One of the great things about being part of this festival is how the LGBTQ-themed shows have come together to support and cross-promote each other, not to mention the great press we’ve gotten from gay publications such as NEXT Magazine in NY, as well as ending up as part of the number one slot with FringeNYC on The Advocate’s Hot Sheet for the week. We also found ourselves as an honorable mention on producer Ken Davenport’s The Producer’s Perspective blog as a standout FringeNYC show. Very exciting, but humbling, especially since The Advocate mentioned me by name — as if my moniker above a title sells tickets. (Not quite yet, but I’m working on it, guys…)

Also very excited that Martian Entertainment (who produced the Tony-winning, sob-inducing revival of The Normal Heart on Broadway) will be in attendance the first two performances. Martian was one of the first producers who answered a production inquiry regarding revolver, and I won’t even try to play it cool: considering Martian’s track record with gay-themed productions on and off-Broadway, I would give my right arm to work with them. Just another one of those things I’m throwing out there.

Amanda and I are heading out to NYC on Tuesday, with all the guys following close behind on Wednesday in time for our tech rehearsal Thursday morning. The company could not be more excited, and I could not be more proud to present them and their amazing performances. See you in New York!

I hope we get a great audience for Amanda and the guys at Celebration — eager to present the changes made following our workshop run.  Been a busy couple of weeks, but frankly, I wouldn’t have it any other way. 

VENUE #11: The Kraine Theater; MON 22 @ 8:45; WED 24 @ 4:30; FRI 26 @ 8; SAT 27 @ 3:30; SUN 28 @ NOON

Tickets go on sale at the Fringe website on July 22nd.

I went to NYC for Pride weekend to see a show at the Kraine, meet with our fantastic publicist, and check out some of the current Broadway and Off-Broadway stuff.  The Kraine is perfect for our production!  With a few minor tweaks, we’ll be able to just drop our show right into the space; very much looking forward to getting the cast there in front of a New York audience.  We go back into rehearsals this Sunday with a new addition: Kyle Pierce, a great actor and even better friend, will be acting as swing for all 4 male roles.  Kyle played Matt Shepard in the Celebration production of revolver in 2010 and read the role of Allan in the first reading of Elysian Fields this January.  Very excited to have him on board. 

New York City was amazing!  Got to see The Motherf**ker with the Hat, The Normal Heart, Anything Goes and Moises Kaufman’s adaptation of TW’s One Arm.  Just throwing this out there, but my dream director for a bigger production of Elysian Fields would be Mr. Kaufman.  His use of light, sound and suggestive set design is right up my alley; so moody and evocative.  I actually met Claybourne Elder, who plays the lead in One Arm, by chance at the gym while I was in New York the day after seeing the production – nice guy. 

Can’t wait to get back to the city, but I’m excited to dive back into the rehearsal process and put a great show together.  Now comes the part I really love!

Yes, when I go to NYC, I generally want to see all the plays, not musicals, since most musicals end up touring. Odds are these play productions won’t hit the west coast anytime soon, although we did luck out with the B’way cast of God of Carnage recently. Several years ago I got to see the all-black cast of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof on B’way, in which Anika Noni Rose was a sexy-as-hell Maggie and James Earl Jones made a thunderous Big Daddy.

Now that most of the publicity and marketing stuff is falling into place for the Fringe production of EF, I’ll be happy to get back to the actual play. I miss the cast like crazy! Ready to start digging in to the updated script and putting together a hell of a show. Just read Ben Brantley’s NY Times review of One Arm in which he admits to a love of all things Williams; is it too much to hope that he might end up in the audience for one of the performances of Elysian Fields? A guy can dream…

More updates after I get back from the Big Apple!

Kevin McAnarney will be acting as our publicist in NY, bringing with him a wealth of experience on some of my favorite projects. He’s worked with Moises Kaufman (who I Facebooked like a crazed playwright stalker after seeing him in the lobby after a performance of 33 Variations this spring; couldn’t be more gracious) and Broadway Cares, and handled publicity for The Temperamentals Off-Broadway last year, just to name a few. Also happens to be a warm, wonderful person who didn’t seem to mind that I’m still a novice at this stuff. I also got the chance to virtually meet Stan Richardson, writer of the play Veritas that was at FringeNYC last year and will be revived in a reading for a Fringe retrospective in June. Taking a trip to NYC in late June and hoping to get some face time with both of them.

I’m also very excited that John Michael Beck — Artistic Director of Celebration Theatre, a big supporter and a great friend — will be co-directing the production of EF we’re taking to NY. John Michael and I always seem to be on the same page, and he’s been great at helping me reign in some of my wackier tendencies when it comes to directing.

Launched our Kickstarter page this week, and already raised some funds — every little bit helps! Also posted on FringeNYC’s program guide (http://www.fringenyc.org/basic_page.php?ltr=E). Now starts the hunt for a sound designer since I definitely need another set of ears on that one (if I had my way, I’d score the whole thing with Kanye West songs, which probably isn’t the best idea for a period piece…). My use of contemporary pop music in some sections and waxing eloquent in the Q&A on the idea of modern sensibilities smashing up against early-20th century repression didn’t quite work as planned. Oh, well — that’s why we workshop, right?

Taking a much-needed long weekend in Palm Springs for the holiday. Hoping to not work and actually relax, but knowing me, I’ll still be making lists of everything that needs to get done. Happy Memorial Day!

Danny and that blasted bubble gum…

Based on my limited experience, feedback is so important when you’re putting a play up, and I’m excited to see the upcoming shows John Michael has scheduled for this series.   I would tell those writers who might be new to the workshop process: don’t sweat it. As scary as it can sometimes be to have people critique your work in an open forum, it’s definitely made me a stronger writer, thickened my skin and given me some fantastic ideas that I wouldn’t have come up with just sitting in front of the computer on my own.  And how boring would it be if everyone had the same reaction to what you wrote?  The worst thing I can imagine is if the only response to one of my plays was a simple, “That was nice.”  

As playwrights we have the power to move, provoke and even piss off our audience; the plays I’m most drawn to are the ones that challenge me.  So to those writers who are even newer at this than me — don’t be afraid to go there.  There are sections of revolver and Elysian Fields that still make me wonder, “Did I take this too far?”  But the  fact that those elements scare me is just a reminder that I made the right choice.  I saw Dan Via’s Daddy this past winter at the Hudson, and what struck me most was that Mr. Via exhibited b***s of steel to take that play in the directions he did.  He seemed thoroughly uninterested in sending us out of the theater coddled and comfortable, and for that reason, I couldn’t get his work out of my head.  That’s the kind of stuff I want to write.  And I’d never know if my work possesses the capacity for such provocation without the workshop process I’ve been through.  If anything, it’s given me the confidence to keep moving.

Chris