Reverie Valley Gazette

New York Magazine Pick

2007-01-19T14:51:00.000-08:00

Coverage in the NYTimes

2007-01-19T08:23:00.000-08:00

Click here to read a scanned version of a preview article about Twainathon printed in the New York Times. Readers of this blog will recognize the picture from the last post. It is not of Mark Twain himself, but rather of his contemporary doppelganger Ron Crawford. The article also interviews me about the show in detail.

For more information about the show -- including dates, times, descriptions, and tickets -- visit www.onearmedman.org. There is a show tonight at 10pm.

Introducing: Ron Crawford

2006-12-06T12:32:00.000-08:00

Ron Crawford stars as Mark Twain in One Armed Man's workshop production of The Report of My Death at Twainathon. As an actor, he performed in Steppenwolf's Tony-winning production of The Grapes of Wrath on Broadway, and will be starring alongside Mia Farrow in the upcoming animated feature Arthur and the Invisibles.

Featuring rare and posthumously published Twain letters, stories, and historical artifacts, this docudrama follows Clemens from his bankruptcy through his worldwide lecture tour, personal tragedies, unlikely recovery, and principled opposition to the Spanish-American War. This workshop production shows the “other” Sam Clemens: American radical and dark prophet.

Reading Tonight: Playing with Canons

2006-11-20T13:04:00.000-08:00

Tonight, NYTheatre.com is hosting a reading of its new published anthology Playing with Canons at the Martin E. Segal Theatre (located at 365 5th Avenue @ 34th Street). I will be playing the role of Chekhov in a scene from my friend Anthony Pennino's Story of an Unknown Man. Other excerpted plays include Waterwell's The Persians and Kirk Wood Bromley's Want's Unwisht Work.

Playing with Canons is an anthology of 18 plays by emerging American playwrights, all based on or inspired by classic works of literature and drama -- from those of Shakespeare to Old Testament Bible stories to the classic Greek myths to modern literary standards by authors such as Melville, Dostoyevsky, and Jane Austen.

Post-Show Report

2006-11-15T12:23:00.000-08:00

The Nature Plays had a very successful showcase. As you can see in this photo -- taken 15 minutes before the show, before the entire audience had arrived -- we had an above-capacity crowd. The informal environment suited the crowds, with people laughing, drinking, and enjoying themselves. The actors were terrific, and all of the playwrights and directors were proud about how everything came off. Due to the success of this event, we decided to repeat it quarterly, and will keep our audiences informed about that as information develops.

Thank you to all who attended.

NYTheatre.com Podcast Interview #2

2006-10-28T13:58:00.000-07:00

NYTheatre.com -- that indispensible online resource for all kinds of theater in the five boroughs -- included me in a podcast interview on one-act play festivals. I comment on the upcoming reading series called The Nature Plays (see below), and also chime in why theater companies would decide to start these festivals. Click here to access the interview.

This is my second podcast with NYTheatre.com. Click here to listen to the original podcast. I also encourage readers to browse through their archives, which are constantly interesting.

Announcement: The Nature Plays

2006-10-06T11:30:00.000-07:00

One Armed Man and Oracle Theatre, Inc. are proud to present The Nature Plays at the Telephone Bar and Grill in the East Village on November 14 from 7-9pm. This festival is a series of 10-minute plays featuring new short works by four playwrights who met at the Last Frontier Theatre Conference in Alaska. Further information will be released at a later date.

Free admission, but donations are kindly accepted.

The Report of My Death

2006-09-27T08:36:00.000-07:00

Right now, I'm investigating the origin of Mark Twain's quotation, "The report of my death is an exaggeration." It is commonly believed that he made the remark in response to his obituary being printed in the yellow journalism rag The New York Journal, but nobody seems to know if that article exists. All we know is that a journalist from that paper named Frank White was assigned to write an article about Twain's downfall. He was to submit 500 words if he was dying in poverty -- and 1,000 words if he was dead. Twain eventually found out about this and responded with his characteristic humor.

I'm working on play about the the incident, and what else was happening in this dark period of his life. My reader: Any leads? Any resources? Make a comment in the box. More to come soon...

