I have been thinking about these categories for many months now. I believe they cover all the variations one can find in New York City today. It is time to end the old way of things. Broadway, off-Broadway, and off-off Broadway designations do not do justice to what is really happening. To many, these classifications represent quality. In reality, they do not. Also, they do not represent where they are geographically. If this were true, the United Palace in Washington Heights would be a Broadway theater. Technically, they signify the number of seats in a theater. off-off is 99 seats and below. Off-Broadway is 100 to 499. Broadway is 500 seats and above.

I call for these 4 types of theater to be used when defining the type of theater you are seeing.

1. Destination Theater. Originally, I wanted to name this Tourist Trap Theater. I decided that was too harsh. If this name is to stick it should have something positive about it. (Of course, one could argue “off-off” has a negative connotation but that moniker has stuck for more than five decades so what do I know.) Destination Theater is made with big budgets and has some element most people know already. It has a name involved many people coming to the city would already know or the material is familiar. On the positive side, it brings needed money to the city.

2. Hometown Theater. There is a certain civic pride to theater made in NYC. It is for New Yorkers by New Yorkers. The local heroes involved in these projects carry a stamp of approval. People seek out this type of theater because their friends and other people they know whose opinions they respect will go to see it. (Note: New Yorker as defined here is anyone who has lived here long enough to self-identify as a New Yorker.)

3. Artisanal Theater. Usually vetted outside the city and imported in, this type of theater is pricey. People go to see this because certain publications have given their approval of it. Standing in the lobby at intermission, you can frequently hear patrons say they have no idea what is going on. I don’t know if this is because the patrons usually spend their time thinking about other things or because they have so much money they do not care whether they understand something or not. They know so-and-so from such-and-such said it was good so it must be good.

4. Indie Theater. Made by the artists. Usually for budgets less (often way less) than $30,000. They mostly have runs of under three weeks because of rules in place by Actors’ Equity and because tickets sales will never pay for the production, even if each night is sold out. It is the bedrock of New York City theater. People go to see this because they know one of the artists involved, want to work with one of the artists involved, or have slept with or would like to sleep with one of the artists involved. Or they would like to see one of the artists involved fail. The audiences usually are either overly-friendly or very guarded.

5. Added category. (I don’t know if this should actually count. Therefore, it’s not lumped in with the big four.) Bad theater. There is a lot of bad theater in New York City. There is more theater in New York City and more than its fair share of bad theater.

I believe this covers it. There are variations. Sometimes a piece of theater might go under more than one category and, yes, there could be sub-categories. But I think the main factors for categorization are money and approval. The amount of money spent on a production and who approves the work really determine the actual type of theater that is being made.

Pictured above, a Destination Theater on 41st Street in New York City getting prepared for a musical, produced by Disney and based on a movie, to begin its run.

Rabbit Island, is in the Frigid Festival on Thurs, Feb. 23 at 9 p.m., Sat, Feb. 25 at 8:30 p.m., Mon, Feb. 27 at 7:30 p.m., Thurs, March 1 at 6 p.m., and Sat, March 3 at 5:30 p.m. Tickets are $12 to $16. Click here for tickets. (Search “Rabbit Island”)

At the Kraine Theater, 85 East 4th Street. East Village, NYC.

Subway: F to Lower East Side–Second Ave, 6 to Bleecker Street

Running time: 60 minutes

Rabbit Island is named a MUST SEE by The Local: East Village Blog for The New York Times.

The playwright Chris Harcum is interviewed on The Happiest Medium.

Visible Soul interviews members of the Rabbit Island Creative Team:

Ethan Angelica

Laura Butler

Chris Harcum

Carrie Heitman

Mel House

Mariko Iwasa

Joel Nagle

Aimee Todoroff

Cathryn Lynne came by rehearsal yesterday and took some great pics.

Rabbit Island Breakdowns

We were pushing 900 submissions as of noon today, but in case you missed this…

Elephant Run District will be holding auditions for the new play Rabbit Island by Chris Harcum (www.chrisharcum.com) to be produced in the 2012 New York Frigid Festival at Under St. Marks and directed by Aimee Todoroff (www.aimeetodoroff.com).

Auditions will be by appointment only on Oct. 9th.

Play Description:
“Alex zig-zags irregular relationships with an erratic therapist, his off-again, on-again girlfriend, an untamed burlesque dancer and The Cleanse. But what more will it take for this verbose Canadian Mime to become a real New Yorker? When life sucks as bad as your mental health, go to Rabbit Island!”

Breakdowns-
Alex: late 20’s-mid 30’s, male- a Canadian Mime searching for meaning, overly nice, passive and eager to please. Actor must have strong physical skills (mime experience helpful but not required). This is a speaking part. Actor strips to underwear. Actor must be willing to delve into scatological subject matter with humor and heart.

