I was going to tell Hy Bender to take a long walk off a short pier, but...
Mood:  hug me
Now Playing: Everybody Wants to Rule the World, Tears for Fears
A couple of days ago Hy Bender published is reportage of Travis Tanner:

56. Travis Tanner
www.geocities.com/travistanner05
Left after first 15 minutes (of 2 hour show)

After posting this political opera to my list, but before making any comments other than how long I stayed, a nice person from the production emailed to inquire what in the world led me to flee after just 15 minutes.

Basically, there were two considerations. The practical one is that I attended Travis Tanner in the last days of the festival, a period when sticking with any show means giving up on catching the final performances of other shows running around the same time.

To be entirely honest, though, I was also really uncomfortable during those 15 minutes.

There were over two dozen people on stage. If a show is going to create the equivalent of a Times Square subway platform during rush hour, it had better be doing something epic.

What came across, however, were lyrics such as this (from a song titled "What the F"):

They think the F word
Is the verbal equivalent of a turd.
But I've never been ambivalent with that word
And among the crowds ineloquent, it's preferred.
Can listening to it heard
Turn your brain into curd?

At that moment, yes, I felt my brain turning into curd.

Not long afterwards, about half the chorus exited through the theatre door. It was least disruptive to simply follow them out.

Is it possible the rest of the production was a whole lot better? Of course. But it seemed wisest to take my chances at a difference venue.

As a general rule, though, I do believe in committing to a show; and of the 56 attended at this year's Fringe, I watched 54 of them from beginning to end.

http://www.hyreviews.com


I read this Sunday afternoon, and immediately I fired off this response:

Date: Sun, 4 Sep 2005 12:14:48 -0700 (PDT)
From: "Melanie N. Lee" View Contact Details
Subject: What the F, indeed!
To: "Hy Bender"

Dear Hy:

I just read your review--or reportage--of Travis Tanner on your website.

http://www.hyreviews.com/

Yes, I'm just reacting off the top of my head, and maybe I should wait before
I speak, but I'll be as impulsive as you were.

Of all the stupid, shallow, brainless reactions to a show, yours takes the cake.

Weren't you listening? The show began with an impression of 9/11, a matter
of two comedians losing their jobs, and a graduate student afraid that her city's
declining finances would hinder her being hired after graduation. She revealed
her ambitions to write a book about "sacred clowns", and wondered about the
sacred significance of her favorite comedians.

If that's not "epic", it certainly is important. Or at least "heavy".

And you were turned off by "What the F"? You decided from that one song, after
all you heard beforehand, that the entire show would be juvenile? That song was
revealing an aspect of Travis' character and methods--not the intelligence level of
entire oratorio itself!

Now, you agreed to read the script before you published your response. Yet, you
did not mention the rest of the script in your reportage. Why not? Did the script
prove not to be so juvenile, and you couldn't admit in public that you were wrong?

By the way, in case you weren't aware, the producers of individual Fringe Festival
shows have little control over which venue they receive--and they're only notified of
the venue a few weeks before the show opens. It's true that we at Travis Tanner
chose more people for the cast than we had originally intended, but we also asked
for a bigger stage than we received. I really don't think reviewers of Fringe shows
should get so hung up on the cast size that it ruins their entire enjoyment of the show.

Also, you wouldn't have "remembered" the lyrics of "What the F" had I not sent
you the script. The fact that you had the entire script at your disposal, yet chose
only those words that supported your original impression (ignoring the rest), tells
me I'm dealing with someone who is being dishonest with himself, if not the rest
of the world.

I realize the things I'm saying here won't endear me to you. However, if you have
the right to walk out of an amateur show, as a reviewer, after fifteen minutes, then
I certainly have the right to give you my initial reaction to your words after five
minutes. I am very disappointed in you. I feel twice cheated.

Prove me wrong. Write back and explain yourself. If I've wronged you or misunderstood
you, I'd like to know.

Also, what show did you catch instead of ours?

