From the Journals of Ian Thal

• Judicial Theatre Review of "The Overwhelming" at the Art Fuse

  Bill Marx, Editor of The Art Fuse, is conducting a new experiment, the "judicial arts review." To quote Marx:As coverage of the arts in the conventional, mainstream media wanes, critical discussion of the arts online has settled into two extremes: there’s the corporate dream of an omnipotent “Google” reviewer for [...]
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  Posted: November 07, 2009, 7:08pm EST
  

• Brother Blue 1921-2009

  On November Third, Brother Blue (Dr, Hugh Morgan Hill) left the land of the living. He took the title of "storyteller" but could be, and often was, described as a shaman, griot, or performance artist avant la lettre. He was a powerful presence in the Boston area as well as [...]
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  Posted: November 07, 2009, 10:16am EST
  

• Notes on Class

  I've been following Professor Matthew Isaac Cohen's blog about his course on Bread and Puppet Theatre at Royal Halloway, University of London, with interest in part because my essay "Breaking with Bread and Puppet" which is both a narrative of my decision to stop working with the troupe as well' [...]
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  Posted: November 07, 2009, 8:21am EST
  

• Nobody Sucks... Except That Guy

  Last week, Don Hall, Chicago-based actor, director, theatre-observer, and activist (and well-known enough in the theatrical blogosphere that I trust someone will correct me if I left anything out) has been posting a series on the audition process on his blog An Angry White Guy in Chicago. Having recently been [...]
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  Posted: November 03, 2009, 10:00am EST
  

• Not Only Do I Use Facebook...

  Not only do I use Facebook, but I am in the Facebook movie.Earlier this week I was in a scene in the upcoming film about the creation of Facebook, The Social Network directed by David Fincher and written by Aaron Sorkin. I was hired to play a mime performing in [...]
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  Posted: October 29, 2009, 10:33pm EDT
  

• Time Question

  In a recent thread on the Plays and Playwrights Yahoogroup a number of participants asked what it meant when it is written in the body of the play that it takes place in "the present" (presumingly when it was written) but that "present-day" references are often dated by the time [...]
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  Posted: October 29, 2009, 9:55pm EDT
  

• Aggravation of Prometheus

  Have you heard the story about the event promoter who advertises a reluctant artist with the full expectation that it will force the artist to perform at an event, even after the artist says, "no?" No? With the internet and just a little bit of insanity, anything is possible! Read [...]
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  Posted: October 25, 2009, 2:01pm EDT
  

• Barney Does Google

  Like many artists, I have a day-job that is not in the arts. One Thursday, I find myself in front of a high school advanced placement economics class, filling in for an absent teacher, and attempting to fill in the missing historical context from the handout that the absent teacher [...]
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  Posted: October 19, 2009, 12:38pm EDT
  

• Total War: Post-Reading Analysis

  Cast from left to right: Lou Fuoco, Trudi Goodman, Tom Sprague, Anika Colvin-Hannibal, Savanah Shaughnessy, Daniel Schneider, Kendall Stewart, Mikey DiLoreto), Matthew Zahnzinger (sadly barely visible), and Kate Heffernan. Once again, I forget to take a lot of photographs.And now for the post-reading analysis.The event received blurbs from Art Hennessey's' [...]
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  Posted: October 18, 2009, 12:20pm EDT
  

• Binding Scripts for the Reading

  While roughly half of the actors participating in this weekend's staged reading Total War are happy to print up their own copy of the script if I simply send them the .pdf, others have busier lives-- and so I have been spending evenings binding scripts.My laser printer, which I acquired [...]
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  Posted: October 08, 2009, 8:05am EDT
  

• Yes, I Over-Reacted

  My last post, "Free Play Free-For-All", resulted in more than the usual amount of discussion, not just in this blog's comment section, but on the 99Seats blog and on the Dramatists Yahoogroup. And while it is always a joy to spark debate, it became very clear to me that despite [...]
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  Posted: October 03, 2009, 10:09am EDT
  

• Free Play Free-For-All

  N.B.: 10/3/2009: Since writing this piece, I have decided that it is a bit of an over-reaction, but I keep it here for your entertainment.As an artist who cannot consistently rely on large institutions to promote his events, I make use of on social media, so without hesitation, I did [...]
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  Posted: September 29, 2009, 10:12am EDT
  

• October 11th: A Staged Reading of Total War @ Outpost 186

  Total War, a semi-finalist in the 2009 Dorothy Silver Playwriting Competition, is a five-act play set at a Catholic university where the student newspaper has published a Holocaust denial advertisement. Before faculty, students, and staff can begin the expected dialogue on free speech and religious pluralism, an anarchist-cell using the [...]
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  Posted: September 26, 2009, 2:07pm EDT
  

