews effect actors to their detriment or elevation just as much a poor reviews. But, theater is this living breathing thing. You will never see the same show twice throughout the run of a production and actors try new subtleties with every performance.

So my question evolved into this: How far could this go? What if criticism made an artist...change. What if your artistic integrity, the precious collection of things you know for sure, is called into question by a critic? What then?

ART

I don't know the first thing about visual art. Ignorant on all counts. So, of course, this is the world I chose for this play. This world seemed like the better place to test a theory on artistic integrity than any other art-form. All a visual artist has is her hands and her inspiration. Whereas an actor (in my world) must be an interpretive conduit of someone else’s art the visual artist says, "this is unfiltered 'me-ness' here on this canvas, on this wall or on this blade of grass. It is what I believe is most important in the world and these are my views on it and this is my mind and how it works." And it's final. Once it's on display it's unchanging until the next piece is revealed. It can be a very naked existence.

So, I took to the internet again to help get some insights into this world that I'd never visited. I came across a paper written by Dr. Claire Bishop (lecturer and author of Installation Art: A Critical History) entitled "The Social Turn: Collaboration and Its Discontents."

In it she argues, "The social turn in contemporary art has prompted an ethical turn in art criticism. This is manifest in a heightened attention to how a given collaboration is undertaken. In other words, artists are increasingly judged by their working process—the degree to which they supply good or bad models of collaboration—and criticized for any hint of potential exploitation that fails to "fully" represent their subjects, as if such a thing were possible. This emphasis on process over product (i.e., means over ends) is justified as oppositional to capitalism's predilection for the contrary."

I found this concept fascinating and wanted to learn more about the evolution of contemporary criticism.

I emailed her. Told her about the idea for the play.

She emailed me back! She didn’t think I was nuts for looking her up. Thank god!

We meet in a Cuban restaurant in Park Slope along with Joe Scanlan, currently the Director and a Professor of Visual Arts in the Lewis Center for the Arts at Princeton University, and talked for hours over mojitos about the differences and overlap of criticism in our respective fields. And it was that afternoon when Naomi's the first monologue was written.

SEX

“In the mainstream theater, I guess I'd have to say that there is still a painful dearth of girl-on-girl action. There are lesbians in plays nowadays, but please, can we have some hot lesbians who are sexual and like to make out? Not to objectify dykes completely, but I would vote for a more public displays of sexuality.” - That's a quote from Moe Angelos, one of the founding members of the Five Lesbian Brothers, from an interview in GO Magazine back in Oct. 2009. I was actually interviewed by Kathleen Warnock along with Moe, Carloyn Gage, Sarah Schulman and others for a piece entitled "Dyke Drama: The Enduring Power of Lesbian Theater"

Now, a lot was covered in the article. And I am not saying that The Review (Or How to Eat Your Opposition) has this quote as its foundation, but it definitely has stayed with me throughout the writing process. Because if I unpack what Moe is saying here. She simply wants to see truth in lesbian relationships on stage. As do I. So my central characters help bring to life the ideas of artistic and personal integrity and happen to be gay. These women suffer moral dilemmas and power struggles in the same way that being asked to take out the trash on my way out is a lesbian act in my household. And, yes...there's sex.

About the playwright.

Donnetta Lavinia Grays is an actor and playwright living in NYC. Her plays include the cowboy is dying, The B Factor, The New Normal and Absence of Faith. She is a founding member of Coyote REP and currently serves as its Artistic Director. More at www.donnettagrays.com

SICK by Greg Ayers

SICK

By Greg Ayers

Directed by Paul Dobie

Monday May 9th 7pm

Ripley-Grier Studios

520 8th Avenue, 16th Floor Studio 16D

(Between 36th and 37th Streets)

New York, New York 10018

($5 suggested donation)

“You wanna see something really scary?” Does anyone else have that first scene from Twilght Zone: The Movie etched into their brain? My answer is always just excited and enthusiastic as Albert Brooks’ character- “Yes! Yes, I do! Show me, please, now.”

OK, maybe he didn’t answer exactly like that in the movie- he was cooler about it than I usually am. But I can’t help it, scary get me excited. And just like Albert Brook’s character, I’ll usually end up regretting saying yes. You see, although I love to be scared, I also have an overactive imagination. Watching a scary movie or listening to a scary story, although thrilling at the time, will almost always come back to haunt me. I’ll lose a night or two of sleep because I’ll have convinced myself that the only way to keep the nasty things that live in the dark at bay is to keep my eyes open. But still, I say yes. I don’t know what it is- maybe it’s the adrenaline rush or the glimpse into the unknown. Whatever it is, it has a hold on me.