Sincerely,

Melanie N. Lee
Librettist/Producer, Travis Tanner


Now, I don't feel at liberty to publish word-for-word Hy's reply to me, but it was much more reasonable and calmer than you'd expect from someone who'd just been "told off". He said that Fringe shows aren't "amateur productions", that my show charged as much as the better shows in Fringe, and that I was performing in one of the more prestigious venues. He also acknowledged my technical talent as a writer, but that he didn't care for my story or content, and that he had read the rest of the script and found me consistent in my approach, which to him was off-putting.

Actually, I will quote this part of his letter:

"Again, I'm sorry you're upset, and that you
believe I'm a moron.

"But reasonable people can see things differently.

"My feeling is you have genuine talent; but that
you'd benefit from working with a co-writer,
director, or editor who seriously challenges you
on your content choices and approaches.

"I also suspect that you'll look back five years
from now and have a markedly different view.

"If that reaction is of no use to you, though,
then please simply ignore it. As I mentioned
last time, "Take what you can use and
let the rest go by."

"At any rate, I wish you nothing but success
and continued growth as an artist."


Now I'm wondering about myself: do I think someone's responses are intelligent when they take the time to pay me a compliment? Here's what I wrote back:

Date: Tue, 6 Sep 2005 09:32:39 -0700 (PDT)
From: "Melanie N. Lee" View Contact Details
Yahoo! DomainKeys has confirmed that this message was sent by yahoo.com. Learn more
Subject: Re: What the F, indeed!
To: "Hy Bender"

Dear Hy:

Wow, you do show some intelligence after all! Most of what you've said has
some merit to it, at last.

There is one statement I disagree with. We have different ideas of what an
"amateur" show is. You think an amateur show is a free show. I think an
amateur show is one in which the actors, and sometimes some others involved,
don't get paid. I didn't pay my actors, though I did pay my musicians and stage
manager, and I plan to pay my director and sound board operator.

For example, I'll be a Royal Wife in an upcoming production of The King and I
at the Free Synagogue of Flushing (Queens, NY). The King and I is a stellar
piece of work. We will do the best we can with it. We're charging $14 admission,
or $12 for children and seniors, I think. We actors are not getting paid, although some
of us have professional or semi-professional experience. I consider this an amateur
production.

Now, you say--and I wish you had said this in public, and you still can!--that you
recognize my technical skill as a writer, but you didn't like the content and the
overall story. Now, this is an opinion I can respect. However, as usual, I want
more. What specifically about the story did you dislike? In your publicized
reportage you didn't acknowledge the story at all! Quoting the introduction to
"What the F" in no way addresses the story. That's like quoting John Lennon's
nonsense lyrics from "I Am the Walrus" as the example and epitome of his
lyrics. (One reporter, apparently ultraconservative and a Lennon-hater, did just
this after John was killed.) So, although you as an observer may have concentrated
on content, your reportage did not do this.

There's an unfortunate tendency among reviewers to dismiss totally a work, and its
creators, if they find the work lacking or disappointing. I think this trying to look
"sophisticated" or "cool" at another's expense must end. On a Broadway level this
is acceptable, though still uncool in my book. On an Off-Off-Broadway level, it sucks.
A reviewer's job is to report on what the work tried to do, and note where it succeeded
and where it failed, and why. You had failed to do this with me. (And yes, I have written
reviews myself, years ago.)

So I ask again: what specifically about the story did you dislike? Be detailed about
this, please. You don't have to take apart the entire script, but I want something I
can chew on. Now I believe you are intelligent and thoughtful enough to do this if
you put your mind to it.

Sincerely,

Melanie N. Lee


Possibly at this time I'm coming off to some of you as a very needy shrew. In fact, I've been sharing my correspondence with Bender with the cast, and one of my actors has asked to be taken off the list of those receiving these missives. My director and co-director reminded me that after a show everybody has a down, and I especially, after putting so much time and money and emotional investment into it, would be the most "down" of all.

