Tympanic Theater Company Blog

In this weeks Ripe For The Picking I interview Michael 'Mick' Greco, Tympanic Company Member, playwright, actor, and lawyer extraodinaire!  Mick is the literary mastermind behind Northstar Navigation, one of the eight plays making up the Bastards of Young festival. 

Call him Mick, call him Michael, just as long as you don't confuse him with Superman.  But don't get ahead of yourselves, ladies, this Superhero is T-A-K-E-N. 

1.   Tell us a little bit about your play, Northstar Navigation.  Two hapless mooks lose their way escaping from a not-so-brilliantly conceived criminal undertaking…only to have their route "re-calculated" by a disembodied voice behind their vehicle's online interactive ('live'?) navigation system.

2.   Which character are you most like, Jigger or Stosh?  Why? Laughing  –  I just rented Noah Baumbach's 2008 Margot at the Wedding:  a similar interview question launches that film to its climax.  Anyhow, the characters Jigger and Stosh (Brooke as well for that matter) are not ones with whom most people would identify, including me, but I like to think all of my characters in some way exhibit aspects of my fantastic self. 

I am probably most like Stosh  –  I don't tend to lead my friends into unusual (and destructive) situations the way Jigger can, but I am willing to experiment and I think I am a terrific 'aide-de-camp.'  Stosh is in that category.

3.  These guys get themselves in quite the pickle.  Are you writing from personal experience here?  Don’t worry, you’re among friends.  You can trust us with your secrets ::wink::wink::  This is not drawn from my personal experience (I probably would not have written it otherwise)!  It's drawn from imagination and what I get from film, television, books, anecdotes…and police reports (and clients with criminal issues) of course.  I'll be sure to concoct and shoot you some secrets with which I can trust 'us'!

4. You’re a successful windy city lawyer by day and theatre super-hero by night.  These are such opposite ends of the spectrum.  Is it hard to balance the life of a regular Clark Kent?  I'd say so.  Everyone wishes their job were easier –  I love the theatre super-heroism, would be loath to relinquish that,  so I am not complaining.  I first saw a (law) colleague of mine acting in a stage production in the late 1990s (other than the Bar Association XMas Pageant and other truly "wankerly" acting bits), and got the insane idea that one could do both pursuits simultaneously.  A few of my lawyer colleagues see theatre, fewer still ever get to so-called strorefront or non-union productions, so there is some sense of 'Clark Kent.'   Putting on the cape, one-zy and red Speedo (it is a Speedo, right?) while downtown keeps the adventure alive.   

Law practice and theatre are not right next to each other on the spectrum, but there are areas in which they intersect.  Either one would would be pretty distant if I were an actuary or dentist, for example. 

5. You and Tracy Wray, director of Northstar Navigation, have found a nice writer/director balance.  This seems a difficult task for most writers and directors.  How have you managed to keep that balance and what advice do you have for others? We're in the early stages so I am definitely not in a position to dispense advice for others, but for me I'd say I know my role.  I am not attempting to direct the piece from the "back seat" or micromanage the director. 

"Too many cooks make too much soup," so the cliche' goes.

I wrote the piece with a lot of specific elements in mind, and with room, I hope, for the director and actors to bring their interpretation, their art.    Tracy has a strong vision for the piece, understands it "from the back" and has terrific ideas for staging.  I've crashed some rehearsals and I like what she is doing with the actors (who are are smart, creative and committed as well).  From a writer's perspective I could not ask for more, especially considering Northstar Navigation is a short play. 

I'd speak up if I observed someone doing something really incompatible with the piece.  Otherwise, I do my best participation at this point by "blowing on the spark," by supporting the production to the extent I'm needed.

6.  Who are some of your favorite playwrights, directors, or artists galore?  How do you hope they influence your own work? Of course Miller, Pinter and O'Neill;  I love Samuel Beckett, whom people seem to love to hate.  His ability to create drama from the minutiae and complexities of a very few characters, and within the world he creates on stage without reference to political events or cultural ephemera is amazing, and definitely inspiring for me.

Craig Wright is a contemporary playwright who shows a similar quality in The Unseen, which I really liked.  The only other play of his I've seen is a 9/11-specific play in which Joyce Carol Oates shows up as a puppet, but that's got some quirky characters and movement.  I'll see more of his work.  For quirky movement and settings I want to channel John Guare.

