LOINS OF PUNJAB PRESENTS

OPENING SEPT 12, FRIDAY!

"A perfect weekend watch, Loins of Punjab Presents . . ." (review)

Quad Cinema
34 West 13 Street (btwn 5th & 6th Ave)
NYC / www.quadcinema.com / 212-255-8800
Showtimes: 1:00, 3:10, 5:20, 7:35, 9:50

The ImaginAsian
239 East 59 St. (btwn 2nd & 3rd Ave)
NYC / www.theimaginasian.com / 212-371-6682
Showtimes: 12:15, 2:30, 4:45, 7:00, 9:15

For a look at the trailer and the music video, visit http://www.loinsofpunjab.com/


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"The play's the thing wherein I'll catch the conscience of the king."

ON THE SPINE: THE HULK - "THE HUMAN STORY OF BRUCE BANNER WHO IS DEALING WITH REJECTION FROM THE WORLD"

on THE SPINE

"To begin active direction a formulation in the simplest terms must be found to state what general action motivates the [screen]play, of what fundamental drama or conflict the script’s plot and people are the instruments. What behavioral struggle or effort is being represented? It is best, though perhaps not altogether essential, that the answer should be expressed as an active verb: for drama (and acting) are based on doing, on action. Do not tell the Actor “You are in love” but “You love,” that is, “You pay attention to” or “You take care of,” “You help,” etc.)

Richard Boleslavsky, . . . called the answer to the questions I've just put[,] the play's SPINE . . . (the body's spine holds the vertebra in place, and these might be compared to all the small actions and dramatic divisions in the [screen] play. In An Actor Prepares Stanislavsky calls the “spine” that plays main or through action which leads to what he calls the “super-problem” -- the dramatist's basic motivation in writing the play.

Many things are contained in O'Neill's "Desire Under the Elms": passion, Oedipal impulses, confessions of unhappiness and hate, guilt feelings, paternal harshness, filial vindictiveness, retribution. But what holds all these ingredients together, what makes a complete meaning, a single specific drama of them all, is the play's SPINE. . .

With this as both starting point and interpretive goal I [am] able to make a dramatic whole from the various strands of the script."

– Harold Clurman in On Directing, pp. 28

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"The play's the thing wherein I'll catch the conscience of the king."

QUESTIONS ARE A DIRECTOR'S PALET

(click on image to enlarge)

Who, What, Why, When, Where.

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"The play's the thing wherein I'll catch the conscience of the king."

CASTING: TO FIND ACTORS, GO SEE THEM WORK.

the theatron, the “seeing place”

YOUNG PEOPLE'S THEATER

• City At Peace

OFF-BROADWAY THEATER

• AndHow! Theatre Company
• Asian American Theater Review
  
• National Asian American Theater
  
• Banana Bag and Bodice
• Big Art Group
• Black Theater in New York
  
• Boomerang Theatre Company
• The Brick
• Center Stage, NY
• Collapsable Giraffe
• The Civilians
• The Committee Theatre Company
• Dixon Place
• Emerging Artists Theatre (EAT)
• Ensemble Studio Theater (EST)
• The Flea Theater
• Flux Theatre Ensemble
• Gemini CollisionWorks
• HERE Arts Center
• HOLA (Hispanic Organization of Latin Actors)
  
• Impetuous Theater Group
• Horse Trade Theater Group
• INTAR (Latino)
  
• International WOW
• Inverse Theatre Company
• The LAByrinth Theater Company
  
• La Mama ETC
• Les Freres Corbusier
• Ontological-Hysteric Theater
• Ma-Yi Theater Company (Asian)
  
• Manhattan Theatre Source
• Naked Angels Theater Company
• The Negro Ensemble Company
  
• New York Times Off-Broadway Theater Guide
• New York Times Off-Off-Broadway Theater Guide
  
• Nicu's Spoon
• Nosedive Productions
• Partial Comfort Productions
• Piper McKenzie Productions
• Performance Space 122
• Puerto Rican Traveling Theater
  
• RedBull Theater
• Repertorio Esapanol
  
• Radiohole
• Riverside Shakespeare Company
• The Stolen Chair Theatre Company
• Stone Soup Theatre Arts
• terraNOVA Collective
• Theater for the New City
• Theatrre For A New Audience
  
• 13th Street Theatre
• TOSOS II
• 29th Street Rep
• Untitled Theater Co. #61
• Vampire Cowboys Theatre Company
• Waterwell
• Working Man's Clothes
• Witness Relocation
• Wings Theatre

LONGFORM IMPROVISATION THEATERS AND SCHOOLS (THE FUNNY)

• Gotham City Improv
• Juvie Hall
• Parkside Lounge
• Peoples Improv Theater
• The Pit
  
• Upright Citizens Brigade Theater
• The Magnet Theater

Note from Prof. Jay Anania - "Most of the off-Broadway theatres are downtown (closer), these off-Broadway actors are more open to trying things (often), and the house is smaller so the audience can see the faces (better to consider for how they might read on film)."


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"The play's the thing wherein I'll catch the conscience of the king."

THE GOLDEN SECTION

after: anjali kalle

(click image to enlarge)

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"The play's the thing wherein I'll catch the conscience of the king."

WOMEN IN FILM

A scene from Cecilia Miniucchi’s film “Expired,” featuring from left, Samantha Morton, Jason Patric and Teri Garr.


By JOHN ANDERSON
Published: June 22, 2008
New York Times

For Ms. Wertmüller being a storyteller is what’s important. “Fellini said, ‘When you are trying to direct, they will tell you there are a lot of rules,’ ” she said. “ ‘Of course these rules are important, but in reality the way to tell a story is the way you would tell it to your friends in a cafe. And if you have a talent as a narrator, you will tell this story well. Otherwise all the technique in the world will never help you.’ ” (Article)

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"The play's the thing wherein I'll catch the conscience of the king."

WORDS TO LIVE BY: ACTION - OBJECTIVE - JUSTIFICATION - BE SPECIFIC

What follow are some exchanges of notes with regard to the T-Shirts. Thought they might be of use here:

"Greetings

Yes, the T-Shirt idea came about because in conversations with John T. and others, it seemed that where the actor meets the script, is where so many of the disciplines of Drama come together, and that those concepts of ACTION, OBJECTIVE and JUSTIFICATION and the great value of SPECIFICS, which are all so important to an actor's craft, also, so strongly inform the writing and of course the directing process.

But, for some reason these basic principles seem to [so often] get lost in the shuffle, where Style, and other concepts can take precedence. But, without these basics, Drama can seem rather pointless."

AND

"(If you go to the link above and see what I'm working on, vis-a-vis the T-Shirt, I realize, that perhaps some of you would not be caught dead in such a garment. But, so . . . let the shock of this gesture, serve as notice that every "Actor's Director" wears [these] words on their soul.)"

AND

Student response:

"[T]his is hilarious ... we get t-shirts that are like cheat sheets for passing our directing the actor's final exams.

i wear a small, and i like bright colors but anything is cool.

looking forward to your class."

My reply:

"That is a very very good and very close assessment of the situation. Yes, the T-Shirt can be looked at as the "cheat sheet" for the course. Meaning that if in each exercise you address and communicate those concepts to and with your actors, that would be a 100% successful accomplishment.

What are they doing? (Action)

To get what they want? (Objective)

"Why" - or what's at stake, to lose or gain? (Justification)

Stated in the most specific [of] terms.

As for the concept of 'exam' as I'm sure you [already] know, in the arts, the only passing grade is "to deliver. . ."

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"The play's the thing wherein I'll catch the conscience of the king."