tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-281236192012-02-20T06:30:50.243-08:00Alan Berks. Blog.Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13164494900297284115noreply@blogger.comBlogger801100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28123619.post-2001459794616919392008-12-27T07:12:00.000-08:002008-12-27T07:28:25.365-08:00

A new president, a new year, a new party, a new commitment, a new morning, a new coffee cup.I am looking forward to the new this year. I am looking forward to looking forward. I am looking forward to the fact that forward is the only direction we should go in. I am looking forward.My dog's name is Future. He is staring at me from the futon in front of my desk right now. The Future waits to be

Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13164494900297284115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28123619.post-31817299814915740562008-08-18T15:08:00.001-07:002008-08-18T15:10:04.804-07:00

I enjoy this part of the game. Here are my picks. Anyone want to bet me?McCain picks Pawlenty as his VP, and Obama picks. . . Wesley Clark.I pretty confident about the Pawlenty one. And somehow it hit me that I think Wesley Clark is the best pick. So I'm banking on the Obama campaign being as smart as I think I am.I like the chess game of it. Seriously -- 5 or 10 bucks? Anyone wanna bet? Maybe we

Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13164494900297284115noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28123619.post-35953507722440865672008-08-12T13:44:00.001-07:002008-08-12T13:45:59.131-07:00

I wonder whether you can be an artist and an atheist? If you're an atheist, how do you understand the transcendent, altered state you feel when you create something? The feeling that probably made you want to be an artist in the first place?Unless, narcissism made you want to be an artist. Then, you'd have to an atheist.

Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13164494900297284115noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28123619.post-13115486112992873962008-08-04T08:48:00.000-07:002008-08-04T09:03:19.464-07:00

When I initiated this blog, back some months ago in the middle of winter, I think, I was desperately tossing about for some place to expunge the trivial but insidious thoughts that race around my head sometimes. I was also, in the middle winter, a bit at a loss in a lot of ways. A blog out there in the ether seemed like some kind of way to scream. In theory people read it but in reality who

Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13164494900297284115noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28123619.post-70540331432496995232008-08-01T22:33:00.000-07:002008-08-01T22:45:26.025-07:00

Everyone else does this, so what the hell --Here's what the Obama campaign should do. . . or. . . whatever. Thoughts that race through my mind because I have, unfortunately, been checking political websites the last few days.The press will continue to play the Britney/Paris thing over and over and over again BECAUSE it has Britney and Paris in it. They are the most overexposed people in our

Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13164494900297284115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28123619.post-4946043292890901202008-07-31T08:25:00.000-07:002008-07-31T08:43:30.237-07:00

So, now, I read that this entirely fictional idea that Obama is somehow "coolly arrogant" is taking hold . . . somewhere. . . Karl Rove makes something up. It has a nice open-ended story arc to it. The media picks it up. Then because the media picks it up they pick it up more. Karl Rove isn't a Machiavellian genius; he's the best theater artist ever. He knows how to invent a 3-dimensional fiction

Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13164494900297284115noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28123619.post-48697799113163435732008-06-28T08:17:00.000-07:002008-06-28T08:41:42.046-07:00

The internet makes us feel lonely. Good books, theater, music, make us less lonely. Television makes us dumb.I don't know why, though I have cockeyed theories. Regardless, I'm keeping myself off the internet except once a day and only checking my email twice a day -- and rarely after 5 p.m. -- and I feel much much better.Political reporters do not report on the issues because they don't

Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13164494900297284115noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28123619.post-32488881765206900052008-06-09T21:48:00.000-07:002008-06-09T21:56:04.444-07:00

Is there a congressman or woman from Ohio, Florida, or Virginia who is between 50-60 years old, who served in the military but wasn't a lifer, who left as a captain or a major at most, who has run or did run his own business, and who has been in in the house for at least ten-twelve years? Someone who works hard, who everyone respects, but who basically was never going to go any higher because he

Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13164494900297284115noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28123619.post-39894974526750055372008-06-06T10:47:00.000-07:002008-06-06T10:55:23.785-07:00

Is there a difference between asking an artists "what works" and asking them "what is art"?Do we strive in the performing arts too often to make something that "works" -- though with the best of intentions. What is your purpose? we ask. What are you trying to say? What do you want the audience to feel? etc., etc., a series of supposedly helpful questions. And then we collaborate to make something

Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13164494900297284115noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28123619.post-58841000981477332222008-06-03T21:13:00.001-07:002008-06-03T21:15:29.874-07:00

