The Youngblog

Occupational Hazards

2012-01-27T11:44:00.003-05:00

So I wrote this play, "In Memory of Julie Simmons" that is currently running as part of Unfiltered at EST. If you haven't seen it yet, you should come see it tonight or tomorrow at 7:00 before it is gone forever. It's been a really great process. My actors and director and designers have made this thing into a really beautiful play and I am super proud of it.But there's been one sort of horrible

Unfiltered 2012: YEAR OF THE ROOSTER by Eric Dufaut

2012-01-26T11:48:00.006-05:00

UNFILTERED 2012 WILL KILL THE SUN!Year of the Rooster by Eric Dufaultdirected by John Giampietrowith Denny Bess, Delphi Harrington, Thomas Lyons,Bobby Moreno, and Laura RamadeiOdysseus Rex is a champion.He is his trainer’s greatest hope.He is his opponents’ worst nightmare.One day he will destroy the sun.He is a rooster.Come see it: 1/26, 2/3, 2/4 @ 7pm & 1/28 @ 2pmTickets $20. Buy them here.(

Masters of Gamecocking: Erica "Sly" Saleh

2012-01-24T18:42:00.005-05:00

Erica “Sly” Saleh named her rooster after a dead teenage girl.The girl’s family has pressed legal charges. It’s a big courtroom drama thing. But Erica doesn’t give a shit.Some say the spirit of the young girl has gone on to inhabit the gamecock’s body. Julie Simmons preens itself for long hours, its crows sound disturbingly human. And then, when it’s thrown in the pit, Julie Simmons goes NUTS.

Creating an artistic home

2012-01-24T15:28:00.001-05:00

In the spirit of Borinsky's Defense Mechanisms series, here's an excerpt from a post by Todd London from the Howlround. What makes an Artistic Home? A place to rest, think, find common language and family feeling. You can help shape environment in your artistic home, or at least decorate the space. You’re a host there, not a guest. You can invite friends, colleagues, maybe your own audience

Masters of Gamecocking: Ry Dowler

2012-01-20T16:34:00.005-05:00

I once asked Ry Dowler why he named his rooster “The Gratification.” He punched me in the face. And as I was trying to keep the blood off my shirt, he said: “Cause it’s the only thing that still gives me satisfaction in this world.” And then he punched me in the face again. The Gratification is an intimate kind of beast. It

Unfiltered 2012: IN MEMORY OF JULIE SIMMONS by Erica Saleh Opens JANUARY 18TH

2012-01-17T12:50:00.003-05:00

Unfiltered 2012 has a resting heart rate of never giving in. Up next?In Memory of Julie Simmons by Erica Salehdirected by Tamara Fischwith Cathy Curtin, Dylan Moore,Emma Galvin, and Megan TusingAfter the suicide of their best friend,three girls try to reconcilewho they thought she waswith who she might have been.Come see it: 1/18, 19, 23, 27 & 28 @ 7pmTickets $20. Buy them here.All shows at

Masters of Gamecocking: Angie Hanks

2012-01-16T12:51:00.010-05:00

Let’s imagine an alternate universe, okay?In this universe, the members of Youngblood never sat down in front of a keyboard or set foot in a theatre. Instead, they devoted their time and energy to becoming world-class gamecockers.Every Wednesday they gather in the seedy basement of some dilapidated Hells Kitchen building, show off their latest birds, and proceed to tear each other apart.Let’s

Unfiltered 2012: THE GRATIFICATIONS by Ryan Dowler Opens January 11th!

