I will dance for you

boom in Kuala Lumpur

2012-01-25T09:31:00.000-08:00

Finding out about such things is why I google myself.

This would be my Asian continent premiere (to my best knowledge. I'm not sure what's been MegaUploaded)

more info here

An interview w me on Howlround

2012-01-24T12:07:00.000-08:00

A little while ago, I chatted with David Dower on the phone about the playwriting life in San Francisco for Howlround. I don't know how titllating an interview it is, but here it is!

http://www.howlround.com/the-david-dower-friday-phone-call-peter-sinn-nachtrieb-call-2/

Hunter Gatherers in Phoenix and Portland

2012-01-06T11:36:00.000-08:00

Both with enticing meat pictures!

Hunter Gatherers in Phoenix at Actors Theatre of Phoenix
Now Through Jan 15

Hunter Gatherers in Portland, OR at Theatre Vertigo
Opening today through Feb 4

knock their socks off, guys!

the 2011/2012 professional update

2012-01-04T15:41:00.000-08:00

Greetings from Peter Nachtrieb and Happy 2012!

So far, I've begun 2012 with a ritual sage stick smudging, a lot of pork, my very first spin class and a sore taint. 2011 was quite a year and I'm feeling pretty excited about how 2012 is unfolding so far. Of course, I'm sorry to be losing all of my Mayan friends later this year. You will be missed! For those of you remaining after the rapture, it is my hope that my work will continue to entertain you.   Here's a little recap and preview of things I've been doing/am up to:

RECENT PROJECTS
2 Nachtrieb plays premiered in 2011 and both were a blast to work on:

BOB - A Life in 5 Acts
BOB had its smashing world premiere this year at the concisely named Humana Festival For New American Plays at Actors Theatre of Louisville, directed by the Sean "The Wizard in a Tie" Daniels. A dreamy cast and production (that featured a lot of light bulbs), plus a lot of complimentary Krave Kases from White Castle. BOB received a fantastic second production up at Sacramento's B Street Theatre this summer (with some rewrites to boot). BOB will be published in the 2011 Humana Festival Complete Play collection coming out this winter/spring.   You can read more about the play, including some handy pullquotes, here

Upcoming Production: BOB will be playing for 3 performances at the A.R.T. Institute in Cambridge, MA at the Oberon Theatre.
Feb 29-March 2 More info here

LITTER: The True Story of the Framingham Dodecutuplets
Originally commissioned for ACT's MFA class of 2011 and directed by Mark "The Beard" Rucker, Litter had a wild and fun run last March in San Francisco. It featured big musical numbers, twelve person scenes where everyone spoke at the same time, and some amazing pink jumpsuits.
Read more about the play here
About the A.C.T. production and awesome photos
Hear the closing song (composed by Niko Tsakalakos)

Hopefully BOB and LITTER will continue to find more homes in the coming years!

SOME OF THE NEW THINGS
While nothing is officially premiering this year, I'm working on some new stuff which I'm pretty excited about. A couple highlights:

A new play
THE TOTALITARIANS
A commission for the National New Play Network from the New Dramatists Full Stage Program.
It's a play about lying, language as violence, violence as language, and how to believe things without facts.   Featuring one of the most magnetic and dubious candidates for public office you will ever meet, her speechwriter, the speechwriter's husband and a conspiracy theorist with alterior motives. On the darker side. I'm a draft and a half in so a lot could change but I'm pretty sure the stabbing and the drunken sex scene will remain. I'm not so sure about the colon exam scene.
The show will have a reading at the NNPN showcase next fall and will be premiering during the 2013-14 season (location TBA), provided that Earth still exists.

A new musical
FALL SPRINGS: A MUSICAL DISASTER
A musical comedy about a small town that is gradually sinking into the ground and nobody wants to do anything about it, except for an intrepid group of teenagers who must overcome their apathy to save their home. Think The Poseidon Adventure meets The Music Man. That's not exactly right.
Composing and Co-lyricising is the phenomenally talented Nikos Tsakalakos, writer of Pool Boy and the composer for the A.C.T. production of my play Litter. Check his stuff out here
Niko just finished recording a few of the songs for the show. Maybe at some point we can tease you with some of them!

(I'm also working on a few other projects in the works that are not worth mentioning yet)

SOME OF THE OLDEN THINGS
My published plays, boom, Hunter Gatherers, and Colorado continue to find people interested in doing them (boom has now had over 50 productions. Holler! )
And sentimental fave T.I.C. (Trenchcoat In Common) found a fantastic and fearless second production at Fresno State this past fall, which I had the pleasure of being able to check out and enjoy.
If you are one of those people who have produced a play of mine, thank you!!!

Keep tabs on my professional career:
http://www.peternachtrieb.com is the most up to date and comprehensive spot for PSN info.
I also post fairly regularly on my Facebook, and fairly irregularly on my blog (here) And I still hate Twitter so don't look for me on twitter because I'm not on it.

That's all for now, thank you for reading. And may your 2012 bring you at least 40% of the things you wish!

I ate this a couple weeks ago.

2011-12-07T10:40:00.000-08:00

And I now know that too many salty meats is not a good thing for me

The new New Dramtists website!

2011-11-17T14:56:00.000-08:00

Check out the beta site here

Used to clean closet, perhaps also useful for writing

2011-11-16T14:55:00.001-08:00

Hunther Gatherers in Kentucky

2011-10-11T10:41:00.000-07:00

I love Louisville, and this new theatre company rocks. (Not just cause they're doing my play, the people are pretty special too)

Opening this weekend !Check Out All the info here

The Fresno State cast of T.I.C.

2011-10-09T11:48:00.001-07:00

The central valley was rocked

Two weeks at new dramatists

2011-09-30T09:15:00.001-07:00

A solid draft of a new play
40 minutes of a new musical
Misc teaching and meetings and other stuff.
NYC did me right this time, except for that sticky heat.

So excited to see this next week!

2011-09-28T12:55:00.001-07:00

Seriously I've barely left the building

2011-09-22T07:49:00.001-07:00

2011-09-20T05:36:00.001-07:00

Settling in for an evening of rewrites.

51 Rest Stop Kisses

2011-09-18T08:21:00.000-07:00

The B Street Theatre production of BOB closed last week after a long summer Sacramento run . To chronicle the journey, the cast saved each polaroid photo from the sultry and scintillating "Bob has first kiss and it is documented with a Polaroid" scene. 51 performances, 51 kisses, hopefully no cold sores.

Thanks to Peter Story (The BOB of B Street) for sharing this picture with me! (if you click it it gets bigger)

Look who's hosting!

2011-09-17T11:16:00.000-07:00

T.I.C. comin to Fresno!

2011-09-08T11:00:00.000-07:00

The Theatre Department at CSU Fresno is mounting a production of TIC (Trenchcoat In Common) this fall. Very exciting to see this play get some life. Plus it means I finally get to spend some time in Fresno!

Directed by J. Daniel Herring
September 30 - October 8, 2011
More about the production here

Check out the early white model of designer Jeff Hunter's set for the show, which amazingly resembles the thing I'm typing on right now! And who doesn't love a cutout figure of a flasher?

The first production of boom to ever be performed in a swimming pool

2011-08-24T14:16:00.000-07:00

An empty pool, I think :). The best thing to happen in an empty pool since a lat 80's skateboarding video.

Check out the Elements Theatre Collective full schedule of performances of boom in all sorts of crazy spaces around Santa Barbara!

Hunter Gatherers in Gainesville, Florida

2011-08-23T09:01:00.000-07:00

This poster is sweet! Knock their Gators off down there, guys!

More Info Here

2011-08-19T17:17:00.003-07:00

Related to. Sorry grammar

2011-08-19T17:17:00.001-07:00

Suddenly I have 73 pages of a rough draft. (not in one day)

interesting how closely related my happiness is with how creative i am.

Bob, b street theatre. Sacramento.

2011-08-12T19:46:00.001-07:00

A nice shout out to Colorado

2011-08-07T15:02:00.000-07:00

My ye olde play Colorado gets props for it's monologues in Backstage as a recommended source for monologues not heard by the auditors.

2011-08-05T10:06:00.001-07:00

A guy at the gym is calling all the ladies on his phone and telling them that he's thinking about them.

Nice reviews for B Street's BOB!

2011-08-02T16:02:00.000-07:00

(Lindsy Kail, Peter Story in BOB. Photo by Casey Schell)

Some nice reviews for BOB up in Sacramento at B Street Theatre

"One of the Funniest B Street Theatre Shows Ever" - Sacramento Press Read The Whole Review

"One of the strangest, craziest and most original social satires you're likely to encounter." - Sacramento Bee Read The Whole Review

2011-08-02T15:20:00.001-07:00

Note to self: Do not listen to Book of Mormon Soundtrack at the Gym while trying to lift weights over head.

