Just Wrought

Recovering playwright, once won a STRANGER Genius Award for theater. Now writing a bloated novel about… G-d help me! Theatre.

  • The Uses of Art

    The Uses of Art

    Art…

    • Reminds us we are going to die
    • Keeps us interested in living
    • Breaks us open
    • Gives hope
    • Devastates
    • Terrifies
    • Delights
    • Comforts the afflicted
    • Can help us to shut the fuck up for a blesséd moment
    • Afflicts the comfortable
    • Makes us human*
    • Magnifies the greater glory of God†
    • Joins the long conversation
    • Engenders reasonless gratitude
    • Offers the means to become other people
    • Demonstrates unprovable truth.

    I have been noodling on this list for years, mostly because I like to have reasons handy when I teach playwriting. (An investigation of the uses of playwriting would open a whole other can of worms.)  I have arranged these in a loose, ostensibly amusing order of my own choosing. I would be truly delighted to hear suggestions for additions, adjustments and deletions.

    Over the last century or so we have tended to shy away from objectivity in the arts and have emphatically discarded any objective means of defining exactly what art is. “It can’t be done,” we shrug; or we toss down the glib gauntlet, “Art is whatever I say it is”, knowing full well that if that were true, then art would be, by extension, whatever anyone says it is, and by further extension, simply everything. And when something is “everything”, it achieves equivalence to “nothing.” Or perhaps even less than that.

    So I would like to suggest that art might only be objectively defined in the context of its utility. Or in plainer words, in order to know what art is, we have to talk about—and maybe can only talk about— what art does.

    I understand I have no special standing to proffer such a list. I quit college after my sophomore year. My plays are only rarely and mostly marginally produced. I am an administrative coordinator at a biotech company, a husband, a father and a person. That last post is the only one I believe entitles me to talk about art; but I stand fiercely by that standing, because, after all, if art is not for persons, then for whom is it?

    My plan over the next few months, or—let’s be honest—years, is to write a short essay about every one of the uses I listed above, and maybe even some I have not yet thought of— maybe some that you suggest. Please be warned, however, that my track record for delivering on promised essays is spotty at best. 

    Happy Holidays.

    2010

    *Not always a good thing.

    †Even if there isn’t One.

    5/28/14 To see my more recent essay, “The Misuses of Art”, please click here.

    Posted at 11:32 AM in Art, Philosophy, The Uses of Art | Comments (7)

    Tags: definition of art, objectivity, objectivity in art, Paul Mullin, The Uses of Art

  • Auditions for The New New News

    Auditions for The New New News

    All the sudden it just got very real up in this joint . . .

    Auditions for the The New New News: A Living Newspaper will take place Saturday December 11, 2010.

    If you are interesting in helping us make theatre for, by and most importantly about the people of the Pacific Northwest, then please send your headshot/resume to Managing Producer Jim Jewell at jim@newswrightsunited.org. 

    Project Description:

    The New New News: A Living Newspaper is the next installment of NewsWrights United’s Living Newspapers, and looks specifically at new media, journalism and the implications of monetization.

    The story follows an organization called The New New News, an online media source that covers the media coverage of Seattle. Their primary funder has given them 24 hours to double their site traffic or go under. How will the The New New News crew respond?

    The New New News will open at South Seattle Community College, move to the Erickson Theatre on Capitol Hill, and then wrap up at North Seattle Community College.   The production run is scheduled for mid-February through early March of 2011.  Rehearsals will start in mid-January.

    We are looking to offer 4 to 5 PAID non-union contracts with a projected $500 stipend at the beginning of the project and a share of box office at the completion..

    NewsWrights United is an associated program of Shunpike.

    Audition Information

    Audition/Interview Dates:   Saturday December 11, 2010 from 10a – 6p

    Audition Requirements: Sides-only audition. Sides will be available when you are scheduled for a audition.

    Character Breakdown / Project Needs:  We are casting for several roles, though which roles will be determined by the results of the auditions. There is a particular need for middle-aged or older men and women, though all ages are encouraged to audition, as well as people of color.

    Audition Location:  Email for appointment: jim@newswrightsunited.org. Drop-ins will not be seen. Auditions to take place at North Seattle Comunity College’s Stage One Theatre.

    Do it!

    Posted at 11:32 AM in Art, Philosophy, The Uses of Art | Comments (7)

    Tags: definition of art, objectivity, objectivity in art, Paul Mullin, The Uses of Art

  • Steven Gomez Dives into the “World Class Theatre” Fray

    In my essay “World Class = Fighting Words” I argued that it is not necessary to specifically define what a World Class Theatre Town is in order to become one.

