wab@reed.UUCP (William Baker) (02/05/85)
Well, this is the second time I have posted an article wondering what happened to all those copies of Knot that I sent out a couple of months ago. To refresh the memories of net.theater readers, I posted an article a while back asking for people to read the first act of a play that I am writing. Low and behold, I got lots of response and sent out 20+ copies of the first act. About a month and a half go by and no one has written me back. So I send out a note bitching about the lack of response and get a stack of notes saying, "Gee, I haven't gotten around to reading it yet" along with another ten requests for copies, making a grand total of 30+ that I have sent out into the blue. Another month has passed and I *still* haven't gotten anyone to write back and tell me just what the hell they think of the first act. Maybe this should be telling me something. On the other hand, seeing how dead things are in net.theater perhaps no one is interested anymore. Whatever the case, if you are one of the people who got a copy and you bothered to read it, please send me a little something describing your reactions. As I said before, I don't care if you think it was garbage. What is important is *why* you thought it was garbage. Don't be afraid of hurting my feelings; this is not the first play I have written and your dislike for it will not make it my last. A note on progress: I am now working on the third and final act. The second act is fairly polished and I am willing to send it out for perusal. It explains a lot, so those of you who were confused by the first act might take a look at the second (people around here were grabbing it out of my hands to find out what happens next). The only condition is that I won't send you a copy of act two until you write to me what you thought of act one. I'm kind of sad to see this newsgroup withering. I suppose it's possible that the people who have access to the net are not on the average extremely interested in theatre. Well, I'm one serious (read starving) actor/director/playwright who is willing to discuss more than anecdotes. Bill Baker tektronix!reed!wab
srm@nsc.UUCP (Richard Mateosian) (02/07/85)
In article <896@reed.UUCP> wab@reed.UUCP (William Baker) writes: > > Well, this is the second time I have >posted an article wondering what happened to >all those copies of Knot that I sent out a >couple of months ago. > >Maybe this should be telling me something. I haven't read Knot(s), so I can't say anything specifically about it, but recently I attended one of the Playworks series at the Berkeley Repertory Theatre. These are plays under development, semi-staged by real actors and watched by about 50 people. A discussion follows. The play we saw was an allegory about the Japanese internment during WW II. A young Japanese man who identifies with Godzilla has a love/hate relationship with his weird white landlady. I found it mysogonistic, shallow, and almost totally without merit, and I'm sure many of the others watching it felt the same way. Nonetheless, in the discussion that followed, it was discussed as though it had been a serious work. Comments focused on technical or structural points, and no one even hinted that they thought it was junk. This a long way of getting around to saying that perhaps the inhabitants of USENET are too polite to say anything negative about anyone else's creative efforts { :-) }. Getting back to Knots, perhaps the -- Richard Mateosian {allegra,cbosgd,decwrl,hplabs,ihnp4,seismo}!nsc!srm nsc!srm@decwrl.ARPA
aeq@pucc-h (The Blackguard of the West) (02/09/85)
I am posting this to net.theater because apparently my mail has not gotten
through. Twice I have requested a copy of this new play. I have never
received a copy, though apparently (according to a previous posting) the
requests of several others at Purdue have gotten through. (I hope that I
was not deliberately deprived of the opportunity to read this because of
some misconception of me as one who was guaranteed to provide only destructive
criticism!) I would appreciate receiving copies of acts 1 and 2 now that
they're ready. Thanks.
--
-- Jeff Sargent
{decvax|harpo|ihnp4|inuxc|ucbvax}!pur-ee!pucc-h:aeq
"Head him off at the pass!" (advice by a mother to her daughter)wab@reed.UUCP (William Baker) (02/13/85)
> In article <896@reed.UUCP> wab@reed.UUCP (William Baker) writes: > > > > Well, this is the second time I have > >posted an article wondering what happened to > >all those copies of Knot that I sent out a > >couple of months ago. > > > >Maybe this should be telling me something. > > I haven't read Knot(s), so I can't say anything specifically about it, > but recently I attended one of the Playworks series at the Berkeley > Repertory Theatre. These are plays under development, semi-staged by > real actors and watched by about 50 people. A discussion follows. > > The play we saw was an allegory about the Japanese internment during > WW II. A young Japanese man who identifies with Godzilla has a > love/hate relationship with his weird white landlady. I found it > mysogonistic, shallow, and almost totally without merit, and I'm sure > many of the others watching it felt the same way. Nonetheless, in the > discussion that followed, it was discussed as though it had been a > serious work. Comments focused on technical or structural points, and > no one even hinted that they thought it was junk. > > This a long way of getting around to saying that perhaps the inhabitants > of USENET are too polite to say anything negative about anyone else's > creative efforts { :-) }. > > Getting back to Knots, perhaps the > -- > Richard Mateosian > {allegra,cbosgd,decwrl,hplabs,ihnp4,seismo}!nsc!srm nsc!srm@decwrl.ARPA Boy, when they start comparing your work to Godzilla drama, it's time to give up the ship. Maybe I should go into advertising... A more temperamental artist might be irked at the above, but I'm willing to believe that Mr. Mateosian's symbology is sincere. However, the suggestion that readers of my play are universally aghast and wish to have nothing to do with the kind of twisted junkie who writes such trash is, perhaps, not valid. I have said time and again that I don't care if you think Knot is suitable only for wrapping fish. What I want to know is why you think so. Believe me, I have had my baptism of fire already. An update: My last posting garnered about ten more requests for copies of the third act and *no* replies from previous receivers. Am I kidding myself? Is Knot so bad that reading it can kill you on the spot? Somehow I doubt this. One gentleman asked why I didn't just mail these people a plea for an answer. To be truthful, I removed the old requests so that I don't have a record anymore. The real reason, though, is to shame someone into replying. Hey, I think this newsgroup is a great idea; why don't we make it happen for real. Bill Baker tektronix!reed!wab