Derek Lee McPhatter - Projects and Blog

New Play 11.11.11 - 7 PM

2011-10-29T17:03:00.004-04:00

FALLING OUT with Gregarian Tunks a new short play by Derek Lee McPhatter

Directed by Christopher Burris

Starring Ty Baumann Lori Parquet Perri Yaniv

and

Paul Perroni as Candidate Tunks

Does Nuclear Radiation + Media Spin Job + Adultery Scandal + Hostile Instant Messaging + Conspiracy Theory + Profanity-in-the-campaign-speech +Whatever Else Happens = A Successful Bid for President? Join Candidate Gregarian F. Tunks and what’s left of his staff on 11/11/11 at 7 PM and let’s find out…

Barbara Matovu, Assistant Director

Nicole Judd, Stage Manager

Craig Lenti, Sound

JuLondre K. Brown, Intern

Part of STICKY: An Evening of Music and Short Plays

Friday, November 11, 2011 - 7 PM

The Bowery Poetry Club

308 Bowery b/w Houston and Bleeker

$10 at the door

New Play 11.11.11 - 7 PM

2011-10-29T17:03:00.003-04:00

FALLING OUT with Gregarian Tunks a new short play by Derek Lee McPhatter

Directed by Christopher Burris

Starring Ty Baumann Lori Parquet Perri Yaniv

and

Paul Perroni as Candidate Tunks

Barbara Matovu, Assistant Director

Nicole Judd, Stage Manager

Craig Lenti, Sound

JuLondre K. Brown, Intern

Part of STICKY: An Evening of Music and Short Plays

Friday, November 11, 2011 - 7 PM

The Bowery Poetry Club

308 Bowery b/w Houston and Bleeker

$10 at the door

Two One-Night-Only Events Coming Right Up!!

2011-10-08T12:35:00.007-04:00

Two one-night-only projects coming up:

Through the Ages II: Our Journey Through Music

Sunday, October 16, 2011 – 7 PM

The Kraine Theater (85 East 4^th Street, NYC)

I continue to serve as a co-producer of The Fire This Time Festival at Horse Trade Theater Group. On Friday, October 16^th, we are holding our second annual concert event fundraiser – Through the Ages with proceeds to support our third season.

Playwright/Composer/Producer Germono Toussaint arranged some amazing music when we did this project last year. For those of you who were with us last year, come hear your favorite pieces and a few new surprises! If you missed last year’s benefit, this is one night you’ll want to keep your calendar clear and join us!

Ticket Info on Smarttix (Through the Ages II).

***

Falling Out with Gregarian Tunks

A new short play by Derek Lee McPhatter (yours truly)

Friday November 11, 2011- 7 PM

Bowery Poetry Club (308 Bowery, NYC)

I am collaborating with director Christopher Burris on a short play following a long-shot presidential candidate’s scheme to expose a massive government conspiracy (to be presented as part of Bowery Poetry Club’s “Sticky”). More info on this one very soon, but please Save the Date!

HARLEM 9 THIS WEEKEND

2011-08-13T11:44:00.005-04:00

HARLEM 9 presents...

48 HOURS IN HARLEM

Sunday, August 14, 2011• 7pm

Harlem School of the Arts • 645 St. Nicholas Avenue• New York, NY 10030

6 Playwrights. 6 Directors. 18 Actors

...giving raw impressions of 6 provocative black plays

~ a twist on the traditional 24- hour play festival. This event marks the inaugural collaboration of Harlem9, bringing together 6 playwrights, 6 directors, and 18 actors to re-conceive classic plays from the African Diaspora over the course of one weekend in Harlem ~

Playwrights: Ayanna Maia, Dominique Morisseau, Keith Josef Adkins,

Derek Lee McPhatter, Mfoniso Udofia, and Harrison David Rivers

Directors: Christopher Burris, Tamilla Woodard, Melissa Maxwell,

Russell G. Jones, Nicole A. Watson and LA Williams

Actors: Bruce Lemon, Laura Johnston, Axel Avin Jr., Chanel Carroll, Heather Simms,Crystal Dickinson, Gillian Glasco, Jamie Lincoln Smith, Jocelyn Bioh, Elain Graham, Samuel T. Gaines, Willie Teacher, Tamela Aldridge, Marcus Naylor, Alano Miller, Gerard Joseph, Ayo Cummings, Charles Browning

The 6 plays that will be re-conceived include:

Dutchman by Amiri Baraka, Zooman and the Sign by Charles Fuller, Funnyhouse of a Negro by Adrienne Kennedy, Day of Absence by Douglass Turner Ward, Black Terror by Richard Wesley, and The Colored Museum by George C. Wolfe

Tickets
$15 online - www.brownpapertickets.com/event/186991
$20 at the door - CASH ONLY

Funded in part by Harlem Arts Alliance
Sponsored by Nectar Wine Bar

Harlem9 is an arts organization comprised of 9 producing entities that have come together in Harlem to explore the past, present and future of black culture and celebrate the rich history of storytelling within the African diaspora. Blackboard Reading Series (Garlia Cornelia Jones), Earthseed Visions (Bryan E. Glover), E. Michael Lockley, goodfilm (Deborah Goodwin), Jonathan McCrory, Liberation Theatre Company (Sandra Daley and Spencer Barros), Soul Productions (Erin Washington), and With a Cherry on Top Productions (Erin Cherry), are the producers that comprise Harlem9.

For more information, please visit www.harlem9.org

HARLEM 9 THIS WEEKEND

2011-08-13T11:44:00.000-04:00

HARLEM 9 presents...

48 HOURS IN HARLEM

Sunday, August 14, 2011• 7pm

Harlem School of the Arts • 645 St. Nicholas Avenue• New York, NY 10030

6 Playwrights. 6 Directors. 18 Actors

...giving raw impressions of 6 provocative black plays

Playwrights: Ayanna Maia, Dominique Morisseau, Keith Josef Adkins,

Derek Lee McPhatter, Mfoniso Udofia, and Harrison David Rivers

Directors: Christopher Burris, Tamilla Woodard, Melissa Maxwell,

Russell G. Jones, Nicole A. Watson and LA Williams

The 6 plays that will be re-conceived include:

Tickets
$15 online - www.brownpapertickets.com/event/186991
$20 at the door - CASH ONLY

Funded in part by Harlem Arts Alliance
Sponsored by Nectar Wine Bar

For more information, please visit www.harlem9.org

A Better Destiny for Bethany...New Short

2011-04-16T14:05:00.002-04:00

Horse Trade Theater Group

presents

“A Better Destiny for Bethany”

A short play

by Derek Lee McPhatter

Directed by Nicole Gehring

Featuring Yesenia Tromp and Matthew Wise

About the Play

Bethany's the biggest fan for the best-est boy band you've never heard of. And tonight she's finally putting the publicity stunts, medications, restraining orders, hallucinations and whatever else behind her...we hope.

A Featured presentation of Horse Trade Theater Groups’ THE DRAFTS

The Drafts Fest is the collaborative effort of six playwrights, six directors, and eight multifaceted actors. Playwrights receive randomly compiled cast lists and create stories tailored to The Drafts based on this year’s theme: Accidental Discharge Impossible. The Production also features Aliza Einhorn, Danny Sharron, Penny Pollak, Gary Warchola, Quinn D. Eli, Shay Gines, Amanda Von Nostrand, Quinn Warren, Eric Kingrea, Nicole Watson, JB Rote, Evan Taylor Walker, Megan Hill, Axel Avin Jr., Matthew-Lee Erlbach, and Randi Rivera.

The Red Room

85 E 4th St

New York, New York 10003

Between 2nd and 3rd Ave

$18 ($15 Students)

May 5 – 7 PM

May 6 – 7 PM

May 7 – 7 PM

May 12 – 7 PM

May 13 – 7 PM

May 14 – 7 PM

2010 Writing Goals Review

2011-01-08T14:24:00.004-05:00

Wow wow wow. It's 2011. January. This is the time when I reflect on my progress over the last 12 months as an up-and-coming writer. Here's what I was shooting for in 2009, and 2008.

So as I do every year, today I went to look at my 2010 goals and oops...I never blogged them! Sorry folks.

However, I did set some pretty concrete goals 12 months ago which I posted over on my fractured atlas artist fund site. In a nutshell, I set out to

1. get a workshop production of my play, The Lattice Crashes.

2. produce and develop The Fire This Time Festival. and

3. develop and produce The Seeing is Believing program with Under the Spell Productions.

All three of the goals above had to do with developing public performances/programs. And I'm happy to say I moved forward with all three over the past 12 months. The Lattice Crashes went up in December 2010. The Fire This Time Festival has built steady momentum and everyone is excited about its second season which starts next week. Finally, Under the Spell held a very thought-provoking forum to kick-off the Seeing is Believing Cycle in September. Naturally there is plenty of room for improvement on all of this, but I"m going to go ahead and give myself a pat on the back for what has been a whirlwind year.

Setting concrete program goals every year really helps keep me focused. Naturally other things come up which are great opportunities for my overall career and artistic development, and I have to be flexible. But I really like setting the goals. Now as I evaluate progress, I think the 2011 goals are going to be a bit different.

I have already got my hand in several performing arts projects that demand my attention, and I've also been collecting rejection letters (and a few award letters) that are pointing to some pretty clear areas of need in my artistic development. 2011 is poised to be a VERY exciting year, but I've got to think hard about how to make the most of it.

More to come!

The Lattice Crashes 2010 - PHOTOS

2011-01-06T16:56:00.006-05:00

Hey Everyone,

So last month's workshop staging of THE LATTICE CRASHES went very well at The Tank. Of course, there were a few bumps along the way, but that's how it goes sometimes.

I'm continuing to get really helpful feedback on the piece, and am planning more for the project in the coming months.

A big thanks to Exec Producer, Seitu Hart, Assistant Stage Manager T.C. Newman, and my awesome director Pat Golden for making the show a success.