2012-01-10T15:41:00.006-05:00

Youngblood is staying hot. Unfiltered 2012 rolls on.The Gratifications by Ryan Dowlerdirected by Andrew Grossowith Michael Cullen and Chet SiegelLailia considers her sex life liberated,but her father Ken sees things differently.When he refuses to cosign on a loanshe desperately needs,Lailia sets out to prove thatshe’s the one in control of her life,even if it costs her the relationship she values

Ryan Dowler Presents The ESTeen Youngerblog: Wisdom on Life, Love, and the Theatre from My Junior High Diary

2012-01-10T15:08:00.002-05:00

Part Four: On ReligionWith The Gratifications opening this Wednesday as part of the EST/Youngblood Unfiltered Series, I'm not exactly sure to whom I should be praying. I wasn't always so unsure:I found my Junior High diary.This is what's in it:1-17-96I think the word GOD is too common and too overrated, so from now on I will refer to GOD as KURT. It makes communication more equal/personal. No,

Defense Mechanisms, Part Two

2012-01-08T22:28:00.005-05:00

Or, "Hog-tying Despair with the Daisy-Chains of Radical, Starry-Eyed Idealism"(Or, "Can You Tell That Alex Really Likes Posting Emma Goldman's Face?")Today's Facts: I don't always like everything I see in the theater. I find myself getting cranky -- about the "bad" work that gets celebrated; about the "good" work that doesn't; about how no one "gets it"; about the muddle I find myself in over how

UNFILTERED 2012: Hanks Edition

2012-01-05T16:51:00.006-05:00

Ofttimes, I will email or text myself play ideas/snippets of dialogue/ characters-in-waiting.On January 14, 2009:I emailed myself the idea for Big Tex.Subject line: Voice of Big TexBody: black man wants to become the voice of Big Tex. Readybreak!As a child growing up in Dallas, Texas, my family and I would go to the State Fair of Texas each October. Mrs. Johnson, my first grade teacher, is the

Unfiltered 2012: BIG TEX by Angela Hanks Opens January 5th!

2012-01-03T14:18:00.011-05:00

It's a new year, people. Shake off the last one. I know it wasn't so bad. But this one's gonna be better. And we've got something for you.Unfiltered 2012! Four new plays in studio productions. How's it gonna start? It's gonna start big.Big Tex by Angela Hanksdirected by José Zayaswith William Jackson Harper, Geany Masai, Nedra McClyde, and Shawn RandallAt the State Fair of Texas, a young bus

My Top 30 Albums (14-1)

2011-12-29T17:12:00.023-05:00

14. Panda Bear - Tomboy There's no way the hype could be matched with the height of anticipation any Animal Collective related release garners lately, so Noah Lennox's "Tomboy" was bound to disappoint some. It's still a perfectly solid record, as Lennox tightens up his arrangements into neatly crafted and structured pop songs. Tracks like "Last Night At the Jetty" were perfect for when that

My Top 30 Albums of 2011 (30-15)

2011-12-24T23:02:00.032-05:00

If 2011 wasn't the most remarkable year in music, it at least seemed to solidify some of the trends that have been going on in the past 2-3 years, mainly the dominance of electronic based indie rock, along with a more than healthy dose of garage rock for those who need their guitars. It was a great year for women in indie rock, as well as independent hip hop and R&B blowing up with online

Defense Mechanisms, Part One

2011-12-21T16:35:00.009-05:00

Or, "Castrating Despair with the Lightsaber of Radical, Starry-Eyed Idealism"Today's Fact: It's kind of impossible to make a living as a playwright.Today's Reason to Despair: You're a playwright.Today's Act of Radical, Starry-Eyed Idealism (ARSEI): Do your work. Do your work. Do your work. You're a playwright, not a salesman. (And all playwrights know what happens to salesmen.) Do your work. Do

Neither So Long Ago Nor So Far Away

2011-12-12T14:38:00.004-05:00

If you, like me, have ever been caught staring wide-eyed at the old promotional photos in the lobby of Ensemble Studio Theatre, then you, like me, will very much enjoy this archive of promotional photos courtesy of the Off Broadway Theatre Alliance. They've got one photo for each day of the year. Many of them are excellent. Marian Seldes! Stockard Channing and Jim Dale! Reed Birney! Swoosie Kurtz

Ryan Dowler Presents The ESTeen Youngerblog: Wisdom on Life, Love, and the Theatre from My Junior High Diary

2011-12-05T22:57:00.004-05:00

Part Three: On New York CityI found my Junior High diary.This is what's in it:2-20-96On Spring Break my Mom and Sister are going to New York City. If I got to go, then I'd go to the Theater or the Opera , go shopping, and go to the Hard Rock Cafe and all the other famous/expensive/elegant restaurants.