2011-07-31T14:16:00.001-07:00

Sending good vibes to B Street Theatre where BOB opens tonight! Break those legs!!

An Italian food paradise on Taraval Street

2011-07-31T12:23:00.000-07:00

Always disappointing

2011-07-22T10:09:00.000-07:00

B street Sacramento - rehearsing Bob's waitress love scene

2011-07-21T18:48:00.000-07:00

2011-07-19T10:19:00.001-07:00

Testing SMS blog posts. This is as close as I'll get to Twitter.

Thought for the day

2011-07-16T13:00:00.000-07:00

I'm not entirely clear why a freeway closure has become National news.

BOB - the life continues

2011-07-11T09:20:00.000-07:00

My play BOB is getting a nifty Summer Production by the fearless folks up at the B Street Theatre in Sacramento. Congratulations to the B for being the first Post-Humana production of the play! I'm doing some little tweaks and rewrites right now.

Here's the press release

In honor of the last Space Shuttle Launch

2011-07-10T11:54:00.001-07:00

really i've been terrible

2011-07-08T11:19:00.000-07:00

OK I want to get this up an running again. I know I've said that a bajillion times but hoping to use it as a good writing warmup, in addition to the shameless promotion aspect to the blog.

so ok, let's get crackin on this thing again

Writing Update

2011-05-23T18:51:00.001-07:00

A good chunk of my day alternated between researching the inevitable effects of global warming, and researching amateur pornography.

If I were a Dad

2011-04-30T12:31:00.000-07:00

This is a bit of acting I did last year for the Sony Playstation Move console. Look, I'm a father!

A bit of Pittsburgh

2011-04-26T18:11:00.000-07:00

Had a very nice 48 Hours in Pittsburgh!

Highlights (basically everything I did):

Working and talking comedy with the fabulous writers of the Carnegie Mellon Dramatic Writing Program calmly helmed by the great Rob Handel
A church turned into a brewery
A phenomenal prodution of Hunter Gatherers at Bricolage Theatre. Featuring the most realistic and shocking "pulling the knife out of Dead Wendy" moment I've witnessed. And amazing fake blood. And an amazing audience
The Warhol Museum featuring the most amazing room filled with silver balloons I have ever been in. It's a room with lots of fans and giant silver balloons flying around and you walk into it. I don't know if description does it justice. But it was sublime

And now BOB is closed

2011-04-19T15:29:00.000-07:00

So i have no idea what to write about. Give me a sec

Bob's final week in KY and the White Castle is Getting Sentimental

2011-04-12T19:47:00.000-07:00

A Podcast about BOB

2011-04-11T08:02:00.000-07:00

Heya! I had a nice interview about BOB with the folks at the Inexplicable Dumb Show who covered the Humana Festival this year. Listen to Sean Daniels and I talk about the production. And before us you can listen to a fabulous interview with the fabulous Anne Washburn, author of A Devil at Noon. (We start at 16:30)

Listen to the Podcast here

My first (and only) fan video?

2011-04-08T11:38:00.000-07:00

I just found this on YouTube. A poem mashed up from text from my play boom. Amazing!

Handy Positive Pullquotes for BOB

2011-04-06T16:52:00.000-07:00

I'm back home in San Francisco but BOB continues to perform as we speak. Like right now, there somewhere in the middle of Act 1. It's been an amazing ride and I am so proud of the production and the amazing team who put it on. And we're getting some media love:

Here are the pullquotes so far:

HANDY POSITIVE PULLQUOES FOR BOB

“It is said I loved Peter Sinn Nachtrieb's BOB.*

The play's shockingly optimistic tone is downright subversive when you consider its subject: what it means to be a success in America. How are the new legends made? Slightly unsound of mind and decidedly stout of heart.

For those of us who have found the career ground completely shifted beneath our feet, with the old paths no longer applicable, this play is more than a silly, picaresque romp through the diners and monuments of Middle America (though it is also that). It asks us to reconsider the worth of tangible recognition in favor of a more elusive reward. Rather than an Arthur Miller-esque indictment of the American Dream, Nachtrieb proposes a more gentle — though no less emotional — revision.”
Erin Keane, Lousiville Courier-Journal
*first sentence is from her twitter link to the article

“An epic journey of self-invention, a picaresque comedy that sprawls across the American cultural and geographical landscape, taking in rest stops and mansions along the way. Nachtrieb’s sketch-filled script hearkens back to Thurberesque satire, pointed but gentle, and unfailingly optimistic.“
Marty Rosen, Leo Weekly

Nachtrieb shakes us awake from what’s become an American Nightmare and, reconfiguring the idea of what makes a person great, finds a new dream to strive for in the end. It's also a damn funny play
David Loeher, 2Amt

“Talk about mixing low cuisine with high culture. The whole story is laugh-out-loud funny and thought provoking. It is at once brutal in the reality it presents but also hopeful and contemplative. The writing and delivery are fast-paced.”
Angela Champion, Louisvilleky.com

“I enjoyed Peter Sinn Nachtrieb's "BOB," a sort of American pop-culture ‘Peer Gynt.’”
David Sheward, Backstage.

“Pretty much everyone also loved Peter Sinn Nachtrieb’s Bob...The play is a surreal biography, covering the life from birth to death of Bob, who is abandoned as a baby in the ladies’ room of a White Castle and who rises, in a series of hilarious steps, to become wealthy and famous. Jeffrey Binder was wonderful as Bob, and Aysan Celik, Polly Lee, Danny Schele and Lou Sumrall were delightful as multiple characters Bob meets on his life’s journey. Sean Daniels’ direction was clever and inventive.”
Larry Harbison, Playfixer

“[A] comic amalgam of Brechtian epic theatre and vaudeville.”
-Clifford Lee Johnson III, TDF Stages

And here's a little video snippet (sorry about the music).

A final weekend in Kentucky

2011-03-31T11:23:00.000-07:00

Hi there!

So, BOB is open. Which means I'll have very little to blog about starting next week. Or I can go back to sharing videos. OR perhaps I can step it up and ruminate on life's largest questions.

Hundreds of industry tycoons are descending upon Louisville as we speak to catch all the shows going up here and it's a pretty astonishing and wonderful mix of shows they get to see. Something for everyone. And if you're a lucky to be a open minded broadly tasted positive person, there's actually a lot of things for everyone. It's a rare moment to have so many talented and eclectic actors, writers, directors, designers all sequestered in a single theatre and nearby bar and to get to enjoy their talent in a positive non-competitive environment, where everyone is rooting for each other and supporting each other's work and I've tried to soak that up before returning to the harsh real world where nobody really cares. ;-) Being at Humana is recharging and inspiring, and keeps me wanting to do what I do.

Anyhoo, I gotta go iron my shirts and tone my abs.

In the meantime:

Check out our sweet first review

BOB - our first time in front of an audience tonight!

2011-03-24T07:47:00.001-07:00

OK, I'm a little exhausted from the last couple days so no more live blogging our rehearsals before our previews. Unless I get bored or anxious.

We just had our dress rehearsal and most everything worked, with just a few frayed edges. We're ready to see what an audience will make of it!

A few things that changed from first rehearsal to first preview:

The Play is 17 Pages Shorter. But still as dense as sara lee pound cake (and as delicious too I hope)
We lost the Road Trip segment to Yosemite. But that bit only worked in the California Reading.
For prop reasons, a dead deer reference was changed to a dead goat.
In Act 4, Bob's dark period was adjusted from a hybrid of Steve Martin and to some sort of hybrid between Howard Hughes and Mr. Burns.
A roulette scene, cut in January, returned
As did the prostitutes.

And so much more!

Now, tonight we add laughs. At least that's what we're shooting for.

BOB - Live from Tech - Day Two

2011-03-23T07:28:00.000-07:00

Well hello again from the Residence Inn Downtown Louisville. I just brewed the Peet's coffee I brought from SF, HBO is yet again playing that awful Russell Crow Robin Hood, and I'm starting to wonder if I'll ever cook the chicken breasts in my Kitchenette Freezer.

Barring any large hail storm interruptions, we start teching again at Noon (KY time) today and once again I'll try to keep you updated. And by you, I mean the follow spot operators who read this during breaks.

More anon.

12:06 We are at HALF HOUR people!
I've given a new line already.

12:11
So the new line was related to the secret meeting!

