Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Saturday, July 4, 2009
DISCUSSING NECROPHILIA OVER DINNER
After we both have had some time to re-evaluate and "chew" on everything we discussed on June 23rd, I made my way up to Indiana for a dinner meeting with Tyler on July 3rd for a more intimate director/playwright collaboration about The Embalmer.
He shared with me a new inspiration behind the show: Robert Wile's photograph Suicide (Fallen Body).
"On May 1, 1947, Evelyn McHale leapt to her death from the observation deck of the Empire State Building. Photographer Robert Wiles took a photo of McHale a few minutes after her death. The photo ran a couple of weeks later in Life magazine accompanied by the following caption: On May Day, just after leaving her fiancé, 23-year-old Evelyn McHale wrote a note. 'He is much better off without me ... I wouldn't make a good wife for anybody,' ... Then she crossed it out. She went to the observation platform of the Empire State Building. Through the mist she gazed at the street, 86 floors below. Then she jumped. In her desperate determination she leaped clear of the setbacks and hit a United Nations limousine parked at the curb. Across the street photography student Robert Wiles heard an explosive crash. Just four minutes after Evelyn McHale's death Wiles got this picture of death's violence and its composure.
From McHale's NY Times obituary, Empire State Ends Life of Girl, 20: At 10:40 A. M., Patrolman John Morrissey of Traffic C, directing traffic at Thirty-fourth Street and Fifth Avenue, noticed a swirling white scarf floating down from the upper floors of the Empire State. A moment later he heard a crash that sounded like an explosion. He saw a crowd converge in Thirty-third Street.
Two hundred feet west of Fifth Avenue, Miss McHale's body landed atop the car. The impact stove in the metal roof and shattered the car's windows. The driver was in a near-by drug store, thereby escaping death or serious injury. On the observation deck, Detective Frank Murray of the West Thirtieth Street station, found Miss McHale's gray cloth coat, her pocketbook with several dollars and the note, and a make-up kit filled with family pictures. The serenity of McHale's body amidst the crumpled wreckage it caused is astounding."
http://kottke.org/08/07/the-most-beautiful-suicide
From our previous discussion, I explained to Tyler how I was fascinated with idea of juxtaposing the illusion of beauty and death with Cynthia (making the audience feel attracted to her subconsciously only then to realize that they themselves are "attracted" to a corpse). The above photograph is an example of a successful visual representation of this effect. Even though the woman portrayed in the picture is dead, we recognize she is still very much beautiful. This only strengthens my intent to bring this to life on stage.
We then proceeded to go right down the list of suggestions I made to the script, grappling with each one by one. After a good two hours, it's safe to say Tyler and I are the same page in collaborating to make this script this best it could possibly be. He was very objective and enthusiastic to accept what I presented. The first re-write is expected to be completed by the end of July to give room for more editing in August.
He shared with me a new inspiration behind the show: Robert Wile's photograph Suicide (Fallen Body).
"On May 1, 1947, Evelyn McHale leapt to her death from the observation deck of the Empire State Building. Photographer Robert Wiles took a photo of McHale a few minutes after her death. The photo ran a couple of weeks later in Life magazine accompanied by the following caption: On May Day, just after leaving her fiancé, 23-year-old Evelyn McHale wrote a note. 'He is much better off without me ... I wouldn't make a good wife for anybody,' ... Then she crossed it out. She went to the observation platform of the Empire State Building. Through the mist she gazed at the street, 86 floors below. Then she jumped. In her desperate determination she leaped clear of the setbacks and hit a United Nations limousine parked at the curb. Across the street photography student Robert Wiles heard an explosive crash. Just four minutes after Evelyn McHale's death Wiles got this picture of death's violence and its composure.
From McHale's NY Times obituary, Empire State Ends Life of Girl, 20: At 10:40 A. M., Patrolman John Morrissey of Traffic C, directing traffic at Thirty-fourth Street and Fifth Avenue, noticed a swirling white scarf floating down from the upper floors of the Empire State. A moment later he heard a crash that sounded like an explosion. He saw a crowd converge in Thirty-third Street.