Now because of Hurricane Katrina, I was wondering if Sister Helen Prejean (of Dead Man Walking fame) was all right, and I sent her an e-mail, which I cc'ed to Jake Heggie, who composed the Dead Man Walking opera, and whom I met at a conference at Hofstra University in November 2000. (I was writing a paper about the opera.) This led me now to looking at Heggie's website and related websites. I found an interesting interview with him:

http://www.usoperaweb.com/2004/spring/heggie.htm

Heggie had some interesting things to say about dealing with reviews, and about New York's resistance to new operas. (He's from San Francisco.)

Anyway, Aaron Frankel, who ran the Musical Theater Workshop at the New School, wants to share some comments with me, and I'll probably call him later today.

Y'know, I did write Travis Tanner about very recent events, and as a writer it may be hard to have the best perspective on things that have just happened, or are happening. Will I think in five years that Travis Tanner is trash? I doubt it. No one in the cast or crew that I know of thought it was trash. It's possible that this story will appeal only to performers, and to nonwhite urbane or leftist Christians. That's fine with me, although I wouldn't mind reaching for a broader audience if I kept true to the original spark and truth of the story. And actually, I believe a good part of the audience enjoyed the work!

It is possible that in five years I won't think it's a good, or as much of a "gem, however unpolished", that I think it is now. But I must honor who I am, where I am, now, and grow from there. I like my works for what they are.

If Bender will care to tell me specifically what turned him off about the story and content, I'll have something more concrete to work with. To say, "I didn't like the work, and here's why" is a lot more beneficial than "This is trash; don't bother."

Posted by mnl_1221 at 2:28 PM EDT

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Travis Tanner to bed, for now
Mood:  irritated
Irritated doesn't say it. Over the past week I've been furious, "blue" and "don't ask". Why isn't there an emoticon for "furious"?

I just wrote this letter to my cast and crew, titling it "Travis Tanner: reflecting a week later":

Dear Y'all:

I've been very wounded over the past week, and some of you probably noticed that.

First of all, as I shared with you last week, I'm very grateful and pleased with the
effort and commitment that all of you put into making Travis Tanner come alive.
If I had to do it all over again, I would, with two changes: I'd try to handle better
the finances, and I'd push the publicity more than I did. (Yes, the show lost money,
but that's my concern, not yours.)

But, in spite of what some reviewers had to say, I'm glad that all of you had a
chance to participate, even if the stage was overcrowded. Part of the spirit
of the New York International Fringe Festival is community! As Elena K. Holy
put it at an ACR meeting, we're not letting the outside world change us, we're out
to change them. I can't take credit for the crowd; that goes to the directors and
musical directors. Yet, I stand by their decision. I'm glad you all had a chance
to participate. In fact, I think if Robert has his way and I have mine, a future
production would involve even more people!

Now I'm very wounded about the horrid reviews the show has gotten, Of the
four reviewers I know of, only Julie Congress of nytheatre.com "got it". Even
hers wasn't a stellar review, but she gave valid criticisms and gave praise where
she thought it was due. I also liked that Lala Jeanlouis of Fringe-icals singled out
Kelvin Ortega for praise even as she trashed the rest of the show, and she
gave us credit for trying to resurrect the ancient chorus. (I wasn't consciouly
trying to do that, but sometimes writers do things they're not aware of, and
earlier Andi had compared my script to some ancient Greek plays.) However,
Elizabeth Zimmer of the Village Voice made it sound like we weren't attempting
anything (and I suppose I'm especially wounded that she trashed me personally).

And I will NOT take Hy Bender's insulting action lying down. Any reviewer who
walks out on an amateur show after only 15 minutes is not worth much salt in
my book. And he still hasn't told me why he did it! To his credit, he's agreed to
read the script before he writes his reportage on the show. Still... Frankly,
I've imagined myself swatting him with a whip made of hay, or sending a cream-pie
hit squad after him. Don't worry: I won't do either. I like my freedom, thank you.
(No, don't you do it either!)

But to recap what the reviews did say on a positive note, Kelvin was lauded in one
review and Louis Sacco in another. One review did give some positive credit to my
script. Two reviews noted the beautiful singing, and I have to credit not only the
cast, but Robert, who coached you, and maybe Kris as well. Maybe Louis, who
took some of you on as students, should take some credit for the beautiful singing,
too.

