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I love it when this happens.
As of yesterday, we decided that due to demand, we will holding over Marisol for a final weekend. If you haven't had a chance to see it, or if you want to see it again, please join us for either Friday or Saturday night performances.
As always, we're due to be busy, so reserve your spot by calling (574) 975-0311.
Something to get you excited for our second weekend of the show: photos from our production of Marisol.
There is a slide show after the jump.
We're expecting another busy weekend, so if you have not made reservations, get yours in as soon as you can.
There is a slide show after the jump.
We're expecting another busy weekend, so if you have not made reservations, get yours in as soon as you can.
Continue reading Photos from Marisol.
Guest post by Thomas Bona, Saturday night audience member.
When I first saw "Marisol" 10 years ago, it was the most important piece of theater I had ever seen.
It still is.
Jose Rivera stirs together conflicts of class, religion, race, gender and power/powerlessness into an incendiary melting pot that speaks to more of us than you might think. Yes, even those of us who are white, who are middle-class, who are male (hey, even me!).
Because, as the play clearly shows, when all hell starts to break lose and the structures of the world fail under their own weight, those who thought they were immune to the misery aren't. Marisol thought she could rise above it all because she was an educated professional, but she hedged her bet every night with a crucifix and a knife. At the start of the play, she's escaping the homeless man incoherently raving with a golf club; near the end, she herself is homeless, incoherently raving with a golf club. The "woman in furs" and the homeless "scar
tissue" man were "contributing members of society" when they were caught in the apocalyptic upheaval and literally tortured by those with more power.
The "WAKE UP" scrawled in graffiti isn't just to the poor, it's to anybody watching. Because we can all be victimized by the imbalances in society.
I admit, I'm biased in that this play hits closer to home for me than probably many in the audience in Goshen. I grew up in the Bronx in a working-class area, with the threat of poverty and violence always looming. The characters are real to me - Marisol is the local girl trying to make good, but also being clung to by the neighborhood. June is the would-be yuppie who seems to love the idea of working in the city more than the city itself. Lenny is somebody's crazy conspiracy theory brother, who may not be totally crazy after all. (I can't vouch
for the veracity of the Neonazis or the homeless people, but I did once see a suspicious fire in Van Cortlandt Park. Does that count?)
But this play isn't just about poverty and violence in the city. The apocalypse that's happening is also environmental (fires raging in Ohio), political (wildly expensive ideas to tow the moon back to its orbit, while a police state ensues) and ... well ... galactic.
Here's the trickiest part of the play for me, and I suspect many of the audience members: The idea that God has grown senile and must be killed in order to stave off the end of the universe.
Ten years ago, as a Bible/religion major at Goshen College, I had a hard time with that. I still do, in the sense that I can't blame God for human-made problems. I don't believe it's God's "job" to protect us from ourselves, it's *our* job.
But seeing the play now, I see "God" as more a symbol for "the order of things", meaning that the angels - and later the huddled masses on earth - aren't necessarily killing the God that I believe in, but the symbolic "powers that be" that run things. Of course, Rivera is likely
far more humanist than I am in this, but as a Christian, I can take that symbolism because I agree with its deeper meaning.
Don't rush to assume, by the way, that this play is an ode to violent revolution. It offers a chilling look at what happens when such "revolutions" happen. "Scar tissue" says, profoundly, "Heaven erupts but who pays the price? The fucking innocent do!" And, ultimately, the play isn't about destruction but rebirth. They're creating a new world, a new reality, from the bottom up, where the lowest are made high. Instead of a typical revolution, where the winners lord it over their enemies, Marisol asks the "woman in furs" to join them, reaching her hand out.
She declined, sharply, but we shouldn't. This play should urge us to look at where we are in the "order of things" and see what things we're putting our faith in. Because today is a tenuous time, with the credit crunch sending "contributing members of society" into bankruptcy, with talk of a recession, with wars and rumors of wars.
Some day, we might be asked to make a choice too.
Heavy stuff, I admit, but the beauty of this play is that it does it with a dollop of, er, dulce de leche. There's biting humor, sometimes gallows humor here.
Lenny, as played by Derek Bontreger, is straightfaced in his crackpot enthusiasm, but so over the top that he steals his scenes. His accent is mighty good for a Midwesterner. Amy Stutsman plays the guardian angel with the swagger and sensuality that, I think, we all really really want in our guardian angels. Jessica Hage plays June's unhinged moments with the right kind of emotion. The rest of the cast also does well with difficult parts.
But it's Cassie Greer's Marisol who brings it home. Armed with a slight Nuyorican accent and a sort of world-weary innocence, she descends into the apocalypse, and ultimately out of it, with the realness of any average person ... if one of us could actually pull that off. She's not a conquering action-movie hero, and the play is much the better for it.
I could say tons more, but here's my final point: go see this play. If you've seen it already, see it again. You may or may not agree with all of it, you may or may not understand all of it, but it will get inside your head and keep you thinking for a long time after.
Ten years later, I'm still thinking.
When I first saw "Marisol" 10 years ago, it was the most important piece of theater I had ever seen.
It still is.