A second secret meeting involved a bunch of designers, director and myself trying to figure out the context and mood of the four "interludes" or "interstitials" or "entre-acts" that happen in between each act.

The secret meeting was conducted at Freddies, the official post show/tech/daytime hangout for Actors Theatre people (if you're coming to an industry weekend, you should go there and try to hook up with somebody, but don't swear). After ten minutes in its hallowed chamber, we managed to have a nice dramaturgical breakthrough about what the hell the dances in the show are all about. And it's really lovely.

12:33 Our onstage map of the US is now getting affixed with small stars to mark the hometowns of everyone working on the show. Yet another Easter Egg for this production.

12:35 All right we're taking it from the Barista Scene in Act 3!

12:42 Did anyone else get that New York Times online offer from Lincoln? (they're still getting situated up on stage)

12:45 Sean Daniels: "Can we try that again? This time, with Bongos."

12:51 Today's message (see yesterday 6:41): Idle Hams of the Devil's Plaything.

12:58 I went to pee and briefly got locked out of the Theatre. I think they cut something while I was gone.

1:09 There is now heavy debate on stage about what whether we need real muffin wrappers to convey "muffin wrapper." Danny is now testing chewing different muffin wrappers.

1:14 Incidentally, this is also the scene where Danny will be chewing lots of scenery.

1:18 Danny Scheie: "I'm not overthinking it. I'm underthinking it."

1:44 We're all still underthinking it.

1:46 Holy crap that is the sound of the hungry and vicious wolves

1:48 Danny Scheie: (quoting someone else, maybe) "In a movie it's all about the closeup. In theatre, it's all about the pattern your spit makes."

2:09 Sorry we were on a ten. It's very windy outside and we're on a Tornado Watch. But it's sunny. Unnervingly sunny.

2:19 We're working the Bob/Gunther Scene

2:33 I just made another cut! Sometimes little cuts feel the same as a good poop. Sometimes they feel like a bad poop.

2:41 Working the end of Act 3 now as BOB curses the nation with a severed arm and dressed in a South of the Border shirt.

2:50 Oh yes! We are through Act 3. That's Intermission. So we've now teched the part of the play that everyone will see. The rest is only for the lovers.

2:55 Bob at the end of Act 3

3:07 Sean Daniels: "You know me, I think house to half is for pussies."

3:08 We're now trying our first interlude as flea dance.

3:24 We're in Act 4! It's the act where bob breaks our heart.

3:53 Oh hi! We're still here. I've been pacing around the theatre. Binder has been practicing putting on his Satin underwear. And now Vera Ponchtraine, wearing Costume Designer's actual girl scout sash.

3:59 Danny's one armed roulette dealer costume is described as "if Michael Jackson and Mark Twain had a baby"

4:09 We're in the roulette scene. I'm down about 50 bucks.

4:10 Apparently the problem from yesterday at 4:28 has been solved and the ring is "resting the right place."

4:16 Another cut - The Roulette Dealer will no longer say "We’ve got a man with a death wish. Almost fifty-fifty odds but the two green slots tilt it a bit towards death. "

4:26 "Things that make you go Hmm." by C&C Music factory has just played by accident.

4:31 Binder: "I don't want to play the truth of this."

5:00 Dinnertime! We're mid Act 4, humming along, still having a good time, so far no golf ball sized hail.

7:00 Still no hail. But they are testing snow on stage. 1/2 hour to magic time.

7:21 oof I'm feeling that chicken Sandwich

7:35 OK we're back everybody. Except for the part of me that's addressing the chicken sandwich.

7:38
Sean Daniels: What's stopping you from doing that?
Danny Scheie: Your direction.

7:47 Thank you, Lorraine, for letting me know there are Antacids in the First Aid Kit.

7:56 We're teching the scene where Bob pees in a jar. Don't worry everyone, there's no cussing in the show!!

7:59 We have to make it yellower. And there's not enough.

8:00 OK we're going to see what happens if Lou brings in bob's pee bottle. Oh wait nevermind

8:07 Jar peeing success! Actors may lose a subscriber but now we're more appealing to New York!

8:34 We've made it back to Bob's false dream at Mt. Rushmore with Tony and the Prostitutes.

8:39 I've cut the ball rolling. Those in the front row audience right can now rest easy.

8:49 The prostitutes have been in and out of this play more than a prostitute!

9:16 Working the rock bottom moment where it snows soap.

9:35 looking at old drafts for an awesome line

10:07 We're at the end of Act 4! One more to go!

10:08 It's a short one so don't panic

10:09 I know I've fallen off on the posting the last hour or so but I'm trying to rewrite pivotal lines. Bear with me.

10:35 We are now past light cue 1000!

10:55 In the final hour of tech and we just made it past the last big mega-cue section. We're cutting cues 957-965. Godspeed cues 957-65!

11:33 Jesus Christ another cut

11:40 Ladies and Gentlemen, BOB has been teched!

11:48 Danny demonstrates tech fashion. (this has slowly built over the 2 10 out of 12s)

11:51 And good night sweet children. Thank you for reading this the last couple days. It was great to feel the support from very near and very far. I think it's time for a beer.

Bob - Live from Tech

2011-03-22T09:16:00.000-07:00

Hello there from BOB tech at the Humana Festival and Actors Theatre of Louisville!

I don't have a whole lot to do for the next couple days but watch the marvelous show get gussied up in its set lights costumes props and sound. Gonna be amazing I think.

There are apparently over 500 light cues, several hundred sound cues, and two thousand dollars worth of light bulbs in the set. what have i done?

To keep myself occupied I will try to post little updates over the next twelve hours. Let the excitement begin!! I'll do it a single post and just keep adding.

---

12:31: First crisis! Jeff's socks can not be found!

12:32: Jeff's socks have been found.

12:35 First day of tech and Sean Daniels requests that all of his designers wear suits. I didn't bring a tie but we found a nice one in the Costume shop with a us map on it. Appropriate. oo the cast is on stage!

12:45 I am told there about 160 sound cues and 700 light cues. But they're all being non-committal

12:53 And we're off!
Devin makes the pre-show "welcome" announcement

1:04 Devin has been instructed to "put his mouth on the part."

1:07 Sean Daniels: "Congratulations, you have just surpassed Elemeno-Pea in number of light cues."

1:18 The water breaking sound cue has been made louder

1:21 As per Mat Smart's request, I will be rigorously rewriting and making myself a better writer during this tech. On second thought, I may just take a nap.

1:33 We are teching Aysan's pretending to speak into the White Castle PA system. A hidden microphone in her apron is creating amazing Sound Design magic.

1:46 Danny Scheie has declared a talent crush on our Sound Designer Matt Callahan and shouted "ruff! ruff!" on stage.

1:53 We're taking a ten, people. Everyone, in an instant, rushes to smoke and pee.

2:03 OK I don't know how many people smoked, but a lot of people peed

2:14 Currently working on a 27 light cue page

2:30 Upon completing the 27 cue page, everyone applauded

2:46 We're about to enter the most difficult sequence of the play: Bob and Jeanine's 12 year road trip. 2 shopping carts full of props, driving simulation, a ton of locations, folksy music...I can only hope my writing is as good as this tech.

2:55 Seriously, I wrote this scene on a laptop in a cafe in San Francisco, sipping nice coffee and giggling while Twitter employees were telecommuting next to me and now some of American Theatre' greatest minds are throwing everything they have into this. It's humbling.

3:02 Here's a shot of the first attempt at the Road Trip.

3:05 Note in the picture above that BOB is wearing his Rock and Roll pants. A big plot point revolves around those pants.

3:23 We're in Chicago! (in the play)

3:31 The designers are now in heavy discussion about what kind of light comes for you when you die in a Musical.

3:35 YouTube research is ensuing for Musical Theater Death light

3:40 We're on another ten, people. For some reason when breaks are announced, it is tradition to respond by saying thank you and the number of minutes of the break. "Thank you ten!" How did that tradition start? Danny Scheie might know.

3:54 The Dead Goat has made it into the building after some hoof re-inforcement.

4:01 I really want to go to Starbucks. Do you think anyone would be mad if I snuck out and went to Starbucks?

4:03 Does anyone need anything from Starbucks?

4:09 Binder is now in his undies

4:10 OK fuck it i'm going to Starbucks

4:20 I'm back and I bet nobody would have known I went had I not live blogged about it. Binder is still in his undies.

4:23 Binder has been provided a terry cloth robe.

4:28 "I don't know if its the shape of my body, but the ring seems to want to slide to the back." - Binder, in regards to what happens to the ring he has to keep safe in his undies.

