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Tuesday, 13 April 2010 |
 On February 11, 2010, Space 55 Theatre Ensemble, in Phoenix, Arizona, premiered an unlikely double feature: the U.S. premiere of "Tangelico" by Sterling Lynch and the world premiere of "A Cube With A View" by Mare Biddle. Barely a year before, the two playwrights had not yet known of each other’s existence. Thanks to social media, they met, shared their work, and became friends. Eventually, Mare introduced Tangelico to Space 55 and wrote A Cube With A View as a companion piece to it. As a result, Sterling and Mare’s unlikely double feature was born. This volume includes both plays and the playwrights’ reflections on social media and their international collaboration.
Please spread the word. Social media got us this far. I’m sure it can take us even further. When you buy a book, please use the links below. It won’t affect the price you pay, and Sterling earns a commission!
If you want to order from Amazon.ca (Canada), please click on this link:
Social Media Set the Stage: Tangelico and a Cube with a View
If you want to order from Amazon.com (U.S.), please click on this link:
Social media set the stage: Tangelico and A Cube with a View
If you want to order from Amazon.co.uk (U.K.), please click on this link:
Social Media Set the Stage: Tangelico and a Cube with a View
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Friday, 26 March 2010 |
I am so bad at following directions. I mean to, I want to – follow them. Opinions are important to me, although my husband and friends will tell you that I care way too much about what other people think. Accordingly, one would assume that if I seek out guidance, I would follow the suggestions. Follow directions. And I don’t. I must have some kind of authority figure issue…
More on that later, first I’d like to share some news about three really great projects going on in Phoenix.
 Over the last six months I have joined with several city, private and nonprofit parties working toward the goal of uniting performers with performance space in downtown Phoenix.
One effort relates to the conversion of downtown brown fields into viable spaces for all artists. Students in an ASU sustainability class are working their capstone projects around the study and mapping of these potential sites. Developers, real estate agents, and city officials are pushing pencils and dirt to uncover ownership and status of locations. To be sure, the road is long. The project needs anyone and everyone. See bataPHX.org for the plan and ways for you to participate.
Another effort is focused on connecting property managers and owners with performers/painters/writers in the downtown area for both temporary and permanent residency at an affordable rate. Spaces for classes, workshops, rehearsals, and working studios, - in short “Lab” space. There is virtually no developmental laboratory space in town. The theaters and working studios are desperate for space to create, stretch and reach – time not under their own roofs – because their roofs are being used to make the rent. "PhxLabProj" may be few in number, but we are tenacious in effort.
I’m also working with a website designer to create a comprehensive site listing all theaters in the Valley of the Sun. Approximately 75 houses & resident companies. As a single resource this is quite an undertaking, but I want this site to also include project-based funding for each theater or company. Nobody wants to write a check for a stupid dinner where cold chicken and warm salad are served before the live auction. Oh, and the dreaded silent auction. Yawn.
People will invest in something tangible, something that matters. I raised money for set construction because the donors were excited to walk into the little theater and touch the results of their donations. My hope is that all theaters/companies in town will take advantage of this comprehensive clearinghouse. Some are already on board. I anticipate a summer launch. Stay tuned.
And I’m writing a novel.
As such, something has to give. To that end I am taking a sabbatical from playwriting and theater production through the end of 2010.
There are two social media artists/marketers whose opinions I hold in high esteem when it comes to the professional blogging arena. So I asked Sterling (@SterlingLynch) and Dave (@DaveCharest) how to best affect a total change in the focus of this website for the next nine months. They both said something like, “Slowly. Take time to work into it. Write a few transition posts. Then announce the change.”
You know, I am so bad at following directions. See, I have this thing about authority figures…. But since they are also my friends I thought surely I would heed their advice. Mmm…not so much.
I’m so excited about these three downtown Phoenix arts projects. They are constantly on the move and change with the rising mercury. The results of each project will be as important as the process. Converting one brown field will be as important as one student submitting her capstone project. Also, I’m discovering incredible transitions within the novel. I’ve learned more about Sara – where she’s going on the bus, and why she’s there that afternoon. Also, I’m looking forward to spending more time writing for my personal blog.