Growing up I never imagined theater could be scary. Going to see community theater productions of Plaza Suite and the Odd Couple kinda gave me the impression that theater was a little (or a lot) hoaky. I still loved it and wanted to be part of it, I just sort of accepted that if I were to succeed, I would need to be hoaky too. Fine. No problem. I can do hoaky.

But all those preconceived notions about the limitations of theater were shattered when I saw my college’s production of Wait Until Dark. In that last scene, in the dimly lit apartment, where Roat is coming at Suzy with a knife while she frantically tries block the light coming from the open refrigerator- chills up my spine.

Of course it helped that the actor playing Roat in this particular production was especially good at bringing the creepiness. He would adlib horrible but wonderfully scary things like “Suzy. Suzy, I’m coming. I’m coming Suzy. Do you see me, cause I see you.” I remember, leaning forward with all my muscles tensed up, captivated by what I was seeing- This aint Neil Simon! My heart was racing. I desperately wanted her to get away from him- but how could she?- he was just inches from her. Then black out. She unplugged the refrigerator! Then a scream cut through the darkness- Suzy’s scream. WHAT HAPPENED?!

That moment has stayed with me for close to 15 years. It inspired me to write SICK.

About the Playwright:

GREG AYERS is a proud member of Coyote REP. His two other plays are Rated M for Mature and John and Greg's High School Reunion (which he co-wrote with John Halbach). As an actor, he's currently appearing in Alky, which will run at the PIT in June/July. Greg is a graduate of the Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts.

2011 Works-in-Development Series in here!!

Coyote REP is committed to nurturing the original work of the company's playwrights. The annual Works in Development Series is an intensive, ten-month program which provides a structured series of workshops culminating in a public presentation of readings in May. This year, Coyote REP is excited to present 4 wildly different and unique projects. Talk backs are featured after each reading. For more information please visit us at coyoterep.com Seating is extremely limited. RSVP at info@coyoterep.org. Include your name, name of the play and number of seats requested

The Dogwatcher
By Emily Bohannan

Monday, May 2nd 7pm
Ripley-Grier Studios
520 8th Avenue, 16th Floor Studio 16D
(Between 36th and 37th Streets)
New York, New York 10018
($5 suggested donation)
RSVP at info@coyoterep.org

The inmates of a Georgia prison tell their stories to an advocate to try and save the program that brings one hour of humanity to their week - but is their savior using his powers for good, or is he more like his subjects than they know?

SICK
By Greg Ayers
Directed by Paul Dobie
Monday, May 9th 7pm Ripley-Grier Studios 520 8th Avenue, 16th Floor Studio 16D (between 36th and 37th Streets) New York, NY 10018 ($5 suggested donation)
RSVP at info@coyoterep.org
with Chris Bert (the Green), Alex Brightman (Wicked, Spidermusical), Andrea Caban (Questions My Mother Can’t Answer), Jessica Disalvo, Ben Hollandsworth (A Little Journey), Brian Munn (Wicked), Tom Patterson, and Anita Sabherwal (Future Anxiety)

8 am: Get the kids off to school. 10 am: Get baked with you brother.
7 pm: Defend the house from zombies


They Were Ours
By Larry Manogue and William Walter White
Directed by Beth Gardiner
Monday, May 16th 7pm Ripley-Grier Studios 520 8th Avenue, 16th Floor Studio 16D (between 36th and 37th Streets) New York, NY 10018 ($5 suggested donation)
RSVP at info@coyoterep.org

with Rob Bradford, Le-Anne Garland (Genderf*ck), Jason Alan Griffin (Dancing Fools), Jeanne LaSala (Spoiled Bea), Joel Leffert (The Memorandum), Tim McKiernan, Teresa Meza, Tom Patterson, chandra thomas (Forgive to Forget)

Forty-three soldiers from one small county in Southern New Jersey go to war and die for their country. They were deployed over forty years ago, yet shipped out yesterday. One soldier returns and must tell their stories through those they left behind, because … “they were ours”. Forty three stories, eighty characters, ten actors …a theatrical adaptation of the book “They Were Ours: Gloucester County’s Loss in Vietnam”, by John Campbell


The Review (Or How to Eat Your Opposition)
By Donnetta Lavinia Grays
Directed by Isaac Byrne

Monday May 23rd 7pm
Ripley-Grier Studios
520 8th Avenue, 16th Floor Studio 16D
(Between 36th and 37th Streets)
New York, New York 10018
($5 suggested donation)
RSVP at info@coyoterep.org
with Jeanne LaSala (Spoiled Bea), Lea Robinson, Lusia Strus (Enron), Elizabeth Whitney (The West Street Gang),

Naomi is an artist whose career is taking off...finally. But at what cost? Enter a young critic (Dana) who challenges Naomi's artistic integrity and by doing so finds herself with a challenge of her own. Art or artifice? Depends on your point of view.


