Passionate Work

Why do actors, writers, directors and others, like dramaturgs, pursue a career in the low-paid, high-pressure world of theatre? The hottie from your freshman orientation can only get you to the intro acting class, but what keeps you slaving in the field is passion for the work, for storytelling that uniquely captures one's imagination. It's that need to create something new every night and to tell stories that are important. Vague? Well, here are two shows in the early stages of development that demonstrate this illogical pursuit:

Thorny Bushes: the Telenovela series at INTAR (HIPSTER FRIENDLY)
What's your guilty escapist pleasure? For many, it is the soap opera, and especially the big-haired, puckered-lipped, muscle-bound telenovelas. INTAR's Playwrights' and Actors' Collectives bring that highly successful melodramatic form to American audiences with Thorny Bushes. In the capable hands of young director Alex Correia, the family saga was read informally as a radio play to a packed D-Lounge audience in August. No word yet on the next episodes, but check INTAR's website for more.

Funeralogues (HIPSTER FRIENDLY)
Another startling, and completely different example, of passion was recently exhibited by improvisor/producer Stacy Mayer in her expanded sketched, Funeralogues. A self-professed funeral lover, Mayer's enthusiasm for the topic and men in uniform make this one-hour tryout fly by. This piece is still in development, but see her My Space page for updates, and also visit Katherine and Friends, who produce the first-look series that featured Funeralogues; they have some cool projects in the works.