“Too” High a Standard?

Contributed by Guest Blogger of the week, Cat Parker

What IS “good enough?” Good enough for who… uh… whom? At the expense of what?

I’ve been bombarded recently by instances of having to push, hard, for the best in my work. And sometimes the pushing is not well received. And because my work is collaborative in nature, I can’t push alone. It can be difficult when one person aims for the stars, and others are content with the clouds. One actor gives 150% to a role, the next gives 100% - who’s ‘wrong’ in this instance? Is there a ‘wrong?’

Our resources are minimal, and yet we’re surrounded by platitudes “necessity is the mother of invention,” “go big or go home,” and “poverty breeds creativity.” We do theatre because we love it; we do it in NYC because we want to make a living at it. So we go for the gold, reach for the stars, etc. And yet…there are those that are happy at “good enough.”

How do these people work together? Conventional wisdom says you have to learn to cheerlead, to make people want to work harder, be better, reach for the stars. I confess, I’m not a good cheerleader – I can’t jolly people into coming along with me for the ride cuz it will be fun, awardwinning, profitable. Because oftentimes, it won’t be. It will be difficult, and frustrating. Will it be worth it in the end? I say “yes.” But will you agree? How would I know? I don’t know your priorities, your inner ruler by which you measure these things. All I can really say is what is the point of doing anything if you don’t give it your all?

Don’t get me wrong – I’m not a Fosse or Welles or Cameron, people known for their drive and determination in every way. There are days when I seriously want to chuck it all, go work in a flower shop, have a dog, pay my taxes and have a real honest-to-god weekend. But I just can’t! This storytelling..disease..won’t let me go. And so I do it again. And I push to do it the best that I can with every breath. And I piss people off. And sometimes I’m sorry about that – and sometimes I’m not.

I have no closing paragraph for this. I don’t know the answer. The closest I get is to search for like-minded people and then work with them again and again. And avoid the “good enoughers.” Not because they’re wrong – just because it’s wrong for me.

Guest Blogger of the week: Cat Parker

Thank you to Cyndy Marion for blogging last week! We're happy to announce this week's blogger: Cat Parker!

Cat Parker is a freelance director based in NYC, who has worked regionally at Dallas Theater Center, Dorset Theatre Festival, and Oklahoma City Rep. She assisted Jerry Zaks on the Broadway debut of A Bronx Tale, featuring Chazz Palmenteri. In New York, Cat was the Producing Director at T. Schreiber Studio, and has directed at The WorkShop Theater Company, Creative Place NYC, Mid-Town International Theatre Festival, Abingdon Theatre, and UrbanStages. Favorite productions include Picasso at the Lapin Agile (NYIT Award Winner), Laughter on the 23rd Floor, Towards Zero, A Doll’s House, a steampunk-influenced Twelfth Night (NYIT Award Winner) and Rosencrantz & Guildenstern are Dead. New works include the New York premiere of Sister Cities, (NYIT Award Nominee), The English Channel, En Passant, A New Theory of Vision, Riders of the Golden Sphinx, Echoes of Radioland (a theatrical radio show), Lovers of Verona (an original commedia del’arte piece), Lilith, Blind Study, Safekeeping, Switch, Gone Astray, Shadow Pier, Beachwood Drive, The Chekhov Dreams, Native Stone, Underpass, and Rapture. (www.catparker.com)

Guest Blogger of the week: Neal Freeman

A HUGE Thank you to Mariah MacCarthy for re-invigorating Full of IT last week! What a great topic - one we should be talking more about, I think.

We are very excited to announce next week's guest blogger - Neal Freeman!