LinkThinks - Legos

2011-12-04T23:10:00.004-05:00

Link thinks that the world needs more legos.When I go to a restaurant, I want legos on the table. Salt, pepper, and legos.Every job interview should end with candidates building something with legos. When you see a play, you should get a lego set based on the play you see. For example, if you see a production of Sunday in the Park With George, on your way out of the theater you'd receive a little

A Brand New Hand to God Testimonial

2011-12-04T08:49:00.001-05:00

And here's yet another brilliant Hand to God testimonial. Snag your tickets here, performances continue until December 18th. Hope to see you at today's brunch. I'll be the one hunched over the bacon.

Cheap Tricks and Heteronormative Lenses (or, please stop insulting my intelligence)

2011-12-02T11:13:00.002-05:00

If you’ve ever taken a playwriting class you probably know that reversals and subverted expectations are useful tools in storytelling. If you haven’t taken a playwriting class you probably also know this because you are a person that is alive and therefore consumes narrative. Usually in a story there are elements of surprise, there are revelations, someone or something changes, or someone

Brunchify Wall Street SUNDAY December 4 1pm!

2011-12-02T10:01:00.003-05:00

As one of the writers for the brunch this Sunday - Brunchify Wall Street, I thought it might be a good idea to see what was what at Zuccotti Park.Both Lydia Blaisdell and I checked it out just hours before the city cleared away the numerous tents. Take a look at what was going on and then come see the brunch!Learn more about the brunch and get your tix here FAST! http://ensemblestudiotheatre.org/

The Collected, Increasingly Star-Studded Testimonials for HAND TO GOD

2011-12-01T16:09:00.000-05:00

These simply defy belief. And, in a slightly more earnest vein: Another one coming soon, arguable the biggest deal (at least from a playwriting perspective). Stay tuned.

Hanks Thanks Follow Up

2011-11-30T16:35:00.002-05:00

I was so touched by Hanks Thanks that I thought I'd do my own 24. Here we go.CoffeeGchatPuffy coats when it's coldSupportive ParentsGood RoommatesLiving in New York CityFun things to do on the weekendsBrunchHeadphonesYoungbloodMy band, Half Day#serials at the FleaMy jobUpstate in the fall and summer Living near a taco truck (sometimes not thankful for that)Health insurancePumpkin Ale60 degree

THE CLOUDY MINDS OF LUCY GILLESPIE & DYLAN DAWSON

2011-11-30T13:13:00.008-05:00

Recently, new Youngbloodians Lucy Gillespie & Dylan Dawson met for a drink to interview one another, half of which was accomplished. After a drink or three, they decided to record each other talking about their typical writing day. It was an unfortunate affair. Upon reading the transcript of this discussion in the sober light of day, it was decided that no good could come from posting said

Leonard Lopate

2011-11-29T09:42:00.005-05:00

Youngblood's Robert Askins will be on the Leonard Lopate Show today at 12:30pm, joined by Steven Boyer and Geneva Carr. I'd listen if I were you.

Ryan Dowler Presents The ESTeen Youngerblog: Wisdom on Life, Love, and the Theatre from My Junior High Diary

2011-11-28T21:43:00.006-05:00

Part Two: On Being The Best And Still Not SucceedingI found my Junior High diary. This is what's in it:1-17-96Here's a story about a boy named Ryan and the game he loved. In May of Nineteen Hundred and Ninety-Four, Ryan Dowler opened his last present. It was the 18th, his 12th birthday. He wasn't surprised, he had been anticipating and expecting this final gift. But when he opened this gift, he

I AM THANKFUL FOR JEN SILVERMAN

2011-11-28T11:57:00.006-05:00

It's the Monday after Thanksgiving and I feel awful. Thankfully there's brand new Youngblood-er Jen Silverman to cheer me up! What is the Halloween costume you are most proud of? The Halloween costume I'm most proud of is also the one I should be least proud of, and none of you would still be friends with me if I talked about it (rightfully so), so we'll just leave that one to the dark mists of

New Member Interviews: Willie Orbison interviews Tony Meneses

2011-11-25T16:30:00.003-05:00

So Tony, where were you born?Guadalajara, Mexico. Which if you’re now wondering if I’m legal, the answer is yes.What was your childhood like?I’m the baby in my family by a pretty decent gap, so I remember craning my neck back a lot to look up at everyone. To this day, I still don’t know what to do around people shorter than me.What made you want to pursue playwriting?I started to notice I liked

HanksThanks!

