> Why are you in the oudeis group ?
Theater makes me laugh or cry. Sometimes it grabs me by
the throat and forces me to look at the way I am living
my life. I want to be part of that; I want to create it,
but have also swept floors and moved chairs for it.
Oudeis interested me because as a writer and a musician I
frequently work with classical materials--the Odyssey in
particular.
>What is your (expected ) compensation?
Oudeis started as a spec project for me. I invest my
creativity, my time, my equipment, and my money; if the
project makes anything, I expect to get some. If it
doesn't, I take the loss. I am usually working on one or
two 'no-budget' projects at any given time.
It might be useful to say what I think Oudeis is *not*.
For example, it is not a volunteer project. A volunteer
project is like a benefit for charity. It has a budget;
it makes money. Some people get paid--mainly sub-
contractors--often at a reduced rate. The reduction
comprises their 'donation.' But the project makes money
and the money goes to a charity or cause.
After the experience of MMK and AE, I felt that Oudeis
would never make money for me or anyone else. That made
it more like a hobby. A hobby I do for pleasure and
relaxation. Looking at it that way lights up a whole new
aspect of the project for me.
For as long as I have been an active participant on the
idea list, I have been a target of abuse (debate and
difference of opinion are something else). It began with
Santiago who still seems to think that he invented the idea of
audience participation. (You hear Tina Turner singing 'We
don't need another hero' in the background.) Later came
Jonny with his general abuse of the group as a whole,
followed shortly by Aaron who decided that I in
particular don't know anything about reality (whatever he
thinks that is supposed to mean.) It turned out that
Jonny and Aaron actually did have something to
say--learned by just taking the abuse and engaging in the
conflict anyway. Then Lee chimes in with a couple of days
of pure venom--a strictly personal assault that managed to
dredge up a few real issues.
Oudeis is a shitty hobby. It is not a pleasure, and it
certainly isn't relaxing. I could not sustain the notion
that Oudeis was my hobby. But it is interesting the way
that stumbling into a pit full of poisonous snakes would
help to focus your attention. I like the intensity. I
think it has the potential to create something first
rate. The trick is to find where the energy is coming
from.
I have some ideas about that, but this is a communication
concerning motives and compensation. I believe the Oudeis
group has enough serious psychopathology to create good
theater--provided, of course, we can muster the courage
to work with it (more about that in the discussion on
script). So Oudeis is back on my spec list. I think we
could make money at this--and more. In fact, it may be
the only respectable thing to do with so much random
anger. Long live Vienna, city of the psychoanalysts!
While we are thinking about psychopathology, I would like
to repeat my question about the Hong Kong venue. Is that
a delusion? a simple lie? or is there a real producer?
and how are things going in the Hong Kong theatre world
with the new Chinese government?
-- Jim Terral South Slocan, BC http://www.netidea.com/~jterral/ http://moo.hawaii.edu/athemoo/WebMOO.html