4:33 Working the end of "Act 1" to enhance the sad slow walk.

4:43 We made it through Act 1! It's the most intense act techwise, so it's a major feat and we are cooking along! 15 minutes to dinner.

4:46 Pablo is taking charge of this monster.

4:58 We're in Act 2 in the "Seth, The trucker Scene." Until Sunday, this scene had a delightful mention of Seth's two sons, Kory and Kevin ("one's dead to me and the other one's dead." says Seth.). And then, sadly, Seth's scene was cut in half and Kory and Kevin's name are now sadly only in Seth's subtext. It will come back in the novel. Godpseed Kory and Kevin!

5:00 DINNERTIME!! (back at 7, with lots of Donors coming to check out tech as well)

6:15 Mid Dinner Update - Apparently I have sent the real Kory and Kevin into a tailspin and they are working through their grief right now at Tryangles and are sending me hate texts.

6:24 White Castle is currently setting up Sliders in the lobby for the Behind the Scenes Donor event, if you're hungry.

6:35 A couple hundred people are assembling in the Lobby and will watch an hour of tech from the Balcony. Perfectly timed with the portion where the lead character is scantily clad. And I wasn't kidding about the White Castles in the lobby. And they're in the shape of a Pyramid!

BTW when I say Act 2, I'm talking about Act 2 of 5. And the end of Act 3 we'll be at the end of Act 1.

6:41
The "Message of the Day" board. Each rehearsal day a new theme comes clear in rehearsal and is written on the Board, inspired by what happened at 1:04

6:55 A special shout out goes to the folks over at Berkeley Rep who are following this blog today. And a big warm wash of love to the rehearsal room of the The Three Sisters (RuhlStyled)! I know you'll make it to Moscow!

7:18 OK we're mid 1/2 hour (that is the time the actors have to get into costume after dinner, for those of you who don't know. I'm not sure if, like breaks, they also say "Thank you half hour".) Sean Daniels, Marc Masterson, Michael Raiford (set designer) and myself just gave a little overview to about 150 people who are coming in to watch an hour. I gave the story about why the play begins in Louisville. One patron came and shared with me his White Castle "Depression" story in Chicago. He and his family were living in a small apartment and their Saturday splurge was 25 white castles for a dollar. (A nickel a burger)

But there is a lot of White Castle left.

7:31 And we're back

7:41 The condom joke just got a groan from the patrons

7:53 Jeff Binder's quick onstage dressing just elicited applause from the patrons.

7:57 Patrons are about to meet the rest stop travelers: A Bear (gay version), A sorority sister, an abducted girl, and a Burning Man Hippie

8:04 Tech Question: What music would a Bear (gay version) listen to in their Winnebago? Please post in comments.

8:08 Stage Manager Pablo calls a 30 cue page, and then asks "Was it any good?"

8:23 There is now a heavy discussion about how the funny orgasm sound cue can be triggered by the Actor.

8:30 Bear song suggestions so far:
Kathy Mattea - Eighteen Wheels And A Dozen Roses
Or Clint Black

8:56 We're on a ten. And I'm about to make my first line-cut of tech! The patrons are leaving. Bye Patrons!

9:13 And we're back. Working Bob's moment of Heartbreak.

9:20 More bear suggestions
The Cure
The Smiths
Johnny Lee's Lookin For Love
Dolly Parton
and Ease on Down the Road from the Whiz

9:37 rewriting a line. wtf

9:43 Holy crap we've hit the end of Act 2 and into the 2nd interlude (the Dance about Love)!

9:45 And by the end of Act 2 I mean two thirds of Act 1

9:57 Holy shit my new line is AWESOME!!!!!

10:21 We're on a ten. Everyone reading this blog in the room, we're still on a ten. I need to sex this blog up for the last 90 minutes of tech.

10:23 All the designers and Sean have disappeared at the same time. Hmmm. A secret chat is ensuing.

10:27 All the designers and Sean have returned looking furtive.

10:30 The power of a sound cue call has now caused the effect that Bob has wet himself.

10:33
Pablo (stage manager): I want to be in Light Cue 491
Brian (lighting designer): Oh, you're soaking in it.

10:37 We just learned what Matt Callahan recorded for the sound cue of Bob peeing in a jar!

10:46 The dirty jokes are now being trotted out during holds.

10:57 It's 11PM and we're in the naughty waitress scene.

11:15 Sean has agreed to tell me the subject of the secret meeting.

11:29 Pablo just did the next 30 cue page and it wasn't even difficult.

11:38 Every technician in the audience is on their laptops. Before the Internet, the laptops were six packs of Pabst Blue Ribbon.

11:43 Yet again, another naughty joke fails to deliver (this one involves glitter). People can taste the witching hour.

11:46 I'm sorry about typing "taste the witching hour." That really makes no sense and I'm mixing my metaphors at this point.

11:52 And it's done for the day. We are deep in Act 3, just before the stage combat portion and it was decided it wouldn't be ideal to do stage fight at the end of a 12 hour day.

Thanks all for following along today. What was the content of the secret meeting? You (and I) will have to wait until tomorrow!

Some photos from Litter

2011-03-06T18:36:00.000-08:00

Check out some sexy pics from A.C.T.'s production of Litter!

All photos are Alessandra Mello and you can find more here
More about the production of Litter here

Read My Blog Post about the Story of Litter over at A.C.T.'s blog

2011-03-04T15:52:00.000-08:00

American Conservatory Theater Blog

Bob first rehearsal 3/1/11

2011-03-01T06:41:00.000-08:00

Litter is a comin!

2011-02-26T12:32:00.000-08:00

Litter is gearing up to open in up at ACT in San Francisco and it is one crazy little play.

Some stats for you:

12 fearless Actors - all soon to be receiving simultaneous MFA's from A.C.T.
Several 12 person scenes
2 Musical Numbers (Original Music composed by the amazing Niko Tsakalakos)
Fiddling
Match Dancing
Track Suits
Onstage fighting
Lots of Fart Jokes
Cussing (since BOB has none, they all went into here)
A.C.T. in-jokes!
Mild incest
Funny bathroom scenes with people sitting on toilets
Direct address sequences!
Funny yet touching monologues!

And tickets are cheap
SPECIAL BLOG READER DISCOUNT USE CODE "FAMILY" for a 10 dollar ticket! woot!
get your tickets here

BOB: Today's Life imitating Art update

2011-02-08T10:41:00.000-08:00

The real life version of Bob?

Reverend Ben's Favorite Dish - Brussels Sprouts with Special Sauce!

2011-02-06T11:32:00.000-08:00

The Best Hank Huckle episode yet!

A little about Litter

2011-02-05T09:44:00.000-08:00

I am currently making coffee so I can launch into rewrites of Litter: The True Story of the Framingham Dodecutuplets starring the ACT class of 2011. I'll share a little more later but I actually need to rewrite a scene, so instead I give you the ACT PRESS RELEASE:

Peter Sinn Nachtrieb's Comedy Litter Takes On The Multiple Births Craze

Thursday, February 3, 2011

Mark Rucker directs the world premiere of a play created specifically for
the A.C.T. M.F.A. Program class of 2011

SAN FRANCISCO, CA, February 3, 2011—The American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.) Program presents the world premiere of acclaimed San Francisco writer Peter Sinn Nachtrieb's Litter: The Story of the Framingham Dodecatuplets, directed by A.C.T. Associate Artistic Director Mark Rucker. Created with and tailored to the dynamic talents of the A.C.T. M.F.A. Program class of 2011, this irresistible new play takes a sharp, entertaining, and darkly comic look at the frenzy surrounding multiple births. After 12 siblings are born simultaneously during a greedy corporation's experimental procedure, their exploitative handlers propel them to instant childhood stardom as the Framingham Dodecatuplets, a pop sensation. But now that they are in their 20s and their cute act has lapsed into a cheap gimmick, how will this modern "family" navigate the world together—or apart? Brought to life by the wildly inventive imagination of Peter Sinn Nachtrieb, author of boom and the Bay Area hit comedies T.I.C. and Hunter Gatherers, Litter whirls through a singular world of song and dance, taking the notion of sibling rivalry—and revelry—to astonishing extremes. Litter runs March 3–19, 2011, at Zeum Theater (Yerba Buena Gardens, Fourth and Howard streets, San Francisco). Opening night is Saturday, March 5, 2011, at 8 p.m., and reviews will be allowed for this production. Tickets are $10–$15 and are available at www.act-sf.org or by calling the A.C.T. Box Office at 415.749.2228.

