We continue to look backward for a bit, dear readers, as we enjoy the many exciting moments of the 2009 Inkubator Festival. We had a fully packed last weekend, with five playwrights in town, four of whom came in to watch 20-minute excerpts of their work at our last showcase reading.
It was a showcase of dazzling word play, an afternoon of plays that play with language in one way or another. Here are the dramaturgical notes from the showcase. Meghan Long joined me in presenting these pieces.
It was particularly fun to hang out with the playwrights afterward. We discussed the ways in which these very different plays connected. There was great generosity among these playwrights as they talked with one another about language, character, revision, acting, and all other things playmaking.
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This particular suite of plays is inspired by words… whether a pretty turn of phrase, a single
sentence that can change the course of the world, poetry of excavation, of
things lost and found, of a particular place or time. These are also plays that explore the larger dominion of
language as it shapes and moves worlds.
Please note that
these are some of the more complex plays that we have presented over the course
of the festival, so some of the introductions are extensive. Overall, we hope you look for ways in
which the music and exploration of language intrigue you.
Balls
by Jonathan Yukich
(presented by Meghan Long)
Balls is a hilarious depiction of a family living in the
1970s South.
In a community where
football rules, news that famed college football coach,
Paul “Bear” Bryant, is
planning a visit to Balls, Alabama shocks the Moon family and sends them into a
frenzy of preparation so Keegan can impress the famous coach. Keegan is a high school kicker wants
nothing more than to play for the Crimson Tide and make his late father
proud. Posey, Keegan’s twin brother
couldn’t care less about football and doesn’t understand why the rest of the
town is so worked up about Bear Bryant’s impending visit. Posey buries himself in his journals
and knows there is something bigger outside of Balls. Mary Merle, the boys’ mother, is never too far from her bottle of Old Crow and
believes that through it all, there is no place on earth better than
Balls.
The family dynamics shift
when Mary Merle takes out an ad in search of a renter for the spare room and
the call is answered by a stranger, Mr. Granger. Ruthie-T, Keegan’s girlfriend rounds out this eccentric cast
of characters. Events play out
over a few rainy nights in Balls leading to a dramatic conclusion. Is Balls big enough for the Moon
family? There is certainly never a
boring day in Balls.
We loved the language and comedy of this
play; the play is very funny, but takes a dark turn towards the end. We also loved
the role that the South plays in this script; this play shines a light on a way
of life in the South that isn’t necessarily explored in plays and this language
of the South is quite musical.
I was instantly drawn to the characters – they kept me hooked throughout the play
and were very memorable because they are all so eccentric and funny.
For this showcase, we present the first 20 pages of the
play. The top of the play starts
with the news that Bear Bryant is visiting Balls. In first pages we meet Posey, Mary Merle, and
Keegan. We encourage you to listen
for the puns of Balls and take in the language of this play.
Spake
By David Williams
We now present another apocalyptic epic, one that none of our readers could put
down. I myself read the play from midnight to 1:30 in the morning, long after I should have been asleep.
The play in part inspired by the
Voynich Manuscript, a book housed at Yale
University Library, a text — now untranslatable — that is believed to be a
spell book. David the playwright was drawn to this most intriguing mystery, but also wanted to explore the death
of languages. As he told us in
this original submission form, UNESCO has released an atlas showing 2,500 world
languages are at risk of disappearing. He also wanted to explore the ways in which we try and often fail to
communicate, be it through languages, emotions, or secret codes.
This excerpt takes us from the very beginning of the play, when the roof of a church
collapses through to the third act when a Cornell University linguistic student
Jessica makes a run for it across the country with her boyfriend, Cal, a
divinity student who has recently left his studies, faltering in his faith
because of his love for Jessica. In between, we see the ghost of a murderer and linguist, Ruloff, who
visits Jessica with a warning. We
also see how a spell — or curse — manifests.
Monument
By Doug Dolcino
(presented by Anne McCaw)
This is an incredibly challenging, layered, and delightfully absurd play.
It is inspired by the language and form of Greek Tragedy, of
Bertolt Brecht’s spare poetry and presentational style,
and by the dreamlike imagery and language of the
French Symbolists.
What happens when you mix all these influences?
Doug has created something epic, something surreal that
explores time and space, identity and family dynamics, death and birth of
civilization, and that explores the ever-present themes in Greek tragedy of
fate, hubris, and impermanence.