It is a pretty cool night. A community organizer and law professor from the south side of chicago, who is black and white, just won the nomination for the presidency -- and he's got a good chance to win. OK, no one needs to read about that here, but I've been searching the web reading shit all night and, well, it's not important but its just kind of nice to think that the future president might

Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13164494900297284115noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28123619.post-45380392300942917272008-05-28T19:50:00.000-07:002008-05-28T19:56:25.190-07:00

Responding to something from McCain the Obama people say, "“…it seems odd that Senator McCain, who bought the flawed rationale for war so readily, would be lecturing others on their depth of understanding about Iraq.”There are so many things to hate about politics but at the moment what I hate is this formulation of thoughts that the Clinton's do like crazy, the Repubs do a lot but I can't

Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13164494900297284115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28123619.post-59155292412157592622008-05-28T09:21:00.000-07:002008-05-28T09:25:43.596-07:00

My god - Sleep! I had no idea.Leah bought me some herbal sleep enhancing pill thingies, so I've actually been sleeping deeply for at least a few hours a night for the first time in like three years. Seriously, for three years, I've been sleeping incredibly lightly or not sleeping at all. For the last week, while I've gotten up a few times in the night still, when the dog starts pacing, I've also

Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13164494900297284115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28123619.post-79905781875475042132008-05-25T21:50:00.000-07:002008-05-25T22:01:45.828-07:00

I do believe in the power of writing even when I lose faith in the justice of the written world. I woke up on the wrong side of the bed, and I regret that anyone who reads this blog had to read that diatribe. However, I feel better. It's nice to vent. Sometimes, its nice to vent thinking that someone, who may not even want to read what you've written, has to listen to you. Why do I feel better

Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13164494900297284115noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28123619.post-26158958553228998412008-05-25T08:00:00.001-07:002008-05-25T08:34:07.893-07:00

And not because they are connected. In fact, in the stream or river or rain of consciousness writing that I feel like doing right now, I'd have to say that theater would have to matter to a larger percentage of the population in order to be connected to politics. Don't get me wrong - I think theater is incredibly relevant and "matters" to the personal emotional expansion and imaginative thinking

Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13164494900297284115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28123619.post-42421947474926256182008-05-08T06:44:00.000-07:002008-05-08T06:48:00.573-07:00

When I was younger, I didn't care what the audience wanted because I thought I was good at giving them what they needed instead. I don't mean that I had deep philosophical ideas that I thought they should hear. I mean that I thought I could construct, through knowledge of craft and awareness and respect for audience, an unexpected experience that they would prize, in part, because it was so

Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13164494900297284115noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28123619.post-25853867326640099012008-04-23T16:55:00.000-07:002008-04-23T16:59:29.510-07:00

Finally, spring. Spring -- finally! I think its really here. I though it would never come. No, really, I thought it would never come. . . I've lived in Minnesota for five years now, and I've laughed when people from outside Minnesota have asked how I could live here -- "it's so cold!" I've found the winters to be generally one month too long but pleasant and kind of pretty. . . but . . this. . .

Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13164494900297284115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28123619.post-19399312183333474422008-04-22T05:10:00.000-07:002008-04-22T05:38:21.048-07:00

We all know that a large portion of the media is full of shit. We call them the punditocracy. Who coined the term? The punditocracy themselves. Here's a cute little quality of the punditocracy - the people in it generally don't acknowledge that they're members of it. The person speaking is a journalist who is aware of the existence of the pundits - somewhere else. And what do these pundit/

Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13164494900297284115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28123619.post-40685948209803436862008-04-20T18:27:00.000-07:002008-04-20T18:28:31.673-07:00

Saturday night was good, I think. Friday was like a preview, I guess, with critics in attendance.Theater is weird.

Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13164494900297284115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28123619.post-7814063061088545372008-04-19T08:12:00.001-07:002008-04-19T08:33:43.995-07:00

Our opening night happened last night.Wow. We had a checklist in our head of all the things that could go wrong, and they did and more. The third sound cue was off. Then, in the first two pages of dialogue, one of the actors skipped two pages. The pace was sluggish. By the third scene, the cue for the video didn't work (the stage manager accidentally hit eject instead of play on the dvd). One of

Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13164494900297284115noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28123619.post-84470008415169422972008-04-17T10:22:00.000-07:002008-04-17T10:35:15.390-07:00

