Theatre is for Revolution

The Winter’s Tale Written by William Shakespeare Directed by Rebecca Taichman Set Design by Christine Jones Costume Design by David Zinn Lighting Design by Christopher Akerlind Photos by T. Charles Erickson

Marxism and legal theory

About two months ago, when news broke that Chief Justice Antonin Scalia had died, my friend and esteemed comrade Donald Parkinson of the Communist League of Tampa wrote: “Scalia isn’t enough; lets see the whole rule of law die.”

Within minutes the thread was flooded with responses, many of them hostile. Incredulous that someone would propose to abolish the rule of law altogether — not just of…

This is totally incompatible with private ownership. Nobody would want to be a landlord in this city. The level of land use regulation and architectural oversight by the city which it would demand would be intolerable to maximizing profit. Cities today attempting to realize some sort of green dream (I’M LOOKING AT YOU, PORTLAND) are only able to accomplish a facsimile of it by rendering their urban centers wildly expensive to live in. And if the goal of the green city is sustainability, then you’ve got yourself in the foot right there on the starting line. Because there’s a very important resource that every city absolutely must have to survive:

Laborers.

And the people who can afford these green-approved condos and apartments? Are not laborers. So your workforce, the will and effort that turns the gears, is all coming from your urban sprawl: concentric belts of slapdash development, run down slums made of mid-century prop ups. See, if it were mandated that, say, you had to make these green places cheap enough for workers to live in? There wouldn’t be any in the first place. Because it’s profit based, they can only keep up these upscale urban dream homes by charging an arm and a leg for them. The only way landlords can profit on the presence of the poor is to spend nothing keeping up their property – offer you nothing but a leaking, moldy shack and tell you that you should be lucky to have that much. But because of that, the city isn’t really green at all.

You can throw all the trains and hybrid buses you want at the problem, it’s never going to work out. The majority of your city, by area and by population, is a desert of air, ground, and water pollution. And then you get the de facto or deliberate segregation of services (it’s just not worth spending money on those parts of the city,) policy meant to culture this walled garden that drives out industry (because that’s profit-based too,) all to create a live-in theme park of the clean, green future for the exceptionally wealthy.

Solarpunk isn’t just about green, sustainable, and renewable technologies. A large part of the movement is dedicated to the social advancement of discriminated peoples. We have to do two things as a global society to make things work. 1) Acknowledge the effort of laborers and exactly what they contribute to society. 2) Think to ourselves, what is that contribution worth, and pay laborers accordingly.

We need, first and foremost, for the highest paid people to stop being greedy. If not that, enact laws that force the highest paid people to pay their fair share of a tax, which will go towards paying for green homes for low income people and families. We need to find ways to make sustainable/renewable technologies financially feasible for low income people and families. That won’t happen today, or tomorrow. That might not happen for a long time. However, the more money the wealthiest people give towards the research and development of those technologies, the more available and cheaper they will be.

We need, on a global social scale, to recognize that if companies can afford for something to be cheaper and easier to get, IT SHOULD BE.

The creator, Lin-Manuel, is not black, yet his musical about is about slave owners and “abolition”, which Hamilton was not for, at least not in the case of his friends who owned slaves. Hamilton’s wife’s family  made a LIVING off slave trading. I really do not like black people being cast as said slave traders, slave owners, and slave rapists, and I especially do not like this Latino man making them sing R&B and rap in said musical.

It’s not his story to tell and I’m disgusted by all these fancasts with black celebs casting them as George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, like these are fictional characters. These are monsters responsible for all of black people’s problems today. It’s not quirky or intelligent to make slavery “relatable”. 

It’s a play called “OPEN CASTING: Romantic Movie Climax” by a brilliant, brilliant artist named Jacquelyn Landgraf.

Here it is:

OPEN CASTING: Romantic Movie Climax

© 2007 Jacquelyn Landgraf

Jacquelyn perches astride a ladder d.s.l., her head resting on a pillow, facing away from center stage. A light comes up on her, she thrashes about restlessly.

A spotlight comes up center stage on no one.

A toy car pulls up into spotlight.

(beat.)

Neo A enters and stand just outside center spot, holding out a trenchcoat ready for someone to put on.

(beat.)

Neo B enters and places a boombox at edge of center spot.

(beat).

Softly, Peter Gabriel’s “In Your Eyes” begins. It increases in volume incrementally, hopefully as the audience chatter and kerfuffle begins.

Fingers crossed, eventually an audience member comes on stage, puts on trench coat, and holds boom box above their head. AT THAT EXACT MOMENT, the music blasts full volume, which cues Jacquelyn to rise from the pillow, slowly climb down the ladder, cross stage, and reward that audience member with a make out session.

CURTAIN.

***alt. ending

IF still no one comes up, song continues to play quietly, someone calls CURTAIN and all are disappointed and disdainful toward the audience members for not having seen Say Anything.

I’d get it if it was too much of an undertaking to record and release every show. I’d understand. But they already do that, and they’re archived at the Library of Performing Arts at Lincoln Center and people with a New York library card can set up screenings of any show they want. The thing is, hardly anyone knows about it, and it’s only open to NY residents.  

Fits the time period of the show 

{Don’t bring in I Could Have Danced All Night for Catch Me If You Can}

Fits the style of the show 

{Thoroughly Modern Millie and Urinetown were written the same year but are definitely NOT the same style}

Not overdone 

{Not the time to bust out your Phantom of the Opera material}

Has a clear arc of beginning, middle, end 

{Even if you are singing for 20 seconds, there should still be a story and a journey to what you’re singing}

Written in present tense 

{Story songs can be really great but if you just sang a part of Meadowlark, you kind of miss the point}

Directed towards another person

 {It makes your acting more clear and concise. So don’t try and address the entire Argentine population Eva Peron}

Has at least one good sustained note 

{Give ‘em that money note. But not your absolute highest. Make ‘em want more. Play hard to get}

Playable for you accompanist 

{Jason Robert Brown writes great stuff but have mercy on your accompanist. They are people too}

Can be reasonably cut into an appropriate length for audition purposes 

{Some songs aren’t meant to be trimmed into 16 bar cuts. They need to roam wild and free}

Something you love to sing