2011-11-23T20:06:00.017-05:00

So:there are many people/groups of people/things/ideas/places/activities I am thankful for.Here are 24 of them (24 because Thanksgiving shall be celebrated on the 24th. What?): My family My very best friends My friends NSD 2010 Youngblood Santa Fe, New Mexico Graeme Gillis RJ Tolan Ryan Dowler's Junior High Diary My sexy ass bike! My apartment Garza (high school drama teacher) Cheryl

Ryan Dowler Presents The ESTeen Youngerblog: Wisdom on Life, Love, and the Theatre from My Junior High Diary

2011-11-21T20:32:00.010-05:00

Part One: On Making The First MoveI found my Junior High diary. This is what's in it:4-4-96Guess what? Theo told me last week that Katie H. (who I like) likes me! He said she has a boyfriend named Jesse. But she, I actually have a chance at. This is GREAT! ! ! ! I'm pretty tired.4-7-96I can't wait to see Katie tommorro. I don't know if I should talk to her or smile at her or what? We always pass

Interviewed! Blogged!

2011-11-20T18:14:00.002-05:00

The great Adam Syzmkowicz had nothing better to do than interview me. Check it out! Other YB past and present playwrights featured too!A generally great blog for all interested in the beauty and pain of playwriting:http://aszym.blogspot.com/

Hand to God: Now Even Handsier!

2011-11-16T09:13:00.008-05:00

Hand to God by Mr. Robert Askins is a bona-fide hit! And we here at the Youngblog are proud to say: we told you so. We are even prouder to say that the production has been extended through December 18th! Is there any better way to celebrate the holiday season than to see a play about a devilish hand puppet? No. There isn't. Please don't argue with me. I know from whence I speak. Also this time I

New Member Interviews: Willie Orbison

2011-11-15T15:25:00.008-05:00

Why 'Willie' and not William, Will, Bill, or Billy?It's always been Willie. I mean, legally, it's William, but it's always been Willie. I.E. not Y. I remember my parents were adamant about that when I was younger. Don't know why. I tried 'Will' at a summer abroad program once in high school but that made me feel like an asshole. So, I have a feeling it's going to be Willie forever. Which

Hilarious.

2011-11-07T13:13:00.007-05:00

It's Monday, so it's time for funny internet videos. These are seriously some of the funniest fucking things I've seen in a long time. Watch this one first and then go nuts. Herman Cain - A BLR Sound Bite

Plays/Bands at Cake Shop Tonight

2011-11-05T14:24:00.008-04:00

Dear Internet,Are you enjoying your fall? Is it a little too chilly, or just right for sweater weather? Are you listening to the crooners on WNYC with a hot cup of coffee? Mmm, I hope so.Tonight my company Pony Show Presents is throwing our next plays and bands show, this time in the lower east side's Cake Shop. Our goal as always is to bring indie rock audiences to indie theatre audiences and

Physics of a Pie-angle

2011-11-04T12:07:00.002-04:00

1. Attend Death of American Centaur at Ars Nova featuring Youngblood luminary Alex Borinsky. 2. Do not leave the theater when an actor announces that he will pay you back for your ticket if you’d prefer to take a walk outside. 3. Enjoy the scene where the company uses two whipped cream pies to induce tension into a heart to heart between Biff & Happy (seriously, the other brother in Death of a

Meet Leah Nanako Winkler

2011-11-02T12:03:00.011-04:00

Photo by Chase VoorheesQuestions by illustrious new member Mary Hamilton! To learn more about Leah and her writing, you can visit her website or everywheretheatre.org.What was the first thing you remember getting in trouble for as a kid? When I was about five, I hid from my mom while she was using the bathroom at a Daiei in Kamakura (which is a sort of like a Japanese Target). I remember

Sad Playwright

2011-11-02T07:21:00.004-04:00

In case you're wondering what Youngblood does on retreat, it looks a lot like this.

