I realize this letter you sent to the list was meant to be only to Mon but
as the Austrian saying goes s...t happens! Anyway, I do feel obligated to
offer some sort of response.
At 09:06 09.09.97 +0200, you wrote:
>+++ Tja, ansonsten versuche ich die Stimmungen auszugleichen, aber es
>geht gut, nur Lee ( bei allem Respekt, was er tut, kann sehr muehsam
>sein. Ich mag ihn gerne, nur bei der Arbeit ist er some times like a
>diva
I am not the best person to judge how I appear to others so I will take
Karin's word for the impression I may have made to some. However, I would
like to give a little information that will make things clearer about what
has been happening in Vienna and why it has been NECESSARY to behave in a
more aggressive fashion than people here are used to. Believe me, I was
concerned about this beforehand because of the stereotype of the arrogant
american taking charge. So, I was extra careful to avoid this. However,
when the choice became either standing back to watch the play plunge into
disaster or trying to make people aware of the gravity of our situation
and the lack of time, I chose to do the later. This obviously has not
endeared me to some but I can't help that (I am forwarding a letter that I
wrote after our first rehearsal). Right now I am more concerned with this
performance being successful. If people show up an hour late for rehearsal
and unprepared only days before the performance they need to know that this
is not acceptable and will lead to another MMK. When people give
assurances that something will be ready at a certain time and it isn't.
They need to know that with such little time at our disposal we need
results and not excuses and if something can't be done we need to know so
we can come up with something else. Anyway, I don't expect anything more
from anyone else than I do from myself. This performance was conceived by
Mon and me over months of hard work and I am going to do everything I can
to make sure it gets a fair chance at ars and is not still-born like it was
at MMK.
When I first arrived over three weeks ago, I would have liked nothing more
than to have been able to concentrate on the storyboard of Among Immortals
but that was simply not possible. There was almost no foundation for the
performance and I had to begin working on everything but the storyboard. I
had to meet with the technical people over equipment. I went to the Cafe
Stein with Karin to take measurements for the screens and equipment
placement. To make up for the lack of Ulli's cones at the Cafe Stein, Ulli
and me came up with the idea of using neon art. To give the impression
that the cones are engaging in dialogue, I came up with the idea to use
monitors showing only the MOO for our cones. I also had to come up with
and test a way of enlarging the lettering. To avoid a problems with
communications, I came up with the idea of having a handy backup supplied
by Ericcson (At first this idea was opposed by all but Rainer. Now, I
think everyone realizes that we need backup plans on everything including
the screens). Gernot and me came up with a way to transition the
characters into lightcones and also to synthesize the voices of several
characters to make it more dramatic. I can go on but the point is not to
toot my own horn but to show that I have been extremely busy and demanding
on myself as well as others.
In closing, I have to say that I like the people here very much but that
sometimes, especially in a situation like this, honest tough talk is more
important than saying how wonderful we all are and how nice everything is.
The hugs, kisses and ambrosia will come after the performance.
Lee