Giladon-line » new york

Beckett Shorts

Sat, 22 Dec 2007 04:02:39 +0000

I just got back from the Beckett Shorts production – a collection of short Beckett plays at the New York Theatre Workshop directed by JoAnne Akalaitis, starring Mikhail Baryshnikov and featuring new music by Philip Glass with video by my good friend Mirit Tal. Eh Joe is the fourth play in the lineup, and is definitely the most impressive. It was presented with the front scrim down, and a huge projection focused on Baryshnikov’s face.

Most theatre productions I’ve seen that use video projections usually take away from the experience. The video diverts and takes up the audience’s attention. But in this case, it suited the scene, which I found later on, was originally written for television. What I also found later, was that this specific setting (with the large video projection) premiered in Dublin, in April 2006. The extreme contrasts between the hugh twitches on the scrim compared to the motionlessness of Baryshnikov’s physical body on stage creates a unique and extremely expressive atmosphere.

Congratulations Mirit! Here’s some background about the play:

Eh Joe is a piece for television, written in English by Samuel Beckett, his first work for the medium. It was begun on the authorâ€™s fifty-ninth birthday, 13th April 1965, and completed by 1st May. â€œIt [was] followed by six undated typescripts (numbered 0 – 4 and â€˜final versionâ€™).â€

…At least thirteen versions have been preserved on tape making it far and away Beckettâ€™s most produced teleplay.It was first published in Eh Joe and Other Writings (Faber, 1967) â€“ although the version published is closer to Typescript 3, mentioned above, than the version as broadcast. (source)

[tags] new york, theatre, beckett, new media, video [/tags]

New York Sunrise

Wed, 19 Dec 2007 14:52:34 +0000

Ahmadinejad in the newest Off-Broadway

Sat, 22 Sep 2007 17:23:21 +0000

Iranian president Ahmadinejad is arriving in New York tomorrow to address the United Nations General Assembly. Impulsively, as an Israeli first and a New Yorker second, instant thoughts come to my mind – how can they let this guy come to the states? After his words and actions over the past years. He is one of the major supporters to terrorist organizations who aim to wipe my country’s face off the world map! And he’ll be visiting here, in my city.

The UN Ambassador, John Bolton, described the United Nations as a “Twilight Zone that gives a platform to tinhorn dictators”, and the General Assembly as an off-Broadway production – “a theater in which Ahmadinejad and others perform”. I say – what good is this political performance if there is no dialogue? This is a show I do not want to see. I feel like the “Iranian Problem” (in quotes for a reason) will shape politics and the world in the following years. Yet it seems like the roles have already been distributed long ago – Ahmadinejad got the lead as the bad guy, America the good, and the innocent civilians, as always, caught in the middle.

I realize the importance of free speech, and understand that my point of view was shaped by the people I grew up around, the places I’ve been and their media. But still I find myself in this situation which I don’t completely understand.

Did u say tornado in brooklyn?

Wed, 08 Aug 2007 20:03:30 +0000

Yesterday I got this pamphlet (above) in the mail. A bunch of us were working at my studio, and as I showed it to everyone we all cracked up at the idea. A hurricane in NYC? You gotta be joking. The idea of something disrupting this massive city from its daily routine seemed farfetched.

Weirdly enough, as things tend to connect recently, that same night, a strong thunderstorm hit the city. In the morning I woke up to Gali’s voice mail, describing the chaos in Brooklyn and possibility of a tornado touching down in Bay Ridge. Still unsure if it was actually a tornado, but the city definitely came to a crawl. Subway line delays, and people reporting hours of travel time to work. It was actually suggested by the municipality not to go to work if you needed public transport. Bridges and streets were jam-packed with cars. The weird thing is that this storm didn’t bring down the heat. It is even hotter and stickier today, in comparison to yesterday. I feel like I’m back in Hong Kong (only HK is even more humid…).

Gali told me she saw trees toppled over, sidewalks cracked and even a car bumper up high in a tree. Her neighbor decided to go to church today and thank god that the tree fell on the cars in the street and not on his house. However, the city had a powerful vibe, that ‘New York we’re all in this together‘ feel. People sharing their morning experiences in the streets. I couldn’t help but smiling. I love this city for moments like this.

I talked to this one guy on the street who described his morning adventures. He said there’s a reason this “tornado” hit where it hit, just like there’s a reason Katrina hit where it did. And so I truly wonder, what does it take for people to fall back on religious beliefs? And what catastrophe or disaster will make a secular person pray to god?
see the damage for yourself:

…a tornado may have touched down in Bay Ridge. Funnel clouds were spotted early this morning and a tornado warning was posted for Brooklyn, Queens and parts of Nassau County. We won’t know if the damage was caused by a tornado, microburst, or straight line winds until the National Weather Service sends out a forensics team to investigate. Now that the rain is gone, 2.5 inches in Central Park and at LaGuardia, 3.47 inches at JFK, we can expect a totally miserable day! Oppressive heat and humidity are in store, with a heat advisory in effect from one to six this afternoon. Today’s high will be around 90 degrees. The Weather Service is predicting a high of 94, but their forecasts have been running several degrees warm since last week. (source: gothamist)