Nachtrieb, whose play boom was the most performed play for the 2009–10 theater season in the U.S.—racking up the most productions of any kind of play, excluding only holiday-themed shows and works by Shakespeare—was commissioned to write a play specifically for the members of the class of 2011 and created Litter after a yearlong workshop process with the actors. Each character was inspired by and tailored to the unique personas and talents of each performer. Nachtrieb said of the process: "I wanted to write a play that would showcase these 12 talented actors in perhaps a bigger and crazier way than they can demonstrate during A Christmas Carol. It has been a fun and challenging process to start with essentially nothing other than a broad idea and the people in the room and let that spark into a bizarre and compelling story about what it means to be part of a modern family. I think the end result is pretty funny, a little sad, and hopefully a wonderful chance to witness the family that is the class of 2011."

Rucker, who most recently directed Marcus; or The Secret of Sweet at A.C.T. and a critically acclaimed production of A Midsummer Night's Dream at South Coast Repertory, has been working with Nachtrieb and the actors throughout the process. He speaks to Nachtrieb's comedic talents and the unique process that gave birth to this play: "Collaborating with Peter in creating this play has been fascinating. He has put his background in sketch comedy to amazing use. We started with a series of interviews, which gave way to theater games to generate material. Then he was able to shape those improvisational exercises into slightly scripted episodes, and now we have turned those episodes into a complete play." The members of the class of 2011, which consists of actors of many ethnicities and backgrounds (including one actor who is from Britain, and whose character inexplicably speaks in a British accent in the play), were given roles that match their strengths. Rucker adds about the size and scope of this play: "Writing a play for 12 characters that gives equal weight to all of their stories is a unique challenge in itself, and Peter has done beautifully in creating this crazy world."

The design team bringing the world of this unique play to life includes scenic designer Liliana Duque-Piñeiro, lighting designer Ben Wilhelm, costume designer Callie Floor, sound designer Ted Crimy, and composer Niko Tsakalakos. Litter is made possible by a generous grant from The Bernard Osher Foundation. Additional support is provided by The William G. Gilmore Foundation and donors to A.C.T.'s season gala, June 1, 2011.

Peter Sinn Nachtrieb is a San Francisco-based playwright whose works includeboom (which was TCG's most-produced play during the 2009–10 season), T.I.C. (Trenchcoat In Common), Hunter Gatherers (2007 ATCA/Steinberg New Play Award, 2007 Will Glickman Prize), Colorado, and Multiplex. His work has been seen off Broadway and across the country at Ars Nova, Summer Play Festival, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, Seattle Repertory Theatre, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Cleveland Public Theatre, Brown/Trinity Playwrights Repertory Theatre, Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theatre, Dad's Garage Theatre, and in the Bay Area at Encore Theatre Company, Killing My Lobster, Marin Theatre Company, Impact Theatre, and the Bay Area Playwrights Festival. His newest plays are BOB, originally a South Coast Repertory commission and a part of Actors Theatre of Louisville's 2011 Humana Festival lineup, and Litter, a commission for American Conservatory Theater. Nachtrieb holds a degree in theater and biology from Brown University and an M.F.A. in playwriting from San Francisco State University. He is a member of New Dramatists and a resident playwright at the Playwrights Foundation, San Francisco.

Mark Rucker has directed Marcus; or The Secret of Sweet, The Rainmaker, and The Beard of Avon at the American Conservatory Theater and A.C.T.'s production of Luminescence Dating at Magic Theatre. He is an associate artist at South Coast Repertory, where he has directed more than 20 productions, including world premieres by Richard Greenberg, Christopher Shinn, Annie Weisman, and Culture Clash. Other regional theater credits include work at Yale Repertory Theatre, La Jolla Playhouse, Arena Stage, Intiman Theatre, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Syracuse Stage, The Old Globe, Ford's Theatre, California Shakespeare Theater, The Acting Company, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, and Asolo Repertory Theatre. Rucker's feature film, Die, Mommie, Die! won a Special Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival.

Ranked as one of the top programs in the nation by U.S. News & World Report, the A.C.T. Master of Fine Arts Program was the first theater training program in the country not affiliated with a college or university accredited to award the master of fine arts degree. The M.F.A. Program functions as the cornerstone of the A.C.T. Conservatory, which also includes the Summer Training Congress, Studio A.C.T., and the Young Conservatory. The third and final year of the program is designed to give students the opportunity to focus primarily on performing for a public audience. Past M.F.A. Program third-year productions have included works by Rebecca Lenkiewicz, Christopher Durang, Charles Busch, Marc Blitzstein, Georg Büchner, Caryl Churchill, George Farquhar, Henrik Ibsen, Robert O'Hara, Harold Pinter, William Shakespeare, George Bernard Shaw, Oscar Wilde, Maxim Gorky, and Bertolt Brecht.

A.C.T.'s stage at Zeum Theater, a venue distinct from the American Conservatory Theater on Geary Street, is dedicated to the development of new works, new translations, new forms, and new artists. A.C.T.@Zeum was launched in October 2001 with the A.C.T. M.F.A. Program's world premiere staging of Marc Blitzstein's No for an Answer, directed by A.C.T. Artistic Director Carey Perloff. This unprecedented community partnership gives A.C.T. an additional stage for readings, workshops, rehearsals, and other aspects of new play and production development.

LITTER: THE STORY OF THE FRAMINGHAM DODECATUPLETS
Fact Sheet

WHAT:
Created with and tailored to the dynamic talents of the A.C.T. M.F.A. Program class of 2011, this irresistible new play takes a sharp, entertaining, and darkly comic look at the frenzy surrounding multiple births. After 12 siblings are born simultaneously during a greedy corporation's experimental procedure, their exploitative handlers propel them to instant childhood stardom as the Framingham Dodecatuplets, a pop sensation. But now that they are in their 20s and their cute act has lapsed into a cheap gimmick, how will this modern "family" navigate the world together—or apart? Brought to life by the wildly inventive imagination of Peter Sinn Nachtrieb, author of boom and the Bay Area hit comedy Hunter Gatherers, Litter whirls through a singular world of song and dance, taking the notion of sibling rivalry—and revelry—to astonishing extremes.

WHO:
by Peter Sinn Nachtrieb

Directed by Mark Rucker

Callie Floor (costume designer), Liliana Duque-Piñeiro (scenic designer), Ted Crimy (sound designer), Niko Tsakalakos (composer), Ben Wilhelm (lighting designer)

Featuring members of the A.C.T. Master of Fine Arts Program class of 2011:

Shinelle Azoroh (12), Dan Clegg (8), Stephanie DeMott (3), Marisa Duchowny (6), Brian Jansen (5), Jenna Johnson (4), Richardson Jones (2), Patrick Lane (9), Richard Prioleau (7), Joshua Roberts (10), Max Rosenak (11), Ashley Wickett (1)

WHERE:

Zeum Theater
Yerba Buena Gardens, Fourth and Howard streets, San Francisco

WHEN:
March 3–19, 2011
Thu.–Sat. at 8 p.m.; Sun. at 2 p.m.;
Additional 2 p.m. performance on 3/19

HOW MUCH: $10–$15

PHOTOS: www.act-sf.org/press

TIX & INFO: 415.749.2228 | www.act-sf.org

Bob - The Outtakes - Wayne and Alice

2011-02-01T09:54:00.000-08:00

This was an elderly couple that BOB met at the rest stop in the first draft. In the current version, they have been reduced to one line, but I really found them charming.

(WAYNE and ALICE, an older couple, retirees?)

WAYNE
We’ve been trafficking the southern illegals for fifteen years now.

ALICE
Sixteen.

WAYNE
Since I got laid off from the company.

ALICE
He was squeezed out. They were afraid of him.

WAYNE
But then we found this trafficking job. Cocaine and people. A bench on each side of our van, cocaine inside in the bench, people sitting on top of the bench, and then thousands of party hats and a bribe to cover them through inspection.

ALICE
It gets very hot back there. I come through every four hours to make sure everyone’s ok.

WAYNE
We’re s’posed to drop everything off at a single place. Usually in Indiana. The cocaine goes into another van. And the people, well I just thought they were free to go. I think I was wrong.

ALICE
We were both wrong.

WAYNE
I thought I was helping people start a new life in a land of promise, and at the same time helping others feel energetic for twenty minutes while they danced or just didn’t want to go home or have their normal feelings for an evening.

ALICE
I could feel fear in them when I went back there. Like you might have half way down an icy hill in an innertube with no exit strategy.

WAYNE
I was so upset. We’ve been doing this for fifteen-

ALICE
Sixteen.

