Big Ideas

This is a picture of my son. I’ve always been drawn to it. The image was taken during a trip we made to Amish country; he’s standing inside an Amish-made play house, staring out the window at what feels to me like… well, his future. When I asked him at the time what he was thinking about, he was so lost in wonder that he didn’t even answer. I’ll never forget it. I’ve been feeling like this myself lately. As I write this blog post, I am days away from re-launching this website—from stepping out into the world in a new way—and getting to this point has involved a great deal of reflection and introspection. I’ve been asking myself Who am I? and Who do I want to be? and What do I want people to know and think about me? so much that I’m practically doubled-over from staring into my navel. I should not, of course, be surprised in the least. I’ve been helping clients do projects like this for more than 15 years now, and at the outset of ev

Beginning tomorrow, I’m going to start a complete overhaul around here. I’ve been stalling for weeks, letting other projects take precedence over this one… but I can no longer ignore it: I need to be revised. Revision isn’t about changing your work; revision is about changing your perspective on your subject. Monet painted a set of haystacks, then he moved his easel to a different side of the same set of haystacks, waited till a different time of day (and new light) arrived, and painted them again. His subject was the same, but the angle from which he looked at it was different. That’s the “vision” in “revision.” Many artists are reluctant to reveal the processes by which they revise. It’s scary. We want to show up with a finished product and say “Look how brilliant I am!” And that’s what I thought at first, too, about this site. But I’m abandoning that thinking. Instead, I’m going to transform my

I’ve asked several theater practitioners here in DC to outline their vision for an event to replace the Helen Hayes Awards. (See the inaugural post in the series here.) The following contribution is from Danielle Mohlman. ——————————————- In my Helen Hayes Awards, only two things would be different. My Helen Hayes Awards would genuinely celebrate DC… so they’d do away with the non-resident production awards. That time in the ceremony would be dedicated instead to the work that comes out of our own community: a few extra minutes of attention for the recipient of the John Aniello Award for Outstanding Emerging Theatre Company. It’s the future Dizzy Miss Lizzies, Factions of Fools, No Rules Theatres, Factory 449s, 1st Stages, Constellations, and Taffety Punks who will grow this community, after all: who will bring in younger audiences and take risks on local artists. We would applaud them not because

I’ve asked several theater practitioners here in DC to outline their vision for an event to replace the Helen Hayes Awards. (See the inaugural post in the series here.) The following contribution is from Psalmayene 24. ——————————————- As someone who has resisted the tempting urge to pull a “Kanye West” during more than one Helen Hayes Awards ceremony, I’ll be the first to admit that, at times, I’ve put excessive stock in awards. At other times, when I’m in a more grounded and sane frame of mind, I—if you’ll excuse the expression—couldn’t give two shits about awards. I mean, the work has been done, right? Hopefully, it was done to the best of my ability and the vision that was in my mind will be at the core of what is manifested on stage. Whatever good comes after that is gravy. Furthermore, to quote Denzel Washington (quoting his mother): “Man gives the aw

I’ve asked several theater practitioners here in DC to outline their vision for an event to replace the Helen Hayes Awards. (See the inaugural post in the series here.) The following contribution is from Patrick Kilpatrick. ——————————————- I feel I should begin this piece by admitting that I’m not sure I should have any voice in this discussion at all. I work exclusively for one theater as an administrator, actor, director, fight choreographer, carrier of really heavy things, and whatever else needs to be done. That theater has, in the past, produced at most one show per season that is Helen Hayes eligible. We have, in total, produced only five shows that were eligible. We have been Helen Hayes Recommended once and have never received a nomination. Personally, I have never been to the awards ceremony, and I have never paid more than cursory attention to the awards. I scan the list of nominees to s