Last summer Bethany, our resident stage manager, insisted that I had to see a little film from the 80s called “About Last Night.” After the credits rolled and the dialogue started, I looked over at her and exclaimed, “I know this, it’s Sexual Perversity in Chicago.”  And from that point on Bethany insisted it had to be part of this year’s staged reading series.  To be fair, I didn’t take a whole lot of convincing.
 
In many ways Sexual Perversity is the perfect compact representation of David Mamet and his singular writing style.  From the rapid-fire witty dialogue to the exceptionally not politically correct black humor, he manages to entertain you while exploring relationships between men and women through his own twisted lens.  We’ve had an absolute blast working on this script and hope you enjoy the show.

Too often, when a director, or adaptor, takes on a classic work like MISS JULIE they run into an audience member who considers themself a “purist,” who complains that the work they are witnessing is egregiously different than the way it was originally meant to be performed… For that audience member I call your attention to Mr. Strindberg’s original introduction to this very play. He writes of his great desire to see the work performed naturally, by actors lit without footlights, in minimal makeup, in a setting where the characters live within a room, ignorant of the audience… “and, if first and foremost we could have a small stage and a small house, then perhaps a new dramatic art might arise, and theatre once more become a place of entertainment for educated people (Strindberg, 1888).”  7 and 1/2 years ago, on a cold autumn day. I aimlessly climbed a hill in Stockholm, only to discover a little park, and at its center, a great statue of a man sprawled atop a craggy pillar of stone.  That statue is a memorial to August Strindberg, a tortured artist who struggled with his own mountains and valleys. His works have dragged the theatre, sometimes kicking and screaming, to the place where we can revisit this play in a manner I think he would have enjoyed, and I hope you do as well.

Angels in America Part II: Perestroika is open and running.  Take a look at the second excellent review from Alec Clayton:

http://alecclayton.blogspot.com/2015/02/angels-in-america-part-2-perestroika.html

Thank you to Tacoma News Tribune theatre critic Alec Clayton for his lovely review of Angels in America on his personal blog:

"Under the direction of Niclas R. Olson and with super performances by a cast including Christian Carvajal, Anthony Neff, Bonnie Vandver, Austin C. Lang, Terrence Lockwood, Sara May, and Andrea Weston-Smart, Olympia Little Theatre’s staged reading of Angels in America Part I: Millennium Approaches is a new high for local theater." - Alec Clayton



http://alecclayton.blogspot.com/2015/02/angels-in-america-at-olympia-little.html

Follow the link for Molly Gilmore's article on Angels in America in The Olympian:
http://www.theolympian.com/2015/02/18/3582288/olympia-little-theater-tackles.html

In his introduction to the printed text of Angels in America, Tony Kushner intones, “It’s OK that the wires show, and maybe it’s good that they do, but the magic should at the same time be thoroughly amazing.” When OLT asked me if I would consider tackling this two-part behemoth as a staged reading, this turn of phrase became ingrained in my understanding of the play. The book-in-hand style of presentation, long a staple of professional workshops and readings, gives us an incredible opportunity to use our imaginations. By limiting staging, sets, and costumes, a trunk can become a bench, an actor can change characters just by changing a coat, and the real magic in this play, Tony Kushner’s writing, can jump to the forefront. This sketchbook version of Angels in America is half theatre, half radio, and ultimately a playground for the imagination. It’s OK that the scripts show, and maybe it’s good that they do, but at the same time, the actors and technicians who have worked with me to bring this experience to life have created something thoroughly amazing. Thank you for coming and please enjoy the show.

In many ways I find that Faustus is a story about circles of isolation.  The great tragedy of Faustus is that as he attempts to expand his circle by greater and greater deeds he isolates himself from the world and becomes a prankster and purveyor of party tricks rather than gain the respect and power he so longs to find.  This production is built on circles, circles of power and influence, of magic and despair, but mostly on circles of protection, “by which Faustus hath lost both Germany and the world, yea, Heaven itself,..”  This play has been on our short list for years and we’re delighted to finally bring it to the stage.  I hope you enjoy the show.

“Uncertainty.”  The idea that it is impossible to accurately measure where we are, but only to measure the effects of our passing.  I’ve been thinking about Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle a lot recently, especially as it relates to theatre.  The staged reading series, which ends tonight, has been a whirlwind, a marathon unlike anything I have experienced as a director or producer, and an incomparable pleasure.  But so often I’ve been too focused on the future to sit back and enjoy the moment, only later realizing how much I enjoyed the process; the time spent creating art with each wonderful cast.  So tonight, I hope we all ski a little slower, sit back, and enjoy the moment as it comes, however that may be.

When choosing the plays for our reading series, I had one very important goal: to find at least one play with really good, meaty roles for women, and Eric Overmeyer, in On The Verge, offered up not only three great roles, but a really fun, kooky play to top it off.
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I find this play delightful.  It somehow manages to make me smile every time I read it or hear this fine cast speak the lines, no matter what my mood beforehand.  It is a tonic to the woes and pessimism of daily life, a little burst of confidence, sunshine, and wonder to brighten up my day.  I’m going to have fun this evening, and I hope you will as well. 

In my research, I watched an interview with the cast of the upcoming Broadway revival of this particular show, and Kieran Culkin, who will be playing Dennis, put it best: “If there is one show I could do for six, seven months, it’s this show.  And I also find it absolutely bananas that a show that’s this good has never been to Broadway.”  That’s about to change, and we get the chance (after some wrangling for the rights) to bring a show this good to Tacoma.

​Jacob actually pitched this script to me last summer, not knowing that I’ve had it on my personal short list for about five years, and after that it was only a matter of time.  I’m so thrilled to take on this play with such an incredible cast, if even for one night, and can’t thank you enough for supporting challenging and engaging theatre like This Is Our Youth.