    We not only do not need to lock down what “world class” means, it would be unwise for any single one of us to try to do so. . . .  All the extremely smart Seattleites. . .  who demand something perfectly specific and quantifiable are, to my mind, like a group of outraged soda lovers storming Coca-Cola headquarters demanding: “What do you mean, ‘Coke is it?’  What the hell does ‘it’ mean?  You say you’d ‘like to buy the world a coke’?  You can’t be serious?  Do you know how much that would cost?”

    Admittedly, my dismissal of an absolute definition has never sat well with my fellows.  Like a gifted sullen twenty-something, still living in its parents’ basement, Seattle likes precision in its arguments, even when it knows it has no intention of ever acting on them.  We are, after all, a town of lawyer/coder/poet geeks.  We scored above average on our SAT’s and we palpably understand, goddammit, the difference between “Modern”, “Modernist”, and “Post-Modern.”  We should be able to put a fully logical box around any concept, including “World Class Theatre.”

    Because I continue to refuse to explicitly define “world class”, many feel free to ignore the goal as so much “sky pie”.  But not Steven Gomez.  Over at his blog, The Russians Used a Pencil, he has zigged away from the standard lackadaisical zag, and actually defined what world class would mean to his mind. 

    A World Class Theatre City does not import plays and actors for production. It predominately exports plays and renowned performers, while focusing on producing original, culturally striking work predominately from its community, rather than works from outside communities it perceives as supreme. A World Class city does not look up to other cities.

    You can see Steven Gomez’s full entry by clicking here.  Give it a read and leave him a comment.  Explain to him how you think he’s distressingly mistaken or inspiringly correct.  Bookmark him.  Bless him.  He’s joined the fray.  And you?

    Posted at 11:32 AM in Art, Philosophy, The Uses of Art | Comments (7)

    Tags: definition of art, objectivity, objectivity in art, Paul Mullin, The Uses of Art

  • Another Step in the Right Direction from ACT

    Another Step in the Right Direction from ACT

    One of the most vital infrastructural components of World Class theatre towns like London and New York completely missing in otherwise vibrant theatre towns like Los Angeles and Seattle, is the intra-city play pipeline: a means for moving, within a given city, successful shows from smaller venues to larger ones so that they can reach more people and, yes, make more money.  With its announcement that it will be bumping up the recent hit Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog from its birthplace at Balagan Theatre on Capitol Hill to the Allen Theater space at A Contemporary Theatre in the heart of downtown Seattle, ACT seems to be indicating its willingness to attempt opening just such a pipeline.  And as much as it might pain a perpetual complainer to give credit where credit is due, this is by no means the first time in the last few years that ACT has taken a bold step.

    While Intiman flails about trying to figure out how to stay alive, and the Seattle Rep continues to… well, do whatever the hell it believes it’s doing  (Really?  Dancing with Lughnasa is so burningly urgent that you need to stage it every fifteen years?),  ACT has, under the artistic leadership of Kurt Beattie, and the entrepreneurial vision of Carlo Scandiuzzi, charged forward with innovation and risk-taking with an eye towards reaping the significant rewards that taking such risks can bring.  By introducing such novel programs as the Central Heating Lab and the ACTPass, maintaining the success of the Young Playwrights Program,  and nurturing informal partnerships with promising groups like New Century Theatre, Awesome and now Balagan, just to name a few, ACT has managed to do something few regional theatres anywhere can honestly claim: it actually lives up to its hypey catch phrase: “ACT: A Theatre of New Ideas”, and as a result, seems to be positioning itself to dominate Seattle’s theatre scene by creating an eclectic, constantly brimming shopping center of performance in the gorgeous historic old Eagles Building right next door to the Washington State Convention center.

    Apparently for now, of the Three Bigs, only ACT believes that Seattle really can be a World Class theatre town and that one of its LORT houses really can take steps to make that happen.  Now, will ACT keep it up?  In the past they have let crucial programs such as FirstACT and FringeACT die while they strived to stay alive.  The pressure of success is an all-together different beast than the pressure of failure.  Can they keep moving forward when expectations for their operations begin to rise beyond simple survival?  Can they keep taking chances even when some risks will inevitably reap failure?

    Golly, I hope so.  And what’s more, I’m really starting to believe it.

