Shhhhh...I can't hear the theatre...
Synetic won everything. Even the awards they didn't win...I'm sure it was a mistake on the part of the presenters. So what now? Should everyone in Washington just give up and stop having spoken words in their plays? How would Synetic do with a new play? Do you think Paata and Irina could make a magical silent production with a story no one has ever hear before? I liken this to my criticism of Passion of the Christ. I thought that Passion was a very well shot movie, even a well made movie, but if I did not already know the story - I would have had no idea what was happening.
I'm not suggesting that Synetic is not deserving of their awards, but I think it is time for people to stop being amazed by 2/3rds of a show. Lets see if they can win something when the actors speak - and not for nothing, but remounting Hamlet after it had already won two years ago was pretty classless. However, there were several people from my own cast from last year who's behavior could also be described as classless - so I really shouldn't be so quick to judge.
I think that the solution lies in making a separate award: The Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Synetic Theatre Production, Performance, Design, and Ensemble. Yep, that will solve everything - it could also be called "The Modern Dance Award," but I like the more straight forward title.
posted by Thehairyape @ 2:22 PM
4 Comments:
Funny I had that same conversation with Amanda and Jackie last night. Great Ballet shows, but really is it theatre if it doesn't tell the whole story, or if it is theatre does it deserve an award for only telling the most basic story?
Say what you want about Synetic, but their work is always, at the very least, striking, interesting, and original, and that's a hell of a lot more than can be said of most other local theaters, which is probably why Synetic swept. And with their silent Shakespeare stuff, they're making a very simple and ironic point-- that you can take something which is traditionally all about language (i.e. Shakespeare), remove the words, and still have something which is, in its own way, every bit as powerful. And, apparently, the point is well made, even among those who had trouble understanding the subtitled Passion of the Christ. Anyway, where is it written you have to have dialogue to have theater, or that, without words, it's "just ballet" or something? I mean, I've heard of narrow minded and ignorant before, but Jesus Harold Christ on Rubber Crutches... Besides, a show that Synetic did a couple years ago, which had dialogue, WAS nominated for Best Play, Best Director and so on, so you might wanna at least do your homework before you try taking away from other people's achievements. Question: will you be exhibiting this same petty-ass, chickenshit jealousy when Synetic's silent Romeo and Juliet sweeps next year's awards?
These are all interesting perspectives. However, as a longtime workhorse of Synetic, I think reducing what the company does to "ballet" or "2/3" of a show is short-sighted and, unfortunately, misses the point of the work.
People have been reimagining classic texts for years, partly because the mythical archetypes in the stories serve to hook in to some part of our collective human experience.
As an actor, taking the words out of it, has frequently allowed me to dig deeper into that experience for myself and for the almost metaphyscial dialogue I share with the audience.
In terms of taking on a new work, we created an entirely new show without words called "Bohemians" that was a huge hit with audiences and critics (notably Peter Marks and Trey Graham).
As for saying that remounting "Hamlet" is classless: Synetic is a repertory company, so remounting things in its arsenal is part of its function, not a chance to get more awards. I don't think anyone in the company was expecting any kind of Helen Hayes nod for Hamlet given that the show won the major awards when it first premiered in the 2002 season.
I hope someday that Synetic does win for its shows with texts, and given the company's trajectory, I think it will.
Greg Marzullo
i first read this and completely agreed with it, thinking that a particular category for the type of work that synetic impressively produces sounded actually quite fair.
i (a dc actor) find myself coming back months later after a conversation with a friend (another dc actor) who asked me if i had read the responses. so after my curiosity's been quenched, i feel compelled to say that not only do i still agree but i also pretty much agree with the responses.
basically speaking, i dont think any of you seem to be in a huge disagreement either.
its a very distinct craft that synetic accomplishes, and to say that traditional text-driven performances with complex characters creating moments, finding beats in dialogue, in monologues, or with no lines at all is comparable to actors tirelessly pushing their bodies to perfect a physical presentation is an injustice to synetic shows, an injustice to non-synetic shows, and just plain mistaken.
but thats exactly what the helen hayes awards does, whether intentional or for lack of a better practice. they lump it all together, which i agree with thehairyape as wrong. for instance, a one man show in which an actor spends months studying documents, speech habits, mannerisms for a character he's portraying through a monologue compared to a performance built on months of an actor exercising, pushing the limits of their body, and emoting physically while accompanied by music is inappropriate. two different crafts should be respected as such.
but i think the bigger debate here is how can only 60 people act as the authority of hundreds of dc theatre productions? the helen hayes awards are a tired, inefficient, elitist, unfair form of recognition. recognition by a relatively small group of people who have 3 years and an asshole, i mean opinion.
but thats not news. dc's a small town with an unassumingly big theatre scene not getting the proper recognition it deserves. true respect starts with yourself and true accomplishment comes from the respect of those you admire. do any of you genuinely admire the opinion of either one of these guys? http://www.helenhayes.org/sub/more.cfm?id=judge
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