"Everywhere Signs Fall" has the final rehearsal tonight. The actors asked to cancel the preview, so they could take one more crack at finding the right rhythm.They aren't where they are supposed to be yet, but I believe they'll get it. They're smart actors. All of them have incredible stage presence. They like the play. They tell the story. They have all brought unique intelligent interpretations

Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13164494900297284115noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28123619.post-78663760588090879062008-04-15T06:20:00.001-07:002008-04-15T06:29:16.588-07:00

Yesterday felt as though spring had finally arrived. The sky was completely blue and the weather was gentler than it has been in a long time here in the frozen tundra of Minnesota. This winter has been brutal. If I see another snow flake, I'm not sure what I will do. Nothing good.But yesterday, possibility came back a little.Then, I went to rehearsal for my play. Playwrights should never go to

Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13164494900297284115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28123619.post-43753423208012050202008-04-10T08:57:00.000-07:002008-04-10T09:20:34.658-07:00

I'm back.Rehearsals are going well. The actors, in their core, seem to have these characters in their gut. Now they just have to get off book. I was running lines with Tracey the other day and realized what a pain in the ass my dialogue must be -- over the course of three lines she says, "What?" "Who?" and then I think "Jeremy" or maybe "What?" again. Yes, that is hard to remember precisely.

Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13164494900297284115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28123619.post-53352306866885006072008-03-25T22:27:00.000-07:002008-03-25T22:29:28.718-07:00

How do you spell whore? Is it hore or whore? How about prostitute?I'm blogging at rakemag.com about the first week of rehearsal for my new play "Everywhere Signs Fall," April 18-May 11. At the Loading Dock Theatre in St. Paul. produced by gremlin.It's in the "Just passing through" section.

Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13164494900297284115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28123619.post-81293352817422222582008-03-15T09:52:00.000-07:002008-03-15T10:00:46.472-07:00

I keep thinking about how systems can or should change in order to create better results. This is why my head hurts a little. Some people believe in people – you find the right people, fuck the purpose, and you can move mountains. Other people think in terms of systems, as in, we need to create systems in which people’s best instincts thrive. In some ways, if you wanted, a person could argue that

Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13164494900297284115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28123619.post-75703356960311151142008-03-13T19:16:00.000-07:002008-03-13T19:22:41.284-07:00

Does anyone actually know anyone who voted for or will vote for either Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama because of "liberal guilt"? "Liberal guilt" in this instance is, I guess, the idea that someone went in to a voting a booth or caucus and somehow got a rush out of making an entirely symbolic vote that somehow stands in for reparations for years of oppression? Do you know anyone who you even

Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13164494900297284115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28123619.post-20122489716907309792008-03-11T06:17:00.000-07:002008-03-11T07:30:01.916-07:00

Up early this morning, looking at budget numbers. Argh! Thought I'd write some things:1. Another Reason Why the Political Press is Dumb, Dumb, Dumb: So, Hillary has attacked Obama, and the press is wondering whether Obama can survive the attacks. At some point, they start to take their metaphors literally. So, now the attack involves whether or not Obama has a "glass jaw" and "can survive the

Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13164494900297284115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28123619.post-58715403771632176602008-03-09T11:13:00.000-07:002008-03-09T11:28:19.539-07:00

I just read the latest New York Times article on the "edifice" complex of regional theaters across the country. It's a good article, accurate and due. A worthwhile subject to explore. . . But -- of course but -- is it a journalistic principle never really to get in to the heart of the matter? Is it a journalistic principle, in an article that clearly has a perspective no less, only to skim the

Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13164494900297284115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28123619.post-66619272309154841152008-03-07T10:06:00.001-08:002008-03-07T10:21:15.320-08:00

Argh. Just when I think I'm curing my addiction to useless political punditry, something happens that creeps into my head and won't get out.Boy, do the Clinton's know about winning ugly. Ugly, ugly, ugly. Certainly, I'm not the only one who supports Obama in part because of a prayer to just be done with that kind of shit. Of course I think that the world is full of that shit. The Clinton's didn't

Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13164494900297284115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28123619.post-48469144485452510812008-03-04T20:00:00.000-08:002008-03-04T20:08:41.236-08:00

While on vacation this weekend, we saw the movie "vantage point." Not a good movie but it explodes well. I mean, when you're on vacation, it's loud enough to keep the thinking at the minimum amount. It's really not a good movie, but neither of us really minded while we watching it.There were a couple rows of people in the back of the movie theater though who appeared to be "shocked! shocked! I

Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13164494900297284115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28123619.post-25588360175242721342008-02-28T07:06:00.000-08:002008-03-04T20:00:27.689-08:00

I click on a New York Times link about Stephen King and John Mellencamp collaborating on a musical that they will try out in at Atlanta's Alliance Theater -- First thought, "Well, I guess musical theater is exactly where formerly great artists go when they're totally over the hill." Second thought, "What? Once you pass a certain age, you actually enjoy theater more than other entertainment? Again

Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13164494900297284115noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28123619.post-69571681939318689482008-02-15T07:23:00.000-08:002008-02-15T07:44:44.502-08:00

My conscious influences; Shakespeare, Chekhov, J.M. Synge, Bertolt Brecht, Edward Albee, Sam Shepard, Luigi Pirandello. Also, probably, Naomi Wallace and Carol Churchill.People I doubt are influences: Ibsen, Strindberg, Eugene O'Neil (maybe), Tennessee Williams (even though "Streetcar" is one of the best plays ever).People I really like who may be subconscious influences: Arthur Miller (

Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13164494900297284115noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28123619.post-25904229652872039032008-02-12T07:46:00.000-08:002008-02-12T07:53:00.976-08:00

Art is the process of creating worlds of perception, through music or sculpture or theater, that by virtue of originality, delight, and surprise somehow make us feel as though an unexpected truth about life has been revealed in the experience. Or at least that we have gained a new experience that enriches the truth in our life.Art, like God, is a three letter word that attempts to define the

Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13164494900297284115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28123619.post-26522731759310654102008-02-11T07:04:00.001-08:002008-02-11T07:53:08.809-08:00

I want to ask a question and make a statement at the same time. Whatever it takes to get people to consider the topic.Is theater art or entertainment? in general, television is entertainment. Are the performing arts just live entertainment? Years ago, when I lived in New York, any big budget plays I saw struck me very much like television for people who are too snobby to watch television.Most of

Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13164494900297284115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28123619.post-75026817933846444782008-02-02T09:00:00.000-08:002008-02-02T09:17:24.984-08:00

The theater I want --The characters leap off the stage, surprising, delightful, and alive. Surprising.The theater I see --The actors convey characters clearly. The characters are written as a consistent collection of ticks and behaviors.The theater I want --The characters live in a visually stunning inventive world that transports us to a place similar to but different than our own.The theater I

Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13164494900297284115noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28123619.post-54306021570916377402008-02-01T20:35:00.000-08:002008-02-01T20:41:30.031-08:00

I'm coming to the sad conclusion -- truly deeply sad -- that there just isn't any point to this theater thing. Sure I see good shows all the time. Great actors. Good direction. fine enough script. . . but . . . Nothing moves me the way it should. No one pushes me out of my chair. I never jump anymore. . . What is it that people are trying to do up there? There's a quote "The best lack all

Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13164494900297284115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28123619.post-6358603638926343852008-01-31T14:51:00.000-08:002008-01-31T15:09:04.627-08:00

There are a lot of reasons, i think, to prefer Obama over Clinton. And Obama over McCain or Huckabee or Romney. Some are practical, some idealistic, some based on policy, etc. But, at the same time, I think there is a limit to how excited a rational person should get about any of this. No one can save the world. Everyone, even the president, is going to be constricted by a bunch of things. To put

Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13164494900297284115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28123619.post-18040570027700207672008-01-28T13:31:00.000-08:002008-01-28T13:47:54.506-08:00

It really is hard to avoid thinking about the political primaries. They are so easy to fill with drama. Characters. Dreams. Aspirations. Entire world views to consider. Subtext. . . And the slow-motion process that allows for fascinating analysis of tactics.My favorite so far is the tactic of complaining that complaining isn't a tactic. Or, in more concrete terms, why does anyone spend any time

Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13164494900297284115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28123619.post-58247247302968282292008-01-20T19:50:00.000-08:002008-01-20T20:03:37.462-08:00

I got called in -- as an actor! -- to the Guthrie this weekend to participate in a workshop with Tony Kushner. How, do you ask, do I get called in when there are so many people in this town who are such good actors? Good question. Someone's got to be able to pronounce bene barak, charoset, and rabbi eliezar correctly. Apparently, there ain't too many of the chosen people in the profession in this

Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13164494900297284115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28123619.post-55967230309831629682008-01-18T05:57:00.001-08:002008-01-18T06:15:53.391-08:00

