After the Garden is gone

Assuming that the Democrats retake the congress this year (and as we all know when you assume you make an ass of you and Uma Thurman) what are we going to make theatre about? Yes there are all of the old stories, and there seems to be a large number of new plays out there that don't focus on the War or a evil maniacal dictator, but these new plays have a serious problem. They are written like movies or TV.

I just might scream the next time I read a new script with the stage direction, "cross fade." Writers, I thought you were suppose to be the educated ones. I happen to fund my life by working in the "recorded story telling medium" and I can tell you, with out a shadow of a doubt, that the cross fade does not happen on stage. In addition, 45 minutes of two people in an office is a bold step into the realm of boring an audience to death.

Perhaps it more a question of what I am going to make theatre about. I finished my National Players touring in 1998 and started with Rorschach Theatre in 1999, so it wasn't until 2002 that I started directing (read: making theatre.) Every show I have directed was heavily informed by the political circumstances that were the result of the 2000 election. So I guess it's my decision, do I veer off hard left, or hold center and find shows that...dare I say it...make money? I don't know what the path ahead contains...but that may be the best thing for me as an artist, so I welcome the change. As long as the change gets made.

15 days...can't you just taste it?