Directions to Ripley-Grier Studios:
Subway 1, 2, or 3 & A, C or E to 34th Stop, at Penn Station. Walk uptown to 520 Eighth Ave. Between 36th and 37th Street. 16th Floor.

Tickets on Sale NOW for THE NEW NORMAL by Donnetta Lavinia Grays

Coyote REP Theatre Company Presents
The World Premiere of

THE NEW NORMAL
by Donnetta Lavinia Grays
directed by Isaac Byrne
October 13th-23rd, 2010 (Limited Two Week Run)
Starring Nell Mooney*, Michael Mason, Andrea Caban* and Emily Rossell*

Dates and Times:
October 13th-15th 8pm (Previews)
October 16th 8pm (Opening Night)
October 17th 2pm and 8pm
*October 18th 8pm
October 20th-23rd 8pm

Tickets $18
Available online at Brown Paper Tickets (*Special Monday Night Performance)

About the Show:
Meet Anna, a 30 something funny and frank southern warrior living and thriving in Seattle with her rocker husband and 3 year old kid. As a mom, a wife and a survivor she's handled more than her fair share of drama, but nothing could have prepared her for this. The New Normal: Sometimes survivors need a survival guide.

---
The New Normal is a groundbreaking original full-length play developed by Coyote REP Theatre Company and written by Donnetta Lavinia Grays. Inspired by the life of 2009 Puget Sound Survivor of the Year Anna Warren Schumacher, it is a hard hitting play that tells the unique story of how a young woman finds humor and grace in the unexpected challenges of survival.

Starring Nell Mooney*, Michael Mason, Andrea Caban* and Emily Rossell*

*Actors Appear Courtesy of Actors Equity Association



THIS PROGRAM IS SUPPORTED, IN PART, BY PUBLIC FUNDS FROM THE NEW YORK CITY DEPARTMENT OF CULTURAL AFFAIRS IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE CITY COUNCIL.




Sound SFX system provided by a generous donation from Stage Research

Coyote REP on CBS New York's Komen Special Sept 11th

Set your TiVo's, Kids!!

We are proud to announce that Coyote REP will be featured in CBS 2 New York's Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure Special airing Saturday Sept. 11th at 7pm.

Artistic Director and Playwright Donnetta Lavinia Grays sat down with CBS 2 News Reporter Cindy Hsu to talk about Coyote REP's upcoming production of THE NEW NORMAL which premieres October 13th-23rd at Wings Theatre.

Ms. Hsu also spoke to the woman who served as inspiration for the piece, 2009 Puget Sound Susan G. Komen Survivor of the Year Anna Warren Schumaucher, via satellite from Seattle.
Please tune in to meet Anna and hear tell her story in her own words.

The segment traces the friendship between the playwright and her muse and details what moved CR to develop and produce this groundbreaking new work about a young woman's unique story of survival.

Stay tuned this blog and our website for more information about THE NEW NORMAL!!

4th Annual Rising Moon Gala!

Hello Friends,

Things are in full swing for our 4th Annual Rising Moon Gala and Fundraiser. We have some exceptional auction items and stellar Broadway entertainment lined up and we want you to join the party!!

Join us Wednesday Sept 22nd 7pm at The Players Club for food fun and a fantastic evening to help support our 2011-2012 Season!!

Go to www.coyoterep.org for more information and to get your tickets today!

Meet Mike! Our New Literary Manager

It's the week for special announcements at Coyote REP!

And here's a great one.


Mike Caban has been named CR's new Literary Manager! He's smart. He's experienced. He ours! Meet the man who will help shape seasons to come at CR.


Welcome aboard, Mike. We are lucky to have you.



Get to know Mike Caban:

Mike Caban is excited about joining Coyote REP as Literary Manager. He first became involved with Coyote REP through his wife Andrea, also a company member, in late 2007 as a volunteer working on their annual Rising Moon Fundraiser. Since then, he has worked with CR as an actor in their successful radio play Deception, and is now honored to take on a more substantial role in the Company.

