http://www.kellyyounger.net/theblog Tue, 03 Nov 2009 23:36:49 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en A play of movement. A play of possibility. A play of accusations and attack. A play that forces change. A play that exposes the underbelly of racism and prejudice and the danger of role-playing. Yes, Baraka takes the title from both the famous ghost ship, ... http://www.kellyyounger.net/theblog/2009/11/03/on-dutchman-by-amiri-barakaleroi-jones/ My dear friend Beth Henley gave me the best advice about staged readings. "Invite friends. Read the play. Pour the wine." It's so easy to get stuck in what I (dis)like to call Playwright's Purgatory. That is, permanent development. You get reading after reading ... http://www.kellyyounger.net/theblog/2009/10/30/on-staged-readings/ I've never been so jealous of a title.  Or a play.  I'm always in search of that elusive two or three-hander with a single set.  Simple.  Real.  Breathtaking.  This is that play.  Besides being struck by the depth of the characters, the richness of the plot, the conciseness of the ... http://www.kellyyounger.net/theblog/2009/10/22/on-the-busy-world-is-hushed-by-keith-bunin/ Less the American Dream, and more the particular dreams of a particular American family. So much has been said and written about this landmark play that I really only want to focus on a few minor moments I've only recently come to understand. The first is a line ... http://www.kellyyounger.net/theblog/2009/09/17/on-death-of-a-salesman-by-arthur-miller/ Short. Poignant. "I Love Lucy" and 9/11. Sanchez offers a moving example of what all good monologues should do: approach their subject from the side, not head on. It's the key to avoiding sentimentality. The young character Tomas can only come to terms with his ... http://www.kellyyounger.net/theblog/2009/09/15/on-pops-by-edwin-sanchez/ Comedy equals contrast. And this delightful little monologue is the perfect illustration of that equation. It also has the most brilliant set up: "(In the darkness, we hear an announcement.) Due to the unfortunate fencing mishap in the scene previous, the part of Robert Keyes will be played ... http://www.kellyyounger.net/theblog/2009/09/14/on-the-gallows-monologue-from-sidney-ryans-gunpowder-and-blood-by-glen-berger/ Often everyone's first classroom introduction to drama, and the reason so many then turn away. Why is it taught so often and so poorly? It is not about "man being a puppet in the hands of the gods" or there being "no free will." It is not ... http://www.kellyyounger.net/theblog/2009/09/08/on-oedipus-the-king-by-sophocles/ If there is one thing Reza does well (and she does many things well when it comes to playwriting) is she cuts right to the chase without it feeling cheap, melodramatic, or false.  The question I constantly ask myself with this play is, "How does the playwright get us from ... http://www.kellyyounger.net/theblog/2009/08/18/on-the-god-of-carnage-by-yasmina-reza/ "Tartuffe must be approved, or all plays condemned."  So wrote Moliere after years of the King denying production for fear of religious, political, and cultural backlash.  Why?  Because if drama is a mirror, the image being reflected was hypocritical, corrupt, and too close for courtly comfort.  But this play is about ... http://www.kellyyounger.net/theblog/2009/08/13/tartuffe-by-moliere/ Today I started a new play. It's a strange feeling. I would never compare it to pregnancy (my wife would laugh loud enough for the neighbors), but there is this odd lump in the throat. Not that babies are born from our throats, I know that (believe ... http://www.kellyyounger.net/theblog/2009/07/30/cuppa-2/