Jen Silverman Delves Into The Dangerous Mind of Chiara Atik

2011-10-30T15:53:00.005-04:00

While an unseasonable snowstorm raged, new Youngblood Jen Silverman met other new Youngblood Chiara Atik deep below-ground in an abandoned soviet bunker to interrogate her for top secret information. As helicopters and byplanes and drones hummed aboveground and musclebound Siberian bodyguards stood by the doors with their uzis clutched in hand, Ms. Atik revealed the following. Burn after

Leah Winkler Asks Mary Hamilton Some Hardcore Questions

2011-10-26T10:34:00.009-04:00

Hi! I'm new member Leah Nanako Winkler who interviewed fellow new member Mary Hamilton. Isn't she pretty?LEAHHow do you feel when you write? MARYHighly caffeinated and scared. LEAH Have you ever failed anything?MARYOf course. In the third grade i wanted to be a boy. Not just any boy. I wanted to be Huck Finn. So for a week i sported a straw hat and a pipe, and went around without a shirt on.

Raise a Hand to God

2011-10-25T16:22:00.007-04:00

Late spring, 2010. No. Actually, early summer, 2010. The playwrights of Youngblood were elbows-deep in their annual end-of-the-season reading series, Bloodworks. The final reading of the series was a little number called Hand to God, by Robert Askins. And friends, it was a good reading. It was a very, very, very good reading. Eyewitness reports used phrases like "doubled over laughing" and "!!!!!

2011-10-20T16:34:00.006-04:00

You see that? That's a frickin' movie poster highlighted in this article that you should really read and designed by this guy who is all kinds of awesome.The article makes the point that movie posters aren't what they used to be, as in this:and some independent movie houses are doing something about it by making their own posters by commissioning artists. Not only are the making awesome posters,

New Straight Play on Broadway Alert!

2011-10-18T11:05:00.003-04:00

CHINGLISH - while it is not our practice to review plays in Youngblood, I must advise everyone I know and do not yet know to see this new comedy by David Henry Hwang. Without saying how thoughtful, funny, and clever it is, I recommend it to anyone looking for something extremely fresh and now. I won't go on to say how extremely well cast it is, how excellent the production value is, or how I hope

Hot Playwrights - XII

2011-10-17T09:35:00.002-04:00

Katori Hall. A mountaintop of hot.

Death of American Centaur

2011-10-12T23:50:00.005-04:00

One night, in McCoy's, a couple of Youngblooders were bemoaning the endless series of readings and reading workshops that stud the new play landscape like ghost towns in a Western desert. You can "read" a play to death, can't you? Sometimes you just need to do the play.This is an early pitch for Youngblood's Unfiltered series, and it's also a reminder that Rob Askins' Hand to God is happening

LinkThinks - What Would You Say?

2011-10-12T16:27:00.004-04:00

Say that I'm a wealthy business man with some money to spend. I've retired (early) to a small town in the American South. You wouldn't recognize the name if I told you, so I won't tell you the name of it. So say for a moment that I'm rich, retired, and living in this small little no-name town. I grow to like the town and become curious about its history. I become so curious that I decide to put a

Adam Szymkowicz interviews playwrights

2011-10-11T19:57:00.002-04:00

And most recently he interviewed a personal hero of mine, Daniel Alexander Jones. This man is one of the most inspiring minds and voices I have ever encountered and I think you should all read this interview:http://aszym.blogspot.com/2011/10/i-interview-playwrights-part-390-daniel.htmlIt stokes a fire that we (or, at least, I) sometimes forget to tend to.

