November 2011
1 post
A Brand New Beginning! What a life!
It was the SOUND that broke Manhattan Rep’s little theatre on 42nd and 8th Ave.
And it was the SOUND that created Manhattan Rep’s new AWESOME space on 42nd and 8th Ave.
This past October 21, a year round Halloween Haunt named Times Scare opened directly under Manhattan Rep effectively breaking the theatre and making it unusable. I was told by management months before when I heard...
July 2011
1 post
It's time to Create!
Do you ever feel like you are kinda stumped creatively? Possibly you are an actor and you are not landing the types of roles that challenge you, or inspire you. Possibly you are a director, and you need to be challenged. Or you might be a playwright and no one is even READING your work.
It’s time to create, and take responsibility for your personal creation. That is the one thing that...
March 2011
1 post
2 tags
A One Act Play Competition! What fun!
This Spring, Manhattan Repertory Theatre will be presenting it’s first One Act Play Competition with a $1000.00 prize for Best Play! I am thrilled out of my mind about this competition. It is going to be great fun. It will have this wonderful competitive energy around it, so I am sure the creative teams will be stepping up to the plate Big Time, and we will be offering a minimum of 3...
January 2011
1 post
Whatever you can Dream about - BEGIN IT!
Procrastination is death. It is the death of life, fun, challenge and breakthrough success. Yet, we all procrastinate probably numerous times a day.
Procrastination is FEAR - False Evidence Appearing Real, Forever Expecting Awful Results - so we don’t make that next step, we don’t bring pen to hand, we don’t challenge ourselves and our world.
How many of you are procrastinating on...
December 2010
1 post
Happy Holidays and a Creative New Year!
Jen, Roma (The Wonder Dog) and I would like to wish everyone who has “danced” with us at Manhattan Rep over the past 5 years a very wonderful Holiday and a super Happy and Prosperous New Year!
Please stay tuned for more adventures in 2011!
With best regards,
Ken Wolf
Artistic Director
Manhattan Repertory Theatre
http://www.manhattanrep.com
November 2010
1 post
A Script is not a Play!
Recently, I received an email from a woman who had seen one of my plays 7 years ago, and just found out that I was the playwright of that play, and wrote to me saying she was going to submit one of her plays for our Winterfest theatre festival, but if my work as a playwright was any indication of my work as Artistic Director, her play and our theatre festival would not be a good match.
Curious...
October 2010
2 posts
There is never time for art! Get some Leverage!
This world we live in is crazy sick fast. Between our day jobs, our acting and writing job quest, our twitter, our Facebook, our friends, our family, our pets, our doctor appointments, our social functions, and all the other wacky commitments that comprise this life we live, how do we find the time to create? When do we find the time to create that personal show, play, or one actor event that we...
Telling your Personal Story!
I am a big fan of Storytelling. It is intrinsic to our humanity. Every culture in the world has a story telling tradition. And there is a reason for it.
Story Telling has the power to change lives.
Years ago, I saw Spaulding Gray do one of his amazing monologues at a huge 1000 seat theatre. He sat on stage with a table in front of him and a microphone and a glass of water, and he simply told...
August 2010
1 post
1 tag
END THE DRAMA before it ENDS YOUR DRAMA.
I am really tired of all the DRAMA surrounding putting up DRAMA.
There is an Urban Theatrical Myth that playwright Eugene Ionesco was often blocked from attending the rehearsals of his own play because he was so in the face of the director and the actors.
How many times have you been involved in a production where 2 members of the creative team battle over the silliest of things? Been there,...
July 2010
2 posts
RISKY THEATRE
Jumping out of an airplane is less risky than putting up great theatre.
Great theatre implies great risk. Dealing with an issue which has never really been dealt with in the theatre. Staging a Masterwork in a new and exciting context. Getting your actors to really connect with the material and make it so so so frigging real. Daring to be totally original, different, not knowing what the hell...
Why do you think they call it PLAY?
