New Beginnings

How to make theatre? How to make money? These two questions have pretty much consumed me since graduating a few months ago with my MFA and moving back to NYC. So I've decided to start a blog about it, not just exclusively about these questions, but using them as a starting off point to continue an ongoing dialogue. I welcome your feedback, questions, comments...

So on the making theatre front, I was recently cast in a show which I am very excited about, "Goldstar, Ohio" which is making its world premiere at the Cleveland Public Theatre Oct 16-Nov 8. So I've been in Cleveland for the past week--it's my first time here although I did live in Columbus during High School. It's pretty typically Midwestern--small city, lots of suburbs, and everyone you meet is really nice and helpful. Since we're rehearsing at night I've found myself a day job working as a canvass organizer for Grassroots Campaigns Inc, affiliated with MoveOn.org. Basically our office is a bare bones abandoned storefront and each day we get sent off with clipboards into different locations throughout Cleveland to register voters.

Yesterday was my first day on the street and it was a pretty hard first day. It was raining and a Saturday, so not the busiest day in downtown Cleveland. Our first post had us stationed under the awning of a bar by the Cleveland Indians stadium. Basically I was having to compete with the scalper guys that were like, "Tickets? Anybody need some tickets," trying to pipe in with "Hi! Are you registered to vote?" Most people were polite, said yes, and kept walking. I had a handful who just ignored me and said "No thank you!" Being outside in the rain did not seem to be working in our favor so our next try was the food court area in the Tower City indoor mall, a lot of foot traffic, but still no luck. In a last ditch effort we decided to just ride the train (Cleveland has a small but decent Rapid Transit System) so we rode the Red Line from downtown out to the airport and back, and finally I registered two voters!!! One was a boy who had just turned 18 and had been meaning to register but just hadn't gotten around to it, so that pretty much made my day. It's interesting, in all my years voting, this is the first time I've viewed it as an important civic duty, an opportunity to exercise my right, and share my voice. I think it's the first time that I've actually been inspired by a presidential candidate.

So that's what I'll be filling my days with, working the streets to make sure that Barack Obama wins Ohio! And working my nights bringing alive the incredibly compelling true stories of families in Ohio who had a son/brother/husband in the Marines who was killed in Iraq in August of 2005. It's my first time playing a living character, speaking her actual words, and it's been a very enlightening process so far. Again, it feels very important to be giving voice to these stories and it's made me think about all the other stories out there waiting to be told, the ones that have been ignored or are pushed to the margins.

I think one of the things that most excites me about working on new plays is that sense of importance and relevance, the need for a particular story to be shared in this particular moment and space in time. I think the theatre world needs more of this work; it needs artists who are willing to take risks and it needs more institutions and funding sources willing to support the kind of work that directly engages its audience and that takes advantage of the unique opportunities inherent in creating a live performance...

So there you have it- my first blog post. Stay tuned for more stories from the streets of Cleveland.