As a playwright, I have appreciated your readership and your thought provoking emails. I’m looking forward to sharing this new journey with you too. I have much to learn from this process – and much to learn from you. And away we go. |
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Wednesday, 17 March 2010 |
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I’m writing a novel. Shhh…
For months, I wasn’t sure if I could tell anyone. But then I started to feel like I should pass a note with a ‘Yes’ box and a ‘No’ box and on the top scrawled in block letters, “Is it okay for Mare to write a novel?” Ridiculous. First, I told one colleague and then a second. They didn’t exactly condemn the project with faint praise, but instead offered cautious inquiry. “Really? Hmm... well are you writing anything else?” I quickly regrouped, “Oh. Um. Yes. I’m writing a one-act companion play for this abstract piece I got from a guy up in Canada.” “Great! Did you bring pages?”
Checking the ‘No’ box. |
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Tuesday, 02 March 2010 |
 Despite the tardy flight attendant and the epic line in deicing, Sterling Lynch made it to Phoenix for closing weekend. We took in a Suns game, Barrio Café Mexican food, and capped it off with [title of show] on Sunday night. Oh yeah, and we went to our final performance of “Tangelico” and “A Cube With A View”.
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Friday, 12 February 2010 |
 Last night I sat in the fourth row with friends at my side and program in hand. My phone buzzed with supportive text messages. Opening night. Double Feature: Tangelico & A Cube With A View presented by Space55 Theatre Ensemble in Phoenix, AZ.
If you’ve read my posts over the last four weeks, you know the extent to which this pairing was not only unlikely but damn near impossible. But for the very beginnings of social media, Sterling Lynch and I would never have met. A Cube With A View would never have been written. And Space 55 would never have heard of Tangelico. That’s a lot of nevers.
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Wednesday, 03 February 2010 |
 The world premiere of Tangelico and A Cube With A View has been shepherded by many committed individuals – from the vision of the Artistic Director at Space 55, Shawna Franks, to Denny Guge and Stacey Reed working the hell out of Public Relations. And in the last two posts, I’ve touched on the critical role Brandon Wiley played in the production of this unlikely pairing.
I mentioned in the first post, that when I read the following two lines of dialogue in Tangelico, written by Sterling Lynch, I immediately texted Brandon:
JACOB: Well. Ahhh. (He looks around for a moment.) Aha! Why in fuck’s name are you peeling potatoes and cutting them up into strips?
SAM: Hey, don’t use the fuck’s name in vain.
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Tuesday, 26 January 2010 |
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 The headline could have read: Tangelico and A Cube With A View take the world by storm! But Dave Charest had a different idea: “Let's call it, Mare may…or may…not make it through this interview!” he quipped during his interview with Sterling and me. We talked with him via Skype on Thursday, January 21st. Before we started taping I warned Dave that I might lose power during our conversation because Phoenix was in the middle of a violent storm. In fact two tornadoes touched down within the city limits. Crazy! Sterling and Dave had great fun with this notion. They assured me that in the event of any catastrophe, they would carry on without me even though I wouldn’t be able to defend myself – in my memory of course.
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Tuesday, 19 January 2010 |
Last week I shared the origin myth of how Sterling Lynch and I came to work together and ultimately create a show from our two one-act plays. I set the stage, as it were, for a discussion about my experience writing the companion play, A Cube With A View, to Sterling’s Tangelico.
 First I asked Sterling if I could lift a couple of – well maybe three – okay four would be best – props from Tangelico. I took a breath. Then I asked if I could sort of “borrow” a few lines of dialogue. I wasn’t sure how many but not too many. He didn’t hesitate – absolutely – and then he said something about being a playwright from the hip-hop school of derivative works. That scared me. I decided to avoid any further references of the hip-hop nature, and said my goodbyes. I have no doubt that Sterling would recall this conversation in very much the same way.
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Tuesday, 12 January 2010 |
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 On occasion I have blogged about the working relationship Canadian playwright Sterling Lynch and I have managed to forge. Social media rules! I found my way onto Twitter in March, 2009 (@MareBiddle). I searched for theatres and artists to follow. Sterling was among the first playwrights. But he was in Canada, so would it even be worth it to follow him? I mean, we weren’t going to have anything in common, but I followed him anyway (@SterlingLynch). Given my sharp wit, astute intellect, and promise as a successful playwright, he followed back. I’m sure Sterling would agree. As predicted, we have nothing in common. Oddly enough we seem to work together quite well.
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Friday, 04 December 2009 |
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Most of you have family or friends in town for the holidays. Inevitably, you will panic, “What are we going to DO with them?” Sure you can shell out $50-150 a ticket for a Cardinals or Suns game. I mean you can buy $10 seats, but let’s be honest, you’ll get vertigo up there. It’s never a good thing when you can literally touch the rafters – or the clouds. There’s always the Nutcracker. Again. And again. You could go to Zoo Lights. Again. Or something else. Again. |
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