Happy 5767

2006-09-22T14:30:00.000-07:00

Last year, I read Hermann Hesse's Siddhartha for the first time, which got me interested seriously studying Buddhist ideas. I remember reading the three skills that Siddhartha told the merchant that he had, "I can think. I can fast, and I can wait." It's not the type of thing that one would put on a CV, but what struck me about it at the time was the intersection between Buddhist and Jewish ideas. Fasting is a skill that I've practiced once a year since I became a teenager, and there's a lot of waiting going on in Exodus.

Recently, I read a book called The Jew in the Lotus and found it fascinating. I found a renewal congregation in New York, which incorporates yoga, meditation, and Sufi mysticism into a traditional Jewish framework. I hope to discover more about this into the new year.

I won't be blogging this weekend, but next week I will provide updates on projects that One Armed Man is planning.

Shana tova and namaste!

The Nature Plays

2006-09-21T13:15:00.000-07:00

One Armed Man and Oracle Theatre will be collaborating on a 10-minute play series that will debut in November at the Telephone Bar and Grill. It will feature eight nature-themed works written by four writers who met at the Last Frontier Theatre Conference in Valdez, Alaska.

It's quite a departure from both theater companies' prior projects -- an existential drama about a prostitute and a noir thriller about internet fraud, respectively. Still, these are no nature strolls. Be prepared for surprises.

More information soon...

A Conversation At the Darfur Rally

2006-09-18T08:55:00.000-07:00

(SCENE: A sunny day in the East Meadow of Central Park. ADAM is standing in front of the entrance to a rally to stop genocide in Darfur, wearing a sharp volunteer shirt and directing foot traffic with other mostly college-aged volunteers. A CRAZY JOGGER approaches.)

CRAZY JOGGER: Is the demonstration for killing more Muslims?

ME: No, it's about stopping Muslims from being killed.

CJ: By dropping bombs on them, right?

ME: This isn't about dropping bombs. This rally is part of an international effort to urge the UN to send peacekeeping troupes into the region. The janjaweed have murdered 400,000 people, most of them Muslims, raped thousands of women, and sent millions of others into exile.

CJ: And what happens if the janjaweed don't cooperate? You want to start another war, right? Was Iraq not enough for you?

ME: Many of the demonstrators were against the Iraq War. This is a completely different situation. It's an international effort to end a genocide.

CJ: It's the same thing. Shame on you! Shame on you!

(CRAZY JOGGER runs away in a fit of righteous fury, leaving ADAM contemplating what he should have said. He shares it with the audience.)

ME: Shame on you! If you saw a drive-by shooting, would you yell at the witness for calling the police, or would you try to stop the criminal? Huh? Complacent fool! Was Iraq enough for me? Was Rwanda not enough for you? Or Cambodia? Kosovo? You think that the ruling powers aren't doing everything they can to sweep this one under the rug? We're trying to stop the most massive suffering we've seen in the 21st century, and you have the nerve to call us warmongers? Phony pacifist! Yeah, that's right. I told him. I sure told him.

(Pause.)

ME: That's what I should have told him. Well, at least he made my day a little more interesting.

END SCENE

Darfur Rally

2006-09-15T08:06:00.000-07:00

This Sunday, I will be volunteering for the Save Darfur rally in the East Meadow of Central Park. The goal is to urge the U.N. to send peacekeeping troops to end the ongoing genocide in Sudan. I've been proselytizing the cause to my friends by email. I was at the rally in Washington D.C., and it was partly responsible for a U.N. agreement that was signed the day after. The killing is still going on, but the activism did help to provide temporary relief.

Anyway, I asked a friend over the phone if he wanted to join me, and he said, "No thanks. It's not my thing." I interpreted this to mean, "Listen, I don't want to spend my weekend making a futile effort to jam the bloody wheels of history with struggling celebrities, musicians, and college kids, patting ourselves on the back for wanting people halfway across the world that we know nothing about to stop murdering each other. Really, Adam! Can you even name three tribes in the region, or do you know any of their customs? I have my own problems, and so do you. Deal with them. This activism thing is nothing more than a personality quirk that you're privileged enough to indulge. You're a consumer shopping for a salve for your conscience with a 'cause' marketed for the 'Greater Good.'"

Or, maybe it's just not his thing. He never actually said any of that.

Can you tell that this imagined monologue bothered me because I felt he may have been right? Ultimately, though, my doubts won't stop me from going. Knowing genocide from my family history, I know my personal insecurities shouldn't stop me from acting.

