If you're happy, you're DEFINITELY not paying attention!
Independent/Off-off Broadway/Fringe theater, whatever you want to call it, is officially dying in NYC. Well, it's been dying for some time, an agonizingly slow one. Not anymore. Now it'll be quick. And painful.
There is a block here in midtown Manhattan, 42nd Street between Dyer & 10th Aves., that is commonly referred to as Theatre Row. Several buildings along the south side of the street form a literal catacomb of at least 30-40 small-scale theaters. It is by far the largest concentration of less-than-120 seat houses in the country. And it's being torn down this summer for - what else - luxury condos. There are literally hundreds of theatre troupes, spurn being one of them, that simply cannot afford the step up to "Off-Broadway", i.e., theaters w/more than 120 seats. The price jumps from about $1,500/wk to about $5,000/wk. So, much like the film and music industries - challenging, off-center, non-traditional theatre that is not immediately guaranteed to make its money back and/or appeal to the widest possible audience of bland America, now has no home.
Obviously, this puts a slight snag in the current and any future productions of spurn. Goddamnit.
And, we just found out that another one of our castmembers is unable to be in the current production as well. He got a job. In Connecticut. So we have to recast a man as well as a woman, potentially adding another two weeks to pre-production. Goddamnit.
I told you spurn would kick my ass in the last post.
How the hell has that greasy, dirty hippie-looking guy from Counting Crows dated so many hot women? Ditto for that dude from Soul Asylum. Why do I care about bands that were barely relevant ten years ago?
Just read an interesting article on Secession in modern-day America. Terribly amusing to think about. I mean, it'll never happen, but it's still terribly amusing to think about. Not in an "I'm an anarchistic little punk asshole that wants to watch the whole thing burn" sort of way, more in the sense that I think this country, particularly its painfully centralised behemoth of an unchecked government, is leading its citizens down the wrong damned path.
Anyway, this article/essay stressed Vermont as a key player in any future Secession movement. It has the strongest state gov't, the least federal taxes, and the most "fearlessly individualistic spirit". It also has the least paved roads of the the whole country, miles of untouched forests and mountains, and some of the highest gun sales anywhere, making it the perfect place to mount an entrenched guerilla war. For some reason, this is just funny to me. I don't know why. Perhaps it explains Howard Dean. Go Vermont.
Finally, I like the new Battlestar Galactica series on Sci-Fi. And I really like the Rome: Total War computer strategy game. My geek status is officially cemented. Thank god I'm already married.
There is a block here in midtown Manhattan, 42nd Street between Dyer & 10th Aves., that is commonly referred to as Theatre Row. Several buildings along the south side of the street form a literal catacomb of at least 30-40 small-scale theaters. It is by far the largest concentration of less-than-120 seat houses in the country. And it's being torn down this summer for - what else - luxury condos. There are literally hundreds of theatre troupes, spurn being one of them, that simply cannot afford the step up to "Off-Broadway", i.e., theaters w/more than 120 seats. The price jumps from about $1,500/wk to about $5,000/wk. So, much like the film and music industries - challenging, off-center, non-traditional theatre that is not immediately guaranteed to make its money back and/or appeal to the widest possible audience of bland America, now has no home.
Obviously, this puts a slight snag in the current and any future productions of spurn. Goddamnit.
And, we just found out that another one of our castmembers is unable to be in the current production as well. He got a job. In Connecticut. So we have to recast a man as well as a woman, potentially adding another two weeks to pre-production. Goddamnit.
I told you spurn would kick my ass in the last post.
How the hell has that greasy, dirty hippie-looking guy from Counting Crows dated so many hot women? Ditto for that dude from Soul Asylum. Why do I care about bands that were barely relevant ten years ago?
Just read an interesting article on Secession in modern-day America. Terribly amusing to think about. I mean, it'll never happen, but it's still terribly amusing to think about. Not in an "I'm an anarchistic little punk asshole that wants to watch the whole thing burn" sort of way, more in the sense that I think this country, particularly its painfully centralised behemoth of an unchecked government, is leading its citizens down the wrong damned path.
Anyway, this article/essay stressed Vermont as a key player in any future Secession movement. It has the strongest state gov't, the least federal taxes, and the most "fearlessly individualistic spirit". It also has the least paved roads of the the whole country, miles of untouched forests and mountains, and some of the highest gun sales anywhere, making it the perfect place to mount an entrenched guerilla war. For some reason, this is just funny to me. I don't know why. Perhaps it explains Howard Dean. Go Vermont.
Finally, I like the new Battlestar Galactica series on Sci-Fi. And I really like the Rome: Total War computer strategy game. My geek status is officially cemented. Thank god I'm already married.
posted by Neil_spurn at 3:50 PM
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