Lanford Wilson creates great ensembles of unusual, fringe-type characters, but he doesn't end his plays so effectively in my view.

I used to think Sam Shepard started off with a blast, then had to push a lot of exposition about 2/3 of the way through the play, but as I've read, seen and re-seen his work I admire it more and more.

William Inge also went deep with his scenes and characters  –  that's a great quality that stageplays offer somewhat uniquely.  (Films can have long scenes, but the form lends itself to rapid scene and setting changes, and hoards of minor and incidental characters coming and going.)

Visual artists:  If I could create mood like Winslow Homer, ribaldry and vibrance like Thomas Hart Benton, elegance like John Singer Sargent and dramatic tension like Edward Hopper did, I'd be stoked.  

Above all the novelist (sometimes playwright, briefly in 1890s) Henry James is among my favorite authors, I'll always have his emotional tides in mind as I write.

7.  Having been involved with numerous Tympanic shows and being one of newest company members, how do you hope Bastards of Young defines us as a company?  Tympanic Theatre Company delves unabashedly into taboo settings, characters and subject matter, original, challenging and thoughtful material that would not be deemed suitable for treament or consideration in middle class polite society (one friend of mine departed expeditiously after a past show, would not even say hello to me or tell me how much she hated it!).     Even if they are not completely comfortable with every piece, wouldn't take their grandmother or spouse to the show, etc., I hope everyone who sees or hears about the show perceives that sense of originality, energy and courage which marks Bastards of Young.  Spot on for Tympanic. 

8.  What’s next for you as far as theatre is concerned?  Any wild dreams, aspirations, or projects you hope to get started on? I am working on a full-length play and a screenplay.  And I KNOW my Iliad / Odyssey told from the point of view of the Minotaur will see the light of stage.  Come on  –  that's got LEGS, Baby!

9.  I’ve been dying to ask.  Your birth name is Michael, but most of us refer to you as Mick. Is Michael your alias? I love aliases, modest shape-shifting.  Don't worry, it's not to escape paying child support or income taxes.  Mick is memorable and quick.  Michael is my actual name, a fine name but it's also a Catholic saint, and more than once musicians have started singing or strumming "Michael Rowed the Boat Ashore" upon meeting me, which puts me right back in 4th Grade choir session, turning beet-red and hiding my face under the desk.

BONUS ROUND!

Who is your favorite bastard? I guess EVERYONE'S favorite bastard now is the late Senator from Massachusetts, Edward "Ted" Kennedy.  His power and influence helped him elude investigation and minimize criminal prosecution consequences for his involvement in the drowning death of his aide in a channel on Chappaquiddick I. in 1969, apparently after his car careened off a bridge, perhaps after a drunken gambol;  so he devoted the next forty years to using his power and influence to fight for social justice.

If that's too incendiary, I'll go Stephen Fry  –  he seems to piss everyone off, and keeps churning out trenchant wit, books and great acting performances.

Thanks for reading!

Susan M.

I do not know a single artist in this city who simply sticks to one medium. We are not just writers, not just actors, not just musicians or set designers. We bleed our creativity on to everything we touch. But sometimes we need to birth new means of creativity when our main medium gets a little stale. In the pursuit of following up on some old promises to myself about not being JUST an actor, and hoping to feel a little less crunchy, I stumbled across nk. He did some promotional shots and the set for a friend of mines show, and l immediately connected with his work. I felt as if his photos were familiar to me. Like that deja vu you just can't place. So like the good little facebook-er I am, I friend-ed him before I really knew him, in hopes of seeing more of his work. Eventually, I was able to meet nk face to face, so we are real friends now, well at least acquaintances. He was even kind enough to agree to an interview, and share some of his personal photos with us. I hope you enjoy both, and remember to get out there and bleed on something else for a change, well…you know what I mean.

-Megan

Give us a little bit of background on yourself…where are you from, what are you doing in Chicago, is your name actually NK? or does that stand for something…

I am originally from California. I moved from there when I was 17. Since then I have lived all around the US from Alaska to New York. I've been in Chicago going on 4 years. What brought me here it a bit illusive save the fact that I have always wanted to live in all the large cities in this country and I was living in Minneapolis and ready for a move. Chicago happened to be the closest big city and so it was the logical choice.