Post-Mortem

2006-09-15T07:56:00.000-07:00

The Prostitute of Reverie Valley had its last performance on August 26, 2006. The show was an artistic and audience success. We had no marketing budget, and our audiences kept getting larger. At the end, we had three sold out performances, and I was left with a great feeling about the show and everybody involved with it. Thank you for your efforts.

I realize that have been negligent about updating the blog for a long time, but it's going to take a different direction now. Now that the show is over, I plan to use it as a forum to mouth off about whatever is on my mind. If a new One Armed Man production is coming along, I will announce that, as well. I thank my reader for his or her patience.

"The Prostitute of Reverie Valley" Opens Tomorrow!

2006-08-10T07:35:00.000-07:00

An unnamed prostitute decides to leave her life behind, and one of her most faithful johns tries to stop her. But before the night is over, she'll find out shocking secrets about the mysterious town and herself. Who were her parents? How did she get there? Why are certain urges forbidden for her? Why is everybody so secretive? And most importantly, how does she get out?

Playwright/Co-Director: Adam Klasfeld
Director: Sherri Kronfeld
AD/SM: Sarah Nerboso

Featuring: Robert Kya-Hill* and Sameerah Luqmaan-Harris
* Actor appears courtesy of Actors' Equity Association.

Part of the 2006 New York International Fringe Festival.

Click here to purchase tickets, and visit www.onearmedman.org for more information.

SCHEDULE

Friday, August 11 @ 7pm
Saturday, August 12 @ 3:30pm
Sunday, August 13 @ 3pm
Tuesday, August 15 @ 7pm
Thursday, August 17 @ 5pm
Sunday, August 20 @ 6:45pm
Wednesday, August 23 @ 8:45pm
Saturday, August 26 @ 10pm

TICKETS
$15.00

CALL
888-FringeNYC

PRESS AND INDUSTRY
Send your name, organization, and contact information to press@onearmedman.org.

Tickets On Sale Now!

2006-07-28T08:04:00.000-07:00

An unnamed prostitute decides to leave her life behind, and one of her most faithful johns tries to stop her. But before the night is over, she'll find out shocking secrets about the mysterious town and herself. Who were her parents? How did she get there? Why are certain urges forbidden for her? Why is everybody so secretive? And most importantly, how does she get out?

Featuring: Robert Kya-Hill* and Sameerah Luqmaan-Harris
* Actor appears courtesy of Actors' Equity Association.

Part of the 2006 New York International Fringe Festival.

Click here to purchase tickets, and visit www.onearmedman.org for more information.

SCHEDULE

Friday, August 11 @ 7pm
Saturday, August 12 @ 3:30pm
Sunday, August 13 @ 3pm
Tuesday, August 15 @ 7pm
Thursday, August 17 @ 5pm
Sunday, August 20 @ 6:45pm
Wednesday, August 23 @ 8:45pm
Saturday, August 26 @ 10pm

TICKETS
$15.00

CALL
888-FringeNYC

PRESS AND INDUSTRY
Send your name, organization, and contact information to press@onearmedman.org.

New Press Photos Available

2006-07-28T08:03:00.000-07:00

After the Benefit

2006-07-28T07:58:00.000-07:00

Thank you to everybody who joined One Armed Man at our recent benefit. Martinis were tasted, vintage Playboys were glanced at, erotic literature was read, sultry prizes were given away, and a good time was had by all. Special thanks to Babeland, EASE Massage Therapy, and Deux Amis Designs for their generous donations to our raffle. A slideshow of the festivities is coming soon!

'Prostitute' Spotted in BackStage

2006-07-17T14:40:00.000-07:00

Introducing: Robert Kya-HIll

2006-07-12T11:24:00.000-07:00

(The John)

Robert recently performed in the Fiona Templeton epic, Medead, in New York, Glasgow and London; in East Village Chronicles (Metropolitan Playhouse), as Paul Robeson in Einstein's Secret Letters (Walker Space), as Chuck in Standard of the Breed (Spartan Theatre), Kreon in The Phoenician Women (Synapse Productions, Ohio Theatre). He played the title role Othello on stages in New York, Vermont, Australia, Montreal as well as major roles in other Shakespeare plays. He received an Obie nomination as best actor for his title role performance in Purlie Victorious. Musicals credits include Kumalo in Lost in the Stars, Bloomer Girl (Goodspeed Opera House), Fiorello (NY City Center). Film-credits include Death Wish, Shaft's Big Score, Slaves, Sue, TV-credits include Another World, Eight is Enough, One Life to Live.