Mike brings considerable experience in working behind the scenes of a theatre company, as he was co-founder and co-Artistic Director of Jobsite Theater, an acclaimed theater based in Tampa, FL. From their humble beginnings playing at a minuscule art gallery that once was a row home in a bad neighborhood, to their present home in a state-of-the-art black box space at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center, Mike was there for the first two years and came to appreciate the work involved in rallying a group of like-minded artists -- all of whom were close friends from university --into working as a company and cultivating an audience. As an actor, he knew he wanted to do shows that spoke to him, that were politically and socially relevant. As a co-founder, he was influential in working with the other members by encouraging them to pick interesting, under-celebrated works by
established playwrights, and presenting them with a fresh, innovative perspective.

But by far his favorite part of that group’s repertoire was the Original Works program, which invited new voices -- starting with the founding members of the company -- to create plays and present them in their October-November slot. Now as a writer, director and company board member, Mike learned first-hand the challenges involved in fostering brand new work and sharing it with their nascent, hungry audience.

To Mike, the most alluring aspect of Coyote REP is their ambition and courage to look from within, to encourage the company to create what they present, and to do so with tremendous success. It is his hope that as Literary Manager at Coyote REP, he can continue in that track with this impressive group of artists and help to discover new playwrights -- be it the person across the table from him or even in the mirror -- and to cultivate an audience that will be back again and again, knowing that they will always have a home for fresh work at Coyote REP.

The New Normal

The New Normal
By Donnetta Lavinia Grays
Directed by Isaac Byrne

Monday May 24th 7pm
ART/NY Bruce Mitchell Room
520 8th Avenue, 3rd Floor
(between 36th and 37th Streets)
New York, NY 10018
($5 suggested donation)

So, back in 2007 I am on the receiving end of a mass email from my mentor Joy Vandervort-Cobb at The College of Charleston in South Carolina. She writes that a former student and friend, Anna Dorcas Warren (Schumacher), is participating in the Susan G. Komen 3 Day Walk for the Cure and that we should support her by sending in what we can. I see the words diagnosed in 2006, battle, fight, baby…and I don’t quite get what I am reading. I mean, Anna is around my age. So, even with those specific words on my computer screen I think to myself, “I wonder who Anna’s walking for?” Seriously, I could not make the connection from “diagnosed with breast cancer” to Anna herself. I think, instead “Dude, Anna got married?? Anna’s got a baby?? Hot dog! I really need to get in touch with that chick!" Then my mind wonders to a couple plays we did together while we were in school and…yeah, I think that was that.

For one thing, this says quite a bit about my attention to detail, but moreover, in my mind Breast Cancer had always been this sort of disease of age. I mean, I knew my neurosis would have me spending the better part of my 40^th birthday cooped up in some doctor’s office demanding another look-see at my mammogram results. There were commercials, morning talk shows and Oprah at 4pm all telling me that there was a threshold. I knew my facts. But, I also knew that Anna was maybe a couple seconds older than me (she was 32) so, there was no room whatsoever for her to fit into that medical community and media driven equation. No room. So, I couldn’t really see the words in that email as the truth. I guess I was shocked and shockingly ignorant.

And then there was Facebook.

I had lost touch with Anna for a while. And then, through the magic of Facebook in early 2008 we found each other again. We chatted. We exchanged inappropriate jokes as is our nature. We laughed “LOL” style. And then I clicked on a link attached to her profile page which led me to her personal blog.

Man…there were pictures. I saw my friend’s beautiful bald head. I saw my friend’s beautiful baby boy, Silas. Her husband, Kevin. I saw her being a Southern girl dealing with Seattle. Yeah. But, I also saw her…drinkin’, partyin’ and cussin’ with other beautiful bald ladies, putting ketchup on anything that moved, cracking jokes and being the firecracker I remembered from school. I saw Anna living. I saw Anna’s babyface making this incredible turn into adulthood and around that corner comes this disease to meet her full on. And I broke. I did. I broke out into tears. I broke into laughter reading about her son’s potty training stories and I broke open with so much love for her and a clearer understanding of why her diagnosis didn’t really sink in for me. The public dialogue about women under 40 being diagnosed with and treated for breast cancer had not reached me and so, it wasn't a part of a reality that I could digest in reference to her.

That dialogue hasn’t reached a lot of people. And that’s what both Anna and I want to change with this play.

The New Normal is based on Anna’s blog which she maintains to this day. It details not only her struggle with breast cancer, but also the joys and pains of being a mother, wife, daughter and a member of a community of young women facing there lives as survivors.

The characters’ development in the play (of Anna and of those in her family and community) have been dramatized and fictionalized, of course, in order to ground the argument that young survivors are invisible to a certain extent and that this specific illness affects relationships and families not only the women who are diagnosed. Their portrayals are amplified to reveal truths.

