A Bit of Bedlam: Connecting New York and Houston

Hello from New York City!

I'm here for a week or so because Kim took a position as assistant director on a production of ARCADIA, by Tom Stoppard, produced by BEDLAM Theatre Co.

Our association with BEDLAM began almost a decade ago, when Kim and I saw a production of TWELFTH NIGHT, which BEDLAM called WHAT YOU WILL. WHAT YOU WILL was an experimental adaptation of TWELFTH NIGHT. It was so creative and smart - five or six actors, all dressed in 1920's white costumes, embodying all of Shakespeare's characters wonderfully, and smearing primary colors of paint on each other or themselves whenever they fell in love. That paint got smeared on other actors and the floor and on set pieces, so that by the end of the performance, love was, literally, everywhere. It was an exquisite theatrical experience, and Kim and I were utterly rapt.

After that show, we waited for the actors to come out and met Eric Tucker, the artistic director, and Kim asked him then and there if BEDLAM would consider doing a show in Houston. Eric said yes, and soon after, we were fortunate enough to have BEDLAM's production of Shaw's SAINT JOAN at 4th Wall.

Now Kim is observing, and taking part in, rehearsals, and is learning, but is also "exporting" the 4th Wall brand to NYC. I'm so proud of her, and feel lucky to have spent time in the rehearsal room, myself.

While I'm here we're seeing some shows, both as part of my job (always looking for material that we could do at 4th Wall) but also for entertainment. As always, the work is at a high level, and some of it works, and some of it doesn't. Making theatre is hard, and even in a place that boasts scads of incredibly talented actors, directors, playwrights, designers, stage managers, artisans, crew, etc. there are shows that don't gel. It's fun to go to them, and discuss with Kim what is and isn't working.

I hope you all got to see 4th Wall's production of THE PAVILION. I was in it, of course, so maybe not the best judge, but when something is really working, and firing on all cylinders, as it were, you just know, and for me, THE PAVILION was one of those. Maybe you spent time after seeing it discussing what did and didn't work, but I hope the part of the discussion about what didn't work was short or, dare I say, non-existent!
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I'm spending time now learning my lines for SENSE AND SENSIBILITY, adapted by Kate Hamill, and have a very good feeling about it, too. All the elements for it to be a happy experience are there, and I'm eager to get to work on it.

And, to tie this meandering, bloggy thing up in a neat circle, it's particularly fun, because this script was Kate Hamill's breakout hit, and it was originally directed by Eric Tucker, and produced by, you guessed it, BEDLAM.

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See you at the theatre!
Philip