* Actor appears courtesy of Actors' Equity Association.

One Armed Man Benefit

2006-07-10T12:28:00.000-07:00

The Prostitute of Reverie Valley would like to make an important announcement regarding a future benefit for her theater company:

"Meet me at the basement of the Kanvas Bar in Chelsea and say the code 'One Armed Man.' I'll know what you mean. We'll have a few drinks, get to know each other, and I promise you we'll have a good time. If you're lucky, you can see me again at FringeNYC between August 11 through 26. That's right, baby, August. Doesn't that make you hot?"

A $10 donation will be requested at the door. We have the room downstairs, but there will be karaoke upstairs for the daring.

LOCATION
Kanvas Bar NYC
219 Ninth Avenue, New York, NY

WHEN
Monday, July 24, 7:00pm

Sighting in Time Out New York

2006-07-10T05:01:00.000-07:00

The Prostitute of Reverie Valley was unexpectedly found in this week's issue of Time Out:

"BONUS ITINERARY: Those with their loins firmly girded will be holding out for the Fringe Festival August 11–22. Once you’ve found a copy of the enormous guide (try Borders bookstores; see borders.com for locations), amp yourself up on espresso at Caffe Reggio (119 MacDougal St at 3rd St, 212-475-9557)— which was good enough for Tennessee Williams. And get a room at the eminently stagy Carlton Arms (160 E 25th St between Park Ave South and Third Ave, 212-679-0680); if you’re going to watch 11 days of zany theater (sample title: The Prostitute of Reverie Valley), you should probably stay at the one place in town that thinks its rooms should look like Egyptian sarcophagi." -Helen Shaw

Catchy title, huh?

NYTheatre.com Podcast Interview

2006-07-10T04:56:00.000-07:00

Adam Klasfeld with NYTheatre's Michael Criscuolo for a podcast interview about the upcoming FringeNYC production of The Prostitute of Reverie Valley. Access the talk by clicking here.

Dates and Venue Info Released

2006-07-10T04:53:00.000-07:00

HOT OFF THE PRESS

LOCATION
PLAYERS LOFT / 115 MacDougal Street
Between Bleecker and West 3rd
Subway: A, C, E, B, D, F or V to West 4th

SCHEDULE
FRI 8/11 @ 7 – 8:05pm
SAT 8/12 @ 3:30 – 4:35pm
SUN 8/13 @ 3 – 4:05pm
TUE 8/15 @ 7- 8:05pm
THUR 8/17 @ 5 – 6:05pm
SUN 8/20 @ 6:45 – 7:50pm
WED 8/23 @ 8:45 – 9:50pm
SAT 8/26 @ 10 - 11:05pm

NYTheatre.com Fringe Preview

2006-07-06T14:28:00.000-07:00

Reproduced from an interview with NYTheatre.com:

"Although it looks like the picture of rural America, Reverie Valley isn’t a normal town. For one, nobody is born into it. Children are dropped off at the orphanage, and other people simply materialize within its borders. Most of its citizens visit the town prostitute, but none of them sleep with her. As the play begins, the prostitute is planning her escape, but one of her johns tries to stop her. Before the night is over, he reveals secrets about their world and her life in it. Who were her parents? How did she get there? And most importantly, how does she get out? The answers to these questions can be jarring. It’s important for audiences to be surprised and to even lose their bearings now and then. It keeps them engaged. Hopefully, they will be intrigued, moved, and walk out of the theater wondering how the stories they’ve heard reflect their own lives.

All people—and Americans especially—constantly seek ways to escape their daily lives through fantasy, sex, or storytelling. The Prostitute of Reverie Valley examines these urges, questioning the nature of our desires, our dreams, and the impulse to create art.

This is my second play at FringeNYC. It’s a wonderful resource for playwrights looking to self-produce. As for what inspired it, I was thinking about my life decisions. Where am I now? Where do I want to go? If I know already, what’s keeping me from pursuing my goals? What does success mean, and what would happen after if I attained it? I chose to present this play because I believe that everybody understands these dilemmas."