Karen: late 20’s-mid 30’s, female- Alex’s off again/on again girlfriend, intelligent and independent but struggling with her own issues of disappointment and self-loathing. Actress must also be able to bring warmth and empathy to scatological situations.

Bob: forties, male- Alex’s unconventional therapist, off beat with questionable motives, Bob likes to play power games with his clients and always seems to have something up his sleeve.

Barbara: mid 20’s-early 30’s, female- a manic commercial actress and part time burlesque dancer and roller derby girl, she is impulsive, damaged and needs to challenge the people around her. Actress will not need to perform burlesque.

The Assistant: Can be male or female, any age, The Assistant creates the world of the play by manipulating the set & other actors. This is a non-speaking but vital role with a lot of stage time. He/She will dictate the pace and tone of the entire production- Magic, Burlesque, Clowning or similar skill helpful but not required.

Rehearsals will be evenings and weekends, approx. 70 hours mid January to late February for 5 performances in the New York Frigid Festival, Feb. 22- Mar. 4 (www.frigidnewyork.info).

To submit headshots and resumes for consideration, e-mail: elephantrundistrict@gmail.com or find this notice on Actors Access.

AEA Showcase Code- Approval Pending
$200 Stipend

Spent most of Sunday with Cyrus, above left, and Joel, the writer and director of a short film titled Patriot at Bergen Beach Studios (Cyrus's living room) overdubbing where sound issues are bad. It isn't easy. You can match the rhythm and pitch of the line, if you're lucky. It's getting the vocal performance to match and synching the overall timing that's a bear.

After a couple of hours of not being able to get 5 measly lines spot on, despair began went through me in waves. If I knew when we shot I'd be in that mess later, I would have performed differently. Maybe I'd've scratched my nose before saying each line. Also, I thought I must have a voice in bad need of an overhaul if I couldn't get it to sound present to a wireless mic pinned to my jacket. There was a lot of wind and, because we were at a market in Chinatown, there was a lot of loud chatter in Chinese off screen.

Turns out the mic I had was bad. Joel had as many problems in the next scene when we switched. I'm curious how the film will be once it's done. It looks pretty good. We shot at some cool locations you can only get in the city. It hinges on me through most of it and I only was privy to part of what the bigger film will be. Hopefully, I'll be interesting enough to make people want to know what happens next.

I don't have as much experience as I'd like on film. Seeing yourself is always a shock. There's one moment shot from over my right shoulder and I look a lot like I've suddenly turned into my dad. Growing up, people would comment all the time how much I didn't resemble him.

At one point, I couldn't help saying, “wow, I'm weird looking.”

Joel kindly said, “you're very watchable.”

Cyrus added, “yeah” as if the truth of all truths had been spoken.

“Which one is it, Cyrus?”

Silence. I see now why on-camera talent starve themselves and get plastic surgery. It's consistent protection. But I guess weird and watchable isn't such a bad thing to be.

This was also an exercise in confronting one of my defense mechanism. I have a type of perfectionism that's a blend of striving for excellence (good) and ripping myself apart before anyone can get to it (bad). The latter is part survival mechanism and part need to please.

The one really unexpected thing is that the extremely cold temperatures while shooting do not translate. It looks like spring. So while we were in real pain, it looks picture perfect. This was the main issue with the shoot and you'd never know it. On the plus side, there were less people out in that bad weather.

I've always wanted a career in independent film. Something that is nearly impossible to achieve or sustain. If nothing else, it was nice to be a tourist in this area. I hope to learn the language a little better and visit again soon.

I don't have much of a bucket list. I don't a big list of dreams. I do get feelings that I must do certain things before I don't have a chance to do so anymore or I get a mild case of regret.

Each year, I have the intention of seeing the Big Apple Circus when it plops down at Lincoln Center. This year, Aimee and I watched the documentary series on it instead. A good 40% of invites for shows on Facebook pique my interest but I can't follow through because of the work/creation/rehearsal/random obligation tornado that happens each week. And I feel bad. So much so, I've been thinking about making a spreadsheet of shows I've seen and not seen to be accountable to friends and colleagues I respect. Maybe that's going too far.

Last month, Aimee got me to go out on a horse for the first time in my adult life. I have vague memories of riding in a circle atop a horse under extreme supervision. This was different.

We went to the stables out in Brooklyn. Aimee got a feisty horse named Bingo and I got a former race horse named Invisible, pictured above. We went for a guided ride through the park, led by a young woman who said she did 6 rides during the busy days and only 1 or 2 in the winter.

The most stressful part of the ride was crossing the multiple lanes of Ocean Parkway. A fire engine went off and Invisible started to bolt. My guide said he was reacting to my nervousness. While that was irritating, the rest of the ride was enjoyable. Deep in the park, we picked up the pace and I had my first tangible understanding of what horsepower means.

Maybe I should make a bucket list. For some reason, I can only think of kayaking to put on it.