Neal J. Freeman is a director, producer, writer, sound designer, and former actor who currently serves as Executive Director of Brooklyn's The Gallery Players. He has directed nine shows for that theater, including last season's IT-nominated new musical Top of the Heap. Other companies in the city he has worked for include Ensemble Studio Theatre, Sonnet Rep, Naked Angels, and Epic Theater Center, in addition to serving as an assistant for a half dozen shows with OBIE-winning Ridge Theater. Neal wrote, directed, and produced Fatboy Romeo for FringeNYC in 2006, and produced and directed in Week 38 of Suzan-Lori Parks' 365 Days/365 Plays in NYC with a showing at New World Stages. He is currently at work on a new play based on a family WWII story called A Letter from Bataan, which was workshopped at the 2010 Lincoln Center Directors Lab and is the recipient of a 2010 Seed Grant from The Drama League Directors Project. Neal is a proud graduate of the Cornell University Department of Theatre, Film, and Dance and holds an MFA in Directing from Brooklyn College. Member of SDC and Lincoln Center Directors Lab. www.moatedgrange.com

And the 2010 nominees are...

The 2010 Nominees were announce at a sold out event in the West Village. James Scruggs, Nicky Paraiso, Tzipora Kaplan, Doug Strassler, Jay Aubrey and Linda S. Nelson had the honor or announcing the nominees to the very enthusiastic crowd.

OUTSTANDING ENSEMBLE

Christine Rebecca Herzog, Itsuko Higashi, Jubil Khan, Fêtes de la Nuit, WeildWorks

Kaela Crawford, Julia Giolzetti, Caitlin Mehner, Alison Scaramella, Stephanie Strohm, Pink!, Down Payment Productions

Marc Bovino, Joe Curnutte, Michael Dalto, Stephanie Wright Thompson, Samuel and Alasdair: A Personal History of the Robot War, The Mad Ones
Jenny Bennett, Melissa D. Brown, John Graham, John J. Isgro, Courtney Kochuba, Kyle Minshew, Amanda Nichols, Katherine Nolan Brown, Jed Peterson, Sean Reidy, Miranda Shields, Douglas Taurel, Nate Washburn, The Disorder Plays, Milk Can Theatre Company

Joie Bauer, David Bishins, Gina Nagy Burns, James Patterson, Chris Skeries, Harris Yulin, Janet Zarish, The Glass House, Resonance Ensemble

Daniel Abeles, Craig Jorczak, Jacob Murphy, Anna O'Donoghue, Laura Ramadei, Claire Siebers, Too Little Too Late, Red Elevator Productions



OUTSTANDING SOLO PERFORMANCE

Dan Berkey, Remission, terraNOVA Collective’s soloNOVA Arts Festival

Michael Graves, The Report of My Death, One Armed Man, Inc. in association with Oracle Theatre, Inc. and Faux-Real Theatre Company

David Harrell, A Little Potato and Hard to Peel, ADH Enterprises

Erin Markey, Puppy Love: A Stripper's Tail, terraNOVA Collective’s soloNOVA Arts Festival

Brian McManamon, It or Her, terraNOVA Collective’s soloNOVA Arts Festival

Avery Pearson, Monster, Really Sketchy and terraNOVA Collective’s soloNOVA Arts Festival

Jesse Zaritt, Binding, Theatre C and terraNOVA Collective’s soloNOVA Arts Festival


OUTSTANDING ACTOR IN A FEATURED ROLE

Michael Cyril Creighten, MilkMilkLemonade, The Management & Horse Trade Theater Group

Amir Darvish, Psych, Cake Productions

Kyle Haggerty, The Hypochondriac, the cell theatre company

Douglas Scott Sorenson, The Hypochondriac, the cell theatre company

Evan Thompson, Loyalties, Unity Stage Company

Paco Tolson, The Brokenhearteds, I Mean! Productions


OUTSTANDING ACTRESS IN A FEATURED ROLE

Jess Barbagallo, MilkMilkLemonade, The Management & Horse Trade Theater Group

Nikole Beckwith, MilkMilkLemonade, The Management & Horse Trade Theater Group

Jessica Crandall, Agamemnon, LaMaMa Experimental Theater Club

Jennifer Harder, MilkMilkLemonade, The Management & Horse Trade Theater Group

Elaine O'Brien, Granada, Polybe + Seats

Anna O'Donoghue, Too Little Too Late, Red Elevator Productions


OUTSTANDING ACTOR IN A LEAD ROLE

Frank Anderson, The Return of Peter Grimm, Metropolitan Playhouse

Marc Bovino, Samuel and Alasdair: A Personal History of the Robot War, The Mad Ones