-Adam Klasfeld, playwright

Introducing: Sameerah Luqmann-Harris

2006-07-06T14:19:00.000-07:00

(The Prostitute)

Sameerah migrated to NYC three years ago from Madison, WI, where she earned her BA in Theatre and Cultural Anthropology. Most recently, Sameerah played Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing (Sounding Theatre Co.), Gabriella in Three Days Later (Prospect Theatre Company), Jill in Come Back To Me (Cherry Lane Theatre), and Audrey in Haunted (Abingdon Theatre). Other favorite NYC Theatre roles include: Body Work (78th St. Theatre Lab), Fefu and Her Friends (The Culture Project @45 Below), A Black Tale (WOW Café Theatre), Descendants of Freedom (HERE Arts Center), Holiday Schmoliday (Manhattan Theatre Source), It’s a Long Way (WOW Café Theatre), Alcibiades the Athenian (Producer’s Club). Film roles: Medium Hot (Charles Krezell Productions) and Runaways on St. Mark’s Place (V. Bernard Productions).

DISCLAIMER

2006-06-27T21:57:00.000-07:00

As you read this, you might notice that I am writing a lot of it in the past tense. The festival was very busy, and internet access was a walk across town. I updated several of these entries long after the fact. The festival has come and gone. Although a lot has happened, I'll try to write down everything in the order that it happened, if my memory serves. The funny thing is, even if I get it right, it will come out in reverse chornological order because that's just the way blogs work. Think of it as a Pinter play.

THE END OF THE TOUR

2006-06-27T21:43:00.000-07:00

I saw another play of Lia's called Babies. She hit another one out of the park. It has a Martin McDonagh quality. A dark, dark comedy in which people sleep around on each other, frame each other for crimes, have no compunction about murdering to advance their short term goals, and neglect their babies. In the hands of a lesser writer, it might come across as casually sadistic or trendy, but Lia makes it work. Very well.

There was a closing Gala that night, and I said goodbye to the people I knew. Then, I went to the Pipeline again for a last hurrah. Dawson, the organizer of the festival, told me that it was going to be another all-nighter, but I couldn't find him there. I don't know if he arrived later, but I decided to go back to the hotel to catch whatever sleep I could. (If you're reading this Dawson, and you were there, sorry I bailed out before breakfast.) The few hours sleep I did get helped me not veer off the road when I was driving back to Anchorage the next day. I made it halfway before I turned the wheel back over to June and slept in the passenger seat. That kept me going for the long flight back. At the airport, I was so out of it and drained from everything that I accidentally walked into the wrong bathroom! Once I figured out why there were no urinals, I apologized to the older woman who was just getting out of one of the stalls, and quickly headed out and into the right one. Needless to say, I needed my rest, and I'm catching up now. If I get into next year's festival, one lesson I'll take with me is to pace myself.

It was an incredible experience, and I hope to be keeping up with the participants who live in the area. Maybe even form a writer's group that stays together. (Most of the ones I've been in before only last a month, but I have a good feeling this time.) Whatever happens, it was great for 10 days to really be appreciated for being a playwright, have my work shown, meet cool people, learn about my craft, be humbled by the talent all around, and wake up every morning to snow capped mountains.

BIG NIGHT

2006-06-27T21:33:00.000-07:00

I finally saw the play of my last rideshare, Chris. It's called Big Night, and it's this George Kaufman/Neil Simon-esque comedy about a young couple on the night of their honeymoon. One of Chris' panelists said it best. He's a funny man. There were a lot of really clever cracks about the kind of champagne the groom bought, problems with the in-laws, and a surprise twist involving one of the character's virginity. The first thing one of the panelists asked him was to hold up his left hand. He was looking for an engagement ring, which I think is a real compliment about the writing. (He's not married.)

That night the festival was presenting a production of The Laramie Project with new interviews added. I missed the first act, which wasn't a real tragedy because I saw it before. But the second act was about what I remembered. After that, it was another big night because they were taking everyone on a cruise. It got really cold, and you couldn't stay out on the deck too long.

MINERAL CREEK NOIR

2006-06-27T21:13:00.000-07:00

I'd been meaning to go bike riding in Valdez after I got a taste for it in Anchorage, but had no takers. Still, I found two people willing to go hiking down the Mineral Creek Trail with me, Lia and Cyndy. It was a fun walk. There was a sign at one point saying that we were entering an avalanche area, and I took a picture of it to show to my mom. I tease her too much. I let her know before I went that the concierge told me that the trial was "bear country." We found no bears, but there was a mysterious note near a waterfall left in a plastic bag. It had a phone number, the name "Kahler," and the location of some bar or other. We felt like we had stumbled on a scene from The Goonies and that we were going to look for One-Eyed Willy's treasure -- mixed with the possibility of it being a creepy serial killer seeking out victims at random. Anyway, we took down the number, and Lia and I tried calling it the last night when we were pretty sure we wouldn't be traced. Nothing interesting happened. Just got a voice mail.