Two hundred feet west of Fifth Avenue, Miss McHale's body landed atop the car. The impact stove in the metal roof and shattered the car's windows. The driver was in a near-by drug store, thereby escaping death or serious injury. On the observation deck, Detective Frank Murray of the West Thirtieth Street station, found Miss McHale's gray cloth coat, her pocketbook with several dollars and the note, and a make-up kit filled with family pictures. The serenity of McHale's body amidst the crumpled wreckage it caused is astounding."
http://kottke.org/08/07/the-most-beautiful-suicide
From our previous discussion, I explained to Tyler how I was fascinated with idea of juxtaposing the illusion of beauty and death with Cynthia (making the audience feel attracted to her subconsciously only then to realize that they themselves are "attracted" to a corpse). The above photograph is an example of a successful visual representation of this effect. Even though the woman portrayed in the picture is dead, we recognize she is still very much beautiful. This only strengthens my intent to bring this to life on stage.
We then proceeded to go right down the list of suggestions I made to the script, grappling with each one by one. After a good two hours, it's safe to say Tyler and I are the same page in collaborating to make this script this best it could possibly be. He was very objective and enthusiastic to accept what I presented. The first re-write is expected to be completed by the end of July to give room for more editing in August.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
POWERPOINT
As part of my application to direct for New Works, New Voices, I created a powerpoint presentaion of compelling images from the script, inspiration from literature/film, and pre-liminary research. This of course is only it's beginning stage, but as I further develop my vision of the piece, I intend to futher expand and develop this as a visual aid for myself and those involved with The Embalmer.
Link to The Embalmer powerpoint: http://www.sendspace.com/file/s6x5ck
Link to The Embalmer powerpoint: http://www.sendspace.com/file/s6x5ck
Monday, June 29, 2009
DIRECTOR MEETS PLAYWRIGHT
After learning that I'm officially directing on the mainstage this fall, I immeadiately got in contact with Tyler McPherson, the playwright of The Embalmer. He and I talked on the phone for over four hours the night of June 23 about the script, how we wanted to handle our relationship as director/playwright throughout the rehearsal process, possible edits, and my vision of the piece.
I explained how I wanted to collaborate as a team about edits to the current script, but I didn't want to step on his toes in the writing process. All I wanted to provide were suggestions to help this work of art grow and mature. We then decided to begin the editing process through analytical discussion and possible performance needs. We set that after our talk, he would consider and re-evaluate what I presented to him and begin the first of many edits. If we got this first set finished by mid-July, then we would repeat the process for another round of edits to refine and clean the script up more before the auditions at the start of the fall semester. Then, we would carry through into the rehearsal process with edits as the production comes to life.
Link to the script editing suggestions I made (The descriptions I listed below each subject are very basic reasonings. Tyler and I went into much further detail as per our intitial discussion): http://www.sendspace.com/file/1geco2
I explained how I wanted to collaborate as a team about edits to the current script, but I didn't want to step on his toes in the writing process. All I wanted to provide were suggestions to help this work of art grow and mature. We then decided to begin the editing process through analytical discussion and possible performance needs. We set that after our talk, he would consider and re-evaluate what I presented to him and begin the first of many edits. If we got this first set finished by mid-July, then we would repeat the process for another round of edits to refine and clean the script up more before the auditions at the start of the fall semester. Then, we would carry through into the rehearsal process with edits as the production comes to life.
Link to the script editing suggestions I made (The descriptions I listed below each subject are very basic reasonings. Tyler and I went into much further detail as per our intitial discussion): http://www.sendspace.com/file/1geco2
Saturday, June 27, 2009
BLOG IS UP!
The official blog for The Embalmer is up and running! Updates about the production and it's process to follow soon.
For those interested in further information, please contact Nick Hrutkay at N.M.Hrutkay@iup.edu or see the section titled ADDITIONAL INFORMATION below.
For those interested in further information, please contact Nick Hrutkay at N.M.Hrutkay@iup.edu or see the section titled ADDITIONAL INFORMATION below.
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