• Cast for October 11th Staged Reading of "Total War"

  Sunday, October 11th at 8pm at Outpost 186186 1/2 Hampshire Street, Inman Square, Cambridge MAA staged reading of Total War, a play by Ian ThalCast:Jonah Gringer: Dan SchneiderAndrea Kunst: Savanah ShaughnessyEdith Havilland: Kate HeffernanErica Weiss: Kendall StewartFather Aldobrandini: Lou FuocoFather John Bullock: Tom SpragueRichard Doncaster: John M. CostaDuane McCormack: Matthew [...]
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  Posted: September 23, 2009, 5:50pm EDT
  

• Circuit Screening

  Andrew Landauro wrote to tell me that there is a screening of Circuit at the Loring-Greenough House in Jamaica Plain, MA.Circuit is a film directed by Landauro and co-written with Ben Woodard. It's been a long process as I first auditioned for the in 2005, and filmed my scene in [...]
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  Posted: September 06, 2009, 9:59pm EDT
  

• Call for Actors: Staged Reading of "Total War": October 11

  N.B.: As of September 1st, Trudi Goodman will be playing the Officer.N.B.: As of September 20th, Kendall Stewart will be playing the role of Erica Weiss. The roles of Jonah and Duane are still open.N.B.: As of September 22nd, Dan Schneider will be playing the role of Jonah Gringer. The [...]
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  Posted: August 31, 2009, 8:25pm EDT
  

• Look Ma! I'm Part of the Curriculum! Part II

  Once again, Matthew Isaac Cohen, of the Department of Drama and Theatre at Royal Halloway, University of London, is offering his class on Bread and Puppet Theater. I note this in part because my Breaking with Bread and Puppet is on the reading list. The class focusses on using the [...]
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  Posted: August 30, 2009, 2:49pm EDT
  

• Open Air Circus in the Boston Globe

  The Boston Globe sent photographer Erik Jacobs to cover this past weekend's performances of the Open Air Circus, the Somerville, MA based youth circus where I have been teaching mime and commedia dell'arte for the last four-and-a-half years. Somehow, the The Globe chose to feature two photographs of me in' [...]
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  Posted: August 03, 2009, 9:05pm EDT
  

• After the Staged Reading: Rewriting "Total War"

  A couple of weeks ago, I completed the latest set of rewrites to Total War. It was an intense bit of work that began with a trimming of both the longer passages and more philosophically dense passages and an extension of the more character driven drama, trying to expand upon [...]
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  Posted: July 20, 2009, 10:40am EDT
  

• The Staged Reading and What I Learned

  Cast of the April 26th reading of Total War at Outpost 186. Note that Anthony DiBartolomeo has been replaced by Stuart G. Levy. The author regrets not taking more photographs.Despite whatever the lone protester outside of Outpost 186 during the staged reading of Total War was attempting to do, the [...]
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  Posted: April 30, 2009, 9:22am EDT
  

• Total War Picketed in Cambridge!

  Before I recap the staged reading of Total War, a process that has helped me immensely as a playwright attempting to develop his first full-length play, I have have to share with you the performance that was going on outside of the venue.The reading had attracted a protestor. Total War [...]
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  Posted: April 27, 2009, 1:46pm EDT
  

• Motionary Contest

  Agata Stadnik, a graduate student at Mass College of Art and Design, and MIT, initiated the Motionary project as part of her work. She had come to my recent performance at Stone Soup and invited me to participate. Part of that participation was a contest in which I was asked [...]
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  Posted: April 21, 2009, 9:16am EDT
  

• April 26th: A Staged Reading of "Total War" @ Outpost 186

  Cambridge, Massachusetts, Sunday, April 26th, 8pm:Ian Thal hosts a staged reading of his play, Total War, at Outpost 186, located at 186 1/2 Hampshire Street, Cambridge MA.Total War was recently named a semi-finalist in the 2009 Dorothy Silver Playwriting Competition. The reading is an opportunity both for the author to [...]
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  Posted: April 17, 2009, 12:17pm EDT
  

• Cast for Staged Reading of "Total War"

  In the process of learning that self-producing a staged reading is harder work than I expected, I have assembled a cast of players to help me with the April 26th reading of Total War at Outpost 186:Duane McCormack: Anthony DiBartolomeoN.B.: Stuart G. Levy played the part of Duane on April [...]
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  Posted: April 17, 2009, 10:38am EDT
  

• Still Seeking Actors for Staged Reading of "Total War"

  I've received several responses already, but I am still seeking actors to round up the cast for the staged reading of Total War which was recently declared a semi-finalist in this year's Dorothy Silver Playwriting Competition.The reading will be held at Outpost 186 in Cambridge, MA on April 26th. The' [...]
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  Posted: April 04, 2009, 9:58pm EDT
  