Here's a few photos from the show:

Above from left to right:

Renee Williams, Yvonne Same, Anthony Gaskins, Renita Martin, Bridgit Antoinette Evans, Jaime Lincoln Smith and Juan Javier Cardenas

The Lattice Crashes Workshop Staging
Directed by Pat Golden

Photography by Phillip Romano

THE LATTICE CRASHES at THE TANK 12/10, 12/11, 12/12

2010-11-27T15:05:00.004-05:00

UNDER THE SPELL PRODUCTIONS AND SEITU JEMEL HART PRESENT

a workshop production

by Derek Lee McPhatter

directed by Pat Golden

Friday, December 10th, 9:30 PM

Saturday, December 11th, 3:00 PM

Sunday, December 12th, 3:00 PM

General Admission: $12

THE TANK

354 W 45th St (between 8th and 9th)

New York, NY 10036

an equity-approved showcase

(cast announcement coming soon!)

About the Show:
In the 21st century, something tragic happened in a college dormitory. The school called it an unfortunate incident. The police called it aggravated assault. The media called it a hate crime, and the boys involved called it their defining moment. But thousands of years into the future, it’s just one more problem on the supernetwork. And for Mercedes - the galaxy’s most underpaid computer technician - sometimes just hitting “delete” is the best way to get off work on time.

The Lattice Crashes explores a number of timely contemporary issues: network technology, race, homophobia, the prison-industrial complex and class stratification.

Support for the development of the script for the Lattice Crashes has been provided through the Harlem Stage Fund for New Work, which has received support from the Jerome Foundation. Additional support is provided by the Harlem Arts Alliance, the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council and the Puffin Foundation.

Lots of Projects Coming Up

2010-09-28T20:34:00.003-04:00

Here's what I've got in the pipeline folks.

The Lattice Crashes – Workshop Production
The Lattice Crashes is a dramatic comedy that examines a modern day hate crime from the vantage point of the distant future. This year, I have been working hard to secure resources for The Lattice Crashes as a staged workshop production. I have secured an executive producer and director for the project, and am planning to mount The Lattice Crashes in early November or December, 2010.

The Fire This Time Festival, Year Two
In February 2010, I was a featured playwright in Year One of The Fire This Time Festival. My work was featured alongside new work by six other talented early-career playwrights. The success of Year One of the Festival has prompted a more ambitious scope for Year Two, and I have signed on as executive producer. I am also developing a new theater work to workshop as part of the festival. Year Two planning is underway, with core programming scheduled for Mid-January 2011.

The Seeing is Believing Cycle – Exploring Violence
I am actively planning this innovative new works cycle. The focus of Seeing is Believing is to develop artistic projects that focus on self-hatred and timely social issues. For the 2010-2011 season, the project’s collaborative artistic team is focusing on Self-Hatred and Violence. I have partnered with long-time collaborators Teresa Michelle Lasley and Rhonney Greene to produce a number of public panel discussions and forums to explore violence. These events will inform the scope and content of a new, currently untitled interdisciplinary performance project.

THROUGH THE AGES - SEPT 12 - 4PM (FIRE THIS TIME FESTIVAL EVENT)

2010-09-03T12:29:00.003-04:00

On Sunday September 12th at 4PM, The Fire This Time Festival kicks off its second year with amazing musical event, inspired by the African-American experience and its deep impact on 20th century popular culture. Hosted by Steve Strickland, the show will feature a roster of top-notch musicians performing new interpretations of some timeless favorites in jazz, blues, soul, R & B, and more.
Proceeds to benefit the artists in year two of the Fire This Time Festival of Short Plays.

Tickets

More info here:
FACEBOOK PAGE

Producing Partner
http://horsetrade.info/

Keeping At It

2010-07-05T10:57:00.004-04:00

So it's July!

I didn't speak to you in April, May or June. Wow! Sorry about that. Needless to say, I was busy. The day job has been pushing pushing pushing, and there have been all these deadlines with various contests, festivals and such. And there's so much to see!

But rather than do a retrospective of the flurry of activity I was into over the last few months, let me share a quick bit about what's coming up.

The Seeing is Believing Cycle - Open Forum

Seeing is Believing, but what I see is not what I want to believe....That's one of the opening lines in It Goes Unsaid, one of my most successful theater projects.

We are taking It Goes Unsaid's development as a model to work on an entirely new work. The first step with It Goes Unsaid was a conversation, and the first step for this work will be the same. But instead of a private dialogue, we are planning an open forum, inviting the public to participate in the foundation of a new work. More on that very soon...

The Lattice Crashes - That's right. I did get a grant for this. A workshop production is coming your way in the late summer/fall. I am very excited about this one, as I've been working hard to mount this piece as more than a staged reading.

The Fire This Time Year 2 - That's right the Festival that brought you Citizen Jane is coming back. I'm involved as a Producer of Year 2 and participating Playwright. (I get one night all to myself.) We've just approached a new roster of playwrights and will be announcing public events in the coming months.

And that's not even getting into all the other projects I've got in the mix. From my spec scripts for It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia and True Blood, to my side grant-writing gigs in the arts, my plate is full full full! But not too full to keep me from sharing with you.

Happy Fourth of July!

The Lattice Crashes - Coming Soon

2010-03-22T09:29:00.004-04:00

Logo Design - Mike Osgood

Hello Everybody,

So a few weeks ago I was notified by the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council that I would be awarded a small grant to support a "workshop production/limited run" of my play, The Lattice Crashes!

I signed the grant agreement last week. That means, by taking that money I'm pledging to put up the show before the end of the year. This is a great kick in the pants to get that project rolling.

The Lattice Crashes is set on a vast "supernetwork" where history and technology have collided: Unless a computer technician in the distant future can uncover the truth about a gay bashing incident in the year 2002, the moment will be deleted from official history. But no one is telling the truth: not the victim, not the assailant, and certainly not their mothers.

The grant is not that large mind you. But its a great start, I'll need to continue to raise funds over the summer, and hope to have the show mounted by early autumn.

I'm very excited about this opportunity. Thanks and Kudos to the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council!!

Citizen Jane - Photos from the Show!

2010-02-10T23:34:00.004-05:00

So the show went very well. Every performance was sold out. I'll be sharing more soon.

Here are few quik pics from this weekend's show.

Citizen Jane - The Fire This Time Festival - Photos By Kelly "Fancy" Roberts

Latest Production: Citizen Jane in The Fire This Time Short Play Festival

2010-01-24T23:31:00.006-05:00

CITIZEN JANE
by Derek Lee McPhatter

directed by Rhonney Greene

starring

tygerlily
as Citizen Jane

with
LaJune
Dylan Kammerer
Darren Mallett
and
Sheree Renée Thomas

Thursday, February 04 thru Sunday, February 07 2010
@ 8PM
with Saturday and Sunday Matinees @ 2pm
No Performance on Sunday Night
$15 ($12 students/seniors)

Part of the Horse Trade Theater Group’s Fire This Time Short Play Festival
All performances will be held at the Red Room Theater, located at 85 East 4th Street NYC (between 2nd and 3rd Avenues) on the third floor. (sorry no elevator)

About Citizen Jane
Citizen Jane is our favorite super-shero and she comes to vivid life tonight! Don’t worry if all she seems a bit tired of saving the world. She had better give us another Happy Ending or else!

About The Fire this Time Festival
The Fire This Time Festival showcases new short plays as a special Black History Month offering by the Horse Trade Theater Group. Performances feature Citizen Jane alongside new works by Deborah Asiimwe, Rhada Blank, Kelley Girod, Katori Hall, Germono Toussaint and Pia Wilson. The Festival explores the diverse possibilities of contemporary American drama and challenging new directions for 21st century black theatre.

www.horsetrade.info

Buy Tickets Online

Woah....the Holidays are whirring by...

2009-12-26T16:03:00.002-05:00

How is it already the day after Christmas. I realize I haven't posted since before Thanksgiving, but please don't think I haven't been hot on the scene. I have good excuses I promise.

First: The Apollo launched the national touring production of Dreamgirls in November, and that kept things at the "day job" busy busy busy busy! But it's an awesome show, and I am so proud to help bring it to new audiences.

Elsewhere in the Theater/Performing Arts Scene, I've taken in quite a few shows in the last six weeks or so, from FELA! to the Subjective Theater Company's Jump Jim Crow. I took in Memphis too. I just got a copy of the Kennedy Center's 2010 programming, and I really want to take a day trip to Washington DC to take in the national symphony orchestra.

But for the moment, I'm back in Ohio, catching up with the fam. As the year rounds out I've got a lot of analysis to do on my personal goals and such, so I'll be posting an end-of-year report and 2010 Goals soon...

Laters!!

The Next Chapter with Under the Spell Productions

2009-11-03T00:37:00.004-05:00

UNDER THE SPELL PRODUCTIONS, INC.
THE NEXT CHAPTER
SEASON LAUNCH PARTY
Wednesday, November 4, 2009 7PM
Delancey Lounge - 168 Delancey (btw Clinton and Attorney)
New York, NY 10002

Guest Performance by LaJune

Live Entertainment. DJ. Raffle.

Come Celebrate our production company's' ongoing success. From Los Angeles to London, Midtown to Harlem, Under the Spell Productions, Inc., continues to gain momentum.

You won't believe what we've got planned for 2010.

The Next Chapter begins with a Bang, November 4th! Celebrate with us.

$10 suggested donation

Teresa Michelle Lasley, Co-Founder and Executive Director
Rhonney Greene, Co-Founder and Artistic Director
Derek Lee McPhatter, Director of Development

Under the Spell Productions, Inc.'s ‘ vision is to be a leading force in 21st century arts and entertainment. The production company has been gaining momentum since 2005, and is setting the stage for an amazing 2010 season. Here’s a few highlights from the road so far:
- 2005 - Founded by Rhonney Greene and Teresa Michelle Lasley
- 2006 - Premiere of It Goes Unsaid, anchor production in Los Angeles California
- 2008 - It Goes Unsaid makes its London Premiere at the Institute of Contemporary Arts
And that’s just for starters.