That afternoon, I was impressed by my friend Isaac Rothbone's play Breakfast for Dinner. It's this trippy noir in which a murder happens after two strangers meet in a diner, and the wrong guy is implicated. Not that he's innocent, mind you. He was just committing another crime at the time. There's a parallel story about a con-man taking advantage of an internet pervert. Isaac's a very good writer, the kind where you really appreciate the craft of the work, like he's a steel worker mending a beam on a bridge. Don't get me wrong. There's plenty of art in there. It's just that he has real artistic discipline. It's funny. One time, we were chatting over dinner about relationships, and he compared getting married to making a final purchase on a car. And I promise that the way he said it, it actually sounded very romantic and poetic. He usually wears a Yankees cap and his day job is as a stage technician.

THE MORNING AFTER

2006-06-27T21:02:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned in the last post, I stayed up all night to finish that 10-minute play, and had breakfast the morning after at the Totem Inn. I had the "Valdez Favorite," which is scrambled eggs and caribou. I felt a little guilty about that, especially since my friend informed me that caribou and reindeer are the same animal. The former is wild, and the latter is domesticated. Take that Prancer! Shove it up your chimney! It's the second time I had that meat on the trip. It tasted good, though, even with the Jewish guilt. But is it kosher?

I slept from around 7:30am to noon, and saw June Calender's play Work Ethic, in which two characters discuss how much one should work and what their philosophies reveal about their personalities. It had really sharp dialogue and a surprising ending. It was very intriguing, and I found out during the talkback that it was meant to be performed twice with different kinds of casting. That would be interesting to see. Not much to say about the rest of the day. I saw them perform my play that night where I started that morning -- The Totem Inn. It was well-received.

THE BIG DAY

2006-06-27T18:55:00.000-07:00

That Tuesday was the day of my Play Lab, and it went really well. I was going through my usual habit for a reading, sitting nervously in the back of the room. (This usually lasts only the first 15 minutes or so, and then I sink into it.) There was just one minor snafu during the process. During the play's sex scene, the actor found out that he was missing a page, and there was a break with laughter in the middle of it. One of the panelists called it "scriptus interruptus." It was well cast, and the actors did a very fine job.

I got great feedback. The first two panelists to comment on it really praised it a lot. I had a one mixed review, but by the end, I also had a lot of useful suggestions for rewrites, which is really the goal. And after the reading, someone came up to me to offer a very exciting opportunity. I won't say any more because I'm naturally superstitious.

That same day, I volunteered for this thing called "Alaska Overnighters," in which you write a 10-minute play at night, hand it in 10am the next morning, and have a group of actors read it the that evening. Only problem was that my friend Tara was leaving the next morning and everybody was meeting at the bar of Pipeline Inn for a goodbye celebration. I decided to go there and write in a blue marble notebook at one of the tables. Eventually, my friend Michelle lent me her laptop, which I had to hook up in an outlet at the other end of the bar next to a neon beer sign. It was a funny sight, me typing in this motel bar -- surrounded by a pool table, a shuffleboard, a jukebox, and this video game where you can play poker with semi-pornographic cards. Locals came up to me and offered really good suggestions that made the final draft. For a second, I felt like I was John Cusack's character in Woody Allen's Bullets Over Broadway. Michelle and I shot off ideas for it the whole night, and I made the deadline.

GODS AND COWS

2006-06-26T19:40:00.000-07:00

After my rehearsal, I saw Cynthia Gluckman's ("Cyndy's") "The Fallen Caryatid," a very smart play riffing on the Pygmalion myth and is inspired by a Rodin sculpture. An old storytelling cow introduces the play by talking about two interesting things: (1) how nobody considers what happened during the frog's transformation in The Frog Prince and (2) how people scoff at and deny magic. I have a pretty dark imagination, and the first idea got me thinking about the terrible growing pains that must have proceeded the frog's transformation.

