Talkin' about talkin'
Growing up, above the door to my mother’s beauty salon there was a sign that said “If you like our work tell others, if you don’t tell us.”
We are approaching our second week of our adaptation of Dostoevsky’s Village of K__. Tech week was stressfull as tech week s are, and opening weekend went well, for the most part, as opening weekends do. As we waited for the reviews to come in, it got me thinking of the current advantages of social media and theater criticism.
While general theater talk for the sake of theater talk doesn’t hold much appeal to me, I do like talking about work I care about, either my work with audience members, or the work of friends as an audience member. In our mission statement BOTC talks about creating an atmosphere of great risk and great trust. It articulates the work we chose to do, how we choose to execute that work during our process, and how we chose to present that work to an audience. The final step though is to create this atmosphere in a dialogue with our audience.
Our first reviews are in and they are a mixture of positive and negative, which is expected for an undertaking such as adapting a 700 page 19th century Russian novel. This was an exciting project to undertake, keeping it accessible to an audience unfamiliar with the source material, as well as respecting the novel and the passion it stirs in its fans. Did we succeed? That’s up to you to decide.
A by product of so many people trying to create theater in this city, is that the reviews are taken as the final word on the product, when in reality they should be used to start the conversation. We are finally in a place where technology can help facilitate the conversation. As a member of an audience you can now reply to reviews, comment on our blog about a show, write a note on facebook and tag us, or just comment straight on our page for all our fans to see. We can now facilitate criticism that evolves. These productions shouldn’t live in a vacuum, and for years with newspapers being the prominent medium of criticism, shows were reduced to a picture, a caption, and 300 or so words on the show itself. That isn’t the case anymore.
Our reviewers’ job is done, now it is our turn as artists and audience. Theater is a participatory medium, it should facilitate discussion. Bruised Orange will try harder to keep the discussion going via facebook, twitter, blogging, email and face to face. Though, much like our shows, it requires an effort of participation on the part of our audience. We aren’t asking you to drink the orange koolaide, circulating propagandist handbills, just to say what you think. Tell us, tell others
Our next chance to share our work with you begins tonight, hopefully we’ll talk soon.
Mark
Kieran, Jenn, and Garrett getting ready for “I Saw You”, obviously beer is about.
First Annual Bruised Orange County Fair, Y'all!
Hey everyone!
For those of you that are trying to access our website, we are having technical difficulties, so you’ve been redirected to our blog, http://botc.tubmlr.com.
This Saturday, June 13th is the First Annual Bruised Orange County Fair!
Embracing our Midwestern routes, BOTC is throwing a “County Fair” at the Montrose Saloon. From 5 to 8 check out our special midway which will include a taco bar, human target practice (featuring BOTC company members and special guests making themselves available to be pelted by water balloons), Zombie face painting/fake tattoos and a slip and slide! But wait… there’s more!
Live entertainment will be provided by the equally rocking and hilarious Lola Balatro (check out their awesome video here), as well as DJRC and Ryan Gac spinning the juiciest cuts of dirty funk & gritty soul throughout the day. Both acts are BOTC favs and not to be missed.
At 8pm the party’s moving inside where DJRC and the incomparable Mr. Gac will be taking over. Come the stroke of 9 we are kicking off a very special Dance Contest, where a group of very special judges will determine if you have what it takes to earn the title “BOTC Champion of the Dance”. The rest of the night will be comprised of dancing and moderately priced Montrose libations, two of BOTC’s favorite things
$10 will get you the night and day of activities. Got something to do during the day, but want to dance join the dance contest and dance the night away? We’ll cut you a deal and let you in for $5 after 8.
All money raised goes to our upcoming production “Village of K___”, artistic director Clint Sheffer’s adaptation of Dostoevsky’s “The Possessed”. “Village of K___” , directed by Adam Webster, opens September 10th, 2009 at Side Project.
With mental patients in an institution, they give them basket weaving, finger painting and things like that to do, because the very act of working with your hands is healthful and therapeutic. It’s the same thing with making a film, which is a handmade product. You have to write it, you have to go out and shoot it, then we come here and we put the film together and put the music in. For a period of time, you get two rewards: You get the reward of distraction — you don’t think about the outside world, and you’re faced with solvable problems, and if they’re not solvable, you don’t die because of it. And then, if it’s the right film, you get to live in a fake reality for a number of months. So if I’m making a picture like The Purple Rose of Cairo or Bullets Over Broadway or Everyone Says I Love You, for several months, I get to live with very beautiful women and very witty men and they have costumes, and the sets are beautiful. It’s a very pleasant way to waste your life.
