In Defense

I am going to outline my defense of Working Class Theatre NW's production of David Mamet's A Life in the Theatre. We will be producing this show twice. The first time will be in May 2014 as part of my graduate degree project on the University of Washington Tacoma campus. We will re-mount a more polished version in August/September of 2014 as the inaugural show in our new Spaceworks sponsored venue.

Research the history of this production
Add some insight on the playwright and context of the script
Place the script into the context of WCTNW mission and goals
A. Actors/ theater as part of the working class narrative
B. Explain our work to establish common ground
C. Situate ourselves within lived experience as appropriate storytellers of working class perspectives/stories
D. Define our terms as a precursor to community dialogue

Narrative, form, meta, goals (of the script, director, WCTNW)

Life in Theatre (LiT) is an ideal inaugural script in many ways:
Director and actors are super excited about the show.
The cast is small (2 person) and the tech needs are few.
The story shows the work of two actors over a period of time both onstage and off
The rise of one younger actor is contrasted with the decline of the other older actor to bookend the titular life in the theatre
This show is so flipping meta in this educational/inaugural context- I'll have to add some examples
Goal of the show (show audience why actors act, what drives them to a life in the theater) parallels WCTNW goal of showing the audience what drives us to open this theatre, why do we act/direct/design. Why theater?
Themes of the show (intersecting lives, interdependency of artist with each other and audience) mirror WCTNW goals of community building, education and outreach.
Promote the idea that actors (and other theater professionals) work hard and are not abstract and above the working class but an integral part of it.
We are well situated to tell these stories to our chosen audience You can trust us- this is why. We know you. We are you. We have your interests at heart because they are our interests. We invite your stories. And if we seem to ignore your stories, if you cannot relate, then this is safe space for critique and learning. And if you are yet unsatisfied- we can help you tell your story. It is our job as story tellers of our chosen community (Tacoma's working class) to be honest, accessible stewards of the narratives we breathe to life. We are responsible to you- and this script is a way in for you to relate to us.

I have to snag my copy of the script from Luke. I need to make a stage manager's copy (one sided, left justified), because I am going to stage manage the initial production. This will give me the deepest familiarity with the production, and will inform my choices in research and writing.

Okay, I just wanted to put that out there, so I have something to follow.