by Brian | Jan 2, 2012 | Blog, Little Brother
Here’s the unedited version of the Little Brother director’s note that will appear in the program. Great thoughts from Josh about the novel and it’s eerie parallel with current events.
I first read Cory Doctorow’s novel Little Brother in 2009. I loved it, and it wasn’t long before I started thinking about turning it into a play. It’s got all kinds of things I like to put on stage: young people fighting back against a corrupt system, a pinch of science fiction, a sweet yet strikingly honest teenage romance. There aren’t many stories that hit so many of my buttons all at once. I emailed Cory Doctorow that June, and he replied twelve minutes later, cc’ing his agent and saying he was open to the idea.
I spent the next several months banging out a first draft, then got the chance to hear it aloud at a couple of staged readings with SF Playhouse. That led to more rewrites, and eventually I brought the script to Brian Katz and he agreed to produce it with Custom Made.
In the year since then, I’ve continued working on the script even as events in the real world caught up with and threatened to move past what happens in the story. Neither the Arab Spring nor Occupy Wall Street are predicted in Little Brother, but it is impossible to look at Little Brother now without thinking about both of them. It has been said that Cory Doctorow predicts the present. When people use technology to come together in solidarity against vastly more powerful forces, and when our president signs a bill legalizing the indefinite detention without trial of American citizens, the kind of present that Cory Doctorow predicts in Little Brother looks more and more like right now.
I don’t know how many Cory Doctorow fans are also small theatre enthusiasts — that Venn Diagram might just be me — but I hope this production will resonate with both the fans and the folks who have never heard of Cory Doctorow. I hope the fans will forgive me for the changes I’ve made to the story. I made some pretty big changes, not because I think I know better than Cory — I’m at least as big a fan as you are — but because a play and a novel are different beasts. Cory clearly believes in remixing and retelling, and that’s exactly what this is.
I love this story. I love that it’s both epic and detailed, both serious and funny, both earnest and subversive. Working with a talented group of people to bring Little Brother to life has been tremendously fulfilling. I can’t think of any story I’d rather tell. Enjoy.
Director Josh Costello
by Brian | Dec 30, 2011 | Blog, Little Brother
Last night we did something new at Custom Made: one of the perks of giving to our recent Indiegogo campaign was to be invited to the designer run.
For those not in the industry, or obsessed with obscure theatrical terminology, the designer run is one of the last chances for the design staff to see the play in action before the technical elements are brought in. The “audience” is filled with tired, but excited, staff and enough computers, fabrics, gels, pipe, as well as various snack products and coffees to keep an #Occupy camp going for a night.
It was a treat having six of our donors there for this unique experience, and also gave the actors their first opportunity to play in front of a fresh audience. The result was fantastic! The play seemed to land very well, laughs happened where they should, and despite this being a play with a massive multi-media component that had has not been loaded in yet (let alone most costumes, props, or a finished set) the audience was engaged, entertained, and said it left them with a lot to think about.
All in all, a remarkable evening, and one I am very proud we were able to acheive.
Here’s two photos from my cell phone. Sorry for the poor quality:
Daniel Petzold, Cory Censoprano
Daniel Petzold, Marissa Keltie, Cory Censoprano
by Brian | Dec 29, 2011 | Awards, Blog, Marigolds
Director Stuart Bousel (M. Butterfly, The Merchant of Venice) has been giving his own year-end awards for two seasons now. As he rightfully says, all awards go the people you know, so yes he knows everyone, and works for some of them, but his opinion is just as valid as anyone else’s.
We couldn’t agree more, and not just because he named our The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds Best Overall Production. Here’s from the Facebook article:
BEST OVERALL PRODUCTION
“The Affect of Gamma Rays on Man In The Moon Marigolds” (Custom Made Theater Company)
Custom Made seems to have had a great 2011 and it ended with what was, for me, the best over-all show I saw this year. Paul Zindel’s classive about growing up lower middle class in suburbia is still very very poignant and relevant and Katja Rivera’s production brought gold out of her excellent cast. Custom Made has made some excellent staff changes in the last year and so their technical aspects have grown stronger, making for some solid hits in this production, including some musical scoring that some people didn’t care for but I thought worked beautifully to highlight Zindel’s optimism as it runs just below his tawdry surfaces. Michelle Jasso proved she could step outside of the diva roles to play an embittered, pathetic woman whose hateful world view would be repulsive were it not completely understandable, and the decision to have both the teenage girl roles played by actual teenargers was rewarded by having the two best teenage girl actresses I’ve ever seen in the Bay Area knock their respective roles out of the park. AJ Davenport was tragically sympathetic in a silent role. All in all, a good example of everything working together go bring you the best evening possible.
Read about all the other Stuey ™ winners here:
https://www.facebook.com/notes/stuart-bousel/the-stuart-excellence-in-bay-area-theater-awards-for-2011/10151102326035077
by Brian | Dec 29, 2011 | Awards, Blog, M. Butterfly
Just learned that Richard Connema, member of the Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle, named our production of M. Butterfly and actor Sean Fenton (Song) as one of the best of 2011. Thanks, Richard and congratulations to the cast and crew, along with director Stuart Bousel.
Sean Fenton as Song
Read the list of honored productions at:
https://www.talkinbroadway.com/allthatchat/d.php?id=2035365
and actors at:
https://www.talkinbroadway.com/allthatchat/d.php?id=2035366