The New Normal received an initial workshop with Coyote REP in June 2009. Invited guest artists during that workshop were a collection of individuals who either knew Anna while she was a theater student at The College of Charleston, Coyote REP members or artists who where familiar with creating documentary theater: Emily Ackerman (The Civilians), Blaire Brooks, Safiya Fredericks, Chad Goodridge, Carla Musgrove, Laura Rikard and Jeanne LaSala. These artists were invaluable in helping to sculpt a time frame and context for over 300 pages of blog entries.

The first draft received a public reading and fundraiser in August 2009 by Coyote REP at New World Stages. The cast for the reading included Emily Ackerman, Blaire Brooks, Andrea Caban, Jennifer Ferrin, Chad Goodridge and David Lee Nelson. The event also included guest speakers from the Young Survival Coalition.

Ultimately, I want to illuminate a major point that I learned

from reading Anna’s blog and knowing her as a human

being. The humor in her blog is directed at the illness the majority of the time. This is not by coincidence. I think she says through her humor, “look, it’s the people in my life who are sacred NOT this disease. I have it, but I get to define it. Not the other way around.”I hope that this sentiment is reflected in the work Coyote REP has started to create.

Donnetta Lavinia Grays is the Artistic Director and is a Founding Member of Coyote REP Theatre Company. She worked with Director Bill Rauch as an Altvater Fellowship Recipient at Cornerstone Theatre Company and served as Stage Manager and assistant to Fredrick Bailey on the original production of Beth Henley’s Sister’s of the Winter Madrigal at Moving Arts Theatre in Los Angeles. Donnetta also served as an assistant to Woodie King Jr. on various projects for New Federal Theater including BLACK BEAUTIES: Celebrating 100 Years of African-American Women on Broadway. Donnetta has written the cowboy is dying, her first solo play effort, which she performed with Coyote REP in 2008. Her play THE B FACTOR received a reading at Henry Street Settlement’s Abrons Arts Center as a part of the 2002 Women of Color Arts and Film Festival and a reading with TOSOS Theater Company in 2009 as part of their Robert Chesley / Jane Chambers Playwrights Project. She has also presented her written work at Pride Goes East and with Kathleen Warnock’s Drunken Careening Writers series at KGB Bar. Other works-in-progress include ABSENCE OF FAITH, and THE REVIEW (working title). Poetry featured on shortpoem.org.

Acting Credits; with Coyote REP, the cowboy is dying, DECPETION, PATRIOT ACT (AN OCCURRENCE AT YANKEE STADIUM Broadway: IN THE NEXT ROOM OR THE VIBRATOR PLAY (Cover), WELL (Cover). Off- Broadway: SHIPWRECKED! AN ENTERTAINMENT (Primary Stages) Regional Theatre: NO CHILD…(2 Connecticut Critics Circle Awards) JOE TURNER’S COME AND GONE (Baltimore’s Center Stage) WELL (Huntington Theatre, Arena Stage), A RAISIN IN THE SUN, THE ROYAL FAMILY (Oregon Shakespeare Festival). TWELFTH NIGHT (Los Angeles Women’s Shakespeare Co.), MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING (Charleston Shakespeare Co.),Television: RUBICON, MERCY and LAW & ORDER: SVU (all recurring), THE SOPRANOS , LAW & ORDER and LAW & ORDER: CI. Film: THE WRESTLER (Darren Aronosfsky dir.) SHOOK and the Emmy Award winning documentary WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE? Proud member of AEA, SAG and AFTRA. Also a member of TOSOS Theater Company. BA: College of Charleston. MFA: University of California, Irvine. www.donnettagrays.com

The New Play Development Program is our commitment to nurturing the original work of our company's playwrights. This intensive, ten-month program provides a structured series of workshops culminating in our May Works-in-Development Series, a public presentation of readings.

a rhyme for the UNDERground

a rhyme for the UNDERground

written and performed by chandra thomas

Monday, May 17^th, 7pm

The Barrow Group Theater

The Studio Theater

312 West 36th Street (at 8th Avenue)
New York, NY 10018
($5 suggested donation)

“Oh, you’re developing a solo show. . .why would you do that?”

A dear friend asked me this question about a year ago when i mentioned that i was in the midst of developing a rhyme for the UNDERground.

“I don’t even go to see one-person shows anymore,” he further explained as i gave my knowing smile.

Frankly, i understand the reluctance to see yet another solo show. i too have had to endure more than my fair share of overindulgent, dry, self-congratulatory one-person shows. Of course, through the mire there are some beautiful, standout gems, but it often seems like you have to wade through much “mire” to get to the “gems”.