Joe Curnutte, Samuel and Alasdair: A Personal History of the Robot War, The Mad Ones

Christopher Domig, A Mysterious Way, Firebone Theatre
John Halbach, Children At Play, CollaborationTown

Harris Yulin, The Glass House, Resonance Ensemble


OUTSTANDING ACTRESS IN A LEAD ROLE

Elizabeth A. Davis, Emily, An Amethyst Remembrance, Firebone Theatre

Elyse Mirto, Next Year in Jerusalem, WorkShop Theater Company

Susan Louise O'Connor, Children At Play, CollaborationTown

Tanya O'Debra, Radio Star, Horse Trade Theater Group and Tanya O'Debra

Kristen Vaughan, The Desk Set, Retro Productions

Stephanie Wright Thompson, Samuel and Alasdair: A Personal History of the Robot War, The Mad Ones


OUTSTANDING CHOREOGRAPHY/MOVEMENT

Nina Ashe, Manhattanpotamia IV, The Hyperion Theatre Project

Jonothon Lyons, The Tenement, The Associated Mask Ensemble

Austin McCormick, Le Serpent Rouge, Company XIV

Christine O'Grady, Children of Eden, Astoria Performing Arts Center

Kim Weild, Fêtes de la Nuit, WeildWorks

Jesse Zaritt, Binding, terraNOVA Collective’s soloNOVA Arts Festival


OUTSTANDING DIRECTOR

Daniel Brodie and Jonothon Lyons, The Tenement, The Associated Mask Ensemble

Heather Cohn, The Lesser Seductions of History, Flux Theatre Ensemble

Lila Neugebauer, Samuel and Alasdair: A Personal History of the Robot War, The Mad Ones

Alex Roe, The Return of Peter Grimm, Metropolitan Playhouse

Brian Smith, Pink!, Down Payment Productions

Kim Weild, Fêtes de la Nuit, WeildWorks


OUTSTANDING LIGHTING DESIGN

Tim Cryan, Welcome to the Woods, The International Theatre Laboratory Workshop

Charles Foster, Fêtes de la Nuit, WeildWorks

Gina Scherr, Le Serpent Rouge, Company XIV

Joel Silver, Pink!, Down Payment Productions

John Tees III, Down Range, Delano Celli Productions

Christopher Weston, The Return of Peter Grimm, Metropolitan Playhouse


OUTSTANDING COSTUME DESIGN

Stephanie Alexander, Pink!, Down Payment Productions

Brooke Berry and Mark Mears, Psych, Cake Productions

Olivera Gajic, Le Serpent Rouge, Company XIV

Viviane Galloway, The Desk Set, Retro Productions

Julianne Kroboth, Craven Monkey and The Mountain of Fury, Piper McKenzie

Lisa Zinni, Killing Women, kef theatrical productions


OUTSTANDING SET DESIGN

Daniel Brodie, The Tenement, The Associated Mask Ensemble

Rebecca Cunningham, The Desk Set, Retro Productions

Michael P. Kramer, Children of Eden, Astoria Performing Arts Center

Zane Pihlstrom, Snow White, Company XIV

Brian Scott, Fêtes de la Nuit, WeildWorks

Amanda Stephens, Pink!, Down Payment Productions


OUTSTANDING SOUND DESIGN

The Broken Chord Collective, Thunder Above, Deeps Below, Second Generation Productions, Inc.

