what Ethan heard...

Top 20 Favorite shows i saw in 2009

Sun, 24 Jan 2010 15:18:44 -0500

In order of viewing:

1. Billy Elliot, Broadway
2. All My Sons, Broadway
3. The Shipment, The Kitchen
4. A Delicate Balance, Arena Stage
5. The Winter’s Tale, Bridge Project at BAM
6. The Good Negro, Public
7. Madame de Sade, Donmar on the West End
8. Why Torture is Wrong, And The People Who Love Them, Public
9. Desire Under the Elms, Broadway
10. Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, Lincoln Center on Broadway
11. The Letter, Santa Fe Opera
12. Devil Boys from Beyond, Fringe Festival
13. Lucy Guerin Inc. “Corridor,” Baryshnikov Arts Center
14. Our Town, Barrow Street
15. After Miss Julie, Roundabout
16. Circle Mirror Transformation, Playwrights Horizons
17. Ordinary Days, Roundabout Underground
18. Sleep No More, American Repertory Theatre
19. A Streetcar Named Desire, BAM
20. Ragtime, Broadway

China Trip

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 08:39:36 -0500

My mom and I met in Chicago, and flew to Shanghai. After spending a few days there visiting our friend and checking out the museums, Yuan Gardens and the new expat neighborhood Xin Tian Di, we went to Beijing to meet up with my sister. From there, we flew to Kunming and then Dali in Yunnan Province. In Dali we met our guide, and over the next week, drove to Shaxi, Lijiang, Tiger Leaping Gorge and Zhongdian or Shangrila, as it is now known.

The trip was really awesome. We ate delicious fresh vegetables in little roadside restaurants, watched the sun set in Tiger Leaping Gorge, visited beautiful mountainside temples, explored teeming village markets, chatted with all kinds of interesting people and took tons of photographs. Check them out here: http://picasaweb.google.com/ethan.heard/ChinaTrip#

I lived and studied in China in 2000-1, but my sister’s Chinese is way better than mine now. She did an awesome job organizing our travels and communicating with cab drivers, waiters, hotel receptionists etc. Our guide spoke English well, but he ended up communicating with us mainly in Chinese. My mom and I understood 90% of what he said; Peregrine filled us in on the rest.

China is certainly changing fast. I hardly recognized Beijing because of all the new construction. Zhongdian looked totally different than when I visited in 2001. I remembered it as a quiet, rural town. Now it has a swanky airport and dozens of brand new government buildings with grand front entrances.

The Yunnan outdoor markets are still so old school, though: racks of ribs being chopped noisily, pigs squealing, fruit and vegetables spilling out of trucks onto the ground, hundreds of women with woven shopping baskets on their backs. I loved the sights; the smells were sometimes a bit much; but the atmosphere was vibrant with real life. It made me question our grocery stores in America where we buy produce from who-knows-where. The vegetables on sale in Dali were from the fields a mile away outside of the old city wall.

October Happenings

Sun, 25 Oct 2009 22:03:15 -0400

Wednesday night Meg and I went to see the “Ted and Vicki Show” at Feinstein’s, starring the incredibly talented Victoria Clark and Ted Sperling. (Or was it the “Vicki and Ted Show?”) The whole evening was wonderful. Beautiful singing, impeccable arrangements, heart-warming stories. And it was just such a thrill to see these two college friends celebrating 30 years of friendship and collaboration. Amazing. OOW.

Last Sunday, Meg took me to “After Miss Julie.” We were totally impressed. Sienna was a little weird at first - was it her etiquette coaching getting in the way? - but I left the theater really admiring her performance. The whole production is so powerfully cohesive and stylish and taut and effective. All three actors are fiercely connected throughout the piece. The sexual tension is palpable. I highly recommend the play, the performers and the production!

Friday night Lauren and I went to “Circle Mirror Transformation” at Playwrights Horizons, kind of on a whim. We got two of the last three seats. The play was delightful! Five totally charming, smart, surprising performances, and the show is hilarious, simple and yet astoundingly, awkwardly profound. Go, Annie Baker! I loved that these funny theater games could expose so much about these people. And the magical moment of transformation at the end is unforgettable. Tracee Chimo does subtle, amazing work. Reed Birney is masterful.

