BARE Archives

Yup, sure enough this past week was so insightful. Got to hear where the play sings, where it weeps, and where it leaves questions. Speaking of questions, would love to see any comments about the piece, from you, our loyal partners, patrons and company members. Part of this process has been about sitting with the audience and experiencing the passion, the anger, the sadness and, yes, the bewilderment that BARE illicits. I invite any of you to join the discussion. Looking forward to another three performances.
Barf. Burp. Beep. Boom.

Tonight we open this workshop production and the swaddled baby gets unwrapped - pulled from warm cloth into the cold night air. As a step in an ongoing process, I look forward to sitting with the audience and hearing their reactions, experiencing their excitements, confusions, angers and passions. The lessons keep coming and I expect another strong one this eve.
See you there - Together we will dine on fresh hearts.
BOOM BOOM.

my perfectionism...Tweak, tweak, adjust, twirl, spin, double loop and back flip. The piece is just about there. I find myself being compulsive over single words (Should that be a "the" or an "a") in an attempt to allow the greatest truth to spew forth. It's actually a bit of a relief to be at this point in the process - where small details are now the focus. I really appreciate both Michael's and Edgar's comments - Their work has helped me find the logic of the piece. Scenes I wasn't sure worked have been illuminated for me by actors and a director, who are willing to bend over backward to find the reasoning behind each and every moment. Their truthfulness has stopped the play from cheating. Instead, it's dogged, merciless really. Tonight, I'm going to be looking at one scene in particular - It contains an emotional core I find intriguing, but it may detract from the journey of the piece. It may be a breather, a calm before the coming storm, that takes the air out of what follows.

A few days off are coming - Turkey leading to satiated sleep - Then return well-rested, ready to invite an audience to see what we have found together.

Beep.
Chomp.
Barf.

I am a bear that bares himself as he is barely able to contain his natural instinct. And I dance with the Pope! HA!

As Michael mentioned in one of the comments Aaron is a fine writer and his blog entries are an interesting insight into the cogs and wheels of his smoking brain.

I hope many people come see this workshop!

BARF.

BURP.

AMEN.

The home stretch. BARE exists as the final gasps of holding on to life - It is one long Last Rites Ritual and the Pope must administer the final prayers. Spent the day channeling Terri's final words, final release into oblivion. Tough stuff. When she says goodbye, not a dry eye in my house - well, my studio apartment anyway.
Can't wait to see what tomorrow's rehearsal brings - Want to hear the cast and Don dig into the new, tight shape of the piece and, since they are all familiar with what has been cut, bring that knowledge to the now spare text.
This process has taught me what this play is about. I only realized recently whose story this truly is and for that I am forever thankful.
Almost beating.
Beep. Boom.

Brutal - BARE is now a long one act. All of the action of Act II has been compressed down into a tidy three pages at the end of what used to be Act I. The excess fat has been trimmed away and all that remains is meat - protein and vitamins.
Don said something tonight at rehearsal that really resonated about Terri's hanginontoolonghubby - and I now will take a look at his journey. His guilt, his shame, his refusal to let go of her shell of a body. The cast has been amazing, bringing nothing but willingness to an ever changing piece - the pressure of new lines, new scenes, new new new - and they are giving nothing but service and dedication. So grateful, because only now is the emotional logic of BARE coming to a boil and I need all the help I can get.
Hope it's not another long night. Maybe I should sleep instead and let dreamtime bring me knowledge.
We shall see. All shall be revealed.
Boom. Boom.

1:30 am - My dreams happen while I am awake. They better. If you drop a rock in a pool of water it causes ripples. That is what is happening with BARE. The Act I changes now mean that Act II needs the same careful attention, the same kind of focus and thrust toward an inevitable ending. So, another evening (and morning) spent with Terri and the Pope, (and more coffee) careening to their mutual demise. The cast and director have really gotten on board with the changes and seem excited by the growth of the piece. Here's to hoping that the sunrise will greet a BARE that is full, not bare.
ROAR.

6 am. - Success! I hope.

Beep. Roar. Snore.

2 a.m. Rehearsal tomorrow, all day. One pot of coffee down, another brewing. Don's plan is to stage most, if not all, of Act I. So, I'm pouring through the script all night, refining the painful, but needed, cuts I have made over the past few days. Before, the play was a leisurely drive - Now, it's a freight train. The stakes are higher, the pain intensified, the sensory and visceral experienced heightened. Characters aren't just talking - they are smelling and tasting - as a result, they can SAY a lot less. Hope I make it without going into caffeine shock and that nothing vital or meaningful has been lost.
And the beat goes on...
Beep. Beep.

During rehearsal this evening, so many discoveries. It's been a joy to see the cast begin to understand and articulate the logic, both thematic and actual, of the play. Their discoveries have taught me so much - where journeys are unclear, where stakes must be raised and how the relationships within the piece exist on many planes at the same moment. Trying to coalesce the disparate elements into a leaner, meaner whole. Don broke down the three basic actions of the final moments of Act I and I must now be brutal - where and when does the play deviate from these basic actions - and if it does, is the moment necessary or is it just fun - and therefore must be excised. Must I kill some of my favorite children to save the family? Ah, the dilemmas of a protective papa.
The play's heartbeat must be loud and clear, always rising above the cacophony.
Beep. Beep.

Just got home from rehearsal number three. After the first read-through, I tore through a bunch of re-writes- I hate that term - after all, isn't it just writing, no matter what the form or purpose- completely working through a new take on the end of the first act - the Grizzly Bear now speaks Polish, the Pope's native when he was a small child tongue. Tonight, the actors, under the carefully worded guidance of Don, the director, really brought things to life, finding meanings and nuances I didn't even know were there. Now, it's my turn to step even further up to the plate. This week, I'm going to slice the play to its bare (pun intended) elements and see what shakes out. It's an experiment which perhaps no one else will ever see, but I think that Theresa's journey and the Pope's needs and desires will be heightened and illuminated. Right now, the piece jukes, jives and dances. Exciting. But maybe it also needs to scream, laugh and cry.
Smakowity! ( Polish for Tasty)

I sit here, taking a procrastination break from BARE re-writes. We're two days away from starting the rehearsal process and the play has already grown, changed, evolved and transformed dramatically over the last month. Characters have disappeared from the landscape, the Pope's guilt has risen to the crack it till it bleeds surface and the Bear has started quoting the old testament.
So grateful for this opportunity to let the play breathe with an amazing cast and wonderful support.
Gotta run. I'm hungry. I think I still have that leftover heart in the freezer. Roar.

Six months after launching our own blog, SOSE has just gotten our first review from one of the major LA blogs: LAist writer Dara Weinberg just posted her review of Preludes & Fugues. Dara's been single-handedly changing the landscape of LA theater criticism with her in-depth, intelligent theater reviews and interviews on LAist, and we're honored to be included. Check it out!

UPDATE: LAist has just posted an interview with Preludes & Fugues writer John Glore and SOSE Artistic Director Matt McCray. Have a read.