Jose Rivera stirs together conflicts of class, religion, race, gender and power/powerlessness into an incendiary melting pot that speaks to more of us than you might think. Yes, even those of us who are white, who are middle-class, who are male (hey, even me!).
Because, as the play clearly shows, when all hell starts to break lose and the structures of the world fail under their own weight, those who thought they were immune to the misery aren't. Marisol thought she could rise above it all because she was an educated professional, but she hedged her bet every night with a crucifix and a knife. At the start of the play, she's escaping the homeless man incoherently raving with a golf club; near the end, she herself is homeless, incoherently raving with a golf club. The "woman in furs" and the homeless "scar
tissue" man were "contributing members of society" when they were caught in the apocalyptic upheaval and literally tortured by those with more power.
The "WAKE UP" scrawled in graffiti isn't just to the poor, it's to anybody watching. Because we can all be victimized by the imbalances in society.
I admit, I'm biased in that this play hits closer to home for me than probably many in the audience in Goshen. I grew up in the Bronx in a working-class area, with the threat of poverty and violence always looming. The characters are real to me - Marisol is the local girl trying to make good, but also being clung to by the neighborhood. June is the would-be yuppie who seems to love the idea of working in the city more than the city itself. Lenny is somebody's crazy conspiracy theory brother, who may not be totally crazy after all. (I can't vouch
for the veracity of the Neonazis or the homeless people, but I did once see a suspicious fire in Van Cortlandt Park. Does that count?)
But this play isn't just about poverty and violence in the city. The apocalypse that's happening is also environmental (fires raging in Ohio), political (wildly expensive ideas to tow the moon back to its orbit, while a police state ensues) and ... well ... galactic.
Here's the trickiest part of the play for me, and I suspect many of the audience members: The idea that God has grown senile and must be killed in order to stave off the end of the universe.
Ten years ago, as a Bible/religion major at Goshen College, I had a hard time with that. I still do, in the sense that I can't blame God for human-made problems. I don't believe it's God's "job" to protect us from ourselves, it's *our* job.
But seeing the play now, I see "God" as more a symbol for "the order of things", meaning that the angels - and later the huddled masses on earth - aren't necessarily killing the God that I believe in, but the symbolic "powers that be" that run things. Of course, Rivera is likely
far more humanist than I am in this, but as a Christian, I can take that symbolism because I agree with its deeper meaning.
Don't rush to assume, by the way, that this play is an ode to violent revolution. It offers a chilling look at what happens when such "revolutions" happen. "Scar tissue" says, profoundly, "Heaven erupts but who pays the price? The fucking innocent do!" And, ultimately, the play isn't about destruction but rebirth. They're creating a new world, a new reality, from the bottom up, where the lowest are made high. Instead of a typical revolution, where the winners lord it over their enemies, Marisol asks the "woman in furs" to join them, reaching her hand out.
She declined, sharply, but we shouldn't. This play should urge us to look at where we are in the "order of things" and see what things we're putting our faith in. Because today is a tenuous time, with the credit crunch sending "contributing members of society" into bankruptcy, with talk of a recession, with wars and rumors of wars.
Some day, we might be asked to make a choice too.
Heavy stuff, I admit, but the beauty of this play is that it does it with a dollop of, er, dulce de leche. There's biting humor, sometimes gallows humor here.
Lenny, as played by Derek Bontreger, is straightfaced in his crackpot enthusiasm, but so over the top that he steals his scenes. His accent is mighty good for a Midwesterner. Amy Stutsman plays the guardian angel with the swagger and sensuality that, I think, we all really really want in our guardian angels. Jessica Hage plays June's unhinged moments with the right kind of emotion. The rest of the cast also does well with difficult parts.
But it's Cassie Greer's Marisol who brings it home. Armed with a slight Nuyorican accent and a sort of world-weary innocence, she descends into the apocalypse, and ultimately out of it, with the realness of any average person ... if one of us could actually pull that off. She's not a conquering action-movie hero, and the play is much the better for it.
I could say tons more, but here's my final point: go see this play. If you've seen it already, see it again. You may or may not agree with all of it, you may or may not understand all of it, but it will get inside your head and keep you thinking for a long time after.
Ten years later, I'm still thinking.
Thomas V. Bona is a newspaper reporter in Rockford, Ill., and a former resident of Goshen. He's written for New World Arts' 24/7 Theater Festivals, acted occasionally and is known for laughing at appropriate - and inappropriate - times during shows.
"...It's difficult not to be seduced by Cassie Greer's performance in the title role.
Her embodiment of Marisol is intimate and bold as she navigates an array of emotions to near perfection."-- Jeremy Bonfiglio, South Bend Tribune
What a night; thanks to everyone who made it possible. We had a full and expressive audience, delicious reception food provided by Board President Elaine Ehrlich and Board Member Jennifer Deneen and the show was as provocative and beautiful as I have ever seen it. Well done everyone.
The South Bend Tribune's Jeremy Bonfiglio (who I finally got to meet in person last night) was in the house last night. His review of the play is coming out in Sunday's tribune, but you can get a sneak peak of it here.
We're expecting another full house tonight, so if you are going to come, make sure to make your reservation now.