Anyway, although some reviewers expect me to throw Travis Tanner aside and go
on to my next project, I won't do that. I think Travis is a gem, unpolished though it
may still be. And I will treat him as a gem.

(My sister Becky said, "It's your baby, and it's as if they've called your baby ugly.")

Bizet's Carmen, Puccini's Madame Butterfly, Gershwin's Porgy and Bess...all received
unfavorable or mixed reviews when they first premiered. And yes, my ambitions are
that high. I want to contribute to American opera and related fields, including, of course,
musical theater.

Robert in particular wants to create a CD of Travis Tanner, and so do I. My next step in
that direction is to look for a grant; probably the Queens Council for the Arts will be my
first stop.

I also have another project outside Travis Tanner: I'm a Royal Wife in an upcoming
production of The King and I, to be performed three Saturdays and Sundays in
November at the Free Synagogue of Flushing.
http://www.freesynagogue.org/
http://www.spotlightonstage.com/fsfctg.htm
http://www.spotlightonstage.com/fsfnews.htm
http://www.queenscouncilarts.org/html/calendar.html

Anyway, this is where I am now: emotionally wounded, even furious, but not giving up.
"Don't let the turkeys get you down."

Again I want to thank you for putting this show on its feet. "I get knocked down, but
I get up again..." I have small gifts for all of you which only about half of you received;
I plan to mail the rest out before the month is out.

Feel free to write to me with your thoughts and feelings, and to tell me what your next
projects are.

Thanks again,

Melanie N. Lee
Librettist/ Producer, Travis Tanner


http://www.geocities.com/travistanner05


I want to add a few things. Each of my sisters, although they enjoyed the show, had a comment each about a major flaw. Elena said that the show didn't seem to happen anyplace, that much of the action was "in limbo". Perhaps a tree, a sign, might help show where something is happening. I said that is one of the questions of the script: is it happening is a particular place, in several places at once, in limbo, on the Internet, or in someone's imagination? And I'm not sure I want to answer that question.

Becky, with her daughter Rachel's help, said that a dramatic arch was missing, particularly with Travis. He doesn't change. Becky said, "He starts out a cheese-eating a**hole and ends up a cheese-eating a**hole". In our three-way discussion, I said maybe I started the story too late. Rachel leaped upon that one, expounding on it. One of them said maybe I needed a number called "The Travis Tanner Show", showing him before his change, showing just what it was that Leila admired. I also said that maybe Travis needs to say his own past statements rather than Leila quoting him.

Before I found out about Bender's faux pas, late one night I thought about the questions of Travis' character and a dramatic arch. Travis' thing is survival; he's nothing without survival. Leila's thing is truth, as she sees it; she's nothing without truth. Truth vs. survival: what will you sacrifice to survive. Jim, on the other hand, has more confidence that Leila and Travis put together.

I thought of a plot twist, a plot twist I'm afraid to use because I'm afraid of causing it to happen in real life: that is, something happening to Jim. I won't develop any further here.

As a writing tutor, one thing I tell my more ethereal students is that they need to ground their ideas in either simpler language or more concrete imagery. If they're filling up a hot-air balloon with grandiose ideas, they need a few lines and weights to anchor the balloon down, lest it float away into obscurity. Maybe I need to take my own advice. A plot twist that affects Travis would ground the work. Or would it make the work too conventional or too common? Ouch--do I think I'm that uncommon, above everybody else, or above in some ways and below in others?

Musically, we need more variety in the sounds and themes of music. Robert didn't have enough time to do that for this production, but upon rewrite, I believe he could. I think this was one of Elena's criticisms, along with Julie Congress'.

Julie Congress also said she wished I had further explored the topic of not belonging either to Left or Right, not fitting neatly into tne media's categories for us. I thought I'd done that. But maybe not to Congress' satisfaction.


Upon my explorations on the Internet this evening, I turned to an Amazon.com page of Stevie Wonder's Journey through the Secret Life of Plants. It's a great album in a classical vein, but with limited populat appeal. It sold only fairly well back in 1978 or 1980 or whenever it was released.

Like I said, my ambitions are high.

