tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4830829591143605167.post3400421884402297767..comments2013-09-17T04:48:48.783-07:00Comments on Constant Witness: Week One: Pittsburgh New Works Festival._Michael Yhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17169486045151202320noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4830829591143605167.post-45872962950652397552012-09-27T13:36:09.618-07:002012-09-27T13:36:09.618-07:00Hello Michael!
I am the playwright of the first p...Hello Michael!<br /><br />I am the playwright of the first play, "A Light Subject Matter." Thank you so much for your review! I have been waiting to see if you reviewed any of the other weeks - have you been able to attend? You, unlike so many reviewers here in the Pittsburgh Area, actually give your opinion of the production and that is so appreciated. Most give a re-cap of the performance and the ticket information. I really appreciate your candor and willingness to express an actual opinion!<br /><br />Hope to read more from the other weeks of the festival!<br /><br />Sara Baines-Miller<br /><br />Sara Baines-Millerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11576351536643212645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4830829591143605167.post-29359916535600945782012-09-12T03:33:08.344-07:002012-09-12T03:33:08.344-07:00Very thoughtful review! As a fellow attendee, I h...Very thoughtful review! As a fellow attendee, I have to say that you were quite often spot on with your comments. I have to disagree with your negative review of the second play, however, and indicate that your claim of it as "nothing new" could readily apply to the last play as well. EXTREMELY well crafted, yes. Distinctly drawn out, yes. An excellent, note worthy play - completely. However, a mid life crisis, a marriage on the rocks, someone questioning his life choices, the horror inflicted by 9/11, a man losing his partner - those have also been done before many, many times. You may say the moral of the second play has been done before, but there were several distinct things about it - the figure did not tell the girl she was perfect the way she was and pointed out her flaws, which rarely happens. But, going back to the point, just because something is not "new" does not make it lose its merit; the reason these are "nothing new" is that these are both relevant topics that matter to people, and there is nothing wrong with drawing upon those and presenting them theatrically. I think, rather than projecting your issues with the play onto the rest of the audience (particularly since my crowd on Saturday was far more responsive, with far more than one person laughing), it would have seemed more objective of you to stress the point that these are characters that may be unrelatable to some, like yourself. As a 22-year-old male, it is natural that you won't relate to adolescent girls and would be more interested in reflections on life. I don't think it's fair to infer that these issues as insignificant, however, because the jaded adolescent grows up to be the jaded adult in play 3, and that's why I felt the progression of the plays worked so beautifully (women considering starting a person's life, a girl struggling in adolescence, a couple struggling in adulthood). Your comments on "everyone wondering what the hell was going on" and your equating the show with preschool television demerit the efforts of the director and cast, who, for such young people, did an incredible job. Anyone who caught one of the "mean girls" backstage could see how sweet and down to earth they were, and how convincingly they each transformed into a completely different person on stage, and isn't that true theater?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4830829591143605167.post-58014986153546276022012-09-10T17:02:04.664-07:002012-09-10T17:02:04.664-07:00Hi Michael Y,
I'm the playwright of Seeing Pu...Hi Michael Y,<br /><br />I'm the playwright of Seeing Purple People. I know that this was a typo in the program and don't fault you for it, but, just to put it out there, my name is spelled GIUsto. I'm sorry that you didn't see much in my play; it's not for everyone, and I appreciate your honesty (although I would hope it was at least a notch above Barney). I thoroughly enjoyed the rest of the evening and was honored to have my play performed amongst such wonderful productions. I think it was great to see a community of theater lovers from all places, ages, dynamics and levels of experience. I think the festival served its true purpose, which was to bring a real diverse community of theater-goers together. I attended on Saturday night, and found everyone involved to be talented, gracious, pleasant and very supportive of both the writers and the performers.<br /><br />PS - is there any way of deleting the piesky23 comments? Those are from my gmail and I didn't want to link them. Thanks! :)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4830829591143605167.post-24561583560842151022012-09-10T16:25:30.282-07:002012-09-10T16:25:30.282-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.piesky23https://www.blogger.com/profile/01363298043353233796noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4830829591143605167.post-47140890943888482312012-09-10T15:59:10.565-07:002012-09-10T15:59:10.565-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.piesky23https://www.blogger.com/profile/01363298043353233796noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4830829591143605167.post-53968652054114023592012-09-10T13:51:32.361-07:002012-09-10T13:51:32.361-07:00Lora -- the title is listed as "imitates"...Lora -- the title is listed as "imitates" on many sites, including this one.<br /><br />http://eventur.sis.pitt.edu/event.jsp?e_id=4485<br /><br />michael you did, however, spell bi-polar incorrectly!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17783421576996937018noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4830829591143605167.post-15601735252308104032012-09-10T11:16:59.166-07:002012-09-10T11:16:59.166-07:00Lora,
Thanks for your response. I corrected the t...Lora,<br /><br />Thanks for your response. I corrected the title on this post and apologize.<br /><br />Funny that I also made that mistake considering it happened pre-show as well.<br /><br />Best of luck with everything. _Michael Yhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17169486045151202320noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4830829591143605167.post-20591925703693058852012-09-10T11:06:13.568-07:002012-09-10T11:06:13.568-07:00Hi Michael Y,
As the director of the third play an...Hi Michael Y,<br />As the director of the third play and the Managing Director of the Festival, I would first like to thank you for your comments. Your insight made me feel as though we succeeded in getting the message across. However, the title of the show is ART INITIATES LIFE, not Imitates. I hope you will be able to attend future weeks of the Festival and continue blogging about the shows. We appreciate your feedback.<br />Lora OxenreiterAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com