• Previews for "Arlecchino Am Ravenous", March 23rd

  Mark Jaquith previews my March 23rd performance of Arlecchino Am Ravenous at Stone Soup Poetry on his Cambridge Community Televisionblog. It features a number of photographs showing my work with my mime and commedia dell'arte students at Open Air Circus.Stone Soup's own blog also has a nice photograph by Bill' [...]
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  Posted: March 18, 2009, 9:57am EDT
  

• Total War Semi-Finalist in Dorothy Silver Playwriting Competition

  Today, I found the following letter, dated March 3, 2009, in my mailbox:Dear Ian,On behalf of the Dorothy Silver Playwriting Competition Committee, thank you for your entry to this year's contest.Your play was selected as a semi-finalist amongst a group of 73 plays which is a noteworthy achievement. Regrettably your [...]
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  Posted: March 10, 2009, 10:20pm EDT
  

• Call for Actors For Staged Reading of "Total War"

  As part of my development process, I have decided to self-produce a staged reading of my play, Total War taking place on Sunday, April 26th at 8pm at Outpost 186 in Cambridge. I am now recruiting actors to assist in this process. As this is simply a reading of a [...]
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  Posted: March 08, 2009, 5:50pm EDT
  

• Monday, March 23: Arlecchino Am Ravenous

  Monday, March 23, 2009 at 8pm at the Out of the Blue Art Gallery:Stone Soup Poetry presents Ian Thal performing his short, one-man play, Arlecchino Am Ravenous, a blend of literary satire and physical comedy. Arlecchino is so driven by hunger, as to eat flies, his own fingers, and even [...]
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  Posted: March 05, 2009, 4:39pm EST
  

• Playwright Binge

  At Art Hennessey's encouragement, I joined the Playwright Binge. During the month of March, bingers attempt to market their plays to at least one theatre or festival per day and periodically report on their efforts.As of the evening of March 2nd, I had made five such submissions, a few inquiries, [...]
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  Posted: March 03, 2009, 8:58am EST
  

• One Gig Leads to Another

  After the briefly lived fame that my account of the Salem show drew from the blogosphere, a more tangible consequence came.My old friend, Chad Parenteau noted that since I had "been touring around a bit, " that he was inviting me to perform at Stone Soup Poetry the long-lived poetry [...]
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  Posted: February 25, 2009, 4:39pm EST
  

• Going Viral

  Somehow, last week's post, Arlecchino at the Gulu-Gulu Cafe received a one-day spike in readership. Intially, I attributed this to this post by my friend, local playwright and actor, Art Hennessey (mentioned previously when I did a presentation for his students at Emerson), on his Mirror up to Nature blog, [...]
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  Posted: February 23, 2009, 12:11pm EST
  

• Arlecchino at the Gulu-Gulu Café

  Sunday, February 15, 2009:I arrived in Salem via commuter rail with my costume bag slung over my should and my make-up case in hand, walking the few blocks from the station to the Gulu-Gulu Café. The sun was beginning to approach the horizon and the bricks of the Odd Fellows'' [...]
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  Posted: February 17, 2009, 3:31pm EST
  

• Do It Yourself: The Staged Reading

  Once I concluded that my script for Total War was in such a condition that I could not really improve upon it by simply rereading it, I followed the advice of a few friends and decided to start submitting it to different theatre festivals, series, and workshops in order to [...]
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  Posted: February 16, 2009, 7:07pm EST
  

• February 15: Arlecchino in Salem/Change of Schedule

  Ryan Travis informs be that there will be a change in the previously announced bill for the Sunday, February 15th Witch City Poetry show. Su Red has had to cancel. This means that I will be the solo feature performer. Otherwise nothing else has changed. There will also be an [...]
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  Posted: February 09, 2009, 9:26pm EST
  

• February 15: Witch City Poetry Presents Su Red and Ian Thal

  Sunday, February 15th, 6:30pm - 9:30pm: I'll be performing as half of a double feature at the Gulu-Gulu Café in Salem, Massachusetts as part of the Witch City Poetry series hosted by Ryan Travis. The other half of the feature will be Su Red who, I am told, will be' [...]
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  Posted: February 05, 2009, 5:29pm EST
  

• Status Update: Writing Projects

  It has been a while since I last updated my blog, so it's best to be brief.As I have mentioned previously, I have submitted my now 104-page script, currently under the title of Total War, to a number of new play festivals, staged reading series, and development workshops. I've thus [...]
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  Posted: January 12, 2009, 1:55pm EST
  