Travis Tanner will rise again. God willing.

Friday, August 26, our last performance, Elena went with Jen and me to join the cast at Caliente Cab Company in Greenwich Village. I regret to say that I didn't introduce Elena to the cast. She left fairly soon, scared off by the menu prices.

Now I had prepared treats for my group and gave them away to about half of them. The other half I plan to mail out this month. Among the gifts:

M&Ms: red, white, blue, maroon, cream, and light blue;
Protest buttons from BurnBush2004.com;
Magnets from VistaPrint.com: Travis Tanner, a contemporary oratorio, with the Patriotic Jester hat photo.


VistaPrint, in exchange for ad space, gave me hats, two of which I gave to Louis (Travis) and Kelvin (Jim). To Lauretta (Leila) I gave a Saint Genesius medal from Saint Patrick's Cathedral. To the four Voices, flower necklaces I'd bought in Washington Square Park. To Andi the stage manager and Kiira the sound board operator, red, white, and blue bead necklaces made by a preteen girl from the Children's Chorus of The King and I, which will perform November at the Free Synagogue of Flushing. (I'm a Royal Wife.) To Robert and Kris, patriotic hand-clappers filled with red, white, and blue stars. To our other musicians, Lonnie and Takashi (I hope I got that right!), Sept. 11 prayer cards, with St. Francis "let me sow love" prayer, which I got at St Patrick's Cathedral. To DJ and Jen, the book The Angel's Cry.

Travis Tanner up, running, and reviewed!
Mood:  spacey
Now Playing: I didn't build a career, by being real, I built it by being shrewd...
Ah, we're up and running!

I can't reflect right now on what opening night was like for me. I can only wrap up and summarize what the last few days have been for me: tiring, exhilarating, pleasing, disappointing...you name it.

Among my list of acquaintances and dignitaries who have come so far: my Aunt Edna, my brother Ken (twice) and his girlfriend Margie, my sister Becky and my niece Rachel, my cousin Jeff with a friend, Aaron Frankel, Milton Polsky (he prefers that to Milt), and reviewers from nytheatre.com and the Village Voice.

Here's what the NYTheatre.com reviewer had to say:

Travis Tanner
reviewed by Julie Congress

Travis Tanner is a “contemporary oratorio,” and, with nearly two straight hours of original music and a cast of 27 actors, it is an extremely ambitious and highly admirable endeavor.

To be honest, the libretto (by Melanie N. Lee) is somewhat confusing, and my companion and I had rather different takes on exactly what happened. Here’s my understanding of the story: Travis Tanner is a Dennis Miller-esque television comedian who, though once fiercely liberal in his views, has suddenly, and with little explanation, switched to the conservative end of the spectrum after being fired by HBO. This greatly distresses and baffles Leila, a liberal grad student. She becomes obsessed with Tanner, and begins writing her thesis on the puzzling media icon. The majority of the show consists of encounters (possibly imaginary) between Tanner and Leila, Tanner and the chorus, and Leila and the chorus. There’s a third character, a liberal comedian named Jim Frank (who has also been a long-time subject of Leila’s study). In a meeting with Leila, he provides some (unsatisfactory?) speculation about Tanner.

Louis Michael Sacco brings charisma, a strong voice, and just the right amount of sleaziness to Travis Tanner. Unfortunately, his costar, Lauretta, does not have sufficient power or range—either as a singer or an actress—to effectively portray the strong-willed Leila.

The chorus is refreshingly diverse in terms of race, age, and appearance, and contains some tremendous voices. Unfortunately, its large size proves to be a hindrance—when the entire cast is onstage (plus the lively four-person band) there is virtually no room left. Not only does this compromise director DJ McDonald’s attempts at choreography, but there isn’t sufficient room to differentiate one side from another when the chorus breaks itself into the Conservatives and the Liberals. Perhaps if each member of the chorus wore either a piece of blue or red clothing, the problem could be alleviated, but it still wouldn’t solve the space issue.