WAYNE
Sixteen years. Sixteen years of sending people to almost certain doom.

ALICE
They get out of that truck with targets on their back. So were not going to do that this time.

WAYNE
This time we’re doing it different.

ALICE
We’re not taking them to Indiana.

WAYNE
We’re taking them to Denver. We’re giving them each a hundred dollars from my savings and a couple pounds of cocaine to get them started in this new world.

ALICE
Give them a chance to get ahead before they fall behind.

ALICE
We’re going to stick around and teach some rudimentary English.

WAYNE
And maybe I’ll learn to speak Spanish.

ALICE
Pray for us.

WAYNE
I love you, Alice.

ALICE
I love you too, Wayne.

WAYNE
You make me want to always do the right thing.

Maybe see you in another play, Wayne and Alice!

Bob - Outtakes - The Rules

2011-01-27T09:49:00.000-08:00

Today I stumbled on the file called "BOB-RULES." These is what I wrote down two years ago as my guide for the play. I've kept the all-caps intact even though they are a little silly.

Rules/Ideas
No cussing
Tapping into heightened Barbara-like reality
Episodic
Greatness
Living to a greater extreme
No doubt as to the truth of the story but definitely
Montages of scenes, a canvas of events happening at once: finding a job,
EVERYONE IN THE PLAY IS ON A LIFELONG MISSION

I want to SUBVERT and play with American hero stories
A retelling of it. It should not support it
Subvert what it means to be “great”

Models?
Candide
Peer Gynt

Circumstances are molding bob
Circumstances out of his control, in a way.

What are the obstacles.

What is the context that the story is being told.

Bob - The Outtakes - a series

2011-01-21T10:00:00.000-08:00

Periodically, as I work towards it's glorious debut, I'd like to share some of the remnants of BOB that have been left in old word documents, never to see the light of day.

There are literally hundreds of pages of material not in the play, some of which is awful and some of which is nice. AND this process is forcing me to look back at my starting point and see if there are any nuggets back there I should think about.

Today, meet Deborah, the prototype version of the first person Bob meets in a rest stop.

(A flashlight pops onto BOB’s face.
BOB has been covered in a tarp or blanket.
A canteen of water is poured on his lips.
We here other figures in the distance
BOB sputters)

DEBORAH
Drink.
(BOB chokes and manages to get some of the drink down, coughing)

DEBORAH
There you go. Down the hatch. Gurgle gurgle.

(BOB suddenly develops a ravenous thirst and begins to guzzle the bottle)

DEBORAH
Shebam! There’s the desire for survival poppin through. Seize back on that life now little guy.

(BOB gasps for air after drinking)

BOB
Where am I? What’s going-

(BOB vomits)

DEBORAH
OK, I think that’s good. Vomit is a good sign! As is consciousness. As is your lack of full body shaking you were doing a few hours back.

Now I’m not a doctor but I would suggest jumping into calisthenics there, buddy. Your body’s easing back into function.

BOB
Where am I?

DEBORAH
Rest Stop. Near Lebanon. Missouri, I think. I know where the rest stops are better than the where the towns are.

BOB
How’d I get here?

DEBORAH
Well, I was driving my rig, having one of my usual arguments on the CB about the meaning of life, death and whatnot. I was articulating a point to LumberBoy and Vixen’N’Dixon about how absolutely completely incredibly tiny tiny tiny we are compared to the size of the universe with some emphatic steering when I almost ran you over your crumpled semi-nude self on the side of the Interstate.

Now, I may believe that we as individuals are small and insignificant and that when we die our “soul” turns to nothing as the electricity drains from our brain, but that doesn’t make me a non-compassionate person.

BOB
Thank you.

DEBORAH
Now as for how you got to the side of the road, sans the clothes, alone, on the cusp of death, you’ll have to fill me in on that part of the story.

BOB
My mother told me she stole me from a bathroom, then she died, then I cremated her, then I got arrested, then freed, then someone stole my shirt and pants, then I decided I needed to get out of Chicago.

DEBORAH
That’d make we want to leave town too.

God Speed, Deborah

Welcome Space Brothers on YouTube

2011-01-18T11:09:00.000-08:00

Welcome Space Brothers, a most awesome comedy movie written and directed by my brother George and coproduced and featuring myself in the darn thing (And shot in 1999) is now yours to enjoy FREE on the INTERNETS. George figured out a way to split the movie up into handy installments of 6 parts. So you can watch it at a pace to your liking.

Enjoy the Full Movie Here!

Bob Workshop in Tallahassee

2011-01-13T08:27:00.001-08:00

I've just returned home from a 4 day Workshop of BOB at Florida State University in Tallahassee, working with the team from Actors Theatre of Louisville (including fearless director Sean Daniels. Or maybe he's just quietly fearful), and a fabulous group of theater students (and a Professor who played Bob). Locked in by unusually cold temperatures and with the help of a strongly beaned coffee shop near the Residence Inn, it proved to be very very fun and productive.

As is usually the case, my brain works about 30 faster in a workshop environment. Hearing the text out loud makes problems and opportunities so much clearer to me than it does when I'm sitting at home or at a cafe around here. I think that's because not only does the energy of the room inspire me, but a workshop (or a rehearsal room for a production) forces a level of focus and intensity that is unmatched. Somehow all my usual distractions (Facebook, email, news, laundry, porn) seem to fade away and not bother me. That needs to happen more often.

Some Script Change Highlights

A big cut at the top of Act 4 seems to have unlocked something wonderful and needed in the play and characters. Yay for cuts
12 new characters including a Girl Scout. 8 of them in about 2 pages
We lost a few characters too, including Candy, the Director of Development. God Speed, Candy.
Favorite new stage direction : "Bob throws the bird poop back up in the air. The sound of bird being struck. A bald eagle falls to the stage]
Favorite new line: "Well pin a gold star on your math chart, piglet."
30 new pages brought in
A 15 pages shorter script
Lengthy discussion on how we will know that an Actor is playing a wolf.

And the best sign on the way to the airport:
"Run from Satan. Walk with God."
[A Church sign promoting exercise]

the new bob poster

2011-01-06T20:21:00.001-08:00

Art by the fantastic Matt Dobson

woohew

some 2010 miscellany

2011-01-02T09:45:00.000-08:00

I fell in love with Robyn, the Swedish pop singer, and have been listening to her albums obsessively.

I think The Kids Are All Right was one of my favorite movies. And Toy Story III.

Enjoyed watching Nurse Jackie, the big C, Treme, Bill Maher, The Daily Show, Big Love, The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, So You Think You Can Dance until all those dancers got hurt.

For playwriting work I traveled to San Diego, Sacramento, Pasadena, Lousiville, Dallas, Denver, and New York City (5 times)

For sexual harassment training acting work I traveled to Bakersfield, Chico, and Redondo Beach!

Some of the Plays I saw: She Stoops To Comedy, Sunlight, Equivocation, The Caucasian Chalk Circle, Learn to be Latina, Girlfriend, Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, Enron, The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity, The Real Americans, Red, Middletown, The Little Foxes, A Christmas Story, Olive Kitteridge, Roadkill Confidential, In the Red and Brown Water, Marcus or the Secret of Sweet, Now Circa Then, Bloodsong of Love, boom, hunter gatherers, and a bunch of readings.

We had a new mattress this year and went to Thailand. Both the major highlights of the year.

I worked on two new plays, BOB and Litter, and now they're both going up this March. It's been an interesting challenge to have near simultaneous deadlines but it's also been a good brain organization exercise.

Happy New Year!

more on 2K11 soon!

On second thought, let's make it a snowman nightlight.

2010-12-29T09:23:00.000-08:00

Today's exciting moments in boom

2010-12-22T09:00:00.000-08:00

The ol play boom is cooking along and finding exciting moments to shine around the country.

A couple shout outs are in order

The fine folks at Hostos Community College in the Bronx mounted such a kick ass production of boom (including the first ever drag performance of Barbara), they've been invited to perform at the Kennedy Center/ACTF college theatre festival regionals. (For those Glee fans, that would be Sectionals). They are an awesome group of people who recently bought me enchiladas in midtown. Go Hostos! Read the Whole Story here
And San Diego Rep's production of boom just made a top ten list! Woot!

Yip!

OK, Sorry

2010-12-21T09:13:00.000-08:00

Oo lots of cobwebs in this place here.

OK. After a long hiatus I am going to try and get this blog here going again. Especially because I have SO MUCH TO SELF PROMOTE in the coming months. And I have resolved never to join twitter so the closest thing I can do to tweet is toot on here.

