Monday, November 13, 2006
The End of Reality
This was a very interesting experience I thought. 
It's worth noting that Richard Maxwell's texts have changed quite a bit in the last few years. The collection ends in 2000. Pretty soon after that end date they became more dense, richer, more poetic in places. Drummer Wanted begins with the same kind of 'inarticulate' exactness as we saw in House and Caveman, but by the end its accumulated a different tone. With Joe and Showcase there is an even greater verbal intensity. The End of Reality made some very swift gear-changes between trivia and intensity, static action and those fabulous fight sequences. Sometimes it took me a while to catch up with the gear change, which is an interesting experience for an audience.
It might encourage the writers to allow moments of greater verbal density and intensity for the audience (as well as moments of lightness, comedy, and inarticulacy). It was striking too that there was more variation in the tones they adopted. There were some moments of 'real' anger. The moment where Jake 'cried' near the beginning was interesting too. The actors might like to reflect on the options available to them. Directors: I thought the use of awkward silence in the production was very interesting, making some of the most banal exchanges of dialogue seem much funnier but also much more resonant. Stage management and design: the use of 'real' props was interesting and not something I've seen much of before in his work. Perhaps this is something we could think about?
I'd very much like to hear your thoughts and experiences of the show. You might want to respond to one or more of these questions:
It's worth noting that Richard Maxwell's texts have changed quite a bit in the last few years. The collection ends in 2000. Pretty soon after that end date they became more dense, richer, more poetic in places. Drummer Wanted begins with the same kind of 'inarticulate' exactness as we saw in House and Caveman, but by the end its accumulated a different tone. With Joe and Showcase there is an even greater verbal intensity. The End of Reality made some very swift gear-changes between trivia and intensity, static action and those fabulous fight sequences. Sometimes it took me a while to catch up with the gear change, which is an interesting experience for an audience.It might encourage the writers to allow moments of greater verbal density and intensity for the audience (as well as moments of lightness, comedy, and inarticulacy). It was striking too that there was more variation in the tones they adopted. There were some moments of 'real' anger. The moment where Jake 'cried' near the beginning was interesting too. The actors might like to reflect on the options available to them. Directors: I thought the use of awkward silence in the production was very interesting, making some of the most banal exchanges of dialogue seem much funnier but also much more resonant. Stage management and design: the use of 'real' props was interesting and not something I've seen much of before in his work. Perhaps this is something we could think about?
I'd very much like to hear your thoughts and experiences of the show. You might want to respond to one or more of these questions:
- What surprised you about seeing Maxwell's company live?
- In what way did it confirm ideas and impressions you'd had before?
- What kind of experiences did you have? (Was it moving? funny? intellectually engaging? did it feel socially engaged? Psychologically vivid? etc.)
- I felt that there was, in the text, something about a post-9/11 US being engaged with here, though po-faced commentary is clearly not Maxwell's style. How does he engaged with political and social realities in his work?
- What did you think the point was of the style?
Dan Rebellato
// posted by danrebellato @ 3:11 PM 