    Posted at 11:32 AM in Art, Philosophy, The Uses of Art | Comments (7)

    Tags: definition of art, objectivity, objectivity in art, Paul Mullin, The Uses of Art

  • NewsWrights’ Awareness & Fundraising Event – How’d we do?

    NewsWrights’ Awareness & Fundraising Event – How’d we do?

    NewsWrights United held its first ever awareness/fundraising event, Journalism: a.WAKE.ning? this past Monday night.  After taking a few days to recover, I thought it was high time to take a look at how we did.

    Goal 1: Raising Awareness

    The Excerpt Reading

    The evening’s kick off entertainment came with Dawson Nichols’ staging of the first scene of our working script for upcoming second edition of our Living Newspaper: The New New News, featuring the inestimable talents of Robert Agostinelli, Shawn Belyea, Khanh Doan, Amy Love,  Joseph P. McCarthy, and our own Wes Andrews.  It is rollercoaster fun for a playwright to watch talented professional actors read, after very little rehearsal, words one collaborated to wright.  One moment you stand horrified helpless witness as they mangle laugh lines you crafted and treasured so dearly; the next moment thrill blossoms again as they find whole new laughs you never expected or designed.  Shawn Belyea embodied the definition of a professional actor– versus, say, a very talented and eager amateur– when he managed to wring the biggest laugh of the night out of losing his place in the script.

    Excerpt Reading from The New New News: A Living Newspaper featuring Robert Agostinelli, Khahn Doan, Amy Love and Shawn Belyea (left to right)

    The Panel Discussion

    Our Consulting Producer, Tom Paulson, ran this discussion of the current state of journalism, with such local luminaries as legendary sports columnist Art Thiel, new media maven, Monica Guzman, Mark Higgins, Metro Editor for The Seattle Times, Brendan Kiley, Theater Critic and Features Reporter for The Stranger, and Chris Grygiel, coordinator of political coverage for the Seattle P-I.com.  Personally, I found this panel discussion the most exciting portion of the evening.  Tom pointed hard-hitting questions at everyone in the room, and not one of the panelists shied away from answering frankly, a rare occurrence, as you would know if you have attended similar discussions in the last couple years.  Journalists have been very leery about hashing through the woes of their industry.  For a quick rundown of the various points-of-view represent, I cannot do better than the rundown provided by Jake Ellison over at Seattlepostglobe.org, which you can check out by clicking here.

     The Journalism: a.WAKE.ning? Panel. Tom Paulson (in cap) moderates Paul Mullin, Mark Higgens, Monica Guzman, Chris Grygiel, Art Thiel, and Brendan Kiley. (Left to right.)_

    One moment seemed to leap out for nearly everyone in the room.  Several good friends gave me their feedback in the days after and nearly all of them specifically mentioned the earnest and well-argued exchange between Art Thiel and Brendan Kiley regarding the definition of a journalist.  Is it, as Art argued, an expert in a certain field or, per Brendan, an aggressive novice?  One friend clearly felt Brendan played the wrong-headed asshole in the debate; the other friend, however, remarked on how freaked out he was by what he viewed as Art’s vehement defensiveness.  To a playwright this sounds like magic.  When you can produce something on stage from which different audience members can draw diametrically opposed notions of who the villain was, then you are most definitely cooking with gas.

    GRADE FOR AWARNESS RAISING – 95% – “A”

    Goal 2: Raising Funds

    Of course, the second and co-equal goal for Journalism: a.WAKE.ning? was to raise additional funds for our upcoming second edition: The New New News: A Living Newspaper.  We did that, posting a considerable surplus for the evening, but we could have done it better.  We are a new organization and still learning out how to do the all things we need to do to survive and thrive.  We will get better at this.

    GRADE FOR FUND RAISING – 82.7%  – “B-minus”

    And now to you . . .

    Because we continue reaching for our support goals, I would like to ask you right now to consider joining the NewsWrights team as a supporting member.  We have a wide spectrum of levels at which you can join.  I ask you to consider coming on as at least a “Cub Reporter” for a donation of $25.  Dawson Nichols smartly modeling the vintage, limited edition Seattle P-I cap available at the $50

    At the $50 level you will be listed in our program as a “Columnist” and in recognition of your generosity, you will receive, while supplies last, a limited edition Seattle P-I ball cap just like the one you see Artistic Producer Dawson Nichols smartly modeling in the photo  to the right.

    At the “Desk Editor” level, representing a $100 gift, you will receive two hats,  plus two reserved seats to any performance including one of our three opening nights, as we deliver the paper to Seattle’s doorstep in three neighborhoods: West Seattle, Capitol Hill and Northgate.

