(The cast of The Timing of A Day. photo by Megan Dixon)
So much is going on! So much to be done! It's hard to find time to make regular updates. Rehearsals are underway and going strong. The cast is incredible. Every day they're making new amazing discoveries. I love them! Here's a pic of them together as we took promo pictures in Morningside Park.
Lots of new stuff is on the horizon. The webpage is almost ready to go live. Our postcards are about to be delivered, the promotional pictures are being finished. The set is about to be built. We open in just under 3 weeks. It's a little daunting, knowing how much work there is to be done, but there's such great excitement and enthusiasm coming from every member of the team it's not hard to stay positive and stay on task.
The Timing of a Day making its world premiere at the 2010 NYC International Fringe Festival
Written be Owen Panettieri Directed by Joey Brenneman Starring: Justin Anselmi, Nik Kourtis, Adam Shorsten and R. Elizabeth Woodard
The show is still a few weeks away, but go for those $15 tickets now before they go up to $18!
They can be purchased online here That link should put my show right front and center on the screen, so it’s not confusing which show you’re looking for. You can also search for it by name at the site.
HERE ARE THE TIMES!
WED 8/18 @ 2:00-3:45, SAT 8/21 @ 2:00-3:45, TUE 8/24 @ 7:45-9:30, WED 8/25 @ 5:45-7:30, SAT 8/28 @ 7:45-9:30
HERE'S THE VENUE!
New York Theater Workshop’s 4th Street Theater - (83 East 4th St at 2nd Ave)
When it comes up in conversation that you've written a play, people tend to react with enthusiasm and ask, "What's it called?" and if you happen to have already named your play, this is an easy question to answer. In my particular case I would say, "It's called The Timing of a Day." The feeling of self-satisfaction fades quickly, however, when the questioner offers up the standard follow up question, "So what's it about?" Oh, how I find this question much more difficult to answer!
It's not that I don't know what the play is about. I'm just never quite sure what the person asking really wants to know. Are they asking me to tell them what literally happens in the play or are they asking me more about the theme of the piece?
Part of my brain wants to talk plot, and another wants to say what it's "About." These two chunks of brain matter wrestle for control of my mouth and all that comes out usually is "uhh... it's about, well, um... there are these roommates! And... uh... i should come up with a better answer for this..."
Let's assume, for a moment, people just want to know the plot. I can give it to them easily enough, but not without giving away some surprises that maybe they don't want spoiled before seeing the show. Those people then get annoyed with me for saying anything. That conversation goes like this:
Person: So what's it about?
Me: Well, it's about these three roommates sharing an apartment in Harlem and [CENSORED. COME SEE THE SHOW.] So then -
Person: Wait, what? Why did you tell me that?
Me: Because you asked what happens!
Person: Yeah, but now it won't be a surprise!
Me: Don't worry, that's just where the story begins!
Person: Still... you shouldn't give that part away, okay?
Me: Yeah, okay.
Person: ...So then what happens?
Writing the blurb for the Fringe application was also not easy for me. It was (I think) 40 words long max and I wasn't totally thrilled with what I came up with, but they accepted the show anyway, so hooray! I got to take another crack it when we were creating the press release and here's what we came up with:
Written by Owen Panettieri and directed by Joey Brenneman, TheTiming of a Day follows three New York City roommates who share a loving (if cramped) Harlem apartment and a similarly loving (if cramped) triangular friendship. As the play opens, the three find themselves navigating the regular ups and downs of city life, and the unpleasant question of where their adult lives are taking them, when an unforeseeable tragedy rips them from the ordinary and changes the course of their lives and friendships forever. What follows is the reshuffled story of their time livingtogetherviewedoverthecourseofasingleday. Slicesoff their future, present, and past weave together in new ways, illustrating what it is that really draws these three people together, as well as what pulls them apart. While examining life, love, and loss from one sunrise to the next, each individual is forced to question if there really is such a thing as “perfect timing” or if all timing is just perfectly flawed…
Not too bad, eh? Sounds interesting! It's still a little wordy. I have to trim it down to have it sound-byte ready. I've dedicated a little time each day to figuring out the most succinct way to phrase it. Wanting a quick explanation of the show is not a crazy expectation from people who want to assess their options quickly. I look at movie descriptions that are being shown on TV and I think "what would they say for Timing Of A Day in that situation?" It would probably be "Three New York City roommates faces struggles living in the city." Tale as old as time, I suppose!
But my latest attempt to explain the core of what happens without giving things away or getting lost in the possible meanings of what the show is "About" boils down to this. It's about three NYC going about a normal day when something unexpected happens that greatly affects their lives, their relationships and their ability to stay together. Over the course of a day crucial moments shared in their apartment are revisited and we see what brought them together, what pulled them apart and how they might move forward.
Okay! Now all I gotta do is commit that main statement to memory, and hope that the next follow up question isn't "Okay, but what's it really ABOUT?" Gotta come up with a short answer for that now too...
Hey Everybody! We have our performance schedule! I'm very pleased with our times and location. We got two matinees on regular matinee days, two normal evening performance times and one right-after-work evening time. Very nice! Check out the details below. So excited! Mark your calendars!!
The Timing Of A Day A new play by Owen Panettieri Produced by Mind The Art Entertainment
Director: Joey Brenneman Asst. Director: David Williams
Featuring: Justin Anselmi, Nik Kourtis, Adam Shorsten, Elizabeth Woodard
Where: New York Theater Workshop’s 4th Street Theater (83 East 4th St at 2nd Ave)
Hello there! Thanks for checking out the blog for The Timing of A Day. This is Owen, the playwright, reaching out to you from across the interwebs. The producers at Mind The Art Entertainment asked if I would write this blog as a companion to the show's webpage (which is juuust about to launch), and like any writer worth his salt, the siren's song of writing something other than what I'm supposed to be currently writing is too strong a call to ignore. So here I am! As things move along, I will post news about the play, our run at the 2010 New York International Fringe Festival this August and my experience writing the play over this past year. Hopefully some cool production photos of our talented and incredibly good-looking cast will find their way here as well. So stop by often! Become a follower of the blog and "like" us on Facebook too.
More to come! Thanks for your interest and support!
(The cast of The Timing of A Day. photo by Megan Dixon)