The music, by Robert Stephens, takes on many different forms, including rock songs, a number in the style of a Broadway musical, and a particularly rousing protest song called “Buck Fush.” Ultimately, however, the songs (other than the one song I mentioned) sound awfully similar to one another, and are rather unmemorable. The libretto, though confusing, fares better. In the second act, Leila reveals that although she is artistic and liberal in her leanings, she is also a devout Christian, and doesn’t feel as if she really belongs to either the Left or Right. This is such an incisive, thought-provoking, and long-overdue sentiment! I really wish Lee had explored this more—it is so important for us to realize that human beings are complicated, contradictory beings and cannot fit into the oversimplified labels the media spews at us. Perhaps Leila’s dilemma of not fitting neatly into a category is shared by Travis Tanner, and is the best explanation behind his switch in alliances. I’m not sure if that’s right, but it is worth exploring.

Travis Tanner may have more than its share of problems, but none of them is irreparable and the folks involved in the production seem particularly receptive to constructive criticism (you’ll find an Audience Member Response Form in the middle of the program). It’s also a show that makes you think, and any theatre that can do that (at least in my books) should be commended and supported.

NYTheatre.com: Travis Tanner review
(scroll down)

Now there are still duties which I either can or must do:

--create a poster for all to sign.
--collect names for discount tickets.
--straighten my books (arrgh!) and pay people!
--await one outstanding ad check.
--prepare playbills for Friday's show (the final show!)
--audiotape.
--look into grants for future CD recording.
--collect names of industry comp/VIP ticket takers for my cast members.

Ah, a producer's work is never done! And I'm sure there are things I'm forgetting!

With the CD plans now cooking, Patriotic Jesters Productions will have a life after FringeNYC 2005.

I should add this: the good people of Elope, Inc. and BurnBush2004.com, in exchange for ad space in my playbill, have provided hats and buttons, respectively. Thank you so much!

http://www.elope.com
http://www.burnbush2004.com

Tomorrow is Opening Night!
Mood:  blue
Now Playing: I'm So Tired, by the Beatles (John Lennon in particular)
If we're opening tomorrow, why am I blue?

John Kenrick (Musicals101.com) was right: you can't do it all yourself. Yes, it's a miracle that this much was done and that, ragged as the second act might be, we can put on this show tomorrow. However...there's no time to list a litany of all I have done and all I wanted to do but couldn't. For example, I wanted to mail postcards to so many people and send e-mail alerts to friends, family, former teachers and classmates, celebrities, et al.
I haven't found time to do it!

I was really blue Friday when no local paper at all listed each individual Fringe show. Travis Tanner so far has received no press coverage whatsoever. (Neither have most shows.) NYTheatre.com is promising to review each and every Fringe show, and so far they've posted quite a few, including Channel Rat, which I saw Friday evening.

Anyway, it's nearly 5pm and we have a rehearsal at 6:30. This also bums me out, and I'll say this in public: I wish my mother was the kind of person who would say, "Melanie, you're really tired and stressed out; you go order some food to be delivered and I'll pay for it." No, she still expects me to shop and cook for her, with as little financial input from her as possible. This is what I'm up against. As it is, I'll have to ask one of my sisters or my brother to come by Sunday morning to TCOB, or I'm afraid I won't make the call for Sunday's noontime show!

Well, I'll have to TCOB somehow before I can go to rehearsal.

The playbills should be ready tomorrow, but I also have to create two inserts (one from Fringe, one from us)! Arrrrggggggh!

Oh, well. In a goods-for-advertising exchange, Elope Inc. sent us three of their hats, and they arrived today!

:D

Gotta fly now!

I should add that John Kenrick will be giving a FringeU session next Thursday, and I believe I'm the one who put Kenrick and FringeNYC 2005 together!

Shakespeare's Sister and the Dancing Bear
Mood:  lyrical
Less than two weeks till opening night! Playbill estimates in four figures! Script cuts!

And the demanding family at home.

I recently remembered the "Shakespeare's Sister" excerpt from Virginia Woolf's A Room of One's Own. Unfortunately, British copyright law still protects Woolf's work nearly a century after her death, so I can't find the essay on the Internet--just comments about it. But it says how the world's demands that a woman care only about family and home can choke her creative juices. I remember another essay that says that the world is indifferent to aspiring male writers, but downright hostile to aspiring female writers.

