By: Emma Martin This past weekend, I had the privilege of visiting my mentor, Quiara Hudes, and seeing her magnificent play at 2nd Stage Theater, The Happiest Song Plays Last. The weather was perfect for walking around New York City. We started with a tour of the theater and the stage. The set was beautiful and intriguing - foreshadowing of the story that would unfold there in just a few hours. Quiara described the Chicago set of her play, which was entirely different. It’s amazing how many different perspectives there are for a single work of art. Then, we got lunch at a diner and discussed what I was working on. Personally, nothing stretches out my writing cramps like talking about what I’, trying to write. Being able to express my ideas with Quiara made them seem more real, and more possible. It was refreshing and exactly what I needed. We stopped by a delicious bakery, and then we were off to the theater. I love seeing plays because the audience all laughs and cries together. It is at once a collective and individual experience. Quiara’s story was certainly a fulfilling experience. It tackled a wide range of existential issues, including love, forgiveness, and legacy. I am so grateful to have had this experience. Knowing people like me, people who breath art like oxygen, is what keeps me going. Paula Vogel Mentors Project is made by possible by the generous support of the Independence Foundation New Theatre Works Initiative, the Nessa Forman (& Family) Fund at The Philadelphia Foundation, and Honorary Producers, Virginia & Harvey Kimmel.
0 Comments
PVMP Fellow, Kirstie Floyd, goes to the Big Apple! By: Kirstie Floyd (Central High School/12th Grade) I had the privilege of a lifetime. Because of the Paula Vogel Mentorship and Philadelphia Young Playwrights, I was able to see three of my mentor’s five plays that were running in New York City. I was accompanied by the project coordinator David O’Connor. The author/mentor is Lucy Thurber. The works I had seen were titled Scarcity, Asheville and Where We’re Born. Each play takes place in Western Massachusetts and focus on the monotony of rural life. Although each plot and every character is different, all protagonists feel a sense of being trapped and having to make opportunities for themselves and not feel guilty about it. Seeing Lucy’s plays was like seeing her soul manifest before my eyes. I really feel like I know more about her and who she is as a person and writer. She showed me that as a writer you can write about the same topic multiple times but get a different story out of each piece, each one having the same impact. The experience also taught me that you should only write what you care about. This experience will enhance our relationship as I learn from her and she learns from me. In addition to the amazing workshop that took place on Saturday, September 14th, this trip has inspired me and now ideas are flowing like a faucet. I’m so excited to begin my writing journey. By: Emma O’Neill-Dietal (Masterman High School/9th Grade) Last weekend I went to Baltimore to see a performance of Dance of the Holy Ghosts, written by my mentor Marcus Gardley. Marcus wasn’t there but it was an incredible experience nonetheless. Dance of the Holy Ghosts is a play about a man who tries to hide from his past, which is riddled with misdeeds, but also times of love and happiness. He succeeds at keeping to himself until his grandson comes to visit and his past comes rushing back. The play is a collection of snapshots from the man’s memories and those of his daughter and grandson, interspersed with the man’s interaction with his grandson during the visit. Together, the memories weave a beautiful, poignant, sad, but at times, funny story. It tells of the family and how each person chose to move on from tragedy and deal with unwanted memories they are forced to confront. Dance of the Holy Ghosts was truly amazing and very inspiring for me as a writer. The writing was very poetic and all of the dialogue flowed perfectly. Smooth, realistic dialogue is something I have been striving towards in my own writing, so it was very helpful for me to see a play in which the dialogue was so perfectly formed. Marcus also incorporated music into his play. I love musicals, but including music into one of my own plays something I have pondered occasionally but have been quite scared of exploring. Marcus’s play encouraged me to look into adding a little bit of music into a play in the future. Seeing Dance of the Holy Ghosts was a wonderful experience and gave me many new ideas that I will continue to think about as I write my PVMP play this year. Paula Vogel Mentors Project is made by possible by the generous support of the Independence Foundation New Theatre Works Initiative, the Nessa Forman (& Family) Fund at The Philadelphia Foundation, and Honorary Producers, Virginia & Harvey Kimmel.
Greetings Readers, My name is Tom Gugliuzza and I am one of five fellows in the Paula Vogel Mentors Program. With this program, I was able to participate in rehearsal and attend a performance of How To Break, written by my mentor Aaron Jafferis. These experiences gave me a lot to think about in terms of my own writing and work in the world of theater. I was amazed by the amount of progress that the actors made in the week between the rehearsal that I attended and the performance on that subsequent Saturday. During that rehearsal, there was still some work to be done. That Saturday was the first run through of the entire play as a whole unit. This is a milestone for any rehearsal period because it showcases all of the work done up to this point by the actors as well as showing the blocking or movements on the stage. The actual performance which was hosted by the Arts For Healing Festival in New Haven, Connecticut, mixed the fast paced dance and verse of Hip Hop culture with the traditionally slow and steady method of the medical world. Both before and after the performance, I was able to talk with Aaron and the full cast to gain a better understanding of the work as well as becoming more acquainted with the fantastic actors and stage manager that brought the work to life. The main thing that this play brought into focus for me however was the idea of using music within my work. Traditionally, my writing has not included any instructions as far as music is concerned. This oversight on my part has left one of the few avenues of speaking with an audience without the use of the actors onstage rather dull in my previous works. I will certainly incorporate this lesson into my future works which hopefully will be created soon. Goodbye for now dear readers and hopefully I will update you soon! To read more on How to Break visit http://www.aaronjafferis.com/shows/break/ Paula Vogel Mentors Project is made by possible by the generous support of the Independence Foundation New Theatre Works Initiative, the Nessa Forman (& Family) Fund at The Philadelphia Foundation, and Honorary Producers, Virginia & Harvey Kimmel.
|
Categories
All
|