My name is actually spelled nk, all lowercase. This is the name I go by and was conceived in an attempt to add some depth to my birth name of which will have to remain a mystery.

1.How did you get into photography?

Growing up I had a Canon AE-1, a stunning 35mm camera. I played around with that for years, came to understand the basic composition of a photograph. When I started moving around the country I started using a Nikon N60 35mm and a bit later in life a Nikon D40 digital camera. After photographing all the usual subjects (landscape, portrait etc.) I found that photographs of people speak a certain depth I can appreciate. Therefore I tend to only photograph people.

2.Are there any artists that you feel affect your work? stylistically or that inspire you?

Some of Emily Forgot's work moves me, namely the If You Could print series. Cristiana Courceiro combines photography and graphic design in a way I find very influential. She's one of my favorites. Jason Munn over at The Small Stakes gives me hope that graphic design can really bring people to a rock concert. Francesco Clemente's work for the film Great Expectations is a great example of perfect asymmetry I tend to really enjoy in my photographic subjects.

3.Where do you get ideas for shoots?

It helps if I am familiar with my subject whether they be a friend or an acquaintance. The more I am exposed to their personality the more ideas I have. Contrasting environments lends a lot intrigue to my expressions and so I usually put pretty people in ugly situations. Though it may be a subtle thing I find it very important to express the displacement of people from their 'natural' environment.

4.You do a lot of theatre and live event shots, is one more difficult then the other?

Recently I have had the opportunity to shoot a few events and just recently a photo run for a play for which I provided various design elements. I find indoor photography difficult without the proper equipment but the challenge can sometimes yield amazing things. Shooting indoors for me causes my subjects to condense especially in tight spaces. Depending on the type of feeling the photographs are meant to induce this can be a good or bad thing. On the other hand there is something about natural light and the way skin absorbs it, how the body yields to it's warm. I would say that any type of shoot is not a thing of difficulty more then it is a question of taste. Put me outside with a long lens and interesting people and I am where I want to be.

5.What was your most interesting shoot and why?

My most interesting shoot was many years ago when I was 18. I was at a concert in California where I met a young woman who had spent some time as a model. I asked if I could take her into a nearby abandoned wreck of a building to take a few shots. She agreed and I experienced for the first time a person who felt at home in front of a camera. I learned more about her in the dark room developing her photos then I think I could have in person. It was then I realized that a single moment captured on film can cause in the viewer an opportunity to discover details of which maybe the photographer did not intend. For me this is what is so great about art; boundless discovery.

6.What is your favorite photo that you've taken?

I recently did a shoot for a play in which my two subjects did a lot of posing outside of my influence. I enjoy when my subjects take just a little of my direction and expound on it. I took a photo of the male subject carrying the female subject over his shoulder. The contrast of her body draped over his, her ivory boned hand lightly grabbing at the back of his shirt, her sincere laughter hiding behind her tossed hair just wrecks me.

7.Since all art is objective, what do you feel is interesting or unique about your work, what makes it "art" to you?

What I hope my photographs induce in the viewer is the feeling of how comfortable the subject is with expressing themselves. Hopefully people who see my photographs we'll see a part of the subject they wouldn't without my influence. What makes it art is how the elements allow the viewer to discover something.

8.What other mediums do you use to express yourself besides photography, I know you did the set design for 'Down the Road', do you use the same principles for photography when you work with other mediums?

Anything I make tends to be heavily influenced by obsession with balance. Whether it be with the amount of graphic elements, light, tones, I am only happy with a piece of art when the numerous variables settle into some sort of harmony with each other. I do a lot of graphic design and what I like to call gift design: single pieces of art for my friends and loved ones.

9. Do you have any showings coming up? A website where people can view your work?

At this time I do not. A website is in the works.

10. What type of baby(camera) do you have ?

I have a Nikon D40. I have intentions of getting a Nikon D90 along with a some new lenses.

–nk
 

As a director, one of my favorite parts of working on a play is collecting images, ideas, songs, and thoughts that somehow speak to the play at hand.  Sort of like an image diary.  I share these images with designers, in an effort to make sure we're all on the same page, and carry them with me throughout the process as inspiration and guidance. 

Although The Great Black Vulture is a mere three page script, the pages are saturated with images of death, hope, life, family, and betrayal.  As you can imagine I've had quite a blast collecting my little image diary for this and continue to find more items every day.  I thought I would share some of enteries with you today.