This afternoon I went to a run through of Lee Sunday Evans’ new movement piece “FULL” which goes up at the Tank in a couple weekends. It was so great being in the room with such creative, committed people. I miss being in rehearsal! This summer, I was so privileged to be working on theater everyday. Back in New York, so much of my time is dedicated to finding and creating opportunities for me to be in a rehearsal space again. Anyway, Lee’s work is awesome: fierce, fresh, provocative. Her three actors/movers are captivating and compelling. I sat down with them, Lee and the designers after the run through to talk about what they’re working on and what I saw. It was great fun.

I’m really psyched about the reading of “The Gay Ivy” this Thursday. I’ve been emailing and phoning like crazy coordinating the songs and scenes with the writers and performers. We have fantastic material (18 pieces I think) and an exciting cast. I can’t wait to rehearse with people over the next four days. I have some interesting ideas about the choral-reading sections and the transitions. We’ll see what happens! I’m confident everything will come together...even if it’s last minute. Lots of people are coming! We may have to start a waiting list!

YAY Gay!

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 12:50:05 -0400

This past Sunday I was in DC for the National Equality March. A beautiful day! Laura and I met up and took the metro down to McPherson Square, where everyone was gathering. There were groups from all over the country - Texas, Utah, California - decked out in Tshirts, with flags and posters. Some of my favorite poster quotes:

“I liked it but I couldn’t put a ring on it.”

“Jesus had two dads and it worked out ok.”

“If I can’t marry my boyfriend, then I’ll marry your daughter.”

The weather was perfect, and around noon, someone near me started shouting and pointing up to the sky: a real rainbow!!

We marched past the White House and then down Pennsylvania Avenue to the Capitol. Ashlynn and I led a group of teenagers in a cheer/dance with clapping: “Love is not a crime, you see? We just want equality!”

When we reached the Capitol lawn around 2 - a Gay Men’s Chorus was singing “Somewhere Over The Rainbow - there were still 10 blocks of people behind us.

My favorite speakers of the day were Cynthia Nixon, Judy Shepard, Lady Gaga, Cleve Jones and Julian Bond. Least favorite: Billie Myers. Who is she anyway? And why would a British pop star sing/butcher “America The Beautiful”? Very queer.

Seeing all the diversity of the LGBT community was really uplifting and inspiring. Look at us! We’re everywhere. We’re anyone. And this discrimination and denigration has gone on too long.

I used to think that Gay Rights issues would all be resolved for me, without my involvement. After all, I have a supportive family, I went to an open and affirming school, I have loving friends, I live in one of the gay capitals of the world - I’m in a happy-gay bubble.

But this weekend helped me confront the fact that queer people are still suffering all over the country, and we need it to change NOW. It’s insane that in thirty states, people can still be fired for being queer!

I’m excited to be working on “The Gay Ivy” project right now. Our reading/workshop is scheduled for October 29 at 7pm. Check back for updates.

One final thought: the terms “LGBT” are annoying and so specific. Isn’t “queer” more inclusive? What about “curvy” for people who are just not straight?

Whiff Reunion

Thu, 8 Oct 2009 20:32:11 -0400

Some memorable moments:

- Casey soloing on Sally G in Battell with a hundred Whiffs over the age of 40
- beers and fries at Rudy’s with da doox
- beers and fries at Rudy’s with the Whiffs of ’06
- Aj Lucka on the way from Sterling to Commons
- the Whiff song with several hundred poofs on stage at Woolsey Friday night after a five-hour concert
- the keg exploding at the “New Whiff Space” and everyone recoiling in horror
- it starting to pour just as we finished singing the Whiff song at the football game
- receiving fancy miso soup mix from my Tokyo host family
- Dooxmen reunion outside Commons Saturday night
- pitching Time After Time around midnight (?) Saturday
- learning and singing the centennial song “Too Young to Say Goodbye” - that song is tight!

Back in NYC

Thu, 8 Oct 2009 20:18:07 -0400

I got back to NYC September 9 and have been seeing shows like crazy. Tosca was fun because it was opening night. I saw Diana Damrau, Patricia Racette, Julie Taymor and Martha Stewart on the red carpet. The opera sounded great - even though I was watching outside on the plaza - but the production was pretty dull. The booing at the end was the most dramatic thing that happened all evening!

I absolutely loved Our Town. An audience, actors, a story - it was such a pure theatrical experience. I loved just being present in a room of New Yorkers, witnessing this ritual together - no frills. Go, David Cromer! It would have been fascinating to see him in as Stage Manager.