We Got What We Asked For

2011-10-11T14:05:00.003-04:00

In the end, who knows how many were there. How many beers were drunk, how many moves were busted. Who knows what props were misplaced, what lines reimagined. What laughs were got, what tears, what gasps. What songs were danced to, what cheers went up. When we staggered out of Ensemble Studio Theatre at 2am, at 3am, at 4, 5, 6am, did we see stars above us? Or were those just tears, reflecting the

Video Promos Gone Wild

2011-10-07T17:08:00.000-04:00

Darcy Fowler can not stop making ASKING FOR TROUBLE video promos. This one represents a new high water mark.

Now We're Asking for Trouble

2011-10-06T08:20:00.004-04:00

When we found out that Youngblood musical genius Eric March had written an (hilarious, but) non-musical play for Asking for Trouble, we got so mixed up that we locked him in an office and forced him to come up with a charming song that would make us all happy and un-mixed-up. And you know what, we're not even sorry! Because we got this: NIGHT TWO of Asking for Trouble BEGINS IN something like TEN

Asking For Trouble Starts Tonight! Also More Videos!

2011-10-05T09:35:00.008-04:00

When I say trouble you say asking troubleASKINGtroubleASKINGtrouble but how's it going? You ask? Well: Huh, okay, well, hopefully you guys have some provisions on hand. Right? Do you guys have any provisions? Wow, that's terrifying. I'm just wondering though if Graeme had to drink himself out of his office, is there anyone around who can recommend this strange and mysterious alcoholic beverage?

Asking For Trouble: No, We Actually Picked These Things Out Of Hats

2011-10-04T10:12:00.009-04:00

We actually, seriously did, we had hats, we had four hats. Four. Hats. And we picked things out of them. Things.(Trailer cut by our very own Chris Sullivan and Darcy Fowler. Well done, guys.)Asking for Trouble. Seriously. Tickets/information. See you there.

So much trouble

2011-10-03T16:42:00.002-04:00

I don't know about the other 124 people involved in Asking for Trouble, but this year I have been making the joke "I'm really asking for trouble" a lot more than I ever made it in previous years. It's not a funny joke at all which is great because that means it never gets old. Because it was already old. Or. Shit. See this is the thing that happens on Monday of Asking for Trouble week. You can't

How to get free lunch and dinner and be entertained

2011-09-30T16:31:00.008-04:00

Be an extra on the web sitcom I wrote, "The Share"Here are the details:Monday, October 3from 10am-3pm join us at the barThe Way Station683 Washington Ave(between Bergen St & St Marks Ave)At 3pm, we'll give you lunch!Or join us at"The Share" Apartment1055 Dean St 1st flooroff of Franklin avefrom 4pm-10pm and we'll give you dinner! And you'll be at a party!Rsvp to writer/producer Emily, EmilyCWeiss

Asking For Trouble 2011: How Trouble Is Asked For

2011-09-29T09:12:00.005-04:00

What's that sound? That sort of, that...it's a little bit like crying, a little bit like laughing, a little bit like screaming, a little bit like the sound of twenty-five plays being written and produced in two weeks. Oh, that sound, yes, of course. Why, that could only beAsking For Trouble!Every year, the we of Youngblood draw actors, a director, and a point of inspiration from a hat. Several

The Share - a Sitcom for the web by a playwright

2011-09-21T10:53:00.005-04:00

Inspired by some of the phenomenal actors I've met through Youngblood, I wrote a sitcom for the web called "The Share.""The Share" is about too many twenty and thirty-somethings crammed into a Crown Heights apartment trying to make ends meet while finding a faithful or wealthy soul mate. CAST for the PILOT of "The Share" THE ROOMMATES Steven Boyer as NATHAN – a former

Well Done Signature

2011-09-20T09:12:00.003-04:00

Oh hey! Look at this (in my opinion) awesome thing that Signature Theater is doing:http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/09/19/five-playwrights-named-in-signature-theater-initiative-to-stage-new-works/I think this is a really exciting and brave investment in new work and I would really love to see more theaters follow suit. I wonder if you agree.Please discuss.

Common Playwright Injuries

2011-09-19T17:12:00.006-04:00