That night I saw another play with meaningful cows, Lia Romero's "When the Gods Speak." Lia's getting her MFA at my alma mater, Rutgers, and she's really doing it proud. Her plays are hilarious and disturbing. This one's about a mother-son incestuous relationship. The son wants out, and when he finds a girlfriend who is not a blood relative, the gods punish him by sending dead cows as dark omens. The play was shown at last year's festival, and selected to be produced this year at the festival. I didn't see the shows last year, but I'm sure this play deserved the distinction.

TWO WAYS OF LOOKING AT PIE

2006-06-26T18:20:00.000-07:00

I checked out my schedule of events to see if I got the timeline right, and apparently, I saw Tara Meddaugh's play "Free Space" on the same day as Claudia's. It's an adorable story about a painfully awkward girl named Amelia whose biggest ambition is lead a game of bingo. She has two close friends, a magical, talking bingo chip who is her confidante and a boy named Ricky who works at a canning factory. In one scene, Ricky tells her about the pie filling that they package, and tells her the best way to eat it is by taking small spoonfuls at a time. Her reply is priceless, "I don't want to eat it, Ricky. I just want to look at it." On the one hand, the characters are completely socially awkward, but they're attuned to beauty in life in a way "adjusted" people can only envy.

The next day, a local playwright from Anchorage needed an actor to replace one of the lead roles in her play "Boysenberry Pie," and they asked me to fill in the gap. I was happy to do it. I read the role the next day, and it went very well. The playwright told me that my performance made an old man cry who was sitting behind her. So I took that as evidence that I've still got it. It made me consider acting again sometime in the future.

After that performance, I held the rehearsal for my reading. All of the playwrights need to direct their own work, and I tried to get it where it needed to go in one rehearsal. We never had time to run through the play without stopping, but it went well. The actors had an old draft of the script. I apparently didn't get them the new one on time, but they rolled with it well. I was confident about the reading the next day.

CROSSROADS AND RIDESHARES

2006-06-24T16:24:00.000-07:00

The second day in Valdez was tough. My girlfriend of almost two years had to go back to Canada because her work visa expired. We're staying together, but I imagined going back to an empty apartment for the first time. Also, the quality of work at the festival was intimidatingly good, and I felt myself getting nervous about my own play, which was being read in a couple of days later. I kept busy enough not to think or deal with any of it, and that's pretty much the strategy that I applied for the festival at large. It had varying degrees of success.

It was about this time that I began to get the feeling that I'll be keeping in touch with many of the people here after the festival is over. The playwrights that I shared a ride to Valdez with are characters! June's a world traveler, currently living in Manhattan, who's shared anecdotes about documenting her friend's adventures in Tibet. She told me before the trip that she doesn't plan to write anymore after the conference is over. So, she has been keeping away from the conference activities and enjoying the surrounding area. Then, there's Christian ("Chris"), a sarcastic, salty, and witty guy from Los Angeles. He works as a script reader for Village Roadshow Pictures, and can usually be seen wearing the company baseball cap backwards. He's the kind of guy that you trust really quickly, and I've chatted with him a lot during the trip about my various crossroads.

The play I saw that day was by the third rideshare, Claudia, who wrote this incredibly dark and wonderful play about a demon that leads a shtetl wife into a life of debauchary. Her writing adds another layer of mystery to her as a person. She's a very sweet woman, who is a mother and lives in San Francisco. Throughout the festival, she knitted a pair of socks, particularly during people's plays. It killed me! The funny thing is, I knew that it wasn't out of boredom or rudeness, and she was actually paying close attention. She'd make these very insightful and positive comments during the discussions.

SIGHTSEEING

2006-06-21T15:15:00.000-07:00

While I was in Anchorage, I stopped in at a local bookstore and spoke to the owner at the register. He told me that the ride to Valdez is supposed to be the most beautiful in the state. So, I was very excited for the trip the next morning. I arrive at the meeting place, and all of us quickly hit it off. One of the perks about traveling six hours in a car with a bunch of playwrights is that you're never for want of good stories.

We start driving on the Seward Highway, and we stop practically every 10 minutes to take pictures at the side of the road. The mountains are absolutely stunning. It turns out that we were driving in the wrong direction for an hour and had to turn around. If this was the less pretty route, I couldn't imagine what the really striking one looked like. Angels playing the lute on the mountainsides? Half-naked sirens in the middle of a lake in the valley? You can't compare certain levels of natural beauty, but I got more than an eyeful.