Cripple Crow Album Cover

Untitled by Josh Mikel

This is actually art work by the playwright, Josh Mikel.  When I look at this image fear and the desperate need to escape come over me.  What happens if you don't make it out?  Nobody wants to know.

Passing of time and decending into 'blackness' are two key factors in this piece.  This will most easily be portrayed through lighting.  Here is my 'image story' I shared with our lighting designer.

So there you have it, folks!  A sneak peak at the thoughts that are brewing in my noggin as we head into our first rehearsals for The Great Black Vulture, a play in Tympanic Theatre's BASTARDS OF YOUNG. 

Thanks for reading!

Susan M.

Our Town Flyer

Our Town is a theater staple. From amateur to professional, from Broadway to Main St theater goers around the world have seen Our Town in some form (or maybe even the 2003 Paul Newman movie) so it's definitely a rite of passage. That said, this review's will be a bit different, since I'm a neophyte to the Wilder play. I have no reference points, only what I've seen for the very first time – and what I've seen worked wonderfully.

For the uninitiated (which I'll assume is a small majority) Our Town chronicles life at Grover's Corners (a fictional village in NH) at the turn of the 19th century. But, there's no period costumes to be found. Instead the kids wear Converse and the Stage Manager (more on this in a bit) checks his cell phone when mentioning times the train arrives or when school ends. By contemporarizing the visual elements, it re-emphasizes this play doesn't have to take place in 1901, and that the relationships (and subsequent concerns) within are as fresh now as they were in 1938. From what I've heard, previous Our Town productions have come off as dated and kind of folksy – luckily this production doesn't suffer from that. After all, a paper boy with a Jansport messenger bag and a tilted knit cap really throws the "folksy" out the window, doesn't it?

The most interesting part of the production isn't the integrated Nokia phones, it's the integrated audience. By making the front rows integral to the 'set' design, it forces an intimacy to the space that makes you feel like you're leaning on the icebox in Doc Gibb's house whilst he scolds his son. This production benefits immensely from this staging and is the driver behind it's success. Had this been a typical proscenium setup, it still would have been a great show, but likely had stayed in Chicago. That’s not to say the performances aren’t solid – for the most part, they are. But again, this is Our Town. It’s done and redone and re-redone. But, Cromer’s reimagining really makes it feel fresh and new.

For the first couple years of our inception, Tympanic’s mission statement was to reinvent the way space is used in modern theater – and with our first productions (Splintered Crosses, House of Weird Death & Gregor and the Squonk), we absolutely did. As soon as you entered the lobby, you’d get the sense that you were experiencing something vibrant and new, and we definitely blurred the lines (and expectations) of when the show “starts”. It was great, and audience reaction was pretty positive. Cromer’s interpretation of Our Town takes our initial goal one step further. By staging the play in a much more intimate setting, you can’t help but feel you’re on the precipice of “this is how theater should be done”.  Factor in that he’s using Our Town, with it’s obvious conceits to the Stage Manager and the mimed props and bare stage, and you can’t help but think Thorton Wilder smiles every time the Stage Manager silently holds up his cell phone to remind people about their own.

Greetings Theatre Pals,

We are thrilled to have a full house again at the Tympanic headquarters (a.k.a our basement), as rehearsals for Bastards of Young are underway.  We've got a killer cast, killer scripts, killer directors, and a truly murderous production team.  This is sure to be a night of thrilling theatre.  If you are as excited as we are you can buy your tickets ahead of time right here.

After our next production meeting we will start giving you guys some sneak peeks into the behind the scenes action of Bastards of Young.  Keep an eye out for preliminary make-up desings, set sketches, and general concept ideas. We will also be continuing our Ripe for the Picking interview series with playwrights from the festival. 

We will also be hosting the POOR BASTARDS FUNDRAISER Sept, 16th from 8:00 – 10:00 p.m.  Come down to The Spot (4437 N. Broadway) for ALL YOU CAN DRINK, Karaoke, and Raffle prizes galore!  Some of the prizes include gift certificates, tickets to a production at Victory Gardens and much more.  All proceeds from the event will go towards production costs for the show.  Cause' Bastards need some lovin' too!

Thanks for reading,

Susan