A bit daunting… sure.
But perhaps
the best description is from one of our readers:
“Sheer and utter madness! The playwright is creating something unlike anything I have ever seen or heard.”
Let me give you a brief synopsis, touching on the plays many twists and turns.
The play revolves around the Leibert family — stuck and restless — the head of
which, Herman, is a renowned civil engineer of the made-up country of
Arbythnia. Arbythnia, and the
family, are plagued… by gnats, by frogs, and by a prolonged, painful bout of
insomnia. An exasperated chorus of
mailmen are desperate to relay a message to the Leibert family: Read your
mail…recognize your stagnation or the plagues will continue.
Yet Herman is steadfast in ignoring the mailmen, as well the strife within his family. Rather, he is focused on
plans to create the ultimate monument for the population of Tarzania… a land far
different than Arbythnia.
His family — his wife and two children — are so desperate for change that they
decide to take on different identities. His wife declares herself a widow and resumes a courtship with Herman’s
brother, Uncle Mangel. Herman’s daughter
and son assume the identities of a chambermaid and an aspiring entrepreneur…
and begin a romance.
This excerpt joins the family as they finally begin their long desired journey to
Tarzania… and mayhem ensues.
The Hairy
Dutchman
By
Andy Bragen
(presented by Anne McCaw)
The Hairy Dutchman is a rhapsody to New York City, to tennis, to the layered
history of a one beloved neighborhood.
The
play is set somewhere in Queens, where a number of
aging tennis courts stand. These
courts — their age indeterminate, built on centuries of history that have
shaped New York — are under threat — from a city that wants to bulldoze them
and from rising seas.
The
characters you are going to meet are drawn to the courts for any number of
reasons. Some actually live day to
day at the courts… some court on the courts… and two people rekindle an old
grudge and a childhood love … but for all, the courts are a sanctuary.
We
became enthralled with the play because of two fascinating conflicts played out
in language and rhythm. There is
the classic, timeless conflict of opponents in sports inspired such pop
cultures classics as Rocky and The Natural. At the same time, there is the conflict between Michael, the
court historian and the city inspector, a conflict of reverence for history
versus progress to a new future.
This
play creates a language for the game. Listen for a beat and rhythm that captures the back-and-forth of the
game, as well as the high stakes for each character.
Beautiful Province (Belle Provence)
by
Clarence Coo
Beautiful Province is a play that explores the connection of
language and identity. How can
language enable us to explore a different part of ourselves?
In early conversations with Clarence, we
talked about the power of language and the belief that different languages
allow us to explore a part of ourselves that we may not know existed in our
native tongue.
In
Beautiful Province, we meet Mr. Green, a high school French teacher and Jake, his 15-year
old student, as they embark on a journey to French Canada. They cross over borders in search of
the beautiful province.
The
journey of these two characters’ lives in three worlds; the world of reality,
Jake’s fantasy world, and Mr. Green’s fantasy world. Jake’s fantasy is a world where he is the Last of the
Mohicans, while Mr. Green lives in a fantasy world where he is stuck at the
security gate at Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris awaiting passport approval
to enter the country. What happens
when these three worlds collide? How
far can one language take Mr. Green and Jake?
This play has a transformative language
that takes us on a journey, just as the characters journey in the play.
The complex relationship created between
Mr. Green and Jake keeps the play going. They travel across geographical borders and boundaries within themselves
and each other, each in search of his own beautiful province.
The excerpt presented today at the showcase joins Mr. Green
and Jake on the road as they have just crossed over the border and have spent
the previous night in a hotel room with a view of Niagara Falls. We visit all three worlds in this
excerpt, and we see what happens when these worlds meet. We encourage you to listen to how the
characters explore themselves and connect with others through language.
What a great party! For those of you who attended The Inkwell's fundraiser Saturday, October 17th, you know how fun it was! I was one of the event planners and I wanted to let everyone know about it. The party was both an opportunity to show support for The Inkwell, but also to celebrate four weeks devoted to nothing but new plays. We were so delighted to have so many stay around after the performance of The F Word to eat, drink, and be merry with homemade cupcakes, wine provided by DuPont Fine Wine and Liquor, Pumpkin Ale and Star Island Single from Smuttynose Brewery, and other goodies provided by Harris Teeter.