• 364.4 Smoots and One Ear

  Today, a high school friend of mine and Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumna drew my attention to the fact that MIT was honoring former chairman of the American National Standards Institute and the former president of International Organization for Standardization Oliver Reed Smoot, Jr. for also being the basis of [...]
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  Posted: October 05, 2008, 3:50pm EDT
  

• Bread and Censorship: Making Radical Theatre Uncontroversial for Wikipedia

  Mark Stoneman drew my attention to a CNet article on the sheer number of edits conducted on the Wikipedia article on Sarah Palin not just on the day of her unveiling as a vice-presidential candidate, but in the hours leading up to her announcement.This caused me to return to a [...]
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  Posted: September 09, 2008, 11:33am EDT
  

• Once Again: Disturbing News From Burlington, Vermont

  Recent correspondence with Michael Strauss an artist and scientist who teaches at the University of Vermont, both by email and on his blog has alerted me that once again the deceptively named Vermonters for a Just Peace in Palestine/Israel (VTJP) are sponsoring the exhibition of Bread & Puppet founder and [...]
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  Posted: September 05, 2008, 1:12pm EDT
  

• Arlecchino Am Making Polenta

  After getting the play that I'm currently referring to as "Total War: The Overly Ambitious First Play By Ian Thal" (though I'm toying with the alternate title of "Papers in the Snow") to the point where I am seeking staged readings, I have decided that I enjoy being a playwright, [...]
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  Posted: August 16, 2008, 2:36pm EDT
  

• On With the Process!

  It was in May that I last gave a progress report on the play I have been writing (and rewriting) and that was an overly dense self-analysis of my writing process.Even as I was allowing friends to read the 97 page draft, I began my own rereading process and immediately [...]
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  Posted: August 16, 2008, 12:27pm EDT
  

• Open Air Circus, August 1-3 in Somerville, MA

  My mime and commedia dell'arte students will be performing this weekend as part of Open Air Circus' 23rd annual show.The performances climax 6 weeks of summer classes for the youthful performers.All shows are are in Nunziato Field in Union Square, Somerville.View Larger MapThis year's theme is "The British Invasion," a' [...]
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  Posted: July 31, 2008, 9:31am EDT
  

• Ian, Capocomico!

  I am spending another summer teaching mime and commedia dell'arte to the children at Open Air Circus. Slowly, over the years, my classes have been attracting more and more students as kids from previous years keep returning to me, and bring new students with them, so this summer, I'm teaching [...]
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  Posted: July 05, 2008, 5:26pm EDT
  

• The Golem of Church Street

  One story that seems to never end for me is one that began when I ended my association with Bread and Puppet Theatre over a mural-sized series entitled "Independence Paintings" by Bread and Puppet founder, Peter Schumann, that juxtaposed the images and text of the Warsaw Ghetto with conditions in [...]
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  Posted: July 04, 2008, 4:23pm EDT
  

• More SomerVaudeVille Video from Geek Force Five

  Chris Clark of Geek Force Five has put together an eight-minute and one-second video featuring a sampling of the acts that appeared at Theatre@First's production of SomerVaudeVille. An excerpt from my piece, "The Marmalope" starts about 4:40 into the video:If you have seen Shelly MacAskill's video of the same piece, [...]
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  Posted: June 06, 2008, 7:23pm EDT
  

• Mime at SomerVaudeVille

  Shelly MacAskill posted this video of my performance of "The Marmalope" at SomerVaudeVille to YouTube, with master of ceremonies, Rob Noyes giving introductions:It's sometimes hard to translate the three-dimensional experience of a live performance into the two-dimensional experience of video, but it worked well. "The Marmalope" has been part of' [...]
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  Posted: June 03, 2008, 1:43pm EDT
  

• What a Month It's Been!

  Between May 1st and June 1st, I've perfomed in four different shows with four different groups, in four different idioms all while continuing the revision and development process on my play. I hope to find time to reflect on all of this activity over the next several days.On May 1st,' [...]
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  Posted: June 02, 2008, 1:42pm EDT
  

• June 1st: Solo by Sixty: Chhandika's Sixth Annual Student Kathak Concert

  It has been a while since I last blogged about my kathak studies under Gretchen Hayden but I've not ceased my studies. In fact, I am performing kathak for the first time as one of the beginning students in Chhandika's Sixth Annual Student Show, Sunday, June 1st. Hopefully, over the [...]
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  Posted: May 24, 2008, 10:35am EDT
  

• Cosmic Spelunker Bootleg

  Chad Parenteau, host of Stone Soup Poetry posted the following video of Cosmic Spelunker Theater's May 19th reunion show to YouTube:The video was shot without a tripod using the video function of Chad's digital camera-- and covers nine minutes and thirty-three seconds close to the beginning of our show (some [...]
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  Posted: May 23, 2008, 5:43pm EDT