And, as a rhyme continues to evolve, it has truly been amazing journey so far shaping this gem. :^)

The idea for this play started when subway fare was only $1.50. The New York Historical Society was running an exhibit about the enslavement system in New York and i went to the exhibit. Being a native New Yorker, i had known vague details about the lives of enslaved Africans in New York, but the general stuff, like how Broadway and Wall Street were built by enslaved Africans during this era in New York’s history and there was an African burial site uncovered several years ago in downtown Manhattan. You know, general stuff. What captivated me about the exhibit (and is so crucial in untangling this nation’s history) were the personal accounts and specific stories that were instrumental to recounting the intricate history. So, in this flood of images and facts and reflection, for some reason the name Violet stood out among the many placards and signs. Violet was (. . . well, to be honest, all i remember of Violet these many subway-fare hikes later, is that she was an enslaved woman in New York City.) But on the subway ride home right after leaving the exhibit i just scribbled on one of the papers i had collected during the tour, “What if Violet saved a teenage girl today?” (i co-founded a non-profit, performing arts-education organization to work with teen girls so they are sort of always on my mind!)

“What if Violet saved a teenage girl today?”

It is from this simple question that a rhyme for the UNDERground began.

When i finally started to find answers to that question (right around the giant fare hike to $2), the piece was a multi-character, multi-actor play. But as the play called for more poetry, dance, original songs, spoken word and rap, it became clear that there was actually one central voice in the play—the voice of the character “chandra”. All of the other characters were, in fact, connected to this core character in a way that necessitated a single actor performing the entire piece. From “chandra’s” central humanity these other (now EIGHTEEN) characters were there to shape, guide and transform her. It has been amazing (and frightening!) to see that these other characters have always been and always will be pieces of the puzzle that compose this woman trying to figure out her journey.

My friend who asked that inciting question at subway fare price $2.25 has RSVPed as a “Maybe” to the Facebook invitation for the special workshop performance on May 17^th, as part of Coyote REP’s Works-In-Development Series . (Please note that i did NOT send him that invite :^) So he just may be there. . .

Either way—

Albertine

Sam

Denitra

Jameel

Thomas

Fria

Malik

DaStruggle

Christina

Estrella

Male Voice

Lela

Dr. Barkley

Ernie

SaKeisha

Ray

chandra, and, of course,

Violet

will be there on this stop on the ride of a rhyme for the UNDERground.

Join the trend on Twitter:: #arhyme

Originally from New York, chandra thomas is an actor/writer/producer. As an actor, performances include No Child... (2009 Barrymore Award nomination for Outstanding Leading Actress), Coney Island Avenue (NYTW), Reflections of a Heart (Theatre Row). Other theatre performances include contemporary and classical works at Classical Theatre of Harlem (AUDELCO nomination), Public Theatre, Guthrie, Women's Project Theatre, Alliance Theatre, Ensemble Studio Theater, Cherry Lane Theatre, P.S. 122, among others. On screen, chandra has most recently performed in co-star roles on The Good Wife and Law & Order: CI as well as a supporting role in the upcoming independent feature Sweet Lorraine. As a writer, her other plays include Standing At..., A Woman/B Woman, LETTERS (co-created), and many poetry/spoken word pieces; she is also currently working on several screenplays, including the feature LoveMatters. chandra is the co-founder of viBe Theater Experience, an award-winning, non-profit, performing-arts education organization empowering teenage girls in New York City. a rhyme for the UNDERground is her first full-length, solo play. Of course there is more info at www.NYchandra.com.

The New Play Development Program is our commitment to nurturing the original work of our company's playwrights. This intensive, ten-month program provides a structured series of workshops culminating in our May Works-in-Development Series, a public presentation of readings.

What She Means

What She Means by Rebecca Tourino
Sunday, May 16th 7pm
The Barrow Group Theater
The Garret Studio
312 West 36th Street (at 8th Avenue)
New York, NY 10018
($5 suggested donation)

Although my grandmother is still living she is, to me, already gone. I don’t really see her anymore; looking at her, there’s hardly a trace left of the woman I knew. Alzheimer’s disease has taken her, and with her, a wealth of tenderness, a volume of knowledge, a hundred impressions of my younger self. Growing up, she was both my memory and my mirror. What do you do when your mirror breaks?


As an artist, my work had always smoothly reflected me just as my grandmother had. I knew who I was and what I had to say, but mostly because she'd always been there. After losing her I forgot, for a time, how to write. It was disorienting. Maybe I became as confused as she was. I couldn’t make sense of anything. I couldn’t make sense. I wrote the play for her.