    At the $1,000 “Media Mogul”  level you will receive all of those perks, plus coverage of any local story you want by NewsWrights United, because we, like certain cable TV news operations, can clearly be bought.

    Finally, if all you can spare is $10, we would be deeply grateful to have you join our team as a “Newsie”. 

    The bottom line is we want your support– any support– because your support represents your “buy-in” to our mission, and that keeps us strong both fiscally and spiritually. So please consider joining us at whatever level you can.  It’s as easy as clicking on our trusty upside-down  NewsWrights Support Fedora, below.  It will take you to our Shunpike donation page. 

    Donation hatThank you so much for filling our hat with your support!

    (Also, if you have not already done so, please consider “liking” our Face Book page here.  For now, it is the very best way to keep track of our doings and some very evocative discussions around current journalism issues. )

    Posted at 11:32 AM in Art, Philosophy, The Uses of Art | Comments (7)

    Tags: definition of art, objectivity, objectivity in art, Paul Mullin, The Uses of Art

  • Better-Late-Than-Never Breaking Press for “Journalism: a.WAKE.ning?”

    Better-Late-Than-Never Breaking Press for “Journalism: a.WAKE.ning?”

    Extra!  Extra!

    As luck and irony would have it, all the press for Journalism: a.WAKE.ning? is breaking late, fast and furious.  Here’s a rundown of what came across the wires this weekend:

    The Stranger

    The Sunbreak

    Seattle Theatre Examiner

    • The Gist:  Now is exactly the time to gamble on locally grown new plays.
    • The Pull-quote:  “The previous golden age of American theater was smack-dab during the last Great Depression,” said Mullin. “We must not sit around on our hands waiting for the rich to pay us to make art for them. The rich don’t need our help and they will not share our vision. We need to make art for the people who are suffering in these drastic times, and let the chips fall where they may. We need to enter the fray.”
    • The Link: http://www.examiner.com/theater-in-seattle/no-better-time-to-produce-theater-seattle

    Late buzz is better than no buzz at all, and we are grateful for it. 

    So if you haven’t already bought your tickets, don’t feel bad but DO IT NOW!   Click HERE to make your order at Brown Paper Tickets, or if you’re feeling lucky and pressed for time, buy them at the door.

    Either way . . .

    We’ll see you tonight!

    Posted at 11:32 AM in Art, Philosophy, The Uses of Art | Comments (7)

    Tags: definition of art, objectivity, objectivity in art, Paul Mullin, The Uses of Art

  • Why NewsWrights United Matters

    Why NewsWrights United Matters

    Wes Andrews,  the New Media Analyst and Dramaturg for NewsWrights United, asked each of our creative team members to write a short essay for our blog on why this project matters to them. This one’s my stab.

    Fresh theatre is living theatre.

    I hold this truth to be self-evident.

    I have held it so for a very long time, but have only argued it publically and formally for about 9 months, since launching my blog Just Wrought, and its first in a series of essays, “Theatre Takes Place: Why Locally Grown Plays Matter”.  By itself, the notion is not terribly controversial. The argument comes when we theatre professionals attempt to determine whether you can make something fresh with 10 year-old, 20-year-old, 50-year old and 500-year old ingredients. I say, “Well… sometimes.” My esteemed adversaries in this ongoing argument defiantly avow “Always!”, and then they sink a staggering amount of effort into convincing their audience, and more importantly, themselves that that so long as one has excellently trained and accomplished actors, insightful and renowned directors and designers, plenty of money from donors and a cultured public, one can always make the already existing great plays of the canon fresh.

    I disagree.

    In reality you need actual fresh content to keep theatre relevant and alive.  And fresh content only comes from creating new plays. Thus, as much as the ascendancy of “The Director” in the 19th Century, and “The Artistic Director” in the 20th, seemed to herald the demise of the playwright, the playwright remains a necessary component— perhaps the necessary component—of ensuring theatre remains a living—and not merely a museum– art form.

    We at NewsWrights United believe that employing the theatrical form of the living newspaper to cover local news is one of the best ways of injecting fresh, locally compelling, material into the theatrical canon. That alone, however, is not enough to answer why this project matters. Happily, when we produced our first edition It’s Not in the P-I: A Living Newspaper about a Dying Newspaper, we noticed an added bonus. The people came—and we sold out nearly every night—not to see excellent theatre adeptly presented by trained professionals but rather stories about a local newspaper that they loved (or hated) that had died recently. In other words, they came to see themselves.