OK.
OK.

While my life remains boring,

2010-08-18T10:22:00.000-07:00

here are a couple funny things:

MARCEL THE SHELL WITH SHOES ON from Dean Fleischer-Camp on Vimeo.

Aaand I'm in New Dramatists!

2010-07-17T10:09:00.000-07:00

I'm also happy to share the news that I am a brand new member of New Dramatists (class of 2017)! I have a 7 Year Residency with them, which means more frequent trips to New York City and a place to share my work! Yay!

Read the Playbill Article

OK I'm going to try to revamp the frequency of this blog thing again. Remember how prolific I was on this in 2007? sigh

Bob gets a premiere!

2010-07-12T19:42:00.001-07:00

Hey all!

Sorry for bad blogging, but just wanted to share that my new play, BOB, is gonna premiere at the Humana Festival at Actor's Theatre of Louisville directed by the one and only Sean Daniels.

Hell yes!

Read the playbill article!

Welcome Space Brothers the Screening!

2010-05-24T09:00:00.000-07:00

Yes people, after 11 years in the making, our movie is done!

A film written and directed by George Nachtrieb (my brother)

World Premiere Screening

Welcome Space Brothers follows an extraterrestrial, newlywed couple on a daring mission to save their tiny planet from total destruction at the hands of evil Mrrgh creatures. They must travel to distant Earth in a Space-Box to rescue a marooned Wizard who has the power to defend their home.

WITH: Robb Webb, Mara Gerstein, Peter Sinn Nachtrieb, James Bewley, Warren David Keith, Kimberly Richards, Sally Dana, Doug Kassel, Anne Zesiger, John Remak, Bill Donoghue, Erin Bradley, Frank Castro, Joe Paulino, Thessaly Lerner, Duane Schirmer, David Berkson, Phillip Walker, Jerry Van De Veere, Richard Thornduke III and Daniel Lee

WRITTEN AND DIRECTED by George G. Nachtrieb
PRODUCED BY: George & Peter Nachtrieb
ASSOCIATE PRODUCER Frank Castro DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY Julie Kirkwood EDITOR David Klagsbrun ORIGINAL SCORE Eban Schletter ANIMATION Grendel Nasturtium

SCREENING: Saturday June 12 at Z Space Studio at Artaud

View The Trailer

MORE INFO

Upcoming Productions!

2010-05-21T13:10:00.000-07:00

Hunter Gatherers in Sacramento

May 14 - June 27
Capital Stage Company

boom in Pasadena

Furious Theatre
May 20 - June 22

Colorado in Cape Cod

June 3 - July 3
Wellfleet Harbor Actor's Theatre

Welcome Space Brothers - The feature film trailer

2010-05-12T22:36:00.000-07:00

Um so this is pretty exciting.

New York City! Success! The YD Way

2010-04-11T14:53:00.000-07:00

For a quality afternoon of success planning and comedy, come to this. I'll be there, in a nifty cameo.

VIEW MORE INFO FOR Success! The YD Way

Your Host: Dean Kramer and Steve Musselman
Host's Message: Be sure to bring a pad and pencil for careful note taking, and plenty of business cards for networking. No need to dress up, business casual will be adequately appropriate.

Also join us for a post seminar happy hour drink across the street at Spuyten Duyvil.
What: Success! The YD Way
Where: The Change You Want To See Gallery
84 Havemeyer Street, Storefront
Brooklyn, NY 11211
When: May 1st, 2010, 4pm

MORE INFO

How to write 5 overlapping scenes....strategy A

2010-04-05T10:22:00.001-07:00

Happy Easter!

2010-04-04T09:52:00.001-07:00

Inflatable census form

2010-03-27T14:39:00.000-07:00

I'm published in this!

2010-03-19T21:22:00.000-07:00

Last year, I wrote for the Humana Festival at the Actor's Theatre of Louisville for their annual apprentice anthology performance. With five other amazing writers, an amazing director, team and phenomenal cast, we put together a show called Brink!, an evening of shorts about Rites of Passage. It was kind of rad. And you can read it and buy all the plays from the festival here.

this is not the day job for me

2010-03-12T22:28:00.000-08:00

(thanks jon for sharing this one)

It's a new day!

2010-03-02T16:27:00.001-08:00

I'm in American Theatre!

2010-03-02T10:55:00.000-08:00

Neat!

more booms in boston, dallas, alaska, tampa

2010-02-24T17:01:00.000-08:00

More booms are playing or coming up! The latest:

boom in Dallas

Kitchen Dog Theatre, Dallas TX
Now through March 13 (I'll be there on Friday)

boom in/near Boston

New Rep Theatre, Watertown MA
Now through March 13

boom in Alaska

Perseverence Theatre, Douglas, Alaska
February 26 - March 21, 2010

boom in Tampa

Jobsite Theatre, Tampa FL
March 11-28

What's a good Intro to Drama Text?

2010-01-30T16:32:00.001-08:00

A former creative writing classmate of mine emailed me to ask if I had any recommendations for a great text for a college Intro to Drama course. I didn't. So I asked Facebook. I've been doing a lot of asking Facebook recently and Facebook is very smart. And I want to remember this list. So I'm publishing it as a blog post so I can find it again.

Here were the comments (names removed)

Peter Nachtrieb anyone know of a good contemporary text on theater and drama that could be used for a college intro drama course? Could also be essayish or texty. Is there anything relatively new?

comments:

not sure I totally understand the question but Wellman's Essay "Theater of Good Intentions" and Mamet's "Three Uses of the Knife" are my two favorite contemporary pieces about dramatic writing.

oo yes. I love the Wellman essay too. A friend whose teaching a drama course was on the hunt of a textbook or critical book about drama that would be apropo for a class. these are good essay options

I actually stopped using survey texts because I hate them all. I lecture instead.

I think "Three Uses of the Knife" was pretty instructive for me when I was an undergrad, too.

For intro to lit stuff and analysis, David Ball's Backwards & Forwards is a great book. Short. Direct. Helpful. Published 1983.

Yeah-- B&F is a good one for lit only, but I wouldn't use it for a survey intro class. What's the focus? Is it a modern theatre intro, lit intro, western theatre, world theatre? I've taught about a zillion intro classes-- lol. Is it for majors, nonmajors?

"Backwards & Forwards" indeed. Right on Kathryn.

Turn 'em on to The Empty Space -- Peter Brook Ain't no text book but sure is instructive.

Peter, I use "Theatre" by Robert Cohen.(Mcgraw Hill) It serves as a basis for lectures and discussions for the"new to Theatre student" There is a new edition yearly.....I expect your plays will be in it. He is pretty extensive and covers all aspects from history, practitioners to criticism. I use "The Invisible Actor" by Yoshi Oida as a platform to discuss the actor's art.

These are all good books, but until we know the focus of the survey course, its outcomes, and whether it's major or nonmajor, we can't make practical suggestions, IMO. I've used Empty Space for majors, but I wouldn't use it for freshmen non-majors in a world theatre survey course or in their very first intro to theatre, for example. Most kids in nonmajor intro have never seen a play apart from a Broadway-type musical, church musical, or school play. You only have so many weeks and philosophical treatments sometimes have to take a back seat to jamming in all the countries and/or plays and/or background info you're supposed to be teaching..

I used to use the Cohen! If you want to use a text for a nonmajor intro, the Cohen is a good one.

great responses.

the anne bogart books are pretty fab too

The Oscar Brockett Theater History textbook is good, and Great Reckonings in Little Rooms by Bert States breaks down theater phenomenologically (but it's very readable). I like the Mamet, but also, y'know, there's always the Poetics.

New play feedback meter

2010-01-11T12:55:00.000-08:00

What Hank for Dinner

2010-01-05T09:06:00.000-08:00

The latest Hank Huckle Video

Bob gets a reading in the Bay Area!

2010-01-04T09:00:00.000-08:00

Yes it does!

BOB
A Reading of a New Play (in progress)
Directed by Sean Daniels
with Bob- Arwen Anderson, Lance Gardner, Delia McDougall Danny Scheie and Danny Wolohan

Monday, January 11, 7:30pm at Stanford University
Contact David Goldman for more information at davidg1@stanford.edu
Tuesday, January 12, 7pm at Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Rehearsal Room A
Contact Jill MacLean for more information and to reserve a space at jill@playwrightsfoundation.org

About the Play
Bob traces the highly unusual life of Bob. From his modest beginnings, born and abandoned in the bathroom of a White Castle Restaurant, found by a waitress convinced by a fortune cookie that she will one day be mother to a great man, to his childhood on the road in a Chevy Malibu, Bob grows up to be a man on the outskirts of America, living large on its discarded treasures. But Bob, as confused as he is, must one day fulfill his destiny. Will America embrace him, or will they take him down? A side-splitting social satire that roasts the American dream, and celebrates its detritus.