In a few short years, Under the Spell Productions, Inc. has pursued and provided opportunities for a dynamic range of onstage and backstage talent, showcasing diverse voices.

We’re celebrating this success on November 4th, with an eye to the future. We want you to join us. ($10 suggested donation)

Bring the Beat Back Photos

2009-10-18T21:09:00.006-04:00

I’ve had access to the photos for a good minute. I shoulda woulda coulda posted them a while ago, but I honestly needed some time away from this project. So, I didn’t post ‘em up.

But here they are anyway. Autumn is here and there’s no time to lose. Enjoy!!

Photos taken by Sabelo Narasimhan

Freedom Train Productions 2009 Fire! Festival Bring the Beat Back: an Apocalyptist Episode by Derek Lee McPhatter 8/05/2009

I’ve had access to the photos for a good minute. I shoulda woulda coulda posted them a while ago, but I honestly needed some time away from this project. So, I didn’t post ‘em up.

You can catch more photos here.

Shows on the Go and A Rant on Exposition

2009-09-19T21:54:00.005-04:00

Update on the scene. Wow! How did we get to September? I looked at my refrigerator and it seems only a few weeks ago I was putting up my 2009 Obama Calendar. Ah well.

I have been pretty busy, taking in some shows. Here’s the last fourteen days or so
(compressed)

I was lucky enough to get into the closing night of Lynn Nottage’s powerhouse Ruined. Fantastique! I also took in Programs A and B of the River Crosses Rivers Festival of new plays by women of color, presented by the Ensemble Studio Theatre. (some real gems there.)

Last week, I took in a treat of two One-Acts: Ardor Doody by Lucile Scott and Jesse Cameron Alick and In the Big Rock Candy Mountain by Julia Holleman with music by Lucas Cantor. That was some thought-provoking work, and I enjoyed hanging out with some of the cast and crew afterwards.

And that’s not all. Elsewhere in live performance, I punched it to Brooklyn for a special evening of house music, dance, and sci-fi sensibilities in a show called Atlantis, produced by WildSeed music, the show featured Imani Uzuri and Monstah Black, among others. I thoroughly enjoyed breathing underwater at Atlantis.

And just last nite, I took in a Hip-Hop Cabaret show at the Castillo Theatre, showcasing a talented troupe of youth performers.

So, no, I’m not doing anything tonight. I need to take a break. Seeing all this stuff is great for the soul, and is testament to the vibrant arts scene of the city. We won’t even get into the shows I didn’t get to see. With all of this great material and talent finding its way to the stage, I wanted to take a step back and reflect on some technique stuff.

So let's just get to it --- EXPOSITION.

It’s interesting to me how in the theory of performance, EXPOSITION is something of a detractor. A bad thing to have. Why, you ask? Because exposition is not drama. It doesn’t reflect conflict or resolution. It provides context. And providing context, put simply, is not the stuff of good theater. Therefore, one of the most common comments you may hear about a work that “wasn’t so hot” is that it was heavy on the exposition.

I will go ahead and admit that I basically agree that exposition cannot be the core of a dramatic piece. Exposition can be an essay. Pure exposition can be a newspaper article. Explanation. Extrapolation. But things that sing, things that get into the grit of the human condition have to move a step beyond that. At least, that’s the consensus I’d say. SHOW US, don’t TELL US. That’s part of all of this exposition expulsion as well.

Now this anti-exposition dictum can really be a conundrum for those of us who dare to write non-realistic stuff, that is sci-fi and fantasy. I mean, we have to figure out a way to explain our world. And I am seldom satisfied with simply telling the audience, for example, that in this universe the Queen rules supreme because it is a matrilineal society, and that’s just the way it is. At the same time, some things really do require explanation. Some things, in REAL LIFE, come to us through. So at times, when I hear the “no no no to exposition” critique, I sometimes go a little deaf, especially if that little moment of explanation leads to some really interesting drama.

I’ve also been looking back at a lot of the plays and films I love, to see how they get around this business of exposition. News Programs are an interesting and oft-used conceit. So are briefings by bosses. Prologues are often employed, to get you into the set-up. Things like that. I would like to point out however, that sometimes the characters just say it. And what’s wrong with that?

And before someone tries to slam me with Shakespeare, let me just remind you that I needed loads and loads of footnotes to understand a lot of those Henry plays. Not just the language, but the situations required further explanation. The teachers prepped us for Julius Caesar and we were often reading history beside it. You need exposition for Shakespeare too. So there!

And that’s my rant and update for the week. Laters!

Derek

The Beat is Back!

2009-08-11T22:32:00.006-04:00

Last weeks' show was a hit, if I do say so myself.

On August 5th and 6th, Freedom Train Productions presented the first public performances of my new work-in-progress--Bring the Beat Back.

Christopher Burris directed the show, and played Deputy Deacon Duncan Studness
Shaun J. Wright provided costume concept and design.

Lee Avant played The Shopkeeper
Vandit Bhatt played Rey Presscott
Jerome Braggs played The Baron Jammaster
Shydel James played Dayton Macnamara Black
Fatima Quander played Trudy Macnamara Black
Johnny Ramey played The Captain
and
Penny Danielle Tinsley played Lady Ace.

Sheree Renee Thomas and Kenyon Farrow led lively post-show discussions with the audience, and my good friend and stylist Randal Jacobs made sure I was dressed to impress!

I was thrilled with the performances, and I'm looking forward to moving the show to the next stages. Thanks to everyone who made it out, and everybody else who sent good vibes my way!

Pictures soon....

Bring the Beat Back! Bring the Beat Back!!!

2009-08-02T23:58:00.003-04:00

So here we are a few days out. Bring the Beat Back, my newest play, gets staged reading performances August 5th and 6th, the culminating event of my residency with Freedom Train Productions.

I am very excited about the show. I’ve worked very hard on Bring the Beat Back, from concept to working draft. Freedom Train really creates a community around its resident playwrights, and the talented team (on stage and off) behind this project is AMAZING. This has been a challenging, energizing, and an enriching experience that is really pushing me in terms of craft and professional development. That community helps bring the play along, setting the stage for its first performances – the Fire! New Play Festival.

As my director says, this is a trip of a show. The characters are dealing with the consequences of their convictions – spiritually, in family matters, and in matters of the heart.

The project crosses a lot of cultural terrain, from the “cult of the celebrity” to rigid religious dogma, to gay house culture, and more. I’m looking forward to hearing what the audience will have to say about Bring the Beat Back. Will it confuse? Entertain? Provoke? I’m about to find out!

I hope you can Bring the Beat Back

2009-07-04T15:44:00.005-04:00

Hey everybody. I want you all to save the dates!

My residency with Freedom Train Productions continues, and next month, Freedom Train’s Fire! Festival begins.

My project – Bring the Beat Back – opens the festival, followed by two other exciting projects from Freedom Train’s resident playwrights. More info is available here.

Here are some upcoming dates:

July 22, 2009 – 6:30 P.M. Offstage Forum: Freedom Train will host an open discussion exploring the relationship between the concept of the Apocalypse and progressive social movements.

August 5th, 2009 – 7 P.M. – Bring the Beat Back -Performance
August 6th, 2009 – 7 P.M. – Bring the Beat Back - Performance

Bring the Beat Back: an Apocalyptist Episode

What's it About?
Tru Believers know the Musicship Megarhythmic is on its way to save them from the End of the World, but you can’t get on if you can’t get down, and somebody done stole the beat. Trudy thinks her boy-crazed brother may be the troublemaker in question. And unless she can literally “straighten things out” between her brother and his latest love, the Musicship may just groove on by without them. Reaching into a transcendental realm of underground dance music, Bring the Beat Back is an experimental work of music-drama.

This is shaping up to be a very exciting project. Christopher Burris has joined the project as my collaborating director, and I really appreciate his perspective as we are moving towards the staged reading events.

Freedom Train gives its resident playwrights so much support to help bring the work to life. From the play development workshops, to assistance with casting, to career sessions, to the Train’s great network of backstage and onstage talent, to the other resident playwrights.

It’s great, great, great! I hope you all get a chance to see our work in August.
More soon.

So many shows, so much to do...

2009-06-14T22:41:00.006-04:00

So here we are halfway through June. I am WORN OUT. From work, writing, being a good citizen for the arts, and life in general. But hey, would I really want it any other way?

Here’s a quick rundown of what I’ve been up to:

Residency with Freedomtrain
Things are really going well. As a resident playwright, I’ve been attending workshops designed to support the development of my new project, as well as the other resident playwrights this year, Ayanna Maia and Patricia Ione Lloyd.

Most recently, Freedomtrain provided a great workshop with director, Michael Goldfried, looking at the play development process from a director’s perspective. We’ve also had workshops with J. Julian Christopher, Marian Yalini Thambynayagam, and Carla Ching. They’ve all brought different strengths and points of view to our new works. It’s great! Aurin Squire is putting all of this together, as Freedomtrain’s Director of New Play Development, and I think he’s doing a fantastic job!

In other news, I’ve been all over the local arts circuit. I caught Theresa Rebeck’s Our House at Playwrights Horizons a few weeks ago. I took in Harlem Stage’s E-moves, which really is a great way to see what choreographers are up to in the world of movement. Last week, I took in Jamal Williams’ Eulogy for the Black Man and Wendell Edward Carter’s Rara Avis, presented as part of an arts festival celebrating Harlem’s historic Sugar Hill and Hamilton Heights neighborhoods (where I live.)

And those are just a few of the highlights. Thanks for reading! Later…

The Apollo Salon Series 2009

2009-04-04T14:15:00.004-04:00

So I have been given the opportunity to host the Apollo Salon Series. I am SOOOOOO excited, and it has been a great experience so far.

Last Saturday we kicked-off the Series with a really cool preview event. Jessica Care Moore, Dana Leong, and Melvin Van Peebles were in the house and gave the audience a sneak peek into their Salon Series projects. Greg Tate led a panel discussion with the artists, on working outside the mainstream and other interesting topics.