I’m a mother now, trying to balance professional and creative aspirations with the most challenging full-time gig I’ve ever known: the care of my two-year-old son. My grandmother always made it look easy. I’m learning, of course, that of the many adjectives one could use to describe the parenting of young ones, “easy” is not one of them.


What She Means is about memory, childhood, grief, and the bewildering process of creation. It's also the first of my plays that I've acted in, and, as such, it's become personal in a way that's new to me. The main character is a writer trying to write a play about someone important to her. Five adult actors play children helping to tell her story. Writing the play, I found myself asking far more questions than I answered. I'm not sure why. Perhaps because the story is personal? Maybe because it deals so directly with feeling small and powerless in the face of a big loss? Or maybe simply because I was immersed in transcribing the voices of five kids? Anyone spending extended time with children, of course, had better get comfortable with questions quickly.



How do you tell a sad story? What if nobody cares?

How can you make a gaggle of ten-year-olds do what you want?

Is it even possible to form words from a place of mute grief?

And what's that cabbage doing onstage, anyway?




Some losses are almost too big to handle, even if you're a grownup. I'm not sure I've come to terms with my real-life loss yet. By the end of What She Means, my counterpart has managed to strip artifice from art to reveal a few hard-won personal truths. The most straightforward conclusion I can draw from my own work, this time, is that I think my grandmother would like watching it. For me, most days, that's almost enough.



(Images, above, by Lorretta Lux)



Rebecca Tourino is a teaching theater artist living in Brooklyn. She’s written two other full-length plays: The Naked Eye Planets, awarded the Coyote REP Moon Award and produced at the American Theater of Actors in New York and Quickening, produced in Los Angeles by Lucid by Proxy and in New York by the Albertine Theater Company. As an actor, Rebecca’s credits include PCPA Theaterfest, Texas Shakespeare Festival, Oregon Cabaret Theater, Rogue Music Theater, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, and the East Bay Actor’s Collective, among other regional credits. She’s also happily nudging her way into the directing area, working most recently with Coyote REP and Invisible, LLC. BA, UC Berkeley; MFA, UC Irvine; Pacific Conservatory of Performing Arts.www.whatshemeansblog.com

The New Play Development Program is our commitment to nurturing the original work of our company's playwrights. This intensive, ten-month program provides a structured series of workshops culminating in our May Works-in-Development Series, a public presentation of readings.

Questions My Mother Can't Answer

QUESTIONS MY MOTHER CAN'T ANSWER by Andrea Cabab

Sunday May 10th 7pm Bruce Mitchell Room
ART/NY
520 8th Avenue, 3rd Floor
(between 36th and 37th Streets)
New York, NY 10018
($5 suggested donation)

I got the idea to write "Questions My Mother Can't Answer" (a working title by the way) after one of the performances of my last solo show, "You Got Questions? I Got Answers!" That piece was a documentary theater collage derived from the interviews I conducted with 8 New Yorkers about when they feel the most isolated and when they feel the most connected. A friend of mine brought her mother to the show. Her mom commented to me that I interviewed people of all different races, genders, & ethnicities, but I had no one in my play that represented her generation, the voice of women in their early 60's. I felt a little guilty I hadn't included anyone of that age. And then I felt a little curious.

Then I started finding friendships, lots of friendships, with women around my mom's age. My husband thought it funny that while my peers were going out for drinks until the wee hours, I was making dinner dates with 60-something year old women I met on the subway! I started to wonder what it was these friendships were giving me that perhaps my relationship with my mother did not. So I started asking for interviews. And unlike with my first piece, every women I asked said yes! There was absolutely no shame in their stories...they were pleased to be able to tell me about the moment they found out they were pregnant, about the fall of their first marriage, and a few things they wouldn't tell their own daughters.
So not only was I gaining the benefit of delving into the lives of these highly fascinating and highly flawed women, they were finding release in the telling of stories, that in some cases, they had never told anyone before. And they had never told anyone before because no one had ever asked.

I tell people when I work in this way, I start from a curiosity and follow my nose until a play presents itself to me. I titled this one before I knew what the heck it was going to be about. So when I interviewed my mom, I was shocked at and grateful for the answers I got. I don't think I'm giving too much away by saying that.