Local and regional press have been great to us the last few days. The press blitz begins!
Here's what's out now (but I happen to know there's some more to come):
See you tonight.
Here's what's out now (but I happen to know there's some more to come):
- Goshen News article on tonight's opening. (There's for some reason no online link, but I'll post it when it comes up. Check yesterday's paper.)
- Tyler Yoard (Golf Club) (who needs to blog) wrote a great write-up yesterday for us in the Goshen College Record.
- South Bend Tribune's Andy Hughes came out with a great article today about tonight's opening.
- The Tribune also together a gallery of Tuesday night's tech rehearsal.
- The Tribune put up a video on their multimedia site of that same rehearsal, featuring Cassie (Marisol) and Derek (Lenny) rehearsing Act 1. (Scroll down and look for "Multimedia" on the right hand side on the screen).
See you tonight.
Have you noticed that the blog has been quiet the last few days? That'd be accurate. The actors have been rehearsing, beautifully, until midnight each night. The tech crew, however, has been dealing with this guy.
That's a fully broken lighting board, which bid us farewell only 3 days ago.
Jessica Brubaker and Dan Horst, to their immense credit, have pulled some late nights getting lights on stage, and being where we are supposed to be the night before opening.
Something going extremely well has been, well, the rest of the show.
That's a fully broken lighting board, which bid us farewell only 3 days ago.Jessica Brubaker and Dan Horst, to their immense credit, have pulled some late nights getting lights on stage, and being where we are supposed to be the night before opening.
Something going extremely well has been, well, the rest of the show.
Welcome to Season Ten. See you tomorrow night.
Don't forget to swing by the New World Arts space tomorrow night for an open, free reception for the actors and crew at 7 p.m.
Don't forget to swing by the New World Arts space tomorrow night for an open, free reception for the actors and crew at 7 p.m.
We're showing this at 4f in Downtown Goshen tonight, but I thought I would give blog readers a little preview. Enjoy!
You may have noticed, if you are not a cast or crew member, that you could not leave a comment on any of the Marisol blog posts.
We're pleased that, finally, that code error has been corrected and you can now comment on any of the great posts we have during the last week and a half:
We're pleased that, finally, that code error has been corrected and you can now comment on any of the great posts we have during the last week and a half:
- Director Bryan Falcón talks about Marisol's and New World Arts' place in the Goshen art community and the world.
- We had a live blog of the cast's table talk earlier this week.
- Cassie and Derek talk about the beginnings of character work, and mirrors.
- I wrote some commentary on our teaser trailer shoot, along with photos that Jessica and I took.
Tonight the cast and crew are going to be going through some thoughts and observation of the Mariol text. We'll try and hit what we can and give you a peek of some of the more academic parts of the rehearsal process.6:07: We'll be starting at 6:30, instead of 6. Stay tuned.
Continue reading after the jump...
Continue reading Live blog: January 28th Table Talk.
File this under: why the hell not?
When New World Arts started giving shows their own blogs in 2005, we were - to my knowledge - some of the only ones doing something like that. By 2008, large and small theaters are giving each their own shows a chance to give their audience a peek backstage (and one started just a few months after we launched ours.... Hmmm, Steppenwolf, hmmm...).
I have never really heard of a theater live blogging anything, however. Wikipedia definition:
Disclaimer: New World Arts' internet has been rather up and down recently. So, the "live blog" might be just a post right after the table talk. We'll see...
Update: Someone just reminded me that President Bush's last State of the Union address is tonight, granted later than our Table Talk. If you're more interested in a mere 150 billion stimulus package (for a multi-trillion dollar economy) and mis-appropriated economic blame, I'm sure that NYT, Politico and Carpetbagger will all be live blogging that. While the two events are not unrelated, I think our Table Talk is going to be more interesting.
When New World Arts started giving shows their own blogs in 2005, we were - to my knowledge - some of the only ones doing something like that. By 2008, large and small theaters are giving each their own shows a chance to give their audience a peek backstage (and one started just a few months after we launched ours.... Hmmm, Steppenwolf, hmmm...).
I have never really heard of a theater live blogging anything, however. Wikipedia definition:
Starting at 6 p.m., EST I will be living blogging tonight's Marisol Table Talk, where Bryan, Artistic Director Laura Gouin, the cast and some of the designers are going to sit down at New World Arts and parse through their thoughts on the script from the last week and a half. Knowing what I do of the cast, it should be more than interesting. So, if you feel like it, go ahead and join us tonight at 6.
A live blog is a running online commentary by individual bloggers contributing to a topic thread focused on an ongoing event as it unfolds in real time. Participation is referred to as "live blogging."
Disclaimer: New World Arts' internet has been rather up and down recently. So, the "live blog" might be just a post right after the table talk. We'll see...
Update: Someone just reminded me that President Bush's last State of the Union address is tonight, granted later than our Table Talk. If you're more interested in a mere 150 billion stimulus package (for a multi-trillion dollar economy) and mis-appropriated economic blame, I'm sure that NYT, Politico and Carpetbagger will all be live blogging that. While the two events are not unrelated, I think our Table Talk is going to be more interesting.
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