- Delighted to learn that The Twelve Huntsmen is getting a number of productions at high schools, middle schools, and theatre groups. I’ve had the pleasure of video chatting with some of the directors and their actors, and what a joy it is to jump into someone’s rehearsal space or classroom.
- Dolcevita or The Clown Chorus of the Carnival del Dolcevita Proudly Presents the Sad Tale of the Turbinado Triplets has TWO productions lined up. This is a truly bonkers play, and it astonishes me that it’s happening. My actors who were a part of the original show are also excited.
- Acme Theatre will be producing Icarus Livingstone Falls Into the Sea, a play I deeply love that had not found another production.
NEXT UP!
The New Play is also the oldest story: The Odyssey
After two weeks of playing around with different texts and old stories, we’ve decided that the next play will be a slightly immersive adaptation of The Odyssey. I am specifically creating it to be produced in those cafetoriums / gymnatoriums and black box and outdoor spaces. I’ll give a more detailed reason as to why in the future.
There are some spectacular re-imaginings of The Odyssey out there. Nicelle Davis’s Circe is a particularly brilliant collection of poems that focuses on the neglected figure, and I have no doubt that there are versions told from Penelope’s POV. I am more interested in figuring out how to tell the original story in a modern theatrical idiom. My actors have this clownish, campy energy, and they’re attracted to the big fight scenes, and you can feel how that element from The Odyssey is one reason it’s been around so long. We’re going to see how to make this thing our own.
Briandaniel Oglesby 