The Finale: Three Shows - An Exploration in New Theatre

New pieces of theatre are always a mixed bag. As an audience member, you can never truly know what to expect (especially if you see it before official reviews) and as an artist you never truly know what the reception will be. This project was interesting because it looked at both of these sides in my exploration of three new works in the DC theatre scene: Red Speedo, Crossing, and The Argument.

Red Speedo was presented to audiences as a lab production, which was specifically designed to showcase new works. Because of this, I think audiences were more accepting of the piece as a whole, especially because less money was on the line. (Tickets were only $20). Red Speedo dealt with atypical issues for a piece of theatre which I think caught audiences off-guard, but ultimately won them over, even if not completely.

What was interesting about Crossing was that after a decent developmental process, the creators presented it as a finished work, but audiences and critics felt it was unfinished. This shows how new plays have very different expectations than an established piece of theatre, which is more or less "set in stone" pre-production. People seemed much more preoccupied with the production values of Crossing than they did the others, which I think says something about the show's effectiveness in capturing the audience.

I think of the three shows, The Argument, which was the most classic and accessible show production-wise also had the most contentious and dangerous message. Discussing abortion always sparks debate, and so it is a risky subject to present to an audience. I think it worked the best as a piece of theatre than the other two because it was clear about what it set out to do and didn't try to surprise the audience thematically or theatrically but still seemed fresh and exciting. I think audiences appreciated this as well, and the success of the production allowed audiences to have discussions about the issues presented and have a meaningful impact from the show.

I think these three shows were great choices for this project as they all were presented in different manners, with different intentions, significantly different messages, and all had very different audience responses. I really enjoyed doing this project because I not only got to see three great pieces of theatre, but I also got to really think about what I go to the theatre looking for in a new work and how I feel when I walk out of a show. This project will forever change how I look at new theatre and what I think about audience reaction.

THE ARGUMENT at Theater J: The Reaction

Any time the word "abortion" comes up there are bound to be strong opinions. This word has as much a political and social stigma attached to it than any other I can think of. Alexandra Gersten-Vassilaros' play The Argument, first performed in 2005, was rewritten to suit modern audiences for a new production at Washington D.C.'s Theater J this fall. The Argument is, according to director Shirley Shirotsky, a play about abortion, but not about the political debate about abortion. Even so, this does not eliminate the elephant in the room.

The Argument is the story of a 40-somethings couple, Sophie and Phillip, who after falling for each other quickly and a period of a very happy relationship, get a surprise when Sophie finds out she is pregnant. Both characters have very different ideas of how to deal with this news and serving as the dramatic conflict for the play. The Washington Post's Nelson Pressley puts it well, saying "'The Argument' watches two supposedly mature people...claw each other to bits."

The play was updated since its 2005 premiere to better suit today's audience. While there were small changes, such as lines cut and added and the ability to relook at the characters, the rewrite also allowed Gersten-Vassilaros to update the technology in the play and change the economic background of the play, following the economic decline of the past few years.

In a review for The Washingtonian, Missy Frederick wrote that the play was "about the personal consequences [of abortion] for two characters and their relationship, rather than the ideological stances behind the debate...the result is a lot more interesting than a political polemic, even if the play’s conclusion is less than satisfying."

Audiences responded well to this personal approach to this often-discussed issue. The energy in the theatre after I saw the show was of a group of people that enjoyed what they saw and wasn't upset or emotional about a controversial subject that was discussed for the previous 90 minutes. Responses online were much more about the characters and the well-produced play than the hot-button issue at hand.

For Serotsky, the play "centers on the word choice, and resonates in various ways in the play. The first thing we think of in terms of abortion is politics of the pro-choice movement. But it's what it means to choose to either end the pregnancy or to choose to start a family. In Sophie’s life, we see her struggle with what has she chosen to do and what she has chosen not to do. We think we can do everything and say no to nothing. This builds an unrealistic view of our life."

Serotsky said that this play was a challenge because "it's such a personal play and requires actors to go to very dark and personal places." 

Since the show opened, Serotsky has had "a lot of interesting conversations" with audience members about their reactions to the show. These reactions were all over the spectrum, which is not surprising considering the subject matter. Overall, the play was "divisive, but people didn’t regret it."

PREVIEW: The Argument at Theater J

Theater J, located inside the Washington DC JCC will continue it's season with Alexandra Gersten-Vassilaros' play THE ARGUMENT. The play, originally written in 2005, was rewritten by the playwright for this production to better appeal to today's audiences.

THE ARGUMENT is about "Sophie, a charming, vibrant artist, and Phillip, a loyal, solid businessman, are a 40-something couple whose new relationship is rocked when Sophie learns she is pregnant. As each fights for the only future he or she can imagine, they are both forced to recognize the profound personal differences between them. And when the word "abortion" is introduced into the debate, all bets are off.

This newly commissioned 2013 edition of The Argument chronicles the arc of a relationship with humor, passion, brutality, and up-to-the-minute relevance."

While not exactly a "new" play, it'll be very interesting to see how audiences react to a play that was altered in a hope to better serve modern audiences and whether or not it was worth the rewrite.

The play seemingly deals with very touchy issues in an almost light and comedic way. I wonder if this is the case, and if so, how this will play on stage. I think the play's concept asks some interesting, relevant questions. It now depends on execution to see how the audience answers them.

Any time the issue of abortion is brought up, whether on stage, in film, or in real life, people have very strong reactions so it will be interesting to see if this play incites these strong reactions or if people will be afraid to really speak their minds on such a sensitive subject.

Welcome!

Welcome to my blog, My Theatre Review. I'd like to introduce myself to all readers before I get started with the blog.

My name is Max and I am a senior at The George Washington University in Washington, DC and am studying Journalism and Theatre. This blog is going to serve as the centerpiece of an independent study I am conducting this semester on the relationship between theatre and classic theatre criticism and social media.

As a dual Journalism and Theatre major, my interests very much straddle both disciplines not only uniquely, but also how they interact with each other. So much of our School of Media and Public Affairs study at GW is focused in politics, so I want to explore a different side of the media. The media and theatre have a very interesting relationship because the media directly affects audience reaction and also spreads audience reactions.

For my project, I didn’t just want to explore theatre criticism (the most obvious combination of journalism and theatre). So I thought how the media really affects theatre and it does so in two major ways: criticism and social media. Both of these things not only promote a show and make a show more well known, they also can change how people view the piece of theatre and the effect it has on society and audiences.

What is interesting about this project will be tracking how much the combination of audience reactions and critical reviews changes the effectiveness of any political or cultural messages that the plays try to convey to audiences. It will be interesting to observe how this varies between the shows because their genres and subjects are so different.

This idea of intended versus unintended meaning intrigues me and I am also very interested in new plays and theatrical development, so for my independent study I will go to see three new plays around DC, observe audience reaction (through talking to people, Twitter/Facebook, and reviews), and then talk to a playmaker, either playwright or director, and see whether the actual message that the audiences took away was similar to their intended message.

The three plays I will be seeing is The Argument by Alexandra Gersten-Vassilaros at Theatre J, a lab production of Red Speedo by Lucas Hnath at Studio Theatre, and Crossing, a world premiere musical, at Signature Theatre. These are three very different pieces of theatre and therefore will allow for very different experiences, both for me as a scholar and for audiences and their reactions.

I am really excited for this project and would love any responses, comments, or feedback you can give me!

-Max