Wow! Do you find everyone you meet lately is all stressed out about silly things? Worried about relationships, money, their weight, their kids, their pets, their plants? It is crazy how pressurized people are today. And then add the crazy Summer heat, and people are EXPLODING.
The antidote to EXPLODING is PLAY. Whether it be dancing with puppies, or going to a water park or actually writing...
May 2010
1 post
ON Creativity AGAIN - and pushing past Approval!
Creativity is a weird bird. Sometimes you fly with it, and at other times, it seems to crap on you. But the truth of the matter is… IT IS ALL GOOD.
For every brilliant line, there is a mediocre one that is cut. For every amazing plot development, there is a stereotypical one. Consistent creation creates genius, not the other way around. You have to be in it, the good, the bad, the ugly,...
April 2010
2 posts
A Celebration of new theatre!
Summer is approaching which means it is time for our FLAGSHIP theatre Festival SUMMERFEST! Summerfest 2006 was where it all began and this summer we are celebrating our 5th Summerfest with more plays, more performances, special events and more.
If you have been sitting on the fence about putting up your first play, or your next play, it is time to get off the fence and get creative and submit...
Just let it out! PLAY!
Often, people ask me, “How do you do it? How do you write a play?” I usually answer, “I don’t write it. It writes me.” They look at me funny, and smile.
I write when I am mad about something. When I am sad about something. When I have no power over something and when something happens in my life which is crazy and needs to be documented. I write when there is...
March 2010
2 posts
SHORT PLAYS - a FUN CHALLENGE!!
Creating theatre is always a challenge but even more so when you only have up to 20 minutes. How do you set it up, create some drama or comedy and bring it to a satisfying conclusion?
This is the challenge of Manhattan Rep’s REALLY SHORT PLAY FESTIVAL going up next week, March 31 through April 3 at MRT. We have choosen 12 very diverse REALLY SHORT plays and I am so excited to see what we...
Take a Risk!
Years ago, I read a quote by someone which read something to the effect:
“There is no life without risk.”
And I wholeheartedly agree.
If you don’t take the risk to ask for the phone number, you will never go out on that first date.
If you don’t take the risk to start you own business, you will never have the experience of being you own boss, and also, hopefully the...
February 2010
2 posts
Doing Something Seriously Creative!
I just found this in the book IGNORE EVERYBODY AND 39 OTHER KEYS TO CREATIVITY by Hugh MacLeod, and I thought I would share it with you in the context of self-producing your own theatrical work.
“…Doing something seriously creative is one of the most amazing experiences one can have, in this or any other lifetime. If you can pull it off, it’s worth it. Even if you don’t...
Fear and Creativity
When I produced my first New York City play, I booked the theatre before I had even written one word of the play. I knew that if I put the money down and had a deadline, I would write the play, cast it and get it up somehow. And I did. And remarkably, it was a huge success.
I knew if I didn’t have leverage on myself, my other life, my survival job would simply fill up my time with urgent...
January 2010
3 posts
New Forms... We need NEW FORMS!
I see a lot of theatre but to be honest I just love OFF OFF Broadway theatre (or as Martin Denton of nytheatre.com and Indietheater.org calls it “INDIE” Theater.) Why? Because in Indie Theatre, one can take risks. You can try stuff out to see if it works. You can play.
But on Off-Broadway or Broadway when you have a capitalization for a show at at least 1 million dollars, playing...
Creative Adventures in this economy
As we move into the new year in this challenging economy, it becomes increasingly more difficult to self-produce theatre. Theatre rentals costs are high, rehearsal space prices are going up and the monthly income is staying the same or slowly decreasing. And raising money for a production is getting harder and harder to do, for everyone is holding tight to their cash.
So how do you get a new play...
On Creating
Wow, a new year. New adventures and lots of new plays! And we are just thrilled out of our minds to be creating theatre here at Manhattan Rep. Next week, we begin our Winterfest 2010 play festival with two very exciting new plays and we are in the process of revamping our facilities to make them more user friendly, more adaptable and more comfortable for the creative teams who put up their work...