    When theatre offers the new and the relevant, it matters and lives.   When it offers only  the polished and perfect– plays we all already know– it dies a museum death.  We are doing this project because journalism matters. We are also doing it because theatre matters. When blended they achieve an almost explosive synergy.

    Why?

    It’s simple. Audiences matter. Stories matter. The rest is icing. Sometimes icing is delightful, but it will not keep you alive forever.

    I hope you will join us Monday evening, November 15 for  . . .

    Journalism: a.WAKE.ning?  

    Tickets for the event are $20 and are available at Brown Paper Tickets (http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/133319) or may be purchased at the door.

    Or if you cannot make it, please consider helping us out with a donation.  Below is our support hat.  You can start filling it by clicking on it.  It’ll take you to our Shunpike donation page.  

    Donation hat

    Early support is always deeply appreciated support.  So thanks.

    Posted at 11:32 AM in Art, Philosophy, The Uses of Art | Comments (7)

    Tags: definition of art, objectivity, objectivity in art, Paul Mullin, The Uses of Art

  • At Least One of Our Theatre Critics is also a Journalist

    At Least One of Our Theatre Critics is also a Journalist

    Brendan Kiley just broke some more substantiated details on the crisis at Intiman Theatre over at The Stranger’s Slog.

    So my question for The Seattle Times would be, where was Misha Berson on all this? 

    There’s an old joke about the Seattle ethos of crippling “niceness”.

    In Chicago, the car behind you will honk as soon as the light turns green.

    In New York, the car behind on you will honk exactly one second before the light turns green.

    In Seattle, the light can cycle through green yellow red… green yellow red… green yellow red… forever before anyone will discover that you’ve keeled over dead of a heart attack.

    So, was Misha just going to wait until a press release was pushed out? Or should our only surviving daily newspaper step up and occasionally do some shoe-leather arts reporting  without solely relying on the story the perpetrators choose to tell us?

    Posted at 11:32 AM in Art, Philosophy, The Uses of Art | Comments (7)

    Tags: definition of art, objectivity, objectivity in art, Paul Mullin, The Uses of Art

  • Get your Tix Now for the Journalism/Theatre Event of the Year

    Get your Tix Now for the Journalism/Theatre Event of the Year

    Tickets just $20 at Brown Paper Tickets.

    Monday November 15, 2010 – 7:30-9:30pm

    The Upstairs Gallery above Theatre Off Jackson

    NewsWrights United is throwing a party. What kind of party is up to you.

    Do you want to toast the rebirth of journalism, or drown your sorrows at its untimely demise?

    We’ll start your evening with a complimentary glass of champagne or shot of rye (toasting or drowning?). Visual art and installations, complimentary hors d’oeuvres and a cash bar await you in the gallery.

    We’ll offer up a preview scene from our upcoming Living Newspaper, The New New News, and highlight the evening with a panel discussion on new media and journalism moderated by NewsWrights producer Tom Paulson and featuring Pulitzer Prize-winning P-I political cartoonist Dave Horsey, Monica Guzman of Intersect.com, Publicola‘s Josh Feit, local sportswriting legend Art Thiel, The Stranger theatre critic Brendan Kiley, and Chris Grygiel, coordinator of political coverage for the P-I blogs.

    Get ‘em now before the all get got!

    Tickets just $20 at Brown Paper Tickets.

    Posted at 11:32 AM in Art, Philosophy, The Uses of Art | Comments (7)

    Tags: definition of art, objectivity, objectivity in art, Paul Mullin, The Uses of Art

  • I Hate Being Prescient

    Okay, honestly, when I posted “Let’s Put a Bullet in the Ugliest Rumor” on Monday I had no idea that the Managing Director of Intiman, Brian Colburn would be tendering his resignation for “personal reasons” that very same day.  And I sure as hell didn’t know anything about the rumor now running rampant today on the inside of Seattle’s regional theatre scene that Intiman is on the edge of going belly up.  I am hearing that “They are a million in debt, haven’t paid taxes, health care, union dues, or L&I and have spent their endowment and bonds.” 

    So is it true?  I honestly don’t know.  I just playact as a journalist over at NewsWrights United, but I do think it is high time for Kate Whoriskey to come out from behind the curtain and start reassuring her public.

    Kate?  The call is places.

    Posted at 11:32 AM in Art, Philosophy, The Uses of Art | Comments (7)

    Tags: definition of art, objectivity, objectivity in art, Paul Mullin, The Uses of Art

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