Andrea Caban is an actor, writer, producer, and teacher. She last appeared in Craig Wright's The Pavilion in the role of the narrator and 17+ other roles at Boise Contemporary Theater. Andrea received the 2008 New York Innovative Theater Award for Outstanding Solo Performance for her documentary-based play You Got Questions? I Got Answers! Her play also earned Outstanding Short Script & Outstanding Performance Art Production nominations. Regional and New York credits include productions at The Public Theater, Williamstown Theater Festival, Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, Long Wharf Theater, New World Stages, HERE Arts Center, GAle GAtes et al, and The Hayworth Theater in LA. BA: University of South Florida. MFA: University of California, Irvine. www.andreacaban.com

The New Play Development Program is our commitment to nurturing the original work of our company's playwrights. This intensive, ten-month program provides a structured series of workshops culminating in our May Works-in-Development Series, a public presentation of readings.

WORKS-IN-DEVELOPMENT SERIES MAY 2010!

Coyote REP Presents its inaugural
Works-in-Development Series
May 9th-May 24th, 2010 ART/NY and The Barrow Group Theater

You are invited to support the works of Coyote REP's up and coming playwrights by attending this month long festival of new work! We have always been a company that supports work from within our ranks. But in 2009 we began specifically encouraging our members to write plays for development by the company. The goal is to learn the process of developing a piece of theatre as a company from its beginning ideas all the way through to a full Coyote REP sound or stage production.

We ask that you come out and witness the seeds of this process, offer feedback and lend your own support to these promising writers!

*Talkbacks to follow each reading.

Rated 'M' for Mature
By Greg Ayers
Directed by Paul Dobie

Sunday May 9th 7pm
ART/NY Bruce Mitchell Room
520 8th Avenue, 3rd Floor
(between 36th and 37th Streets)
New York, NY 10018
($5 suggested donation)

Eric, a lonely sixteen year old, is addicted to living vicariously through his avatar in an expansive online video game. But when he starts to neglect his real life, his computer is taken away. How far will he and his friends go to get it back?
---
Questions My Mother Can't Answer
By writer/performer Andrea Caban


Monday May 10th 7pm
ART/NY Bruce Mitchell Room
520 8th Avenue, 3rd Floor
(between 36th and 37th Streets)
New York, NY 10018
($5 suggested donation)

Questions My Mother Can't Answer by writer/performer Andrea Caban, is a documentary-based collage of the true mythologies of women from her mother's generation and her search to fill in the blanks of her own mythology. Andrea navigates through the stories of 8 women as they reflect on growing up in the 50's, getting pregnant in the 60's, raising children, having sex, finding happiness & becoming characters in a play.

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What She Means
By Rebecca Tourino
Directed by Michael Lluberes

Sunday, May 16th 7pm
The Barrow Group Theater
The Garret Studio
312 West 36th Street (at 8th Avenue)
New York, NY 10018
($5 suggested donation)

A writer in the very act of writing a play, five children trying to take over the story, and the mysterious old woman they all love. Battles of will. Games of tag. Existential crises. Inexplicable cabbages. What She Means is about memory, childhood, grief, and the bewildering process of creation.

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a rhyme for the UNDERground
by chandra thomas
Directed by Tia Hodge

Monday May 17th 7pm
The Barrow Group Theater
The Studio Theater
312 West 36th Street (at 8th Avenue)
New York, NY 10018
($5 suggested donation)

“a rhyme for the UNDERground," in a sentence, is not your mother’s solo show! This new work follows chandra, a social researcher, as she interviews people from all over the world as they travel on the New York City subway. While she thinks her interviewees are there to help her with her book, she quickly discovers they are really there to save her from the precipice. Actor/writer chandra thomas journeys through 17¼ characters in her humorous and moving play infused with poetry, songs, spoken word and dance.
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The New Normal
By Donnetta Lavinia Grays
Directed by Isaac Byrne

Monday May 24th 7pm
ART/NY Bruce Mitchell Room
520 8th Avenue, 3rd Floor
(between 36th and 37th Streets)
New York, NY 10018
($5 suggested donation)

Anna is a spontaneous and fun-loving 32-year-old; a hot mama with a new baby, new family and a new life in Seattle. Just as her new life is kicking into high gear she is handed a diagnosis of Breast Cancer that changes her plans. This is a story of survival. This is a story of humor. This is the story of a family fighting with this disease…and it’s also the story of survivors feeling each others breasts at cocktail parties…This is The New Normal.
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You are invited to attend the talkbacks following each reading.

To reserve seats, email info@coyoterep.org with the following information:
Subject: Reservations
Name:
Email:
Phone Number:
Desired Reading(s):
Desired Number of Tickets:
($5 Suggested Donation at the Door)

*Seating is limited so make your reservation early!

The New Play Development Program is our commitment to nurturing the original work of our company's playwrights. This intensive, ten-month program provides a structured series of workshops culminating in our May Works-in-Development Series, a public presentation of readings.