More info here

Upcoming Productions in January - Seattle, Portland, Sacramento, Dallas and San Diego!

2010-01-03T11:37:00.000-08:00

YES 2K10 I welcome you!

There are a bunch of productions of m'shows going up this month. Three west coast productions and one in the DFW! Check 'em out!

Hunter Gatherers @ Washington Ensemble Theatre Seattle, WA

boom @ Theatre Vertigo, Portland, OR

Directed by JoAnn Johnson
Jan 8 - Feb 6

boom @ San Diego Rep, San Diego CA

Directed by Sam Woodhouse
January 9 - 31, 2010
Opening Night: Friday, January 15 at 8pm

boom @ B Street Theatre Sacramento, CA

Hunter Gatherers @ Second Thought Theatre, Dallas TX

Thank you to our 2009 sponsors

2009-12-29T15:51:00.000-08:00

Thank you Encore Theatre for doing the world premiere of TIC (Trenchcoat in Common) this year. Thanks to Furious Theatre, Catastrophic Theatre, and Theatre Exile for mounting Hunter Gatherers. Thanks to The Necessary Theatre, Next Theatre, Know Theatre, Cardinal Stage, Actor's Theatre of Phoenix, Aurora Theatre, Flashpoint Theatre, and Marin Theatre Company for taking a stab at boom. Thanks to Lights Out Theatre for doing Multiplex. Thanks to the Actor's Theatre of Louisville for letting me work on Brink! and putting us up at the Residence Inn. Thanks to Dramatists Play Service for publishing three plays of mine and giving me an advance. Thanks to South Coast Rep for commissioning Bob. Thanks to A.C.T. for commissioning Litter. Thanks to the Z Space and Playwrights Foundation for constant support. And thanks agents!

OK, 2010, you have a lot to live up to.

Thank you countless supporters and actors and designers and directors and friends and family and lover who have to hear me talk about this playwriting shit so much.

2009, in summary

2009-12-29T09:58:00.000-08:00

Albums/Songs I bought in 2009

2009-12-27T11:00:00.000-08:00

Santogold/Santogold *F
The Black Ghosts/The Black Ghosts
Lily Allen/It's Not Me It's You *F
Natalie Walker/Quicksand (Thievery Corp Remix) *S
Various/Dark Was The Night
Kate Vavnevik/Halo *S
AC Newman/Take on Me *S
Chris Cornell/Scream *S *A1
The Decemberists/The Hazards of Love
Berlin/Take My Breath Away *S (yeah yeah)
Animal Collective/Merriweather Post Pavillion
Bat For Lashes/Two Suns *F
The Juan Maclean/The Future Will Come *F
Shinichi Osaway/The One
Phoenix/Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix *F
Glee Cast/Don't Stop Believin *S *F *A2
Soundtrack/Adding Machine: A Musical
Grizzly Bear/Veckatimest *F
Michael Jackson/Thriller
Biblio/Ambivalence Avenue
Michael Jackson/Don't Stop Till You Get Enough *S
Michael Jackson/Workin Day n Night
Goldfrapp/Felt Mountain *F *A3
LCD Soundsystem/45:33 *F
Delorean/Ayrton Senna
JJ/JJ No 2
Owl City/Fireflies *S *A4
Steve Reich/You Are
The xx/xx
Miley Cyrus/Party In The USA *S
Imogen Heap/Ellipse
La Roux/La Roux *F *A5
Memory Tapes/Seek Magic
Neon Indian/Psychic Chasms
Annie/Don't Stop
Susan Boyle/Wild Horses *S *F
Susan Boyle/Cry Me A River *S
David Archuleta/Joy to the World *S *A6
Basement Jaxx/Raindrops *S *F
My First Earthquake/Downstairs *F *A7

*S single
*F Fave

*A1 Didn't realize I would also hear this song every time I'm disembarking a Virgin America Flight
*A2 MTABF has bought many other tracks which I also appreciate but have not bought.
*A3 I had another Goldfrapp album which I loved and then this amazing Wade Robson routine on So You Think You Can Dance got me turned on to this one.
*A4 I really loved this song. And then I started to pay attention to the lyrics and I loved it a bit less.
*A5 very very pleased with this purchase. Thanks, Grant!
*A6 For the record, it was free
*A7 Best discovery of a band at a wedding after party, ever.

Christmas present for a playwright

2009-12-26T22:26:00.001-08:00

Carving the beast. Merry Christmas!

2009-12-25T18:43:00.001-08:00

Plays I got to see in 2009

2009-12-23T16:54:00.000-08:00

Plays I got to see in 2009
(An incomplete list, I fear)
(And not including a lot of readings)

T.I.C. (Trenchcoat In Common)*
Abraham Lincoln's Big Gay Dance Party
In The Next Room (The Vibrator Play)
My Children My Africa
Hunter Gatherers @ Furious Theatre*
Skin
Pure Shock Value
Lydia
American Treasure
Straight Up Twelve O'Clock
Brink!*
Absalam
Slasher
Ameriville
Under Construction
Hard Weather Boating Party
Wild Blessings
Wicked
West Side Story
Private Lives
Zoo Story
Beyonce
Natasha and the Coat
Jack Goes Boating
Mauritius
War Music
Shipwrecked
Rock & Roll: The Reunion Tour
Boleros for the Disenchanted
The World in a Woman's Hands
Joe Goode Performance Group
Zombitetown
American Idiot
Brief Encounter
August: Osage County
Saturn Returns
The Happy Ones
boom @ Next Theatre*
boom @ Cardinal Stage*
boom @ Flashpoint Theare*
Hunter Gatherers @ Theatre Exile*
Next to Normal
Circle Mirror Transformation
Better Homes and Ammo
boom @ Marin Theatre Company*

*my own play

Happy Holidays!

2009-12-16T17:35:00.000-08:00

Introducing Hank Huckle, guest food blogger

2009-11-20T14:27:00.000-08:00

On this episode, Hank learns how to make fish and chips. Enjoy!

George makes bread

2009-11-18T16:58:00.001-08:00

Just in time for the holidays!

2009-11-18T15:37:00.001-08:00

boom in the bay

2009-11-13T15:46:00.000-08:00

We're in previews for boom at Marin Theatre Company! It's lookin pretty damn awesome. And very exciting to have the hometown production in the town of my rearing (Mill Valley). Oh locals, please do check it out if you can.

Here are the deets:

NOW through December 6
Tickets and Info Here

SPECIAL DISCOUNT CODE FOR TEN DOLLARS OFF
For $10 off any performance Nov 12 - Nov 20, use the code "FISH" either online (at checkout) or with the MTC Box Office at 415.388.5208

The talented people

Directed by Ryan Rilette
Featuring
Blythe Foster, Joan Mankin, Nicholas Pelczar

Erik Flatmo Scenic Designer
Mike Palumbo Lighting Designer
Callie Floor Costume Designer
Chris Houston Sound Designer & Composer
Bethanie Baeyen Stage Manager
Seren Helday Props Artisan

a nice picture from furious theatre's hunter gatherers

2009-11-13T15:43:00.001-08:00

My kind of legroom seat

2009-11-09T14:08:00.000-08:00

boom is coming to Marin Theatre Company

2009-11-06T08:20:00.000-08:00

get yer tix!!

Published!

2009-11-04T14:24:00.000-08:00

boom is going crazy right now, and Hunter Gatherers is going!

2009-10-29T21:13:00.000-07:00

I am a little overwhelmed, amazed and delighted by the number of booms happening, and a Hunter Gatherers to boot!

Here's what's up:

Cincinatti, Ohio
boom at the Know Theatre, Cincinnati
NOW through Nov 7!

boom at the Actors Theatre of Phoenix
NOW through November 8

boom @ Cardinal Stage, Bloomington Indiana
NOW through November 13 (I'll be there nov 5 & 6)

THE PHILLY DOUBLE FEATURE

boom at Flashpoint Theatre Company Philadelphia, PA
NOW through November 21 (I'm there Nov 8)

AND

Hunter Gatherers at Theatre Exile, Philadelphia, PA
NOW through November 22 (I'll be there November 7)

phew, and we got the hometown production coming up very soon. woot woot!

happy halloween!

2009-10-29T15:51:00.000-07:00

How To Find A Masculine Halloween Costume For Your Effeminate Son