The major political candidates are at a big debate -- the black guy, the woman, the white handsome southerner, the old military hero, the charming preacher/evangelical, the businessman and/or the creepy robotic religious cult member, the old jowly southerner, and the New Yorker. My god! Look at the fucking archetypes! Look at the paradigms! What are missing? I mean - besides proportionate

Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13164494900297284115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28123619.post-52523076073322840652008-01-15T20:38:00.000-08:002008-01-15T20:59:17.497-08:00

I hope i can write this out, then stop thinking about it for awhile. . . Sometimes my brain works that way. Right now, I find myself thinking too much about politics. I've decided that they want me to think about them this much and being a playwright its too hard to resist. All these candidates for president say, "I am what you want me to be. I am your aspirations. I am your character. On a very

Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13164494900297284115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28123619.post-40850657905790054782008-01-12T06:26:00.000-08:002008-01-12T06:44:43.278-08:00

Apparently, when I don't concentrate enough while I write, I ramble. Long sentences with lots of clauses that the reader needs to double back to read and understand. . . Honestly, I can't decide whether I'm happy or sad about this. I think Emerson said that people write they way they think and, you know, sometimes, maybe, we should take pride in being complex and difficult with our thought

Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13164494900297284115noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28123619.post-41515936770994939252008-01-07T08:39:00.000-08:002008-01-07T08:56:45.457-08:00

So, the last post, draft 4, states clearly some ideas I was working through in the previous posts, yet clearly also misses something when stated clearly. You can't make creativity into mathematics. I think the effort is worth it, but here is why I really love writing -- because the form you use to outline an idea has to actually much the energy of the idea. So, I've got to take another look at

Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13164494900297284115noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28123619.post-31962444276380508702008-01-05T10:30:00.000-08:002008-01-05T10:47:09.690-08:00

Conflict and action aren't really hard -- at least, I don't think they're hard. 1. Conflict people seem to understand. They may avoid it, even in some theater god love'em, but they know what it is. 2. Action can be almost anything from blowing up a building to lifting a finger. No play has to do any number of these things to any particular degree. I simply believe they have to be there somewhere,

Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13164494900297284115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28123619.post-82586391943620590602008-01-02T22:01:00.000-08:002008-01-02T22:34:33.579-08:00

So, when I look at the first post in this series, I realize that everything I said about structure can be construed to justify some of the silly, quirky but heartless plays that do get produced in Downtown, off-off-Broadway New York these days (and of course find their way on to stages around the country because they were produced in New York). I didn't mean to justify that stuff because

Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13164494900297284115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28123619.post-87264294704524379392008-01-01T10:31:00.001-08:002008-01-01T10:34:30.189-08:00

OK.I just reread my last rant and realized that it isn't as unique as I thought it was while writing it. The other voices in my hand, the balance voices, the schizophrenic me, realizes that there are many new plays that play with structure and paradigm.Yet, they still seem somehow constricted (and often just seem to result in clever whimsiness). The key point, the only key point, may be the one

Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13164494900297284115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28123619.post-44616663425130918552008-01-01T09:40:00.001-08:002008-01-01T10:02:47.581-08:00

Wanted to write something concrete this morning as though it would somehow cut through the slight hangover. It's a clarifying hangover, a hangover that makes life a little simpler, a hangover more from excitement than actual booze. It's a new year and life can be fun and the year is new and what the fuck -- I'm of a certain age at this point and who the hell cares anymore whose right or wrong.

Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13164494900297284115noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28123619.post-8829113057509262122007-12-30T10:37:00.001-08:002007-12-30T10:51:03.932-08:00

I love the theater. I have experienced emotions in the theater that I can still feel today as I sit here. I have spent hours in the theater that have transformed my life. And I say this as a person who has had no shortage of real life experiences to compare. I genuinely enjoy the experience of most theater I go to see. I appreciate the work people do; I get a warm heart from watching a great

Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13164494900297284115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28123619.post-81365287772467416432007-12-28T07:46:00.000-08:002007-12-28T08:00:38.720-08:00

How do you tell the difference between your problem and someone else's problem? We should be humble, responsible people who take burdens unto ourselves -- burdens, blame, culpability, etc. . . But sometimes, isn't it appropriate to recognize that the world isn't a fair place? Other people who held the keys to this kingdom or that kingdom or are somehow connected to something you or I may want to

Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13164494900297284115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28123619.post-53277037195653820902007-12-23T08:15:00.000-08:002007-12-23T08:23:25.071-08:00

I think I hate symbolism. One thing standing in for another thing -- for what fucking reason? "That tree represents my son's young life" Why? Why, why, why? Why not be direct or at least be clever or descriptive or something.I like metaphor and simile and analogy -- the comparison of unlike things in order to deepen our understanding of the thing. I don't like bad metaphor or simile. "Your eyes

Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13164494900297284115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28123619.post-67673347778409187202007-12-22T10:52:00.000-08:002007-12-22T11:04:30.348-08:00

No legendary playwrights have come out of the current new play development process. There are great playwrights in the world today but their voices are scattered; their vision diluted; and they earn no respect from either the world at large or the theater community specifically. Playwrights have been infantilized, encroached upon, and beaten down. To write anything of value is almost a victory.

Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13164494900297284115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28123619.post-6177464154926331972007-12-19T07:08:00.000-08:002007-12-19T07:28:25.321-08:00

Last night, I got in to an argument with a friend about politics. Of course about politics. The conversation started even because I was remarking how strange it is that people get so emotionally attached to their candidates of choice. I've been checking political blogs when I procrastinate these days and -- republican or democrat -- once they pick a candidate, they make talk about rational

Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13164494900297284115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28123619.post-26235425457614918812007-12-17T12:32:00.000-08:002007-12-17T12:38:06.582-08:00

Thank you, Ciso, for relaunching this blog space on my website.I have, really really oddly, the urge to blog. I think it is because I have -- for the first time in my life - writer's block. I used to make fun of my students who said they had writers block. "Writers write well or they write badly but they write. What the hell is writers block?" Except now I think, I have no purpose for writing, no

Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13164494900297284115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28123619.post-64391524309336466942006-11-22T13:26:00.001-08:002007-12-17T11:36:05.863-08:00

Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13164494900297284115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28123619.post-1159746881909473482006-10-01T16:53:00.000-07:002006-10-01T16:54:41.926-07:00

New Time! 7 PMNew formats! Serial Plays, Period Pieces, Musicals, Movement and MoreNew Price! 8-15 (pay what you can on this sliding scale)New Drink Specials! $3 beer, wine and bar drinks after the show.Come down and hang with us. It's always something.

Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13164494900297284115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28123619.post-1155827858631987692006-08-17T07:27:00.000-07:002006-08-17T08:46:14.033-07:00

"How to Cheat" turned out far better than I could have hoped. I can't remember when I've seen a show where every actor on stage hit the right notes all the time. I wish we had maybe two more hours of rehearsal and the extra ten minutes the script orginally had, but I think these two actors were so completely these two characters that every experience I had of watching the show was thrilling.Also,

Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13164494900297284115noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28123619.post-1154559048076085362006-08-02T15:42:00.000-07:002006-08-02T15:50:48.090-07:00

I have been lucky and honored in the last year to have a number of people who are willing to produce my work while at the same time involving me intensely in the process.Before Leah and I take some well-earned backpacking time (OK, she earned it. My life since I met her has been one big adventure), I'll have one more chance to see something wierd I concocted be produced by an incredibly talented

Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13164494900297284115noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28123619.post-1153611076476430242006-07-22T16:28:00.001-07:002006-07-22T16:33:35.776-07:00

MIchael Szeles, the guy who performed my solo show Goats in New York, was nominated for an award in the new "New York Innovative Theater" or IT Awards whose tag lines is something like "celebrating off-off-broadway." He was nominated for best solo performance. Go to http://www.nyitawards.org/I think this is a good thing though I don't really know what it is. I hope it helps Michael's career. He

Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13164494900297284115noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28123619.post-1153611086359732392006-07-22T16:28:00.000-07:002006-07-22T16:31:26.370-07:00

Apparently, MIchael Szeles, the guy who performed my solo show Goats in New York, was nominated for an award in the new "Innovative Theater" or IT Awards whose tag lines is something like "celebrating off-off-broadway." He was nominated for best solo performance.I think this is a good thing though I don't really know what it is. I hope it helps Michael's career. He was great. Then I hope it helps

Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13164494900297284115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28123619.post-1152980721213590882006-07-15T09:17:00.000-07:002006-07-15T09:25:21.226-07:00

I think we're an itchy trigger finger away from ww3 in the Middle East. . . I wrote an entire play about horrible despair in the darkest moments of the Middle East yet still having faith in life. . . And even I am starting to lose faith.Predominantly because the people who run U.S. policy have shown themselves to be so unbelievably clueless as to defy imagination. The administration didn't start

Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13164494900297284115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28123619.post-1151177904235180102006-06-24T12:31:00.000-07:002006-06-24T12:38:24.250-07:00

Everyone else is bloggin all the time. Why not me? Blog is a horrible word. It's fine for something that a bunch of happy, smart freaks are doing, but the proliferation of blogs is actually distressing in the way that a proliferation of zits or warts or hairy, mangy muts would be distressing.I'm only writing to have something to do while I wait for someone to visit our open house. Anyone want to

Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13164494900297284115noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28123619.post-1147680065605202212006-03-10T14:54:00.000-08:002006-05-16T15:31:08.036-07:00

Check this out. Reviews of "Almost Exactly Like Us":talkinbroadway.comPioneer PressMinneapolis Star TribuneCity PagesAnd the King of All Rave Reviews for the Production Company's staging of "Goats" in New York:nytheatre.com

Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13164494900297284115noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28123619.post-1147680124376739642006-01-22T10:02:00.000-08:002006-05-15T01:02:04.376-07:00

So much to say:Thirst begins again on Monday, January 23. More new scripts, new writers, new actors. More surprises. Fights. Who knows?Goats premieres in New York -- yup, New York City -- at the Production Company in the Garment District Theater on Thursday, January 26. productioncompany.org for more info.Almost Exactly Like Us begins rehearsal at Gremlin Theater today (Sunday). The show opens in

Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13164494900297284115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28123619.post-1147680172277766312005-11-27T10:02:00.000-08:002006-05-15T01:02:52.276-07:00

Thirst Continues. Every Monday @ 7:30 until Dec. 19 with writers like Joe Scrimshaw, Melanie Marnich, Elisa Mautner, Tom Poole, Trista Baldwin, and myself. And more. And actors like Richard Iglewski, Charlie Bethel, Steve Hendrickson, Nathan Christopher, Maggie Chestovich, Kris Nelson, Randy Reyes and, of course, Chris Carlson and Tracey Maloney.Chris is performing a monologue I wrote especially

Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13164494900297284115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28123619.post-1147680238706235622005-07-27T22:00:00.000-07:002006-05-15T01:03:58.706-07:00

Thirst Theater podcasts its successful series of bar experiences created by award-winning writers and professional actors. From anywhere in the world, audiences can download the creative spirit of a good evening out, and take it with them to their favorite hang-out.Go to www.fringefestival.org and click on Fringe in Your Ear. Right click (or CTRL-click on an iBook) the free sample to save it to

Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13164494900297284115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28123619.post-1147679463821825132005-07-26T10:49:00.000-07:002006-05-15T00:53:25.473-07:00

Because our Fringe show will be on the rooftop patio at Joe's Garage in good weather and inside in bad weather, only 62 reservations are available. In good weather, however, AN ADDITIONAL 70 SEATS ARE AVAILABLE AT THE DOOR ON THE EVENING OF THE PERFORMANCE.So come on down. You'll get in.

Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13164494900297284115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28123619.post-1147811683596527152005-07-20T07:34:00.000-07:002006-05-16T15:37:18.233-07:00

Thirst Theater @ the Minnesota Fringe presents 6 new short plays by local, award-winning writers performed by professional Equity actors — and, this time, woven together — on an outdoor rooftop patio bar around you. A twist on the popular Monday night event.Thirst: Where curtain call meets last callJoe’s Garage, 1610 Harmon PlaceFriday, August 5Monday, August 8 Wednesday, August 10Thursday,

Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13164494900297284115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28123619.post-1147811771504476192005-03-22T10:48:00.000-08:002006-05-16T13:36:11.506-07:00

Thirst: Round 2 is extended thru April 4. Round 3 begins on April 11.My Mondays are busy forever, from now on, I guess.Also, I've finally figured out a way of describing the Republican governing philosophy that makes sense. They appear to want less government in all political arenas, like the economy and how we regulate corporations, etc. Meanwhile they appear to want more government in all

Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13164494900297284115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28123619.post-1147812241535685022005-01-21T13:09:00.000-08:002006-05-16T13:44:01.540-07:00

I've been biting my tongue for days, weeks, a few months now, as I listen to people talk about the political divide in this country. It's all the nonsense chatter that bothers me the most -- people talking and talking with nothing but a vague sense of a feeling to support their assertions -- so I figure I shouldn't add to it. Also, I don't think it matters much what I think on this particular

Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13164494900297284115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28123619.post-1147812325264046962005-01-15T14:56:00.000-08:002006-05-16T13:45:25.266-07:00