IT WAS FASCNIATING.

And I’m not just saying that because I work at the Apollo. This was a multifaceted, multicultural, multigenerational group of artists. And to have them on the stage together, sharing about their process, about American culture, and the arts---it was just a great moment to be a part of.

Hip Hop Theater pioneer, Will Power is also presenting a project in the Salon Series. He couldn’t make it to the kick-off event. But his project, the Upper Room plays this weekend. And I’m very excited about what he’s brought to share.
Anyways, that’s what’s keeping me busy these days. That and a thousand other things.

Later!!

Residency with FreedomTrain...

2009-03-28T01:26:00.002-04:00

Hey guess what!

I am a 2009 resident playwright with Freedomtrain Productions. In a nutshell Freedomtrain seeks the development of politically progressive Theater from a queer black perspective. I’m a big supporter of the Train. They’re a relatively young organization and are already making waves! This residency is a great opportunity.

There are a couple duties that come with the residency, so I’ll be sharing more in the coming months.

On the immediate horizon is the Spring Fire! event April 19. There will be a performance event showcasing the work of the entire 2009 resident playwright cohort, Ayanna Maia, Patricia Ione Lloyd and yours truly.

The evening concludes with a Benefit dance party. It should be a lot of fun.
Later
Derek

How did we already get to the Ides of March

2009-03-12T17:25:00.003-04:00

Julius Caesar + Malcolm X =
Blood, Politics, Heartbreak, etc. - the stuff of DRAMA.

Well I'm past due for an update, and there's a lot to share. So I'll be hammering out some posts over the next few days.

First off, in the world of shows, the last 45 days or so have kept me busy. I've been especially caught up at work, with the 75th Anniversary of the Apollo Theater.

But I've found some time to support some other shows going on.

The Classical Theatre of Harlem supports new works in its Future Classics Series, and the series presented a reading of Julius X, by Al Leston, Jr., and directed by Tracey Jack. The reading was presented at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture.

Julius X draws inspiration from two assassinations: Julius Caesar (as retold by Shakespeare) and Malcolm X. It's an interesting combination of source material, with a great pay off.

Leston's text evoked a blended world, mid-twentieth century Harlem inflected with the Shakespearean versions of Rome and Romans.

It's precisely the kind of work I would expect from the Classical Theatre of Harlem, and I'd really like to see a full production of it.

Julius X wasn't a musical, but music was a heavy element. There were sing-song moments of dialogue, full out song, and a musical narrator/side character. But the music, far from lightening the mood, added an element of gravitas. Rallying cries, political soliloquies, moments of resolution and uncertainty. Those were the moments when the music showed up, drums and vocals, and to great effect.

You can get more on the show's blog here.

Yep. I'd like to see this work on the stage. Congrats playwright, cast, director and the team at Classical Theatre of Harlem.

That's all I've got right now. Stay tuned for more though.

2009 Projects - Setting the Stage

2009-02-02T07:00:00.000-05:00

These are my lead creative projects slated for this year.

The Lattice Crashes
Goal: Full NYC Production/minimum 2 week run

The Lattice Crashes is a stage-play that examines a contemporary hate crime from the vantage point of the distant future, where race, gender, and sexuality no longer hold the same meaning.

Bring the Beat Back
Goal: Script development, staged reading in August 09 (hopefully with Freedomtrain productions)

Bring the Beat Back is a work of music-drama that reaches into a transcendental realm of underground dance music to trace a new idea of the American family. Bring the Beat Back is informed by scholarship in ethnomusicology and cultural studies, and gestures toward an alternative to conventional musical productions.

NightQueen
Goals: content development, feature film script completion, live production options

NightQueen contemplates a new multicultural mythology that blends mysticism with an imperfect politics of feminism, social equality, and environmentalism.

NightQueen is a multifaceted creative project that explores a unique fantasy-world through live dramatic presentations, musical performances, web-based offerings, and other production projects.

I’ll also be working on an independent LGBT romantic comedy as well as a spec script for a television program.

More later. (much more. there's some major stuff I can't share just yet.)

-Derek

With a Spirit of Optimism – Inauguration Day and a renewed American promise

2009-01-20T23:17:00.003-05:00

So here we are, somehow already in the future so many generations before thought we’d never reach.

Wow is really all I can say.

This is a well-deserved moment of celebration. Yes. Jubilee! Sing Praises. Give thanks! All of that and more!!!

Time moves us forward, and we’ve come to this threshold in history to build a better future.

Today, watching the inauguration on a big screen at work, I felt the immense promise in the air. The energy was electrifying. It wasn’t simply the sight of the first black president, it was this genuine spirit of hope I shared with people everywhere.

For those who have come before, for ourselves, and for future generations, we are coming together to seek our best destiny.

There are challenges on this bright, renewed path, I’m sure. But we are going to meet them and overcome, together.

Congratulations President Obama. Congratulations to all of us.

2008 Review: What I Wrote – NightQueen

2009-01-15T00:06:00.001-05:00

I was supposed to figure out how musical elements would help ground my fantasy work, NightQueen this year. NightQueen, in a nutshell, contemplates an alternative reality, grounded in environmental principles and structured as a matriarchy. It’s a fantasy piece, writ large, and since 2000 or so I’ve been on again off again with versions for the screen and stage.

The last time I worked on the project, I got stuck as I wanted to present it as a live performance, but the world is so intricate and stuff that it got overbearing. So I resolved to do something musical instead.
And I didn’t do it.

I wrote, yet another version of NightQueen. This time, I began in an Urban Wilderness, and followed a young woman as she gradually discovered this alternative fantasy realm, and her role in it.

I’ll have to do better. NightQueen has a lot of potential, but I have to dedicate my full attention to it to do it right. This on again, off again, isn’t cutting it.

And since I mentioned music, I was supposed to collaborate on a full-fledged musical in 2008 too. That didn’t even get out of the concept stage, I’m afraid.

Now for the record, I’ve got chops as a pianist, and my musical talents have been rather latent since I got to New York. With good reason, I might add. But excuses can’t carry the day.

So poor marks for me with NightQueen and my musical forays. Bad form and all that.

That’s all I have. Next post…What’s on the horizon for 2009…

2008 Review: What I Wrote – The Apocalyptists

2009-01-07T23:17:00.004-05:00

The end of the world.
Like so many, I am somewhat fascinated by the inherent drama and the various possibilities in world-changing and world-ending events. This fascination is coalescing into a fictional group I will call the Apocalyptists.

In my imagination, the Apocalyptists are a group borne out of ideas of human fatalism, Freud’s death drive, and a few other ideological positions. There are many variations of Apocalyptists over human history, and, in the worlds I’m writing about, the Apocalyptists organize formally to seek out the end of humanity (as the ultimate, most desirable, and most just conclusion for the human race).

Some Apocalyptists are disenchanted secular humanists, some are religious fanatics, some are extreme environmentalists. There are many flavors, and over the decades they’ve been the source of lots of good schemes to bring about Armageddon.

I had a great time researching this stuff. Freud's death drive came up. I re-examined Samuel Delany and his masterpiece, Dhalgren. I looked at the Book of Revelation. The singularity. A little bit on pralay in Hinduism. I also threw in some suicide cults for good measure...

And even though I didn’t get Teena Keeper quite right in 2008, I’ve got a very good footing for these Apocalyptist folk. So much so, that in 2009, I’m going to pursue an Apocalyptist Episode called Bring the Beat Back.

Teena’s not going to be in this one (we’re taking a break from each other), but Bring the Beat Back is going to help set the stage for a more compelling exploration of Teena’s world.

And sometimes, that’s how these things have to go.

Apocalypse (Greek: Ἀποκάλυψις -translit. apoca'lipsis, meaning literally: the lifting of the veil), is a term applied to the disclosure to certain privileged persons of something hidden from the majority of humankind. Today the term is often used to mean "End of planet Earth", which may be a shortening of the phrase apokalupsis eschaton which literally means "revelation at the end of the æon, or age".

Eschatology (from the Greek ἔσχατος, Eschatos meaning "last" and -logy meaning "the study of") is a part of theology and philosophy concerned with the final events in the history of the world, or the ultimate destiny of humanity, commonly referred to as the end of the world.

2008 Review: What I Wrote – The Lattice Crashes

2009-01-06T22:40:00.004-05:00

Even as Teena and I fell out, I was getting geared up for another ambitious project, grounded by a modern-day hate crime. This project was to have homophobia, racial tension, and class conflict galore, and really give me a platform to share some of my own social and cultural hang-ups.

I took a leap with the subject matter, setting it in the distant future, which gave me lots of room to play. I was trying to look at today from a removed vantage point, trying to take every conflicting position at face value, and I didn’t want to villainize anyone.

My historical characters – the hate crime victim, the accused assailant, and their parents grapple with the horrific events that bind them together, but they also struggle to understand themselves as relics, as far removed from a clear and present reality. They emerge, future-shocked in a world they don’t understand, and a world that doesn’t really understand them either. After a few rewrites, I think I’ve finally gotten it about right.

2008 was a “development year,” for the Lattice Crashes.

-I hashed the first draft of the scrip in my playwriting fellowship with Edward Pomerantz (one of the lead teachers in the Harlem Arts Alliance/Columbia University/New Federal Theater Dramatic Writing Fellowship)

-I got some scene excerpts performed with Freedomtrain Productions.

-I did a full reading with the River View Players.

Any dramatic writer will tell you these experiences are invaluable in the birth of a new play. Performers, directors, readers, and audiences have provided great feedback for various elements of the work in progress.