Stowe Nelson, Samuel and Alasdair: A Personal History of the Robot War, The Mad Ones

Shane Rettig, Alice in Slasherland, Vampire Cowboys Theatre Company

Philip Rothman, Proof, Tongue in Cheek Theater Productions

Jeanne Travis, The Desk Set, Retro Productions

Mark Valadez, Caucasian Chalk Circle, Performance Lab 115


OUTSTANDING INNOVATIVE DESIGN

C. Andrew Bauer, Fêtes de la Nuit, WeildWorks

Daniel Brodie, The Tenement, The Associated Mask Ensemble

Heather E. Cunningham and Casandera M.J. Lollar, The Desk Set, Retro Productions

Daniel Heffernan, The Glass House, Resonance Ensemble

Jonothon Lyons, The Tenement, The Associated Mask Ensemble

Zane Pihlstrom, Snow White, Company XIV

Matt Tennie, Alice in Slasherland, Vampire Cowboys Theatre Company

David Valentine, Alice in Slasherland, Vampire Cowboys Theatre Company


OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL MUSIC

Michael Kosch, The Return of Peter Grimm, Metropolitan Playhouse

Jonothon Lyons, The Tenement, The Associated Mask Ensemble

Andrew Mauriello, Radio Star, Horse Trade Theater Group and Tanya O'Debra

Carl Riehl, Laika Dog in Space, New York Neo-Futurists

Colonna Sonora, 'Tis Pity She's a Whore, Toy Box Theatre Company

Mark Valadez, Caucasian Chalk Circle, Performance Lab 115


OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL SHORT SCRIPT

Lorraine Cink, Emilia’s Wish in The Disorder Plays, Milk Can Theatre Company

Cheryl L. Davis, BMW in The Disorder Plays, Milk Can Theatre Company

Amy Herzog, Christmas Present in Too Little Too Late, Red Elevator Productions

ML Kinney, What If… in The Disorder Plays, Milk Can Theatre Company

Bethany Larsen, The Third Date in The Disorder Plays, Milk Can Theatre Company

Jonothon Lyons, The Tenement, The Associated Mask Ensemble


OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL FULL-LENGTH SCRIPT

James Comtois, Infectious Opportunity, Nosedive Productions

Stacy Davidowitz, Pink!, Down Payment Productions

Ashlin Halfnight, Balaton, Electric Pear Productions

Adam Kraar, Empire of the Trees, Wizard Oil Productions

Tanya O'Debra, Radio Star, Horse Trade Theater Group and Tanya O'Debra

Crystal Skillman, The Vigil or The Guided Circle, Impetuous Theater Group & The Brick Theater


OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE ART PRODUCTION

Binding, terraNOVA Collective’s soloNOVA Arts Festival

Craven Monkey and The Mountain of Fury, Piper McKenzie

Diagnosis of a Faun, LaMaMa Experimental Theater Club

Haunted House, Vortex Theater Company

Manhattanpotamia IV, The Hyperion Theatre Project

Remission, terraNOVA Collective’s soloNOVA Arts Festival

The Soup Show, New York Neo-Futurists


OUTSTANDING PRODUCTION OF A MUSICAL

Caroline, or Change, The Gallery Players

Children of Eden, Astoria Performing Arts Center

Romance Romance, The Active Theater

Rootless: La No-Nostalgia, terraNOVA Collective’s soloNOVA Arts Festival

The Cradle Will Rock, Theater Ten Ten

Top of the Heap, The Gallery Players


OUTSTANDING PRODUCTION OF A PLAY

Fêtes de la Nuit, WeildWorks

Pink!, Down Payment Productions

Samuel and Alasdair: A Personal History of the Robot War, The Mad Ones

The Desk Set, Retro Productions

The Return of Peter Grimm, Metropolitan Playhouse

The Tenement, The Associated Mask Ensemble

Congratulations to all of the 2010 Nominees.

SAVE THE DATE:
Fifth Annual IT Awards Ceremony
Monday, September 20, 2010
Location: TBD