We arrived at Valdez more or less on time for the opening night salmon bake. Delicious stuff. In between bites, I started making friends, and eventually left to unpack my things at the hotel. By the time I was finished, I got separated from the rest of the group, and found out the next morning that I missed out on an opening night ceremonial bonfire. Half of the participants of the festival are exhausted the day after. At least I was well rested, for probably the first and last time of the trip. Solstice was coming, and nighttime was getting rare.

ALONE IN ANCHORAGE

2006-06-19T13:20:00.000-07:00

When I woke up the next morning, I expected to be driving to Valdez, but I got the date wrong. The other people in my party were arriving a day later than I expected. It worked out great for me though because it gave me a chance to go bike-riding along the coast of Anchorage.

It took me awhile to warm up to the idea. I dislocated my shoulder recently, and I didn't want to risk falling off and reinjuring myself in the middle of some trail. But, I figured that I may only be there once, and I worked up on the courage to go. It turned out to be a 25-mile trail with some of the most breathtaking views you can find. The first half of the trip was all coastline, and you could see the airplanes land where I did a day before. I got right down under it, and started taking pictures. My paranoia momentarily got the better of me when I realized that taking pictures of a landing aircraft might seem suspicious after September 11th. I wasn't the only one snapping photos, though. So, it turned out to be alright. It's a digital camera, so I'll upload them the second I get the chance. (Probably when I get home.)

I passed the largest free floating airplane base in America -- a lake basically for special kinds of craft. There was also a few roads for conventional planes that doubled as a biker trail and a road for cars. I saw a hilarious sign saying that airplanes had the right of way, although I think that I'd turn my bike off road anyway if a plane tried to land where I was pedaling. Perhaps that's just me.

Twenty-five miles and four hours later, still jetlagged, exhilarated, and tired, I returned the bike and walked over to the Solstice Festival in the main park downtown. June 20 is the longest day of the year, and it's the time that the area gets about 1 hour of night-time. It's sunny very late, which makes it kind of difficult to sleep. So, it makes you want to squeeze more out of the day. I saw a documentary about the Northern Lights called "Aurora." I'm a former astronomy buff, and I wanted to see the real thing, but it's not happening this time of year.

I returned to the hotel, had some Turkish food at the restaurant there, and finally went to sleep. The next morning, I would meet up and start southward to the conference.

STAYING AT THE TEN-LEGGED BEAR

2006-06-19T13:16:00.000-07:00

Before going to FringeNYC, the play is appearing at the Last Frontier Theatre Conference in Valdez. My plane landed in Alaska (state motto "The Last Frontier") around 9:20pm this past Thursday, which is about 2am EST. I spent my flight sitting next to a pair of serial marathon runners. They went to Anchorage specifically for the event, and they travel often as runners to raise money for leukemia. I picked up their literature. It sounds fun and interesting. I jog often, and always wanted to train for a race, but always made excuses for it.

While I was there, I stayed at the Qupqugniac Inn. My cab drier who happened to be native explained that the qupqugniac is a ten-legged bear, but he didn't know the mythology. I later discovered that it's an animal that ate a caribou one day, and noticed that it had grass in its stomach. The revelation made him wonder how the species could be carnivorous while living in peace. They wound up setting up schools that taught only "what was necessary and good." A friend later commented that the story seemed sweet and a little bit fundamentalist at the same time. He turned out to be right. The hotel published a paper called the Alaska Humanity News, which wrote every theater in the area to accuse them of amorality. I decided not to mention that I was a playwright, who was visiting Alaska for a reading of a play called The Prostitute of Reverie Valley. And I certainly didn't show them the sex scene. I don't think they would have taken to it too well.

INTRODUCTION

2006-06-14T13:04:00.000-07:00

Following its hit production of Good Fences Make Good Neighbors at the 2005 FringeNYC, One Armed Man returns to the New York International Fringe Festival with Adam Klasfeld's offbeat existential drama The Prostitute of Reverie Valley. An unnamed prostitute decides to leave her life behind, and one of her most faithful johns tries to stop her. But before the night is over, she'll find out shocking secrets about the mysterious town and herself. Who were her parents? How did she get there? Why are certain urges forbidden for her? Why is everybody so secretive? And most importantly, how does she get out?