The outcome is a stronger tighter version of the Lattice Crashes that I cannot wait to bring to the stage in 2009. More on that a bit later, but for now, it’s time for some thank you’s:

Andre Carrington
DuEwa Frazier
Bryan Glover
Patricia Golden
Rhonney Greene
Tanya Hartwell
Elizabeth Herron
Laurence Holder
Aymar Jean
Aaron Joy
Andre Lancaster
Teresa Michelle Lasley
Clinton Lowe
Meredith Pierce
Edward Pomerantz
Shanae Sharon
Kelvin Summerhill
Emmitt Thrower
Mona Washington
Bridgette Wimberly
Darius Wilkins
And everybody I forgot...

2008 Review: What I Wrote – Teena Keeper

2009-01-05T19:16:00.006-05:00

I create a list of annual objectives every 12 months, helping to focus and ground my artistic and professional decisions throughout the year.

2008 was no different. I set out to build upon my successes (and failures) in 2008 to advance my efforts as a creative writer. Over the next few days, I’ll be posting reflections on my progress. Starting today with:

Teena Keeper

I have a complicated relationship with this character, so please forgive me if I speak about her like a real person.

She's a favorite in my character roster. I find her resonant in so many ways, and what little I’ve written about her over the years has been received rather well.

From the very first short story I wrote about Teena (in an undergrad creative writing class), she has been a young woman in torment. Essentially, Teena suffers from a turbulent childhood. As an adult “voices in her head” that just might be real disrupt every stab she takes at a normal life.

This past year, I set out to examine Teena Keeper’s resistance.

*She resists her paranormal abilities.
*She resists her role in the unraveling of our world,
*She resists the relationships that may help her be healthy.

She’s a mess, and I wanted to explore that with a new work on the stage.

Result: I fleshed this character out. I’ve gotten details of her early childhood down. I know who/what torments her now. I know the overall narrative arc of her rather extraordinary life. I tried to get at some of this with a new play. I focused on Teena and a special Voice in her head that is particularly troublesome, a presence I call the Remnant.

Their antagonistic relationship, when executed properly, should yield emotional and narrative pyrotechnics that would delight any audience. However, what I wrote early last year didn’t even delight me. In short, it sorta sucked. I knew it, and so did Teena. So we aren’t on speaking terms right now.

This is not to say this was a waste of time. Teena Keeper and I are meant to work together, and I’m sure we’ll be speaking again soon. I’m going to get Miss Thing’s story right, but I’m not rushing her. It has to be right. And all that work did help me flesh out her world, especially this Remnant adversary of hers. So I’m not upset a bit about it. (Teena’s upset though, and so are some of her friends. Ms. Keeper hasn’t gotten a fair shot since 2001!)

Also, because I started the year off with this rather meaty character, it got the creative juices going. Most directly, I realize that Teena’s story can be part of a multi-pronged SAGA that has tinges of sci-fi, but dabbles in “real people” fiction, and will have all sorts of iterations. The connecting element for all of this stuff? The Apocalyptists, which is the subject of another post coming up.

Craig Harris' God's Trombones - Revisiting James Weldon Johnson through Music-Drama

2008-12-22T22:35:00.016-05:00

[Picture Above: Harlem Artist, Aaron Douglas' God's Trombones, 1926]

I saw God's Trombones Sunday, December 7 with mom at Harlem Stage.

Craig Harris does jazz, and he does jazz just right. If you don’t know about him, look him up.

Full disclosure, I’m a bit partial to this piece, as I encountered it first during my day job at the Apollo. The Apollo Theater has supported the development of this unique work of music-theatre--in the Apollo Salon Series in 2006, and a during two-week run in 2007.

God’s Trombones is a set of musical, dramatic, and sermonic pieces derived from James Weldon Johnson’s collection of poems of the same name. Craig Harris has taken that core text and set it to music, with four voices, keyboards, drums, a euphonium, tuba, and full trombone shout choir. It’s a very interesting 21st-century mix of early 20th century poetry and musical forms--Trombone Choirs have a long history in the US and Europe, and Shout Bands are an under-explored facet of musical culture in the American South. This was an evocative experience that feels timely, very “right now,” even as its roots in form and substance are nearly a century removed.

The musicianship here was first rate. I particularly enjoyed the organ solos, and of course some of Craig Harris’ own trombone features. But the band is at its best when it lays down those bluesy, full harmonies with thumping, down-home rhythms – that, yes, we get from the church.

It’s a beautiful piece that I thoroughly enjoy every time I see it. Avery Brooks directed this version, with my good friend Elizabeth Herron as assistant director. There were some changes since I saw it last. For one, there were two male voices and two female singing voices (instead of a signing trio with a fourth speaking voice last time). This means the songs made use of four part harmony. This vocal troupe also cultivated an ensemble blend, whereas the prior version really pushed forward the contrast between the different voices.

As suggested in the title, God definitely is present in this work. It has a transcendent element rooted in Western theological ideals. This is familiar territory for me. The idiom at work here is the Church, the black church. At the same time, this is no heavy-handed evangelical event. I think it’s pretty inviting to a general audience, regardless of religious background.

I also think there is more room to get into the “drama” of the music-drama. Much of this is achieved through the staging, textual rendition and dance. A single dancer helps tell some of the story. This works. Yet watching God’s Trombones this second go round, I see opportunities to bring the drama to the fore. The audience feels it; the band feels it; the vocalists feel it; the dancer feels it. But not with the exuberant abandon I see so often in the black church (from the shout to the shout out to the fall out). Everything is under firm control on stage, yet I think there is a way to access more raw emotion in way that is both sincere and sensitive, not overblown. But that’s just me, perhaps.

God's Trombones
Featuring: Craig Harris (conductor + trombone)
Kevin Anthony (vocals)
Gina Breedlove (vocals)
LaTanya Hall (vocals)
Trent Kendall (vocals)
Alfred Patterson (trombone)
Curtis Fowlkes (trombone)
Gary Valente (trombone)
Joe Daley (euphonium)
Adam Klipple (keyboards)
Tony Lewis (drums)
Bob Stewart (tuba)
and dance by Chanon Judson.

That’s all.

OPTIMIZE YOUR SHINE IN 09!

2008-12-18T17:37:00.009-05:00

Yep. It’s almost time to get things in line for 2009.
And that means a review of 2008 is on the way.

In a few weeks I’ll be posting all the ups and downs of my writing and production projects in 2008, setting up the plan for the new year.

But until then, I’ve come up with this preliminary list of RESOLUTIONS for 2009.

I can’t compete with team Obama in 08. They did the most, they did it GREAT! But there’s still plenty of shine to go around, and I’m gonna get my shine:

RESOLUTIONS:

1. Make Major Paper (that means cash-money)

2. Put Major Paper in THE BANK! (that means don’t spend it up)

3. Get Love, Keep Love, Give Love, Spread Love (that means be good to folk)

4. Keep It Together – because if you ‘keep it together,’ then you don’t have to ‘get it together,’ and if you don’t have to ‘get it together,’ then nobody will say you don’t ‘have it together.’

5. Get your Stroll Rollin’ and Move On Down the Line – that means make progress with stuff.

These here are my RESOLUTIONS and I aim to keep them! With these resolutions I am sure to OPTIMIZE MY SHINE. That’s a true statement. Put some butter on it if you find it hard to swallow.

That’s it.

Opening Night, on stage, on screen, on my mind.

2008-12-14T22:53:00.007-05:00

So, as usual, I’ve been taking advantage of the NYC arts scene.

Ivan Van Hoe’s Opening Night was presented as a part of the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s annual Next Wave Festival. This was a dramatic adaptation of a 1977 film of the same name. The film, apparently, was about a drama which might be derailed if the lead actress cannot pull herself together before the big premiere. I saw it Friday, December 5 with mom.

This adaption of the film (about a play) tackled the same subject matter, but (in what I can only interpret as an ambitious structural move) brought a filmic element to the live adaptation through a “documentary team” there to capture the entire behind the scenes antics on film.

The result is a stage play that unveils the story on the stage with more than one frame of reference. The audience is invited to watch the show on the stage, as well as view the action via screens around the theater broadcasting the documentary footage live.

If it seems a little confusing here, that’s more my fault. It’s very clear what’s happening when you come to the show. The lead actress doesn’t want to do this part (she thinks it makes her seem irreversibly old), and the rest of the acting troupe, the director, and the frazzled writer are at their wits end. The documentary team plays a silent witness, and for good measure, the leading actress is haunted by a spirit who is either/both her lost youth or/and a young fan who dies in an accident outside the theater.

I’ll leave the heavy criticism to the New York Times. It was existential and stuff. Suffice it for me to say, I was engaged. This show was in Dutch with subtitles, and performed very well.

This work is self-reflexive, and is gesturing towards a different relationship with its audience. The actors break the walls, and come out to sit with us in the theater (which happens often enough these days.) They also have a few rows of audience on the stage, helping to ground the "play within a play" element.

That being said, in the final analysis, I do have to wonder what was intended with all this play-within-a play-within-a-documentary stuff. I mean, it was a cute way to add multimedia to a piece that seemed to have enough going on already. My problem is, I don’t think this jerry-rigged structure did all that much for me.

Now there are two caveats to this claim.

1. I don’t speak Dutch, so while a native speaker would enjoy the option of devoting their full attention to the stage at times, I had to keep my eye on those screens and the subtitles.

2. I sat it in the nosebleed seats. And from up there, you couldn’t see the entire stage, and some of the more ambitious film work was obscured by the ceiling.

So that’s that. There’s more to be said, but it gets heavily into formal analysis, which leads into a lot of other stuff I want to get into. I should just note that expanding the toolkit to include staged drama and film is fraught with pitfalls. And I’m not sure what the advantages are besides being “different.”

Ed Bullins’ The Fabulous Miss Marie and The Question of Next

2008-11-23T23:53:00.002-05:00

Friday, Nov 21, 2008

I went with my boyfriend to a staged reading of The Fabulous Miss Marie, held at New York’s Cherry Lane Theater. This was a great experience, my first exposure to Ed Bullins’ work as a live performance.