I liked seeing Hamlet and Othello the same week. They inspired me to break out my Shakespeare anthology and read Measure for Measure, which has been on my To Do list for a while. Good stuff, Bill! I want to direct a Shakespeare soon. Something I can play around with...

Summer in Santa Fe

Wed, 7 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0400

My summer in Santa Fe was epic and awesome. Samara and I drove out there mid-June and I left August 31. I’ve never worked so hard in my life. But it was a blast - exhausting and exhilarating all at once.

The company of people we had out there was really cool. 14 of us lived together, and we ran a pretty darn great food coop together. $30 a week per person! And lots of delicious, jovial meals on the picturesque porch.

We usually had five mornings of Ensemble Work each week: yoga, dance, voice work, meditation, sound therapy - we did it all. Some circus performers from Wise Fool even came and taught us some acrobatics! I especially enjoyed the “sound baths” we got from our friend Jan. Amazing! I’ve never heard so many tones, felt so many vibrations. It was totally transporting.

Santa Fe is a gorgeous place, and I wish I could have spent more time outdoors. I couldn’t get enough! But just driving down a windy road with the endless blue sky above me was rejuvenating in of itself. And the stars at night were seriously mind-blowing. It’s crazy that in New York we don’t even really think about the universe outside of our little island. In New Mexico, you can’t help but ponder bigger questions about life and our little existence.

We rehearsed the plays six days a week from 11-4 and 4:30-10 with meal breaks. Before the summer started, I thought I might have trouble switching gears from directing one play to the other, but it proved to be pretty easy. When I was directing Proof, it was like Iphigenia didn’t exist. Same thing the other way around. The plays are so different, and they demanded such different approaches as a director, I always felt excited to take a break from one play and dive into the other one.

Having Ellen McLaughlin with us for the first week of Iphigenia was invaluable. She is such a gracious, generous, brilliant person. Hearing her talk about Greek-ness and the mythology and the characters was inspiring and motivating. We got to work through the whole play with her, asking questions and discussing everything from punctuation to blocking. It was especially cool to see how Ellen played with the Chorus’ text. She dove right in, assigning lines to the actors and experimenting with duets, echos, canons etc.

Proof rehearsals began with a lot of slow, careful discussion of the play and its events. We asked a lot of questions: What’s the timeline of Robert’s illness? When did the mother die? When did Claire last visit home? The play is dense with details, and it was a fun challenge organizing all the clues Auburn gives you.

Mondays was usually when I’d check in with John, our Set Designer, who remained in New York until August 1. Designing sets so that the plays could coexist in repertory was a big adventure, to say the least. John did amazing work, and I am eternally grateful for his ingenuity and devotion to the project(s). Ultimately, the Proof porch settled in on top of the Iphigenia sand box. It took three or four people about 30 minutes to transition from Proof to Iphigenia and an hour the other way around.

Tech week was crazy but fun. I figured out that if I took a 20-minute power nap after lunch and then drank a Red Bull at 2 or 3pm, I could make it from 8am-1am without problems. We couldn’t bring Julia, our Composer/Sound Designer, to Santa Fe, so I communicated with her during tech on Gchat. It was fantastic! She emailed me back edits of the Proof transitions, and we had a seamless, beautiful sounding show!

Emilee, our Costume Designer, works at the Santa Fe Opera, so we had some gorgeous period pieces for Iphigenia. The first time we saw the Chorus women’s dresses, everyone gasped...in delight! And despite the theater’s technical limitations, our Lighting Designer Natasha did a fabulous job lighting the shows. My favorite lighting moment was the end of the first act of Iphigenia when each of the six sails glowed momentarily, with Clytemnestra in silhouette, before fading out.

Besides our mainstage shows, we also produced a New Play Reading Series and Late Night Variety Show. Both were successful and well attended. Reykjavik packed the house, and playwright Richard Rhodes gave a captivating talkback afterward. Actor Anna O’Donoghue wrote a hilarious one-act for our interns, Rob, Marcus and Amanda that showcased their talents beautifully. Our Pop Stars in Residence, Suspicious Package, were fabulous emcees of our cabaret, recruiting a local DJ and VJ as well as a panoply of colorful acts.

Overall, I was thrilled with everything we accomplished and grateful for the people I worked with and everything I learned. Land of Echantment, I miss thee!