Shoe Strings & Timing

Here is something I've been struggling with for a while - My therapist says talking about it with a mass audience of faceless strangers might help. (Kidding - I don't have a therapist - I have theater instead! Nowhere near as helpful.)

So my problem - many of the plays/productions I've done in the past and those we plan to do in the future tend to focus around a number of short plays rather than full-length, three-act epics. As always, part of this is technical - short plays require less from actors, are easier to put together, cost less, and don't live/die on their own.

These "shorty-groups" also tend to be quicker. Hamlet, they are not. They can't be - without common characters/themes/problems, audiences can't stay engaged for hours on end. There is no hook in a shorty group. Without a hook, even an hour of small works tends to test an audience's stamina.

With that said, shorty groups aren't in any way "lesser" works any more than a short story is worth less than a novel. They are simply two superficially similar narrative forms saddled with their own rules and audience preconceptions. Granny Smith Apples to Golden Delicious Apples.

What constitutes value in theater? Specifically, does "length" mean value? In video games, people expect the game to be 10 hrs long to be "worth it". Movies have to be over 70-80ish minutes to be considered features. Does a similar time = value equation apply to theater as well? Do people have expectations of how much "value" they get when they purchase a ticket?

As this is dragging long, I'll delve deeper in a later post. I just wanted to put this out and see what people thought first: Do you feel better spending more money for a long show than a short one? What sort of expectations do you have?

Nate

Vestigial

So I was trying to remember the word "vestigial" - don't ask - and that got me thinking on the nature of modern theater and Feed the Bird's approach.

Yeah - try following that mental leap.

Warning: The following is just my thoughts on this theater group. (Scary, I know.) There is no overarching point I'm trying to prove or argue.

*Ahem*

My ponderous pondering focused primarily on the "lean and/or mean" structure of Feed the Bird - minimal actors, no lighting cues, only as many props as we can carry, etc. We chose this feature to be one of our theater's defining characteristics. Why? Partially because we have too, considering the realities of no-budget productions in NYC. Yet this was an artistic choice as well - our plays tend to disdain big set-piece productions.

From a FtB standpoint, the trappings of modern theater tend to distract from the point of it. We don't need a full helicopter a la Miss Saigon. We don't need a parade of animals a la The Lion King. Would the (hopefully) witty word-play of our Tradegy! A Series of Chorious Incidents really improve with a rotating stage and full choir? Perhaps, but I doubt it.

So - back to my original thought: "vestigial" & "theater". Is FtB shedding the much ado of major theater and moving forward? (Not alone, obviously - we're certainly not the only no-budget group in NYC. However, no-budget is currently experiencing a real resurgence.) Or are we regressing back to an earlier form of theater? Shakespeare did the travelogue "Antony & Cleopatra" on a blank stage. The original Greek productions took place in barren sandy amphitheaters.

If I was pushed, I'd probably argue that we're regressing, despite the negative connotations that word raises. My personal creative focus has always been on finding & manipulating the rules and conventions on media and genre. This, to me, doesn't seem like any kind of step forward. People have been messing with this sort of thing as long as "this sort of thing" has been around.

All said, I'm okay with where we are. I look to entertain - myself and my audience. I have no desperate desire to push the art of theater forward. In fact, I tend to think the people who actively set out to "progress" are pretentious assholes. Doing something successfully is, for me, more than enough.

I'll leave the argument about regression versus evolution of theater to those who care. At least, more than those who care for more than the length of a blog post.

Merde!

With respects to King Ubu...

So, everyone else has a blog and, in the words of the fans of countless sports teams, why not us?

Feed the Bird is a new theater for a changed landscape. We believe that theater as currently constructed in New York City (with a few exceptions) is dull, over excessive, and inaccessible to large swabs of the population. Perhaps if you're 80 years old with blue hair, a lot of disposable income, and a love of musical comedy you disagree. Well, that's kind of the point. Same goes for teenage girls who love High School Musical and that horribly bastardized version of Spring Awakening. This is starting to sound negative so...

Oh, fuck it. Let's just get this clear, if you like saccharine sweet musicals, think Shakespeare is the be all end all, believe that large Broadway theaters with enormously expensive sets and wooden acting are the bee's knees, wear a monocle, or count Scary Movie among your favorite films, we are not for you. Well, I'll make an exception on the monocle part, those are pretty cool. But beyond that, forget it!

Okay, so who are we for then? First and foremost we're for anybody who has struggled in theater, been told they can't do this or that because of a lack of budget, a lack of connection, a lack of experience, or even a lack of skill. The dirty little myth in the industry is that only certain people with certain training can do certain things. At some point in the 1970s this barrier was broken down in the music world with the rise of Punk, but for whatever reason it never quite panned out that way in our art besides street theater which, let's face it, is pretty obnoxious.

But I'm rambling so without further adieu:

The Purpose of Feed the Bird is to present theater that adheres to the following guidelines:

• The productions of Feed the Bird must be easily recreated by anyone, regardless of their experience, skill level, budget or connections in the theater world.

• The productions of Feed the Bird must be, above all else, simple to stage. Minimal lighting, props, sets, and cost are paramount to the mission of the Company.

• Feed the Bird will strive to present minimalist theater.
  

• Feed the Bird will support collaboration by artists as well as the general public. Active audience engagement and interaction is highly encouraged.

• The Company is dedicated to performing in a variety of spaces both non-traditional and traditional including, but not limited to, black boxes, public squares, bars, parks, apartments, and rooftops.

Well, that's that to start. Stay tuned to this space for more as we begin the process of incorporating the company in the next few days, announce our first fundraiser, and offer more information on upcoming productions.

"The ice is broken, said our fathers to our mothers, in the first springtime of their life which was both honorable and gra-cious." - Tristan Tzara (The Gas Heart)

Mahalo,

Spencer Soloway
Artistic Director
Feed the Bird