The reading was directed by Pat Golden (with whom I hope to collaborate soon), and featured a talented cast of some seasoned pros, mid-career talent, and new faces:

Miss Marie – Tonya Pinkins

Bill Horton – Anthony Chisholm

Art Garrison – Brandon Dirden

Wanda – Krystal Hill

Toni – Lanette Ware

Ruth – Carla Brothers

Bud – James King

Marco Polo Henderson – Jesse Williams

Gafney – Nicoye Banks

Steve Benson – Jamal Mallory McCree

and Holly M. Eaton executed the stage directions and audio elements.

My hats off to the production team, and the great folk at the Cherry Lane, for getting this work back out there for people to see! Congrats and Bravo, etc., etc…

Essentially, this play takes place in Los Angeles in the 1960’s, just ahead of the Watts Riots. It is a tumultuous time in American history, and these characters are all living the African American experience of the time. However, most of the various characters who have come to Miss Marie’s house, are there to have a good time, and really aren’t all that concerned about civil rights. They are there to party down, and for me (someone who wasn’t there for the Civil Rights Movement) the point of the play is this: not all black people were that down for the Civil Rights movement. While Miss Marie and her man, and various others there to party took passing interest in what was going on (via TV), they were much more interested in seducing each other, finding a new hustle, telling secrets…little, more everyday matters that we all deal with.

I would say the play is at its best when this contrast is most stark—a great social upheaval outside, of only limited interest to Miss Marie and her crew. And it was oh so much fun to watch Miss Marie be so dismissive of what was going on, cajoling her guests to get her another drink and whatnot. This play is a necessary corrective to the myth-making that goes on when we talk about America’s Civil Rights Era.

Altogether, the Fabulous Miss Marie was a very relevant and entertaining work of live theater. It’s held up well over time, and now I’m ready to jump headfirst into Bullins other work…

Which brings me to Bullins. He was there!

A quiet unassuming man who gracefully took the stage after the show, Bullins, director Pat Golden and Angelina Fiordellisi, the Artistic Director of the Cherry Lane, opened the floor to questions. This event was part of Cherry Lane’s Master Class Series, which has held similar talks with the likes of Edward Albee, Terence McNally, Amiri Baraka, and Wendy Wasserstein.

Listening to Bullins speak—about his work, about working in the theater, about our shared past – was a real treat. I wish I had come prepared with a question or something, but the room was filled with so many much more knowledgeable than I on Bullin’s legacy, and the field in general. So I just sat back and listened.

Among other points, Anthony Chisholm wanted everybody in the audience to remember that Ed Bullins was a mentor and major influence on August Wilson. Chisholm was emphatic about this point, as well as how fortunate we were to have this legend in our midst. There was a chorus of assent in the audience, and more praise followed.

Bullins definitely deserved all that glory. I mean the man has worked! This was a well-earned moment of congratulations for a theater legend, who by the way, took all of this very graciously and with great humility. There was also a lot of discussion of how he got started, and his long stint at the Lafeyette Theater (now closed in Harlem), and other highlights from an age of American performing arts long since gone…

Later on, actor Brandon Dirden asked Bullins about what he would like to see for the next generation of theater, particularly theater that deals with the black experience. This sent Bullins spinning into an extended explanation of, frankly, his next project. I will say little about this work, as it’s not even finished yet and who knows how it will come out. But I will not that he is planning to end it with Barack Obama’s triumph.

I found his response very interesting. For a legend such as Bullins, Obama’s historic victory is all “the happy ending” he ever needed. Even if Miss Marie and her crew really wouldn’t give a damn, all of this “black struggle,” this shared American journey reaches a new climax with the election of America’s first black president. So, beyond this, Bullins doesn’t offer many specifics on “what’s next for black theater.”

The next step for black arts is open…where do we go? I suppose if someone had pressed, Bullins might say that black theater should simply continue….That is how he ended the talk, he told everyone to “keep on keepin’ on.” Do not give up. He was clear about that. But this living legend offered no other mandates to the next generation, no manifesto on where or how the theater should focus its energies; it just wasn’t in his frame of mind.

He’s going to write a play that ends with Obama. Obama is the happy ending.

This is so fascinating to me because his generation deserves this moment. And, while I would have loved to hear more about his hopes for the future of the field, it was so wonderful to see an artist who was apparently content, who was actually pleased even (at least for the moment) with where we were as Americans. Why should Bullins bother with what happens after “happily ever after?”

It’s for the next generations to figure that out. For us (somewhat) younger folk, all-that-is-obama points to a new direction perhaps, but certainly not a conclusion. “The Question of Next” is very heavy on our minds. It remains to be seen how we will answer it.

Of course, I have a few ideas that I look forward to sharing, but more on that later.

Musings -- New Thresholds of Possibility and Sci-Fi Geek Out

2008-11-10T00:39:00.011-05:00

The blogosphere is already crowded with 222 too many “Age of Obama” essays, and really, this blog isn’t about politics. Yet as I sit here musing about the shifting American social fabric, I am wondering how all of this talk (and hopefully action) about “change” is going to inform creative expression and intellectual inquiry.

In other contexts, I have described my own work (as a whole) as “writing towards change.” I like to think of my writing as working against and through oppressive regimes of thought. This is a moral imperative for me. I write to help forge a path to a brighter future.

However, as I write towards change, I am writing within dramatic and literary traditions that seem to understand me best as a minority--peripheral to the larger scheme of things. I cannot deny the truth of these statements: I am black. I am American. I am male. I am gay. I would not presume to deny similar statements from others, but what disturbs me is the persistent unspoken, but commonplace, belief that these are unassailable limits of existence. It is as if we cannot even imagine alternatives.

And so my battleground for change as an artist is the human imagination itself. I find my tools for change outside the real. I seek possibility in the fantastic, in the unbelievable that goes beyond mere spectacle and enters the speculative.

It is this fact of speculative fiction—the possibility—that has always made it my favorite genre. I am a champion of SF precisely because it challenges our limits, brings us to new thresholds. Does science fiction predict our future? Yeah....but I think that’s a bit of a crude way of looking at it. I do think that sci fi at its best anticipates our future. And stuff like Star Trek attempts to envision a future worth working towards. SF helps to articulate possibility.

If you are of the mind that pop culture helps shade the American imagination, I invite you to consider the impact of Nichelle Nichols as Uhura in Star Trek…

Consider the impact (decades later) of Avery Brooks, as not only a crew member, but as the Commander (and later Captain) on Star Trek Deep Space Nine…And that’s just Star Trek.

There has been a concerted, if imperfect, effort to be more inclusive in science fiction in so many interesting works…and not just in race…consider Sigorney Weaver’s Ripley in Alien...and those are just a few pop culture ones…

This week has been a rare moment where we have rushed head-first across a threshold into our future. The concept of a “black president” has been a marker in the African-American psyche for as long as I can remember. I would say it has been something always deemed possible, but probably not “in our lifetimes.” And yet, here we are.

So now, as we come together to break this historical barrier, I am wondering what other articulations of the future will preoccupy my imagination. There’s a lot of work to do, of course. Plenty to “write towards change” about. And…it’s as if all of a sudden I have a bit more latitude, especially as a person of color, to set my sights on new possibilities…hmmm. Interesting to see where this will lead.

I want to know what Christopher Columbus would think. What would Thomas Jefferson say? Harriet Tubman? Frantz Fanon…Queen Victoria…W.E.B. DuBois….Walt Whitman…Emperor Hirohito…Walt Disney…what about Black Elk? I want to chat with James Baldwin and Octavia Butler about it…I want to see what history would say about this moment…about this future that is somehow already here.

Updates of Late: The Lattice Crashes

2008-10-18T23:11:00.008-04:00

So October is moving into its last half, and a lot has happened. For starters, the River View Players presented a reading of the The Lattice Crashes at the end of September.

If you’ve been fortunate enough to evade my babblings about this piece, The Lattice Crashes is a play in two acts that looks at contemporary times from, like, a thousand years from now—race, gender, politics, it’s all different. And trying to make sense of our world is a real humdinger:

Unless a computer technician can uncover “the facts” about a college hate crime in 2002, the incident will be deleted from a vast, futuristic supernetwork--the Lattice. But no one is telling the truth: not the victim, not the assailant, and certainly not their parents.

I directed the piece, with a talented set of performers:

* Mercedes - the network technician - was played by Ms. DuEwa Frazier
* Kitty - the archival computer - was played by Ms. Teresa Michelle Lasley
* Patterson - Junior Member of the Council on Historical Integrity (Mercedes’ Boss) - was played by Mr. Rhonney Greene
* Sean Robertson, III – the victim – was played by Mr. Kelvin Summerhill
* Avery Harrison Cole – the assailant – was played by Mr. Clinton Lowe
* Debra Robertson – Sean’s mother – was played by Ms. Shanae Sharon
* Charlene Morris – Avery’s guardian – was played by Ms. Tanya Hartwell

Esteemed playwright, Laurence Holder, narrated the piece.

The Lattice Crashes strives towards emotional integrity, even if the characters themselves are challenged by the notions of truth and fact. Lots of fun, and the cast did a great job, especially with such limited prep time. The performance was lively, and the audience was engaged. During the talkback and a few after-show chats, I got a lot of useful feedback. I'm always grateful for that.

I’d say all in all, The Lattice Crashes has passed the essential audience test. Of course there’s still a lot of work to do. I just finished the core rewrites, and I’m looking forward to taking the next steps with this piece. It’s already opening up other opportunities on other projects, so I’m quite pleased.

*****

In other news, I saw a few other plays and creative pieces that I, of course, have strong opinions on. I won’t name them at this juncture (liked one, had some problems with the other), I’ll just end this entry with a cautionary tale:

Be careful on the streets of New York after you have watched a play you weren’t necessarily impressed with. Yes, you paid your ticket and have a right to be critical, but be mindful—those streets are public. You never know when someone sensitive-- an audience member, or producer, or actor, or whoever--might be lurking right around the corner just as you get into your most dastardly disparaging derision.

But you know what else, I don’t take it back. Nope. I don’t. I just need to watch my mouth.