Hello, Friends. If you know anyone in Minnesota, sendthem to this. They will enjoy it -- whether they'veenjoyed theater in the past or not. Also, if you'regoing to be nearby, extend your trip to Tuesday so youcan visit this on Monday night. I'd love to see you.Be well. Happy New Year.Equity Actors collaborating with award-winningplaywrights returns after a sold out run to createanother repertory

Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13164494900297284115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28123619.post-1147812459125288452004-09-04T18:37:00.000-07:002006-05-16T13:47:39.126-07:00

WE'VE BEEN COOKING THIS UP FOR A FEW MONTHS NOW. IF YOU CAN MAKE IT, YOU SHOULD.Equity Actors collaborate with award-winning playwrights to create a repertory of short plays in an intimate, inexpensive location. Thirst Theater: Where curtain call meets last call. @ Joe’s Garage, 1610 Harmon Place, Minneapolis, MNEvery Monday, 7:30 p.m.$9 cover charge at the door September 13 through November

Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13164494900297284115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28123619.post-1147812518047890192004-07-21T14:29:00.000-07:002006-05-16T13:48:38.046-07:00

Good afternoon. It is unbearably hot here in Minneapolis right now. This fact seems ridiculously unfair considering the unbearable cold it was not too long ago. . . I'm trying to remember why I said I liked this town. . . O yeahThe theater opportunities!I will be performing an abbreviated, abridged, all-together-different-but-still-somewhat-the-same version of Goats at the MINNESOTA FRINGE

Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13164494900297284115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28123619.post-1147812590670490012003-10-14T21:09:00.000-07:002006-05-16T13:49:50.670-07:00

On Tuesday, October 28 at 8:00 p.m. at the Playwrights Center of Minneapolis, the 2003-2004 Jerome Fellows (including me) will be reading excerpts from their work for the public. Fun, fun, fun. Come hear bits and pieces of a bunch of good writer's plays.

Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13164494900297284115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28123619.post-1147812679382434922003-09-25T09:28:00.000-07:002006-05-16T13:51:59.070-07:00

I have figured out why most television sucks. This blog seems like the best place to put a realization like this one. It's not so personal that it will embarrass me later (though it is revealing), and it's not so important that I'm thinking of writing a book on the subject. Yet it's been running around my brain since I finished watching the new West Wing episode last night, and a

Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13164494900297284115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28123619.post-1147812943179841892003-09-20T09:18:00.000-07:002006-05-16T13:55:43.186-07:00

On Monday, September 22nd, The Playwright's Center will be presenting an informal reading of my new play, Music Lovers. The purpose of this reading is for me to hear the play -- with a pile of revisions I just completed this weekend -- in front of an invited, thoughtful audience. I'm hoping to discover where the laughs are and where the confusion remains. The Center has gotten some good,

Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13164494900297284115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28123619.post-1147813005266438982003-07-28T19:39:00.000-07:002006-05-16T13:57:36.943-07:00

Good evening. I am sitting in the lounge of a small East Coast college dormitory on a small East Coast hill above a small East Coast town that barely exists anymore since the factory moved to Mexico. Four men are playing cribbage behind me. Cribbage? What is Cribbage? And if it were really a game for men, would it be called cribbage? (No offense. I feel like aiming for a cheap laugh is all.)

Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13164494900297284115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28123619.post-1147813129479692632003-06-24T12:44:00.000-07:002006-05-16T13:58:49.480-07:00

Check here for information on readings and/or productions and/or other comings and goings, etc. Also, look for the occasional rant when I'm feeling particularly politically pent-up and I can't find a live audience.

Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13164494900297284115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28123619.post-1147813199875922192003-06-20T14:50:00.000-07:002006-05-16T13:59:59.876-07:00

I can rant here all I want. Those of you who miss having drinks and listening to my nonsense can now grab a drink and read it here. I love the Internet. And World Peace!

Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13164494900297284115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28123619.post-1147813310437226332003-06-20T14:48:00.000-07:002006-05-16T14:01:50.436-07:00

Now the web site is really open but we're no longer serving fries.

Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13164494900297284115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28123619.post-1147813376221190062003-05-28T15:14:00.000-07:002006-05-16T14:02:56.223-07:00

Web Site is Open. Order some Fries.

Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13164494900297284115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28123619.post-1147813438726189952003-05-28T11:47:00.000-07:002006-05-16T14:03:58.726-07:00

Welcome to alanberks.com!

Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13164494900297284115noreply@blogger.com0