On a similar note, "Dancing Bear" by The Mamas and the Papas, a rather classical-sounding, old-folk-music sounding (I do mean medieval) ballad, has run through my mind over the past few days:

DANCING BEAR
(John Phillips)
The Mamas & The Papas

I wouldn't want to be a chimney sweep
All black from head to foot
From climbing in them chimneys
And cleaning out that soot.
With a broom and ladder and pail,
The darkened walls I scale---
And far..and high...I see a patch of sky.

I'd rather be the gypsy
(I'd rather be the gypsy)
Whose camped at the edge of town---
(Camped at the edge of town)
The one who has the dancing bear
That follows him around.
And he lifts his big foot up;
He puts his big foot down
And bows...and twirls...
And dances `round and `round.

I found I was a cabin boy last night as I did dream---
Bound upon a magic ship for a land I'd never seen.
And the moon she filled our sails;
And the stars they steered out course;
And on our bow there was a golden horse.

The queen eats fruit and candy; the bishop nuts and cheese
And when I am a grown man, I'll taste just what I please---
The honey from the bee, the shellfish from the sea,
The earth, the wind, a girl, someone to share these things with me.

I wouldn't want to be a chimney sweep, etc...
(I'd rather be the gypsy, etc...)
(I dreamed I was a cabin boy, etc...)

http://lyricsplayground.com/alpha/songs/d/dancingbear.shtml

BTW, we have our postcards and they're beautiful. FringeCENTRAL opened last nigh on West 3rd Street, and I left a bunch of them in a slot there, and picked up one each of the other shows' postcards left there. What I'm looking to see: Little House on the Parody; Silence--the Musical (a parody of The Silence of the Lambs); Layla's Sahra; Frida and Herself; Rude Pundit (sounds like another rude comedian type); and others I can't remember now.

A Day Off--not really
Mood:  cool
Too cool! It's pretty damn cold in this overairconditioned Internet cafe!

Now I don't have my writing tutor work today and neither do I have rehearsal. Yet, I had a lot of correspondence on the Internet, plus an errand to the bank. I told my mom I'd be home at 7, 8pm at the latest. Now it's almost 9!

Anyway, I've been, among other things, tweaking the design of the Travis Tanner postcard for the Fringe Festival. I'll probably order the thing on Monday, after it "passes inspection" with my staff.

Here's the Amiright.com parody "You're So Vain (You Prob'ly Think This Show Is About You)":

http://www.amiright.com/parody/70s/carlysimon42.shtml

Well, I'll do a little more noodling around here, then go home. Rehearsal tomorrow!

Oh yes, bless God, we've had a rehearsal space given us for free! Thank you, Lord!

:D

Song parodies about plays that haven't played yet
Mood:  spacey
Now Playing: You're so vain, you prob'ly think this show is about you...
Veering sideways from my Travis Tanner duties, last night I began a parody based upon an imagined scene connected to this show. I won't post the lyrics here, but I'll make the connection to Amiright.com tomorrow, when they should post what I've submitted today.


Exploring Amiright.com, I see they've opened a Cafepress.com store and created a graphic with the names of all parody authors who've submitted more than 14 parodies between 2000 and now. I'd submitted 16 at the time; my name is on the right, below the halfway point, in green: "Melanie Lee" tilted on its side.

Now for business. I've drawn in a new investor ($1,000 at 10%), plus a few advertisers. Now I'm trying to decide about postcards and additional business cards. Yesterday on the VistaPrint.com website I designed two new Travis Tanner business cards including our venue and performance dates, and a new postcard. I don't know if it's possible to e-mail my mock-ups to anyone, and I probably won't see my crew until tomorrow. (I was overtired this past weekend, so I'm taking a break from attending rehearsals.) Now, I don't quite have the cash-on-hand to purchase both business cards plus postcards, but I might soon. But should I?

One of the chorus, Dale, who also volunteers at the Fringe office, gave me info about past postcard deals. However, VistaPrint mailed me a discount, so it seems VistaPrint, using my discount, would be my best bargain for postcards.