That’s all for now. I’ll get into detail after there’s been a bit more distance so those who know me, or know what I’m talking about won’t be able to figure it out as easily.

Later

Updates of Late - Fire Finished Up and a new Sunday Series

2008-09-11T13:55:00.004-04:00

So it's been a minute since I posted last.

My hats off to the entire team at Freedom Train Productions for the August's Fire festival. After Sharon Bridgforth’s work, the festival showcased works in development by Harrison David Rivers and Aurin Squire, all accomplished writers who clearly have a future in playwrighting.

In other news, the River View Players launched their new performing arts series Sunday, September 7th at Café Largo in Harlem. It was a lovely event, and very well attended by various leaders and luminaries in the Uptown New York Arts scene.

The weekly series at the Cafe will feature a variety of dramatic readings, film screenings, poetry, monologues and other performances every Sunday at 4 P.M. I’m happy to report that I’m involved with two projects that have been selected for the series:

September 21, 2008 – the River View Players will present excerpts of It Goes Unsaid, Under the Spell Production’s anchor show, of which I am a co-author. We are looking forward to a new interpretation of this work.

September 28, 2008 – the River View Players will present excerpts of my new play, The Lattice Crashes, which examines a college hate crime from the vantage point of the distant future.

Both events are free and open to the public so come on up to the Café!
There’s more information on the River View Players Website.

That’s all for now.

-Derek

Derek saw delta dandi at Fire!

2008-08-11T01:08:00.005-04:00

So my friends at Freedomtrain Productions kicked off their Fire! New Play festival last week with Sharon Bridgforth’s delta dandi.

This was an evocative, poetic performance piece presented by four voices in a spoken-word style. The content of the piece is derived, as the title suggests, from the Southern delta—the lives, struggles, and joys of the folk in that culture. It is rich material to draw from, but what sets this piece apart from others, in my opinion, is how the playwright’s mastery of structure enables an exemplary dramatic experience. It was as if the audience was immersed in a jazz quartet’s jam session, with riff’s, harmonies, dissonance, and overlapping rhythm…

But this was not your typical spoken-word poetry night. delta dandi doesn’t tread heavily in explosive outbursts and the all-too-familiar critiques of capitalism, stolen homelands, racial tension, etc. delta dandi operates on a different wavelength. Subdued, layered and multivocal, delta dandi is in conversation with a literary aesthetic that refuses absolutes in favor of atmosphere.

delta dandi is very much an idiom, where the meaning cannot be apprehended in the direct approach to the text. The grammar of the work is where I locate its beauty; this piece jazzes the sentence. The musicality of the work, expressed by four very talented performers, invites the audience to experience sound, beats, shared expression. Substantively, it is a conjure—a personal and communal invocation of the past—a calling up and confrontation of memory, through word.

…And it is beautiful.

Days later as I write this response, a question lingers in my mind. This invocation works through the collective pain that people of color in the delta have endured. Through its many facets, this piece confronts a general trauma (with specific instances) that gives the experience its pathos and roots it firmly in the African-American experience. This is all well and good, but I want to know what we, as audiences in the 21st Century, do with this sort of dramatic experience.

It is all too easy to participate in the experience as history, as blood memory, as something that is no longer material. The conjure, after all, is temporary, and the pain invoked relies on a sort of communal understanding of a historicized world. This scene is clearly removed from the present; the conjuring act is a bridge. But I wonder about the distancing side-effect. What happens when we locate the trauma of the drama in a mythological, remembered history? Does delta dandi enable a severance from the clearly distressing circumstances of many people of color in the south today? I don’t know.

On one hand, the audience is rewarded by taking part, by sharing and working through this experience. But on the other hand, the world itself seems very much frozen in a moment of ago with no clearly articulated pathway to today. The conjure finishes, the dream/memory vanishes, and we are left more aware and troubled by a pain (and joy) that once was. This becomes a pain we cannot do anything about but remember and reflect upon, an experience I encounter as a history of somewhere else. Not as present. Not here.

I just wish there were some way to conjure a world like this without letting the audience get away in the end. It would be interesting to see the conjure overtake our present, the living moment. The memory could leap out from its assigned place in history and make trouble in the now of it. But that, really, would be a different piece.

In the end, delta dandi succeeds because its elements work in synergy. Blues/jazz conventions color and inform the content...the experience is breathtakingly evocative, with a melody I look forward to experiencing again.

Barbara Ann Teer and the National Black Theatre

2008-07-30T00:05:00.001-04:00

Barbara Ann Teer, founder of the National Black Theatre, has passed away. On Monday, July 28, I had the privilege of witnessing part of the funeral procession through the streets of Harlem. It was a celebration of the life of a driving force in American performance. She helped forge a new path for live Theater, championing the cultures of people of African descent.

Reading about her legacy, I realize how indebted I am, as an artist of color, to her dedication to changing the fields of arts and entertainment. At the same time, I recognize this moment as one of reflection.

I, and future generations, and the beneficiary of that struggle. And as I reflect on this sentiment, I am filled with humility and awe at the task before me. As an artist of color, I embrace my role in this ongoing legacy. I am hopeful to make my own mark in the African-American cultural tradition.

Yet at the same time, I am intrigued and motivated by the opportunities to reach, speak to, and speak for, a broader audience…and because of the work of people like Dr. Barbara Ann Teer, I know that I can.

Rest In Peace.

Playwrights on Writing for Film and TV

2008-07-25T00:19:00.004-04:00

After work today I headed down to the Public Theater to attend “Stage and Screen: Playwrights Talk About Writing for Film and Television.”

It was a forum produced by the Summer Play Festival at the Public in partnership with the NYC Mayor’s Office of Film Theatre and Broadcasting (MOFTB). Moderated by Katherine Oliver, the commissioner of the MOFTB, the forum featured three working playwrights—Keith Bunin, Adam Rapp, and Beau Willimon .

I only got to see the last 30 minutes or so of the session, but it was a confidence booster for me. One of the major points that hit home was playwrights’ discussion about how self-production is what just about everyone does to get into the field. You gotta do it yourself first. I’m at that stage right now, so I was pleased to hear that even if you groom your career with MFA’s and whatnot, getting in the door usually takes plain old persistence and sweat and magic fairydust.

They also noted how it is virtually impossible to eke out a modest living on playwriting alone, and gave interesting anecdotes about their experiences writing for film and TV. One thing I would have liked to hear more about is how you can get income speaking engagements. (They said this is how Tony Kushner pays his bills, not really from his royalties and whatnot. I wanted details! I can do a speaking engagement too!)

A pretty good forum in my opinion, and I applaud the folks who put it together.

That’s all for now.

Updates of Late

2008-07-14T13:58:00.002-04:00

Well I’ve been busy lately, and haven’t been in touch with you all.

July 12, 2008
I attended the Indie Theater 2nd Convocation. Wow. It was great to be among so many professionals working in Independent Theater, and I am every excited to participate more fully in this community. What can I say—Indie Theater is what I do, I just didn’t know we could call it Indie. The other term (off-off broadway) implies a certain aspiration to be on the Great White Way. That’s just not the case for all of my shows, and Indie Theater better conveys that point. And that’s just the name, there’s a lot more to it… Go Indie!

June 19, 2008
A few weeks ago was Juneteenth, and my friends at Freedom Train Productions brought it in with an evening of Theater called After the Ballot. This event helped support the month-long festival they produce every year, Fire! A scene from my new play, The Lattice Crashes, was featured for After the Ballot. It was a great evening.

I finished a draft of the Lattice Crashes about two months ago. In a nutshell this two-act play follows a technician in the distant future charged with fixing a computer archive of human history. A 21st century “gay-bashing” event is giving her trouble because everyone is lying about it, but she’d rather hit 'delete' than figure out the truth.

I’m a member of the Harlem Arts Alliance/Columbia University Dramatic Writers Workshop, and I was supposed to get feedback for the Lattice Crashes from a mentor in the program. But I missed my feedback day!!!! (Long story. Completely my fault.)

May 27th 2008
It Goes Unsaid went to London. We actually got it there for the Accidental Festival. It was tough work (but not much new writing). The show was a success, I’d say, since we’ve been invited back. That was an experience that warrants a full blog entry. But we're a bit burnt out at Under the Spell. We are planning more projects for August though. I guess I’ll get to sharing more about London sometime. Bother me about it.

The Launch of a Season of Collaboration

2008-04-22T13:46:00.002-04:00

On Thursday, April 24, 2008 6:30 PM, Under the Spell Productions and FeVA Productions, Inc., will open their season of collaboration at Shetler Studios, located at 939 Eighth Avenue, Third Floor, New York, NY (between 55th and 56th Street).

This event is free and open to the public. I'll be there, probably hosting or something.

The evening begins with a staged reading of You’ve Changed, the winning script of the first annual Words Rising New Dawn Reading Series. The drama tells the story of a young Haitian-American woman and her family dealing with love, struggle and triumph. You've Changed is a humorous and poetic celebration of life told in eight vignettes.

The evening continues with a question and answer session with the playwright, followed by an announcement of the spring/summer season.

You can get more info on the www.spellfeva.blogspot.com

Later

I saw a great Broadway play last weekend: Passing Strange

2008-02-17T21:31:00.004-05:00

Passing Strange is a coming of age story, following a young man on a quest for something called “the real.” The journey carries him across Europe as he puts emotional and physical distance between his roots as a middle –class African-American youth in Los Angeles. I really enjoyed this show. It was fun, creative, and, unlike so many musicals on Broadway, actually had some substance behind it.

The show’s primary marketing image is a silhouette of the narrator, Stew, and recalls B.B. King to me. I thought this would be a blues show. But the cast (six actors, a band of four, and Stew himself) infused the show with a vibrant energy--a real pleasure to watch. By the end of Act I, I was convinced Passing Strange had the artistic strength to capture audiences looking for the next RENT.