At the search engine at the VistaPrint standard postcard webpage, I typed in the word "comedian", and found this (assuming the link works!).

Well, I think I'll e-mail this link, plus my text, to my staff.

Thing is, there's a special marketing deal due July 27 that I might try to do, but it'll require postcards or flyers. I know I can create and print out flyers at Kinko's in a day or two, but what about "offline" postcard places? (Kinko's, also, and how much?)

A word on blogging
Mood:  chillin'
Now Playing: ...but tell me, where do the children play, heyeyeyeyeyeyey...
My second niece, Rachel, last night took off on a trip to Cambridge, England, on a special program for graduating high school seniors. (Had I offered her the directorship of Travis Tanner, she would've cancelled her trip; she didn't want to me an Assistant Director again! But I'd already offered the position to DJ McDonald--who's done a great job, BTW!)

I just wrote Rachel an e-mail asking her to keep a blog of her trip. I referred her to the three blogs I've made, including this one. Glancing over the other two, I saw that I'd made some reference to my "chamber opera" or "my oratorio" in the other two blogs! I had taken an early draft of Travis Tanner on my trip to the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota two years ago!

MNL, Pine Ridge, SD

MNL's Christmas Blog, 2004

I haven't told my production staff that I'm doing this blog, but I think I'll tell them now. How will they respond?

Auditions! Callbacks! Where's Leila?
Mood:  rushed
Now Playing: Laaaaay-la!
In the middle of auditions; callbacks tonight; searching cheap or free rehearsal spaces; I shouldn't even be here!

Where's Leila? I and my team talked about why so many sopranos, mostly white but a couple of Asians and Hispanics, came out to audition for the Voice, but almost no Afr-Am altos, or even sopranos, came out to play Leila! Our theories had to do with women in power and the power of the voice and being a diva. One man relayed the story of an American boy singing an Estonian patriotic song in 1987.

The talk reminded me of "The Laugh of the Medusa" and this book:



Joyful Blogger: June 2004

The Angel's Cry: beyond the pleasure principal in opera

Gotta fly now...promises to keep, miles to go, etc.!

Travis Tanner. changing his manner...
Mood:  not sure
Last Sunday, Robert and I met at the Olive Garden in Times Square, where he gave me a CD of instrumentals of four songs. I'm familiar with the rock-n-roll "It Takes the USA"; he's set another of Travis' songs, "What the F", to a tango beat. There's a jazzy tune that introduces Leila.

I'm composing a plea-for-funds letter which lists so many of the things I've done and must do for this production:

As producer and company liaison to Fringe, I’ve purchased a business certificate, opened a business bank account, written a press release, written the 40-word blurb for FringeNYC.org and the 300-word preview for nytheatre.com, designed an ad and paid to place that ad in Fringe’s program guide, registered the script with the Writers Guild of America, East (WGA), rejoined the Dramatists Guild, purchased business cards from VistaPrint.com to help publicize the show, and placed a casting call in two issues of Back Stage. I’ve also designed a website for the show, at www.geocities.com/travistanner05.

Down the line, we must buy insurance over the production, pay the musicians and other staff members (not the cast), buy or barter for audition and rehearsal space, design, purchase, and distribute publicity postcards, and other expenses. I have gained a $1,000 investment each from my mother and aunt, and have already gone through most of it.

We're trying to schedule auditions for this coming weekend!

Here's the BackStage.com listing of our show, as much as I can access through their website without being a member:

Casting East
Stage June 29, 2005

POP ORATORIO, FRINGENYC
Seeking actors and singers for "Travis Tanner," a pop oratorio about comedy, politics, and spirituality being performed at FringeNYC this summer. Rehearses in July, performs August 12-28. Also seeking the Chorus: all voices. More

Members: To look at the rest of this notice, click on 'More.' Not a member yet? Click here for information on how to receive all the benefits of BackStage.com.
http://www.backstage.com/backstage/casting/east/stage.jsp

Well, I think I'll post a teaser announcement on Travis Tanner's website, and then pack it in.