The second act is also strong. Yet towards the end, the vivid and rich tapestry brought forth by the supporting characters falls away, leaving in its wake something more introspective. This worked, driving the core themes of self-discovery to the fore, but I found myself yearning for something slightly different. It’s as if Passing Strange “passed” on the opportunity to become a complete ensemble piece. But that’s okay, the work still resonates, and I wish it a successful run.
And that’s my two cents.

Some thoughts on history, race, and what's next...

2008-02-07T00:15:00.000-05:00

I am watching Henry Louis Gates’ African American Lives II on channel Thirteen right now. Professor Gates is mining our nation’s history, focusing on African-American descendants of slaves, and the stories of their ancestors. It’s a very engaging piece of work, and I find myself swept up in Gates’ depiction of our shared cultural heritage.

When I watch something like African-American Lives, I am quite proud and interested in that history, in those people. My own people I would say. And I don’t want to forget these stories. At the same time, I realize that this tragic American history, the long tale of how and why people of African descent came to be Americans, necessarily highlights the failings of this nation. It underscores our historical racist legacy. And I want to be beyond that. I don’t want to be mad at anyone. No one alive today is responsible for what their ancestors did or did not do.

So my question is this, how do we negotiate race in a healthy, constructive manner today? How do we understand the history of diversity in this nation without reinforcing the types of behaviors and misunderstandings that make up racism in all of its forms? How do we put race in its place wihtout e-racing it?

Performing Arts vs. Entertainment

2008-01-21T23:01:00.001-05:00

So I’m a writer, right? It’s want I do, what I want to get paid to do. Right now, I’m heavy into writing plays. It’s just how things are coming together. Of course, I’d like to get into film, and novels and whatnot. But at present, the opportunities are in live theater. I do live in NYC after all.

I just got word of a grant to support It Goes Unsaid, a performance piece I co-authored with Rhonney Greene and Teresa Lasley at Under the Spell Productions. The grant is a very encouraging accomplishment, and I’m thrilled to have been a “winner” in that regard. Of course, it doesn’t really cover the costs in actually mounting the production. But it recognizes the “artistic merit” of what It Goes Unsaid does as a performance piece.

What in the world is a performance piece anyway? Well, as I understand it, a performance piece is a work meant to be observed live. It takes elements of conventional theater, but also samples from other kinds of modes of expression: dance, music, spoken word, photography, film etc. So it is play in the loosest sense of the word, but doesn’t necessarily follow a set dramatic format.

It Goes Unsaid is a very exciting project to be working on. And at the same time, it presents its own set of challenges. Plays are a bit different. There are set avenues of success for them. But a performance piece? Broadway doesn’t really pick those up exactly…sort of, well there are things like Blue Man Group…but I’m not sure that really captures what the breadth a “performance piece” can cover.

It Goes Unsaid is a pretty serious work, dealing directly with race, self-hatred, misogyny, and a whole host of other social issues. It’s pretty engaging, I’d say, and was commissioned to be so. It’s an artsy socially-conscious kind of thing. And I must say I love it. At the same time, I want to take it BIG.

But how?

I’m reaching a bit of a divide that I feel is unfair: performing arts vs. entertainment. Performing arts is what I would call more culturally responsible artistic work—something a like jazz concert or the ballet, or basically anything that Hollywood has trouble with. Entertainment is just the opposite: the stuff that is easy to like by just about everyone.

Of course I want to do both. And I think the best kind of art works in both realms. Right now, It Goes Unsaid is working just fine in the performing arts side of things, and its entertaining. Most definitely. But…is it viable as an entertainment production?

As we speak, my partners and I are wracking are brains on how to take our Performance Piece BIG, as in real big with REAL BIG PROFIT. We have some vested interests in taking it in that direction. But, as any Theater professional will tell you, profit margins in live entertainment are narrow. So I’m looking to “think outside the box,” and use other clichés of creativity as I try to nail down realizing the full potential of my “performance piece.”

That’s all for now. Let me know your thoughts.

Ruminations on a Social Pressure Cooker - The Breaking Point

2008-01-15T23:35:00.000-05:00

In the summer of 2007 I reached a breaking point with someone. I don’t think it’s fair, or really that productive, to use my blog as a point to blast someone who isn’t around to defend herself. But suffice it in 2007, I began to internalize a certain unease, a certain dissatisfaction with my relationship with a single individual.

This person is someone I actually have a great deal of respect, even admiration for, but our approaches to life seem worlds apart. And sometime over the summer, due to circumstances that had forced us to cooperate, I decided I just couldn’t do it anymore. I remember the conversation. I interrupted her and simply told her this wasn’t working.

It was a break-up. Not a romantic one, but emotional nonetheless, with lasting consequences.

That wasn’t the beginning of the end of that relationship. It was poisoned from the beginning, I would say. I was already stretched to my limit. And she entered the situation not quite aware of what was going on. Once she grasped the magnitude of the situation, stress moved in full time, and what became a tense environment became a distressed, incessant crisis--

--Which seemed to work for her. There was plenty of blame to go around, and I was definitely as much a part of the problem as the possible solution. But it was as if she wasn’t as interested in solving things, making things better, than dwelling on the impossibility of the problem, picking at the scab, infecting the wound. I wouldn’t say this pleased her in any way, but it just seemed to be a prevalent tendency of hers that I found…well bewildering.

I removed myself from the situation. It hurt…both of us (I think.) But it was the right decision. I don’t think either of us could argue about that now. (Although we seemed to be able to argue about everything else.)

Looking at it now, I should have seen the writing on the wall weeks (or even months) before that final argument, that final “civil discussion” where I lost all interest in “working things out.”

It wasn’t a specific word that was said. It wasn’t a look in the eye, or a lack of communication. (at least I think we were communicating.)

It felt cumulative. I was holding in, internalizing problems that existed prior to my relationship with this woman, but her presence, our method of interaction seemed to…

To what? Highlight the absurdity of the situation? Exacerbate what was already a wounded world I let myself live in?

I’m just not sure. And I want to know more about what we mean when we say “this is the last straw.” Is it really? How?

So I have to wonder, what is a breaking point?
What is your breaking point?

2008 Goals: Gotta Get It Together a Bit Better

2008-01-11T21:56:00.000-05:00

I am tasking myself with some key objectives for my writing career this year.
For 2008 I will pursue the following:

2008 WRITING GOALS

CREATIVE WORK

• Teena Keeper
She resists---what is the proper method to pursue her resistance?
• The Lattice Crashes – Draft II

• The Apocalyptist Episodes

• Nightqueen Re-exploration Ghaljun MUSIC

• Musical _The engenue, the diva, the other one.

WRITING PROGRAMS/AWARDS-- I must apply to:

• Princess Grace Playwriting Award 3/15/08
• Scriptapalooza 4/05/08
• Nicholl Fellowship 4/15/08
• Sundance Screenwriters Lab 4/15/08
• Walt Disney Studios/ABC Fellowship 5/15/08
• Final Draft Big Break 5/15/08
• Yale Drama Series 8/10/08
• New Dramatists 8/15/08
• ASA International Screenplay Competition 10/01/08
• Script Magazine 9/15/08

Summer 2008 The Public Theater Emerging Playwrights

Spring 2008 New York Theater Workshop Playwrights of Color

2007 in Review: Creative Writing Goals

2008-01-09T22:05:00.001-05:00

So 2007 is over. I set some pretty lofty creative writing goals last year, building off of some minor breakthroughs in 2006. But how far did I get this past year? Let’s have a look:

January 2007
Goal: Nightqueen - 2nd Draft Moonrise

Result:
Well... I did do a new draft of NightQueen (In May!). I’m almost ready to get a staged
reading going to see how all this fantasy, urban wilderness, epic would really work on the stage…
Getting there. Getting there.

Feb. 2007
Goal: It Goes Unsaid - New Draft:

Result??
Hey! I worked on a new draft of that too, with my creative partners. We even put up a show in July, and…well, I’m not going to get into all of that right here. Yeah a new draft was completed, but is it all we hoped and dreamed for...we're still working.

March 2007
Goal: Finish Stardate Version 2 - Single Alien

Result: Hmmm. Well I did come up with something. I mean doesn’t a mock reality show depicting aliens on blind dates appeal to you? It sounded like a good idea to me, but…well I’ve always thought comedy was the hardest thing to write. I put this baby on hold in April.

July 2007
Goal: Revisit Teena Keeper character

Result: Ahhh, Teena Keeper. Who is she? Ever since I wrote that first story about her back in college, she has lurked in the shadows of my imagination. Her story is…immense and intense, and, well, I have to say I didn’t get back to writing it in 07. I thought about though, an awful lot. Yeah. I worked it I guess...yeah! SHAME ON ME!!!

Self-Assessment:

Hmm. Looks like I slacked a bit creatively here. But in my own defense I did write some other stuff. Theater has really began to take over my life. I landed a job at the Apollo in July, and I’ve been soaking up all I can about how a Theater really works. At the same time, I’ve really been putting my time into some new scripts. In 2007, I wrote the first draft of a new full-length play, The Lattice Crashes. And I have a loose collection of some sci-fi vignettes that, eventually, will get me back to Teena.

But, really, I got away from all the writing. And I have no one to blame but myself. I’m giving myself a "C" creatively in 2007.

Yes, it’s hard to stay focused. Yes, it’s hard to stay motivated. But excuses do not a career as a writer make.

What does that mean? It means for 2008, I have to get it together!

What do you think?

2008: Online Writing Headquarters - Reimagined and Invigorated

2008-01-08T22:17:00.000-05:00

Well here I am on my very own googles blogspot. I intend to dedicate this webspace to the development of my career as a writer, specifically a creative writer of dramatic material.

I have to say that I think blogging is really neat, but I don't feel compelled to post my opinions and whatnot on every little thing. I've never really had a problem with sharing my opinions on this or that. I think there are enough people doing that.

This blog is my public portal to advance my long-standing aspirations as a creative writer. I'm writing here for your feedback, encouragement, support, and advice. That's what I'm after.

-Derek Lee McPhatter